Football Poets

A Welcome in January 2009

In January 2009, we welcomed the following new contributors to this site :

Jack Ling
Michael Donnelly
Jennifer Klower

And we welcome back, a blast from the past :
Phil Brennan who first posted in 2004.

A welcome to all our contributors from the Cambridge United Learning workshop :
A-Z of Football – Ridgeway Primary
A-Z of Football – Fen Ditton Primary
A-Z of Football – Bar Hill Primary

Click on the names above to see that person’s poem(s), or browse some selected first efforts below :

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He Led us To The Gates (Terry Donnelly RIP)

one by one our dad he led us
to see a famous team
the mighty Glasgow Celtic
who play in white and green
but as the years rolled on
our dad said to us
it’s up to you now bhoys
my apprenticeship i’ve done
so as i sit at Celtic Park today
a bit older and wise
i will close my eyes and think of dad
who led us to the gates of paradise

© mick donnelly
THANKS DAD
YOU’LL NEVER WAIK ALONE
IN MEMORY OF TERRY DONNELLY BORN IN COATBRIDGE 1931,DIED IN 2006.

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Football (We love it)

Football, we love it, we would watch it all day long
24 hours a day on telly, how could that be seen as wrong?
We would give up almost everything, to see our favourite game
But we have to sleep at some stage, it really is a shame

It’s not just us normal folk, who really the love the sport
The game is watched by royalty, at least that’s what we’re taught
It’s watched in places like Burundi, Kiribati and Peru
And even in Antarctica, ‘sky sports’ will bring a game to you

The real beauty of ‘footie’, is it’s open to one and all
You just need a place to play and something resembling a ball
A pair of rolled up socks, an old tin can, even a cabbage will do
A set of ‘nets’, maybe a referee, and of course a player or two!

The game’s been played since time began, and not that much has changed
Apart from the offside rule, which is constantly re-arranged
Two teams, two kits, a football ‘pitch’, and most importantly a ball
Are all the ingredients required to play, the greatest game of all

From Accrington to Zanzibar and all the places in between
You will find a football ‘fanatic’ that is crazy for their team
From Premiership to Blue Square Prem to a Sunday Football Club
You can debate every minute of every game, with a pint down at the pub

Because after all that’s where they are, the best players ever seen
Sat in their armchairs, or in the pub, discussing what might have been
With their ‘ifs and ands’, their ‘rights and wrongs’ and many other cases
That ‘diving cheat’ and ‘world’s best player’ is not fit to tie their laces

It’s a funny old game, a game of two halves, where’s your father referee?
It’s more important than life and death, well at least it is to me
When all said and done we love the game, through ecstasy and sorrow
But the greatest thing about football is, there’s another game tomorrow!

© Phil Brennan58

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The Evening of the Boycott

Evening Kick off at St.James’ Park,
Floodlights cutting through the dark,
Pitch deserted like an abandoned park,
But for white-paint groundsmen ready to make their mark.
Kick-off announced over P.A,
Twenty to seven, no delay,
No seat is taken but its half-past,
The East Stand flags are flown at half-mast.
For no turnstile has been in operation today,
Fifty Thousand tickets avaliable but few have paid,
For high up in the Milburn stand sit Ashley and his Cockney band.
A statement released, by him and Llambias, claiming no-one really wants to buy us,
“I wont be selling the club with haste”
Despite the bids that he had faced,
From Consortiums who certainly knew their place,
Who would not undermine any Geordie Messiahs,
Or sell any of our good players to eager buyers.
Instead, Mike had turned these down, claiming in a statement,
“There is no interest around”,
“From potential owners to buy Newcastle United”,
A club whose history has been blighted,
By boardroom scandals that have affected us in the League,
Who remembers Stan Seymour and Willie McKeag?
We are ran by clueless fools,
A Football ‘supporter’ who broke the rules,
Who decided to lie to keep this great club,
And the badge he knows we are too loyal to snub.
He has insisted on keeping Tourettes Kinnear,
Offered him a lucrative contract out of fear,
That one day he will leave our team,
(Everyone knows that top gaffers are few and far between).

Ashley’s fears were realised on that great night,
When the Toon decided to go on strike,
No Geordie would enter St.James’ that night,
For things had gone far too far,
Fuelled by the departure of Given the star,
Ash would face financial implications,
The story had swept across the Nation,
“The fans have seized back control of the club”
Ashley’s cigar had finally been stubbed…

A Quarter to Seven,
The Leazes was empty,
But for the away fans,
Of whom there were plenty.
And a handful of Geordies,
Who couldn’t resist,
Despite the pleas of mates who tried to insist.
The famous Gallowgate- empty,
The Milburn too,
So was the East Stand,
But for a few…

Final Whistle blown,
And Boycott completed,
Toon Army triumphant,
Ashley defeated.
We would tell our Grandchildren,
That his reign was depleted,
By us Newcastle fans,
Who refused to be seated,
Instead we decided to make a stand,
And that was how we got rid of,
The Cockney band.

© Jack Ling 24th January 2009
My Gran has strong views that the Toon should boycott so I decided to write this poem in order to try to imagine the colossal affect it would have on Mike Ashley.
Thanks to John Oliver, a good friend of mine who told me about this website and frequently posts top-draw Newcastle poems onto it.

I’m 15 years old and also write Football Articles on my Blogger- LAPFanzine@gmail.com. Just search ‘Jack Ling’ on Google Blogger if you want to read them! Thanks.

Many thanks to my good friend John Oliver for telling me about this

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The Man from Uruguay

His name was Danny Bergara, the Man from Uruguay
He came to us from Rochdale, we all wondered…why?
It didn’t take too long for us to understand the reason,
as he took us to the ‘play-offs’ at the end of his first full season.

And then the following year, with the wheels in full motion,
a truly memorable campaign, ended with promotion.
We had a team to be proud of; and were always on a high,
He put Stockport County on the map, the Man from Uruguay.

Our team was always in the news, both in print and on TV,
And soon he took us to a Cup Final for all the world to see.
Danny led his team out Wembley; the sun was blazing in the sky,
The 1st foreigner to do so, the Man from Uruguay.

We went to Wembley, twice that week, both games ended in defeat
Danny took us back twice more, the taste was bittersweet.
Even though County lost all four games, he told us not to cry,
He made us all believe in him, the Man from Uruguay.

His six years at Edgeley Park were the best many had ever seen,
He gave us a new sense of pride in our ‘little’ football team.
He laid down the foundations for the club to aim up high,
He will always be Sir Daniel, the Man from Uruguay.

And now we mourn his passing, a time of sadness and great loss,
To those who will regard him as the club’s greatest ever ‘boss’.
He will be remembered as a ‘legend’ as time goes by and by,
We will always be grateful for our time, with the Man from Uruguay.

© PhilBrennan1958
This poem is my way of remembering one of the greatest human beings to ever walk through the doors of Edgeley Park, a man from the other side of the world who put my ‘little’ team on the football map.
Thank you for some fantastic memories Danny, God Bless

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On hallowed ground

Faceless workers spill
From the shadow of the mill
On hallowed ground they congregate
For eleven men to consecrate
In the thousands they came
In worship of a game
And to entertain the mass
Of dour working class

© Jen Klower
Spawned from a father’s memories as the old PNE Pavillion stand was torn down last year.

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A-Z of Football – Ridgefield Primary

A is for attack, which makes you run quick
B is for ball that you have to kick
C is for catching the ball in his hands
D is for defender who runs past the stands
E is for excitement when you start to win
F is for foul, when you throw your money into the bin
G is for grass over which players run
H is for header which is great fun!
I is for ice on the pitch so the players spin
J is for jackpot – you get it when you win
K is for kicking and scoring the goal
L is for Laurie who fell into a hole
M is for match – that the footballers play
N is for Natasha, who ate some hay
O is for orange, the colour of the Dutch
P is for Peterborough – we don’t like them much
Q is for queueing when the line is long
R is for referee, who’s sometimes wrong
S is for scoring, not hitting the poles
T is for team who scores the goals
U is for United – they play in black and red
V is for Van der Sar, who has a busy head!
W is for Wembley, where there isn’t much dirt
X is for x-ray when the players get hurt
Y is for yelling – that’s what players do
Z is for Zola – he played in blue!

© Ridgefield Primary School, Cambridge (14/1/09)
This poem was written by a group of 15 Year 6 pupils

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A-Z of Football – Fen Ditton Primary

A is for Arsenal, Brian’s favourite team
B is for ball scoring at Wembley (it’s a dream!)
C is for Chelsea – they play in blue
D is for defending, the back four stick like glue
E is for England, our national team
F is for fans who like to scream
G is for goals to be scored
H is for Hull City who are on board
I is for Ipswich – they belong in the loo
J is for John Terry, he plays in blue
K is for kick, as the crowd shout
L is for luck, which is what it’s about
M is for match played day or night
N is for net, which is airy and light
O is for Ozzie who could pass
P is for passing over the grass
Q is for quick, as fast as you run
R is for Ronaldo – he’s such fun
S is for shoot – it makes the crowd scream
T is for team with great self-esteem
U is for under the goal keeper
V is for victory never been sweeter
W is for West Ham who play in claret and blue
X is for x-ray when you hurt and don’t know what to do
Y is for York City – they play in red
Z is for Zola who sleeps late in bed!

© Fen Ditton Primary School, Cambridge (13/1/09)
This poem was written by a group of 15 Year 5/6 pupils

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A-Z of Football – Bar Hill Primary

A is for after-shock when they score their goal
B is for ball that goes for a roll
C is for Cambridge, who play at this ground
D is for Danny, the best keeper around
E is for everyone who loves Courtney Pitt
F is for foul, which players commit
G is for grass as green as can be
H is for happiness – cheering for me!
I is for in the ground for the moles
J is for Jackson, who scores all the goals
K is for kicking the ball about
L is for loud crowds when they shout
M is for Match of the Day and the Cup
N is for never give up!
O is for open pitch, when the players aren’t on
P is for players who play for so long
Q is for quick, the way the players move
R is for running and getting into the groove
S is for strikers who score the goals
T is for tackling the people who fall in holes
U is for unlucky when hitting the bar
V is for victory when being a star!
W is for white of the Tottenham shirt
X is for x-ray when the players are hurt
Y is for yelling – that is what the crowd do
Z is for Zola – he played in blue!

© Bar Hill Primary School, Cambridge (15/1/09)
This was created by a group of 15 Year 6 pupils.

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