THE GREAT AFRICAN EXODUS Sam on the spot
Call to Cairo hits Premiership
BOLTON have been like a breath of fresh air to the Premiership season, but a harsh wind is set to blow through the Reebok Stadium when five of their players disappear to Africa at the turn of the year.
Chelsea will lose three players to the African Nations Cup but, such is the size of Roman Abramovich’s wallet, they will just replace one expensive superstar with another. For Michael Essien, Chelsea have Joe Cole; for Didier Drogba, they can turn to Hernan Crespo ( stroppy sulks permitting) or Carlton Cole. Geremi is not a regular anyway. Sam Allardyce’s squad, however, can ill afford so many losses. Jay- Jay Okocha, Radhi Jaidi, El-Hadji Diouf, Abdoulaye Faye and Khalilou Fadiga, regulars in and around Bolton’s overachieving side, can all expect the call to Cairo.
The Bolton manager fears his side’s bold challenge on three fronts will be irreparably damaged by the tournament, which kicks off in Egypt on January 20.
Allardyce yesterday called on the Premier League to change their attitude towards the African Nations Cup.
He will try to persuade chairman Phil Gartside to buy at least two quality reinforcements in the January transfer window, although the chairman may require some persuading.
Allardyce, who will be without his African stars for up to four Premiership matches, said: ‘I can’t understand why a FIFA- recognised tournament that means five players are away doesn’t allow us to call a Premiership game off.
‘ It’s almost as if the Premiership has decided it’s a nothing of a tournament and there is no need to do anything about it. I think that’s poor from their point of view and could be extremely costly for us.
‘ Why can we call a game off for an international friendly, yet not for an international FIFA tournament? It just doesn’t stand up.’
Centre back Jaidi is the cornerstone of Tunisia’s defence of the trophy they won two years ago, while Diouf, Faye and Fadiga will have key roles for Senegal in the same group as Okocha’s Nigeria.
The final is on February 10, 24 hours before Bolton face Arsenal at Highbury having played Manchester City, Portsmouth and Wigan while the tournament is on.
Okocha delayed joining Nigeria two years ago to help Bolton reach the Carling Cup Final with a bravura performance against Aston Villa, but some players insisted on joining up from the start, demanding ‘ respect’ for Africa from their clubs.
Okocha has missed out on a World Cup finale to his career through Nigeria’s failure to qualify for Germany 2006 and Allardyce said: ‘There is huge pressure on Jay- Jay to go. He gets the same level of attention as David Beckham.
‘The form of Abdoulaye Faye and the emergence of Khali Fadiga means they will be called up with Diouf by Senegal and Radhi Jaidi is the top man for Tunisia. My problem is we have to replace them.
‘I hope that by the end of December we are fighting in the semi- finals of the Carling Cup, the last 32 of the UEFA Cup and the top half of the Premiership. If I have to lose five players, there is only one thing we can do and that is replace them in the transfer market.’ A Premier League spokesman said last night: ‘Given the number of European, FA and Carling Cup games we have to accommodate over a season, it would be impossible to reschedule fixtures around the African Cup of Nations.’
p.ferguson@dailymail.co.uk