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Franchise Football, 2004

1 Leave a comment on verse 1 0 MK Dons, League One
Ranked between 45th and 68th best team,
in the whole of the land, at season’s premiere
In amongst some illustrious names,
like past giants Blackpool and Sheffield Wednesday
and recent enough top tier teams,
like Barnsley, Bradford and Bristol City

2 Leave a comment on verse 2 0 MK Dons, League One : their history …. ?

3 Leave a comment on verse 3 0 words fail me
for there is no history –
no results from last season to compare to
no proper home
no football stadium to call their own
no local fans steeped in the clubs traditions, whether meek or mighty
no heroes of the past to laud
no shirts of yesteryear, to proudly exhibit
there was no struggle up the ladder, no scaling of the pyramid, no victory parades
no 70’s mullets to malign
no sepia toned historical team photos – not from being lost or burned or destroyed –
just that there was no photocall, no one in baggy shorts, laced up shirts, baffling boots
no one with brooms on their upper lips, no one with centre partings, no one with arms uniformally folded
no trophy cabinet, filled with real cups, or memorabilia
no exchanged pennants

4 Leave a comment on verse 4 0 words fail me …
The League has failed football

Notes

I hope the Milton Keynes public get behind their team and make a success of the club, for they are ensconced now, it’s a done deal, but as football fans we don’t have to like the way it was done or the precedent it has set.

I hope for even more success for Wimbledon AFC, who have had to go back to whence they came, back to grass roots football. The real Wombles, playing in the borough of Merton.

Also, I guess my point is, that if Wimbledon had to fold, they should be replaced by a Division Three (aka League Two) team, and the 92nd place given to the next qualified team from the Conference. No-one should be allowed to just buy their way into the League – not until it’s constitutionally allowed – and how far behind is that?

Source: https://footballpoets.org/poems/franchise-football-2004/