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Possession Obsession

Martin Randall

Friday, January 9th, 2026

1 Leave a comment on verse 1 0 Possession obsession.

2 Leave a comment on verse 2 0 Pass, pass. Pass.
Now I have the ball safely at my feet;
I pass it to you and you pass it to me, just one touch, so clever you see;
we keep this ball for everyone to see.

3 Leave a comment on verse 3 0 Again, I pass the ball to you…..and back it comes to me once more;
again and again, back and back, until at last, I turn away from you and pass;
this time to our friend;
and back it comes;
once more to me and safety.

4 Leave a comment on verse 4 0 A gap up ahead, maybe? I pass and we are on our way!
So swiftly forward, flying on our favourite wing;
we pass….once, twice, more and then;
back again……back once more to me;
I pass to you and you to me, one touch, so clever you see.

5 Leave a comment on verse 5 0 Who is this running so fast towards us now – a bluish hue amongst our crimson crew?
I turn to pass, but you aren’t there;
and our friend is absent too!
All alone, I seek our Protector and find the longest path;
back to our sanctuary;
and then you appear again; together with our friend; and me!
our Protector gives the ball to me, and I to you;
and back to me;
just one touch, so clever you see.

6 Leave a comment on verse 6 0 I lift my head and out of the gloom I can faintly see;
shadows dancing far ahead of me;
raised arms, urgent, desperate pleas;
I look up and see;
Can it really be……Hurst; Macdonald, Chivers, Toshack…..Summerbee?
The crowd so quiet ‘til now, rise with voice as one;
“give them the ball, for us to see!”
With one touch, I pass;
to you
and then…..
…..you give it back to me.

Notes

This poem was originally inspired by an interview I heard with Sir Geoff Hurst which struck a real chord with me. Sir Geoff was lamenting how often the ball is played backwards instead of being crossed into the penalty area. Alan Shearer expresses very similar views and you can really sense his frustration.
In fairness, I think there has been an improvement this season, but in the Premiership in particular, I feel that there can be long periods of possession before anything interesting happens!

Source: https://footballpoets.org/poems/possession-obsession/