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Football Phrase of the Week: Blunder
This week’s football phrase is the noun, a blunder. This word featured a lot in commentary and reports on Manchester United v Arsenal last weekend. You can read the transcript for this post below, while you can also check out our glossary of footballing phrases here and visit our site to access all our previous posts and podcasts. If you have any suggestions or questions then you can contact us at admin@languagecaster.com
DB: Welcome to Learnenglishthroughfootball.com’s weekly football language podcast. Yes, we’ve changed our name from Languagecaster.com to Learnenglishthroughfootball.com, but you can reach us at both so don’t worry!
My name’s Damon and I am one half of the languagecaster team. Over here in Tokyo, where I am based, it is still very very hot and humid. Reading the international news, it seems it is hot everywhere this summer. How about where you live listener? Hopefully it isn’t too hot. Damian, the other member of the team is based in London, and I wonder which football games he has been watching now that the seasons in Europe have started? I’m sure he enjoyed his side Tottenham’s win in their opener against Burnley! How about you? What football have you been watching, and did your team do well?
On this Football Phrase of the Week, we are going to talk about a goalkeeping mistake in the Manchester United v Arsenal match in the opening weekend of the Premier League.
Stinger: You are listening to Languagecaster (in Cantonese)
DF: Yes you are listening to Languagecaster.com and that message was in Cantonese.
(a) Blunder
DB: Right, let’s get started with the weekly football phrase, which is a blunder, which is often combined with goalkeeping to give a goalkeeping blunder. A blunder is a mistake, so the phrase a goalkeeping blunder is used to describe when a goalkeeper makes a mistake. The word is not often used with the other positions on the pitch. It seems that this is a special way to describe a goalkeeper’s mistake.
In the Manchester United v Arsenal game, the United keeper, Altay Bayindir, made a goalkeeping blunder which led to a goal for Arsenal. He could only palm away an inswinging corner towards an Arsenal player, Calafiori, who nodded home from point blank range.
Here is how the Irish News described it: ‘Manchester United manager Ruben Amorim defended goalkeeper Altay Bayindir after his blunder proved decisive in a 1-0 home defeat by Arsenal.‘
And here is another example from Sports Buzz 360: ‘While Manchester United showed positive signs of improvement under Ruben Amorim, the goalkeeping blunder highlighted a key area of concern that needs addressing.‘
(to) Flap
DB: Now, I feel a bit sorry for the keeper because he was definitely being pushed by an Arsenal player who was not attempting to get to the ball. But under pressure from the Arsenal player backing into to him, Bayindir, could only make a weak touch on the ball. In this case, we can say he flapped at the ball; he attempted to touch the ball but could only do so with no power.
Here is the Independent: ‘Bayindir flapped at a 13th-minute corner under pressure from William Saliba, allowing Riccardo Calafiori to nod in at the far post.‘
(a) Howler
DB: But at least it wasn’t a howler, which is a very big mistake. It is such a big mistake it is almost funny. A howler is also mainly used with goalkeepers. For example, it could be a pass directly to an opponent who shoots directly and scores. Or maybe the keeper let’s a back pass go through his or her legs and into the goal.
Stinger: You are listening to Languagecaster (in Turkish)
DB: Yes, you are listening to languagecaster.com and that message was in Turkish. So, on today’s show, we looked at the phrase a goalkeeping blunder, when a goalkeeper makes a mistake. We also described the verb to flap at the ball. And we finished with how to say a keeper made a huge mistake by using the word ‘howler‘.
As I mentioned, we have now moved domain and you can find us at learnenglishthroughfootball.com. Come along and check out the site. And, if you have any ideas for football language or want us to explain any football words or phrases that you’ve heard drop us a line at admin@languagecaster.com.
Enjoy all the football this week and we’ll be back soon. Ta-ra!
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