'A beautiful play about the beautiful game.' Independent

'At its heart a dark, tender and beautifully wrought study in male desperation.' Time Out

'Patrick Marber is to modern British drama what Michael Owen was to our footie.' Daily Mail

'Marber, in this riveting new piece, uses the world of non-league, semi-pro football to explore issues of trust and loyalty and the larger division between individual ambition and the collective ethic. If big issues emerge naturally from the action, it is because Marber is writing about a world he knows intimately. Everything feels right.' Guardian

'A triumph. It's Marber's night. At 50, he has found his voice again, and it roars.' Daily Telegraph

'After nine years out of the game, Marber is back in the Champions League.' Mail on Sunday

Patrick Marber was born in London in 1964. He began his career as a writer in 1986. He co-wrote and appeared in a number of radio and television programmes including The Day Today and Knowing Me, Knowing You and, more recently, BBC R4's Bunk Bed (with Peter Curran). In 1995 his first play Dealer's Choice premiered at the National Theatre in a production he also directed. Since then, he has written and directed plays and screenplays including After Miss Julie, Closer, Howard Katz, Don Juan in Soho, The Red Lion, Three Days in the Country, Hedda Gabler, Notes on a Scandal and Love You More. He has also directed two of Tom Stoppard's plays, a revival of Travesties and the premiere of Leopoldstadt. He lives in London with his wife and their three children.