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Football can be a hard old game.

You’re playing well, you’re making money, you’re a hero with the fans and then it all goes wrong.

Whether it’s a drop in form, a fall out with the manager or a nasty injury, suddenly your standing in the game reduces dramatically and nobody is interested anymore.

Many players recover from such missteps, some even coming back stronger than ever before.

For others, however, it’s beginning of the end of their careers at the top level and they shuffle off into relative obscurity, only to be relevant in pub quizzes and on fan forums.

We’ve rooted around the back of our minds to find the ultimate faded away XI; a team of players that went off the rails so badly that as a unit would be sure to lose any football game.

Is there someone we’ve missed out? Let us know your thoughts on this select XI in the comments section below!

GK: Massimo Taibi

One of many goalkeepers that tried to fill the Manchester United boots left by the legendary Peter Schmeichel, Massimo Taibi gets our place between the sticks in the Faded XI.

Arriving at United for £4.5million with plenty of hype in 1999 following the great Dane’s retirement, a massive amount of money for a ‘keeper at the time, Taibi could only manage four appearances for the Old Trafford club before returning to Italy, never to be heard of by English football fans again.

After spells at Reggina, Atalanta and Torino, he retired from professional football in Serie B playing for Ascoli.

RB: Julien Faubert

Once a regular at West Ham United, right-sided utility man Faubert played his most recent season in Scotland, struggling to get a game for Kilmarnock and suffering the indignity of playing for their U20s side for a spell despite being 33.

He may be best remembered as the man who fell asleep on the bench at Real Madrid, when he moved to the Spanish giants in a bizarre loan move from West Ham.

CB: Jonathan Woodgate

Emerging at Leeds United in the late 90’s as one of the greatest prospects in English football, Woodgate’s career was blighted by injuries and he retired earlier this year after struggling to get a game for Middlesborough in the Championship.

With big money moves to Newcastle and Leeds, many tipped Woodgate to be one of the world’s great players but after horror injuries at both sides ended up heading to Middlesborough for his first spell at the club.

He only managed to play more than 30 games in a season once after that for Spurs in 2008/09, a campaign that saw a slight resurgence in his profile.

CB: Djimi Traore

A traditional left-back that could deputise in the middle of defence, Traore sneaks into our Faded XI alongside Jonathan Woodgate.

We need to be clear here, Traore did achieve the greatest prize in club football, starring for Liverpool in the 2005 UEFA Champions League final.

It was after this night that he slid into obscurity, playing for a further 7 clubs in France, England and America before retiring after a spell at Seattle Sounders.

Outside of Liverpool’s fanbase, he might be most well known for his calamitous Reds own goal against Burnley in a FA Cup tie – a goal which caused his side to suffer a humiliating upset.

LB: Royston Drenthe

Once tipped for big things at Real Madrid, Drenthe signed for the Spanish giants on the same day as Wesley Sneijder but had a tumultuous time at the club before signing permanently for Russian side Spartak Vladikavkaz.

Also having spells at Everton, Reading and Sheffield Wednesday, the left winger come left-back at the age of 29 is currently a free agent. His most recent spell was in the United Arab Emirates with Baniyas.

RW: Bernard Diomede

Incredibly, Bernard Diomede is a World Cup winner, part of the French squad that won the trophy in 1998.

His career never recovered after a move to Liverpool from Auxerre, however, and after just 5 games for the Anfield club returned to French football and obscurity in Ligue 2.

A star for the Auxerre side that tasted Ligue 1 glory in 1996, he arrived at Liverpool with high hopes but never looked close to reaching the standard required in the Premier League.

CM: Kleberson

Unveiled by Alex Ferguson on the same day as Cristiano Ronaldo, Kleberson has had a very different career path than his former Manchester United teammate.

Kleberson is another World Cup winner who, having won 20 Brazil caps by the time he had arrived at Old Trafford, was all set to become one of the Premier League’s biggest players.

He had a terrible time in red though and after 30 appearances across two seasons was soon shipped off to Besiktas in Turkey.

He has gone on to play for a further five clubs, slowly dwindling into obscurity. His most recent club was Indy Eleven who ply their trade in the rung below the MLS in America.

CM: Eric Djemba-Djemba

Eric Djemba-Djemba was another Alex Ferguson signing that left everyone scratching their heads. He was an African Cup of Nations winner by the time he arrived at Old Trafford and at the age of 22 had the whole world ahead of him.

It quickly became apparent that the Cameroon international wasn’t the man to replace Roy Keane in the heart of the United’s midfield and after 18 months he was sold to Aston Villa.

He didn’t have much luck there either and after a loan spell at Burnley found himself in Qatar. He’s played for nine clubs since then ranging from exotic Israel at Hapoel Tel Aviv to the er, non-exotic Paisley with St Mirren.

He’s still playing and currently features for a French club so obscure that they don’t even have a Wikipedia page. The horror.

LW: Ryan Babel

Ryan Babel arrived at Anfield in 2007 with a big price tag and big dreams that he could be a new Kop hero.

Despite a fairly impressive debut season, consistency was a real problem and first team opportunities became increasingly limited as his Liverpool career went on.

He moved to Hoffenheim where poor form again saw his international career with Netherlands end and a forced return to Ajax, the team he left for Liverpool expecting to take the world by storm.

Spells in Turkey and the United Arab Emirates have followed, although he has made a return to a decent standard of league, currently playing for Deportivo La Coruna in Spain.

ST: Federico Macheda

Federico Macheda’s last-minute winner against Aston Villa on his debut in 2009 will likely always be remembered by Man United fans.

It was one of those Premier League moments that caught the attention of everyone and signalled the start of what people thought would be a successful career at United.

The striker, however, would only go on to score another 3 goals for the club.

Unsuccessful loan spells at Sampdoria, QPR, Stuttgart and Doncaster Rovers spelled the end of his time at Old Trafford and he moved permanently to Cardiff in 2014.

He wasn’t very good there either and after a spell on loan to Nottingham Forest last season is currently a free agent, having had his contract ripped up in the summer.

ST: Alexandre Pato

Alexandre Pato was supposed to blossom into one of the world’s great players but has failed to live up to that promise since injuries and dwindling form saw him leave AC Milan.

An exciting teenager at Milan, he caught the attention of football fans across Europe with his bursting dribbling runs and finishing. Since then he’s done nothing.

Bizarrely he turned up at Chelsea earlier this year but became the laughing stock of the Premier League, playing only two games for the Stamford Bridge side.

Chelsea’s hopes of setting a new Premier League record were dashed by Tottenham Hotspur, and more specifically Dele Alli, on Wednesday night.

Antonio Conte’s team were one win away from claiming 14 top-flight triumphs on the trot, but Tottenham decided to change the script at White Hart Lane.

Dele Alli scored twice, both headers, on either side of half-time to give Spurs a 2-0 victory, which has moved Mauricio Pochettino’s men to within seven points of Chelsea’s top spot in the table.

The result also helped their rivals around them, with Liverpool the closest challengers to the Blues in second place on five points, while Manchester City are level on points with Spurs and Arsenal sit eight adrift of the coveted first place.

Wednesday night was all about Tottenham, though, as they stamped their authority and gave a warning that they are in the mix for the title.

Alli has been in fine form of late, scoring seven goals in his last four league games, and he dominated Twitter talk during and after the match.

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As reported by the Daily Mail, Celtic have put a £30m asking price on Moussa Dembele after West Ham made an informal approach to bring him to London earlier this week.

What’s the word?

The interest in Moussa Dembele from Premier League clubs has been one of the biggest sagas heading into the January transfer window.

The Mail reports that Brendan Rodgers wants to keep the striker until the summer at least and to that end has slapped the £30m valuation on striker.

That’s massive money for a player in Scotland and may put off potential suitors from making future bids this month.

The paper says that West Ham have already been in talks with the Celtic Park outfit but have yet to table a formal offer for the Frenchman.

Does he even want to go?

Even if a massive offer does come in meeting Celtic’s valuation, there’s no guarantee the striker would want to move on.

Quoted by the Glasgow Evening Times recently, he said: “I have a four-year contract at Celtic and I don’t see myself leaving. I won’t be going anywhere in winter.”

But as we know money talks and a chance to substantially boost his wages while playing one of the biggest leagues in the world could be too big a draw for the player.

The club too would have to think seriously about accepting any offer given that he arrived from Fulham in the summer for a compensation fee below £1m.

How good is he?

Dembele already has plenty of talent but it’s his potential that has eyes across Europe looking on in envy at Celtic for obtaining the striker for such a cut-price fee.

He’s scored 19 goals already this season for the Glasgow club including 5 in Europe. He’s also a big game player, scoring in derbies and cup finals in front of some of the biggest crowds in football.

At just 20 years of age, the sky is the limit for the young man.

While the reported asking price is a lot of money, if a Premier League club can get in on his talent early, £30m may end up to be considered a bargain in in the future as valuations for players sky rocket.

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Saido Berahino’s transfer saga seems to have dragged on for years (because it has) but it looks like the end is nigh, with West Brom accepting Stoke City’s offer for the English striker.Previously one of the most exciting young strikers in the Premier League, Berahino has fallen off the wagon in recent years and isn’t quite at the level he used to be. Still, when he finds form, Berahino an be a huge player.That raises questions as to whether West Brom are making the right call with accepting a sale but the statistics show Tony Pulis and his side have come to the right conclusion, with Berahino woeful in front of goal recently.

Scoring just one goal and hitting just eight shots on target in 28 Premier League matches, Berahino’s form has declined massively and the numbers actually raise questions as to whether Stoke City have made the right decision in buying him.

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Leicester City’s season went from bad to worse on Tuesday night when they suffered a defeat away to Burnley. A Sam Vokes goal in the final minutes of the game gave the Clarets a massive victory over last season’s champions.It means that Claudio Ranieri’s side have most definitely been drawn into a relegation battle, as Foxes fans had feared for weeks. They now sit only two points above the relegation zone and have a very tough few months ahead.It’s hard to escape a free-fall and this stat from Opta shows that you’d class their current form as a free-fall.

They’re the only team in the Premier League to have not scored a goal, never mind won a game. With the likes of Jamie Vardy badly lacking form and Islam Slimani away on international duty, they’ve struggled to find a cutting edge in the final third.

Unless Ranieri can find the correct blend of his attacking options, he’s going to see his team slip further down the table.

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Tottenham’s FA Cup clash with Fulham on Sunday is by no means a foregone conclusion. The Lilywhites may be one division and a fair few places higher in the English pyramid, but their London opponents are one of the strongest attacking sides in the Championship, ranking third for goals scored, first for efforts at goal and first for possession.

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Key to those impressive performances going forward this season has been star striker Chris Martin, their top scorer in the league with nine goals. It’s not certain whether he’ll start on the FA Cup on Sunday after being hooked off against Wigan and finding himself left on the bench in a 3-2 win over Nottingham Forest on Tuesday night, but Spurs fans should be hoping his involvement is as limited as possible.

Indeed, as our infographic shows, the Scotland international has been in strong form this term. In addition to his impressive tally, he’s won 50 aerial duels and produced a staggering 56 efforts at goal – 57% of which have been on target. He’s also laid on 25 chances for his team-mates, picking up two assists, illustrating how he can provide chances for others as well as converting his own.

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Arsenal have lacked a stand-out striker since the days of Thierry Henry and, whisper it, Robin Van Persie but the Gunners are expected to bolster their attacking options this summer.

Regardless or not of whether Alexis Sanchez remains in North London, Arsene Wenger’s side need to reinforce their central options in attack as Olivier Giroud doesn’t quite fit into the Arsenal formula, whilst Danny Welbeck, Lucas Perez and Theo Walcott are arguably better suited to a role out-wide.

Arsenal seem to know that things need to chance for next season but they’ll be concerned by a story from Bleacher Report that states Juventus are rivalling the Gunners for the signature of young Monaco ace Kylian Mbappe.

The 18-year-0ld forward is certainly a top-prospect for the future and his statistics this season show he would be a sensational addition to the Arsenal squad.

In 18 appearances in Ligue 1 this season, Mbappe boasts seven goals and five assists with a shot accuracy of 74%- which is higher than Alexis Sanchez (59%), Olivier Giroud (57%) and Theo Walcott (56%).

A 75% pass success rate is something that can be improved to fit into Arsenal’s style of play and 15 chances created showed the striker is as capable at providing opportunities as he is with finishing them, which shows he could easily slot into Arsenal’s attack.

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Speaking to Sky Sports, and as quoted by The Express, Everton’s Steve Walsh has admitted that there is interest on the club’s behalf towards re-signing Wayne Rooney from Manchester United.

What’s the word?

The Wayne Rooney debate has rumbled on for some time now and it looks like it could come to a head this summer as a decision on his future should become apparent.

Not playing at Manchester United regularly now, where he is next season could decide just how long he continues his career for – and at what level – so he surely needs to get it right.

Indeed, with a World Cup coming after the end of next season he’ll be keen to be playing week in week out as much as possible ahead of that, and so a move to Everton could pay dividends.

What was said?

Such a deal could be on, too, with Walsh – Everton’s director of football – saying:

“Rooney is one of the greatest players ever to play in England. For us not to be interested in him it would be wrong.”

Pretty conclusive from Walsh, then, and so it remains to be seen whether a return to Goodison Park goes through for England’s record scorer.

Certainly, though, you feel he’d entertain a move back to Merseyside if playing time at United continues to remain scarce.

Would it work?

Rooney still has ability but there has to be question marks over whether he has the legs.

He’s played so much football over the years that he really does look off the pace more often than not and certainly isn’t the player he once was.

The lack of minutes this season could prove to be the rest he needs, though, and Everton could just profit from that heading into next season.

According to reports in talkSPORT last week, Everton were said to be close to agreeing a new five-year deal with star striker Romelu Lukaku, but the Daily Telegraph say a disagreement over a clause in the contract is now holding it up.

What’s the story, then?

Well, Everton were confident that they were close to securing a long-term commitment for their prolific attacker – who has netted 19 league goals this term and recently became their all-time record Premier League goalscorer – but they are now being forced to play hardball.

That is because Lukaku’s agent wants a buy-out clause in the new contract that could see the Belgian leave if the Merseyside outfit received an offer worth between £60m and £70m.

Toffees chairman Bill Kenwright instead wants to make it £90m, as he believes interested clubs would be less likely to shell out what would be a world-record fee for the 23-year-old this summer.

What’s Lukaku saying?

He appears to be remaining tight-lipped on the situation.

When asked by Dutch reporter if he was going to sign the contract he had been offered following the win against West Bromwich Albion on Saturday, he simply replied: “No.”

How would Everton replace him if he did go?

With great difficulty.

Lukaku has quickly become one of the most reliable goalscorers in the Premier League and after netting 62 goals in 131 appearances for Everton, he would leave a huge hole up top if he were to depart Goodison.

What’s the verdict, then?

Well, with the striker’s agent, Mino Raiola, previously stating that he is “99.9999%” sure that Lukaku will sign the new deal, it appears as though a small compromise will have to be made by both parties before pen is finally put to paper.

As reported by The Telegraph, Arsenal are the latest side linked with a move for Celtic’s star left-back Kieran Tierney.

What’s the story?

With it looking increasingly likely that Arsene Wenger will stay on at Arsenal for another year at least, it could be a dramatic summer of transfers at the Emirates.

The Telegraph reckon Wenger is planning massive changes at the club this summer with a number of exits and incoming transfers expected.

One of the names mentioned in the report is Celtic’s young star Kieran Tierney, who is said to have been watched regularly by the North London club this season, and he could be part of a £100m spending spree funded by the sale of Alexis Sanchez and Mesut Ozil, says the report.

Tierney is having a fantastic season but does he have the quality to be a success at the Emirates?

Tierney’s potential

At just 19 years of age, Tierney has already made 66 appearances for Celtic, almost an ever present feature for Brendan Rodgers season when he’s been fit and available. The young Scotland international has been a key part of a team that boasts the like of Moussa Dembele and Scott Sinclair in its ranks.

A tough tackler with a penchant for attacking and combining with teammates in the final third, his potential seems limitless. He’s learning week-to-week at Celtic and is performing at all levels, a stand out in the Hoops’ UEFA Champions League match with Manchester City earlier in the season.

Wenger could do with reinforcements in the position and in Tierney would find a player ready to take his career to the next level.

Convincing the club and the player to part ways right now might be tricky though, Tierney is a boyhood Celtic fan and appears to be loving every minute of life in Glasgow right now.

Moving down to England too early is always a risk for high profile players in Scotland and in terms of his development, continuing his progress at Celtic could be the best thing for him right now, to his long-term benefit.

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