Fight at the Fort (2022) Movie Script
This programme contains
some strong language.
RADIO: talkSPORT2...
Fort William, "the worst football
team in Britain," inverted commas,
the Highland League side
have a new coach.
Good afternoon. Good afternoon.
Hope you're well.
Yeah, we are.
Now, Shadab. You must be a man
who likes the challenge,
because Fort William are bottom
with just one point from 18 games.
We have to get results.
The league table doesn't lie.
We have to save the club
from relegation.
RADIO INTERVIEW: What was your route
into football?
Just a love for Football Manager.
From a young age, that was
my addiction, Football Manager.
I just spent enough hours
on the game and then I really wanted
to see how far I could take it.
I mean, some people would say
they've introduced the relegation
just to get Fort William
out of the league.
Football is suffused
with conspiracy theories.
The jeopardy now exists.
I'm exhausted.
I've never been in this situation
before in my life, it's madness.
HE SIGHS
RADIO: You've got a great CV.
You've been working in Mongolia.
And you've also worked as a scout
for Roberto Martinez
recently with Belgium.
First person of South Asian heritage
to hold a senior management role
in Scotland.
That's a great achievement.
I was born to manage.
Everything's against us.
This will be the greatest
escape in history.
In history.
INAUDIBLE CONVERSATIONS
I had a dream to manage
at the very top.
17 years of age,
I decided that I want to go down
as one of the best managers
to have ever lived.
Today, first and foremost,
we work our bollocks off.
We run, we fight,
we kick anything that moves.
Everybody clear?
This is our changing room speaker.
We needed something to get
hyped for games,
and this is what we came up with.
I'd written to every club
in the United Kingdom, in Europe,
in Asia, in Oceania.
I must have written to every
club over the course
of two or three years.
That approach wasn't working.
I flew to Malta,
I did have an interview.
I got to the club,
I waited for two or three days,
I finally wore the chairman
down and got a meeting,
presented everything.
Didn't get the job, but that was
the way I had to try and force
my way in to management.
Samoa, the deal was very simple.
They couldn't pay my wages,
they couldn't pay flights,
they couldn't pay anything.
But there was no other club
that was interested.
So I had to take that job.
I went to Mongolia,
I became national team manager.
You know the best thing
about Mongolia?
I could swear in English.
Nobody understood it.
None of the referees understood.
I've got a long way to go,
but every year, every season,
is a step closer to my dream.
Still half asleep, to be honest!
It's only two against one here,
girls, so I'm OK!
THEY LAUGH
Here's the bottom line.
For the first year,
the Highland League
has the prospect of relegation,
so the jeopardy now exists.
I can understand why people
in Fort William are worried.
Right, all week.
All week we've been up for this,
all week. We'll get a result.
I mean, some people would say
they've introduced the relegation
just to get the Fort William
out of the league.
Win our battles.
Win our battles.
A lot of East Coast teams,
it just feels sometimes
like they might not want
to come here.
They're a bit too far to travel,
you know.
It is called the Highland League.
Got to be careful what you wish for!
Football is suffused
with conspiracy theories.
It's a spurious notion that we might
want rid of Fort William.
We don't.
Yes! Yes, yes, yes!
Fort William is going to do
its very best to stay up.
If that upsets certain individuals,
then so be it.
Ref, where's he going? Ref!
Fucking hell, ref!
Look at me, concentrate.
The game is very, very simple, OK?
Very simple.
So they're there, we're here.
Hopefully Shadab and the guys
can kind of pull it together.
But it's going to be a tough ask,
I think.
Just watching him,
I think we made the right decision.
I can't tell you what he's earning,
but it's not a lot.
He could have got an extra Pot
Noodle if he'd have haggled harder!
But I feel we've got a little gem
there.
Character, mentality, work rate.
Attitude.
We showed that, not when it
was easy, but when it got tough.
We work that hard,
we're safe, we're safe.
Hello. Woody, how are you?
I'm OK, mate. How are you?
Best accommodation
I've ever stayed in.
Just raring to go, eh? I can't wait.
I think everybody in town is buying
into where you can take this team.
I put this on and it never came on.
Yeah.
And the Mrs was like,
"You're an idiot."
So you've got to hold it in.
Accommodation is hard to come
by in Fort William.
We've got a holiday park.
The manager has managed to get
a luxury caravan
in the front row for just now.
If he's winning, he might keep it!
Shadab's biggest challenge
is going to be attracting players,
trying to attract the right players
at the right level to come here.
We are quite isolated here.
DIAL TONE
It's just about making lots
of phone calls.
I must have spoken to two,
300 players.
And some players I knew
and some players I didn't.
Are you OK to come
for about 10 to 2?
Will that be OK? Yeah.
When you're in a situation
like this, it's literally anywhere
that you can get a lead on a player.
Go speak to a club, deal
with lots of agents.
Trying to meet the player,
see if he's going to fit in.
And then gamble on it.
Shadab called me.
Are you interested
to come Fort William?
You want to come try with us?
I'm like, yeah, definitely.
I'm from Mali.
I'd never visited Scotland
before in my life.
I'm chasing my dream.
It could be argued that
if you shine in Fort William,
then you're going to do well,
you're going to get picked out.
Good morning, Finance England,
how may I help you today?
Just to let you know,
you're speaking to Amor.
When the opportunity first came,
I said no to Shadab because it's
crazy for me to leave everything
behind and come to
Fort William with my wife.
I expected her to say, no,
we're not going to
go to Fort William,
but she was supportive,
and I was, like...
Chose the right one.
Yeah, chose the right one.
THEY LAUGH
Sometimes I just think,
what am I doing?
I'm just leaving my wife
at home to go play football.
Good morning, how may I help you?
Has John been in touch
regarding your paperwork?
Not yet, no.
Not yet.
I'm 18.
I've been on trial
at Blackburn, Burnley.
I was at Liverpool for a few
months as well.
I'll see you at training,
though, yeah?
All right, speak to you
soon, bye-bye.
He's a passionate
guy about his football,
and he's definitely going
to take the team far.
I've got trust in him.
So, most of the guys are here,
but they're not
in the luxury caravans,
it has to be said.
It's more basic accommodation,
but they're not here on holiday,
they're here to work.
THEY LAUGH
Indian people, you
know what I'm saying?
South Asian!
South Asian...!
I don't want a divided team.
I don't want a team
that just meets up on a Saturday
and has a kickabout.
There was no buzz here,
there was, there was
no atmosphere, you know.
That buzz is coming.
The lads are winding each other up.
There's banter, they're starting
to bond and that's good.
Come on, bro. Come on!
BOTH: Yeah! Yeah!
SHOUTING FADES
Ta-da.
Roof's come down.
Roof's gone, it's been
gone for a while.
Yeah, it's just...
...indicative of this
club and...
...the lack of vision.
It's had to move forward
off the pitch as well as on it.
We came in as a committee
to save the club, but we had no real
vision of where it was going to go.
John, it's a natural fit for him
to become chairman.
He's just full of new ideas
and plans.
You were basically starting
from scratch.
You don't take over a football club
and turn it around overnight.
All the lads in Manchester
just wind me up constantly
about this team asking why I've
took it on and they're looking
at the results coming through.
Texting me on the bus
on the way home.
So, I've got a little wager
on with a mate of mine
that we won't go down, er...
THEY LAUGH
Bring in a digger, just flatten it.
Rip it down, start again.
It's a long process.
When I come in in the summer,
I said, right,
we need to go and find a manager.
I went down to my local club
down in England and got talking
to the board there and Shadab
had overheard the conversation,
introduced himself,
told me he'd worked for Belgium
and worked under
a Premiership manager.
Kind of took it with
a pinch of salt.
Destiny, chance meeting with
John Trew, great conversation,
and everything just fell into place.
And when things fall into place
that easily, it's meant to be.
Next thing you know, he's in the car
coming down here to have a look
about, er, and he
said he'd take the job.
The challenges we face at Fort
Williams initially is results.
We have...
Sorry, Fort William.
Just without the S. William.
Sorry, start from the beginning...
People told me he was
hard-working when I was doing
the research on him.
And he is, you know.
I was built to be
a football manager.
I was always born to manage.
I was built to manage.
This job, everything,
whether you're dealing with agents,
dealing with players, I love it.
I absolutely love everything
about management...
...apart from losing.
I've been around the club for
about two-and-a-half years.
I've never actually seen them
win a league game.
What would it mean?
Probably die!
SEAGULLS CRY
Locally, there's a lot of people
have actually been turned
against the Fort, what the club
are trying to do now, bringing
players in, basically
the way it's run.
Want to still call that
Fort William,
that's fine, but it's not
Fort William to me.
I don't feel the local aspect's
there any more.
Fort William now is...
...you know, I mean,
the English 11th Division.
From what I'm hearing online, a lot
of the locals aren't really happy
because their opportunity
has been taken away to play
for the club, with all the boys
coming in from down south.
But if we didn't have those boys
we wouldn't have a team,
and that was shown
through September and December
when we were struggling
to field a team.
You're not going to get 11 talented
players from the same town
gracing the pitch.
It's just not going to happen.
It's fuckin' pish.
HUBBUB IN PUB
So, underneath this pitch
right now, we've got some
plastic drainage tubes.
They run from one end
of the pitch down to the main
drainage tube that goes
out to the river.
What we did is we got a team
of volunteers and for about a month
solid dug it, and
we did dig it by hand.
People were getting their hands
in these trenches.
Some of the drainage channels
sunk a bit.
We were on the threshold
of the season...
...and a member of the public
contacted me to say,
"Do you know
the condition of Claggan Park?"
And I said, "No, I presume
it's getting ready for the season,
"as...
"...all the parks are."
"Er, we think you
should take a look at it."
Come the start of the season,
the pitch,
it wasn't the far off playable.
And the Highland League decided
before the season started
that we hadn't done enough
work on the pitch.
We asked for more time.
It was in a parlous state, and
the fact that they couldn't tell
us when it would definitely be
ready so we could put a time limit
on and work it out...
You know, we didn't know
at that point in time if the pitch
was going to be ready at all
for the season.
We tried to appeal to the league
and said, "Look, we've made a start.
"We'll get it done."
And Highland League just took
the stance that they wasn't going
to entertain us.
Here's the bottom line
about the decision made
by the League Management Committee.
They were culpable in the sense
that they had not got in touch with
the league to give us fair warning.
So, you know, what
were we meant to do?
Banned from all our home games.
It's a bit of a disaster, really.
Massive financial blow there. Er...
A difficult one to take. Erm...
Almost impossible to do, really.
You've got to try and persuade
every player that they're going
to go on a three-and-a-half-hour
bus journey...
...erm, to play football.
It's a huge commitment on the part
of the players.
You're on the road every week.
Nearest ground's 60 miles away
or thereabouts.
But it was that or the risk
of oblivion.
We needed to have some evidence
to let the league know that our
pitch was in a playable condition.
So, we brought one of the league
referees down.
He came along, inspected it,
said it was fine to play on.
Yeah. Still baffled as to
why we can't play on it.
The horse had bolted.
You know, them's the rules.
I don't think anyone would cry
if we fell out the league anyway.
Everything is against us.
We've had to bring a whole new squad
in on a shoestring of a budget.
Every game away, which is
two to three hours' travel.
No fans.
And then on top of that,
the first year the league introduces
relegation.
All those things.
This is what I say to the players.
This will be the greatest
escape in history.
In history.
This will be the greatest
underdog story ever.
CHEERING
I'd been in this situation
many, many times.
I knew what I needed.
The players are working
very, very hard.
But the most important thing
with a player
is the mentality and character.
CHEERING
Everybody's here for Fort William.
Come on, we'll win this game, yeah?
Hey! Absolute silence.
My time. Silence.
Right, Billy, look this way.
So, when we break attacks down,
you can see the danger
we cause them on the counterattack.
You've seen it.
Look at me. Billy, this way.
And that is how we get
a result in here.
Everybody understand?
The key, gentlemen,
first ten, 15 minutes, be solid,
be aggressive.
We get the next goal,
the game's ours.
I'm telling you now, we defend
well, get the next goal,
the game is ours.
Straight at it, Neil!
I'm not talking a point,
I'm talking three.
WHISTLE BLOWS
Just very painful to watch.
Honestly, if I'm honest,
it's very, very painful.
You should have been playing.
Yeah. It's just one of those games
where I feel like, if I was playing,
I feel like I could bring
so much into it.
CHEERING AND APPLAUSE
Argh...
FINAL WHISTLE BLOWS
The night shift allowed me to still
coach without affecting work.
I'd be up at, like, half-four,
five o'clock,
training at night and then go
to work, and then, again,
finish at eight in the morning
and go to training for the day.
You're up for maybe about 30 hours.
No shortage of work in this area
for those that want to work.
I've a very good CV.
They won't even look at your CV.
If you manage to find the door,
you've got the job. That's...
That's what it's like.
If you can get there,
you've got the job.
HE CHUCKLES
Most of the lads are in the sawmill
with Olly.
The sawmill here in Fort William,
we're the largest employer
in the area.
There's 209 employees
that work here.
Fort William's got 12,000 people.
There's less than 1% unemployment
in the area,
so finding new people
to come and work
is always quite challenging anyway.
So, at the moment, I've got five
Fort William Football Club employees
working for me
on a part-time basis.
It's very nice being able
to play my full-time football
and then, you know,
combine my job with it,
and it's all focused on football
and I'm happy about it.
Obviously, I hate working.
I just want to play football,
but, hey, you know...
Football means a lot for me
and I've made the sacrifices.
You know, making the move
from West London to come here,
go into a club who are not
doing well,
every day is just a new challenge.
And I'm just thankful for,
for everything.
UPBEAT MUSIC PLAYS
THEY SING ALONG
So, I'm working full-time,
and I'm playing full-time football.
Very challenging.
I mean, some days, we're training
from around 10 am,
straight into work at four, and I'm
not finished till around 11 o'clock.
I'm working 40 hours a week in here,
and trying to balance that
with 30 hours a week in football.
It is hard, training full-time
during the week
and then having to travel
on Saturday
and still keep up a full-time job.
MAN CHANTS
It was never planned
for us to come to Fort William.
I didn't know nothing
about Fort William.
I knew nothing about Scotland.
I've never been to Scotland,
but sometimes football
just takes you places
that you can never expect, you know?
The club has a history of losing.
The challenge that was set
for us and that
was to save the club, you know?
My parents came all the way from
Somalia to come to England
to give me a better life.
You know, my country
went through civil war.
This motivates me.
You know, it pushes me
to the next level.
My family, you know,
what they've been through.
CHANTING CONTINUES
PRESENTER: Heading now to the
Highland League.
We don't venture there very often,
but we do this afternoon.
We join Shadab Iftikhar,
the Fort William manager.
Shadab, good afternoon.
Good afternoon, Jim.
When you came here,
the team were getting trounced,
so what's it been like, the few
months that you've been there?
It's been difficult.
Just trying to get better
day by day,
and hopefully
the results have narrowed.
You know, it's been a tough job.
We're a different animal now, yeah?
It's not us two weeks ago.
You're positive under pressure and
you know how to handle it.
Anything that goes wrong,
we know how to handle it.
SHOUTING AND CHEERING
It's coming. The win's coming.
We're still eight points
behind our nearest rival.
We're only two wins away from being
right back in the mix again.
Them wins are coming. I can feel it.
So, we need to pick up
some points here.
CHEERING
Relax.
45 minutes... Look at me.
Relax. Keep playing.
Keep discipline.
Most important thing is to know
a mistake will happen from them.
Hey! Fucking dirty bastard!
How many times? That's a red.
A lot of these boys are just,
just discovering
the Highland League.
You know, so they're realising
just how physical it is.
CHEERING AND SHOUTING
Previously, we'd look at
the fixtures and go,
"That's a, that's a Huntly win,"
every day of the week, you know?
But they're playing really well,
it's quite an even game.
FINAL WHISTLE BLOWS
What tells me we're going to pull
off this greatest escape is,
our character could come out
in the second half.
For me, I'm not biased,
we were the better team tonight.
Good afternoon, gents.
How are you?
Yeah, good. It took a while coming.
Congratulations.
Thank you very much.
A long time,
but credit to the players.
You know, they've worked very hard.
And, to be honest with you,
they deserve a little bit more.
But yesterday it was a great...
Great to see them smiling,
great to see them enjoying,
enjoying the moment.
WOMAN: Good morning.
How may we help you?
Yeah, certainly, I can look
into that for you.
You are still bottom of the table,
but are you feeling a bit more
optimistic?
You know, it's been a tough job,
but we've focused slowly, just
trying to get better day by day.
It was a good performance
and a great result for everyone
associated with...
Bloody hot, man.
HE LAUGHS
That was piping.
Shadab has looked out for me
in ways that other people
haven't in my life.
Because of what he's done for me,
I don't just look at him
as a manager.
I look at him as someone
important in my life.
He was this young lad
who had just a tough life.
But he had something about him,
and I felt that
he deserved a chance.
As I turned 16, I ended up
getting kicked out of my house.
Yeah, I was a bit of a naughty kid
but, at the same time,
when I got kicked out, I thought,
"You won't kick your son out,
"even if they did
a few bad things."
So, I just kind of cut like all ties
with them.
I'm not in any contact with them.
I just prefer not to be, really.
Bad moments in life
don't last for ever,
but it's in those bad moments,
how we deal with it will
dictate the next moment.
Shadab, he was like a big part
of my life back then.
He always just helped me through it,
so I have a lot of respect for him.
You OK? No, yeah, I just, er, felt,
like, confused.
I took Boz under my wing.
I think he's a person that's needed
some advice over the years.
I persuaded him to come
to Fort William.
I thought it was a great move
for him,
a great start in his journey
as a, as a man.
Tell me. Tell me what's up.
He's the first one there.
He's the first one to ring, check
up on me, see if I'm all right.
And, wherever we both go
in football,
I think we'll stay in touch,
hopefully.
Honest, hard working, everything
you'd want in a person.
I've got a young kid myself,
a young son.
And if he turns out like Adam
Morris, I'd be very, very proud.
I was born in Preston.
My mum and dad live literally
a minute down the road,
so playing football in the streets,
school was round the corner.
That's where the love
for football came.
He will do what he has to do
to become a football manager.
He will take every risk.
He wants to get there
for his family.
But, while getting there,
he's having to stay away from family
for long periods of time.
And that weighs heavy on his
shoulders, I think.
That definitely weighs heavy on him.
It's a sacrifice he's making right
now for just the bigger dream.
So, when I went to Hesketh Bank,
which was my first managerial gig,
it was an incredible, incredible
season.
And Paul Sergeant, one of the best
chairmen I've ever had.
Hesketh Bank were in tier eight.
It was amateur football.
He's a man that I owe a lot to.
Good to see you, good to see you.
How are you? Are you OK?
Well, I first met Shadab
when he was 17.
He just had something about him.
You could tell.
I owe this man so much.
I was very hesitant at first
because, er...
He's dealing with, erm, a lot.
And, if it wasn't for this man,
I might not have been able
to continue in football.
And that's, that's the truth.
Being an Asian in that environment
was not easy.
I was hammered for my colour,
for my race, for my religion.
I got called Osama bin Laden.
I was part of the Taliban.
They vandalised the car,
they vandalised the office.
There were so many things
that, that people tried to do.
Shadab was given the task
to keep us up.
We survived quite comfortably
in the end,
and I always thought you'd move on
to better things.
I might be the only Asian
manager in Britain.
But, if I'm successful, it means
that my community's successful,
and this has to open up doors
for others.
When he first got offered the job
at Fort William, he asked me,
"Oh, we'd be moving up."
"No, we will not."
THEY LAUGH
So, my daughter's just started
full-time school this year.
And I was like, "Nope, I'm settled."
And we had just moved home.
So, we've just got our
food for the week.
I said to him, "No, you go, you go.
"We'll manage."
It's a huge opportunity.
You've never had a break
like this before.
So, we make the sacrifice and you do
it. You follow your dreams.
You never know what you could do
for this team,
what this opportunity
could lead to.
Shadab?
Hola, gaffer, como estas?
Muy bien. How is everything?
It's been,
it's been an interesting job.
You're a brave man.
You are a very brave man.
But I can see the team.
The team has got a different
momentum.
It looks a very, very different
team than the one
that you had at the beginning.
Yeah, I think you're right, gaffer.
I didn't realise how important
it was just to get, like,
be competitive.
That was the first step.
But when you're bringing 16 players
in, you're building everything.
The biggest problem is to give
the team confidence.
Match ball. Match ball.
The answer is just the natural
aspect of human beings.
So, if you can enjoy with what
you do, you can bring confidence.
If they can see that the work
that they're doing in training
is paying off, the team will get
confident, but make them enjoy it.
Too much gym, too much gym.
Time was drifting
This rock had got to roll
So, I hit the road
and made my getaway
Restless feeling
really got a hold
I started searching
for a better way
And I kept on looking for a sign
in the middle of the night
But I couldn't see the light
No, I couldn't see the light
I kept on looking for a way
to take me through the night
Couldn't get it right
I couldn't get it right...
You are there because you're crazy
about football, it's your life,
and you're, you're passionate
and that's contagious,
so let the players
to enjoy what they're doing
and it's going to be the right way.
Thank you, gaffer.
Muchas gracias. Thank you.
Adios, Shadab.
I kept on looking for a way
to take me through the night
Couldn't get it right
Couldn't get it right
I kept on looking for a sign
in the middle of the night
But I couldn't see the light
No, I couldn't see the light...
HE SHOUTS INSTRUCTIONS
We have to, gentlemen,
stick together.
Bite down.
It hurts, which is good.
When we didn't win, me especially,
I was devastated.
Cos, Wednesday, we go again.
Because I thought, "If we can't beat
a team that's three places above us,
"how are we going to
keep the club up?"
Keep putting in that level
of performance, gentlemen,
and the results will come.
And mentally, it's been really hard
for me, man,
cos I've never been around a team
that just keep losing, you know?
When I lose,
it affects me a lot, man.
Cos, yeah, it's...
It's weird, but I started
to question myself
as I've never questioned myself my
whole life.
I never questioned myself
on my ability, you know?
You know, am I good enough?
So, yesterday's game was called
off because of a frozen pitch.
We just can't get any,
can't get any rhythm.
We've not played enough
games to get a rhythm going.
It just keeps getting broken up.
And it's...
I don't know.
Make of it what you will.
Since all these matches on other
people's pitches were called off,
while Claggan Park was ready
and not used,
they now have this sort of backlog
where Fort William are not only
travelling on Saturdays but on
Wednesdays, to faraway places.
Then when we did fix the pitch,
get it up to a decent standard,
they still decided not to allow
us to play now.
We were removed from the room
while they were discussing that.
We accepted the assurances
that the current chairman gave
that they would work very hard on
it.
And it would have to be playable
every week, every weekend.
We visited on a monthly basis,
and we would acknowledge that they
have worked extremely hard
and done really well.
But, by then, the horse had bolted
and that's just sometimes lost
in the smoke and noise
of the sort of sense of siege
mentality
that does exist when a difficult
decision like that is made.
And what we're going to have now,
we're going to have a fixture battle.
We're going to be every
Wednesday, every Saturday.
You know, some teams will have
an advantage
cos they're not going to be playing
that midweek game.
They're going to have a week's rest.
We were meant to play five games
in 12 days,
all our games away from home.
We might as well just jump
off the coach,
go into the next coach and drive
to the next away game.
Say, for example, we've got
a midweek game away to Wick -
four, five-hour journey,
finishing around 10pm.
And then another four to five-hour
journey on the way back as well.
And so we're not getting back
to absolute stupid o'clock,
and it's just absolutely brutal.
It seems very clear that
my football club is being treated
wrongly and unfairly.
And the league, they're putting our
club at a disadvantage
and they're OK with that.
I think he's now realising the scale
of the challenge,
and nobody is wishing him ill.
But he's probably picked
one of the toughest jobs in,
in British football.
That's a nice view, the boat and the
mountain. Oh, wow!
Yeah.
One with nature.
THEY LAUGH
We've had some tough times.
You know, sometimes he'll come home.
We don't speak, we just wait for
him to calm down, and... Oh.
It's like... And then it's really,
really hard.
"Come home, I'll cheer you up."
Yeah.
Amor is just, "How is it?"
I'm like, "I just want to sleep."
I've scored six goals in 11
games. Ten out of ten.
Teams will look at me and say,
"Look, he's scoring goals,
must be a good player."
Oh, you know, I've got a big job
to do.
League one, two teams, this guy.
LAUGHTER
We need to pick up five wins
from the next five games.
Obviously, if we don't win
Saturday, mathematically
then, we will finish bottom.
Whether or not Fort William
will stay up
is a very significant challenge.
Two things have to happen.
First of all, they could end up
not being the bottom club.
The team who is club 18
still have a chance to survive
via the playoff system.
The playoff's a home and away tie.
If they win that tie, they stay
in the Highland League.
You call this project The Great
Escape, but after three months now,
I'm like, this is
a suicide mission, isn't it?
Yeah. In the changing room, yeah,
it's divided, man. It's divided.
Some still believe we still
have a fight. Some don't.
You can't mess us up.
Madness. Honestly...
...I'm exhausted.
I believe, because I see my players.
No matter what happens off
the pitch, no matter what people
throw at us, no matter
what difficulty, we will find a way
to get through.
We just want to win one game.
We need to win at least one game.
Go on!
To the right.
Davie, get up.
Oh! Oh! Oh!
SHOUTING
How's that not a backpass?
Keep coming. Billy, move it.
Recover, Billy, recover.
Oh! Unlucky!
Great football, boys.
Billy, back in, back in.
Get back! Billy.
In there. In there.
HE SHOUTS
WHISTLE BLOWS
APPLAUSE
Gents, gents! My time.
Sit. Take a seat. My time.
Be quiet. Listen.
In the changing room, yeah,
it was very difficult.
We heard the same thing
from the gaffer every week.
He repeats the same words.
Every week... We go again.
We go again. We go again.
We go again. We go again.
The results will come.
It is your job to get ready
for that second ball.
SHOUTS AND CHEERS
Hey, fucking 'ell!
Fort William have got
a chance here, man.
This is going to be
the first victory.
This is it. And we're going
to celebrate it.
They've got every chance
if they show the heart
they have shown today.
CHEERING
A lot of guys had a lot of emotions.
I was hurt. I was broken.
I was heartbroken.
He cried yesterday.
Very low.
Very, very low.
We're young kids, a lot
of these young kids, 18 years old,
don't know how to deal with
what they're going through.
You cannot tell me that we were not
the better team.
You cannot tell me that.
You cannot tell me that.
All right?
Listen, sleep well.
Seven hours. Not six, seven.
All right? Everyone understand.
OK? Off we go.
It's more than just we're losing.
It's how we lose, you know what I'm
saying? Shit ain't changing.
Nothing's changing. It's not
a really good situation to be in.
But right now, me personally,
I think it's too late.
Yeah. The manager obviously, a very,
very stubborn guy, man.
Very stubborn guy.
This team's falling apart, bro.
We're done, bro. You're leaving?
I got a call in the morning that
Shadab's been hearing rumors
about... about us.
How we feel about everything,
in terms of criticising
this game and everything.
We didn't want to leave, man,
he came over, like,
"Listen, pack your stuff and go."
Oh, man. It's falling apart, bro.
I'm telling you, it's falling apart.
We've had a conversation
with Billy and Abdi,
and we've decided that it's best
if we cut the contract short.
It's not an easy job. You have to do
what you feel is right.
MUTED CONVERSATION
When?
Gents, it's going to take ten
minutes, sort a few things out.
I'm not going to sit here
and pretend nothing's happened.
Obviously, I'm sure
everyone's heard what's gone on.
We've lost players.
The talking has got to stop.
The biggest thing in any changing
room that I manage is...
...the mentality.
I'll never, ever...
...bollock a player
for giving the ball away.
But you have to work.
You don't owe me anything.
But if a player does not give me
that sweat,
that blood, those tears...
...I can't, I can't connect
with that.
I'm told to pack up my stuff and go.
Tell the truth...
...if we don't get results,
he's going to criticise me.
Five years' time,
I'll be in the Premier League.
Professional footballer.
Playing the highest level.
Definitely.
I-I-I just want to go home.
It's been such a draining thing.
I-I just want to go home.
I'm tired.
BIRDSONG
MUSIC PLAYS
Got a playoff now over two legs.
So we're preparing for that.
Could you go down?
It's going to be a tough ask for us.
But, you know, we've got
a lot of confidence.
We have a plan and we'll attack.
I was told we were getting
a game back here, at Claggan,
for the playoff, the second leg.
The chances are they will have
the playoff match at Claggan Park.
And we've got two games
to get a result.
After all the travelling we've done,
we play the second leg here.
We'll have a packed home crowd.
CHEERS AND SHOUTS
We're not out of it yet.
We're going to be in the playoff with Banks o'
Dee who're a very, very professional outfit.
They belong in the Highland League
or higher.
So it's going to be another
David and Goliath situation.
I would imagine a lot of people
have already written us off.
But to get back to Claggan at long
last, it's a dog's chance,
but it's still a chance.
Everyone knew at the beginning
when you took over that the best
possible outcome would be to go
into these playoffs with a chance
of knowing that you can win.
And I think you've got that.
How frustrating.
Yeah. The goalkeeping crisis.
All our four keepers are now out.
Johnny is trying to work
on something,
try and get a goalkeeper in.
We have got some goalkeepers
on the books.
One of them's had to go
home on an emergency.
Another one that we have on
the books was a guy
that we can't contact.
Aye, aye, I know... In the rules,
it says we must attend the game
with two recognised keepers.
What we did do is ask the league
for a dispensation for a keeper.
Now the league is saying
we can't have an emergency keeper.
I can understand why people
in Fort William are worried.
They feel that the jeopardy
is overtaking them.
There is no grand scheme here.
If you have a league championship,
you're going to have a winner
and you're going to have
a bottom team.
So you're a big
Football Manager fan. Exactly.
The only difference is that I can
restart Football Manager. I... LAUGHTER
That's the best thing about it!
It's a bit hard to restart
the Highland League.
I still believe the great escape
is achievable.
PIPE CLATTERS
I've received an email saying
there's a pitch inspection, so...
...we'll see what comes of that.
TEXT ALERTEXT ALERThat, it's unbelievable, isn't it?
Pitch is too bobbly.
Not enough grass.
Aye, OK.
Ohh...
He did a pitch inspection.
Had a wander around the pitch.
He said, "It's not going
to go ahead."
When questioned why, he just said,
"Not enough grass coverage,
"too bobbly, needs rolling."
I was like, "Rolling takes minutes."
I said, "You going to give
us the game or not?"
And he said, "No."
Then I asked, "Was he qualified to
actually carry out an inspection?"
Ten minutes after questioning,
did he have the authority to do
a pitch inspection, I get a call
from the Highland League secretary.
I just said, "We're not going
to turn up on Saturday."
So a bit farcical, really.
The straw that broke the camel's
back was the Highland League saying
the second leg is not going to go
ahead at Claggan Park -
after everything that happened.
That's what's tipped them over
and that is why they've pulled
out of the game.
The Highland League is extremely
disappointed to have been informed
by Fort William FC that the club
is to withdraw from the Highland
football pyramid playoff matches.
I'm getting messages from people
around town.
We get messages from people
from the club, saying,
"Have you seen what they've
written here, like?"
It's just unbelievable.
The League has been engaged in
discussion with Fort William FC
during the course of this week, and these
discussions have centred on two issues.
The first and most significant
relates to player eligibility.
The Highland League had issued
a statement,
which was jaw dropping,
to be honest.
"The second issue relates
to the condition of Claggan Park.
"It had been decided that given
the events of the season, a pitch
"and ground inspection should
take place."
"That inspection was carried out
"by a representative of the League
"who is also a retired referee
"on the morning of Friday, the 22nd
of April, and raised some concerns."
So we know we've been unfairly
judged on our pitch.
There's four of us down here,
when he said, that's it.
We're not having the game.
So obviously the start of the
season, the pitch wasn't playable,
but now we're in a position where
the pitch is in good condition.
I just told him he might as well
just get himself off.
They've put in so much work in doing
the drainage.
It's about the best ever, really.
It's absolutely fantastic.
Nothing wrong with it at all.
It's a dagger through the heart,
really. Really, really sad.
Gutted.
They've got what they wanted.
The players are speechless, first
time I've ever seen them speechless.
They're all just sat there.
I just want to rip their souls out.
They were just staring at you.
Nobody really said anything.
The players were in absolute shock.
They took it terribly.
We don't really know what the next
steps are in terms of where
the club's going, if the club
will continue.
Erm, we just don't know.
The season's finished. Everybody's
just starting to head off.
It's really quite emotional
because...
...I know what they gave,
gave to the club.
I know. They'd lived together.
They ate together.
They trained together.
Eh...
...so I know what it meant for them.
MUTED CONVERSATION
THEY LAUGH
Thanks... be proud of yourself but.
See you. Thanks, again. Cheers.
My feeling in that moment was
you can't be bullied in life.
You have to stand up.
For one year, the club took a lot.
The club took a lot.
And this was the way to stand up.
Shadab has played a blinder
since he's come in and you can see
the results have changed.
So you can see that what he was
actually trying to do was working.
EGGS SIZZLE
Does he feel let down
by the Highland League?
I think he has been from the start.
How long has this been going on?
In the face of adversity,
we have done well.
How long has this been going on?
It's bittersweet.
It was a lovely time being here.
But I'm ready to go.
I was expecting teams to come
rushing to me, but it hasn't
quite happened yet.
That was the plan.
Just see what happens.
We're at Woody's Croft.
COCK CROWS
My new favourite place.
Erm, yeah, I've decided
that I'll be staying up here.
I just like the area.
I like the people. So I've decided
that I want to stay up.
Ooh! Ooh-hoo.
He stood on me toe.
So what happens for next season?
At least we'll be playing
at Claggan.
Well, your friends and their
fancy persuasion
Don't admit that it's part
of a scheme
But I can't help but have
my suspicions
Cos I ain't quite as dumb
as I seem...
We've got big glass windows
going in the outer walls here,
and that'll lead out to just a small
patio area on the front
for the walkers looking
for a bite to eat.
So it should make good money
and that's the basis of funding
the club in the future.
How long has this been going on?
How long?
How long has this been going on?
PICTURE THUDS
How long
How long
Has this been going on?
How long?
How long has this been going on?
How long?
How long has this been going on?
some strong language.
RADIO: talkSPORT2...
Fort William, "the worst football
team in Britain," inverted commas,
the Highland League side
have a new coach.
Good afternoon. Good afternoon.
Hope you're well.
Yeah, we are.
Now, Shadab. You must be a man
who likes the challenge,
because Fort William are bottom
with just one point from 18 games.
We have to get results.
The league table doesn't lie.
We have to save the club
from relegation.
RADIO INTERVIEW: What was your route
into football?
Just a love for Football Manager.
From a young age, that was
my addiction, Football Manager.
I just spent enough hours
on the game and then I really wanted
to see how far I could take it.
I mean, some people would say
they've introduced the relegation
just to get Fort William
out of the league.
Football is suffused
with conspiracy theories.
The jeopardy now exists.
I'm exhausted.
I've never been in this situation
before in my life, it's madness.
HE SIGHS
RADIO: You've got a great CV.
You've been working in Mongolia.
And you've also worked as a scout
for Roberto Martinez
recently with Belgium.
First person of South Asian heritage
to hold a senior management role
in Scotland.
That's a great achievement.
I was born to manage.
Everything's against us.
This will be the greatest
escape in history.
In history.
INAUDIBLE CONVERSATIONS
I had a dream to manage
at the very top.
17 years of age,
I decided that I want to go down
as one of the best managers
to have ever lived.
Today, first and foremost,
we work our bollocks off.
We run, we fight,
we kick anything that moves.
Everybody clear?
This is our changing room speaker.
We needed something to get
hyped for games,
and this is what we came up with.
I'd written to every club
in the United Kingdom, in Europe,
in Asia, in Oceania.
I must have written to every
club over the course
of two or three years.
That approach wasn't working.
I flew to Malta,
I did have an interview.
I got to the club,
I waited for two or three days,
I finally wore the chairman
down and got a meeting,
presented everything.
Didn't get the job, but that was
the way I had to try and force
my way in to management.
Samoa, the deal was very simple.
They couldn't pay my wages,
they couldn't pay flights,
they couldn't pay anything.
But there was no other club
that was interested.
So I had to take that job.
I went to Mongolia,
I became national team manager.
You know the best thing
about Mongolia?
I could swear in English.
Nobody understood it.
None of the referees understood.
I've got a long way to go,
but every year, every season,
is a step closer to my dream.
Still half asleep, to be honest!
It's only two against one here,
girls, so I'm OK!
THEY LAUGH
Here's the bottom line.
For the first year,
the Highland League
has the prospect of relegation,
so the jeopardy now exists.
I can understand why people
in Fort William are worried.
Right, all week.
All week we've been up for this,
all week. We'll get a result.
I mean, some people would say
they've introduced the relegation
just to get the Fort William
out of the league.
Win our battles.
Win our battles.
A lot of East Coast teams,
it just feels sometimes
like they might not want
to come here.
They're a bit too far to travel,
you know.
It is called the Highland League.
Got to be careful what you wish for!
Football is suffused
with conspiracy theories.
It's a spurious notion that we might
want rid of Fort William.
We don't.
Yes! Yes, yes, yes!
Fort William is going to do
its very best to stay up.
If that upsets certain individuals,
then so be it.
Ref, where's he going? Ref!
Fucking hell, ref!
Look at me, concentrate.
The game is very, very simple, OK?
Very simple.
So they're there, we're here.
Hopefully Shadab and the guys
can kind of pull it together.
But it's going to be a tough ask,
I think.
Just watching him,
I think we made the right decision.
I can't tell you what he's earning,
but it's not a lot.
He could have got an extra Pot
Noodle if he'd have haggled harder!
But I feel we've got a little gem
there.
Character, mentality, work rate.
Attitude.
We showed that, not when it
was easy, but when it got tough.
We work that hard,
we're safe, we're safe.
Hello. Woody, how are you?
I'm OK, mate. How are you?
Best accommodation
I've ever stayed in.
Just raring to go, eh? I can't wait.
I think everybody in town is buying
into where you can take this team.
I put this on and it never came on.
Yeah.
And the Mrs was like,
"You're an idiot."
So you've got to hold it in.
Accommodation is hard to come
by in Fort William.
We've got a holiday park.
The manager has managed to get
a luxury caravan
in the front row for just now.
If he's winning, he might keep it!
Shadab's biggest challenge
is going to be attracting players,
trying to attract the right players
at the right level to come here.
We are quite isolated here.
DIAL TONE
It's just about making lots
of phone calls.
I must have spoken to two,
300 players.
And some players I knew
and some players I didn't.
Are you OK to come
for about 10 to 2?
Will that be OK? Yeah.
When you're in a situation
like this, it's literally anywhere
that you can get a lead on a player.
Go speak to a club, deal
with lots of agents.
Trying to meet the player,
see if he's going to fit in.
And then gamble on it.
Shadab called me.
Are you interested
to come Fort William?
You want to come try with us?
I'm like, yeah, definitely.
I'm from Mali.
I'd never visited Scotland
before in my life.
I'm chasing my dream.
It could be argued that
if you shine in Fort William,
then you're going to do well,
you're going to get picked out.
Good morning, Finance England,
how may I help you today?
Just to let you know,
you're speaking to Amor.
When the opportunity first came,
I said no to Shadab because it's
crazy for me to leave everything
behind and come to
Fort William with my wife.
I expected her to say, no,
we're not going to
go to Fort William,
but she was supportive,
and I was, like...
Chose the right one.
Yeah, chose the right one.
THEY LAUGH
Sometimes I just think,
what am I doing?
I'm just leaving my wife
at home to go play football.
Good morning, how may I help you?
Has John been in touch
regarding your paperwork?
Not yet, no.
Not yet.
I'm 18.
I've been on trial
at Blackburn, Burnley.
I was at Liverpool for a few
months as well.
I'll see you at training,
though, yeah?
All right, speak to you
soon, bye-bye.
He's a passionate
guy about his football,
and he's definitely going
to take the team far.
I've got trust in him.
So, most of the guys are here,
but they're not
in the luxury caravans,
it has to be said.
It's more basic accommodation,
but they're not here on holiday,
they're here to work.
THEY LAUGH
Indian people, you
know what I'm saying?
South Asian!
South Asian...!
I don't want a divided team.
I don't want a team
that just meets up on a Saturday
and has a kickabout.
There was no buzz here,
there was, there was
no atmosphere, you know.
That buzz is coming.
The lads are winding each other up.
There's banter, they're starting
to bond and that's good.
Come on, bro. Come on!
BOTH: Yeah! Yeah!
SHOUTING FADES
Ta-da.
Roof's come down.
Roof's gone, it's been
gone for a while.
Yeah, it's just...
...indicative of this
club and...
...the lack of vision.
It's had to move forward
off the pitch as well as on it.
We came in as a committee
to save the club, but we had no real
vision of where it was going to go.
John, it's a natural fit for him
to become chairman.
He's just full of new ideas
and plans.
You were basically starting
from scratch.
You don't take over a football club
and turn it around overnight.
All the lads in Manchester
just wind me up constantly
about this team asking why I've
took it on and they're looking
at the results coming through.
Texting me on the bus
on the way home.
So, I've got a little wager
on with a mate of mine
that we won't go down, er...
THEY LAUGH
Bring in a digger, just flatten it.
Rip it down, start again.
It's a long process.
When I come in in the summer,
I said, right,
we need to go and find a manager.
I went down to my local club
down in England and got talking
to the board there and Shadab
had overheard the conversation,
introduced himself,
told me he'd worked for Belgium
and worked under
a Premiership manager.
Kind of took it with
a pinch of salt.
Destiny, chance meeting with
John Trew, great conversation,
and everything just fell into place.
And when things fall into place
that easily, it's meant to be.
Next thing you know, he's in the car
coming down here to have a look
about, er, and he
said he'd take the job.
The challenges we face at Fort
Williams initially is results.
We have...
Sorry, Fort William.
Just without the S. William.
Sorry, start from the beginning...
People told me he was
hard-working when I was doing
the research on him.
And he is, you know.
I was built to be
a football manager.
I was always born to manage.
I was built to manage.
This job, everything,
whether you're dealing with agents,
dealing with players, I love it.
I absolutely love everything
about management...
...apart from losing.
I've been around the club for
about two-and-a-half years.
I've never actually seen them
win a league game.
What would it mean?
Probably die!
SEAGULLS CRY
Locally, there's a lot of people
have actually been turned
against the Fort, what the club
are trying to do now, bringing
players in, basically
the way it's run.
Want to still call that
Fort William,
that's fine, but it's not
Fort William to me.
I don't feel the local aspect's
there any more.
Fort William now is...
...you know, I mean,
the English 11th Division.
From what I'm hearing online, a lot
of the locals aren't really happy
because their opportunity
has been taken away to play
for the club, with all the boys
coming in from down south.
But if we didn't have those boys
we wouldn't have a team,
and that was shown
through September and December
when we were struggling
to field a team.
You're not going to get 11 talented
players from the same town
gracing the pitch.
It's just not going to happen.
It's fuckin' pish.
HUBBUB IN PUB
So, underneath this pitch
right now, we've got some
plastic drainage tubes.
They run from one end
of the pitch down to the main
drainage tube that goes
out to the river.
What we did is we got a team
of volunteers and for about a month
solid dug it, and
we did dig it by hand.
People were getting their hands
in these trenches.
Some of the drainage channels
sunk a bit.
We were on the threshold
of the season...
...and a member of the public
contacted me to say,
"Do you know
the condition of Claggan Park?"
And I said, "No, I presume
it's getting ready for the season,
"as...
"...all the parks are."
"Er, we think you
should take a look at it."
Come the start of the season,
the pitch,
it wasn't the far off playable.
And the Highland League decided
before the season started
that we hadn't done enough
work on the pitch.
We asked for more time.
It was in a parlous state, and
the fact that they couldn't tell
us when it would definitely be
ready so we could put a time limit
on and work it out...
You know, we didn't know
at that point in time if the pitch
was going to be ready at all
for the season.
We tried to appeal to the league
and said, "Look, we've made a start.
"We'll get it done."
And Highland League just took
the stance that they wasn't going
to entertain us.
Here's the bottom line
about the decision made
by the League Management Committee.
They were culpable in the sense
that they had not got in touch with
the league to give us fair warning.
So, you know, what
were we meant to do?
Banned from all our home games.
It's a bit of a disaster, really.
Massive financial blow there. Er...
A difficult one to take. Erm...
Almost impossible to do, really.
You've got to try and persuade
every player that they're going
to go on a three-and-a-half-hour
bus journey...
...erm, to play football.
It's a huge commitment on the part
of the players.
You're on the road every week.
Nearest ground's 60 miles away
or thereabouts.
But it was that or the risk
of oblivion.
We needed to have some evidence
to let the league know that our
pitch was in a playable condition.
So, we brought one of the league
referees down.
He came along, inspected it,
said it was fine to play on.
Yeah. Still baffled as to
why we can't play on it.
The horse had bolted.
You know, them's the rules.
I don't think anyone would cry
if we fell out the league anyway.
Everything is against us.
We've had to bring a whole new squad
in on a shoestring of a budget.
Every game away, which is
two to three hours' travel.
No fans.
And then on top of that,
the first year the league introduces
relegation.
All those things.
This is what I say to the players.
This will be the greatest
escape in history.
In history.
This will be the greatest
underdog story ever.
CHEERING
I'd been in this situation
many, many times.
I knew what I needed.
The players are working
very, very hard.
But the most important thing
with a player
is the mentality and character.
CHEERING
Everybody's here for Fort William.
Come on, we'll win this game, yeah?
Hey! Absolute silence.
My time. Silence.
Right, Billy, look this way.
So, when we break attacks down,
you can see the danger
we cause them on the counterattack.
You've seen it.
Look at me. Billy, this way.
And that is how we get
a result in here.
Everybody understand?
The key, gentlemen,
first ten, 15 minutes, be solid,
be aggressive.
We get the next goal,
the game's ours.
I'm telling you now, we defend
well, get the next goal,
the game is ours.
Straight at it, Neil!
I'm not talking a point,
I'm talking three.
WHISTLE BLOWS
Just very painful to watch.
Honestly, if I'm honest,
it's very, very painful.
You should have been playing.
Yeah. It's just one of those games
where I feel like, if I was playing,
I feel like I could bring
so much into it.
CHEERING AND APPLAUSE
Argh...
FINAL WHISTLE BLOWS
The night shift allowed me to still
coach without affecting work.
I'd be up at, like, half-four,
five o'clock,
training at night and then go
to work, and then, again,
finish at eight in the morning
and go to training for the day.
You're up for maybe about 30 hours.
No shortage of work in this area
for those that want to work.
I've a very good CV.
They won't even look at your CV.
If you manage to find the door,
you've got the job. That's...
That's what it's like.
If you can get there,
you've got the job.
HE CHUCKLES
Most of the lads are in the sawmill
with Olly.
The sawmill here in Fort William,
we're the largest employer
in the area.
There's 209 employees
that work here.
Fort William's got 12,000 people.
There's less than 1% unemployment
in the area,
so finding new people
to come and work
is always quite challenging anyway.
So, at the moment, I've got five
Fort William Football Club employees
working for me
on a part-time basis.
It's very nice being able
to play my full-time football
and then, you know,
combine my job with it,
and it's all focused on football
and I'm happy about it.
Obviously, I hate working.
I just want to play football,
but, hey, you know...
Football means a lot for me
and I've made the sacrifices.
You know, making the move
from West London to come here,
go into a club who are not
doing well,
every day is just a new challenge.
And I'm just thankful for,
for everything.
UPBEAT MUSIC PLAYS
THEY SING ALONG
So, I'm working full-time,
and I'm playing full-time football.
Very challenging.
I mean, some days, we're training
from around 10 am,
straight into work at four, and I'm
not finished till around 11 o'clock.
I'm working 40 hours a week in here,
and trying to balance that
with 30 hours a week in football.
It is hard, training full-time
during the week
and then having to travel
on Saturday
and still keep up a full-time job.
MAN CHANTS
It was never planned
for us to come to Fort William.
I didn't know nothing
about Fort William.
I knew nothing about Scotland.
I've never been to Scotland,
but sometimes football
just takes you places
that you can never expect, you know?
The club has a history of losing.
The challenge that was set
for us and that
was to save the club, you know?
My parents came all the way from
Somalia to come to England
to give me a better life.
You know, my country
went through civil war.
This motivates me.
You know, it pushes me
to the next level.
My family, you know,
what they've been through.
CHANTING CONTINUES
PRESENTER: Heading now to the
Highland League.
We don't venture there very often,
but we do this afternoon.
We join Shadab Iftikhar,
the Fort William manager.
Shadab, good afternoon.
Good afternoon, Jim.
When you came here,
the team were getting trounced,
so what's it been like, the few
months that you've been there?
It's been difficult.
Just trying to get better
day by day,
and hopefully
the results have narrowed.
You know, it's been a tough job.
We're a different animal now, yeah?
It's not us two weeks ago.
You're positive under pressure and
you know how to handle it.
Anything that goes wrong,
we know how to handle it.
SHOUTING AND CHEERING
It's coming. The win's coming.
We're still eight points
behind our nearest rival.
We're only two wins away from being
right back in the mix again.
Them wins are coming. I can feel it.
So, we need to pick up
some points here.
CHEERING
Relax.
45 minutes... Look at me.
Relax. Keep playing.
Keep discipline.
Most important thing is to know
a mistake will happen from them.
Hey! Fucking dirty bastard!
How many times? That's a red.
A lot of these boys are just,
just discovering
the Highland League.
You know, so they're realising
just how physical it is.
CHEERING AND SHOUTING
Previously, we'd look at
the fixtures and go,
"That's a, that's a Huntly win,"
every day of the week, you know?
But they're playing really well,
it's quite an even game.
FINAL WHISTLE BLOWS
What tells me we're going to pull
off this greatest escape is,
our character could come out
in the second half.
For me, I'm not biased,
we were the better team tonight.
Good afternoon, gents.
How are you?
Yeah, good. It took a while coming.
Congratulations.
Thank you very much.
A long time,
but credit to the players.
You know, they've worked very hard.
And, to be honest with you,
they deserve a little bit more.
But yesterday it was a great...
Great to see them smiling,
great to see them enjoying,
enjoying the moment.
WOMAN: Good morning.
How may we help you?
Yeah, certainly, I can look
into that for you.
You are still bottom of the table,
but are you feeling a bit more
optimistic?
You know, it's been a tough job,
but we've focused slowly, just
trying to get better day by day.
It was a good performance
and a great result for everyone
associated with...
Bloody hot, man.
HE LAUGHS
That was piping.
Shadab has looked out for me
in ways that other people
haven't in my life.
Because of what he's done for me,
I don't just look at him
as a manager.
I look at him as someone
important in my life.
He was this young lad
who had just a tough life.
But he had something about him,
and I felt that
he deserved a chance.
As I turned 16, I ended up
getting kicked out of my house.
Yeah, I was a bit of a naughty kid
but, at the same time,
when I got kicked out, I thought,
"You won't kick your son out,
"even if they did
a few bad things."
So, I just kind of cut like all ties
with them.
I'm not in any contact with them.
I just prefer not to be, really.
Bad moments in life
don't last for ever,
but it's in those bad moments,
how we deal with it will
dictate the next moment.
Shadab, he was like a big part
of my life back then.
He always just helped me through it,
so I have a lot of respect for him.
You OK? No, yeah, I just, er, felt,
like, confused.
I took Boz under my wing.
I think he's a person that's needed
some advice over the years.
I persuaded him to come
to Fort William.
I thought it was a great move
for him,
a great start in his journey
as a, as a man.
Tell me. Tell me what's up.
He's the first one there.
He's the first one to ring, check
up on me, see if I'm all right.
And, wherever we both go
in football,
I think we'll stay in touch,
hopefully.
Honest, hard working, everything
you'd want in a person.
I've got a young kid myself,
a young son.
And if he turns out like Adam
Morris, I'd be very, very proud.
I was born in Preston.
My mum and dad live literally
a minute down the road,
so playing football in the streets,
school was round the corner.
That's where the love
for football came.
He will do what he has to do
to become a football manager.
He will take every risk.
He wants to get there
for his family.
But, while getting there,
he's having to stay away from family
for long periods of time.
And that weighs heavy on his
shoulders, I think.
That definitely weighs heavy on him.
It's a sacrifice he's making right
now for just the bigger dream.
So, when I went to Hesketh Bank,
which was my first managerial gig,
it was an incredible, incredible
season.
And Paul Sergeant, one of the best
chairmen I've ever had.
Hesketh Bank were in tier eight.
It was amateur football.
He's a man that I owe a lot to.
Good to see you, good to see you.
How are you? Are you OK?
Well, I first met Shadab
when he was 17.
He just had something about him.
You could tell.
I owe this man so much.
I was very hesitant at first
because, er...
He's dealing with, erm, a lot.
And, if it wasn't for this man,
I might not have been able
to continue in football.
And that's, that's the truth.
Being an Asian in that environment
was not easy.
I was hammered for my colour,
for my race, for my religion.
I got called Osama bin Laden.
I was part of the Taliban.
They vandalised the car,
they vandalised the office.
There were so many things
that, that people tried to do.
Shadab was given the task
to keep us up.
We survived quite comfortably
in the end,
and I always thought you'd move on
to better things.
I might be the only Asian
manager in Britain.
But, if I'm successful, it means
that my community's successful,
and this has to open up doors
for others.
When he first got offered the job
at Fort William, he asked me,
"Oh, we'd be moving up."
"No, we will not."
THEY LAUGH
So, my daughter's just started
full-time school this year.
And I was like, "Nope, I'm settled."
And we had just moved home.
So, we've just got our
food for the week.
I said to him, "No, you go, you go.
"We'll manage."
It's a huge opportunity.
You've never had a break
like this before.
So, we make the sacrifice and you do
it. You follow your dreams.
You never know what you could do
for this team,
what this opportunity
could lead to.
Shadab?
Hola, gaffer, como estas?
Muy bien. How is everything?
It's been,
it's been an interesting job.
You're a brave man.
You are a very brave man.
But I can see the team.
The team has got a different
momentum.
It looks a very, very different
team than the one
that you had at the beginning.
Yeah, I think you're right, gaffer.
I didn't realise how important
it was just to get, like,
be competitive.
That was the first step.
But when you're bringing 16 players
in, you're building everything.
The biggest problem is to give
the team confidence.
Match ball. Match ball.
The answer is just the natural
aspect of human beings.
So, if you can enjoy with what
you do, you can bring confidence.
If they can see that the work
that they're doing in training
is paying off, the team will get
confident, but make them enjoy it.
Too much gym, too much gym.
Time was drifting
This rock had got to roll
So, I hit the road
and made my getaway
Restless feeling
really got a hold
I started searching
for a better way
And I kept on looking for a sign
in the middle of the night
But I couldn't see the light
No, I couldn't see the light
I kept on looking for a way
to take me through the night
Couldn't get it right
I couldn't get it right...
You are there because you're crazy
about football, it's your life,
and you're, you're passionate
and that's contagious,
so let the players
to enjoy what they're doing
and it's going to be the right way.
Thank you, gaffer.
Muchas gracias. Thank you.
Adios, Shadab.
I kept on looking for a way
to take me through the night
Couldn't get it right
Couldn't get it right
I kept on looking for a sign
in the middle of the night
But I couldn't see the light
No, I couldn't see the light...
HE SHOUTS INSTRUCTIONS
We have to, gentlemen,
stick together.
Bite down.
It hurts, which is good.
When we didn't win, me especially,
I was devastated.
Cos, Wednesday, we go again.
Because I thought, "If we can't beat
a team that's three places above us,
"how are we going to
keep the club up?"
Keep putting in that level
of performance, gentlemen,
and the results will come.
And mentally, it's been really hard
for me, man,
cos I've never been around a team
that just keep losing, you know?
When I lose,
it affects me a lot, man.
Cos, yeah, it's...
It's weird, but I started
to question myself
as I've never questioned myself my
whole life.
I never questioned myself
on my ability, you know?
You know, am I good enough?
So, yesterday's game was called
off because of a frozen pitch.
We just can't get any,
can't get any rhythm.
We've not played enough
games to get a rhythm going.
It just keeps getting broken up.
And it's...
I don't know.
Make of it what you will.
Since all these matches on other
people's pitches were called off,
while Claggan Park was ready
and not used,
they now have this sort of backlog
where Fort William are not only
travelling on Saturdays but on
Wednesdays, to faraway places.
Then when we did fix the pitch,
get it up to a decent standard,
they still decided not to allow
us to play now.
We were removed from the room
while they were discussing that.
We accepted the assurances
that the current chairman gave
that they would work very hard on
it.
And it would have to be playable
every week, every weekend.
We visited on a monthly basis,
and we would acknowledge that they
have worked extremely hard
and done really well.
But, by then, the horse had bolted
and that's just sometimes lost
in the smoke and noise
of the sort of sense of siege
mentality
that does exist when a difficult
decision like that is made.
And what we're going to have now,
we're going to have a fixture battle.
We're going to be every
Wednesday, every Saturday.
You know, some teams will have
an advantage
cos they're not going to be playing
that midweek game.
They're going to have a week's rest.
We were meant to play five games
in 12 days,
all our games away from home.
We might as well just jump
off the coach,
go into the next coach and drive
to the next away game.
Say, for example, we've got
a midweek game away to Wick -
four, five-hour journey,
finishing around 10pm.
And then another four to five-hour
journey on the way back as well.
And so we're not getting back
to absolute stupid o'clock,
and it's just absolutely brutal.
It seems very clear that
my football club is being treated
wrongly and unfairly.
And the league, they're putting our
club at a disadvantage
and they're OK with that.
I think he's now realising the scale
of the challenge,
and nobody is wishing him ill.
But he's probably picked
one of the toughest jobs in,
in British football.
That's a nice view, the boat and the
mountain. Oh, wow!
Yeah.
One with nature.
THEY LAUGH
We've had some tough times.
You know, sometimes he'll come home.
We don't speak, we just wait for
him to calm down, and... Oh.
It's like... And then it's really,
really hard.
"Come home, I'll cheer you up."
Yeah.
Amor is just, "How is it?"
I'm like, "I just want to sleep."
I've scored six goals in 11
games. Ten out of ten.
Teams will look at me and say,
"Look, he's scoring goals,
must be a good player."
Oh, you know, I've got a big job
to do.
League one, two teams, this guy.
LAUGHTER
We need to pick up five wins
from the next five games.
Obviously, if we don't win
Saturday, mathematically
then, we will finish bottom.
Whether or not Fort William
will stay up
is a very significant challenge.
Two things have to happen.
First of all, they could end up
not being the bottom club.
The team who is club 18
still have a chance to survive
via the playoff system.
The playoff's a home and away tie.
If they win that tie, they stay
in the Highland League.
You call this project The Great
Escape, but after three months now,
I'm like, this is
a suicide mission, isn't it?
Yeah. In the changing room, yeah,
it's divided, man. It's divided.
Some still believe we still
have a fight. Some don't.
You can't mess us up.
Madness. Honestly...
...I'm exhausted.
I believe, because I see my players.
No matter what happens off
the pitch, no matter what people
throw at us, no matter
what difficulty, we will find a way
to get through.
We just want to win one game.
We need to win at least one game.
Go on!
To the right.
Davie, get up.
Oh! Oh! Oh!
SHOUTING
How's that not a backpass?
Keep coming. Billy, move it.
Recover, Billy, recover.
Oh! Unlucky!
Great football, boys.
Billy, back in, back in.
Get back! Billy.
In there. In there.
HE SHOUTS
WHISTLE BLOWS
APPLAUSE
Gents, gents! My time.
Sit. Take a seat. My time.
Be quiet. Listen.
In the changing room, yeah,
it was very difficult.
We heard the same thing
from the gaffer every week.
He repeats the same words.
Every week... We go again.
We go again. We go again.
We go again. We go again.
The results will come.
It is your job to get ready
for that second ball.
SHOUTS AND CHEERS
Hey, fucking 'ell!
Fort William have got
a chance here, man.
This is going to be
the first victory.
This is it. And we're going
to celebrate it.
They've got every chance
if they show the heart
they have shown today.
CHEERING
A lot of guys had a lot of emotions.
I was hurt. I was broken.
I was heartbroken.
He cried yesterday.
Very low.
Very, very low.
We're young kids, a lot
of these young kids, 18 years old,
don't know how to deal with
what they're going through.
You cannot tell me that we were not
the better team.
You cannot tell me that.
You cannot tell me that.
All right?
Listen, sleep well.
Seven hours. Not six, seven.
All right? Everyone understand.
OK? Off we go.
It's more than just we're losing.
It's how we lose, you know what I'm
saying? Shit ain't changing.
Nothing's changing. It's not
a really good situation to be in.
But right now, me personally,
I think it's too late.
Yeah. The manager obviously, a very,
very stubborn guy, man.
Very stubborn guy.
This team's falling apart, bro.
We're done, bro. You're leaving?
I got a call in the morning that
Shadab's been hearing rumors
about... about us.
How we feel about everything,
in terms of criticising
this game and everything.
We didn't want to leave, man,
he came over, like,
"Listen, pack your stuff and go."
Oh, man. It's falling apart, bro.
I'm telling you, it's falling apart.
We've had a conversation
with Billy and Abdi,
and we've decided that it's best
if we cut the contract short.
It's not an easy job. You have to do
what you feel is right.
MUTED CONVERSATION
When?
Gents, it's going to take ten
minutes, sort a few things out.
I'm not going to sit here
and pretend nothing's happened.
Obviously, I'm sure
everyone's heard what's gone on.
We've lost players.
The talking has got to stop.
The biggest thing in any changing
room that I manage is...
...the mentality.
I'll never, ever...
...bollock a player
for giving the ball away.
But you have to work.
You don't owe me anything.
But if a player does not give me
that sweat,
that blood, those tears...
...I can't, I can't connect
with that.
I'm told to pack up my stuff and go.
Tell the truth...
...if we don't get results,
he's going to criticise me.
Five years' time,
I'll be in the Premier League.
Professional footballer.
Playing the highest level.
Definitely.
I-I-I just want to go home.
It's been such a draining thing.
I-I just want to go home.
I'm tired.
BIRDSONG
MUSIC PLAYS
Got a playoff now over two legs.
So we're preparing for that.
Could you go down?
It's going to be a tough ask for us.
But, you know, we've got
a lot of confidence.
We have a plan and we'll attack.
I was told we were getting
a game back here, at Claggan,
for the playoff, the second leg.
The chances are they will have
the playoff match at Claggan Park.
And we've got two games
to get a result.
After all the travelling we've done,
we play the second leg here.
We'll have a packed home crowd.
CHEERS AND SHOUTS
We're not out of it yet.
We're going to be in the playoff with Banks o'
Dee who're a very, very professional outfit.
They belong in the Highland League
or higher.
So it's going to be another
David and Goliath situation.
I would imagine a lot of people
have already written us off.
But to get back to Claggan at long
last, it's a dog's chance,
but it's still a chance.
Everyone knew at the beginning
when you took over that the best
possible outcome would be to go
into these playoffs with a chance
of knowing that you can win.
And I think you've got that.
How frustrating.
Yeah. The goalkeeping crisis.
All our four keepers are now out.
Johnny is trying to work
on something,
try and get a goalkeeper in.
We have got some goalkeepers
on the books.
One of them's had to go
home on an emergency.
Another one that we have on
the books was a guy
that we can't contact.
Aye, aye, I know... In the rules,
it says we must attend the game
with two recognised keepers.
What we did do is ask the league
for a dispensation for a keeper.
Now the league is saying
we can't have an emergency keeper.
I can understand why people
in Fort William are worried.
They feel that the jeopardy
is overtaking them.
There is no grand scheme here.
If you have a league championship,
you're going to have a winner
and you're going to have
a bottom team.
So you're a big
Football Manager fan. Exactly.
The only difference is that I can
restart Football Manager. I... LAUGHTER
That's the best thing about it!
It's a bit hard to restart
the Highland League.
I still believe the great escape
is achievable.
PIPE CLATTERS
I've received an email saying
there's a pitch inspection, so...
...we'll see what comes of that.
TEXT ALERTEXT ALERThat, it's unbelievable, isn't it?
Pitch is too bobbly.
Not enough grass.
Aye, OK.
Ohh...
He did a pitch inspection.
Had a wander around the pitch.
He said, "It's not going
to go ahead."
When questioned why, he just said,
"Not enough grass coverage,
"too bobbly, needs rolling."
I was like, "Rolling takes minutes."
I said, "You going to give
us the game or not?"
And he said, "No."
Then I asked, "Was he qualified to
actually carry out an inspection?"
Ten minutes after questioning,
did he have the authority to do
a pitch inspection, I get a call
from the Highland League secretary.
I just said, "We're not going
to turn up on Saturday."
So a bit farcical, really.
The straw that broke the camel's
back was the Highland League saying
the second leg is not going to go
ahead at Claggan Park -
after everything that happened.
That's what's tipped them over
and that is why they've pulled
out of the game.
The Highland League is extremely
disappointed to have been informed
by Fort William FC that the club
is to withdraw from the Highland
football pyramid playoff matches.
I'm getting messages from people
around town.
We get messages from people
from the club, saying,
"Have you seen what they've
written here, like?"
It's just unbelievable.
The League has been engaged in
discussion with Fort William FC
during the course of this week, and these
discussions have centred on two issues.
The first and most significant
relates to player eligibility.
The Highland League had issued
a statement,
which was jaw dropping,
to be honest.
"The second issue relates
to the condition of Claggan Park.
"It had been decided that given
the events of the season, a pitch
"and ground inspection should
take place."
"That inspection was carried out
"by a representative of the League
"who is also a retired referee
"on the morning of Friday, the 22nd
of April, and raised some concerns."
So we know we've been unfairly
judged on our pitch.
There's four of us down here,
when he said, that's it.
We're not having the game.
So obviously the start of the
season, the pitch wasn't playable,
but now we're in a position where
the pitch is in good condition.
I just told him he might as well
just get himself off.
They've put in so much work in doing
the drainage.
It's about the best ever, really.
It's absolutely fantastic.
Nothing wrong with it at all.
It's a dagger through the heart,
really. Really, really sad.
Gutted.
They've got what they wanted.
The players are speechless, first
time I've ever seen them speechless.
They're all just sat there.
I just want to rip their souls out.
They were just staring at you.
Nobody really said anything.
The players were in absolute shock.
They took it terribly.
We don't really know what the next
steps are in terms of where
the club's going, if the club
will continue.
Erm, we just don't know.
The season's finished. Everybody's
just starting to head off.
It's really quite emotional
because...
...I know what they gave,
gave to the club.
I know. They'd lived together.
They ate together.
They trained together.
Eh...
...so I know what it meant for them.
MUTED CONVERSATION
THEY LAUGH
Thanks... be proud of yourself but.
See you. Thanks, again. Cheers.
My feeling in that moment was
you can't be bullied in life.
You have to stand up.
For one year, the club took a lot.
The club took a lot.
And this was the way to stand up.
Shadab has played a blinder
since he's come in and you can see
the results have changed.
So you can see that what he was
actually trying to do was working.
EGGS SIZZLE
Does he feel let down
by the Highland League?
I think he has been from the start.
How long has this been going on?
In the face of adversity,
we have done well.
How long has this been going on?
It's bittersweet.
It was a lovely time being here.
But I'm ready to go.
I was expecting teams to come
rushing to me, but it hasn't
quite happened yet.
That was the plan.
Just see what happens.
We're at Woody's Croft.
COCK CROWS
My new favourite place.
Erm, yeah, I've decided
that I'll be staying up here.
I just like the area.
I like the people. So I've decided
that I want to stay up.
Ooh! Ooh-hoo.
He stood on me toe.
So what happens for next season?
At least we'll be playing
at Claggan.
Well, your friends and their
fancy persuasion
Don't admit that it's part
of a scheme
But I can't help but have
my suspicions
Cos I ain't quite as dumb
as I seem...
We've got big glass windows
going in the outer walls here,
and that'll lead out to just a small
patio area on the front
for the walkers looking
for a bite to eat.
So it should make good money
and that's the basis of funding
the club in the future.
How long has this been going on?
How long?
How long has this been going on?
PICTURE THUDS
How long
How long
Has this been going on?
How long?
How long has this been going on?
How long?
How long has this been going on?