Tom Finney
Tom Finney is adding his name to our book, which we hope to get out in the late autumn. The piece below is a copy of the letter I sent to him via Parry and Crispin. I was thrilled to receive a signed photograph from Tom in the post. It has pride of place on the mantel-piece. My brother-in-law, Rod, tells a story of Tommy Lawton and Tom having cod and chips after a match and Mr. Lawton not objecting to Tom having the bigger piece of cod because “You are the better player.” Oh tempora! Oh Mores!
“Dear Tom,
This is a free verse letter-poem
In which I try to express my thanks and appreciation to you,
A hero both to my own and my father’s generation,
So, a bit of history first:
I was born in ’51 and first kicked a ball in earnest
Around 1956, I suppose it was,
The black and white photograph by the shed and privet
Must be from around the time of Suez,
When my dad stretched my memory and knowledge
With tales of a fading footballing generation,
The men about to become managers
Who had helped to win the war.
You were a wee bit younger,
I’ve seen the photo of you from 1946,
Up the ladder on the roof,
Crinkled hair and stern concentration,
Doing a bit of work on some guttering, I suppose,
An unassuming young man following his dad’s advice,
“Get a trade, son. They’ll always need plumbers.”
And then there you are again, 10 years later,
Having your picture taken the same time as me,
You, the master footballing plumber,
Dancing through the rain and puddles
At sodden Stamford Bridge.
Tom, the Preston Plumber,
And winger and centre forward,
The modest one club home town man,
Uninterested in big money moves,
The 1946-1960 loyalty vintage,
433 Preston appearances and 187 Preston goals,
76 caps for England and 30 English goals,
Twice footballer of the year,
The man of whom Bill Shankley said,
“Finney would have been great in any team,
in any match and in any age
even if he had been wearing an overcoat.”
You might have to wear a coat a bit more now, Tom,
The blood gets thinner as the years go on,
Nursing your beloved wife;
But if only my dad was still around,
If only my dad knew that you are gracing our book,
He wouldn’t stop talking about it. Neither can I.
Nor can my 70 year old brother-in-law,
For as Rod says, “Once a hero, always a hero.”
Thanks, Tom.”
Stuart Butler – The Football Poets – Editor
www.footballpoets.org
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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 Comments
19th March 2024 at 8:00 am
Hi Crispin. Chris Sutton on the radio has gone for a Chelsea v Coventry final. As we know anything can happen in the Cup, and I reckon we can go to the final.
We’re still in with a chance of the play offs too, so lots to go for.
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19th March 2024 at 7:41 am
Hey Kev
Let the masses drool over their odds on City v Unted Final, but who knows how pressure can hit.
Cov and Chels will be rightly labelled as having no chance..but hey …stranger things have happened..
so Chelsea v Coventry…that’s the Final for us!
Best
C
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29th January 2024 at 10:03 pm
Hi Crispin,
How are you doing mate? Yes, you’re probably right but hey football is all about emotion and passion and I just love writing about the game. I try to keep my poetry to a reasonable length but there’s so much to write about the game and its literature just lends itself naturally to poetry. Sometimes I just get completely carried and I do apologise for the length of my poetry but it’s a great thrill to be associated with Football Poets.
Cheers mate
Joe
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10th January 2024 at 7:52 pm
You’re right of course Joe but…..it’s actually more of a big welcome break for everyone who is not into Premier League ..I’m talking fans of EFL National League and below…..
Btw …is this actually your longest poem ever !?
Best
Crispin
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8th January 2024 at 4:45 pm
Thanks!
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8th January 2024 at 10:42 am
There’s something so evocative and nostalgic for football fans the world over, in ‘revisiting’ old lost grounds.
Occasionally some remnants remain, with perhaps part of a wall or part or a stand or thre shape of a terrace, but often they are only still there in faded images and in our heads..
Great stuff Graham
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4th January 2024 at 10:13 am
A great idea and well executed. Thanks Graham.
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19th November 2023 at 1:45 pm
Thanks Gacina, glad you liked it, and I have just posted a new one about our points deduction…
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7th November 2023 at 6:34 pm
Today B.B.C post on F.B was titled:Premier League reduced to 18 clubs? I really think it may be interesting to see if this would be Everton’s nightmare and this poem is well suited for this concern.If there would be more difficult battle to stay if there were 18 teams.Great poem and somehow true.
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6th November 2023 at 4:43 pm
Ashington FC have launched a £50,000 Crowdfunder appeal to meet the increased costs of winning promotion last season, to pay for urgent stadium improvements, travel costs and equipment
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