MANCHESTER UNITED’S UNDERGROUND HEATING

Manchester United’s underground

Heating hasn’t been restored

So they’re planning to rename

The stadium Cold Trafford

JOHN JAMES "JOHNNY" BERRY (1 JUNE 1926 – 16 SEPTEMBER 1994)

 

The Forgotten Babe

John James "Johnny" Berry

Survived the wreckage

Amidst the snows of Munich

Though the crash didn’t end his life

He never played again

JOHN "JACKIE" BLANCHFLOWER (7 MARCH 1933 – 2 SEPTEMBER 1998)

 

Nicknamed "Twiggy"

John "Jackie" Blanchflower

Survived the wreckage

Amidst the snows of Munich

Though the crash didn’t end his life

It did bring his footballing career

To an untimely end

GO NOW BILL

 

WILLIAM ANTHONY "BILL" FOULKES - (5 JANUARY 1932 – 25 NOVEMBER 2013)

 

Go now Bill

Lay down the captain’s armband

You’ve earned your rest

Our tower of strength

Straight backed

Rugged and dependable

Take your place

Among your equals

And be at peace

 

Your strong facade

Oft betrayed

By sadness in your eyes

The sadness of survival

So go now Bill

And join the babes

You’ve missed so much

And take your place

Among immortals

 

IN TRAGEDIES WAKE – MUNICH 1958

 

At Old Trafford

In tragedies wake

In the eerie quiet

The terraces echoed

The mournful silence

And even the empty

Seats shed tears

For The busby babes

A MARK OF RESPECT – ARE YOU LISTENING LEEDS UTD

In the aftermath of Munich

All of football felt the loss

In an altogether more

Caring and respectful time

When fans of all teams

Out of respect, wore black

And stadia were universally quiet 

CALLOUS UNITED - GREGG AND FOULKES

 

Manchester United’s

Callous attitude

So cold and harsh

Towards the survivors

Beggared belief

And was never more

Keenly felt than when,

Only days after

The Munich Disaster

Gregg and Foulkes,

Though traumatised

And grieving and feeling

The guilt of the survivor

Were forced to play

Afterwards Harry Gregg

And Bill Foulkes

Forced to play too soon

With the guilt of the survivor

Sat in the dressing room

Staring with empty eyes

THE HERO OF MUNICH

 

In the wake of tragedy

Harry Gregg arose

And with no thought

Of himself 

Pulled survivors

From the burning plane

Assisted latterly

By Bill Foulkes

Though he thought

His action unremarkable

George Best, said of him

“Bravery is one thing

But what Harry did

Was about more than bravery.

It was about goodness”

 

THE BUSBY BABES - THE HOLLYWOOD OF BRITISH FOOTBALL

 

Bright lights

Shining like stars

In the twinkling

Football firmament

Sparkling lights

From gritty towns

In the shadow of the

Dark satanic mills

Shining out from

Industrial heartlands

Like beacons

Bright lights of youth

Illuminating the lives

Of the terraced fans

Young men from the dark

Industrial landscapes

Youth’s bright flames

Snuffed out

In the snows of Munich

CALLOUS UNITED – BLANCHFLOWER AND BERRY

 

Manchester United’s

Callous attitude

So cold and harsh

Towards the survivors

Beggared belief

And was never more

Keenly felt than when,

They could no longer play

Jackie Blanchflower

And fellow survivor Berry

Were forced to vacate

The homes they lived in

A TALE OF HEROES

 

Young heroes returning

From a far off foreign field

With hard fought victory won

Where the valiant refused to yield

 

Like heroes from Homers Iliad

Exalted in the legends

But in the Germanic snows

The heroes journey ends

 

As the Gods of winter struck

Fire and ice took its toll

And the names were duly writ

Upon an eternal honour roll

 

Geoff Bent, Roger Byrne (Capt)

Duncan Edwards, Billy Whelan

David Pegg, Tommy Taylor

Mark Jones and Eddie Colman

QUIET PLEASE

 

If you are a City fan

Keep silent if you can

As you stand at Old Trafford

As silence falls in accord

Please don’t speak out

Please don’t scream or shout

Acknowledge the silence

For those who lived once

Don’t think about the “Babes”

Cold and dead in the carnage

If hatred in your heart and head

Stops you honouring United’s dead

Give your silence as a gift

In remembrance of Frank Swift

MANCHESTER UNITED’S DARKEST HOUR

 

Broken in he twisted wreckage

The victims of Munics winter carnage

Crashing in the snow and ice

There would have to be a fearful price

And when the bill was finally reckoned

Deaths reaper grimly beckoned

Towards the twenty three poor souls

That appeared on his fearsome rolls

Young men cut down in their prime

Older ones who thought they’d more time

Were all taken from that grissly place

To feel the breath of heaven on their face

Taking the souls who died in the snow

To where the innocents and the heroes go

JIMMY MURPHY 6TH FEBRUARY 1958

 

In those brief moments,

Jimmy was happy,

On top of the world.

He had reached the pinnacle

Wales in the World Cup Finals

United in the European semis

Life was good

Life was very good indeed

 

Then the news came

Of a crash in the snow

And suddenly

Life wasn’t so good.

Information,

Patchy at first

Trickled in,

Not all reliable

Miss information

Spread like the plague,

Then the facts emerged

From amongst the fictions

So many dead

So many lost

And for the living

Life would never be the same

 

Jimmy blamed himself

For being so smug

For being so happy

For being alive

THE BUSBY BABES

 

The young lads played the game

The Busby Babes was their name

Though they played like magic

They embraced tragedy in Munich

Their plane crashing in the snow

The wreckage burning all aglow

Eigth of  their magnificent number

Would not see another summer

THE BUSBY BABES REPLAYED

The Busby Babes were sublime

The best by far in their time

And when eight of their number

Went to their eternal slumber

They went straight to heaven

To join St Peters first XI

THE SURVING BABES OF MUNICH

 

Morgans and Blanchflower

Never played again

Some played to soon

Some could never play the same

 

Some were cast aside

Some fullfilled there destiny

But none were unscathed

After the tradgedy

 

Those who remained

Of the team Busby built

All survived the horror

But lived with the guilt

I WAS JUST SITTING IN THE STAND

 

I was just sitting in the stand

And wondered why absentmindedly

The football was getting bigger

And bigger and then it hit me

WHEN I GO AND PLAY GOLF

 

When I go and play Golf, there

Is something I’ve always done

I take a second pair of Trousers

Just in case I get a hole in one

WHY CAN'T ORPHANS PLAY BASEBALL?

 

Why can't orphans play baseball?

At the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome?

Well they say it’s nothing personal

It’s just that they can't find home

IT WAS DURING A CHESS GAME

 

It was during a Chess game

That I remember him saying

“Let’s make this more interesting”

So we agreed to stop playing

BATSMEN WEAR A PROTECTIVE BOX

 

Batsmen wear a protective box

In order to ensure

That the bowler cannot

Rearrange his furniture

THE FIRST TESTICULAR PROTECTION

 

The first testicular protection

Known as a "box" was introduced

In 1874

Whereas the first cranial protection

Known as a “helmet” was introduced

In 1974

So it only took a hundred years

For Cricketers to figure out the score

That balls shouldn’t be more

Important than brains anymore

COACH JOSÉ MOURINHO

 

Coach José Mourinho

Likes to strut and preen

But doesn’t like to lose

And likes to cause a scene

He’s always crying foul

As he’s a real drama queen

AT THIS YEAR’S INSECT SUPER BOWL

 

At this year’s insect Super Bowl

The quarterback played dismally

Rimsky-Korsakov dropped the ball

It was the plight of the fumble Bee

AS A MULTI SPORTS CLUB GRASSHOPPER

 

As a multi sports club Grasshopper

Club Zürich are just the ticket

They play a large number of sports

Though funnily enough Not Cricket

I WAS JUST SITTING THERE IN THE PARK

 

I was just sitting there in the park

And wondered why absentmindedly

The Frisbee was getting bigger

And bigger and then it hit me

BOFFINS ARE NOT THE SPORTY TYPE

 

Boffins are not the sporty type

But even a physicist called Bryan

Knows that he must exercise

Which he does by pumping ion

THERE REALLY IS NO TRICK TO IT

 

There really is no trick to it

The easiest way with no catch

To light up a football stadium

Is with a football match

OUR TEAM CAPTAIN TOOK TO THE FIELD

 

Our team captain took to the field

Carrying a piece of rope and the ball

Unconventional you might think

But he is the skipper after all

WHY CAN'T HOBO’S PLAY BASEBALL?

 

Why can't hobo’s play baseball?

At the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome?

Well, they say it’s nothing personal

It’s just that they can't find home

CINDERELLA’S TEAM IS BOTTOM OF THE LEAGUE # 2

 

Cinderella’s team is bottom of the league

Though it’s no surprise at all

When the princess in waiting

Keeps running away from the ball

WORLD CUP FINAL 2014

 

In big games teams are too afraid

To lose, which is a sin

So just throw caution to the wind

And go for the win

ARGENTINA V HOLLAND – BRAZIL 2014

 

At last the surprises are over

Forget what has gone before

We got a proper semi final

A complete and utter bore

ECCEDENTESIAST DESCRIBES SOMEONE

 

Eccedentesiast describes someone

Who hide their pain behind a smile

Football supporters are like that

Especially if you support Carlisle

WHY ARE PIDGEON’S GREAT BASEBALL PLAYERS?

 

Why are Pidgeon’s great baseball players?

At the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome?

Well, it’s obvious when you think about it

It’s because they always make it home

AFTER MANY YEARS OF HARD WORK

 

After many years of hard work

Dedication, and repetitive training

Honing my craft at small events

Being informative and entertaining

 

So, when the Olympics came around

My confidence was brimming

But I still ended up commentating

On the synchronized swimming

APPARENTLY NIGERIA IS NOW POLO FREE

 

Apparently, Nigeria is now polo free

So that’s deserves congratulations

But to be honest I didn’t think

They were one of the equestrian nations

THE ONLY GOOD THING

 

The only good thing

About the end of Wimbledon

Is it means you’re two weeks

Closer to football season

WE HAVE TWO THINGS IN OUR TOWN

 

We have two things in our town

Pharmaceuticals and Speedway

The latter has fast and furious thrills

But they don’t use bikes by the way

IT WAS INEVITABLE THAT RED BULL

 

It was inevitable that Red Bull

Would be involved in Formula One

The spectators need to drink it

To stay awake when all said and done

AT THE WINTER OLYMPICS GAMES

 

At the Winter Olympics Games

One of the sponsors participating

Is a pharmaceutical giant who

Are sponsoring the Speed skating

I WAS JUST SITTING THERE THINKING

 

I was just sitting there thinking

And wondered why absentmindedly

The baseball was getting bigger

And bigger and then it hit me