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In part two of my chat with Darren Anderton, we hear about playing for England at Euro ’96, the indescribable feeling of that summer and the classy midfielder’s involvement in THAT Gazza goal against Scotland. There was the perfect performance against Holland at Wembley which was so sublime that Darren was able to take it all in, even hum along to the singing from the terraces. Compare that with the match against Argentina in France two years later, when an inept Danish referee ended England’s World Cup hopes.

Playing alongside Teddy Sheringham was a joy; he made you look a better footballer because of his brilliantly simple movement and assists. He was a leader, as hard as nails, and could score any goal. You’ll also hear about how Sir Alex Ferguson tried to woo Darren – but his loyalty to Spurs was too strong.

Enjoy

Graham

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Darren Anderton’s late father Norman, a Motherwell man, was his biggest supporter and his best friend. In gratitude, Darren even tried out for Scotland, but his destiny would be with three lions on his shirt.

Darren was brought up a Southampton fan and played for their academy but was not asked to sign up. Therefore, Dad called up arch-rivals Portsmouth, who watched the lad and signed him as a schoolboy. Manager Alan Ball believed in him and Darren improved immensely.

Darren then played for an attacking Tottenham side alongside guys like Teddy Sheringham, Gheorghe Popescu, Nick Barmby, Jürgen Klinsmann and Vinny Samways. Under Ossie Ardiles but they were too attacking, too open, but Gerry Francis improved the shape. If only they’d have kept that team together, who knows what they could have achieved.

Enjoy

Graham

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It's part two of the monthly Q&A show, with Graham and Pete Jenson taking questions from our beloved socios on subjects including a scouting report on Manchester United's Europa League opponents, Granada; who Rangers could find in La Liga to replace Alfredo Morelos and the value to Real Madrid of the wonderful Casemiro.

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In part one of our monthly Q & A show, Graham is joined by La Liga Television's Pete Jenson to take questions from our beloved socios. From Betis to Barcelona - where returning president Joan Laporta has brought back the good vibes - we have you covered.

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My chat with Paul Burgess was ground-breaking, if you’ll pardon the pun, for the Big Interview. Paul isn’t a player or a coach, but one of the world’s leading groundsmen.

Paul was in charge of the last pitch at Highbury and the first at the Emirates. He had a unique view of Arsenal's Invincibles and Real Madrid's European dominance under Zidane, after he was headhunted by the Spanish giants, who believed the atrocious surface at the Bernabeu was beyond repair.

Enjoy seeing football from a different angle in this special Big Interview.

Graham

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Welcome to our Big Interview Icons series where we shine a light on a legend whose name has lit up some of the conversations I’ve had with my guests over the last six years of The Big Interview. This episode focuses on Sir Alex Ferguson.

Rio Ferdinand once vented his rage at Sir Alex and was fortunate not to be sold. But he never doubted his genius. Yet there was a flaw to that genius, exposed when he left Manchester United too open in the 2009 and 2011 Champions League final defeats to Barcelona. Rio found the latter defeat particularly embarrassing.

Terry Gibson tells us about how Sir Alex’s arrival at Manchester United was the new broom Old Trafford needed after the lax regime of Ron Atkinson. Terry’s face didn’t fit, but luckily Wimbledon came calling.

Alex McLeish relates how his former Aberdeen boss tried to poach him for Manchester United, while Darren Fletcher provides an amazing insight into a Fergie team talk. He could be unpredictable, but ultimately exuded a calmness which affected his players and filled them with belief.

Lastly, fellow manager Gianluca Vialli speaks of what an inspiration Sir Alex was, and shares with us two golden nuggets of advice he always remembered.

Enjoy

Graham

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The English game suited Uwe Rösler, and in part two we hear about how he loved the spacious Maine Road pitch and how the home fans made him feel invincible.

Paul Walsh was a great guy to be around and he was also the perfect partner up front. There was also Steve McMahon, Peter Beagrie, Niall Quinn, Nicky Summerbee, Nigel Clough, and, of course, Georgi Kinkladze – the maestro. If you made the run, he would find you with a pass.

You’ll hear about what it’s like to score a brilliant goal in a Manchester derby at Old Trafford. There was also the agony of relegation, when City played out a draw against Liverpool, not realising that a point wouldn’t be enough to save them.

We chat about Pep Guardiola’s Bayern and City revolutions, and we hear about Uwe’s current managerial role at Fortuna Düsseldorf, where promotion to the Bundesliga is the target.

Thanks, Uwe

Graham

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Uwe Rösler was just eleven years old when he went to live at Lokomotive Leipzig’s academy. The experience was seminal, but what he didn’t expect was a terrifying visit from the Stasi, who wanted to him to spy on his team-mates. When Uwe heard that the Wall had come down he knew that nothing would be the same again.

Eventually he would move to Manchester City where the striker, despite not having a word of English, was made incredibly welcome by the players. On the field, he made an instant impact and gave everything, and the Maine Road crowd just loved him for it.

This is an absolutely fascinating Big Interview.

Graham

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Here’s another chance to hear my interview with Jurgen Klopp from season three.

It was spring 2018 when we chatted, just before Liverpool faced Manchester City in the Champions League quarter-final. Little did we know then that Jurgen’s Reds would annihilate City and reach the final, win it the following year and, of course, clinch their long-awaited league title in 2020.

Jurgen is my type of guy – a noisy, honest, heart-on-the-sleeve, larger-than-life character. He gives everything for whichever club he serves and he spoke about how he gets inside his players’ heads and changes their attitudes. Jurgen believes that everyone wants to be the best they can be, and he works to draw out their full potential.

There’s great chat about Borussia Dortmund’s run to Jurgen’s first Champions League final in 2013, and he explains how football is unique because not only do you suffer with others, you also celebrate in a single instant with tens of thousands and potentially millions of people watching on TV.

What a guy.

Graham.

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In part two of this month's Q & A, Graham is joined by Pete Jenson to answer questions from our socios: are Haaland and Mbappe preparing a sequel to Messi v Ronaldo in Spain? Which teams have benefited and who has lost out from playing without fans?

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This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit revistadelaliga.substack.com