Injury Time

Football in a State of Emergency

By: David Goldblatt

Narrated by: David Goldblatt

‘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.

©2025 David Goldblatt (P)2025 HarperCollins Publishers

Critic reviews

‘Stunningly researched, calmly presented and cumulatively shocking, David Goldblatt’s Injury Time is a work of searching and uncomfortable truths about the world of British football in the age of Brexit. We all knew that the age of relative innocence had long gone; but this extraordinarily knowledgeable, broad-based survey reveals as never before the challenges facing any serious attempt to restore the soul to our game.’ – David Kynaston, author of A Northern Wind

‘David Goldblatt sets to tell the story of modern Britain through football – and, remarkably he succeeds. English football culture would be lost without him. He guides us through the madness.’ – Simon Kuper, bestselling author of Chums

'Nobody knows more about football than Goldblatt' – Literary Review

'illuminating' – The Telegraph

'a forceful, informative read' – The Independent's Non-Fiction Book of the Month

'an illuminating read for sport fans and non-fiction buffs alike' – The I