EVEN Kidderminster Harriers are catered for in a book chronicling a day in the lives of a cast of characters from all levels of the football fraternity.

Brian Murdoch, the man responsible for serving up grub at Aggborough, is Harriers' representative in Matchday: What makes Saturday special?, by Worcester author Chris Green.

The section on Murdoch describes in great detail the painstaking preparation that goes into making the cottage pies, which are often the highlight of the afternoon at Aggborough.

Murdoch's story is interspersed with those of a whole host of other fascinating football faces with a tale or two to tell.

From the chaplain at Manchester United to the all-round dogsbody at Afan Lido of the Welsh League, with broadcasting legends Stuart Hall and James Alex-ander Gordon squeezed in between, Green conjures up characters who devote themselves to the game.

The whole journey is set against a back drop of the author's own passion for football and his affectionate childhood memories of how he became hooked on the game.

It gives an insight into why he, as a football journalist, and millions like him, including fans, football doctors and referees, get up at the crack of dawn to feed their irrational obsession. The result is a collection of stories that shows not only how matches play out on the pitch but the way football impacts on the lives and loved ones of all of its protagonists.

Like Murphy's pies, Matchday is well worth sampling and provides plenty of food for thought as to why Saturdays remain sacred.

l Matchday, published by Highdown, is available from all good bookshops priced £14.99. MK