Archive for December, 2009

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The English FA Cup takes centre stage this week and we wonder if there will be any giant-killing this year? The Spanish League is also back after a short break and there is the small matter of the biggest derby in world football. This week’s guest predictor is Brendan who is a Manchester United fan.

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Damon and Damian take a look back at the fortunes of their teams. The transcripts can be found below.

Damian

2009 for the most part has been a good year for Tottenham. This time last year we were languishing in 15th place in the Premier League having had the club’s worst start in its history and very much in a relegation dog fight. New manager Harry Rednapp had steadied the ship somewhat but there were still worries about the character of the team – particularly away from home as defeats at Wigan, Middlesbrough and Newcastle were to testify. Dumped out of the UEFA and FA Cups with weakened sides early on in the year, Spurs fans were worried that maybe Harry was somewhat out of his depth but he made some good signings, players that were big personalities both on and off the pitch. Back came Robbie Keane to captain the side, Jermaine Defoe to lead the attack and Wilson Palacios to bolster the midfield. In March, Spurs went to Wembley again, this time losing to Manchester United on penalties in the Carling Cup final. Tottenham finished 8th in the league which was almost perfect for Harry as he had lifted the club out of the drop zone but did not quite make it into the European places. No distractions then for the current season.

Of course the club was busy during the summer transfer window – we always are – but yet again good quality was brought in, Krancjar and Crouch coming from Portsmouth. Darren Bent was transferred to Sunderland while players deemed to be lacking in character, that word again, will be on their way soon – Bentley, Pavylunchenko and Hutton for example.

Currently the club lie in 5th place, two points behind the Champions League positions. They have had some notable victories already this season, 9-1 against a hapless Wigan side, good home wins against Man City and Liverpool and some very impressive attacking performances throughout. Defoe is scoring goals, Aaron Lennon is fulfilling promise, Gomes has calmed down in goal and we still have our best player to return in Luka Modric. However, they have been outclassed in three matches this season: Chelsea, Manchester United and loathe though I am to say it, Arsenal. There is still a long way to go but Tottenham have come a long way in 2009 and with strong character all around the club there is real optimism that this could be our year to make the breakthrough.

Damon

Well the second half of 2009 has been much much worse than the first. Liverpool are out of the Champions League, where much of their and Rafa Benitez’s reputation has been made, and they are slipping away from the all important top four spots in the League – currently they lie in eighth place. Last season they finished strongly, including a glorious purple patch which included thrashing Real Madrid, real aristocrats of European football, 4-0 over two legs, arch-rivals Manchester United 4-1 at Old Trafford, ensuring the double over them, and 5-0 against Aston Villa. Compare that with losing 2-0 to bottom club Portsmouth in their last game and losing seven games before Christmas – famously last season they only lost two and still finished second!

There is real pressure on Benitez and his players to turn things around. This was the season that they were meant to continue, if not build, on there second place finish and quarter-final finish in the Champions League. Oh how badly things have gone. Most people point to the fact that Xabi Alonso left for Real Madrid after becoming disenchanted with his manager, others talk about the injuries suffered by Torres and Gerrard amongst others that have meant there has been no fluency, a red beach ball scoring against us has played its bizarre part, but it does look as though Liverpool’s squad is just not good enough – particularly as big signings Glen Johnson at right back and Alberto Aquilani in midfield have not lived up to their price tags – the former because question marks still remain over his defensive strength, and the latter because, well, we haven’t seen him play yet. £20 million is a lot to spend on an injury prone player, especially when you don’t use him.

So, not good around the Fields of Anfield Road at the moment. But lets not despair, my highlights in 2009 have been the wins over Manchester United at Old Trafford and this season at Anfield – both games saw the Reds at their best as they absolutely terrorised Man United’s Nemanja Vidic who was also sent off in those games. Let’s just say I’ve seen those highlights a few times this year.

No matter how many times I remember those good times, it is very worrying to see the club struggling on the pitch, and in my opinion the main problem lies off it and in the board room, where Gillet and Hicks continue to bicker and load the club with debt. No new stadium means the future is uncertain, not good  for attracting high profile players. Liverpool fans have often been accused off living off past glories, I think people will have to get used to that continuing. Despite the defiance in the stands, there is little on or off the pitch at the moment. continue

Happy Holidays to all our subscribers. Most football leagues are taking a winter break but not in England or in Scotland as the games come thick and fast. In this week’s newsletter we look at all the big upcoming matches, feature the team of the year, wonder why the Premier League has become so exciting all of a sudden, review the fortunes of languagecaster’s favourite teams in 2009, we also look back at the football news of the past week, offer a new English for Football phrase, as well as the answers to our huge end-of-the-year bumper quiz (below). I can barely control my excitement! Come along to the site at languagecaster.com to read more.

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PREDICTION

This week’s featured match is Arsenal v Aston Villa – can Villa continue their good run of form at The Emirates?

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FOOTBALL EXPRESSION

This week’s English for Football is ‘over the top tackle‘. Over the top tackle.

Click here for more football cliches and football phrases.

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This week’s QUIZ QUESTION:

Portsmouth are currently bottom of the English Premier League which is bad luck for them as only one team that has finished bottom at Christmas has managed to survive relegation, which one?

a. West Ham
b. Fulham
c. West Brom
d. Southampton

Answer next week.

The answer to last week’s question Which country has supplied the most World Club winners? Brazil with 3 winners.
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Check out the site for the latest polls – Which team will win the Premier League? www.languagecaster.com | Click here admin@languagecaster.com if you want to have your say on our weekly podcast.

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For all students of the beautiful game

Quiz Answers

1. a. Banfield | b. Flamengo | c. Kashima Antlers | d. Real Salt Lake
2. Newcastle, Middlesbrough and West Brom
3. Barcelona, Chelsea, Manchester United, Arsenal
4. Kick It Out
5. Two – Serbia and Slovakia
6. Corinthians
7. Fiorentina, Lazio and Inter Milan
8. Eight – Redknapp (Spurs); Allardyce (Blackburn); Megson (Bolton); Hodgson (Fulham); Sunderland (Bruce); Stoke (Pulis); Hull (Brown) and Wolves’ manager Mick McCarthy who though representing Ireland is from Yorkshire, England.
9. a. Barcelona | b. Inter | c. B. Leverkusen | d. Braga
10. Shaktar Donetsk (Ukraine)
11. 6 – Club World Cup; Champions League; European Super Cup; La Liga, Copa del Rey and the Spanish Super Cup.
12. 17 – 11 Premier League; 4 FA Cup and 2 League Cups
13. Mexico, USA, Honduras, Uruguay, Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Paraguay, NZ, Holland, Spain, England, Ukraine, France, Greece, Slovakia, Slovenia, Portugal, Germany, Denmark, Italy, Switzerland, Serbia, Japan, Australia, S. Korea, N. Korea, Ghana, Cameroon, S. Africa, Nigeria, Egypt
14. Germany 6-2 England | In Germany
15. Claudio Ranieri (Ciro Ferrara), Jurgen Klinnsmann (Louis Van Gaal), Felipe Scolari (Guus Hiddink)
16. Germany vs England WC s/f Italy 1990
17. They all qualified for the 2008 European Championship but failed to make the 2010 World Cup finals.
18. Pohang Steelers from Korea beat Al Itihad from Saudi Arabia
19. He is 22
20. Cape Town

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On this week’s show Damian and Damon take a look back at 2009 and how their team’s – Tottenham Hotspur and Liverpool did – the highs and the lows and a look forwards. Remember you can also:

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How much can you remember from the footballing world in 2009? Who were the winners and losers over the past 12 months? Try languagecaster’s end-of-year quiz below and see how much of a football fan you really are! Answers can be found by subscribing to our newsletter here or by listening to next week’s podcast. There are 20 questions in all. Good luck!

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1. Name the recently-crowned champions of the following countries’ leagues?
a. Argentina -
b. Brazil -
c. Japan -
d. USA -

2. Which three teams were relegated from the Premier League in 2009?

3. Name the four semi-finalists of the 2009 Champions League.

4. Racism reared its ugly head on many occasions this year but what’s the name of the UK’s anti-racism in football group?

5. How many countries that qualified for the World Cup this year have done so for the first time ever?

6. Which Brazilian club side does Ronaldo play for?

7. Manchester City’s new manager Roberto Mancini has managed three Italian clubs, which ones?

8. How many of the 20 Premier League clubs currently have a manager from England?

continue

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The Premier League form book torn up, possibly the best team in the World – ever! Big teams going through sticky patches and a greedy footballer all feature in this week’s the good, the bad and the ugly section of the podcast. Vocabulary support can be found for the words in bold at the foot of the post.

The Good

Spurs continue their good form

What has happened to the Premier League? Chelsea and Manchester United are still everyone’s favourites to battle it out for the title come May but they are both stuttering big time. Man Utd have lost two games out of three, includinga  3-0 loss at Fulham, while Chelsea have only won once since demolishing Arsenal 5 games ago. Arsenal in turn have hit form and are now playing with confidence again and with a game in hand they are threatening the leaders. Just behind them are Aston Villa who have just won three games on the trot to put them into fourth place within striking distance, and even Tottenham, Manchester City and Liverpool cannot be ruled out. Exciting times in the Premier League.

A special week for La Liga side Barcelona as they are acclaimed as the best team in the world after their 2-1 extra-time victory over Argentinian side Estudiantes last week. After Pedro had equalised in the last minutes of normal time, Leo Messi scored the winning goal and then yesterday he picked up the FIFA World Player of the Year award. Best team of the year? Without a doubt, best team ever? Well, they won every trophy that they entered – 6 in all – which when we see clubs fielding weakened sides in lesser competitions shows not only skill and determination but a desire to win and a strength in depth like no other team in the world. They lead the Spanish League at the half-way mark and are still one of the favourites to win the Champions League – how they would love to win it in Madrid’s Bernabeu Stadium in May. Fantastic stuff from Barcelona – team of the year. continue

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Most leagues around the world are on a break but not the English Premier League which has one of its busiest schedules of the season over the next two weeks. Lots of big games that will affect the top and the bottom of the table. This week’s guest predictor is Maria who is a Chelsea fan.

On this week’s podcast we feature the FIFA Club World Cup and ask whether anyone really cares. Come along to the site at languagecaster.com to read more.

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FEATURED POSTS

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PREDICTION

This week’s featured match is Barcelona v Estudiantes

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FOOTBALL EXPRESSION

This week’s English for Football is ‘against the run of play‘. If one team has the run of play it means they are in control, they have the ball, they are attacking and nearly scoring, so against the run of play indicates that the other team, the team defending, the team in danger of losing surprisingly score: they may even win the game against the run of play. Against the run of play.

Click here for more football cliches and football phrases.

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This week’s QUIZ QUESTION:

Which country has supplied the most World Club winners?
a. Brazil
b. Argentina
c. England
d. Germany

Answer next week.

________________________________________

Check out the site for the latest polls – Which team will win the World Club Cup? www.languagecaster.com | Click here admin@languagecaster.com if you want to have your say on our weekly podcast.

You can also follow us at Twitter

Come along to our online shop and browse books and DVDs related to football and English language teaching and learning.

For all students of the beautiful game

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

On this week’s show we feature this season’s FIFA Club World Cup that is taking place in the UAE this weekend. Remember you can also:

Automatically receive the podcast each week by clicking here

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Aston Villa, football blogs, Chinese scandals and weakened Wolves all feature in this week’s the good, the bad and the ugly section of the podcast. Vocabulary support can be found for the words in bold at the foot of the post.

Good

It’s been a good week for English side Aston Villa as they record back-to-back away victories to move into third place in the Premier League. First of all they defeated champions Manchester United away at Old Trafford – that was the first time in 26 years they had managed to do that – thanks to a goal from England starlet Gabriel Agbonlahor. They followed that up with a convincing 2-0 victory at Sunderland on Tuesday to move into third place in the league. Could this be the year that Villa break into the top four? continue