Football Poets

this far ahead
ten games left to go
the margin blip or outcome
nobody can know

itching for the run in
throne all there to view
time to stand with nerves of steel
to see the journey through

one thing’s for c […]

if i could for a second be
in Robben’s boots and so carefree
if time had placed me in the sun
beside a pool time til time was done
if I’d the hair Ferreira’s got
that stays in place however hot
i’d still prefer to […]

on nights like this the heart returns

to where our passioned hearts would burn

along that heaving Fulham Road

to where the floodlights loomed and glowed –

the push and shove before those gates

in frantic […]

now my nan had a shed in the garden
and the bloke down the road’s got one too
but there was a shed that i lived in for years
it was magic and rusty and blue
and the iron was all corrugated
the rooftop was leaky […]

what did he write we’ll never know
a Valentine? I don’t think so
but nice to see a little note
from Jose and his faithful coat

and was it that his mum had phoned
to ask what time he would be home
or some designer […]

born when we were verging on the eve of World War One
at fourteen he was working down the mine
and while so many years have passed since first he ventured South
Sam Bartram’s still a legend in his time –
in k […]

this is the place where the pounding will begin
the space where the head and the heart start to spin
can you just imagine what’s going on within
in the changing room

here on the eve of a mighty mighty […]

while premier fans in thousands
enjoy spotless pricey comfort
this weekend
with images of Tsunami
still fresh in minds
and collection boxes on every corner
lest we forget
spare a thought
for those
closer to […]

it’s so strange when it’s full yet I’m sadly alone
in a pub where one’s team has dramatically grown
and it’s usually worse when your side are at home
I’m outnumbered and bad-vibed for whisp’ring “well-done”
for […]

what is the price of racism
and what price for this monkey sound
what worthy fine for this act at this time
just give or take four hundred pounds

and what message now are they sending
when will they open […]

how can I ever again wait anxiously
for news of other teams scores –
while thousands wait anxiously
for news of their lost loved ones?

how can I ever without guilt
look forward now to “important” games
or […]

ten am on a cold Christmas eve
open my eyes and can you believe
out in the mud in the wild East Nine
but ev’ry day here is football time

thirteen a side in a seven hour game
dark by five but they’re playing just […]

I’m the only person in the football ground
silence fills the stadium there’s no-one around
a pin could be deafening you can’t hear a sound
I’m the only person in the football ground

the only soul in the home of […]

nobody loves you when you’re bottom
nobody is ever gonna stop
nobody is happy when you’re stuck there in the middle
nobody loves you when you’re top –
no-one’s ever pleased about the system
no-one’s ever happy wit […]

can you still remember
somewhere way back when
the being sent to bed at night
when you were nine or ten?
while outside in the distance
the muffled magic roar
the biting nails the hoping
just waiting for the score […]

i’m just a tout a ticket-tout – they know me
but keep it quiet mate – please don’t shout it out
I’ve done some deals and had some laughs I grant you
it ain’t a job I’m all that proud about

but E-Bay’s changed […]

born into a different world the Spring of twenty four
you were barely starting on the path
but down at Bristol City at the outbreak of the war
you ended up just nursing the giraffe! *

but destiny was […]

lion keeps purring – what can you do
why have one team – when you can have two?
why build stadia reaching to the heavens
if every game you’re runnin’ round at sixes and sevens

why paint a picture – an […]

born in the heart of London town
the sound of jazz still blowing around
Moscow Dynamo were turning on the style
when I was still crawling and learning how to smile
there in the shadow of the Chelsea lights
never […]

who would believe
from such a stricken country
from grubby broken back-yards
from endless days and nights
kicking pounding
home made balls of rags
to African Pride

from Monrova’s streets
to the heady portals of […]