Archive for January, 2010

The African Cup of Nations kicks off this week and we want to know which country you think will be victorious when the tournament finishes at the end of January. Choose from one of the teams below and don’t forget to post a comment as well.

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Possible crisis at Manchester United, the demise of the FA Cup and poor tackles all feature in this week’s review of the football world in 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

Leeds striker - Beckford

Good for Leeds United and Leeds’ striker Jermaine Beckford. The Division 1 side, that’s the third tier of football in England, beat English Champions Manchester United in the third round of the FA Cup 1-0 away. The Yorkshire side brought back the old glory days when they were a force in the Premier League and outplayed a poor Manchester side. They now get a tie in London against Premier league high-fliers Tottenham. It was Jermaine Beckford‘s goal which secured the win for Leeds, but his positive and powerful display up front has attracted the interest of some bigger clubs including Championship leaders Newcastle, so he could be in for a move onward and upward in the transfer window. continue

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The African Cup of Nations kicks off this weekend and we feature some of the opening group matches. We also welcome back the Italian league after their winter break and there is the small matter of Damon’s Liverpool against Damian’s Tottenham from the Premier League. This week’s guest predictor is Marta who is a Real Madrid fan.

P-P = match postponed

Happy New Year to all our subscribers. Apologies for the slight delay in the arrival of the newsletter and the fact that many of the links from last week’s missive were missing but like many of the European leagues the languagecaster team also had a short winter break. that may have enjoyed some partying! On this week’s show we look back at some FA Cup memories as this weekend sees the 3rd Round of the oldest cup competition in the world. 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). Come along to the site at languagecaster.com to read more.

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PREDICTION

This week’s featured match is Manchester United v Leeds United from the FA Cup 3rd Round – a huge rivalry indeed.

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FOOTBALL EXPRESSION

This week’s English for Football is the expression a plum tie which is used to describe a game that fans really look forward to in a cup competition. Tie is another word for a game or match and plum here means something good or the best. We often use this expression when a lower league side are drawn against a bigger, more glamourous team as there could be a chance of an upset, or some giant killing. It can also be used when two big clubs face each other – a game that everyone wants to watch. So, in this weekend’s FA Cup matches huge rivals Leeds and Manchester United is a plum tie while non-league club Barrow’s visit to Premier League side Sunderland is also an example of a plum tie. A plum tie.

Click here for more football cliches and football phrases.

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This week’s QUIZ QUESTION:

Which was the last team from outside the top division in England to win the FA Cup?

a. West Ham
b. Sunderland
c. Wimbledon
d. Southampton

Answer next week.

The answer to last week’s question, ‘only one team that has finished bottom at Christmas has managed to survive relegation, which one? C. West Brom
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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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Damon and Damian take a look back at some of the FA Cup memories of their teams: Liverpool and Tottenham. The transcripts can be found below.

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Damon

Liverpool have a good history in the FA Cup although, strangely they didn’t have much success during their Golden Age from the mid-seventies to the mid-eighties. For me, one of the best FA Cup moments was when Ian Rush’s second sealed a 3-1 win over Everton – a beautiful sweeping move which was started by Rush in his own half and finished in clinical style. The whole atmosphere of that game was great, too. Both sets of fans from Liverpool, a city going through a lot of problems in the 80s with Margaret Thatcher’s government in power, seemed to take the opportunity to make a statement for the city their teams both play in – obviously better for Liverpool who won, but still a great FA Cup afternoon. continue

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Fernando Torres, Roberto Mancini, Bolton Wanderers and the African Cup of Nations all feature in this week’s review of the football world in 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

What a breath of fresh air. Although the sacking of Mark Hughes was a shambles isn’t it great to hear new-boss Roberto Mancini saying his side, Manchester City, can win the title this year! Hubris of the newcomer? Who cares. Two wins, home and away, no goals conceded – all is well at Eastlands. His relaxed demeanor in the dugout and in interviews seems to have instilled his players with a will to win. It will all go horribly wrong – there are echoes of when Sven started at Man City here – but isn’t it great to see a team playing without fear. I love the scarf too. continue

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On this week’s show Damian and Damon look back at some of their FA Cup memories – the highs and the lows of supporting Tottenham Hotspur and Liverpool in the FA Cup. Remember you can also:

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Transcript
Liverpool have a good history in the FA Cup although, strangely they didn’t have much success during their Golden Age from the mid-seventies to the mid-eighties. For me, one of the best FA Cup moments was when Ian Rush’s second sealed a 3-1 win over Everton – a beautiful sweeping move which was started by Rush in his own half and finished in clinical style. The whole atmosphere of that game was great, too. continue