Thursday cannon fodder: underrated weakness contention

Premier League/England

Azpilicueta has gone from underrated player to underrated sh*thouse - Planet Football
For a long time after Cesar Azpilicueta joined Chelsea, it was difficult to know what to say about the defender. That’s no longer the case.

West Ham’s Lukasz Fabianski could be in contention for Boxing Day return | The Guardian
The keeper has been out since September with a hip muscle injury.

’Holocaust game’: Groves sorry for Mat Ryan Premier League remarks | The Guardian
Turns out words have meaning. Who knew?

Flat-track bully? Abraham had Alderweireld, Mourinho stumped - Football365
Will Ford was at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium to see Abraham give Alderweireld a torrid time.

Leicester have one major weakness that could see them come unstuck against Liverpool | FourFourTwo
Brendan Rodgers’ side have failed to perform against the big teams.

Europe

FC Salzburg defender Patrick Farkas suffered stroke in training
FC Salzburg defender Patrick Farkas has revealed he suffered a stroke in the build up to their Champions league match against Napoli in October.

Wrong decision: Juventus outcast should join Barcelona on one condition
Emre Can’s situation at Juventus is unfair.

‘It is a beautiful club’: Alan Pardew appointed ADO Den Haag manager | Football | The Guardian
Alan Pardew has been appointed as the head coach of the struggling Eredivisie side, with Chris Powell joining him as assistant.

Rest of the World

Seven Eritrea players disappear after football tournament in Uganda
A Ugandan official has said seven Eritrean football players have disappeared at the end of a regional tournament.

Other

Football shirts: How they got ultra local and hyper cool - BBC Sport
Nightclubs, coal mines, 2 Tone and Tudor architecture - how football shirt design got ultra local and hyper cool.