This football language podcast for learners of English, explains the adjective ‘tidy, as in a tidy player.’ You can read the transcript for this podcast below, and you can also access our huge glossary of footballing phrases here and visit our site to access all our previous posts and podcasts. Teachers of English can use […] The post Learn English Through Football: Tidy Player appeared first on Learn English Through Football.
This football language podcast for learners of English, explains the adjective ‘tidy, as in a tidy player.’ You can read the transcript for this podcast below, and you can also access our huge glossary of footballing phrases here and visit our site to access all our previous posts and podcasts. Teachers of English can use the audio and transcript to provide practice for their students, too. If you have any suggestions or questions then you can contact us at admin@languagecaster.com.
Learn English Through Football: Tidy Player
DB: Hello there, everyone. A happy New Year. We hope you have a happy, healthy and peaceful one wherever you are, and of course that you have a great year watching football, too! Thanks for tuning in to languagecaster.com, the podcast and website for all these interested in the language of football. My name’s Damon and I’m podcasting from a quiet Tokyo. Traditionally this, New Year, is a time for family visits and staying at home, so the streets are less busy than normal. It’s all quite relaxing.
Damian, the other member of the languagecaster team is London. I wonder how he spent his New Year. Probably watching a lot of football, like I did. The Christmas to New Year week is packed with games in England, and we will talk about one player from a couple those games as we discuss today’s phrase, a tidy player.
Stinger: You are listening to languagecaster.com (Japanese)
A Tidy Player
DB: Yes, you are listening to languagecaster.com, and that message was in Japanese.
Right, today, we’re looking at the phrase ‘a tidy player’, which is used to describe a player’s style of play. The phrase uses ‘tidy‘, which often collocates, goes together with, neat – neat and tidy. If something is tidy, it is not messy. It is where it should be; it is ordered. Think of a tidy room. it has been cleaned and all the items in the room are where they should be. The owner has put them away and knows where everything is. Tidy also has an added meaning of controlled.
So, A tidy player, is a player who has good control, who passes the ball with no fuss, who knows where his or her teammates are. The phrase is often used to describe a midfielder. This position often receives the ball a lot. If they are a tidy player, they tidy up the ball, bring it under control, and move it quickly to another player. They don’t make spectacular passes and rarely lose possession.
Manchester City’s young midfielder Rico Lewis, played against both Leeds United and Everton over the Christmas/New Year period, and was praised by many for his tidy displays: he was a tidy player. This is how the Manchester Evening Post (December 2022) described his performance in their ratings:
Lewis: Very tidy in not losing possession, although he took fewer risks than he did against Leeds to keep City on the front foot.
Notice, the rating emphasises that he did not lose possession, he did not take risks, and he kept City ‘on the front foot’, so he kept the team moving forward with quick, accurate passes.
Industrious
You might also hear the adjective ‘industrious‘ to describe a tidy player. This emphasises their effort rather than their control, though. So, they were busy. They ran a lot, and they were involved in tackles, passes and general play. Here is