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Main Listening Report: Languagecaster FA Cup Review

Languagecaster FA Cup Review

On this week’s main report we take a look back at some of the previous reports we have done here at Languagecaster.com on the FA Cup. This listening report is a shortened version of the regular weekly podcast. You can read the transcript below with key vocabulary explained at the bottom of the post. Check out our glossary of footballing phrases here If you have any suggestions, contact us at admin@languagecaster.com

Main Listening Report: Languagecaster FA Cup Review

This weekend sees the 2014 FA Cup final taking place between hot favourites Arsenal and underdogs Hull City. As we started our podcasts here on Languagecaster.com way back in 2006, this will be the 8th time that myself and Damon have covered the FA Cup final. So, on this week’s show we are going to take a stroll down memory lane and bring together some of the more memorable FA Cup main reports that we have done.

But before we do that, here are three questions based on the last 8 years of FA Cup history for you.

  • Which team won the FA Cup in our first season – that’s 2007?
  • True or False, neither Damon nor myself have seen our respective favourite teams lift the trophy in that time (Damon, of course is a Liverpool fan and I am a Spurs supporter).
  • Which team won the FA Cup last season?

We’ll give you the answers at the end of this report.

January 4th 2007: The Fans and the FA Cup

Now way back at the start of 2007 Damon previewed that year’s competition by exploring what the competition meant to fans.

The money is made in the Championsa€™ League, he said. The respect is gained by winning the Premier League, but for rich history and romance look no further than the FA Cup.

He then went on to speculate about whether there would be any major shocks in that year’s tournament before reminding everyone about the previous season’s winners: his team Liverpool of course!

February 25 2011: Changes to the FA Cup

Now, in an attempt to revitalise the competition The Football Association proposed some changes to the tournament and Damon discussed some of these in this report – scrapping replays, playing mid-week rather than weekends and rewarding the winners with a Champions League spot were some of the points raised. Have a listen and tell us what you think about these ideas now.

January 28 2012: The FA Cup Format

So in January 2012 we took another look at the tradition and the format of the competition and introduced some of the key terms used when describing the competition such as: tie, knock-out, giantkilling and to be drawn against.

May 6 2012: FA Cup in Numbers

Now, in May 2012 we previewed the final between Chelsea and Liverpool by looking at some of the key numbers associated with the FA Cup final. For example, do you know why the following dates are so important in FA Cup history: 1872 and 1923? And we also revealed some interesting facts such as

poor old Leicester City (who) have appeared most times in a final without ever winning – that’s on four occasions.

January 26 2013: The Language of the FA Cup

Now in this report we took a closer look at some of the cliches and language associated with the ‘oldest competition’ in world football back at the start of 2013. We featured phrases such as ‘David and Goliath‘; the ‘romance of the Cup‘; ‘to pit against‘ and ‘plucky outsiders’ and these and many more FA Cup expressions were explained fully in that report.

May 11 2013: 5 Memorable Wembley Finals

Another final without my team Spurs being involved (that was 2013 (when) Wigan defeated Man City) so it gave me an excuse to look back at five of my favourite Cup Finals starting with Sunderland’s dramatic victory in 1973. I also mentioned the first Merseyside derby final, Wimbledon’s Crazy Gang victory against all odds (and Liverpool) in 1988 and of course two Tottenham victories from ’81 and then again in 1991 which was unfortunately the last time we won this trophy. Though as I mentioned in the report:

The winning goal has gone down as one of the greatest FA Cup winning goals of modern times after Villa dribbled past three (or was it four?) Manchester City players before slotting the ball home. Great days!

January 2014: FA Cup in Numbers – Part 2

Now just before the Third Round of the 2014 FA Cup we featured some more important figures connected to the competition in part 2 of our FA Cup in Numbers reports. In this one, we focused on such information as how much prize money was at stake, how many teams took part in the whole competition and we asked who was the last team from outside the top tier to win the trophy.

Here are only a selection of some of the posts and reports on the traditional end-of-season showpiece that Damon and myself have done for Languagecaster.com over the past 8 years. Let us know which has been your favourite and don’t forget to tell us about your favourite FA Cup stories too.

Oh, and here are the answers to the three questions I asked at the start of the report.

  • Which team won the FA Cup in our first season in 2007?

The answer is Chelsea – they defeated Manchester United at the New Wembley Stadium after extra time. Don’t worry if you didn’t remember it as it was an extremely dull game indeed!

  • True or False, neither Damon nor myself have seen our respective favourite teams lift the trophy during this eight years we’ve been on air at Languagecaster.com.

Unfortunately this is true as Liverpool won the season before we started our podcasts (in 2006) and since then neither side has managed to lift the Cup though Liverpool lost out to Chelsea in 2012 and Spurs also lost to Chelsea in that season’s semi-final stage. I was at Wembley that day – a very painful day indeed!

  • Which team won the cup last season?

That was Wigan Athletic who shocked hot favourites Manchester City 1-0 and were then relegated. I wonder will the hot favourites fall again this season?

Vocabulary

to take a stroll down memory lane: Reminisce; remember fondly

revitalise: To bring it back to life

scrapping : Doing away with; cutting

was at stake: To be available

the top tier: The top division

the traditional end-of-season showpiece: This refers to the FA Cup final

  • What is your favourite FA Cup moment? Let us know by leaving a comment below

Check out our glossary of footballing phrases here If you have any suggestions, contact us at admin@languagecaster.com

Learn English Through Football Podcast
Learn English Through Football Podcast
Damian Fitzpatrick

Learn English Through Football Podcast: A show for football fans to improve their English language skills

Welcome to the website that helps students interested in football improve their English language skills. Soccer fans can enhance these skills with lots of free language resources: a weekly podcast, football phrases, explanations of football vocabulary, football cliches, worksheets, quizzes and much more at languagecaster.com.

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