Show your Support 16/17 ep.17

In this week's Premier Skills English podcast, Rich and Jack talk about the latest from the Premier League and also the Rainbow Laces campaign which aims to stop discrimination towards LGBT players and fans both on and off the pitch. The language focus this week is on some collocations connected to the word 'support'. We also have a new football phrase for you to guess and a Premier League prediction for you to make. Enjoy!

How much did you understand?

Vocabulary

In the podcast, Rich and Jack used some words and phrases that might be new for you. You can see two examples here:

Swansea beat Crystal Palace in a 5-4 thriller at the Liberty Stadium..

Premier League clubs give their support to many different campaigns that encourage equality, diversity and inclusion.

There were a few more tricky words in the podcast. Can you remember all of them? Try the activity below, then, listen to the podcast again to hear how we used the words in context. This can really help with understanding.

Activity 1: In this activity, have a look at the vocabulary and try to match it to the correct definition.

Can you match the words to their definitions?

Language - Collocations with 'support'

A collocation is two or more words that often go together. You should try to learn collocations together like blocks or 'chunks' of language in the same way as you learn individual words because this will help you remember the language more easily. Here are some examples of common verb - noun collocations:

**Common Collocations**
do	make	go
business	money	abroad
your homework	an effort	crazy
your best	progress	online

In the podcast, we used the word 'support' a few times. In football, 'support' usually means to be a fan of a specific team. You are a 'football fan' or 'football supporter' and you always 'support' your team. But, 'support' can also mean 'to give help to somebody or something' and this can be financial help, actions or just encouragement. Here are a couple of examples from the podcast:

Manchester Utd gave their support to 'Wear Red Day'.
Premier League players lent their support to the Rainbow Laces campaign.

So, when we use the word 'support' as a noun, we can make a collocation (words that go together) with the verbs 'give' and 'lend'. To give or lend somebody or something your support are strong collocations, but there are many other words that collocate with support, too. Here are some examples:

Manchester City get most of their support from the local community.
Campaigners have found support from the Premier League.
Top Premier League teams can rely on the support of millions of fans.

You may also notice that in the three examples above we use a different preposition. You can give your support to something, but you get support from someone, or rely on the support of someone.

In this activity, take a look at the sentences and decide which collocation and which preposition to use in each example. Are collocations useful to learn?

Activity 2: In this activity, check your understanding of some of the collocations that can be used with 'support'.

Can you choose the correct word in each gap?

Support - Synonyms

In the podcast, we also looked at a word that has a similar meaning to the verb or noun 'support'. This word is 'back' and can also be used as a noun or a verb. Take a look at these examples from the podcast:

Premier League clubs often back campaigns that promote inclusion and equality.
The campaign has got the backing of the Premier League.

In both examples, 'back' means support. When we talk about football, we often use 'back' in a different way to 'support'. You can use it to say which team you think will win. For example:

'Are you backing Chelsea or Manchester City this weekend?'

'I'd prefer a draw but I think City will win.'

Transcript

If the listening was difficult, listen again and read the transcript at the same time.

Read and listen at the same time.

Welcome to the Premier Skills English Podcast

Rich: Hello my name’s Rich

Jack: and I’m Jack

Rich: and welcome to this week’s Premier Skills English podcast

Jack: Where we talk about football and help you with your English.

Rich: In this week’s show, we talk about a campaign to kick homophobia out of football and we take a look at some language we can use to talk about supporting good causes. We also have a new football phrase for you to guess and a Premier League prediction for you to make.

Latest news

Jack: Let’s start with the Premier League headlines this week.

Rich: A crazy game at Swansea.

Jack: Swansea beat Crystal Palace in a 5-4 thriller at the Liberty Stadium. Palace took the lead but the Swans equalised before half-time. Swansea scored two more goals to lead 3-1 but Palace came back with three more goals to lead 4-3 going into the 90th minute. Amazingly, Swansea scored twice in injury time to give them an unbelievable 5-4 win.

Rich: Top four all win again.

Jack: Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester City and Arsenal all won at the weekend. Chelsea and Manchester City made great comebacks to win 2-1 against Spurs and Burnley while Liverpool and Arsenal had more comfortable wins against Sunderland and Bournemouth.

Rich: Manchester Utd’s problems at home continue.

Jack: Manchester Utd drew 1-1 at home to West Ham. It’s the first time since 1990 that United have failed to win in four league games in a row and the first time since 1980 that United have drawn four consecutive league games at Old Trafford.

The Big Football Quiz - Competition Winner

Rich: Before, we move on, we want to thank everyone for entering our first Big Football Quiz. We had thousands of entries from all over the world and lots and lots of you got all ten questions correct.

Jack: But, there can only be one lucky winner. Rich, can we have a drumroll……..the winner is ……. eStefan from Montenegro!

Rich: Congratulations to eStefan! You are the winner of a Nike Ordem 4 Premier League football. We’ll be in contact with you this week about how we will get your prize delivered to you.

Player of the Week

Jack: Some great performances last week. West Ham’s goalkeeper Darren Randolph played superbly at Old Trafford and Man City’s Sergio Aguero and Arsenal’s Alexis Sanchez both scored twice to help their team to victory.

RIch: But our player of the week this week is another player who scored a double last weekend. It’s Swansea City’s Spanish striker - Fernando Llorente!

Jack: Good choice. That Swansea-Palace match was amazing! Nine goals - not sure about the defending though!

Rich: No, I think both teams will have to defend better if they want to avoid relegation this season.

Language Focus: supporting a good cause

Jack: Did you see that Premier League teams were looking more colourful last weekend?

Rich: I did, yes. Players were wearing rainbow coloured laces on their boots and Premier League captains wore rainbow coloured armbands instead of the normal black ones.

Jack: They were doing it to lend support to the Rainbow Laces campaign.

Rich: This initiative aims to highlight that lesbian, gay, bi and trans people are welcome at every level of sport and that homophobia is unacceptable.

Jack: It’s great that the campaign has got the backing of the Premier League - there were rainbow flags flying before every Premier League match last weekend.

Rich: The Premier League is proud to support the LGBT community and Premier League clubs often back campaigns that promote inclusion and equality.

Jack: Last month, Manchester Utd gave their support to ‘Wear Red Day’ which was a fundraising event for a charity called ‘Show Racism the Red Card’.

Rich: Also last month. the Premier League, in partnership with the English Football Association, held girl’s football week. The aim of the week is to encourage more girls and women to play football.

Jack: Southampton have launched a campaign called ‘the same game’ which aims to educate fans about women’s football and teach the game in exactly the same way to boys and girls.

Rich: It’s great to see that Premier League clubs give their support to so many different campaigns and initiatives that encourage equality, diversity and inclusivity.

Jack: I agree. I think football can really help bring people together. Shall we move on to some of the language now?

Rich: Yes, there were lots of phrases and bits of vocabulary that we can look at especially words connect to support - we just used that word a lot.

Jack: We use this word a lot when we are talking about football. I support Arsenal, you support Liverpool. I am an Arsenal supporter or an Arsenal fan. We use it to say which team we like.

Rich: But support also means to help someone or something by saying that you agree with it or by giving money.

Jack: The Premier League supports the Rainbow Laces campaign. Support can also be a noun. I give Arsenal my support when I go to the match. So, one common collocation is give support or we can say we give support to something.

Rich: Earlier, Jack said ‘Manchester Utd gave their support to ‘Wear Red Day’. We can also lend support. Jack said ‘The Premier League lent their support to the Rainbow Laces campaign.’

Jack: You might also use an adjective to show that you are happy or you think it is important to support something. A popular adjective to use here is ‘proud’. Rich said, ‘The Premier League are proud to support the LGBT community’; the Premier League feel pride and are happy to show their support.

Rich: Instead of using the word support you can use a synonym. One synonym is ‘to back’. When I go to the match I back my team, I sing songs and chant until the 90th minute. I give Liverpool my full backing.

Jack; This is the same meaning as when we were talking about the Rainbow Laces campaign. I said earlier, ‘the Rainbow Laces campaign has the backing of the Premier League’ and Rich said, ‘Premier League clubs often back campaigns that promote equality and inclusion.’

Rich: So,we support and back our teams but we also support and back many other campaigns and initiatives, too. In this week’s questions we want you to tell us about the team you back and some of the campaigns and initiatives that you support.

Jack: And if you want to know more about the Rainbow Laces campaign, we’ve put a link to Stonewall, the organisation that runs the initiative, on the side of this page.

Can you work out this week’s football phrase?

Rich: Have you got a football phrase for us this week?

Jack: Yes, I have, but first last week’s football phrase. The phrase was to call up. This means to give a player the chance to play for a sports team and especially an international team. For example, this week, Crystal Palace’s Wilfried Zaha has been called up by the Ivory Coast team even though he has played three times for England, but he can play because he was never called up by England for a competitive match.

Rich: Well done to Alex from Ukraine and Kwesimanifest from Ghana. You got the right answer last week!

Jack: This week’s phrase is actually just a word. Rich is a little bit worried because on Saturday Liverpool’s star player, Philippe Coutinho, left the pitch on a *********. He's injured but we don’t know how bad it is yet. A ********* is what the medical team use to take players off the pitch if they can’t walk. We can also use it as a verb. We can say Coutinho was *********** off.

Rich: Yes, I am worried. I think it’s his ankle I hope he’s back on the pitch soon.

Premier League Prediction

Rich: Last week’s prediction was the match between Chelsea and Spurs. We all predicted the right result last week - a win for Chelsea and Jack and our Premier Skills listeners also predicted the right score - 2-1! It’s the first time you predicted the right result so well done if you were one of them!

Jack: The Prediction league is looking very close, isn’t it? What match are you going to predict this week, Rich?

RIch: The big matches keep coming. This weekend sees Manchester City take on Chelsea. This will be a big test of Chelsea’s title ambitions - away to one of their biggest rivals. Chelsea have now won 7 matches in a row and are top of the Premier LEague by one point with City in second place. It will be a close match and the easy option would be to go for a draw but I think City will win in a good game. Final score: Manchester City 3-2 Chelsea.

Jack: I’m going to go for the easy option - a 1-1 draw.

RIch: Right, that’s all we have time for this week.

Jack: Don’t forget to write your answers to our questions and make a guess at our football phrase in the comments below. And remember to take a look at our Fantasy Premier League page and join in the discussions!

Rich: Bye for now and enjoy your football!

Quiz

Please login to take this quiz.

Form

Premier League Prediction - Gameweek 14 - Man City v Chelsea

In Gameweek 13, Chelsea beat Spurs 2-1, and everybody predicted the right result! On top of this, Jack and our listeners predicted the right score, too! Well done to those of you who predicted the right score last week, it's the first time this season that you got it right - let's see if you can do it again this week! Rich moves on to 8 points and our listeners move up to 7 points but Jack is the new leader on 9 points. Remember, it's one point for the correct result and two additional points for the correct score. The big match in Gameweek 14 is - Man City v Chelsea. Can you predict the right score?

	Gameweek 13	Total Points	Man City v Chelsea
Jack	3	9	1-1
Rich	1	8	3-2
Podcast Listeners	3	7	?

Make your prediction now!

What do you think?

In this week’s podcast, Jack and Rich looked at the word 'support' in detail.

Which team do you support? Why do you support this team? Do you think there is a difference between ' a supporter' and 'a fan'?
The Premier League give their support to lots of good causes. Which causes do you lend your support to?
Take a look at these three sentences that use a collocation with the noun 'support'. Why do we use 'support' in each sentence and why does each sentence use a different preposition?

Manchester City get a lot of support in the local community.
When players arrive from a different country they are given a lot of support by their club.
Premier League clubs often receive a lot of support from their owners.

Remember to write your guess at this week's football phrase and the questions above in the comments section below.

If you want us to correct your English, just write 'correct me' at the beginning of your comment.

Comments

hsn
13/08/2021

5558
points

What do you think?
1-Spurs (UK) and BJK (Turkey) I like football. Belonging a team as a fan make me happy-:) Yes. Supporter is one step ahead of fan by buying team accessories such as scarf,hat etc.
2-Equality-Poverty-Immigration- Vulnerable humans.
3-I think it’s about grammar rule. Doer of action describes type of preposition.
Phrases
• According to media; inclusion of Messi in the team of PSG caused some matters like some players want to leave team.
• I should take initiative in warning people who don't have face cover in these pandemic days.
• Diversity but shouldn't be dangerous for the society.
Note
• I like this motto about backing; Taking action would be better than talking.

hsn
13/08/2021 13:08

Turkey
Tottenham Hotspur
5558

mobeckham
16/05/2020

6539
points

The football phrase for this week is ( a stretcher )

mobeckham
16/05/2020 04:21

Turkey
Manchester United
6539

1. support in means to be backed by many fans in the city to win trophies and be back on track
2. support by because it refers to the place which gives him support and the sentence is in the passive form
3. support from because this is the source of support so we use from to refer to a source

mobeckham
16/05/2020 04:20

I lend my support to poor people and orphans everywhere generally vulnerable people because they need our support
Also I give my support to people who suffer mentally and physically

May Allah make us all safe and happy :)

mobeckham
16/05/2020 04:17

Well , I support Manchester United since I was a little kid because of the beautiful football and trophies in Sir Alex Ferguson's era.
I think a supporter and a fan have the same meaning in football context but outside football there's a big difference in meaning

mobeckham
16/05/2020 04:14

assemjuve
24/12/2016

3705
points

the word is a stretcher.

assemjuve
24/12/2016 08:11

Palestinian Territory
Liverpool
3705

I do not know.

assemjuve
24/12/2016 08:10

I lend support for distressed people.

I support Juventus F.C,i support them because i love them.I think supporter is stronger than fan in the meaning.

assemjuve
24/12/2016 08:08

kwesimanifest
05/12/2016

4779
points

I lend my support to breast cancer awareness which occurs ever October each year.

kwesimanifest
05/12/2016 06:19

Ghana
Manchester United
4779

I support Manchester United. I support this team because of their zeal to win trophies even though that can't be said of them for now.
A supporter attaches emotion to the love of a team whereas a fan could just not be bothered and can change his or her mind at anytime.

kwesimanifest
05/12/2016 06:16

elghoul
03/12/2016

3988
points

1.I am a RCKouba supporter because I was born in this City and lived the most important part of my life there.
2.Often I have lent my sympathy to diversity campaigns. I have always supported freedom and equality.
3. The first sentence uses the collocation 'in' for meaning that inside the locale community a lots support City. The club gives support or help to players from different country. The owners support a lot the Premier League clubs.
Guess phrase : enabled

elghoul
03/12/2016 11:37

Algeria
Manchester City
3988

M.s. Aboelsafa
03/12/2016

738
points

Correct me...
I lend my support for sick children, charity organization, any victims for accidents as with Chapico plane accident last week

M.s. Aboelsafa
03/12/2016 11:17

Egypt
Arsenal
738

Correct me
1- I support the Spanish club "Real Madrid C.F." since I was 10 years old.
I started supporting Real when they won the ninth cup of the UEFA champion league by Zidan‘s goal against the Germany club Bayern Leverkusen.
Real Madrid were in their top performance due to the Galácticos generation which has "Raul-Zidan-Ronaldo-Figo-Beckham"
we have a strong game against Barcelona today & I hope us to win 3/1 in the Camp Nou.
There are a big difference between "supporter" & "fan":
I am a big fan of the premier league. I mean that I watch all games without any bias to any team
But supporter means to lend your support for a definite club.
I am a big supporter for the Egyptian club Al-Ahly

M.s. Aboelsafa
03/12/2016 11:12

kwesimanifest
02/12/2016

This week's phrase is a *********

kwesimanifest
02/12/2016 21:54

aragorn1986
02/12/2016

3557
points

I support Arsenal since I was 10. I've never been to their match, though I wish I visited Highbury. The Emirates looks nice but it's just not the same thing. There is big difference between fan and supporter. Fans are usually local guys who grew up near some football club and who often go to see their favourite clubs and give them support, who share mutual passion with other people and watch their teams in local pubs etc. On the other hand, people who support some club but don't really have that privilege to see it on the stadium can be named supporters. I lend my support to initiative to minimize poverty in the world and to remember soldiers who gave their lifes during the I and II WW to defend their countries.

aragorn1986
02/12/2016 15:29

Montenegro
Arsenal
3557

Alex_from_Ukraine
02/12/2016

6578
points

This week’s phrase is a *********

Alex_from_Ukraine
02/12/2016 14:54

Ukraine
Liverpool
6578

Liubomyr
02/12/2016

4417
points

Correct me. I’m a supporter of Skala Stryi football team which is currently playing in a second tier of Ukrainian football. I support that team because it represents a town were I spent my childhood and yours. Anyway for last 10 years I’m living 400 miles far from it so I can’t visit home matches and therefore I cannot call myself to be a fan of Skala Stryi. To be called ‘a fan’ you should be more dedicated to your favorite team that I am. A supporter is much more moderate type of fan.

Liubomyr
02/12/2016 12:12

Ukraine
Watford
4417

I think that the word is a ‘*********’.

Liubomyr
02/12/2016 11:50

Rank	Name	Score
1	Colombia	74676
2	Ukraine	33870
3	Spain	29492
4	Serbia	27426
5	Brazil	23475
6	Albania	20578
7	Vietnam	20455
8	Turkey	20109
9	Macedonia	19074
10	Bosnia and Herzegovina	16333

Rank	Name	Score
1	Manchester United	146932
2	Liverpool	111423
3	Chelsea	90252
4	Arsenal	86253
5	Manchester City	58867
6	Tottenham Hotspur	19474
7	Newcastle United	10626
8	West Ham United	7671
9	AFC Bournemouth	4915
10	Crystal Palace	4539

Club Profiles

Choose language

Menu

Clubs