Emmanuel Adebayor

There were afternoons when Emmanuel Adebayor looked impossible to contain, all legs, reach, touch and sudden cruelty in open space. Tall and athletic, he was not merely a target man: he could run channels, carry the ball, combine outside the box and finish with the confidence of a striker who enjoyed frightening centre backs in several different ways. Arsenal gave him his most fluid European stage, Manchester City his most explosive political theatre, Tottenham his last major Premier League chapter. The talent was huge, sometimes almost too big for the consistency around it. He could dominate aerially, press when engaged and stretch a defensive line like few forwards of his size. Yet mood, context and motivation often shaped the performance as much as ability. Adebayor was a gifted, powerful and unpredictable striker, brilliant at his peak and never entirely simple to trust.