The mark of a truly great football song isn’t in chart position (albeit with that an increasing irrelevance anyway), streaming numbers or by how many times it’s dug up at opportune moments - usually international tournaments - it’s how it manages to permeate a fanbase far beyond excessive volumes on a PA.
As Joey Barton’s side were preparing to celebrate a near-miraculous promotion to League One in May as the clock ticked down to confirm a 7-0 victory over Scunthorpe United, a fervent Thatcher’s End was firmly in song. Now-established couplets about certain men in blue and white quarters on the field were belted out, as was Goodnight Irene, of course, but another tune filled the air of interesting significance.
For the last two decades, Tote End Boys has largely been played at the Mem following a draw or defeat; it’s nostalgia-tinged melancholic verse mixed with the uplift of spirit in the chorus proving as close a soothing audio balm as is possible after a disappointing result.
