from those sales, but it cant be too shabby given how hot

In his weekly column, Sky Sports Spanish football expert Guillem Balague reflects on another below-par Real Madrid performance as well as answering your questions on the futures of Isco, Zinedine Zidane and Aitor Karanka... Real Madrid are a team lacking ideas; they just look like an old team. Youve only got to look at Borussia Dortmund and Bayern Munichs performances this week to see the difference.Barcelona, Atletico Madrid, and even clubs like Villarreal and Sevilla, have a clear idea of what they are trying to achieve - Real Madrid dont. For Atleti, Antoine Griezmann has scored in each of their last four games and, as a team, they have scored nine goals in their last three outings. They appear to be peaking just at the right time.There is such positivity at Barcelona, at the moment, that they could afford to leave Luis Suarez on the bench against Getafe.Everyone adds to the collective and everyone is playing their best football, again at the right time. The same cannot be said for Real.Guillem answers YOUR questions...Isco to Arsenal. What are the chances? @rohaannairGUILLEM SAYS: Many people will say Isco is a typical Arsenal player. He is an elegant player who fails to fulfil his potential, doesnt score or assist enough and doesnt work hard enough without the ball. For me, he is not a player Arsenal need. That doesnt mean he wont go to the Emirates, the transfer market can serve up anything, I just feel he is a not a player for Arsenal. Real Madrids midfielder Isco (L) celebrates a goal with Cristiano Ronaldo Why is Isco struggling, Guillem? How do you rate him? @ahsannovGUILLEM SAYS: Quite simply, he is not good enough for Real Madrid. He is not consistent so he gets frustrated by being in and out of the team, and that turn affects his consistency. Its a vicious circle if you would like to use that analogy. He hasnt reached the level he should be at. He was perfect for clubs of Malaga, Sevilla or Villarreals stature, but not good enough for Real.When does Aitor Karanka start at Valencia? One unhappy BORO fan! @boromick67 Middlesbroughs promotion charge has faltered in recent weeks GUILLEM SAYS: Karanka is not going to Valencia. The story at Middlesbrough, I believe, is a story of misunderstanding. Everyone at Middlesbrough - the fans, the club, the players and Karanka himself - want him to continue. There will be a meeting this week in which the current situation will be clarified. Thoughts on the Suarez quotes? #AskGuillem @The_Rad_Ad_ Luis Suarez was rested in Barcelonas 6-0 thumping of Getafe GUILLEM SAYS: I assume youre referring to his comments about Liverpool, and that he still keeps an eye on his former clubs results? If that is right, I hope people arent implying that he could go back to Anfield. He was simply expressing his emotions for Liverpool, end of! Suarez back at Liverpool Luis Suarez made a surprise return to Liverpools Melwood training ground while on holiday. Theres talk Zinedine Zidane might not be Real Madrid manager next season, if so whos it likely to be? @MartyStrong88GUILLEM SAYS: Real Madrid want Zidane to been a manager/coach, but only if things go well this season. That goes back to my earlier point that they have no idea what they want to do. Zidane is not good enough for this level, he doesnt have the experience. Will he ever be? I dont think so, he is an old-fashioned coach that likes to deal with people rather than tactics. He doesnt belong with the elite. Real are aware that there isnt a clear candidate to replace him and they might allow him stay if he wins the Champions League. Incredible as it may sound, at this stage, that is only a might. Zinedine Zidanes future at Real Madrid could hinge on success in the Champions League Who do you think Real Madrid should buy first in order to improve squad depth? #AskGuillem @Sir_YokoGUILLEM SAYS: A manager! They need a manager that makes them work, perhaps Thomas Tuchel from Borussia Dortmund. I like him a lot! Real Madrid needed a late winner to beat Las Palmas to keep their faint title hopes alive Do you think Sevilla can get top four after their win at Villarreal? @07PavGUILLEM SAYS: Sevilla are the only team in La Liga not to have won an away game this season! Despite that, they have only lost four games on the road, drawing the other nine. If they start to improve their away form then, by all means, they can reach the top four. Unai Emery is burdened far too often by the tactics of the opposition, when playing away from home. Unai Emerys Sevilla moved to within four points of the top four with victory over Villarreal If he let his side play with the offensive aggression they show at home, they would certainly win more games on the road. If they change their dynamic, they could well finish on a high. Villarreal, who currently have their best squad ever, in my opinion, may have peaked early and Sevilla are well placed to take advantage of any bad days they have. It will be a fascinating fight for Champions League qualification. Also See: Real close gap on Atletico Zidane concerned by Real form Sevilla close gap Guillem Balague Melvin Ingram Jersey . Burke is expected to miss two to three months after breaking a finger in the teams third preseason game. Tinsley, a 10-year veteran, spent the last two seasons in Utah, where the point guard averaged 3. Philip Rivers Youth Jersey . SIMONS ISLAND, Ga. http://www.prochargersteamstore.com/Youth-Philip-Rivers-Elite-Jersey/ . The showiest items on Calgarys lot were forwards Mike Cammalleri and Lee Stempniak. Both will be unrestricted free agents this summer. Keenan Allen Chargers Jersey . NBA officials ruled the court unplayable in the Bucks final exhibition game on Oct. 25 because players were slipping, and the game was cancelled midway through the first period. Derwin James Womens Jersey .875,000, avoiding arbitration. Clippards deal Monday means all eight Nationals players who filed for arbitration wound up settling before a hearing. At a childrens party this weekend, a 4-year-old walked in wearing blue-and-white Velcro shoes from an unexpected signature athlete.Michael Jordan? Nope. LeBron James? Definitely not. Stephen Curry? Not these.They were Stan Smiths.It has always been a great shoe, Smith told ESPN in an exclusive interview. So clean and simple.How did little Sammy come to be wearing the shoes of a 69-year-old tennis player who was last No. 1 in the world eight years before the childs parents were born? Its thanks to what might be the greatest sneaker revival of all time.Adidas, which has made the sneakers for more than 50 years, now sells Stan Smiths in black, in pink, in blue, in mens, in womens, in kids and infant sizes. There are knit Stans, suede Stans and Stans that are dipped in gold. And if you cant find a pair to your liking, you can go online and customize your own. Youll see them on feet from New York to Tokyo. In its 2014 annual report, Adidas revealed that the Stan Smiths were the companys best-selling shoes of all time, with more than 40 million pairs sold. Buoyed by the Stan Smiths, sales of Adidas Classics in the U.S. are up 60 percent for the first six months of 2016.But Stan Smith -- the tennis player, not the sneaker -- started out as one of those guys who was just at the right place at the right time.In 1965, Adidas made a plain white tennis shoe with green accents for one of the best tennis players in the world at the time, Frenchman Robert Haillet. Unlike other Adidas shoes, it had perforated holes in place of companys iconic three stripes, and it displayed Haillets signature on the side.The shoes were popular at the time, as the leather made it the best performance shoe available, but Adidas thought it had a problem in 1971 when Haillet retired. Horst Dassler, the son of Adidas founder Adi Dassler, reached out to Donald Dell, the former U.S. Davis Cup captain who started a sports agency the year before with two tennis clients: Arthur Ashe and Stan Smith.Dell suggested Smith as a fill-in for the line. Though the ATP and its official rankings system hadnt been created yet, Smith was considered the best player in the world. Horst Dassler took Dells advice and signed Smith to a small, five-year deal. Adidas, judging by the way its executives acted, didnt have much faith that Smith had staying power. Although Smith was the lead endorser, he was wearing a shoe that still had Haillets name on it.I became friends with [Haillet] because of the shoe, Smith said. His son called me when Robert died in 2011. That son had also been upset years earlier, when Adidas took his fathers name off the shoe.That change came in 1978. Adidas put Smiths signature on the tongue of the sneaker for the first time, along with an image of Smith -- that strangely featured him without a mustache.My whole adult life I had one, save for a year [when I was] 23 and 24, Smith said.The signature, which features an S shared by both Stan and Smith, was created with the help of Kathy Andrews, a Delta flight attendant whod met Smith at an autograph signing years before.She thought I had a boring signnature, so I did it with one S, Smith said.dddddddddddd.On the shoe heel, Adidas added another green panel with Smiths full name and the Adidas trident.In the 1980s, as the Stan Smiths started to lose relevance as tennis performance shoes, they started to become popular as fashion shoe. At some point, Smith got used to it.I was at the US Open in the early 90s, he said, and some young man recognized me and told me, Your shoe is really big in the hood.In 2001, his then 14-year-old daughter, Austin, told him he was famous.She told me that Jaysee had put me in his song, said Smith, who rotates through 50 pairs in his own personal collection. I said, Who is Jaysee? She said, No, its Jay Z.She wasnt kidding. Lampin in the Hamptons, the weekends man/The Stan Smith Adidas and the Campus, Jay Z says in a song on his 2001 album The Blueprint. Smith has also been name-checked in songs by A$AP Rocky, Joe Budden, Rick Ross and Lil Wayne, among others.As the shoe found a second life as an iconic element of fashion, Smith earned a flat fee each year until 2005, when Dell was able to convince Adidas officials that Smith deserved more -- a royalty structure paying him for each shoe sold. Neither Dell nor Smith would reveal how much Smith was earning from those sales, but it cant be too shabby given how hot the shoe now is.Im not making Michael Jordan money, Smith said, laughing, referencing the more than $100 million MJ is said to make each year in Nike royalties.In 2011, Adidas executives had a meeting with Smith and Dell. The executives told the pair that they felt the market was crowded and needed a little cleaning up. To that end, they were going to stop producing Stan Smiths for 2012 and 2013.I didnt like that idea, Smith said. But they knew exactly what they were doing.While the Stan Smiths were off the market, people didnt forget about them. In fact, the shoe still generated plenty of buzz, including in 2013, when Gisele Bundchen posed for the cover of Vogue Paris wearing only her Stan Smiths.On Jan. 14, 2014, a day Smith remembers well, the shoes returned to the market with much fanfare. Adidas sent shoes to influencers such as Pharrell Williams and Ellen DeGeneres, replacing Smiths face with the stars own.Absence had indeed made the heart grow fonder.Most strategic plans fail at execution, said Eric Liedtke, head of Adidas global brands. We got this one right.Like young kids who drink an Arnold Palmer today and wonder why a golfer is on the can, people arent buying the shoes because of Stan Smith. But he doesnt mind that Taylor Swift -- who was spotted wearing the shoes in Australia last month -- might not know who he is. Its enough that she was spotted wearing his shoes this summer.I tell my wife that 95 percent of people dont know that Im an actual person, said Smith, who runs an elite tennis program and a corporate hospitality company out of his home base in Hilton Head, S.C. Then she, of course, says the number is closer to 99 percent. ' ' '