About
Paul Cookson
The footballer’s prayer
Let us play …
Our team
Which art eleven
Hallowed be thy game
Our match be won
Their score be none
On turf – as we score at least seven
Give us today
No daily red card
And forgive us our lost passes
As we forgive those
Who lose passes against us
Lead us not into retaliation
And deliver us from penalties
For three is the kick off
The power and the scorer
For ever and ever
Full time
Paul Cookson (sometimes known as Captain Concorde) loves Everton, Slade and playing the ukulele. He’s given workshops in more than 4000 schools including some in China and Africa.
He’s written 40 books, including Give us a Goal! and I’d Rather be a Footballer! and sold half a million copies. He’s also the official poet for the National Football Museum. He’s been on telly and radio, and he’s even been to 10 Downing Street to pick up an award for being a reading hero.
Paul is fun – whether it’s a poem, a joke, a cartoon or a tune on the ukulele, he’ll show you that poetry doesn’t have to be boring. Very soon he’ll get you ‘kenning’ – it’s a way of describing people and things in different ways, for example, a goalkeeper could be a:
- Ball catcher
- Shot stopper
- Ball saver
- Cross snatcher
- Loud shouter
As you can see, this is a great exercise for getting your poem started!
What do young people say about Paul?
- ‘He is fun.’
- ‘He’s easy to get along with.’
- ‘I didn’t know I could write poems until I met Paul.’
- ‘I didn’t know that poetry could be so funny.’
- ‘I thought that was going to be c**p but it was ****ing sound.’
You can find out more about Paul on his website
