Edinburgh residents vote their top football clichés

The top football cliché among Edinburgh residents is ‘a game of two halves’, according to research.

A survey of 2,000 adults, featuring people in Edinburgh, found 63 per cent reckon pundits overuse them during TV and radio coverage.

Other popular phrases include ‘hospital pass’, ‘the lads put in a great shift, and ‘he's good, but can he do it on a cold, wet Tuesday night in Stoke?’

Many regularly use sporting phrases in everyday conversations, like ‘give it your best shot’ (11 per cent) or ‘jump the gun’ (14 per cent).

For the most part the 888sport study found Edinburgh locals enjoy sporting stock phrases, with 59 per cent finding them funny.

However, nine per cent don’t find them funny at all, and 78 per cent admit they use sporting phrases so often they don’t automatically associate them with sport any more.

Despite this, locals say an average of three footballing cliché a day – thinking nothing of saying the likes of ‘like a new signing’ or ‘there are no easy games at this level.’

Other favourite phrases among Edinburgh folk include ‘take the game by the scruff of the neck,’ ‘play a blinder’, and ‘great feet for a big man.’

And other popular terms include for ‘At the end of the day…’ ‘this game needs a goal,’ and ‘their name is on the cup.’

Top 25 most popular football clichés among Edinburgh locals

1. “A game of two halves”

2. “2-0 is a dangerous lead”

3. "Goals win games"

4. “No one is bigger than the club”

5. "There are no easy games at this level"

6. “Their name is on the cup”

7. “Six pointer”

8. “Nil-nil written all over it”

9. "He’s scored too early"

10. “Like a new signing”

11. “Hospital pass”

12. “To give the ball away cheaply”

13. "The lads put in a great shift"

14. "He's good, but can he do it on a cold, wet Tuesday night in Stoke?"

15. “Play a blinder”

16. “They gave it 110%”

17. “Recipe for disaster”

18. "If it was on target, it would have been a goal"

19. “Take the game by the scruff of the neck”

20. "He's got great feet for a big man"

21. “This game needs a goal”

22. “Parking the bus”

23. “The table doesn’t lie”

24. "At the end of the day…"

25. "We’re taking it one game at a time"