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.
A term used to describe a club that was once at the top of the football pyramid, with title wins and pedigree but has since fallen on tough times. A sleeping giant has a big fanbase, stadium and potential to get back to the top but are currently suffering. There are plenty of examples of sleeping giants in England in recent years, some that have returned to the Premier League after years down in the Football League.
Leeds was a sleeping giant in the 16 years it spent out of the top flight, going down as low as League One. It was a far cry from the glory days of winning titles, cups, and competing in European finals through the 1970s until the early 2000s. In the 2020s Leeds is back to being a regular Premier League club with higher ambitions.
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.