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The Bandit (Albert Dunlop 1932 – 1990 )

ap staunton

Saturday, January 10th, 2015

1 Leave a comment on verse 1 0 A character as colourful as a packet of fruit pastilles ,
born and bred a wheeler-dealer , in a city full of rascals .
Albert Dunlop was his name , Evertons stocky goalie
with a build that showed his love of chips and ravioli .
Made his debut in ’56 against an unbeaten Busby Babes ,
and silenced Old Trafford with a string of fearless saves .
Everton scored five goals , Manchester United only two ,
Albert left with bags of towels and 26 bottles of shampoo .
The next game was home to Arsenal and a roaring Gwladys Street
we put four goals past them , Albert kept his first clean sheet .
He made the position his own , over the next six years
had great banter with the crowd , took the jeers with the cheers .
When police found him with a sack of cigarettes in Wallasey ,
at the next game the crowd chanted ” Any chance of 20 Embassy?”
On a September Saturday , away at Spurs in ’58 ,
it was Tottenham 10 , Everton 4 – a terrible defeat
Of all of those goals conceded at a stunned White Hart Lane ,
none of them were Alberts fault , the defenders were to blame ,
thats what he told the Manager , the Press and whoever’d listen
“What flamin’ chance have I got , when me back 4 go’s missin,? ”
His last game for Everton was at a packed Goodison Park ,
we beat Fulham two -nil and the 63 title was ours !
He left us in the summer , to pastures new , the Racecourse Ground
thinking he was going to Aintree , but was actually Wrexham bound.
Later he took over at Rhyl, Player Manager/Commercial Director ,
with a team full of postmen , joiners and a scaffold erector .
He even once picked himself to play at number nine ,
to put an end to the goal drought , never moved from the 6 yard line
20 Offsides later , he made a tactical substitution
took himself off , to the alehouse , to seek an inspirational solution.
None was forthcoming and with the gentlest of shoves ,
decided that was that and hung up his gloves .
Running out of money , he sold a story to the Press ,
“The ’63 champs were on amphetamines , Labone a total mess ,
. . . purple hearts dished out , before and after training ,
double the dose on matchdays , especially if it was raining ”
The club denied it all , lies from a ” has-been rent a gob ”
But Albert , as usual , made himself a couple of bob .
A character as colourful as a packet of fruit pastilles ,
born and bred a wheeler-dealer , in a city full of rascals .

Notes

Editors.. Great tale,,,,

Source: http://footballpoets.org/poems/the-bandit-albert-dunlop-1932-1990/