Heysel 25th Anniv. 29.05.05 + New Poets Welcome
1 HEYSEL REMEMBERED- Your Poems-Lest We Forget
25 YEARS ON 29.05.85 -29.05.10
Heysel And The Darkest Hour Crispin Thomas
Who Remembers Heysel? Parry Maguire
Under The Atomium Mark Thomas
For Liverpool & Juventus Kevin Raymond
In Memoria e Amicizia Parry Maguire
Tree of friendship and respect Clik the mouse
‘Heysel Deaths Marked On 25th Anniversary in Liverpool’ BBC News
A plaque to remember the 39 killed at Heysel has been unveiled at Anfield Stadium. The permanent tribute was placed on the Centenary Stand to honour the Juventus fans who were crushed to death when a wall collapsed on 29 May 1985. It was the first of several events in the lead up to the 25th anniversary on Saturday 29th May 2010..
The Heysel Stadium Disaster occurred when a wall collapsed under the pressure of escaping fans in the Heysel Stadium in Brussels, before the start of the 1985 European Cup Final. 39 people, 32 of them Juventus fans died, and 600 were injured.
The disaster was later described as “the darkest hour in the history of the UEFA competitions”.(Edited from taken from Wikipedia)
2 WELCOME TO RECENT NEW POETS’ POEMS (Feb 2010)
In February 2010, we welcomed the following new contributors to this site :
We welcome the following from Rossendale School
Click on the names above to see that person’s poem(s), or browse some selected first efforts below :
A Career of Two Halves
So Beckham is doing a timeshare,
Playing for LA and Milan.
I think it’s a brilliant idea
Every player should follow his plan.
Wayne Rooney can timeshare with Watford;
Taste life outside the top flight.
Let’s see how flash his play is when
Away at Cardiff on a cold winter’s night.
Bring Ronaldo to Luton!
British football at it’s grass roots
And if, just once, he tried diving
Defenders would kick him out of his boots.
Imagine, every premiership Prima Donna
Timesharing with the game’s lower leagues,
Far away from the fame and the limelight
Just the football, training and fatigue.
Then, perhaps, at last they’d realise
They’re living every boy’s dreams,
And might learn a little humility
And lead lifestyles a little less obscene.
© Mark Niel
Written in 2009 when David Beckham started playing for Milan when the American season finished. Mark did a season as “Sports Poet Laureate” for BBC Three Counties Radio in 2009
Football Is A Beautiful Game
With the ball a perfect sphere
courteous touch we must revere
whack it hoof it or the like
will not bring us much delight
If the table is all you see
that’s the wrong mentality
for a game of buoyancy
is a mere accountancy
Put some flair in our formation
would be source of great elation
with the fun we’d find solution
to the panic for salvation
© Jimmy Lindsey
The optimistic terrace
On a cold winters day
I watch my team play
They give it their all
But they don’t see the ball
The weight of their passes
That ref may need glasses
Demoted, promoted neither’s the case
Mid table’s the usual ambiguous place.
One day we’ll play this beautiful game
With all the elegance, without all the shame
Like that team off the telly with that wonderful grace
The one with the hairdos and electrified pace
Until that time I’ll keep turning the turn style and chanting the song
What else can I do but support my team strong?
In summary.
Come on you yellows, come on you blues, come on you reds for god’s sake don’t lose.
© jamie scallion
The Beautiful Game
I’m forever slaying lions
Disarming gunners too
Harry’s cowboys have lost their spurs
And Stamford Bridge is blue
The seagulls are lost in the valley
And the eagles have lost their spark
Warnock looks like a ranger
And there’s a shoot out at Upton park
The toffees are stuck to the table
And Anfield’s seeing red
Rooney’s scored a hatrick
He scored two goals with his head
South Africa’s calling
and things are looking up
The English lions are roaring
As we lift the World Cup
© quintonta81jr27022010
A Millwall Passion
I never realised how much Millwall means to me
my beloved lions my wonderfull M.F.C
My heart beats hard as they go to score,
we all jump up, cheer, shout and roar,
those raging lions are sometimes slow
what goes on in their heads we will never know.
They race to the goal like their tails are on fire,
we want them to succeed that’s the desire!!.
As we play on and win the game
we chant our hero ……. what’s his name ..
.. Neil Harris, Neil Harris come on son,
you make us proud you’re the one.
As we leave the Den, our heads held high,
full of excitement we wave bye bye…..
those sad away fans coming all this way
to see their team lose in dishonour and shame.
Remember one thing, we’re not alone
we’re a Pride of South Londoners and this is our home!!
© Ryan Williams
COME ON YOU LIONS!!!!!
Kick It Out – acrostic
Keep the games fair.
In the match it doesn’t matter what you wear.
Choose to be nice and try to care.
Kick it out we’re nearly there.
In this world we are the same
Together we can change the game.
Over a time racism has got worse
Understand and try to stop this curse.
Together we will stop it now.
© Michael Kelly
Blackburn Rovers Acrostic
Black or white
Let’s not get racist
Altogether were one team
Care about players not their skin
Kick racism out don’t keep it in
Black or white
Under one roof
Racism is wrong
Not under our roof!
Racism needs to stop
One game one community
Very soon
Everybody needs to know
Racism needs to
Stop!
© Jasper Stanley
Blackburn Rovers – Kick it Out Acrostic
Be nice to everyone
Let’s not get tight
A lot of people are black and white
Colours do not matter
Kick it out and have a chatter
Being different is okay
Understanding is the right way
Remember racism isn’t smart
No one should take part
Racism isn’t clever
Or smart
Very horrible get a heart
Each of us can make a change
Racism is very
Strange
© Harvey
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
Crispin Thomas
25th January 2023
joe morris
23rd January 2023
Denys E. W. Jones
23rd January 2023
joe morris
14th January 2023
joe morris
8th January 2023
kevin raymond
7th January 2023
joe morris
6th January 2023
Crispin Thomas
6th January 2023
kevin raymond
5th January 2023
kevin raymond
4th January 2023
Crispin’s Corner
In Memoriam
Kick It Out & Christmas Truce
Latest Comments
5th December 2022 at 8:11 pm
Stuart, you are not alone, in your dichotomy of doubt
but without dissention
you stand alone
in hogging our attention!
See in context
16th November 2022 at 11:04 am
[Football on soiled turf]
This is a wonderful phrase which I shall be using from now on!
See in context
15th November 2022 at 3:54 pm
Well said Crispin. One of the reasons for The Ball 2022/23 is exactly this – that FIFA need to know. The Ball is essentially a petition to FIFA to honour their commitments to the UN Sports for Climate Action Framework. They signed up; they should act. The Qatar tournament takes the World Cup in the opposite direction to that commitment. And 2026 looks like it’ll be even worse.
See in context
8th November 2022 at 2:06 pm
Hi Guys
Re ‘Lets Boycott Qatar ‘ poem
You probably hate me banging on..and problably know (like me) that my/your not watching the World Cup in Qatar will make no difference.
Of course it won’t. That’s not the point.
OK someone might possibly eventually publish a minimal drop in terrestrial TV viewer numbers, but I fear that is unlikely.
But please above all, do go on writing poems about the World Cup, as/you we have always done. I hate to think a poem or two of mine might l make you feel bad about comenting on a game or country …or that I’ve put you all off about wanting to contribute.
So we’d love to hear from you and read your thoughts and observations, as ever on what’s going on.
Some of us have been here since Football Poets website birth/inception for the Euros 2000 ….
All my best wishes
Crispin
See in context
18th October 2022 at 10:06 am
Shoot! (Something we’ve also been screaming in vain at our team all season !)
Great memories Joe . Before Shoot, it was Roy of the Rovers comic too, dropping through my letterbox.
Anxiously waiting each week to see if they survived in the mexcian jungle after an ambush..or a pre-season earthquake!
See in context
3rd October 2022 at 8:32 pm
Thanks for the kind words Sharon. Yes, it was a shame with Billy Shako, but with five subs now being allowed, he might yet make it off the bench. Even if it’s just a cameo to close out a poem.
See in context
2nd October 2022 at 1:49 pm
John, your new book is an absolute delight and more please. It’s a shame ‘Swapping Shirts With Shakespeare’ never made it off the bench, but quality football poets light up the writing fields like Roman candles. Go well.
See in context
4th September 2022 at 12:42 pm
Great memories Greg. Took me right back.
Today I stand on a small terrace in the hills where I live watching Forest Green Rovers in L1, and keep up with Chelsea on highlights. It’s a far cry and a world away from those times when I lived as a child within walking distance of ‘The Bridge’ – just off the Ifield Road, which led to Fulham Road. The Blues were rubbish for so long, but we loved them and somehow we stayed in the old First Division for so many seasons. And of course we got to see Greavesie at his impudent best, scoring goals for fun. Mad unpredictable games where we’d score 4 and let in five.
The looming floodlights in the dark and mist on magic night games. The big games when the ground heaved.
I don’t think we ever realized how magical and incredible it was back then. The atmosphere and arriving there so early – like you said.. just to make sure you got in. Back when Bovril, tea and cake and roasted peanuts for sixpence a back were just about all on offer.
Good times.
See in context
4th September 2022 at 12:37 pm
see above
See in context
18th August 2022 at 10:20 am
To put it politely!
See in context