A Welcome in March 2009
In March 2009, we welcomed the following new contributors to this site :
Jon Tait
Ryan Clowes
Maria Manning
Craig Simmons
Ron Dixon
Winston Plowes
Bob Manning
Harley Reynard
Seb Gevers
A welcome to all our contributors from Whitley Park Junior School / 6 school :
Aiden Nugent
A welcome to all our contributors from Kenton Bar Year 5 / 6 school :
Harley Reynard
Curtis McGlen
Courtney Angus
Monique Hepple
Jordon Foster
Isaac Thompson
Callum Palmer
Abbie Alexander
Ben Dalby
Katie Lowe
A welcome to all our contributors from Pompey Study Support Centre / 6 :
Kennings
Click on the names above to see that person’s poem(s), or browse some selected first efforts below :
State of Play
The game belongs behind rows
of neat allotments & red brick terraces & pigeon duckets
watched by gadgies in flat caps
called norman & ted & frank
coughing coal dust into white hankies
in a stand that looks like an old cow hemmel
with the ripe stench of boiling onions & pies
& chip fat cutting the cold air
while a red glow from the steel works
illuminates the grey afternoon skies
as rain falls heavy as black bullets
from the gathering gloom
stotting off corrugated tin sheets
rather than in soulless concrete coliseums
where the flat warm beer in plastic cups
costs an hours’ wages
& they’ve never heard of ham & pease pudding stotties.
© Jon Tait
In Praise of the Johnny Haynes Stand at Craven Cottage
I sat in the Riverside Stand and froze
With fingers numbed and icy toes
On those rigid polythene affairs
The frigid moulded plastic chairs.
-And concrete’s OK for a bridge,
But it makes a football stand a ‘fridge –
For a winter sport you wonder why ?
-The solution comes from times gone by.
Across the pitch the Johnny Haynes
Shows that someone used his brains
The tip-up seats are made of wood
Which does the bum a lot more good
The floorboards too are rather crafty
With gaps between, which might prove draughty
But for the cheering, warming glow
From the catering going on below.
From a thousand pies a-gently warming
A balmy microclimate’s forming
And the warmth (that the Riverside always lacks)
Percolates up betwixt the cracks.
So the comfort of my JH seat
Will warm my heart and warm my feet
‘Cos here the chill of winter’s fleeting
When we’re all warmed by central eating !
© ron 2009
The much loved Johnny Haynes Stand at the Cottage dates back to 1905 and has a listed facade………..
Despite the stanchions which allow a more limited view than you get from the newer Riverside Stand, there are compensations…..
One Proud Night
Wild, Bouncing, Raucous, Proud
Another famous European night
Is there a purer, sweeter, sight or sound,
Than the dance at the end of the fight?
The legends, ‘Galacticos,’ ‘Los Merengues’
Marched into a cauldron of red
Then were battered and beaten into submission
Leaving silently, tails between legs
The monster – The Kop – triumphantly roars
As the troops leave the scene of the battle
The Anfield heart beats like a drum
The rhythm for 40,000 disciples
And an unseen General orchestrates it all
A leader born with immortality
Whispered by the very bones of the Kop
Is the name of man – Shankly
As the great man is watching from up in the clouds
His chest must be bursting with pride
For his sweat, blood and tears – all he gave, all those years
Lives on in this Liverpool side
© Craig Simmons
Inspired after going the Liverpool v Real Madrid game
Champions Night
Champions night,
expectations high,
the blue of the sea,
merged with the sky.
The warmth of the day,
the talk of what might,
a small humid bar,
on champions night.
The chat and the hope,
in a foreign tongue,
not one would admit,
what what might become.
The reds of the north,
they said in that tone,
would soon bow out,
and all walk alone.
But no, aghast,
as they rampaged the whites,
and Spanish hopes,
on champions night.
© Bob Manning
Fiesta bar, Mijas Pueblo, Malaga, Spain
What I Did On My Holidays
I’m sitting in the North Stand at Dens
Watching the Dee take on the Jags
Freezing cold
In a half empty stadium
Ninety-two minutes of keech
First Division football at its best
Then a greasy pie at half time
And coffee to keep the hands warm
When the goal goes in in the last minute
(A scuffed effort from ten yards squirms under the keeper)
I’m dancing in the aisles
‘mon Dundee!
It’s not that I support them
But I got carried away with the moment
Football does that to you
© Seb Gevers
Some thoughts on a Scottish First Division game on a bitterly cold afternoon in December.
Made Up
I can’t believe it happened
I can’t believe its true,
We only needed to score one goal
and then we would be through
We walked the walk
We talked the talk
We tried our best
But came up short
Kewell the jewell
Did all he should
Viduka probably
Wished he could
We’ll have to wait
For four more years
I’ll spend my time
Erasing tears
© harley reynard
Universal Football Supporters Alphabet
A’s for the away fans lost and running late
B’s for the round ball that makes our game so great
C’s for the pin point cross to the striker’s feet
D’s for the dugout, the managers retreat
E’s for extra time and biting finger nails
F’s for the final where the victor prevails
G’s for the goalie who kept us in the game
H’s for the handball, hang your head in shame
I’s for injury from a crunching tackle
J’s for joker who makes the home fans cackle
K’s for killer pass that puts the player through
L’s for the laces tied on the golden shoe
M’s for mushy peas with meat and tatie pie
N’s for the nutmeg that somehow went awry
O’s for the off-side the linesman didn’t see
P’s for a penalty, come on referee!
Q’s for quids on the transfer list changing hands
R’s for rivalry with local derby fans
S’s for the stewards working with the cops
T’s for narrow turnstiles spinning round like tops
U’s for useless donkey playing in defence
V’s for volunteers who make the difference
W’s for win, three points without a hitch
X’s for the x-ray, stretchered off the pitch
Y’s for yellow card, which spoilt the player’s day
Z’s for zeds of sleep on the coach trip away
© winston Plowes Jan 2009
A Model to Us All
A ball kicked by the best players,
and the audience are the best prayers
crossing fingers for their team to win
but no little effort should go in the bin
They don´t give up,
they don´t stay down.
They stand firm and strong
They sing their little theme song
Considered true fighters
considered of hard meat
They´re a model to loads
They travel through roads
Football´s not just a bal being kicked
not even all the goals getting ‘nicked’
It´s an inspiration to the world
It´s a way of having faith.
I´m not a big fan, but I support Chelsea
“cuz” of my dad,
Support will always call
It´s a model to us all
© Maria Manning
Football poet
Oh how the grass smells,
How the ground feels,
How the fans sound,
How the air tastes,
How the stadium looks,
That is why I became a footballer.
© ryan clowes
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!
My Account
Latest Poems
joe morris
17th April 2024
Clik The Mouse
15th April 2024
Mike Bartram
15th April 2024
joe morris
14th April 2024
Mike Bartram
11th April 2024
joe morris
11th April 2024
Alex Saynor
9th April 2024
Denys E. W. Jones
8th April 2024
joe morris
8th April 2024
Mike Bartram
3rd April 2024
Crispin’s Corner
In Memoriam
Kick It Out & Christmas Truce
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.
See in context
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
See in context
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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