Out of Africa

A reminder that it's not just England whose qualifiers for major tournaments are shrouded in controversy and farce: confirmation that Senegal have been disqualified from next year's African Cup of Nations, the spot taken by the Ivory Coast instead. That means that, as expected, we'll be without Mr T rather than Demba Ba and Papiss Cisse in January. While it's a worry to be deprived of our defensive midfield lynchpin, we did have to cope with his absence at the start of this season, and Vurnon Anita and Bigi have a bit of time to step up to the plate.