The African Nations Effect
African Nations Cup: Premiership Winners and Losers
As dozens of Premiership players leave behind the cold English winter and head for the sunny climes of Ghana, what effect will this have on the Premier League and which teams will feel its effects the most?
Losers
Portsmouth
There’s no doubt that Portsmouth manager Harry Redknapp likes a bargain and he has snapped up some great players in his time at Fratton Park. The only trouble is that his buys have largely been African meaning he will be waving goodbye to a large part of his squad in the coming weeks.
Portsmouth have undoubtedly the greatest contingent of African players in the Premiership and face losing: Muntari (Ghana), Kanu (Nigeria), Lauren (Cameroon), Diop (Senegal) and Utaka (Nigeria), all of whom are key players and will be sorely missed. Although Portsmouth are currently riding high in the Premiership they will do extremely well to maintain their current impressive eighth place over the next few weeks.
Chelsea
It’s not the quantity of players Chelsea will lose to the African Nations it's the quality. Strikers Drogba and Kalou (both Ivory Coast), midfielders Essien (Ghana) and Obi Mikel (Nigeria) may all prove to be huge losses at a vital time in the season.
The fact that the tournament is coming at a time when captain John Terry is out injured and talisman Frank Lampard is also struggling means the Blues are facing a tough time. Unless owner Abrahmovich digs into his never-ending pockets it may spell the end of their title challenge.
Arsenal
Although Arsenal will lose only Kolo Toure and Emmanual Eboue (both Ivory Coast), the lack of cover in defence may prove a headache for manager Arsene Wenger.
Toure is arguably Arsenal’s strongest defender and his organisation and commanding presence at the back is one reason why the Gunners have topped the table for much of the season. Whilst they do have cover in Senderos and Djourou both are error-prone and none possess Toure’s authority.
Title rivals will be licking their lips at Toure’s imminent departure and it will be interesting to see how the defence holds up. Still, Arsenal fans shouldn’t feel too glum, as it could have been worse. Togo narrowly missed out on qualification which would have meant the loss of top scorer Emmanuel Adebayor too. The fact that he stays may have a huge say in where the title ends up at the end of the season.
Winners
Manchester United
United have no African players in their first team and so their squad will remain intact over the next few weeks. However, more importantly their main title rivals, Arsenal and Chelsea, will be losing key players and added to the fact that United traditionally hit form after Christmas means the boys at Old Trafford will be relishing the coming weeks.
United also face a seriously depleted Portsmouth side in the at the end of January (a fixture they have struggled with over recent seasons) and you can begin to see why Alex Ferguson will be one of the few Premiership managers looking forward to the African Cup of Nations.
Fulham
Roy Hodgson will have his work cut out saving Fulham from the drop this season but events in Africa could just help him out. Like United, Fulham will lose no players to Ghana yet several of the relegations rivals, such as Wigan and Birmingham, will. It is a small hope but everything counts in this league and this may be the opportunity they need to pull themselves out of trouble.
Aston Villa and Man City
Both Villa and Man City are hitting top form at the right time and this may be a good time for them to cement a European spot. Martin O’Neill and Sven Goran Eriksson will both realise that this is an important time of the season for them, particularly with rivals such as Portsmouth, Everton and Blackburn missing key players.
So who’s going?
A quick list of who’s going and which country they will be representing is below.
Cameroon
Alexandre Song (Arsenal), Lauren (Portsmouth), Andre Bikey (Reading), Salomon Olembe (Wigan), Geremi (Cameroon)
Egypt
Mohamed Shawky and Mido (Middlesborough), Hossam Ghaly (Tottenham Hotspur)
Ghana
Michael Essien (Chelsea), Sulley Muntari (Portsmouth), John Paintsil (West Ham), Richard Kingson (Birmingham City)
Ivory Coast
Kolo Toure, Emmanual Eboue (both Arsenal), Abdoulaye Meite (Bolton), Didier Drogba, Salomon Kalou (both Chelsea), Emerse Fae (Reading), Didier Zokora (Tottenham Hotspur)
Mali
Mohammed Sissoko (Liverpool)
Nigeria
John Obi Mikel (Chelsea), Joseph Yobo, Ayegbeni Yakubu (both Everton), Obafemi Martins (Newcastle), Nwankwo Kanu and John Utaka (Portsmouth), Dickson Etuhu (Sunderland), Julius Agahowa (Wigan)
Senegal
El-Hadji Diouf (Bolton), Papa Bouba Diop (Portsmouth), Ibrahima Sonko (Reading), Henri Camara (West Ham), Abdoulaye Faye, Habib Beye (both Newcastle)
South Africa
Aaron Mokeona, Benni McCarthy (both Blackburn), Steven Pienaar (Everton)
Tunisia
Mehdi Nafti, Radhi Jaidi (both Birmingham City)
