England's Messiah - Martin Saunders

A seeker-friendly novel based on a football theme, timed to coincide with Euro 2004. Harry Foster, an experienced football scout, discovers John Christie, the finest player he has ever seen, 'wasting' his extraordinary talents playing in the park with kids. Getting alongside him, he persuades him to take trials at a football club. Within six months, he's playing in the top division. Soon he's in the England side, charged with the task of rescuing their world cup qualification attempt. On the eve of the world cup, Christie uncovers a scandal and speaks out. The sport's governing bodies and media react angrily and the whole nation turns against him (barring Harry). Can Christie survive the ferocious onslaught levelled against him...There are many parallels drawn between Jesus Christ and John Christie and the story examines the concept of a modern-day messiah, showing that, just as in Christ's time, selfish, sinful people will ultimately reject the very thing that they appeared to be crying out for. England's Messiah is intended to be a pre-evangelistic novel, raising more questions than it answers, and pointing gently towards Christ, so that others can build on its influence.