Everyone knows that footballers are super-superstitious and when things suddenly start going wrong for the Saints, they decide their team is under a curse. The question is, what can they do to lift it? Stanley is the only one of them who really understands that lucky strips and garlic down their socks won’t get them winning again – only confidence and determination will do that. It’s up to him to change the team’s outlook. The action flows, both on the pitch and in the dressing room, and the story feels as real and authentic as a pair of muddy football boots. Steve May’s illustrations are bang on and in Barrington Stoke style, this is accessible even to reluctant or dyslexic readers. A winner!
Ridiculous injuries ... strange illnesses ... cancelled games ... Everything's going wrong for the Saints this season, and Stanley's team-mates believe they finally know why. Their football kit is cursed! But the team's attempts to break the curse take things from bad to worse. Soon, they're ready to call it quits. Stanley's still got some tricks up his sleeve ... but will his curse-cracking ideas save the team in time for the last game of the season?
Born and raised in the north of England, Phil Earle is the author of numerous acclaimed, award-winning books for children and teenagers. He has worked as a carer, a dramatherapist, a bookseller and a publisher, and loves talking at schools and festivals around the world. His novel When The Sky Falls won the Books Are My Bag Readers Award and the British Book Award for Children’s Fiction. He lives on the side of a very steep hill with his wife, their five children and two dogs.