Nigel's World

If you've subbed into the game late, you'll be wondering who else is on the pitch. This little 'match program' may help a bit.

Aldo --

Argentine god who summons Nigel to Buenos Aires, only to turn up missing when the English god arrives in Is.2-Kids These Days.

Alex --

A human. Guards the door of a London rave club in Is.2-Another Fine Mess but reveals a more promising career in Is.2-Kids These Days.

Cwm --

The Welsh god. Temperamental, mostly due to being the butt of Nigel’s endless practical jokes, he is nonetheless a good friend, pragmatic and loyal. Attends the meeting at the Emirates in Is.1-Nancy, With His Laughing Face and partners Hamish at centre half in the Game in Is.1-Let The Game Pour Down From The Gods Above.

Declan --

The Northern Irish god, a decent left back but hung up on sectarian issues. Guards the left flank for Nigel’s side in Is.1-Let The Game Pour Down From Gods Above.

Dio --

The Greek-cum-Italian god of spirits and celebration. Spends a working holiday with Nigel in Is.2-Rub-A-Dub-Dub, Two Gods In A Tub and Is.2-Another Fine Mess. The former reveler is now in a twelve step program.

Espen --

‘The Bear God’, Espen lives up to his name in both stature and behaviour. Plays alongside Nigel as the more expansive half of a defensive midfield pivot in Is.1-Let The Game Pour Down From Gods Above.

Gaston --

One half of the devious French duo, along with Pierre -- although they look alike, they aren’t related, according to Padraig. Although their reputation precedes them, they don’t make their first appearance until Is.1-Let The Game Pour Down From Gods Above, when they form the opposite numbers to Nigel and Espen, for Manco’s side. In Is.2-Rub-A-Dub-Dub, Two Gods In A Tub, the pair discuss what to do about the English god.

Hamish --

A Scottish god and the inventor of golf. Attends a meeting with Nigel, Cwm and Nancy at the Emirates in Is.1-Nancy, With His Laughing Face. Plays centre-half and captains Nigel’s side in Is.1-Let The Game Pour Down From The Gods Above, also showing a talent for electrical engineering.

Liv --

A chance encounter with a waitress in Is.2-Another Fine Mess evolves into something much more in Is.2-Kids These Days.

Mal --

Liv’s brother pops up at the end of Is.2-Kids These Days, presenting Nigel with an unexpected dilemma.

Manco --

The former Incan god and current Colombian drug lord, who rose to godhood by murdering his father and brothers. A trickster and shapeshifter loosely allied with Pierre and Gaston, he first appears in Is.1-Devil in Disguise as a chameleon, plays striker in Is.1-Let The Game Pour Down From The Gods Above and takes over Aldo’s Buenos Aires headquarters in Is.2-Kids These Days, where he escapes Nigel’s wrath by transforming into a crow.

Nancy –

The African god, like Manco a trickster but mischievous rather than evil. His imagery is lovingly borrowed from Neil Gaiman’s depiction of Anansi in American Gods and Anansi Boys. First appears at the meeting in the Emirates in Is.1-Nancy, With His Laughing Face and plays striker for Nigel’s side in Is.1-Let The Game Pour Down From The Gods Above.

Nigel –

The man himself. Well not a man, actually. He’s the English god who invented the beautiful game. Having come to Earth for a kick-about and suffered a hard knock to the noggin, he has been asleep for roughly a century. Now he’s back and none too happy with England’s place in the football hierarchy.

Otto –

A Germanic god and the force behind die Mannschaft. Always proper and polite, until provoked, Otto has tempered his sense of order with a compassion for the people he watches over. Is getting a bit portly and bald and is always accompanied by his consort, Ramona. Brawls with Nigel in Is.1-And Down Will Come Tower, Wire and Wall, and plays centre-half for Manco’s side in Is.1-Let The Game Pour Down From The Gods Above.

Padraig –

The Irish god. Makes a mean whiskey and plays full-back for Nigel’s side in Is.1-Let The Game Pour Down From The Gods Above.

Pierre –

Gaston’s partner in crime, and when he’s not plotting Nigel’s demise, doubles as the waiter from hell.

Ramona –

A large, voluptuous opera singer, who goes around dressed as a Valkyrie, she is Otto’s faithful consort. Her healthy libido and liberal sexual mores don’t rule out a toss in the hay with Nigel, however, even if Nigel does.  Appears in Is.1-And Down Will Come Tower, Wire and Wall and sings the Ethereal Anthem before the Game in Is.1-Let The Game Pour Down From The Gods Above.

Sandor --

The Magyar god. Pays Nigel a visit aboard The Serenity in Is.1-Verily, Verily, Life Is But A Dream, and enters the match in Is.1-Let the Game Pour Down From Gods Above to provide a much needed boost as a late substitute.

Sepp Blatter --

FIFA Supremo. Conscripted from dreamland to referee the Game in Is.1-Let the Game Pour Down From Gods Above, along with Michel Platini, Mohamed bin Hammam and Jack Warner.

Taylor --

An American goddess and the ultimate soccer mom. With her husband Todd, she is trying to rid the world of Manco. First appears in Is.1-Devil in Disguise, forms an alliance with Nigel in Is.1-Swear She’d Be A Better Man and plays trequartista in the Game in Is.1-Let The Game Pour Down From The Gods Above.

Todd --

An American god who cedes most of the authority to his wife Taylor, preferring to babysit their little dog, Toto. Assists Taylor in trying to rid the world of Manco. First appears in Is.1-Devil in Disguise, strikes up a conversation with Nigel in Is.1-Swear She’d Be A Better Man and plays surprising well as goalkeeper in the Game in Is.1-Let The Game Pour Down From The Gods Above.