The Football Dictionary

That intense feeling, the sound, the colour, the vibes. An electric atmosphere that ripples in and around the stadium in the build-up to a massive game like a semi-final of a European competition, a cup final, or the final day of a league season with something on the line.

Refers to a big match in Europe between two teams from Britain. Classically this would be between one of the Old Firm Scottish giants (Celtic and Rangers) against a traditional big team from England (Liverpool and Manchester United), but it can refer to teams from the same country playing each other in European competition too. There’s familiarity, a big atmosphere from both sets of fans, and even greater bragging rights.

A popular sporting British idiom, it describes a match that is dramatically different in both halves. One team dominates the first half and takes an unassailable lead. After the half time break the opposition fight back and control the second half.

A club that gets promoted to the Premier League, relegated back down to the Championship, and promoted again. Up and down like a yo-yo. In Denmark these teams are called elevatorhold, in the Netherlands they are called a 'to-and-fro club' and in Poland they are called 'roly-poly toy'.

Said by commentators about 10,000 times during matches on the last day of the season. When every team is playing at the same time and the goals are flying in, we're told the table 'As it stands' every time a goal goes in somewhere and the title, promotion, European or playoff places, and relegation matters change multiple times. Drama!

An interim coach is put in temporary charge of a team when a manager or head coach has been sacked, resigned, or left by mutual consent. Sometimes referred to as ‘Caretaker Manager’. If near the start or the middle of the season, an interim coach can be expected to be in charge for 2-3 games until a new manager is found. Later in the season, an interim coach may be put in charge until the end of the season, like Michael Carrick at Manchester United.

Functionally the new champions in all but name, the champions-elect describes a team that is significantly ahead in their league with a points advantage that will be difficult to overcome by competing teams.

When a one-sided match ends in an exceptionally high and unexpected score it is often referred to as resembling the runs scored in a cricket match.

A derogatory term used by rival fans to describe a traditionally big club who is currently a laughing stock. This could be a club that has gone years without winning anything (Everton since 1995), a chaotic ownership that churns through managers and players with no clear plan (Chelsea), or a previous giant that can't find that winning formula they once dominated with (Manchester United since Sir Alex Ferguson). See also, Spursy...

The ‘Big Six’ is an informal term that is used to describe the biggest clubs in the English Premier League. In the 2000s there was a big 4 of Manchester United, Arsenal, Chelsea, and Liverpool. In the 2010s they were joined by Manchester City and Tottenham. They are traditionally the most successful clubs, have large fanbases, and generate most of the revenue for the entire league between the 6 clubs. Some people might say that Tottenham shouldn’t be a ‘Big Six’ club due to their Spursy nature.