What's your favourite football chant? We asked FFT followers for their picks
Grounds are alive with the sound of celebration (and mocking) once more - and here are some of the chants you've missed
Music has the power to unite pure strangers. Whether you're standing in a field, watching the main stage at Glastonbury or shouting obscenities about the referee on a Saturday afternoon.
And there's nothing quite like the sound of football. The "oohs" and "aahs" of a close encounter, the "waaays" of simple errors and the songs that bind us. The melodies telling tales of by far the greatest team the world has ever seen; the tunes of green armies, yooou reds, blue being the colour or pretty bubbles blowing in the air.
Well, some chants leave indelible memories.
Football is a poetic sport at times and the same goes for the fans. There are some chants that might not have fallen from the brows of Lennon and McCartney but are pure genius in their lyrical creativity. We put the question to you of your favourite chants - and boy, you didn't disappoint...
HIS NAME IS A SHOPHIS NAME IS A SHOOOPPPLENELL JOHN-LEWISHIS NAME IS A SHOPAugust 16, 2021
Poor Lenell. Why didn't his parents double-barrell their names the other way?
He's coming for you...He coming for yooouuu,Harry Potter is coming for you!!Chelsea fans to Jonjo Shelvey😂 😂August 16, 2021
Jonjo Shelvey mocked away at Stamford Bridge for his likeness to Lord Voldemort.
You're Shittu And you know you areYou're Shittu And you know you areetc.(chanted at Danny Shittu - Manchester City 1 - 0 Bolton, 2009)August 16, 2021
Sometimes, there's nothing more satisfying than a chant that sounds rude but isn't.
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“You’ve been hit by, you’ve been struck by, Lee Cattermole” https://t.co/KeTPQiglVlAugust 16, 2021
This was perhaps the most successful chant to have been adapted from a Michael Jackson hit - if, of course, we're not counting The Jackson Five's Blame It On The Boogie being changed by Liverpool fans to blame Djimi Traore.
"He just can't control his feet," cruel Reds fans sung of their own defender.
Oxford City to Tranmere Rovers fans (while losing at home in an FA Cup replay) 'You'll never win the boat race'August 16, 2021
See also: Leicester City fans taunting Spanish opposition in the Champions League in 2017 with calls of "Champions of England, you'll never sing that".
"Luis Suarez, your teeth are offside"August 16, 2021
We've heard Mesut Ozil's eyes and various rotund players' guts all claim to be offside. But Luis Suarez and his famous gnashers are probably the archetypal "offside" chant.
We All Dream Of A Team Of Gary Breens is the undisputed GOAT chant. https://t.co/Ubyf3Js37ZAugust 16, 2021
Irish fans would sing the Beatles' Yellow Submarine, going through the team, one to eleven, to say that they were all Gary Breen. The chorus is a unifying moment in which we can all fantasise about a full team of the tenacious ex-Coventry stopper. It's an anthem of an era.
[In the tune of Monster by The Automatic]What's that coming over the hill,Pascal Chimbonda,Pascal Chimbondaaaaa!August 16, 2021
This chant for Pascal Chimbonda is only the second-best pun made about the French right-back, who always used to wear gloves. Upon leaving Wigan Athletic, one tabloid newspaper used the headline, "The gloves are off" to announce his departure to Tottenham. Which if you ask FFT, is pure genius.
He's here,He's there,We're not allowed to swear,Frank Lebouf......(Apparently said he wasn't big on industrial language in an interview lol)August 16, 2021
When the defender said he didn't like the line, "He's every f***ing where" in his chant, Chelsea fans adapted the song rather nicely.
Not my team but.West Ham fans singing 'If you've made a lot of money selling biscuits, buy our club' when they had the Icelandic takeover by Maggersson.August 16, 2021
One of the more specific chants we received but a banger, nonetheless.
'A spoonful of Sugar helps the Venables go down' will always be my all-time favourite. https://t.co/gNw6stnJmsAugust 16, 2021
As Tim explains in his follow-up tweet, Tottenham chairman Alan Sugar - now Lord of BBC's The Apprentice - sacked FA Cup-winning manager Terry Venables in 1993 after a row. It led to a few relegation battles, which we're guessing led to Tim, an Arsenal fan, singing this imaginative tune on the Highbury terraces.
Ooooooo Balotelli, He's a striker, He's good at darts, An allergy to grass and when he plays he's f*cking class, He drives around Moss Side with a wallet full of cash...August 16, 2021
The legend of Super Mario himself, summed up in a few lines. It doesn't have the succinctity of the Yaya/Kolo Toure chant for us but it pays tribute to a big character.
"Where were you, when we were you?"AFC Wimbledon fans to MK Dons.August 16, 2021
Cutting, clever and to the point. 10/10.
It's an old one now but...When the ball hits the goal,It's not Owen or Cole,It's ZamoraWhen he was at Brighton I think!August 16, 2021
Crooner Dean Martin's That's Amore is a romantic melody that was crying out to be transformed into an ode to a striker, wasn't it?
When the ball heads your head,And you're sat in row ZIt's ZamoraIs more fittingAugust 16, 2021
...even if this is the one that many of us remember...
"We're gonna deep fry your pizzas" by Scottish fans to ItaliansAugust 16, 2021
And no one would put it past them.
I loved when Leeds beat derby after spygate and sung “we’ll spy where we want”.August 16, 2021
What a time for football. Lampard's anger. Bielsa's PowerPoint. The binoculars celebration. This chant. And Leeds singing Stop Crying Your Heart Out about Frank Lampard. Pure gold for everyone involved.
“We’ve got McAllister, You’ve got Chlamydia”Leeds fans away at Peterborough due to free sexual health check ups being offered outside the ground.August 16, 2021
Leeds fans have made some great contributions to this list. We just wish they'd been around for that game against Liverpool when everything kicked off with the Super League.
Everton fans to the tune of the Carly Simon classic…….“I bet you think this song is about youLeighton Baines……”August 16, 2021
Now that's a parody Weird Al Yankovic would be proud of.
England fans to Iceland at Euro 16, ‘You’re just a shit shop in England, shit shop in Englaaaaand’. We all know how that game turned out 😏August 16, 2021
Serves an entire nation right for taking prawn rings for granted.
“Xhaka’s right, your fans are shite!”August 16, 2021
Sung at Arsenal fans after then-captain Granit Xhaka famously swore at the home faithful.
Will Grigg's on 🔥https://t.co/7ZPxqqrZPp https://t.co/cWucxAGhG8August 16, 2021
The undisputed anthem of the summer of 2016. It's catchy, it's exciting and for anyone in the Paris fan park under the Eiffel Tower, listening to tens of thousands of French fans singing this song with a northern accent, it deserves a spot at the top table of football songs.
'YOU SHOULD HAVE STAYED IN A BURGER!' or 'YOU'RE JUST A SHIT TESCO SANDWICH!' - directed at goalkeepers Dean Gerken and Elliot Justham respectively. https://t.co/6IQP79IB1sAugust 16, 2021
If in doubt, just go for the name. That's what Lenell John-Lewis has taught us.
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