Jon Moreton would have made it to the top-flight as a player: he had the mentality and ability, but his body let him down. An old friend Charlie Broome comes to the rescue and gives him a break: managing the struggling Spanish amateur league side CD Retama. Feathers are ruffled: he is mistrusted by the players and stand-in coach, Sophia Garrigues. Can he adapt to life in Spain and turn things around? Plenty of twists and turns through the season in this tale of football, love, and betrayal.

The Games People Play is established football writer Gary Thacker's first foray into fiction.