A Natural

‘ Give it Tom. Every lunchtime, every P.E. game, bouncing off the walls for years. Give it Tom. Give it Tom.’

Tom Pearman has been tipped for football stardom all his young life. But after spending his teenage years training with a Premier League team, the bright future he imagined for himself disappears from one day to the next when he finds out his club has decided to let him go.

Now he’s nineteen, away from home, playing for a tiny club in a town he doesn’t know. Shy and introverted – but desperate for recognition – Tom finds himself forced to navigate the dominant personalities and shifting relationships that rule the team. Along the way, he will also be forced to question whether he can reconcile his own desires with professional success.

A Natural lifts the lid on life at a professional football club: the competition, the friendships, the rivalries, the drink, the scandal, the depression. With a sure hand and clear gaze, Raisin draws a bold, absorbing portrait of masculinity against the high-stakes, high-pressure backdrop of competitive sport.