Football Shout-out: Losing
Football Shout-out: Losing
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 use when your team is losing and when they have lost. Do you know what 'we were robbed' 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:
Jack: Go on! Have a shot!
Rich: Unlucky! Against the post!
Jack: Hold on! He’s gone round the keeper. Oh no! What a sitter! I can’t believe he’s missed that.
Rich: My nan could do better than that and she’s 83!
Jack: He’s got to be putting chances like that away. That’s three he’s missed.
Rich: He couldn’t hit a barn door with a banjo this afternoon!
Jack: Penalty!
Rich: Oh no. Look who’s taking it! He hit the last one straight at the keeper!
Jack: Here we go! Oh no! He’s skyed it.
Rich: I can’t believe he’s fluffed another one. That’s miles off target.
Jack: I think we might have to settle for a draw today. We couldn’t score in a month of Sundays.
Rich: We’ve definitely not got our scoring boots on today.
Rich: Our last lesson was all about what we shout when a player misses a chance. 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 instructions that we scream at players when they miss a chance.
Jack: This lesson is all about what we say when our team is losing or loses.
Rich: You might have heard fans saying things like I can’t believe we lost that match or we were so unlucky before. In this podcast, we’re going to look at some expressions that might be new for you.
Jack: The phrases and expressions we use often depend on whether we are losing and the match is still being played or we have lost and the match is finished.
Rich: That’s right. While your team is losing many fans always think there is a chance to win. It’s only when the match has finished when the reality hits them. Listen to this:
Jack: Oh no! That was shocking defending. I can’t believe we’ve let that one in.
RIch: The goalkeeper had no chance. The shot was too good.
Jack: But … the defending … shocking. Where was the defence?
Rich: I don’t know. We don’t deserve to be 1-0 down. No way. We’ve been the better team - we can still get back into this.
Jack: We always freeze on the big occasion. Look! The board is going up. Two minutes? There’s got to be at least 5 minutes extra!
Rich: Two minutes? You’ve got to be joking. Come on. We just need one more chance.
Jack: The final whistle. Rubbish!
...
Rich: You know … the best team won.
Jack: You’re joking, right? We were robbed!
Rich: It’s only a game. We’ll win next week.
Jack: Did you just say it’s only a game?
Rich: Err .. no?
Jack: We often don’t know what to say when we lose a game. If you’re playing, you can say ‘well played’ or ‘good game’ to an opponent, but fans can’t really do that.
Rich: No, fans are much more likely to say how they are really feeling.
Jack: Some fans often feel that their team didn’t deserve to lose. They often say this even if it’s not true.
Rich: We often use conditional sentences here. We say things like ‘if only we’d taken our chances’ or ‘if only we’d scored with that chance near the end’.
Jack: Yes, there are often regrets, but sometimes we blame others. Opponents and referees are a common target.
Rich: We might hear ‘should have been’ here. This player should have been sent off or the ref should have given a penalty. My favourite phrase is ‘we were robbed’.
Jack: I like that too. We use it when we think the other team has stolen the result through luck. You feel that your team deserved to win not the other team.
Rich: There are phrases we use while we are losing, too. We are usually more optimistic at this stage. We say things like ‘we can get back into this’ or ‘we just need one more chance’.
Jack: And we always complain about the amount of injury time. A good phrase to use here is ‘you’ve got to be joking’,’two minutes you’ve got to be joking there should be at least five!
Rich: Are you a good loser Jack?
Jack: No, I’m a terrible loser and you should never ever say ‘It’s only a game.’ That will just make things worse.
Rich: We’ll look at these phrases and a few more in the lesson which you can find below this podcast.
Jack: Listen again. Do you understand everything now?
Jack: Oh no! That was shocking defending. I can’t believe. We’ve let that one in.
RIch: The goalkeeper had no chance. The shot was too good.
Jack: But … the defending … shocking. Where was the defence?
Rich: I don’t know. We don’t deserve to be 1-0 down. No way. We’ve been the better team - we can still get back into this.
Jack: We always freeze on the big occasion. Look! The board is going up. Two minutes? There’s got to be at least 5 minutes extra!
Rich: Two minutes? You’ve got to be joking. Come on. We just need one more chance.
Jack: The final whistle. Rubbish!
...
Rich: You know … the best team won.
Jack: You’re joking, right? We were robbed!
Rich: It’s only a game. We’ll win next week.
Jack: Did you just say it’s only a game?
Rich: Err .. no?
Jack: So, there are a few expressions you can use when your team has lost or is losing.
Rich: We’ve got some activities to help you remember the phrases that we’ve been speaking about in the lesson below this podcast.
Jack: We’ll be back soon with our next football English lesson, which will be about phrases football fans use when their team has a set-piece like a penalty, free-kick, corner or throw-in.
Rich: Bye for now and enjoy your football.
Language
What to say when your team is losing?
In the first part of the conversation, Jack and Rich's team were losing but the match was still in progress. Most fans are supportive during the match and the language they use reflects this. Many fans believe that they can find a way back into a match and they are not going to lose! Take a look at these phrases from the podcast:
The goalkeeper had no chance. The shot was too good.
We don’t deserve to be 1-0 down. No way!
We’ve been the better team - we can still get back into this.
We just need one more chance.
But, some fans are the opposite and are less supportive; especially if they're not happy with the team's performance. Take a look at these phrases from the podcast:
Oh no! That was shocking defending. I can’t believe we’ve let that one in.
Where was the defence?
We always freeze on the big occasion.
The final whistle. Rubbish!
Do you know any other phrases that fans use when their team is losing?
What to say when your team has lost?
In the second part of the conversation, Jack and Rich's team had lost; the match had finished. After the match, the language we use changes. Fans often complain a lot. Their complaints might be about the referee, the opposition, their own players, the manager or even the fans. Here are some phrases that are used after a defeat. Decide what the complaint is about and who it is aimed at; the referee? the opposition? their own team? the fans?
We were robbed.
That goal should never have counted.
The atmosphere was rubbish today.
I can't believe thir number six got away with that tackle.
They've got to bring VAR in soon. It's a joke.
We need to get behind the players more.
We should have made a few changes earlier.
If only we'd taken that chance near the end.
He was a bit card happy, wasn't he?
He really should be saving those. It was straight at him.
Do you know any other phrases you could use to complain about a defeat?
What not to say?
If you want to be supportive after the match, you might say something like:
We'll bounce back next week.
If we carry on playing like that, we'll win more than we lose.
They were lucky!
But, what you don't ever say is:
It's only a game.
This might annoy some fans and one Liverpool manager famously said:
Some people think football is a matter of life and death. I assure you, it's much more serious than that.
Task
During and after a game
You need to imagine you are in three different situations. Look at the situations and decide what to say.
- There are 10 minutes left to play and your team is losing 1-0.
- You have just finished playing a match. You lost 3-2. You didn't think the referee had a good game.
- You lose a game 1-0. You think an opponent cheated to win a penalty.
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 roleplay. Can you remember what they said?
Quiz
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What do you think?
Were any of these phrases new for you?
Can you tell us any other phrases that you can use when your team is losing or has lost? 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.
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Comments
15/07/2018
points
-Yes, they were.
-No I dont know :/
15/07/2018 02:11
Manchester United
646
-Yes, they were.
-No I dont know :/
14/07/2018
points
All the phrases are new for me and i don't know others phrases.
14/07/2018 23:53
Chelsea
554
All the phrases are new for me and i don't know others phrases.
14/07/2018
points
i have more world for my vocabulary thanks.
14/07/2018 14:42
Chelsea
515
i have more world for my vocabulary thanks.
14/07/2018
points
yes,all phrases are new for me
We were robbed
14/07/2018 01:43
Swansea City
616
yes,all phrases are new for me
We were robbed
13/07/2018
points
-All the phrases are new for me .
13/07/2018 11:22
Manchester United
354
-All the phrases are new for me .
13/07/2018
points
Yes, these phrases were new for me.
I do not know more phrase, sorry.
13/07/2018 00:26
Chelsea
672
Yes, these phrases were new for me.
I do not know more phrase, sorry.
12/07/2018
points
Many things were very new and interesting for me.
12/07/2018 06:28
Manchester United
501
Many things were very new and interesting for me.
10/07/2018
points
1.We’ve been the better team - we can still get back into this.
2.We were robbed.
3.They've got to bring VAR in soon. It's a joke.
10/07/2018 06:48
Manchester United
2663
1.We’ve been the better team - we can still get back into this.
2.We were robbed.
3.They've got to bring VAR in soon. It's a joke.
10/07/2018
points
Yes, all of them were totally new for me.
1)We don’t deserve to be 1-0 down. No way! there's 10 minutes left, we just need one more chance!
2)We were robbed. They've got to bring VAR in soon. It's a joke!
3) Oh, my god! That goal should never have counted, definetely the atmosphere was rubbish today.
10/07/2018 04:50
AFC Bournemouth
578
Yes, all of them were totally new for me.
1)We don’t deserve to be 1-0 down. No way! there's 10 minutes left, we just need one more chance!
2)We were robbed. They've got to bring VAR in soon. It's a joke!
3) Oh, my god! That goal should never have counted, definetely the atmosphere was rubbish today.
09/07/2018
points
yes all phrases are new for me
no, I don't know
09/07/2018 20:10
Manchester United
466
yes all phrases are new for me
no, I don't know
09/07/2018
points
1.- Yes, they were.
2.-It’s only a game. That could be a phrase.
09/07/2018 18:01
Manchester United
462
1.- Yes, they were.
2.-It’s only a game. That could be a phrase.
08/07/2018
points
1. We don’t deserve to be 1-0 down. No way! We’re the better team. We can still get back into this.
2. We were robbed. That goal should never have counted. That referee needs glasses.
3. That penalty was a dive. It wasn't fair play.
08/07/2018 17:39
Chelsea
1646
1. We don’t deserve to be 1-0 down. No way! We’re the better team. We can still get back into this.
2. We were robbed. That goal should never have counted. That referee needs glasses.
3. That penalty was a dive. It wasn't fair play.
06/07/2018
points
All phrases were new for me.
06/07/2018 01:17
Manchester United
451
All phrases were new for me.
06/07/2018
points
The truth is that all the phrases were new to me.
I do not know any other phrase when my team is losing
I chose the option number 2:
No ... We were robbed ... That penalty should never have counted ... They were lucky!
06/07/2018 00:59
Manchester United
501
The truth is that all the phrases were new to me.
I do not know any other phrase when my team is losing
I chose the option number 2:
No ... We were robbed ... That penalty should never have counted ... They were lucky!
05/07/2018
points
freeze is a very vivid word to describe the team who is not playing actively on the field.
05/07/2018 08:01
Liverpool
608
freeze is a very vivid word to describe the team who is not playing actively on the field.
04/07/2018
points
All phrases were new for me.
04/07/2018 19:50
Manchester City
702
All phrases were new for me.
04/07/2018
points
yes , these phrases were new for me
04/07/2018 15:10
Manchester United
383
yes , these phrases were new for me
03/07/2018
points
1. We don't deserve to be 1.0 down. We have played better. We can bounce back before the referee whistle.
2. The referee whisled. It is finished. Rubbish ! They have stolen this match.
3. They never should that penalty given to them. The forward dived down the pitch without any contact with our defender. It was too easy for the opponent to win in that case.
03/07/2018 14:07
Manchester City
3988
1. We don't deserve to be 1.0 down. We have played better. We can bounce back before the referee whistle.
2. The referee whisled. It is finished. Rubbish ! They have stolen this match.
3. They never should that penalty given to them. The forward dived down the pitch without any contact with our defender. It was too easy for the opponent to win in that case.