It’s always seemed like Shkodran Mustafi lets his heart rule his head. You can see it in the way he breaks rank from the Arsenal back four to lunge at the feet of attackers; in the furious wagging of fingers at his teammates after committing a mistake.Whether it’s sensible or not, the German acts out of instinct in most scenarios. He’s a reactor, rather than an anticipator. Some of history’s greatest defenders have been, but in an age in which we’re better at predicting football than ever before, it grates Arsenal fans, to say the least, that Mustafi can’t ever seem to read the script.In the good old days, it was easy for the most disappointing players at your club...
Contrary to popular belief, it’s not hard work in the gym or a positional switch from left-back to right-wing that catapulted Gareth Bale to superstardom.That’s at least according to Peter Crouch, who puts the speed and ferocity of the Real Madrid star down to his pre-match meal of baked beans on toast.Crouch played alongside Bale when he signed for Tottenham in 2009, combining with the winger for two years before departing North London for Stoke.Speaking to FourFourTwo in the February 2020 issue, Crouch revealed how he took a closer look at Bale’s methods to try and get the same results on the pitch as his teammate.“I watched Bale flying up and down for Spurs and ripping Maicon to shreds against...
The 2010s was a strange one for English football, that begun with Manchester United adjusting to life without Cristiano Ronaldo and Fulham playing in a Europa League final.We were preparing for a South African World Cup, and Fabio Capello was still England manager. Fast-forward 10 years and my, have things changed.Some things remain the same - such as the evergreen reliability of James Milner and Gary Lineker cracking dad jokes on the Match of the Day sofa - but the footballing landscape is radically different, on every rung of the ladder.Along the way, your club has probably experienced at least some kind of joy - we hope - but can you recall who had the most to cheer about?We've listed...
No such thing as a good January transfer, you say? Signing players from the Football League won’t immediately pay off, you add?Pah! We’re going to kill two mythical birds with one stone, and recommend eight players from outside England’s top flight who could improve a Premier League side in what remains of 2019/20.We’re not saying these transfers must or will happen. We’re just saying they’d make a lot of sense.Eberechi Eze, QPRWhile Tottenham are supposedly at the front of a long and illustrious queue to sign Eze (not that this is how queues or transfers work), Manchester United should be looking at QPR’s young midfielder, despite having moved to lower expectations around buying anyone in January. Fast-tracking Dan James into...
The two and a half years Ernesto Valverde spent as Barcelona’s head coach now seem like they lasted a decade. Had Valverde remained in charge at Camp Nou, he might well have won his third LaLiga title in a row at season's end. Realistic though that may have been, though, it doesn’t describe just how fractious this relationship has been or how much energy it ultimately sapped.The headline catastrophes will outlive Valverde. That terrible night in Rome was succeeded, a year later, by a more harrowing nightmare on Merseyside. Valverde will keep his medals as part of the severance, but those twin disasters will be carved on his tomb.Every angle of Origi’s winner vs BarcelonaEnjoy pic.twitter.com/SHT0ZVpzKU— The Anfield Wrap (@TheAnfieldWrap)...