Review: The English Game (2020)

The way I write about this show is shocking, considering I actually enjoyed watching it. 

Media type: Period piece, live action television show

How many episodes: 6

How many watched before review: 6

Genre: historical drama, re-enactment

Rating of sport/s in media: 8/10

Rating of show overall: 6/10

It is important to me that you know this show has a 53 percent on Rotten Tomatoes and has only been reviewed by 19 critics.

I feel like this information gives you most of the information you need to understand what is happening with this particular piece of media.

The show revolves around Fergus Suter, the first true professional footballer, played by Kevin Guthrie, and Arthur Kinnard, played by Edward Holcroft, the 11th Lord Kinnard and the man who served as the president of The Football Association for 33 year, as well as the sport's first star player.

There is a very sharp difference in class between the two men, but both were skilled footballers and revolutionized the sport on and off the field. Really, the show only shows a small, dramatized version of what both men accomplished during their time in the sport, which was a much longer career for Kinnard after his playing days.

I watched this whole show in one afternoon while doing chores around the house and this is the perfect way to watch The English Game. That name does seem a little wrong though, since the show is entirely about how two Scottish lads revolutionized football, or soccer as unrefined Americans like myself say.

The show is not historically accurate, but this is in large part because all the rich people have been moved to one team, they don't show how often Suter himself changed teams and timelines had to be fudged for the sake of having a comprehensive linear story.

I'd say the acting performances are also less than inspired, but I also recently watched House of Guinness, which does have some strong performances but I'm absolutely positive will also rightfully lead to some English actors being banned from the Republic Ireland.

Why should anyone watch this show? It is the perfect background programming. I could even see myself putting on again in the future when doing a deep clean of my oven or doing a deep clean on my floors and baseboards.

It does give a interesting portrayal of how soccer evolved from the bumblebee format still played by U6 teams across the globe to a game dedicated to creating space, and the geometry of positional play as players move up and down the field. It also shows the issue of money and classism in sport. The divide between 'professional' and 'amateur' was not just present in soccer, or, I guess I should say football, but in all areas of sport, and it persisted for too fucking long in relation to the Olympics.

While the show itself is not treading any new ground in this area, I think it is important to acknowledge that these same gaps between the rich and poor have once again become wide chasm few young athletes can cross. The importance of youth access, something Kinnard actually championed in his day, is so important and drastic changes are necessary in how youth athletics are run and funded, especially in the United States.

As a person living in the United States, it is very, very hard to suggest this is the most important issue in our country, especially when people are being disappeared off the streets for government thugs.

Anyway, I suggest the The English Game if you are bored and are doing a fiddly handcraft like knitting and need something that is just barely engaging to watch while creating your most recent masterpiece.