Watch your house

Do people still shout "house" when someone is behind the player on the ball in football?

I recently went back to playing 5 a side in Scotland, and people looked at me like I was mad when I called it. Is it a purely an Irish thing, or does it just date me as a child of the 90s?

132 points Old-Handle-2911

Still a thing, but I think it's just an Irish thing. "Man on" would be the equivalent in Scotland, at least when I was living there

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25 points ArcaneTrickster11

Never heard of "house" living in Cork. It's always been man on for me

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8 points JuryBorn

I always thought it was a Dublin thing. Never heard it anywhere else.

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2 points No_Funny_9157

Im from Cork. Watch your house was always a thing. still is.

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5 points Action_Limp

Yeah, "Man on" is what I have heard in London as well.

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1 points Common-Regret-4120

I hate "Man on". I always look around to try figure out what they're talking about.

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106 points DarthMauly

Playing a game last week and one lad kept roaring “SHAPE” every time we lost the ball. My guy there’s 5 of us, 1 is in goal and 2 of the remaining 4 are so unfit we can barely track back…

We do not have a defensive shape to get back in to.

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13 points sealed-human

Played against a team that quite fancied themselves, one would-be Baresi shouting 'trigger!' whenever he felt he saw a pressing trigger to be exploited.. at informal 5a side

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16 points DarthMauly

They are gas really.

I’d end up just calling that fella Trigger going forward.

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15 points peadar87

Luckily the group I found are incredibly chilled. About the only thing you'll get shouted at for us a slide tackle

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5 points 42random42

Round is a shape

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5 points PawoftheCoop

Tbf I’ve played 5s with a solid group for about 9 years and the biggest difference I notice in our group v newcomers is the ability to go with your man and get into a shape. So many decent technical lads, much better footballers than me, show up and their teams lose because they don’t (/wont?!) track their runners

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4 points tipp77

The classic five a side player who lets someone run past them and shouts at you to pick them up when you already have someone

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3 points antoconno

🤣🤣 chap has aspirations for you all

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3 points Dull_Brain2688

There’s always one melt who thinks he’s the lynchpin organising the team. Shouting at everyone. They’re usually shite and unfit but such an arsehole nobody wants to tell them.

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121 points Alan_BETA

I just call 'man on'.

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149 points peadar87

Yeah that seems to be the standard over here now as well.

Except for that one American who was saying "check your six". Alright, Top Gun!

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28 points Independent-Water321

"Hit the brakes - he'll fly right by, Deano!"

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19 points Cliff_Moher

Deano, it's not your playing, it's your attitude. The oppostion's dangerous, but right now you're worse. Dangerous and foolish. You may not like who's playng with you, but whose side are you on?

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24 points peadar87

"Tower, this is Deano requesting bicycle kick."

"Negative, Deano, the pattern is full"

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7 points marshsmellow

"I feel the need, the need to never track back!"

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62 points shorelined

That should be a life ban for him

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32 points BigLaddyDongLegs

Bogey on your tail!

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6 points Harvester_of_Cattle9

Fight and win!

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8 points SharkeyGeorge

“Son, your ego is writing checks your body can't cash.”

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6 points Relation_Familiar

Bandits 8 o clock

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3 points daithi_zx10r

Sounds good, what channel?

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3 points Thick_Koka_Noodle

https://youtube.com/shorts/63tSjy3In1s?si=5Br0Xvu0cR8rb3BO

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2 points Ropaire

I'm your wingman Maverick

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2 points peadar87

*I'm your wingback

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1 points NowForYa

Hahaha

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-2 points marshsmellow

Hmm, that's sounds much better tbh

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5 points Jakdublin

Fun fact. I go to matches in Bulgaria and they shout ‘coming’ (idva идва)

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1 points Ahhhhrg

In Sweden we shouted “watch/mind your back”.

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2 points in_body_mass_alone

I've done coaching badges and worked with some junior football teams in Galway. I've noticed, and encouraged, it better used by calling 'man on' when the player is receiving a pass, to notify them of the pressure from another player.

Then using 'house' when a player is on the ball or carrying to notify him off the pressure.

So the 2 terms aren't (well, shouldn't be) interchangable, but context specific.

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0 points VilTheVillain

"Man on" or "watch", watch was more in PE in school and only a few of us used it

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133 points Yosarrian_lives

Nobody can afford a house anymore.

"Bedsit" is the norm.

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30 points Rekt60321

I usually shout 'shed in the back garden'

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8 points Scumbag__

‘Co-living space’

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13 points Yosarrian_lives

"Only 900 a month"

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1 points Nicklefickle

Shouting out, "your Ma's" might start trouble.

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2 points Separate_Noise_8

Sleepin in me jag on pills for me nerves

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23 points Housed_clouds

I used to play 5 a side when I lived in Scotland also with another Irish lad, and we would always shout house. Took us a couple of games to realise nobody had a clue what we were shouting.

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13 points marshsmellow

Hooose!

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3 points Small_Sundae_4245

Who let that moose loose around the hoose.

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2 points Feariontach1798

Says more about them than you two!!!

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15 points Seargentyates

Watch your house! was frequent when i was kid

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12 points Automatic-Scale-7572

I always assumed 'house' is a Dublin thing. I remember a Dublin lad coming down to West Cork and shouting it, and we were all very confused! It was always 'man on' or 'back' to us.

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5 points VoluntaryJetsFan

Definitely was a thing in Donegal when I was a kid

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2 points Dull_Brain2688

Was used in Sligo in the 80s and 90s. Hear it less now.

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10 points GuaranteeNo2494

That and the secret weapon:

'GET RID OF IT!!!!'

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16 points Galway1012

“Teach” sa Ghaeltachtí

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14 points peadar87

Maaaannnn, that's just unlocked a hidden memory.

That, and everyone shouting "anseo! anseo!"

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2 points TorpleFunder

*sna Gaeltachtaí

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8 points Thick_Koka_Noodle

I heard it in Anfield recently but I used to say it all the time as a kid playing football and I'm an aul lad now

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17 points Backrow6

I love the notion of Jimmy in Row Q shouting "HOUSE!" before Van Dijk deftly avoids an incoming defender and salutes Jimmy.

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8 points peadar87

I'm as bad. Roaring "show him the line" at a full back in a stadium with 20,000. Because if I hadn't done that he would clearly have just scratched is balls and let the winger waltz into the area

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7 points eusap22

Listening to the Bishop Exchange podcast recently and Des said the same thing he tried using it in the US and people thought he was crazy

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7 points nt2btrstd

Am also from the 90s, but in the north, “house” or “watch your house” was very common, also “switch it” as in switch it to the other wing was common too

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2 points BarnBeard

I am from the north but from the 70s, we always shouted 'man on'. I only heard 'house' when i moved south, it makes sense, always knew what it meant when it was shouted.

Maybe it's a west of the Bann thing as well

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1 points nt2btrstd

Just curious about this but when you say from the 70s do you mean that’s when you were a teen? That’s what I mean from being from the 90s, but not sure if that’s what everyone else takes or as

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1 points BarnBeard

I was born in the 70s, played properly in the 80s, last time I kicked a ball in earnest, around 2009. Probably 1979 before someone shouted 'man on' at me on the primary school all weather bog pitch.

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1 points nt2btrstd

Ah maybe I’m using it wrong, I was born in 79, but didn’t really hear it until I was playing in my teens in the early to mid 90s really

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1 points peadar87

Switch is still definitely a thing.

But I've been hearing "big switch" and "little switch", which I'm fairly sure is new

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3 points _BangoSkank_

https://youtu.be/cBhzj1g-PBM?is=Lv2gtfRfFVRqulyJ This was the official song for USA 94 so this should prove it's not an obscure saying

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6 points BlackandAmber48

'House, House!!!' ... ahh the good old days.

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5 points Backrow6

I'm in my 40s now and was never a very devoted football fan. Still played thousands of hours on the road growing up and it was always "House". Then when I started work in my 20s I got invited to a few 5 a side games and noticed football hipsters all started shouting "Man On". They were all my age too but something had shifted.

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10 points TwoRelative4870

They shout "temporary Accomodation" these days

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11 points peadar87

Is that why the national side's results haven't been so great recently? By the time someone has shouted "childhood bed in your ma and dad's gaff", the Armenians have already won the ball.

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5 points Think-Juggernaut8859

From Tipp. We said House/Man on. Who ya marking on corners. Get Out once the corner was cleared. Time when no one near ya.

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1 points peadar87

Yeah "time", or "take a touch".

Defending set pieces it was "find a man", and then "box", "spot" or "D" depending on where any free men were.

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5 points Calm-Raise6973

Very commonly used by youth coaches in the 80s and 90s before "Man on" replaced it. Now I want to listen to Aslan's "Watch Your House in the USA", the forgotten Irish football song (and truthfully, not the best).

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6 points DaBoda99

Used to say it the whole time when we were young. Now as an U8 coach we teach the kids 'affordable 3 bed houses to rent starting at 1500pm'

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4 points CoffeeTableReads

I called it house growing up and playing in early 20's, moved abroad and took a while to get used to "Man On".

Have played a couple of games back in Dublin and was surprised at the demise of house and the use of Man On instead. Sad times.

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2 points peadar87

Sad times indeed.

Next you'll be telling me they don't call that sliding-on-your-front celebration a "Klinsmann" any more

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4 points Jellyfish00001111

I have never heard this term before. I'm from Cork.

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5 points Weekly_One1388

In China, the translation roughly comes out to something like ‘there’s a ghost’ meaning someone is behind you.

The same word can also be a derogatory term for someone not from China, once led to a very funny mix up between a game I played in between some Chinese and foreigners haha

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7 points Separate_Ad_6094

"man on". Never heard of "house".

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4 points Toffeeman_1878

House was / is an Irishism. Man on is mostly used over the water. So, most of the Scottish lads playing with OP would not understand “house”.

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2 points Separate_Ad_6094

Haven't ever heard of house. It's definitely "man on" in my 45 years playing in ireland

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2 points Luimneach17

Same, in Limerick I only ever heard man on

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2 points _BangoSkank_

Really? You never heard anyone say it !! 45 years playing football so are probably early mid 50s is a bit strange. It's not an obscure saying it was literally the name of the Ireland song from USA 94 https://youtu.be/cBhzj1g-PBM?is=Lv2gtfRfFVRqulyJ

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2 points shellakabookie

Im with ye,never once in my life have I heard house only man on,how is man on an over the water thing 🤣

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0 points Separate_Ad_6094

No clue 😅 The only variation I have ever heard is "man into you".

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3 points ApplicationSouth8844

I had no idea this was a thing?

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3 points Smiley_Dub

Ah keep going with house. Haven't heard that in YEARS!

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3 points ManchurianCandidate5

Never heard that in my life.

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3 points SureNose7879

I've never even heard of it.

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6 points Aggravating_Maize556

Or the lesser sighted Dublin equivalent of "GAFF"

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5 points going_gorillas

I am also a child of the 90's and we were coached to shout 'man on' or 'man on, HARD'. Usually when I heard someone roaring HOUSE it was if we played against a team from quite rural places so we considered it to be something more GAA related.

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9 points eastawat

Mad, I assumed it was a Dublin thing, was "man on" in my school in East Cork in the 90s-00s, only encountered House when I moved to Dublin.

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2 points VoluntaryJetsFan

I said to someone else, but everyone said house in Donegal

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2 points Delboytrotter1990

I say man on and time if they have time to turn on the ball

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2 points adderallstars

We say "man on"

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2 points Ill_Watercress9387

Thanks for the nostalgia. I havn’t shouted “HOUSE” at someone in about 12 years.

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2 points Buzzkill_Moron

I would say “house” yeah.

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2 points The_Ruck_Inspector

I remember someone shouting house and turning around and taking one of them Man Utd street soccer balls right to the swede.

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2 points Snorefezzzz

Man on. Didn't here house in years 🤣 . I have a big problem with centre ball after a goal is scored . No one understands , they use tip off , but that is basketball , I think . Is Restart the correct term after a goal ?

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7 points peadar87

Yeah I think restart is the word in the rule book. We always used to say "tip".

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2 points FelipeFlop

Used to play in an amateur theatre league back in the day.

We usually shouted "he's behind you!".

Then the opposition would shout "oh no he isn't!".

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2 points Fit_Concentrate3253

Always 'man on'. Housey was offside.

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7 points BavidDeckham

I think you’ve misunderstood… People shout “How’s he?” As in “How is he ref?”

I remember a ref answering mid match, “He’s fine thanks for asking!”

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1 points Fit_Concentrate3253

What???? All my life!!!!! Jesus do I feel stupid!!

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3 points Grouchy_Leg_1618

'Housey'🤦. I've been sick the last couple of days and this has cheered me right up.😂

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0 points Fit_Concentrate3253

I'm glad I could be of service. I just informed one of the lads about my stupidity and I think I may have to go to his house to peel him from the floor!

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1 points kaiserspike

Been a while since I’ve heard that

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1 points iHyPeRize

Definitely an Irish thing, "watch your house" would be what I grew up with. I'm sure there's some alternative the 13 year olds use today.

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1 points Cilly2010

I be still shouting "watch your house", even in Croke Park when's there's no hope anyone on the field would hear me.

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1 points Galway1012

Yeah I still shout it!

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1 points MrAndyJay

Man on

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1 points Shiners_1

"mind your house" or "man on" are my go tos for that.

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1 points Craximum

I was always a staunch "house" man. "man on" takes longer to say which defeats the point of alerting the player

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1 points TorpleFunder

House was used as word for the box when I was young. You could mind your own house or knock it in around the house (opponents box).

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1 points Low-Steak-64

I still shout watch your house and lousy reff ha joking not the reff part but I remember that in the early 90s from the side line.

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1 points irishinsweden

Say no more - Watch your house for Ireland https://youtu.be/-QdEKf2_pY8?si=T92RrUnrjSiS4r4R

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1 points Elninoo90

Switch the ball ya kont

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1 points Full_Moon_Fish

it went from house to man on, and nut meg , to just nuts

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1 points cm-cfc

As a Scot playing here. I'd never heard it but it's still widely used in the 30-40 age group

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1 points Trubisky4MVP

“How is he ref?” When asking if there’s an offside when there’s no linesman

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1 points Pongo-

I'm 33. Stopped playing football at 21, but it was always house. Never heard man on before!😄

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1 points VoluntaryJetsFan

I thought I was going mad when I shouted house in England snd no one had a clue what I meant

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1 points baboito5177

Switch, touch and house.

Play the ball across the wing. Play the ball to me. And "watch your six" as the American chap said 😂

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1 points _BangoSkank_

https://youtu.be/cBhzj1g-PBM?is=Lv2gtfRfFVRqulyJ The Ireland song from USA 94

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2 points theslosty

Not instead of 'man on', but my GAA team in Belfast would shout 'mind the house' to instruct somebody to stay in front of the goal and defend it.

Or in possession, 'house ball' as in turn away from whatever corner you're in and feed the ball backwards to the defence

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1 points Mysterious_Half1890

Man on

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2 points Previous-Comment-552

We'd say Man On more these days

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1 points Previous-Comment-552

We should have a glossary for these terms

Square it Man on House Recycle Top bins

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1 points AmsterPup

Jasus, you've just brought me back to the 80s playin ball... House!

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1 points luigiinit

Yeah... Doesn't everyone....

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1 points BestHoCoInBelfast

"back in your childhood bedroom in your late 20s" was what we'd usually say but that's 7 a side so might be different rules

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1 points New-Acanthisitta2320

"House" is still very much in use in Wexford anyway.

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1 points Potential-Fan-5036

Mind your house!! That’s what we say in Monaghan.

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1 points MrPuffer23

You should have shouted Hoose.

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1 points Herr-Pyxxel

Winning comment 🏆

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1 points OneEyedWilly1969

Yeah I’m from Dublin and we always said house.

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1 points nowyahaveit

Yeah always house for me anywhere in Ireland I watched soccer. Even gaelic

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2 points DayFucker

it's just an Irish thing and I think it's just "HOUSE!!" now around our place

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-2 points Elbon

Never heard anyone ever shout house

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0 points thatswildhey

Back door, back door

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0 points MeinIRL

House doesn't mean man on Man on means watch out there's someone coming up behind you House means "lads get back and defend" Like watch the house, defend.

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