When Jurgen Klopp took over as manager of Liverpool last October, not everyone was celebrating. "I'm worried," said Alex Ferguson. "He's got a strong personality and his career at Dortmund was a stellar rise to the top. I don't like saying it, this being Liverpool, but I'm worried he'll do well."
Based on that assessment, if anyone is going to put Liverpool back on their perch, it'll be Jurgen Klopp. The affable German has made clear progress in his time in charge at Anfield, demonstrating at times last season that when this Liverpool team are good, they are almost unplayable.
But titles and trophies are built on consistency, and our cover feature this month – written by Oliver Kay – looks at the challenges Klopp faces in turning Liverpool into real contenders.
The pub is almost as synonymous with football as green grass, the shrill toot of the referee’s whistle and outrageous swan dives, so FFT’s James Maw (honestly not an alcoholic) has spoken to the landlords of some of British football’s most iconic boozers – including watering holes in north London, Glasgow and on Merseyside – to get a taste of the matchday experience. Cheers!
It’s that time of year again, when nothing seems quite as important as club football’s premier competition (sorry, Manchester United fans). But if you thought there’s nothing else you could learn about it by now, think again, boyo – FFT has it covered, as we present our Alternative Guide to the Champions League…
In his second 'Talking Point' column for FourFourTwo, Rory Smith tackles the dilemma of the failing youth system in England. He offers his solution on how to save England, without a 'B' team in sight.
Everyone knows what Pele did with Brazil (and the imprisioned Allies, naturally), but what of his club career? As we hit the 60th anniversary of his Santos debut, former club team-mates tell FFT all about the man who would be King, from Libertadores glory to his round-the-world quest for 1,000 goals.
Fixture congestion has long been a bugbear for Premier League managers, so imagine the stink Arsene Wenger & Co. would kick up if the entire campaign were crammed into a single week. It’s probably just as well they don’t manage in Greenland, where the domestic season has to be shoe-horned into the few days of the year when the weather is good enough to actually venture out onto the pitch.
From international superstars to shrewd cut-price signings, FourFourTwo profiles the summer signings ready to make a splash in the Premier League – including Leroy Sane (Manchester City), Victor Wanyama (Tottenham Hotspur), Havard Nordtveit (West Ham United) and Paul Pogba (Manchester United).
If you're anything like us, you've probably always wondered what actually happens on the team coach. Do the players spend hours analysing the match ahead (or just past)? Do the managerial team get involved in deep tactical discourse? And most importanly... how's the 'banter'? FFT's Chris Flanagan goes for a ride along with National League side Bromley, as they travel to Torquay, to answer these questions and more.
With the pluckiest of underdogs Leicester City set to take on Europe's finest in the Champions League (well, Porto, Copenhagen and Club Brugge, anyway...), we look back at some of British football's most unlikely successes in continental competition. From Burnley to Barry Town, via Dundee United beating Barcelona at the Camp Nou – these are the best tales of our boys defying the odds in Europe.
Rather than its star player, is a successful team only as strong as its Achilles Heel? The recent successes of 2013/14 La Liga winners Atletico Madrid and current Premier League champs Leicester suggest perhaps so. David Sally, co-author of football tome The Numbers Game, explains why football is a ‘weak link’ sport.
Rangers new boy – and 'scampish' former Manchester City, Newcastle, QPR, Marseille and Burnley midfielder – Joey Barton answers your questions in this month's One-on-One. Barton talks his early meeting with Pep Guardiola (at the time on trial at Man City as a player), his stint behind bars, and whether he could have made it at the Etihad Stadium had his attitude been a little better ("No, not really. It’s like saying if I’d been born with a massive d*ck, would I have been a porn star?"). Er, right...
Elsewhere in Upfront, Samuel Eto'o talks us through one of his greatest goals, PSG's Grzegorz Krychowiak talks about his Champions League dream, and we Ask A Silly Question or two to Darius Vassell, with power drills, Game Of Thrones, soggy computers and the smell of sawdust all on the agenda. Obviously.
We've got a Performance masterclass from Neymar, who tells us how street football influenced his game, and our #LikeAPro page features workouts from your favourite players on Instagram.
Got your copy of the new FourFourTwo? Tweet us @FourFourTwo #MyFFT.
The October 2016 issue of FourFourTwo was brought to you by: Joey Barton, Harry Kewell, Neymar, Jermaine Jenas, Darius Vassell, Grzegorz Krychowiak, Samuel Eto'o, Rory Smith, Oliver Kay, Claudio Adao, Pepe, Steve Lovell, Neil Smith, Ben Chorley, Joe Howe, Max Porter, Jeff Hutton, Joe Anderson, Alan Julian and more.
Available from September 7 in print, on iPad and iPhone or subscribe to FourFourTwo here!
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