Football Poets

the rain may slant across the hills
the clouds roll black and grey
the forest mist hangs damp and cold
and Spring feels far away
while supermaket shelves are crammed
with eggs and hot-cross buns
and in the nearby […]

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we should never scorn those left in pain

but sometimes your hand’s up in vain

Maradona’s been bitten

by a dog – not a kitten ….

is it karma returning again?

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We stood and remembered the moments
Like funeral goers in thought
In fact we stood up for most of the game
As we wasted the seat we had bought

And likewise we wasted another big night
As we fell without passion […]

what do we want from football today
and where do our true feelings lie
are we all hoping for long gone days
or dreaming of pie in the sky?
have all of our great expectations
been dashed just like waves on the […]

am I alone here in my thoughts
how did it come to this?
we go in hope for football
not customs we might miss
when handshakes turn to handbags
and best friends turn away
the media circus rumbles on
and dominates […]

come gather round die-hards
wherever you can
they’re stripping our assets
all over the land
and the pitfalls and closures
are beyond our command
and the old game is rapidly fading
and it’s chuck it all in if […]

I’ve played at every stage you can
I made it to the top
and when you’re there you never dream
It’s ever going to stop
and just like when you’ve drunk your fill
the feeling is euphoric
Hello my name is Jimmy G […]

you at seventy

me at ten when you were king

firing goals for fun

•

you in those long shorts
on scrapbook pages and walls
always my hero

•

to ape your swivel
on concrete fields by street light
how I tried and tried

•

blurred in blue and white
you dancing past def […]

media screamin’ out “the Cup is dead!”
“no more minnows” – or so we are led
try telling that to the Scunthorpes instead
the Cup isn’t dead – long live the Cup

try telling that to Reading and Leeds
fashioning […]

What can you do when you can’t be there
stare at the radio tear out your hair?
media don’t give a mention or care
waiting for the game

back on that Sunday then came the blow
booked on a train but beaten by snow […]

who here did not shudder deep
like some nightmare in our sleep
pictures we won’t want to keep
in this game of life

images on our TV
acts of inhumanity
countries in recovery
football or your life?

shock and […]

* * *

ev’ry team and fan

just three things we need today

passion skill and grit

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* * *

snow time like right now

ev’rything will be all white

keep our football live!

* * *

now this one came in from earlier on
and we have to believe what we’re told
but apparently games are in danger
and all on account of the cold?

and not just the game but the players
the pitch and the flags and the […]

Christmas in Afghanistan
Christmas in Iraq
Another Christmas wondering
will your son come back?
will your daughter make it home
will you catch her smile
they’ve been there in sand and war
fighting all this […]

there’s something that marks you
aside from the rest
though the nerves may resemble
that first driving test
and there’s something that sets you
apart from the others
like bored looking children
in stores with […]

if winning’s without value*
if won in unfair ways*
if cheating brings no pleasure
then how come fraud still pays?

how crass and sad and meaningless
are FIFA’s weak excuses?
while France move on and Ireland […]

round here in leafy Gloucestershire
it’s usually quite calm
we’re used to fans that claim we’re only
singing when we farm
The Wimbledons the Lutons
the Oxfords and the rest
they turn up with their fans in […]

how does it feel when you make it
and you’re suddenly part of it all
what were the nerves like before it began
when you’re itching to get on the ball?
there on the touchline about to go on
the rush is too strange […]