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This Week: The best of the best

This Week: The best of the best

Welcome to This Week from Premier Skills English, a weekly review of football action for learners of English from across the globe. In This Week, Jack talks about three stories from this week in the Premier League and there are lots of football English words and phrases for you to learn.

Transcript

If the listening was difficult, you can listen and read the transcript at the same time.
Read the transcript and listen at the same time.

Hello my name’s Jack and welcome to the weekly round-up called This Week on Premier Skills English.

In This Week, we’ve got lots of interesting words and phrases to help you talk about football in English.

If you are listening to this podcast on Apple Podcasts or Spotify you can also visit the Premier Skills English website at britishcouncil.org/premierskillsenglish where you’ll be able to download the podcast.

On the Premier Skills English website, you can read the transcript and join the Premier Skills English community by completing a language task in the comments section. This will really help you remember the new words and phrases from the stories from the Premier League.

This week I’m looking back at the season. I have five questions about the performance of the teams and players in the Premier League. I’m going to try to answer:

  • Which team was the best team?
  • Who was the best player?
  • Who was the best goalkeeper?
  • Who was the best manager?
  • Which team was the worst team?

Please, do bear in mind, I am an English teacher and not a proper football pundit. My answers to these questions are my own and based on very little evidence. Really, I am more interested in the opportunity to talk about language. So, if you think I’m wrong, if you disagree with my answers, please do leave your own answers to these questions in the comments section on the page for this podcast on Premier Skills English.

Today, I am going to talk about some interesting vocabulary and I’m also going to focus on superlatives and some phrases we use with superlative adjectives.

If you want to read and listen at the same time, there’s a transcript on the page for this podcast on the Premier Skills English website as well as the language challenge and football phrase.

But before I get to the stories and vocabulary, I want to give you the answer to last week’s football phrase. If you didn’t hear it last week, here’s one more chance to guess now.

This week, the football phrase is a ********* ****. This is very common football vocabulary but it’s quite difficult to explain. A ********* **** is used when a team has a free kick near the goal. The defending players stand in a line as a physical shield between the person taking the free kick and the goal. I think you need to be quite brave to be in a ********* **** because you can’t duck out of the way if the ball is flying right at you. You just have to stand there and let it hit you.

Congratulations to Ryohei from Japan, Vietnguyenngo from Vietnam, Hasan from Turkey, Renan from Brazil, Satt from Japan, Xiaohang from China, Ken from Japan, Alex from Ukraine and Denis2000 from Belarus.

You all worked out that the phrase I was looking for was defensive wall. Keep listening till the end of the podcast for a new football phrase.

Now it’s time for this week’s first question.

Which team was the best team?

Manchester City were the best team in the Premier League this season. Arsenal did very well and looked like they might top the league, but from the start, the smart money was on City. They were so strong this season, winning 28 matches and racking up a goal difference of 61, 16 more goals than second place Arsenal. This was the Manchester team’s third league victory in a row and the fifth win in 6 seasons.

Captain Ilkay Gundogan said: "To have won this trophy three times in a row and five times in six years is incredible. That quality and consistency helps sum up what Manchester City stands for and ensures the club will continue to strive for success going forward.”

They have the FA Cup final on Saturday and the UEFA Champions League Final the week after and they are the bookmakers favourites in both those matches so could well do the treble.

In today’s language focus, I want to concentrate on superlative phrases. There are some other phrases that I am going to talk about, but I’m most interested in superlatives.

In this first part of the podcast, I said that Manchester City were the best team in the League. When we use superlatives, we often use phrases with in. The best in the league, the best in the country, the best in the world, the best in the business, the best in her field. The preposition in has so many uses. In this case, I think it simply shows how something is arranged. So when there is a way to talk about a group of people or teams, each member can be said to be in the group. The Premier League is a group of teams and a group of players. The teams and players are in the Premier League, they are part of the League so when we talk about superlatives in this group, you can say in the league.

In this part of the podcast, I used two phrases that come from gambling. I don’t gamble, but apparently 40% of the adult population in the UK do and lots of phrases that come from gambling are common in English. I said that the smart money was on City, So when you gamble, you risk money on the outcome of a sporting event or a game of chance if you’re in a casino. You risk your money by placing a bet on the outcome of an event. When you have placed your bet, you can say that you have money on an outcome. So you might have money on City winning the FA Cup. We use the phrase ‘the smart money is on’ to say what we think the most likely result will be. It’s like saying, this outcome is what smart people would bet their money on. Although Arsenal were in the lead in the season, if you looked at their fixtures at the end of the season, you could see that they had a lot of hard matches to play. It would not have been smart to bet money on Arsenal at that point, even though they were ahead. The other phrase I used was the bookmakers’ favourites. A bookmaker is the person who gives odds on sporting events and accepts bets. These days almost all bookmakers are big businesses so if someone says that they are going to the bookmakers’ or the bookies’ they probably mean a shop on the highstreet where they can gamble.

At the bookmakers, there will be odds on different outcomes. Odds are the ratios of money paid to winnings that the bookie will pay if you place a bet on a specific outcome. Odds are expressed as a ratio of the money you will get back if you win to the money you wager or risk. It’s a bookmaker's job to know what the outcome of these events are so that they can offer the right odds so that they make money. If a bookmaker thinks that a team is going to win, they will offer you less money for your stake than if they think the team is going to lose. In any sporting event, the outcome that the bookmaker thinks is most likely is called the favourite. So in a horse race, one horse and rider will be favourite and in a football match, one team will be favourite. In both the FA Cup final and Champions League Final, Manchester City are the bookmakers favourite to win.

I used the phrasal verb to rack up. This means to get more and more of something, usually one at a time. I think it comes from snooker where a player's points are recorded on a rack on the wall. Every ball that a snooker player pots wins them points that they can record on their rack.

I said that this was Manchester City’s third victory in a row. A row is a line of objects. If you put things in a row, you arrange them in a line. If things happen in a row, they happen one after the other or consecutively. Manchester City won in 2021, 2022 and now in 2023. That’s three wins in a row.

Gundogan said that Manchester City’s consistency was one of the things that helped them win. If something is consistent, it stays the same. Manchester City’s form has been great for the whole season, in fact, they haven’t really had much of a drop in form for years, Even when big players have left or retired. They have stayed consistent. They have performed consistently. Their consistency has helped them win.

To strive for something means to try really hard to achieve something. It means to make a great effort to do something. We use the verb strive for things that take a long time to achieve. So a club might strive for success or a child might strive to fulfil their potential. You wouldn’t strive to make a cup of tea, even if it was very difficult. We strive when we work hard for more important reasons.

OK. That was a lot of language from this first part. The language focus parts after the next questions won’t be quite as long.

Who was the best player?

The Premier League has so many great players that this next claim is even more surprising.

This season, one player has stood out as the best player by far. He has broken the record for the most goals scored in a single season, winning the golden boot. He’s been awarded the Premier League’s Player of the season award as well as the Young Player of the season award. He’s won the Premier League and may well win the Champions League and the FA Cup all in his first season in English football. He is of course the phenomenal Erling Haaland. When you’re playing alongside Kevin de Bruyne and Jack Grealish, earning the Player of the year Award is an amazing achievement. He really is far and away the best.

In this part of the podcast, I used two superlative phrases. I said that one player was the best player by far. We often use expressions of distance with superlatives to say that something is the best in its group and is also a lot better than its nearest rival. Erling Haaland scored an amazing 36 goals. That was 6 more than his nearest rival. He also racked up 8 assists and was dominant up front for City.

No other player came close. Harry Kane scored a lot of goals, but Haaland has made a much bigger impression on the league this season. As well as saying that something is the best by far, you can say that something is the best by a long way, the best by miles and the best by a long shot. I used another phrase to say the same thing when I said that he is far and away the best. If something is far and away the superlative, it just means the same as saying it’s the best by a long way.

In this part of the podcast, I used the adjective phenomenal. Phenomenal means really successful, so successful that nobody expected it. It’s quite a strange adjective. The noun phenomenon means something that can be seen or observed. It’s often used by scientists to talk about strange things that happen. You might read about a rare phenomenon or a bizarre or strange phenomenon. The word is also used to talk about very successful people, groups and companies if they have a large cultural impact. So the Beatles can be described as a phenomenon. The adjective phenomenal is similar. It’s used to describe people and groups when they are surprisingly successful and have a great impact.

Let’s move on to the next question.

Who was the best goalkeeper?

OK - so the first two answers were easy. This one is a little more difficult. You see, David de Gea has won the Premier League’s Golden Glove award for keeping the most clean sheets. Throughout his campaign, he played in every match and managed an impressive 17 clean sheets. However, when you’re standing at the back for Manchester United, you don’t have to work as hard to keep a clean sheet. For example, both Jose Sa at Wolves and Ederson at Manchester City kept 11 clean sheets, but Ederson only made 46 saves. Jose Sa had to make 108 saves to achieve the same number of clean sheets.

I think that the best goalkeeper in the Premier League is arguably the goalkeeper who made the most saves and this season, that was Brentford’s David Raya who kept a very respectable 12 clean sheets and made 154 saves. This season has been the best of his career and Brentford’s 9th place finish was in no small part down to Raya’s performance in goal.

In this part of the podcast, I said that this season has been the best of his career. I could have said that it was the best in his career, but the best of his career sounded more natural to me. I think, if David Raya’s career was finished, I could have said the best in his career. In describes the best in terms of its position in his career. As his career is still going, it doesn’t feel right to say the best in his career without adding so far, the best in his career so far. But the best of his career, just relates to his career.

I said that goalkeepers don’t have to work as hard when they are standing in the Manchester United goal. This is a comparative phrase. Whenever I’ve taught this language in the past, I’ve always taught as + adjective + as. He is not as tall as his brother. Or in phrases like David De Gea didn’t save as many goals as David Raya. However, I only used half of the phrase. I think that this is probably more common. The comparative is implied. You don’t have to work as hard as other goalkeepers. It wasn’t necessary to make the full comparison.

The last item I want to focus on is the adverb arguably. I said that the best goalkeeper is arguably the goalkeeper who made the most saves. The adverb arguably means that I think that I can prove or demonstrate that this statement is true, or at least that there are good reasons for thinking that it is true. It’s quite strange in its use because it can be used to say that you think something is true and you can prove it and it’s also used to say that you have good reasons to say something but you’re not sure or are not prepared to state it. Listen to these two examples: David Raya is arguably the best goalkeeper of the season. David Raya is arguably the best goalkeeper of the season.

OK! Time for the next question.

Who was the best manager?

It would be easy to say Pep Guardiola. He’s led Manchester City to victory again. He’s constantly being praised by his players for the way he adapts to face different challenges and brings new tactics and ideas to the team. He is undoubtedly an amazing manager. However, I think that there’s an argument to say that Roberto De Zerbi has done a better job at Brighton this year.

So ... I was looking at the costs of the players at the different teams. There’s a website called Transfermarkt that has a list of what Premier League teams have paid for their squads. These costs aren’t just for this season, they are the total transfer costs to the teams for the players, I think. Anyhow, if you compare how much the clubs spent with the number of points they earned, you can work out a cost per point. The average cost per point in the Premier League this season is £7.9 million. Pep Guardiola’s winning team cost the club £967 million so that works out at £10.9 million per point so slightly more than average. Roberto De Zerbi’s Brighton managed to accumulate 62 points for only £111 million which works out at £1.8 million per point. A bargain! So ... Guardiola might be the best manager, but De Zerbi is the best value for money by far.

In this part of the podcast, I use the phrase there’s an argument to say, this means that I think there are good reasons for saying something, but I’m not prepared to say that this is something I believe. It’s similar to the second use for arguably. I think that people use this phrase to make a suggestion that they are not 100% in favour of. You can say there’s and argument to say something or that there’s an argument for something.

I used the phrase “the best value for money by far” when describing Roberto De Zerbi because of what he managed to do with a squad that cost almost a tenth what Chelsea have paid. This was another example of by far to emphasise the gap in value for money between De Zerbi and the other managers.

OK! Time for the last question.

Which team was the worst team?

Well, Southampton scored the fewest points and finished at the bottom of the table. Second from the bottom Leicester is the most valuable club to have ever been relegated so you could argue that that makes them the worst team of the season. Though their market value is not that much less than Southampton.

The team that did the least with the most, the team that underperformed the most is Chelsea. The Blues spent even more than City and ended up in 12th place. They managed to earn 44 points, but at the eye-watering cost of £22.6 million pounds per point. This made Chelsea easily the worst performing club for the money.

On balance, my vote for the worst team of the season goes to Leicester. Last season, they finished in 8th so they have dropped 10 places this season. That’s the biggest drop this season.

The last superlative phrase I want to talk about today is easily the worst. You can also say easily the best or easily the biggest. If you use easily with a superlative adjective, you are saying that the gap in whatever quality you are describing between the biggest and the next biggest or the best and next best or the worst and next worst is so large that it’s easy to identify the worst, best or biggest. If you compare teams by what they spent per point, Chelsea performed much much worse than any other team so in those terms, that you can say they were easily the worst team.

Today, I have described lots of vocabulary and different superlative expressions. Listen to the questions and answers one more time to hear the language in context.

Which team was the best team?

Manchester City were the best team in the Premier League this season. Arsenal did very well and looked like they might top the league, but from the start, the smart money was on City. They were so strong this season, winning 28 matches and racking up a goal difference of 61, 16 more goals than second place Arsenal. This was the Manchester team’s third league victory in a row and the fifth win in 6 seasons.

Captain Ilkay Gundogan said: "To have won this trophy three times in a row and five times in six years is incredible. That quality and consistency helps sum up what Manchester City stands for and ensures the club will continue to strive for success going forward.”

They have the FA Cup final on Saturday and the UEFA Champions League Final the week after and they are the bookmakers favourites in both those matches so could well do the treble.

Who was the best player?

The Premier League has so many great players that this next claim is even more surprising.

This season, one player has stood out as the best player by far. He has broken the record for the most goals scored in a single season, winning the golden boot. He’s been awarded the Premier League’s Player of the season award as well as the Young Player of the season award. He’s won the Premier League and may well win the Champions League and the FA Cup all in his first season in English football. He is of course the phenomenal Erling Haaland. When you’re playing alongside Kevin de Bruyne and Jack Grealish, earning the Player of the year Award is an amazing achievement. He really is far and away the best.

Who was the best goalkeeper?

OK - so the first two answers were easy. This one is a little more difficult. You see, David de Gea has won the Premier League’s Golden Glove award for keeping the most clean sheets. Throughout his campaign, he played in every match and managed an impressive 17 clean sheets. However, when you’re standing at the back for Manchester United, you don’t have to work as hard to keep a clean sheet. For example, both Jose Sa at Wolves and Ederson at Manchester City kept 11 clean sheets, but Ederson only made 46 saves. Jose Sa had to make 108 saves to achieve the same number of clean sheets.

I think that the best goalkeeper in the Premier League is arguably the goalkeeper who made the most saves and this season, that was Brentford’s David Raya who kept a very respectable 12 clean sheets and made 154 saves. This season has been the best of his career and Brentford’s 9th place finish was in no small part down to Raya’s performance in goal.

Who was the best manager?

It would be easy to say Pep Guardiola. He’s led Manchester City to victory again. He’s constantly being praised by his players for the way he adapts to face different challenges and brings new tactics and ideas to the team. He is undoubtedly an amazing manager. However, I think that there’s an argument to say that Roberto De Zerbi has done a better job at Brighton this year.

So ... I was looking at the costs of the players at the different teams. There’s a website called Transfermarkt that has a list of what Premier League teams have paid for their squads. These costs aren’t just for this season, they are the total transfer costs to the teams for the players, I think. Anyhow, if you compare how much the clubs spent with the number of points they earned, you can work out a cost per point. The average cost per point in the Premier League this season is £7.9 million. Pep Guardiola’s winning team cost the club £967 million so that works out at £10.9 million per point so slightly more than average. Roberto De Zerbi’s Brighton managed to accumulate 62 points for only £111 million which works out at £1.8 million per point. A bargain! So ... Guardiola might be the best manager, but De Zerbi is the best value for money by far.

Which team was the worst team?

Well, Southampton scored the fewest points and finished at the bottom of the table. Second from the bottom Leicester is the most valuable club to have ever been relegated so you could argue that that makes them the worst team of the season. Though their market value is not that much less than Southampton.

The team that did the least with the most, the team that underperformed the most is Chelsea. The Blues spent even more than City and ended up in 12th place. They managed to earn 44 points, but at the eye-watering cost of £22.6 million pounds per point. This made Chelsea easily the worst performing club for the money.

On balance, my vote for the worst team of the season goes to Leicester. Last season, they finished in 8th so they have dropped 10 places this season. That’s the biggest drop this season.

The last superlative phrase I want to talk about today is easily the worst. You can also say easily the best or easily the biggest. If you use easily with a superlative adjective, you are saying that the gap in whatever quality you are describing between the biggest and the next biggest or the best and next best or the worst and next worst is so large that it’s easy to identify the worst, best or biggest. If you compare teams by what they spent per point, Chelsea performed much much worse than any other team so in those terms, that you can say they were easily the worst team.

Task

Your task this week is to answer the questions yourself. Make sure you take a look at the other answers in the comments section and let other people know if you agree with them. The questions are:

  • Which team was the best team?
  • Who was the best player?
  • Who was the best goalkeeper?
  • Who was the best manager?
  • Which team was the worst team?

Language Challenge

Right, now it’s time for you to think about some of the language from today’s podcast. In today’s podcast, I used some phrases with superlatives. I’m going to read you three sentences with superlatives but with a word missing. For each sentence, you need to complete the gap with the correct preposition.

Number 1. I’ve had the best time ___ my life.

Number 2. This shop sells the best sausage rolls ___ the UK.

Number 3. We should hire Jo. She’s the best applicant ___ far.

Leave your answers to the language challenge in the comments section on the Premier Skills English website.

Football phrase

Now it’s time for this week's football phrase.

This week, the football phrase is a ***** *****. This means that a team has not conceded a goal in a match. I said that David De Gea was awarded this year’s Golden Glove award for 17 ***** ******. Sports reporters used to record the scores for a match on paper. I guess they used different pieces of paper for each team. If they got to the end of a match without having to mark the paper with any goals, then the team would have a ***** *****. That’s what it said on a BBC article about the phrase, anyway.

If you know the answer, be sure to leave it in a comment on the page for this podcast on Premier Skills English.

Before I finish, I am going to go through the answers to last week’s language challenge.

Number 1. After the death of pop and soul legend Tina Turner was announced, fans gathered to honour her legacy at the Tina Turner Museum in Tennessee.

Number 2. Spectacular images have captured dolphins at Portland Harbour putting on a show for a group of rowers.

Number 3. Fullback Luke Ayling admits Leeds United have lost their edge in the Premier League

Number 4. A wet start to the day wasn’t enough to keep music-lovers away from the final day of the South Tyneside Festival. The crowds were not put off by the weather.

Number 5. Scientists from the University of Warwick have identified some of the most common behaviours of aggressive drivers.

Number 6. On Sunday, a testimonial match was held at Champion Hill for long-serving Dulwich Hamlet legend Nyren Clunis.

Number 7. Marcus Rashford gives anxious Manchester United fans a glimmer of hope over the extent of his injury as their star forward says there's 'plenty more in the tank'

Number 8. However, no matter how impressive the recovery, a season without silverware is still seen as a failure at Juventus.

Number 9. Erik ten Hag's men took full advantage of slip-ups from rivals Newcastle and Tottenham the previous day to climb to third in the table.

And that’s all I have time for today. Before I finish, I just wanted to say that I hope you found this podcast useful, and I hope all of you stay fit and healthy and safe.

Bye for now and enjoy your football.

This week, I am trying to answer the following questions: 

  • Which team was the best team?
  • Who was the best player?
  • Who was the best goalkeeper?
  • Who was the best manager?
  • Which team was the worst team?

I am not a proper football pundit. My answers to these questions are my own and based on very little evidence. Really, I am more interested in the opportunity to talk about language. So, if you think I’m wrong, if you disagree with my answers, please do leave your own answers to these questions in the comments section at the bottom of the page. 

Question 1

Which team was the best team?

Julian Alvarez of Manchester City celebrates with the Premier League trophy

Manchester City were the best team in the Premier League this season. Arsenal did very well and looked like they might top the league, but from the start, the smart money was on City. They were so strong this season, winning 28 matches and racking up a goal difference of 61, 16 more goals than second place Arsenal. This was the Manchester team’s third league victory in a row and the fifth win in 6 seasons.

Captain Ilkay Gundogan said: "To have won this trophy three times in a row and five times in six years is incredible. That quality and consistency helps sum up what Manchester City stands for and ensures the club will continue to strive for success going forward.”

They have the FA Cup final on Saturday and the UEFA Champions League Final the week after and they are the bookmakers favourites in both those matches so could well do the treble.

Question 2

Who was the best player?

Erling Haaland of Manchester City

The Premier League has so many great players that this next claim is even more surprising.

This season, one player has stood out as the best player by far. He has broken the record for the most goals scored in a single season, winning the golden boot. He’s been awarded the Premier League’s Player of the season award as well as the Young Player of the season award. He’s won the Premier League and may well win the Champions League and the FA Cup all in his first season in English football. He is of course the phenomenal Erling Haaland. When you’re playing alongside Kevin de Bruyne and Jack Grealish, earning the Player of the year Award is an amazing achievement. He really is far and away the best.

Question 3

Who was the best goalkeeper?

David De Gea & David Raya

OK. So, the first two answers were easy. This one is a little more difficult. You see, David de Gea has won the Premier League’s Golden Glove award for keeping the most clean sheets. Throughout his campaign, he played in every match and managed an impressive 17 clean sheets. However, when you’re standing at the back for Manchester United, you don’t have to work as hard to keep a clean sheet. For example, both Jose Sa at Wolves and Ederson at Manchester City kept 11 clean sheets, but Ederson only made 46 saves. Jose Sa had to make 108 saves to achieve the same number of clean sheets.

I think that the best goalkeeper in the Premier League is arguably the goalkeeper who made the most saves and this season, that was Brentford’s David Raya who kept a very respectable 12 clean sheets and made 154 saves. This season has been the best of his career and Brentford’s 9th place finish was in no small part down to Raya’s performance in goal.

Question 4

Who was the best manager?

Roberto De Zerbi & Pep Guardiola

It would be easy to say Pep Guardiola. He’s led Manchester City to victory again. He’s constantly being praised by his players for the way he adapts to face different challenges and brings new tactics and ideas to the team. He is undoubtedly an amazing manager. However, I think that there’s an argument to say that Roberto De Zerbi has done a better job at Brighton this year.

So ... I was looking at the costs of the players at the different teams. There’s a website called Transfermarkt that has a list of what Premier League teams have paid for their squads. These costs aren’t just for this season, they are the total transfer costs to the teams for the players, I think. Anyhow, if you compare how much the clubs spent with the number of points they earned, you can work out a cost per point. The average cost per point in the Premier League this season is £7.9 million. Pep Guardiola’s winning team cost the club £967 million so that works out at £10.9 million per point so slightly more than average. Roberto De Zerbi’s Brighton managed to accumulate 62 points for only £111 million which works out at £1.8 million per point. A bargain! So ... Guardiola might be the best manager, but De Zerbi is the best value for money by far.

Question 5

Which team was the worst team?

Jamie Vardy reacts at the end of the match between Leicester City and West Ham United

Well, Southampton scored the fewest points and finished at the bottom of the table. Second from the bottom Leicester is the most valuable club to have ever been relegated so you could argue that that makes them the worst team of the season. Though their market value is not that much less than Southampton.

The team that did the least with the most, the team that underperformed the most is Chelsea. The Blues spent even more than City and ended up in 12th place. They managed to earn 44 points, but at the eye-watering cost of £22.6 million pounds per point. This made Chelsea easily the worst performing club for the money.

On balance, my vote for the worst team of the season goes to Leicester. Last season, they finished in 8th so they have dropped 10 places this season. That’s the biggest drop this season.

Vocabulary

Language challenge

In today’s podcast, I used some phrases with superlatives. For each sentence, complete the gap with the correct preposition.

Number 1. I’ve had the best time ___ my life.

Number 2. This shop sells the best sausage rolls ___ the UK.

Number 3. We should hire Jo. She’s the best applicant ___ far.

Leave your answers in the comments section at the bottom of the page and I will go through them next week.

Football Phrase

Now it’s time for this week’s football phrase.

This week, the football phrase is a ***** *****. This means that a team has not conceded a goal in a match. I said that David De Gea was awarded this year’s Golden Glove award for 17 ***** ******. Sports reporters used to record the scores for a match on paper. I guess they used different pieces of paper for each team. If they got to the end of a match without having to mark the paper with any goals, then the team would have a ***** *****. That’s what it said on a BBC article about the phrase, anyway. 

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Comments

j_mina9's picture
j_mina9
02/07/2023
CO
1
points

From my point of view, Haaland is the best player of the season. Erling is a top striker and forward. However, I think Rodri has to be kept in mind as well. He's been a great tournament and he stands out due to his exceptional passes. Rodri makes football look easy to play.


j_mina9's picture
j_mina9
02/07/2023 18:10
Colombia
Manchester City
1

From my point of view, Haaland is the best player of the season. Erling is a top striker and forward. However, I think Rodri has to be kept in mind as well. He's been a great tournament and he stands out due to his exceptional passes. Rodri makes football look easy to play.

Jaybee Art's picture
Jaybee Art
01/07/2023
NG
14
points

Number 1. I’ve had the best time *of* my life.

Number 2. This shop sells the best sausage rolls *in* the UK.

Number 3. We should hire Jo. She’s the best applicant *by* far.
Football phrase is Clean sheets


Jaybee Art's picture
Jaybee Art
01/07/2023 17:06
Nigeria
Manchester United
14

Number 1. I’ve had the best time *of* my life.

Number 2. This shop sells the best sausage rolls *in* the UK.

Number 3. We should hire Jo. She’s the best applicant *by* far.
Football phrase is Clean sheets

Ad490
28/06/2023
ES
19
points

I think the best player in the Premiership has been Erling Haaland because he scored a lot of goals and helped his team. He's always hungry to score more goals and he tries his best. Haaland's height gives him an advantage to score headers and incredible goals. I think he is going to start a new era of football and he's going to become one of the G.O.A.Ts.


Ad490
28/06/2023 18:22
Spain
Liverpool
19

I think the best player in the Premiership has been Erling Haaland because he scored a lot of goals and helped his team. He's always hungry to score more goals and he tries his best. Haaland's height gives him an advantage to score headers and incredible goals. I think he is going to start a new era of football and he's going to become one of the G.O.A.Ts.

Isshin's picture
Isshin
08/06/2023
JP
43
points

I think the football phrase is ***** *****!
As a goalkeeper, that’s one of my favourite phrases


Isshin's picture
Isshin
08/06/2023 15:03
Japan
Sheffield United
43

I think the football phrase is ***** *****!
As a goalkeeper, that’s one of my favourite phrases

Ken@United Kingdom
06/06/2023
JP
37
points

Here are the answers to the language change.

Number 1. I’ve had the best time of my life.

Number 2. This shop sells the best sausage rolls in the UK.

Number 3. We should hire Jo. She’s the best applicant so far.


Ken@United Kingdom
06/06/2023 13:21
Japan
Manchester City
37

Here are the answers to the language change.

Number 1. I’ve had the best time of my life.

Number 2. This shop sells the best sausage rolls in the UK.

Number 3. We should hire Jo. She’s the best applicant so far.

Alex_from_Ukraine's picture
Alex_from_Ukraine
06/06/2023
UA
6278
points

I totally agree with Jack and especially on the best goalkeeper David Raya of Brentford. I didn't follow his performance during the season, but his statistics given by Jack is way convincing. A great spell for the boy!


Alex_from_Ukraine's picture
Alex_from_Ukraine
06/06/2023 06:48
Ukraine
Liverpool
6278

I totally agree with Jack and especially on the best goalkeeper David Raya of Brentford. I didn't follow his performance during the season, but his statistics given by Jack is way convincing. A great spell for the boy!

Takateeto
05/06/2023
JP
7
points

This is my first comment. Premierskillsenglish is easily the best podcast in the spotify for me that lerning English and love football.
Here is my challenge.
No.1 the best time of my life.
No.2 the best sausage rolls in the UK.
No.3 the best applicant so far.
Phrase: ***** *****


Takateeto
05/06/2023 11:57
Japan
Manchester City
7

This is my first comment. Premierskillsenglish is easily the best podcast in the spotify for me that lerning English and love football.
Here is my challenge.
No.1 the best time of my life.
No.2 the best sausage rolls in the UK.
No.3 the best applicant so far.
Phrase: ***** *****

sisman74
05/06/2023
TR
23
points

Hello Jack,
This week's football phrase is ***** *****.


sisman74
05/06/2023 11:55
Turkey
Liverpool
23

Hello Jack,
This week's football phrase is ***** *****.

Denis2000's picture
Denis2000
05/06/2023
BY
689
points

Hello Jack
Football phrase ***** *****
Language Challenge
1. I’ve had the best time of my life.
2. This shop sells the best sausage rolls in the UK.
3. We should hire Jo. She’s the best applicant so far.

Task.
Which team was the best team?- MC no doubt
Who was the best player? - Harry Kane. He keeps the bar of scorers consistently high even in half-dead Tottenham. Premier League players are just not used to Haaland yet, but Real players showed how it can be left out of work
Who was the best goalkeeper? - David Raya
Who was the best manager? - Pep
Which team was the worst team? - Spurs


Denis2000's picture
Denis2000
05/06/2023 10:42
Belarus
Tottenham Hotspur
689

Hello Jack
Football phrase ***** *****
Language Challenge
1. I’ve had the best time of my life.
2. This shop sells the best sausage rolls in the UK.
3. We should hire Jo. She’s the best applicant so far.

Task.
Which team was the best team?- MC no doubt
Who was the best player? - Harry Kane. He keeps the bar of scorers consistently high even in half-dead Tottenham. Premier League players are just not used to Haaland yet, but Real players showed how it can be left out of work
Who was the best goalkeeper? - David Raya
Who was the best manager? - Pep
Which team was the worst team? - Spurs

hsn's picture
hsn
06/06/2023
TR
5525
points

Hi Denis2000, I agree with you, our team Tottenham lived a bad season compared to the previous year. I think two reasons affected this; wrong transfers (no need to give names) and often changing managers . Bye and take care.


hsn's picture
hsn
06/06/2023 07:27
Turkey
Tottenham Hotspur
5525

Hi Denis2000, I agree with you, our team Tottenham lived a bad season compared to the previous year. I think two reasons affected this; wrong transfers (no need to give names) and often changing managers . Bye and take care.

Denis2000's picture
Denis2000
07/06/2023
BY
689
points

Yes, I think this is the worst season I've seen since Harry Redknapp. Antonio Conte's tactics did not work at all. For the first time in my life, I just didn't watch the last Spurs games until the end of the season because it's a disgusting sight.


Denis2000's picture
Denis2000
07/06/2023 09:15
Belarus
Tottenham Hotspur
689

Yes, I think this is the worst season I've seen since Harry Redknapp. Antonio Conte's tactics did not work at all. For the first time in my life, I just didn't watch the last Spurs games until the end of the season because it's a disgusting sight.

Alex_from_Ukraine's picture
Alex_from_Ukraine
04/06/2023
UA
6278
points

***** ***** is the FP.


Alex_from_Ukraine's picture
Alex_from_Ukraine
04/06/2023 16:35
Ukraine
Liverpool
6278

***** ***** is the FP.

Chen Meng Tso
04/06/2023
TW
21
points

***** ***** is the phrase


Chen Meng Tso
04/06/2023 16:09
Taiwan
Manchester City
21

***** ***** is the phrase

Renan
04/06/2023
BR
18
points

Task

Which team was the best team?
Manchester City was by far the best team. They were unstoppable!

Who was the best player?
In my opinion Haaland was the best, but i'd to talk that the whole Manchester City's squad is excellent, with that made Haaland life easier

Who was the best goalkeeper?
That one is tough to me. De Gea won the award of the season, for having the most cleen sheets, but for me, Aaron Ramsdale made good perfomances and helped Arsenal in many matches. For me, he was the best in this season.

Who was the best manager?
The best manager not only in the Premier League, but in the whole world, is Pep Guardiola. Of course, in my opinion.

Which team was the worst team?
Leicester City was the worst team to me. They have a good squad and didn't play well many matches. There were worse times in the league, but they were not able to overcome the difficulties.

Language Challenge

Number 1. I’ve had the best time of my life.

Number 2. This shop sells the best sausage rolls in the UK.

Number 3. We should hire Jo. She’s the best applicant by far.

Football phrase: ***** *****


Renan
04/06/2023 02:03
Brazil
Liverpool
18

Task

Which team was the best team?
Manchester City was by far the best team. They were unstoppable!

Who was the best player?
In my opinion Haaland was the best, but i'd to talk that the whole Manchester City's squad is excellent, with that made Haaland life easier

Who was the best goalkeeper?
That one is tough to me. De Gea won the award of the season, for having the most cleen sheets, but for me, Aaron Ramsdale made good perfomances and helped Arsenal in many matches. For me, he was the best in this season.

Who was the best manager?
The best manager not only in the Premier League, but in the whole world, is Pep Guardiola. Of course, in my opinion.

Which team was the worst team?
Leicester City was the worst team to me. They have a good squad and didn't play well many matches. There were worse times in the league, but they were not able to overcome the difficulties.

Language Challenge

Number 1. I’ve had the best time of my life.

Number 2. This shop sells the best sausage rolls in the UK.

Number 3. We should hire Jo. She’s the best applicant by far.

Football phrase: ***** *****

hsn's picture
hsn
03/06/2023
TR
5525
points

Task; 1- Arsenal 2-Kevin De Bruyne 3-Ederson 4-Eddie Howe 5- I prefer the word “Unlucky” rather than “Worst” Chelsea and M..United were unlucky teams.
Language challenge; 1- of 2-in 3-(so/by)
Football phrase; ***** *****
Sentences
• Do bear in mind that there is probable risk of recession in the global economy.
• According to the media the smart money was on social democrat candidate last weekend presidential election in Turkey but outcome stumbled them.
• Salesman racked up highest sale figure of this season and got third success in row.
• To strive for justice, equality and fair income distribution in society that are needed to provide social changes.
• It's unarguable that private companies far away best than state owned ones for being profitable.
Notes
• I'm looking forward to football fans to come Turkey for UEFA Champions League Final in Istanbul.
• Trying to be BEST might causes stress andheart-attack, having modest targets are always recommended:-)
• This podcast inspired me searching on the internet, the countries in which high percentage of population are gambling.That is absolutely social disaster and moral problem. Can't be described as a social activity.It's an addiction.
• Why the best players of season are being selected among goal scorers instead of a defenders or midfielders.


hsn's picture
hsn
03/06/2023 14:09
Turkey
Tottenham Hotspur
5525

Task; 1- Arsenal 2-Kevin De Bruyne 3-Ederson 4-Eddie Howe 5- I prefer the word “Unlucky” rather than “Worst” Chelsea and M..United were unlucky teams.
Language challenge; 1- of 2-in 3-(so/by)
Football phrase; ***** *****
Sentences
• Do bear in mind that there is probable risk of recession in the global economy.
• According to the media the smart money was on social democrat candidate last weekend presidential election in Turkey but outcome stumbled them.
• Salesman racked up highest sale figure of this season and got third success in row.
• To strive for justice, equality and fair income distribution in society that are needed to provide social changes.
• It's unarguable that private companies far away best than state owned ones for being profitable.
Notes
• I'm looking forward to football fans to come Turkey for UEFA Champions League Final in Istanbul.
• Trying to be BEST might causes stress andheart-attack, having modest targets are always recommended:-)
• This podcast inspired me searching on the internet, the countries in which high percentage of population are gambling.That is absolutely social disaster and moral problem. Can't be described as a social activity.It's an addiction.
• Why the best players of season are being selected among goal scorers instead of a defenders or midfielders.

Alex_from_Ukraine's picture
Alex_from_Ukraine
05/06/2023
UA
6278
points

One more great comment, Hasan, keep on moving and writing!


Alex_from_Ukraine's picture
Alex_from_Ukraine
05/06/2023 20:02
Ukraine
Liverpool
6278

One more great comment, Hasan, keep on moving and writing!

hsn's picture
hsn
06/06/2023
TR
5525
points

Thanks Alex. Ukrainians are writing a bravery epic against occupant. I think, they will never forget (Holodomor = Голодомо́р) Allah (=God) bless all of you.


hsn's picture
hsn
06/06/2023 07:03
Turkey
Tottenham Hotspur
5525

Thanks Alex. Ukrainians are writing a bravery epic against occupant. I think, they will never forget (Holodomor = Голодомо́р) Allah (=God) bless all of you.

Alex_from_Ukraine's picture
Alex_from_Ukraine
06/06/2023
UA
6278
points

Thank you, Hasan, for support, take a good care and have an unforgettable Istanbul Great Final! I'll root for Manchester City of course. Allah's blessings on you, your family, and Turkey!


Alex_from_Ukraine's picture
Alex_from_Ukraine
06/06/2023 21:09
Ukraine
Liverpool
6278

Thank you, Hasan, for support, take a good care and have an unforgettable Istanbul Great Final! I'll root for Manchester City of course. Allah's blessings on you, your family, and Turkey!

Ken@United Kingdom
02/06/2023
JP
37
points

Hi, Jack. I think this week’s football phrase is a ***** *****.


Ken@United Kingdom
02/06/2023 18:54
Japan
Manchester City
37

Hi, Jack. I think this week’s football phrase is a ***** *****.

vietnguyenngo
02/06/2023
VN
111
points

This week's phrase is ***** *****

Number 1. I’ve had the best time __of_ my life.

Number 2. This shop sells the best sausage rolls __in_ the UK.

Number 3. We should hire Jo. She’s the best applicant _by__ far.


vietnguyenngo
02/06/2023 15:52
Vietnam
Manchester City
111

This week's phrase is ***** *****

Number 1. I’ve had the best time __of_ my life.

Number 2. This shop sells the best sausage rolls __in_ the UK.

Number 3. We should hire Jo. She’s the best applicant _by__ far.

GlitchifyVN's picture
GlitchifyVN
02/06/2023
VN
2
points

1: of
2: in
3: by
Football phrase: ***** *****


GlitchifyVN's picture
GlitchifyVN
02/06/2023 04:30
Vietnam
Arsenal
2

1: of
2: in
3: by
Football phrase: ***** *****

Satt
02/06/2023
JP
13
points

Number 1. of
Number 2. in
Number 3. by

and the phrase: ***** *****

I'm right there with you on Man City, Haaland, and De Zerbi. When it comes to the best gk, it's hard to argue against Nick Pope. The Magpies' goals against was the lowest in the league, and Pope's letting in less than one goal every 90 - best record among all the keepers. Not only that, but he played an impressive 3200+ minutes on the field and he's pocketing just one-sixth of what De Gea receives. The worst? - Chelsea.


Satt
02/06/2023 03:09
Japan
Newcastle United
13

Number 1. of
Number 2. in
Number 3. by

and the phrase: ***** *****

I'm right there with you on Man City, Haaland, and De Zerbi. When it comes to the best gk, it's hard to argue against Nick Pope. The Magpies' goals against was the lowest in the league, and Pope's letting in less than one goal every 90 - best record among all the keepers. Not only that, but he played an impressive 3200+ minutes on the field and he's pocketing just one-sixth of what De Gea receives. The worst? - Chelsea.

hayato
01/06/2023
JP
442
points

I think the phrase is a ***** *****


hayato
01/06/2023 19:13
Japan
Everton
442

I think the phrase is a ***** *****

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
7Vietnam19941
8Turkey19810
9Macedonia19074
10Bosnia and Herzegovina16333
Club ranking
RankNameScore
1Manchester United141846
2Liverpool110282
3Chelsea88561
4Arsenal85717
5Manchester City56951
6Tottenham Hotspur19169
7Newcastle United10457
8West Ham United7454
9AFC Bournemouth4458
10Crystal Palace4240

Level

3
Average: 3 (1 vote)

Goals

  • Improve your vocabulary
  • Develop your listening skills