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First a message from our editor, James Andrew:
Happy New Year and welcome to 2024! It’s a significant year for FourFourTwo – we turn 30 later this year, and we’re working on plans to celebrate our anniversary.
Back in 1994 when FFT first hit the shelves, the football and media landscapes were very different to how they are now. We don’t take it for granted that people still want to read the magazine that we produce, so we try our best to evolve, keeping it interesting and relevant with interviews, features and stories you haven’t read anywhere else.
If anyone in British football knew exactly how to reinvent themselves and stay relevant, it was Sir Alex Ferguson, who won titles with Aberdeen and Manchester United in four different decades. As the first issue of FFT rolled off the printing presses, Manchester United’s dominance of English football was starting to take hold, as they won their first domestic Double. Two years later, they did it again, then in 1999, they bagged an unforgettable Treble.
It’s now 25 years since Ferguson led the club to his most famous triumph, and more than a decade since he exited Old Trafford – we look back on his remarkable legacy on both sides of the border. Enjoy the mag and have a great year.
Fergie Time
Sir Alex Ferguson almost emigrated to Canada aged 21 – instead, he became Britain’s greatest football manager. Twenty-five years after his finest hour, Martin Edwards and others tell FFT the inside story of a legendary career.
Germany’s most bitter derby
City rivals St Pauli and Hamburg are going head-to-head for promotion to Germany’s top tier this term – FFT hot-footed it to the Millerntor to watch the two teams face off.
Henrik Larsson exclusive
It’s 20 years since Henrik Larsson brought an end to seven glorious seasons at Celtic, but he remains a legend at Parkhead – and at Barcelona, too. He tells FFT why his time at both clubs still means so much to him.
Palestine: Team in a war zone
This month’s Asian Cup features a side rocked by conflict, facing travel issues just to leave their own territory and desperate to represent their people. Key figures tell FFT why it’s not stopped them dreaming of success.
Lucas Radebe and apartheid
Back in 1991, Lucas Radebe lay wounded in his car, and only his brother’s help saved his career. In his own words, the Leeds icon tells FFT how he escaped death’s door to conquer Yorkshire, captain post-apartheid South Africa and become Nelson Mandela’s hero.
The weirdest transfer moments
FFT remembers some of the strangest incidents, including riots, Lego, Twitter rants and would-be astronauts…
Robbie Savage answers YOUR questions
The former feisty midfielder-turned-Macclesfield supremo opens up about failing to make the grade at Manchester United, League Cup glory at Leicester, ‘disrespecting’ Paolo Maldini, vexing Roy Keane via voicemail, getting headbutted by Dion Dublin and much more.
Tactically speaking
Analytical sage Adam Clery examines how Terry Venables revitalised England at Euro 96, explains what Sean Dyche has done to make Everton structured and reveals the secret to Trent Alexander-Arnold’s Liverpool transformation, and why it could help his country too.
Around the grounds in the EFL, non-league and Scotland
Portsmouth gaffer John Mousinho talks about record-breaking unbeaten runs, the art of good defending and his top-tier ambitions.
As Bruno Fernandes captains Manchester United and pulls strings for Portugal, big brother Ricardo Fernandes works for the NHS in Crawley and skippers 10th-tier Roffey.
Lifelong Stevenage fanatic Pete Hayman recalls long-overdue promotions, Teddy Sheringham turmoil and Wembley triumph.
Hashtag United Women didn’t even exist at the start of the decade, but bold investment from the club’s pioneering owners has made them a rising force…
Reading tyro Ben Elliott swapped England’s youth teams for Cameroon’s seniors ahead of this month’s Africa Cup of Nations – we chat to the Royals midfielder and run through some of the other EFL and Scottish Premiership stars hoping to shine in the Ivory Coast.
The Mixer
Our round-up of the game’s grooviest gear showcases jaw-dropping boots to mark 30 years of the Adidas Predator, plus Harry Kane’s crisps, Raheem Sterling’s customised Clarks footwear, the new MLS matchball and other stuff that you don’t need but will possibly want.
Seen something you want to put in The Mixer? DM Deputy Editor Matt Ketchell
Upfront
Playing off the last defender, it’s the big-man little-man partnership of football and funnies…
Heurelho Gomes lists the games that changed his life, claiming that he’s probably the only goalkeeper ever to be substituted due to cramp!
FFT columnist Jules Breach assesses the Premier League season so far, and what she expects to happen in the second half of the campaign.
Our 18-question quiz gives you the chance to kick off 2024 by nailing puzzlers about frequent flowers, Real Madrid royalty and European talismen.
In My Football, Ash frontman Tim Wheeler talks invitations from Martin O’Neill, captaining David Healy’s hockey side and New York’s greatest Arsenal hangout.
Elsewhere, we debate if Pep Guardiola’s football is actually enjoyable to watch, offer up some predictions for the year ahead (including Germany to stink out their own Euros) and summarise weird goings-on in Turkmenistan, Pontypridd and Papua New Guinea.
In the Players Lounge this month…
Demba Ba recounts Vegas dancefloor injuries, happy days at Newcastle and why Jose Mourinho drove him mad, Phil Brown reflects on cutting his coaching teeth under Sam Allardyce and Nigel Martyn attempts to justify dipping his Cornish pasties in cold milk.
Perfect XI
Ex-Liverpool and Bayern Munich defender Markus Babbel builds a dream team comprised of mentality monsters, miniature machines and the man who was “a genius… but a lazy c**t!”
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