Red curtains rise at Anfield (2013/14)

Liverpool 1-0 Stoke

The Bosnian prowled his square mile

Huth drove the home team crossbar 

Opening day win, it’s been a long while

But the headlines went to the other keeper

Sturridge’s strike and magic Mignolet’s save

Brilliant Begovic kept it one nil

Sparky’s Stoke City refused to cave

Thwarted by the Belgian windmill

No league goal at Anfield since 83 

Potters hopeful after Agger’s dismay 

This was a rout in all but tally 

Penalty save hero mobbed by Toure

17.08.13

Number7

© Emdad Rahman

www.football-poems.com

West Ham 2-1 Pacos de Ferreira

West Ham ended their pre-season programme with a 2-1 victory over Pacos de Ferreira.

Ravel Morrison and Modibo Maiga were the scorers, with Manuel Jose netting for the visitors.

Joe Cole and  Kevin Nolan started but Andy Carroll did not feature because of injury. New boy Razvan Rat made a second half appearance.

Barking & Dagenham hosts Eid In The Park

London borough hosts its first ever outdoor Eid event

Emdad Rahman: English, Scottish, Arabs, Africans and Asians came together as the London Borough of Barking & Dagenham saw its first ever open air Eid prayers take place during the occasion of Eid Ul Fitr 2013.

The Riverside Muslim Association (RMA) organised the landmark and historic event to commemorate the end of Ramadan 2013. Eid prayers and the traditional Eid sermon took place on the outdoor football pitch which was hired out for two hours for the prayers. There were stalls with henna artists, cakes, foods and even a bouncy castle for children.  

“Barking and Dagenham has been often unfairly tainted but we really are a friendly bunch of people,” said a local resident. “So long as we respect and get on with each other then we won’t be divided and our communities can live alongside each other in harmony. I think it’s great the way the community has organised this event and I wish everybody a happy Eid and a good weekend.”

Councillor Cameron Geddes attended the event. He said: "The Muslim people on Riverside need a community space of their own ideally. In the meantime I am so impressed that their boundless energy produced this Eid InThe Park event and I’m grateful to the Rivergate Centre for their help as well as the police and Muslim and non-Muslim friends who attended."

Khushnood is the Secretary of the RMA and she was one of the team of tireless volunteers who organised and managed Eid in the Park: “I am glad that the event has been enjoyed by the local community. RMA has been successful in uniting Muslims from diverse backgrounds. The positive comments and congratulations we are still receiving are proof of our efforts and has given us the motivation to do better and more activities in the local area.”

This was the first Eid prayer attended by the women and some spoke about the joy of being able to participate on such a monumental occasion. One of the young people attending Eid in the Park said: "We never had such an enjoyable Eid before, we made so many new friends."

Her friend added: "I’m looking forward to next Eid."

Imam Imran said: “It has been a glorious day in terms of celebrating this day of Eid after a whole month of fasting. The weather has been brilliant and we have been overwhelmed by the positive feedback. I would like to thank Councillor Cameron Geddes who gave up time from his very busy day to attend our event and meet and greet the worshippers. His visit was very special for us indeed. We would also like to thank the Police officers who popped in and mingled with the crowds, non Muslim friends and the businesses City Realtor, mr Printers, Rayflex, Silvaspoon takeaway, Euro Foods, Gossip Textiles, Nax, Comfort wholesalers and Yunus from Leicester who provided us with the financial support to make this event a success.

“Last but not least, I would like to thank the volunteers from the bottom of my heart. They have been working day and night for the last three weeks in order to make this event a reality and I’m so proud with how this has all come together so successfully.”

The Riverside Muslim Association was formed on 20th March 2013 at the Rivergate Centre and the aims of the organisation are to help make the presence of Muslims more visible in the Barking Reach area and to celebrate the positive contributions that Muslims make in wider society.

The event was organised by the community and run by volunteers with very generous financial support from City Realtor, mr Printers, Rayflex, Silvaspoon takeaway, Euro Foods, Gossip Textiles, Nax, Comfort wholesalers and Yunus from Leicester.

Liam Hamilton

Liverpool and Celtic fan Liam "Leo" Hamilton from Poplar, London E14 died from a stab wound to the chest.

I didn't know Lee personally but reading all the tribute messages today was enough to tell me what a popular guy he was. It's so tragic he's lost his life at such a young age.

Condolences to his loved ones.

Red All over The Land - Issue 188

Happy New Season with or without Suarez Just to let people know that Issue 188 of RED ALL OVER THE LAND is out, still priced only £2.

Copies were sold at Anfield prior to the Steven Gerrard testimonial and will be in Dublin prior to the Celtic friendly.

My Steven Gerrard piece is in there too. You can subscribe to RED ALL OVER THE LAND at the website www.redallovertheland.com.

Making history better for everyone

In February the Department for Education (DfE) issued for consultation a revised draft national curriculum covering 12 subjects. One of these, History, probably sparked more media interest than all of the others combined. It was no surprise since History has always been the most contested subject in the curriculum; after all our history defines who we are.

Curriculum for Cohesion (CfC) is a collaboration between academics, teachers and employers that develops humanities education to improve the lives of young people in the 21st century. CfC submitted a detailed response which can be accessed via their website page.

On 8 July the DfE published a second draft of the National Curriculum, for consultation responses with a deadline of 8 August. The revised History curriculum is a considerable improvement on the February draft. It is less prescriptive and more age-appropriate. Crucially from the CfC viewpoint it is more culturally inclusive including statutory mention of some history of Islamic civilisation. It is clear that some attention has been paid to the submission and others making the same points as CfC.

As explained on the CfC page this new draft still needs some further improvement. More thought still needs to be go into how the national British history relates to the world history and how to create a ‘broader, truer history for all.’ Specifically CfC recommend:

At Key Stage 1. The list of individuals recommended for children to learn about is still too parochial and not representative of humanity’s different types of achievement. CfC suggest the inclusion of the pairing of the pioneers of medical science, Avicenna and Louis Pasteur.

At Key Stage 2. CfC suggest that Cordoba, c. AD800-1200 is added to Baghdad as an exemplar of early Islamic civilisation.

At Key Stage 3. In order to bring out the force of ‘interconnections’ in the unit title, CfC suggest that the Ottoman Empire, 1490-1922 be added as a world history option. Study of the Ottoman Empire is highly relevant to the study of Britain and Europe in both the early modern and modern periods.

The CfC home page lists a glittering array of people supporting CfC, and other pages detail the academic team, patrons and partner institutions.

Readers are encouraged to respond to the DfE by 8 August as CfC believe it is very important to have as many voices as possible making these points.

Steven Gerrard - Memories of a football colossus

Emdad Rahman On the eve of the testimonial of Liverpool's greatest ever player I thought I'd share one memory I saw at first hand.

It was a cold November evening in 2010 and my friends and I had made the journey up to Anfield to catch a glimpse of Roy Hodgson’s new look Liverpool.

SSC Napoli, founded in 1904 by English sailor William Poths and his confrère Hector M. Bayon were in town. The current England manager was settling into the Anfield hot seat after taking over the helm from Rafael Benitez before the start of the new season. One of Hodgson’s first tasks during his short reign was to meet his irreplaceable captain and persuade him to commit himself to the red shirt for the rest of his Anfield career. There were muted calls from some corners that the newly turned thirty year old was approaching his twilight and maybe it wouldn’t be a bad decision to flog the Red talisman to a rival at a decent price.

Hodgson, like everyone in football knew Gerrard’s presence was crucial for the rebuilding plans at Liverpool and that night served a stark and timely reminder. Liverpool hosted a Napoli side boasting the golden trio of Edinson Cavani, Ezequiel Lavezzi and Marek Hamsik. The brawny yet dexterous Lavezzi was at the centre of all Napoli’s attacking forays and proving to be a real nuisance. On 28minutes the coastal city clubs front runner changed tack – switched his assist role to latch onto Cavani’s header and slam an assured opener past Pepe Reina.

With several squad players being given an outing the home side looked edgy and uneasy in possession for the rest of the first half. The club captain warmed up at half time engulfed by the biggest cheer of the night and took the field for the second half. Gerrard grabbed the game by the scruff, gave it a vigorous shrug and was simply too hot to handle as he lifted the roof with a staggering fifteen minute hat trick against the "Ciucciarelli."

A sign of what awaited Napoli came on 52 minutes as a rebound off goalkeeper Morgan De Sanctis was blazed over. Returning ex Liverpool full back Andrea Dossena cemented a rapturous applause from the home faithful as his back pass botch-up led to a sprint for the ball between Gerrard and De Sanctis. Gerrard reached home base quickest and his outstretched studs knocked the ball past hulking De Sanctis and into the net. The Anfield skipper summed it perfectly: “When you’re in that position against a giant of a goalkeeper you’ve just got to go in and hope for the best. There was no class involved, just determination and desire. I don’t think the keeper fancied it.”

Next up was the Referee Fredy Fautrel of France, who intervened on 87 minutes, penalising Salvatore Aronica for a foul on Glen Johnson. Gerrard was clinical as Liverpool went ahead 2-1. The game not over yet and to stamp his superior authority, the England skipper struck home his fourth career hat trick two minutes later, bolting away to again sting the "Partenopei" with a nifty finish over the abandoned De Sanctis.Once again Gerrard had pulled off one of the great individual football performances, rising to the occasion to deliver yet another performance of pure poetry.

John W Henry was attending his first game at Anfield and an earlier despondent shake of the head had transformed to euphoria and exultation by the end of the ninety minutes. Steven Gerrard may have accumulated moments of magic by the bagful but it is giant performances like this in mostly average Liverpool teams that have singled him out as one the greatest midfielders of his generation and one Anfield legend who is certain to edge King Kenny to the title of the clubs greatest ever player.Here’s something I wrote on the journey back down to London after the game.

Gerrard 3-1 Napoli

Lower centenary on row nineteen
Seat 0215 in the Anfield crowd
Making my Reds euro debut
I sat upright and so very proud

Andis hoped I liked Liverpool City
Yasmin saw me on the TV
Linny, Darren and Natha there too
And Lissa sat just ahead of me

Joyous chorus of the Kop cut short
By Lavezzi “the chubby one”
Screaming Ultras down the Anfield Road end
S.S.C Napoli were having all the fun

Sky blue bragging rights erupted
Not quite Roy’s original match plan
Still a little bit of fan handbags
“All stay close,” yelled Bootle Jan

“Attack, attack, attack,” roared the Kop
Stevie's warm up triggered an earthquake
Beating De Sanctis in a 50-50
Anfield called out the impending jailbreak

Ex Red Dossena blasted
“Get up ya quilt,” screamed the chap next to me
Poulsen and Milan were sturdy
Thrust from Meireles and Jonjo Shelvey

Upended Johnson’s dazzle thwarted
Aronica with the smoking gun
Gerrard with a meticulous spot kick
Reds go ahead two to one

Lucas the playmaker supreme
After Ngog agog with that miss
Gerrard rubber stamps the hat trick
Dinked sublimely over De Sanctis

If there ever was a one man team
It’s the head boy of the Kop yard
The best ever seen at Anfield
Salute the marauding Steven Gerrard

UEFA Europa League
Written on the journey home - 04.11.10

Number 7
© Emdad Rahman

www.football-poems.com