This Week: A formidable opponent

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

In This Week, we’ve got lots of interesting words and phrases to help you talk about football in English.

If you are listening to this podcast on Apple Podcasts or Spotify you can also visit the Premier Skills English website at britishcouncil.org/premierskillsenglish where you’ll be able to download the podcast.

This week, I’ve got three stories for you from the Emirates Stadium, the King Power Stadium and the Etihad Stadium and then. After each story, I’ll look at some interesting vocabulary. After the stories, there will be a task and a language challenge for you and then at the end, there will be a new football phrase.

The words and phrases from the stories that I’m going to talk about this week are: a double act, to disrupt, to be sidelined, to be troubled by something, to bounce back, formidable, unpredictable and remarkable resilience.

But before I get to this week’s stories, I want to give you the answer to last week’s football phrase. If you didn’t hear it last week, here’s one more chance to guess now.

Last week’s football phrase was *******. The meaning of this word is similar to plans or even strategies, but we use them to talk about the plans and instructions that a manager gives to their team and also that a general might use on the battlefield. This word has been a football phrase in the past, but I used it in the story last week.

Congratulations to Denis2000 from Belarus, Fabs17 from Italy, Vietnguyenngo from Vietnam, Shikbala from Egypt, Sisman74 from Turkey, Hasan also from Turkey, Chen Meng Tso from Taiwan, Gustavo Fonseca from Peru, Daniel_06 from Mexico and Cezario Abrantes from Brazil. You all worked out that the word I was looking for was tactics.

Cezario also asked a couple of questions that I need to respond to. The first was whether there’s any difference between the worst start ever and the worst ever start ... and I think they are both exactly the same. I think ever can be moved around a noun in a superlative description without any change in meaning. The shop is advertising its biggest ever discount ... The shop is advertising its biggest discount ever. These are completely synonymous.

The second question was about my use of the word skipper to refer to Sean Dyche. And ... I probably shouldn't have done that. In my defence, we do use the word skipper informally to mean the boss. So informally, I might refer to the manager of the Premier Skills programme as the skipper. And Sean Dyche is the new boss ... but in football English, the word skipper meaning captain is much more common. I tried searching for other examples of football managers being referred to as skipper and I couldn’t find any so when you’re talking about football, you should only use the word skipper to describe the captain. And now ... I need to hang my head in shame because I’m here, making these podcasts about football and English and football English and I’ve taught you guys wrong. I am really sorry. I will be more careful in future. Thank you Cezario for raising the question.

Now it’s time for this week’s first story. When you listen, I’d like you to try to answer the following question:

Why was Arteta upset after the match?

Brentford holds Arsenal at Bay

During the first half, Brentford gave the gunners a lot of trouble and Ivan Toney came very close to scoring. After the break, Arsenal played with more intensity and looked in control.

Leandro Trossard was brought on after 62 minutes and scored the opener 4 minutes later.

Shortly after that, Ivan Toney finally got a goal with a header. Now, there was some debate about whether two players were offside during the build up and it did look like VAR failed to deliver in this instance, and Arteta was not pleased after the match.

But Toney’s finish was well taken and whatever you make of the refereeing, Brentford’s attacking double-act kept up their record of disrupting the plans of the League’s top teams.

Final score: Arsenal 1 - Brentford 1

Before the story, I asked you:

Why was Arteta upset after the match?

The answer is: Arteta thought that the Brentford goal should not have been allowed because two players were offside in the run up and VAR should have made this clear to the referee.

The words from this story that I want to talk about are double-act and to disrupt.

A double-act is two people that work together. When I was a kid, there were loads of comedians that worked together in double acts, like Laurel and Hardy, Fry and Laurie and French and Saunders, but there aren’t as many these days. In football, when two players form a partnership on the pitch that works really well, they might be referred to as a double-act, but as they are part of a team, it’s a slightly unusual use of the term. In the story, I was referring to the attacking pair Mbeumo and Toney who were playing at the front for Brentford against Arsenal.

To disrupt means to stop something, usually a process or the normal ways that things happen. It’s similar in meaning to the verb to interrupt. I read a good blog post that explained the difference by suggesting that to interrupt something is like pressing pause when you’re watching a film; the process is stopped. But to disrupt means to stop by creating confusion so if you were watching a film, to disrupt the film you might pick up the TV and throw it out of the window. Here’s another example. If you are in a meeting and you are talking about your work when someone in the meeting’s phone starts ringing, that might interrupt you. But if the fire alarm goes off, that would disrupt the whole meeting. I don’t think you can disrupt one person, you can interrupt a person but you can only disrupt a process.

Now it’s time for this week’s second story. When you listen, I’d like you to try to answer the following question:

Why was Maddison made captain this week?

Maddison leads Leicester against Spurs

While the club captain has been sidelined by injury for most of the season, Youri Tielemans has been the regular stand-in. This week, the stand-in has also been sidelined and so Rogers made Maddison the stand-in’s stand-in and the 26 year old midfielder led the team out.

This was the first time out for Maddison wearing the captain’s armband, but he wasn’t troubled by the responsibility. He said that as one of the most experienced players in the team, he already feels that it is his duty to lead the players, to encourage them in the warm up and in the changing room.

On the pitch he fulfilled his duties and led by example with a goal and an assist.

Final score: Leicester City 4 - Tottenham Hotspur 1

Before the story, I asked you:

Why was Maddison made captain this week?

The answer is: Maddison was made captain this week because the regular club captain and his regular stand-in were both out of action due to injuries.

The words from this story that I want to talk about are to sideline and to trouble.

The verb to sideline means to prevent someone from taking part in an activity. The word sideline means the lines that mark the edges of the pitch. If a player is prevented from playing, they will have to stay on the other side of the sidelines. The verb form is almost always used in the passive voice as people do not sideline themselves. Players are sidelined, often by injuries or because their manager prefers other players. This verb is widely used outside of sports about people who have been stopped from working on projects because they do not get on with their bosses.

The verb to trouble means to cause problems or difficulties and it’s often used in passive sentences. If you go to see the doctor, the doctor might ask if anything is troubling you. You might ask the same question to a friend if they look worried about something. What’s troubling you? In football, you might hear about a player who has been troubled by an injury, their injury has been causing problems for them. Notice the use of by to say the cause of the trouble. In the story, I said that Maddison was not troubled by the responsibility of being the captain. I mean that it didn’t cause him any problems.

Now it’s time for this week’s third story. When you listen, I’d like you to try to answer the following question:

Who scored for Aston Villa?

Villa feels the heat at the Etihad

When Aston Villa travelled to Manchester, they faced a team that were determined to bounce back following their slip at Spurs. City are a formidable opponent at normal times, but when they have something to prove, they must be terrifying.

Though this might not have daunted Villa, who have been having an exciting season. The Villans have been playing well, but they have been unpredictable. Since Unai Emery took over in October, they have climbed five places up the table having won five times, drawn once and lost three matches.

But Manchester City have been on another level for the last few seasons and many might have predicted the absolute demolition of the Birmingham side. And ... Villa lost, but it wasn’t an embarrassing defeat. City were wild in the first half with an early goal from Rodri and then two more before the break.

At three-nil down, Villa showed remarkable resilience in the second half and Ollie Watkins managed to take advantage of some sloppy defending and nabbed a goal back.

Final score: Manchester City 3 - Aston Villa 1

Before the story, I asked you:

Who scored for Aston Villa?

The answer is: Ollie Watkins. I said that he took advantage of some sloppy defending and nabbed a goal back. Sloppy in this case means careless and nabbed or to nab is an informal way to say to take, usually quickly and often without permission.

There are lots of words from this story that I want to talk about and they are to bounce back, formidable, unpredictable and remarkable resilience.

To bounce back means to be successful again after a difficult time. Often you hear about players bouncing back if they come back and start playing well again after an injury. Another common use is with stock prices. When a company stock price drops because of some bad news, if the price recovers quickly then you might hear people saying that the stock prices bounced back.

The adjective formidable means that something is scary or very impressive. When we use it to talk about a person, it’s because of their power or skills. This is an advanced adjective, but I really like it. When I was a kid, I loved Asterix cartoons. I’m not sure if Asterix and Obelix are famous all over the world, but the stories are about a small village in the North of France that resisted the Romans, mostly due to a magic strengthening potion that their druid made. This made them so strong that the Roman armies that were sent to try to conquer them were afraid of their power. The stories always described them as the formidable gauls. That was how I learnt the word and so I always associate it with those stories. So we use the word formidable to talk about an opponent or adversary. In a sports competition, if you have a formidable opponent, you probably don’t expect to win.

The next adjective is unpredictable. If something is unpredictable, it often changes suddenly and in ways that you don’t expect. So ... you can’t predict it. In the UK, the weather is often unpredictable. It might be sunny in the morning so you go out without a coat and then from nowhere, the clouds blow in and it can be cold and wet. It’s taken my wife (who’s not from the UK), It’s taken her a long time to understand why we talk about the weather so much, but now she’s almost always prepared for the unpredictable changes. I said that Villa have been unpredictable since Emery took over because sometimes they play very well and at other times ... well, not as well. So it’s hard to predict how a match will end and how well Villa will play.

The last phrase I want to talk about is remarkable resilience. The verb remark, means to comment or say something. So if you see something that is unusual and it makes you want to say something, it makes you want to remark, it is remarkable. We usually only remark on something if it is unusual, perhaps unusually large or surprising in another way.

The noun resilience means the ability to recover or bounce back after a setback. We also use the adjective resilient. So if a person suffers a defeat or is troubled by something serious, but they are able to recover and become successful again, you might praise them saying that they are resilient or that they have shown remarkable resilience.

OK, that's 8 words and phrases from the stories today. The words and phrases were: A double act, to disrupt, to be sidelined, to be troubled by something, to bounce back, formidable, unpredictable and remarkable resilience. Listen to the stories one more time to hear the words and phrases in context.

 

Brentford holds Arsenal at Bay

During the first half, Brentford gave the gunners a lot of trouble and Ivan Toney came very close to scoring. After the break, Arsenal played with more intensity and looked in control.

Leandro Trossard was brought on after 62 minutes and scored the opener 4 minutes later.

Shortly after that, Ivan Toney finally got a goal with a header. Now, there was some debate about whether two players were offside during the build up and it did look like VAR failed to deliver in this instance, and Arteta was not pleased after the match.

But Toney’s finish was well taken and whatever you make of the refereeing, Brentford’s attacking double-act kept up their record of disrupting the plans of the League’s top teams.

Final score: Arsenal 1 - Brentford 1

Maddison leads Leicester against Spurs

While the club captain has been sidelined by injury for most of the season, Youri Tielemans has been the regular stand-in. This week, the stand-in has also been sidelined and so Rogers made Maddison the stand-in’s stand-in and the 26 year old midfielder led the team out.

This was the first time out for Maddison wearing the captain’s armband, but he wasn’t troubled by the responsibility. He said that as one of the most experienced players in the team, he already feels that it is his duty to lead the players, to encourage them in the warm up and in the changing room.

On the pitch he fulfilled his duties and led by example with a goal and an assist.

Final score: Leicester City 4 - Tottenham Hotspur 1

 

Villa feels the heat at the Etihad

When Aston Villa travelled to Manchester, they faced a team that were determined to bounce back following their slip at Spurs. City are a formidable opponent at normal times, but when they have something to prove, they must be terrifying.

Though this might not have daunted Villa, who have been having an exciting season. The Villans have been playing well, but they have been unpredictable. Since Unai Emery took over in October, they have climbed five places up the table having won five times, drawn once and lost three matches.

But Manchester City have been on another level for the last few seasons and many might have predicted the absolute demolition of the Birmingham side. And ... Villa lost, but it wasn’t an embarrassing defeat. City were wild in the first half with an early goal from Rodri and then two more before the break.

At three-nil down, Villa showed remarkable resilience in the second half and Ollie Watkins managed to take advantage of some sloppy defending and nabbed a goal back.

Final score: Manchester City 3 - Aston Villa 1

Language challenge

Right, now it’s time for you to think about the language again.

Your challenge this week is to complete the gaps in the following sentences with the correct forms of the words and phrases that I’ve spoken about in this podcast. I have taken all of these sentences from news websites and edited them slightly.

Number 1. Wright admitted that City will be a tough opponent after watching them _____________ from a defeat to Tottenham last time out.

Number 2. The 23-year-old is going to be ________ for a fortnight at least, but considering Liverpool’s luck this season, many wouldn’t be surprised to see that timeline extended.

Number 3. Thousands of residents are ____________ hundreds of potholes in the narrow road, accidents are happening.

Number 4. Dr Neeta Bhushan shares her advice on how to bounce back from trauma, and how to be more __________.

Number 5. The 12-year-old busker wowed crowds on Grafton Street with a ____________ performance.

Number 6. The Allens are an infamous ___________, sharing work and hobbies, and travelling the world together for their sailing hobby and for research.

Number 7. Couples are warned to be prepared this year as public transport will be __________ by the Valentine’s Day strike action.

Number 8. The prize winning writer said the most important role of journalists is to continue to hold power to account despite evolving threats and __________ forces trying to suppress their work.

Number 9. Cotton Farmers in India and Pakistan have suffered the worst effects of the extreme heat and ____________ rainfall.

Leave your answers to the language challenge in the comments section on the Premier Skills English website.

Task

Your task this week is to tell everyone about a famous double act from your country. They could be comedians or musicians. Normally a musical double-act is a duet if both musicians sing, but they can still be called a double act. Or they might be athletes or artists with a long lived collaboration. Just as long as they are referred to as a double act.

Share your ideas in the comments section on the page for this podcast on Premier Skills English.

Football phrase

Now it’s time for this week's football phrase.

This week’s football phrase is *****. Tonight, Manchester City will travel down to London to take on Arsenal at the Emirates in a top of the table ***** that could shape the rest of the season. When there’s a really important match between two very competitive teams you will often hear the meeting described as a *****.

If you know the answer, be sure to leave it in a comment on the page for this podcast on Premier Skills English.

Last week's challenge

Before I finish, I am going to go through the answers to last week’s language challenge.

Number 1. I really needed to use the bathroom but I had to wait and the longer I had to wait, the more desperate I became.

Number 2. Women’s football is becoming a lot more popular. However, at normal matches, compared with the men’s game, the crowds are still small.

Number 3. I thought the club had spent a lot on a new defender, but the new midfielder was even more expensive.

Number 4. The new manager is a breath of fresh air. She’s as different as night and day.

Number 5. I ran a 10k race last weekend and got my best ever time.

And that’s all I have time for today. Before I finish, I just wanted to say that I hope you found this podcast useful, and I hope all of you stay fit and healthy and safe.

Bye for now and enjoy your football.