Purely Belter

Sewell and Gerry break into St James' Park and steal the sacred turf from the penalty spot. The audacious success sparks dreams of earning money for season tickets, aided by the Guardian Angel of the North. The boys begin to imagine a future where Newcastle United seasons are within reach.

After the turf theft, they try to raise money through scrap collection and babysitting. When those efforts fail to reach their goal, they turn to shoplifting and housebreaking, hiding the earnings in a tin box at home. The plan to obtain season tickets moves from fantasy to a dangerous reality.

Sewell lives with his grandfather while Gerry endures a troubled home with his sick mother and sister Bridget, under the shadow of their violent father Billy. A brutal beating forces the family to move to a secret location. The strain at home intensifies as the boys chase their increasingly risky plans.

A social worker compels Gerry to attend school for two weeks, promising two free football tickets. At school, Gerry endures bullying from a teacher. When the tickets finally arrive, they discover they are for a Sunderland match, foreshadowing the turn toward more desperate acts.

The pair go to watch the Sunderland match at the Stadium of Light, a bitterly ironic choice given their loyalty to Newcastle. In an instant, Billy locates their earnings and steals all the money they've saved, crushing their hopes. The theft marks a major reversal of their fortunes.

Gerry spots Bridget at an empty fairground, only to find she has become a homeless drug addict who vanishes when he goes to fetch food. Meanwhile, Gemma breaks up with Zak and becomes Sewell's girlfriend, shifting the group's dynamics and loyalties.

The lads' shoplifting is featured on Crimestoppers, drawing attention from the community. The thug who originally owned the dog spots the animal with Sewell on the broadcast, tracks them down, and attacks Sewell, who responds with a single neck blow to defend himself.

At the Newcastle United training ground at the Riverside pavilion, they briefly meet Alan Shearer and ask for season tickets, but he laughs. They steal a sports car that turns out to be Shearer's, then abandon it and go skinny-dipping. The luck they have seems to vanish in a flash.

Sewell is delighted when Gemma reveals she is pregnant, but she later returns to her former fiancé. He attacks him during an ice-hockey match and knocks him out, only to be beaten by the opposing players. Meanwhile, Gerry's mother becomes ill and is hospitalised, placing additional strain on the friends.

Gerry and Sewell search for Billy, who ignores their pleas for support. With their earnings gone, they hatch one last major crime: a bank robbery; the plan goes disastrously wrong and the two are arrested.

Gerry learns that Billy has been killed in a road accident, a grim twist to the year’s events. The arrest from the bank robbery leads to the next steps as the boys face punishment for their actions.

The judge sentences them to 200 hours of community service, a quiet finale to the year’s crimes. An elderly lady they work for allows them to watch Newcastle United from the balcony of her tower block overlooking the stadium, offering a bittersweet glimpse of belonging they had been chasing.