Bring Me the Head of Ryan Giggs by Rodge Glass

Satisfying fictional stories set in the world of professional football are thin on the ground – thanks, perhaps, to the surfeit of real-life tales of outstanding success or heartbreaking failure. So it's to Rodge Glass's credit that he makes the tale of young Manchester United fan and hopeful star striker Mikey Wilson so credible and compelling. It's not much of a plot spoiler to reveal that Wilson's career with his hometown club is less than stellar, and that his one-time team-mate Ryan Giggs is the man he partly blames for his downfall. Glass guides the narrative into areas such as social commentary, the ridiculous nature of fandom and, most movingly, the broken dreams of childhood and the reality of family life. The book becomes less about Manchester United's success during the Giggs era and more an intriguing look at football's strange, quasi-religious hold over the men who contort their faces in anguish and ecstasy every Saturday afternoon. And in fashioning a protagonist who is drawn warmly enough to foster sympathy – despite suffering from the same myopia and delusion as every supporter – Glass's novel might even touch the heart of the most ardent Man City fan.