Top 25 most popular football clichés among Sheffield locals

A poll of 2,000 adults, featuring those from Sheffield, found 53 per cent like sayings often used in coverage of football.

With ‘play to the whistle’, ‘nil-nil written all over it’, and ‘parking the bus’ also well-liked in the area.

As are ‘no one is bigger than the club’ and ‘a wakeup call.’

In the main, the 888 sport study found Sheffield locals enjoy these aphorisms, with 66 per cent describing them as at least somewhat amusing.

But six in 10 (60 per cent) think there’s a tendency to overuse them during TV and radio coverage.

Locals also say an average of two footballing clichés a day – thinking nothing of saying the likes of ‘a hospital pass’ in their day-to-day lives.

Other favourite phrases among Sheffield residents include ‘no one is bigger than the club,’ ‘2-0 is a dangerous loud’ and ‘the table doesn’t lie.’

While there’s also love for ‘he was in acres of space,’ ‘this game needs a goal,’ and ‘like a new signing.’

Top 25 most popular football clichés among Sheffield locals

1. “A game of two halves”
2. “Play a blinder”
3. “No one is bigger than the club”
4. "He's good, but can he do it on a cold, wet Tuesday night in Stoke?"
5. “Six pointer”
6. “Play to the whistle”
7. “This game needs a goal”
8. "If it was on target, it would have been a goal"
9. “They gave it 110%”
10. "Goals win games"
11. “2-0 is a dangerous lead”
12. “A wake up call”
13. “The table doesn’t lie”
14. “Take the game by the scruff of the neck”
15. “Parking the bus”
16. “Hospital pass”
17. "We’re taking it one game at a time"
18. “Turn the game on its head”
19. "You couldn't write a script like this"
20. “Nil-nil written all over it”
21. "There are no easy games at this level"
22. “He was in acres of space”
23. “He’s going to have nightmares about that one for years”
24. “Walk the ball into the net”
25. “To give the ball away cheaply”