You Are Not The Man Poem by Francis Duggan

The fans in their thousands were chanting your name
You had kicked the goal for the club that had won the big game
For a while you were the hero of the town
You live with your memories of your past renown

But all of this was quite a long time ago
Going way back in time some six decades or so
Time that does weary has left you walking slow
The years on your body does visibly show

Though you are fondly remembered by every ageing club fan
Today the town's hero than you is a far younger man
He is the one the club fans nowadays admire
And of singing his praises never seem to tire

But like you the accolades for him are not going to last
In years from now like you he will be of the past
And he will only have memories of the great games he played
When he was the hero of the club's victory parade

In your prime with success against the best you did compete
But nowadays you are rather slow on your feet
You are not the man that you used to be
The league's football player of the year of nineteen sixty three.