Thetownend.com

‘We’ve got our Club back’
What does that mean asked my scouser chum?

'It’s a great feeling when you feel and say this,
The years roll back and you’re young again,
Walking through the terraced streets and alleys
Of memory and mind and imagination,
And all your family is with you,
And all your mates are all with you,
From different seasons and time frames,
Even though they never met each other,
And they all get on fine,
Because the impossible happens when you get your club back.
And there’s queues for season tickets,
And replica shirts, and no-one moans,
And you’re eager for the latest news,
And you meet up in the pub where the beer’s local,
And they’re all there from past and present,
And none of them have died or moved away,
Because the impossible happens when you get your club back.
And when you get to the railway station
After buying a season ticket for the first time in thirty years,
You congratulate three young men
For proudly wearing their STFC Academy shirts,
And wish them well in their future careers,
And everyone bonds and smiles in union
When you tell them, ‘We’ve got our club back’.
And a childhood hero joins the advisory board,
And becomes the club ambassador,
And the new owner of the club plays football,
And pulls pints at the County Ground Hotel,
And has selfies taken with the fans,
And Andy Beck aka Reg Smeeton,
Smiles beatifically high up there in the sky,
Far above the floodlights he saw erected,
Way back in his Shrivvy Road childhood,
Because the impossible happens when you get your club back,
It’s just like Roy of the Rovers and Alf Tupper,
With a benign rather than malign capitalist at the helm,
And even though supporters of other teams scoff
At my rose-tinted loss of proportion,
Who cares?
Because this is the moment
When we’ve got our club back.
And sometimes you have to live in the moment.
And sometimes, the moment goes on for ever.
Because the impossible happens when you get your club back.

Well done, that is beautiful. Bought a tear to my eye.

Wonderful stuff...what being a fan is all about and something the Premier League / Sky Sports generation who 'support' a Club from a city they've never even been to, will never experience...

Fucking hell

I'm sat in my works canteen crying  like a proper cunt

Says everything about supporting and following Swindon Town Football Club for a lifetime.

When you get your club back.

Thank you my friend from 18,000 kms away

That's brilliant  .Now send it to the club and ask them to read out before the Carlisle  gane

Good idea re contacting the club. My nephew is going to send me words too for me to meld into a new updated version. I've put the piece as it is atm up on a link and will send via email to the club early next week. https://sootallures.wixsite.com/topographersarms/post/we-ve-got-our-club-back

Congratulations WoT, that's a fantastic emotive piece.  :cry:

The TEF has its very own wordsmith / Shakespeare. Great writing.

Really nice piece WoT. You have perfectly captured the feeling and the moment

Wonderful stuff by Wormhole Shakespeare.

Perfect timing on the Eve of a new season and beginning.

Like a family, we often fall out, we often disagree but taking that step back we are all one.

What a wonderfully well written piece, dedicated to a friend you clearly miss.
Lovely that 👍

Nice one!

Just brilliant.  Resonates with all of us, that piece.  Thank you.

Great to have our forum poet. WoT is fast taking on the mantle previously worn by Nev and Reg.

Nice one, loved that.

We should make WoT official club poet. He’d thrash his opposite number at Derby.

https://youtu.be/dp_GDPrLYfI

Brilliant read. Thanks WoT.

The written word, nothing like it as it means so many things to so many people. Good one.

Top work..

Fantastic piece of writing, thank you WoT.

Nice one WoT. I've only just spotted this, hidden away.

I will be sending you a DM or potentially an email regarding a very touching suggestion from Wobbly Bob.

Keep your eyes open for a message heading your way soon. :)

As always, wonderful stuff!

Ha ha...Reg is Alf Tupper.

Talking of Reg, how old was he?

Reg's programme collection probably included the Port Vale match from 1960 that my dad forgot to take me to and left me feeling bereft. But that childhood feeling was nothing compared to last night. But after a sleepless night, I say to myself: What would Reg do? He'd take us down memory lane and then on to optimism for next season.
https://sootallures.wixsite.com/topographersarms/post/a-storm-in-every-port-vale

I did not even know my old mate Reg had died :( I don't come on here much these days. I was one of the lucky few to have met Reg. God bless him.