Four Four Two - UK (2022-07)

YOUR n EXT FOURFOURTWO IS On SALE JU n E 23

next game and I learned never to doubt him

or the boss again! A senior England cap is on

its way, I’m sure.”

LEON BRITTON

“His stats speak for themselves. He’s totally

different to me size-wise, but he could dictate

matches in spite of that. We played together

at Swansea in League One, where people say

it’s more physical, but Leon did everything at

his own speed and kept the ball moving. He’s

since gone and done it in the Premier League,

and was just as comfortable in the top flight

as he was in League One.”

ROBERTO MARTINEZ

“I’ve decided to have a controlling midfield,

with Roberto next to Leon – like the good old

days. For me, it’s like Xavi and Andres Iniesta.

Roberto was my captain when I first came to

Swansea. He still has such a love for football,

and played the game gracefully.”

ANDY ROBINSON

“He’ll start on the left of my midfield and jink

in on his right foot. Andy was so... tekky. Every

time Swansea got a free-kick just outside the

box, we’d turn and head for the halfway line

• we knew he was scoring.”

CODY McDONALD

“I had a really good partnership with him at

Gillingham over two different spells. He was

deceptively quick, great in the air and scored

a lot of different goals.”

LEE TRUNDLE

“The best I’ve played alongside, no question.

Lee [below] was my education at Swansea.

I learned so much from him: how to deal

with pressure, the opposition’s fans and

expectations. What a man and what

a footballer. There was nothing his left

foot couldn’t do.”

LEON KNIGHT

“To Lee’s left, coming in on his

right foot, is the best finisher

I played with. Leon was a pure

goalscorer – left foot and right

foot... what a finisher he was.”

Dom Smith

MY PERFECT XI

GARETH AINSWORTH

“Easy. The way he motivates, sets up his teams

and gets the best out of them with the resources

he’s got is incredible. I think man-management

gets overlooked – Gareth shows its importance.”

01

LYLE

TAYLOR 03

ONANDI

02 LOWE

ADEBAYO AKInFEnWA

THE SUBS

THE GAFFER

It’s Beast Mode On for Bayo’s greatest set of team-mates ever, as the ex-Swan

prepares for retirement after six superb seasons at Wycombe. Be afraid, he says...

DAVID STOCKDALE

“I played with David at Wycombe and he gets

the No.1 shirt in my team. There’s a tick next

to so many aspects of his game: he’s a good

kicker, an excellent shot-stopper and a great

character. Just check out his CV to see what

he’s done in the game – it’s amazing. I know

he wants to keep playing professionally until

he’s 40 and I can definitely see it happening.”

KYLE WALKER

“I see what Gareth Southgate is doing using

him in a back three. He can play, alright – you

aren’t beating him in behind. I was with him

when he was a youngster at Northampton –

I know it’s a cliché, but you could tell he was

going places. He was rapid and strong. I knew

he could reach the top and that’s what he’s

done. People focus on his pace but there’s so

much more to his game than that. You don’t

play for one of the best teams in the world

for as long as he has if you’ve only got pace.”

GARRY MONK

“Garry was one of my captains at Swansea –

a leader and a calm battler. It was a toss-up

between him and Clarke Carlisle in this spot.

Clarke was one of the best leaders I played

under, but I’m going with Garry.”

JOE JACOBSON

“Joe’s a conventional left-back, although he’s

slotted in as a left-centre-back, too. He reads

the game really well and has one of the best

left foots I’ve come across during my career.

He’s always composed and relaxed, which is

what you want from any team-mate.”

EBERECHI EZE

“A couple of years before he played in the

Premier League, I was quoted as saying

Eberechi would do exactly that. It was

obvious that he was something

special, but I do remember one

chat with my gaffer [Gareth

Ainsworth]. We were known

for physicality at Wycombe

and I said, ‘I don’t know

about Eze’. The gaffer

just said, ‘Trust me’. He

scored two goal-of-the-

season contenders in our

MATT

BLOOMFIELD

DAVID

STOCKDALE

GK

LEE

TRUNDLE

C F

CODY

McDONALD

R F

LEON

KNIGHT

L F

CM

LEON

BRITTON

CM

ROBERTO

MARTINEZ

LM

ANDY

ROBINSON

r M

EBERECHI

EZE

JOE

JACOBSON

CB

GARRY

MONK

CB

KYLE

WALKER

CB