Whimsical, engaging and elegantly written, Extra Time shares 50
entries on a different delight of football.
Extra Time will be loved by fans of Saturday, 3pm and new readers
under football's spell. In short, anyone who has ever felt the
exultation of watching their team score two goals in quick succession,
revelled in an irrational dislike of a certain club or cherished a local
radio commentator.
Balloons on the pitch. Goalkeepers going forward for corners. The crowd
whistling to bring full-time closer. Jeering a disallowed opposition
goal. The ball being cleared off the line. Can we count the ways in
which we love football ... the little things which make it mean so much?
Extra Time offers a half-century of joyous prose poetry salutes to the
beautiful game. Each short chapter sings with affections for the game.
This is relatable, observational writing on sometimes tender and always
universal themes; the sportswriting equivalent of a comforting hug.
Extra Time will help renew its readers' love of football. It will grow
faith in the shared experiences of being a follower of the game--a
comforting feeling that no supporter is alone in his or her
eccentricities. The book demonstrates that, in a world coming apart at
the seams, this sport and its technicolour minutiae offer an escape
needed now more than ever. These 50 nuggets of pleasure are a sweet
medicine in the face of disillusionment with modern football VAR and
all; reminders of why we care and justifications for our devotion. It is
time to start counting the love again.
