Football Poets

Spain v Holland

Due to previous commitments
I was watching knowing the score
(a situation I deplore)
But still, I couldn’t see it coming
And the blitz had us thumbing
Texts and blogs and bits and bytes
As the D […]

I can’t understand the excitement
It’s not the same
For me the Sky TV generation
Must take the blame.
But Then I’m a bit
Of a sporting Luddite at heart
Original football dinosaur
Boring old school fart.
The modern […]

The build-up: it’s usually all about Wayne
Or degenerates acting crudely;
But seeing young Oxygen-Chamber in such pain
It really is all about rue knee!

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Boxfest

My dearest wish
for this competition s […]

we are the ones who kicked it off
and always stake the claim
for taking it around the world
and starting this great game ~
they say it was a railwayman
who introduced football
who carried with him to Brazil
his […]

when England take on Italy
what’s there to worry you or me?
there are no dreaded warning signs
they’ve only won the Cup four times
they are an unknown mystery
and have so little history
so little stuff that they […]

What air shall I breathe?
No choice about that – air Genoese.
But what shall I speak – Italian or English?
Native or learned tongue? Confusing business.
Reading material – Shakespeare or Dante?
Fancy a tippl […]

It’s the World Cup soon, they say
Tournament countdown, it starts in five days

Oh yeah, that – I’m not really interested
Watching England, it’s become a bit of a bore –
Then I remember: Hunter, Hurst and Bobby […]

Not sure how it translates
The ‘Cup der Angst’
But to my Altona friends
I owe my thanks.
To use an old cliché
The welcome was ‘Wunderbar’
I really am glad
I travelled so far.
My ‘main course’ cancelled
No Hamburg […]

Ten minutes to kick-off.
We are part of a waiting world.
On the field, a synchronisation of watches.
Sceptical footballers make
Nervous signs of the cross
And glance heavenward
One stands palms […]

My first memory was Sweden in nineteen fifty eight.
Climbing out of bed, aged seven,  I crept downstairs
To the strains of the German anthem
“Glorious things of thee are spoken”
Felt joy as plucky Sweden won t […]

That chance …
Came and went

The last chance
The only chance …
Came and went

Could’ve, should’ve, would’ve …
We’ve cogitated and ruminated
We’ve pondered and critiqued
We’re agitated and exasperated
It’s […]

endless years of desparation
time to lower expectation
maybe a dog is what we need
to teach us how to hold a lead
we better not play prettily
when England take on Italy

perhaps the reason that we fail
is just […]

When you hear the final whistle
You know that it’s official
Your club is relegated right enough
You’re feeling blue, it’s true
But there’s nothing you can do
No point being glum or in a huff

Always look on the […]

a poem
severe in its brevity
but the skill on the ball (point pen)
gives it some levity !

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

on Algeria haiku

sly and set to pounce
Desert Foxes in the sand
North Africa prays

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

on Argentina haiku

will it be this time ?
Messi leads the white and blue
big contenders these

~ […]

José’s chance has gone (?).

Parked two buses last Sunday –

Will he miss the boat?

At the outset:
It’s Liverpool’s title to lose
But all that was compounded
By a crotchety display from the Blues

“Two buses parked”
Or was it a double-decker?
Destination terminus:
Anfield title-wrecker

Why do we keep going season after season?
Non-believers around us can’t see the reason
They just see us after we’ve lost a game
They hear us moaning and feel our pain
The next weekend, we go back again

We’re away […]

Three games to go, just above the bottom three
Can we hold on, we can only wait and see
Who knows which way the cookie will crumble
One false move and we’ll take a tumble

A 5.30 kick off adds to our […]

When I was a kid
A football shirt was hard to find
The two sports shops in my city
Sold hockey sticks and shin pads
Nothing fancy, nothing ‘designed’

Best you could hope for was a scarf
Knitted by your Gran in […]