Between The Lines - Your Quirky And Irreverent Match Report Poem, No.11, Charlton (H)
Blog written by The_Flashing_Smile
Published: 22nd October 2025 14:26
What a bizarre game that was. If you had to go off somewhere after the first half and then found out later that the final score was 0-3 you’d be utterly baffled.
As am I.
Ipswich Town 0:3 Charlton Athletic, 21/10/2025
Three Is A Tragic Number
The smells, the sights,
the midweek lights,
so happy to be back.
We’ve only got three problems, though;
defence, midfield, attack.
Three too many changes.
Thirty-three mistakes.
30-odd misses, boos and hisses.
A midfield, slow, like they’ve eaten cakes.
A first half domination.
A second half collapse.
Defending static for three little Addicks
to foxtrot through the three-foot gaps.
Three is a tragic number.
Three half decent men.
But we’ll be back in three more days
to do it all again.
More blogs by The_Flashing_Smile:
Between The Lines, The Irreverent Poetry Of Ipswich Town. No.34 - A Variety Of JamsI think you, the reader of these poems, needs to feel my pain. This weekend it wasn’t with the football, which was excellent. Instead it was a traffic jam on the A12 heading back to my mum’s in Essex, which I was in, and not moving, for three hours. I managed to weave that into this poem, so it wasn’t a total waste.
Published: 2nd March 2026 12:48
Between The Lines, The Irreverent Poetry Of Ipswich Town. No.18 - Some WordsFootball can be a frustrating game. And this one was so typical of Ipswich. Nearly 80% possession in the first half. By the end, 17 shots, seven on target, two one-on-ones, one rattled post. And yet we come away with nothing but Leif’s lovely whack. So here’s some words to sum it up.
Published: 30th November 2025 10:32
Between The Lines, The Irreverent Poetry Of Ipswich Town. No.17 - Patience For The PatientsAnother six changes, more lack of cohesion, and the less said about the first half the better. But we upped the tempo, brought on the subs, and it was comfortable in the end. Good for Akpom to get off the mark, even if it was a very-close-to-offside tap-in my mum could’ve got. McKenna, like a skilled surgeon, knows what he’s doing. Pass the scalpel, let's dissect this one.
Published: 28th November 2025 9:53
Between The Lines no.12 - Jack In The SocksAnother bloody 12.30 kick-off, and a subsequently flat atmosphere and flat game. Insomnia by Faithless played out over the Tannoy before kick-off, and the game itself was almost the cure. Only lit up by Jack Clarke’s late twinkle toes.
Published: 29th October 2025 9:59
Between The Lines - The Poetry Of Ipswich Town, No.6It seems last week I was a bit premature with the nautical theme.
In this week’s there’s also a bonus ex-player reference, for those of you older than 25 to spot. There’s even a Greek god reference.
Published: 25th September 2025 9:05
Between The Lines - The Poetry Of Ipswich Town, No.5So you may have noticed, I've changed the name from Flowing Moves to Between The Lines. I just think it's a better title. Because obviously football is played 'between the lines' on the pitch. And also, with any kind of literary work (and especially mine) one should always read between the lines!
Published: 20th September 2025 11:50
Between the Lines - The Poetry Of Ipswich Town, No.4I'm not sure why this one came out like this. I think some of you calling for a different rhyme scheme got into my brain, but this stream of consciousness came to me upon waking this morning. Sometimes I just tune in, and it all drops out. It's best not to ask questions.
Published: 5th September 2025 15:37