Jen Offord watches it all go wrong for Charlton Athletic and the world. When her beloved Charlton Athletic clinched promotion to The Championship in May 2019, sportswriter Jen Offord splashed out on season tickets for herself and her sceptical brother Michael, setting out to chronicle the south-east London outfit's first season back in the second tier of English football. But this season, more than any other before it, would be a game of two halves. A billionaire takeover backfired spectacularly; the team plummeted into the relegation zone just as Coronavirus swept in to suspend life as we know it.
The Year of The Robin is a love letter to the power of football even when there is no football to actually watch, filled with wild characters searching for redemption and wrestling over issues of money, racism and mental health. A funny, sharp and a thought-provoking exploration of the idea of family in unprecedented times and season from which the world may never fully recover.
'Jen has captured the human (and humorous) side of following a football team. A compelling story hilariously told.' - Sara Pascoe
'From family to football, Jen Offord has captured something we can all relate to. Funny and heartbreaking in equal measure. A must read.' - Cariad Lloyd
'Hilarious and moving in equal parts, Jen Offord's The Year of the Robin is an ideal read for anyone who's loved another person, or indeed a football team...and for anyone who's lived through a pandemic.' - Carrie Dunn - author of 'Unsuitable for Females: The Rise of the Lionesses and women's football in England
Author
About Jen Offord
Jen Offord is the co-host and producer of the hugely popular Standard Issue podcast, for which she has interviewed many leading sports stars. She writes and broadcasts for many other high-profile outlets on issues of sport, equality and mental health. She lives in East London.
