Poems filed under ‘Featured’
What Did We Do Before 5 Live 1994-2024
how did we manage how did we get by
how did we exist as fans you and I
how did we do it how did we survive
what did we do …before 5 Live ?*
thirty years ago right across the land
radio was diff’rent for the loyal football fan?
premier league only two years old
5 Live brought fans in from the cold
information highway still breaking through
5 Live connected injected me and you
the past was a wasteland of ev’rything before
5 Live took off in Nineteen Ninety Four
21st Century news for the nation
5 Live gave us all a World Cup station
there without England in the USA
there when Ireland nearly had their day
there when the drama began to unfold
there when Escobar was killed for a goal
there when Maradona got caught for dope
there in South Africa when blacks got the vote
even when reception got a little bit rough
5 Live was there for the nail-biting stuff
there when the Chunnel became reality
there when Blur were playing Glaston’bry
there when Mandela became president
there after Christmas to tell us what we spent
there through the horrors of Rwanda’s genocide
there when Kurt Cobain took his own life
there when Milan won the Champions League
there when human beings made history
there on the pitch when United did the double
there in a flash on the outbreak of trouble
there with the phone-ins helping people cope
there in the earthquakes the pain and the hope
there in the darkest hours of 9/11
there in the horror times of July 7
there on the dial or the touch of a screen
5 Live somewhere and always on the scene
there at the game ev’ry roar ev’ry cheer
taking it for granted like it’s always been here
there when the snow brings the country to a halt
there when the leaders claim it isn’t their fault
there like a friend and the only safe bet
there in the second when the ball hits the net
there with the people who have nothing left at all
there with the rumours however big or small
early in the morning or later on Drive
phone-ins and moan-ins all on 5 Live
there in the afternoon chatting to a band
there with the updates when you’re stuck in some jam
there in Afghanistan there in Iraq
there when your team wins games back to back
there at Wembley and Wimbledon too
there at the Olympics and the Para ones too
cutting to the chase like a dagger or a knife
quality radio here on 5 Live
catch it in the car maybe catch it on your phone
there at a première or war torn zone
listen on your headphones if ya lyin’ in your bed
texting in your feelings on something they said
listen while you’re cookin’ or soaking in a bath
even if your club are a joke or a laugh
even if your team are playing in Peru
5 Live’ll be there to get the news through
always on the spot like a ship in ev’ry port
UK flagship for live news and sport
home or away when it goes to extra time
medium long-wave or digital online
tuning in together on six nine three
life on the airwaves for you and for me
there when you’re losing and you’re heading for the exit
there when it drags like a groundhog Brexit
there through Covid keeping us sane
there when none if us could go to a game
twenty four seven three six five
news views and comment’ry there on 5 Live
so how did we manage how did we get by
how did we exist as fans you and I?
how did we do it how did we survive
what did we do before 5 Live ?
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!
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Crispin’s Corner
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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.
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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
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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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