A Welcome in February 2009
In February 2009, we welcomed the following new contributors to this site :
Peter E Hall
George Morey
Neil Pickup
Isaac Abraham
Click on the names above to see that person’s poem(s), or browse some selected first efforts below :
Call It Football, Not Soccer
I’m talking with my friends one day
And one of them starts talking about soccer
‘Soccer?’ I say
‘I would pay anything to make that horrid word go away’
‘Then what do you call it?’ they ask
I look at them with a blank look on my face’
And I say at a very slow pace.
Football
They look at me like I’m a comedian that has just told a funny joke
And then they say to me ‘Bloke, what are you going on about?’
Then I start to pout
And then shout ‘Mates call it football not soccer’
© Isaac Abraham
I go to an American school and I started to get sick of people calling football ‘soccer’ so i wrote this poem
Chester City 0 Exeter City 0
It’s 10 in the morning
On the Motorway
Junctions, Cones and Roadworks
Any conceivable delay
165 miles of driving
To an industrial estate
Past Tesco, Aldi, Jeep and Chrysler
The Deva Stadium; The West Stand
Standing in Wales, singing to England
But Hearing nothing back
Then it begins; a vacuum
90 minutes, no chance
But 470 away fans
Are louder than 1200 hosts
Not before time, it’s over
Back onto the roads
Past Chrysler, Jeep, Aldi and Tesco
Eating Service Station Food
What else is there you could have done
With these 11 hours instead?
You’d do it all again though
Cause 0-0’s one more point
We’re all in it together
Players, Fans and Club
Next time will be different
Cause City’s going up
© Neil Pickup
This is what 0-0 drives you to.
Not Waking The Dead
The Twerton faithful
Congregate for the game.
A flag proclaims
The oppositions name.
A dour scrappy tussle,
Atmosphere as dead
As the magpie on
The rafter overhead.
Second half starts better
With Stripes streaming forward.
Nimble Gilly nicks a goal
Calmly getting his reward.
Weston have a mare.
A clumsy tackle sees
The captain given red.
Their fighting spirit flees.
How city only score three
Is a mystery, a crime.
A zealous lino denies one
Others fail to cross the line.
A modest roar swells as
The final whistle’s heard.
But not loud enough
To wake the dead bird.
© Peter E Hall
The match was Bath City v Weston Super Mare
Tuesday 24th February 2009
I once went on a trip
I once went on a trip,
Some people might remember,
For the final of a cup run,
Which started around December.
At first a game against Walsall,
Down at the Den,
We beat them by 2 goals to 1,
So we didn’t have to play again.
We then faced a trip,
Up to lovely Telford,
But little did we know then,
We’d soon be playing at old Trafford.
Victories against Burnley,
And a hard fought 1 at Tranmere,
Led us to Old Trafford,
Which was more of a dream than a nightmare.
Because we beat Sunderland by
1 goal to nil,
Which took us on a trip to the south of Wales,
The stadium we did fill.
We all know that we were robbed,
On that memorable day,
But what a great time we had,
The 22nd of May.
I once went on a trip,
Some people might remember,
For the final of a cup run,
Which started around December.
© George Morey
Millwall reaching the F.A. Cup final 2004
About This Site
Welcome to Football Poets -- a club for all football poets, lovers of football and lovers of (alternative) poetry. Discover poets in every league from respected internationals at the top of their game to young hopefuls in the school playground.
Publish your football poems here and then discuss them with your team mates and fans. We're archived by The British Library, so your masterpieces are in the safe hands of a world-class keeper. What a result!
My Account
Latest Poems
joe morris
3rd September 2024
Denys E. W. Jones
3rd September 2024
joe morris
26th August 2024
Crispin Thomas
26th August 2024
joe morris
22nd August 2024
Mike Bartram
20th August 2024
Phil Brennan
20th August 2024
joe morris
17th August 2024
Rowan Waller
17th August 2024
Alex Saynor
12th August 2024
Crispin’s Corner
In Memoriam
Kick It Out & Christmas Truce
Latest Comments
26th July 2024 at 6:25 pm
Great poem Mike Bartram. Eddie was a legend, affectionately known in Liverpool as, “the first hooligan.” Even the hoolies were well dressed in those days. The amazing thing was he was only 26 when that picture was taken. He’d played for Everton youth team and was well known to the players. He never got arrested. They threw him out and he climbed back in, just in time for Derek Temples winner.
I used the picture of him being tackled to the ground on the front cover of my book, “Once Upon a rhyme in Football.” It’s worth looking on youtube and finding the re-enactment of the Wembley scene. Frank Skinner and Baddiel went around to Eddies home in the 1990’s and acted it out on the green outside. It’s hilarious, especially all the effort they put in to get Eddie sober enough to shoot the scene.
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10th July 2024 at 6:07 pm
Hi Crispin,
I don’t know if you’ve see the picture in social media today…
a picture of a teenage Lionel Messi cradling a baby in Africa as part of a photoshoot…. the family had won a lottery to have their baby pictured with him….
the photographer has just revealed that the baby is actually in fact Lamine Yamal!!!!
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26th May 2024 at 2:30 pm
Hi Denys…
Re Man City:
OK it was 20 years ago but Criag Wilson did write this and a few others on them back in 04/05.
BTW I’m more Forest Green Rover since 2014 (and Chelsea) these days . I drum and am a standing season ticket holder .
Best
Crispin
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29th April 2024 at 2:47 pm
Hi Denys,
Yes Richard Williams you’re a brilliant wordsmith, my friend. When I first saw your football poetry I thought it was the superb Guardian sports and music writer. I once had the honour of sitting next to Richard Williams while at the Independent on the sports desk. He writes about music and sport with immense knowledge and authority. I’ve read a couple of Richard’s books recently. Great writer rather like you Richard Williams the Pompey fan. Congratulations on promotion.
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28th April 2024 at 5:59 pm
Thanks Denys. Yes your replay poem was superb.
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26th April 2024 at 4:46 pm
Nice work, Joe. You were quick off the mark with that! Good one from Richard Williams too I see.
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25th April 2024 at 7:33 pm
Hi Denys,
Thanks mate. I’ll do it now.
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25th April 2024 at 1:56 pm
Thanks Joe,
you might like to write a poem yourself on the same subject…
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23rd April 2024 at 4:03 pm
Hi Denys
With you all the way on the abolition of FA Cup replays. What are they doing to the game?
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23rd April 2024 at 3:59 pm
Hi Crispin,
Yes sorry mate. Villa are still in Europe. Mistake rectified.
Cheers
Joe
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