The Courier & Advertiser (Angus and Dundee)
Scots take ‘Beautiful Game’ to England in TV rematch of history
DRAMA: New series aims to set record straight over origins of modern football
The story of a 19th Century Perthshire aristocrat who changed football forever is being told in a new Netflix drama.
The Eton-educated Carse of Gowrie landowner Lord Kinnaird was a key figure in the birth and growth of international football, selecting and playing for the first ever Scotland team.
He also played in nine FA Cup finals and was president of the Football Association for 33 years until his death in 1923.
The six-part series, The English Game, written by Downton Abbey creator Lord Julian Fellowes, focuses on Lord Kinnaird’s relationship with the Scottish stonemason who introduced the modern passing game to England.
Fergus Suter became the world’s first professional player after moving from Glasgow to Lancashire in 1878 to play for local side Darwen.
Ged O’brien, the founder of the
“I do not expect English viewers to like their first collision with the truth.
GED O’BRIEN
Scottish Football Museum at Hampden Park, said: “If the first episode gives an indication of how controversial it will be, then there will be lots for football fans to discuss.
“Happily, this major production attempts to give some balance to the history of modern football. I do not expect English viewers to like their first collision with the truth.
“My optimism is due to some of the first words put into Suter’s mouth, when he meets Kinnaird for the first time. He tells Kinnaird that he saw him play at Hampden against Queen’s Park. Kinnaird smiles wryly.
“Viewers will not realise that he is recalling the 5-0 thrashing that the Spiders dished out to the Wanderers in October 1875.
“An English audience is about to be introduced to the Scotsmen who founded modern world football.
“It is refreshing to watch a popular drama finally show that the social elite of places like Eton are utterly irrelevant to the Beautiful Game.
“They are of no consequence, when faced with the sporting genius of the Scottish nation. A nation which took football first to England and then gave it to the entire world.”
Suter is played by Scots actor Kevin Guthrie, 32, who starred in films including Sunshine On Leith, while Kinnaird is played by Edward Holcroft.