|

Penalties

Anthony Hofler

Friday, April 4th, 2008

1 Leave a comment on verse 1 0 Liverpool’ (a mainly-foreign team) have won the F.A. Cup
Today. They won on penalties. Of course, I got mixed up
As the penalties were taken, alternating one by one.
The commentator didn’t. He said ‘Liverpool have won
If West Ham fail to score with the next one which they take,’
And indeed that is what happened; he had not made a mistake.
Similarly all the fans and players seemed to know
The situation, and that made me wonder ‘ why am I so slow?’
I have a new proposal for how penalties could be
Reorganised and simplified to help people like me.
Instead of rival players taking turns to have a go,
Let each team take all five of their own ‘spot-kicks’ in a row.
When the five to be taken by the one team were complete,
It would be obvious how many goals the other had to beat.
If the scoring ended level, let alternate turns begin,
And the team who were the first to go a goal ahead would win.
The ‘shoots-out’ would be better if they were thus rearranged.
If you agree, then please campaign so we can get them changed.

© Anthony Hofler 2008

Notes

(Unpublished until I discovered “The Football Poets”)….
reply-
You thought you weren’t published………you are now .Eds

Source: http://footballpoets.org/poems/penalties/