Football Poets

Ode to Non-League Football

Oh, the glory of non-league play,
Where football’s played the proper way.
No diving divas or corporate glee,
Just heart and soul,
at an affordable fee.

Ramshackle stadiums,
a single small stand,
With loyal supporters,
pint in hand.
Dogs on leads,
tails wagging with pride,
As their owners question every decision from the side.

The pitches are bumpy,
the grass is sparse,
You’ll often see a referee fall on their arse.
The lines are uneven,
the goals slightly bent,
But who needs precision when passion’s the intent?

The players?
They care, they sweat, they toil,
For the love of the badge and the local soil.
They smile and they wave,
they know your name,
No millionaire tantrums,
just get on with the game.

There’s rivalry, sure,
but friendly at heart,
Bantering fans keep the spirit smart.
No scoreboards flashing,
no VAR delays,
Just a ref with a whistle,
and pure, honest plays.

Winter nights?
Oh yes, they freeze to the core,
Wrapped up in scarves,
we endure and adore.
Floodlights flicker as breath clouds rise,
This is football,
stripped of disguise.

And after the game,
grab a beer and a chat,
Discuss that great tackle,
or the winger who’s fat.
No velvet ropes or VIP queues,
Just camaraderie and post-match brews.

Your money supports the heart of the game,
Not a corporate giant,
just pride and a name.
No SKY Sports glitz,
no billionaire’s whim,
Just freezing fingers and Bovril,
full to the brim.

Nothing is better,
non-league fans agree,
It’s real football,
unlike the Premier League!
So here’s to the magic of non-league’s embrace,
A wonderful,
proper,
footballing place.

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Ten to Three (Darlo at Home)

So, the season’s started ‘alright’…
Marine gave us a fright,
but a goal mouth scramble
right at the death
and Bradley Stretton
made it right.

It’s a point on the board!

“But it should’a been more,”
matey-boy says,
and others agree,
over pre-match pints
and a burger and fries,
beating the queue,
at the hatch at the Farm.
Chewing the cud
and sharing news –
plenty more home shirts,
white and blue;
just minutes to go…

For Darlo at home.

Darlington; Darlo;
known as ‘The Quakers’;
traveling down to the Mini-Makers
and bringing a crowd –
who are already singing,
already loud –
seeking a point (or three)
of their own
for the board;
they’re up for it, boys,
that’s for sure…

“2-0 Darlo written all over it,”
matey-boy says; but few agree.
Nip for a pint.
It’s ten to three…

#rowanthepoem

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Prescot Cables FC

Prescot Cables FC
Now there’s
The sweetest sound
Of them all to those who
Adore the unfashionable
And unknown
Football in its
Warmest corner
Of a non League cupboard
Next to the quaint
Chest of drawers
Where the carriage clock
Rang quietly, peacefully
On the timeless mantelpiece
My lovely family witnessed
Its modest majesty
No fanfares, plaudits
No Match of the Day
Acclamation and confirmation
No egos or million pound
Contracts
Superstar auras
Ideas above any station
Just little, contented
Prescot Cables FC
Yes Prescot Cables FC
Electrifying certainly
Ladies and Gentlemen
Next to a wall
With glad tidings
Of floral graffiti
A ladybird to decorate
Your eyes
Before reaching those
Match box turnstiles
And gorgeous huts
Masquerading as terraces
This is the way football
Should be but is yet
Forgotten when the thousands
Of Premier League cheering
Subsides like the fading
Thunder claps of defeat
Or victory have yet to be
Announced in full splendour
On any weekend of your choosing
Any place, any time
Next to Prescot Cables FC where
The parachute regiments
Prepare for military
Battles, but never
There on Merseyside
Or any side
At any point in
The future
Apparently Prescot Cables FC
Were beaten 1-0
In midweek engagements
But not the end of the
World for a community
Where football is
A lifelong devotion
To an unswerving
Commitment to the cause
Prescot within a Liver Birds
Distance of the mighty
Anfield Liverpool battalions
With the last cries
From Everton’s Goodison Park
Just a heartbeat away
Prescot Cables FC as opposed to Preston
Hidden away in the game’s
Tranquil backwaters
Rippling pools of life
As opposed to the raging currents
Of the big boys League
Higher up football’s dizzying
Altitudes
Where only the fittest survive
Or so we’re led to believe
Just happy to belong
To football’s always
Protective community
Never airs or graces
Postures or affectations
Certainly not
Small and modest
Permanently Non League
Perhaps but you never know
It could happen one day
Fling open those curtains
And blinds and
Let the radiant sunbeams
Of League Two flood
Over this humble North West
England field of dormant
FA Cup glories potentially
Perchance to dream
The impossible dream
Prescot Cables FC we wish you
Well, proceed to loftier
Stages one day

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This Is For Those Who Travel

this is for those who travel
this is for those who care
this is for those who give up their time
to follow their team evr’ywhere
this is for seeing new places
by car or by coach or by train
this is for being outnumbered
and standing outside in the rain

this is for those who are loyal
the faces you spot on the day
and this is for those who are faithful
who turn up at home come what may

this is for where you can stand up and sing
with raffles read out at half time
this is for where you can bring in a drum
or hold up your flags and your signs

but this is for always believing
success is a very fine line
and should it be ours in this season or next
it will happen we know in good time

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In Good Time

this is for those who travel
this is for those who care
this is for those who give up their time
to follow their team ev’rywhere

this is for seeing new places
by car or by coach or by train
this is for being outnumbered
and standing outside in the rain

there where the adverts are local
on old fashioned big wooden signs
where terraces still rise in concrete
with raffles read out at half time

this is for those who are loyal
the faces you spot on the day
and this is for those who are faithful
who turn up at home come what may

and this is for keeping it going
whether in village or town
where new boys and giants who’ve dropped from the league
compete in their half empty grounds

and this is for those who no longer
are drawn by the Premier’s sway
where stadiums rise up like space ships
and TV dictates when they play

and this is for always believing
success is a very fine line
and should it be ours in this season or next
it will happen for sure in good time

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