A Telegraph Best Book of 2025. A News Statesman Book of the Year 2025. 'David Goldblatt is
possibly the best football historian there has ever been'. Dominic Sandbrook 'David Goldblatt
is the greatest British sportswriter of the 21st century ... Injury Time is an absolute
classic.' James Montague author of The Billionaires Club and Engulfed Football history and
the state of the nation - and why it matters. Injury Time is a sharp and thought provoking look
at contemporary British society through the lens of football a society shaken by more than a
decade of economic political and social upheaval whose causes and consequences have proved
hard to grasp. Set against the backdrop of Brexit Covid and today's 'polycrisis' - spanning
economic decline war in Europe political unrest and climate change - this book argues that
football provides an unmatched vantage point for understanding the nation's state of affairs.
From grassroots clubs battling for survival to the rise and fall of Russian oligarchs in the
sport the game's tragedies and triumphs echo the larger shifts shaping Britain. With striking
examples such as Marcus Rashford's anti-hunger campaign and the uproar surrounding Gary
Lineker's tweets Injury Time underscores football's central role in public conversation.
Football Goldblatt contends is the ultimate societal bellwether - a reflection of Britain's
virtues and flaws alike.
