Archive for December, 2002
The Best Game Ever with the Best Players Ever
Joint goalies could be Lieutenant Stewart, Of the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders, And his anonymous German pal, “He toured Britain last year with the Leipzig team and beat Glasgow Celtic 1-0… We arranged Boxing Day from 2-4pm for a football match. This, however, was prevented by our superiors at HQ.” At number 2 will be […]
POETS X1
POETS X1 In goal, I would place Caedmon, For if any Viking made a raid upon His goal with a shoal of longboats, He would repel them with Anglo-Saxon wit And make them flit. At full back, Percy Bysshe Shelley could welly The ball past Castlereagh and well away From danger too, And so prevent […]
Top X1
Thanks for Gordon Banks and Yashin was smashin’, (And feline, too; a hint of the animal, as well as madness, Is appealing in a goalie, don’t you think?) But the name that I beg is that of Harry Gregg, Who went back into the aeroplane at Munich in 1958, And pulled out the injured; No-one […]
Different Game Altogether
Hope you’ll forgive me this little indulgence : Had this one on the back burner for a while : it started out as a paean to a Gaelic Football match here in Ireland, but then the soccer tie-in became more obvious. It’s still very relevant at time of posting (written early August 2002, posted early […]
TOP XI – The Greatest Team Ever Told..On Paper (apart from Melchester Rovers)
eleven men inside my head and each one true and bold make up our team on paper the greatest ever told – whose keeper sat and sometimes stood as steadfast as a mast between the posts young BUDDHA smiled as ev’ry ball flew past and celebrated ev’ry goal as if it were a party and […]
About This Site
Welcome to Football Poets -- a club for all football poets, lovers of football and lovers of (alternative) poetry. Discover poets in every league from respected internationals at the top of their game to young hopefuls in the school playground.
Publish your football poems here and then discuss them with your team mates and fans. We're archived by The British Library, so your masterpieces are in the safe hands of a world-class keeper. What a result!
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Latest Poems
joe morris
18th May 2025
Mike Bartram
14th May 2025
joe morris
12th May 2025
Mike Bartram
8th May 2025
joe morris
8th May 2025
Mike Bartram
6th May 2025
Alex Saynor
4th May 2025
joe morris
4th May 2025
Steven Taylor
30th April 2025
kevin halls
30th April 2025
Crispin’s Corner
In Memoriam
Kick It Out & Christmas Truce
Latest Comments
24th April 2025 at 1:05 pm
Hey Denys..love this
“You may be a miner working down a pit.
You may be a rock star playing sold out gigs.
You may be a fireman putting out a blaze.
You may be an inmate chalking off the days. ”
Not just Dylan but maybe an unintentional nod to and shades of Ian Dury’s enigmatic ‘What A Waste’ rhythmic scanning..eg:
I could be the driver in an articulated lorry
I could be a poet I wouldn’t need to worry
I could be a teacher in a classroom full of scholars
I could be the sergeant in a squadron full of wallahs
What a waste
What a waste
Was lucky enough to meet and interview him twice.
Best wishes from Forest Green to Genoa C
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8th March 2025 at 2:34 pm
Thanks Crispin
I’ve been to FGR a couple of times in the past – great food! Barnet look like they have the NL sewn up for this season, but I wish you well for promotion next season.
Regards, Beth
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11th January 2025 at 8:13 am
TO ADD THIS TO THIS POEM’S COMMENT:WELCOME BACK DAVID MOYES!!!
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27th November 2024 at 5:55 am
‘You’re Supposed To Be At Home’ is an excellent and moving poem Denys.
You start off thinking it’s just about another oft-sung chant, one we personally heard a lot last season throughout our second relegation in a row here at Forest Green(FGR) ! I always love poems where you think they are saying one thing and then they suddenly pull you deeper to somewhere or something else else.
I’m currently helping in a local school for FGR in a voluntary capacity using football to help young students with reading. At an upcoming session we will tackle racism, just like we did in workshops at football schools and grounds when we first started this site 24 years ago. I’m gonna try and weave your poem into a session.
We’ve added it to the Anti- Racism/Kick It Out section under Crispin’s Corner.
Best C
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26th November 2024 at 1:59 pm
Great poem and great to see you back Wyn.
Don’t leave it so long next time my friend!
More please.
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13th September 2024 at 6:14 pm
Welcome to Football Poets Beth
Great evocative poem Beth….
More please !
Haiku always welcome.
Hope we (FGR) get to play you again soon
Best
Crispin
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26th July 2024 at 6:25 pm
Great poem Mike Bartram. Eddie was a legend, affectionately known in Liverpool as, “the first hooligan.” Even the hoolies were well dressed in those days. The amazing thing was he was only 26 when that picture was taken. He’d played for Everton youth team and was well known to the players. He never got arrested. They threw him out and he climbed back in, just in time for Derek Temples winner.
I used the picture of him being tackled to the ground on the front cover of my book, “Once Upon a rhyme in Football.” It’s worth looking on youtube and finding the re-enactment of the Wembley scene. Frank Skinner and Baddiel went around to Eddies home in the 1990’s and acted it out on the green outside. It’s hilarious, especially all the effort they put in to get Eddie sober enough to shoot the scene.
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10th July 2024 at 6:07 pm
Hi Crispin,
I don’t know if you’ve see the picture in social media today…
a picture of a teenage Lionel Messi cradling a baby in Africa as part of a photoshoot…. the family had won a lottery to have their baby pictured with him….
the photographer has just revealed that the baby is actually in fact Lamine Yamal!!!!
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26th May 2024 at 2:30 pm
Hi Denys…
Re Man City:
OK it was 20 years ago but Criag Wilson did write this and a few others on them back in 04/05.
BTW I’m more Forest Green Rover since 2014 (and Chelsea) these days . I drum and am a standing season ticket holder.
Best
Crispin
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