THE MANCHESTER POEM

A version of Ernest Lawrence Thayer’s great baseball poem “Casey At The Bat”

The outlook wasn’t too bad for the Man U side that day:
The table read nine points, with but one more game to play.
A win could have them top, a draw would see them through,
Then Basel ruined ev’rything, and proceeded to score two.

Man City needed favors, a leaky sub ‘gainst Napoli.
All that money’d be for naught this year if the Italians grabbed three.
A goal from Marco Ruben, a Nilmar strike would do,
That would give a chance to the expensive lads in blue.

Down there in the Alps did a red knight rant and rave
If only they could finish, their season could they save.
Wayne Rooney on the field, a hero he could be
Or dependable old Giggs, now pushing eighty-three.

But Streller scored one early, sparking joy from Swiss men all,
And Frei, the wayward son, put diving noggin to the ball.
And with the minutes ticking, the giants soon did panic,
Their ship was listing badly, and the nameplate read TITANIC.

City were home cruising, putting Bayern to the sword,
But rumors were a-swirling that struck a jarring chord.
“Inler’s scored a goal,” came a sick, lamenting groan.
And soon “Hamsik’s found a second” from a man with a mobile phone.

There was no ease in City’s manner as they saw out the minutes left to play.
This would be a famous triumph on most any other day.
But Villarreal were the whipping boys, last in all the Group;
Little chance and lesser hope that two goals they could recoup.

All the TV viewers, from Timbuktu to Seoul
Now fixed upon United, desperate for a goal.
Phil Jones then found one! At last, that thin life-line!
Would United come back here, like they had in ninety-nine?

A few short minutes left, enough to prove their mettle.
The world’s most famous club? Surely they were special.
Reds across the world poured hope like from a nozzle,
While fans of other teams whooped and cheered for little Basel.

Across the face of Europe, great towns will host great games
But in the hundred of Salfordshire, there will be more modest aims
There will be no Milan matchup, no great Barca intrigue:
The clubs from Great Manchester are in the Europa League.