INNER GOAL Crispin Thomas ~ the poetry of football..a journey in rhyme ~
Published 2007 on Football Poets Books (Paperback)
From rattles, rosettes, women’s football and the trenches to fantasy salaries, racism and mobile phones for goalposts. Inner Goal spans 50 years in a perceptive nod to the People’s Game in verse. 75 poems and 65 haikus with illustrations from football’s maverick performance poet.
“One of the pioneer of football poetry…who ate all the pioneers?
Attila The Stockbroker.
This book sold out on Amazon @ £7.99 I still have some copies left for £5 + P&P. You can pay by Pay Pal . Email me : crispinctm@gmail.com
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
The qwerty-something Forest Green Rovers/Chelsea fan is part of Stroud’s stanza squad, the only known collective of football poets in the world. “We’re Swapping Shirts with Shakespeare, that’s how we see it. There is poetry in everything, Football is a fantastic outlet. It’s a release. And writing about it is a release too.” Crispin Thomas ~ ‘Blokes with Balls’ Jeremy Clay
Poems by Crispin Thomas
- Ruined By A Kiss
- Spain Triumph ~ WWC23
- Time To Bring it Home ~ WWC 23
- England & Australia Next WWC ’23
- England & Australia Last Eight Bound ~ WWC ’23
- Morocco & Columbia Make The Last 16 WWC ’23
- England- Denmark- Netherlands & USA (just!) Advance – WWC ’23
- Australia Nigeria Japan & Spain Through WWC ’23
- I’ll Write On My Own~ WWC ’23
- England France & Jamaica Triumph – WWC ’23
- One More Legend Gone -Trevor Francis RIP
- Lionesses Underwhelm haiku~WWC’23
- Winter Dreams in Sydney ~ WWC ’23
- New Zealand 1-0 Norway WWC Haiku
- Within The Women’s Game
- Getting Closer Now
- Come So Far – Women’s World Cup 2023
- Calling Gambling Time
- I Was There : FGR 1-0 Sheffield Wednesday
- You Don’t Know What You’re Doing (BBC)
- Motty
- John Motson ~ The Man The Coat The Mike
- When It’s Time To Go
- Forza Vialli ~ Gianluca Vialli RIP
- The Man Who Designed The Beautiful Game (Pelé )
- One Club Man ~ George Cohen RIP
- Stopping By The Ground On A Snowy Morning
- The Ball~ 2002 to Now
- Let’s Boycott Qatar
- Qatar ~ Not In My Name
- On Running Down The Clock
- No-one Loves It When You’re In The Danger Zone.
- Qatar ~ Will We Watch Or Not?
- The Classifieds Must Stay
- Lionesses Roar As One
- Goodbye Mike’ It’s All About You’ Dean
- This Is How It Feels To Win The League
- What It Means To Be A Refugee
- The Half Time News From Ukraine
- When Floodlights Shine
- Children At A Game
- Football Love Actually ’22
- Fogged if You Do Fogged if You Don’t
- I’d Never Heard Of Forest Green
- Lily Parr & The Dick Kerr Ladies Revisited
- FA Banned the Women’s Game 1921
- Something Happ’ning On The Hill
- Ketch Up Time Again
- How Long Until Diversity ?
- Flowers lie for Ron
- ‘Sir’ Roger Hunt
- Of All The Stars (Jimmy Greaves RIP)
- When An Old Ground Goes
- Trav’lling Fans
- Rollercoaster Mesmerising
- On Being Back Again
- Waiting For The Start Of The Season
- Sometimes You Know When it Isn’t Your Day
- Heartache In The End ~ Day 22 Final Euro 2020 haiku
- When England Take On Italy (Again )
- Where We Were That Day (Then & Now)
- Time To All Believe ~ Day 21 SF Euro 2020 haiku
- Italy Spot On ~ Day 20 SF Euro 2020 haiku
- It’s Always Really Easy Watching England
- England’s Fab Four Goal Fest ~QF Day 19 Euro 2020 haiku
- Denmark’s Spirit Class & Style ~QF Day 19 Euro 2020 haiku
- Italy stand strong ~ Day 18 Euro 2020 haiku
- Simón saves for Spain ~ Day 18 Euro 2020 haiku
- It’s Coming Rome! ~ Day 17 Euro 2020 haiku
- Ukraine Leave It Late ~ Day 17 Euro 2020 haiku
- Warning : England Still Contain Hope
- Swiss Roll Magnifique! Day 16 Euro 2020 haiku
- Five Star Spain Again .Day 16 Euro 2020 haiku
- Belgium Proceed ~ Day 15 Euro 2020 haiku
- Czechs go Marching On ~ Day 15 Euro 29020 haiku
- Italy March On ~ Day 14 Euro 2020 haiku
- Who Will Rule Out Danes? Day 14 Euro 2020 haiku
- France/Portugal/Germany’s Day 13 ~ Euro 2020 haiku
- Spain & Sweden’s Day 13 ~ Euro 2020 haiku
- You Can’t Beat A Cliché in Rhyme
- Watching England v Paint Drying in The Euros
- England & Croatia’s Day12 ~ Euro 2020 haiku
- Belgium & Denmark’s Day 11 Euro 2020 haiku
- Wales & Italy Through. Day 10 Euro 2020 haiku
- Day 8 Euro 202 haiku
- Day 7 Euro 2020 haiku
- Wales & Italy’s Day 6. Euro 2020 haiku
- Russia’s Day 6 Euro 2020 haiku
- Portugal & France’s Day 5. Euro 2020 haiku
- Day 4 Euro 2020 haiku
- Party Time On Hold~Scotland’s Day 4. Euro 2020
- Day 3 Group C Matches.Euro 2020 haiku
- England Win! Day 3. Euro 2020 haiku
- Day 2. Group B Matches. Euro 2020 haiku
- Day 1 & 2. Group A Matches. Euro 2020 haiku
- Euro 2020 Teams haiku
- Now That The Euros Are Nigh
- To Clap or Boo The Knee ?
- On A Magic Porto Night
- The Little Village Team
- Load more
About This Site
Welcome to Football Poets -- a club for all football poets, lovers of football and lovers of (alternative) poetry. Discover poets in every league from respected internationals at the top of their game to young hopefuls in the school playground.
Publish your football poems here and then discuss them with your team mates and fans. We're archived by The British Library, so your masterpieces are in the safe hands of a world-class keeper. What a result!
My Account
Latest Poems
Phil Brennan
21st September 2023
John Gilbert Ellis
20th September 2023
joe morris
20th September 2023
Phil Brennan
19th September 2023
John Gilbert Ellis
19th September 2023
joe morris
17th September 2023
Gacina Bozidar
16th September 2023
joe morris
15th September 2023
Phil Brennan
13th September 2023
John Gilbert Ellis
12th September 2023
Crispin’s Corner
In Memoriam
Kick It Out & Christmas Truce
Latest Comments
20th September 2023 at 1:37 pm
Lovely stuff for one of the best.
We love him to death down at the Palace.
I’ll post my Roy poem a bit later. You’ve inspired me to finish it.
See in context
19th September 2023 at 5:06 pm
I’d like to think some of my scarves might get passed down the generations, but can’t see some of the “quality merchandise” I have making much past my son’s generation. They’ll fall apart before he even has kids, I reckon!
See in context
7th September 2023 at 2:43 pm
Very true Crispin. Thanks!
See in context
3rd September 2023 at 6:55 pm
Play Up Pompey indeed Richard .
My first ever proper game when i was 10 was Chelsea 7-4 Pompey on Xmas morning 1959, Greavesie got 4.
First visited Fratton Park with Chelsea (2-2) and stood among loads of sailors back in the old Second Dvision early 60s . That’s when I first heard the Pompey Chimes..
Last visited in the mid 2000s to run a football poetry workshop on racism with local young students in the Study Centre you had then at the time.
Had a great chat with some of your fans when you came here to Forest Green last season…
best wishes
Crispin
See in context
1st September 2023 at 7:17 pm
Cliché heaven or hell..we get it all
Welcome to Football Poets John
See in context
28th August 2023 at 10:54 am
Thanks Crispin – noted re the boxer! Never know, perhaps we’ll get Forest Green in the cup… or Chelsea!
See in context
27th August 2023 at 4:47 pm
Hey Rowan
Tough line up of opening fixtures but werlcome to the National League and to Football Poets.
I’ve often passed your ground but never actually been.
Had to remove the boxert poem , sorry ….only poems about football, though i did read your tenuous link!
best wishes
Crispin -Editor
See in context
6th August 2023 at 3:46 pm
Don’t worry Apollo, I have examined the evidence on YouTube – he looks great, the real deal!
See in context
7th July 2023 at 5:26 pm
Let’s Hope for your sake Denys, that he doesn’t turn out to be from La-la-Land!
See in context
1st July 2023 at 6:33 pm
Lovely imagery in your Blyth poem Greg
C
See in context