Football Poets

For Adrian Henri (1932-2000)

The worn flagstones of Mount Street
opposite the Liverpool Institute
— the head’s office, I remember
his cabinet full of silver trophies
as he turned me down as a new […]

The characteristic run

of your favorite player,

the characteristic boos

from the opposition fans.

Man City will win it, no, Man U, Man City!
It couldn’t have been a more exciting finale
— everything any neutral might hope for —
thrills and spills and handbags too!

Christopher T. George

“Couldn’t find his bum with his own two hands!”
“Missed a busload of sitters!”
“Me owld grandma coulda put that in!”

But one moment of magic,
a flick of his pony-tailed head,
and the ball’s in the back of the […]

Carroll rises magnificently and heads home.
Tevez scores a hat trick to keep City’s title hopes alive.

Christopher T. George

The orange men of QPR force
the ball over the line by two feet
before the Bolton goalie claws

it out; the goal’s not given; once more,
the sub warms the bench; when will
Goal Line Technology get a […]

Barcelona scores six goals against Valencia
and Messi bags four of them.

Liverpool knocks Brighton for six
including three own goals

and a streaker invades the pitch.

Christopher T. George

Kenny, come back to Bootle,
Tuebrook, Eggy Vale, aye,
we’ll welcome you back,
not just to Anfield! Tour
with the team in the open-
deck bus with the Prem
trophy (Rafa will “let” you
hold it!), down Scotty […]

I’ve been writing the same for a while. . .
about the FA Cup being defiled,
the opposition not taken seriously,
another manager acting imperiously. . .

Aye, he said it wouldn’t happen again,
but then he did it, […]

Whether you’re a Red or a Blue,
this is for all of Liverpool, too.

Let bygones be bygones,
bury your differences,
go and cheer them on.

Your club is not mine
but let it be the Blues in ’09!

Christopher T. George

7:00 AM: I’m riding on the Marc to D.C
in front of Sven-Göran Eriksson: the ex-
England-and-now-Mexico football coach sits

drowsing behind me (we’re facing
backwards toward Baltimore), and it
isn’t Sven but just […]

Lad, it hurts me to say it —
I wish you might have been
a Liverpool lad forever more —
but you’ve done well at Toon.

You grabbed the shining jewels,
swept them up, a Magpie who
cleaned up in the last […]

I achieve a “Who’s on First” moment”* when
I tell my Mum: “Liverpool’s playing Toulouse.”

A so-so match made special by a net-bulger
by Andriy Voronin just before the half: are

the Reds headed for the Champs […]

Three days after Beckham made
another million coming off
the bench in a downpour to help

the LA Galaxy lose to DC United,
as I drive into the garage, I spy
Rodney with his cap and gold

tooth wearing the […]

We couldn’t do it on the football pitch
but then we wouldn’t want to evoke
another touchline tantrum from Monsieur Whinger,
wouldn’t want him to blot the good name
of the Beautiful Game, so we let ’em win,
just to […]

Ah that’s better! Instead of the dire fold
to the Red Devils on Sunday, some fight!

The battling Reds of Liverpool are back again,
keeping us on the edge of our seats, knocking

in the goals between the poles: […]

Liverpool go down to defeat again:
another dire result as Scholes jabs
one over Reina’s parrying arm and
Ferdinand rifles in from the right
side of the penalty area. A knock-
out, one goal each half: that’s how
it […]