Football Shout-out: Instructions
Football Shout-out: Instructions
Welcome to Football Shout-out from Premier Skills English, where we talk about the language you need when watching a match. Whether you are a super fan or an armchair supporter you won't be able to avoid football on TV this summer. In Football Shout-out, Jack and Rich present useful language to shout at the TV screen when watching a match with or without friends! In this episode, they look at some words and phrases that fans shout at their own players. Do you know what 'man on' means?
Transcript
Jack: Hello and welcome to Premier Skills English - Football Shout-out
Rich: Football shoutout is the series that teaches you the language you need when you’re watching the game.
Jack: Hi everybody my name’s Jack
Rich: and my name’s Rich and welcome to our latest Football Shout-out where we talk about the English you need when you’re watching football.
Jack: If you listened to our last lesson, you will remember this:
Rich: We’re going to beat this lot today. They’re just going to park the bus. Play with eleven behind the ball.
Jack: I’m not so sure. They’re pretty solid at the back and quick on the counter-attack. Lots of people have been saying they could go quite far in the tournament. They’re a bit of a dark horse.
Rich: Nah! It’ll be attack against defence, like a training match. They play nice football but there’s no end product.
Jack: Mmm .. I hope you’re right but we need to keep an eye on their number nine. He’s pretty quick.
Rich: Mmm … he’s alright but they haven’t got anyone else. We should turn them over easily.
Jack: We’ll see.
Rich: Our last lesson was all about what we say when we talk about the other team - the opposition. If you haven’t heard the lesson there is a link on the side of this page for you to go back and listen and learn lots of fan language about this.
Jack: This lesson, though, is about the opposite of the opposition. It’s about our team - it’s about your team ... and what you shout at your own players when you’re watching the match.
Rich: I love this. Shouting instructions at the TV screen. I know the players can’t hear me but I shout and scream anyway! Pass it!, cross it!, shoot! My favourite is ‘man on!’ - you shout this when a player from the other team starts closing down your player.
Jack: We all shout at our players through the TV sometimes so we’re going to look at some of the words and phrases we use to shout at our own players. Listen to this:
Rich: Come on! We need to get the ball off them. Get stuck in!
Jack: That’s it! Good tackle. You’ve got time. Pass it. Pass it! Man on! Ohh. Straight into touch. Come on?!
Rich: We need to keep hold of the ball.
Jack: We need to get it in the box. There’s only a couple of minutes left.
Rich: That’s it. Down the line. Go on skin him. That’s it, go on ... cross it!
Jack: Go on. Have a pop! Goal!! Get in!!
…
Rich: We need to hold on to this. Here they come. Get rid of it!! Get it out!
Jack: That’s it. Take it to the corner. That should do. Referee! Come on! That’s got to be it (final whistle sounds - crowd cheers)
Rich: Every fan shouts at the screen sometimes. Why do we do it?
Jack: I suppose we want to be the coach. We might shout at the stadium, too. It’s probably from that.
Rich: Do you think the coach is shouting the same things?
Jack: Maybe ... sometimes. The coach probably sounds less desperate though!
Rich: So, what we shout at our own players are usually instructions.
Jack: That’s right. Short instructions using the imperative. We say pass it, tackle, shoot.
Rich: We say it a lot. This refers to the ball. Pass the ball, cross the ball, get the ball in the box all become pass it, cross it and get it in the box.
Jack: Get it in the box is what we often shout near the end of a game when our team is losing. We just want the ball to be in the opposition penalty area as quickly as possible to create a chance to score.
Rich: Another useful phrase is get stuck in. We use this when we want our team or a player to tackle more or e more aggressive.
Jack: Down the line is another common expression. This means to pass the ball down the sides of the pitch in an attacking position.
Rich: That’s when a winger might get the ball in a wide position. He usually has two options to cross the ball into the area or try to dribble the ball past a defender.
Jack: This is where you can use the expression skin him.
Rich: It sounds disgusting but it actually means to dribble the ball past a defender.
Jack: It’s really common for football fans to shout shoot! But some alternatives are ‘go on! Have a crack!’ or ‘go on! Have a pop!’ both of these mean to have an attempt at goal.
Rich: Football fans usually shout when they are excited or nervous. You are probably really nervous when your team is winning near the end of the game and the opposition is attacking.
Jack: Some common expressions here are ‘get rid’ and ‘get it out’.
Rich: They both mean to clear the ball as quickly as possible preferably the ball leaving the stadium and not coming back!
Jack: We’ll look at these phrases and a few more in the lesson which you can find below this podcast.
Rich: Listen again. Do you understand everything now?
Rich: Come on! We need to get the ball off them. Get stuck in!
Jack: That’s it! Good tackle. You’ve got time. Pass it. Ohh. Straight into touch. Come on?!
Rich: We need to keep hold of the ball.
Jack: We need to get it in the box. There’s only a couple of minutes left.
Rich: That’s it. Down the line. Go on skin him. That’s it, go on ... cross it!
Jack: Go on. Have a pop! Goal!! Get in!!
…
Rich: We need to hold on to this. Here they come. Get rid!! Get it out!
Jack: That’s it. Take it to the corner. That should do. Referee! Come on! That’s got to be it.
Rich: So, there are a few expressions you can use to shout at your team in English while watching a match.
Jack: We’ve got some activities to help you remember the phrases that we’ve been speaking about in the lesson below this podcast.
Rich: We’ll be back soon with our next football English lesson, which will be about the language football fans use when a player misses a chance.
Jack: Bye for now and enjoy your football.
The Imperative
The language you need to give instructions to players
Every football fan wants to be a coach. Whether we are watching a match in the stadium or sat at home watching the TV, when our favourite team is in action, we always try to tell the players what to do. It's not important that they can't hear us! The first thing to remember is that when we are giving instructions to players we use the imperative. Look at these examples from the listening:
Pass it!
Cross it!
Tackle him!
Shoot!
An imperative is an instruction or command. The important thing to remember is that we only use the base form of the verb (pass not to pass or passing) and we don't use subject pronouns (pass not you pass). In football, you will often hear fans shout the imperative e.g. shoot! or we might add an object pronoun e.g. tackle him or pass it. These words 'him' and 'it' are used frequently and refer to an opposition player and the ball. When we use the imperative we rarely say the player's name or say 'the ball'.
Language
Words and phrases
In the listening, Rich and Jack spoke about the instructions fans shout at players on the pitch. Let's split the words and phrases into two categories:
- Defending
- Passing
- Attacking
Defending
When your team is defending, you want your team to win the ball. Look at these examples from the podcast:
Come on! We need to get the ball off them. Get stuck in!
We need to hold on to this. Here they come. Get rid!! Get it out!
That’s it. Take it to the corner. That should do. Referee!
There are three different types of instruction here. The first phrase, get stuck in, is connected to tackling. It's an expression that is used to tell the player to tackle the opposition more and be more aggressive. The second phrase is, get it out or get rid (of it), is connected to clearing the ball. It's an expression that is used to tell the player to clear the ball quickly from a dangerous area. The third phrase, take it to the corner, is connected to keeping hold of the ball or keeping possession in a safe area of the pitch. Fans instruct defenders to do this near the end of a match to stop the opposition getting the ball.
Did you hear any other phrases connected to defending?
Passing
When your team has possession of the ball, you want your team to win the ball. Look at these examples from the podcast:
That’s it. Down the line!
We need to get it in the box.
There’s only a couple of minutes left. You’ve got time. Pass it. Pass it! Man on!
There are three different types of instruction here. The first phrase, down the line, is connected to passing the ball on the sides of the pitch. It's an instruction that is used to pass the ball forward along the touchline. The second phrase, get it in the box, is connected to passing the ball quickly. It's an instruction that is used when a player needs to pass the ball long into the penalty area. It's usually used near the end of a match when a team is losing. The third example uses the phrases, you've got time and man on, and are connected to time on the ball. The first phrase means that a player has time and is not under pressure and the second means that a player has no time and an opponent is coming towards them.
Did you hear any other phrases connected to passing?
Attacking
When your team is attacking, you want your team to create chances and score. Look at these examples from the podcast:
Go on ... skin him! That’s it, go on ... cross it!
Go on. Have a pop! Goal!! Get in!
There are two different types of instruction here. The first phrase, skin him, is connected to dribbling the ball. It's an instruction that is used when fans want a player to take the ball past a defender. The second phrase, have a pop, is connected to shooting. It's an instruction that means take a shot or shoot. Another phrase that can be used here is have a crack.
Do you know any other phrases connected to attacking?
Task
Instructions for players
You are watching your team either at the stadium or on TV. Look at the situations below. Decide what you would shout at your player. Use some of the phrases that Rich and Jack used in the podcast.
- A player has the ball in the middle of the pitch. Your team is losing 1-0 in the 90th-minute.
- Your team is winning 1-0 in the 90th-minute and a player has the ball in his own penalty area.
- A winger for your team has the ball at his feet. He is a facing a defender.
- A striker has the ball on the edge of the penalty box.
- A midfielder has the ball and an opponent is running towards him.
Write your answers in the comments section at the bottom of the page. Can you think of any more situations to use the language in this podcast?
The answers to the quiz below are all words that Rich and Jack used in the conversation. Can you remember what they said?
Quiz
Please login to take this quiz.
What do you think?
Were any of these phrases new for you?
Can you tell us any other phrases that you can shout at your own players? Please keep it clean!
Write your answers in the comments section below and don't forget to write your answers to the task we have given you in the section above.
Leave a comment
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Comments
04/08/2018
points
Good quiz!
04/08/2018 01:47
Manchester City
881
Good quiz!
04/08/2018
points
*Yes, especially ¡Man on! and ¡We need to get it in the box!
*¡Come on, we need win!
04/08/2018 00:59
Manchester United
602
*Yes, especially ¡Man on! and ¡We need to get it in the box!
*¡Come on, we need win!
04/08/2018
points
-If some of those phrases were new to me as it was this: Have a pop! and Get it in the box.
-A phrase that I usually say is: You can.
04/08/2018 00:58
Manchester United
622
-If some of those phrases were new to me as it was this: Have a pop! and Get it in the box.
-A phrase that I usually say is: You can.
04/08/2018
points
A few.
04/08/2018 00:15
Chelsea
761
A few.
03/08/2018
points
Good test
03/08/2018 23:39
Arsenal
571
Good test
03/08/2018
points
I learned a lot
03/08/2018 21:25
Manchester United
-890
I learned a lot
03/08/2018
points
most of the sentences were new to me, run almost what they put
03/08/2018 19:14
Manchester United
523
most of the sentences were new to me, run almost what they put
03/08/2018
points
I loved it
03/08/2018 05:24
Manchester City
302
I loved it
03/08/2018
points
All these phrases were new to me.
Task:
1.Come in !
2. Get it out!
3.Pass it. Pass it!
4.Have a pop.
5. Go on, skin him.
Good test
03/08/2018 04:45
Arsenal
833
All these phrases were new to me.
Task:
1.Come in !
2. Get it out!
3.Pass it. Pass it!
4.Have a pop.
5. Go on, skin him.
Good test
03/08/2018
points
+Some of this phrases are new for me.
+I don't know more phrases.
03/08/2018 02:11
Wolverhampton Wanderers
693
+Some of this phrases are new for me.
+I don't know more phrases.
03/08/2018
points
Many words were new to me, but I tried, it's a good test, I learned many things.
03/08/2018 01:45
Leicester City
627
Many words were new to me, but I tried, it's a good test, I learned many things.
02/08/2018
points
All these Phrases are new for me
Normally I'm nervous at the beginning of a game as I always try to hit the scoreboard also supported my team
02/08/2018 23:46
Manchester United
896
All these Phrases are new for me
Normally I'm nervous at the beginning of a game as I always try to hit the scoreboard also supported my team
01/08/2018
points
Good test
01/08/2018 23:06
Manchester United
707
Good test
01/08/2018
points
There were a few words new for me.
01/08/2018 03:05
Arsenal
754
There were a few words new for me.
01/08/2018
points
Good test
01/08/2018 02:27
Chelsea
520
Good test
31/07/2018
points
There were a few words new for me
31/07/2018 07:26
Manchester United
781
There were a few words new for me
31/07/2018
points
Most phrases are new to me and I'm the type of fanatic that all they do is scream.
31/07/2018 05:31
Manchester United
896
Most phrases are new to me and I'm the type of fanatic that all they do is scream.
31/07/2018
points
All these Phrases are new for me
Normally I'm nervous at the beginning of a game as I always try to hit the scoreboard also supported my team
31/07/2018 03:15
Liverpool
795
All these Phrases are new for me
Normally I'm nervous at the beginning of a game as I always try to hit the scoreboard also supported my team
03/08/2018
points
Good....
03/08/2018 01:46
Leicester City
627
Good....
31/07/2018
points
Normally I'm nervous at the beginning of a game as I always try to hit the scoreboard also supported my team
All these phrases are new for me.
31/07/2018 03:07
Liverpool
795
Normally I'm nervous at the beginning of a game as I always try to hit the scoreboard also supported my team
All these phrases are new for me.
31/07/2018
points
many phrases were new but interesting
31/07/2018 01:55
Chelsea
889
many phrases were new but interesting
31/07/2018
points
Basic words use to answer. Good lesson.
31/07/2018 01:51
Arsenal
595
Basic words use to answer. Good lesson.
30/07/2018
points
All these phrases were new to me.
Task:
1.Come in !
2. Get it out!
3.Pass it. Pass it!
4.Have a pop.
5. Go on, skin him.
30/07/2018 23:14
Manchester United
864
All these phrases were new to me.
Task:
1.Come in !
2. Get it out!
3.Pass it. Pass it!
4.Have a pop.
5. Go on, skin him.
30/07/2018
points
There are many words that I have never heard and I think it's super nice to learn them
30/07/2018 23:05
Chelsea
796
There are many words that I have never heard and I think it's super nice to learn them
30/07/2018
points
There are many words that I have never heard and I think it's super nice to learn them
30/07/2018 21:12
Manchester United
866
There are many words that I have never heard and I think it's super nice to learn them
30/07/2018
points
many phrases were new but interesting
30/07/2018 02:22
Manchester United
36
many phrases were new but interesting
30/07/2018
points
Most phrases are new to me and I'm the type of fanatic that all they do is scream.
30/07/2018 02:22
Chelsea
533
Most phrases are new to me and I'm the type of fanatic that all they do is scream.
30/07/2018
points
All these Phrases are new for me
30/07/2018 01:36
Chelsea
660
All these Phrases are new for me
29/07/2018
points
that is good
29/07/2018 23:52
Arsenal
533
that is good
29/07/2018
points
Is Amazing
29/07/2018 21:13
Manchester United
924
Is Amazing
29/07/2018
points
If these phrases are new to me.
come on! pass it! Do not take it off !.
Let's go through it! shoot!
Get rid of it! Do not take it off!
Let's tear it!
Shoot!
Get it out of there
29/07/2018 20:37
Manchester United
756
If these phrases are new to me.
come on! pass it! Do not take it off !.
Let's go through it! shoot!
Get rid of it! Do not take it off!
Let's tear it!
Shoot!
Get it out of there
29/07/2018
points
yes genail I really like to learn.
29/07/2018 16:15
Manchester United
246
yes genail I really like to learn.
29/07/2018
points
If these phrases are new to me.
come on! pass it! Do not take it off !.
Let's go through it! shoot!
Get rid of it! Do not take it off!
Let's tear it!
Shoot!
Get it out of there!
29/07/2018 01:25
Arsenal
774
If these phrases are new to me.
come on! pass it! Do not take it off !.
Let's go through it! shoot!
Get rid of it! Do not take it off!
Let's tear it!
Shoot!
Get it out of there!
27/07/2018
points
I have learned a lot of vocabulary
27/07/2018 06:42
Arsenal
598
I have learned a lot of vocabulary
26/07/2018
points
All these Phrases are new for me, it is amazing to learn this vocabulary
26/07/2018 18:09
Chelsea
742
All these Phrases are new for me, it is amazing to learn this vocabulary
24/07/2018
points
All these phrases are new to me and I am fascinated by having learned them.
24/07/2018 03:11
Manchester City
759
All these phrases are new to me and I am fascinated by having learned them.
24/07/2018
points
thanks for the new vocabulary I learned.
24/07/2018 01:18
Manchester City
-569
thanks for the new vocabulary I learned.
23/07/2018
points
These phrases are new to me.
23/07/2018 21:12
Tottenham Hotspur
678
These phrases are new to me.
22/07/2018
points
These phrases are new to me. I don't know other phrases.
22/07/2018 20:24
Arsenal
921
These phrases are new to me. I don't know other phrases.
22/07/2018
points
Most of the phrases are new to me.
22/07/2018 01:11
Manchester United
722
Most of the phrases are new to me.
21/07/2018
points
Yes, these phrases were new for me.
I don't know other phrases.
21/07/2018 21:28
Manchester City
664
Yes, these phrases were new for me.
I don't know other phrases.
20/07/2018
points
Most of the phrases are new to me.
20/07/2018 17:14
Manchester United
568
Most of the phrases are new to me.
20/07/2018
points
this phrases are amazing but they are new for me
20/07/2018 17:04
Manchester United
759
this phrases are amazing but they are new for me
20/07/2018
points
All of these phrases were new for me.
20/07/2018 01:49
Manchester United
687
All of these phrases were new for me.
19/07/2018
points
Yes, the most of the phrases were new for me.
19/07/2018 01:16
Arsenal
822
Yes, the most of the phrases were new for me.
18/07/2018
points
Most of the phrases are new to me.
18/07/2018 21:34
Crystal Palace
875
Most of the phrases are new to me.
18/07/2018
points
Task
1. There’s only a couple of minutes left. You’ve got time. Pass it. Pass it! Man on!
2. We need to hold on to this. Here they come. Get rid!! Get it out!
3. That’s it. Take it to the corner. That should do. Referee!
4. We need to get it in the box.
5. Pass it!
comment:
Most of the sentences were new to me, and I do not know any words that a player could say while on the field.
18/07/2018 17:25
Manchester United
817
Task
1. There’s only a couple of minutes left. You’ve got time. Pass it. Pass it! Man on!
2. We need to hold on to this. Here they come. Get rid!! Get it out!
3. That’s it. Take it to the corner. That should do. Referee!
4. We need to get it in the box.
5. Pass it!
comment:
Most of the sentences were new to me, and I do not know any words that a player could say while on the field.
18/07/2018
points
The best instructions
18/07/2018 00:05
Manchester United
995
The best instructions
15/07/2018
points
all of them.
Go on skin him!, is new for me.
I don't know
15/07/2018 23:18
Manchester United
226
all of them.
Go on skin him!, is new for me.
I don't know
15/07/2018
points
Yes, these phrases were new for me.
I don't know other phrases, sorry.
15/07/2018 23:11
Chelsea
612
Yes, these phrases were new for me.
I don't know other phrases, sorry.