Stoke City 2-1 Tottenham Hotspur

Matthew Etherington's first half double proved decisive in a barnstorming game at the Britannia as Stoke held off Spurs to win 2-1. Tottenham entered this game on a run of six consecutive Premier League wins but the Potters are not a team to be taken lightly and Tony Pulis' men were at their pulsating best from the very first whistle. Inside thirty seconds Brad Friedel was forced into a world class stop to deny Spurs old boy Peter Crouch who thought he had given Stoke the perfect start. However, it was not long before another former Spurs man was celebrating when Crouch's shot rebounded off the post into the path of Matthew Etherington who applied a cool finish just before the quarter of an hour mark. The goal seemed to kick Spurs into some sort of life but they couldn't create a meaningful opening and were caught with a trademark sucker punch just two minutes before the break when Ryan Shotton's long throw was flicked on by Ryan Shawcross and Etherington was at the far post again to find the corner of the net. Harry Redknapp rang the changes at the break and it seemed to work as the visitors began to threaten on a regular basis and they grabbed a lifeline just after the hour mark when Luka Modric was felled in the box by Glenn Whelan and Emmanuel Adebayor stepped up to send Thomas Sorenson the wrong way. Stoke were on the back foot from that moment on and were fortunate to stay ahead when Younes Kaboul's drive was elbowed off the line by Shawcross but the referee didn't see it and Kaboul's afternoon soon got worse when he was given a second booking and afforded an early bath. Spurs continued to press but Sorenson and his defenders were in superb form and Stoke were not willing to let the North Londoners out of jail today as they held on for a superb victory that might kickstart their season.

Spurs agree loan deal for City's Adebayor

Tottenham agreed a loan deal for striker Emmanuel Adebayor on Tuesday night, according to 'The Sun'. Manchester City's ex-Arsenal hitman will have a medical today. Spurs boss Harry Redknapp saw his side soundly beaten 3-0 by Manchester United on Monday and admitted he needed new signings. So he has swooped for Togo ace Adebayor, who is behind Sergio Aguero, Edin Dzeko, Carlos Tevez and Mario Balotelli in the pecking order at City. Tottenham have agreed to pay a larger percentage of the 27-year-old's £170,000-a-week wages than they were originally willing to splash out. But the £25 million striker will not be allowed to make his Spurs debut this Sunday when they face his parent club.

Spurs Confirm Adebayor Talks

Spurs manager Harry Redknapp has confirmed the club are in talks with Manchester City to sign Emmanuel Adebayor. City boss Roberto Mancini revealed earlier this month that the Togo striker had no future at the club, with the arrival of Sergio Aguero further boosting his striking options. Adebayor spent the second half of last season on loan at Real Madrid and the Spanish giants have been linked with a permanent move for the former Arsenal man. The Gunners' north London rivals Tottenham have also been linked with a move for the 27-year-old, with Redknapp declaring his interest in the player earlier in the summer. The main stumbling block to any deal appears to be Adebayor's £170,000 a week wages. However, the saga has now taken a new twist with Redknapp revealing the club are in discussions with City over a season-long loan move for the hitman. "The chairman is talking to Man City about the player but where they (the negotiations) are at, I genuinely don't know."said Redknapp, ahead of his side's Europa League play-off tie with Hearts.

Adebayor Goes On Strike

Emmanuel Adebayor has effectively gone on strike at Manchester City by failing to show up for training having been left out of the club's pre-season tour.

The forward is likely to be fined at least two weeks wages -- £330,000 in total -- and may be in breach of contract, after failing to show at Carrington yesterday. He was also absent for a scheduled training session last Saturday.

City are refusing to be held to ransom by players bought in on expensive salaries two years ago.

The relationship between player and club is becoming poisonous, with Adebayor claiming last week that he was considering bringing a constructive dismissal claim against the club, having heard of his omission from the United States tour from a secretary.

Spurs take a "Real" smashing

A goal in each half from former Arsenal front-man Emmanuel Adebayor, a third from Angel di Maria and late fourth from Cristiano Ronaldo plus an early red card for Peter Crouch all conspired to ruin Tottenham's big night at the Bernabeu.Now a performance even better than previous successes against Inter and AC Milan in the second leg at White Hart Lane will be needed for Harry Redknapp's side to carry on their amazing Champions League adventure.It is unlikely to happen though and Spurs must already know that Jose Mourinho is set to head into the semi-final of the competition he has already won with Porto and Inter.

Whatever Tottenham's pre-match plans were, they needed to be changed seconds before kick-off when Aaron Lennon was taken sick and had to be replaced in the starting line-up by Jermaine Jenas.They held out for all of four minutes when Jenas failed to pick Adebayor up from a corner and the ex-Arsenal striker powered Real in front, with Luka Modric, the man on the line, unable to keep out a header that had already beaten goalkeeper Heurelho Gomes.The Togo striker, on loan from Manchester City and shorn of the long locks he sported in England, loved playing against Tottenham when he was a Gunner and this was his ninth goal against them.

It was a very disappointing start from the visitors given that it was extremely unlikely that the diminutive Lennon would have been handed the job of marking Adebayor from set-pieces so it was a mystery why Jenas was his challenger.Further disaster was not far away when Crouch, who had already been booked for a foul on Sergio Ramos, lunged at Marcelo and was shown another yellow and an inevitable red. Just 15 minutes were on the clock and Rafael van der Vaart was left on his own up front against the team that sold him in August.

Gareth Bale was always going to be Tottenham's main hope of turning the tide and he fired into the side-netting before being fouled by Pepe on another pacy counter-attack but the half ended with the action at the other end, with Michael Dawson and then William Gallas surviving strong penalty appeals.

Van der Vaart was replaced by Defoe for the start of the second half but Adebayor made it 2-0 with another unchallenged header, this time from a cross from the left from Marcelo, in the 57th minute.

Gomes tipped over another Adebayor header to prevent him from claiming the match ball but Real kept the pressure on an Di Maria beat the Brazilian with a thunderbolt into the top corner with 18 minutes remaining.

A three-goal margin would have given Spurs a slim hope of over-turning the deficit but Ronaldo's fourth - a low drive that beat Gomes at his near post - changed that.

Spanish press claim Kaka swap deal

Brazilian midfielder Kaka is being dangled as bait by Real Madrid as they eye a potential swap deal with Manchester City for Togolese striker Emmanuel Adebayor.
The former Monaco and Arsenal striker is currently on loan at the Bernabeu and appears to have impressed coach Jose Mourinho who now wants to seal a permanent deal for the attacker at the end of the season.
Kaka, who moved to Los Merengues from AC Milan in 2009 for a fee in the region of £56 million has struggled to match the impact made by fellow ‘galactico’ Ronaldo with injuries and poor form hampering his progress.
Tipped to end his time in Spain prematurely, the 2007 World Player of the Year, who is still only 28-years-old, is also reportedly still on Chelsea’s radar while nouveau-riche Russian outfit Rubin Kazan are also thought to be preparing a big money offer.

Adebayor to join Real in cut price deal

Emmanuel Adebayor could be allowed to join loan club Real Madrid in a cut-price £12million deal from Manchester City this summer.
The Togolese striker was signed from Arsenal by former City boss Mark Hughes in a deal worth around £25million in summer 2009.
However, as Adebayor lost his place in the side over the 12 months since Roberto Mancini took charge of the Eastlands hot-seat in December 2009, City were keen to get him off the wage bill in the recent January window in order to help fund their £27million signing of Edin Dzeko from Wolfsburg.
As a result it has now emerged that City requested a payment of £1.7million from Real Madrid to loan Adebayor for the next six months, with a further £12million to pay if the move is made permanent next summer - almost half of what they paid out to sign him from the Gunners.
Adebayor's chances of earning a full-time deal at the Bernabeu have been boosted after he scored twice in his first two games for Jose Mourinho's outfit.

Adebayor completes "dream" move to Real Madrid

Emmanuel Adebayor hopes to have put a turbulent 12 months behind him after completing what he described as a dream move to Real Madrid.Adebayor was presented at the Bernabeu today after joining Madrid on loan until the end of the season from Manchester City, with the Spanish giants having the option to buy the 26-year-old in the summer.The switch, which will see Adebayor help cover the loss of long-term injury victim Gonzalo Higuain, comes after a difficult 2010 for the former Togo captain both professionally and on a personal level.He initially proved a massive hit at City following his £25million move from Arsenal 18 months ago, but Adebayor's star faded after Roberto Mancini replaced Mark Hughes as manager.

Away from the pitch, Adebayor was scarred by tragedy last January after the Togo team bus was attacked by terrorists during the African Nations Cup in Angola.Speaking today, Adebayor admitted his start to this year could hardly have been more different to 12 months ago."My dream has come true to be able to play football again at the highest level, especially with Real Madrid," he said."After Arsenal, when I went to Man City, don't get me wrong, it's true that I had an up and down time, and I was nearly dead as well on the way to the African Nations Cup."I was a little bit traumatised by all those kinds if things and it was a very difficult moment for me and today all those kinds of things are behind me.

"2010 started very badly for me, but 2011 started very well by signing a contract with Real Madrid.
"Hopefully there's a lot of good coming my way, so I have to praise God that I'm still alive and I get the chance to wear the white shirt of Real Madrid."I'm very honoured and very, very happy to join this club. And for all that has happened over the last six months today I'm more comfortable, more relieved and I'm very happy."

When asked what went wrong for him under Mancini at City, Adebayor added: "I'm a footballer and what I need is to play football, to be out there on the pitch."What went wrong with Mancini and Manchester City? I don't think there's a lot of things wrong. Right now he's lost confidence in me. He doesn't have any confidence in me any more and he has decided to choose other players."So for me I'm very happy to be back again on the football pitch with Real Madrid and the chance to play football again."

Madrid were forced to enter the transfer market when Higuain was recently ruled out for up to four months after undergoing back surgery, leaving coach Jose Mourinho with Karim Benzema as his only senior striker.
With Higuain absent for a significant period and Benzema struggling to impress, Adebayor has the chance to push his claims for a permanent switch to Madrid over the next few months.However, the former Arsenal forward, who scored 19 goals in 43 games for City, is not looking too far ahead.He said: "At the moment I'm here for six months and I'm very honoured, and happy and grateful to wear Real Madrid shirt."The most important thing for me is to enjoy myself here and everybody is making me feel at home. I'm going to talk to the boss (Mourinho) to see how I can help the team win things.

"I'm a player who loves challenges, and who came here to achieve a lot of things.

"It's not going to be easy but I'm here to help the team achieve things."

He added: "I'm here to learn. Players never stop learning. I will learn and from then I will have to improve my game. I have to score goals, I have to create goals, I have to make things happen.

"I have to pay back all the people who have confidence in me by playing well on the pitch. Football isn't just about scoring goals - it's about attitude and what you can achieve and how you can help your team win games."

Real Madrid move for Man City striker after Ruud snub

Real Madrid have made a move for Manchester City striker Emmanuel Adebayor, according to reports in Spain.
Bernabeu boss Jose Mourinho is in the hunt for a forward after losing Gonzalo Higuain to injury for the rest of the season.
Ruud van Nistelrooy was the Spanish club's number one target but, after Hamburg ruled out selling the Dutchman, Mourinho has turned his attention to Adebayor.
Real want the 26-year-old Togo star on loan for the rest of the season, say Spanish daily Marca, and are willing to cover 50 per cent of his £160,000-a-week wages.
The Catalan giants are also prepared to pay City €2 million and give them the option of a friendly match, claims the report.
Adebayor is desperate to quit Eastlands after falling down the pecking order, with Edin Dzeko, Carlos Tevez and Mario Balotelli all ahead of him, but it remains to be seen whether big-spending City will give him the green light to move.

Real Madrid in for Adebayor

Real Madrid have renewed their interest in Manchester City striker Emmanuel Adebayor.

Senior officials from the Spanish giants have reportedly made contact with the Blues over the possibility of a six-month loan deal with a view to a permanent deal.

Real boss Jose Mourinho said he did not expect to sign any strikers earlier this month, but on Wednesday Argentina forward Gonzalo Higuain was ruled out for four months with a back injury.
Tottenham, Fulham and Monaco are all keeping an eye on the situation.

Adebayor has started just two league games for the Blues this season and last month was involved in a training ground bust up with Kolo Toure.

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