Mike Bassett: England Manager (2001) on Netflix
After England manager Phil Cope has a heart attack, Mike Bassett, a lower-league coach, is appointed to replace him. He says England will win the World Cup.
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- Netflix2.7/5
- IMDb6.8/107,923 votes
- Rotten Tomatoes40%
Plot summary
The England manager, Phil Cope, suffers a heart attack during the qualifying campaign for the World Cup in Brazil, and the Football Association discovers that nobody else wants the job. The search settles on Mike Bassett, who manages Norwich City and spent his playing career in the lower leagues. Mike's wife Karine and their son Jason live with him in Norwich; reporters gather outside the house, and he denies any interest until a call confirms his appointment. For his staff he picks Dave Dodds, who coached with him at Colchester United and agrees with whatever anyone says, and Lonnie Urquart, a used-car salesman who joins only after Mike buys a vehicle from him. England must take one win from their remaining qualifiers, and Mike travels to Sunderland to ask the long-retired playmaker Kevin Tonkinson to return.
Cast
Did you know?!Facts and trivia about Mike Bassett: England Manager (2001)
Can contain spoilers, watch the movie first.
- An alternative ending was shot for the film, in which Mike Bassett rejects a four-year extension to stay on as England manager, and England instead choose to appoint a foreign manager as his replacement.
- Mike Bassett: England Manager is based on the career of Graham Taylor, and on the documentary An Impossible Job.
- In 2010 the rugby coach Brendan Venter gave a press interview parodying one given by "Doddsie" in the film, agreeing with everything the questioner said even when it contradicted his previous answers.
- The film was shot in high definition but is made to look as if it had been shot on 35mm.
