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Weekly Football Phrase: Put a Shift In

Put a shift inFor this week’s weekly football phrase we explain the football cliche to put a shift in.

  • Find out more about this phrase by reading the transcript below and listening to the audio.
  • You can also find many more examples of soccer vocabulary by going to our football cliches page here and our huge football glossary here.
  • This post also features in our podcast show, along with a main report and our weekly predictions.

To Put a Shift In

This cliche is often used in football to talk about how much effort a player gives in the match. ‘A shift’ refers to a person’s working time, particularly when talking about physical work. ‘To put in’ means to do, so to put a shift in means to work hard. Football pundits, commentators and managers use this phrase to say that a player has tried very hard for the team. To put a shift in, however, doesn’t mean the player was particularly skillful. It is often used to highlight the fact that another player didn’t put a shift in, didn’t try hard. You can also say, put in a shift.

  • For example: Aaron Ramsey praises Arsenal for putting in a good shift after Saturday’s 2-0 win at Sunderland.
  • For example: Balotelli put in a decent shift, but still no Premier League goal.
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

Hosted by
grell

I was born and brought up near Chester in the north west of England. I have always loved playing and talking about sport, especially football!
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