Groundhog Day 17/18

Half hearted performances
They didn’t really try
Ripped apart by better teams
The scoreline never lies
Terrace numbers tumbling
The Chairman’s in a spin
Time to trade in falling shares
And bring a new man in

They come and go like clockwork
These men with curious cash
Either in a business suit
Or with sovereign rings to flash
Stack the team with mercenaries
Then gather up some silver
Somehow they never suffer
While it never fails to deliver

There’s shiny, sharp new dugouts
Floodlights oh so bright
This fancy new equipment
That sparkles in the night
Meanwhile we feel it in our hearts
It doesn’t seem quite right
The reckoning will be savage
After a brief, inglorious flight

The weight of expectation
Bankrolled by the rich
Couldn’t iron out coaching failures
Like bumps in the old pitch
Now the electronic scoreboard
Flickers in the gloom
Another gaudy bauble
From the early days of boom

Players who shone on the old turf
And then on new Four G
Led songs in the changing rooms
But wouldn’t play for free
Last week waving a new cup
Now not taking calls
They’ve found a better place to go
Another moneyballs

So who really loses
When the money’s upped and gone
Is it the guys off down the pub
Who never learned the songs
Or the shadows in the background
With overcoats and glasses
Muttering half heard comments
About misplaced shots and passes

Is it all those quiet teams
Who tried to play it fair
Spending only what they earned
No sugar daddies there
Not favoured by a late reprieve
Or last ditch money men
Getting by on this week’s cash
Brought by the honest fan

Those who boast on Twitter
About their marquee signing
And accuse those who decry them
As sore losers, just whining
Look them up in two years time
To see who they’re supporting
And don’t be one bit surprised
When their account’s not working

For every one that makes it
To the club of ninety two
Stands on the bones of dozens
Who never fully knew
Just what they really played with
When they chanced upon football
Because they never truly cared
About this game at all