It looks like a few teams in the Premier League could suffer a fair bit when the African Cup of Nations 2010 kicks off on Sunday, January 10th 2010. The competition, which always coughs up some great entertainment, will see approximately 27 Premier League players set off for Angola.
Which clubs are going to suffer?

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Euro 2009 for the ladies, a mouthwatering clash in the World Cup qualifiers to look forward to, and controversial decisions from footballs governing bodies all feature on this week's Good, bad and Ugly.

250 million pounds.
Taste it.
Swish it around in your mouth for a moment.
Now spit it out because that's roughly the amount of money that Chelsea F.C, have spent on buying players since 2004. Now, the team that has become synonymous with major spending, at least before Real Madrid's summer spending spree, is banned from buying anybody for the next two transfer windows.

The BBC's recent pre-season analysis of "Where the Premier League's players come from" offered a striking picture of the dramatic demographic changes in European soccer over recent decades. Comparing the EPL's 2009-2010 rosters with the same clubs' 1989-1990 rosters, I was particularly struck by the influx of African players.

Confirmation of the new captain to replace the departed Richard Dunne:

"He has all the attributes you need to be a good captain – great enthusiasm for the game, and is nice and vocal in the dressing room and before, during and after games. And he wants to drive the club forward.
"We are very lucky to now have that mentality in our dressing room with a lot of the lads, who could all carry the mantle of being a football team captain.

Liverpool skipper Steven Gerrard is anticipating that January's African Cup of Nations could have a decisive influence in this season's Premier League title race, with the likes of Manchester City, Arsenal and Chelsea losing vital players to the three-week tournament, at a time of year when key points can be collected for the top sides.

Chelsea: Siege, Intrigue and Champions League

The Chelsea transfer embargo detonated by Fifa this week will have massive and perturbing repercussions. Even with Chelsea delaying proceeding and stagnating the affect of the transfer prohibition by deploying a stalling bureaucracy the outcome appears inevitable.

The Republic of Ireland played a friendly against World Cup hosts South Africa in Limerick tonight. The game was probably more useful to the visitors however, as they have not qualified for The African Cup of Nations, friendly encounters are their only form of preparation. For Ireland, it was ...

As expected, confirmation that Richard Dunne has signed for Aston Villa:

CITY today said farewell to one of the club's most resolute and enduring defenders in Republic of Ireland star Richard Dunne, who has signed for Aston Villa.

The player's departure, confirmed this lunchtime after the Football Association checked the paperwork, signals the end of an era and Richard goes to the Midlands with the best wishes and gratitude of everyone at Manchester City.

It's been some time since my last post so let's catch up on some news from the 2010 World Cup and African football, shall we?
First off, some self-promotion ... my post on Africans in the UEFA Champions League from earlier today ... don't you dare miss it!
- Are you interested in the upcoming African Cup of Nations in Angola?

Steven Gerrard believes that Liverpool's title rivals will all endure difficult moments this season.
Rafa Benitez's Reds got off to a slow start this term, losing two of their opening three fixtures.
They have, however, bounced back in style and have won their last three in all competitions.

Manchester City can complain about the time keeping all they want, but in the end they couldn't clamp down on Michael Owen in the game's dying seconds.

The Manchester derby was one of the more riveting meetings in recent memories. City was off to a flying start, and hoped to back up their win over Arsenal with a shock upset over their fierce rivals.

Well, it's Arsenal, so for every player that comes back from injury, another player has to get hurt. Just when it looks like we might have a full squad again, with Rosicky, Walcott, and Arshavin returning to health, a couple more players get hurt.

First, and most seriously, Denilson is apparently out two months with a "small" fracture in his back.

So says Sky Sports, and also The Guardian.
No surprise with this one despite the apparant weekend hitch regarding a 'golden handshake', but if Tal Ben-Haim also departs today it will leave us a little light in cover at centre-back - particularly during the African Cup of Nations.

Football website Goal.com claims Barcelona has made a list of players to go for in the January transfer window.Despite the August window closing, Barcelona's squad looks a little thin, especially in the left wing and defensive midfield areas, especially when Yaya Toure and Seydou Keita leave for the African Cup of Nations.

Big result in the Premier League today as Manchester City beat Arsenal 4-2. This not only provides them with their first league win over "Big Four" opposition this season, but also keeps their 100% record in tact. Alright so they've only played 4 games, but 4 wins out of 4 is [...]

Arsenal fans have been crying out for a defensive midfielder ever since Vieira left this despite the fact that Vieira was not a defensive midfielder in the mould of Makelele. What Arsenal fans have really been looking for is a player to protect the defence and to dominate the midfield.

This season Wenger has realised that to give the defence the protection they need, we need to change formation, and we need to play 4-1-2-3.

Chelsea have finally succumbed to their first loss in the Premier League as they lost 3-1 to Wigan at the DW Stadium. I had not expected the strong start from Chelsea as I thought his priority would be the Champions League. The legend that got the goals started in this match was none other than Titus Bramble.