Last year Newcastle were saved from the annoyance of the African Cup Of Nation thanks to a quirk that saw two tournaments in a row in 2011 and 2012, but the Newcastle fans have been expressing concern that this January will see another tournament and the loss of significant players. There are calls to postpone the tournament in light of the Ebola outbreak, with the government of Morocco - the host country this year - stating that the epidemic should put the start of for safety reasons. But if that postponement doesn't happen, Newcastle could have major concerns as both the Ivory Coast nor Senegal could qualify, meaning Alan Pardew will have to worry about losing Cheick Tiote and Papiss Cisse. Senegal are currently sitting top of their group, and are likely to qualify, though Ivory Coast are third and still in with a chance. Sammy Ameobi will probably head out to Morocco too after pledging his allegiance to Nigeria in the footsteps of his brother, but considering how little he is trusted as a first-teamer (despite Pardew's insistence he thinks he's great) that's unlikely to have a major impact unless something major happens between now and the start of next year. So, there could be some reason to panic. if Newcastle lose their top scorer that will be a major issue, and Pardew has been very vocal about how important he sees Cheick Tiote. At least him being in Morocco might make it harder to sell him...
