Football Language: (to) Play a blinder
Playing a blinder
The phrase to play a blinder is a football cliche which means to play very, very well. Usually, the phrase refers to a player’s performance rather than a whole team’s; so we would hear, for example, that Gerrard played a blinder at the weekend but not that Liverpool had played a blinder against Everton – in this case we would say something like Liverpool blew Everton away or Liverpool played Everton off the park. In yesterday’s Premier League match between Manchester City and Everton, the Everton keeper Maarten Stekelenburg played a blinder as he helped his side earn an away point with some wonderful saves. He also saved not one but two penalties in the 1-1 draw.
- Example: The keeper played a blinder and helped his team win all three points.
The verb “operate” is usually used to mean to do bussiness in a particular place. In football jargon, what does it mean?
In terms of our shape in the final third, Pepe is operating on the right wing with Smith Rowe on the left. As expected, Odegaard is in the No 10 role.
Hi Dwi,
To operate in football would mean where a player ‘works’ or plays on the pitch. So, in this example, Pepe is stationed or positioned on the right – that is where he will do most of his work – we would expect to see Pepe on the right hand side.
Hope that helps
Damian