Robert Green, lonely as an ice cream in winter

He smiles as he waits

But like us, he already knows his fate.

 

When the team sheet is read, his name will not be on it

And like the mosquitoes on the bonnet

Of the team bus

He will be crushed.

 

His fate is not redemption

A penalty saved

Or a free kick palmed over the bar

An eternal World Cup star

 

His fate will be five minutes on

50 World Cup Shockers in 2014

On BBC3 or Channel 4

With a smug blonde comedienne laughing like a bint

As if she could have saved

A twenty-five yard shot

From an American named Clint.

 

And in the end, he will lie in the same grave as

Peter Bonetti and Jim Leighton

Will Robert Green