The Gaffer Mag, Issue One: The Special One

They receive a lot of credit really, don’t they, footballers. Running round a muddy field in little shorties, doing their silly little sliding tackles and scoring their silly little goals. Well, we’ll tell you who the real stars of the show are. The fellas co-ordinating the whole thing, orchestrating from the sidelines as their little puppets dance their way back into a 3-5-2. The gaffers are the ones you want to be reading about.

So join us as our first issue takes a deep dive into the career of the inimitable Jose Mourinho as we explore the clubs he’s managed (U.D. Leir-who?), the players he’s coached and the bonkers things that he’s said during his time at the top.

With over 20 long-form articles to peruse as you so desire, written by some of the best writers about, some beautiful illustrations and with a whole heap of nostalgia, we can promise you that you will not be disappointed.

It’s not just the obvious either. Ross Kilvington unpacks the mystery of how things would have unfolded had Jose got the Barcelona job after his three hour PowerPoint back in ’08, Sid Lambert tells us a tale of two buses, whilst Kaus Pandey pens an ode to defensive midfielders.

All this – plus articles from the likes of Casey Evans, Adam Kahn, James Hendicott and many more – can be landing on your doorstep very soon. We know, we know – we don’t want to wait that long either.

It isn’t just the writing either, we’ve got some wonderful artwork from the likes of John Sheehan, WhoInvitedJamie, James Hible – as well as the absolute work of art that is our cover piece from John Tregoning. Just look at it! How could you not want that sitting on your coffee table?