Mickael2:


tbh I'd rather have Ajiboye. But for now let's watch some friendlies and then decide

How much of Ajiboye have you seen
Apart from the game against Guinea?

terzurum5:
Nigeria to pay England over Moses, Iwobi, Aina nationality switch



FIFA is currently looking into several options in their bid to effect changes to the rules guiding players’ nationality switch after representing another country at junior level.


Head of FIFA stakeholders committee, Victor Montagliani, confirmed they are looking into the rule, which currently forbids players who have played a competitive international for one team from switching to another national side even when they hold dual nationality.


Already the Cape Verde football federation has proposed for the rule to be relaxed especially when the player has only featured in few games for his original side, but has no chance of earning a recall.


The other option the Montagliani lead committee are looking at is a compensation scheme in cases where a player goes through the training system of one country and represents it at youth level before switching to another.


Presently Nigeria have three players who have represented England at youth level in Victor Moses, Alex Iwobi and Ola Aina representing in the Super Eagles, and if the new rule is approved, England could be entitled to some compensation from Nigeria.

http://www.thebreakingtimes.com/nigeria-to-pay-england-over-moses-iwobi-aina-nationality-switch/

poor journalism.

If the new rule is applied, whatever happened before the approval will not be subject to it. Nigeria will not pay anyone for those three players, however, we may have to pay for any player that we get after the rule has been approved- if it is approved.

I find the rule stupid though. So, I will have to pay for a player like City's Tosin even if England has no plans for him anytime soon? Wouldn't that be unfair to the player?

terzurum5:
Iwobi Snr: Alex Is In Super Eagles Squad On Merit, Not Because Of Okocha



Alex Iwobi's dad, Chuka Iwobi, has dismissed claims that the Arsenal winger was favoured and fast-tracked into the Super Eagles squad because former Nigeria captain Austin Okocha is his uncle.


Iwobi, capped at U16, U17 and U18 level by England, was invited to train with Nigeria's U23 national team in 2015, before he was promoted to the Super Eagles, making his debut against Democratic Republic of Congo.

''For Alex at his age playing with people like Mikel Obi, Echiejile and Onazi it is unbelievable,'' Iwobi's dad told Complete TV.

''I look at it and I say what a joy, what a privilege playing with these guys who are well known throughout the continent and for Alex to be part of that structure and being there on merit.


'' Alex is not here because Jay Jay is his uncle, it doesn't work that way. He's come here, staked a claim, he's done well.''

Iwobi is set to add to add to his international caps when Nigeria battle Algeria and Argentina next month.

Igho Kingsley

http://www.allnigeriasoccer.com/read_news.php?nid=25145

Sure na. Them dey debate that one?

Its just that Okocha acted as the catalyst to speeden up his switch. Maybe by now we would have been looking at him play for Arsenal and be wishing we had him.Just like what England are doing.

safarigirl:
The whole team was poor

Mikel disappointed. No need to rope the whole team into it.

Icon4s:


Good analysis. In fact top notch.

That singular act of keeping Siasia out contributed to we loosing the game. Westerhof was busy packing up the midfield by introducing Oliha and Mutiu. Just one of them could have been OK. And one of Ikpeba and Siasia could have also been introduced.The Italians set a trap for us and we fell into it. That squad did not have alternative wingers. Aside Finidi and Amuneke who were the other wingers? None! Plus also the team did not have much utility players. The only utility players were Mutiu and Siasia. He had dropped Siasia because of the scuffle and then he was left with Mutiu who he threw in to link up play between the midfield and Yekini. I still don't understand why Westerhof would play Okocha, Oliha and Oliseh at once. One DM, two CM and now playing Mutiu as the AM. That was Westerhoff's worst match with Nigeria aside the 5-1 bashing by Algeria in Algiers 90.

please after some days, let's collate all these points under different headings and probably loaded them to nff's social media pages. we can't afford another world cup failure. Ghana has been to the world cup thrice but have a quarter final finish to show for it, Senegal only once and they are quarter finalist and if this present Senegalese team qualify, they have enough quality to do well at the mundial. This is our sixth appearance and we can't just go and make up the numbers. I don't care which group we are, if senegal could do it against a Zindane led France at 2002, then why not Nigeria.

terzurum5:
Iwobi Snr: Alex Is In Super Eagles Squad On Merit, Not Because Of Okocha



Alex Iwobi's dad, Chuka Iwobi, has dismissed claims that the Arsenal winger was favoured and fast-tracked into the Super Eagles squad because former Nigeria captain Austin Okocha is his uncle.


Iwobi, capped at U16, U17 and U18 level by England, was invited to train with Nigeria's U23 national team in 2015, before he was promoted to the Super Eagles, making his debut against Democratic Republic of Congo.

''For Alex at his age playing with people like Mikel Obi, Echiejile and Onazi it is unbelievable,'' Iwobi's dad told Complete TV.

''I look at it and I say what a joy, what a privilege playing with these guys who are well known throughout the continent and for Alex to be part of that structure and being there on merit.


'' Alex is not here because Jay Jay is his uncle, it doesn't work that way. He's come here, staked a claim, he's done well.''

Iwobi is set to add to add to his international caps when Nigeria battle Algeria and Argentina next month.

Igho Kingsley

http://www.allnigeriasoccer.com/read_news.php?nid=25145

Only a clown would dare think Iwobi didn't get into this team on merit.

safarigirl:
poor journalism.

If the new rule is applied, whatever happened before the approval will not be subject to it. Nigeria will not pay anyone for those three players, however, we may have to pay for any player that we get after the rule has been approved- if it is approved.

I find the rule stupid though. So, I will have to pay for a player like City's Tosin even if England has no plans for him anytime soon? Wouldn't that be unfair to the player?

Hahaha, na to dey buy players like clubs na him e go finally turn to.

Let's start by bidding for Tammy Abraham. When them pass next year budget we go for Lookman and any other. (Somebody is expecting me to mention Solanke, Hahahaha)

terzurum5:
Teenage Nigerian GK Highly Rated By Wenger Trains Again With Arsenal First Team



Promising Nigerian goalkeeper Arthur Okonkwo participated in Arsenal's final workout ahead of Tuesday night's League Cup tie against Norwich City at the Emirates Stadium.


Arsenal youth-team expert Jeorge Bird has reported that the recently turned 16-year-old schoolboy trained with the Gunners first-teamers on Monday, October 23.


Okonkwo is highly rated by manager Arsene Wenger and had first trained with the main team before the League Cup match against Doncaster Rovers in September.


However, the England youth-teamer is unlikely to get the Frenchman's nod to be in goal against the Canaries tonight, with Matt Macey the most preferred option following the injury sustained by David Ospina.


Okonkwo made his competitive debut for the Arsenal U18s in their 2-0 loss to Leicester City in the U18 Premier League on Saturday.

Hale End Academy products Alex Iwobi and Chuba Akpom are in line to feature against Norwich City.

Igho Kingsley

http://www.allnigeriasoccer.com/read_news.php?nid=25143

Pls can we keep all these small children news away for now, we de yan mature football things for now, when we are talking about u-17, then we can yan this kind of news but for now, keep these small children away abeg

Kog45:
Nice analysis but i want to tell u point blank that there is nothing like players refused to give Yekini ball at US 94.

Try and watch our video clips especially our match against Italy.Mike Emenalo made a pass that a pregnant woman would have score but Yekini failed to convert it,this was in d dying minutes of d game.

Yekini wasn't at his best at US 94,he was well read by our opponents and neutralised.One of d worst outing for Yekini is US 94.

Truly conflicts almost ruined d team coz prior to our match against Italy,Siasia had training ground scuffled with Olishe but Westerhoff didn't handle d situation very well and it affect our performance against Italy.

Siasia was dropped from d team and Jayjay replaced him but it was a match that forced me not to rate Okocha as a serious footballer.We had everything to beat Italy but Jay jay was playing to himself just like d way he did against Denmark at France 98.

In that match after injury to Amokachie, Siasia should have replaced him and Ikpeba replace Amuneke but Westerhoff went for Mutiu Adepoju and Thompson Oliha.

The team couldn't build on d momentum of attacking football again especially in d second half we need to defend and this forced Olishe to make a mistake that led to Italy equalising goal.

But Keshi and Westerhof both confirmed that Yekini was purposely starved of service.

Goke7:


my guy it's all in the past, let's not loose sight of the discussion, what lessons can we learn from our past failures, e.g. Be careful with players close to retirement making the world cup list. This is where am afraid with the enyeama thing though am one of his biggest fans. Players getting close to retirement making our world cup list has not paid us at all including your beloved Yobo and the list goes on, rufai and yekini 2002 inclusive. I hope we won't start hearing calls for Obafemi martins and taiye taiwo soon.

This world cup should even be the last for players like musa, onazi, mikel, echeijile, omeruo if makes it and even moses if we say we want to improve our football in the long term.

There is nothing I won't hear. These guys are all below 26 and this is their last world cup?! Make I no talk.


I asked you who should be invited ahead of Yobo? Yobo was not the first choice CB, he was the backup and(except you know someone that deserved the spot more than him) he deserved the spot. He played the role to perfection at the Afcon as well.

terzurum5:

How much of Ajiboye have you seen
Apart from the game against Guinea?

do you mean in a SE jersey? Because if you mean overall then I have seen a lot of his games in the NPFL

Kog45:
Nice analysis but i want to tell u point blank that there is nothing like players refused to give Yekini ball at US 94.

Try and watch our video clips especially our match against Italy.Mike Emenalo made a pass that a pregnant woman would have score but Yekini failed to convert it,this was in d dying minutes of d game.

Yekini wasn't at his best at US 94,he was well read by our opponents and neutralised.One of d worst outing for Yekini is US 94.

Truly conflicts almost ruined d team coz prior to our match against Italy,Siasia had training ground scuffled with Olishe but Westerhoff didn't handle d situation very well and it affect our performance against Italy.

Siasia was dropped from d team and Jayjay replaced him but it was a match that forced me not to rate Okocha as a serious footballer.We had everything to beat Italy but Jay jay was playing to himself just like d way he did against Denmark at France 98.

In that match after injury to Amokachie, Siasia should have replaced him and Ikpeba replace Amuneke but Westerhoff went for Mutiu Adepoju and Thompson Oliha.

The team couldn't build on d momentum of attacking football again especially in d second half we need to defend and this forced Olishe to make a mistake that led to Italy equalising goal.

Thanks for the clarifications. On Jay Jay: he's my most beloved Super Eagles player but after recently re-watching the finals of Afcon 94 I realized he was playing nonsense. I feel Jay Jay was gifted but wasn't disciplined until late in his career when his energy was not as much as it was in his early days.

Mickael2:


Some were very very good though. Omeruo, Onazi, Osaze, Emenike(to a lesser degree), Oshaniwa as well as Musa.

Even Babatunde was surprisingly good. But bottom line is that we should go with 90% of the current squad as we hope they'd be in form and fit.

Goke7:

please after some days, let's collate all these points under different headings and probably loaded them to nff's social media pages. we can't afford another world cup failure. Ghana has been to the world cup thrice but have a quarter final finish to show for it, Senegal only once and they are quarter finalist and if this present Senegalese team qualify, they have enough quality to do well at the mundial. This is our sixth appearance and we can't just go and make up the numbers. I don't care which group we are, if senegal could do it against a Zindane led France at 2002, then why not Nigeria.

You have started doing the good job already by collating all the points. Just keep updating as we contribute. We will get to publish it somewhere.
The NFF, Rohr and his crew MUST see it.

Nigerian football must move forward. Enough of the same mistakes, the same results every world cup.

Yak's miss at 2010 seems to be the theme of our world cup that year, but let's not forget Martins miss in that game as well where he tried to go for the fancy chip instead of placing it. Osaze(or was it Obasi??)messed up too against Argentina when they went for glory instead of simply passing for a tap in. That 2010 WC was so frustrating to watch for me.

Mickael2:



There is nothing I won't hear. These guys are all below 26 and this is their last world cup?! Make I no talk.


I asked you who should be invited ahead of Yobo? Yobo was not the first choice CB, he was the backup and(except you know someone that deserved the spot more than him) he deserved the spot. He played the role to perfection at the Afcon as well.

below 26? officially yes but in terms of going forward abeg make tell ourselves the truth, some folks still believe that the very long stay of okocha never allow us reap the full benefits of a wilson oruma like we enjoyed kanu. Yobo made the last world cup out of sentiments to get his 100 caps and we all know this. forget what he was doing at norwich city. It was more about appearance and not performance. no thanks to oboabaona's injury, how many times did keshi play him during afcon? we need players who are hungry to perform and not just to appear. They are two different things. Thank God Yobo is history, was he not also part of the team that flopped in 2002 and 2010? abegi. all the players I mentioned, after this world cup the hunger will no longer be there so the earlier we ship them out the better for us. They have won afcon and made two world cups, so wetin remain!

realpoacher:


Please tell them o! It's obvious many of them will make terrible coaches. Imagine changing 60% of your team who qualified you for the world cup. To them every new player is to be played as if SE is a training ground. SMH!

I bet if these guys were to coach Man U, Dortmund, or Chelsea, they will change the whole squad after their loses last weekend.

Imagine fa, everyday change this person, bring this player, I will remove this person and replace him with this person... Bla bla bla... Inexperience, ignorance and short memory in full display.

You all should remember 1998- Peter Rufai, 2002- Opabunmi, Ogbeche, 2014- Uchebo, and Co!

Make una carry una shortsightedness comot from our SE body because whether you like it or not 80-90% of this qualifying squad members will make the world cup.

To be forewarned is to be fore hand!

I rest my case

I don't think the inclusion of Vincent Enyeama (aged 19), Bartholomew Ogbeche (aged 17), Femi Opabumi (aged 17), Austin Ejide (aged 18), John Utaka (aged 20) and James Obi or (aged 23) were bad as at that time, since some players were banned from the national team and the goal was to build a new national team.

It was very clear that we were rebuilding the National team from the unset, and that was why these young talented players were integrated into the national team.

This moved paid off after all because out of these players Festus interjected into the national team 3 later became the integral part of the National team. In short, 2 later became one of the best in their clubs.

People raised eyebrows for the inclusion of these players including Enyeama but they say the rest is history.

Mujtahida:

Even Babatunde was surprisingly good. But bottom line is that we should go with 90% of the current squad as we hope they'd be in form and fit.

I think it is up to the coach. Contrary to what most say, I do not believe that anybody 'deserves' anything, you earn it. Going by this 'player A deserves the slot' theory, Kayode and Tammy/Onuachu should go back to bed because they have done nothing to 'deserve' it.

Now we are still building not the finished article we want yet and one of the features of such a team is the picking and dropping of players. If I say this now people will say we already have a team(and 80-90%) of a squad then if I pinpoint the fact that we lost to South Africa they will come back again and say we are still building, double standards(you are guilty as well ). So I believe we all have to acknowledge that we are still building, as at now any player can be the difference between a groupstage exit and a semifinal berth.

Goke7:


below 26? officially yes but in terms of going forward abeg make tell ourselves the truth, some folks still believe that the very long stay of okocha never allow us reap the full benefits of a wilson oruma like we enjoyed kanu. Yobo made the last world cup out of sentiments to get his 100 caps and we all know this. forget what he was doing at norwich city. It was more about appearance and not performance. no thanks to oboabaona's injury, how many times did keshi play him during afcon? we need players who are hungry to perform and not just to appear. They are two different things. Thank God Yobo is history, was he not also part of the team that flopped in 2002 and 2010? abegi. all the players I mentioned, after this world cup the hunger will no longer be there so the earlier we ship them out the better for us. They have won afcon and made two world cups, so wetin remain!

should I reply or should I just laugh? Here is a guy that wants to collate points and pass on to NFF but you do not even believe the players' ages? The problem isn't the NFF, it's everybody.

Anyways Yobo played the first game of the Afcon and the second. I remember he came in against Ivory Coast and provided a calming influence and also the final so yeah he contributed

Mickael2:



should I reply or should I just laugh? Here is a guy that wants to collate points and pass on to NFF but you do not even believe the players' ages? The problem isn't the NFF, it's everybody.

Anyways Yobo played the first game of the Afcon and the second. I remember he came in against Ivory Coast and provided a calming influence and also the final so yeah he contributed

apart from age, how hungry are these players? pls let's not derail this conservation, if you think you will better in collating the points, then do it. there is already a growing consensus that players like yekini and okocha did not give their very best even at the prime of their careers, so you think those players mentioned earlier will still give their best in another four years? Pls think again, we are just looking for the very best solution to our previous world cup woes, nothing personal here but how we can perform better at the world cup.

edi287:
Yak's miss at 2010 seems to be the theme of our world cup that year, but let's not forget Martins miss in that game as well where he tried to go for the fancy chip instead of placing it. Osaze(or was it Obasi??)messed up too against Argentina when they went for glory instead of simply passing for a tap in. That 2010 WC was so frustrating to watch for me.

selfish play is another interesting point am beginning to see here as one of the reasons for our previous world cup woes. Someone need to speak with victor moses fast. he is a good culprit here

Mickael2:



I think it is up to the coach. Contrary to what most say, I do not believe that anybody 'deserves' anything, you earn it. Going by this 'player A deserves the slot' theory, Kayode and Tammy/Onuachu should go back to bed because they have done nothing to 'deserve' it.

Now we are still building not the finished article we want yet and one of the features of such a team is the picking and dropping of players. If I say this now people will say we already have a team(and 80-90%) of a squad then if I pinpoint the fact that we lost to South Africa they will come back again and say we are still building, double standards(you are guilty as well ). So I believe we all have to acknowledge that we are still building, as at now any player can be the difference between a groupstage exit and a semifinal berth.

As painful as the loss to South Africa was it taught us a very important building lesson: it taught us how not to build- don't build exclusively with youth. There must be a mix of youth and experience. And we are no longer at the point we were in the building process as at the SA match because since then we have played three very important matches.

This issue of 80-90% of the team is sound reasoning methinks. Yet it is not cast in stone- this is evident. Of the 90% we talking about(and I think they amount to 15-17 players according to projections by many even on this thread) they must be fit and in fine form. 6-7 slots remain open and this is fair for reinforcements and fine performers to make the cut. But to bring in every talented goalscorer, every good DM, every good winger in the name of building a team, won't do it. We will end up having talented individuals without a team. We will go slow on the picking and dropping, build on the momentum we have now and continue building after the WC.

USA 94, i cried that day... We had that game won.

Mickael2:



I think it is up to the coach. Contrary to what most say, I do not believe that anybody 'deserves' anything, you earn it. Going by this 'player A deserves the slot' theory, Kayode and Tammy/Onuachu should go back to bed because they have done nothing to 'deserve' it.

Now we are still building not the finished article we want yet and one of the features of such a team is the picking and dropping of players. If I say this now people will say we already have a team(and 80-90%) of a squad then if I pinpoint the fact that we lost to South Africa they will come back again and say we are still building, double standards(you are guilty as well ). So I believe we all have to acknowledge that we are still building, as at now any player can be the difference between a groupstage exit and a semifinal berth.

Okay let's be honest here, how many new players [better than the present players] can actually break into this team? ten, five, three or how many?

Mujtahida:

As painful as the loss to South Africa was it taught us a very important building lesson: it taught us how not to build- don't build exclusively with youth. There must be a mix of youth and experience. And we are no longer at the point we were in the building process as at the SA match because since then we have played three very important matches.

This issue of 80-90% of the team is sound reasoning methinks. Yet it is not cast in stone- this is evident. Of the 90% we talking about(and I think they amount to 15-17 players according to projections by many even on this thread) they must be fit and in fine form. 6-7 slots remain open and this is fair for reinforcements and fine performers to make the cut. But to bring in every talented goalscorer, every good DM, every good winger in the name of building a team, won't do it. We will end up having talented individuals without a team. We will go slow on the picking and dropping, build on the momentum we have now and continue building after the WC.

@the bolded, you don't even build a team this way in the first place

terzurum5:
Nigeria to pay England over Moses, Iwobi, Aina nationality switch



FIFA is currently looking into several options in their bid to effect changes to the rules guiding players’ nationality switch after representing another country at junior level.


Head of FIFA stakeholders committee, Victor Montagliani, confirmed they are looking into the rule, which currently forbids players who have played a competitive international for one team from switching to another national side even when they hold dual nationality.


Already the Cape Verde football federation has proposed for the rule to be relaxed especially when the player has only featured in few games for his original side, but has no chance of earning a recall.


The other option the Montagliani lead committee are looking at is a compensation scheme in cases where a player goes through the training system of one country and represents it at youth level before switching to another.


Presently Nigeria have three players who have represented England at youth level in Victor Moses, Alex Iwobi and Ola Aina representing in the Super Eagles, and if the new rule is approved, England could be entitled to some compensation from Nigeria.

http://www.thebreakingtimes.com/nigeria-to-pay-england-over-moses-iwobi-aina-nationality-switch/

How can the rule be retroactive? We won't pay any compensation to England cos this was not the rule as at when these players switched nationality. Even at that this is just a proposal, it's tentative, nothing has been firmly agreed and adopted regarding players switching nationality. Damn this pseudo journo guys for putting a spin on this.

terzurum5:
More troubles for Iheanacho, as new coach tips Okazaki



The hopes of Nigeria’s Kel­echi Iheanacho picking a first team shirt at Leicester City looks dimmed after the team’s newly appointed caretaker coach, Michael Appleton, has suggested that Shinji Okazaki will be his preferred choice to part­ner Jamie Vardy in attack.


Okazaki was dropped by sacked manager, Craig Shakespeare, in Leicester City 1-1 draw against West Brom, with Kelechi Iheana­cho selected to start in the game which was the last for Shakespear.


Appleton who was ap­pointed on interim capac­ity, following the sack of Shakespeare made only one change to the line up that won 2-1 away against Swan­sea , with Okazaki taking the place of Iheanacho in the starting line up


Speaking to LCFC TV after the teams’ away win over Swansea, Appleton was asked the reason why Ihe­anacho was the only player axed from the starting line up and he explained that Okazaki as the perfect part­ner to Vardy in attack.


“Shinji did great for us and to be fair, when he has played, he’s always done that. What Shinji brings is what he does out of posses­sion. He knows how to deal with a no.6 and the job he did on Leon Britton today was really pleasing”, he said.

http://www.thebreakingtimes.com/more-troubles-for-iheanacho-as-new-coach-tips-okazaki/

I know Iheanacho w be a scapegoat for Shakespeare's sack just like Musa a scapegoat for Ranieri's sack.

How I wish Nacho go back to man city and be warming bench,at least he w be playing in league cup or FA cup,better to warm bench at man city than a team like Leicester.

It seems thegoodjoe was right telling everybody that Nacho should stay put at man city and fight for his place.

I don't know if it's possible to seek out for loan coz not active before WC w affect his confidence just like it affected Mikel at 2014 WC.

Goke7:


@the bolded, you don't even build a team this way in the first place

Abi ooo, perhaps that was the difference between Brazil and Germany in the Semi finals in 2014. Germany had a team. Brazil had ungelled talents.

terzurum5:
How much of Ajiboye have you seen Apart from the game against Guinea?

Good question.

So many factors contribute to a good outing at the world cup. Having wonderful players is not enough to win you the world no matter how star studded. Spain,Holland and Argentina are some good example.

In 1994

We had a monstrous squad that couldnt go past second round and why did not they. Inexperience and lack of focus was our downfall. At the world cup every second counts and there is no room for mistakes.

In 1998
We changed coach soon after the qualifier and we brought alot of players at the last days of their carreer AND again LACK of Focus played a part. We need to understand that world cup is not club football...We must fight with all our might else hungrier countries like Brazil,Germany and France will keep winning.

In 2002
We had Sodje,Ogbeche,Justice Christopher(an excellent DM but wrong stage to start off) and most of our top stars were not around anymore...Oliseh,Amokachi,Amunike,Finidi and co were all missing and we had a depleted team. Cant do much with that.

In 2010

We were still going through a drought and our top players were Obasi,Aiyegbeni, and Kalu Uche then we had a Kaita who had temper problem. It was a world cup good as forgotten.

In 2014

We were at the height of our misery and things couldnt be worse.

Finally,my point is that having wonderful players is not a guarantee for a good outing. Good players +Good management/coach+stability + preparedness all play a major part. Now ,we are getting everything right except we are not ready or prepared.

tbaba1234:
USA 94, i cried that day... We had that game won.

I hate watching d match even till today.

safarigirl:
what was that you said? Luck?

That's how they got to the Round of 16, not because anyone was exceptional. They were just lucky

You catch am! Kpom