 The fact was that football itself had all the drama you could want – you couldn't, and shouldn't, make it up. But recently, in both fiction and non-fiction, television has found a way to parley with the world's most popular game. Sunderland 'Til I Die, Ted Lasso and latterly Disney's own Welcome to Wrexham have shown that the good football stories are all to be found not in glamour and success, but in the backwaters. It's the no-hopers who dared to hope, the communities besotted with their small-town teams, the individuals who make up those communities and those teams that provide the stories we yearn for. It's not the winning, it's the taking heart. Enter, somewhat late to the game, David Beckham. Save Our Squad (Disney+) sees Becks, born and raised in Chingford, fly in to mentor an east London U14 side who are, it scarcely needs saying, struggling. As always with this kind of Troubleshooter-meets Friday Night Lights kind of experiment, the question that lingers is why? And to be fair to Beckham he answers it head on in episode one: 'I wanted to work with a team in this league because this is where it all began for me. So that's why I'm back.' Alas, Westward Boys under-14s appear as unconvinced as I am by his apparent motivation. They're a very likeable, watchable bunch and inevitably you find yourself rooting for them (just as it's impossible to watch Welcome to Wrexham and not be checking the scores to see how your new favourite Welsh team have done a few weeks later.) Football, it scarcely needs stressing, is a really good game and so the on-pitch sequences where triumph follows set-back, beautiful goal follows easy-miss, are irresistible. But Beckham doesn't add much. He was always better known for his right foot than his charisma, and no){kind=link}
There’s a reason why football underdogs make such good TV – and you can’t help rooting for this likeable bunch of young players
There have been an awful lot of football stories on telly in the last few years. This is in marked contrast to previous decades where football as drama was dead ground (see Dream Team, or the Goal franchise. Or better, don’t.) The fact was that football itself had all the drama you could want – you couldn’t, and shouldn’t, make it up.
But recently, in both fiction and non-fiction, television has found a way to parley with the world’s most popular game. Sunderland ‘Til I Die, Ted Lasso and latterly Disney’s own Welcome to Wrexham have shown that the good football stories are all to be found not in glamour and success, but in the backwaters. It’s the no-hopers who dared to hope, the communities besotted with their small-town teams, the individuals who make up those communities and those teams that provide the stories we yearn for. It’s not the winning, it’s the taking heart.
Enter, somewhat late to the game, David Beckham. Save Our Squad (Disney+) sees Becks, born and raised in Chingford, fly in to mentor an east London U14 side who are, it scarcely needs saying, struggling. As always with this kind of Troubleshooter-meets Friday Night Lights kind of experiment, the question that lingers is why? And to be fair to Beckham he answers it head on in episode one: “I wanted to work with a team in this league because this is where it all began for me. So that’s why I’m back.”
Alas, Westward Boys under-14s appear as unconvinced as I am by his apparent motivation. They’re a very likeable, watchable bunch and inevitably you find yourself rooting for them (just as it’s impossible to watch Welcome to Wrexham and not be checking the scores to see how your new favourite Welsh team have done a few weeks later.) Football, it scarcely needs stressing, is a really good game and so the on-pitch sequences where triumph follows set-back, beautiful goal follows easy-miss, are irresistible.