Heysel 25th Anniv. 29.05.05 + New Poets Welcome
1 HEYSEL REMEMBERED- Your Poems-Lest We Forget
25 YEARS ON 29.05.85 -29.05.10
Heysel And The Darkest Hour Crispin Thomas
Who Remembers Heysel? Parry Maguire
Under The Atomium Mark Thomas
For Liverpool & Juventus Kevin Raymond
In Memoria e Amicizia Parry Maguire
Tree of friendship and respect Clik the mouse
‘Heysel Deaths Marked On 25th Anniversary in Liverpool’ BBC News
A plaque to remember the 39 killed at Heysel has been unveiled at Anfield Stadium. The permanent tribute was placed on the Centenary Stand to honour the Juventus fans who were crushed to death when a wall collapsed on 29 May 1985. It was the first of several events in the lead up to the 25th anniversary on Saturday 29th May 2010..
The Heysel Stadium Disaster occurred when a wall collapsed under the pressure of escaping fans in the Heysel Stadium in Brussels, before the start of the 1985 European Cup Final. 39 people, 32 of them Juventus fans died, and 600 were injured.
The disaster was later described as “the darkest hour in the history of the UEFA competitions”.(Edited from taken from Wikipedia)
2 WELCOME TO RECENT NEW POETS’ POEMS (Feb 2010)
In February 2010, we welcomed the following new contributors to this site :
We welcome the following from Rossendale School
Click on the names above to see that person’s poem(s), or browse some selected first efforts below :
A Career of Two Halves
So Beckham is doing a timeshare,
Playing for LA and Milan.
I think it’s a brilliant idea
Every player should follow his plan.
Wayne Rooney can timeshare with Watford;
Taste life outside the top flight.
Let’s see how flash his play is when
Away at Cardiff on a cold winter’s night.
Bring Ronaldo to Luton!
British football at it’s grass roots
And if, just once, he tried diving
Defenders would kick him out of his boots.
Imagine, every premiership Prima Donna
Timesharing with the game’s lower leagues,
Far away from the fame and the limelight
Just the football, training and fatigue.
Then, perhaps, at last they’d realise
They’re living every boy’s dreams,
And might learn a little humility
And lead lifestyles a little less obscene.
© Mark Niel
Written in 2009 when David Beckham started playing for Milan when the American season finished. Mark did a season as “Sports Poet Laureate” for BBC Three Counties Radio in 2009
Football Is A Beautiful Game
With the ball a perfect sphere
courteous touch we must revere
whack it hoof it or the like
will not bring us much delight
If the table is all you see
that’s the wrong mentality
for a game of buoyancy
is a mere accountancy
Put some flair in our formation
would be source of great elation
with the fun we’d find solution
to the panic for salvation
© Jimmy Lindsey
The optimistic terrace
On a cold winters day
I watch my team play
They give it their all
But they don’t see the ball
The weight of their passes
That ref may need glasses
Demoted, promoted neither’s the case
Mid table’s the usual ambiguous place.
One day we’ll play this beautiful game
With all the elegance, without all the shame
Like that team off the telly with that wonderful grace
The one with the hairdos and electrified pace
Until that time I’ll keep turning the turn style and chanting the song
What else can I do but support my team strong?
In summary.
Come on you yellows, come on you blues, come on you reds for god’s sake don’t lose.
© jamie scallion
The Beautiful Game
I’m forever slaying lions
Disarming gunners too
Harry’s cowboys have lost their spurs
And Stamford Bridge is blue
The seagulls are lost in the valley
And the eagles have lost their spark
Warnock looks like a ranger
And there’s a shoot out at Upton park
The toffees are stuck to the table
And Anfield’s seeing red
Rooney’s scored a hatrick
He scored two goals with his head
South Africa’s calling
and things are looking up
The English lions are roaring
As we lift the World Cup
© quintonta81jr27022010
A Millwall Passion
I never realised how much Millwall means to me
my beloved lions my wonderfull M.F.C
My heart beats hard as they go to score,
we all jump up, cheer, shout and roar,
those raging lions are sometimes slow
what goes on in their heads we will never know.
They race to the goal like their tails are on fire,
we want them to succeed that’s the desire!!.
As we play on and win the game
we chant our hero ……. what’s his name ..
.. Neil Harris, Neil Harris come on son,
you make us proud you’re the one.
As we leave the Den, our heads held high,
full of excitement we wave bye bye…..
those sad away fans coming all this way
to see their team lose in dishonour and shame.
Remember one thing, we’re not alone
we’re a Pride of South Londoners and this is our home!!
© Ryan Williams
COME ON YOU LIONS!!!!!
Kick It Out – acrostic
Keep the games fair.
In the match it doesn’t matter what you wear.
Choose to be nice and try to care.
Kick it out we’re nearly there.
In this world we are the same
Together we can change the game.
Over a time racism has got worse
Understand and try to stop this curse.
Together we will stop it now.
© Michael Kelly
Blackburn Rovers Acrostic
Black or white
Let’s not get racist
Altogether were one team
Care about players not their skin
Kick racism out don’t keep it in
Black or white
Under one roof
Racism is wrong
Not under our roof!
Racism needs to stop
One game one community
Very soon
Everybody needs to know
Racism needs to
Stop!
© Jasper Stanley
Blackburn Rovers – Kick it Out Acrostic
Be nice to everyone
Let’s not get tight
A lot of people are black and white
Colours do not matter
Kick it out and have a chatter
Being different is okay
Understanding is the right way
Remember racism isn’t smart
No one should take part
Racism isn’t clever
Or smart
Very horrible get a heart
Each of us can make a change
Racism is very
Strange
© Harvey
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
John Gilbert Ellis
28th November 2024
joe morris
26th November 2024
Denys E. W. Jones
26th November 2024
Gacina Bozidar
26th November 2024
Wynn Wheldon
26th November 2024
joe morris
17th November 2024
Crispin Thomas
17th November 2024
kevin halls
10th November 2024
joe morris
10th November 2024
Clik The Mouse
10th November 2024
Crispin’s Corner
In Memoriam
Kick It Out & Christmas Truce
Latest Comments
27th November 2024 at 5:55 am
‘You’re Supposed To Be At Home’ is an excellent and moving poem Denys.
You start off thinking it’s just about another oft-sung chant, one we personally heard a lot last season throughout our second relegation in a row here at Forest Green(FGR) ! I always love poems where you think they are saying one thing and then they suddenly pull you deeper to somewhere or something else else.
I’m currently helping in a local school for FGR in a voluntary capacity using football to help young students with reading. At an upcoming session we will tackle racism, just like we did in workshops at football schools and grounds when we first started this site 24 years ago. I’m gonna try and weave your poem into a session.
We’ve added it to the Anti- Racism/Kick It Out section under Crispin’s Corner.
Best C
See in context
26th November 2024 at 1:59 pm
Great poem and great to see you back Wyn.
Don’t leave it so long next time my friend!
More please.
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13th September 2024 at 6:14 pm
Welcome to Football Poets Beth
Great evocative poem Beth….
More please !
Haiku always welcome.
Hope we (FGR) get to play you again soon
Best
Crispin
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26th July 2024 at 6:25 pm
Great poem Mike Bartram. Eddie was a legend, affectionately known in Liverpool as, “the first hooligan.” Even the hoolies were well dressed in those days. The amazing thing was he was only 26 when that picture was taken. He’d played for Everton youth team and was well known to the players. He never got arrested. They threw him out and he climbed back in, just in time for Derek Temples winner.
I used the picture of him being tackled to the ground on the front cover of my book, “Once Upon a rhyme in Football.” It’s worth looking on youtube and finding the re-enactment of the Wembley scene. Frank Skinner and Baddiel went around to Eddies home in the 1990’s and acted it out on the green outside. It’s hilarious, especially all the effort they put in to get Eddie sober enough to shoot the scene.
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10th July 2024 at 6:07 pm
Hi Crispin,
I don’t know if you’ve see the picture in social media today…
a picture of a teenage Lionel Messi cradling a baby in Africa as part of a photoshoot…. the family had won a lottery to have their baby pictured with him….
the photographer has just revealed that the baby is actually in fact Lamine Yamal!!!!
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26th May 2024 at 2:30 pm
Hi Denys…
Re Man City:
OK it was 20 years ago but Criag Wilson did write this and a few others on them back in 04/05.
BTW I’m more Forest Green Rover since 2014 (and Chelsea) these days . I drum and am a standing season ticket holder .
Best
Crispin
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29th April 2024 at 2:47 pm
Hi Denys,
Yes Richard Williams you’re a brilliant wordsmith, my friend. When I first saw your football poetry I thought it was the superb Guardian sports and music writer. I once had the honour of sitting next to Richard Williams while at the Independent on the sports desk. He writes about music and sport with immense knowledge and authority. I’ve read a couple of Richard’s books recently. Great writer rather like you Richard Williams the Pompey fan. Congratulations on promotion.
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28th April 2024 at 5:59 pm
Thanks Denys. Yes your replay poem was superb.
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26th April 2024 at 4:46 pm
Nice work, Joe. You were quick off the mark with that! Good one from Richard Williams too I see.
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25th April 2024 at 7:33 pm
Hi Denys,
Thanks mate. I’ll do it now.
See in context