There’s nothing better than a humorous incident in football, something to lighten up the beautiful game, which at times, according to a certain Mr Shankly, is more important than life or death. A good way to enjoy a giggle is to laugh at what people from the footballing world say, be it a commentator, a player, a pundit or a manager. The most common type of blunder is the ‘Colemanballs’ that refer to the former BBC commentator David Coleman, whose frequent slips of the tongue when working provided much hilarity to all those who heard him and went down history.
Footballers are never the brightest of sparks anyway, so messing up words comes fairly regularly and often to much amusement. Hearing certain individuals accidently make a rude or idiotic turn of phrase often deserves a good snigger behind the hand or depending on the severity of the cock-up, full blown hysterics. To celebrate some of the best Coleman’s Balls in football, we’ve complied a list of the Top 25 slips of the tongue that will bring a smile to your face:
25. Perry Groves - “Everyone gave eight out of ten and you can’t ask for any more than that”
24. David Coleman – “Don't tell those coming in the final result of that fantastic match, but let's just have another look at Italy's winning goal.”
23. Jamie Redknapp - "David Silva literally floats around the pitch"
22. Robbie Savage - “Tonight he’s not had a kick other than two headers”
21. Paul Gascoigne - "I never make predictions and I never will."
20. Peter Jones – “Ian Rush, deadly ten times out of ten, but that wasn't one of them.”
19. Lawrie McMenemy – “The last player to score a hat-trick in a cup final was Stan Mortenson. He even had a final named after him, the Matthews final.”
18. Steve McLaren - "We have to reduce our expectations of England and we have the players to do it"
17. Steve Coppell - "The lad got over-excited when he saw the whites of the goalpost's eyes."
16. Ron Greenwood - "There's no way Ryan Giggs is another George Best. He's another Ryan Giggs."
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15. Martin Hodge - "I spent four indifferent years at Goodison Park, but they were great years."
14. Terry Venables - "If history is going to repeat itself I should think we can expect the same thing again."
13. Dave Bassett - "It was that game that put the Everton ship back on the road."
12. Gerry Francis – “What I said to them at half time would be unprintable on the radio”
11. Ron Atkinson - "I would not say he [David Ginola] is the best left winger in the Premiership, but there are none better."
10. Charlie Nicholas - “Zola can relieve himself now he’s 3-0 up”
9. John Motson - "Merseyside derbies usually last 90 minutes and I'm sure today's won't be any different."
8. Bobby Gould – “We are really quite lucky this year because Christmas falls on Christmas Day.”
7. Mike Ingham – “I don't know if that result's enough to lift Birmingham off the bottom of the table, although it'll certainly take them above Sunderland.”
6. Chris Kamara - "Nicky Shorey is the provider but Shane Long has made this all on his own"
5. Andy Gray - "I was saying the other day, how often the most vulnerable area for goalies is between their legs..."
4. Ron Saunders – “As I see it, if you're going to commit suicide, you don't do it yourself.”
3. Tom Ferrie - "Dumbarton player Steve McCahill has limped off with a badly cut forehead."
2. Terry Venables – “I felt a lump in my mouth as the ball went in.”
1. Jimmy Hill - "And there's Ray Clemence looking as cool as ever out in the cold."