News

Match day at ‘the club’ sees fans engaging in rituals from a pint at ‘The Coach and Horses’ , to the skirmishing for food from the café. The ground is decked out in red paint on black with red very prominent and the whole historic basis of the club makes it all not just a feast for the eyes but something of lasting value - By Chris Towers.

The shop and board room shine with

red paint as bright as tomatoes , as

the faithful flock gather like ants

around sugar, behind a goal.

Players emerge, rolling on their heels

and chewing  invisible gum  before

funnelling down a tunnel of red canvass,

looking like a caterpillar, pulled out.

 

The game settles, with players voices

shrill in the cold, like arguments in a

tin pan alley, chasing like hungry birds,

as the ball gets lathered and lumped.

 

Then clumped up field, before a turn

and a run, players puffing air before

Sheffield score, the ball settling in nets,

like a kipper thrown from a trawlerman.

 

Half time and match day glows with

the cluttered table in front of the kiosk,

replete with chips glistening with

salt and vinegar on boats of white plastic.

 

The players ruck the pitch with heavy

boots, ploughing lines between the flags,

as the cars steal their way to the city,

their lights flickering through the gates.

 

And as the game ends with piercing

whistles from the referee, fans meander

away to the coach and horses for jars,

on mats soaked in beer, in the snug.