Poems by Number Ten
- One Thousand Goals
- Liking Garrincha
- Providence
- The Only Things That Stop Him Are His Vices
- Spoiling The Party
- Distance
- Running All Night
- Do They Know The Time?
- Puskas
- Unlikely Replacement
- The Angry Fan
- Slowly, Slowly
- New Paint
- Doomsayers at the Microphone
- Rushes in the Month
- Rensenbrink in Buenos Aires
- World Cup Daze
- The Favourites
- Statues
- Before The Uproar
- Lapse of Lucidity
- Talking To Those That Hear
- In The Town
- At Home in the Goal
- All Wait Patiently
- Everyone Gets Swept Along
- It’s Been A While
- Claude Le Roy
- Standing Near Me
- Do it all over Again
- Bus Journey
- The Last Payday
- One Man Revolutions
- Conceding
- Total Poetry
- The Magic
- Sleeping Giant
- Colourful Game
- Day of Rest
- Still The Greek Flag Flies
- Figo’s Face
- Underdogs
- Life Sentence
- The Ageing Process
- Missing Out
- England Expects
- Passers By
- Peter Shilton Spent My Life In Goal For England
- Filling in the Gaps
- Tournament
- The Unheard Terrace
- Dust Yourself Down
- Sleepless Nights
- White Boots
- Delusion
- Square
- Hopelessness of a Goalkeeper
- Elements
- Shaking
- Screaming in the Faces
- Contempt
- To The End
- Breathing In
- Crash Against The Post
- Lights
- Mexico
- Hold The Back Page
- Where The Coin Lands
- Minefield
- Volatile Landscape
- Their Hearts Say Garrincha
- The Man Who Made Brazil Cry
- Down Goes The Gavel
- Malian Wanderers
- Counting Down To The Hour
- Turbulent Exhaustion
- The Joy And Spontaneity
- Voices From The Playground
- Walk
- The Sun Never Sets
- Different World
- Birthday
- Play In The Snow
- Collapsed
- Legend Status
- Sadistic Tendencies
- Come On In
- Enter A New World
- Alone With The Past
- New Face
- Looking for a Saviour
- Responsibility
- Cup Upset
- Tuesday Night
- Mr Chairman You Have Got Enough
- Yellow Matchday
- Relegation (In 3 Parts)
- Short Memory
- Dereliction
- Soundtrack
- 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
John Gilbert Ellis
28th November 2024
joe morris
26th November 2024
Denys E. W. Jones
26th November 2024
Gacina Bozidar
26th November 2024
Wynn Wheldon
26th November 2024
joe morris
17th November 2024
Crispin Thomas
17th November 2024
kevin halls
10th November 2024
joe morris
10th November 2024
Clik The Mouse
10th November 2024
Crispin’s Corner
In Memoriam
Kick It Out & Christmas Truce
Latest Comments
27th November 2024 at 5:55 am
‘You’re Supposed To Be At Home’ is an excellent and moving poem Denys.
You start off thinking it’s just about another oft-sung chant, one we personally heard a lot last season throughout our second relegation in a row here at Forest Green(FGR) ! I always love poems where you think they are saying one thing and then they suddenly pull you deeper to somewhere or something else else.
I’m currently helping in a local school for FGR in a voluntary capacity using football to help young students with reading. At an upcoming session we will tackle racism, just like we did in workshops at football schools and grounds when we first started this site 24 years ago. I’m gonna try and weave your poem into a session.
We’ve added it to the Anti- Racism/Kick It Out section under Crispin’s Corner.
Best C
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26th November 2024 at 1:59 pm
Great poem and great to see you back Wyn.
Don’t leave it so long next time my friend!
More please.
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13th September 2024 at 6:14 pm
Welcome to Football Poets Beth
Great evocative poem Beth….
More please !
Haiku always welcome.
Hope we (FGR) get to play you again soon
Best
Crispin
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26th July 2024 at 6:25 pm
Great poem Mike Bartram. Eddie was a legend, affectionately known in Liverpool as, “the first hooligan.” Even the hoolies were well dressed in those days. The amazing thing was he was only 26 when that picture was taken. He’d played for Everton youth team and was well known to the players. He never got arrested. They threw him out and he climbed back in, just in time for Derek Temples winner.
I used the picture of him being tackled to the ground on the front cover of my book, “Once Upon a rhyme in Football.” It’s worth looking on youtube and finding the re-enactment of the Wembley scene. Frank Skinner and Baddiel went around to Eddies home in the 1990’s and acted it out on the green outside. It’s hilarious, especially all the effort they put in to get Eddie sober enough to shoot the scene.
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10th July 2024 at 6:07 pm
Hi Crispin,
I don’t know if you’ve see the picture in social media today…
a picture of a teenage Lionel Messi cradling a baby in Africa as part of a photoshoot…. the family had won a lottery to have their baby pictured with him….
the photographer has just revealed that the baby is actually in fact Lamine Yamal!!!!
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26th May 2024 at 2:30 pm
Hi Denys…
Re Man City:
OK it was 20 years ago but Criag Wilson did write this and a few others on them back in 04/05.
BTW I’m more Forest Green Rover since 2014 (and Chelsea) these days . I drum and am a standing season ticket holder .
Best
Crispin
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29th April 2024 at 2:47 pm
Hi Denys,
Yes Richard Williams you’re a brilliant wordsmith, my friend. When I first saw your football poetry I thought it was the superb Guardian sports and music writer. I once had the honour of sitting next to Richard Williams while at the Independent on the sports desk. He writes about music and sport with immense knowledge and authority. I’ve read a couple of Richard’s books recently. Great writer rather like you Richard Williams the Pompey fan. Congratulations on promotion.
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28th April 2024 at 5:59 pm
Thanks Denys. Yes your replay poem was superb.
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26th April 2024 at 4:46 pm
Nice work, Joe. You were quick off the mark with that! Good one from Richard Williams too I see.
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25th April 2024 at 7:33 pm
Hi Denys,
Thanks mate. I’ll do it now.
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