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The 1966 World Cup finals in England
 provide a nostalgic background to this new unusual
 story of crime with delayed devastating retribution.

                                           1966-The Long Game by Brian Lec

Even before I had reached the age of six I knew without doubt that I would die a murderer, to be precise - a double murderer, or myself die in the attempt. What I did not know at that time, what I could not have known at that time, was whether this would lead me to a life in one of His, or later Her, Majesty’s Prisons, a life spent always on the run constantly looking over my shoulder, a life of freedom but harbouring a huge and potentially destructive secret, or even a life destined to end in death on the gallows.  I did not know that a beautiful and talented young woman would enter my life at its most crucial period and unwittingly cause such complication and heartbreak to us both.  I did not know that I would need to explore the lurid clubs and associate with the lurid characters comprising London’s seamy nightlife, and, most surprisingly of all, how just one single explosive and dramatic moment in England’s World Cup football match against Mexico in 1966 would light a fire in my being which has never been extinguished.

This novel is written as a tribute to the 1966 England football manager and his squad of players - dedicated and talented men of immense character who gave the Nation one of its greatest sporting thrills ever.  Not all of the magnificent 23 are still with us and of course many of the spectators who watched the matches and experienced at first hand the atmosphere surrounding them will have passed away during the last four decades.  The sudden and unexpected death of Alan Ball came as a tremendous shock to football followers - especially those who saw him play and appreciated both his skill and attitude to the game.

Although the story itself is fiction, every mention of the World Cup Tournament is either documented or remembered to the best recollection of the writer.  The most publicised highlights will be well known to followers of the game - but it is the little things, which people noticed at the time and still recall, that we are in danger of losing forever. It is hoped that this story will prompt thoughts of such snippets both to savour and to archive.

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