
Football Daily
The Commentators’ View: Cheese ice cream & Champagne on ice
17 April 2026
58 minutes
Available for over a year
John Murray & Ali Bruce-Ball are joined by Vicki Sparks to talk Premier League, their travels and the language of football commentary. We’re back to league action with a tricky Clash of the Commentators. There are more unintended pub names from sport commentary and suggestions for the Great Glossary of Football Commentary. Messages, questions and voicenotes welcome on WhatsApp to 08000 289 369 & emails to TCV@bbc.co.uk
01:45 Vicki in Iceland,
04:25 Lost phone & cheese ice cream in Bologna,
08:20 Ali’s commentary highlight of The Masters,
12:00 John reveals why he’s stepped away from The Masters,
13:40 Herr Chapman’s ‘bobby-dazzlers’,
15:20 Big weekend of commentaries on 5 Live,
15:50 John flips out at the ‘supercomputer’,
23:00 Man City v Arsenal preview,
29:45 Unintended pub names from sport commentary,
35:30 Clash of the Commentators,
46:45 Great Glossary of Football Commentary.
5 Live / BBC Sounds commentaries:
Sat 1500 Leeds v Wolves with Ali Bruce-Ball & Michael Brown,
Sat 1500 Newcastle v Bournemouth on Sports Extra,
Sat 1730 Spurs v Brighton & Hove with Eilidh Barbour & Andy Reid,
Sat 1730 Iceland v England in WCQ on Sports Extra with Vicki Sparks & Rachel Brown-Finnis,
Sun 1400 Everton v Liverpool with Mike Minay & Pat Nevin,
Sun 1400 Nottingham Forest v Burnley on Sports Extra,
Sun 1400 Aston Villa v Sunderland on Sports Extra 2,
Sun 1630 Man City v Arsenal with John Murray & Rob Green.
Great Glossary of Football Commentary:
DIVISION ONE
Agricultural challenge,
Back of the net,
Back to square one,
Backside and elbows,
Booked,
Bosman,
Bullet header,
Channel of joy,
Coupon buster,
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,
Postage stamp,
Put his cap on it,
Rabona,
Roy of the Rovers stuff,
Schmeichel-style,
Scorpion kick,
Spursy,
Stick it in the mixer,
Sweeper keeper,
Taking it to the corner flag,
Target man,
Tiki-taka,
Towering header,
Trivela,
Where the kookaburra sleeps,
Where the owl sleeps,
Where the spiders sleep.
DIVISION TWO
2-0 can be a dangerous score,
Asterisk,
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,
Champagne is on ice,
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,
Drubbing,
First cab off the rank,
Giant-killing,
Goalkeepers’ Union,
Good leave,
Good touch for a big man,
Half-turn,
Has that in his locker,
High wide and not very handsome,
Hospital pass,
Howler,
In the dugout,
In the hat,
In their pocket,
Johnny on the spot,
Lackadaisical,
Leading the line,
Leather a shot,
Middle of the park,
Needed no second invitation,
Needing snookers,
Nice headache to have,
No-look pass,
Nutmeg,
On the beach,
On their bike,
One for the cameras,
One for the purists,
Piledriver*,
Played us off the park,
Points on the board,
Points to the spot,
Prawn sandwich brigade,
Purple patch,
Put their laces through it,
Queensbury rules,
Reaches for their pocket,
Rolls Royce,
Root and branch review,
Row Z,
Screamer,
Seats on the plane,
Sent into raptures,
Show across the bows,
Slide-rule pass,
Staving off relegation,
Steal a march,
Sting the palms,
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.
We were right behind that.
