Brighton locals list their top 30 favourite football clichés

A poll of 2,000 adults – including those living in Brighton – found others enjoy ‘no one is bigger than the club’ and ‘he's good, but can he do it on a cold, wet Tuesday night in Stoke?’ are also popular. So are ‘hospital pass’ and ‘if it was on target, it would have been a goal.’

The 888 sport UK study found Brighton locals like hearing these stock phrases – 71 per cent said they find them amusing. However, four per cent say they’re ‘not amusing at all’.

Love or hate them, 65 per cent think there’s a tendency for people to overuse them during TV and radio coverage. Despite this, locals say an average of two (1.6) footballing clichés a day – thinking nothing of saying the likes of ‘a wake-up call’ or ‘recipe for disaster' - and they’ll use them an average of three times a day.

Other favourite phrases among Brightonians include ‘take the game by the scruff of the neck,’ ‘we need to be more efficient with the ball’, and ‘the table doesn’t lie’.

Many also use everyday sporting phrases in conversation such as ‘par for the course’ and ‘level playing field’.

In fact, 69 per cent said they use them so often they don’t even automatically associate phrases like ‘get a head start’ with sport any more.

Top 30 most popular football clichés among Brighton locals

1. “A game of two halves”
2. “No one is bigger than the club”
3. "He's good, but can he do it on a cold, wet Tuesday night in Stoke?"
4. “Hospital pass”
5. "If it was on target, it would have been a goal"
6. “The table doesn’t lie”
7. “A wake up call”
8. “Play a blinder”
9. “Recipe for disaster”
10. “Provide a spark”
11. “Play to the whistle”
12. “This game needs a goal”
13. "Goals win games"
14. “They gave it 110%”
15. "At the end of the day…"
16. "We’re taking it one game at a time"
17. “He was in acres of space”
18. “Walk the ball into the net”
19. “A great advert for the game”
20. "He’s scored too early"
21. “One for the cameras”
22. “Not that kind of player”
23. “Six pointer”
24. “Nil-nil written all over it”
25. “That was a great cross but there was no one there”
26. “2-0 is a dangerous lead”
27. “Turn the game on its head”
28. "You couldn't write a script like this"
29. "The greatest cup competition in the world"
30. "He's almost hit that one too well"