Get your hands on the latest edition of FourFourTwo magazine – available in print and on iPad and iPhone from Wednesday, April 5
It’s sometimes easy to forgetthat Paul Pogba is 24, only oneyear older than Spurs striker Harry Kane and Everton hotshot Romelu Lukaku. While two of the Premier League’s finest young players have started torealise their full potential over the past couple of seasons,the Manchester United midfielder hasalready gotfour league titles, a global fanbase and a world record transfer fee tohis name.
That’s not to downplay either the ability or the achievements of Kane and Lukaku, but to highlight how much Pogba has accomplished in his career to date andthe pressure this brings.As we discover, all he has to do to be a successat Old Trafford is emulate Eric Cantona, David Beckham and Paul Scholes. Er, good luck.
'A £90m problem? I don't think so'
He’s the world’s most expensive player, a superstar meme whose every touch, tweet or trim is subject to scrutiny. If that wasn’t enough pressure, Paul Pogba is expected to spearhead a resurgence at Man United: bring back trophies on the pitch, be the face of the brand off it. Can he master the toughest job in football?
The making of Antonio Conte
Don’t be fooled by Antonio Conte’s incredible first season in English football – the former Juventus and Italy coach’s road to the top of the Premier League with Chelsea has been a constant battle with rejection, relegation and raging ultras.
Get FourFourTwo Newsletter
The best features, fun and footballing quizzes, straight to your inbox every week.
Top 50 Football League Players
Roll up, roll up – it’s awards time! We asked fans to rate and rank the Football League’s finest performers this season. Has your club’s best player made the cut?
Charlton fans protest... in Belgium
As their team kicked off a crucial relegation clash at Northampton Town, a set of 200 die-hard Charlton Athletic supporters were over 300 miles awayin Belgium, marching rightup to their much-loathed Addicks owner’s front door.
Shelley Kerr, Stirling Uni FC manager
She may be the United Kingdom’s first female boss of a senior men’s football team, but that hasn’t stopped her laying down the law in Scotland. On your toes, lads!
Why do so many players end up broke?
It’s the unseen epidemic: the game’s rich and famous ending up penniless. We learn how excess, addiction and divorce is leading ex-millionaires to financial ruin.
The amazing evolution of training grounds
FFT looks at how training grounds have changed over 20 years, the wide range of staff members that row reside within them, the best dust-ups from the practice pitch, and the flashest training ground on the planet.
One-on-One
Sunderland and England striker Jermain Defoe answers your questions in this month's One-on-One, including: Does he regret his West Ham exit? Why did he bite Javier Mascherano? And would he go on I'm A Celebrity... or Strictly Come Dancing?
Upfront
Roberto Martinez opens up about Everton, Romelu Lukaku and winning the World Cup. Plus, Lucas Moura talks FFTthrough his greatest goal, Paul Merson recalls the games that changed his life and Djibril Cisse reveals his utter distaste for jelly.
Action Replay
April marks the return of cricket’s County Championship season, and football’s links with the red ball run a little deeper than you might think.
Performance
FourFourTwo Performance speaks to Bayern Munich's versatile defender Javi Martinez, who’s got advice on how to dominate play as the pivot. Plus, Alessandro Costacurta offers his tips on how to extend your playing career and we find out why Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain have been wearing masks.
Got your copy of the new FourFourTwo? Tweet us @FourFourTwo #MyFFT
The May 2017 issue of FourFourTwo was brought to you by: Jermain Defoe, Michael Nybrandt, Djibril Cisse, Barry Roche. Paul Merson, Roberto Martinez, Lucas Moura, Jonny Evans, Corry Evans, Paul McGuinness, Paddy Crerand, Patrice Evra, Michael Carrick, Dom Matthews, Steve White, Dave Williams, Heather Alderson, Mark Newell, Kris Vanmunster, Giampiero Ventrone, Giorgio Perinetti, Peter Fairchild, Danny Cadamarteri, Louis Saha, Ramon Vega, Doctor Henrietta Bowden-Jones, Graeme Lawe, Sam Hall, Shelley Kerr, Raleigh Gowrie, Chris Geddes, Martin Lauchlan, Nathan Pond, James Coppinger, Pontus Jansson, John Akinde, Tammy Abraham, Billy Sharp, Anthony Knockaert, Javi Martinez, Alessandro Costacurta and Giovani dos Santos.
Gregg Davies is the Chief Sub Editor of FourFourTwo magazine, joining the team in January 2008 and spending seven years working on the website. He supports non-league behemoths Hereford and commentates on Bulls matches for Radio Hereford FC. His passions include chocolate hobnobs and attempting to shoehorn Ronnie Radford into any office conversation.
