Football Poets

Whoops!
i wrote this , after hearing about the brave and strangley ‘inspired’ Cardiff City DJ on the night of the Cardiff City v West Ham game this week,.who took to playing “Any Old Iron” ,”Knees Up Mother Brown” and other fun-poking tunes at Hammers fans! He also made urgent announcements over the tannoy… “for the owner of an old horse and cart that had been left unattended ,to return to the car- park immediately!” (a la Steptoe & Son)* An unusal way to fuse tension…in a potential firework of a fixture!

West Ham directors found the whole thing very funny.. “it made their night”..they commented in The Independent.The FA however are looking into it..! By the way..Cardiff fans…I just wanted to add that as a ground, I love Ninian Park ,.it has a looming and towering vibe .It also has a fine history in early First Division days, when during my early childhood,they boasted a glorious City team who were the pride of Wales . John Charles, the home of Welsh internationals,.huge terrace.., leeks for goal-posts almost ( Whoops !).All pre Millenium Stadium of course..However it has always , sadly, had a small and undesirable element that can,on occasion,make it an away- supporter’s hot spot.(not unlike Chelsea’s own notorious record a decade or two back)……
So I remember well, on one occasion, being chased down some darkly lit side street with my 12 year old son (who had a partially hidden Chelsa scarf on.. ) Chelsea were at the top of the then- second division that day, and had just scored 3 times in the last five minutes to draw 3-3. (after being 3-0 down.).and the last goal was hotly disputed penalty..I think you can possibly imagine the vibe from the home fans?
Big thank you to Mr Nice Welsh Policeman, whose arms we were fortunate enough to run gratefully into!

*Steptoe & Son was a circa 1960’s classic black and white TV sitcom comedy about an East End rag and bone family..for the benefit of our younger readers)