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Claret and blue triumph again

joe morris

Friday, December 1st, 2023

1 Leave a comment on verse 1 0 This hardly seems possible
Christmas festivities just
Around the corner
And West Ham begin to
Believe that Santa
Has already arrived
In garments of claret and blue
The European odyssey
Has now taken them
Beyond their wildest dreams
Credit rather than debit
To our Scottish guru
And motivator supreme
David Moyes
Yesterday drinking
The heartiest whiskies
On St Andrews Day
Job done, complete
Out of the probationary
Period when group stages
Tested their mettle
But last night
West Ham underline
Their significance
On the European stage
Prestige and supremacy
Confirmed
Signature on the dotted line
Through to the knock out
Point of serious business
Of Europa League combat
Backa Topola of Serbia
Now just some historical
Footnote in the dusty
Pages of yellowing
European football
Documents and files
Well thumbed and read
Soucek, another Czech mate
Greets knights and bishops
With a withering glare
Now that was too easy
West Ham rest your weary feet
And prepare again for Euro
Travels yet again next year
A goal that meant nothing
In the bigger picture
But this one had been
Completed ages ago
Back to the Palace
At Sunday lunchtime
It was always thus
Where the London Stadium
Awaits its regal guests
And Roy Hodgson
Looks for notorious
Soft spots in the Hammers
Defensive bastions
Sunday was never their day
For play
Where once Family Favourites
Would normally take up
Our sabbath leisureliness
But normally would occupy
That spot where the gravy
Dresses our roast dinners
And we just drooled over
Our simple pleasures of
Jogging gingerly and then
Sprinting for the line
And dad, how I loved you,
That commitment to cleanliness
Of the Ford Cortina
With sponges constantly wet
Then washed so wonderfully
To the point where
He could see his adoring neighbours
Reflections on his wing mirror
Of times long since gone
And yet West Ham are now
In our vision
Football was never part
Of his beef and brussel sprouts
Your lunchtime exchange
In family kitchens and
Well prepared feasts
Thanks mum, you were always
There
We knew and recognised as such
I knew that football was never
Your Saturday journey to
5 in the late afternoon
And classified results
But West Ham
Return to the Premier League
Turn on the ignition
Fire up the engine
Crank up the gears
Premier League revelry
Again, again
This weekend
It has to be
Domestic rivalries
Football of course
It has to be when
TV says so
We can hear and
See you clearly
In the distance
Thundering over the
Hills and moors
West Ham be
Prepared

Notes

West Ham are through to the knock out stages of the Europa League.

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Source: http://footballpoets.org/poems/claret-and-blue-triumph-again/