Injury Time: A Novel
£5.20
‘One of the best football books I’ve ever read.’ John Motson on Provided You Don’t Kiss Me
‘Some people believe football is a matter of life and death. I am very disappointed by that attitude. I can assure you it’s much more important than that’ – Bill Shankly
What Shankly said isn’t even half-true. In fact, it’s bollocks. Football isn’t the be-all and end-all of everything. If nothing else, I know that much.
As a player, Thom Callaghan was defined by the winning goal he scored in an FA Cup final. The goal wasn’t the blessing he imagined it would be. His whole career was defined by that brief moment of glory.
With his playing days over, Callaghan, still a local hero, is tempted back to his old club as caretaker manager. His task to rescue it from relegation. He’s got the job solely on the recommendation of his former boss and mentor Frank Mallory, now desperately ill and responsible for the team’s precipitous decline.
Callaghan is pitched into the Premier League during the last months of the 1996-1997 season, where – among reputations more gilded than his own – he finds himself pitted against the likes of Alex Ferguson’s Manchester United, chasing their fourth title in five years, and also one of the newest recruits to the English game, Arsene Wenger.
Can Callaghan save his club from what seems the inevitability of the drop? Does Mallory – eccentric, inspirational and manipulative – even want him to succeed? What if the prize of a personal triumph isn’t worth it in the end?
Injury Time is the first novel from the multiple award-winning sportswriter Duncan Hamilton.
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Additional information
| Publisher | riverrun (8 July 2021) |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| File size | 2635 KB |
| Text-to-Speech | Enabled |
| Screen Reader | Supported |
| Enhanced typesetting | Enabled |
| X-Ray | Not Enabled |
| Word Wise | Enabled |
| Sticky notes | On Kindle Scribe |
| Print length | 292 pages |
by Kindle Customer
This is a book that those who follow football will enjoy. They will imagine some of the circumstances as real and applying to their club. They will also try to work out who the principle characters are based upon. And if like me you are a WBA fan you will heartily enjoy the conversation Jeff Astle allegedly has with the main character.
It is a story about success and failure, with a personal story and redemption at the centre. The author has cleverly left the door ajar for a follow up of football nostalgia.
A recommended read.
by Mr. P. Skeldon
I enjoyed the book but I found the inclusion of real clubs, managers and players awkward.
by Cally
Duncan Hamilton is a journalist and I believe he has written a lot of non-fiction books about football. I’ve never played football but as a football fan I could relate to a lot of this book. Thom Callaghan scored the winning goal in the FA Cup final. His whole career was defined by that moment of glory. Once his playing career over he is drawn back to his old club as a caretaker manager with one job and one job only – save the club from relegation. Will he manage it?!
The book is set in the mid 90s when the English Premiership is really taking off. There is players like David Beckham and Henrik Larsson, managers like Alex Ferguson and Arsene Wenger mentioned. Overall, I would really recommend this to football fans. I loved this way more than I thought I would.
by BOOK ADDICT
Duncan Hamilton makes a very good stab at writing a football novel. It is always going to be challenging as Roy Of The Rovers come to mind, and it is difficult to get that realism into the story line. The characters are well drawn, and obviously very relevant to todays football scenery-the absent owner-the disgruntled manager ,the various pros who are living on past glories. This is a very readable novel, and although some other reviewers castigated Duncan Hamilton I thought the idea of bringing real live footballers and managers into the picture worked well, and added to the realism of the novel. Overall an enjoyable experience
by Mark O
Spoilers included.
The best thing about this book (probably unsurprisingly) is Hamilton’s football knowledge including descriptions of matches and the weaving in of real events and details, parts that will definitely appeal to football fans.
However, I feel there were too many unclear plot details that detracted from the story. Collins wasn’t fleshed out enough to then be suddenly presented as a bit of a villain towards the end of the book, while I’m still genuinely unsure how I feel about Munroe, who just seemed to be acting like a typical hard-nosed businessman but did actually do some nice things although the idea seemed to be that the author wanted me to hate him. Him also suddenly selling the club (if he actually did in the end) was pretty odd as it didn’t seem to be the direction the story was heading in.
More importantly, although Frank was mostly presented as heartless, there were some points that seemed designed to elicit sympathy for him.
The main character also made some puzzling decisions at times (sleeping with Robbie’s wife and then abandoning their friendship but yet hating and criticising Frank for doing pretty much the same). Note how I’ve already forgotten his name – he was also quite boring.
Overall, worthwhile read that most football fans will enjoy but could’ve been better.
by Cornish Kev
Am a great admirer of Duncan Hamilton but he is not he is not a novelist
by bibliophile 1961
Being an avid reader of Duncan Hamilton’s writings on both the summer and winter game, I bought this one out of curiosity. Whilst an easy read, I wasn’t too inspired by it in all truth.
by Alex Jones
4/5 Very Good
Injury Time is very much a novel for us football fans. I think someone who doesn’t live and breathe for the beautiful game would be hard pressed to read this, but then this isn’t aimed at them, it’s aimed at me. A fan who sat in the stands at a single figure age and is still there.
Thom Callaghan was a hero, he scored the goal that won the FA Cup in an 80s cup final. Fast forward to 1996 and Thom is thrown in at the deep end – to help save his beloved club from relegation. Up against the very best, Ferguson and Wenger. Can he save the team again?
With an easy reading writing style, an exciting, at times extremely poignant and emotional story plays out that really lays bare our beautiful game. A bit cynical now and then, but it has it all. The joys and highs and lows. It has everything a football fan expects and experiences.
If you want a football set novel then look no further than this fine effort from Duncan Hamilton