Football Poets

A February welcome ……

During the month of February, 2005, we welcomed the following poets :

Darragh McNamara
Paul England
Paul Conatzer
elljay (Elliott Joseph)
Michael Hett
Jason Hewitt
E. Kirkland Hamilton
John Edward McBride
John Cox
Anna Metcalfe & Robert Mechie
Thomas Henry
Nicky Gregal
Shaunie Ayres
Mashuda Wahid
Fahima Khanum
Mohsen Hamedpour Darabi
Geoff Holland
Steven Brennan

From St George Catholic School for Boys :

Ryan Goodwin
Charlie Walcroft
Thomas Townsend-Rose
Romar Garcia
Roman Hillier
Andrew Holtby

From ELG Interface :

Roshni Tasnim
Ayodele Akinje Adebiyi
Shaunie Ayres
Mashuda Wahid
Fahima Khanum
Juliet Ayoo
Ese Akpobi

From Poetrykit.org :

Arthur Seeley
Robert Lane
Irene Hossack

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also :

Congratulations to Steve Linstead, whose poem “Not so gorgeous, Georgi?”
was heavily featured in an article about Georgi Hristov’s signing for Dunfermline,
in the Scotsman on Sunday, printed 6/2/2005, article by Dan Brennan.
Read the article at the following link :
http://scotlandonsunday.scotsman.com/sport.cfm?id=140812005

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A particular welcome to Elliott Joseph, aka elljay, who has performed recently with Crispin Thomas at some of the Football Poetry Workshops in London.
You can follow elljay at www.pitchprose.com

Black and blue

Some called him king, some only wanted a win
Some racially abused him
Because of the colour of his skin,
Playing left on the wing
Some threw bananas at him
Every time he touch the ball there was monkey chanting

His name was Paul Canoville
He was the first black in blue
A villain to many a hero to few
The first black player to wear Chelsea’s blue
Even when he scored his own fans would boo
No cut no scratches not even a bruise
But Paul Canoville will always be black and blue

© pitchprose

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Welcome to the ELG Interface : www.elginterface.org.uk

The ELG Interface is one of the many study centres, in Britain, established through the Playing For Success initiative. It is match funded by the DFES and Newham’s LEA and housed by the East London Gymnastics Club, who supports the project by donating a large classroom, an office, heating, lighting and water. The Learning Zone is given administrative support and direction from the LEA and is one of many projects within ‘Learning Community’ NewCEYS including the other Playing for Success centre in Newham at the West Ham United Football Club. The Centre has been successful, as an innovation project, for two and half years and has recently been given full status and funding for another three years.

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Welcome to everyone who has contributed from Poetry Kit.org

(including Christopher T George, Jim Bennett and Philip Johnson who joined us in January).
It’s from one of their number, that I reproduce the following :

A poem not about poetry

We sat in the pub drinking and talking about football
We didn’t think about, or try to bring “it” into the conversation
We all felt pretty good about the absence of “it”.
I doubt that any of us even had a pen to write on the soggy coasters
But we passed the afternoon away happily, some might say naively,
in that golden warm fuzz called drunkenness.
Suddenly, Macka yelled,
“How about your shout?”
Then Johnno said,
“Ya a poet and ya wouldn’t know it.”
The drinks were plonked on the bar and we continued to drink.
Nobody mentioned “it” again.

© Robert Lane

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In the same vein – I also liked the following :

Goal!

I send their keeper the wrong way
and a few of his mates lose it
before the referee blows up
and gives us all pens and cards
and all the players start writing
and the scorer after the match
narrated the action in the present.

© John Cox 15 Feb 2005

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PS –
I hope Middlesborough go all the way to the UEFA Cup Final –
not just because I’d hate to see Jimmi missing out on a medal now that he’s no longer part of the Blues,
but more because I’m looking forward to yet more wonderful poems from
George Kirby – The Boro Bard.

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PPS –

Well done to Steven Brennan for posting up a well balanced view of the dangers of bigotry – something that still blights football.

The Bigotry Bug

Bigotry’s an awful thing
It hurts and not just outside
Murder is not unusual
For the sake of some untold pride

Catholics, Protestants…. Christians
United never seen
For most are named not by their Character
But Orange or Fenian

Many men have fought
And some not stopped until
The bigotry wins the match
And the loser, he is killed

So when you travel to a game
Don’t join in with the verse
For these are not in the song sheet
But for bigots they’re rehearsed

Forget Davie Cooper and the Pope
Rule Brittania, IRA
The sad thing is that these chants
Will never go away

Many things have happened
And much more will continue
But just make sure the ‘bigotry bug’
Does not get into you

The bug of bigotry – Dont let it spread!

© Steven Brennan 2005

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