Thought provoking and fascinating this is a forensic examination of all aspects of football in the UK over the past few decades and places the sport firmly within the context of its social and political milieu.

Goldblatt ranges far and wide, covering the impact of Brexit and COVID, the similarities between the strategies and policies employed by the top clubs and the political parties, the impact of BREXIT, racism, hooliganism, commercialism, the treatment of young embryonic players , the connection between art, music and sport, foreign ownership - amongst many others come under his microscope..

Very little escapes his gaze and his insights are challenging and original and show a deep insight into the innermost workings of the sport and of the country itself.

Thos is a deeply researched and highly original piece of work tat will be of interest to a wide audience and is well worth the effort to read - it will certainly make you think - even if you are not in full agreement with all of the author's parallels and assertions.

Injury Time is a thorough and incisive exploration of the interplay between football and political crisis since 2016. Its focus is predominantly on the UK, although its scope is broader, and convincingly makes the case for football being one of the primary arenas in which the strange period since the Brexit vote has played out. It will enrage and depress you, annoy you (especially if you do not share Goldblatt's broadly leftist perspective), and make you incredulous. The chapter on the haplessness and incompetence of some many millionaire club owners is particularly good - the revelation about the photos that former Notts County owner, 'Big Al' Hardy posted in a response to unhappy fans after his club were relegated from the Football League in 2019 made me laugh out loud. The level of detail included made the book drag a little at times, but there's much here to enjoy and learn from and, in a period during which England's women retained the European Championship and 'Alex Hill's Why I Stuck a Flare Up My Arse for England' opened in Edinburgh, we should hope that what Goldblatt calls "the irreversible feminisation of the game" holds true. And any book which is preceded by epigraphs from both Walter Benjamin and Denis Bergkamp is OK with me.

Such an interesting and fascinating book on the world of football and what it means and brings to society is more than meets the eye. Fascinating read especially for someone that isn’t particularly sports skilled I found it very interesting and informative

Wonderful idea to look at modern British society through the mirror of football. In the introduction the importance of football is demonstrated by the fact that there was a time when television soap opera took precedence over showing matches, whereas now, the soap opera is cancelled to allow football to be shown.

This is a very accessible book that doesn't dwell on the technicalities of the game but on the culture of the sport and how it reflects current issues in Britain. Examples and topics are broad: the Covid-19 pandemic, racism, poverty, European war, women, Brexit, capitalism, climate and sustainability, alcohol, and ethical movements like Stonewall, wearing poppies and veganism to name a few. Fascinating to see how life and football - that simple game aimed at scoring goals in the opponents' net - have changed over time and yet remain irrevocably linked.

Goldblatt doesn't shy away from naming people and organisations to make his points and always references his sources as any good historian would. The book is highly researched and organised by topics that everyone can relate to. As a football fan, it is a little strange to see the developments in the game play out within the scope of British society while I was there all along, not really realising how life is reflected in sport.

It does drift a bit at the end with lots of figures and the scope is perhaps a little too broad to completely absorb all of the points made. Nevertheless, this is a provoking and fascinating read and should appeal to anyone interested in modern political culture, whether a fan of football or not. An analysis of recent history portrayed by the Beautiful Game.

Fascinating study of the state of Britain and British politics through the lens of football (or possibly football through the lens of recent British politics, discuss). Covering brexit, climate change, the rise of women in football, foreign investment and takeover, the impact of covid and devolution, with a left of centre stance that skewers some of the rampant capitalism seen in the English premier league in particular.
If I was to criticise then I’d note you can go for chapters with barely a mention of the game outside England, but that’s i suppose proportionate in population grounds, and it’s certainly not as EPL focused as I expected. Marks docked for not talking about fantasy football, which would have been an interesting slant (purely as I’m into fantasy football).