Jonathan Mark Wilson (born 9 July 1976) is a British sports journalist and author who writes for a number of publications, including ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'' and ''

Sports Illustrated ''Sports Illustrated'' (''SI'') is an American sports magazine first published in August 1954. Founded by Stuart Scheftel, it was the first magazine with circulation over one million to win the National Magazine Award for General Excellence twi ...

''. He is a columnist for '' World Soccer'' and ''

Unibet Unibet provides a platform for sports betting, online casino, bingo and online poker to over 11 million customers in over 100 countries. Unibet is a part of Kindred Group–an online gambling operator which consists of 11 brands along with Maria Ca ...

'' and founder and editor of ''

The Blizzard "The Blizzard" (or The Snow Storm) (russian: Мете́ль, ''Metél' '') is the second of five short stories that constitute ''The Belkin Tales'' by Alexander Pushkin. The manuscript for the story was originally completed October 20, 1830. It wa ...

''. He also appears on ''The Guardian''s football podcast, ''Football Weekly''".

Biography

Wilson studied English at

Oxford University Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to th ...

and was sports editor of the student paper,

The Oxford Student ''The Oxford Student'' is a newspaper produced by and for students of the University of Oxford; often abbreviated to ''The OxStu''. The paper was established in 1991 by the Oxford University Student Union (Oxford SU) and is published every for ...

. He was unable to continue on to postgraduate studies at Oxford after failing to attain a first-class degree and instead read for a Master's degree at Durham University, where he was a member of the Graduate Society. Wilson has written for ''

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publish ...

'', ''

FourFourTwo ''FourFourTwo'' is a football magazine published by Future. Issued monthly, it published its 300th edition in May 2019. It takes its name from the football formation of the same name, 4-4-2. In 2008, it was announced that ''FourFourTwo'' had ...

'' magazine and ''

The Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a national British daily broadsheet newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed across the United Kingdom and internationally. It was f ...

'', and was football correspondent for the ''

Financial Times The ''Financial Times'' (''FT'') is a British daily newspaper printed in broadsheet and published digitally that focuses on business and economic current affairs. Based in London, England, the paper is owned by a Japanese holding company, Ni ...

'' from 2002 to 2006. He writes for ''

'' and ''

'' and is a columnist for '' World Soccer''. In 2011 he founded the quarterly football journal ''

'', which he edits. Wilson was the main contributor to a feature on ''The Guardian'' website, "The Question", in which he analyzes modern trends and evolutions in football. "The Question" has included articles on the decline of the box-to-box midfielder, the importance of the modern full-back and the evolution of the defensive striker. He is currently the main football columnist for ''

The Observer ''The Observer'' is a British newspaper published on Sundays. It is a sister paper to ''The Guardian'' and '' The Guardian Weekly'', whose parent company Guardian Media Group Limited acquired it in 1993. First published in 1791, it is the ...

''. His book, ''Inverting the Pyramid'' was shortlisted for the

William Hill Sports Book of the Year The William Hill Sports Book of the Year is an annual British sports literary award sponsored by bookmaker William Hill. The award is dedicated to rewarding excellence in sports writing. It was first awarded in 1989, and was devised by Graham ...

in 2008, and won 'Best Football Book' at the British Sports Book Awards in 2009. Five of his other books have also been shortlisted for the award. ''Inverting the Pyramid'' also won the Premio Antonio Ghirelli and was shortlisted for the German football book of the year award. His book, "Angels with Dirty Faces" won "Best Football Book" and "Best Historical Book" at the Polish Sports Book Awards (Sportowa Książka Roku) in 2018. He won FSA Football Writer of the Year in 2012, 2017 and 2021.

Personal life

He supports

Sunderland A.F.C. Sunderland Association Football Club (, ) is an English professional football club based in the city of Sunderland, Tyne and Wear. Formed in 1879, Sunderland play in the Championship, the second tier of English football. The club has won six t ...

in football. He plays

cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by str ...

on the Authors XI team with other British writers. He resides in

Wandsworth Wandsworth Town () is a district of south London, within the London Borough of Wandsworth southwest of Charing Cross. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London. Toponymy Wandsworth takes its nam ...

, South

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

Books

* ''Behind The Curtain: Travels in Eastern European Football'' (2006) * ''Sunderland: A Club Transformed'' (2007) * ''Inverting the Pyramid: The History of Football Tactics'' (2008) * ''The Anatomy of England'' (2010) * ''Brian Clough: Nobody Ever Says Thank You: The Biography'' (2011) * ''The Outsider: A History of the Goalkeeper'' (2012) * ''The Anatomy of Liverpool'' (2013) * ''Angels With Dirty Faces: The Footballing History of Argentina'' (2016) * ''The Anatomy of Manchester United: A History in Ten Matches'' (2017) * ''The Barcelona Legacy: Guardiola, Mourinho and the Fight For Football's Soul'' (2018) * ''The Names Heard Long Ago: How the Golden Age of Hungarian Football Shaped the Modern Game'' (2019) * ''Two Brothers: The Life and Lives of Bobby and Jackie Charlton'' (2022)

References

External links

Jonathan Wilson's profile
at Guardian.co.uk
The Question Column

Review of "Inverting the Pyramid"
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wilson, Jonathan Living people English podcasters People from Sunderland Writers from Tyne and Wear The Guardian journalists British male journalists British sports journalists English sportswriters 1976 births English male non-fiction writers Alumni of the University of Oxford Durham University Graduate Society alumni