When Saturday Comes

Roy of the Rovers meets Emmerdale in this tale of soccer-mad Jimmy Muir (Bean) and his fight to make it as a professional footballer for local team Sheffield United. From the kick off, the omens aren't good. Jimmy has always shone in amateur teams, but suffers from a temperament problem. Yet when sprightly Irish lass Annie Doherty (Lloyd) starts at the brewery where he works, his luck begins to improve. First there's the snogging, then there's the fact that her uncle (Postlethwaite) runs a highly regarded local football team. It's difficult to convey how thoroughly dreadful this film is. It's like watching the football episode of Michael Palin's Ripping Yarns, but without the jokes. En route to its tedious, inevitable conclusion, every cliché about life oop north gets a good airing. The script is leaden and the direction has that unmistakable 'made for TV' look about it. Bean, Lloyd and Postlethwaite struggle dutifully with the material.