[1]Originally published in 2007 in hardback format by Gate 17. One Man Went to Mow is technically viewed as the follow up title to Mark Worrall’s best selling Chelsea title from 2004, Over Land and Sea.
It’s July 2006, the World Cup has just finished in dismal penalty shootout failure for England and back to back Premiership champions Chelsea FC are preparing for the new season with a squad bolstered by the high profile signings of Michael Ballack and Andriy Shevchenko.
Surfing on a wave of optimism, buoyed by the outspoken confidence of manager Jose Mourinho, Marco and the rest of the Gate 17 boys return to Stamford Bridge in expectant mood, high on hope and talking about the Blues winning an unprecedented quadruple of trophies.”One Man Went To Mow”, the eagerly anticipated follow up to Mark Worrall’s cult terrace classic, “Over Land and Sea”, chronicles the ongoing adventures of a colourful group of Chelsea supporters as they follow their teams quest for glory.
In true gloriously unpredictable fashion, the season unravels against a backdrop of injuries, boardroom disquiet and growing media speculation about the future of the Special One, Mr Mourinho.Having retraced his Gate 17 roots, Marco sets out to explain the mythical concept of ‘Being Chels’, the peerless state of true blue mind that followers of Chelsea’s rivals struggle to come to terms with.
Drawing his conclusions from impromptu encounters with Blues fanatics he meets en-route, including club owner, Mr Abramovich, Marco is left in no doubt that Chelsea Football Club is an association, a fellowship of mankind founded on the commonly shared belief that what goes around comes around and that when it comes around you should make the most of it because it might not come around again for years.
From Sofia to Barcelona, Bremen to Porto, Valencia to Liverpool and Stamford Bridge to Wembley, “One Man Went To Mow”, is a uniquely entertaining, vibrant and fascinating fly on the wall travelogue of one fans near religious quest for footballing redemption.
One Man Went To Mow – available from Amazon here [1]