Extra Time
Morris Gleitzman
SYNOPSIS:
From award winning children's book author, Morris Gleitzman, comes a funny and
moving story about a 14-year-old Australian soccer genius and his 10-year-old
sister/manager who change the face of English Premier League football. Perfect for
readers 9+ years.
When 13-year-old Matt is discovered impressing the livestock in an Aussie country
town with his remarkable soccer skills, he's offered the chance of a lifetime - a try-out at
one of Europe's biggest and most glamorous soccer clubs. His younger sister Bridie
goes with him as his manager and tells us their story - warts, goals and all.
The funny and moving story of a sister's love for her brother, and how it survives
everything fate throws at it, including the millions of pounds and mountains of pressure
at the top of the world's most popular sport.
WRITING STYLE
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Morris Gleitzman grew up in England and came to Australia when he was sixteen.
After university he worked for ten years as a screenwriter. Then he had a wonderful
experience. He wrote a novel for young people. Now, after 34 books, he's one of
Australia's most popular children's authors. Morris is one of the most popular children's
authors in Australia, as the sales figures for his recent books testify. Pizza Cake,
published in October 2011 has sold more than 20,000 copies in Australia, and his
hugely popular Boy Overboard has sold nearly 200,000 copies since its publication in
2002. After, the final companion in his series about a Jewish boy in Nazi-occupied
Poland, has sold more than 18,500 copies since August 2012, with Once, the first book
in that series, selling 113,000 copies since its release in 2005.
Visit Morris at his website: morrisgleitzman.com
STUDY NOTES/ACTIVITIES FOR TEACHERS
CHARACTERS:
Matt Sutherland
Matt is an up-and-coming soccer star – at least he was until he and his two older
brothers were in a car accident that cost his brothers their lives and smashed up Matt’s
legs. The metal plates in his legs have enabled him to walk and, surprisingly to still play
soccer, but have shattered his career plans. Nevertheless, Matt is still recognised as the
best soccer player in town.
A media campaign sends Matt and his sister to England where he has the opportunity to
train and ultimately play with an academy for the next generation of professional
footballers. Matt hopes to keep his football dream alive, partly for his own love of the
game, but even more so for the money he could earn to give his parents an easier life. In
England, Matt experiences the world of professional football with its greed, anxiety and
underhand tactics. He is initially appalled by the behaviour, but then his own taste of
success and desire for financial riches goes to his head, causing him to lose track of who
he is and what he loves about his sport.
Bridie Sutherland
Bridie is Matt’s younger sister and greatest admirer. She regards herself as the Manager
of Matt’s football career and his self-appointed protector. As a chronic asthmatic, Bridie
is unable to play the sport herself, but views it from the sidelines from where, arguably,
she sees the situation more clearly than anyone else. Bridie is appalled by the underhand
tactics used at the football school and is determined to bring the fun back into the sport
by reminding the coaches and players of their initial love of the game.
Mr and Mrs Sutherland
Two and a half years after the accident that claimed their twin boys, Mr and Mrs
Sutherland are still suffering and grieving. They adore their younger children, but are
overly protective of them and worry constantly for their safety. Mrs Sutherland appears
to be particularly fragile as Bridie says, ‘We tell the truth in this family. But we protect
Mum.’ When the family is offered flights to England they realise that they can’t leave
their jobs or their ageing parents, yet they refuse to deny their kids the opportunity and
agree to send them with their Uncle Cliff. Like most parents they try to protect their
children, yet their intentions backfire as, when Matt discovers that his parents lied to
him about the steel pins in his legs making them weaker, he is determined to pursue his
football career at all costs.
Uncle Cliff
Uncle Cliff is a battler who in middle age has lost his job and his wife has left him. Yet
he remains pragmatic and practical, largely through his dry sense of humour and down
to earth approach to life. He is a great support for Matt and Bridie and, as a laid back
person who remains young at heart, he goes along with Bridie’s schemes to improve the
training methods. Uncle Cliff soon falls for Mrs Jarvis who houses the boys training at
the football academy.
Mrs Jarvis
Unlike the coaches and managers at the football club, Mrs Jarvis clearly has the boys’
best interests at heart. She provides them not only with accommodation and food, but
also love and normality in the cutthroat world of professional football. The love that
Gazz clearly has for her many years later illustrates just how much of an impact she has
on the boys’ lives. She too encourages Bridie to do whatever it takes to bring the
sportsmanship and fun back into the club.
Gazz
Gazz was a working class lad who has made it as a professional footballer. He now
enjoys great wealth and fame and clearly mixes in elite circles. But for all this. Gazz is
miserable, constantly watching other teams and looking over his shoulder wondering
which youngster is going to bump him off his perch. He has little freedom in life as his
every minute completely managed by his team and the media.
Mr Nkrumo
Mr Nkrumo is the agent for Ayo, an African boy training at the academy. Although he
is an excellent player, Mr Nkrumo made Ayo lie about his life in the slums of Nairobi,
telling people he comes from a poor village in Nigeria. By gaining sympathy and a
media story for Ayo, he serves to improve the boy’s career opportunities, and with it his
own profits.
Jean-Paul Michel
Jean-Paul Michel is the manager of the professional football club. He is initially
infuriated by Bridie’s misadventures as the team mascot, but finds her honesty
insightful. Despite his power and prestige, he listens to her ideas and even pays her a
thousand pounds to be an advisor to the club to help him bring the fun back into the
game and the training methods they use.
THEMES:
Tragedy and loss
 How have Matt and Bridie’s parents responded to the tragedy that claimed the
lives of their twin sons?
 How can this accident be seen to have affected every member of the family?
When parents have kids that get killed they get extra anxious about their other
ones (p3).
 Do you think that Bridie and Matt can ever live normal lives again?
 Consider the way Bridie talks about tending to her brothers’ graves. What is
surprising about the matter-of-fact way she says this? Does this mean she
doesn’t care? What does it reveal about her character?
Difficulties
 While the Sutherland family experience dreadful loss, there are a number of
other issues that people in the community have to deal with. Make a list of all
the problems Bridie mentions. (eg Jayden’s family break up; Gail-Anne had her
washing stolen; Uncle Cliff – lost his job and Aunty Paula left him)


What does this reveal about life?
Given that we may not know what others are experiencing, how should we treat
people around us/
 Matt says People who run away, before they know it they’re living under their
bed (p4). What does he mean by this?
 What ways can we react to difficult situations? Which do you think are the best?
Activity:
Make class posters on how to deal with difficult situations.
Protection
 Why did Matt’s parents tell him that the metal plates had weakened his legs?
 Was this a fair thing to do?
 Why might people tell their loved ones lies?
 What sort of lies do people tell their loved ones (especially their children).
 How might these lies cause more problems than they solve?
 Why does Bridie dream that she and Matt are being smothered by bubble wrap
and cotton wool? (p15)
 Why does Bridie offer to sharpen Uncle Cliff’s knives or to clean his gutters or
his chainsaw? (p17)
 What reckless behaviours does Matt engage in at the start of the novel?
 How does he react when he finds out that his legs are not weak?
 How do you think Matt might have behaved if he had known all along that his
legs were unbreakable?
 Given this, do you think his parents did the right thing in telling him his legs
were weakened in the accident?
Dreams
 Before the car accident Matt dreamed of becoming a professional soccer player.
Now it appears that will never happen. How would this make Matt feel?
 What is surprising about his behaviour and personality given this
disappointment?
 Why does Matt never complain about his situation?
 Matt is too lightweight for professional football. Collect some pictures of
successful professional footballers. What physical characteristics do they share?
Wealth
 Describe Terrine and Gazz’s house
 Create a picture board of what you think their house would look like.
 Is this a house you would like to live in? Why?
 What do they sacrifice in order to have this level of wealth?
 Terrine is mixing with the social elite, including royalty, but does she appear to
be happy?
 What would be the negative aspects of this sort of life?
Sacrifices
 Why do Mr and Mrs Sutherland send their children to England even though they
can’t go with them?
 What sort of sacrifices do parents make for their children?








Sport












Why does Matt want to play professional soccer?
Bridie knows that not even a Lamborghini would make her Mum happy. Not if it
cost her the only son she’s got left. (p85). What would Mrs Sutherland want?
What sorts of sacrifices do professional sports players have to make?
What sacrifices would it not be worth? As Bridie points out even ten million
pounds a year is no good if you’re miserable and in pain (92).
Mr Merchant tells the boys that friends are a luxury. Because getting to the top
is hard. And friends make you soft.’ (p99) Do you agree with this statement? Is it
possible to stay string and competitive if you form friends on your team?
What sacrifice might Matt have to make in order to keep Ayo on the team?
Do you think he should do this?
Would you be prepared to make this level of sacrifice?
Why do people play sport?
What is the fun of a friendly football or soccer match?
How does sport change when it is competitive?
Do people behave differently in these situations?
Bridie asks, What’s the point of soccer if you’re not enjoying it? (p6) Do you
agree that sport should be enjoyable?
How can rivalry affect even a close friendship?
In the novel, how is the orange team’s attitude towards the game different from
Matt’s team?
Why does everyone want to prove that they are better at soccer than Matt
Sutherland?
How do the techniques of swapping sides and playing blindfold penalties change
the game?
How does this also change their behaviour and attitude?
What does this suggest about the competitive element in sport?
What does it reveal about Matt that he enjoys these games even though he is so
talented at the real game?
Professional sport
 What is the difference between back yard or amateur sport and professional
sport?
 What is the difference between being good at sport and being a good sportsman?
 Uncle Cliff tells Matt to Dance like a butterfly, sting like a bee. Which elite
sportsman used this catch phrase? What does it mean?
 How are the players at the academy encouraged to behave?
 The boys playing all have grim faces. So do the trainers… Nobody is laughing,
whooping, making jokes… (p38) How is this different from the game at the start
of the novel? What does it reveal about the players and the training?
 Why do the boys all behave in this way?
 What is surprising about the fact that the kids are actually taught to play rough
but to hide it from the cameras? Is this the sort of example you would expect
from coaches and teachers?
 What does that reveal about the sorting industry?
 What does it take to make it in professional sport, other than physical ability?











Fun






What other examples of this level of competition can you find in sport (eg dance
mums, etc)
Make a list of all the people involved in a sport at a professional level (eg
managers, coaches, nutritionists etc). How is this different from amateur sport?
How can it change the nature of the game?
Is it possible for high level sport to be fun and stress free?
Is it really any different from any other profession in this sense?
Why is Gazz’s body covered in scars? (p69)
Terrine tells Bridie the longer he spends at the top the more anxious and
miserable he gets…. It’s like he’s in prison. Even my brother’s happier than
Gazz and he’s actually in prison (p70). Why would Gazz be miserable in spite
of his fame and wealth?
Why does Matt fire Bridie as his manager?
‘Don’t you get it?’ he says. ‘I haven’t got time for kid’s stuff any more. I’m
trying to be a Premier League footballer. I’ve got one chance in a thousand. I
haven’t got time to muck around.’ (p80) How does this professional experience
change Matt in just two weeks?
Bridie is scared that if Matt continues to play for the academy It won’t be his
legs permanently damaged….. It’ll be his gentle loving heart. (p56)
‘When you train with a top club,’ says Matt, ‘they don’t want you playing
football anywhere else.’ (p79) Why would this be the case? What does this tell
you about a player’s life once they sign to a club?
When Ayo is relaxed he plays really well. How does this suggest that the
coaching methods and level of pressure on the players has a negative effect?
Why do Bridie and Uncle Cliff host a sausage sizzle at the training session?
How do the players and their parents react?
How do the coach and manager react?
Why does Bridie set up the game with Lola in the council estate?
Why does Jean-Pierre Michel give Bridie a job? What does she remind him?
(p92)
Why does he listen to her and decide to implement her strategy? How does he
think it might help the players?
Greed and corruption
 Who should the coaches and managers at the academy be protecting?
 Why would they encourage young people to cheat and use physical tactics to
win a game?
 Why does Mr Nkrumo lie about Ayo’s story?
 What does he stand to gain from Ayo’s talent?
 A person shouldn’t be punished and have their dream shattered just because of a
greedy manager (p97). Do you agree with this statement?
 Can you think of any real situations in which an athlete has suffered as a result
of their coach or manager’s greed?
 Why is there so much money in professional sport?
 Who are the stakeholders in the game?
 How might this affect decisions that are made by any club?


What impact will this have on the athletes?
Would sport be fairer and more entertaining if there was less money involved?
Activity
Stage a debate ‘that there is too much money in sport.’
WRITING STYLE:
Writing humour
How does the humour make the story more engaging?
Point of View
 The story is told through Bridie’s eyes. Why do you think the author chose to
tell the story through the eyes of a younger sister who does not play soccer
herself?
 Does this give us a clearer perspective on the situation than if it was told in
Matt’s voice? Why?
 How would it be different if it were told by Uncle Cliff or by Mr or Mrs
Sutherland?
Activity
Choose an event in the novel and re-write it through the eyes of a different character.
How does the scene change?
Language
 A lot of sporting terminology is used throughout the novel. Make a list of any
football terms or symbolism that is used in the course of the story (eg Bridie
says her family is a team; the novel is divided into sections labelled warm Up,
First Half, Half-time, Second Half).
What impact does this technique have on the story?
Writing dialogue
 How does Bridie’s language capture the voice of a young girl?
 Make a list of all the things you know about her just from what she says.
 Uncle Cliff uses a lot of terms used by middle aged people and in particular,
aging hippies. Make a list of his unusual phrases.
 How do these help to create his character?
Activity
 Create your own character and make a list of facts about them. Now give your
character a particular habit when he/she speaks (eg they might use rhyming
slang, they might use the wrong word, the might us ‘like’ or ‘you know’ a lot in
their speech etc). Write a short dialogue in this character’s voice. Have the other
students tell you things about your character based just on this dialogue.
PUBLICITY / ONLINE