Innehållsförteckning för June 2015 från FourFourTwo UK

The subject of Harry Kane being on the cover of FFT first cropped up in late November. The Spurs striker had spent the month establishing himself in Mauricio Pochettino’s Premier League squad, playing with an unreserved enthusiasm that appeared to be winning fans at White Hart Lane and beyond. He was young, English and likeable: definite cover star potential. It was too soon, however. After all, the last time we had a Spurs player front and centre on the cover was December 2004 (you knew that, right?) when a young Jermain Defoe had firmly established his top-flight goal-getting credentials. Kane wasn’t quite there yet. He had to prove himself over a full season before we could commit. Then December rolls along, and he continues to find…

It’s fair to say that Brentford’s trophy cabinet is the Acton Poundland to Chelsea’s Harrods – even the most blinkered Bees fan would admit that, however much of a coup the 1894-95 West Middlesex Cup was. But a dedicated group of Bees are intent on reclaiming one trophy the West Londoners believe has been residing at Stamford Bridge for far too long. As the name would suggest, the London War Cup was played for two years from 1940 while plucky Blighty fought Nazi Germany. Twelve months after losing the first final to Reading (which isn’t actually in London), Brentford won the 1942 edition in front of 72,000 fans at Wembley against Portsmouth (which really isn’t in London). “There was a scarcity of solid nourishment in the refreshment bars; but otherwise…

Goalkeeper Mr Fantastic Strengths Stretchy limbs Weaknesses Typical goalkeeper’s ego – ‘Mr Fantastic’, indeed Full-back Wolverine Strengths Rapid healing and fond of a tussle Weaknesses Bookings – more than Ticketmaster Sweeper Frozone Strengths Stays cool under pressure Weaknesses Melts under heat; Qatar 2022 a no-go Centre-back The Hulk Strengths Huge Weaknesses Same colour as pitch, which confuses TV audience Full-back Hawkman Strengths A flyer, and good in the air Weaknesses Easily distracted by field mice Midfield general Captain America Strengths Points, shouts Weaknesses Not actually a general Playmaker Superman Strengths Breathtaking range of abilities Weaknesses Female journalists Winger The Flash Strengths Bloody quick Weaknesses End product is unpredictable – Aaron Lennon, basically In the hole The Invisible Woman Strengths Hard to pick up Weaknesses Can go missing during games Targetman…

You played with Harry Kane from a young age. Did you know he’d be this good? Harry always had that knack for scoring goals. This is a club with a long history of great goalscorers, and I think Harry has all the qualities to be up there with the best of them. Has the scrutiny on Harry this season helped you to get on with things quietly? Harry deserves all the credit coming his way because he works so hard. He’s been given the opportunity and he’s taken it. But you might be right: maybe I do enjoy all the fuss being about him. I can go about my business; get on with things. We hear that Harry is “one of our own” every week but…

MEMPHIS DEPAY, 21 PSV Eindhoven, Winger August 2014 Depay is a man in demand after scoring two goals as a substitute at the World Cup, but he decides to stay at PSV for another season. He delights supporters with his decision and also his early-season displays, hitting five goals in the opening three matches of the season. September Goes off injured after 18 minutes at PEC Zwolle, and in his absence PSV suffer their first league defeat of the season. A groin injury keeps him out for the rest of the month. October Receives criticism from manager Phillip Cocu for taking off his shirt after scoring in a 1-1 Europa League draw with Panathinaikos. “He should not do that. It’s not smart,” Cocu grumbles. November Shows his humanitarian side after…

What is a leveraged buyout? A leveraged buyout is when you put up just a fraction of the cash that a business is being sold for and borrow the rest. Should that be allowed? As a general business procedure, I think so. There’s reasonable evidence that leveraged-buyout owners are good at extracting value. The Glazers did it to the book. Leveraged-buyout owners tend to own a company for seven years; they extract money, increase cash flow and cut or keep costs low. They then aim to float the business at a profit, with the debt repaid using money from a stock market launch. So what’s the problem? If you look at the rise of the Premier League, United could have been as good as Barça in the last decade. Since…

NOT FED TO REFEREE A study in Spain found there was no significant difference in the calorie intake of 35 referees between their regular diet, what they ate when training and on matchdays. Researchers concluded they were undernourished and at a greater risk of injury by not taking on more carbohydrates ahead of a match. DON’T HANG UP THOSE BOOTS YET US researchers claim the longer we play football, the better it is for the brain. Regular games and training sessions contribute to greater brain tissue volume in later life – a sure-fire way of fending off cognitive decline. CUP THAI Thai massage has been found to improve the performance of footballers in a number of physical fitness tests, including VO2 Max and sprint speeds. Effects of the massage were…

FACT FILE Full name Benedict Saul McCarthy Date of birth 12/11/1977 Place of birth Cape Town, South Africa Height 6ft Position Striker Clubs played for 1995-97 Seven Stars 56 games (38 goals); 1997-99 Ajax 53 (23); 1999-2003 Celta Vigo 78 (17); 2002-06 Porto 78 (29); 2006-2010 Blackburn Rovers 140 (52); 2010-11 West Ham United 14 (0); 2011-13 Orlando Pirates 39 (13) International career 1997-2012 South Africa 80 (31) Honours Champions League 2004; Intercontinental Cup 2004; Eredivisie 1998; KNVB Cup 1998, 1999; Primeira Liga 2004, 2006; Taca de Portugal 2006; Telkom Knockout 2011; Premier Soccer League 2012 Images of South African striker Benedict Saul ‘Benni’ McCarthy wearing a kilt “the proper way” isn’t quite what we expected. But then the former striker has called Edinburgh home since retiring in 2013. “I…

59.9% His win percentage at Spurs is the highest of their Prem-era bosses (league matches only) MILD CHEDDAR Tim’s favoured variety of cheese “BUT WE HAVE TIM SHERWOOD” Jack Walker’s response when Kenny Dalglish asked for funds to sign promising Frenchman Zinedine Zidane WHAT TIM BRINGS TO THE DRESSING ROOM 1. Blood 5% 2. Thunder 5% 3. Passion 5% 4. Gut 5% 5. Banter 5% 6. Gilets 75% GOONER He grew up as an Arsenal fan and his dad is an Emirates season ticket holder BECKHAM Tim’s second and last career red cards were for elbowing Becks in the head. Ouch! 483 Senior league appearances as a player 50 Goals scored 390,712 Loops of the Who Da Man? Sherwood/Richard Blackwood mashup Vine ONE-WORD TIMELINE 1969 Elstree 1985 Grit 1987 Hornet…

The Ugly Game Heidi Blake & Jonathan Calvert (Simon & Schuster , £18.99) When the 2022 World Cup was given to the tiny desert state of Qatar, the shock reverberated around the football globe. Many smelled a rat, but the Sunday Times’ multi-award-winning Insight team found it. Truly stunning journalism. Best quote “Blatter was furious. The FIFA family did not air its dirty linen in public. That was how it survived.” Stuck on You Greg Lansdowne (Pitch, £12.99) Simply sticking pictures of footballers and stadiums into a notepad it may be, but it’s the warm-hearted sense of duty, love and care that makes collecting stickers – and Lansdowne’s history of the art – so appealing. Has anyone got Stuart Nethercott to swap? Best quote “Like Gollum in pursuit of the…

My heroes growing up were Maradona and Zico. They were the best, like Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo now. I also had a coach called Diogo when I was young, who taught me and the other kids a lot of things – the passion to play, how to pass and control the ball. Outside of football? No heroes, but maybe Michael Jordan. Oh, and Ayrton Senna, too! The best player I ever played with is Ronaldinho. Ronny did things I’d never seen. When we’d be winning a game, we’d start to enjoy ourselves and he’d bring it all out. We had a lot of good times in four years together at Barça and we’re still good friends. The one player I wanted to play with was Zidane. He was my generation.…

1 What unwanted record did Martin Skrtel set in 2013-14? 2 Borussia Dortmund are known as Die Schwarzgelben (The Black-and-Yellows), but what club colours did they have until 1913? 3 Name the five England players from the ’66 World Cup Final XI who started the quarter-final four years later when they were knocked out by West Germany. 4 What was so special about Alvin Martin’s hat-trick during West Ham’s 8-1 win against Newcastle in April 1986? 5 Which two A-League clubs contest the Big Blue derby? 6 Which League Two club play at Field Mill? 7 Edu Silva had a trial with Colwyn Bay in July 2014. To which of Manchester United’s signings that summer is he related: Ander Herrera, Angel Di Maria or Radamel Falcao? 8 Which English footballing…

THE DEBATE OVER THE SUB KEEPER PIONEER RAGES ON I have just read Andy Dunkling’s letter about Louis van Gaal, Caruso Lombardi and Paul Sturrock’s tactic of substituting on a reserve goalkeeper just before a penalty shootout [FFT 250] and was most intrigued by the letter’s claims that Sturrock was the brains behind the idea. In fact, Osvaldo Jaconi was the first coach to employ the tactic, in minnows Castel di Sangro’s fairytale promotion to Serie B in 1996. After 120 minutes of the play-off decider against Ascoli, Jaconi sent on reserve keeper Pietro Spinosa – who hadn’t played a minute all season – for the shootout. First-choice keeper Roberto De Juliis left the pitch in tears, and the 33-year-old substitute saved the decisive penalty. Jaconi won the division’s Manager…

FRANCIS JEFFERS “Francis is a fox in the box,” proclaimed Arsene Wenger in 2001, having plumped for the Everton poacher, then 20, ahead of Ruud van Nistelrooy. It proved to be the kiss of death. Relatively prolific for Everton, Jeffers never looked the right fit for the Gunners’ fluid forward line, although he did at least manage to score on his only England appearance, alongside fellow debutant Wayne Rooney. FREDDY ADU At 25, Adu should be in his prime. A recent move to the Finnish Premier League suggests he’s fallen short. ‘The New Pele’ became the youngest player in MLS history, debuting aged 14 after moving to the US from Ghana six years earlier. Sporadic brilliance led to a high-profile move to Benfica in 2007, but he barely featured during…

NO Pete Molyneux Season ticket holder and author of Ta Ra Fergie, having held up thatbanner in 1989 The fallout from Sir Alex Ferguson’s row with [John] Magnier and [JP] McManus probably hastened the Glazer transaction. You’d have to admit the whole affair had an impact on the club and team. You can’t have a situation in any business where a senior manager is at loggerheads with the largest shareholder to the point where legal action is underway. It was a dangerous chapter in Manchester United’s history. Ferguson was distracted – if you look at United’s purchases in that time, Eric Djemba-Djemba, David Bellion, Alan Smith, Liam Miller and Kleberson weren’t Manchester United calibre – but he was bound to be: he was battling for a stake of a multi-million…

“I looked around Wembley during the 2010 League Cup Final and saw the United end with our fans – 30,000 to 40,000 of them. Green and gold scarves were everywhere; it looked like Aston Villa against Norwich. For the first time since the Glazer family takeover, I thought: ‘Our fans are really not happy here.’ The players spoke about it privately, but never publicly. That would never have been approved. The green and gold scarves appeared at the start of 2010. I first started seeing them when fans asked us for autographs after matches. I thought: ‘Why is a Norwich fan asking me for an autograph?’ I knew fans were wearing them in the stadium, but they didn’t stand out at first. Over the months the numbers grew. David Beckham…

‘From Bombay to Bulgaria’ might sound like a dodgy B-movie airing on late-night Channel 5, but it’s actually the story of Renedy Singh, India’s answer to David Beckham. But even Beckham didn’t have a writer to follow him around. Singh probably thought life couldn’t get any weirder than having David James as his manager at Kerala Blasters in the Indian Super League, but then the 35-year-old signed a deal with CSKA Sofia, making him the first Indian to play in Bulgaria’s top division. Known for his ability to curl in free-kicks like England’s former captain, the Bollywood Becks was welcomed to Sofia in style – and his every move could be tracked by India’s hundreds of millions of football fans thanks to the close attention paid by Singh’s own ghostwriter:…

Why all the fuss? The Game of Thrones-esque deadly rivalry shared by Persib’s Viking ultras and the Jakmania of Persija adds spice to this ‘Old Indonesia Derby’ between two of the country’s most famous clubs. The two groups often clash before, during and after games, making this more of a conflict between fans than the teams themselves. Reasons for aggro Javan pride is everything when this pair lock horns: two of the archipelago’s most successful clubs share the same island representing two of Indonesia’s biggest cities, national capital Jakarta and nearby Bandung. The derby hosts a rivalry that spans over 80 years: Persija were founded in 1928 and Persib followed five years later. Maddest moment A 2-2 draw in May 2012 saw three fans beaten to death amid violence inside…

James Milner Manchester City’s 53-cap England international “Don’t think about the game constantly. It’s important to get the balance right. Two days before the game, think about who you’re playing against. If you know you’re playing at right-back and you’ll be facing someone like Eden Hazard, get his habits in your mind – the sort of runs he makes; which foot he uses. I visualise possible situations. For example, if my opponent is always trying to get onto his left foot, I’ll try to force him onto his right. If I’m on the left wing, I picture what I’m going to do with the ball – if it’s coming at me I might either try to fling it round the corner first time, or take on the full-back. If visualising…

“You try to be as sharp as you can against players like Sergio Aguero and Jermain Defoe. They are very quick and explosive. You’ve got to get in the right positions and try to stay one step ahead. Always try to stay on your feet. If you go to ground and don’t time it right, you’re in big trouble and out of the game. Get help from your team-mates. Make sure there’s someone in behind covering, because if it comes down to a one-on-one race, there’s only going to be one winner, isn’t there? It’s as simple as that: whoever is quickest wins. You have to shepherd strikers like Aguero away from goal and show them onto their weaker foot. If you’re not built like them, but big and tall,…

1 You skip the gym Giving the bench press the occasional swerve is natural. But if you suddenly don’t fancy working out at all, you might be severely frazzled. In this case, a change is as good as a rest. “Take time off and find another activity that gives you a sense of satisfaction,” recommends performance coach Richard Nugent of Twenty One Leadership. “Try a different sport or just take some walks outside. While your body recovers, you can discover a new motivation.” 2 You can’t walk It’s all well and good to ‘feel the burn’, but if you’re still a physical wreck three days later, you probably require a rethink. “After high-intensity training you can be looking at 48 hours of muscular soreness,” says Mike Watts, Aston Villa’s head…

GK SHAY GIVEN He was great throughout the time I played with him at Newcastle. I think that as a shot-stopper he’s slightly better than David Seaman, but a lot of people will disagree with me! CB PHILIPPE ALBERT Albert was the best ball-playing centre-back I have ever seen. If you have the ability to chip a goal over Peter Schmeichel, one of the best goalkeepers in the world, you are outstanding. CB TONY ADAMS If you ask any centre-forward from my era which defender they hated facing the most, the answer would always be Tony Adams. He was the best man-marker I ever played with. CB STUART PEARCE He was known as a left-back but was equally adept as a centre-back. At Newcastle he gave 100 per cent in…

Is it a bird? Is it a plane? No, it’s Superman! Wearing chunky trainers, carrying a sports bag and striding onto a five-a-side pitch – just about the last person you’d want to see picking up an opposition bib, surely. That said, everyone else involved is packing powers, too: Spiderman, Wonder Woman, Cyclops, Iron Man, Magneto, plus several super-endowed film and game characters. And this Man of Steel didn’t make a particularly awesome first impression, anyway. “Ah, you should’ve seen the first Superman suit they got me,” sighs his latest alter ego, Chris Romrell. “It was awful. I actually had to run out and buy a new one, right there.” Right, let us explain. Romrell runs the CBR stunt team, who performed numerous spectacular, sometimes hazardous, feats for the mighty…

Sam Hopkinson Quantity surveyor, 23 Kevin Davies 38-year-old Preston and former England striker Q: Preston last won the FA Cup in which year? SH: Erm, tough one. Definitely before my time! Was it 1954? KD: There was a lot of FA Cup discussion when Man United came to Deepdale. 1957? [Correct answer: 1938] 0-0 Q: Before February’s FA Cup tie, when did Preston last play Man United competitively? SH: There was talk of this recently. 1974? KD: I think I remember hearing it was around 27 years ago. 1988? [Correct answer: 1972] 0-0 Q: Which team beat Preston in the 2005 play-off final? SH: West Ham. I couldn’t believe it. We were so close! KD: No idea, as I think we have lost nine times in the play-offs in recent…

REAL PLAYERS Joe Ledley @joe16led Great dogging from the boys tonight massive 3 points on to the next 1. #39points Elliott Bennett @Ebenno88 This politics thing quite interesting Cristiano Ronaldo @Cristiano Good news about my #CR7Underwear. Microfiber fabric is now available, making it very comfortable, light and soft. Neville Southall @NevilleSouthall Hi my name is neville Southall and I wondered if it was possible to have a chat for some advice regarding a project I am working on Thanks THE FAKES James Milner @BoringMilner I said to Harry Kane that his name sounds a bit like Hurricane if you say it fast. He said Haha that’s funny, James. I said It’s hilarious. YOU @FOURFOURTWO Ali Snedden @sneddenofficial #FourFourTwo at the #BarcaAlmeria game, Klopp->Wenger swap deal please! William Triffitt @WRTriffitt21 I…

PARIS Paul Piquard So Foot “Many people in France have some doubts about Harry Kane; the French media believe the English get excited too quickly about young English footballers, who then never confirm their quality – for example, Andy Carroll or Tom Cleverley. Nonetheless, he was quickly given the nickname ‘Prince Harry’. I think he still has some progress to make, but his qualities are similar to those of Zlatan Ibrahimovic. He’s tall but technically gifted, and he seems to enjoy dropping back a little on the field to play as a No.10. I actually think Kane would be a fantastic replacement for Zlatan when he eventually leaves Paris Saint-Germain. He certainly fits perfectly with PSG’s transfer policy of buying young, promising talents with huge potential – think Javier Pastore,…

FELIPE ANDERSON, 22 Attacking midfielder, Lazio It seems crazy now, but five years ago the Santos star everybody in Brazil wanted to see selected for the 2010 World Cup wasn’t Neymar, but Paulo Henrique Ganso. The left-footed midfield schemer was the youngster considered most likely to achieve superstar Selecao status. Ganso’s subsequent stagnation hasn’t just been a blow to ‘the Goose’ himself, but also to the player who, at the age of 17, was being touted as his heir. Felipe Anderson, Lazio’s new midfield sensation, was previously labelled ‘the new Ganso’ and has also been compared to Cristiano Ronaldo, with La Gazzetta dello Sport hailing him as ‘a phenomenon’. Most people back in Brazil still find all this hard to believe. The playmaker’s potential has always been evident, but he…

The Madness of King George Ex-safecracker George Reynolds was welcomed by fans of basement boys Darlington in 1999. He promised Premier League football and built a new stadium, before promptly threatening and banning anybody who dared to criticise him. Reynolds became unpopular with Quakers fans as the team stagnated, stepping aside after the club went into administration in 2003. He was banged up for tax evasion two years later. Darlo dropped out of the Football League in 2010 and went bust in 2012. The explosive Don of Zagreb “I’m going to stick YouTube on my d**k,” said Zdravko Mamic in 2007. It was the irascible Dinamo Zagreb chief’s response to clips of fans calling for his head. In 2011 Dithe Bad Blue Boys, Dinamo’s ultras, stormed a press conference to…

From the Prince of Denmark to the Wolf of Wolfsburg, he’s had a few nicknames – but for many Arsenal fans he remains, however ironically, Lord Bendtner. And recently, one magazine decided to take that moniker literally. Danish mag Se og Hor (See & Hear) purchased a plot of land in Glencoe, Scotland to make the striker an actual lord (OK, technically a ‘laird’, but close enough). Their £29.99 landed him an official title – cue social media hysterics – and a square foot of grass, bestowed by Highland Titles Ltd. Well, it’s the thought that counts. And it’s the thought alone that counts, because sadly the land bought for Bendtner doesn’t legally constitute the addition of that craved honorific title. Indeed, the Advertising Standards Authority said: “We told Highland…

Why should I care? They’ve been blessed by God Himself. Zlatan? No, the God. The team was created on church grounds by a Catholic priest called Lorenzo Massa, hence the name. And nowadays they’re endorsed by the man closest to God. Zlatan? No! Pope Francis. The Argentine is a big San Lorenzo fan. He seems to have brought divine intervention with him: they won the first tournament they competed in after he became Pope, and then their first ever Copa Libertadores a year later. And what if I don’t believe in God? Well, do you believe in Lord of the Rings? Because actor Viggo Mortensen [below], who played Aragorn and lived in Argentina as a child, supports San Lorenzo, too. Not that the films come close to capturing the Middle-earth…

An hour before curtain up, Graham Potter is still reading his lines. It’s the opening night of the play he’s starring in and it’s a sellout. Potter isn’t an actor, though. He manages Ostersunds FK in the Swedish second tier and is preparing to perform in front of their fans. While OFK’s next league game is only days away, the boss is more concerned with treading the boards than tactical tinkering. “The night of the show, everyone’s nervous: no one wants to fluff their lines,” he says. “When you finish and people clap, it’s like winning a match.” This is team bonding taken to a new level. From bagging the lead roles in their own stage production to holding an art exhibition of their daubs, Ostersunds’ players spend their time…

MASTERCLASS Aaron Ramsey Arsenal midfielder The all-action Gunner reveals the attributes you need to take control of midfield and overrun the opposition. PRO TIPS Marta Brazilian legend Secrets of the game from the best female footballer ever (11 Player of the Year Top 3s in a row and counting...) RECOVERY Michael Watts Aston Villa coach Guard against training too hard and suffering from burnout with help from Villa Park’s head of performance. POST-SEASON Paul McVeigh Ex-Norwich ace How to kick on for next season after a great campaign – or get over a bad one.…

1 Improve staying power Do the hard work in pre-season “As a midfielder you need to be able to break up play, win the ball back and start attacks, and to do this you need to be very fit. Build the foundations of your fitness before the season starts. I do a mixture of interval training and long-distance runs. This gives me a benchmark before I return for pre-season training. I keep on top of that throughout the campaign. If we don’t have a midweek match I try to get in an extra session to blow away the cobwebs.” 2 Hone your top half Build a body for battle “If you are physically powerful, you’re harder to knock off the ball. I like to do an upper body gym session…