PRE-READING:

Who do you think will win the Premier League this season?

Who will finish in the top four?

Make your own predictions, then see if you agree with ours!

WHILE READING:

Set a time limit to read this article. An average reader can read at the speed of 250 words per minute. Note down your reading speed regularly to check your progress.

SKIMMING:

Within the time limit, read and summarize the main ideas of the paragraphs in your own words. Do not worry about unfamiliar vocabulary.

Map showing the locations of English Premier League Clubs in the 2010-2011 season. Blackpool, West Ham and Birmingham have since been relegated. The newcomers are Queens Park Rangers, Swansea and Norwich.

2011 PREMIER LEAGUE PREVIEW

With a new English Premier league football season getting underway, we take a look at the teams aiming for Europe and ask who has got what it takes?

The magician of Manchester. Can Alex Ferguson conjure up yet another championship winning team from young players?

Manchester United

Man U won their 19th league title last season, but came up short in the Champion’s League Final when a breathtaking display by Barcelona played them off the pitch. Fans were further unnerved by the apparent lack of movement in the transfer market, and the retirement of key members of the squad, including Paul Scholes, Ryan Giggs and goalkeeper Edwin Van de Saar. Where was the talent coming from to replace them?

Ferguson comprehensively answered his critics in the FA Community Shield with a passionate display of at times breathtaking football. The remarkable thing was the youth of his team. The average age of the players was 23. Once more Alex Ferguson has shown how he can rebuild a side. Man U have now established themselves as the team to beat. But it is clear that Ferguson’s ambition is to beat Barcelona.

Verdict: Title favourites. But how will they fare against Barcelona in Europe?

New kid on the block. Villas-Boas is young and talented. Can he adapt to the English game?

Chelsea

At Chelsea, it’s all about the manager. Will he last the season? Chelsea’s owner, Roman Abramovich, is notorious for changing managers: Ancelotti was sacked for coming second in the league!

Villas-Boas, the new boss, has his work cut out for him. He has a very strong squad, but it is beginning to age and some of the big names in the dressing room, such as John Terry, are almost as old as he is! Will they respect him? Villas-Boas has a reputation for getting his team to play fluent attacking football, but will he adjust to the Premier League? And will Abramovich give him time?

Verdict: Will be there or thereabouts, but can the manager win over the dressing room?

On his way out. Fabregas’ departure will weaken Arsenal

Arsenal

Wenger is another manager with questions being asked of him. Arsenal could have won the title last season with a bit more resilience and a different goalkeeper. Wenger’s focus on youth and technique produces some beautiful football, but his sides lack the determination of Manchester United. He promised to address this in the summer, but the fans haven’t seen anything yet and with captain Fabregas and winger Nasri on their way to Barcelona, and Manchester City respectively Wenger has a big hole in his team to fill.

Verdict: Vulnerable. The teams below will see Arsenal as the weak link in the top four.

Manchester City

Roberto Mancini seems to have established himself in the Man City club and has not been shy in the transfer market either. However, the Community Shield revived some concerns from last year. Can they play like a team? Do the players have the passion or are they just there for the money? And will their coach be able to shake off his reputation for playing conservatively. Boldness, team spirit and passion are required to lift the Premier League trophy, and Manchester City, while possessing the quality, need to show the other traits.

Verdict: Will challenge for the title, if they stay focused and play like a team.

Still a key player. Steven Gerrard will be part of a stronger midfield, but will still be part of Kevin Dalglish’s plans.

Liverpool

A club that were in the doldrums last winter have been revived under Dalglish; Suarez, the striker brought in to replace Torres, has been sensational. Although Carroll is yet to show his top form, the team play with more belief, style and courage.

Liverpool were perhaps the weakest big four squad, but they have been the one team doing serious buying this summer. They have strengthened their midfield which will improve supply to their strikers. As Alex Ferguson has said, “Liverpool are back on the radar.”

Verdict: Perhaps not yet strong enough for a title push, but definitely back in contention.

Tottenham Hotspur

This summer seems all to have been about Modric. Is he staying or is he going? Tottenham are a strong attacking team and always likely to score goals. However, Harry Redknapp doesn’t have the financial power of some of the other clubs, and their lack of strength in depth may make it difficult for them to keep up the pace at the end of the season.

Verdict: If they keep Modric, likely to be aiming for Europe. Need a good start to the season.

Others to watch

Aston Villa: have strengthened over the summer, particularly with goalkeeper Shay Given and N’Zogbia going forward. May not have the quality to get into the Europe places, but may threaten in the cup competitions.

Everton: Liverpool’s poorer neighbours. David Moyes always gets the best out of his teams with limited cash, but even he can’t make something out of nothing. Will finish strongly, but not quite in the top places.

Sunderland: Steve Bruce has splashed the cash and strengthened a team that started brightly last season. He wants to get his team into Europe, but can they do it?

Stoke City: Stoke have improved every year since returning to the top flight. Tony Pulis has built a team that are hard to beat, and are a threat from set-pieces. Could be a surprise package.

So, our prediction for the top half of the table is:

1st Manchester United

2nd Chelsea

3rd Manchester City

4th Liverpool

5th Tottenham Hotspur

6th Arsenal

7th Everton

8th Stoke City

9th Sunderland

10th Aston Villa

Word count: 979 words

REACTING TO THE TEXT: How did your predictions match? Do you agree with our views?

UNDERSTANDING THE TEXT: Multiple matching.

Match the view expressed in the article to the team. More than one answer is possible.

1. A team with a new manager who needs to get used to the Premier League.

2. A team who have purchased a lot of new players.

3. A team who are trying to keep a key player.

4. A team who have a good manager, but lack cash.

5. A team who is spending money to fulfill an international ambition.

6. A team who may do better than people expect.

7. A team with weaknesses that needs to find some new players quickly.

8. A team who won’t win the Premier League, but may win another trophy.

9. A team who have already surprised fans with young players.

10. A team who need to be braver and more together.

POST-READING:

Glossary:

Pay attention to how the word is combined with other words in context. Do not learn the meaning of the word without sentences. Vietnamese should be the last resort after you have tried all the learning strategies.

• Breathtaking (adj): very impressive, beautiful, or surprising (Đẹp mắt, ngoạn mục)

• Unnerve (v): make someone frightened or nervous (Làm cho ai đó hết hồn, hoảng vía, thót tim)

• Comprehensively (adv.): completely (Hoàn toàn)

• Notorious (adj): famous for something bad (Khét tiếng)

• Resilience (n): the ability of people or things to feel better quickly after something unpleasant such as shock, injury etc (Khả năng phục hồi nhanh, sự kiên cường)

• Address (a problem): start trying to solve a problem (Giải quyết)

• Boldness (n): the quality of being confident and willing to take risks (Sự táo bạo, liều lĩnh)

• Form (n): how well someone is performing (Màn trình diễn hết mình, phong độ)

Football expressions

• Play someone off the pitch: if a team plays the other off the pitch, it means they play much better than the other (Chơi xuất sắc hơn)

• The transfer market: The market where clubs buy and sell players to each other. A transfer is when one player moves from one club to another (Thị trường chuyển nhượng (cầu thủ))

• The team to beat: The best team at the moment (Đội bóng xuất sắc)

• Side: team (Đội bóng)

• Midfield: Players who play in the middle, between the strikers and the defenders (Hàng tiền vệ)

• Striker: A player who plays forward. The striker’s main job is to score goals (Tiền đạo)

• Title push: Putting in extra effort to try to win the championship (Nỗ lực giành chức vô địch)

• In contention: having a chance of winning the championship (Có khả năng giành chức vô địch)

• Europe: The European club competitions organized by UEFA, including the Champions League and the Europa League. If a team is ‘in Europe’ we mean it is taking part in the European competitions (Các giải bóng đá hàng năm do Liên đoàn bóng đá châu Âu tổ chức, bao gồm Champions League và Europa League, cho các câu lạc bộ châu Âu)

• Strength in depth: the club has a large number of good players, not just the first team. This enables them to continue to play well even when some players are injured (Một đội hình có chiều sâu (nhiều cầu thủ giỏi ở đội hình chính và cả dự bị))

• The top flight: the Premier League (Giải ngoại hạng)

• Set pieces: free kicks, throw-ins and corners (Các tình huống cố định (đá phạt đền, ném biên, phạt góc))

• Quality: good talented players (Cầu thủ tài năng)

• Team spirit: a feeling of togetherness among the players. The players work well together (Tinh thần đồng đội)

Expressions and idioms

• Get underway: have started and in progress (Đang diễn ra)

• Have what it takes: have the personal qualities needed (Đủ tiêu chuẩn/ các tố chất cần thiết)

• Come up short: not play well enough (Chơi khá tệ)

• Answer your critics: respond to criticism by performing very well (Đáp lại những lời chỉ trích)

• Ask questions of somebody: have doubts about someone’s ability. Usually used in the passive (Nghi ngờ năng lực ai đó (thường dùng trong câu bị động))

• The weak link: the weakest part (Điểm yếu)

• Shake off (a reputation): successfully deal with or recover from (Khôi phục lại)

• Be in the doldrums: if something is in the doldrums, it is not doing well or developing (Trong tình trạng ảm đạm)

• Splash out on something: spend a lot of money on something that you do not really need (Vung tiền)

• Surprise package: a person or group who is surprisingly successful, much better than people expected (Đội gây bất ngờ)

DEFINITIONS from

Longman Active Study Dictionary

Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary

www.oxforddictionaries.com

Grammar: Idioms

Look at the following sentence from the text. Which meaning is the correct meaning?

Man U won their 19th league title last season, but came up short (1) in the Champion’s League Final when a breathtaking display by Barcelona played them off the pitch (2).

1. What does came up short mean in the above sentence?

a. the Manchester players were not tall enough.

b. the Manchester players did not play well enough.

2. What does played them off the pitch mean in the above sentence?

a. Manchester and Barcelona played football outside the stadium, in the street.

b. Barcelona played much better than Manchester.

The answer to each question is, of course, b.

Come up short and play someone off the pitch are examples of idioms. An idiom is an expression where the meaning of the whole expression is different from the meaning of the individual words.

If we just look at each word, for example, we might choose ‘a’ because short means not tall and off the pitch means not on the football field. But the sentences would then be nonsense.

Idioms are very common in both speaking and writing. Newspaper and magazine writers like them because they can be very vivid.

Look at the following sentences containing idioms (in bold). Choose the correct meaning of the sentence:

1. We’ve just splashed out on a new car.

a. We’ve just spent a lot of money on a new car.

b. We’ve just washed our new car.

2. Britney Spears has answered her critics with this great new album.

a. Britney has talked with her critics and answered their questions.

b. Britney has responded to criticism by performing very well.

3. Infrastructure is the weak link in Vietnam’s development plans.

a. Infrastructure in Vietnam has poor connections.

b. Infrastructure is the weakest part of Vietnam’s development strategy.

4. Do you have what it takes to be a successful manager?

a. Do you have the personal qualities needed to be a successful manager?

b. Do you have enough money and time to be a successful manager?

5. The continuing credit squeeze means that the property market is still in the doldrums this year.

a. There is very little activity in the property market because banks are not lending much money.

b. The property market is drifting at sea because banks are not lending much money.

Discussion:

Find a study friend to discuss football. Exchange your opinions on the teams and predict who will do well. Try to use the vocabulary learned in the article when speaking.

Write your own Premier League preview. Write 2-3 sentences for each club.

Answers:

UNDERSTANDING THE TEXT.

1. Chelsea. Villas-Boas has just joined them (from Portugal).

2. Liverpool. They have ‘splashed out’ (= spent money).

3. Tottenham. They are trying to keep Modric.

4. Everton. David Moyes ‘gets the best’ out of his team, but has ‘nothing’ as Everton are ‘poorer’ than Liverpool.

5. Sunderland. Have ‘splashed the cash’ as they want to ‘get into Europe’.

6. Stoke City. May be a ‘surprise package’.

7. Arsenal. Fabregas and Nasri may be going: there will be a ‘big hole to fill’.

8. Aston Villa. Not enough quality to get into European places, but may ‘threaten in the cup competitions’.

9. Manchester United. The youth of the players was remarkable.

10. Manchester City. They have the quality, but lack the other traits (boldness, passion, team spirit).

GRAMMAR: IDIOMS

1. a

2. b

3. b

4. a

5. a

This material is provided by the Australian Centre for Education and Training (ACET).