Main cast

• Ricky Tomlinson as Mike Bassett, the former England manager who's struggled since returning from the 2002 World Cup and has since been sacked by Newcastle, Norwich and Colchester.
• Steve Edge as Doddsy, Bassett's assistant coach who is a sycophantic yes man.
• Amanda Redman as Karine Bassett, Mike's long suffering but faithful wife who's patience is often put to the test.
• Dan Renton Skinner as Kevin Tonkinson, A Geordie former England international player who is an alcoholic and has since found himself playing in the lower leagues. He is based on Paul Gascoigne as per his spells with Boston United at the time.
• Tim Barlow as Sir Denzil, the supportive but elderly chairman of Wirral County Football Club, who suffers a heart attack in the first episode.
• Michael Fenton Stevens as Richard Johnson, the managing director of the club who often schemes against Mike and attempts to sell the land on the stadium to a Norwegian furniture chain.
• Neil Maskell as Wirral Web Presenter, the presenter of the Wirral web show and the most prominent figure in the press conferences.
• Adam Tedder as Laszlo Vig, the psychotic Serbian goalkeeper of Wirral who is said to be wanted for war crimes.
• Kobna Holdbrook-Smith as Carlton Dawes, seen as the best player on the team.
• Gareth Mason as Gavin James, the heavily overweight player who Mike is unable to drop from the team because his father is the owner of "Wirral Rubbish" the teams shirt sponsor.
• David Gyasi as Jeremy Hands, a well educated player who has vast tactical knowledge of the game but is often ridiculed by Doddsy as a "know it all" despite him always being right.
• Richard Bennett as Wrighty.

Guest

• Mark van Eeuwen as Ronnie Van Needlemans, a Dutch player who Mike is convinced to sign believing him to be a top striker featured in a scouting video, he turns out to be the goalkeeper in the video.
• Jordan Long as Spike, Tonkinson's best friend who is seen as a bad influence on him by Mike. He is based on "Jimmy Five Bellies", Paul Gascoigne's best friend.
• Robin Kermode as Dr. Moss

Cameos

• Jeff Stelling as himself presenter of Sky Sports Soccer Saturday.
• Jimmy Greaves as himself.
• Lucy Meacock as herself, a news reader.

Episode 1: Football's Coming Home

It is revealed that Bassett was axed by England after failing to qualify for the 2004 European Championships. He then took over Newcastle, where he was sacked after back to back relegations, before an unsuccessful return to Norwich. Then sacked by Colchester, Mike Bassett heeds the call to manage his boyhood club, Wirral County.

After persuading his wife Karine to forego a sun kissed retirement on the Costa Del Sol, Bassett gears up for a final shot at glory in Ellesmere Port. Things get off to a bad start when the team concedes a goal in less than ten seconds to Torquay United, causing the chairman to have a heart attack.

Episode 2: Going Dutch

After a terrible start to the league campaign, Bassett tries to turn the club's fortunes around. He uses his own money without Karine knowing to sign up and coming Dutch striker Ronnie Van Needlemans, after watching him score several goals on a video sent by his agent. However, Van Needlemans is not the striker from the video but rather the goalkeeper. Meanwhile, an argument with the side's regular keeper, Lazlo Vig, played by Adam Tedder, results in him receiving a concussion that rules him out for the rest of the season.

Episode 3: Flat Pack Four

Bassett employs a hypnotist to help break his star striker's goal drought. In the next game he scores a hat trick of own goals. Bassett also realises that the club may be taken over by a cheap Ikea knock off. The hypnotist is called upon to hypnotise the buyer into making a mockery of Wirral, telling the press people in attendance to see his "Norwegian arse" and therefore get himself chased out of town.

Episode 4: Return of the Paralytic Son

With Wirral County looking doomed, the fans turn on Bassett wanting results or his head. Not only that but former England wonder kid Kevin 'Tonka' Tonkinson (played by Dan Renton Skinner) turns up on his door step. With the help of Bassett and a cold shower a drunken Tonka leads Wirral to a 2–1 victory over Wycombe Wanderers despite the death of his wife in a car llama incident hours earlier.

Episode 5: Seven Brothers for Seven Brothers

Following a glorious winning streak, reformed alcoholic Tonka has lifted Wirral County out of the relegation zone. Along with his brilliance on the pitch, he also causes the relegation rivals Mansfield Town's bus to crash and injure most of their squad. Bassett then finds out Tonka is going on a stag night, and to keep his star man off the drink, Bassett drinks all the spiked drinks himself.

In the process, he injures Tonka when he punches him to the ground, putting him out for the rest of the season. Having by this time missed his son Jason's drama school showcase, Mike returns home to find Karine has left him.

Episode 6: Abide with Me

With Karine gone for two months, Wirral look set to go down after a dismal run following Tonka's injury. Mike then finds out that his father took a bribe in the 1956 FA Cup Final for money to help fix Mike's legs as a boy and allow him to play football.

With this to spur him on, he reunites with Karine and heads to the Wirral County ground. After a passionate speech to players, fans and reporters, Wirral must get a better result than Mansfield Town to avoid relegation (barring an improbable defeat for York City), and with Tonka playing despite his injuries they stay up.

Wirral's last game is an intimidating match versus local rivals Chester City, who need a win in order to secure a play off spot. In the end, Chester beat Wirral 2–0, but Mansfield lose 6–1, allowing Wirral to survive on goal difference. After this, Mike leaves the club in Doddsy's hands and sets off to Spain with Karine, though a deliberately ambiguous ending suggests that he might stay yet.