|

Poems tagged ‘Forest Green Rovers’

Fogged if You Do Fogged if You Don’t

Crispin Thomas

Wednesday, January 19th, 2022

you run the ‘gamut’ Rovers
upon this hill so high
you never know if rain or snow
or fog will wander by
and so it was on nights like this
with no wish to be bitter
you know that if it had gone on
we could have ‘mist’ a sitter

it’s hard to be a referee
to stand up like a man
I never felt that it would clear
as soon as it ‘ve gan’
our keeper stood out warming up
much clearer than you’d think
but then again you have to say
he was in fluoro pink!

It’s tough to blame the man in black*
or climate change this time
sometimes it seems it has to be
you can’t pump in sunshine
he ‘ummed ‘and ‘ahhed’ in our back yard
the banter grew and grew
and turned to munchies and to food
as banter oft will do
and if ‘gammon’ or if ‘gam off’
the will he or the won’t ?
it’s always true – fogged if you do
you’re still fogged if you don’t

I couldn’t see my drum stick
i couldn’t understand
i couldn’t see my own coffee
clutched there within my hand
nor could I see my mate James Bee
but of one thing I’m sure
‘our Jim was singing to himself
“I’m not seeing anymore”
and though I knew not were he was
I shouted back somehow
and I replied like Johnny Nash
‘I Can’t See Clearly Now’
 

as fog rolled in I cried to Jim
from deep down in n my soul
“at times like this if this persists
I‘d love a nice Fog Roll!
and right away I said to Clay
who stood there as you do
it’s fine that you be next to me
but I just can’t see you !

and when at last the game was off
with all our hopes bereft
“is there a new date (slice) arranged?”
asked Andrew as we left
but as I turned to make reply
he vanished and was gone
a phantom fan lost in the gloom
and answer came there none

Be the first to leave a comment »

I’d Never Heard Of Forest Green

Crispin Thomas

Tuesday, January 4th, 2022

I’d never heard of Forest Green
nor had I glimpsed The Lawn
when I first came to live round here
just as the Eighties dawned
I’d always loved a bigger club
at home in London town
but found myself upon this hill
right opposite the ground
fast forward forty years or so
and now they are a part
of ev’ry weekend ev’ry year
I’ve taken them to heart

through years of non-league struggles
to where we are today
upon the verge of something new
that could be on its way
we stand upon the threshold
though we’ve been here before
the little vegan village team
who’ve made their mark for sure
who’ve placed the climate and the Earth
as valued as each game
who garner fans from far and wide
but rile some just the same

there’s still so much to play for
up here upon the hill
our little ground it rustles now
where once it sat so still
where sheep and cattle roam and graze
and valleys stretch so green
the setting here is quite surreal
the strangest I have seen
but ev’ry time I make my way
past cottages and trees
I pinch myself and feel the joy
to share such times as these

who knows if this will be our time
we cannot get ahead
we’re only half way down the road
to put this league to bed
and though this Covid virus blows
and will not go away
our football and our longing
it keeps the blues at bay
and are we ready I’m not sure
we have so far to go
just how we get there I don’t care
and that is all I know

I’d never heard of Forest Green
nor had I glimpsed The Lawn
when I first came to live round here
just as the Eighties dawned
I’d always loved a bigger club
at home in London town
but found myself upon this hill
right opposite the ground
fast forward forty years or so
and now they are a part
of ev’ry weekend ev’ry year
I’ve taken them to heart

Be the first to leave a comment »

Something Happ’ning On The Hill

Crispin Thomas

Sunday, November 28th, 2021

there’s something happ’ning on the hill
belief is growing as it will
with far to go this time around
we keep our feet upon the ground
but confidence is there to see
in Rob and Richie’s Green Army

away fans loathe our vegan fare
our hilltop ground is way up here
it’s bitter when the cold kicks in
but nothing matters when we win
and when at last we get to see
our wooden stadium we’ll be
a football vision green and clear
but still we will miss coming here

arriving early just to park
and finding places in the dark
the fans who climb it ev’ry time
the little wooden match day sign
that sits beside the roundabout
when we are walking in and out

but standing in the South Stand here
the drumming and the atmosphere
reminds us of our non-league dream
for this our little village team
and though we’ve not been there before
the League One beckons here once more

but these are early days it’s true
we’ve been on top it’s nothing new
and usually we find a way
to let our lead just slip away
but this time there’s a diff’rent feel
it’s like we’re on a rolling wheel

it’s in our hands to see it through
to make those dreams and visions true
where ev’ry man’s a vital part
and plays with passion and with heart
and always show they’re proud to
be a part of Forest Green FC

but while it’s happ’ning on the hill
excitement mounts the way it will
and hopefully this time we’ve found
a way to keep feet on the ground
but confidence is there to see
in Rob and Richie’s Green Army

Be the first to leave a comment »

Get Me To The Match on Time

Stuart Butler

Sunday, October 10th, 2021

The day started well enough: a walk to town
In the soft light of soft autumnal sunshine,
Ridge and furrow with kine in the fields;
Drunken Swindon fans trying to walk straight,
Whilst Lord John bantering with the Old Bill;
Stroud’s farmers’ market full of season harvest,
Sundry chats about the match with passers-by.

But then! Chaos at Merrywalks bus stop!
Too many wound up young men, youths and boys,
All chanting, singing, provoking and taunting,
For a double decker number 63,
Let alone the paltry single decker
That belatedly hove into view,
Bound for Nailsworth and Forest Green.

Alas!
All normal rules of patient queuing
Went right out the window in a manic surge
(As Bob and I were addressed by an elderly woman:
‘Is there a football match on?
Do you remember Jimmy Johnstone?
Celtic and the European Cup?
I went to school with him.’),
We became mere spectators, mouths agape,
Politely listening to this memory,
As the queue behind us rapidly filled the bus.

And so, we decided to retrace steps and hail a taxi.
A lone driver shook his head; the other ranks were bare.

And so, we decided to walk up Rodborough Hill,
And so, to my home to jump on bicycles,
To arrive at the match in good time.

As we climbed the hill, a number 40
Cotswold Green bus, Stroud to Wotton under Edge,
Was coughing on its circuitous way;
We waved it down. It stopped. We paid five pounds:
‘Cash only on this service, my friend.’

The bus inched its way forward between two lorries,
One with scaffolding poles protruding
Into the very tight passageway.
The right-side back window got smashed to bits;
The bus got stuck. The driver got on his phone.
We waited and waited and waited.
Then plucked up courage and asked for our money back,
After the shortest bus journey of my life,
Perhaps twenty metres in total –
But full of considerable incident.

We ran up the hill and to my house
In Coronation Road; a quick word with Trish,
(‘You haven’t got your helmets on.’)
And then biked hell for leather along the A46,
(My red and white scarf tied to the panniers
Attracting the attention of car drivers:
‘Forest Green! Swindon wankers!’ etc,),
To ascend Star Hill, past the once Jolly Forester,
Once home of Forest Green Rovers,
To reach the haven of the car park and the bike racks.
We carefully locked our bicycles.

We then climbed the hill past the traffic jams
And seeming gridlock of coaches and cars,
To take our place in a serpentine queue,
The clock ticking madly,
Players already on the pitch,
Frustration rising with the turnstile deadlock:
‘Sorry’, said one solicitous steward,
‘We’ve only got two turnstiles on today.’
Another, less solicitous:
‘You shouldn’t all arrive at the same time.’
I pondered on the nature of free will,
And temporal-spatial coincidence –
But thought it best not to mention that
As my bag was searched,
Instead I plaintively replied:
‘Honestly, if it wasn’t for mutiny on the buses,
No taxis and then a bus crash,
We wouldn’t have done, mate.’

Be the first to leave a comment »

Rollercoaster Mesmerising

Crispin Thomas

Sunday, August 22nd, 2021

rollercoaster mesmerising
gung-ho goals show tantalising
like some throw back from before
like some fifties sixties score
just like you’re a kid again
out there in the sun and rain
game so open from the start
both sides being ripped apart
soft defences common sense is
leaft like banners on the fences
so swashbuckling in attack
still so shaky at the back
never safe at two goals up
felt like Derby in the Cup*
felt like Torquay New Years Day**
back three back four disarray
entertainment off the charts
from sublime to mad in parts
you score one and we’ll score one
nine goals going in for fun
we score six and you score three
is this how it’s meant to be ?
even with our final goal
still not really in control
was there something in my pie
pinch myself and dry my eye
barely time to cheer or speak
I could take this ev’ry week
never boring when I’ve been
up here watching Forest Green

Be the first to leave a comment »

The Little Village Team

Crispin Thomas

Sunday, May 23rd, 2021

this is a poem
’bout a little village team
up on the hill
at the top of Forest Green
they’ve been around
for a long long time
started out here in 1889
they wear green now
some find it barmy
but we still call them
the Black and White Army

known worldwide
right across the land
New York City
to our own South Stand
food’s all vegan
pitch is organic
and if we don’t score first
please don’t panic
we’ll keep trying ’til the final whistle
and if we don’t make it
we’ll see you in Bristol*…..

( ..and Swindon* and possibly Torquay*?)

Be the first to leave a comment »

The Day The Fans Came Back

Crispin Thomas

Tuesday, December 15th, 2020

it could be just a one-off
these days it’s hard to know
behind your mask you dare not ask
you’re grateful just to go
a little hope amid the dark
a glimpse of what we lack
while stood upon familiar steps
the day the fans came back

they start to take our temperatures
with care one at a time
a gap between us all in masks
as we await in line
we’re singing up here on the hill
we’re moving down a track
inside we know we’ve far to go
‘til al the fans are back

the game itself a joyous blur
for moments you forget
the stuff that’s going on out there
that will continue yet
you sip the flask that you have brought
you savour each attack
it’s far from normal on the hill
we’re grateful to be back

our world’s divided into tiers
the game provides distraction
it must be hard to play so much
without the fans reaction
you feel and see the team enjoy
the vibe the crowd the craic
however long it’s gonna be
it’s brilliant to be back

Be the first to leave a comment »

Back For One Day

Crispin Thomas

Tuesday, September 22nd, 2020

back for one day
to the ground on the hill
careful and wary
with Covid here still
temp’rature testing
out here on the street
we stand in a line
in our masks in the heat

we’re grateful to be here
this late Summer day
we keep to a distance
just like ev”ry day
it could be a one-off
the way things are going
and when we’ll be back
we have no way of knowing

the grass is so green
and the sky is so blue
there’s barely a cloud
but a breeze billows through
and for ninety odd minutes
of real live football
we don’t think about
what’s surrounding us all

the game is a flurry
of chances and goals
a blurry distraction
but safely controlled
we even discover
that crowds can still cheer
in spite of these masks
that we all have to wear

and here at the end
we all follow the rules
and are led out in rows
like we did back in school
the streets are all quiet
as we wind down the hill
now we’re back in the world
that’s surrounding us still

Be the first to leave a comment »

Still Behind Closed Doors

Crispin Thomas

Tuesday, August 25th, 2020

back on my own in the South Stand once more
but where are my mates and the crowd like before?
I’d love to stay but there’s no-one to ask
up on the hill in my hat and my mask
feel like a robber whose stuck in a dream
a bandit a cowboy up there on the screen
science or fiction it’s tricky to say
whatever happened to our Saturdays?
missing the moaning the drumming the lads
keep thinkin’ back to the times that we had
and nobody knows when we’ll stand here once more
now Rovers are playing behind closed doors

took it for granted this game we adore
feel like a rock star whose cancelled his tour
feel like I’ve sneaked in and shouldn’t be here
place is deserted there’s nothing to cheer
you say it’s easing and it’s gonna end
but you also told me that we could defend !
socially distanced the lockdowns and zoom
what will we do when the matches resume ?
yes we’ll be grateful that we are alive
but how will the smaller clubs ever survive
will it be down to a vaccine or cure
now Rovers are playing behind closed doors ?

I miss the times when we just couldn’t score
when we were brilliant and when we were poor
I miss the cold and the wind on my face
I miss the singing the vibe and the place
I miss the Quorn Pie the banter and friends
but when we all be together again ?
watching online doesn’t do it for me
bring on the day when it’s how it should be
when we are back and we’ll grumble and cheer
making creating a new atmosphere
and I’d give it all to be back here once more
but sadly it’s only still behind closed doors

Be the first to leave a comment »

If We Stay in Forest Green

Crispin Thomas

Sunday, February 16th, 2020

they say that it’s impractical they say we’ve gotta go
they say we really have to move but some of us say no
and yes it needs improvements the parking and the ground
but nothing is impossible that’s what I’ve always found
it’s not a lot to ask for it’s how it’s always been
so can’t we just explore it if we stay in Forest Green?

I’ve got no big agenda versus stadiums in wood
in truth it could be special but up by Nortonwood*
and what a place to play in to visit or to chill
blending with the valley the fields and the hill
a place where all away fans had somewhere warm and clean**
I know that they can do it if we stay in Forest Green

a South and North Stand toilet with a ceiling and with heat ***
so we don’t have to spend our nights all thawing out our feet
and on the top of my Q Pie**** with steaming hot gravy
some peas and mash potato like they had in the Embrey
I’m saying we belong here it’s where we’ve always been
our history and future if we stay in Forest Green

I’m really into eco and the times are getting tough
I stand up for the planet and all of that good stuff
and you can call me grandad a dinosaur too even
tell me I’m a wrinkly or another oat-drunk vegan
say that it’s not feasible but here was built the dream
of something really special if we stay in Forest Green

Be the first to leave a comment »

Source: http://footballpoets.org/news/poem-tags/forest-green-rovers/page/2/