When footballers sing...

There are traditions in the game which seem to peak and trough. Some for the better perhaps, but some just bring some big old bouts of nostalgia. One such item is the footballer's attempts at the charts.

Maybe it wasn't so tempting to reminisce about the songs that we couldn't stand, the ones that tried too hard, or that ruined those evenings in front of Top of the Pops, where a squad of mostly ugly central defenders would drone about bringing the cup home, while all we wanted was to see Kylie or Bananarama.

But would any of today's stars do the same? We all laugh at 'Glenn and Chris', but could you imagine 'Wayne and Frank' doing the same? Fair play to them, they gave it a go. And the Anfield Rap? Oh dear. But the alternative these days? "Well Steve Gerrard sure can rap" etc.

 

Wow, free poster!!                               7 inches of pure terror

 Then there is the World Cup or cup final anthem, an excuse to dust down a cover of Status Quo or similar. Perhaps it was an early team-building exercise, get the lads in for a morning to murder a Dave Clark Five number and then out on the pop, the Tuesday club maybe. Gleeful fans would line up to buy the 7" single, and then consign it to the hell that is the clip show or compilation album.

Alan Pardew sporting Top Man's new shell-suit...

We all have fond memories of the songs. Attempting to recite them when drunk or on a cup run. Laugh at the fashions, be they Pringle jumpers or lame moustaches on 21 year olds. But like or not, we all know we try (and mostly fail) to rap as good as John Barnes, on what was the finest football song of all time.

"You've got to hold and give, but do it at the right time..."

 

 Arrivederci...

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