Football Poets

You Can’t Beat A Cliché in Rhyme

this is a chance to say thank you
we’ve been on a journey this year
for the fans it’s been some rollercoaster
but come rain or shine they are there
and the noise has been something all season
and I’m struggling to find words to say
and nothing is yet done and dusted
and I’m certain that we’ll be OK
and if a high press isn’t working
then we’ll push on and build from the back
cause keeping it solid’s the answer
and we won’t let our nerves start to crack
but if we’re succumbing to pressure
and I’m jumping about on the line
as a gaffer it’s true and all I can do
is dig out these clichés each time

’cause we never give up if it isn’t our day
I remind them it isn’t theirs either
and I ask the big lads to just hold up the play
and give our back-four a nice breather
I’m the one that gets eve’ry one going
I’m the voice you will hear in the game
I’m the changing room clown when the chips are all down
and I treat ev’ry player the same
and if you think chances are thinning
it’s about what you do with the ball
’cause one swallow don’t make a Summer
it’s about how you set out your stall
so it’s onto the next game together
and the weekend can’t come quick enough
and I know it’s a cliché to say it
but you must take the smooth with the rough
and that purple patch that you go through
it can stay in the back of your mind
but you can’t judge a book by its cover
so you dig out out a cliché in rhyme

and it’s not just eleven men out there
it’s about everyone at the club
and sometimes whatever you do on the day
it’s down to the luck or the rub
but now and again if you’re careful
as a manager I always say
all you can give is a hundred percent
and Rome wasn’t built in a day
and it’s never quite done til the fat lady sings
but choices will have to be made
and sometimes you know that it’s one of those days
and there’s plenty of games to be played
and if Plan A goes right out the window
and the referee shows a red card
all of that work done in training
becomes suddenly doubly as hard
it’s an uphill task that you’re facing
and it might cause the ref consternation
but a 5-7-5 could confuse them
if you change to a haiku formation
and yes I’m aware it’s illegal
to be having that one extra man
and I know that you’re not meant to do it
but you might as well try if you can !
so you batten the hatches and tighten your grip
come Saturday you will be fine
cause you can’t win ’em all that’s a given
so you chuck in a cliché in rhyme

and it’s swings and it’s roundabouts sometimes
you can tell when it isn’t your day
you can spot a few tired legs are out there
but you see the game through anyway
and you pick yourself up and you dust yourself off
and you practise set pieces galore
’cause all you can do is get back and graft
and try til you can’t do no more

so I say to the lads it’s about the next game
and whoever turns up on they day
and deep down inside they all get it
and I know they’ll come up with a way
and with penalties don’t get me started
but you give it your very best shot
and bottom line all that I ask for
is you’ve just gotta score from the spot
cause it’s points on the board that’s important
and there’s no other target or reason
it’s purely to fight for your life on the night
when you get to that stage in the season
and if you’re just not at the races
and you feel ike it’s not gonna be
then you’re kind of resigned and you put it behind
because patience is always the key
and that’s why I don’t read the comments
and you won’t find me going online
my job is to be there to pick them all up
with a joke or a cliché in rhyme

it’s about how you get over setbacks
the response and the way you perform
if you’re up for the task and they do all you ask
then I know we will weather the storm
but don’t mention refs or I’ll lose it
and I’d sure like to know what they’re on
and I could say a lot but I cannot
so let’s put it behind us – it’s gone
and sometimes you know where it’s going
so you chalk that one off and renew
and you move on to Tuesday or Wednesday
and you come back again as you do
cause the fans are the ones that you play for
and they sing and they chant ev’ry time
and the lads know they’re out there behind them
and some of their songs even rhyme

’cause it’s never quite done til the fat lady sings
there are choices that have to be made
and sometimes you know that it isn’t to be
and there’s plenty of games to be played
and if Plan A goes right out the window
and the ref should whip out a red card
then all of that work done in training
is suddenly doubley as hard
it’s a huge uphill task and you know it
and it might be a tough one this time
but we pick ourselves and we just go again
and I find a new cliché in rhyme

and in cup games we all love a trophy
and you feel down inside it’s your time
but if heads start to drop and the boys lose the plot
you just can’t beat a cliché in rhyme

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