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Podcast 34

Podcast 34

Premier League badge.

In this week's podcast, Rich and Jack talk about the January Transfer Window. Arsenal have already bought Egyptian midfielder, Mohamed Elneny, which other clubs will be buying and selling players in January? The language focus is on phrases we use to talk about football transfers. We also have our latest riddle in our 'What's my Team?' competition!

How to enter the competition?

  1. Press play on the podcast above smiley

  2. Listen to Martin, this week's Premier League fan.

  3. Guess Martin's favourite team.

  4. Write your answer in the comments section at the bottom of this page.

  5. If you are not logged in or a registered member, you can register for free in the top right corner smiley

How much did you understand?

Vocabulary 

In this podcast, Rich and Jack used some vocabulary that might be new for you. Try the activities below to see how much you understand:

"GK stands for goalkeeper for example; or CF stands for centre forward."

"I think Mohamed Elneny is a good player and a good holding midfielder is just what Arsenal need for the second half of the season."

Activity 1: In this activity, have a look at the vocabulary and try to match it to the correct definition. Not all of the vocabulary was in the podcast so be careful!
Can you match the words to their definitions?

Mohamed Elneny, an Egyptian midfielder, has moved from Basel to Arsenal for a reported transfer fee of £7 million.

Language - The Transfer Window

In the podcast, Rich and Jack spoke about the January Transfer Window. They both used phrases that are often used to speak about transfers, which is the movement of players from one club to another. Have a look at the example sentences below, then have a go at the activity. 

"Last weekend Charlie Austin moved from QPR  to Southampton for a £4 million transfer fee."

"Mohamed Elneny arrived from Basel for a reported fee of £7 million."

Activity 2: In this activity, read the sentences and decide which word goes in which gap.
Language of Transfers

The answer to last week's 'What's my Team?' competition was West Bromwich Albion. Congratulations to SalvaGH from Spain! Your prize is on its way!

If the listening was a bit difficult, you can listen again and read the transcript at the same time.
Listen to the podcast and read the text at the same time.

Jack: Hello my name’s Jack and welcome to this week’s Premier Skills English podcast.

Rich: Hi everyone. I’m Rich and every week we talk about football and help you with your English.

Jack: This week, we are going to talk about the Transfer Window. And the language focus is on phrases and vocabulary we use to talk about buying and selling players.   

Rich: Later I’ll make another Premier League prediction. And, of course, you have another chance to win a Samsung Galaxy tablet in our ‘What’s my Team?’ competition.

Jack: We’ve had lots of winners now but there are still four more chances to win.

Rich: What was the answer to last week’s riddle Jack?

Jack: Ah, yes. Last week it was Ella... her favourite Premier League team is West Bromwich Albion or West Brom or the Baggies. When you see it on the screen you often just see the acronym WBA, which stands for West Bromwich Albion.

Rich: An acronym is a short word that takes the first letters of a longer name. Some common acronyms are NASA, BBC or USA. There are lots of acronyms in football too. You might see BPL or EPL, which stand for Barclays Premier League and English Premier League.

Jack: Stand for is a phrasal verb which is used to say what an acronym means. BBC stands for British Broadcasting Corporation, USA stands for the United States of America and NASA stands for National Aeronautics and Space Administration.

Rich: If you play football games like FIFA (Fédération Internationale de Football Association) or you play fantasy football you will probably also know lots of the acronyms for different positions on the football pitch. GK stands for goalkeeper for example or CF stands for centre forward.

Jack: If you know any other English acronyms put them in the comments section at the bottom of the page and let’s see if you can guess what they are. Anyway back to last week’s competition.

Rich: We have selected a winner at random from the correct answers and the sixteenth winner of the What’s my team? competition is SalvaGH a Manchester City fan from Spain. Congratulations SalvaGH, we’ll be in contact with you this week.

Jack: Well done SalvaGH! Later on in the podcast, you can listen to this week’s What’s my team riddle.

Rich: Last week we asked you about films and film characters you would play in a fantasy football team and we had some great responses.

Jack: Volodymr from Ukraine chose a team of characters from action and gangster movies including the terminator in midfield - there would have to be a strong referee for their matches.

Rich: Heaton 555 from Armenia and Hosamn from Egypt both chose James Bond in their teams. I think he would be a great choice. And Nikosonris from Ukraine chose Harry Potter as a striker because he could make some magic upfront.

Jack: Some of you also recommended films. Sefovic712 from Egypt recommended a drama called Paper Towns, Amaral from Albania enjoyed The Revenant which stars Leonard di Caprio,Edmond Elomayan from Armenia recommended the Imitation Game which is about code breakers in the second world war. Finally SalvaGH, this week’s competition winner, says Invictus which is about Nelson Mandela and rugby is a great film and you should watch it.

Rich: I haven’t seen any of those films so thanks for the advice everybody! Last week we spoke about Eric Cantona and Vinnie Jones who have become actors and some of you told us about some more footballers in films.

Jack: A few of you spoke about the Goal trilogy - a trilogy is a group of three films or books that have the same characters or topic. The story or plot is about a Mexican boy who plays for Newcastle Utd and then Real Madrid and then the World Cup in the later stories. The film has cameo appearances, which are small parts in films, by some of the biggest stars in football, including: David Beckham, Wayne Rooney, Cristiano Ronaldo, Theirry Henry, Zinedine Zidane and many more.

Rich: And finally Elghoul from Algeria spoke about a football film called Escape to Victory that you may not have seen because it was made back in 1981! The film starred Sylvester Stallone as goalkeeper, Bobby Moore in defence and Pele in attack. The film is worth watching just for Pele’s winning goal!

Jack: What’s been happening in the Premier League this week, Rich?

Rich: It’s been an exciting week. There have been 20 matches in the EPL this week. The most exciting matches were three 3-3 draws. The matches between Newcastle and Manchester Utd, Liverpool and Arsenal and Chelsea and Everton all finished 3-3 and all had last minute equalisers!

Jack: I think the most exciting was Chelsea v Everton. Everton made it 3-2 after 91 minutes but Chelsea equalised after 98! Amazing! It’s very close at the top of the table now, too.

Rich: Yes, only one point separates Arsenal, Leicester City and Manchester City. It’s very close and I think maybe a few clubs will be looking to buy players in the transfer window.

Jack: That’s right, the January Transfer Window is open, which is the time when Premier League clubs can buy and sell players. And Arsenal have already bought one player.

Rich: Yes, I saw they have bought Egyptian midfielder Mohamed Elneny from Swiss club, Basel. Are you happy with that?

Jack: I think he’s a good player and a good holding midfielder is just what Arsenal need for the second half of the season. A holding midfielder is a defensive midfielder who is good at stopping attacks from the other team and starting attacks by giving the ball to more creative players. I think Nemanja Matic at Chelsea or Michael Carrick at MAnchester Utd are good examples of holding midfielders.

Rich: There will be lots of players moving clubs in January, so let’s look at some of the language and phrases that are used in connection with the transfer window and the word transfer.

Jack: Let’s look at the word ‘transfer’ first. Transfer can be used as a noun or a verb. A transfer is a deal or transaction for a player to move from one club to another. On Sunday, Mohamed Elneny was on the substitutes bench for the first time since his transfer from Basel to Arsenal. As a verb it has the same meaning and you can say Elneny transferred from Basel to Arsenal. We always use the same prepositions here ..from one place …….to another place.

Rich: There are some other noun phrases that are used with the word transfer. Transfer fee is one that you will see a lot. Last weekend Charlie Austin moved from QPR (Queens Park Rangers) to Southampton for a £4 million pound transfer fee. A fee is an amount of money you pay for a service or to a business. For example you might pay an entrance fee to go into a museum or need to pay legal fees to ask a lawyer for help.

Jack: Very often you will see the phrase ‘undisclosed transfer fee’ or ‘undisclosed fee’. Undisclosed means not told to anyone, clubs sometimes prefer to keep the transfer fee quiet because they don’t want other clubs to know how much they spent on a player.

Rich: But newspapers and fans want to know how much players cost so you often see the phrase ‘reported fee’. Reported means that the fee has been said but not officially so the accuracy of what the newspaper says cannot be trusted 100%.

Jack: So I’ve read that Mohamed Elneny arrived from Basel for a reported fee of £7 million but we can’t be totally sure of this because officially the fee was undisclosed.

Rich: It’s quite complicated. Another phrase you might here is transfer deadline. Deadline is a word that is used to describe a point in time when everything has to be finished.

Jack: And all transfers between clubs have to be completed by 23:00 (GMT) on the 1st of February. This day is called Transfer Deadline Day and is often the day when most transfers are completed.

Rich: That’s right! So, with the transfer deadline getting closer there is certain to be lots of buying and selling in the next two weeks. Which brings us to our questions for you this week. Question 1. Which players would you like your club to buy in the January Transfer Window?

Jack: Question 2. Do you think the January Transfer Window is a good time to buy players? Why/Why not?

Rich: Question 3. Do you always believe what you read online or in newspapers? Why/why not?

Jack: Right, I think it’s time for this week’s competition: ‘What’s my Team?’!

Rich: Here is what you have to do. Listen to a Premier League fan, who will talk about their favourite team and then write the name of the team  in the comments section on the Premier Skills English website.

Jack: And for each of the 20 podcast competitions the lucky winner will receive a fantastic Samsung Galaxy Tablet. We wish you the best of luck!

Rich: Right, so this week, our Premier League fan is Martin. Listen to Martin’s riddle and try to work out what’s her team?

Martin: My team is one of five that are based in London. Our manager is the longest-serving manager in the Premier League - The Professor has been with us for nearly 20 years. We won the FA Cup last season and Mesut Ozil is my favourite player. Come on you Gunners!

Rich: Any ideas, Jack?

Jack: No idea at all. Right, Rich, it’s time for your Premier League prediction.

Jack: You can’t have been happy with your prediction last week.

Rich: No I wasn’t. I wasn’t happy with the result either. Manchester Utd won with their only shot on target! Anyway it’s your turn this week!

Jack: What do you mean? Congratulations to JelenaN from Bosnia and Herzegovina, SalvaGH from Spain, Rasha Nahas from Saudi Arabia, RuslanJon from Uzbekistan, Edmond Eloyan from Armenia, and Nyinyi from Myanmar who said Manchester Utd would beat Liverpool and a special mention for Nikosonris from Ukraine who was the only listener who predicted the exact score!

Rich: There is a big London Derby in the Premier League this weekend. Arsenal are at home to Chelsea and will be looking to extend their lead at the top of the Premier League table. Arsenal are looking good at the moment but they were held to a 0-0 draw by Stoke in their last match and 3-3 by Liverpool in the match before. Chelsea came back to draw 3-3 with Everton but don’t have much to play for this season and look like they will finish in mid-table. But this is a London Derby and form can often go out of the window. Arsenal’s Mesut Ozil and Alexis Sanchez were injured for the match against Stoke and if they miss the Chelsea match I can see a 0-0 draw or even a 1-0 win for Chelsea. If Ozil and Sanchez play I’d go for an Arsenal win. Final score: Arsenal 0-0 Chelsea

Jack: You seem to have predicted three different result there, Rich.

Rich: One of them should be correct!

Jack: I like the phrase ‘go out the window’ - it means something is lost or forgotten. So in derby matches normal rules of who is playing well or badly are not important. Right, anyway that’s it for today - we’ve run out of time! Thanks for listening. And don’t forget to write your answers to the competition, our questions, your predictions and anything you want to say about the website or football English in the comments below.

Rich: Don’t forget if you sign in, you can score points to see if you can get your club, your country and your name to the top of our leaderboard.

Jack:  Bye for now and enjoy your football!

Quiz

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What do you think?

Which players would you like your club to buy in the January Transfer Window?
Do you think the January Transfer Window is a good time to buy players? Why/Why not?
Do you always believe what you read online or in newspapers? Why/why not?
 
Do you know any other football related or non-football related acronyms? 
 
Rich predicts that Arsenal and Chelsea will draw 0-0 this weekend. Do you agree?
 
Remember to write your competition answers, predictions and answers to the questions above in the comments section below. Good luck!.

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Comments

esraaelzeny's picture
esraaelzeny
19/01/2016
EG
48
points

Martin's team is Arsenal Football Club


esraaelzeny's picture
esraaelzeny
19/01/2016 18:51
Egypt
Chelsea
48

Martin's team is Arsenal Football Club

tokomoney's picture
tokomoney
19/01/2016
GE
352
points

Congratulation to SalvaGH from Spain! :)


tokomoney's picture
tokomoney
19/01/2016 18:48
Georgia
Manchester City
352

Congratulation to SalvaGH from Spain! :)

ferhat.dxer's picture
ferhat.dxer
19/01/2016
DZ
26
points

it is Arsenal FC


ferhat.dxer's picture
ferhat.dxer
19/01/2016 18:02
Algeria
Arsenal
26

it is Arsenal FC

ferhat.dxer's picture
ferhat.dxer
19/01/2016
DZ
26
points

of course it is Arsenal Football Club


ferhat.dxer's picture
ferhat.dxer
19/01/2016 17:53
Algeria
Arsenal
26

of course it is Arsenal Football Club

messaouda's picture
messaouda
19/01/2016
DZ
887
points

My prediction: Chelsea 2:1 Arsenal


messaouda's picture
messaouda
19/01/2016 17:33
Algeria
Chelsea
887

My prediction: Chelsea 2:1 Arsenal

messaouda's picture
messaouda
19/01/2016
DZ
887
points

Favourite team: Arsenal


messaouda's picture
messaouda
19/01/2016 17:29
Algeria
Chelsea
887

Favourite team: Arsenal

Liubomyr's picture
Liubomyr
19/01/2016
UA
4408
points

Arsenal is Martin's favourite team


Liubomyr's picture
Liubomyr
19/01/2016 16:35
Ukraine
Watford
4408

Arsenal is Martin's favourite team

elghoul's picture
elghoul
19/01/2016
DZ
3988
points

Competition team : Arsenal
ARsenal 1 chelsea 1
January is not good for transfers but it can be keen to get for exemple a gk if yours is injured.
WTOC is acronyme to World Trade


elghoul's picture
elghoul
19/01/2016 15:47
Algeria
Manchester City
3988

Competition team : Arsenal
ARsenal 1 chelsea 1
January is not good for transfers but it can be keen to get for exemple a gk if yours is injured.
WTOC is acronyme to World Trade

assemjuve's picture
assemjuve
19/01/2016
PS
3705
points

I do not think the January Transfer Window is a good period of time to buy players, players need a lot of time adapt with the new team.I would not believe everything that i read,it may be a rumor, reading the same new from different sources make you sure from this new.CDM refers to center defend midfielder, LB refers to left back, Cm refers to center midfielder.


assemjuve's picture
assemjuve
19/01/2016 15:40
Palestinian Territory
Liverpool
3705

I do not think the January Transfer Window is a good period of time to buy players, players need a lot of time adapt with the new team.I would not believe everything that i read,it may be a rumor, reading the same new from different sources make you sure from this new.CDM refers to center defend midfielder, LB refers to left back, Cm refers to center midfielder.

haydi's picture
haydi
19/02/2016
TN
3189
points

thank you @assemjuve for explaining that the acronym CM stands for center midfielder, I look for it in all tapescript, but nothing!


haydi's picture
haydi
19/02/2016 23:12
Tunisia
Newcastle United
3189

thank you @assemjuve for explaining that the acronym CM stands for center midfielder, I look for it in all tapescript, but nothing!

assemjuve's picture
assemjuve
19/01/2016
PS
3705
points

The answer of what is my team competition is Arsenal F.C.


assemjuve's picture
assemjuve
19/01/2016 15:31
Palestinian Territory
Liverpool
3705

The answer of what is my team competition is Arsenal F.C.

assemjuve's picture
assemjuve
19/01/2016
PS
3705
points

I would like Liverpool to get Gerrard back for the half of the season,he would give a lot of addition for Liverpool midfield,I would like Liverpool also to buy a strong defender as Hummels, he has a good relationship with Klopp.Bringing Reus to the team would also be great and a striker next to Benteke as Aubambeyang, he is the best African player and i think he has record for scoring in Bundesliga for alot of consecutive matches.I think Chelsea would win Arsenal 2-1.


assemjuve's picture
assemjuve
19/01/2016 15:30
Palestinian Territory
Liverpool
3705

I would like Liverpool to get Gerrard back for the half of the season,he would give a lot of addition for Liverpool midfield,I would like Liverpool also to buy a strong defender as Hummels, he has a good relationship with Klopp.Bringing Reus to the team would also be great and a striker next to Benteke as Aubambeyang, he is the best African player and i think he has record for scoring in Bundesliga for alot of consecutive matches.I think Chelsea would win Arsenal 2-1.

nikosonris
20/01/2016
UA
2453
points

It seems that you want all Borussia Dortmund players to move to Anfield, just like Jurgen did, don't you? :)


nikosonris
20/01/2016 07:21
Ukraine
Arsenal
2453

It seems that you want all Borussia Dortmund players to move to Anfield, just like Jurgen did, don't you? :)

assemjuve's picture
assemjuve
20/01/2016
PS
3705
points

Actually, i think these players are amazing and they can help Liverpool to improve, Klopp can persuade them, he had a good relationship with them.


assemjuve's picture
assemjuve
20/01/2016 11:08
Palestinian Territory
Liverpool
3705

Actually, i think these players are amazing and they can help Liverpool to improve, Klopp can persuade them, he had a good relationship with them.

nikosonris
20/01/2016
UA
2453
points

I see your point @assemjuve, and I think we are going to see some moves from Borussia during the summer transfer window. Meanwhile, good luck to the Reds this week at Carrow Road!


nikosonris
20/01/2016 14:56
Ukraine
Arsenal
2453

I see your point @assemjuve, and I think we are going to see some moves from Borussia during the summer transfer window. Meanwhile, good luck to the Reds this week at Carrow Road!

MUGEMANYI's picture
MUGEMANYI
19/01/2016
RW
2320
points

My prediction is 2-0 for Arsenal


MUGEMANYI's picture
MUGEMANYI
19/01/2016 15:09
Rwanda
Arsenal
2320

My prediction is 2-0 for Arsenal

MUGEMANYI's picture
MUGEMANYI
19/01/2016
RW
2320
points

I don't always believe in what I read online because sometimes they write rumors


MUGEMANYI's picture
MUGEMANYI
19/01/2016 15:08
Rwanda
Arsenal
2320

I don't always believe in what I read online because sometimes they write rumors

MUGEMANYI's picture
MUGEMANYI
19/01/2016
RW
2320
points

Congratulation to the winner and I'm waiting my chances next,,,


MUGEMANYI's picture
MUGEMANYI
19/01/2016 15:05
Rwanda
Arsenal
2320

Congratulation to the winner and I'm waiting my chances next,,,

nikosonris
19/01/2016
UA
2453
points

Instead of signing new players in the January Transfer Window, I would like all Arsenal injured players to recover, stay fit & in-form to bolster the squad.


nikosonris
19/01/2016 15:04
Ukraine
Arsenal
2453

Instead of signing new players in the January Transfer Window, I would like all Arsenal injured players to recover, stay fit & in-form to bolster the squad.

MUGEMANYI's picture
MUGEMANYI
19/01/2016
RW
2320
points

Martin's team is Arsenal


MUGEMANYI's picture
MUGEMANYI
19/01/2016 15:03
Rwanda
Arsenal
2320

Martin's team is Arsenal

nikosonris
19/01/2016
UA
2453
points

I wish I could win this week's 'What's my team?' competition because Martin and I have the same favourite team - Arsenal - that will win the EPL title this season.


nikosonris
19/01/2016 14:55
Ukraine
Arsenal
2453

I wish I could win this week's 'What's my team?' competition because Martin and I have the same favourite team - Arsenal - that will win the EPL title this season.

sergiii
19/01/2016
DK
6
points

Martin's favourite team is Arsenal


sergiii
19/01/2016 14:52
Denmark
Newcastle United
6

Martin's favourite team is Arsenal

nikosonris
19/01/2016
UA
2453
points

Congratulations to SalvaGH from Spain! Mis felicitaciones! :))


nikosonris
19/01/2016 14:49
Ukraine
Arsenal
2453

Congratulations to SalvaGH from Spain! Mis felicitaciones! :))

Leaderboard

Top Scorers
RankNameScore
1mobeckham6510
2Alex_from_Ukraine6278
3hsn5525
4wsanta5086
5kwesimanifest4768
6Liubomyr4408
7elghoul3988
8assemjuve3705
9aragorn19863557
10Gergő Nagy3396
Country ranking
RankNameScore
1Colombia71478
2Ukraine33300
3Spain28277
4Serbia27289
5Brazil23896
6Albania20578
7Vietnam19939
8Turkey19810
9Macedonia19074
10Bosnia and Herzegovina16333
Club ranking
RankNameScore
1Manchester United141846
2Liverpool110282
3Chelsea88559
4Arsenal85717
5Manchester City56951
6Tottenham Hotspur19169
7Newcastle United10457
8West Ham United7454
9AFC Bournemouth4454
10Crystal Palace4240

Level

4
Average: 4 (1 vote)

Goals

Practise your listening skills.

Learn some new football vocabulary. 

Learn phrases to talk about football transfers.