Extra Time

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.

Daniel Gray is the author of Black Boots and Football Pinks, Saturday, 3pm: 50 Eternal Delights of Modern Football and Scribbles in the Margins: 50 Eternal Delights of Books. He has written five other books on football, politics, history and travel. His recent work has included screenwriting for the BBC, presenting social history on television and radio, and writing across a number of national titles.

Preface: Or, finding more things to love 1 Local radio commentators 2 Club lottos and sellers 3 Indirect free-kicks in the box 4 Main stands 5 Spotting a first-match fan 6 Soft-spot teams 7 Late fitness tests 8 Animals on the pitch 9 Booing a returning opposition player 10 The coin toss and changing ends 11 Getting annoyed at the mount of injury time set 12 100+ points a session 13 Scoring in quick succession 14 The Pools Panel 15 Not being able to sleep after a night match 16 Keepers celebrating a goal 17 Comebacks 18 Squad photographs 19 People patting police horses 20 Seeing retired players get fat 21 Jeering disallowed goals 22 Being in an empty ground 23 Clearing it off the line 24 Ball boys and girls 25 Holding a football 26 The referee falling over 27 Midweek Match of the Day 28 Hearing the players 29 Favourite and unlikely scorelines 30 Late goals 31 Being fickle 32 Goalkeepers going forward 33 A balletic piece of play 34 Cup draws 35 Not knowing the name of the person you sit with 36 Seeing a player in a non-football setting 37 An injury time catch 38 Songs unique to your club 39 Players celebrating a goal in front of you 40 When the ball goes over a stand roof 41 Climbing the stairs into the stand 42 Wins in a row 43 A goal back! 44 Team talks on the pitch 45 The roar after a minute's silence 46 Undeserved wins 47 Players applauding the away end 48 Spotting a ground while on holiday 49 Going with my daughter 50 The final whistle Acknowledgements