Football Poets

Life of Torture Following Chester

¶ 1 Leave a comment on verse 1 0 I think our theme tune should be just “down, down”,
We’ve been run ragged by a cowboy, joker and clown,
And yet thirteen years ago we were lying in Heaven,
As the Fulham defence conceded seven.

¶ 2 Leave a comment on verse 2 0 But the painful postcript now has to be told,
Our Sealand Road ground was soon to be sold,
And as Barnes’s words brought a growth to his nose,
Chester were off to share Macclesfield’s Moss Rose.

¶ 3 Leave a comment on verse 3 0 The journey to Macc took over an hour each way,
Many said that each game we played was away,
But against all the odds we survived in the third,
And now in ’92 we duly returned.

¶ 4 Leave a comment on verse 4 0 The Deva opened with a happy feeling,
Three unanswered goals left Burnley reeling,
But City soon lost sight of goal,
In October Harry McNally was on the dole.

¶ 5 Leave a comment on verse 5 0 Harry remains a real cult figure,
He drank the wine until he got bigger,
But now his time had come to depart,
Graham Barrow assumed the part.

¶ 6 Leave a comment on verse 6 0 Relegation could not be prevented,
But Division 3 status was merely rented,
Promotion back was clinched with two weeks to spare,
Full houses galore showed how much our fans care.

¶ 7 Leave a comment on verse 7 0 But then in that summer there came a shock story
Barrow walked out, what followed was gory,
City went back down without a fight,
Except for one most glorious night.

¶ 8 Leave a comment on verse 8 0 At Wrexham the Blues went down to nine men,
The Robins thought they were going to score ten,
With minutes remaining 2-1 was the score,
Before Milner ran through to give us a draw.

¶ 9 Leave a comment on verse 9 0 Pejic went amid the fans’ bait,
Mann followed after toothache,
Kevin Ratcliffe was soon the new man,
Mixed feeling amongst many a Blue fan.

¶ 10 Leave a comment on verse 10 0 Big Cyrille Regis was now up front,
It wasn’t just a publicity stunt,
His magic heading put City top,
But sadly they did eventually drop.

¶ 11 Leave a comment on verse 11 0 8th that year, no Twin Towers,
But the following year, in April showers,
The Blues ran riot against the Grecians,
This was one of our better seasons.

¶ 12 Leave a comment on verse 12 0 In the play-offs, Swansea beckoned,
A possible win, the experts reckoned,
But in a hostile atmosphere, City stumbled,
As Swans’ struck a third, all hopes crumbled.

¶ 13 Leave a comment on verse 13 0 A year later, the money dried up,
Wrexham dumped us out of the cup,
And in the ’98 summer, it soon became clear,
This could be Chester’s final year.

¶ 14 Leave a comment on verse 14 0 The ISA was formed, the fans were together,
Crowds did improve, whatever the weather,
City finished 14th, could’ve been lower or higer,
But hopes were high they’d find a buyer.

¶ 15 Leave a comment on verse 15 0 In the end they were bought by a Yankee called Terry,
And initially the mood was so merry,
He promised the fans there’d be First Division,
He’d go in three years, having completed his mission.

¶ 16 Leave a comment on verse 16 0 But soon things began to go so rotten,
City sank to the very bottom,
And with Terry choosing to managing the team,
He ended his hopes of the American dream.

¶ 17 Leave a comment on verse 17 0 Each game just compounded City’s woes,
Thrashed at home by struggling O’s,
Ian Atkins arrived and hopes improved,
But defeat by Carlisle meant they were so screwed.

¶ 18 Leave a comment on verse 18 0 On the last day a win would be enough,
But Peterborough were made of stern stuff,
And in the second half they grabbed a winner,
Our hopes started to grow thinner and thinner.

¶ 19 Leave a comment on verse 19 0 Shrewsbury had avoided going down,
They’d won at Exeter through Mickey Brown,
And once again luck was with Carlisle,
They’d avoided being bottom of the pile.

¶ 20 Leave a comment on verse 20 0 Despite a brave fight it was soon all over,
We’d be off to Hayes and Dover,
Barrow returned to revive the team,
But an instant return was only a dream.

¶ 21 Leave a comment on verse 21 0 Off the pitch, Terry was sacking each and every person,
Our fortunes began to worsen and worsen,
And although they won the Conference League Cup,
The club had now been totally shaken up.

¶ 22 Leave a comment on verse 22 0 In the summer Barrow went and in came Hill,
It hardly gave the fans much of a thrill,
City fans were staying away to make a protest,
And on-pitch City weren’t exactly the best.

¶ 23 Leave a comment on verse 23 0 But then came joy, as Smith sold up,
Fans felt like the Blues had won the cup,
The new man’s name was Stephen Vaughan,
A new era at the Deva was born.

¶ 24 Leave a comment on verse 24 0 But despite the return of a happy mood,
As they leave the pitch, City are booed,
Unless Mark Wright has a magic wand,
We’ll be in the UniBond.

¶ 25 Leave a comment on verse 25 0 The confidence is missing in much of the side,
Results like these could have made us cried,
But if we stay up, we’ll build up you see,
In two years time, back in Division 3.