Poems tagged ‘Aspiration’
West Ham still in contention.
Oh what wondrous delights
What miracles of art and science
The Hammers triumph over West
London neighbours whose harbour,
Nestled in sparkling opulence but then
Chelsea finally beaten on the road,
Stamford Bridge conquered
By the claret and blue troubadours
The East London street carnival,
Against the team whose
Village were once bulldozers
Almost bankruptcy and the
Darkest corners of the old Second
Division when Ken Bates
Donated a quid of his lucrative
Revenue streams now reduced
To scraps of survival,
But today West Ham flattened
The Blues finery and finesse
With their own rich fabrics
Atttacking logically with shameless
Joy, storming the barricades
Rice and Soucek
Midfield engineers
The pistons and pulleys
Driving back the blue
Tidal wave of cogs and
Wheels washing over
The helpless blue barricade
Then Bowen once again
Emerged as the young
Principal of this fluid
Mechanism, dashing here
And there, turning deftly
Then devouring space
Like a hearty banquet
Of meat and potato
Where ankles clashed
Like Roman shields
From ancient battles
Then Manuel, certainly not
Fawlty tucked the penalty
Home for parity
Amid the fleeting fluctuations
Of the game’s mood
West Ham selected their finest
Vintage of Chablis from the
London Stadium’s vineyards
Bowen, a fine bouquet and
Taste of a thousand grapes
Slammed home the equaliser
The Olympic park roof
Eruptions of volcanic claret
And blue lava
Then Arthur right at the end
Achieved the impossible
Defying the laws
Of gravity, a stunning strike
The winner
Chelsea no longer
Blue is the colour
Defeated by the
Stratford operatic
Choirs
Sir Alex Ferguson’s
West Ham way
As relevant as
Greenwich mean time
No longer court
Jesters
Still in the top four.
West Ham in the top three
Claret and blue, within
Our nervous system
Through the blood vessels
From head to toe
This genetic flight of
Fancy from the cradle
Of childhood and now
But West Ham are
Within touching distance
Of Chelsea and City
Yes indeed it is West Ham
Believe it or not
Of that much ridiculed place
When relegation might have
Been the customary story again
And again
But now it’s all very different
In complete contrast, East London,
Rubbing shoulders with the dinner party
Guests the caviar elite
Among the cream of the crop
Today the former Premier League
Champions finally vanquished
Undermined, Liverpool stopped
In their tracks
This can’t be happening to
These hitherto trapeze artists
Music hall pastiche
This parody of themselves
West Ham, the soul of our
Community, our family of
Football
Always beaten and defeated
Always that heart flutter
Of a thousand mediocrities
Never safe or stable
Wobbling like the precarious
Rock on the cliff edge
Hovering over the precipice
Reliving the days when Bobby,
Martin and Geoff won the Cup
But always out in the wastelands
And wilderness when trophies
Called.
So for this devoted fan
Could this finally be our season
West Ham, divine to behold
In November but so far from us
We can hear the summons but not
On the day, but perhaps the omens
May be just a breath away
It’s third at the moment
And the trumpets are silent
If Bowen and Benrahma
Can execute their faith
In the delicious indulgence
Of an afternoon in May
Antonio full of bustle
And belligerence
Rice whispering subtlety
On the ball and into our ears
Oh West Ham, let the
Cavalry charge
Into our Premier League dreams
Smilestone
By half-time, be in a with a shout
By end of match, be smiling broadly
By end of season, be happy with whatever you have achieved
If it’s less than planned, be not too aggrieved
If it’s better than designed, slap yourselves on the back
And if ye be Champions, then celebrate magnanimously,
for those subjugated, will themselves, want to be leaders of the pack!
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
kevin halls
10th November 2024
joe morris
10th November 2024
Clik The Mouse
10th November 2024
Clik The Mouse
6th November 2024
Alex Saynor
6th November 2024
joe morris
29th October 2024
joe morris
17th October 2024
Denys E. W. Jones
16th October 2024
joe morris
11th October 2024
Mike Bartram
11th October 2024
Crispin’s Corner
In Memoriam
Kick It Out & Christmas Truce
Latest Comments
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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25th April 2024 at 1:56 pm
Thanks Joe,
you might like to write a poem yourself on the same subject…
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23rd April 2024 at 4:03 pm
Hi Denys
With you all the way on the abolition of FA Cup replays. What are they doing to the game?
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