TheGoodJoe:


Not some granny link. Barkley's dad is Nigerian. Peter Effanga. I think Barkley changed his surname due to issues with his dad.

TheGoodJoe:
After what is happening with Barkley, they will not learn. All hail the Queen.

Joebie:
Still on Tammy's issue. Let's X-ray nff's most recent official statement, and Tammy's denying the news, so we can deduce what's really going on here.

PINNICK(NFF):

“Most recently, there was a meeting with Tammy, which Tammy’s agent, Neil Fewills also attended. It was a useful meeting, and I can say the talks are at an appreciable level now and all is looking good."

Meaning: there was a meeting and details of an important attendee was revealed, showing this was more than a family meeting. Pinnick never said the boy has agreed, but that it was heading our direction.

“Tammy is like a son to me, because his father was my childhood friend. I believe he is a good prospect for the Super Eagles and the effort is well worth it.”

Meaning: Pinnick is stressing the family ties he has with the boy, and that making such effort will hardly be futile.

“Another source at the said meeting confirmed to thenff.com that Moses actually called in during the meeting to lend a voice to the call for Tammy to opt to fly with the Eagles rather than hunt with the Lions.” -- thenff.com

Meaning: Moses must have been aware of the meeting to call just right in time to lend his voice, as a player Tammy likely looks up to in Chelsea, and also a player who has himself made a switch from England in the past.




TAMMY ABRAHAM:
"Contrary to reports in the media today I would like to clarify that I have not agreed to switch my national team allegiance."

Meaning: It's pretty clear that he is saying the media is saying he has decided to switch allegiance to Nigeria.

"I can confirm I met the President of the NFF after our last game against Tottenham at Wembley on Saturday given he is a friend of my father."

Meaning: Yes, it is true that we met. But it's only by virtue of his father being a friend to Pinnick -- and nothing more. Maybe implying a switch was not discussed, or better yet, he does not want to talk about what really was discussed, or if it was discussed.

"However, any suggestion that I have made a decision to change my international representation is incorrect and wide of the mark."

Meaning: [If it was discussed] he did not make a decision. Or it wasn't discussed at all.


Now let's put both reports together and make some deductions

1. Media reports that Tammy had made a switch is clearly untrue. Before then Pinnick had only shown confidence that he knew what to do. And he again reiterated it in other words saying the efforts is well worth it. Did Pinnick ever say that Tammy has agreed to play for Nigeria? My answer is no.

2. Tammy seems to have hidden details of the actual meeting, and did not make any reference to his agent being there or Moses calling. And my view is that, it is a professional way to keep ongoing allegiance talks to his chest.

3. Tammy in fact is still in the England U21 set up. Saying he is still available for selection is in line with him saying he did not make a decision to switch - which is the fact - because that report was only based on Nigerian media speculations. That is in no way turning down the chance to play for the Super Eagles in future.

4. Tammy seems to be giving the English press the idea that his father's relationship with Pinnick has little or no influence on his decision. This is in line with the English culture I assume. But this could hardly be true. In my opinion, he is simply trying to appeal, but not reveal the reality.

Conclusion: Tammy's remarks is in no way a slap to the face of Pinnick or Nigeria. As he has not turned down Nigeria either, he only denied the reports that he has made a switch. There are no signs that the ongoing allegiance talk and switching process will be halted, unless Tammy's father tells Pinnick his son has decided against the move. I suspect at this point, all parties will keep this matter on the low.

Looking to the Future: I expect Tammy will be called up again for the England U21s. His showing up will calm all nerves and the matter will die down. I also expect that Tammy's change of allegiance will be made known after FIFA gives him the nod to represent Nigeria.

daveP:
I know the oil company.... they are 1st class higher in world ranking for hyperology.

tbaba1234:


Do you know how many phone calls, the boy must have received today... The chances of him playing for Nigeria has reduced drastically. England will cap him soon.

TheSuperNerd:
And Cap-tie him to ward Off Nigeria? They got Young forwards in Kane, Rashford, Berahino, etc even Calvert lewin and Solanke dey dia and you actually think they got long-term plans for Tammy?

Any England call up now reeks of Agbonlahorish odour and Tammy will be foolish to honor it coz that will be end for him internationally. Just look at what happened to Ross Barkley. Smh.

tbaba1234:


And why not? He is growing quickly in profile and would soon be invited anyway. Several players get less than 10 caps and are never called again.

TheSuperNerd:
Growing quickly in profile.... more reason his talent deserve better internationally. With England, what I see is reactionary and will hurt Tammy's international dreams eventually.

If Tammy is cap-tied and left out of future squads and not even considered for tournaments then this cap-tying move will surely backfire for England coz other Anglo-Nigerians and Anglo-Africans are keenly watching the unfolding drama.

Reactionarily Cap-tying a player to ward off Other nations is almost always never in the best interests of the player.

tbaba1234:


Not necessarily,

Several players have been cap-tied, it did not stop others from looking for the England shirt.

Have we forgotten the extent, England pursued Iwobi up to the last moment of his competitive debut for Nigeria? Tammy will be under enormous pressure now. Even his club manager has mentioned it.

TheSuperNerd:
We cannot stop the English from trying so hard and applying the pressure. We were expecting it before now. We are all aware of England's pressure and all. Iwobi's case showed us more of that even... But The Buck rested with Iwobi in the end. It was his decision and he had already started leaning towards Nigeria even before England increased the pressure.

Almost same thing is happening to Tammy. If there is no interest in Nigeria, he would not be meeting with Pinnick in the presence of his dad and then his agent. He would not have stood for pictures with Pinnick that he knew will be circulated in the Nigerian media. He would also not have minded saying, "I have no interest in playing for Nigeria". Tammy is trying and doing his best to cope wisely with the pressure from the English hence his choice of words. It is not all players that will bow to English pressure. Iwobi did not... and I sure hope Tammy won't too. Besides I think I am sure he won't.

And Paul Clement is English so he will speak as an English man... it is natural and logical for him to want Tammy to turn out for England and also he has to tow that line verbally so that at least the FA can know where he stands. Clement does not want to be caught in a cross-fire which is why he said what he said but he also did mention it is Tammy's choice in the end.


And several players were cap-tied and it didn't stop others...yes... but what happened to Zaha... what happened to Victor Moses.... what about Ben Woodburn... or even Ola Aina... there are many of them. England have cap-tied many players who turn out to be average but several of the quality ones with the dual chance of playing of England and another nation (e.g. Nigeria) will weigh it well and not get cap-tied because they want a fruitful international future and career.

Like I said, this Tammy case is one that other Anglo-Nigerians will be looking at and the English FA and Southgate know this. Make a wrong move with Tammy and watch it backfire.



Finally, this issue of Tammy is one Pinnick has been most cocky about... and even most verbal about. He even said before this latest twist, "I know they (the English) are and will be talking about him but I already know what to do".

I see smokescreens and diversionary tactics at work here.... England "may" have long lost out even before this latest twist. Time will tell.

tbaba1234:


Zaha was just lucky that he was not capped in a competitive game. The only reason, he plays for Ivory coast today, is because the England invites stopped coming.

Same thing happened to Moses, Iwobi and Aina, England invites stopped coming. Tammy on the other hand is still in the view of the FA. They will do whatever it takes.

Pinnick knows Tammy's family, that is what informs his confidence. That might not be enough.

daveP:
I know the[b] oil company[/b] .... they are 1st class higher in world ranking for hyperology.

TheSuperNerd:
Akwa United Celebrate Nigeria’s WAFU Cup Final Ticket
By Hanifat Mustapha




Nigeria Professional Football League club Akwa United have congratulated the home-based Super Eagles for qualifying for the West African Football Union (WAFU) Cup final in Ghana.

Nigeria defeated Benin Republic with a 1-0 win on Thursday. A goal from Kano Pillars star Rabiu Aliu in the 11th minute handed the Eagles the ticket to Sunday’s final.

“We congratulate the Super Eagles on their semi final victory over Benin Republic at the WAFU Cup,” Akwa United tweeted.

“We celebrate our players Ariwa, Aremu, Gabriel, Ifeanyi and Friday.”

Nigeria will play Ghana in Sunday’s final. Hosts Ghana defeated Niger 2-0 in their semi-final also on Thursday.


Source: https://www.completesportsnigeria.com/akwa-united-celebrate-nigerias-wafu-cup-final-ticket/

soetanoreoluwa:
Comments from English fans

TheSuperNerd:
Good... then let the English keep Rashford and let Tammy be naa.... looolll... abi no be so?

Tammy's career has always been about goals at every level from the youth teams to The English U-19s to English U-21s to The English Championship and now in the EPL on loan at modest Swansea... Lad is goals himself. If Rashford had his goal scoring stats they will call him Pele.... lol...


Rashford has done okay to make the headlines... nothing spectacular of note. When Nacho was even bossing things as the EPL's deadliest forward, the English Media didn't talk much about it. They just turned their eyes but if that was Rashford... my goodness... hyperbole would have been redefined. #Fact

So since The English got Rashford... they got nothing to worry about naa... this just shows their hypocrisy.

P.S: Dele Alli na special case. England lacks a good CAM now outside Alli.... even Barkley is dual national (has some Nigerian blood thru his granny i think) but is more English and Alli trumps him. Since Lampard and Gerrard retired... no other midfielder comes close to their quality except Alli. So the English had no choice and Alli will surely keep shining for England... in fact he is their best player before you name Harry Kane sef.

Joebie:
@bolded That's a good standard. But it's not true with the SE today or before, even with the Nigeria-bred players.

PietroRico:
I wonder when you guys will stop disrespecting Rashford.
You can make a case for Tammy Abraham, Iheanacho or any other young Nigerian footballer playing in England without dragging Rashford in.

bataderemi:

As if the guy just had things handed to him . I wonder how bad it would be if he was white sef.
And the fact is, he's better than Kelechi presently. Playing for Leicester with their rubbish kick and follow doesn't help.

mumemma:
The way una dey say make dem call everybody so....na wa o......Seems we go dey field more than 11 players for SE matches oo.

To me we don't even need that Tammy guy, we have attacking options in surplus.......Where dem defenders?

Has anyone noticed.............that soon our full SE squad will be void of true nationals...Na so so half caste go full am wen e ....OYinbo SEs....that have one foreign affiliation or the other.

safarigirl:
the person wey get sense pass na that last commenter


At least he can win AFCON....at least he will get an international medal. The only thing he will ever be able to do playing for England is mark register....I bet if you gave some of those fully Brit players dual citizenship, they would have opted to play for other countries.

The only up to playing for Britain is just their good FA, every other thing is terrible

junnyjake:


Moses currently has an endorsement deal with Opera Mini.

PietroRico:



I see certain statements here and it makes me cringe. They make it look like united are carrying him.
When in actual fact it is far from that.
Its one thing to be patriotic, it's another thing to allow it influence our objectivity.
Rashford deserves every bit of praise he has got so far since he broke out.

If the same Rashford that they are always so eager to belittle were to have Nigerian roots, I'm sure these same set of people would sing his praise to high heavens, non stop.
He would be compared to young Pele and Maradona

I'm not asking anyone to sing his praises here btw, don't get me wrong. You don't owe that to him.
But you need to stop dragging him needlessly with people that honestly are not on his level

mumemma:
The way una dey say make dem call everybody so....na wa o......Seems we go dey field more than 11 players for SE matches oo.

To me we don't even need that Tammy guy, we have attacking options in surplus.......Where dem defenders?

Has anyone noticed.............that soon our full SE squad will be void of true nationals...Na so so half caste go full am wen e ....OYinbo SEs....that have one foreign affiliation or the other.

PietroRico:
I wonder when you guys will stop disrespecting Rashford.
You can make a case for Tammy Abraham, Iheanacho or any other young Nigerian footballer playing in England without dragging Rashford in.

Famocious:
Why allow Tammy Abraham to disrespect Nigeria when the likes of Cyriel Dessers ,Awoniyi, Onuachi, Olayinka etc are dying 2be capped #Shame

PietroRico:
I wonder when you guys will stop disrespecting Rashford.
You can make a case for Tammy Abraham, Iheanacho or any other young Nigerian footballer playing in England without dragging Rashford in.