Football Poets

Well I don’t know why we’re feeling this fright,
But it’s clear that something ain’t quite right.
And our noses feel so out of joint,
Three games played and not a single point!
Clowns in the Boardroom, […]

“football is
beautiful and cruel”
rave on Sven

far from the finished article but back for the start
still reeling from two relegation seasons
we board the coach with renewed hope

Ewan who I’ve never met before
shows me images from away games
and w […]

When I was just a little boy,
I asked my mother who I’d support.
Would it be Villa, Leeds or Man U?
Here is her proud retort:

“Que sera sera,
Whatever will be will be.
You’re gonna be a Toffee, […]

whose woods these are I do not know
but to a hilltop ground they go
and as we climb in Summer heat
this well trod path beneath our feet
will lead us high above the town
and carry us both up and down […]

Two nations went to Germany
In search of Silverware.
Now read these lines of poetry
To see how they both fared.

The Scots played with true grit and pride,
But they could not progress.
Their fans […]

even though we swear we won’t
something sucks us in
armchair managers emerge
when the games begin
once again we do it all
ev’ry time it seems
caught up in the flow and vibe
caught up in the […]

So near and yet so far….
and yet here we are
beaten finalists
beaten by a better team
who tramped all over
our burgeoning dream

Worthy winners Spain
brought pain
to our shores…
we rowed our oars
to […]

the flags have all appeared again
on buildings and on cars
except the Farmer’s Market
or posh and trendy bars
my wall chart hangs resplendent
a multi-caloured sheet
a hand-filled record of it all
of […]

We stand at the water’s edge….
shall we succumb
to Salacia’s salty stare
and drown in our sorrow?
Or will tomorrow’s
final
be the time to draw upon
our modern armada – a flotilla of faithful fans
egging […]

nights like this are special
times like these are rare
savour ev’ry moment
when you know you’re there
you can call it fortune
who cares what they say
when that moment happens
failure falls awa […]

Ollie, Ollie, Ollie
Oi, Oi, Oi!
Ollie
Oi!
Ollie
Oi!
Ollie, Ollie, Ollie…
Ploy, ploy, ploy!

Ollie, Ollie, Ollie
Oi, Oi, Oi!
Ollie
Oi!
Ollie
Oi!
Ollie, Ollie, Ollie…
JOY! JOY! JOY!

I could not sleep
I could not work
all this pent-up nervousness
just drove me berserk!

And so I tried listening to Bob Dylan….
“the nerves, they are a-changing”
yes indeed they are…. escalating […]

Messi’s baptised boy*
sees La Roja through in style
with a mighty strike

watching England’s tricky
wherever you stand
given we’re consistently
ever-moaning fans

drowned in mediocrity
drained until we cry
put through ev’ry wringer
then hung out to dry

worn out with emo […]

Pre-match…
our hopes were muted
any overt optimism disputed….
and just like the election
there’s too much circumspection

mid-match…
well, our overall play has improved
if only slightly
but dare we say […]

when England take on Switzerland
who cares if we still have no plan
there are no dreaded warning signs
we’ve played them twenty seven times
how could we ever be undone
we haven’t lost since ‘81
a well- […]

exhausted watching you again
all through the years in sun and rain
from giant screens to my front room
with no-one else to share the gloom
the hope that never disappears
the sheer frustration and the tears […]

ev’ry two or four years
we miraculously find ourselves here
in that oh so ‘English’ recurring semi-hopeful way
subjected to watching England at tournaments
usually on a screen

sometimes it feels like […]