Football Poets

An October Welcome & Remembrance Day

1 REMEBRANCE DAY (Stuart Butler)
We have a number of pieces here about football and Remembrance Day – just type in Remembrance Day into the search box.
2. OCTOBER WELCOME (Clik)
This October, as well as welcoming the new contributors to this site (listed below), we also highlight the :

Kick It Out Week of Action 17 – 30 October 2006, Nationwide

Where Professional football and communities come together for an anti-racism awareness raising week.

This year saw the “One Game, One Community” initiative. Our very own Cripsin Thomas does great work in this arena, through his Football Poetry Workshops, often teaming up with Football clubs and local communities to embrace the Kick It Out ethic.

This month, we’d like to extend a very special congratulations to the Fulham FC Workshop – who worked with Cripsin recently, and then had a selection of their poems read out at half time at the Fulham v Wigan match this weekend – and th group were also featured on Match of the Day 2 on BBC1 on Sunday night.
So congratulations to :

Fulham FC
Ellie Whitehead
Emily Fryer
Aya
Sahah Lees
Jameelah Graham

Welcome to all our other new contributors in the month of October, 2006 :

George Habergham
John McGuire & Ron Hiles
Kevin Connolly
Laijon Liu
Kerrie Brealy
David MacKenzie
Lauren Atack
Bethany Duncan
Michelle Turner

And from the following workshops :

Birmingham City
Olivia Kelly
Junaid & Aqib

Oxford Learning United
Sam Baker
Misgana Bazezew

Nottingham Forest Study Centre
Patrick Massam
Zainub
Josh
Sam

ELG interface – WHU
Caleb Johnson
Louise Hill

Sowerby Bridge High School
Sophie, Tiffany & Aex
Maariyah
Sam Dalby

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Some examples of our new contributor’s work :

My Stamford Bridge tour.

Year after year I had begged my dad
To take me to a Chelsea game
Year after year I waited
But no trip ever came.

Then one weekend in London
A holiday for the family
We decided to tour The Bridge
Home to champions Chelsea.

We started in the players lounge
The footballer’s wives get the best view
Of the pitch, ground and fans
And comfy chairs too!

We moved round to the away stand
And looked out at the ground
Taking pictures of the empty stadium
Devoid of it’s usual Saturday sound.

Then into the press room
Where the reporters have a free bar
And the Special One’s chair
Lacking it’s special star.

Through to the away changing room
Quite sizeable it would seem
Nice blue physio table
And walls of pale cream.

But the home changing room opposite
Put the away one to shame
With the shirts on show
Of the Chelsea boy’s names.

Huge lockers, very spacious
Only the best shampoo in the showers
Fit for kings, gods you might say
In here you could spend hours.

Then we lined up in the tunnel
A pat on the Chelsea crest for luck
Although it was quite close to your head
Crouch would have to duck!

Then out onto the pitch
Takes your breath away
Old chewing gum all over the away dugout
When Fergie comes to stay!

And the end drew near
As we finished touring in the Chelsea museum
Waxworks of Terry and Lampard
(looked nothing like ‘em!).

Then one final photo
Of the view of the ground from Fulham Road
Next year I hope to be here
Wearing my royal blue shirt with pride, and maybe a scarf if it’s cold!

© Kerrie Brealy 24 october 2006

We went on this tour earlier this year in the summer. I still havn’t been to watch Chelsea yet, and after years of nagging i can only carry on nagging and hope that next year will be my year!

Editor’s note :

Come on Kerrie’s dad – pull your finger out!

From one 2 Tone fan to another 😉

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Of Ghosts and Men

Chin raised, narrowed eyes
Fixed upon a nameless prize,
Bottom lip curled,
The boy steps forward
To the warrior tune of Johnny Todd.

The click of studs
Pierce the hollow emptiness
In a tunnel often walked by braves;
Those greats, so blue
They made the oceans look like mud.

Now Immortals –
Those genii
Of days gone by
Like Dixie, Royle,
The Golden Ghost
And a host of others
Stepping in the steps
That he now trod.

Roughshod he was,
From Merseyside;
Fearless, peerless,
A leader of men

Marching clip-clop
Through the dark
Stark reality of
Battle to come

Humming songs from home,
No longer alone,
He saw the light
Bright-dazzling
And heard the might
Of forty thousand Scouse

Chanting, ranting out the tune,
“Roon! Roon! Roon! Roon!”

© 2006 by John McGuire & Ron Hiles

The emotion, the dreams, the stepping forth of a warrior who from that moment will make his mark on the game we love so much.
Once hailed… now gone, but never forgotten.
This work is co-written by John (a blue) and Ron (an impartial lover of our great game).

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Worship

The crowd face
To worship
The crossbar monoliths.

The priests reverently place
The sacred orb
Into the caress of the net.

As one,
Thousands raise their voices
In prayer.

© Michelle Turner
Michelle Turner
Off The Shelf
October 7th 2006

I was performing a poem, at the Sheffield “Off The Shelf” /FURD (Football Unites Racism Divides) event at the Showroom tonight.

Crispin (Thomas) set we adults the same task that he’d set the children who’d attended a workshop earlier that day.

We had to imagine how an alien from outer space would percieve football, if they’d come to it cold, having never seen it before.

I visualised the alien interpreting the passion fans feel, as it being a sort of mass-religious rite.

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United Colours of Football Haiku

footballs of yellow

red black white silver and blue

fans of every hue

© Bethany Duncan
written at the Academy workshop on Racism at Sheffield on Saturday with Crispin.

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Man United

United forever – that’s what we all sing,
When we think of the trophies that our team will bring.
We’ve got Roo and Ronaldo to bang in the goals,
Then sat right behind them we’ve got Paul Scholes.
To keep the clean sheets we’ve got Van Der Sar,
And with Rio and Neville this team can go far.
Giggsy can still keep on running for miles,
And when Saha scores even Fergie smiles.
Heinze can tackle so wingers beware,
If you mess with us you’re in for a scare.
Jose Mourinho‘s time has done,
So watch out Chelsea – HERE WE COME!!!

© Lauren Atack

This season is our best chance in a long time so come on Fergie’s Lads!!

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Happy Is The Player Who Plays Right.

Happy is the player that plays not in the method of the wicked, nor dives in the way of sinners, nor fake an injury in the act of the hypocrites.

But his delight is in the law of soccer; and in the law of soccer he plays every game.

And he shall be like a tree planted by the living stream, which brings forth his goals in every season; his legs also shall not wither; and in every pass he does, he creates winning opportunity.

The wicked are not so: but are like the chaff that the wind sweeps away.

Therefore the wicked shall not stand in the final, nor sinners in the club of the righteous.

For the LORD knows the way of the righteous: but the way of the wicked shall perish.

© Soccer Is The Way Of Life – SITWOL by Laijon Liu 10/01/2006

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