Jonathan Wilson
Biography
Jonathan Wilson is a writer and broadcaster. He has published a novel and twelve non-fiction books about football including a history of tactics, Inverting the Pyramid; a history of the Argentinian game, Angels With Dirty Faces; a history of Hungarian football between 1916 and 56, The Names Heard Long Ago; and a biography of Jack and Bobby Charlton, Two Brothers.
He founded and edits the football quarterly The Blizzard, is a columnist for the Guardian and World Soccer, writes for Unherd. He has been named FSA Football Writer of the Year a record four times.
A regular on the Football Weekly podcast, Wilson is also co-host of It Was What It Was: the Football History Podcast. He has given lectures and spoken at conferences in the UK, US, Germany, Finland, Denmark, Norway, Turkey and Hungary.
Latest News
Issue Fifty-Six of The Blizzard is available now, featuring Sam Kunti on football's age of autocracy, Botafogo winning the Libertadores, Jock Stein's final game, Eduardo, Bohos Jojosian, Crvena Zvezda at 80, Bayer Leverkusen, Kerala, Hastings United, Exeter City, the Old Trafford brawl between Manchester United and Arsenal and a photo essay on Auxerre. Click here to buy
Jonathan Wilson was named Football Supporters Association football writer of the year for 2024. It's the fourth time he's won the award - a huge thanks to all those who voted.
"Football writing has changed enormously [since he first won in 2012]," he said. "It was hard back then but it's even tougher now. It's just cuts after cuts after cuts."
The Evolution of Football, an art print conceived by Jonathan Wilson and designed by The Goal Hanger that charts how the game developed from the English dribbling game, via the Scottish professors to Pep Guardiola and Jürgen Klopp, with detours through Italy, the USSR, Brazil, Italy, the Netherlands and Argentina.
Available to buy in various sizes and colours via The Blizzard. Click here
The new US edition of Inverting the Pyramid was published on August 6 and is available to buy here. This is the first US update since 2018, adding detail on the 2022 World Cup, the work of Spanish, German and Portuguese coaches over the past decade and the influence of increasing globalisation and commercialisation. This is the US version of the edition published in the UK in 2023, which is available here.
The revised edition of Nobody Ever Says Thank You, Jonathan Wilson's enormous biography of Brian Clough, with a new epilogue assessing his legacy was released on 8 August.
'Painstakingly researched... a hugely intimate portrait.' – FourFourTwo
Click here for a signed copy from Stanchion. Click here for a non-signed copy from Amazon.
Recent Articles
Manchester United’s new field of dreams at risk of repeating the Tottenham trap A column for the Observer on the rash of new stadiums in England, asking why there is so much construction and what the costs may be. Click here to read
Aston Villa earn shot at greatness after setting up historic PSG showdown A piece for the Guardian on Aston Villa's 3-0 Champions League win over Club Brugge and how it leaves them on the brink of unexpected greatness. Click here to read
How modern football’s exploitation model brewed fan resentment A newsletter for Guardian US examining fan discontent in the Premier League and hw it is caused by a sense the game is being taken from its traditional audience. Click here to read
Scouting, WhatsApp messages and Messi – my two weeks as Argentina assistant coach An article for the Guardian examining what data analysts and scouts do based on an abortive period working for Argentina. Click here to read
Recent Podcast Appearances
League Cup Final Classics On It Was What It Was, Jonathan Wilson and Rob Draper discuss their favourite League Cup finals, and then interview David Corner, 40 years on from his mistake in the 1985 final that has haunted him ever since. Click here to listen
One Day A Ship Comes In Jonathan Wilson and Dion Fanning join Ken Early on the Second Captains podcast to discuss Liverpool's Champions League exit and why Premier League sides so often underperform in the Champions League. Click here to listen
From Arteta to Alonso On It Was What It Was Rob Draper and Jonathan Wilson discuss the rise of the Basque school of coaching, and ask whether the likes of Xabi Alonso, Mikel Arteta and Andoni Iraola represent a post-Guardiola future. Click here to listen
The Football Cliches Quiz XVIII: It Was What It Was Jonathan Wilson, producer Patrick Moore and John Brewin take on Adam Hurrey, Dave Walker and Charle Eccleshare as It Was What It Was faced Football Cliches in an epic football quiz. Click here to listen
Forthcoming Events
Engulfed: How Saudi Arabia bought Sport, and the World Jonathan Wilson will be interviewing James Montague about his new book on Saudi investment in sport at The Volley on Old Street in London.
Argentina and the UK through Football: Past, Present and Future, a panel discussion at the Argentinian embassy in London staged in February 2025. From left-right: Klaus Gallo, Osvaldo Ardiles, Mariana Plaza, Marcela Mora y Araujo, Neil Clack, Mauricio Pochettino, Jonathan Wilson.
Contact
For all queries, please send an email to infojonawils@gmail.com.
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For book enquiries contact David Luxton on david@davidluxtonassociates.co.uk.