Adam Johnson hugs people who don't hug him back. (Getty)

When a club starts buying up some of the best players in the world, it can suddenly become difficult for younger players who still have some growing to do to find a productive place for themselves in the team. After three seasons with Manchester City, Adam Johnson had enough of that and moved to the far more accommodating confines of Sunderland in August. And now, as his new club prepares to face his old club, Johnson is warning young English footballers who might consider signing with City that it's a trap.

From the Telegraph:

"When City come in for you, it is hard to say no," said Johnson, who had been on the verge of signing for Sunderland 2½ years ago only for City to outbid them.

"I was in that situation a couple of years ago. I would probably advise young English players you probably won't get the chance to play as much as you would like.

"As you can see, it has turned out that way as well with recent signings. It is difficult. It is excellent when a club like City come for you

These men want to pay you to watch them do stuff. (Getty)

Disheartened by having to play Champions League matches in a mostly empty stadium, Dinamo Zagreb players have decided to pool their money to fund a lottery in an attempt to get more people to show up to their next Champions League match against PSG. Dinamo only had an official (read: inflated) attendance of 15,000 in the 38,000-seat Stadion Maksimir for its first Group A match against Porto -- part of a trend blamed on expensive tickets and fans boycotting the club's nefarious leadership. So now the players are offering up to one million kunas (€134,000 or $174,000) for a sellout.

From the AFP:

The idea was launched by young midfielder Mateo Kovacic who posted a video, "One Million for a Full Stadium", on his Facebook page, in which he explains the idea to his teammates. [...]

At a press conference on Friday, the players said the amount of the reward would actually depend on the number of fans who will attend the match against PSG on October 24.

One million kunas will be handed out if more than 25,000 fans show up, they said.

For 15,000 fans the reward would amount to some 20,000 euros while for 5,000 fans it drops drastically to some 650 euros.

Five finalists for the prize will be chosen at halftime through a ticket barcode drawing, but there is no plan in place for deciding a winner yet.

It's sad that Dinamo players have to resort to such a measure, but impressive that they care so much about the atmosphere that they are willing to put up their own money to try and improve it. Especially when Dinamo defender Domagoj Vida was fined €100,00 for opening a beer on the team bus just last week. Then again, this could just be a marketing ploy thought up and funded by the club using those massive fines they charge their players.

Here's video of the press conference attended by the entire squad. There are no subtitles, but you can get a sense of the general mood...

The drama of the Europa League. (Getty)

The Press Association found a UEFA prompt sheet left lying around at Panathinaikos' Europa League match against Spurs on Thursday urging club press officers to talk up the competition in a very specific fashion (image below). Trumpeting a new campaign called "DISCOVER THE DRAMA," the memo serves as a weak attempt to drum up more interest in what is essentially a consolation tournament to the far more glamorous and popular Champions League.

"Please use one of the below phrases or keywords at the start of the press conference when welcoming the media representatives," it instructs. "In addition, they may also be used by Club Press Officers when briefing coaches and players as their use would be of great support to us," it begs. And what are these three "key messages" that will make everyone fall in love with the Europa League? Here they are in all their unspectacular glory:

-"UEFA Europa League is prestigious -- it provides clubs, players and fans with the challenge of competing in

Neymar plays with his udders. (AS.com)

When you're an extremely talented young footballer, it's quite normal to have promotional obligations. Why? Because money. And sometimes those promotional obligations can put talented young footballers in ridiculous situations just because they can. This is Neymar in one of those situations.

Dressed in a series of goofy yet vaguely unsettling costumes, Neymar was supposedly endorsing ice cream that may or may not have been laced with mescaline. Here's the case for "may have"...

Udinese's Giampiero Pinzi committed what it likely to be the Europa League's most blatant foul this season when he stopped Liverpool's Stewart Downing from charging towards goal by pulling him to the ground by the shoulders from behind. The offense came in the 68th minute with the scored even at 1-1. Downing found open space down the flank and was sprinting towards the box when Pinzi decided to take him down by any means necessary (gif here).

Downing protested while Pinzi laughed and the referee pulled out a yellow card. Two minutes later, Liverpool's Sebastian Coates gave Udinese a lead from an own goal and Giovani Pasquale put them up 3-1 in the 72nd minute. Luis Suarez kept Liverpool in it by scoring three minutes later, but the match still ended 3-2.

This has been the Dirty Tackle of the Day: a chronicling of unfortunate events.

Video via 101gg

It's a bird! It's a plane! It's a Newcastle fan with too much disposable income! (shop.nufc.co.uk)

There are plenty of ways to describe Newcastle fans. Loyal. Passionate. Constantly topless during games. And willing to buy absolutely anything with their club's crest on it.

Alongside official Newcastle Utd lingerie, adult onesies and overly optimistic "Europe Guaranteed" t-shirts, the online store now offers a brand-new creation: Whey Aye Man. Here's the shouty, grammatically-troubled product description of the new superhero on Tyneside:

OFFICIAL NEWCASTLE UNITED WHEY AYE MAN HERO SUIT. ITS TIME FOR A NEW SUPER HERO. WE HAVE HAD SHEARER. FERDINAND. WOR JACKIE AND SUPERMAC NOW WE HAVE WHEY AYE MAN....

Geordies who are keen to show their superhuman allegiance can pick up Whey Aye Man for just £49.99, plus £4.99 for the afro wig (which surely cannot be aerodynamic for a flying superhero).

Unfortunately, the costume is only available up to size XL, so the club's owner and his portly friend may not get the opportunity to become costumed crime fighters...

Shortly after joining Barcelona in 2010, David Villa starred in a spot for the video game Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit in which he destroyed a parked police car with nothing more than a football and his powerful shot. Apparently Barcelona did not like this.

In the clip, Villa methodically kicks a Jabulani at a police car, destroying its exterior bit by bit with every kick (like anyone could control a Jabulani that well). When Villa finishes his destruction of the vehicle, he gets back in his car as the two cops come out of a shop to see theirs. As they run to assess the damage, Villa gives a dead-eyed look into his rearview mirror.

According to reports, Barcelona did not appreciate the ad depicting its newest star defying the law in such a way, so it kept it from being aired. It would've been funnier if it was nice Leo Messi doing it anyway.

Brendan Rodgers points out who keeps stealing office supplies.

"Whenever life gets tiresome and clouds above are grey, I just simply close me eyes and slowly drift away." That's the start of a poem recited at the start of Being: Liverpool episode 3 and if that didn't put viewers to sleep, the remaining 44 minutes surely did.

If you did nod off during the episode, here are the standout moments you missed (presented in chronological order)...