PLFantasy

One thousand nine hundred and ninety nine. This is not the result of a new fantasy formula devised to help you pick your team this week: it is the distance between Cabinda, Angola and Cape Town. I don't often depart from fantasy talk on here but I feel that the recent attacks in Angola need further comment. The events in the troubled Cabinda region are tragic and of course raise issues about the current African Cup of Nations tournament, particularly why the Togolese team were traveling by bus through the disputed territory. However, the parallels drawn between this event and the World Cup in South Afrcia are at best mis-guided and at worst, ignorant. "Once again, the world of sport has been dragged into the news spotlight with tragic consequences. And, with the World Cup looming on the horizon, it could not have come at a worse time for the continent of Africa" ( ESPN ) ""I am appalled. This throws a question mark against next summer's World Cup. You simpl...

A few of us have turned our attentions to longer term replacements and transfer targets to fill our rosters into the Christmas period and beyond. A factor to consider is the 2010 African Cup of Nations that runs from 10 - 31 January. However, recent reports suggest that some players could leave as early as 27 December to allow for them to prepare for the tournament. Players will miss gameweeks 20-22 for the group stage and up to gameweek 24 for teams that reach the final four. Below is a list of players likely to miss at least some time due to the tournament: Alex Song Emmanuel Eboue Andre Bikey Michael Essien Jon Obi Mikel Solomon Kalou Didier Drogba Joseph Yobo Yakubu John Paintsil Seyi Olofinjana Kamel Ghilas Daniel Cousin Kolo Toure Emmanuel Adebayor Aruna Dindane Nadir Belhadj Hassan Yebda Mamady Sidibe John Mensah Sebastien Bassong Benoit Assou Ekotto The headlines are of course the Chelsea and City players but the loss of players like Assou Ekotto, Bikey and Bassong will be blo...