Football Daily

John Murray, Ian Dennis & Ali Bruce-Ball talk football, travel & language. They reflect on a dramatic finish to the Champions League league phase and discuss ideas for changing the format. Plus unintended pub and film names returns, as does Clash of the Commentators along with the Great Glossary of Football Commentary. Suggestions welcome on WhatsApp voicenotes to 08000 289 369 & emails to [email protected]
02:00 John’s fall from grace
06:50 5 Live commentaries coming up
12:50 Champions League reflections
17:45 Does the format need changing?
21:00 Unintended pub and film names
31:50 Harry Maguire for England?
35:45 Clash of the Commentators
47:15 Great Glossary of Football Commentary
5 Live / BBC Sounds commentaries:
Sat 1500 Leeds v Arsenal,
Sat 1500 Brighton v Everton on Sports Extram
Sat 1730 Chelsea v West Ham,
Sun 1400 Man Utd v Fulham ,
Sun 1400 Aston Villa v Brentford on Sports Extra,
Sun 1400 Forest v Palace on Sports Extra 2,
Sun 1630 Tottenham v Man City.
Great Glossary of Football Commentary:
DIVISION ONE
Agricultural challenge,
Back to square one,
Bosman,
Bullet header,
Cruyff Turn,
Cultured/educated left foot,
Dead-ball specialist,
Draught excluder,
Elastico/flip-flap,
False nine,
Fox in the box,
Giving the goalkeeper the eyes,
Grub hunter,
Head tennis,
Hibs it,
In a good moment,
In behind,
Magic of the FA Cup,
The Maradona,
Off their line,
Olimpico,
Onion bag,
Panenka,
Park the bus,
Perfect hat-trick,
Rabona,
Roy of the Rovers stuff,
Schmeichel-style,
Scorpion kick,
Spursy,
Target man,
Tiki-taka,
Towering header,
Trivela,
Where the kookaburra sleeps,
Where the owl sleeps,
Where the spiders sleep.
DIVISION TWO
Back on the grass,
Ball stays hit,
Beaten all ends up,
Blaze over the bar,
Business end,
Came down with snow on it,
Catching practice,
Camped in the opposition half,
Cauldron atmosphere
Coat is on a shoogly peg,
Come back to haunt them,
Corridor of uncertainty,
Couldn’t sort their feet out,
Easy tap-in,
Daisy-cutter,
First cab off the rank,
Giant-killing,
Good leave,
Half-turn,
Has that in his locker,
High wide and not very handsome,
Hospital pass,
Howler,
In the dugout,
In their pocket,
Johnny on the spot,
Leading the line,
Needed no second invitation,
Nice headache to have,
Nutmeg,
On their bike,
One for the cameras,
One for the purists,
Played us off the park,
Points to the spot,
Prawn sandwich brigade,
Purple patch,
Put their laces through it,
Reaches for their pocket,
Rolls Royce,
Root and branch review,
Row Z,
Screamer,
Seats on the plane,
Show across the bows,
Slide-rule pass,
Steal a march,
Straight in the bread basket,
Stramash,
Taking one for the team,
Telegraphed that pass,
Tired legs,
That’s great… (football),
Thunderous strike,
Turns on a sixpence,
Walk it in,
We’ve got a cup tie on our hands.
UNSORTED
2-0 is a dangerous score,
After you Claude,
All-Premier League affair,
Aplomb,
Bag/box of tricks,
Brace,
Brandished,
Bread and butter,
Breaking the deadlock,
Bundled over the line,
Champions elect / champions apparent,
Clinical finish,
Commentator’s curse,
Coupon buster,
Denied by the woodwork,
Draught excluder,
Elimination line,
Fellow countryman,
Foot race,
Formerly of this parish,
Free hit,
Goalkeepers’ Union,
Goalmouth scramble,
Good touch for a big man,
Honeymoon Period,
In and around,
In the shop window,
Keeping ball under their spell,
Keystone Cops defending,
Languishing,
Loitering with intent,
Marching orders,
Nestle in the bottom corner,
Numbered derbies,
Opposite number,
PK for penalty-kick,
Postage stamp,
Put it in the mixer,
Rasping shot,
Red wine not white wine,
Relegation six-pointer,
Rooted at the bottom,
Route One,
Sending the goalkeeper the wrong way,
Shooting boots,
Sleeping giants,
Slide rule pass,
Small matter of,
Spiders web,
Stayed hit,
Steepling,
Stinging the palms,
Stonewall penalty,
Straight off the training ground,
Taking one for the team,
Team that likes to play football,
Throw their cap on it,
Thruppenny bit head / 50p head,
Two good feet,
Turning into a basketball match,
Turning into a cricket score,
Usher/Shepherd the ball out of play,
Walking a disciplinary tightrope,
Wand of a left foot,
Wrap foot around it,
Your De Bruynes, your Gundogans etc.

Steve Crossman is joined by Guillem Balague, James Horncastle and Mina Rzouki to discuss all things European football, including last night's final round of Champions League group stage fixtures.
The team delve into Benfica's late goal which secured them qualification into the playoffs, how Napoli and Marseille got knocked out entirely and whether Bayern should be considered as one of the favourites for the Champions League.
They're also joined by Archie Rhind-Tutt, former Benfica player Diogo Luis, Matt Spiro and Christian Falk throughout the episode.
00:40 - Thoughts on the Champions League league phase format
03:50 - Archie Rhind-Tutt on Anatoliy Trubin's winner for Benfica
09:30 - Diogo Luis on Benfica and Sporting Lisbon qualifying for Champions League knockouts
18:00 - Napoli knocked out of Europe and Antonio Conte's European record
25:30 - Matt Spiro on Marseille and Roberto De Zerbi
33:40 - Christian Falk on Bayern Munich losing their unbeaten Bundesliga record and their Champions League hopes
39:50 - Schalke sign Edin Dzeko
43:45 - What would the panel change about the Champions League format?

Ali Bruce-Ball has reaction to a dramatic night in the UEFA Champions League. Hear from Dan Burn after Newcastle’s draw with PSG leaves them with a play-off. And catch expert insight from Chris Sutton, Michael Brown, Leon Osman and French football expert Sara Menaï.
00:15 Benfica GK scores to see them into play-offs!
01:20 Chelsea beat Conte’s Napoli to finish 6th
08:30 Tottenham win in Frankfurt to finish 4th
12:10 Man City scrape through in top eight
16:00 Newcastle and PSG both drop out of top eight
19:00 Dan Burn interview
22:20 Liverpool and Arsenal breeze through
23:35 The Bodø story continues
24:10 Benfica goalkeeper steals the show
5 Live / BBC Sounds Premier League commentaries:
Sat 1500 Leeds v Arsenal,
Sat 1500 Brighton v Everton on Sports Extra,
Sat 1730 Chelsea v West Ham,
Sun 1400 Man Utd v Fulham ,
Sun 1400 Aston Villa v Brentford on Sports Extra,
Sun 1400 Nottingham Forest v Crystal Palace on Sports Extra 2,
Sun 1630 Tottenham v Man City.

Ex Bristol Rovers boss Darrell Clarke joins West Brom winger Jed Wallace, Lyle Taylor and Aaron Paul to discuss the latest goings on in the EFL. Jed talks about life under new manager Eric Ramsay at The Hawthorns. Darrell Clarke reflects on his time at Bristol Rovers. It's 10 years since Leicester City won the Premier League and life is looking very different now. Plus Cardiff keep rolling on, signs of life at Norwich and nerves at Coventry.
TIME CODES:
2:24 Jed Wallace on West Brom's struggles under Eric Ramsay
11:27 Darrell Clarke talks about his departure from Bristol Rovers
13:49 What a difference 10 years makes for Leicester City
22:42 Are Cardiff City the model for how to get out of League One?
28:30 Philippe Clement wants to take Norwich City to the Premier League
31:44 It's a nervous time at Coventry City

All the reaction as top of the table Arsenal drop points to Manchester United at the Emirates. Chris Sutton, Steph Houghton and Rory Smith join Mark Chapman to discuss Sunday’s result in North London – are the nerves kicking in for Arsenal? And could Manchester United have a dilemma on their hands if Michael Carrick’s impressive start continues? They turn their attention to the south coast where Liverpool were beaten by Brighton – ending an unbeaten start to 2026. Have those results papered over the cracks of a “soft” Liverpool team? And they look back at the weekend’s VAR and handball controversy – were the rules applied correctly for Chelsea’s penalty at Crystal Palace?
TIME CODES:
00:30 – Arsenal 2-3 Manchester United
34:35 – Liverpool
45:30 – VAR & Handball
5 Live / BBC Sounds UEFA Champions League commentaries:
Wed 2000 PSG v Newcastle,
Wed 2000 Man City v Galatasaray on Sports Extra,
Wed 2000 Napoli v Chelsea on Sports Extra 2.