You can tell this is from the makers of Downton, it has the same kind of theme - upper class and lower class divide, though this time it is played out on a football pitch. I'm a keen football fan and was interested in this for the historical perspective, however, my wife is also a Downton fan and definitely not a fan of football and she loves it too! It's more of a societal drama than football drama. The characters are engaging, the world they have created is authentic and fascinating, oh and people have mentioned the beards! There are some great ones! Give it a go, it's bloody good fun.
176 Reviews
Downton Abbey FC
mcoles-927-99621115 April 2020
Not enough football to be a good sports movie, but I still enjoyed it. My wife loved it and anyone who likes PBS shows will enjoy this. I would give it a 7 and my wife would give it a 9, so I chose 8. It's a bit too neat and today for me, almost Disney-like, but overall I would recommend it.
The series we need right now
jasonswitzer31 March 2020
I just finished watching the English Game and absolutely loved it. I'm an American and I don't have mucH interest in the game of soccer (to football as the rest of the world calls it). But that didn't stop me from loving the hell out of this miniseries. For those who may stumble across this review months or treats from now, let me set the scene. Coronavirus has ravaged families and economies. Everyday there seems to be some new depressing thing that comes to light (political division in the US, Brexit, Australia burning... take your pick). Media tends to mimic what is going on in the world, if not in plot, but in mood. In other words, there's some pretty depressing stuff on tv. A lot of it is very high quality (e.g. Chernobyl, The Plot Against America, Westworld, etc), but it can be hard to watch when real life is such a mess. Then comes along this gem of a show. It's very optimistic. I suppose you could say it's a typical sports story (there's adversity and adversity is ultimately overcome). But so what? Right now I'll take a show about growing as a person, seeing things from a different perspective, and demonstrating good sportsmanship (aka showing respect to others). Don't get me wrong... I love shows that are heavier on action, violence, sex, etc. But I can also appreciate some positivity. And this show has positivity in spades. I can't recommend the show enough. If you like soccer, maybe you'll like this show. If you don't... you'll probably like it too. It's good. Give it a watch.
Bravo Netflix!
zekeblack20 March 2020
Bravo for choosing a production that is not only beautiful to look at and we'll made, but also deserves a Credit line simply for its Beards!A show that may or may not be a Footies fanboys dream but a slice of life inhabited by interesting people and some new History (to me) along with the costumes and characters that round it out. I suspect fans looking for hours of pitch may be less than excited but it is more than Downtown Abbey.
A great tribute to the beautiful game
tilokaudaman21 March 2020
THE ENGLISH GAME is a beautiful and well made historical drama. Everything about it is compelling - great characters, high production quality and thrilling game sequences. I watched the whole thing in one day and enjoyed every minute of it.
Wildly historically in accurate, but entertaining with the heart in the right place
johnbirch-221 March 2020
Warning: Spoilers
Historians of the game of football will be weeping over this six-part mini-series which is much more fiction than fact, but maybe in the end gets the right overall feel.
To start with the history - there is SO much wrong. Games played on the wrong grounds by the wrong teams against the wrong teams in the wrong years. Two clubs that were deadly rivals combined to make one team that the plays in colours that neither team ever wore, wearing a badge that had ceased to be used some years before (imagine a documentary that merged Manchester United and Manchester City to form "Manchester FC" and then played them in green and white stripes) . Three totally different FA Cup tournaments merged into one. wrong scorers, wrong team expelled, pantomime villians, wildly (and I mean really wildly) wrong venue standing in for the Oval Cricket Ground (dammit we know exactly what the Oval looked like in the 1880s - there wasn't a tree for miles!) - has no-one heard of CGI??
But after all that there is much to enjoy. Football really was like that - it was very violent (indeed the series maybe underplays the violence on the field), and Sueter and his Scots pals did change the game with a whole new style of play that left the Public School English creators of the game floundering, and maybe it is understandable that they do not make too much of this because it would be dull.
Much love interest and family saga is added that is total invention, but will keep the less sports obsessive audience in their seats (predictable though it is).
And there are subtle bits, like the complaints from the amatuers that a professional game will allow teams to buy success - which came to pass pretty quickly, and continues to this day - but also there is eplained the inevitability of it happening.
But above all there is arguably one of the most important men in the history of the game finally being given his due recognition - Fergie Sueter. And the great thing is the actor chosen to play him actually looks like the real player.
So they got one thing right.
To start with the history - there is SO much wrong. Games played on the wrong grounds by the wrong teams against the wrong teams in the wrong years. Two clubs that were deadly rivals combined to make one team that the plays in colours that neither team ever wore, wearing a badge that had ceased to be used some years before (imagine a documentary that merged Manchester United and Manchester City to form "Manchester FC" and then played them in green and white stripes) . Three totally different FA Cup tournaments merged into one. wrong scorers, wrong team expelled, pantomime villians, wildly (and I mean really wildly) wrong venue standing in for the Oval Cricket Ground (dammit we know exactly what the Oval looked like in the 1880s - there wasn't a tree for miles!) - has no-one heard of CGI??
But after all that there is much to enjoy. Football really was like that - it was very violent (indeed the series maybe underplays the violence on the field), and Sueter and his Scots pals did change the game with a whole new style of play that left the Public School English creators of the game floundering, and maybe it is understandable that they do not make too much of this because it would be dull.
Much love interest and family saga is added that is total invention, but will keep the less sports obsessive audience in their seats (predictable though it is).
And there are subtle bits, like the complaints from the amatuers that a professional game will allow teams to buy success - which came to pass pretty quickly, and continues to this day - but also there is eplained the inevitability of it happening.
But above all there is arguably one of the most important men in the history of the game finally being given his due recognition - Fergie Sueter. And the great thing is the actor chosen to play him actually looks like the real player.
So they got one thing right.
Watched it all in a single sitting
glennvictortomlinson21 March 2020
Doesn't require knowledge or love for football
dierregi1 February 2021
Warning: Spoilers
I wasn't too keen about watching this series because I don't care for football, but luckily the plot develops cleverly around the game and it is much more about class struggle than anything else. Loosely based on real events, it tells how Blackburn was the first working-class, professional team to win over the Old Etonians, an amateur aristocratic team that had won the FA cup for many years and was reluctant to let working class people play football.
I don't care about historical inaccuracies because the series is very well cast, with a bunch of good actors in the main role, especially Guthrie as Fergus Suter, Blackburn captain and the first professional footballer and Holcroft as Lord Kinnaird, who became president of the FA in 1890. Suter and Kinnaird have a bunch of personal issues, including sterility, abusive parents and hostile team members, but manage to overcome them in credible ways.
The only far fetched plot was about Martha, Suter love interest, who had an illegitimate daughter with Cartwright, the aristocratic president of Blackburn. Despite the fact that she was a single mother, Cartwright managed to get Martha a good job in the local gentlemen club, but as soon as hints of their previous relations start to flow, Martha is abruptly sacked. It's not believable that she was hired under Cartwright patronage without anybody wondering about the nature of their relations...
Moreover, Martha is portrayed as a proud feminist who won't accept help or money from Cartwright, being bent on finding a better life on her own. Objectively, there were very few chances for a real-life Martha to find a decent job on her own as the idea of being financially independent would hardly have crossed the mind of a low class girl, without any skills (strangely Martha knows how to read and write) or the existence of a "real"job market.
Despite this anachronism, the series is well made and interesting. I hope they won't make a second series, because the whole story is told and there is no need to drag it along.
I don't care about historical inaccuracies because the series is very well cast, with a bunch of good actors in the main role, especially Guthrie as Fergus Suter, Blackburn captain and the first professional footballer and Holcroft as Lord Kinnaird, who became president of the FA in 1890. Suter and Kinnaird have a bunch of personal issues, including sterility, abusive parents and hostile team members, but manage to overcome them in credible ways.
The only far fetched plot was about Martha, Suter love interest, who had an illegitimate daughter with Cartwright, the aristocratic president of Blackburn. Despite the fact that she was a single mother, Cartwright managed to get Martha a good job in the local gentlemen club, but as soon as hints of their previous relations start to flow, Martha is abruptly sacked. It's not believable that she was hired under Cartwright patronage without anybody wondering about the nature of their relations...
Moreover, Martha is portrayed as a proud feminist who won't accept help or money from Cartwright, being bent on finding a better life on her own. Objectively, there were very few chances for a real-life Martha to find a decent job on her own as the idea of being financially independent would hardly have crossed the mind of a low class girl, without any skills (strangely Martha knows how to read and write) or the existence of a "real"job market.
Despite this anachronism, the series is well made and interesting. I hope they won't make a second series, because the whole story is told and there is no need to drag it along.
Enjoyable but flawed.
jakasperowicz21 March 2020
Enjoyed this new series. Captured the mood of the times quite well. However, as a Blackburn Rovers follower and someone who went to secondary school near the home of Blackburn Olympic I found the historical inaccuracies a little annoying at times. I suppose it did its job in displaying the development of professional football in this country well - but not the progression of the two Blackburn clubs and Darwin.
It's good, but not great. More Downton Abbey than a history of football
englishpete6526 March 2020
It's a good show, not necessarily one for the football fan or someone who enjoys historical documentaries. This is a drama, a fantastic cast, faultless performances, the only area that lets it down is the script which is a little bit twee, seemingly written by somebody that doesn't really understand football which is very disappointing if you expect something true to the game. However, the focus it pays towards social conditions at the time is slightly refreshing albeit somewhat unrealistic, idealistic and perhaps written by somebody who wants to portray the upper classes in a much better light then perhaps is fair to reality. The main problem with The English game is that it doesn't seem to know what market it is targeting, the writing is lazy or uninformed. In terms of the football aspect, it is very much secondary. For example, there doesn't seem to be one decent goalkeeper in the game, the brief football sequences are terribly laid out, not even fit to Grace the same screens as footballing movies such as escape to victory. Seriouss football fans will likely find this series irritating to say the least, it no doubt had a big budget, it's a pity that none of it was spent on getting somebody that understood the game to contribute to the writing. Sadly as well has the writers not understanding football, they also so don't appear to understand the working classes. So in order to enjoy the series the best thing to do is switch your brain off, accept it as a drama, written from the point of view of somebody that doesn't understand the working classes or football. If one can do this, it's not too bad.
Binge worthy
craigfawcett-0617021 March 2020
Where's the football?
carlvan197729 March 2020
Inaccurate, downton abbey with a little bit football
robinmaes-0612922 April 2020
Warning: Spoilers
Dissapointed. As a football fan it hurts to see the historical freestyling as Fergus Suter wasn't part of the team that won the 1883 FA Cup but rather of their fiercest rivals that won it the next three years. and Jimmy Love never played for any Blackburn team.
The football also takes a step back when confusing love triangles and gentlemen's disagreements take place.
The FA Cup deserved a better fiction.
The football also takes a step back when confusing love triangles and gentlemen's disagreements take place.
The FA Cup deserved a better fiction.
Season 2 please
amado-5115222 March 2020
Does not matter if you love "the beautifull game" or not
helsen_pieter1 April 2020
I was really impressed on how netflix created this. A second season would be hard to make with the same characters (altough i think they where all perfectly casted). But for season 2 i hope they jump for a decade and do something simular there. Ive read in 1 off the reviews that it is not historicly correct. being non english that is a bit of a shame for me since i really tought the history aspects are interesting. But since i knew i was watching fiction this only cost them 1 point Very good serie and i cant wait till season 2.
Inaccurate score/match timeline
statto-5659229 June 2020
Warning: Spoilers
In episode one, Old Etonians and Darwen are correctly shown as drawing their Initial FA Cup quarter-final game 5-5.
However, the OEs are then shown scoring at least four goals without reply in the replay, when in actuality that game was a 2-2 and the OEs then required a third game (which they won 6-2) to progress in the competition.
However, the OEs are then shown scoring at least four goals without reply in the replay, when in actuality that game was a 2-2 and the OEs then required a third game (which they won 6-2) to progress in the competition.
Should've been a film. Not a series.
mr-caljoe27 March 2020
Contains 6 episodes of 45min each when it could easily have been a film of 2 hours or more.
There was a lot of filler which was very cliché. The best parts of the series are when class struggle is viewed through football but this takes a backseat at times so the writers can make their own episode of Downton Abby where two Etonians attempt to save the working class from themselves.
There wasn't nearly enough football, and when there was, it was poorly executed with jumpy camera work and purposeful confusuon.
All in all good film though - I mean series
There was a lot of filler which was very cliché. The best parts of the series are when class struggle is viewed through football but this takes a backseat at times so the writers can make their own episode of Downton Abby where two Etonians attempt to save the working class from themselves.
There wasn't nearly enough football, and when there was, it was poorly executed with jumpy camera work and purposeful confusuon.
All in all good film though - I mean series
And Julian Fellowes has taken the cup!
lissyholland22 March 2020
Warning: Spoilers
As a northern football fan, and a lover of period drama, I have to say in advance that this series appears to have been made for me. Perhaps unsurprisingly, therefore, I absolutely loved it. I would however likely not have written this review had I not been so incensed by that I read in The Guardian, and which very nearly put me off watching it entirely - I can only assume that the writer of said review did not watch the same show I did. In fact, having started the series the day after it was released, I found the characters so enthralling - and brilliantly portrayed one and all - and the storyline so engaging, that I finished all six episodes within 24 hours. THANK YOU, to Julian Fellowes for writing this, and may we please get a second series soon?
Social cleansing in action
j-logsdon5 August 2020
This is a well written, made and acted series that, apart from the historical inaccuracies, is flawed by the social cleansing of the Downton class. Both Downton Abbey and The English Game depict upper classes as actually being quite decent folk who have the misfortune of nanny and attending Eton but when confronted by the real poverty and despair that their power inflicts and depends on, have an epiphany of social conscience. This nudge action is designed to distract the viewer's attention from the inequality of that time which remains to this day disguised by flat screens and sofas but in some ways worse. By all means watch tihe show but see it in the present context where those in power with their beautiful stately homes, wives and children all care nothing for the rest of the nation.
Wow amazing!
emil1022 March 2020
As a huge football fan I had no hesitation in giving this a watch. I was more than shocked at how good this was straight from the first episode. Emotional, passionate and an all round incredible story. Even if you're not a football fan there's plenty to enjoy, learn and keep you watching throughout
Let them eat cake....
rapadgettra25 March 2020
It's true now that we're stuck at home, we will settle for less. Just as we know we should eat our fruit and vegetables, that's hard to do with cake in the house. That's what this series is, a bit of cake. Netflix knows that we will eat it up and we are a truly captive audience. Football scenes are predictable, as is dialogue. But the actors are pretty as is the scenery and costumes. Fellows knows what he's about, and is rich because of it. But don't expect any life changing lessons that Charles Dickens would teach, these are watered down struggles that leaves a sugary happiness in the end.
Downton Abbey for MEN
svtcobra33123 March 2020
1. Bravo, Netflix, your productions are excellent.
2. Whereas Downton was enjoyable, it nevertheless could be accused of being soapy. This production gives us all the fun insight into the life of the privileged, the tribulations and small joys of the working class, and a halfway decent implied explanation of innovating the game of soccer as an allegory for how the evolving marketplace could "migrate some of that $$ to the working class".
The dialog, acting, and story were all well done. There were no insulting scenes, though I must say that the Etonians' dinner scenes involved no old people, which seemed odd. The lighting was also odd, everything was just too evenly lit. But if those are my only complaints then it must have been a good show, right?
In short, I'm glad I watched it, but I don't think I'll rewatch a dozen times like I did for Sense8, Travellers, or Better Than Us. Think of this as "Peaky Blinders that you can watch with your wife".
In short, I'm glad I watched it, but I don't think I'll rewatch a dozen times like I did for Sense8, Travellers, or Better Than Us. Think of this as "Peaky Blinders that you can watch with your wife".
There's a Big mistake
mflapolla15 May 2020
Suter is one of the main characters in the Netflix mini-series "The English Game" (2020), played by Kevin Guthrie. The series erroneously depicts him going to the Blackburn club that won the FA Cup in 1883, which was Blackburn Olympic, who defeated Old Etonians to become the first working-class team to lift the cup. Suter played for Olympic's local rivals Blackburn Rovers and was in the team which lost in the 1882 Cup Final against the Old Etonians. He would later go on to star in their consecutive Cup Final victories in 1884, 1885, and 1886.
From Wikipedia
From Wikipedia
Mediocre soapy drama
hypersonic899928 March 2020
I started the first episode and despite some of its flaws, I quite enjoyed it. I binged the rest of the series in one night. However, I was mortified to find out that that first episode is the best of the lot. I was hoping it was going to return back to that quality by the end, but it never did.
There's very little football history in this series, and what little there is, is wrong.
The show follows mainly Fergus Suter, the first professional football player, and Arthur Kinnaird. These two existed, but essentially the show just invents an entire life around them, and then follows that, pretending like it's a real story, when it's not. What's more is that the show contains several major historical falsehoods. I can't say examples, as I would be spoiling it, but let's just say that the third most important team in the plot is not only the wrong one, they were the local rivals of the actual team, the show has the position of the playmaker invented 60 years ahead of its time, and in general the events in the plot have very little resemblance to the actual events that took place.
Additionally, the show tries to depict the political and social clashes of the time, between the wealthy upper class, and the poor masses of the lower class of that period. Political drama is easy to make, particularly in this day and age. Yet the show bungles that as well. It seems the conservative Julian Fellowes couldn't resist sprinkling his own political ideas on yet another show. Some characters and plot-lines appear well out of place as a result.
But fine, the show is trying to be a character drama. Does it succeed?
Nope. It's as uninteresting and dull as it gets. The actors are OK (I suspect their actual talents were not allowed to shine), their characters are completely one-dimensional. The drama stems from a bunch of cliche situations. The set-up for character relationships is non-existent. Despite the historical inaccuracy, the football parts are the most interesting bits. However, as the show progresses, it foregoes all the football and instead focuses primarily on the dull drama. If the show didn't make this choice, it would have most probably been fairly decent, despite any shortcomings, and it would have been one of the first half-competent football sports dramas. Instead it plays it safe and goes for the dull, uninteresting, unoriginal and painfully slow soap opera.
There are better things to do, better things to watch. It's a run of the mill, period peace, mediocre, unoriginal soap opera. If you are looking for football, it's not going to scratch the itch. If you are looking for political drama, you'll be disappointed.
There's very little football history in this series, and what little there is, is wrong.
The show follows mainly Fergus Suter, the first professional football player, and Arthur Kinnaird. These two existed, but essentially the show just invents an entire life around them, and then follows that, pretending like it's a real story, when it's not. What's more is that the show contains several major historical falsehoods. I can't say examples, as I would be spoiling it, but let's just say that the third most important team in the plot is not only the wrong one, they were the local rivals of the actual team, the show has the position of the playmaker invented 60 years ahead of its time, and in general the events in the plot have very little resemblance to the actual events that took place.
Additionally, the show tries to depict the political and social clashes of the time, between the wealthy upper class, and the poor masses of the lower class of that period. Political drama is easy to make, particularly in this day and age. Yet the show bungles that as well. It seems the conservative Julian Fellowes couldn't resist sprinkling his own political ideas on yet another show. Some characters and plot-lines appear well out of place as a result.
But fine, the show is trying to be a character drama. Does it succeed?
Nope. It's as uninteresting and dull as it gets. The actors are OK (I suspect their actual talents were not allowed to shine), their characters are completely one-dimensional. The drama stems from a bunch of cliche situations. The set-up for character relationships is non-existent. Despite the historical inaccuracy, the football parts are the most interesting bits. However, as the show progresses, it foregoes all the football and instead focuses primarily on the dull drama. If the show didn't make this choice, it would have most probably been fairly decent, despite any shortcomings, and it would have been one of the first half-competent football sports dramas. Instead it plays it safe and goes for the dull, uninteresting, unoriginal and painfully slow soap opera.
There are better things to do, better things to watch. It's a run of the mill, period peace, mediocre, unoriginal soap opera. If you are looking for football, it's not going to scratch the itch. If you are looking for political drama, you'll be disappointed.
Maybe not accurate, but thoroughly entertaining!
yankeeben-9765726 March 2021
I recently have gotten into soccer/football and I cannot speak to the historical accuracy of the show. However, the writing and intrigue is there entirely. This series develops strong characters that you can genuinely resonate with and root for. It also contrasts the working class with aristocracy very well and doesn't come across as preachy. There are some storylines that I did not care for and I felt took away from the main plot of the show. But there is really something in the show for everyone. The games are exciting, the drama is engaging, and love stories are there if that's your thing. Lastly, the acting is phenomenal! Especially the two main characters, Fergus Suter and Arthur Kinniard. Definitely worth a watch!
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