Football Poets

Whenever the World Cup comes around, you can bet your bottom dollar that many’ll
Plump for Brazil in this super-hyped, global quadrennial,
Supposedly playing their football with an infectious j […]

Captain hollered, “Kev!
Fella’s hurted his leg*
Need you to take his place, and go in goal”?
Pulling on the goalies top,
A hurried sign of the cross
I ran out with the chaps to face our foe.

Battered, […]

A is for Albion. The boys done us proud. Laud ‘em out loud.
B is for Brexit. No mention, amongst the tension, until of course, Brazil exit early. Spot the surly.
C is for Charades (see VAR). Replaces the i […]

We’ve criss-crossed the country
taken Steppes small and large
travelled alone or in convoys
by plane, train or barge

first intentions were
that we weren’t to get lost
but as we familiarised on the jou […]

Parc de Triomphe
Mbappe inspires the Gauls
Allez Les Blues

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Runners up, yet
Croatia proud as can be
Gave it their all

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Got what we wanted
Six goal fitting […]

Third or fourth
Does it really matter?
Should it matter?
For there is no head-upon-a-platter
For failure

Then what of the prize money?
I’m not being funny
But there is only 2 million FIFA shekels
In t […]

Corner kick in his mind
Eyeballs the monitor behind
Before racing back on to the field…
Vlad appears on the miniature screen
Snarling, broody like, mean,
“Right sunbeam this here’s the deal…

Your […]

France 4-2 Croatia

spoiling things again
VAR the villain here
on this final night

never lying down
oh how brave Croatia fought
when injustice reigned

never at their best
once again Les Bleus […]

VAR
Robs HVR
Outplayed France win The World Cup
I louldly explete…”Griezmann! You no-good…….cheat”
At his theatrics performed for the first
Les Bleus second is worse
Even with VAR, a VAR*
Still […]

Twas France who struck gold first
Sucker own goal by Mandzukic
Croatia throw caution to the wind
One one soon by Perisic

Moscow hadn’t had enough yet
It was Perisic who would make
Nestor Pitana’s VAR pen […]

I started as the Croatian fan in Paris
but became close with the Dubliners
of James Joyce, Gandhi
or I started as a Croatian fan
in Paris and I invented Facebook
or magistrated at Oxford

How to support […]

when we pause we know
like some epic video
we have far to go

games like this are hard
damage limitation time
with a stronger foe

meaningless to some
I know we’d have taken fourth
at the very […]

Belgium 2-0 England

Thomas Meunier put Belgium ahead
Sliding in ahead of Danny Rose
With only a mere four minutes in
It seemed the whole team had froze

England had chances to square
Alderweireld clears […]

Belgium’s best side for ages land third place
“It’s Coming Home”, Ingerland a creditable fourth
ITV – for me – hands down land the punditry crown
For the match of the tournament thus far…I’d say
…Keano […]

England are out
Semi Final: Croatia 2-1 England

Until Russia eighteen
Its been Charlton and Lineker
With his first ever England goal
We now add Kieran Trippier

Chance after chance
England sloppy on the […]