England To Me

You are thirteen and hailed as the future of English football. You stop playing suddenly and without explanation. You return aged sixteen sublimely talented. You are on a mission. You transform the fortunes of club and country. You make the beautiful game beautiful again. You have a brilliant mind. You are a seafarer. You shun publicity. You despise celebrity. You do not care about your image. You adore the ordinary fan. You are still one of them. You welcome controversy. You demolish false icons. You fall in love. You lead your Country to glory. You are engulfed by tragedy. You disappear again. Will you be back? You are a complete one-off. You are Matthew Nelson. Read the most original uplifting funny and quixotic piece of football fiction of recent times.