<div><figure class="external-image"><img loading="lazy" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-7993" src="/wp-content/uploads/2009/05/2085151465_6976e12499_o.jpg" alt="2085151465_6976e12499_o" width="400" height="400"></figure></div>
This is not the worst team in the Premier League.&nbsp; It is the least valuable.&nbsp; This team would incite the masses with talent, with name recognition and with expense.&nbsp; They would then fail pathetically.&nbsp; This team could be composed entirely of Newcastle players, but we thought we’d include a few others to keep things interesting.
Emmanuel Adebayor (Arsenal): Doubled his salary this season.&nbsp; Halved his work rate and effectiveness.
Michael Owen (Newcastle): No longer an elite player, no leadership value, paid like someone with both.
Damien Duff (Newcastle): Expensive, complacent and ineffectual, Duff is a perfect emblem for Newcastle’s season.
Joey Barton (Newcastle): He makes £60,000 per week.&nbsp; No description needed.
Deco (Chelsea): Barcelona – better when he left.&nbsp; Chelsea – better when he stopped playing.
David Bentley (Tottenham): Once tipped to start for England, can’t even start for Tottenham.&nbsp; Spurs won eight out of eleven league games he did not play.
Gareth Bale (Tottenham): Spurs still have not won a Premier League match he has appeared in.
Micah Richards (Manchester City): Has regressed rather than progressed, a testament to Capello’s insight.
Gary Neville (Manchester United): Waste of a squad position.
Andrea Dossena (Liverpool): One reason Rafa Benitez should have to work for his transfer funds.
Craig Gordon (Sunderland): Sunderland allowed 113 goals the past two seasons.&nbsp; Not all Gordon’s fault, but you would expect more impact, given his transfer fee.

Least Valuable Premier League XI

Least Valuable Premier League XI - World Soccer Talk

<div><figure class="external-image"><img src="http://epltalk.com/wp-content/uploads/newsimg.bbc.co.uk/upl/m3/jun2007/7/8/201F8460-FD61-5F7A-20DC6D5A1B8EEBC6.jpg" alt=""></figure></div>
With the title race effectively coming down to just three realistic contenders now, there is only one spot remaining for qualification into next season’s Champions’ League. Currently, Aston Villa are sitting fourth on 48 points, with a nice five point gap separating them from Arsenal who are in fifth. Although Villa have accrued the same number of points as Chelsea, I just don’t see them being able to last the distance and put in a genuine title challenge. Although it would be nice for a wildcard like Villa to shake things up at the very pinnacle, I think it’s too soon for them to be contenders.
So back to the original point, Aston Villa remain in pole position to take the last Champions’ League spot from seasoned campaigners Arsenal. Domestically, it would be fantastic to see someone else muscle in on the big four but would it be beneficial for the Premiership’s European status? Currently the league stands as the best in the world as the Premiership’s four regular competitors for Europe’s elite prize have all reached the final in the last three years. In comparison to other leagues, where Real Madrid (the world’s most successful club arguably) struggle to make the quarter final stage each year and Italian sides feature on a sporadic basis at best, the Premiership provides serious challengers season after season.

The inclusion of Aston Villa in the Champions’ League at the expense of Arsenal could have a detrimental effect on England’s dominance of Europe. Whereas English teams stroll through to the latter stages, Villa could be drawn against an experienced European side (Valencia for example) in the third round qualifying stage and subsequently find themselves in the UEFA Cup, much like Everton did in 2005. And then, even if they did qualify for the group stages (which for the record would be a massively commendable achievement), I fear that they would struggle to make any impact on the competition.
<div><figure class="external-image"><img loading="lazy" style="width: 176px;height: 135px" src="http://epltalk.com/wp-content/uploads/newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/41358000/gif/_41358945_arsenal_150.gif" alt="" width="150" height="123"></figure></div>
Arsenal being in the UEFA Cup wouldn’t necessarily be a bad thing as they would probably be considered among the favourites to lift the trophy, should they still have their current crop of players. However, would their stars like Fabregas, Adebayor, Van Persie, etc, really want to hang about when a host of top European sides could offer them an escape, and could Arsenal turn down big offers without the financial rewards that come with Champions’ League football? I doubt Arsenal would sell these players to domestic rivals so other leagues would then reap the benefits of their clubs purchasing some of the Premiership’s most exciting players.
All I’m getting at is that a team such as Arsenal not qualifying for the Champions League could have long term consequences, not just for themselves, but for the Premiership as a whole, as a spectacle. Would someone like Adebayor really want to stick around at Arsenal for a season that doesn’t involve playing in the biggest European competition? The prospect of this happening would really test the loyalty and allegiances of a Fabregas, a Van Persie, who could have their pick of clubs across the continent. I for one would like to see Villa break the top four this season, but not at the longer team expense of the quality of football and footballers that are witnessed each week in the Premiership. However, if Martin O’Neill were to sign all of Arsenal’s top players in the summer and keep them in England, then by all means Villa, go and win the league for all I care. Now that would be impressive.

Arsenal Or Villa: Who Is Your Favourite In The Race For Fourth Place?

Arsenal Or Villa: Who Is Your Favourite In The Race For Fourth Place? - World Soccer Talk

Arsenal’s Emmanuel Adebayor stars in a new video alongside his virtual doppelganger from the FIFA 09 video game. The video shows Adebayor juggling the ball and passing it to his virtual counterpart and back and forth. The video was produced by Adidas.
Enjoy.
[display_podcast]

Emmanuel Adebayor Stars In Virtual Video

Emmanuel Adebayor Stars In Virtual Video - World Soccer Talk

<div><figure class="external-image"><img src="/wp-content/uploads/2008/08/joey-barton-kevin-keegan.jpg" alt="joey-barton-kevin-keegan.jpg" align="right" vspace="15" hspace="15"></figure></div>Joey Barton is never far from controversy and such was the case today when the Newcastle midfielder returned to professional football. In his game today for Newcastle, he only touched the ball once during the three minutes he played.
In those three minutes, he commited a controversial tackle, showed little respect, was purposefully tripped by an Arsenal midfielder resulting in a yellow card and banged into Arsenal’s top striker.
Here’s exactly what happened during his return to English football today:
<ul>
<li>88:41: Joey Barton comes on for Jonas Gutierrez.</li>
<li>88:51: Barton pressures Arsenal’s Cesc Fabregas. The Arsenal midfielder passes the ball across the pitch.</li>
<li>89:28: Barton touches the ball for the first time when he goes in for a 50/50 ball against Samri Nasri and knocks the ball into touch. Nasri is knocked to the turf from the challenge. Arsenal fans boo Barton.</li>
<li>89:31: Barton stares down Nasri and makes a sarcastic smile.</li>
<li>89:42: After watching a replay of the tackle in slow motion, TWI commentator Steve Banyard comments on Barton’s tackle by saying “That’s not the way to endear himself back.” “Not at all,” chimed co-commentator Gary O’Reilly. Banyard continued, “And a smile, a sarcastic smile like that, is frankly out of order.” O’Reilly replies, “Oh well.” Banyard adds, “The big campaign of the summer has been respect and Barton showed little of it there.”</li>
<li>90:01: Nasri trips Barton on purpose.</li>
<li>91:01: Gael Clichy nutmegs Barton.</li>
<li>91:14: Barton goes up for a cross in the Newcastle box, misses the ball completely but drives his back into Emmanuel Adebayor, causing the striker to grab his back in pain.</li>
<li>91:21: Nasri receives a yellow card from the earlier trip on Barton.</li>
<li>91:46: After a long kick upfield by Newcastle goalkeeper Shay Given, Barton goes up for a 50/50 ball against Gael Clichy but the Arsenal defender gets his head to the ball first and knocks it to William Gallas.</li>
<li>92:08: Full-time whistle blows.</li>
<li>Barton walks down the tunnel, but afterwards Kevin Keegan gets into a heated argument with Gallas and Nasri as the Newcastle manager points his finger at Gallas. Newcastle’s assistant manager Terry McDermott steps in to break things up.</li>
</ul>
The challenge that Barton made to win the ball was within the law of the game, but what I object to is the manner in which he went in for the tackle. By watching the TV replay, it’s obvious that Barton intended to send a message to Nasri by the way that the Newcastle midfielder drove his right arm into Nasri’s thigh when the tackle took place. Barton could have easily won the ball in a cleaner manner by not using his arm.
Keegan’s response regarding to the controversy was this: “Joey came on, got a good tackle in on Nasri. Then the guy sliced him down. That’s what happened and that’s what I saw, which is what I was upset about.”
Yes the tackle was good, but was unnecessarily rough. Nasri didn’t slice Barton down. He tripped him on purpose.
“I know the referee didn’t see it but the linesman did and it should have been a red card,” said Keegan.
Red card? You’re having a laugh.
“It wasn’t a reckless tackle – it was a good tackle.” Except for the right arm that went charging into Nasri, yes.
For once, Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger’s reaction to a controversial incident was spot on. “I was not surprised by the reaction of the fans – I have been involved in the game long enough not to be surprised by anything,” said Wenger. “Nasri clipped Barton and there was a little incident between them, but he was booked and rightly so.”
Barton’s return to football was full of controversy. Let’s hope that Barton gets his head together if he’s to play any more matches for Newcastle United.

The Return Of Joey Barton: One Touch And 3 Minutes Of Controversy

The Return Of Joey Barton: One Touch And 3 Minutes Of Controversy - World Soccer Talk

<div><figure class="external-image"><img src="/wp-content/uploads/2008/08/middlesbrough-banner.jpg" alt="middlesbrough-banner.jpg"></figure></div>
The most impressive side I watched, by far, on Saturday was Middlesbrough. The link-up play between Tuncay, Alves, Downing, Aliadiere and, later, Mido was sensational. Wheater was also impressive. At times, it was like watching Brazil with all of the backheels and blistering attacks. Seriously.
While Spurs controlled a lot of the possession in this match and were doing a better job at passing the ball around, they were sloppy in front of goal and failed to create those pinpoint passes that could have led to goals.
The 2-1 win for Middlesbrough was deceiving. Wheater had a goal in the first half that was incorrectly disallowed, but even ignoring that, Boro was much more impressive than Spurs than the scoreline suggests. For Tottenham, it’s back to the drawing board.
Middlesbrough fans will probably be worrying that Boro will continue to do well against big opposition teams but poorly against weaker sides. Let’s hope Gareth Southgate can fix that because the initial signs from Boro this season are very encouraging. They look like a team reborn.
One more impressive thing about Middlesbrough: For the first time in ages, the Riverside sounded like a real football stadium with a cup final atmosphere and noise compared to the empty red seats and stone cold silence we’re accustomed to from Boro.
Here are my thoughts from the other matches:
<ul>
<li>The deafening sound of boos that erupted around Goodison Park at the end of the 90 minutes against Blackburn should worry the club and its fans. They aren’t too many things to be happy with at Everton lately with the move to Kirkby on hold, no transfer signings, injury problems, boardroom problems and a dissatisfied David Moyes.
At times, Everton’s defending was schoolboy as they let Blackburn run right through the middle of the park unopposed. The perfect example of that was David Dunn who had a lot of space to twist and turn past Phil Jagielka and slot his curving shot into the corner of the net. Joleon Lescott made a crucial mistake to let Roque Santa Cruz pass him to slot the ball into the goal. Even Jason Roberts, yes Jason Roberts, made Everton’s back four look weak by dribbling past three players and getting a shot on goal.</li>
<li>New Blackburn manager Paul Ince should be impressed by the spirit shown by his side. If they can keep Santa Cruz in his side, they should do well this season up front.</li>
<li>Sunderland‘s performance at their Stadium of Light against Liverpool was impressive. The team put in every morsel of energy into this match, winning many 50/50 balls and tormenting Rafa Benitez’s side. I wasn’t impressed by Liverpool’s performance at all. Too many sloppy mistakes. Hyypia looked awful. Plessis looked very unsure of himself in central midfield and his replacement Alonso played much better.This is going to be an awfully long season for Liverpool unless they can start making immediate improvement. They created more chances in the second half mostly thanks to Steven Gerrard, but what happens when Gerrard has a weak performance?</li>
<li>Arsenal looked extremely comfortable and confident in their 1-0 win against West Bromwich Albion, but it was classic Arsenal who failed to find a second goal to put West Brom out of reach. Tony Mowbray’s side gave Arsenal a couple of scary moments with the very impressive Ishmael Miller coming close for West Brom. Samir Nasri did well on his first Premier League debut. Chris Brunt also played well for the Baggies, whose side became more comfortable toward the end of the first half. For the first 30 minutes, they couldn’t thread more than a few passes together.Meanwhile, Emmanuel Adebayor continued his frustrating streak of missing some clear-cut chances in front of goal. When he’s off form, the Gunners will be in jeopardy in crunch games.</li>
</ul>

Middlesbrough Dazzles With Opening Day Premier League Performance

Middlesbrough Dazzles With Opening Day Premier League Performance - World Soccer Talk

<div><figure class="external-image"><img src="/files/2008/07/r80training.jpg" alt="r80training.jpg" align="right" hspace="10" vspace="5"></figure></div>It’s hard to label any transfer deal that costs 21 million Euros a bargain but considering the numbers that have been thrown around this summer, Ronaldinho’s move to AC Milan looks to be cheap. The former two-time World Player of the Year (2004, 2005) signed a three-year contract at the San Siro after enduring a frustrating campaign with Barcelona. At 28, I think he’s far from being over-the-hill or past his best as many pundits have been saying. A change of scenery and joining up with fellow Brazilians Kaká and Alexandre Pato could be just what he needs to rejuvenate his career.
Milan are hoping to bounce back from last season’s disappointing campaign that saw them finish fifth and miss out on a Champions League spot and are looking for the Brazilian trio to lead their attack. Ronaldinho has payed immediate dividends on the financial front as Rossoneri fans snapped up 5,230 season tickets the day he was unveiled to the Italian media as the club’s latest signing. <a href="http://www.acmilan.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The club’s official website</a> reported that it received more than 10 times the average daily volume of visitors since news of his transfer.
<div><figure class="external-image"><img src="/files/2008/07/r80.jpg" alt="r80.jpg" align="left" hspace="10" vspace="5"></figure></div>As pictured to the left,&nbsp; Ronaldinho will begin life in Italy with a new number. He will wear the number 80, he was born in 1980, as his number 10 shirt is already taken by Dutch midfielder Clarence Seedorf.&nbsp; AC Milan stated on their website that club policy is that they have never and would not demand that any of their players give away their number.
The other big news story coming out of the San Siro these days is that Kaká is a reported transfer target for Chelsea. However, that interest appears to be going nowhere with Milan dismissing reports that they had received a mega offer or were ready to accept one. Milan’s vice-president Adriano Galliani stated “We will never sell him. Even if we received an offer of 300m from Chelsea. The only way we would ever consider letting him go is if it was his desire.”
Barcelona will look to Alexander Hleb as a playmaking left-sided replacement after he completed a reported £11.8m (according to the BBC) move to the Catalan giants from Arsenal. The deal could rise to £13.5m depending on how well Barca do during Hleb’s stay at the club. Hleb made 129 appearances after he joined Arsenal in 2005 when the club paid Stuttgart £11.2m for his services. Hleb is Barca’s fifth signing of the summer and he joins Seydou Keita, Gerard Pique, Martin Caceres and Daniel Alves in a new-look squad next season. 
 
One of AC Milan’s main rivals for Serie A honors this coming season will be Juventus, who made steps to strengthen their midfield. They agreed on a 10m Euro deal with Sevilla for midfielder 
Christian Poulsen, who has signed a four-year deal with his new club. Juve manager Claudio Ranieri’s focus appears to be on defence as he had early brought in former Aston Villa defender Olof Mellberg on a free. Poulsen has developed a reputation for crossing the line and it will be interesting to see how Italian fans react to him. He was at the centre of the Totti spitting incident at Euro 2004 (Totti is still upset about it according to this goal.com article) and was labelled a “coward” for <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZU4pLJ80oVU" target="_blank" rel="noopener">the treatment he gave Kaka</a> (video link courtesy of 101greatgoals.com) during a Champions League encounter in 2006 while he was with Schalke.
The list of departures from Arsenal continued to grow as central midfielder Gilberto Silva leaves to join Greek side Panathinaikos. Arsenal signed Gilberto from Brazilian club side Atletico Mineiro in 2002 after he impressed at the World Cup. Silva was an integral part of the Gunners’ side that won the Premier League in 2003/04 and won the FA Cup in 2003 and 2005. Gilberto was relegated to a few substitute appearances because of the emergence of Mathieu Flamini and Cesc Fabregas. However, with Flamini and the 31-year-old Gilberto both leaving the club this summer, Arsenal will have to hope that Abou Diaby can take the next step forward. Diaby has long been touted as the replacement for former Gunners midfielder Patrick Vieira though he could have competion from Denilson and Alexandre Song.
One player not leaving Emirates Stadium, at least not at the moment is Emmanuel Adebayor. Ronaldinho’s capture has put an end to Adebayor’s hopes of moving to Milan. Milan’s vice-president had previously stated that only Adebayor or Ronaldinho would end up at San Siro this summer.
Meanwhile, after all the furor over Real Madrid’s expressed interest in Cristiano Ronaldo, Manchester United have tabled an official bid for Dimitar Berbatov, offering Tottenham an undisclosed amount for their star striker. Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy says he has no plans to sell and has&nbsp; lodged an official complaint with the Premier League against Manchester United over the comments allegedly made by Sir Alex Ferguson regarding his plans to sign Berbatov.
Levy has called Ferguson a hypocrite in reacting to comments attributed to Ferguson by The Sun, comments which the United boss emphatically denies having made. Spurs have handed the Premier League a dossier of evidence compiled over the last year and I for one tend to back Levy’s claim. If Spurs’ evidence holds up then Unted are likely to be charged with tapping-up Berbatov and the whole deal may fall apart. Ferguson is considering legal action against Levy for defamation and the whole thing is set to get very nasty.
Lastly, Chelsea have agreed to sell defender Khalid Boulahrouz to Stuttgart.&nbsp; Despite not having a good season on loan at Sevilla, where he struggled with both form and fitness, Boulahrouz’s performances in Holland’s Euro 2008 campaign, has pushed the deal into £4m region according to a number of news sources. Boulahrouz failed to impress during his time at Chelsea and by moving back to the Bundesliga, he hopes to recapture the strong club form he had with Hamburg before making a £10m move to Stamford Bridge in 2006.

Transfer Market Update &#8211; AC Milan's Bargain And Manchester United's Hypocrisy

Transfer Market Update - AC Milan's Bargain And Manchester United's Hypocrisy - World Soccer Talk

Transfer Market Update – AC Milan's Bargain And Manchester United's Hypocrisy

Latest news from Emmanuel Adebayor. Find out about all the news related to Emmanuel Adebayor on worldsoccertalk.com

ALL POSTS TAGGED "Emmanuel Adebayor - Page 2"

News

Least Valuable Premier League XI

News

Arsenal Or Villa: Who Is Your Favourite In The Race For Fourth Place?

News

Emmanuel Adebayor Stars In Virtual Video

News

The Return Of Joey Barton: One Touch And 3 Minutes Of Controversy

News

Middlesbrough Dazzles With Opening Day Premier League Performance

News

Transfer Market Update – AC Milan's Bargain And Manchester United's Hypocrisy