I'd love to say that I feel sorry for Emmanuel Adebayor but I just can't.
The man has completely and utterly fucked himself. His career at the moment is right in the balance and it appears that nobody wants him.
It seems Manchester City, his employers, do not want him and even that shlaaaaaag Harry Redknapp, who tries to turn all his clubs into mini-Arsenals, has turned a blind eye.

By Chris Wright

Salt and indeed pepper

The agent of Barcelona coach Pep Guardiola has rubbished rumours that his client is being courted by most of European football's biggest fish, claiming that no contact has been made with any club be it Inter Milan, Chelsea or Manchester United.

3pm ET, live in the US on espn2

Last four head-to-head:

1-0 Liverpool (a) 12.29.09
1-3 Villa (h) 08.24.09
5-0 Liverpool (h) 03.22.09
0-0 (a) 08.31.08
Last three matches:
Liverpool: 1-1 Steaua (a); 1-2 Spurs (a); 3-0 West Ham (h)
Villa: 1-2 Brum (a); 2-4 Arsenal (h); 0-2 Blackburn (a)
Goalscorers (league):

Liverpool: Torres 5; Gerrard 3; Kuyt, Kyrgiakos, Maxi 2; Johnson, Ngog, Skrtel 1
Villa: Downing 4; Agbonlahor 3; Clark, A Young 2; Collins, Delfouneso, Heskey, Petrov, L Young 1

Referee: Phil Dowd


Guess at a line-up:

Reina
Johnson Kyrgiakos Skrtel Konchesky
Kuyt Meireles Lucas Maxi
Ngog Torres
Other than Kyrgiakos for the injured Carragher, Liverpool's expected to deploy the same line-up that narrowly lost to Spurs, nine changes from the side that drew in Bucharest on Thursday.

By now you all have see the 'results' of the first part of the re-entry draft. To say several teams completely missed the boat here is an understatement. First off DC selected one of the worst players available, Joseph Ngwenya. He was cheap so no big deal? Every team needs to spend their money wisely and this selection by DC was a waste of $72,000 and an international roster spot for next season.

I'll be writing some thoughts as I watch the massive MAN/ARS match here on Monday as the introduction to this week's column: I think we all saw the Berbs benching coming from a mile away. Very interesting to see how Szczesny does filling in for Fabianski who is out with a hip injury (but not SO injured that he isn't on the bench).

Eden Hazard has revealed that he would be open to a move to Liverpool after snubbing a summer switch to Chelsea.
Arsenal is currently in the hunt for the highly-rated Belgian winger, 19, as are Real Madrid following recommendations from club legend Zinedine Zidane.
But a move to the Bernabeu looks to be off the cards after Hazard admitted that he would not leave Lille for a club where his development would be hindered by a lack of opportunities.

Kickoff from Steaua Stadium at 18:00 GMT, 1:00 EST.

Ways to Watch:

Match shown live on ESPN (HD) in the UK and GolTV (HD) in the US.

MyP2P.eu
Atdhe.net
ChannelSurfing.net

Liverpool:

Team sheet when it's released.

A lot of noise has been kicked up today about how Manuel Almunia will probably leave in January. His position as Arsenal's number one is... well... he isn't number one anymore to put it most bluntly. A mixture of mistakes against West Brom and an injury problem has allowed Lucasz Fabianski to stake his claim for the number one spot and he has taken it despite a share of the fans still not being totally convinced by him.

When I was growing up we used to joke that the Indian Cricket team always provided the audience with value for money in terms of thrills and chills. In those days the Indian cricketers had the ability to turn the easiest of wins into nail-biting encounters. Seems to me, Wenger has been inspired by that lot.

SKC Wizards forward, Teal Bunbury and the MLS Generation Adidas team finished their trip to Spain undefeated today as they topped Athletico Madrid's reserves 4-1. Bunbury played a big role in the game today, scoring two goals and assisting on a third goal. Bunbury started the game on the bench and while the GA team played well they only scored once off a cross from FC Dallas player, Andrew Wiedeman that deflected off a Madrid defender and into the net for an own goal.

Whaddya mean I look like a Newcastle supporter?

Ah, Friday. A day for cutting out early to spend extra time with your true loves. By which I mean alcohol and Dapper Dan. Your liver might complain, but the ladies won't, and that pesky organ will just have to learn to keep its place. Until then, try to look busy while you catch up with the various Liverpool goings on and sip discreetly from the flask in your desk.

With Rio Ferdinand out for the early part of the season, Jonny Evans was counted on to partner Nemanja Vidic in the center of United's defense. After the experienced he earned over the previous few seasons, you would think that the Northern Ireland international would be up to the task.

However, it's been a severe struggle from the word go for the 22-year-old.

You have to feel that Arsène Wenger would like nothing more than to have a team of players molded in Van Persie's style. Minus the injuries and the inconsistencies that they tend to bring of course.

It is obvious that Wenger is trying to follow the Barcelona model of tiki-taka football, with short passes and a loose formation.

Serbia international Milan Jovanovic appears to be on his way out of Premier League side Liverpool with clubs such as Genoa and Hamburg having shown an interest in signing the attacker, according to a report in the Daily Mail.
The 29-year-old left Belgian side Standard Liege on a free transfer last summer in order to sign for Liverpool, but the highly rated attacker has so far failed to live up to expectations at his new club and has mainly been warming the bench.

We have reached the midway point of Serie A 2010/2011. Unofficially the winter break has always been the midway point, as teams go on vacation and start planning their transfer strategy for the January market. Officially the real midway point is after the 19th giornata, but the winter break always feels like the real midway point.

By Eric Beard, writing from Boston

As Florent Malouda rushed to the Chelsea bench after scoring what would be the winner for the Blues as they defeated the ever-resilient Bolton Wanderers at Stamford Bridge, there was nothing but a hint of desperation in the air.

So the ups and not so ups of this season continued last night as we drew 2-2 away to Wigan.

Hugely disappointing, especially under the circumstances. They had just been reduced to 10 men after N'Zogbia, clearly their most dangerous player, decided to use Jack Wilshere's face as the ball and give it a little glancing header.

We have to think that Shay Given will find a new club in January, so he can start to play regularly, because it's a wast of his talent to be on the bench at Man City. Fraser Forster in action for Celtic against Rangers recently That's also true for other players at the Eastlands [...]

Chelsea youngster Ryan Bertrand has given an interview to a local newspaper in Nottingham and has stated he made the right choice joining Nottingham Forest on loan but at the same time is wondering whether staying at Chelsea would have seen him called up to the England team.
He said:

"I often think about whether I might have got a chance at Chelsea, if I was there, There is probably more of a chance of that now than there would have been a year or two ago.

If you need proof that the level of play in MLS is improving, just ask Kyle Nakazawa. The Philadelphia Union's third round choice in the 2010 SuperDraft was an offensive juggernaut in his senior season at UCLA, rebounding from an injury in 2009 to lead the team with 12 goals and 19 assists. But Nakazawa knew he would have to adjust his game to make it in the pros.

Jonny Evans has been poor for some time now and I write that with a heavy heart. He has made some dreadful mistakes this season, some of them very costly, and it is a worry to see this happen repeatedly. This run of dreadful form has lead some fans to doubt his future at the club and on recent performances, it is hard to look at him and think he is United quality.

Jonathan Spector must have dreamed of scoring for Manchester United, so yesterday was probably the next best thing.Spec has had a frustrating 2010, failing to find playing time at the World Cup while being stuck with superglue to the West Ham bench as the Thames Irons languish at the foot of the table.

Juan Diego Gonzalez signed with Philadelphia Union on Aug. 5, ostensibly to bolster a back line having serious problems. He immediately stepped into the starting lineup as the left center back, pushing Cristian Arrieta to the bench and keeping Michael Orozco Fiscal out at right back.

Gonzalez had spent his entire career in Latin America so was an unknown quantity to most U.

An interesting report comes from England speculating the possibility or another transfer move from a Manchester City player to Ac Milan after Robinho in the summer.

According to rumors, the Italian giant are considering to take unwanted Paraguayan striker, Ruqoe Santa Cruz, as a replacement for the injured Fillipo Inzaghi, who looked to be out for the season.

Non c'è più la coppa Uefa di una volta.

Giocare questa competizione adesso rappresenta solo un dispendio di energia che mal si concilia col rango di talune squadre. La Juventus non è un club da euroleague, come non era un club da serie B. Allora meglio starne fuori, sia per censo che per composizione della rosa.

Sacha Kljestan and Anderlecht received a thrashing at the hands of Zenit St. Petersburg while Jozy Altidore watched from the bench as Villarreal secured a spot in the knockout round against Dinamo Zagreb.

VIENA, Austria Falcao continued his prolific run of form in the UEFA Europa League by scoring a hat-trick as FC Porto wrapped up Group L and confirmed SK Rapid Wien's elimination at a snow-covered Ernst-Happel-Stadion. Needing to better Be?ikta? JK's result away to PFC CSKA Sofia to retain hope, Rapid edged in front six [.

The Cleveland crowd chanted, "Akron hates you!" (among other things), booed all night, and held signs that read, "Quitness." But by the end of the game, LeBron James had dropped a season-high 38 points on the Cavaliers and the Miami Heat came away with a dominating 118-90 victory.

TSN

Dwyane Wade added 22 points for Miami, while James Jones scored 18 and Chris Bosh had 15 for the Heat.

This column couldn't possibly be accused of hyperbole or exaggeration if we say that the week has been simply catastrophic. On Monday, Leslie Nielsen died. On Wednesday and Thursday, the Spanish teams playing for the Europa League did terribly, with the only exception being Villarreal. And to make matters worse, the joint Iberian candidacy to organise the 2018 World Cup lost to Russia.

One major positive from Thursday night's uninspiring draw with Steaua Bucharest was the sight of Fabio Aurelio getting 90 minutes under his belt.
The Brazilian has endured a miserable few months since re-signing for Liverpool and his latest injury problems have only underlined why the club were reluctant to offer him a new deal last season.

Morning all and it's back to league action with a home game against Fulham and normally there wouldn't be such trepidation. Obviously all games are taken seriously but given our form at the Grove this season there's probably a little more fear in the air than there would usually be.

Arsene has been trying to play down the issue of our home form saying it's all down to how you play, whether at home or away.

Lineups are in:

Arsenal: Starters: Fabianski, Sagna, Koscielny, Squillaci, Clichy, Song, Rosicky (c), Nasri, Wilshere, Arshavin, Chamakh Bench: Wojo, Gibbs, Djourou, Bendtner, Denilson, Walcott, van Persie

Fulham: Starters: Schwarzer, Pantsil, Hangeland, Hughes, Briggs, Davies, Murphy, Etuhu, Dempsey, Gera, Kamara Bench: A.

By Ollie Irish

Robbie Keane: A peripheral figure at Spurs

Harry Redknapp has given the green light for Robbie Keane to leave Tottenham next month. Keane has fallen out of favour at Spurs – he isn't even guaranteed a place on the bench these days – and naturally he wants to move to a club that can give him more playing time.

Everton held on to a sensational 1-1 draw against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge. The occasion marks a fifth straight draw for the Toffees at Stamford Bridge, and the result means that Chelsea have dropped even more points in this year's title race.

Jermaine Beckford came off the bench for Everton and scored the crucial equalizer with just five minutes left in the 90.

Brad Knighton came to Philadelphia as the underdog, and despite some solid play down the stretch, that hasn't changed.

Philadelphia Union picked him in last year's expansion draft and promptly traded for Chris Seitz, effectively relegating Knighton to the bench. Knighton patiently waited his turn though, and when he finally got a start, he bombed out with a 24th minute red card.

Aston Villa traveled to Anfield on Monday for what turned out to be a rough night for the visitors. Liverpool opened the scoring in the 14th minute and was two goal sup two minutes later. They added a third in the 55th, with Aston Villa goalkeeper Brad Friedel making three saves on the night. Brad Guzan and Eric Lichaj were on the bench for Villa.

The Miami Heat are suddenly no longer struggling. After winning their fifth straight game, the Heat are now 14-8. Their latest victim was the Milwaukee Bucks. Playing in Milwaukee, the Heat used suffocating defense to post a 88-78 victory. Miami is now just 1.5 games behind the Orlando Magic in the Southeast Division.

Anelka uses interpretive dance to illustrate the club's recent plight.

Just watched the match again. Catharsis, no. In fact, I believe my dissatisfaction was heightened during the revisit. That second half, well, it's not just poor, it's downright shameful. So much so that the display is worthy of an inquisition.

With tomorrow's game approaching, having already won the group but at the same time in need of a confidence and morale boosting win at the Velodrome tomorrow night, I was wondering if you reading this were Carlo Ancelotti then what team would you put out to start the game tomorrow and who would be on the bench?

By (dead tired) Chi Huynh, from Los Angeles

Several news outlets are rehashing the rumour that Fulham's utility forward & winger, Clint Dempsey, may be preparing for a transfer to Merseyside. The transfer would reunite Dempsey with his former Fulham boss, Roy Hodgson.