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Lansdowne, I Hardly Knew You

Peter Goulding

Monday, January 26th, 2004

1 Leave a comment on verse 1 0 Along with fifteen thousand more,
I watched the great John Sivebeck score.
From the right full back position,
He mesmerised the opposition.
On and on and on he ran
With smooth control and great elan
And finished with a mighty shot
That Packie Bonner found too hot.

2 Leave a comment on verse 2 0 The clapping echoed ‘round the stand,
And marked the end for Eoin Hand.

3 Leave a comment on verse 3 0 Three years later, Lansdowne Road,
With great supporters overflowed.
Terrace tickets were elusive,
And, as I found out, exclusive.
How many people who had seen
The Danes destroy the Boys in Green
Found getting tickets far too stressful,
Now we had become successful?
How many, we can only guess,
Came only when we got success?
“The best supporters in the world,”
Announced the banners, now unfurled.
[But only, they forgot to tell,
At times when we were doing well.]

© Peter Goulding 26th January 2004

Notes

In much the same way that you might discover a band, and then all of a sudden they get big, so following Ireland from the Eoin Hand to the Jack Charlton era brought great pleasure, but also a certain resentment.

Source: http://footballpoets.org/poems/lansdowne-i-hardly-knew-you/