A.J. Sefton
  • Home
  • My Books
    • Growing in Damp Places
    • Crushed
    • Teon
    • Gulfyrian
    • Catnip and Tuck
  • About
    • FAQ
    • What I'm Reading >
      • Reviews Index
  • Contact
  • Home
  • My Books
    • Growing in Damp Places
    • Crushed
    • Teon
    • Gulfyrian
    • Catnip and Tuck
  • About
    • FAQ
    • What I'm Reading >
      • Reviews Index
  • Contact
Search by typing & pressing enter

YOUR CART

What I'm Reading

Picture
Snow themed reads

27/5/2021

50 Way to Score a Goal and other football poems by Brian Bilston

Picture
I have been a fan of football almost all my life and have read my fair share of biographies and other footballing books, including Fever Pitch by Nick Hornby, The Football Factory by John King and the motivational book by Marcus Rashford You Are a Champion. However, nothing tops this book. Seriously.

This is a book of football poems looking at all aspects of the beautiful game, from the stress of being chosen to play, the role of wingers, to being on the bench and the half-time satsuma. Who is better - Ronaldo or Messi? 

The book is (mostly) from a child's perspective and I remember how I used to try to speak with as many football terms and players names as I could manage to fit into a sentence, as in the poem Total Football. There is a lot of word play in may of the poems, re-writes of football songs and the Match of the Day theme tune as well as rules of the game and aspects of it, such as The Language of Football and the dreaded own goal in O.G. and the potentially equally dreaded referee in A Cautionary Tale. Keepie-uppies is a visual poem that you have to look at as is the very true Life Cycle of a Football Manager.

Bilson is unlikely to  become the Poet Laureate based on this book, but, for any football fan these sometimes silly verses capture the spirit of the game. The match day routines, The Lucky Bobble Hat and The Magic Sponge are part of the nostalgia of football fans. Better than poems about childhood holidays. Highly recommended for any young fan or not so young.


See more of What I'm Reading
Picture
Published by Macmillan Children's Books; Main Market edition on 27 May 2021.

Comments are closed.
     📚   Get every new book review direct to your inbox   📚

    Follow my Book Reviews

    * indicates required

    RSS Feed

    A.J.'s bookshelf: currently-reading

    Murder at the Theatre Royale
    Murder at the Theatre Royale
    by Ada Moncrieff

    goodreads.com

    Snow themed books

    Categories

    All Anthology Bildungsroman Childrens Historical Fiction History Memoir Misc. Mystery & Detective Non Fiction Poetry Psychological & Suspense

    Reviews home page
    Reviews Index
    Vertical Divider
    Picture

Picture
RevolverMap
Advertising fees and commissions may be paid on any sales links. This does not affect the price of goods or the impartiality of this site.
Sitemap
© Copyright 2012-2023 A.J. Sefton
   ​Privacy Policy