Football (not American Football) cliches
 

How many can you think of? How many times have you heard managers use them till they really don't mean anything at all?

At the end of the day
Game of two halves
The lads had character
We deserved someting out of the game
Should have won the game
Missed chances
As I say
Take each game on its merits
Drive and determination
Strength in depth
Men behind the ball
Pace and power
Future England player
Diving
Should have been a penalty
Stonewall penalty
Never a penalty
Keeper's ball
Forty points
Ask me in (month)
Champions League spot
Fans were brilliant
Get behind the team
Video technology needed
Best league in the world

any more? :D

I'm sure most of those could be applied to any other sport!

Troll, my good friend, wouldn't it have been better had you not named basically all of them in the first post? :D

"Good touch for a big lad"
"He's great when given time and space"

It's not an easy place to come to/it's difficult to get a result here - Seriously is there a ground in football that this hasn't been said about (other than Villa Park of course)?

Nae question aboo tha' - Classic Ferguson.

"Barclays Premier League" - It's embarrassing how often this is said in post-match interviews, clearly being instructed to say it. Modern football :o:

Erm, y'know - Can also apply to "obviously". Particularly popular with Scouse players.

6 pointer - Self explanatory, tends to be heard more during the run-in.

That's it for now I think, and not all of mine are cliches. Some are just commonly said phrases :cool:. Great thread though.

This thread is crying out for some Gordon Strachan quotes to counteract the banality..

"If I say anything at all there will be headlines all over the place.”

“Scotland have a system which is getting better, but it's players who win and lose games. Look at England. They have a system, but if the opposition players jump higher, tackle harder and shoot better, your system is in trouble.”

"When he [Claus Lundekvam] was carried off at Leicester someone asked me if he was unconscious, but I didn't have a clue. He's always like that....."

Reporter: So, Gordon, in what areas do you think Middlesbrough were better than you today?
Strachan: What areas? Mainly that big green one out there....

Its an incredible rise to stardom. At 17 you're more likely to get a call from Michael Jackson than Sven Goran Eriksson. On Wayne Rooney

“I'm going home now to get myself a Coca-Cola and a packet of crisps and I'll sit in front of the television and look at the table on Teletext all night.”

"He [Sir Alex Ferguson] used to play tapes of Bill Shankly talking. I remember that and a singer he liked. I don't know who it was but it was crap. He played it on the team bus too, and all the boys hated it. Until one night it got chucked away. If he's still wondering who threw that tape off the bus, it was me. So maybe he was right and I'm not to be trusted....."

Reporter: This might sound like a daft question, but you'll be happy to get your first win under your belt, won't you?
Strachan: You're right. It is a daft question. I'm not even going to bother answering that one. It is a daft question, you're spot on there.

"I tried to get the disappointment out of my system by going for a walk. I ended up 17 miles from home and I had to phone my wife, Lesley to come and pick me up."

Reporter: Bang, there goes your unbeaten run. Can you take it?
Strachan: No, I'm just going to crumble like a wreck. I'll go home, become an alcoholic and maybe jump off a bridge. Umm, I think I can take it, yeah.

Reporter: Gordon, Do you think James Beattie deserves to be in the England squad?
Strachan: I dont care, I'm Scottish

“Pahars has also caught every virus going except a computer virus and he is probably working on that even now.”

Reporter: "Gordon, can we have a quick word please?"
Strachan: "Velocity" [walks off]

Reporter: Welcome to Southampton Football Club. Do you think you are the right man to turn things around?
Strachan: No. I was asked if I thought I was the right man for the job and I said, "No, I think they should have got George Graham because I'm useless."

Reporter: Is that your best start to a season?
Strachan: Well I've still got a job so it's far better than the Coventry one, that's for sure.

“I have discovered that when you go to Anfield or Old Trafford, it pays not to wear a coloured shirt because everyone can see the stains as the pressure mounts. I always wear a white shirt so nobody sees you sweat.”

Reporter: Are you getting where you want to be with this team?
Strachan: We're not doing bad. What do you expect us to be like? We were eighth in the league last year, in the cup final and we got into Europe. I don't know where you expect me to get to. Do you expect us to win the Champions League?

Reporter: Gordon, you must be delighted with that result?
Strachan: You're spot on! You can read me like a book.

I've got more important things to think about. I've got a yogurt to finish by today, the expiry date is today. That can be my priority rather than Agustin Delgado.

Reporter: There's no negative vibes or negative feelings here?
Strachan: Apart from yourself, we're all quite positive round here. I'm going to whack you over the head with a big stick, down negative man, down.

Reporter: You don't take losing lightly, do you Gordon?
Strachan: I don't take stupid comments lightly either.

If we're posting funny one liners then look no further than David Pleat :cool:

Some of the stuff Roy Hodgson said while he was at Liverpool was unreal as well. "What is Fernando Torres' best position" "I don't know."

I'll try to dig up some quotes, some of it really was ridiculous.

Strachan's a great man for the deadpan humour. Expecting some big things from him this year --- not with the squad obviously. I mean in front of the camera. Guy should write a book. Maybe he has?

Americans commentators have some odd terms.

In the upper 90 = In the top corner
real estate = space
wall pass = one two

"Business end of the season"

:cool:

Gonna down right down the the wire
Fortress [insert ground name, just not Villa Park!]
Transfer window
He's a good lad
I just want to play my football
It's the manager's decision
Acres/oceans of space
Soft goal to give away
Ball to hand/hand to ball
Referees/officials have a hard job (translation: was he ****ing blind or what??)
Man of the match
A steal at only [insert price here]
Pressure to score
One goal will decide it
Fans going home unhappy (ahem, Villa...)