Also appearing on a computer near you…

City give the people of Manchester the opportunity to walk on Manu Adebayor’s face
[Dirty Tackle]

An exclusive Nemanja Vidic interview
[Red Rants]

Abbey Clancy’s partner will marry Abbey Clancy in St Lucia
[People via Kickette]

Mark Hughes says he’s ready to gatecrash the Big Four
[Daily Mail]

Everton to sell Goodison Park to fund new stadium
[Goal.com]

Peter Reid joins Stoke
[FourFourTwo]

Former England contenders left begging for job with strugglers

Gordon Strachan, Avram Grant, Peter Reid and Co Adriaanse have all been thrust into contention to succeed Roy Keane at various points over the past week, before quickly fading away again. However, Sam Allardyce and Alan Curbishley have been constants, starting as the frontrunners in the betting last Thursday and remaining so up to now, which indicates that one of them will be the next manager of Sunderland. Both men have in common a track record for getting the best out of average players while being criticised for a dull brand of football, but beyond that, here’s what we consider both men’s pros and cons:

Sam Allardyce
+ Favours modern methods such as Prozone a lot more than Curbishley does
+ Has qualified for Europe with an unfancied team
+ Boasts a pretty impressive record in the transfer market

- His team’s direct physical approach hasn’t won over many neutrals
- Was sacked by Newcastle after a run of two wins in twelve games
- Do Sunderland really want somebody who flopped at their biggest rivals?

Alan Curbishley
+ Has never been sacked as a manager
+ Kept West Ham up from a far worse position than Sunderland are in now

23 days until the window is flung open

It’s not long until Manchester City’s bottomless coffer is unleashed, and the press are having a fantastic time linking everyone under the sun to them. Here’s the latest happenings in gossipland…

David Villa to Manchester City
The Sun has revealed Man City are in talks to sign Euro 2008 star David Villa after Mark Hughes insisted there would be big name signings in January.

The Spoiler Truth-o-meter: Cash-strapped Valencia would surely accept £60 million and City wouldn’t think twice about breaking the world transfer record. And for around £150,000 a week you’d think the man himself might be quite interested too.

Thierry Henry to Manchester City
Manchester City are keen to bring Thierry Henry back to England after his turbulent time in Spain according to the Daily Mail. Barcelona might be interested if the right money is offered although a sale would most likely follow a guaranteed replacement with Lyon striker Karim Benzema consistently linked with the Catalan giants.

The Spoiler Truth-o-meter: City and Barcelona might both be interested in a deal, but Thierry Henry remains determined to prove his time in Spain has been a success. Following a hat-trick at the weekend he looks keen to win over his detractors in Spain.

Milan to extend loan for Beckham?
AC Milan chief executive Adriano Galliani has revealed he hopes to keep David Beckham for as long as possible. LA Galaxy have already agreed to loan out Beckham in January for the close season of the MLS. Despite competition for places in Milan’s midfield - Kaka, Andrea Pirlo and Ronaldinho to name just a few, Beckham’s England career prospects would be enhanced by proving his quality in Serie A as opposed to in USA. Milan might struggle to match the Galaxy’s asking price or Beckham’s weekly half a million dollar wages but would enjoy significant commercial success if a permanent deal could be agreed with the Galaxy.

The Spoiler Truth-o-meter: Posh might like life in Italy better than LA where she is far less popular than her hubby and might want to stay for Milan Fashion Week in September.

A Manager to Sunderland
Rumoured replacements for Roy Keane include Peter Reid

Today’s rumours, gossip and damned lies

After telling Milan where to stick their interest in Emmanuel Adebayor, frugal Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger has decided he is fed up with his greedy players, and now wants to the shift the Togolese striker. This time, the Frenchman chose letter-writing over faxing and told the Italians he wants a ridiculous hefty £36 million. Seeing as the methods of communication between the two teams are slowly becoming more rudimentary, we expect the counter offer to be sent by telegram, and all remaining correspondence to be wired by Morse code.

The Frank Lampard saga latest
Scolari says he will stay but Lampard’s agent Steve Kutner claims his future is “completely unresolved”. Chelsea are offering him £150,000 a week for four years, but Lampard is holding out for five.

The Spoiler Truth-o-meter: He’s been offered £150,000 until he’s 33 - why is he still haggling?

David Villa to Liverpool
Once again, Rafael Benitez has publicly declared interest in a player who’s under contract at another club. Benitez feels negotiations will be difficult but Villa has previously spoken about wanting to work with the former Valencia boss.

The Spoiler Truth-o-meter: A possibility, but would Rafa want to change formation again?

Andy Johnson to Wigan
Johnson’s preferred choice if he leaves Everton is Wigan. Not because he