A Welcome in October
In October 2007, we welcomed the following new contributors to this site : (see below).
We also welcomed the publication of ‘Inner Goal’ – Crispin’s own collection of football poems.
I N N E R G O A L
..the poetry of football a journey in rhyme
by Crispin Thomas
His first collection of football poems published on October 15th !
“Poems in the street, in the ground and in the heart…
….poetry with balls!” Michael Foreman
+
Book Launch – Gig & Signing
Poetry In Motion- Exhibition Gig with Crispin
@National Football Museum,
Deepdale Preston.Oct 25th 11am &1pm-Free.
Exhibition runs :Sept 29-Jan 2008 .Admission Free!
I’m sure Crispin would appreciate your support in spreading the word.
New contributors this month :
Emmanuel Soyombo
David Hulme
Akshay Basavaraj
Dale Boughey
Joe Tracy
Brian Robert Neal
Simon Parr
Also a welcome to the world to Luke O’Keefe (click here) , – poor young fella : condemned to life as a City fan – up the Ramblers! 😉
From Queens Park Primary School in Reading, we welcome :
Heather Montieth
Jin Abdalo
Youcef Bennadja
Click on the names above to see that person’s poem(s), or browse some selected first efforts below :
‘and You Have to Say That’s Magnificent…!!’
I’ll never forget
When Maradona punched the ball into our net, for the first,
The ‘Hand of God’ he reckoned
But I think if God had got involved at all
It was with the second.
© Simon Parr 05/10/07
I was watching this video the other day. Twenty odd years ago & it’s still in my opinion the Greatest goal ever. Mind you, he did only have to beat Terry Fenwick.
Glory United
The multi-headed monster roars
As Hughes the hero turns and scores
The winning goal
And kneels upon the blessed grass
In praise of that delightful pass
And goal.
Connect! And see the opposition die
Beneath a cloudless London sky.
“In comes Giggs – he crosses, oh,
And Hughes is there….
A goal! A goal!”
And one United mega-soul
Soars up in one delirious whole
Above the steel and concrete bowl
Of Wembley.
As forty thousand hearts unite
Within this furnace of delight,
Whose cantilevered cliffs deflect
And echo, bend and then reflect
The sound of this, a human ocean,
Swept by currents of emotion,
Hold up the Cup
And up and up
And in the glinting silver’s gleam
Reflect the glory of a team
Who forged their skills in winter mud
In shirts the red of Flanders blood.
With northern grace on southern grass
(The ballet of the working class)
The Reds reclaim a golden age
Upon this hallowed London stage.
© David Hulme, April 25, 1995
This was written in the mid-90’s and is not based on an actual game but refers to an FA Cup Final that I hoped Man U would figure in. They didn’t. But hey – who cares, given the glory to follow later that decade. Mark Hughes and Ryan Giggs are still making their mark on the beautiful game – amazing! The new Wembley was just a fevered gleam in the eye of some FA apparatchik. (This poem has never been published anywhere, by the way, so I hope you enjoy it.)
My Finest Football Moment
My finest football moment
Still warms my heart today
I scored a total screamer
I heard the opposition say
Was I nine or ten or older
Those facts I can’t recall
But I still can feel that moment
When I volleyed that football
It soared across the acres
My eyes can still see yet
The keeper barely moving
As it sailed into the net
A shot from such a distance
I saw, this truth is pure,
To that distant low horizon
and the earth’s curvature
I left the field to handshakes
They were amazed at what I’d one
But still it made no difference
We lost the game, 9-1
© J Tracy 9 Oct 2007
A true story, unfortunately. I scored from 30-odd yards as a nipper, and in my mind’s eye I’m sure I can still see the earth curving away as I was so far out when I shot. And we did lose 9-1. My school team was rubbish.
Viva Bra-sil
I remember, when I was nearly 10,
& Dad back then,
drove a Ford Cortina
and we were @ War with Argentina
and the whole country needed cheering up.
It was just as well it was time for a world Cup.
Which eventually went to the Paulo Rossi posse,
who no doubt celebrated by raucously singing,’ Viva Espana’
whilst probably downing loads of Cianti & plates of lasagne.
But in ’82 it was Brazil who made me see
how beautiful a thing that football could be.
I remember the game against Scotland, a team that were keen to follow their dream & make their mark.
They obviously hadn’t seen the Brazillian spaceship in the carpark.
And the ‘tartan army’ were dreamlng, the whole place must have gone up like a sauna,
when David Neary sent a screamer into the top corner,
one nil.
But Brazil didn’t find it remotely scarey, it just seemed to mildly irritate them a little bit.
And so they rallied & very soon one-nil became 4-1
Scotland were like the moon usurped by the sun.
They couldn’t take anymore,
they were on the floor.
This was surely the football that God might play,
on the eighth day,
Scotland were just blown away
with no dribble too flirtatious,
no free kick too audacious
from the likes of Zico, Eder and Socrates (the commander-in-chief). They started a hurricane as the World shook their heads in total disbelief.
© Simon Parr 02/10/07
They’d caused me my first childhood crush. I couldn’t wait to rush into school to show them all the things that it was possible to do with a football.
And I’m sure you know, eventually Brazil succumbed to Paulo Rossi’s wheels of industry.
Science overcame art.
Italy won the cup
But Brazil won my heart.
How I became a kopite
I can never forget the day I first saw LFC play
I don’t know the date but it was on a Sunday
At that time I didn’t know much about football like I do today
At half time LFC were a goal down
On Houllier’s face I could see a frown
Then came a kid who was the talk of the town
He stepped in and changed the course of the match
Scoring two goals in six minutes making it tough for Seaman to catch
I learnt from him that day that LFC don’t give up without a fight
That’s what they’ve been doing for over a 100 years day and night
That itself convinced me enough to be a Kopite!
© Akshay Basavaraj
The Supporter
It’s Saturday afternoon
and were off to the Molineux
to see our favourite footy team
who wear the gold and black
Their name is Wolves F.C
they are the best you’ll see
they play with pride and spirit
untill the final minute
Our leader is Mick McCarthy
of the Wolves barmy army
he shouts directions from the touchline
to guide us to the premiership in no time
When we win the match
by 1,2,3 or even more
we celebrate with glory
and the days ends with a great story.
© D@le!
great gunners
the gunners are great,
they’re the best,
i can see premier league medals, hanging down their chests
if you don’t like how they play, then you don’t like the game
without the gunners in the world, footy wouldn’t be the same.
© emmanuel soyombo 31/10/07
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
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4th December 2023
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2nd December 2023
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1st December 2023
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1st December 2023
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30th November 2023
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26th November 2023
Crispin Thomas
26th November 2023
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Crispin’s Corner
In Memoriam
Kick It Out & Christmas Truce
Latest Comments
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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31st October 2023 at 4:26 pm
‘Three Teams Worse Than Us’ from our Toffee friend Denys in Italy, also sums up how FGR fans currently feel. Yes, in our case, with two going down to the Conference, it could be entitled ‘Two Teams Worse Than Us’, but three would make us feel even safer.
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6th October 2023 at 11:49 pm
Enjoy it while you can, although I’m sure Mbappe could well be bound for St James
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2nd October 2023 at 1:52 pm
There still remains a magic about the early rounds of the FA Cup that the premier league / internationals can never match.
Coventry Sphinx v Leicester Nirvana sounds so much more than a tale of two cities etc. etc.
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24th September 2023 at 5:14 pm
Very accurate indeed!
Palace home for me is always a tough journey as well. From the wilds of west London to Selhurst is a random journey into the unknown.
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20th September 2023 at 1:37 pm
Lovely stuff for one of the best.
We love him to death down at the Palace.
I’ll post my Roy poem a bit later. You’ve inspired me to finish it.
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19th September 2023 at 5:06 pm
I’d like to think some of my scarves might get passed down the generations, but can’t see some of the “quality merchandise” I have making much past my son’s generation. They’ll fall apart before he even has kids, I reckon!
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7th September 2023 at 2:43 pm
Very true Crispin. Thanks!
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