Anyone else spot this bloke at last night’s game?

FC Köln striker vaults a fence to show appreciation to fans

Those who dipsair at Emmanuel Adebayor’s attitude and Gary Neville’s defence of outrageous salaries can find solace in Lukas Podolski.

The Polish-born German national team striker played for FC Köln from the age of ten, but was begrudgingly sold in 2003 when Bayern Munich turned up with an irresistible €10m cheque. When the arrival of Luca Toni pushed him down the pecking order in Munich, however, Podolski returned to his childhood club for a similar €10m fee. Such was the Cologne fans’ love of their returning hero that they set up a website in order to raise money to fund the re-signing.

Since his return to North Rhine-Westphalia, Podolski has reciprocated the love shown to him by fans. Last night, FC Köln caused an upset in the DFB-Pokal cup (the German equivalent of the FA Cup)

LA ladies spaff £9,000 to see The Latics get beaten

*Actual cheerleaders involved in this story were not this hot or drunk

After getting chatted up by meeting some Oldham Athletic players while on holiday in the Cayman Islands this summer, Californian cheerleaders Sara Mathew and Amber Allen were inspired to see the Latics play.

After slaying the dragon named common sense, the 23-year-olds decided to Fly 11,000 miles from the glamorous surroundings of Beverly Hills to the slightly-less-glamorous surroundings of Greater Manchester. They made a pilgrimage to a rain-sodden Boundary Park before heading down to Bermondsey, with tickets to see last month’s League One clash with Millwall.

Oldham lost the match 2-0, but the girls were clearly undeterred by the result and the £9,000 price tag. Sara said:

“Being welcomed into the community of Oldham fans was like being part of a family we’ve never had.”

The girls are planning to return in December, and as a thank you to their impressive commitment. Oldham have promised to “roll out the red carpet” upon their return.

[Spotted in The Sun, who thoughtfully included a diagram showing the distance between America and England]

German fans write analytical open letter of complaint

With two draws and a defeat under their belts in 2009/10, Bayern Munich aren’t going the right way about improving on their second placed finish in the last campaign.

It’s fair to draw a comparison between the historically successful Bavarian side and Liverpool, and it is also fair to say that Liverpool fans could benefit from the analytical nature of their German counterparts.

Instead of windmilling in with pessimistic talk of lost title chances - the type of attitude that the tabloid press has instilled in the typical English fan - Die Roten have written a detailed open letter to their club. It’s a studious analysis of their teams’ plight, compiled with all the unnecessary formality and meticulousness of the minutes of a local council meeting.

Togolese star is grace and empathy personified

Emmanuel Adebayor has today told the world how he was forced out of Arsenal by fans who, for some reason, didn’t appreciate his fifty-per-cent efforts on the pitch and ostentatious post-defeat nightclub celebrations.

Far be it from us to suddenly leap on the anti-Manu bandwagon - we’ve been riding on it for at least four months - but we simply had to share a story from yesterday’s Camden New Journal. In an article entitled ‘Riches, but Ade short-changed us‘, a journalist recalls his experience of the Manchester City forward’s impressive benevolence:

“One time during his short Arsenal career, he joined other players visiting sick children at a local hospital one Christmas. It’s a lovely gesture. Shame then, that all the pictures of Adebayor sent to us show him meeting the kids with his iPod earphones still in.”

The anti-Carlos bandwagon is rolling through Manchester

He works hard, he’s committed and he clearly doesn’t take himself too seriously. There are plenty of reasons why Carlos Tevez is a fan favourite at Manchester Utd, and Alex Ferguson finds himself under a great deal of pressure from the Old Trafford faithful to ’sign him up’.

There is, however, an underlying current of resentment towards the Red Devils’ version of Dirk Kuyt - many are disappointed by his recent attitude and potential defection to City, some think he is not worth Kia Joorabchian’s £30m valuation, and others simply think he’s butters (for those who aren’t down with the kids like The Spoiler and Dr Fox, that means ‘rubbish’).

Don’t believe us? Here are some filleted chunks fresh from the comments section of Republik of Mancunia, the biggest Manchester Utd fansite:

“The man obviously doesn’t understand the squad game and is more interested in getting himself selected for the world cup squad, hence why he wants playing time. Although, understandable, surely 20 to 30 games a season at United is better than 40 odd at the bitters?”

“He’s played approximately the same number of minutes as Berbatov and Rooney. He played in last year’s Cl final and one half of this year’s. If he moves to City we will definitely know he’s fucked the fans over. Personally I thought his behaviour towards Fergie at the end of the season was disgraceful and worse than Ronaldo’s.”

“Personally i don’t think he’s good enough…and if a striker is really whats needed (which i’m not too sure about) then surely

(Football fans + drinking) x Rome = violence

It’s barely lunchtime in the Italian capital, but trouble is already erupting on the streets. Goal.com are reporting that a British Manchester Utd fan is receiving treatment in hospital after being stabbed in the thigh.

In an unrelated incident, two drunken Utd fans have been arrested for disorderly behaviour in the Piazza Campo de Fiori area. A 19-year-old and a 45-year-old reportedly channeled their inner Russell Crowe, kicking and punching officers who tried to arrest them.

The Mayor of Rome was hoping to avoid such incidents by imposing a blanket ban on alcohol in the city from Tuesday until Thursday. The ban, however, has been universally ignored, as up to 50,000 visiting fans have been free to purchase booze in bars and supermarkets.

The Spoiler’s source in Rome confirms that people are freely drinking outside, despite official warnings. The source added that a sign at her hotel reads: “No Alcoholics served today”.

No it’s not Emmanuel Adebayor, it’s this man…

Stan Collymore has started a one man mission to convince the world that Nicklas Bendtner is going to become a top quality striker.

Anyone who tuned in to talkSPORT on Saturday evening will have heard the former Liverpool striker condemn the nasty Arsenal fans for a barracking that never actually took place. Indeed The Spoiler’s booing expert watched the game in eager anticipation of some top quality jeering and was left disappointed as the majority of supporters instead got behind the Dane after every miss, chanting “Super Nicklas Bendtner”.

The controversial pundit wasn’t prepared to end his campaign there though and today named the striker “Hero of the Weekend”