Footballer Needing Love - Emmanuel Adebayor

Manu hasn't had the best of times at Eastlands, he might think he's the bee's knees but his old man Mancini doesn't quite agree.  This is another Nicky Bendtner situation as it's not easy setting such an unlikeable man up, but duty calls, and there's got to be someone who wants the services of this top Togolese totty, so let's find them...

Emmanuel Adebayor - Manchester City
On his day Emmanuel is unplayable and undoubtedly one of the best strikers in the Premier League, and arguably the best target man around.  His goal scoring record has been good (although not prolific) wherever he has been, his hold up play is very impressive and he's got the two most desireable attributes for a striker, pace and power.  However, there are some downsides to our man, and they come off the pitch generally, he's a looker but with little substance behind it.  As far as his game goes there's not a whole lot wrong with it, maybe he could score more goals, he could certainly be a bit more consistant and maybe his work ethic isn't the best, and that is the link between his performances and his real problem, his attitude and personality.  This wasn't apparent when he arrived at Arsenal from Monaco, but as soon as he made it into the first team and became a household name, he fell straight into the trap of becoming cocky and arrogant.  Everything had been going well at the Emirates until he was linked with Italian big boys AC Milan and from then his head was well and truly turned.  He got his move away from Arsenal in 2009, not to an extablished big team, but to City, which didn't exactly improve his faltering reputation as he was clearly after the big bucks and not the trophies.  He started with a bang in Manchester but the spark died pretty quickly and as Mancini generally only plays one up (Tevez) and has just spent 27 million quid on another striker (Dzeko) it seems to be the end of this short lived and tempestuous relationship.  I don't think he'll be welcomed back by his ex in North London so we can rule them out, but there's plenty more fish in the sea, so let's get the rod out and go and find them...

Real Madrid???
This would be the dream move for Manu, as it clearly was for a certain other irritating, arrogant ponce who used to play in Manchester.  Having been made a cast-off at Eastlands, it seems odd that he could potentially get a move to the biggest club in the world, but the situation Los Meringues find themselves in at the minute means that it certainly is a possibility.  Bizarrely in such an expensively assembled squad Madrid only have two out and out strikers in Gonzalo Higuain and Karim Benzema.  Clearly the man I alluded to previously scores a huge amount of goals for them and does play up top on occasion, but he is really a winger and certainly shouldn't be playing up front by himself.  The Special One is extremely keen to add to his attacking options and is especially keen on a big but mobile forward, which of course is a bill which our man fits.  The suits at the Bernabeu don't fancy splashing out any more Euros, but they usually find some funds down the back of the sofa so I'm sure if Mr. Mourinho is at his persuasive best then he will get his man.  Could it be magic in Madrid for Manu???

Juventus???
I don’t know exactly what Manu is looking for in a woman, but he could well be tempted by Italy’s Old Lady.  Juve have dropped well behind both Milan teams in recent seasons, and our especially struggling this season and they are going to find it difficult to get into the Champions League spots.  This is simply because their squad is a shadow of that which was a huge force in Italian and European football before the unsavoury incident involving match fixing.  They still have stand out performers through their team, Buffon, Chiellini, Krasic and Del Piero from back to front, but the team around them is lacking some what.  In the striking department they have just brought in Luca Toni, but at the age of 33 he is not a long-term solution to the problem that Amauri doesn’t score any goals.  If they are after a big, mobile centre forward of this mould then Adebayor could well be just their man.  Manu has hinted at a move to Italy before, and becoming the main man at Juve would certainly be something he’s interested in, could it be an Italian job for our man that tempts him to Turin???

Bayern Munich???
Die Bayern have been linked with moves for strikers of late, most notably Arsenal’s Nicklas Bendtner who I’ve spoken about before.  This is understandable for a couple of reasons, Ivica Olic and Miroslav Klose are both the wrong side of 30 and neither have been prolific for Bayern.  This leaves Thomas Muller, who isn’t an out and out striker and Mario Gomez who to be fair to him has settled in at the Allianz Arena this season and is scoring goals.  These are reasons, but the most likely one is that they are down in 5^th in the Bundesliga and 16 points behind runaway leaders Dortmund.  The powers that be in Munich demand success and if they have to go out and spend then they will do it.  But is it a smart match for man and club?  Manu thinks he is the man for a big club and Bayern are certainly one of the biggest clubs around, and they will almost always be challenging for silverware at home and in Europe.  He would have to displace either in form Gomez or World Cup hero Muller, but with the fee they would likely have to pay, he’d probably be guaranteed a first team place.  There are certainly possibilities of romance in Bavaria, but could it come to fruition???

So who’s gambling on the gangly goal scorer???
This is a first for the matchmaker in that I’ve not offered up any options from the Premier League and there is good reason for this.  Firstly, there are only a very small number of clubs that could afford Manu’s wages which are a reported £160,000 a week at Eastlands.  Discounting Arsenal obviously, these are Manchester United, Chelsea and probably Spurs and Liverpool.  Man U and Chelsea could have had Manu when he left Arsenal but weren’t bothered and won’t have seen anything since to convince them.  Spurs perhaps would be interested but the Arsenal link is an issue, and I’m not sure Liverpool are the draw they once were for a player with a big ego.  The main issue is that everyone in England now knows what Manu is like, and that is a potentially very disruptive influence in the team as he has been at both clubs he’s been at in the country.  So he’s going abroad and I see Juve and Real as most likely.  Madrid wouldn’t be an option if it wasn’t for their bizarrely imbalanced squad, but they are now very real contenders and in fact I believe they are the most likely destination for Manu.  He will love this and I don’t think many others will complain, as both our man and Madrid often come across as the villains of their respective pieces, it seems like a good match.  So it’s Madrid for Manu!!!!

The best of Adebayor:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RyOsBZvG6vE
The Worst of Adbayor:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FvvsvsRG2b4&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ZBBdG_Tfow&feature=related