A chance so easy that missing it is inexcusable. Open goals, simple one-on-ones, headers from two yards out. When you miss a sitter, you hold your head and your teammates look at the floor. The origin of the term is said to have stemmed from Cricket, where a "sitter" would describe a very easy catch so simple that the fielder could practically "sit down" while making it.
Fernando Torres's miss for Chelsea against Manchester United in 2011 became iconic - clear through on goal with only De Gea to beat, he rounded the keeper but somehow managed to miss the open net, gifting United a reprieve in the title race.
The Spidercam is a camera system that is suspended above the playing field by cables. It allows television broadcasters to move the camera both horizontally and vertically with speed and precision to get some incredible action shots during football matches.
In the quarter-final of the 2026 World Cup between Norway and England, England’s equalising goal came after a Norwegian goal kick allegedly hit one of the Spidercam cables, dropping to the feet of England midfielder Eliott Anderson, who started the move that led to Jude Bellingham’s first goal in a 2-1 victory. Argentina had the Hand of God…
We’ve moved through the age of the player and manager into the age of the sporting director. The role is about shaping the club for the here and now but also into the future, looking after player and coach contracts, transfers, and helping to define and shape the playing style and progress of a club. A good sporting director will be the perfect bridge between ownership and manager/head coach.
In recent years there has been more focus on sporting directors and how successful transfer windows have been than on players and coaches at some clubs. Think of how high profile Edu was at Arsenal and then unsuccessful at Nottingham Forest, or Richard Hughes having success at Bournemouth but a mixed bag of results at Liverpool.
Used to describe Tottenham Hotspur's tendency to collapse. If a team is in a strong position and finds a way to throw it away, that would be Spursy. Things like bottling a title race, a late defensive error, or a general inability to get over the line in big moments. Other clubs choke too, but Spurs somehow made it part of their identity.
Spurs were 2-0 up at half time against Chelsea and still lost 4-2. Absolutely Spursy.
When a team is accused of spying on another team in training to gain an advantage in an upcoming fixture. It riles up managers, first-team coaches, players, and adds tension to the next meeting between the two. Fans of the team accused of spying use it as an excuse to dress up as birdwatchers with binoculars, and the fans of the team spied on can get very angry. It adds an extra element of rivalry and tension.
The original Spygate involved Leeds United and Derby County in the 2018/2019 Championship season. Marcelo Bielsa admitted to sending a spy to watch Frank Lampard’s side in training in the run up to their match. It was an ethical problem, not technically breaking any rules, but Leeds were fined £200,000. Fast forward to the 2025/2026 season and we witnessed Spygate 2.0 when a member of Southampton’s coaching staff was caught watching and recording a Middlesbrough training session, which is now against the rules.