"The English Game"

[Bristol Red Rover]

This could be a good watch, all about the early days of footy. Starts March 20th on Netflix.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hBOlhdSYhv8

I'm intrigued as to how they decide to show the game was played.

[Bristol Red Rover]

I watched this over the last 2 nights, highly recommend it. It's on Netflix I think, though I found it free online. 6 x 45 min eps

The period style footy was fantastic, authentically done as far as my understanding is. It's based on season 1881-83, mainly on the FA Cup. Shows the old style dribbling in a pack as had come from the previous incarnations of the handling game and was predominant in England especially in the public school teams, and then the new style passing game originating in Scotland and more widely adopted by the working class teams.

It focused on Darwen, Old Etonians, and Blackburn Olympic. The main thrust of the story is about working class teams finding their place in a system set up by the public school dominated FA.

Some of the drama was a bit "BBC style" but watchable at least and mostly relevant. That also makes it very family viewable even if someone you're watching with isn't especially into footy. It's based on real characters of the time, even to the extent they look very similar to pics I've seen.

Enjoy!

[Filo]

I watched all 6 episode’s back to back on Sunday, as you say a highly recommended watch

[Arsenal Of The North]

Just finished watching it my self, I really enjoyed it and found my self reading up about the football and the players after. Would recommend it to anyone.

[ch-ch rover]

I watched this back to back last night and would recommend to any football fan

[rich1471]

watched this with my wife who hates football, and she enjoyed it , its really good   

[SydneyRover]

There's reference to it in this article:

Getty uses remote working in effort to preserve photo archive

https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2020/apr/02/getty-uses-remote-working-effort-preserve-photo-archive

[Aisley Drfc Leeman]

Couldn't recommend it more.  Great watch, albeit some appalling goalkeeping efforts

[Juddy]

Superb watch am I correct in thinking Copps was in one of the teams !!

[idler]

Superb watch am I correct in thinking Copps was in one of the teams !!

Yes. I think that it was his 200th game.

[Filo]

Couldn't recommend it more.  Great watch, albeit some appalling goalkeeping efforts

Makes Ross Etheridge look like Gordon Banks 😂😂

[the vicar]

What a program I am loving it great storyline and some good performances, just on episode 4

[IDM]

Binge watched the lot, last weekend.  My other half isn’t that keen on football but quite enjoyed it as a period drama of how society worked in those times irrespective of the football theme.

[Dr Fundlekrotch]

Great review here from a football historian, rather than a tv critic.

https://www.theguardian.com/football/blog/2020/apr/04/the-english-game-netflix

[IDM]

Sorry I disagree.. that review was a far more in depth analysis than was required - for the general viewer..

Sure, if this was the subject of some sort of study as part of a degree course in dramatic portrayal of history then fair enough..

Yes there will have been some historical anomalies and use of artistic licence and exaggerations in the programme, it seems to have been forgotten by that author that this was a dramatised programme aimed to entertain.

If it was a documentary aimed to educate, then the essay makes sense.

[River Don]

For anyone interested in the history of the game and how it developed from the mob game, try reading: Beastly Fury, the Strange Birth of British football.

[tommy toes]

Well I watched it all and thought it was right load of old cliched/stereotypical nonsense with a nod here and there to  what actually happened.
Don't know how Julian Fellows gets away with it.
He's nearly as bad as Kay bleedin Mellor.

[the vicar]

Great review here from a football historian, rather than a tv critic.

https://www.theguardian.com/football/blog/2020/apr/04/the-english-game-netflix

I don't listen oe read stuff from critics, I like to form my own opinion think that's the best way

[BobG]

Really?

BobG