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Podcast 24

Podcast 24

Premier League badge.

In this week's podcast, Jack and Rich talk about superstitions and strange pre-match routines that both Premier League players and fans have. The language focus is conditional sentences and we have a new riddle in our 'What's my Team?' competition.

How to enter the competition?

  1. Press play on the podcast below

  2. Listen to Sophie, who is this week's Premier League fan.

  3. Guess Sophie's favourite team.

  4. Write your answer in the comments section at the bottom of this page.

  5. If you are not logged in or a registered member, you can register for free in the top right corner 

How much did you understand?

In this podcast, Rich and Jack spoke about superstitions, luck and beliefs. Try the activities below to see how much you learned:
 

"The Liverpool players believe in their new manager."

"We’re going to speak about some of the things that Premier League footballers do to bring them luck."

Activity 1: In this activity, match the words from the podcast to the correct definition.
Were any of the words we used in the podcast new for you?
 

Liverpool's Daniel Sturridge has a strange pre-match routine - he always walks onto the pitch backwards!

In the podcast, Jack and Rich used different conditional sentences. Have a look at the sentences and activities below to help you understand. If you want to know more, take a look at the grammar pages on our Learn English website.

"When Manchester Utd’s Juan Mata gets ready for the match, he always  puts on his left boot first and walks on the pitch with his right foot."

"If they don’t do their pre-match routines, they will have bad luck or their team will lose."

Activity 2: In the podcast, Rich and Jack used a few conditional sentences. Have a look at the activity and see if you can match the parts of each sentence together.
How well do you know your conditionals?
 

Arsenal's Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain's superstitions include hopping before he comes onto the pitch. 

If the listening was a bit difficult, you can listen again and read the transcript at the same time.
Listen to the podcast and read at the same time.

Jack: Hello my name’s Jack and welcome to this week’s Premier Skills English podcast.

Rich: Hi everyone. I’m Rich and every week we talk about football and help you with your English.

Jack: This week, we’re going to talk about some strange routines called superstitions, the language focus is conditional sentences and later Rich will make another Premier League prediction.

Rich: And you have another chance to win a Samsung Galaxy tablet in our ‘What’s my Team?’ competition.

Jack: What was the answer to last week’s riddle Rich?

Rich: Ah, yes. Last week it was Kingsley ... his favourite Premier League team is Watford.

Jack: We had lots of correct entries so congratulations to everybody who got it right. I think this one was a little more difficult and we probably had a few people googling Elton John’s favourite team or the club whose nickname is the Hornets.  

Rich: Yes, most clubs have a few famous fans. Did you know that Prince William was an Aston Villa fan, that Sylvester Stallone was an Everton fan or Usain Bolt a Man Utd fan? 

Jack: I didn’t know about Sylvester Stallone, no. 

Rich: We have selected a winner at random from the correct answers...

Jack: and the sixth winner of the What’s my team? competition is Haydi a Newcastle Utd fan from Tunisia. Congratulations Haydi, we’ll be in contact with you this week.

Rich: Well done Haydi! Later on in the podcast, you can listen to this week’s What’s my team riddle. 


Jack: Last week, you made a prediction about the Chelsea - Liverpool match. How did you do this time?

Rich: I know, I was wrong again, but this time I was happy I was wrong because Liverpool got a fantastic 3 points and Jurgen Klopp got his first Premier League win as Liverpool boss.

Jack: You should really support your team a bit more Rich. A few of our listeners actually predicted a Liverpool win.

Rich: Well done to Mkoriev and Ruslanjon from Uzbekistan, GalaUA and Alex from Ukraine, Wutyee Nandar from Myanmar, Verdmead96 from Poland and August1994 from Iran.

Jack: Most people predicted a Chelsea win or a draw like Rich, so congratulations to you!

Rich: Last week we spoke about some expressions that use ‘run’  and it was great to see some of you using these expressions in your comments.

Jack: For example, we learnt that football runs in Ayan Red Devil’s family.

Rich: And sport also runs in Natka’s family from Russia, but it’s not football, it’s cycling.

Jack: And moving away from sport; teaching runs in Nyinyi’s family in Myanmar and also in Rafael24’s family in Ecuador.

Rich: We also had a great comment from Besian in Kosovo. He wants to know if we can send the competition winner’s email after posting the podcast.

Jack: He thinks this will make the announcement more exciting because nobody will know if they have won or not!

Rich: Besian - we think you are right so from now we will only send the winner the email 24 hours after the podcast has been posted!

Jack: Sorry if we haven’t had time to mention your comment, but please continue to write to us with any your comments or questions and we’ll get back to you.


Jack: Last weekend there was a big win for Arsenal, Manchester City got a last minute winner against Norwich and Leicester City continued their amazing season with a 3-2 win away at West Brom. 

Rich: Do you know that Leicester striker, Jamie Vardy, has scored in 8 consecutive Premier League matches. Only Ruud van Nistelrooy, who scored in 10, has ever done this in the Premier League.

Jack: He must be wearing his lucky boots!

Rich: I’m not so sure it’s luck. Luck is when good things happen to you by chance, I think it’s Jamie Vardy’s hard work and talent that means he’s the Premier League’s top scorer.

Jack: You’re probably right, but today we’re going to speak about some of the things that Premier League footballers do to bring them luck. These  things are sometimes called superstitions.

Rich: A superstition is a belief in a supernatural cause, something that can’t be explained by science.

Jack: And if you believe in superstitions, you are superstitious. Superstitious people might wear certain colours or have a lucky number because they believe it brings them luck.  Lots of Premier League players believe in superstitions and do special things before the match to bring them luck.

Rich: And sometimes these superstitions become part of a routine - and sometimes they can seem a bit strange

Jack: Did you know that Liverpool’s Daniel Sturridge always walks on the pitch backwards at the beginning of the match?

Rich: I did know that yes. It’s a superstition and he believes it brings him good luck. When Manchester Utd’s Juan Mata gets ready for the match, he always puts on his left boot first and walks on the pitch with his right foot.

Jack: Jack Grealish at Aston Villa always wears his socks rolled down, and Kolo Toure at Liverpool is always the last on to the pitch.

Rich: Once when he was at Arsenal, Toure’s teammate, William Gallas, was getting some treatment from the physio at half-time. Toure waited for Gallas because he wanted to be the last on the pitch. When they got to the pitch they realised they were late and Toure was given a yellow card for walking on the pitch without the referee’s permission.

Jack: But some players might take their superstition too far. Arsenal’s Alex-Oxlade Chamberlain says before he comes on the pitch he hops three times on his left leg, then does two small hops followed by one big hop. He says he doesn't know why he does it but he does it every time. 

Rich: So superstitions don’t always bring good luck and sometimes they can seem a little strange, but it’s not only players that have superstitions, fans are often very superstitious, too.

Jack: Clothes are a common superstition. I’ve met fans who have lucky T-shirts, socks and even pants! If they’re not wearing their lucky clothes, their team will certainly lose.

Rich:  And if you’re watching the match at home, I’ve heard of some fans who always sit in the same chair and in the same position.

Jack: When we were talking about the players’ superstitions we used a lot of conditional sentences.

Rich: For example, I said earlier; “When Manchester Utd’s Juan Mata gets ready for the match, he always  puts on his left boot first and walks on the pitch with his right foot.”

Jack: This is an example of the zero conditional and is used when something is always true.

Rich: Let’s look at another example - the players believe that if they don’t do their pre-match routines, they will have bad luck or their team will lose.

Jack: This is an example of the first conditional which we use for situations that are possible to happen in the future.

Rich: If you want to learn more about different conditional sentences, there are some activities below and there is also a link to our Learn English website on the right of the page.

Jack: If you have any match day superstitions or routines, we would love to hear them!

Rich: Right, I think it’s time for this week’s competition: ‘What’s my Team?’


Rich: Here is what you have to do. Listen to a Premier League fan, who will talk about their favourite team and then write the name of the team  in the comments section on the Premier Skills English website.
  
Jack: And for each of the 20 podcast competitions the lucky winner will receive a fantastic Samsung Galaxy Tablet. We wish you the best of luck!
 
Rich: Right, so this week, our Premier League fan is Sophie. Listen to Sophie’s riddle and try to work out what’s her team?

Sophie: We had a great season last year and surprised a lot of Premier League teams - we even qualified for Europe! We were the only Premier League team on the south coast of England until Bournemouth got promoted last season. This has created a bit of a rivalry but we love the competitive spirit! Come on you Saints!

Jack: Shall we give everyone a clue? Well, they won their local derby last weekend so I’m sure Sophie is very happy this week. Now, it’s time for your prediction Rich. Let’s see if you can improve on your recent predictions!


Rich: The big match this weekend is the North London Derby between Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur. Arsenal are doing well at the moment and have won their last five Premier League matches, scoring 16 goals. And if Arsenal win, they can go back to the top of table. They’ve also already beaten Spurs this season - in the League Cup. Tottenham are doing pretty well but unless Harry Kane has a fantastic game I can’t see them winning at  the Emirates Stadium. Final score: Arsenal 3-1 Tottenham. 

Jack: Thanks a lot Rich! Predicting an Arsenal win, means Spurs will definitely win this weekend! If you’ve got a prediction for these matches let us know in the comments section below.

Rich: That’s it for today - we’ve run out of time! Thanks for listening. And don’t forget to write your answers to the competition, and any questions you have about the website or football English in the comments below.

Jack: Don’t forget if you sign in, you can score points to see if you can get your club, your country and your name to the top of our leaderboard.

Rich:  Bye for now and enjoy your football.

 

The answer to last week's 'What's my Team?' competiton was Watford. Congratulations Haydi from Tunisia! Your prize is on its way!

Quiz

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What do you think?

Rich and Jack spoke about some strange pre-match routines or superstitions that Premier League players have.
Which player has the strangest superstition?
Do people in your country have superstitions?
Do you do anything to bring your team luck?
 
Rich predicts that Arsenal will beat Tottenham 3-1 in the North London Derby. Do you agree?
 

Remember to write your competition answers in the comments section below. Good luck!

Leave a comment

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Komentar

SalvaGH
03/11/2015
ES
841
points

I agree with Rich prediction that Arsenal will beat Tottenham in the North London Derby but I think the final result will be 2-1.


SalvaGH
03/11/2015 22:04
Spain
Manchester City
841

I agree with Rich prediction that Arsenal will beat Tottenham in the North London Derby but I think the final result will be 2-1.

SalvaGH
03/11/2015
ES
841
points

Southampton Football Club.


SalvaGH
03/11/2015 22:03
Spain
Manchester City
841

Southampton Football Club.

For
03/11/2015
ZW
298
points

I wanna congratulate Besian for his brilliant idea of notifying the winner after the podcast release only. That definitely will contribute in announcement to be more exiting to everyone without excluding the winner itself.


For
03/11/2015 21:34
Zimbabwe
Arsenal
298

I wanna congratulate Besian for his brilliant idea of notifying the winner after the podcast release only. That definitely will contribute in announcement to be more exiting to everyone without excluding the winner itself.

For
03/11/2015
ZW
298
points

When it comes to the superstition and the nature of one having by players.. I think having a superstition itself is strange enough, no mater its form. There are people worldwide having superstitions, and that's one of the worst things they owe, unfortunately. It shows their lack of knowledge.., not to say their ignorance. Nothing can bring luck nor can get it away.., it will happen just as you and others act, by permission of God. It is even more stranger to see people believe in such a thing like a specific color will bring them luck while they reject God and luck to be given by Him, this a simply reasonable thing but yet ununderstandable by many. Just as Francis Bacon says: "A little knowledge of science makes man an atheist, but an in-depth study of science makes him a believer in God."

***Didn't want to insult anyone, please.

I just also want to share with you an example what some people in my country go through in their daily life. When a cat cross the road just in front of them when they going through, they make three steps backward then continue forward, in order to "prevent" badness "resulting" by cat road-cross. haha


For
03/11/2015 21:10
Zimbabwe
Arsenal
298

When it comes to the superstition and the nature of one having by players.. I think having a superstition itself is strange enough, no mater its form. There are people worldwide having superstitions, and that's one of the worst things they owe, unfortunately. It shows their lack of knowledge.., not to say their ignorance. Nothing can bring luck nor can get it away.., it will happen just as you and others act, by permission of God. It is even more stranger to see people believe in such a thing like a specific color will bring them luck while they reject God and luck to be given by Him, this a simply reasonable thing but yet ununderstandable by many. Just as Francis Bacon says: "A little knowledge of science makes man an atheist, but an in-depth study of science makes him a believer in God."

***Didn't want to insult anyone, please.

I just also want to share with you an example what some people in my country go through in their daily life. When a cat cross the road just in front of them when they going through, they make three steps backward then continue forward, in order to "prevent" badness "resulting" by cat road-cross. haha

Islammuji
03/11/2015
XK
5
points

Arsenal 2-0 tottenham


Islammuji
03/11/2015 20:46
Kosovo
Manchester City
5

Arsenal 2-0 tottenham

Shefeek
03/11/2015
IN
1608
points

Southampton .


Shefeek
03/11/2015 20:40
India
Manchester United
1608

Southampton .

For
03/11/2015
ZW
298
points

Sophie's team is Southampton. It beat Bournemouth 2:0 last weekend.


For
03/11/2015 20:17
Zimbabwe
Arsenal
298

Sophie's team is Southampton. It beat Bournemouth 2:0 last weekend.

haydi's picture
haydi
03/11/2015
TN
3189
points

Sophie's team is AFC Bournemouth.


haydi's picture
haydi
03/11/2015 18:48
Tunisia
Newcastle United
3189

Sophie's team is AFC Bournemouth.

haydi's picture
haydi
03/11/2015
TN
3189
points

I think that all players do strange superstition. In my country, at the beginning of match, some players make a round and say some religious speech ; French National team lets a cock runs on the pitch. Also, African players do some funny dances.


haydi's picture
haydi
03/11/2015 18:46
Tunisia
Newcastle United
3189

I think that all players do strange superstition. In my country, at the beginning of match, some players make a round and say some religious speech ; French National team lets a cock runs on the pitch. Also, African players do some funny dances.

Ruslanjon
03/11/2015
UZ
1079
points

I like the style of Arsenal.They play very fast and always attacking football.But I want the victory of Tottenham as it helps my favourite team - Manchester United go above in the premier league.


Ruslanjon
03/11/2015 17:04
Uzbekistan
Manchester United
1079

I like the style of Arsenal.They play very fast and always attacking football.But I want the victory of Tottenham as it helps my favourite team - Manchester United go above in the premier league.

aragorn1986's picture
aragorn1986
03/11/2015
ME
3557
points

I think it will be Arsenal 2 Tottenham 1. If Man City loses in Birmingham then AFC will find themself on top of the table.


aragorn1986's picture
aragorn1986
03/11/2015 17:03
Montenegro
Arsenal
3557

I think it will be Arsenal 2 Tottenham 1. If Man City loses in Birmingham then AFC will find themself on top of the table.

Ruslanjon
03/11/2015
UZ
1079
points

My answer to the competition is Southampton


Ruslanjon
03/11/2015 17:01
Uzbekistan
Manchester United
1079

My answer to the competition is Southampton

haydi's picture
haydi
03/11/2015
TN
3189
points

Thank you "premier skills english" team, I can't describe my happiness ! Finally, some good news after months of "nothing new". This award encourages me to work hard for improving my English. thank you all.


haydi's picture
haydi
03/11/2015 16:45
Tunisia
Newcastle United
3189

Thank you "premier skills english" team, I can't describe my happiness ! Finally, some good news after months of "nothing new". This award encourages me to work hard for improving my English. thank you all.

Chansophal's picture
Chansophal
07/11/2015
KH
22
points

Congratulation Haydi for your luck and effort! Keep on going!


Chansophal's picture
Chansophal
07/11/2015 04:04
Cambodia
Arsenal
22

Congratulation Haydi for your luck and effort! Keep on going!

haydi's picture
haydi
15/11/2015
TN
3189
points

thank you Chansophal, I do for both, english language and football ;)


haydi's picture
haydi
15/11/2015 20:39
Tunisia
Newcastle United
3189

thank you Chansophal, I do for both, english language and football ;)

Alex_from_Ukraine's picture
Alex_from_Ukraine
05/11/2015
UA
6577
points

Congrats, Haydi ! Go ahead !


Alex_from_Ukraine's picture
Alex_from_Ukraine
05/11/2015 05:11
Ukraine
Liverpool
6577

Congrats, Haydi ! Go ahead !

haydi's picture
haydi
15/11/2015
TN
3189
points

thank you Alex_from_Ukraine


haydi's picture
haydi
15/11/2015 20:38
Tunisia
Newcastle United
3189

thank you Alex_from_Ukraine

Natka
03/11/2015
RU
279
points

Congratulations! Haydi!


Natka
03/11/2015 18:40
Russia
Chelsea
279

Congratulations! Haydi!

haydi's picture
haydi
15/11/2015
TN
3189
points

thank you Nakta


haydi's picture
haydi
15/11/2015 20:37
Tunisia
Newcastle United
3189

thank you Nakta

nikosonris
03/11/2015
UA
2453
points

There are many superstitions in my country, e.g. (1) an unmarried boy or girl mustn't sit at the corner of a table, or he/she won't be wed; (2) if you are going to buy flowers for somebody, make sure the number is odd, even numbers are for funerals; (3) if you whistle while indoors, you will have no money; (4) if you do not recognise someone when you see them or call them on the phone, this person will get Rich :))


nikosonris
03/11/2015 16:22
Ukraine
Arsenal
2453

There are many superstitions in my country, e.g. (1) an unmarried boy or girl mustn't sit at the corner of a table, or he/she won't be wed; (2) if you are going to buy flowers for somebody, make sure the number is odd, even numbers are for funerals; (3) if you whistle while indoors, you will have no money; (4) if you do not recognise someone when you see them or call them on the phone, this person will get Rich :))

nikosonris
03/11/2015
UA
2453
points

In my opinion, it's Kolo Toure who has the strangest superstition of being the last man to step onto the pitch. Maybe he would like to demonstrate the meaning of the expression 'last but not least':)


nikosonris
03/11/2015 16:14
Ukraine
Arsenal
2453

In my opinion, it's Kolo Toure who has the strangest superstition of being the last man to step onto the pitch. Maybe he would like to demonstrate the meaning of the expression 'last but not least':)

nikosonris
03/11/2015
UA
2453
points

My answer to the 'What's my team?' contest is, of course, Southampton (The Saints;)


nikosonris
03/11/2015 16:09
Ukraine
Arsenal
2453

My answer to the 'What's my team?' contest is, of course, Southampton (The Saints;)

vlad.yeromenko
03/11/2015
UA
92
points

Southampton


vlad.yeromenko
03/11/2015 15:23
Ukraine
Arsenal
92

Southampton

aragorn1986's picture
aragorn1986
03/11/2015
ME
3557
points

Sophie's favourite team is Southampton. She said 'Saints' so that's it:-)


aragorn1986's picture
aragorn1986
03/11/2015 15:07
Montenegro
Arsenal
3557

Sophie's favourite team is Southampton. She said 'Saints' so that's it:-)

aragorn1986's picture
aragorn1986
03/11/2015
ME
3557
points

I think Sturridge has the strangest superstition. Some of them, yes. Well, sometimes I wear my t-shirt of AFC from the last season played on Highburry, but only when it is very important match like it was in the last season vs Villa on Wembley. I believe it brings me luck!


aragorn1986's picture
aragorn1986
03/11/2015 15:05
Montenegro
Arsenal
3557

I think Sturridge has the strangest superstition. Some of them, yes. Well, sometimes I wear my t-shirt of AFC from the last season played on Highburry, but only when it is very important match like it was in the last season vs Villa on Wembley. I believe it brings me luck!

manh267's picture
manh267
03/11/2015
VN
28
points

As an Arsenal fan, I strongly believe that the gunners will defeat Tottenham Hotspur with the final score 3-0. We are in good mood after a number of winning matches. By the way, my answer for this week competition is "Southampton F.C".


manh267's picture
manh267
03/11/2015 14:47
Vietnam
Arsenal
28

As an Arsenal fan, I strongly believe that the gunners will defeat Tottenham Hotspur with the final score 3-0. We are in good mood after a number of winning matches. By the way, my answer for this week competition is "Southampton F.C".

CROSS
03/11/2015
GH
1
points

yes i do agree cos arsenal is on form now and not spurs ll stop us.go gunner


CROSS
03/11/2015 13:42
Ghana
Arsenal
1

yes i do agree cos arsenal is on form now and not spurs ll stop us.go gunner

besian's picture
besian
03/11/2015
XK
66
points

Sophie's favourite team is Southampton.


besian's picture
besian
03/11/2015 13:25
Kosovo
Arsenal
66

Sophie's favourite team is Southampton.

besian's picture
besian
03/11/2015
XK
66
points

I think Alex-Oxlade Chamberlain has the strangest superstition, I'am an Arsenal fan but I didn't know that he has this superstition... I don't know any people in my country that have superstitions.
Everytime when Arsenal has a difficult game I try to watch the game even if I have something important to do because I think if I don't watch the games my team will lose... thats what happend in some very important games haha


besian's picture
besian
03/11/2015 13:24
Kosovo
Arsenal
66

I think Alex-Oxlade Chamberlain has the strangest superstition, I'am an Arsenal fan but I didn't know that he has this superstition... I don't know any people in my country that have superstitions.
Everytime when Arsenal has a difficult game I try to watch the game even if I have something important to do because I think if I don't watch the games my team will lose... thats what happend in some very important games haha

kwesimanifest's picture
kwesimanifest
03/11/2015
GH
4779
points

Southampton


kwesimanifest's picture
kwesimanifest
03/11/2015 13:22
Ghana
Manchester United
4779

Southampton

Leaderboard

Top Scorers
RankNameScore
1Alex_from_Ukraine6577
2mobeckham6539
3hsn5558
4wsanta5086
5kwesimanifest4779
6Liubomyr4417
7elghoul3988
8assemjuve3705
9aragorn19863557
10Gergő Nagy3396
Country ranking
RankNameScore
1Colombia74670
2Ukraine33869
3Spain29476
4Serbia27426
5Brazil23472
6Albania20578
7Vietnam20455
8Turkey20109
9Macedonia19074
10Bosnia and Herzegovina16333
Club ranking
RankNameScore
1Manchester United146812
2Liverpool111355
3Chelsea90227
4Arsenal86350
5Manchester City58845
6Tottenham Hotspur19474
7Newcastle United10625
8West Ham United7671
9AFC Bournemouth4915
10Crystal Palace4539

Level

3
Average: 3 (1 vote)

Goals

Practise your listening skills.

Learn some new football vocabulary. 

Practise some conditional sentences.