Everton manager David Moyes believes the Premier League should look at closing down during the African Nations Cup.
Fourth-placed Everton are decimated by suspension, injuries and international
absences for Wednesday night's visit of Tottenham to Goodison Park.
Three Blues players, Joseph Yobo, Stephen Pienaar and Ayegbeni Yakubu are in
Ghana for the African tournament, and their absence is felt more keenly due to
suspensions for Tim Cahill and Tony Hibbert.
Talk of FIFA moving other global tournaments in line with the European summer
has rumbled on for a decade but Moyes - who fell foul of attempting to keep
Pienaar for an extra game before his departure - has offered an alternative
solution given the increasing number of African players in the English
top-flight.
'We were embroiled in trying to get Stephen Pienaar out and everyone knows
what happened there,' Moyes said.
'You cannot win. But maybe now we have to consider if we close the Premier
League season down during the African Nations Cup.
'That would be the correct respect for Africa and the players in it.
'If we want to bring players in from that part of the world we should be
rightly allowed to do so, which we are, but it is not a fair playing field if
you cannot field your best team.'
A potential further disruption to Everton's bid for a Champions League place
is the call-up of midfielder Cahill for Australia's match against Qatar in
Melbourne next week, which will lead to him missing league encounters with
Blackburn and Reading.
'I think it's ridiculous that someone has to fly halfway around the world in
between two league matches at this stage of the season,' said Moyes.
'But Tim has to make the decision on whether he goes to play for Australia or
not.
'He has got a hamstring injury just now so we will have to see if that
hinders him in any way.'
Everton's exit from both cup competitions in recent weeks - they were dumped
at the semi-final stage of the Carling Cup seven days ago by Chelsea - means
they are better rested than Juande Ramos' side, whose exertions against Arsenal
were followed by FA Cup defeat to Manchester United at Old Trafford.
Moyes' men are now challenging on two fronts - holding the advantage in the
pursuit of fourth place and also still involved in the UEFA Cup.
'We would have preferred to play in the FA Cup at the weekend but don't
worry, there are plenty of games around the corner for us and we have given the
players a couple of days to recover this week, get over the disappointment of
the cup and get ready for an important league game,' Moyes said.
'Tottenham came to Goodison and were exceptional last season so we know we
will be in for a hard time.
'I hoped it would be a warm-up for the (Carling) cup final but unfortunately
that wasn't to be.'
With options limited, Leon Osman, a scorer in August's 3-1 win at White Hart
Lane, will be given until the last minute to overcome calf and groin niggles.
'We need him because we are short of numbers just now,' admitted Moyes.
'He's had a very good season - the last couple of games he has been a bit
quieter because he's come back from a broken toe.
'Due to our lack of numbers and Stephen Pienaar being away just now it's
forced us to put him in earlier than we would have liked to.'
Another midfielder, Manuel Fernandes, will almost certainly be involved again
even though Moyes concedes he is not 'fully up to speed yet' after limited
opportunities with parent club Valencia this season.
And Leighton Baines is included in the squad after three months out with an
ankle injury.
