The 1995/96 Premier League title race remains one of the most iconic in English football history, one where on-pitch drama was met with psychological warfare off it.

At the heart of the battle were two titans of the game, as Kevin Keegan took his thrilling Newcastle United side up against Sir Alex Ferguson’s Manchester United team, who had were looking to reclaim the title following Blackburn Rovers’ 1995 success.

Perhaps the defining moment of that title race was the ‘I would love it’ rant, delivered by Keegan, a moment that perfectly captured the Magpies chief’s passion and the pressure he was under.

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Keegan on his relationship with Ferguson

The immediate aftermath of that interview and the title race, which saw Manchester United complete a turnaround after being 12 points behind Newcastle in January, had left a palpable tension between the pair,

“For a day or two I really disliked him,” Keegan recalled to FourFourTwo in 2007, more than a decade after the height of the pair’s rivalry.

Time would prove to be a healer for Keegan, who admitted that their fierce rivalry was softened by mutual respect and shared experiences.

“I wouldn’t say we’re close now, but we have talked a lot,” Keegan explained. "I’ve sold players to him, he’s sold players to me, I’ve done charity things for him, he’s done them for me.”

Keegan also showed some of that trademark wit which was remembered in the countless tributes paid to him following his passing last July.

“But if you’re asking me, do I love him… [Laughs] I totally respect him. He’s managed a huge club for 20 years.”

Keegan would also point to his personal record against Ferguson with pride.

“I’ve got a terrific record against Alex Ferguson compared with most people, too,” he continued. “It probably isn’t level, but I’ve managed teams that have beaten his 5-0, 4-1, 3-1. Two Manchester derbies.

“So I’d say I’ve come out relatively well against him.”

June 29, 1950. A player with a broad grin on his face is being carried shoulder-high by a group of excited local fans in Belo Horizonte, Brazil. His name is Larry ‘Joe’ Gaetjens and his team, the United States of America, have just beaten England 1-0 in the group stage of the fourth edition of the World Cup. Gaetjens scored the goal, and although it was a header, it soon became known as ‘the shot heard round the world’.

Gaetjens wasn’t even a US citizen at the time. He arrived in New York from Haiti in 1947, having won a scholarship to study accountancy at the prestigious Columbia University. To help make ends meet, he took a job washing dishes in a German restaurant.

Back in Haiti, he’d played football for Etoile Haitienne, and even earned caps for the Haiti national team. Eager to continue playing in the US, he asked his boss if he could fix him up with a team. “I hope you play soccer better than you wash dishes,” he was told, before going on trial with local side Brookhattan, who were playing in the semi-professional American Soccer League.

Gaetjens may not have been the most gifted of kitchen hands, but he could certainly play football. An intelligent and energetic centre-forward, he was the second highest scorer in the ASL for the 1947-48 season and topped the charts two years later, despite the fact that in the World Cup year, Brookhattan ended up bottom of the league.

It was still something of a surprise, however, when he was picked in the US squad at their third World Cup finals – they’d lost 7-1 to Italy in 1934, but had actually reached the semis in 1930.

It wasn’t Gaetjens lack of citizenship that caused shock over his selection – in those years a statement of intent to become a citizen in future was enough – but because he hadn’t represented the country before.

He hadn’t been picked for the USA’s ill-fated 1948 Olympics squad, when they lost their only game 9-0 to Italy. Neither had he played in the World Cup qualifiers in 1949, when they lost 6-0and 6-2 against Mexico but managed a win and a draw against Cuba to reach the finals. He also hadn’t featured in the warm-up game shortly before the World Cup, when the USA lost 5-0 to Besiktas.

But Gaetjens had impressed in a trial game played in St Louis to finalise the squad, and was picked for the unofficial match the USA played against a touring FA XI, which included Nat Lofthouse and Stanley Matthews, the week before the team left for Brazil. He must have been delighted to get into the squad, because the USA had a mouth-watering group featuring Spain, Chile and England.

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For Gaetjens, facing World Cup favourites England was the stuff of dreams – the Three Lions squad featured an array of stars such as Wilf Mannion, Tom Finney, Stan Mortensen, Billy Wright and Jackie Milburn, with future legendary managers Bill Nicholson and Alf Ramsey also on Walter Winterbottom’s roster.

England had never entered the World Cup before – a strained relationship with FIFA had resulted in them leaving the organisation altogether between 1928 and 1946 – but they were highly fancied to win the trophy.

During the most recent British Home Championship, which doubled up as qualifying for the World Cup, they had beaten Wales 4-1 in Cardiff, thrashed Ireland 9-2 at Maine Road, then beat Scotland 1-0 in front of 138,000 people at Hampden Park. The top two earned spots at the World Cup, although the second-placed Scots opted not to take up their place, having said they’d only travel to Brazil if they won the Home Championship. Despite protests from some of their players, they instead went on a tour of North America.

Soccer in the USA was a ramshackle affair in the late 1940s and early 1950s. There was no national league, with the game only played seriously on the east coast, as well as immigrant-heavy cities like Chicago and St Louis. Players were semi-pro, working 40-hour weeks.

Midfielder Walter Bahr remembered making $550 a week as a PE teacher, but just $25 for a match at the weekend. Striker Gino Pariani recalled practising twice a week in the local park. “When it was dark, we’d train using the lights from the cars we’d come up in,” he said.

“The pitches were pretty terrible,” Bahr explained. “They were mostly cinder or dirt fields, or real cabbage patches.”

Once assembled, it took the squad three days to reach Rio de Janeiro, after which they had three days to acclimatise before their opening game with Spain. While England began the tournament as 3-1 favourites with the bookmakers, the Americans were 500-1 outsiders.

Their coach Bill Jeffrey, a Scot who’d been highly successful coaching Penn State University, had the job of choosing the team to face the Spanish. “He knew that a lot of the players weren’t used to playing together, but made sure that each knew someone in their part of the field,” explained Bahr.

Jeffrey took the core of his team from the same Italian district of St Louis, an area known as ‘The Hill’. Keeper Frank Borghi was a funeral director who had been decorated for treating a wounded German soldier during D-Day. Charlie Colombo, the centre-half, was known as ‘Gloves’ for his habit of playing in a pair whatever the weather. Pariani was a talented inside right who had been forced to bring his wedding forward by a week to play in the tournament.

Left winger Frank ‘Pee Wee’ Wallace had spent 15 months of the Second World War in a German prisoner of war camp. The only non-Italian among the St Louis players was Harry Keough, who was married to a girl from Guadalajara and spoke Spanish – a strong enough reason for Jeffrey to award him the captaincy in the opening game.

Alongside Bahr in midfield sat Eddie McIlvenny, a Scotsman from Greenock who’d turned out for Wrexham in Third Division North before emigrating. Playing at left-back was Joseph Maca, a Belgian who moved to the US after fighting in the resistance during the war.

When the USA faced Spain in Curitiba, a heavy defeat was expected. Against the run of play though, Pariani put them ahead, and they still led with 10 minutes to play. “But we weren’t in shape,” Bahr admitted. “We all had full-time jobs – we couldn’t keep up with their pros for the full 90 minutes.” Spain scored three late goals to turn the game on its head.

The same day, England had laboured to a 2-0 win over unfancied Chile in their opener with goals from Mortensen and Mannion. A hatful was expected against the USA in their second match, ahead of a showdown with Spain to determine the one team to go through, with goal difference potentially a deciding factor.

Their preparations for the USA game smacked of complacency. They hadn’t bothered scouting their opponents, or even inspected the pitch. Matthews was flown in from the FA’s tour of North America especially for the USA game, only for it to be decided that he wasn’t needed on the field.

England changed at a tennis club outside Belo Horizonte and travelled in, but were dismayed to see the condition of the playing surface when they ran out to warm up. “A lot was made of the state of the pitch,” Bahr later said. “But I don’t remember it being particularly bad. I guess we were used to a lot worse in the States.” The Americans’ relaxed approach was summed up by the fact that some of the team stayed up late partying the night before the game.

The 10,151 fans inside the stadium included a few American soldiers and workers from a British-run mine nearby, but the vast majority were Brazilians. “We could tell they wanted us to win,” said Borghi. “They wanted England out of the tournament so Brazil would have a better chance of winning it.”

England fashioned six good chances in the first 12 minutes, hitting the post twice, with Borghi in inspired form. The Three Lions poured forward again and again, until the moment that took the stadium by surprise, six minutes before the half-time interval.

McIlvenny found Bahr, who stepped forward and fired in a shot from outside the area. “It was maybe 25 yards out, a decent shot,” recalled Pariani. “The England keeper moved right to cover it, but suddenly Joe Gaetjens jumped in and deflected it in the opposite direction. Before the goalkeeper realised what had happened, it was in the back of the net.”

Gaetjens himself didn’t see the ball go in – as it hit the back of the net, he was lying face down in the mud. “Joe didn’t celebrate madly, you never did in those days,” Bahr said. “We just shook his hand and he jogged back to the halfway line with a big grin on his face.”

The Americans’ goal took the wind out of England’s sails, and their attacks grew less persistent during the second half. The USA could even have got a second when Wallace went through on goal.

Late on England rallied, knowing their opponents were tiring again. Mortensen ran through the USA defence and was shaping up to shoot when Colombo brought him down from behind with a rugby tackle. “Charlie should have been thrown out of the match – nobody on our side would have complained,” Bahr later admitted. “The English wanted a penalty, but the Italian referee gave them a free-kick outside the box.”

From the kick, Jimmy Mullen’s header appeared to loop beyond Borghi and into the goal, but the keeper dived at full-length to somehow scoop the ball around the post. England appealed that it had crossed the line. “It definitely wasn’t a goal,” Bahr insisted. “It could have been on the line, but it definitely wasn’t over it.”

Come the final whistle, hundreds of excited Brazilian fans invaded the pitch, picking up two American players and carrying them toward the clubhouse. One was Borghi. “I didn’t know what was going on,” he laughed. “They just picked me up and carried me off.” The other was the match-winner, Gaetjens, who had carved his name forever into World Cup folklore.

News of the game hardly registered in the USA – only one American reporter was in attendance. Three days later, they lost 5-2 to Chile in the heat of Recife and were eliminated, finishing bottom of the group on goal difference. England had to beat Spain 3-0 in their final game to qualify, but lost 1-0.

On their return home, the Three Lions team were criticised by the press, but not to the same extent as they might face for a similar elimination nowadays. More coverage was given to the West Indies cricket team’s first ever Lord’s victory over England, which happened on the same day as the defeat to the USA. “It was just one of those games,” Tom Finney later told FFT of the USA loss. “We could have played for nine hours and still wouldn’t have scored.”

Gaetjens never would become a US citizen. In fact, he never played another game for the USA after that World Cup, moving to France and playing for Racing Club de Paris, and later heading home to Haiti. He lined up again for the Haitian national team in a qualifier for the 1954 World Cup – they lost 4-0 to Mexico.

In 1964, after retiring from football to run a dry-cleaning business, he was arrested by Haiti’s secret police, acting on behalf of president Francois Duvalier, who’d risen to power seven years earlier.

“Joe didn’t have a political bone in his body,” his former USA team-mate Bahr insisted. His family did, however, and their support for opponents of Duvalier’s brutal dictatorship was enough to seal his fate with the regime.

Gaetjens was last seen alive two days later in Haiti’s notorious Fort Dimanche prison, where thousands were murdered. His body was never found.

This article first appeared in the April 2006 edition of FourFourTwo magazine

There are many things for which Newcastle United supporters have Kevin Keegan to thank: escaping relegation to the third tier in 1992 and then promotion to the Premier League; Andy Cole; Albert’s chip; Faustino Asprilla; Champions League football; a 12-point lead over Manchester United; and a defiant blast against the dark arts of Alex Ferguson.

But supporters of other clubs perhaps owe him something too. That magnificent away weekend you once had in Newcastle? The train into Central Station, St James’ Park looming like the acropolis above the city, several pints before kick-off, several more afterwards, then a confused and groggy awakening in a budget hotel somewhere near the Bigg Market?

You may, indirectly, have Kevin Keegan to thank for that as well.

Keegan arrived and the lights went on

Because something extraordinary happened to Newcastle in the 1990s. At almost exactly the moment Keegan transformed Newcastle United from a decaying Second Division club into the most glamorous team in English football, Newcastle itself was undergoing a remarkably similar reinvention.

When Keegan returned to St James’ Park in February 1992, Newcastle was still struggling with the psychological aftermath of the 1980s. The industries which had made Tyneside famous — shipbuilding, coal, heavy engineering — were disappearing, while the football club seemed to be following the same trajectory. United were fighting relegation to the Third Division and St James’ Park was shabby, half-empty and unloved. Then Keegan arrived, and somebody switched the lights on.

Within 18 months, Newcastle were in the Premier League. Within two years they were playing in Europe. By 1996 they were trying to win the title with a team playing football so gloriously irresponsible that they became known simply as the Entertainers.

Keegan's philosophy was wonderfully uncomplicated. In his own words, going to the match “was like people down south going to the theatre.” People had worked hard all week, and on Saturday they deserved a show. Newcastle attacked because attacking was exciting. If the opposition scored three, Newcastle would try to score four.

It was less a tactical system than a civic philosophy, and outside St James’ Park, Newcastle was doing much the same thing.

Pioneered by property tycoons like Sir John Hall — who, after making millions as the developer of Europe’s biggest shopping mall on top of an old slag heap in Gateshead, became Newcastle United chairman — the ancient city was rapidly reinventing itself around a leisure economy centred on shopping, culture and nightlife. The Quayside filled with new bars and restaurants. The Riverside became one of Britain's great music venues. Thousands more students arrived.

The Toon’s drinking circuits acquired almost mythological status, and then, wonderfully, in 1995 an American travel company reportedly placed Newcastle alongside the likes of Rio and Las Vegas among the world's great party cities. By 1997, Times Higher Education was reporting that Newcastle's new reputation as “the party city” was actually helping its universities recruit students.

This was not entirely Keegan's doing, obviously. But football captured the zeitgeist and provided an extraordinarily powerful advertisement for the city's transformation.

Every Sunday morning, Premier League highlights transmitted a new version of Newcastle around Britain: 36,000 people roaring inside a rebuilt stadium; Newcastle Brown Ale across those famous black-and-white shirts; Keegan bouncing around the touchline; Ginola flying down the wing; young men in replica shirts going ballistic. Newcastle suddenly looked like somewhere you wanted to be.

And Keegan understood instinctively that football was about more than winning. It was spectacle, pleasure and escape. That fitted the emerging city perfectly – and actually tapped into the city’s ancient Rabelaisian traditions as “the drunkest town in England”. The old Newcastle had churned out guns, ships and coal; the new Newcastle was increasingly selling an experience.

So was Newcastle United.

There was another important ingredient: geography. In most English cities, the football ground sits some distance from the centre. St James’ Park doesn't. It erupts out of Newcastle itself. You can arrive by train, drink in the city centre, walk to the match and be back in a pub minutes after the final whistle — a ready-made urban ‘fan zone’ decades before the idea was even thought of. Suddenly the visiting supporter wasn't merely travelling to an away match. He was entering an ecosystem remarkably efficient at separating him from his disposable income.

Newcastle upon Tyne had accidentally invented the football city-break, and Keegan's Entertainers supplied the mythology. Even losing at Newcastle could be enjoyable. You might watch Beardsley play a pass nobody else had seen, Ginola humiliate your right-back or Asprilla do a samba-shimmy past your centre-half. Keegan's Newcastle offered the visiting supporter the same implicit promise as Newcastle's nightlife: something might happen.

That matters because cities, like football clubs, acquire reputations through stories. People went home talking about Newcastle. About the atmosphere. About the stadium in the middle of town. About the people they'd met. About what happened after the match — frequently with significant gaps in the chronology.

Thirty years later, Newcastle remains one of English football's great away trips. The Quayside has changed. The Bigg Market isn't quite the grisly Bacchanal of legend. The football club has travelled through several historical cycles of hope and despair.

But the basic proposition survives: come to Newcastle and make a weekend of it.

Keegan didn't create Newcastle nightlife, of course. Nor did he build the bars or recruit the students. But between 1992 and 1997 he helped change the story Britain told itself about Newcastle. The football club and the city suddenly projected the same qualities: exuberant, slightly excessive, hospitable, ambitious, emotional and determined to have a good time.

For a few extraordinary years, Newcastle wasn't merely the home of the Entertainers. Newcastle was the entertainment.

So next time an Arsenal, Chelsea or Spurs supporter wakes up on Sunday morning in a Newcastle hotel room with a traffic cone, half a kebab down his shirt and absolutely no recollection of getting back there, perhaps he should observe a moment of gratitude.

King Kev made this possible.

Howay the Lads! A People’s History of Newcastle United by Dan Jackson is published by Abacus and out now (RRP £25). Get your copy HERE

Carlos Baleba's Manchester United debut date has been revealed by Michael Carrick, ahead of his side's trip to Everton this weekend.

Manchester United have won one, and lost one in their two opening Premier League games this term, defeating Ipswich Town 5-2 last Sunday.

Prior to that, another newly-promoted side in Hull City served the Red Devils a 2-0 opening day defeat at the MKM Stadium

Michael Carrick reveals Carlos Baleba's Manchester United debut date

Manchester United signed Baleba in late August, in a deal worth £70 million, from their Premier League peer Brighton.

The Red Devils lost veteran midfielder Casemiro in the summer, and shelled out an initial £65 million, with a further five in add-ons, to secure the services of the Cameroonian as a replacement.

Baleba made 31 English top-flight appearances last season, playing almost 1700 minutes.

He recovered the ball just over three times per game, while winning an average of six duels; Baleba also made one interception and one tackle per match for the Seagulls.

Before revealing the his likely debut date, Carrick provided updates on the injury status of Mason Mount and Luke Shaw.

The former seems to have had a positive week on the training pitches, as relayed by Ben Dinnery, while the latter was pictured alongside club captain Bruno Fernandes in training on Thursday.

Baleba is now 10-14 days out from making his debut appearance for the Red Devils, as Carrick's men prepare to play Champions League football in the coming weeks.

In relation to Manchester United's schedule, the Cameroonian will likely make his first appearance in red versus Fulham at Craven Cottage.

That match will be played in the Premier League on September 20, however, if Baleba becomes available at the mid point of the range provided, he could face off against his former team in the Carabao Cup, on September 16.

If that is to be the case, bizarrely, Baleba's previous and last game would be against Manchester United, then Brighton respectively.

The 22-year-old last featured in a football match versus the Red Devils during a 3-0 loss with Brighton, in the final game of the 2025/26 Premier League season.

Ex-Chelsea and West Ham manager Graham Potter has branded an unnamed former club of his "dysfunctional" in the comments of an Instagram post.

The current head coach of the Sweden national team is rebuilding his managerial career after disappointing spells at both Chelsea and West Ham United.

Potter posted an image of himself doing pilates to Instagram yesterday, and dug out one of his former clubs in reply to a fan.

Graham Potter digs out 'dysfunctional' club in Instagram post

The Englishman made a name for himself as boss at Brighton, where he lasted three years in the job and led the Seagulls to their highest-ever top-flight finish in 2022.

He made the move to Chelsea, where, after losing 11 games in his 31 at the helm, he was sacked inside eight months.

After almost two years away from management, Potter returned to the Premier League to coach West Ham.

In London once more, he lasted even less time, managing the Hammers from January to September of 2025.

The Englishman's side finished 14th in the 2024/25 Premier League standings, but was sacked after leading the club to a 19th-placed position after the next term's first five games.

Now manager of the Sweden national team, Potter led his side out of the groups in North America this summer, before exiting in a 3-0 defeat to previous tournament edition finalists France.

The 51-year-old posted an image of him in a pilates pose to Instagram on Thursday afternoon, which prompted one fan to jokingly respond: "Hopefully you are better at Pilates then you were a football manager."

Potter replied: "I'll try not to do Pilates in a dysfunctional place and I will be ok," with a flexed bicep emoji.

It is unclear which club the Englishman was referring to, however, the Hammers were relegated in the same season that Potter left them, while the Blues finished just 13 points clear of the drop zone in 10th last term.

Since Potter joined, Chelsea have now resorted to their eighth manager in three years, with Xabi Alonso at the helm.

Another fan commented in response: "Didn't mind the money though, did you?" to which Potter replied "absolutely not."

And when a West Ham fan wrote: "You got us relegated, you mug," the Englishman replied with two laughing emojis.

Just two games in, Premier League referees are already facing an uphill battle this season.

Controversial incidents in the English top flight remained minimal during the new campaign’s opening fortnight, but officials find themselves back under the spotlight of scrutiny through no real fault of their own after Mike Dean’s supposed revelations.

In a series of outlandish claims on Jamie Vardy’s ‘Having A Party’ podcast, Dean declared he would ‘joke about’ on refereeing duties in the Premier League’s pre-VAR era. He purportedly played a series of ‘secret games’ that included refusing to blow his whistle until the 20th minute and standing in the centre circle for as long as possible.

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Mike Dean's claims put referees under fresh suspicion

Professional Game Referees were quick to cast doubt on the 58-year-old’s boastful claims, making it known that no credible evidence exists to suggest he engaged in such antics before the Premier League introduced VAR from the 2019/20 season.

But Dean’s version of events about what he did ‘as a laugh’ while in charge of English football’s flagship fixtures has now pointed a fresh finger of suspicion towards those continuing to carry out officiating duties since he hung up his whistle in May 2022.

Dean knows all too well how damaging misperceptions can be. He received death threats in 2021 over red cards awarded in successive games to West Ham’s Tomas Soucek and Jan Bednarek of Southampton that were overturned on appeal. On a less severe note, the latter years of his career were dogged by claims of favouritism towards Liverpool due to having two fictitious sons who were Anfield season ticket holders.

At best, his soundbites are Walter Mitty-esque; entirely devoid of factual evidence and vindicate Arsene Wenger’s December 2017 retort that he is ‘not honest’ – which earned the legendary Arsenal manager both a three-match ban and £40,000 fine for his troubles. Taken at face value, however, he has opened a tinderbox of potential untold damage on his former colleagues and the regulatory body led by Howard Webb.

This is hardly Dean’s first rodeo, either. In 2023, mere months after standing down from VAR duties, he confessed to refusing to flag Cristian Romero’s hair pull on Marc Cucurella to his ‘mate’ Anthony Taylor in Chelsea and Tottenham’s fiery 2-2 draw in order to spare the referee ‘more grief’. He also isn’t the first former official who allowed his mouth to run away with itself while sat in the comfort of a podcast studio. Mark Clattenburg infamously revealed how he allowed Spurs to ‘self-destruct’ while overseeing 'The Battle of Stamford Bridge’ in 2016 that saw Leicester City crowned unlikely champions.

To hear these alleged tales of yore gives the impression that those still entrusted to uphold the laws of the game are part of a morally bankrupt boys' club, not too dissimilar to the one depicted in the referees' episode of the sitcom 'Inside Number 9'.

Football fans already hold an increasingly dim view of the men in the middle, as the instant chants decrying the Premier League as 'corrupt' after every contentious decision attest. Accusations of club-specific biases by some of the current household names continue to run rampant in both the stands and social media echo chambers.

Webb's attempts to soften the dissent by pulling back the curtain on in-game discussions between appointed officials in monthly video segments analysing controversial calls has provided a new perspective on thought processes. On occasion, the Pro Ref chief has even acknowledged times when his own men got things wrong.

However Dean's remarks, whether true or not, have immediately undermined those efforts to provide transparency and convince supporters that impartiality still guides those tasked with ensuring matches run according to the letter of the law.

Every call, no matter how minor, will now automatically be viewed from a position of mistrust all thanks to Dean's latest attempt to grab another 15 seconds of fame.

For once there were no excuses, even though there was an excuse. There was no ranting about the ref, no bemoaning bad luck, no recriminations over the foreigner rule that forcibly left Peter Schmeichel on the bench.

November 2, 1994, and Manchester United had been sliced apart by Barcelona in a performance of such brutal beauty, such wonder, that there was no point complaining. There was just acceptance. The best team had won, and won brilliantly. “We have been well and truly slaughtered,” admitted Alex Ferguson. “In the end, it was a humbling experience for us.”

So humbling, in fact, that Paul Parker still refuses to set foot inside the Camp Nou. He continues to have nightmares about the 4-0 hammering his side suffered. Parker’s United teammate Gary Pallister remembers it as “the one time in my career when I came off the pitch and just had to accept that I hadn’t been able to get anywhere near my opponent. I was completely shell-shocked afterwards.”

The best partnership the Camp Nou had ever seen

Barcelona’s performance had been awe-inspiring, La Vanguardia describing it as a “recital.” “Barcelona humiliate United,” added The Times. At the heart of that world were the most dashingly impressive strikers on the planet, the outstanding performers from that summer’s World Cup – Romario and Hristo Stoichkov. Romario was Brazil’s best player, Stoichkov USA 94’s top scorer as Bulgaria incredibly reached the semi-final.

A month after the United game, Stoichkov was named European Footballer of the Year. Together, they were arguably the best partnership the Camp Nou had ever seen. They were certainly the most excitable, as swift with their tongues - and sometimes even their fists - as they were with their feet.

That night, the Brazilian scored one and the Bulgarian two – the second, his 100th for the club. “We just couldn’t handle the speed of Stoichkov and Romario,” Ferguson recognised. “The suddenness with which they attacked was a new experience.”

“United had no answer to the skill, speed and imagination of Stoichkov and Romario, at times moving through their defence with an ease as impudent as it was embarrassing,” wrote David Lacey. “Pallister and Bruce were both auditioning for the role of Juliet: Romario, Romario, wherefore art thou Romario? And nobody had a clue about Stoichkov’s whereabouts.”

“When Barcelona are on their game, their superiority is insulting; they leave the opposition looking utterly ridiculous,” said the former Barcelona player Lobo Carrasco. “Tonight, Barcelona took revenge for what happened to them in Athens.”

What had happened in Athens six months earlier was that Barcelona had unexpectedly lost the European Cup final to Milan. Not just lost it, been defeated 4-0. Now, they had learned. Now, the four-time Spanish league champions and European Cup runners-up, the greatest side in the club’s history, were ready to go one better, led by this incomparably brilliant pairing. Humbling United was a warning; a glimpse of a future in which Stoichkov and Romario, Romario and Stoichkov, would rule the world.

The Last Dance

Only, it wasn’t. Instead, it was the last waltz; a brilliant final performance from a once great side. Two months later, Romario had gone. Six months after that, so had Stoichkov. And Andoni Zubizarreta. And Michael Laudrup. Soon, coach Johan Cruyff would go. The trophies went too – it was three years before Barcelona won anything again. Athens would prove a watershed, not a lesson. The dream partnership had presided over the death of the Dream Team.

It had all been so desperately short-lived. Romario partnered Stoichkov for the 1993/94 season, plus the opening months of 1994/95, demolition of United included, and that was it. They had barely been together for a year.

But what a year. A kidnapping. Punch-ups. Fallings-out. Tears and tantrums. A proud father. An even prouder Godfather. A Scandal. A mistress. Or five. Paparazzi. Betrayal. Red cards. A league title, won in the final minute of the final day. A historic thrashing of the eternal enemy. A European Cup final. And goals. Loads; more than 50 between them, Romario finishing the 93/94 league season with 30 in 33 games, having scored a stunning five hat-tricks (one on the opening day, another, against Atletico Madrid, despite having two goals disallowed), and finishing his Barcelona career with 53 in 82 games.

Ask fans to name the best 10 Blaugranas in history, and virtually all of them will include Stoichkov and Romario. So important was their impact, so intense the reverence with which they are remembered, that the inescapable fact they only played together for a year seems somehow perverse. Surely, it must have been longer. And yet it wasn’t. They’d packed a hell of a lot in a year and then fallen out, each going their own way, never to speak again. Together, Romario and Stoichkov did it all. They became legends.

Bad milk

In March 1995, Stoichkov went on Spanish radio and declared: “It’s Cruyff or me.” The tensions that simmered below the surface were laid bare; in a phrase, Stoichkov had revealed that he was preparing to leave.

The Real Madrid goalkeeper Paco Buyo was quick to try to capitalise. “If it’s true that Cruyff doesn’t want him, and I can’t for the life of me believe it can be, then I will talk to whoever I have to make him join us. I’ll do whatever it takes.” “Stoichkov,” insisted Jorge Valdano, former general director at Real Madrid, “is a predator – a beast who is only satiated by the flesh of his victims.”

“He is the best forward in the world,” added Carrasco. “He can do everything. He has talent and class, he can run like Carl Lewis, play passes like Ronald Koeman, and finish every bit as well as, or better than, Gary Lineker – and on top of it all, he’s got mala leche.” Mala leche literally means bad milk; it is edge, a fearsome temper, aggression, competitiveness… and a touch of madness.

It is also exactly the point: Cruyff had focused on Stoichkov as much for his temperament as his talent. “I could talk about Stoichkov forever. He came to Barcelona because we needed him,” Cruyff recalled. “He had speed, finishing and character. We had too many nice guys, we needed someone with mala leche.”

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Stoichkov had it in urn-loads. During his first ever game against Real Madrid, he was sent off for stamping on the ref, an act that earned him a six-month ban, later reduced to two. Another red card came for two yellow cards – just six minutes into a game. During a pre-season friendly, another ref approached the Barcelona bench to warn Cruyff: “Either calm that bull down or I’ll send him back to the corral.” Cruyff replied: “What am I supposed to do?”

He was, recalls the man who received the infamous stamp, “an angel off the pitch but the devil himself on it”. “If he’d been an actor, Stoichkov could have been Mel Gibson in Mad Max, Clint Eastwood in Unforgiven or Harrison Ford in Blade Runner,” noted one Catalan columnist – and the fans loved him for it.

It was his character that made him such a hit; the ability to embrace barcelonismo; the fact that he lived every match so intensely, that he boasted a hatred of Real Madrid so visceral, so public, that he kicked a seven-year-old boy out of training once when in charge of the Bulgarian national team because he turned up in a Madrid shirt. “Every game against Madrid was life and death for me,” he says, “the injustices of the past [against Barcelona] became mine, too.”

La Vanguardia hit the nail on the head when it declared: “We’re all Stoichkov; his story could be the story of the millions of Barcelona fans who are transformed when they come to the Camp Nou.”

Covered in Vaseline

Romario’s charms were different. With his wide hips, big, low-slung backside and powerful thighs, he was unique; electric, precise, utterly unpredictable. No one had ever seen a player like him. Technically impeccable, in small spaces he was unstoppable. He did things that appeared barely plausible and had never been seen before - from back-heels, to flicks, to incredibly delicate lobs known in Spain as vaselinas. Valdano famously described him as a “cartoon footballer”. “He is a juggler, a magician, a penalty area artist, a virtuoso,” cheered the Catalan daily Sport. “He does what others can’t – and does it with alarming ease.”

“I always regretted not wearing a hat so that I could take it off to him after he left the Osasuna goalkeeper covered in vaseline and solitude,” wrote the intellectual Manuel Vazquez Montalban. “He has feet as sensitive and soft as Dalí’s clocks. His finishing should provoke ridicule and hatred in goalkeepers but Romario inspires a kind of religious feeling instead. It would not surprise me if goalkeepers carried a notebook and pen around with them so that they could ask him for an autograph after every goal. He bends space and time. We have been lucky enough to see him out on the turf and unlucky enough not to have a poet like William Wordsworth around to describe him.”

Not that Stoichkov was overly impressed. When Barcelona signed Romario from PSV, the Bulgarian made his feelings perfectly clear in the media; league rules meant that only three foreigners could play at any one time and Barça already had Stoichkov, Koeman and Laudrup. “Signing a fourth foreigner is plain stupid,” Stoichkov snapped, “but if the board think it is absolutely necessary and they asked for my opinion, I would tell them to sign [Bulgarian Lubo] Penev. How much does Romario cost? 600m Pesetas? I’d take 200m from my own pocket and sign Penev.”

It was classic Stoichkov; blustering, outspoken, emotional. It also threatened to cause problems - especially with Romario, a man who came with a reputation that he didn’t hide. “If saying things to people’s faces and saying what I think without holding my tongue, if having a strong character and not accepting impositions is controversial,” Romario told the Spanish media, “then yes I am controversial.”

It appeared set for a disaster. Romario and Stoichkov were contrasting personalities but, in Cruyff’s words, had the “same problem”: they both thought that the team was there to serve them, not the other way round. “They constantly battled to see who would get more goals,” remembers the former Barcelona director Josep María Minguella, who represented both players.

Neither could take being left out. “When Stoichkov was on the bench,” one teammate recalls, “he could start a fight with his own shadow. And when Hristo’s angry, he’s dangerous.” “Hristo was peculiar,” says Minguella. Another team-mate describes him simply as “a bit dense”.

“I remember one time that Romario was left out and I couldn’t even talk to him; he was in such a funk,” remembers Stoichkov. The problem was that being left out was inevitable. With four foreigners in his squad – and four brilliant foreigners too – Cruyff adopted a rotation policy that satisfied no one, the front two least of all.

Unlikely friends

It appeared a recipe for disaster. And yet, oddly, Romario and Stoichkov became the best of friends. “Romario basically never spoke to anyone in the squad,” one team-mate recalls, “he did his own thing on his own terms all the time.” The one person he did speak to was Stoichkov. “It seems bizarre and I ask myself even now how it was possible,” Stoichkov says. “He was introverted and I was the reverse. He likes to sleep, I like to live. We were night and day. But we became good friends right from the start. We were inseparable.”

Their kids attended the same school, their wives, Monica and Mariana, became best friends. They protected each other; when Romario got a red card for punching Diego Simeone, Stoichkov admiringly remarked: “It was worthy of Mike Tyson.”

And Stoichkov knew a thing or two about punching people. He even did so in defence of Romario’s honour. The Brazilian was in Rio on international duty when his wife gave birth to a baby boy imaginatively named Romarinho. He was determined not to catch a first glimpse of his son through the media and appealed for journalists not to get too near. Stoichkov played Romarinho’s bouncer to make sure of it - and one photographer at the hospital got a Bulgarian right hook for his trouble.

When Romario arrived – “two flights late, which was typical Romi”, as Stoichkov recalls – it was the Bulgarian who collected him from the airport and took him to the hospital. When Romario found out his father had been kidnapped, it was Stoichkov he was with and who offered support. When he found out that his father had been liberated, it was Stoichkov he smothered in relieved kisses. And when it came to choosing a Godfather for his son, it was Stoichkov who was the obvious choice.

Together, they were a devastating partnership on the pitch too: “Hristo enjoyed that year with Romario more than any other,” says Minguella. The goals are a testament to that. So too the league title and some of the most glorious nights in Barcelona’s history, none more so than a 5-0 win over Real Madrid in which Romario scored a hat-trick and produced a play that, Stoichkov insisted afterwards, “would go down in history”.

He was right. Turning almost a full circle, Romario dragged the ball with him, his foot never losing contact with the leather, pulling it across the floor, gliding like a bowling ball on a varnished lane, before finishing. No one had ever seen it before; it became known as the cola de vaca – the cow’s tail, forever associated with the Brazilian.

“I have never known a player able to do the things in the area that he did,” Stoichkov recalls. From that day on, Barcelona were unstoppable. They collected 28 of their final 30 points to win the league after Miroslav Djukic missed a last-minute penalty for challengers Deportivo de La Coruna on the final day. Barcelona’s cracks had done it again. “We silenced those who said the Dream Team was dead,” Stoichkov declared.

Not so fast

In fact, the critics were right. Other cracks were appearing – both for the club and their dynamic duo. Defeat in Athens was humiliating and unexpected but it was not an accident.

Cruyff’s rotation policy had angered men as mild-mannered as Michael Laudrup and Ronald Koeman, even if the results were often spectacular. Stoichkov missed four Champions League games and was subbed in 15 of his 30 league games. The fact that it is Stoichkov himself who points that out says it all. Laudrup missed the European Cup final.

Worse were Cruyff’s public attacks on them. “When we win it’s down to Cruyff, when we lose it’s the players’ fault,” Stoichkov snapped. Goalkeeper Zubizarreta was told he wouldn’t continue; Laudrup decided he couldn’t continue.

Meanwhile, Stoichkov was growing increasingly concerned by Romario’s lifestyle and the company he kept. “People came between us, and I tried to warn him,” Stoichkov says. Romario resented the intrusion. He had ignored Stoichkov’s advice and decided to stay in a suite on the 17th floor of the Hotel Reina Sofia rather than move into a house next door. Later, he moved to a hotel in Sitges but kept his room at the Princesa Sofia (for, said the gossips, his mistresses). The wives remained close friends, but the footballers drifted apart; Stoichkov sided with Mrs Romario more than Mr.

“Romario’s lifestyle, his constant coming and going, caused problems with his wife,” Stoichkov recalls, rather euphemistically. The Brazilian was teetotal but had other vices. A teammate puts it bluntly: “Romario was only interested in two things: football and fucking.” A few years later, Romario insisted: “If I don’t go out at night, I don’t score goals.”

Increasingly, he appeared not to be that interested in the football. One former Barcelona player recalls training sessions when the Brazilian “could hardly move” and was “practically falling asleep” after the previous night’s exertions. Cruyff sent him home from one session and had another confrontation with the Brazilian after he overslept and arrived an hour late to a team meeting. Cruyff had warned that Romario’s attitude in Holland used to be one of “If I don’t want to train, I won’t train”.

Used to be? Still was. “He lacked discipline,” a resigned Cruyff later admitted. Romario didn’t care. “It’s not the first time I’ve had an argument with Cruyff, and it won’t be the last: I say what I think and no one will ever change me,” he said.

One night Romario was caught with a girl. A week later she was on the front cover of the magazine Interviu. A charitable soul pushed a copy under his hotel room door. The first person to see it was Romario’s wife. “Romario’s skill on the pitch was in lying with his body,” Valdano says, “in the end it was his undoing off it too: he lied to his president to go off with two blondes.” For Stoichkov the magazine under the door summed it up: “Someone had,” the Bulgarian insists, “taken advantage of their ‘friendship’ with Romi and sold him out.”

So long

The last straw came after the World Cup, dominated by the Barcelona forwards. Romario failed to return to the Catalan capital. In the Camp Nou dressing room, the rest of the squad took it out on Stoichkov, sniping: “Some friend you’ve got!”

By then, though, the friendship had almost died; saddened, desperate, the Bulgarian had tried ringing the Brazilian to plead with him to return to Catalonia. But the calls went unanswered, the messages ignored. This time it was Romario who felt aggrieved. Stoichkov and his family were supposed to be travelling to Brazil after the tournament for Romarinho’s baptism, before heading off on holiday together. Hotels and flights were booked. But the Bulgaria squad was called to a reception with the president Jelei Jelev and Stoichkov didn’t make it to Brazil.

When eventually, two weeks late, Romario appeared in Barcelona, everything had changed. “He trained alone, and we hardly spoke,” says Stoichkov. “Then we had another argument because I didn’t like his friends at all. I tried to split him from them, but I failed. It was never the same again.”

The United match apart, the Bulgarian was right: that following season Romario scored just four before departing. Stoichkov got only nine. Barcelona finished fourth. “Romario never came back after the World Cup. His body was there, but his mind was still in Rio,” Stoichkov says. “Some joked that the man in Barcelona was a lookalike; his performances were so bad.”

It had been good – very, very good – while it lasted, but it was all over. There was just time for one last dance for old times’ sake; a moment’s glory that, beneath the perfect veneer, was a sad lament for what could have been. A virtuoso display, just like the good old days. A display so good that even Alex Ferguson couldn’t complain.

This feature originally appeared in the February 2010 issue of FourFourTwo.

The year is 2008 and Spurs are on the road to challenging for Champions League places alongside the Premier League's big boys.

As the 2007/08 season drew to a close, Tottenham struck what was then a mega-money deal for Croatian international midfielder Luka Modric, who became the club's joint-most expensive signing alongside Darren Bent.

Amid interest from Manchester City and Newcastle United, Spurs chairman Daniel Levy even flew to Zagreb to close out negotiations and finalise a deal, such was the club's desire to sign the midfielder.

'That was unbelievable to me'

On the other side of the transaction was Dinamo Zagreb executive Zdravko Mamic, who recalled his encounter with Levy in a FourFourTwo interview from October 2019.

"One funny story, but at the same time a story that shows how he protects the interests of his club, is that after we agreed the transfer of Luka [Modric] to Tottenham, I politely asked for five of Luka’s jerseys.

"Levy gave them to me, but the invoice for the transfer, €23m (£16.5m), was minus the value of the jerseys."

Mamic was the executive director of Dinamo between 2003 and 2016 and has seen his fair share of transfer completions, but in particular remembers his dealings with Levy.

"That was quite unbelievable to me. It showed me how to appreciate every penny a club spends."

Mamic is a colourful character who has had several run-ins with the law and was found guilty of tax fraud in 2018. To avoid a custodial sentence in Croatia, Mamic allegedly fled to neighbouring Bosnia and Herzegovina where he also holds citizenship.

There was also an assassination attempt against Mamic in 2017 and the former Dinamo chairman was arrested following a radio interview tirade against Croatian sports minister Zeljko Jovanovic in 2013.

Levy, on the other hand, officially stepped down from his role as chairman of Tottenham on September 4, 2025, bringing an end to his nearly 25-year tenure at the helm.

Levy remains involved solely as a non-executive investor via his family's equity stake in majority shareholder ENIC.

Richarlison has been dumped by Tottenham Hotspur, failing to appear in their submitted 25-man Premier League squad list.

The news arrives days after Richarlison was reportedly asking the club to allow him to leave, with Super Lig side Trabzonspor entering the equation and gunning for his signature.

The Brazilian was also close to an Everton homecoming, however, he ultimately turned the Toffees down after unsuccessful negotiations.

Richarlison dumped by Tottenham Hotspur

Richarlison was a foundational player in Spurs' relegation survival last term, bagging 11 goals, and recording four assists, in 32 Premier League appearances.

His sole appearance so far this campaign came from the start versus Brentford, where he played 61 minutes in a 3-0 loss.

Last Saturday, before Spurs were beaten for a second successive game, losing 2-0 at home to Newcastle United, De Zerbi was brief and blunt in his assessment of the Brazilian's future.

"Richarlison has said too many times that he wants to leave," the Italian revealed.

"I love these players, and these are great guys - but if they want to leave, they have to bring the economic solution to the club.

"Then they can go, and we'll find other players [to replace them]," concluded De Zerbi.

Days later, Richarlison's name was omitted from Spurs' 25-man squad list, amid rumours of the Brazilian making the move to the Super Lig.

The 29-year-old was linked by two Turkish transfer experts to the current club of Liverpool legend Mohamed Salah: Trabzonspor.

That news arrived days after Richarlison took to Instagram to reveal a breakdown in negotiations between himself and former club Everton.

“My intention was to go back to the place where I was very happy, yes," wrote the 29-year-old. "“But the negotiations happened only in the way certain people wanted.

"It will no longer be like that. I am under contract at Spurs and will remain at the club’s disposal," he concluded, before links to the Turkish top-flight emerged.

Mary Earps is ‘very happy to be home’ after returning to the Women’s Super League, following two seasons with Paris Saint-Germain.

The opening fixture of the Women’s Super League season sees Earps and London City face Manchester United, the club with which she spent five years before moving to France.

Earps missed her home comforts in her two years away, especially Percy Pigs, so is excited to be back in the WSL and especially excited to face her former side on the opening match.

‘Distance makes the heart grow fonder’

Earps spent two years at PSG after leaving Manchester United, with the move giving her the opportunity to experience life away from the spotlight that had followed her in England.

While she admits it was “nice to be away” and experience “the Parisian way of life,” her conversations with London City helped her decide it was time to return to England.

“I’m very, very happy to be home,” Earps said. “I missed the English comforts, my friends and family and a Percy Pig or two!

“From a football point of view, I missed the English football culture - the way you feel when you walk into a stadium, the electricity of the crowd, the feeling around women's football in this country.

"I knew I was probably going to miss that going away, but that's why I'm so excited to be back. Distance makes the heart grow fonder.

“I went away to push myself out of my comfort zone and get a different football and life experience. I'll carry that with me forever.”

Earps ‘like a moth to a flame’ with Manchester United

Earps’ reunion with United on the opening day of the season marks another exciting encounter with her former side.

Just last season, PSG were drawn against Manchester United in the Champions League, with Earps receiving a warm reception on her return to Old Trafford, something she said meant a “great deal” to her in that moment - it had been a turbulent time following the release of her autobiography detailing why she retired from international football.

With her first competitive appearance for London City potentially coming against United, Earps joked that the fixture felt almost inevitable: “Yeah, like a moth to a flame.”

"The club has changed a lot since I left but although some people have moved on as football and life does, there will still be a few friendly faces that I know and the fans don't change - they're still hardcore as ever.”

‘London City will go on to do great things for a long time’

While Earps says she doesn’t yet know whether she will be the starting goalkeeper for London City, she says the competition for her place is something that excites her.

“I want to continue to play at the highest level, to win at the highest level for as long as possible and to be a part of something special,” Earps added. “I really do believe that London City will go on to do great things for a long time.

“The way Michele [Kang] wants to do things, they want to be the best in class and world leading. So for me, it's a great place to be, for me to max out on whatever potential I have left and hopefully there's some fantastic days around the corner.

“London City being owned by a woman, being an independent football club, being able to go about their business in a non-traditional sense, really attack whatever they want to go for and become a success in their own right - I think that's an incredibly exciting thing to be a part of.

"Every time I spoke to them, I wanted to hear more, so it felt like the right place to be.

“We've been crying out for investment for such a long time and this is new and it's different and no one likes change. It is very unique and it’s not connected [to a men’s club] so you don’t have that tribalism of a men's club in that typical sense.

“Maybe I'm biased, but I think there will be a lot of people rooting for London City taking a different path, but there's a long way to go.

“I think it’ll be fun. It’s a fun, new thing and I know that people might be a bit unsure of it to start with, but hopefully we'll win over the hearts and minds of the nation.”

Pierre Sage has revealed that Ismaila Sarr will need time to recover from his failed transfer to Liverpool, and addressed whether the Senegalese forward will move to Anfield in January.

The Reds approached Sarr in an effort to locate their Mohamed Salah replacement, with Brighton's Yankuba Minteh also considered.

Neither forward was signed by Liverpool, and Cody Gakpo, who was on the verge of transferring to Manchester City, has stayed on Merseyside to provide additional right wing coverage.

Ismaila Sarr must recover emotionally and Palace have no intention to sell in January, reveals Sage

The Reds oversaw a mixed transfer window, completing the signings of La Liga youngster Victor Munoz and PSG superstar Bradley Barcola.

Neither of these signings were deemed adequate to cover the gaping hole left by Salah on the right flank, leading the club to enter the market in late plunges for Sarr and Minteh.

Ultimately, both deals failed, and Liverpool will likely play until January without a natural right winger of the quality they need.

Crystal Palace boss Sage has revealed that the Senegalese forward will need time to recover from the transfer falling through, and clarified that the club have no intention to sell Sarr in January.

"He has to digest for sure because it's a dream for a lot of players to play with this kind of club," confessed Sage.

"He had a good opportunity but in the end it didn't work. If he wants to continue, you have to have a good season with us as he did last year.

"We know he needs time. Like every bad situation, time does the job and we need time for that," he concluded.

On whether the Senegalese attacker will make an Anfield move in January, Sage quickly dispelled the thought.

I don’t think [he will leave]," confessed the Palace boss. "I don’t think so, because all the clubs are in their season.

"We have a decision to take about the European list. It's difficult to move the team when you are in this competition," he concluded.

Mike Dean appeared on ‘Jamie Vardy’s Having A Party’ — the former Leicester City striker’s YouTube show — and revealed he used to bring off-pitch games into the Premier League “as a laugh.”

The ex-referee enjoyed a 28-year-long professional career, and retired from on-field officiating in 2022. He assumed full-time VAR responsibilities during the 2022-23 season.

Dean has remained a continuous source of controversy, with his post-retirement revelations fuelling theories of match-fixing and corruption among Premier League officials.

Dean admits he used to play games in the Premier League “as a laugh”

“There used to be games we had, as a laugh. We’d say, ‘We’ll kick off now, and see how long we can go without blowing a whistle,’” revealed Dean.

“I’ve done that a few times in the Premier League - before VAR, obviously. Went 20-25 minutes without blowing the whistle, [I would] let it go, let it go, let it go.

“And I used to do another thing - I used to see how long I could stay in the center circle, before I had to leave. That was just me joking about.

“The lads said, ‘You can’t’ - but I got about 15 minutes once, in one game,” Dean concluded, as Vardy and his co-host laughed.

During his final season as a VAR official, Dean claimed headlines for failing to send referee Anthony Taylor to the monitor during a 2-2 draw between Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur.

The latter's Cristian Romero pulled the hair of Marc Cucurella, but Dean did not instruct Taylor to approach the monitor as, in the words of Dean himself, “he is a mate, as well as a referee.”

In the 2024/25 season, shortly after Dean retired from officiating, he again fuelled rumours of corruption among Premier League referees by refuting claims for a penalty during the Manchester derby.

Gary Neville believed Manchester United should have received a penalty for a foul on Rasmus Hojlund, but Dean refuted the argument, claiming: “Not in a game like this, mate,” on Sky Sports.

The former official’s latest words on Vardy’s podcasts have prompted social media outrage, with fans questioning the impact of Dean’s “games” on the actual events.

“Disgusting, how many games did that affect negatively?" asked one user. “Is this not borderline match fixing?” questioned another.

“It’s just not what you want to hear, is it?” said one fan, amid pile-ons calling Dean a “clown” and “arrogant.”

UEFA have begun a disciplinary investigation involving Mason Greenwood and former Arsenal man Matteo Guendouzi following alleged provocative behaviour.

The incident in question came during August’s Champions League play-off game versus Lyon, which finished 1-2, and 2-3 on aggregate in the pair’s favour, as Super Lig side Fenerbahce advanced to the competition proper.

The Turkish top-flight club have released a statement via X (formerly Twitter) confirming their intention to challenge the proceedings brought by UEFA.

UEFA launch investigation into Greenwood, Guendouzi and Fenerbahce

The statement read: "Following the UEFA Champions League Play-Off Round second leg match, UEFA has initiated disciplinary proceedings against our players Matteo Guendouzi and Mason Greenwood, as well as against our club.

"Our club will present the necessary defenses before the relevant UEFA bodies in order to protect the rights and interests of our players and Fenerbahçe during this process.

Fenerbahce concluded: "The necessary information, documents, and defenses regarding the process will be submitted to UEFA, and developments are being closely monitored by our Club. We inform the public accordingly.”

It is alleged that both Greenwood and Guendouzi clutched their groins in an attempt to provoke the Lyon fans; the latter also raised his middle finger to them.

Guendouzi, who played two-and-a-half seasons for rival club Marseille, was involved in a further fracas after knocking the Ligue 1 side out of the competition in late August.

Fights broke out on the pitch and in the tunnel, with players and staff from both clubs reportedly involved. Guendouzi ran across the pitch performing karate kicks, which prompted members of Lyon’s squad to confront him. The former Gunner was, in turn, protected by his Fenerbahce team-mates.

The Frenchman's antics continued to anger the home fans as he exited the pitch, as he allegedly smiled and gestured at them, before being shoved angrily by a member of Lyon’s team or staff.

Guendouzi later defended his actions: "You know, you've got 60,000 people insulting your family, your mum, your children, even before the match, and nobody from the refereeing team tells the stadium to be quiet.

"I know that in France, when this sort of thing happens, there comes a point where they'll speak to the supporters and the match might be stopped. For 90 minutes - even longer if you count the warm-up - they were insulting my family. If you want to banter, then it goes both ways,” he concluded.

Fenerbahce boss Ismail Kartal defended his player post-match, claiming 'we all stood together' and 'this is what teamwork is all about.' Greenwood is also under investigation for his role in the post-match antics, after joining the Super Lig side on a four-year deal back in July.

The specifics of Greenwood’s role in the post-match clash aren’t yet clear, although reports suggest an obscene gesture was made by the Englishman. Fenerbahce referenced both he and Guendouzi by name upon revealing the proceedings initiated by UEFA against the club.

Lyon's Champions League loss had another unintended consequence: forcing the French top-flight to sell superstar Malick Fofana. That spiralled into one of the greatest Premier League deadline day sagas in history.

Liverpool have received a lift following deadline day frustration in the transfer market.

Big money summer signing Bradley Barcola has been confirmed fit and available for selection ahead of tomorrow night's Premier League fixture against Ipswich Town.

Manager Andoni Iraola confirmed that the 24-year-old French winger is in line to make his competitive debut at Portman Road.

Bradley Barcola set for Liverpool debut against Ipswich

Speaking ahead of the match, Iraola expressed his delight at securing the attacker.

"We are very happy with Bradley. It was our priority to sign a very good player in that position. I like the fact he wanted Liverpool a lot. He comes with the willingness to help us. He has trained and will be available for tomorrow."

The boost comes following a turbulent end to Liverpool’s 2026 summer transfer window.

Barcola's arrival provides added firepower to the Reds' attack, but supporters were left frustrated by the club's failure to secure a central midfielder before the deadline.

After agreeing the sale of Curtis Jones to Inter Milan and seen late moves for targets like AS Monaco's Lamine Camara fall through, the Reds enter the autumn with little room for injury or suspension in the middle of the park.

Barcola’s inclusion, however, offers an immediate injection of quality and dynamism to Iraola's frontline.

The winger developed in Olympique Lyonnais' renowned youth academy before enjoying a breakout 2022/23 campaign which ultimately earned him a €45 million (£38m) move to Paris Saint-Germain in August 2023.

During three seasons in the French capital, the line-breaking forward established himself as a key part of PSG's attack.

He won three consecutive Ligue 1 titles and played a pivotal role in back-to-back UEFA Champions League triumphs in 2025 and 2026.

While midfield concerns continue to linger among the Anfield faithful, Barcola’s availability gives Iraola a much-needed boost following a winless start this season's domestic campaign.

Sergio Aguero's winning goal against Queens Park Rangers on the final day of the 2011/12 season is perhaps the most iconic moment in Premier League history.

The Argentinian's injury-time strike earned Manchester City a 3-2 victory that took the title out of the hands of their cross-city rivals United and took it to the blue half of Manchester for the first time since 1968.

And Aguero has explained to FourFourTwo how he actually laid the groundwork for that goal with help from an unlikely accomplice.

Pick the ultimate 4-4-2 line-up from players in FourFourTwo's definitive Top 100 List

"It’s a memory I’ll never forget for the rest of my life"

Mario Balotelli was not noted for his assists record throughout his two and a half seasons at the Etihad Stadium; before that encounter with QPR, the Italian had only set up one Premier League goal in 40 appearances.

But Aguero had pulled Balotelli to one side before that famous goal and told him exactly what he wanted: a one-two playing into the box for him to finish off.

Aguero told FourFourTwo: "I made the decision to drop back to receive the pass from Nigel de Jong, then I tried to play a one-two with Mario Balotelli.

"That had been in my head already – I’d been planning that, to see if I could get a goal.

"Beforehand, I’d told Mario that I was going to look for him, that I was going to give it to him so that he could give me a one-two and an assist.

"Luckily, the plan I had with him worked out – it ended up being the perfect play. I did the one-two with Mario, I scored and we won the title."

Aguero went on: "Moments like that stay with you forever.

"It’s a memory I’ll never forget for the rest of my life.

"Now that I’m not playing anymore and I understand how that title is valued much more, it brings back very nice memories whenever I talk about it."

A busy summer of transfer business is over for Tottenham Hotspur, but injuries to James Maddison and Xavi Simons have left the Lilywhites short in one area.

It seems Spurs have bolstered pretty much every area of their squad apart from central attacking midfield (or the No.10 role). Jan Paul Van Hecke and Marcos Senesi are new faces in defence, Matheus Fernandes and £100m man Sandro Tonali are the fresh midfield pairing, while Savio and Omar Marmoush add quality to Roberto De Zerbi’s attack.

However, with the passing of deadline day, De Zerbi may be left wishing he had added a playmaker to his roster. Still, the solution could be right under their nose.

James Maddison 2.0

Tottenham fans waited a long time to see James Maddison return to the field after a spate of injuries last season. They got their wish when the 29-year-old came on as a substitute in the opening day defeat to Brentford, but it wasn’t long before he was causing concern once again.

After the game, De Zerbi confirmed (via London Evening Standard) that Maddison had “suffered a small injury in his shoulder,” and it’s thought he could be out for a couple of weeks at least. Speaking to the club website, the Spurs boss added: “I think with James, we have to find the right plan… We have to work consistently for three, four weeks, and then he's a different player - a different player on the pitch, outside the pitch.”

It says it all that Maddison has completed just five full 90-minute games for Spurs since signing for the club in 2023. That’s a real problem, especially considering Tottenham’s other option in that position, Xavi Simons, is out of action until at least early 2027, having suffered the same ACL injury as Maddison, only seven months later.

There is one positive to take from the current Tottenham injury list, however, with Dejan Kulusevski finally back in full training after more than 15 months on the sidelines. Spurs will have to be patient with the Swedish ace, but he could well fill that number 10 role when he’s back to his best.

In the meantime, it looks like Matheus Fernandes will be filling the gap, but that’s far from ideal and not where he has been signed to play.

Ten regrets

After signing so many players this summer and rebuilding the squad to De Zerbi’s liking, many had expected that a number 10 would be among the new additions. It wasn’t to be.

Morgan Gibbs-White has long been linked with Tottenham, but he stayed at Nottingham Forest. Meanwhile, the likes of Cody Gakpo and Iliman Ndiaye were strongly mooted as potential signings, and they could have eased the pressure in the space behind the striker, but the Liverpool man stayed at Anfield while Ndiaye ended moving to Man City at the last minute.

It could be that Tottenham go for a playmaker in January instead, but by that point, will it be too late? Spurs have the potential to challenge at the top this season given the quality of the squad, but not having adequate options in the number 10 role will limit them.

In Luca we trust

But Tottenham could already have a solution to their problem, and it’s staring Robert De Zerbi right in the face. While the Italian coach clearly favours experience over everything, particularly Premier League pedigree, he’s also taken a liking to Tottenham’s teenage sensation, Luca Williams-Barnett, who plays centrally as an attacking midfielder/forward.

Fans in N17 are already raving about the 17-year-old, and rightly so. He’s already flown through the youth ranks and has found himself on the fringes of the first team since the second half of last season. A strong pre-season with plenty of minutes has seen Williams-Barnett’s stock rise further, while he’s already made an appearance for the Lilywhites this term in the 5-1 win over Charlton in the Carabao Cup, coming off the bench after 78 minutes.

Spurs have pedigree for producing highly-rated youngsters. Harry Kane is a prime example, but the likes of Alfie Devine, Dane Scarlett, Troy Parrott, Harry Winks, and Oliver Skipp have all tried and failed to make the necessary impact in North London. Mikey Moore and Jamie Donley could still do that, but they’re now out on loan, leaving Williams-Barnett as the most promising prospect in the building right now.

Giving the teen substantial minutes this season would not be a token gesture. He absolutely has the quality needed to finally become the next big academy graduate at Tottenham. Williams-Barnett’s skillset includes dazzling dribbling, incredible vision, and an unbelievable level of swagger and flair for someone so young. He’s the kind of maverick Tottenham – and indeed, any club – dream of producing. To let him tread water in the reserves this season would be criminal.

Spurs cannot let another exciting young talent stagnate until he decides to move on in search of first-team football. Instead, De Zerbi needs to embrace the vitality and fearlessness Williams-Barnett brings and allow this rough diamond to flourish. Adding a splash of youth could be the perfect way to balance what is a very experienced team.

Williams-Barnett is the kind of player who can produce moments of magic, something Spurs have been severely lacking in the last couple of years. While Maddison and Simons are injured, it would surely make sense to give a homegrown talent his chance, rather than shoehorning other midfielders into a role they’re not comfortable in.

The supporters would love to see Williams-Barnett get an opportunity; the player himself would almost certainly rise to the challenge, and it could well be the kind of decision that ends up saving Tottenham tens of millions of pounds.

Keira Walsh hopes her former Barcelona teammate Alexia Putellas can make a major impact on the Women’s Super League, with the midfielder excited to see her friend and two-time Ballon d’Or winner take on the English game.

Putellas moved to London City Lionesses this summer after 14 years with Barcelona, winning three Champions League titles in that time, two of which Walsh won alongside her in 2023 and 2024 during the 29-year-old's three year stint there.

She is one of a number of high-profile arrivals and returning players in the WSL this summer, with Georgia Stanway and Ona Batlle joining Arsenal and Mary Earps and Kadidiatou Diani also joining Putellas at London City.

'It shows where women's football is at in England'

“Alexia’s a big name but she's definitely got all the talent to back that up,” Walsh said. “So first and foremost, I hope that she has an impact in the league.

“I think after seeing how hard she works and what she's about, that would be great for her. But in general, it's really exciting to have one of the best players in the world, if not the best player in the world, in our league.

“It's a really exciting time for the league. If you look at a lot of the signings that have come in the summer, a lot of teams have strengthened. Being an English player, and having played in this league for so long, I first played here when I was 17 - so 12 years ago.

“To know that people see it as the most competitive league and one of the most attractive leagues, with the likes of Alexia coming over and playing here now.

“It just shows where women’s football is at in England. Being in that space, it's really exciting to see that people are behind us and they're backing us.

“It’s the biggest difference in the league now, from when I first joined - seeing all the top players coming from abroad and playing here.

“It’s a really competitive league now and every team has an unbelievable squad. Seeing that squad depth and squad quality across most teams has improved so much.”

Chelsea chasing WSL glory again as they move to Stamford Bridge

But while Walsh is excited to see her former Barcelona team-mate in the WSL, her focus is firmly on helping Chelsea reclaim the title after Manchester City, Walsh’s former side, ended their remarkable run of six successive titles last season.

“The aim at Chelsea is always to win the WSL. Last year it went to City but the league was more competitive than it has been. In women’s football in general, we want that but obviously I would have preferred for the trophy to have come back with us.

“We need to control games better this season and when we're on top, we need to close out games and ride out the tough moments to make it hard for teams to come back. We made it difficult for ourselves last season.”

This season also marks a significant change for Chelsea, as they move their home from Kingsmeadow to Stamford Bridge after nine years at the 4,850-capacity stadium in Kingston upon Thames.

The Blues played four WSL games and all of their Champions League games at Stamford Bridge last season, but have now committed to host all of their home league matches at the 40,000-capacity stadium.

“I think it's an incredible move from the club,” Walsh said, on the move to the 40,000-capacity stadium. “Even just playing on a pitch of that quality in that stadium is an incredible feeling as a player.

“It makes you feel like you're being taken really seriously. And yeah, that's something that Chelsea have done. And I think to play in front of our fans at Stamford Bridge, you know, the place that we call home is really special.”

Last season, much was made of Hugo Ekitike, a standout striker in a faltering Liverpool attack, whose season tragically ended with an achilles tear versus PSG in the Champions League.

Erling Haaland won the Golden Boot (for the third time in four seasons, with only Mohamed Salah able to disrupt his streak) and the Frenchman hit 11 Premier League goals in 28 appearances.

For all the noise surrounding Ekitike, and Haaland’s Golden Boot procession, a certain Brazilian was quietly staking his claim as the Premier League’s next best striker. This season, he will realise it.

Joao Pedro will win the 2026/27 Golden Boot, here's why

Joao Pedro, like his French peer, was equally a standout in a failing Chelsea machine. He ended the season with the Blues’ Player of the Season award, and 15 Premier League goals in 35 appearances.

In all competitions, that total rose to 20, three more than Ekitike’s haul, and he equalled the Frenchman’s assist tally of six.

Despite his season-ending injury, Ekitike made just five fewer appearances than Pedro, and neither striker took penalties, with spot kick responsibilities falling to Salah and Cole Palmer.

Both attackers were clinical in their finishing: Pedro bagged 15 top-flight strikes from an xG of 14.96, and Ekitike struck 11 from an xG of 9.87.

But how will the Brazilian dethrone Haaland, who finished the Premier League season with a whopping 27 goals and was Manchester City’s penalty-taker?

To state the obvious, this isn’t the same Cityzens side that the Norwegian has played in since his debut campaign in 2022/23, when he broke the 38-game goal record.

To state the less obvious, and bear with, Haaland winning the Golden Boot would make for his fourth in five years, and tie him in the standings for most of all time alongside the Premier League’s greatest: Thierry Henry and Salah.

Will the football Gods allow him to tie that record? Both the Liverpool and Arsenal goalscorers played at least eight top-flight seasons to reach four Golden Boots, while Haaland is set to do so in virtually as many years as he has been in England.

FourFourTwo doesn’t believe so, and a historical rewind might just prove it. Many assumed a decade ago that Harry Kane would have broken the Golden Boot record with ease, so, why didn’t he?

The answer is, of course, Salah. The Egyptian steamrolled the league in his debut Liverpool season by, like Haaland, breaking the Premier League goal record. His tally of 32 denied Kane a third Boot, despite the Englishman hitting a staggering 30 Premier League goals — he even swore on his daughter’s life to have one of them recorded in his name.

Five seasons later, Salah was on track to achieve his fourth Golden Boot in 2022/23, so, why didn’t he? Again, the answer is obvious: a man named Erling Haaland arrived.

And when Haaland looked all but certain to three-peat in 2024/25, the Egyptian turned back the clock to claim his fourth, delivering the greatest individual season in Premier League history.

The point is, when goalscorers of Kane, Salah and Haaland’s calibre play in this league, it appears all but inevitable that the award will go to them. But when the Golden Boot record is on the line, someone, somehow, emerges out of nowhere to prevent it from being claimed so easily.

It is Pedro who will be the foil this season — a clinical, multi-faceted goalscorer playing in a Chelsea system that has begun the campaign in rock-and-roll fashion by winning games 4-3 and 3-2.

This is a high-scoring attack, with two top-tier creative players in Palmer and Morgan Rogers, and Pedro is the finishing centre-point. He already has two-in-two, as does Haaland, but this is the season in which the Brazilian won’t slow. The Norwegian, on the other hand, has entered mid-season slumps in each of his previous two campaigns, and life under Maresca won’t be as peachy as it was under Pep Guardiola.

Perhaps hitting 30 goals remains out of reach for the Blues forward, but Haaland will likely be kept in the low 20s as he adapts to a new Manchester City team and system. With Ekitike unlikely to return as the same player post-injury, and Alexander Isak certain to struggle in a Liverpool front-line that requires a season, at minimum, to adapt, Pedro’s path to the Golden Boot appears clear.

Chelsea might be a few seasons away from developing the class required to win a Premier League title, but their clinical Brazilian is already there.

Arsenal are sweating over the fitness of midfielder Declan Rice after the England international limped off at Villa Park during the Gunners' 1-0 Premier League victory against Aston Villa.

Bukayo Saka’s 59th-minute goal ultimately secured all three points for Mikel Arteta’s side, but the win came at a cost.

In the 85th minute, Rice was forced off while visibly limping, with Martin Zubimendi taking his place to see out the closing moments. Just six minutes prior to Rice's departure, centre-back Cristhian Mosquera went down holding his thigh and was replaced by Ezri Konsa, handing Arteta a worrying double injury blow.

Declan Rice limps off after summer of injury discontent

While Arsenal are yet to clarify whether Rice’s substitution was a precautionary measure following a knock or indicative of a muscle strain, his departure did set alarm bells ringing.

Rice had persistent fitness issues over the summer while representing England at the 2026 World Cup, where he reportedly suffered from neural pain affecting his lower back and hamstrings.

Those physical issues were likely the byproduct of a demanding 2025/26 campaign for Arsenal, during which Rice featured 55 times for the club and made 49 starts.

Adding to the concern is the short turnaround Rice had between international duty and returning to club action.

Following England’s final World Cup match on July 18, Rice was granted less than four weeks of rest before joining Arsenal's pre-season preparations and featuring in the Community Shield against Manchester City on August 16.

With William Saliba already ruled out for the foreseeable future after suffering a back injury during the World Cup, losing Rice would be a major blow.

Arteta will hope the midfielder's issue proves minor as Arsenal evaluate his condition ahead of their upcoming fixtures.

Tottenham Hotspur have been handed a lift on transfer deadline day as Swedish international Dejan Kulusevski returned to full team training, 477 days after suffering a complex knee injury.

The 26-year-old forward has not featured in a competitive fixture since May 2025, when a challenge during a Premier League defeat to Crystal Palace left him with patella cartilage damage in his right knee.

While initial diagnoses suggested a minor knock, subsequent scans revealed significant cartilage damage requiring surgery.

Dejan Kulusevski returns to Spurs training after 477 days

His rehabilitation was heavily disrupted by setbacks and because cartilage lacks a direct blood supply, the joint failed to heal naturally under increased workloads, forcing Kulusevski to undergo a second surgical procedure to clean out the affected area.

In total, the Swede's 15-month ordeal has forced him to sit out well over 60 matches for club and country.

From the sidelines, Kulusevski has watched a turbulent chapter in Spurs’ recent history unfold. Former manager Ange Postecoglou departed, Thomas Frank arrived and left, then so did Igor Tudor.

New head coach Roberto De Zerbi has since taken the reins, but Kulusevski has been out of action for so long, he has missed Tottenham's 2025 Europa League title, as well as the entirety of last season's domestic struggles, including a 17th-place Premier League finish. He was also forced to miss Sweden’s 2026 World Cup campaign.

For De Zerbi, who has faced a frustrating start to the 2026/27 campaign following consecutive losses to Brentford and Newcastle, Kulusevski’s return provides a boost to Tottenham’s attacking options.

The versatile attacker’s ability to operate as a direct right-winger or more of a central playmaker offers De Zerbi the options his side has lacked for quite some time.

Given that Kulusevski has spent 477 days away from first-team action, realistic expectations must be maintained. Re-integrating into high-intensity Premier League football following two surgical procedures and a prolonged period of inactivity will require significant patience from Spurs supporters, and it will inevitably take time before he recovers full match sharpness and rhythm.

Nevertheless, stepping back onto the training pitch alongside his teammates is a significant milestone.

"After 477 days I came back to full team training," Kulusevski wrote on social media.

"Everything is impossible until is [sic] not. Want to see a miracle. Be one. See u soon."

Few pundits or supporters could see anything other than Arsenal retaining the Premier League trophy this season before opening day.

Mikel Arteta has strengthened his squad in all areas of the pitch, whilst the managerial changes at their major rivals over the last eight months have left them not yet in a position to challenge.

The Spaniard’s side weren’t the most attractive title winners last term, as tension crept into their approach as they chased their first championship in 22 years, but they have started this campaign with renewed confidence.

Last season, Bukayo Saka, Kai Havertz and Martin Odegaard all had their lowest goal contributions in the last three years, so ensuring those attackers stay injury-free will naturally make some improvement.

However, there are also clear indications that they are evolving stylistically, with new signings Bruno Guimaraes and Christos Tzolis adding more creativity.

The sample size for this season is still relatively small, but the midfield seems to be progressing the ball forward more quickly, as they show signs of greater variation in their attacks.

Arsenal have only added centre-back Ezri Konsa this summer, though their full-backs are another area where they can increase their output in the final third.

Arteta likes to purchase full-backs who are comfortable in central areas, with Riccardo Calafiori, Jurrien Timber and Piero Hincapie all having spent considerable time at centre-back throughout their careers.

This enables them to not only offer cover in the centre of defence, but also make runs inside their wingers, invert into central positions in possession and provide physicality from set-pieces.

Calafiori is perhaps the most interesting example, as he was one of the best centre-backs in Serie A during the 2023/24 campaign.

Under the management of Thiago Motta at Bologna, he illustrated his ability to carry the ball forward and make line-breaking passes, whilst simultaneously intercepting opposition attacks and winning duels against robust strikers.

After moving to the Emirates, he switched back to the role which he had predominantly played in his formative years at Roma.

At Villa Park on Bank Holiday Monday, Unai Emery had clearly devised a plan to nullify his influence, with John McGinn playing on the right-hand side directly against him.

The Scotsman was happy to track him more centrally, whilst Boubacar Kamara and Matty Cash also took on the responsibility of monitoring the Italian as he glided into their area of the pitch.

However, just before the hour mark, substitute Eberechi Eze played a pass inside and Calafiori displayed his athleticism to wrap his foot around and scoop the ball into the path of Saka, who bundled it past Aston Villa goalkeeper Zion Suzuki.

After a discussion with Arteta, Calafiori and Arsenal almost repeated the move when Eze played him in once more, only for the offside flag to be raised just after the left-back had cleverly dragged the ball past a trailing Alysson.

In the 97^th minute, he was the furthest Arsenal player up the pitch as his team went in search of scoring a second.

The Italian has been directly involved in a goal in his last three games, including his early finish in the Community Shield against Manchester City.

"It was very different," said Arteta after the match when reminded his team had lost on their last visit to the ground.

"That shows our maturity, and it shows we have players who can change the momentum and understand what is needed in the game."

Calafiori is one of those players, and it would be a huge surprise if he didn’t record a seasonal best for goal contributions in Arsenal’s pursuit of back-to-back titles.

Vivianne Miedema helped Manchester City break Chelsea’s six-year Women’s Super League winning streak last season as they claimed victory under new manager Andree Jeglertz.

Manchester City claimed their first WSL title since 2016 last term, before going on to complete a domestic double by beating Brighton to lift the FA Cup.

Miedema, who joined from Arsenal in 2024, says the achievement represented the culmination of a period of change at the club and something she wanted to help the City achieve when she moved from WSL rivals Arsenal.

'People didn't expect City to do as well as we did'

Miedema claimed her second WSL title, having previously won with Arenal in 2019. She joined City in summer 2024 and after an injury-affected first season, last season scored 10 goals and made five assists to help City win their first league title in a decade.

“Every single league title is special for different reasons,” Miedema said.

“For me, after having left Arsenal after seven years and moving to City, I wanted to come here and help the club win things because they hadn't done that in a while.

“And my first year was tough personally with injuries, but also as a team with all the injuries we had and we didn’t get the result that we wanted to get.

“So coming back last season and doing what we did definitely felt like a full circle moment. It was really special to be part of it and to be able to celebrate the league and FA Cup win as well.”

After six years of dominance, it was going to take a lot to knock Chelsea off their pedestal. But new manager Jeglertz, aided by a lack of Champions League football due to a fourth-placed finish in the 2024/25 season, helped City do just that.

“Coming in last summer, there were a lot of changes, new people coming in and a new coach coming in. But I think we showed so much progress over the year.

“We always believed that we could do really well, but a lot of people didn't expect us to do as well as we did. Throughout the season, we adjusted and grew and that led us to win the league and the FA Cup too.

“For this year, regardless of if we are the champions or if we were chasing it, it doesn’t change our goals. Some of the girls haven’t been in this position before and it will be different.

“And looking at all the signings that other clubs are making, I think the league is going to be extremely exciting to see how it's going to pan out.”

'Isn't that why we love football?'

This year, the league has expanded by two teams to a field of 14 teams. A number of high profile players have also joined the WSL this season, something Miedema says speaks volumes of where the league is at.

“It’s amazing to see that so many big players want to come play in England and that the league has increased by two teams as well,” she added.

“It’s only going to get more exciting and more difficult to actually win it. To be in the league now and try to be successful again is going to be extremely difficult. But isnt’t that why we love football?

“That’s the reason every good player wants to come to England, because you want to measure yourself against the best.”

After a season away from Champions League football, City will be back competing against Europe’s best.

“I’m really excited to be back but it's going to be tough because you're going to be travelling a lot, you're going to be playing a lot of games.

“I think some of the girls will have to get used to it. But it's a competition you want to be playing and you want to measure yourself with the best in Europe.

“I can't wait to see how we do in the Champions League because it’s a completely different challenge to playing in the WSL.”

Arsenal were finally able to end their two-decade wait for the Premier League title last season, in a campaign which threw up more than its fair share of subplots.

Among the new signings, the redemption arcs and moments of personal glory was the story of 16-year-old Max Dowman, who became the youngest goalscorer in Premier League history when he netted against Everton, before becoming the competition’s youngest-ever winner.

Gunners icon Paul Merson has been particularly impressed by Dowman's emergence.

Pick the ultimate 4-4-2 line-up from players in FourFourTwo's definitive Top 100 List

Paul Merson on Max Dowman’s rise

Dowman was just 16 years old and 73 days when he scored a late breakaway goal to seal a crucial win over the Toffees in March, ahead of a summer which saw him claim a Premier League winner’s medal before collecting his GCSE results.

And for Merson, the teenager’s rise is barely believable.

“Dowman, in football terms, is a freak, and I mean that in the utmost respect,” Merson exclaims to FourFourTwo. “If he was in a book, you'd throw the book in the sea.

“If you were sitting reading about a 16-year-old kid who plays for Arsenal in the Premier League and scores against Everton, you’d just go ‘Oh, that’s never happening, who could be that good at 16?’”

Dowman clocked up 13 appearances for the Gunners last season and has represented England up to under-19 level, becoming that side’s youngest-ever scorer when he struck in a 7-0 win over Wales in October 2025.

Naturally, Dowman’s meteoric rise has left fans wondering just how far he will go, with Merson daring to believe he could match some of the game’s very best.

“He could be a generational great like Gazza or Rooney, who come along once in a blue moon,” Merson continues.

But it’s not just Dowman who has caught Merson’s eye when it comes to the club’s Hale End academy pipeline.

“And Myles Lewis-Skelly,” Merson continues. “He got in the team at the start at left-back. To then play in midfield and play the way he did, I’m pleased for him because that takes a lot.

“I’m a big fan of his. I like him more in midfield, if I’m being honest.”

Rule one for owners: never kill hope, never ruin fans’ chance to dream. That’s what Harrison Armstrong represents to Everton fans: hope, a chance to dream. The 19-year-old midfielder is a local lad, hailing from West Derby, one of their own and fulfilling their own dreams by pulling on the famous royal blue shirt of the club they love. Rule two for owners: don’t sell cherished home-grown talent.

Evertonians gathered at the Vitality on Saturday made their anger about the proposed sale of Armstrong to Nottingham Forest for £35m very clear to their unthinking owners, The Friedkin Group (TFG). “Don’t sell Armstrong, Harrison Armstrong, I just don’t think you understand,” they sang. “If you sell Armstrong, Harrison Armstrong, you’re going to have a riot on your hands”.

Everton’s manager, David Moyes, was clearly against the sale. TFG saw and heard the backlash, woke up to the folly of the plan, and called off the sale of a player widely considered Everton’s best home-grown talent since Wayne Rooney. Armstrong’s definitely worth keeping and fighting for.

“The potential sale of Harrison Armstrong goes against everything our fanbase stands for, a young talented Scouser who is the future of our club,” the Everton fans’ group The 1878s, said in a statement. It threatened to stop organising the flags and tifo displays that contribute so much to match-day atmosphere. TFG was toying with the very fabric of Everton life.

Also: what’s best for the player’s own development? Moyes looks after young players well, handling the precocious Rooney as best as possible when the bullish teenager launched himself so memorably on the scene in 2002. Moyes tries to shield such prospects in almost a paternal, certainly a pastoral, way. Moyes knows they will leave the footballing family home at some point so tries to prepare them while getting the best out of them.

Moyes showed vital support for a teenaged Ross Barkley when the teenager suffered a double break of his leg in 2010, even ensuring a new contract for a kid in a hospital bed worried about his future.

Moyes will feed Armstrong in and out of the team, not putting too much physical or mental strain on the 19-year-old. Armstrong looks like he can handle the pressure. That is partly down to the learning acquired when sent by Moyes on loan to Preston North End last season.

A broader dynamic is at work here, one that affects all supporters. Financial sustainability regulations are not fit for purpose when it comes to the development of young talent. From FFP to PSR to SCR, a rethink is required on content as well as lettering. The “pure profit” element to sales of academy starlets is so tempting to the more short-sighted owners. It was one of the reasons why a frustrated Eddie Howe was forced to sacrifice Elliot Anderson in a hurried sale to Forest. It’s why TFG considered offloading Armstrong. The player becomes an accounting item not a sporting asset.

TFG needs to balance the books at a club which has recorded alarming figures in some recent years, and been punished for it, but there are other more acceptable ways, others who could be sold. From a Premier League perspective, it would make sense if clubs were more incentivised to retain “one of our own”. One way would be to allow the first few years – perhaps 50 first-team games - of an academy graduate’s salary to be offset against SCR calculations. There would then be a financial incentive to keep home-grown talents.

Evertonians rightly take great pride that a local player has featured in every league campaign since the Football League commenced in 1888. It actually predates that. The likes of Liverpool-born goalkeeper, Charles Joliffe, played for Everton from 1885 until he was eventually replaced by Robert Smalley, a recruit from Preston.

Armstrong is more than a player to Evertonians. He’s a symbol of the area, almost an antidote to the big-monied modern game.

Connection with the community matters hugely, especially in an era where the Premier League is so heavily populated by overseas players.

Everton’s owners must have known there would be outrage. If TFG wasn’t aware, then it needs better advisors – or better channels of communication with fans. This is one of the most concerning elements of the whole story: TFG’s lack of understanding in the first place. It’s almost arrogance. Everton Football Club are more than a business; they are a footballing institution, a community asset, a developer of local talent and a beacon of hope. The Armstrong story highlighted that. Owners take note.

When Georgi Kinkladze arrived at Manchester City in the summer of 1995, the Georgian playmaker was one of Europe’s most promising young attacking talents.

It didn’t take long for the former Dinamo Tbilisi midfielder to become a cult hero at Maine Road, with the signing coming just as the still-young Premier League was beginning to establish itself as a viable destination for some of the continent’s best players.

This was proved evident in the fact that City were able to see off AC Milan, one of that era’s greatest sides, to Kinkladze’s signature.

Kinkladze on snubbing AC Milan for City

“There was interest from Italy, but [City chairman] Francis Lee was very determined,” Kinzladze tells FourFourTwo as he looks back at his 1995 move to England.

“He flew to see me and convinced me that City was a place where I could be the main man. I didn't know much about Manchester, but I liked the idea of a challenge in England.”

It quickly became clear to the young Kinkladze that English football was very different to anything he had previously experienced.

“When I arrived, the football was very different. It was much faster and more direct. The weather and the food were hard to get used to, but the fans made it easy. From the first day at Maine Road, they treated me like one of their own. That connection was instant.”

Alan Ball was the City manager at the time, having spent the previous season in charge at Southampton, famously building his team around Matt Le Tissier, instructing his side to ‘Just the ball to Le Tissier.’ So was that similar with Kinkladze at City?

“Alan Ball was very important in my development as a player,” he continues. “He loved technical players and wanted the team to play with flair, even if we were struggling in the table.

“The 90s were a different time and sometimes I was targeted by foul play. If you tried to dribble, someone would try to kick you. Vinnie Jones and the Wimbledon Crazy Gang were famous for it.

“But I had played in the streets of Tbilisi so I knew how to jump over a tackle. I always thought that if they couldn't catch me, they couldn't hit me.”

Those early Premier League days saw a number of big-name foreign players join the league, with Kinkaldze admitting that it was an exciting time to be involved.

“It was the start of something new,” he adds. “Seeing Gianfranco Zola, Dennis Bergkamp and Juninho arrive in the Premier League was exciting and it felt like the league was opening up to creative players.

“The long ball reputation of English football was changing.”

After spending 12 years at Wimbledon during the ‘Crazy Gang’ era, Neil Sullivan had experienced plenty during his career when he made the move to Tottenham in 2000.

However, nothing was able to prepare him for just how different the two London clubs were when he travelled north of the River Thames.

At Wimbledon, Sullivan had trained on Wimbledon Common and enjoyed the club’s uniquely down-to-earth culture, poles apart from the relative luxury he would find at Spurs.

Sullivan on swapping Wimbledon for Tottenham

“My contract was up in Wimbledon and my agent got me a move to Spurs through his connections,” Sullivan tells FourFourTwo as he reflects on the move.

“It was just a different world. I was used to training on Wimbledon Common, clearing up all the dog s**t before we could start. Suddenly, I’m walking into Spurs Lodge, which was completely different.

“I remember my first home game. I arrived at White Hart Lane and someone stopped me in my car, opened my door and offered to park my car. I thought it was a wind up. It would have been at Wimbledon!”

Towards the end of Sullivan’s time at Wimbledon, the club began the talks that would lead to their relocation to Milton Keynes, which caused huge amounts of fan unrest.

“Initially, we were going to Dublin,” Sullivan recalls, speaking via Betmaster Ireland, licensed for Irish players.

“We had new owners and Wimbledon weren't a massive club, and didn't have a lot of money. The Premier League was changing, so things had to change and modernise.

“But to move out of Wimbledon just didn't seem right. It just didn't seem right to take Wimbledon away from Wimbledon. People behind the scenes ultimately thought the MK Dons move would be more productive, earn more money.

“After that was decided, we got relegated, so they didn't get Premier League football in Milton Keynes and I think that was a big pull for doing it. The whole thing was just shocking.”

At Spurs, Sullivan was part of the side that reached the 2002 League Cup Final, only to suffer a shock defeat to Blackburn Rovers, a game which still rankles with the former Scotland stopper.

“Yeah, it was disappointing,” he says. “Don't forget, we just had a new manager come in. George Graham had got us to the final but then Glenn Hoddle took over. Daniel Levy had just taken over the club, so there were a lot of changes going on at the time.

“We’d go on to finish in the bottom half of the table so, while we had a talented side, it wasn’t a strong period. We were favourites for that game but, remember, Blackburn had won the Premier League within the last decade. They had a very good side.”

West Ham have got their Championship campaign underway as the Hammers look to bounce back from last season’s dire relegation campaign.

Nuno Espirito Santos’ side finished the season in 18th place to end a 14-year stay in the top flight, a period which saw them regularly oscillate between European pushes and survival battles.

Throughout this time, West Ham have been heavy spenders in the transfer market, but according to one former Hammers star, their recruitment has lacked the foresight and planning to build a balanced squad.

Tony Gale on West Ham’s transfer policies

Ex-West Ham favourite Tony Gale believes that the constant turnover of directors of football and other key transfer figures has meant cohesiveness has been lacking, leading to the club falling behind one of their rivals from across London.

“Fulham’s buying strategy has been far and away the better of the two,” Gale tells FourFourTwo. “It's designed to build a more balanced squad, with a good sell-on value for players.”

This has seen the Cottagers establish themselves as a mid-table Premier League side following their 2022 promotion from the Championship, with finishes of 10th, 13th, 11th and 11th over the past four seasons.

An effective transfer model, where the ability to develop players so that their sell-on value increases alongside their effectiveness on the pitch is vital in the current financial climate, but for Gale, this is not something West Ham have been able to replicate.

“West Ham seem to have been more reactive than proactive in the transfer market, taking action when a weakness is exposed,” he bemoans.

Central to his problem has been the revolving door of decision-makers behind the scenes.

“Then there’s been the constant changing of directors of football and the people recruiting,” he adds, before raising the basic issues that this problem brings on.

“Who’s been doing the buying? An agent comes on the phone and sells you his player. Well, every agent is going to do that.”

Gale’s ultimate conclusion here is one of another former Hammers favourite.

“What was it Harry Redknapp said? ‘They’ll have your trousers down’.”

During his two-decade career as a professional footballer, Diego Forlan has played in eight countries across three continents and turned out in a World Cup semi-final on his way to winning more than 100 international caps.

This journey has thrown up plenty of career highlights, but for the former Manchester United man, the 2010 Europa League final remains a particular standout.

The forward was a key part of Atletico Madrid’s 2-1 extra-time success over Fulham in Hamburg that night, scoring both goals for his side, including a 116th-minute winner to end the Cottagers' fairytale run to their first European final.

Forlan on firing Atletico to Europa League glory

“That night in Hamburg was one of the best of my career,” Forlan tells FourFourTwo. “A dream final. Not so much because it was a brilliant match, but because of the script.”

Fulham’s remarkable run to the final in just their second-ever European campaign had seen them first navigate a group containing Roma, CSKA Moscow and Basel, before Shakhtar Donetsk, Juventus, Wolfsburg and Hamburg were accounted for in the knockouts.

“Fulham arrived as the underdog, but they made life very difficult for us,” Forlan continues. I scored after half an hour, Simon Davies equalised, and the final went to extra time.”

With the clock continuing to run down, penalties loomed, only for Forlan to deliver when it mattered most, as he took full advantage of a chance that fell his way deep in the second half of extra time.

“When everything seemed to be heading for a penalty shootout, Sergio Aguero battled for a ball out wide and spotted me in the heart of the box,” he continues. “I managed to get the tip of my boot to it to give Atletico the title.”

Forlan’s reaction to the goal was as instinctive as his finish.

“I took my shirt off and threw myself onto the turf as if it were a swimming pool,” he recalls.

For Forlan, the significance of the goal stretched further than just adding another title to Atletico’s roll of honour.

“That goal tasted like glory, because it also marked a turning point for a club that started to feel important again,” he believes.

“Spain’s capital, a city used to seeing Real Madrid celebrating titles, was painted red and white, and thousands of fans gathered at Plaza de Neptuno in a huge display of pride.”

Less than two years ago, FourFourTwo sat inside the bowels of Al Ahli's inner city training ground in Jeddah, and whispers abounded. “If he loses this game, the manager might well be sacked,” one Saudi Pro League expert told us that evening, as we waited for Matthias Jaissle to arrive for his latest pre-match press conference.

Al Ahli had won only three of their first eight games of the new league season, and sat eighth in the table before the Jeddah derby with title-challenging Al Ittihad – a fixture that would attract a raucous crowd of 52,546. Given that Jaissle's club were one of the Saudi Pro League's big four – all owned by the country's Public Investment Fund (PIF) – their results were below expectation.

Back then, the main focus of our visit to Al Ahli had been the recent signing of Ivan Toney, rather than Jaissle, who was largely unknown to British audiences in October 2024. Our question was whether he could help his new frontman make England's next World Cup squad – Jaissle knew Thomas Tuchel, having played for him in the youth teams at VfB Stuttgart.

“Let's see if Thomas calls me and asks how Ivan is doing,” the smartly dressed Jaissle told FFT. “Ivan has the potential, definitely – he must deliver here to be seen in the UK, and we're doing our best to bring him into the best shape.”

Prior to this summer's World Cup, Tuchel did indeed call Jaissle to discuss Toney, revealing the “fantastic feedback” he received was enough to persuade him to pick the 30-year-old in his squad. By then, though, Jaissle could easily have been long gone as Al Ahli boss.

He did lose that Jeddah derby against Al Ittihad, a tetchy game interrupted by a sandstorm that blew dust from the nearby desert into the stadium. He avoided the sack, but was reportedly on his way out two months later after a loss at Al Kholood, with Max Allegri said to be his long-term replacement.

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That was until ultras protested at the training ground, putting up a banner declaring “Enough failure, leave!” The message was aimed at the club's hierarchy, rather than the manager. Jaissle stayed, and became an Al Ahli legend within months.

Jaissle was a central defender during a playing career that saw him help Hoffenheim to the Bundesliga for the first time in 2008, when he'd just turned 20. He'd been expected to be alongside Mesut Ozil, Mats Hummels and Manuel Neuer as part of the Germany under-21 squad that thrashed England in the final of the Euros in 2009, but damaged his ACL shortly before the tournament and would never be the same player again.

Further injuries forced him to retire in 2014, aged 25, before he got a job as a youth coach at RB Leipzig – his former Hoffenheim manager Ralf Rangnick had since become a key man in Red Bull's football project. Jaissle adopted a similarly high-pressing style, and has taken it with him ever since. After a stint as assistant at Danish club Brondby, he joined Red Bull Salzburg, led their feeder side FC Liefering to a joint-highest finish, then was handed the reins at the main club, replacing Jesse Marsch in 2021.

Working with young players such as Benjamin Sesko, Karim Adeyemi, Noah Okafor and Brenden Aaronson, he took Salzburg to a double in his first season, plus the Champions League's knockout stage for the only time in their history. They lost 7-1 at Bayern Munich in the last 16, while Jaissle was still only 33.

A season later, they went 30 matches unbeaten on the way to yet another domestic triumph. It was Salzburg's 10th straight title, but they haven't won the league since Jaissle left that summer. The German joined Al Ahli just a month after they'd been one of four clubs to be taken over by the Saudi PIF – together with Al Ittihad, Al Hilal and Cristiano Ronaldo's Al Nassr. Jaissle's new club had been Saudi Pro League champions in 2016 but relegated since, only returning to the top flight in the same summer as his arrival.

They quickly signed Riyad Mahrez, Roberto Firmino, Edouard Mendy, Franck Kessie and ex-Newcastle winger Allan Saint-Maximin, finishing an encouraging third in Jaissle's first season – enough to qualify for the Asian Champions League.

Then came Toney's arrival, and that tricky start to 2024-25 when Jaissle so nearly lost his job. He knew the pressure he was under when we visited, but didn't let it show – remaining professional throughout, even taking time to greet visiting European media afterwards. It was hard not to warm to him.

“Things take time – the club has a long-term vision,” Jaissle told us, subtly calling for patience as he attempted to turn around results, while nodding to his ability to improve young players. “I hope we can do better by implementing the philosophy from the top down to the academy, because at some point we'll need the young talents. In my eyes, that is the right approach.

“A lot of signings were made before I arrived, so it's important as a coach that you're flexible enough to adapt to a new country, culture and player profiles. In the long run, it's important everyone is aligned, that you improve your squad and players in the way you want to play.”

Jaissle was afforded time to do that. Their progress to the knockout stage of the Asian Champions League had been a factor in him avoiding the sack – Al Ahli had a stronger second half of the league campaign, improving to fifth, then surprisingly became kings of Asia for the first time ever. The Champions League's final three rounds all take place in Jeddah, giving Al Ahli a home advantage that helped, but they still had to defeat reigning Saudi champions Al Hilal in the semis, before a final victory over Japanese side Kawasaki Frontale – conquerors of Ronaldo's Al Nassr.

Last term, while finishing third in a three-way domestic race, they went all Brian Clough's Nottingham Forest and became continental champions again. Toney was key, scoring 72 goals in two seasons under Jaissle.

When PIF-owned Newcastle were looking for a manager to replace Eddie Howe this summer, it shouldn't have been a surprise that they opted for the German. Howe will be a tough act to follow, having delivered the Magpies a first major honour in 56 years. Why have a manager who's won one historic trophy, though, when you can have a gaffer who's won two?

Jose Mourinho is set for an unexpected return to Stamford Bridge after Real Madrid were drawn against Shakhtar Donetsk in the UEFA Champions League this season.

The Ukrainian champions have selected Chelsea’s home ground as their venue for European fixtures in 2026/27.

Shakhtar have been forced to play their designated 'home' matches thousands of miles away from home due to the ongoing conflict in Ukraine, which renders hosting international fixtures in their homeland impossible.

Jose Mourinho can't stay away from Stamford Bridge

Having previously utilised temporary venues in Poland and Germany during recent continental campaigns, the Ukrainian side reached an agreement to stage their Champions League ties in London this year.

The arrangement was made possible because Stamford Bridge is vacant of European football this season, following Chelsea's failure to qualify for any continental competitions.

The fixture, due to be played on Tuesday, September 8, sets up a West London homecoming for Mourinho, who made a return to Real Madrid this summer for a second managerial stint at the Santiago Bernabeu.

The Portuguese manager remains an iconic figure in Chelsea's history following two spells at the club. Across his reigns in SW6, he delivered three Premier League titles, an FA Cup, and three League Cups, famously declaring himself 'The Special One' during his unveiling in 2004.

Despite managing other clubs across Europe in the years since, Mourinho has repeatedly spoken of his enduring affection for Chelsea.

"When I am in London, I meet them every day on the street. I know that is going to be a relationship forever," Mourinho previously reflected when discussing his bond with the fanbase. "They belong to my history and I belong to their history. I will always be a Blue."

While Mourinho will occupy the technical area as Real Madrid manager against Shakhtar, his presence on the Stamford Bridge touchline is likely to be the focal point of the evening. For Chelsea supporters, watching their former manager return to the pitch under the Champions League lights, even in the opposition dugout as he did last season with Benfica, will stir plenty of emotions.

Jack Hinshelwood is a doubt for Brighton & Hove Albion against Chelsea this weekend.

The Seagulls star netted two goals on the opening day of the campaign, but missed Brighton's 4-0 win over Tromso in the Conference League last night with a knock.

Now, the utility man faces a quick turnaround ahead of facing a Blues side who have won both competitive matches under Xabi Alonso.

Jack Hinshelwood could be out for five to six weekes for Brighton & Hove Albion

Hinshelwood completed 63 minutes in the rout of Villa, scoring twice from just two shots on target.

But the midfielder picked up a knock on Wednesday, with manager Fabian Hurzeler, seemingly optimistic of him returning sooner rather than later when he spoke ahead of the European clash with Tromso.

“He had a small issue in training yesterday, so we have to go day by day with him and see how it progresses over the next few days,” the Brighton boss said after his side’s victory over Tromso. “I can’t give you a clear schedule for when he will be back: it could be a really short thing, or it could be a few days longer.”

“Let’s see how he presents himself, and then we can make a decision.”

According to The Athletic, the Brighton academy graduate will be out for five to six weeks – though the injury has not been confirmed.

Brighton have a number of injuries at this early stage of the season, with both wingers Kaoru Mitoma and Yankuba Minteh sidelined right now – the latter of whom Hurzeler claims to have spoken to, to convince the Gambian to remain at the Amex.

Mitoma missed the World Cup with Japan through injury, while Georginio Rutter is still being monitored following a knock.

Rutter's absence could see Greek striker Charalampos Kostoulas get his chance to shine, while new signing Promise David could be in line for a Premier League debut after sitting on the bench against Villa.

The Basque province of Gipuzkoa is famous for its scenic coastline, foodie hotspots and stunning mountainous terrain.

But this small area of northern Spain, with a population of less than one million, has also become notable for producing multiple elite football managers, including four current Premier League head coaches: Xabi Alonso, Mikel Arteta, Unai Emery and Andoni Iraola.

It meant that there were more managers hailing from Gipuzkoa than from England on the opening weekend of the Premier League season, putting renewed focus on the lack of home-grown coaches in the top flight.

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Why are there so few English managers in the Premier League?

The three men flying the flag for English managers in the Premier League are Michael Carrick at Manchester United, Coventry City head coach Frank Lampard and Ipswich Town boss Gary O’Neil.

This is not a new phenomenon. Go back 10 years to the start of the 2016/17 season and there were just four English head coaches - Bournemouth’s Eddie Howe, Sean Dyche at Burnley, Crystal Palace manager Alan Pardew and Mike Phelan at Hull City. It was the same number on the opening weekend of the 2021/22 campaign.

Look down into the Championship and just 10 of the 24 clubs are led by English managers. If that seems low, it may be a surprise to learn that this isn’t a new phenomenon either. Just nine second-tier teams had English head coaches at the start of the 2016/17 campaign, while there were 10 going into 2021/22.

This doesn’t include the odd manager who was born in England and represented another country as a player, but the point still stands: the number of home-grown coaches at the top of the domestic game has been low for some time.

When you look at the identities of the three Englishmen currently managing in the Premier League, you start to see why.

Lampard and O’Neil both entered the division with promoted clubs, albeit the latter was hired over the summer after Kieran McKenna left Ipswich. Meanwhile, Carrick got the United job only after a trial run as interim head coach during the second half of last season.

Despite a generally positive two-and-a-half years in the Championship with Middlesbrough, it is hard to believe that Carrick would have been considered by the Old Trafford hierarchy if he hadn’t played for the club. Similarly, go back to summer 2019 and it is unlikely that Chelsea would have hired the coach that had just taken Derby County to the Championship play-off final in his first season in management if it wasn’t Lampard, a Blues legend.

It suggests that unless you are a famous ex-player, the most likely route into the Premier League for a second-tier boss is by getting your club promoted. But none of the current English managers in the Championship are in charge of one of the promotion favourites, so that is a tall order for the current crop.

You would think that if a coach performs well enough over a long period they would get a Premier League role sooner or later, but it rarely works out that way. Just three times in the past five years has a Premier League club plucked a manager directly from a Championship job - Wolves’ swoop for Rob Edwards from Middlesbrough last season, Chelsea hiring Leicester City’s Enzo Maresca in summer 2024 (and the Italian had just led the Foxes to the second tier title), and Southampton appointing Luton Town boss Nathan Jones in 2022.

In that time, 14 different English managers have been hired by Premier League teams, but only four hadn’t previously been a permanent head coach in the division. Those were Steven Gerrard at Aston Villa in 2021, O’Neil at Bournemouth in 2022, plus Liam Rosenior and Carrick this year. Once again, two of those were big-name former players, while Rosenior came from Chelsea’s sister club, Strasbourg.

It shows that almost every avenue to managing at the top level has been closed off. So, why is that the case?

Probably the most obvious explanation, although not the only one, is that the stakes are now so high at the top of the game that clubs aren’t willing to gamble on unproven coaches. As the riches on offer continue to grow, owners of Premier League teams are increasingly desperate to stay in the division, while those in charge of Championship sides are increasingly desperate to get there.

It means that new faces rarely get to ride the proverbial managerial merry-go-round - in the last five years, Keith Andrews at Brentford and O’Neil at Bournemouth were the only bosses hired permanently by Premier League clubs who were entering their first full-time role as a No.1.

Many young coaches have spoken out about their struggle to land a job. After becoming manager of Italian Serie B side Cesena in March, former England left-back Ashley Cole said he had felt ‘discouraged by a lack of opportunities’ at English clubs.

He told BBC Sport: “They like to throw the ‘you don’t have experience’ line. And I’m like, I get what you’re saying, I agree - but how am I going to get experience?

“That’s the battle you have to fight as a number two for six or seven years - you have to take a leap of faith, but a club also has to take a leap of faith.”

Cole’s former Chelsea and England team-mate John Terry echoed those sentiments last year. “It’s really disheartening, actually,” he told BBC Sport. “I have interviewed for a few jobs myself and not got them due to my lack of experience as a number one, but having captained Chelsea and my country, I’m not sure you can do much more in terms of leading teams and people.”

Terry holds a UEFA Pro Licence, which brings us on to another contributing factor. Here, England has traditionally lagged behind other major European nations, with a Guardian report in 2017 stating that 1,796 people in this country held a Pro or A Licence, compared to 15,089 in Spain. In 2021, the FA revealed that fewer than 500 coaches had completed their Pro Licence with England Football.

With a limited number of qualified English coaches in supply, and clubs unwilling to gamble on the ones that do have the necessary badges, it is no surprise that so few are managing in the Premier League.

Contrast that with Spain, where 12 of the 20 La Liga clubs are managed by Spaniards, while the national team won Euro 2024 and World Cup 2026 under a head coach, Luis de la Fuente, who led the country’s age-group teams for almost a decade.

Meanwhile, despite Gareth Southgate enjoying relative success after being promoted from England Under 21s to senior head coach, the FA replaced him with Thomas Tuchel in 2024 to win the World Cup - insinuating that they felt no home-grown coaches could achieve that goal.

It all adds up to a wider cultural issue that starts from the top. Whereas Spain’s FA and domestic league are committed to giving home-grown coaches opportunities, that is of secondary importance in England. That mentality has been ingrained for so long that it is difficult to see it changing.

No wonder Basque managers outnumber their English counterparts in the Premier League.

For a time, it wasn't that uncommon for sides outside the top flight to reach the FA Cup final: half of the finals between 1973 and 1982 featured a second-tier side, with Sunderland, Southampton and West Ham United even managing to win it.

But since the Premier League was founded in 1992, it has happened on just two occasions, with Millwall becoming the first club to break that run when they made it to their first-ever FA Cup final in 2004.

Former Dragons Den star Theo Paphitis was the club's chairman at the time, with player-manager Dennis Wise inspiring the side to a showdown with Manchester United at the Millennium Stadium.

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“I’m sure the FA hated it. You lot in the media definitely hated it!"

United ultimately ran out 3-0 winners on the day - but Paphitis told FourFourTwo: “It was unbelievable that Millwall were even in the cup final, absolutely unbelievable.

“I’m sure the FA hated it. You lot in the media definitely hated it! The FA wanted a showcase of two big teams, right? Well, they got Manchester United, then they had to deal with an underdog. You all had to accept a minnow. A good story for a day, I suppose.

“I never really had much time for the Football Association stuffiness, even though I was on the FA committee – because I was on the Football League board, I automatically got into it.

"But I wasn’t part of the blazer brigade, I wasn’t really interested in the pomp and ceremony, even though I’d already changed the outlook of the Football League by creating the new Championship, and renaming the others to League One and League Two.

"I instigated the revamping of the Football League, I was damned if I was going to let the Premier League run away with everything.

“We broke every protocol going. I certainly wasn’t going to the cup final dinner beforehand or anything like that, either.

"To me, Millwall were the people’s club. I had 99 little gold lion lapel badges cast, as souvenirs of the day – I had one for every member of the club staff, so they could remember the moment.

“The cup final was [referee] Jeff Winter’s last game, he was retiring, and someone told me he collected badges.

"So I managed to charm a lovely Welsh lady who believed everything I said to her and who took me all the way into the bowels of the stadium, all the way down to the referee’s room.

“I knocked on the door, it opened and I introduced myself, but they knew who I was.

"I said ‘Right Jeff, it’s your last game, I know you’re retiring’. I shook his hand and wished him a happy retirement.

"Then I said ‘I've cast these 18-carat gold lion lapel pins for all of my team and the Millwall backroom staff – everyone, including the groundsman’. I said, tongue in cheek, ‘They’re 18-carat gold, they’ve got a little bit of value, so you can of course turn them down or declare them to the FA, as you wish’.

“But I don’t think anybody in their wildest dreams was going to think that a little lapel pin badge was going to influence the decision-making of the FA’s top officials in an FA Cup final.

"I turned to Jeff cheekily and said ‘You won’t care a monkey, because you’re retiring’. Then to his assistants ‘You guys have got a career ahead of you’. They looked at me as if to say ‘So is this guy totally nuts?’

“Jeff said ‘Well, that’s very kind of you, Theo’, and he graciously accepted the gift, as did the others.

"So, I presented them with the pins, which I’m sure they still possess to this day, as a memento of that unbelievable day for Millwall Football Club.

"And I still think it was one of the best displays of refereeing I’ve ever seen. Jeff let it flow.”

UEFA are looking to oust Gianni Infantino from power, as they consider criminal proceedings against FIFA President Gianni Infantino.

UEFA are subpoenaing FIFA and the financial institutions involved in the United States to obtain documents related to the Swiss's plans to privatise the World Cup, which were revealed last month by Martyn Ziegler of The Times.

Yesterday, UEFA called off their threatened boycott of all FIFA tournaments, following Infantino backing down from selling off the Greatest Show On Earth – but it appears that the president is still hanging by a thread in his job.

A legal document, as seen by Sky News, claims that, “UEFA and other interested parties are preparing to bring criminal claims in Switzerland against Infantino and possibly other FIFA officials and advisors for criminal mismanagement under Article 158 of the Swiss Criminal Code and such further or alternative charges as the developed factual record may support, arising out of the secretive structuring, valuation, financing, and marketing of a transaction that inflicted direct and concrete injury on FIFA's reputation, governance authority, and commercial relationships to the detriment of FIFA as well as its 211 members, including UEFA's 55 member associations.”

The report claims that, “The application was lodged by UEFA in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York against JP Morgan Bank as well as planned lead investor Thrive Capital and its CEO, Joshua Kushner, who is the brother of Donald Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner.”

The original proposal, known as the FIFA Forward Enterprise (FFE), planned to spin off and sell a minority stake in the commercial rights of flagship events organised by the governing body, such as the World Cup.

The plan aimed to raise over $4 billion in capital from private investors, led by Kushner’s Thrive Capital, with Infantino eventually becoming chair of this new spin-off organisation.

Infantino pitched the scheme by offering member associations increased development funding, scaling payouts significantly through 2030 if they backed the initiative – but was met by widespread backlash, with UEFA, CONCACAF, and AFC all fiercely rejecting the move.

The controversial FIFA chief officially abandoned the project on August 1, claiming it had created unmanageable divisions that are “no longer in the interest” of its objective.

FIFA COO, Kevin Lamour, claimed that the governing body's own administration had been ‘deceived’ about the project, with Chief of Global Football Development, Arsene Wenger, adding that he hadn't seen the plans until they were revealed in the media.

Infantino remains under intense pressure, as he seeks re-election for a fourth term as president at the Fifa Congress in March

Why would you limit yourself? Has there ever been a player nicknamed ‘the somewhere someone’, who ever outshone the original? The Romford Pele, the Welsh Xavi and the Scouse Cafu were all tongue-in-cheek, at least; the Croydon De Bruyne, the Scottish Messi and the Yorkshire Pirlo now feel almost mocking.

The Stockport Iniesta felt like shorthand at best. Diminutive, innately intelligent in his movement, excellent in small spaces: a midfielder could play a rondo in a lift. Pep Guardiola infamously proclaimed that Andres Iniesta would retire them all in Catalonia – and perhaps that quote was at the heart of the Foden comparison: that despite the present riches of Pep's first wave, the future was arguably bigger and brighter and bolder than the Centurions' peak.

Not that Foden and Iniesta have been inextricably linked: the Manchester City academy graduate has been compared more readily to more relevant parallels. It was expected that Foden would assume De Bruyne's throne; even Bernardo Silva's. Most of us have forgotten that Iniesta was even a reference point at one point or another, simply a metaphor of grandiosity more than an explanation for his profile. Yet there is a comparison.

Iniesta was a true generalist: all things to all men in a Blaugrana shirt, from dictating play from deep in the 2006 Champions League final to turning his hand at being a left-winger later under Pep. He was so talented that he could play Xavi's role, a bit of Sergio Busquets' and even mirror Lionel Messi on the right. A player that you simply had to “know ball” to appreciate.

Foden has had similar connotations. Gary Neville notably claimed that regardless of what form the City star was in, he was undroppable for his country. Gareth Southgate seemed to agree towards the end of his England tenure, crowbarring Foden into the No.10 spot in his side. Jude Bellingham was shoved out left; Harry Kane started to get subbed more.

“Just give Foden freedom. Let him dictate. Let him roam.” It's commonly considered that he's always been at his best when given the space and time to bend a game to his will.

And this, is a lie.

Foden has two very obvious peaks, both for Manchester City. The first came in the 2020/21 season, his breakout season behind closed doors following David Silva's departure. Those who didn't care to notice assumed he was a like-for-like heir – yet in City's strikerless system, Foden was the left-winger most often, playing a Sane-esque role in which he held width, beat full-backs on the outside, and pressed relentlessly.

He operated as a false nine at times in this system, sometimes an advanced midfielder: but fluidity shouldn't be confused for freedom. This was one of Guardiola's most forensic systems, with Foden one of several following instructions to the letter. He wasn't free: he was completing a task.

And then in 2023/24, the England man had the season of his life. Either from the right, left or centrally – depending on who overlapped – Foden was an attacking midfielder, drifting into a spot in front of the penalty box, receiving on the half-turn and unleashing hell. This time, the team was geared to him, even Erling Haaland sacrificing a few goals to allow this shadow striker to flourish.

Again, there was nothing free about the role. Foden did not have autonomy to dictate play or create: he was there as an exclamation point. It suited him perfectly.

We've been going round suggesting Foden is a generalist: yet, Foden is a specialist. He is best not when he's given a blank canvas and a box of paints, but when you give him a toolkit and a timer.

And that's precisely why he's only drifted in and out of City's best teams. Generalists are useful in any scenario: Bernardo Silva, John Stones, Gabriel Jesus and Ilkay Gundogan all adapted their roles depending on whether Pep went with inverted wingers, a double-pivot, a target man or a 3-2-4-1. Specialists like Jack Grealish or Aymeric Laporte were usually good at one or two things, though, and found their importance fluctuating.

It's not an insult to call Foden a specialist. Liverpool built a team of them, with Mohamed Salah, Trent Alexander-Arnold and Roberto Firmino doing basically the same thing for the entirety of Klopp's tenure to a league-defining standard. Perhaps it goes to explain, however, why neither Foden nor Trent have ever truly thrived for very long in an England shirt.

And maybe the expectations were too much on Foden. The No.47 was one of the first recipients of the ‘generational’ tags on social media, when really, none of us really knew what that actually meant. Was he the Second Coming of Gazza, peroxide-primed, 'n' all? Is Di Maria a lofty enough bar? Would Foden simply define an era of English attacking midfielder?

It just feels like we got him wrong back then, and we're continuing to now. Early signs under Enzo Maresca aren't that he's going to grab City by the neck and deliver a lightning bolt from the centre of chaos. And perhaps he was never that player: he was more of a Salah or a Mahrez or a Julian Alvarez that you could get to do a very specific job in a specific system.

There's nothing wrong with that. Not everyone is Andres Iniesta, after all.

Ella Toone has been at the heart of Manchester United’s women’s team since its inception, and as the club enters a new era this season, the midfielder insists she has plenty more to give.

Marc Skinner’s five-year spell in charge came to an end this summer with former Hearts boss Eva Olid taking over as United’s new manager in her first Women’s Super League role. There has also been significant change within the squad - with Leah Galton, Hannah Blundell, Millie Turner, Lisa Naalsund, Melvine Malard and Gabby George among the departing names.

But Toone remains at the club she calls home, as United prepare for another competitive WSL campaign, with the 26-year-old determined to continue improving.

Ella Toone taking leadership role at Manchester United

“I know that as someone who has been here for a long time, sometimes it can be hard to find that motivation or be a bit complacent,” Toone said. “But because of the person that I am, I want to be the best I can be.

“As a player and a person, I always want to be better and push myself. I have that motivation to get up and give 100% every day.

“I feel like I've got a really high ceiling and there's still a long way for me to go as long as I come in and learn and develop every day."

With so much change at the club, Toone has emerged as one of United’s senior figures, a role she is enjoying growing into.

"I'm 26 and for some reason I'm now in the old category at this club," Toone said. "But I take a lot of pride in the fact that I've played a lot of games for Manchester United and I know that people can lean on me.

"I have to be a leader in this team and show them what it means to play for Manchester United. It’s something that I take in my stride."

'Bigger and better every year'

United face an increasingly competitive WSL this season, as the league continues to grow and attract some of the biggest names in world football.

Former Barcelona star Alexia Putellas is among those arriving in England this summer, joining London City Lionesses, while the league has expanded to 14 teams. Toone believes that increased competition is one of the reasons the WSL has become such an attractive destination for players from around the world.

“We know that this league is one of the best in the world because no matter who plays who, they can take points off anyone,” she added.

“No game is an easy game in this league, every game is really tough and that's why we attract such amazing players and talents from all across the world - they want to play in a league that's so challenging and competitive.

“It’s grown so much in the time that I've been a part of it and that's down to clubs investing more and bringing top world-class players in from all over the world.

“It gets bigger and better every year, so it's exciting to be a part of that change and that journey within women's football.”

That increased investment across the WSL provides an interesting backdrop to United’s own summer that has been dominated by departures that have raised questions over whether United are keeping pace with the investment of their rivals - champions Manchester City, Chelsea and Arsenal, and the recently-ascended London City Lionesses.

Despite reaching the Champions League quarter-finals last season in their first time in the main competition, they missed out on European football this season after a fourth-placed league finish.

Their reshaped squad now gives Olid further challenges to tackle to close the gap on the teams above them.

But for Toone, now the only remaining pioneer from the side established in 2018, her focus is on her continued development and fighting hard in another season at the club that made her fall in love with football.

And for a lifelong United fan, no moments come bigger than the opportunity to play at Old Trafford - where United will host Arsenal in their final home match of the season.

“It means everything to play at Old Trafford,” she added. “I think it means everything to everyone who plays for Manchester United to play at one of the best stadiums in the world in Old Trafford in front of our fans, family, friends. It's always an amazing opportunity for us and one that we enjoy doing.

“But Leigh Sports Village is our home and has been for a long time - we love it when we fill out that stadium, but of course we look forward to our Old Trafford games every year.”

Only three people in history have ever scored a hat-trick in a World Cup final.

For 49 years, Sir Geoff Hurst was the only one, with that feat of course coming in the 1966 FA Cup final.

American Carli Lloyd matched it in the 2015 Women's World Cup final, and Kylian Mbappe became just the second man ever to do it when he scored all three of France's goals in a 3-3 draw against Argentina in the 2022 final, only to lose the tie on penalties.

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Sir Geoff Hurst: "I’m sure if you’d ask Mbappe he'd have swapped his hat-trick for a winner’s medal."

Sir Geoff told FourFourTwo he was not fussed to have to share what was once a unique distinction, however, saying: "Watching Mbappe decades later, I can honestly say I didn’t care. One, because two of his were penalties, which makes it different from mine.

"But, more importantly, because he ended up on the losing side. I’m sure if you’d ask Mbappe he'd have swapped his hat-trick for a winner’s medal."

Even if Mbappe had added to his the winner's medal he had claimed four years earlier, though, it would take nothing away from Sir Geoff's experience.

He said: "That final in ‘66 was so utterly life changing.

"I still bump into people that tell me they were there that day, or can recall where they watched the game or who they were with when my final goal went in.

"It was the biggest game in the world and I pulled off something special - so it means a huge amount to me, obviously."

Hurst laughed off the suggestion that he has not had to pay for a drink in the past 60 years, though.

He said: "I wouldn’t say they queue up, but people do offer to buy a drink for me from time to time!

"Not on a regular basis, or as often as people may think. It’s very flattering and very nice that people want to do that, but I always refuse.

"It's weird in a way, a complete stranger coming up to me, offering to buy me a pint, so I never accept."

Until recent years, British players have generally been reluctant to ply their trade abroad compared with their continental colleagues.

So you can imagine what a big risk it was for Kevin Keegan to have made that move back in 1977.

The midfielder was Liverpool's star player and was just about to help the club to win their first-ever European Cup when the deal was struck to take him to Hamburg - so why leave, and why HSV?

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"I don’t like sausages – unfortunately, I couldn’t get away from them in Germany!"

Keegan told FourFourTwo in 2007: "I’d dispute that I could have moved to any club in the world.

"In 1977 there were no English players abroad and they weren’t perceived as a good investment. Only [Welsh Juventus legend] John Charles had done really well.

"Hamburg was the only offer I got, and that’s where I went.

"They phoned me up, I said I wanted to leave Liverpool - I felt I was stagnating there, even though I loved the club, the fans and the players.

"I needed a change; I’m not the type of character who stays at one club for all his life.

"Hamburg offered me four times the salary that I was on, which was incredible. So financially it was right, and my wife spoke German, which was a great start.

"I just thought, ‘That’s the type of challenge that I want to try’."

Keegan won back-to-back Ballons d'Or while at Hamburg - he remains the only Englishman ever to win more than one - as well as helping the side to a Bundesliga title and a European Cup final.

There was one downside to the move, though...

"I don’t like sausages – unfortunately, I couldn’t get away from them in Germany!", Keegan said.

"I loved the cakes over there though, to my coach’s disdain.

"There was a fantastic patisserie next to the training ground...but I’ve never been a sausage fan."

This interview first appeared in the April 2007 edition of FourFourTwo magazine

Robert Sanchez’s position as Chelsea’s starting goalkeeper is under genuine threat following a lapse in the opening game of the Premier League season against Fulham.

In conceding Josh King's first half strike, Sanchez was caught short on what should have been a routine save.

According to FotMob, King’s effort registered 0.07 xG (Expected Goals) and 0.07 xGOT (Expected Goals on Target), which indicates that 93 times out of 100, the average top-flight goalkeeper would be expected to save it.

Chelsea boss Xabi Alonso has some thinking to do in the goalkeeper position

Allowing such an effort to sneak into the net handed the hosts an equaliser and brought back to the surface some uncomfortable questions regarding the Spanish stopper's overall reliability.

This was hardly an isolated incident, either; Sanchez has committed the occasional high-profile error throughout his Chelsea spell, often leading directly to goals.

Last season, he was temporarily dropped in favour of Filip Jorgensen during the early months of Liam Rosenior’s tenure.

Now, with Xabi Alonso occupying the Stamford Bridge dugout, Sanchez faces a threat to his standing as Chelsea No. 1 and must once again prove himself to another manager.

Alonso may come to the conclusion that Sanchez lacks the composure required to serve as undisputed first-choice based on his Fulham display.

What makes Sanchez’s position more precarious is the evolution of Chelsea’s dressing room dynamic. Previously, at 28 years old, he held unique status as the eldest member of the first-team squad.

Twelve months on, that dynamic has shifted as the group is collectively a year older, and Alonso’s summer business saw Jordan Henderson and Danny Welbeck arrive.

With two decorated elder statesmen now in the building, Chelsea no longer depend on Sanchez, to the same extent, to provide leadership from between the posts.

Meanwhile, a very real competitive alternative has emerged in the form of Mike Penders. Returning from his loan spell at Strasbourg, the young Belgian stopper delivered performances statistically right on par with expectations while showcasing composure with the ball at his feet.

Given that distribution was always considered one of Sanchez’s primary strengths, Penders matches his elder counterpart while potentially offering greater long-term upside.

It's not been the start to the season that Aston Villa would have wanted.

Just a few months on from lifting the Europa League trophy and securing a top four finish, Unai Emery's side were thumped 4-0 by Brighton and Hove Albion on the opening weekend of the Premier League season.

Just to make matters worse, the situation around Ollie Watkins has left a bad taste in the mouths of many supporters.

"Unai Emery has geared Aston Villa up for consistent success in Europe"

Emery was cryptic as to what has gone on with the England striker, saying that the reason for Watkins' omission against Brighton was 'a question for him'.

That comes after several high-profile players have already left Villa Park this summer, including Youri Tielemans, Morgan Rogers, Lucas Digne and Ezri Konsa, with Emiliano Martinez also being tipped to go.

But Peter Crouch believes that the Villa boss has already shown he is more than capable of riding out to storm and continuing to take the side on to bigger and better things over the long run.

The former Villa striker told FourFourTwo earlier this summer: "Unai Emery deserves to be mentioned in the same breath as the really elite managers, with what he’s done at Aston Villa.

"Winning the Europa League was massive, and Champions League football again is going to help them take things up another notch in the long term.

"I’m pleased for the fans who’ve suffered over the years.

"I interviewed Unai at the training ground and he’s in it for the long haul. Why wouldn’t he be? They’ve got ambition.

"They’ve built a hotel at the training ground – that’s important because they might fly back from a European game, sleep there, then do a warm-down the next day.

"He’s geared that club up for consistent success in Europe, and I think that’s what they’ll get."

Villa will find out their opponents for the league phase of this season's Champions League when the draw is made on Thursday, August 27.

Kevin Keegan played with and against an absolute litany of brilliant players over his career...and, of course, all of them would proudly cite his name in return,

George Best, Bobby Charlton, Denis Law, Franz Beckenbauer, Gerd Muller, Zico, Rivellino, Dino Zoff, Kenny Dalglish and Bobby Moore are just some of the icons of the game who shared a pitch with Keegan at some point during his glittering career.

But for Keegan, three names stood out above all the rest

'Johan Cruyff was the cleverest player ever'

Two of the best players of their generation, Keegan and Cruyff both won multiple Ballons d'Or in the 1970s and did battle as captains when England played the Netherlands at Wembley in 1977.

Cruyff and Keegan never found themselves playing club football together - but they both lined up together in a UNICEF World XI for a charity game against Borussia Dortmund in 1979.

The Dutchman clearly left an impression on Keegan, who told FourFourTwo in 2007: "Johan Cruyff was the best I played with.

"He was the cleverest player ever.

"When he was playing well, he would run the show, and when he wasn’t playing well, which was rare, he would stick to the mundane things and work for the team.

"He could be a soldier and he could be a general. He had no ego, and that is a sign of greatness.

Keegan also has perhaps the greatest possible answer as to the best players he ever played against.

"The best players I ever faced? I’d put Pele and Diego Maradona in there together," Keegan said.

"I played against Pele when he was 38 and Maradona when he was 17. The fact that I link them together tells you how much I think about Pele."

This interview first appeared in the April 2007 edition of FourFourTwo magazine

Fulham will start the new Premier League season by having the neighbours round. The first Monday Night Football of 2026-27 takes Chelsea down the road to Craven Cottage, where they’ll play in a derby that will do little to indicate what’s to come for either team in the next nine months.

Chelsea have more tangible targets than local bragging rights in a rivalry so cosmopolitan that ‘local’ doesn’t mean much anyway. They’ve been going after those goals like they mean it, up to and including a British transfer record move for the hottest property in English football.

Morgan Rogers has linked up at Stamford Bridge with Xabi Alonso, the Blues’ new manager and the man on the end of the pointed backing of the club hierarchy. Alonso won’t have to deal with European football this season. He will have to deliver it, however.

Managers united in Madrid misery

The 44-year-old officially succeeded Carlo Ancelotti as Real Madrid boss two weeks after leaving German Bundesliga side Bayer Leverkusen, where his success was generational and indisputable.

Alonso lasted six months back at the Bernabeu, winning 24 of his 32 matches in charge and leaving by mutual consent in January. Real Madrid were four points behind leaders Barcelona with exactly half a season to play but the manager’s race had been run.

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The outgoing gaffer was succeeded from within by Real Madrid B manager Alvaro Arbeloa. He was replacing the man with whom he had played as a teammate more than any other.

After his 19 league matches in charge, he too had collected four points fewer than Barcelona. Arbeloa stood down at the end of the season and finds Alonso in the away dugout for his first Premier League match as the manager of Fulham.

Unlike Alonso’s, Arbeloa’s Real Madrid departure had been in the works for a while. Question marks over their performances in big matches that marred his half-season in the hot seat were far from baseless.

There were reports of tensions in the dressing room that came to a head when Federico Valverde clashed with Aurielien Tchouameni, and Antonio Rudiger apparently opted for the physical method to express his opinion to Alvaro Carreras.

The scepticism of Bernabéu kingmaker Kylian Mbappe made Arbeloa’s demise inevitable despite his own standing within the club.

Mbappe was more positive about Alonso, but neither the former Leverkusen boss nor Alonso's old teammate got what they’d hoped for from their respective ascensions into the top job with the Spanish capital titans.

When they press the flesh like Dillon and Dutch on the touchline at the Cottage tonight, Alonso and Arbeloa will have that in common. Real Madrid isn’t a job that cuts slack. It’s a Mourinho-sized role with Mourinho-sized ups and downs.

Same tee, different pins

There’s no point in drawing conclusions about a manager after a few months spearheading football’s greatest basket case. Some managerial personalities can pull it off. Others, well, they can’t. It doesn’t say much about them either way.

What separates the two who landed in West London this summer is the nature of their experience before they each spent six months as an egg in a cement mixer.

Alonso, as a Bundesliga champion, double winner and invincible with Leverkusen, has proven himself up to a point. Arbeloa has not. In that sense, they have at least popped up at Chelsea and Fulham the right way round.

Alonso has the chops and the more acute need to prove it. Fulham are embarking on life after Marco Silva and that comes with a very particular kind of pressure.

Youngsters Gonzalo Garcia and Cesar Palacious followed Arbeloa from Real Madrid but doubts over whether the Cottagers have done enough to account for losing the direct impacts of Harry Wilson and Raul Jimenez for nothing are entirely justified.

19-year-old striker Jonah Kusi-Asare has joined from Bayern Munich and promising young midfielder Shea Charles has come in from Southampton, but selling Sasa Lukic and Issa Diop to promoted Ipswich Town could prove more significant than Fulham would like if they don’t have their wits about them.

Alonso’s brief is a touch spikier. Chelsea dropped to a level they consider beneath them and are investing in bouncing back. Qualifying for the Champions League is the new manager’s minimum objective. He won’t be there this time next year if he doesn’t.

Whether that would make Leverkusen rather than Real Madrid the Alonso anomaly would be for Chelsea fans to decide, and their Fulham counterparts will have their say on the early-career trajectory of Arbeloa too.

Free of the Bernabéu factor, untangled from the merciless mangle that is Real Madrid, 2026-27 will help define exactly what tier of manager these former colleagues are going to be.

Their aims are different this season, but they’re starting at the same time, in the same game, under the same floodlights.

Liverpool hiring Andoni Iraola came as a curveball to some: Xabi Alonso was available for quite a while, after all.

That was the obvious choice, too. The former Liverpool midfielder had been heavily linked to take over from Jurgen Klopp, before Arne Slot was even in the conversation for the job – so when Alonso to Anfield rumours failed to materialise at the end of last season, it was assumed that the Reds would stick it out with Slot. Alonso even moved to Chelsea.

Which made Iraola an interesting hire. On the pitch, yes, he's perfectly suited to the high press that has come to define the red half of Merseyside over the past decade or so. Off the pitch, few have made the connection just yet.

Andoni Iraola didn't just join any big club - Liverpool offer a collective identity that he wants to work under

The Basque played almost his entire career at Athletic Club before sampling the Big Apple with a season at New York City FC – before heading into coaching.

In 2024, FourFourTwo met up with Iraola to talk about his journey from Bilbao to Bournemouth and how he became one of the most exciting young coaches in the world through a very particular pathway.

Athletic, famously, have a very defined identity: their ‘cantera’ policy focuses solely on developing players of Basque origin or from the region. The fanbase at San Mames, meanwhile, are openly politically active, expressing solidarity with international social and political movements. Regardless of whether you're broadly left or right in Bilbao, however, you belong to something bigger.

Rayo Vallecano – who Iraola managed before Bournemouth – are staunchly socialist. The club's prominent ultra group, Los Bukaneros, is explicitly anti-fascist, anti-racist, and pro-workers' rights. In 2014, the club and fanbase aided Carmen Martinez Ayudo, an 85-year-old local woman evicted from her home, flying banners with “The evictions of a sick state, the solidarity of a working-class neighbourhood” at the very next game.

And when FourFourTwo put it to Iraola himself that perhaps a club's identity was integral to him in football, he nodded in agreement. While careful not to use the P-word (that's politics), he made it very clear that he likes to align himself with clubs who passionately believe in something.

“I’d practically been a one-club man as a player: I stayed 16 years at Athletic Club, and I think at Athletic and Rayo Vallecano, the sense of belonging is really important,” Iraola said.

“In the end, I always ask my players to think first collectively, even if I understand that the players want to achieve a lot of things in their careers. If we work as a collective, I will look like a better manager, they will look like a better player and even the players who are playing fewer minutes will look better – because the ones that are playing will look better. I think we have to prioritise the team, and the team always comes first.

“This has always been the case at Bournemouth.”

It was Bill Shankly who once said, “The socialism I believe in is everybody working for each other and having a share in the rewards. That's how I see football, that's how I see life.” Plenty has happened politically, socially and at football grounds – both to Liverpool and within the city – since those words were uttered.

But the feeling of Liverpool's identity has always been palpable. Perhaps nowhere else in the country could a parallel of “Scouse not English” take off. The Reds bought into the collective under Klopp a lot more than some fans have with high-press priests at other clubs. It's perhaps fair to suggest that Liverpool's identity was a big reason for Iraola moving to Anfield.

The Turkish giants suffered a damaging 1-0 defeat at home to Ferencvaros in the first leg of their UEFA Europa League play-off tie.

Having come off the bench against Kasimpasa in the Super Lig last weekend, the former Liverpool superstar was handed his full debut at Papara Park, but even the Egyptian's presence could not prevent his new side from faltering.

Trabzonspor dominated large periods of possession, registering a higher Expected Goals (xG) total from the match, but struggled to dismantle a resilient Ferencvaros setup.

Mo Salah waiting on first win in Trabzonspor colours

Operating on his usual right flank, Salah showed occasional flashes of his trademark quality, cutting inside to test the goalkeeper with a curling effort early in the second half.

However, the Hungarian champions stood firm, frustrating the hosts and proving clinical when their moment arrived.

Former Bristol City and Cardiff City winger Callum O'Dowda featured for the visitors, operating on the same flank as Salah.

With a 1-0 advantage secured on foreign soil, Ferencvaros head back to Budapest as favourites to advance to the Europa League league phase.

For Trabzonspor, the defeat carries consequences that extend beyond the pitch. Failure to overturn the deficit in Hungary next Thursday would see the club drop down to the UEFA Europa Conference League, inflicting a potential financial blow on the club.

Reaching the main stage of the Europa League guarantees participating clubs a baseline starting fee of roughly €4.3m, complemented by broadcast revenues and performance bonuses. In contrast, dropping into Europe’s third-tier competition reduces guaranteed entry fees to approximately €3.17m, alongside vastly reduced television market shares.

For a side that invested heavily to bring Salah to Turkiye, missing out on Europa League revenues represents a deficit they can ill afford.

Newcastle United vs Manchester United was the fixture in England football in 1996.

The two sides engaged in a title fight throughout the 1995/96 season, with Manchester United's ultimate elation in triumph only matched by the despair Newcastle United felt at letting the trophy slip from their grasp.

But when it comes to the actual meetings between the two sides around that period, there is one game that stands out in the memory above all others.

"If you beat Man United then it’s great, if you beat them 5-0 it’s absolutely fantastic"

Ten games in to the 1996/97 season, in October 1996, not-yet-Sir Alex Ferguson brought his side to St James' Park with the two teams again expected to fight for the Premier League title.

Newcastle were top, but the Red Devils had gone undefeated thus far and were still high on having beaten Liverpool at Old Trafford in the previous league game

What followed was an absolute shellacking. Darren Peacock and David Ginola had Newcastle 2-0 up inside half an hour; by the 75th minute, Les Ferdinand and Alan Shearer had got in on the act to make it 4-0.

But it was the sumptuous final goal that meant that when speaking to FourFourTwo in 2007, manager Kevin Keegan had a simple answer to his favourite moment as Newcastle boss.

"Philippe Albert beating Peter Schmeichel to seal that 5-0 win over Manchester United," he said

"If you beat Man United then it’s great, if you beat them 5-0 it’s absolutely fantastic, and if you’ve just lost a league to them the season before, it’s even better.

"I shook Alex Ferguson’s hand afterwards, but [Eric] Cantona was the only one that spoke to me. He shook my hand and said: 'F**king great team'.

"The crowd were really proud of those players.

"We had a side full of players who still had something to prove, the John Beresfords and Rob Lees.

"Fortunately for me, and for Newcastle, they all still wanted to achieve things."

This interview first appeared in the April 2007 edition of FourFourTwo magazine

It's May 2025 and Ajax fans are reeling.

In one of the biggest collapses in Eredivisie history, their side has just thrown away a nine-point lead in just six matches, handing the title into the incredulous arms of PSV Eindhoven.

Scapegoats to apportion blame are instantly sought. And very quickly, one conspicuous difference between the sides during the season rears its head - scoring goals.

Across 34 games in the campaign, PSV found the net a substantial 36 more times than their main title rival. And a significant reason for that was the struggles of Ajax's forwards, in particular one Brian Brobbey.

The Dutchman had ended up with just four league goals - fewer than the top scorers at two of the relegated sides, Almere City and RKC Waalwijk. This stretched to merely 7 in 44 appearances in all competitions.

The fact that this pitiful return came just one year after the best goalscoring season of his career perfectly encapsulated Brobbey’s time in Amsterdam, which repetitively veered from exciting potential to frustrating inconsistency. In a mixed time with his boyhood club, Brobbey often sparked without truly setting alight.

It meant that, when Brobbey was, as expected, sold that summer, the overriding feeling was that it was right for both club and player. If there was any major emotion, it was surprise that he had secured a Premier League move, with newly promoted Sunderland coughing up a reported £21.6 million fee.

Fast-forward a year and the Life of Brian looks totally different.

Few could have predicted that just over a year after that tepid end to his Ajax career, Brobbey would not only be starting for the Netherlands at the 2026 World Cup but wreaking havoc upon opposition defences. For a long period, fans of the Oranje viewed Brobbey at best as a muscular impact sub and a squad player. Now, after scoring three goals in three starts at a tournament where he also linked the play brilliantly and showed his pace and power in abundance, he is the undoubted first-choice no.9 for the foreseeable future.

It has proven to be one of the more remarkable redemption arcs of the past year. And it all started with the foresight of those at the Stadium of Light.

The Brobbey Paradox

Those who watched Brobbey a lot in the Eredivisie would have perhaps considered that if the Black Cats were after that vital ingredient to ensure Premier League survival - a goalscoring striker - then Brobbey was better off being left on the shelf for someone else.

The academy graduate had previously returned to Ajax after a difficult half-season with RB Leipzig, initially on loan and then permanently in 2022. Even factoring in the leniency given to players with time on their side, there was a clear Brobbey paradox over the course of the next three and a half seasons.

One game he would look like a young player with all the attributes to become one of the world’s best old-school centre forwards. The next like one of those bigger kids who’d get picked for the school football team, but then give the distinct impression that they had never properly seen a football in their life.

As fans of Sunderland will now attest, Brobbey is able to combine fantastic strength and hold-up play with speed and a predatory instinct to get himself into the right positions in the box. The problem was, too often at Ajax he would do everything right but then fail to supply the necessary finish. It was as if a scientist had constructed the perfect young centre forward but then got distracted when applying the final and most important touches.

Blossoming in the North East

It turns out there was a real striker in there. He just needed the North East, not North Holland, to blossom.

With his physical attributes, there was no doubt Brobbey was going to be able to cope with the rough and tumble of Premier League football. Nevertheless, it has been a surprise - including to those across the North Sea - at how quickly he settled into life on Wearside.

A total of seven Premier League goals and one assist aren’t exactly big numbers on their own to get excited about, yet it was the nature of these contributions and the wider improvements in his game that have been so impressive.

After a slow start where he was initially brought in off the bench, two moments kick-started his career in England - one showed the player he has been, the other the player he is quickly becoming. In an away win at Chelsea, it was Brobbey’s superb strength, hold-up play and lay-off that enabled the cavalry to arrive in the form of Chemsdine Talbi to score a late winner. It was textbook Brobbey. Then, two weeks later we saw a far rarer side to his game with an acrobatic 94th-minute finish to earn a point against Arsenal. It was the sort of instinctive play that was often missing at Ajax.

At present, Brobbey looks like a man increasingly able to deliver at crucial moments. Last season included late equalisers against Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur, the equaliser that sparked an away win against Everton, plus winning goals against Crystal Palace, Bournemouth and of course in the Tyne-Wear derby at St James’ Park. Throw in the aforementioned assist against Chelsea, and Brobbey directly played a part in securing 11 points for his team. Without them, Sunderland wouldn’t have been qualifying for Europe but ending just four points outside the relegation zone, nestled in between Tottenham and Nottingham Forest.

The capacity Brobbey has for drawing in defenders and being a physical nuisance is also invaluable for Sunderland when looking to get up the pitch, freeing up space for others. His quick turn of pace to break into the box - often after laying the ball off and spinning in behind - is frightening when he gets it right. The best example of this was his opening goal against Sweden at the World Cup, when he looked more like a 100 metre sprinter than a footballer.

On his day, watching Brobbey can feel like being taken back in time to an era of old school strikers getting their hands dirty, backing into defenders and revelling in the physicality of it all. A player happy to run the channels and to simply get in the box to cause some mayhem. He looks like he was made to play in the noughties, running out to ITV Football’s ‘Beautiful Day’ theme tune.

The really exciting thing about Brobbey is that theoretically there is still so much more to come from a player who is only 24 years of age. The challenge for the Amsterdammer is to now take his output to another level, and prove that he can get over the fallow periods that have previously knocked his confidence. Some strikers give an aura that they know they were made to score goals. Sometimes you feel Brobbey needs a calm tap on the shoulder to remind him of his potential.

According to XG Stat, compared to other Premier League strikers, he was in the top 16% for goal conversion last season but in the bottom 25% for non-penalty expected goals, demonstrating that if he can refine his decision-making in the attacking third, his ceiling for goal numbers is high. And for a player who does his damage within the penalty area, being in the bottom 22% for touches in the box per 90 minutes clearly needs improvement. Furthermore, as outlined by FotMob, a player who is one of the best in the whole division for aerial duels should definitely be having more than just six headed efforts on goal across a whole season.

An enigma no more

For much of his short career, Brobbey has been a bit of a footballing enigma. Could he actually be a good striker or not?

The question marks over his capacity to play in the Premier League were also understandable. Especially when, as has been proven in recent years, Dutch strikers in England - a bit like their country’s local Bitterballen cuisine - have been hit-and-miss. For every Ruud van Nistelrooy, there’s been a Memphis Depay.

There is room for improvement, but the doubters have been proven wrong. And the humble pie for those who doubted him, is still being eaten.

The different pieces needed for Brobbey to become a high-level centre forward were always there. Perhaps all it needed was the right environment to place them correctly together.

When you watch the 1966 World Cup final now, even through modern eyes, one thing jumps out at you immediately: Bobby Moore was really bloody good.

A lot has changed about the game in the 60 years since England lifted the World Cup, but Moore would be right at home in the modern game.

The centre-back's grace, composure, and willingness to come forward with the ball and offer a threat in the final third would be just as much an asset to Thomas Tuchel now as it was to Sir Alf Ramsey then...and yet it's still not the first thing people talk about when discussing Moore.

Sir Geoff Hurst: 'Bobby Moore was my role model'

Just ask Sir Geoff Hurst, who came through the youth ranks at West Ham alongside Moore before the two of them went on to play well over a thousand games combined for the club, winning the FA Cup and Cup Winners' Cup along the way...to say nothing of their achievements together on the international stage.

But despite Moore being just eight months older than his centre-forward, Sir Geoff admits that he always saw Moore as a role model.

Sir Geoff told FourFourTwo: "[Bobby] was a fantastic player - the best player I played with - and his reading of the game, and his calmness and his distribution were terrific. He made two goals in the 1966 World Cup Final as a central defender.

"But he was always one I looked up to, although he's similar age to me.

"The word I often use with Bobby is ‘immaculate’.

"When we went to lift the World Cup trophy at Wembley in ‘66, I was right behind Bobby. He saw the Queen wearing white gloves and he wiped his hands before he shook hers so as not to dirty her gloves

"I mean, who does that after winning a World Cup Final? An immaculate man with an immaculate character."

Sir Geoff added: "It's funny because some people are just born with it.

"Without being elected, it's like they are in parliament, and often without even realising it, they’re just born for greatness – born to lead and inspire.

"You get them in all walks of life, from business to sport, and these people automatically show themselves as leaders.

"Bobby was the captain of West Ham’s youth teams, then the captain of West Ham and then England.

"He didn’t ask for it, he didn’t scream or shout or dominate people, he just inspired. He had that glow about his character you can’t really describe – you just followed."

Harry Kane believes he has never played better, delivering as a 10 and 9. “This is the best version of myself for sure,” says the Bayern Munich and England forward, who was today presented with the European Golden Shoe as leading scorer across the Continent with 36 goals in the Bundesliga.

“Last season speaks for itself, my best season in my career, no doubt.”

In all competitions for Bayern, Kane scored 61 times and made seven assists in 51 games. Including England, Kane scored 73 times in 65 games.

"It’s been building"

Kane has invariably responded to the challenge of a centre-half and is enjoying working for Vincent Kompany, Bayern’s head coach and Manchester City legend. “Since the Boss has come in here (2024), he's elevated my game to another level. That's down to the style of play, the way we attack, the way we defend, the way he gives the players (like Kane) freedom to come and receive the ball sometimes deeper, and arrive in the box later.

“It's a multiple of different things. I also had a lot of these different positions during my Tottenham career as well, especially from the (Jose) Mourinho stage onwards (2019). Same sort of thing: I had freedom to come and drop, pick the ball. I had a great relationship with Hueng-min Son. It’s been building.

Pick the ultimate 4-4-2 line-up from players in FourFourTwo's definitive Top 100 List

“With the team I have around me, with the players I have, and the system that we play from the coach, it's just elevated me to another level. I feel extremely comfortable on the pitch. I know where I should be. I know where the players are going to be.

“I just use my instincts and my freedom to score the goals I score but also dictate the play sometimes in certain games. Each game poses a different test. I'm able to determine what game I need to drop, what game I need to stay high. Last season I got that balance really well.”

Kane played down the possibility of returning to England to break Alan Shearer’s Premier League goalscoring record of 260 (Kane has 213). He’s obviously loving life at Bayern where there's talk of a new contract for the 33-year-old. “When I first left (Spurs in 2023), for sure it was something that I thought I'd definitely be coming back. That itch isn't there as much anymore.

“I'm extremely happy here in Munich. It’s opened my eyes to a totally different world of football outside of England. It’s made me appreciate European football even more. With the team we have here, with the manager. My family are really settled here. It's just about being in the best place possible. I never say never but, for now, I'm concentrating on Bayern Munich, and we'll see what the future holds.”

He’s determined to keep building on even record seasons. “That’s the aim. You know me, it's always to improve. 73 is such a big number and, for sure, going to be difficult to beat. But the team I have around me, the way I'm feeling right now mentally and physically, there's no reason why I can't push that level again.

“The goals are a consequence of loads of hard work behind the scenes, doing stuff every day when people aren't watching. It's just about improving on all those little aspects as well.”

In receiving the award, Kane said he loves “making a sliding tackle as much as scoring a goal”. Really? “The goal is the best feeling in terms of that moment! The celebration, the adrenaline, the way it feels when you score, especially a winning goal. No doubt!

“That's the best feeling, but I also love the different parts of my game, the different sides of the game. I love those sliding tackles or tracking back, running. When I'm watching my clips to improve my whole game, I find myself watching those moments maybe more than the goals now.

“I've always loved doing my bit for the team. I love to see the reactions of the players when I do those things. It’s a big part of my game that maybe isn't always seen because I'm judged on goals. Maybe the last couple of years people have been seeing more of that and appreciating a little bit more.”

As for the Golden Shoe, Kane reflected on “an extremely proud day, my second one now”. Bayern staff attended the presentation, as did his family. “This one definitely feels a little bit more special after the season we had as a team, as well to win the trophies we won.” Bayern won the Bundesliga, German Super Cup and DFB-Pokal but lost to Paris St-Germain 6-5 on aggregate in the semi-finals of the Champions League.

“Looking ahead, the Champions League is a big goal of ours,” Kane continued, a comment that surely ends those headlines about Saudi. “You're coming up against the best teams in Europe and PSG are back-to-back champions. It’s going to be really difficult.

“Arsenal reached the final. Real Madrid always. There's so many top teams that you have to beat to be European champions. I’m looking forward to that challenge again. We got extremely close to reaching the final last year. This year we need to try and do everything to go that one step further.”

Kane hails PSG’s centre-backs, Marquinhos and Willian Pacho, as the best around. “I love playing the best because they bring out the best in me as well. Against PSG was tough match-ups – Marquinhos, Pacho, two great defenders. We had good battles. They won some duels, I won some duels. There's a reason why PSG have been so successful over the last couple of years, and they have been a big part of that. They are probably the two that stand out. A lot of the top teams have great centre-backs, and I enjoy those challenges.”

He was quick to show his support for his Bayern teammate Jamal Musiala, who suffered two absence seizures in pre-season games. “Jamal is obviously going through a bit of a difficult moment right now. I know he posted on social media about the small condition that he has. From our point of view, it's just about supporting Jamal. He's a great player, extremely talented. He's a big part of our team.

“We feel really sorry for him. We feel frustrated for him when things like that happened in the last couple of games. He knows he has the full support from everyone here at FC Bayern and his friends, his family. We'll be there to help him deal with it.

“He's going through something that not everyone goes through, but also there are people who have dealt with it well before. He's doing everything possible to be his best version. He'd come off the back of a tough injury last season (broken fibula). I know how much he works behind the scenes, how much he's working on the training pitch.”

Kane’s focus is immediately on Bayern and his teammates with the resumption of England duty to come next month. He’s used to the relentlessness of the international programme. “We've gone pretty far in all those tournaments,” Kane reflects on the summer’s World Cup and preceding tournaments such as the 2018 World Cup, Euro 2020, the 2022 World Cup and Euro 2024. “I'm used to these quick turnarounds.

“In a way, sometimes it suits me. You don't lose too much rhythm, you don't lose too much fitness. You just get into the routine of going again, and that's where I'm at now. For England, it was an amazing summer in a lot of ways. Of course, a real disappointment to lose in the semi-final the way we did (to Argentina). But to win the 3rd/4th game was important, to get the feeling for everyone involved and also for the fans. And now we tackle a new year. You’re right at the bottom of the mountain again; you're getting ready for Nations League, and then that goes into European qualifiers.

“The Euros being in England, in a couple of years (2028), is obviously a big motivation. For now it's just about getting back into club football, hit the ground running, hopefully scoring some goals. And then before we know it, we'll be back in that international camp in September, a bit different this year with the two-week camp and the four games.

“We play the world champions, Spain, in the first one (at Wembley on September 26). A lot to look forward to from that point. There will be a lot of things to process that we've done in the summer, the good things, also a lot of things we can improve on, and now that's the challenge to try and get better for the Euros in a couple of years.”

Real Madrid begin their La Liga campaign on Saturday – for the first time since 2013, they’ll be under the management of Jose Mourinho.

The Portuguese boss previously spent three years at the Bernabeu, winning the league in 2012, during a time when Barcelona had both Pep Guardiola and Lionel Messi.

After a spell at Benfica last term, Mourinho was reappointed this summer by Florentino Perez, who believes he could be the man to turn things around after a difficult couple of seasons for Real Madrid.

Real Madrid great gives his verdict

Former Bernabeu favourite Steve McManaman works as a co-commentator and analyst for Disney+, who will screen Real Madrid’s opening match at Espanyol this weekend.

McManaman is fascinated by the club’s decision to rehire Mourinho, and is sure it will make the La Liga season an entertaining one.

“He’s going to have to do well,” McManaman told FFT. “That’s why he’s been brought back – it’s as simple as that, he’s got one job, and that job is to finish above Barcelona.

“With all respect to Atletico Madrid, Villarreal etc, the team they need to beat is Barcelona. They’re the strongest side, so that’s his job – to usurp them. Challenging for the Champions League is secondary.

“Hansi Flick has done the most incredible job since he’s been at Barcelona – they’re starting to get their finances in an upward trajectory, Camp Nou will bring in more and more people, therefore helping their financial situation, and with the signing of one of the world’s best players in Rodri, that will strengthen them as well, as will Anthony Gordon.

“It will be a hell of a La Liga season – it’ll be fireworks all around, watching Jose and everybody.”

Real Madrid have spent heavily to add the likes of Yan Diomande and Marc Cucurella to their squad, but Barcelona have won the title in each of the past two seasons, and McManaman knows Perez cannot afford that to happen again.

“There was a lot of criticism about them last year and they have to turn it around,” he says.

“Either you win things, or you don’t and you’re losers, aren’t you? It’s as simple as that. When it’s as cut and dry and as black and white as it is in Spain, when it’s Real Madrid and Barça, if your main rivals win, it’s a disaster.

“So it’s up to Real Madrid to sort themselves out and try to come strong. It’s going to be a hell of a contest this year.

“Barcelona were excellent last year and for all their frailties – you saw them at times and thought ‘How on earth can they keep winning?’, because they let in a number of goals – the proof is in the pudding. They’ve been winning and they’ve been successful.

“The only blot on their campaign was their loss to Atletico Madrid in the Champions League, and that was circumstances, red cards etc.

“Bringing in Rodri, he will be the metronome, they’ve got the Pedris and the like around him and a new quick forward line with Lamine Yamal and Anthony Gordon, as well as Rafinha, that’s exciting.

“Expect lots of goals in La Liga this year, and fantastic football, certainly between the top two.

“I don’t want to keep saying the top two because hopefully you want to see Atletico, Villarreal and other teams challenging, but the two biggest teams have invested more than anybody this summer and look as if they’re going to be streets clear.”

ESPN on Disney+ is home to live LALIGA action every Saturday night, bringing the best of Spanish football to fans across the UK

Peter Crouch was known for his sense of humour during his playing days – but even he didn’t expect to become a comedy actor following retirement.

Crouch scored an impressive 22 times in 42 games for England and also famously entertained fans with his robot goal celebration.

After hanging up his boots in 2019, his light-hearted approach to life has led to him becoming the star of his own podcast, as well as an author.

The weird world of Peter Crouch

As time has gone on, Crouch has also been approached to do regular acting in adverts for betting company Paddy Power, who similarly take a tongue-in-cheek approach to football. It’s led to some unexpected moments for the former Liverpool striker.

“Just the other week, I was up in a hot air balloon, which was also designed like a pair of pants, in LA overlooking the California countryside – my life is very strange,” he chuckles as he talks to FFT.

“I remember when I was 18 years old, trying to make my way in the game – if you’d said then that we’d fast forward to being 45 and I’d be over California countryside vineyards in a pair of pants at a World Cup, I’d have told you you were mad.

“There are times where I look at myself and think ‘How have I got myself in this situation?’ There was one where I was lying in a bath with just my underpants on, there were rose petals in the bath and they were filming me from above – it was basically the scene from American Beauty, but with me in the bath. I was like ‘How has this happened?!’

“But it’s all good fun, I’ve found that being shy and retiring doesn’t work, you’ve just got to go for it and embrace it.

“When I’m working with Paddy Power, it’s exactly my kind of humour, it’s very similar to what I like – I don’t think we should take football too seriously. I think I'm alright at it too, so we work well together. I love every moment of it.”

Crouch has teamed up with Danny Dyer and Danny Murphy for Paddy Power’s latest advert ahead of the start of the new Premier League season, entitled 'Why The Football Not?', which references some of the weirdest moments in football over the last few months.

There's a nod to Murphy’s long lost cat Bob, while Crouch recreates Southampton’s infamous Spygate incident outside Middlesbrough’s training ground.

“The Danny Murphy cat situation tickled the nation, and my part is alluding to Southampton and what happened there,” Crouch explains.

“I’m walking past the tree, and there’s a lad who looks very, very similar to the guy that was actually spying.

“It’s about the weird and wonderful things we love about football – it’s what makes football magic. I’m no different in the things that we try to capture with my podcast, and Paddy Power do it very well.”

Some ideas have even had to be shelved over his time working with the company, because they were simply too weird.

“There have been loads, Paddy Power come up with them on a regular basis!” Crouch smiles. “Certain things, you're like ‘Can we get away with that?!’ because it’s very close to the bone. Sometimes the closer it is to the bone, the better it is, but it’s a difficult balance.

“I don’t know what I can and can’t say with regards to what they were trying to do, but some of the things they’ve tried to do over the years have been outrageous!

“I feel very blessed to do what I’m doing, it keeps me in the game and it’s good fun.”

There will be more from Crouch in FourFourTwo soon.