Matchweek 21 & FA Cup: Rolling back the years

Introduction  

Jack: Hello my name’s Jack and welcome to our weekly round-up section called ‘This Week’ on Premier Skills English.

Rich: Hi there. I’m Rich. We’ve got lots of interesting words and phrases to help you talk about football in English.

Jack: We want you to use and practise these phrases by interacting with Premier League fans from around the world in our comments section.

Rich: If you listen to us on Apple Podcasts, you can leave your comments in the review section. We do read all the reviews and would love to hear from you.

Jack: Remember we are looking for people to interview in our podcasts. If you want to practise your English skills and answer a few questions just email us at premierskills@britishcouncil.org and we’ll write back to you.

Rich: And if you are watching us on Facebook or YouTube now, you can leave any questions or comments below and we’ll answer you straight away.

Jack: Or just leave us a like or a thumbs up! We like them too!

Rich: You can find all our latest content on the Premier Skills English homepage or the Premier Skills-British Council Facebook page. 

Jack: Don’t forget that we also have our weekly Premier Skills English Podcast that is released every Friday. Every week we help you with some different vocabulary or an aspect of grammar.

Rich: Our latest podcast is all about New Year’s resolutions and you can find it on the Premier Skills English homepage, Apple Podcasts, Spotify and most other podcast platforms now. 

Jack: It’s a new year but the football hasn’t stopped. Let’s have a look at Matchweek 21 and the FA Cup in our headlines.

Headlines

Jack: Reds go a year unbeaten.

Rich: Liverpool last tasted defeat in the Premier League on January the third 2019. There was no New Year hangover at Anfield as goals from Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane gave the Reds victory against Sheffield United. 

Jack: New manager works for Hammers.

Rich: West Ham recorded their biggest Premier League win since 2007 as they hammered Bournemouth 4-0 and moved out of the relegation zone. Two goals from Kevin Noble and one each from Sebastian Haller and Felipe Anderson gave David Moyes victory in his first match in charge.

Jack: Rooney rolls back the years.

Rich: One of the biggest cupsets of the FA Cup third round was at Crystal Palace where Derby County from the Championship shocked their Premier League rivals with a 1-0 win. Chris Martin got the goal but it was Wayne Rooney in a deep midfield role who was man of the match.

Jack: The magic of the FA Cup! There was also a shock defeat for Brighton who lost to Sheffield Wednesday and Tottenham needed a late equaliser at Middlesbrough.

Rich: And what about that Liverpool youth team beating Everton. What a result!

Vocabulary alert!

Jack: In our vocabulary alert, we look at some football English that we used in the headlines.

Rich: Our six words and phrases this week are: to taste defeat, a hangover, to hammer someone, the relegation zone, to roll back the years and cupset.

Jack: Let’s start with the phrases we used to talk about Liverpool going a year unbeaten in the Premier League.

Rich: We said Liverpool last tasted defeat in January 2019. To tase defeat on a basic level means to lose. 

Jack: To taste something in this phrase means to know or to experience something. So, Liverpool hasn’t known or experienced defeat for over a year.

Rich: I think they must have forgotten what it tastes like! The other word we used when talking about Liverpool’s latest win was hangover. 

Jack: We said that there was no New Year hangover at Anfield.

Rich: A hangover is normally used to describe how you physically feel the day after drinking too much alcohol. Many people drink too much on New Year’s Eve and wake up with a hangover.

Jack: We used the word to say there was no hangover at Anfield. The players were all as fresh as they have been all season.

Rich: It might have been different in the crowd though! Let’s talk about the West Ham - Bournemouth match. We said West Ham hammered Bournemouth.

Jack: A hammer is a tool that you use to beat nails into wood. To hammer another team means to beat them ... easily. It usually means a defeat by three or more goals. We also used this phrase because we were playing with West Ham’s nickname - the Hammers.

Rich: We said that West Ham’s victory moved the team out of the relegation zone. The relegation zone is the final three places in the Premier League table. If you finish in these places you move down to the Championship at the end of the season.

Jack: You might also hear relegation places, relegation area, the bottom three, the dropzone amongst others.

Rich: Finally, let’s talk about the FA Cup. We said that Wayne Rooney rolled back the years in Derby’s win at Crystal Palace.

Jack: In sport, to roll back the years is an idiom that is used to describe someone playing really or playing like they used to despite being older.

Rich: Wayne Rooney is 34 now - pretty old for a striker. He’s playing in midfield now. However, he played like he was when he was 25 and one of the best strikers in the Premier League. He rolled back the years!

Jack: Our final phrase this week is one that is used a lot these days but is quite new so you might not find it in a dictionary. The word is cupset.

Rich: We said that one of the biggest cupsets this weekend was Derby beating Crystal Palace. The word cupset is a portmanteau which is when two words are put together to make a new word. The words put together are ‘cup’ and ‘upset’. 

Jack: An upset is a surprise or shock result. So a cupset is when a team from a lower division shocks a team from a higher division and wins.

Rich: OK, so there are our six words and phrases. Listen to this part of the podcast again if you are not sure how to use them.

Jack: The words and phrases are: to taste defeat, a hangover, to hammer someone, the relegation zone, to roll back the years and cupset.

Football Awards

Jack: Right, every week, we give out three Matchweek awards. The awards are Player of the Week, Team of the Week and Goal of the Week.

Rich: In the comments section, you need to tell us if you agree with our choices. This week our choices come from Matchweek 21 and the FA Cup.

Jack: Let’s start with Player of the Week. There was a captain’s performance by Mark Noble in West Ham’s 4-0 win against Bournemouth and another by Jack Grealish for Aston Villa at Burnley.

Rich: But our Player of the Week was Derby County’s, Wayne Rooney. In his second game back in the UK, Rooney showed that he’s still got it as Derby produced the biggest cupset of round three of the FA Cup.

Jack: Now Team of the Week. Great away wins for Leicester and Aston Villa and Mikel Arteta got his first win as Arsenal manager.

Rich: But our team of the week is West Ham United. Their biggest Premier League win since 2007. A great performance.

Jack: Finally, our Goal of the Week. We’re going to leave this one to you. We’re going to give you three options and you need to tell us which you think was best.

Rich: Goal number one: Curtis Jones for Liverpool v Everton. A wonderful curling effort by the 18-year-old. What a way to score your first ever senior goal!

Jack: Goal number two. Aaron Wilbraham for Rochdale v Newcastle. It wasn’t the prettiest goal but the 40-year-old scoring to give Rochdale a replay against Premier League Newcastle is what the FA Cup is all about.

Rich: Goal number three. Jack Grealish for Aston Villa against Burnley. Grealish scored another long-range goal to keep the Villans out of the relegation zone.

Jack: OK. Those are our three options. Did you see them? Which do you think was the best? Let us know your choice and if you agree with our other weekly awards in our comments section on the Premier Skills English website.

Matchweek Prediction 

Jack: Every week, Rich predicts the result of one Premier League match and we want you to make your prediction, too. Which match are you going to look at this week, Rich?

Rich: In matchweek 22, Liverpool will have to be at their best to keep their unbeaten run going. The Reds go to London to play Tottenham which is always a tough game. Spurs are not in the best form but are battling for a top-four position while Liverpool’s season just gets better and better. I’m not going to predict a defeat for Liverpool - that would be crazy, but a draw might feel like a defeat with the form the Reds are currently in. Final score: Tottenham 1-1 Liverpool

Jack: I just can’t see Liverpool losing. 1-0 to the Reds.

Rich: Right, that’s all we have time for. I hope you have enjoyed this football round-up. Join the discussion at the bottom of the page on the Premier Skills English website. 

Jack: If you listen to us on Apple Podcasts, don’t forget to leave us a review. We’d love to hear from you. 

Rich: If you have any questions or comments or suggestions for the podcast or anything football or English related, you can leave them on the website in the comments section, on social media - on facebook or twitter, on apple podcasts or you can email us at premierskills@britishcouncil.org.

Jack: Remember you can also email us if you want to practise your English skills and answer a few questions for a future podcast. That email address again is: premierskills@britishcouncil.org

Rich: Bye for now and enjoy your football.