Ade's Real dealAde's Real deal

Guillem Balague told Revista that Emmanuel Adebayor will be a stop-gap for Real Madrid ahead of some big-name signings this summer.

Sky Sports' Spanish football expert revealed the deal for the Togolese striker to join Real on loan from Manchester City for the rest of the season after their bid to re-sign Ruud van Nistelrooy from Hamburg failed.
Jose Mourinho would then have an option to sign Adebayor permanently in the summer, but Balague feels it's more likely to be a short-term deal to cover for the injured Gonzalo Higuain.
And he says Real are biding their time before they bid for Atletico Madrid forward Sergio Aguero and Athletic Bilbao striker Fernando Llorente in the summer with Karim Benzema likely to be sold to fund those signings.
Balague explained: "From the moment that Real Madrid realised that the van Nistelrooy deal was not going to take place, even though van Nistelrooy was willing to pay one million euros from his own pocket, they decided to activate Plan B.
"Plan B, by the way, is a better option for Mourinho. It's one that he preferred. He preferred Adebayor to van Nistelrooy and Adebayor will become a Real Madrid player because the clubs have agreed so.
"Real Madrid want to sell Benzema and finance the signing of Llorente with that money - and they also want to put 45million euros in Atletico Madrid's direction to get Kun Aguero. That's the buy-out clause.
"So they want to buy Kun Aguero and if they sell Benzema they want to get Llorente as well.
"So Adebayor is a little bit of a stop-gap."

Liverpool Round-Up, French Top Scorer to Join, Lucas Out, Everton Groundshare & Reina Call for Patience

It’s been a busy day for Liverpool news wise with the club linked with a number of potentinal January moves as well as a number of departures. The poor start to the season has led to much criticism of the club both on and off the pitch which has prompted Pepe Reina to defend Roy Hodgson and call for some much needed patience from the Anfield faithful.
Liverpool star calls for patience as Hodgson feels pressure

There is far more positive news for Reds fans with the news that they could soon have the chance to acquire a sizeable stake in their club after moves were made to establish a financial foundation for such an investment.
Liverpool FC takeover could pave way for future fan ownership at Anfield
There may also be a new arrival in January with speculation that St Etienne winger Dimitri Payet will be on his way to Merseyside. The French star currently tops the scoring charts with seven goals and is reportedly available for a reasonable £7m which should fit into Liverpool’s current financial capabilities.
Liverpool Target £7m Surprise French Top Scoring Wing Wizard
Maxi Rodriguez Out, £7m French Scoring Sensation in at Liverpool
further reports that both Lucas Leiva and Maxi Rodriguez will be sold to pave a spending spree in the next transfer window.
Liverpool Midfielder set for £6M La Liga Move
Finally talk of a possible ground-share between Liverpool and Everton has gathered momentum following recent comments from Reds legend Kenny Dalglish and Toffees Chairman Bill Kenwright.

DECISIVE DROGBA

Didier Drogba, talking through his 30-yard shot that opened the scoring in the beating at Bolton, reckoned clear thinking in the moments beforehand was crucial to him finding the net.
The goal was his 10^th of the season and was rated the best among them by the player after the match.
'It was a good ball in, won from good pressing [by the team] and I was in a good position so I took my chance,' Drogba said.
'You have to have the confidence to try if you want to score and the manager said to me to shoot more if I have the chance.'
He admitted he might not have exploited similar opportunities in recent matches.
'Maybe I was thinking too much, too many decisions at the same time. This one I went straight for it. I wanted to shoot and I did it.'