“(The other team)
wanted it more” -maybe they also worked harder at it.
“War chest”
-Obscene amount of money entrusted by a club chairman with his manager to go
and buy players from other clubs rather than actually train and manage the ones
he already has at his disposal. It is not clear at which point a “transfer
kitty” becomes a “war chest”.
“Warming the
bench” -the fate of a substitute sitting out the entire game (please note they
still get remunerated). In French, substitutes -or “subs” for short- are
nicknamed “garçons coiffeurs” (= apprentice hairdressers) for their
propensity to give each other hair-cuts in the absence of any on-field action.
“Warning”
-usually of the “hands-off” variety, whereby a club officially
tries to dissuade its rivals from nabbing one of its players ...before sadly
caving in when a suitable amount of money is eventually flashed before its
eyes.
Can also be “early”,
indicating that something is not quite right with a player's health or a team's
tactical acumen.
“His weaker foot”
-all hail obscenely paid professionals who can't be bothered to train both
their feet.
“Wears his
heart on his sleeve” -gruesome biological impossibility that signifies dogged
determination.
“Week in week
out” -every week.
“West Ham won
the World Cup” -self-serving reference to the number of West Ham players in the
1966 World Cup winning team.
“West Ham aka
The Academy” -reference to the number of prestigious English players coming out
of its factory line throughout the years (Rio Ferdinand, Michael Carrick, Joe
Cole or Frank Lampard jr. being among the latest ones).
“Wet cold
Tuesday night in Stoke, a” -according to some, the true mark of greatness. The
environment in which them lah-di-dah arty-farty pussyfooters of Barcelona wouldn't
cut it, oh no. They'd get found out by some proper footballers, oh yes.
“They are right where
we want them” -bizarre expression sometimes offered after conceding a goal
or two. Famously uttered by US Presidential candidate J. McCain when falling a
few dozen points behind in the race for the White House -and what a cunning
plan this proved to be.
“Whip” -coming
after “snatch” and “belter”. A shot can be “whipped with pace”.
“White Feather”
-white-haired Italian goalscorer Fabrizio Ravanelli.
“A win is a win”
-correct, even if tautological.
“Winter break”
-elusive answer to England's woes for as long as this chronicler can remember.
“How can we compete, Gary? It's so unfair! Without a winter break, we are
burnt out by the time the summer tournaments start!”
Wise, Dennis -“picks
up a booking for his challenge” (or insert N.E. other name of your choice).
“Woodwork”
-goal posts. What "the goal" is often “denied by” .
“Work the
goal-keeper” -strikers are often advised to at least test the goal-keeper (even
though the latter's intervention is presumably the last thing they want to
encourage).
“Worked his socks off”
– used to describe a player with an exceptional work rate such as
Park Ji Sung for Manchester United or Dirk Kuyt for
Liverpool. No player has ever finished a match sockless though. This would not
be sanctioned by the football authorities (insert anecdote about the shoeless,
FIFA banned, national Indian team here).
“World class”
-very good. Often used to describe goalkeeping saves.
“Worst
possible start” -ever so slight exaggeration. Meaning conceding an early goal.
“Wry” -the only type of smile allowed, otherwise one
will be accused of “gloating”.
Answer : “They wear
their heart on their sleeve.”
X ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
“X-rated challenge” – act of aggression. Another
misnomer, as no sexual activity has ever been known to take place on a football
pitch. At least not during a match.
Y ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
“Yard of pace” – what
an ageing player loses. Not that commentators are suggesting footballers should
compete against Usain Bolt.
“Yellow
Submarine” -nickname for Villareal.
WARNING:
CONTROVERSIAL. “Yids” -nickname some Tottenham fans give themselves in
order to reaffirm their Jewish roots. Not endorsed by all Jewish persons
though. The same situation occurs at Ajax Amsterdam.
Z --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
“Z” -the only
row ever mentioned. Where balls hit by Nicky Butt or Emile Heskey usually
fly to ...even though most grounds don’t have a Row Z.
Bibliography.
After embarking on a
long preliminary period of research consisting of either calling upon my
personal memories or making notes during live matches, I hit upon the idea of
checking whether other people hadn't previously entertained the same idea for a
book. Surprise surprise, I hadn't been the first one to lovingly compile and
decipher these marvellous expressions! Turning to the Net, I came across a
number of relevant websites addressing this very subject. Here are a few,
correct at the time of writing, that propose their own definitions of football
clichés.
http://angleofpostandbar.blogspot.co.uk/#sthash.WowN8RTj.dpuf
Thank you for reading.
Twitter contact: @loig7san
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