Tackle!

Tackle! is a 2023 novel by English author Jilly Cooper. It is the eleventh novel in the Rutshire Chronicles series and the last to be published prior to the author's death. It sees the return of Rupert Campbell-Black, this time as the owner of a low division football club, whose fortunes he reverses. The idea for the novel came after Cooper had lunch with football manager Alex Ferguson. The team in the book, Searston Rovers, is based on Cooper's local side Forest Green Rovers. Despite some incredulity at the plot, Rachel Cooke described Cooper's style as "infectiously joyful and funny about her particular brand of very English writing: it comes with a kindliness and a silliness that is beginning to feel to me quite painfully nostalgic". Cleo Watson, writing in The Telegraph, compared the novel to Welcome to Wrexham and Ted Lasso. It was named by The Week as one of its Top Ten Books of 2023.