New Age Football In The West+Stopping By The Bridge On A Snowy Evening
hi all two recent poems here… New Age Football In The South West (On the remarkable Yeovil v Plymouth Carling Cup Tie. 24.08.044 & Stopping By The Bridge On A Snowy Evening (on a snow-bound long gone winter day)…. 1 NEW AGE FOOTBALL – ALIVE IN THE SOUTH WEST the sweetest goal i ever saw […]
Time for another ‘Team Effort’?
You might remember the fun we had adapting Book titles in football pun fashion, prompted at the time by The Big Read series on BBC2? (see the poem entitled – The Big Read : fun with puns, under poet : Team Effort) This time I propose the following : a graffiti wall – read the […]
Coca-Cola’s Sponsorship.
It’s the end of dignity, the end of honour. Working for the Yankee dolour. It’s appalling enough to have this so-called drink sponsoring the “Championship”, but then to read about this money for goals idea…is there nowhere to turn?
Welcome to Alan McKean & Glenn & …..
When I returned from a trip away last year, there was someone who had just started submitting to the site : Peter Goulding – and what an impact he’s had! Pete has to be one of our most poular and prolific poets. Having just returned again from holyers, I’m enjoying catching up with another new […]
Football’s Second Nature
The day England played Portugal, My daughter, Charlotte, left for Geneva, And that dawn, I watched a skein of ducks Silhouette the widening, reddening sky, While I stood staring, thinking of her in her ‘plane, While I stood staring, stuck in my suburban back garden. But I love my Stroud suburbs, all that Edwardian red […]
9/11 Congressional Inquiry
“I spy with my little eye, I think, and, so, am I”, That’s what the football manager said, Irresolutely shaking his head, For when his team has internal divisions, Racked and riven by domestic schisms, The manager then blames luck and chance, Rather than a failure of intelligence; The manager rarely blames himself, It’s always […]
Welcome to our German Friends
Welcome to our German friends – we have just received an interesting batch of contributions from a German school. It’s good to see – crikey, we struggle to write poetry in our own language let alone somebody else’s. So well done – let’s hope some British schools start writing poetry in German. All this has […]
Tom Finney
Tom Finney is adding his name to our book, which we hope to get out in the late autumn. The piece below is a copy of the letter I sent to him via Parry and Crispin. I was thrilled to receive a signed photograph from Tom in the post. It has pride of place on […]
Welcome to all the following ….
This week, a warm welcome to a whole host of new contributors, who have all submitted to the site in the last fortnight : Olly Pearce, John Dunning, Michael Lohr (joining us from the USA), Catherine Moore, J.D. Murray, Wilbraham Primary school, Geoff Cole and Chuyen (from California). From all these fine efforts, I’ve selected […]
Pride without the Prejudice
Pride without the Prejudice When the football’s so prosaic, It’s hard to write a poem. When it’s all so formulaic, It’s hard to write a poem. But with 5 per cent of the electorate Sending a fascist message to parliament, Our attempts to reclaim the flag Have quite clearly flagged. Saint George in all those […]
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
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
Clik The Mouse
6th 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
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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.
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