Tag
Slang
Top bins is football slang for goals that are scored where the ball hits the very top corner of the net - near the stanchion or the ‘postage stamp’ where the crossbar meets the posts. It takes high precision and power to place the ball in such a hard-to-reach area of the goal. It’s the peak of shooting, often a worldie.
In the penultimate match of the 2018/19 season, Vincent Kompany scored a thunderbastard of a goal, right in the top bins. Manchester City beat Leicester 1-0 that night and won the league with 98 points to Liverpool’s 97. Top bins, big grins.
Italian for “biscuit”, it is a term used when two teams enter a final group game or league fixture knowing a particular results – usually a draw – eliminates a third side and suits both the teams playing just fine. It originates from historical horse-racing cheats, where targeted horses were fed a ‘biscuit’ laced with sedatives prior to a race. In football, sometimes teams genuinely play for a point and there is no outright collusion. If a scoreline suits both sides it’s natural they play to that result. The term is rooted in Italian football but applies wherever groups are involved.
The classic biscotto – before the word existed – was West Germany 1-0 Austria at the 1982 World Cup. When West Germany scored early, both sides knew a 1-0 scoreline would send them both through to the next phase at Algeria’s expense. The crowd booed, the Algerian FA lodged a complaint but the result was upheld. It led to future tournaments changing format where all last group matches kick off simultaneously. A modern twist saw Algeria play Austria at the 2026 World Cup, where a 2-2 going into injury time would send both teams through. Instead, Algeria scored in injury time, before a dramatic 96th minute equaliser from Austria locked in the script. 3-3, both went through.
A legendary phrase forever associated with Brazil and the Brazilian footballing life. Joga Bonito is Portuguese for ‘Play Beautifully’. There is a focus not only on winning, but winning with style, scoring outrageous goals and taking the street football skills of the Favela and the beach football style to the international stage. It’s about beauty, style, and individual brilliance, only passing to another player in a good position, not just keeping the ball for the sake of it.
The beautiful game as most of us know it was brought to life and full colour by the great Brazilian national teams from the Pele era in the late 1950s to the 1970s through to Zico and Socrates in the 1980s, and onto Romario, Ronaldo, Ronaldinho, and Kaka in the 1990s and 2000s. It's why there is a famous global chant "it's just like watching Brazil" when any team plays nice football.
A popular British idiom referring to a ball that has been booted far out of play, kicking the ball to Row Z in the stands. This could refer to a defender booting the ball to Row Z instead of finding a pass up field or a poor shot from a striker, completely missing the goal and shanking the ball into the stands.
There was a ‘banter’ chant for former West Ham, Brighton, and Fulham striker Bobby Zamora from opposition fans; “when you’re sat in Row Z and the ball hits your head, that’s Zamora!” to say how shit he was as a striker!
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'.
A classic example of a yo-yo club is West Brom who were promoted four times and relegated three times to and from the Premier League between 2001 and 2010.
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.
Bayern Munich are so dominant in the Bundesliga again, they are already champions-elect by October each season!
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.
The Tottenham 9-1 Wigan match in 2009 was more like a cricket score than a football result.
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...
Seven managers, over a £billion spent on players, two owners who can't stand each other. Chelsea have gone from European Champions and title-chasers to a banter club struggling in mid-table.
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.
Should Aston Villa and Newcastle be in with a shout to replace Spurs in the ‘Big Six’ conversation now they’re regularly in the Champions League?
The temporary entitlement of fans of a winning team over the opposing set of fans after a victory in a big match. Often associated with derby matches and historical rivalries, a win for one team gives their fans bragging rights over their rivals until the next time they meet. It gives fans the chance to 'banter' through chants such as 'this city is ours' or 'can we play you every week'?.
Did you see how happy the Sunderland fans were after beating Newcastle in the Wear-Tyne Derby? They've now got bragging rights over their neighbours!