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League of Nations

1 Leave a comment on verse 1 0 “Some o’them wudden know the way to the Pier ‘ead,”
the old-time fan grouses about our new crew: a Czech,
a Norwegian, a German, several Spaniards, a Finn. . . .

2 Leave a comment on verse 2 0 True, it’s not like the old days with all the players
from the home nations, Scots, Welsh, and English,
with an Irishman, maybe a South African or so—

3 Leave a comment on verse 3 0 But if Xabi, Igor, Vlad, or Salif can knock ’em in, hey,
I won’t complain to see the club cabinet full of sparkling
silver once again, even if they know better the Seine or Rhine,
the Zambezi, or Danube, and not the Mersey’s muddy brown.

Notes

Aye, it’s a changed Liverpool FC these days alright. When I grew up, Ian St. John and Ron Yeats (Scots), Roger Hunt, Ian Callaghan, and Phil Thompson (English), and the like, were the backbone of the team. But I’m still proud to follow the Reds… and we have to admit that some of the foreign players have brought added class and excitement to English game.

Source: https://footballpoets.org/poems/league-of-nations/