It has been confirmed Liverpool paid a £5 million signing on fee to sign Joe Cole on a free transfer during the summer, a big percentage of which went to his agent.
And this is in addition to his reported £90,000 wages. Fans have not yet seen the best of the England international but he could be a bargain if he hits top form.

With the Premier League serving up another heap of dull results that tell us nothing about the state of this fairly open league, there isn't a great deal to talk about in terms of title contenders and top four predictions that hasn't already been said.

An area of English football that is worthy of discussion however is the ever changing faces of the top flights managers, particularly in light of the recent shock sackings of Sam Allardyce and Chris Hughton.

Liverpool have reportedly set their transfer sights on Spanish international winger Santi Cazorla.
The 26-year-old Villarreal midfielder has made an impressive start to the season with the La Liga outfit, and now Liverpool boss Roy Hodgson is keen to bring the player to Anfield in a bid to strengthen his attacking options.

Football365 | All The News | Football News | LAMPARD BOOST FOR STRUGGLING BLUESFrank Lampard looks set to start Chelsea's crunch Barclays Premier League game against Manchester United after coming through a practice match unscathed.England midfielder Lampard completed what was a 60-minute game at the club's Cobham training ground on Thursday, which involved players from the reserve and youth

Our gift to you... all the Boxing Day team news in one convenient blog post package. After the jump. Young doubtful for Spurs clash - Yahoo! Eurosport: Ashley Young remains a doubt for Aston Villa's Barclays Premier League clash against Tottenham at Villa Park on Boxing Day... Neither he nor Luke Young (groin) have trained with the team this week so remain touch and go.

Liverpool have re-ignited their interest in former France international striker David Trezeguet but face competition from Inter Milan, according to reports.
Trezeguet's agent has admitted he has been approached by the reigning Italian champions but has insisted his client is happy to stay with current club Hercules of Spain.

Chelsea fans! Why not go and try the brand new Indian Restaurant in Fulham Broadway The MASALA ZONE before or after the game today.
Why not grab a Curry, Rice and a beer for just £12!!
The Masala Zone has been awarded the following accreditations:
Best Restaurateur of the Year - Tatler Award
Amaya: Best Restaurant & Best New Restaurant - London Restaurant Awards
Chutney Mary: Best Indian Restaurant - London Restaurant Award
Veeraswamy: Britain's Oldest Indian Restaurant - Established 1926
Masala Zone: "10/10 for food, service & value for money" The Guardian
So if you need food before or after the game then why not head to The Masala Zone (opposite Barclays Bank) and please mention you have seen this advert on my website "Chelseadaft" for me when you go in.

Newcastle's former manager Chris Hughton has tonight issued a statement through the League Manager's Association. Chris Hughton former Newcastle United manager Chris Hughton said tonight: "We have built on last season's momentum following promotion back up to the Barclays Premier League and have produced some excellent results to see us sitting midway in the [.

Liverpool's stand-in strikers shrugged off the absence of Fernando Torres to secure a comfortable 3-0 victory over Aston Villa and make it an unhappy return to Anfield for former Reds manager Gerard Houllier.
With Torres given the night off to be with his wife Olalla, who had gone into labour with their second child, David Ngog and Ryan Babel ensured he was not unduly missed with first-half goals.

One of Manchester United's Barclays Premier League pseudo rivals has parted ways with their manager, which should reaffirm the supporters they are very fortunate to have Sir Alex Ferguson as their boss.

Somewhat shockingly, Newcastle United's Chris Hughton became the second manager in England's top-flight to fall victim of the pressures to win-at-all-costs mentality that is bestowed on them unrealistic, off-base businessman owners.

Roy Hodgson expects to see Fernando Torres back firing on all cylinders for Liverpool at St James' Park today.
The Spanish striker missed Monday's 3-0 victory over Aston Villa to attend the birth of his son.
However, the manager revealed Torres has looked sharp in training at Melwood in recent days and is desperate to add to his five-goal haul against Newcastle.

LONDON. England — Manchester City moved up to second place in the Premier League on Saturday with a 3-1 victory at West Ham as Newcastle beat Liverpool by the same score to get new manager Alan Pardew's reign off to a dream start. Strikes from Yaya Toure, Adam Johnson and a Robert Green own goal [.

Barclays Premier League game between Newcastle United 3-1 Liverpool held on December 11, 2010.

See the full highlights:

Barclays Premier League game between Tottenham and Chelsea held on December 12, 2010.

See the full highlights:

LOS ANGELES, Cal. FOX Sports Media Group today announced that it has renewed its exclusive media rights in the United States and Caribbean to the UEFA Champions League, the world's most prestigious annual club soccer competition, for three additional seasons from 2012/13 through 2014/15. The agreement with UEFA the governing body of soccer [.

The upcoming transfer window is so vitally important for clubs to bring in the right players that will change the fortunes of the club, whether that be for the final push towards winning the league such as in Chelsea's case or if it means to avoid relegation just like supporters of West Ham United, Wigan Athletic and Wolverhampton Wanderers will be hoping.

Rumor has it that unsettled midfielder Stephen Ireland might be preparing for a six month move to Celtic on loan. Since he joined Aston Villa, Ireland has been frozen out with only limited performances.

Ireland quit international football in 2007, but posted a Twitter message this week admitting he may ask coach Giovanni Trapattoni for a comeback to enhance his hopes of securing a move to another Barclays Premier League side.

Manchester City locked up top spot in Group A after coming from behind to take a point against Juventus in Turin.

Jo was the City hero as swept the ball home at the back post following a cross from Adam Johnson in the 78th minute.

With qualification to the knockout stages assured, City manager Roberto Mancini made nine changes to his side, with only Jerome Boateng and Jo retaining their places following the Barclays Premier League victory over West Ham at the weekend.

Short documentary found by the guys at Off The Post. Thoughts on the modern day footballer from some young lads.

Here's the links:

• Lengthy EPL preview [Global Football Today]
• Shawcross return [Dirty Tackle]
• Player profile Ian Taylor [Three Match Ban]
• Fantasy – The Pundit [Barclays Premier League]
• Wenger looks for reaction [Soccerway]
• Top foreign players in history of EPL [Brett Day]
• Lampard return [BBC Sport]
• Big match flops [Telegraph]
• Football clothing culture [A Healthy Obsession]

Feel free to follow me on Twitter and let me know if you'd like to suggest an article, video or photo for inclusion on the Premier League Links Of The Day.

We'll be back in the New Year with proper weekend previews. For now, a place for your weekend commentary and just some highlights.

#23 has picked up the pace this year...

• The Clint Dempsey Invitational

....or is it? The Deuce flies the cottage on Saturday to take on former boss man Roy Hodgson and the Reds at Anfield.

The weather in England has caused havoc with this weekends Premier League games and several have been cancelled including tomorrow's big game between Chelsea and Manchester United.

Today's Barclays Premier League matches at Arsenal, Birmingham, Liverpool and Wigan have all been postponed due to the weather.

The weather in England has caused havoc with this weekends Premier League games and several have been cancelled including tomorrow's big game between Chelsea and Manchester United.

Today's Barclays Premier League matches at Arsenal, Birmingham, Liverpool and Wigan have all been postponed due to the weather.

Chelsea Football Club has linked up with Perform to launch Chelsea TV through an upgraded version of the Barclays Premier League club's existing mobile application.

AC Milan have moved a step closer to losing Brazilian Ronaldinho after president Silvio Berlusconi criticising him for not ‘training as well as he can'.
It emerged last week Liverpool and Manchester City were interested in bringing him to the Barclays Premier League but Brazilian Serie A side Gremio revealed they have spoken to his representatives.

In many ways, 2010 has been the year of Ian Holloway. The man, the mystery, the manager. After securing an impressive win against Cardiff City in the Championship Play-Off Final to earn promotion to the Premier League, Ian Holloway's Blackpool side has been a revelation to watch this season, opening up teams and playing beautiful attractive football, the way it was meant to be played.

Liverpool manager Roy Hodgson does not feel threatened by predecessor Rafael Benitez's arrival back on Merseyside, admitting it would be "surprising" if the Spaniard was considered the man for the club's future.
Hodgson has so far failed to win over a large number of fans and speculation about his future has persisted since his side's woeful start to the season.

This season's instrumental new signing, Asamoah GyanSunderland extended their fine recent record with a 1-0 victory over Bolton in the early-kick off to the Barclays Premier League fixtures at the weekend. As it turns out, there was just one more top tier match played on Saturday - West Ham's 1-1 draw with Blackburn - as the big freeze decimated the fixture schedule.

This season's instrumental new signing, Asamoah GyanSunderland extended their fine recent record with a 1-0 victory over Bolton in the early-kick off to the Barclays Premier League fixtures at the weekend. As it turns out, there was just one more top tier match played on Saturday - West Ham's 1-1 draw with Blackburn - as the big freeze decimated the fixture schedule.

Liverpool face stiff competition from Aston Villa and Chelsea in the race to sign French starlet Gueida Fofana.
The 19-year-old Le Havre midfielder is set to leave the Ligue 1 outfit with his contract expiring in the summer, and Liverpool boss Roy Hodgson is one of the managers who has taken an interest in the player.

Blackpool will hold a pitch inspection three hours before their scheduled 3pm kick-off against Liverpool on Boxing Day to see if the match can go ahead.
The Seasiders do not have undersoil heating at Bloomfield Road and despite covering the pitch there is still some doubt over whether the surface will be playable.

Kickoff from Anfield at 20:00 GMT and 3:00 EST.

Ways to Watch:

Match shown live on Sky Sports 1 (HD) in the UK and on Fox Soccer Plus delay in the US.

MyP2P.eu
Atdhe.net
ChannelSurfing.net

Liverpool:

Check LFC.

Chelsea fans! Why not go and try the brand new Indian Restaurant in Fulham Broadway The MASALA ZONE before or after the game today.
Why not grab a Curry, Rice and a beer for just £12!!
The Masala Zone has been awarded the following accreditations:
Best Restaurateur of the Year - Tatler Award
Amaya: Best Restaurant & Best New Restaurant - London Restaurant Awards
Chutney Mary: Best Indian Restaurant - London Restaurant Award
Veeraswamy: Britain's Oldest Indian Restaurant - Established 1926
Masala Zone: "10/10 for food, service & value for money" The Guardian
So if you need food before or after the game then why not head to The Masala Zone (opposite Barclays Bank) and please mention you have seen this advert on my website "Chelseadaft" for me when you go in.