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The Years Of The Cat (Peter Bonetti RIP)

Crispin Thomas

Sunday, April 12th, 2020

1 Leave a comment on verse 1 0 I was twelve when you first made your debut
on a long ago cold March day
and I stood down the front in the Shed with my mates
as we did ev’ry time in our way
and we watched you as like a magician
you would leap and clutch balls from the air
or pounce on a clearance or punch shots away
that were goalbound for certain I swear

2 Leave a comment on verse 2 0 there was something quite diff’rent about you
and even your surname Bonetti
that conjured up Italy pizza and sun
and the way that it rhymed with spaghetti
and those saves from the blue that you’d so often do
without ever resorting to flash
we were woeful and so inconsistent
and you’d save us from just being thrashed
and you had these amazing reflexes
like lightning or something like that
so feline and sea lion and graceful
and that’s why we called you the Cat

3 Leave a comment on verse 3 0 and the years that I stood right behind you
and I’d watch every dive through the net
and if there’s a goalie who bettered you live
well I haven’t seen him quite yet
you were agile with always a smile on your face
you were humble athletic and strong
and you were my number one hero
when numbers on shirts came along

4 Leave a comment on verse 4 0 I was twelve when you first made your debut
on that long ago cold March day
and I stood down the front in the Shed with my mates
as we did ev’ry time in our way
and we watched you as like a magician
you would leap and clutch balls from the air
or pounce on a clearance or punch shots away
that were goalbound for certain I swear

Notes

Peter Bonetti (1941-2020)
Sad sad news. The passing of a Chelsea legend between the sticks.

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Source: http://footballpoets.org/poems/the-years-of-the-cat-peter-bonetti-rip/