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TACTICAL ERROR

1 Leave a comment on verse 1 0 Pep talk from the Captain,
who’s from the playing fields of Eton,
he drills into his players,
that they never will be beaten.

2 Leave a comment on verse 2 0 “Chaps —- don’t worry about the Arsenal,
just stick to our formation,
and once we have them beaten,
we’ll have a celebration.

3 Leave a comment on verse 3 0 A brandy ration is distributed,
to counter pre-match tension,
as the players line up to go on the pitch,
full of apprehension.

4 Leave a comment on verse 4 0 Some are praying quietly,
while others struggle with their kit,
some can’t wait for action,
they’re chomping at the bit.

5 Leave a comment on verse 5 0 ATTACK– ATTACK — ATTACK,
is the order of the day,
which seems a little odd,
as the lads are playing away.

6 Leave a comment on verse 6 0 They’re frightened and bewildered,
when they hear the whistle blow,
as up the ladder and on the pitch,
they are told to go.

7 Leave a comment on verse 7 0 Once out on the grassy pitch,
they’re greeted by a cauldron of sound,
but unfortunately for them,
this is not a football ground.

8 Leave a comment on verse 8 0 This isn’t Windsor Park,
or the Hawthorns at West Brom,
it’s the final game they’ll ever play,
on a green field called THE SOMME.

9 Leave a comment on verse 9 0 June the first, the year of sixteen,
a day of death and terror,
a generation lost by breakfast,
cos the tacticians made an error.

10 Leave a comment on verse 10 0 So when Remembrance day comes around,
remember them with pride,
cos if you were ever in the trenches,
you’d want them by your side.

Notes

20,000 dead, 57,000 wounded on the first day on the Somme.

Source: https://footballpoets.org/poems/tactical-error/