2006-07 Learners’ Podcast 1: Premier League Dark Horses

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The learners' report is a shortened version of the regular weekly podcast. On this week's learners' report Damon and Damian discuss the managers of Bolton, Portsmouth, Aston Villa, and Reading from the Premier League. You can listen to the report by clicking on the link above, while there is also a worksheet here

Transcript: Profile of 4 Premier League Managers a€“ The Dark Horses

Damian Fitzpatrick (DF) and Damon Brewster (DB) discuss the managers of Portsmouth, Bolton, Reading and Aston Villa (November 30th 2006)





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DB: Okay this week we have got a new feature, wea€re going to look at the a€˜dark horsesa€ in the Premiership League and wea€re going to focus today on the managers. What are the dark horses, do you think?

DF: Yeah, these were teams that werena€t really tipped to do very well this season so wea€ve got Bolton, Portsmouth, Aston Villa and Reading.

DB: So they are currently in 3rd, 4th, 5th and 7th place respectively, so...

DF: Who would have thought that?

DB: Who would have thought that indeed? And their managers of course, Bolton in 3rd place, Sam Allardyce, can you tell us a little about Sam, a€˜Big Sama€?

DF: Yeah well Sam used to play for Bolton. Hea€s from the Midlands, hea€s a very uncompromising manager as yeah, he was an uncompromising and tough defender. Hea€s been in charge of Bolton now for a good few years and his highest position in the Premier League with them has been 6th. DF: How would you describe Allardycea€s coaching style?

DB: Perhaps getting the most out of his players, finding a good deal in terms of loan players and you have got to say, you have got to give him credit for mixing ... he has a lot of nationalities in his team and he seems to get the most out of all of the players.

DF: Thata€s right. Now next up is the Portsmouth manager, youa€re going to talk about Harry Redknapp.

DB: Or a€˜Arry. Harry from London, apparently an Arsenal supporter

DF: I knew I didna€t like him.

DB: He was a good winger. Also like Sam he manages to find good deals in the market place. Hea€s known in fact for his a€˜wheeling and dealinga€ and hea€s also known a little bit for moving between clubs when he ... when it suits him. Famously when moving from Portsmouth to Southampton, their arch rivals, and then moving straight back again to Portsmouth.

DB: Indeed. So next in 5th place is Aston Villa and their manager, Martin Oa€Neill.

DF: Yeah, Martin Oa€Neill is from Northern Ireland, he was born in Derry and he played for Brian Clougha€s Nottingham Forest team, very successfully. He won two Championships and a European Cup. He also played in the 1982 World Cup final for his country Northern Ireland where they did very, very well.

DB: What position did he play?

DF: He was a midfielder a very good midfielder, very cultured, very smart, very intelligent, probably because he also had been to university in Ireland. He then went into management, he took Wycombe, who were a non-league team. He took them into the Football league and then he moved to Leicester, he went, was at Norwich for a short time but he went to Leicester. He took them to the First ...to the Premier league. He also won two League Cups with them, before moving to Celtic and he transformed Celtic in his first season he won the treble - he won 6 trophies in all. He also took them to the UEFA Cup final where they lost to Jose Mourinhoa€s Porto... in a bad-tempered game, I add.

DB: I see, hea€s definitely got a good record, hasna€t he? A lot of players, ...