The whole team was poor

Mickael2:



Was Mikel poor in that tournament or not? The question is why did we lose and he was a major reason. For God's sake he was the CMF, the central man in the middle who controls play and he was poor. Simple and short Mikel was poor in the 2010 World Cup.

Yobo had a solid game, I was impressed with his game, he played so well probably because that was his 100th appearance, he scored an OG but that does not mean he was the reason why we lost.

Mickael2:


Ezenwa? World Cup first choice? Does Agbim ring a bell?

If Enyeama refuses to come back who should be our first choice goalie?

terzurum5:

Exactly Sir.

I can't really say much about him

terzurum5:

If Enyeama refuses to come back who should be our first choice goalie?

If Enyeama refuses to come back.We don't have option than to face what we have on ground.

I believe with Ezenwa, Akpeyi,Ajiboye, Alampasu, Uzoho we w get a good option.

If enyeama doesn't show up,I wild like
Dis 4set of gk to b given a look in
Enzenwa

Emmanuel Daniel

Ajiboye

Alampasu

Mickael2:



Was Mikel poor in that tournament or not? The question is why did we lose and he was a major reason. For God's sake he was the CMF, the central man in the middle who controls play and he was poor. Simple and short Mikel was poor in the 2010 World Cup.

Yobo had a solid game, I was impressed with his game, he played so well probably because that was his 100th appearance, he scored an OG but that does not mean he was the reason why we lost.

2010 world cup? mikel was not there o, am sure you are referring to 2014 world cup. But for oboabona's injury, yobo had no business in the 2014 world cup, sentiments from Nigerians made him to be selected which is why we will continue to flop at the world cup if we are not cautious. hope you are also aware that moses was even poorer in that world cup than mikel. Even mikel's performance can be contested as the stats in the 2014 world cup even favoured mikel

Icon4s:
Goke7 and realpoacher's posts just sparked some thing off my mind.

Can we do an x-ray of reasons for our failures in our last 5 participations?

Best way to solving a problem is actually to get to the root of the problem.

We as fans will not play for the Super Eagles in Russia. We are not part of the coaching crew. But we can make our own contributions by profiling the reasons for our 5 previous failures to go beyond the second round of the world cup.

As I have always said here, do not underestimate the contributions we make here. They go very far.
To be honest , some times, I feel Rohr and his crew get some things from here because we have seen things play out severally after we discuss them here.
Plus I know a couple of officials visit here. Eg Amuneke's U17 media officer and Siasia's late U23 media officer.

Most of us here know the history of Super Eagles participation and performances better than Rohr. So he may just learn a thing or two from us.

I expect opinions and counter opinions. All the same we can keep the discussion or arguments constructive.

To discuss this issue I need enough elders in the house as we may need to go back in time to address issues even from 1990 when Westerhof took over.
The younger generation too can equally contribute as a lot of those old games are available on YouTube.

enomakos, Kog45, forgiveness, tbaba1234, TheGoodJoe, Goldfish80, Michael2, Joseph1013, joebie, komekn, safarigirl, mujtahida, terzurum5, icon79, do4luv14, omanbala1, Chriskel, Chrisoblog, Orkpekyandega, Humility017, elyte89, Dedebanky85, soetanoreoluwa and many others.

It must not be in any order. Discuss any one you followed from 2014 to 1994.

In 1994 though we had a really good team inexperience took us out. It was a first for the players, the technical crew and also the officials. And then in fighting and squabbling among the players as there are stories that players refused to pass the ball to Rashidi.
Lesson: Rohr too is a newbie. He should ask coaches who've been to the World Cup to learn from their experiences, he should brush up tactically and maintain the good spirit in the team. Apart from Mikel, Echiejile, Moses, Omeruo (? dey him head sha) Enyeama (if he makes the squad) Musa, the rest of the players are new. Team spirit and morale should be the highest priority cos it is where there's unity that anything worthwhile can be achieved. As for the officials, we lack continuity. I doubt if there's still any of the officials that went to Brazil that is still with the federation to give useful hints and guidelines.

France 98: first error was to change the coach who qualified us Phillipe Trousier for Bora Militunovic . We took a fairly experienced World Cup squad but yet had weak spots in the attack and GK departments. Rashidi was old and out of form, ditto Rufai. We had no real CF as Ikpeba wasn't an out and out forward for the Super Eagles (though he scored in the game against Bulgaria). That team too had serious issues of disunity as those were the heydays of the much talked about Super Eagles mafia(Amokachi was injured but he still went to the World Cup). Hubris took over us after we topped our group and we began dreaming of Brazil instead of Denmark who were our next opponents(I read that the Danes got our tapes, watched it and you all know the end)
Lessons: Don't change the coach. Washed up players of the old brigade should be totally left out(of course except Enyeama who also must prove himself). Players must be united and should not let pride eat into them should they win matches. We must also study our opponents thoroughly and take each game as it comes.

Korea/Japan 2002: Pre World Cup preparations were fair as we played three friendlies against Paraguay and Jamaica and Scotland- not top sides though. We didn't learn from the previous World Cup as we changed Shaibu Amoudu who qualified us and replaced him with Onigbinde. Newbies like Ogbeche who flashed a bicycle kick in one friendly had everybody hollering his name. He went to the World Cup and was a flop. That team also lacked depth. We heard stories about Taribo refusing to play to instruction.
Lesson: Do not change the coach. We need quality grade A friendlies not teams like Liechtenstein or Azerbaijan. We need discretion to be able to sift real quality from empty showmen who will disappoint when crunch time arrives. Players should avoid insubordination. The team should have depth.

South Africa 2010: preparations were poor. I can't remember that we played any friendlies. Same mistake again occurred (them jazz us abi) as Amoudu qualified us again and was ditched. Lars Lagersback took charge and I swear I really can't pin point what the problem was except to say our players played like they had drunk Lager beer: Yakubu suddenly became epileptic in front of goal, Kaita flared up for no reason. Of course since we didn't participate in Germany 06 we took an inexperienced side to the World Cup. They were not just inexperienced, they also were not hungry enough because our group wasn't that tough(Nigeria, Argentina, South Korea and Greece) The team also lacked depth as our lean years had begun from 2006 or even farther back. First round we were out.
Lessons: Don't change the Coach. The team must be robust in all departments and deep in depth and quality.

Brazil 2014: The lesson had been learnt or so it seemed cos Keshi qualified us and was at the Mundial as our Coach. Preparation was poor as we played just two or so friendly matches. Uchebo, Reuben Gabriel, Oshinawa, Babatunde broke into the squad and some into the first eleven. In fact much of the players that won the Afcon 2013 and played in the qualifiers were dropped. It even looked like a new squad was taken to the World Cup a new squad that was seriously lacking in depth as can be seen from the Onazi injury in the match with France. Those were the peak of our lean years because truly everywhere was barren (in terms of quality) as personally I couldn't reel off players doing well at least not like we can do today. Player agents played their cards well and succeeded, the coach compromised and wafflers made the squad. Issues of player bonuses made headlines and a chartered flight with cash had to be flown to Brazil to save us from international embarrassment.
Lessons: Preparation for the tournament should be top notch with quality friendly matches at least four. FIFA handles much of the logistics regarding hotels and flights during the tournament proper so no excuses. No compromises: players should go by merit. New bloods should be of high quality and should not be more than seven so that baring injuries, loss of form etc 90% of those who played the qualifiers should form the nucleus of the squad. We should be hungry to go far beyond our best yet. Nothing stretches and brings out the best like a dream that is deep and glorious. Our coach should also brush up tactically because football has become an intensely intellectual endeavour where men have turned the sport into a battle field of the mind. Tactical strength, suitable tactical game plan and flexibility should come to play in our strategies.

I wish our team the best. Mikel greet Olga family on our behalf.
Assignment:Project Vladimir
Codeword: Victoria
Location:Russia
Time:June/July 2018

Viva Super Eagles!!!!

forgiveness:


I want to address the two @bolded


In other national teams, they pick from the best and inform players and not the other way round.


In Europe, as at the time Ikechuckwu Ezenwa was invited to the National team, Enyeama and Dele Aiyenugba were arguably the best but how the former had been overlooked for years is beyond common sense.

Even in the NPFL, is Ikechuckwu Ezenwa the best goalkeeper? I don't think so. How he managed to get the nod over the best in both continents still baffles me.

Therefore, if Dele Aiyenugba is mentioned here, it's very reasonable because he has been consistent in Europe and he's still eligible for the Super Eagles.

Now, to address your the second @bolded.

Soldier come, soldier go barrack remains. There will be a time Mikel Obi services will no longer be needed if he loose form. In this case, if Aluko, Ajagun or any player do well in Europe, they should be given the chance to prove themselves.

Ezenwa may not be best keeper in npfl but if he continues to show the kind of confidence he has been showing and does not concede more than one goal in the warm up against Argentina, am sorry he becomes our one choice automatically. Life is all about taking your chances and maximizing them.

Some lessons so far on our failed world cup attempts from responses so far include

1. Stick to the coach that qualifies you for the world cup cos you you need that strong bond between the coach and the players who have been working tirelessly together.
2. Do not discard half or majority of the players that qualified you for the world cup as it affects team spirit and you end up with players in the world cup who are strange bed fellows. Case in point keshi despite qualifying for the world cup and going to the world cup ended up with players who were not really used to each other. This may be the reason Mikel rejected the inclusion of ramon azeez in the game against France.
3. Go with at least 90% of your players who qualified you for the world cup. case in point USA 94 team. If you must bring in new players, very very few.
4. Nff need to sort out issues of bonus and players welfare on time. I heard before the end of this year, Nff will meet with the players to tell them how much they will earn during the world cup next year. Good one I must say.
5. Quality warm up games for the team, perhaps warm up games against Germany and Yugoslavia brought out the best of Nigeria against Spain in France 98.

Mujtahida:

In 1994 though we had a really good team inexperience took us out. It was a first for the players, the technical crew and also the officials. And then in fighting and squabbling among the players as there are stories that players refused to pass the ball to Rashidi.
Lesson: Rohr too is a newbie. He should ask coaches who've been to the World Cup to learn from their experiences, he should brush up tactically and maintain the good spirit in the team. Apart from Mikel, Echiejile, Moses, Omeruo (? dey him head sha) Enyeama (if he makes the squad) Musa, the rest of the players are new. Team spirit and morale should be the highest priority cos it is where there's unity that anything worthwhile can be achieved. As for the officials, we lack continuity. I doubt if there's still any of the officials that went to Brazil that is still with the federation to give useful hints and guidelines.

France 98: first error was to change the coach who qualified us Phillipe Trousier for Bora Militunovic . We took a fairly experienced World Cup squad but yet had weak spots in the attack and GK departments. Rashidi was old and out of form, ditto Rufai. We had no real CF as Ikpeba wasn't an out and out forward for the Super Eagles (though he scored in the game against Bulgaria). That team too had serious issues of disunity as those were the heydays of the much talked about Super Eagles mafia(Amokachi was injured but he still went to the World Cup). Hubris took over us after we topped our group and we began dreaming of Brazil instead of Denmark who were our next opponents(I read that the Danes got our tapes, watched it and you all know the end)
Lessons: Don't change the coach. Washed up players of the old brigade should be totally left out(of course except Enyeama who also must prove himself). Players must be united and should not let pride eat into them should they win matches. We must also study our opponents thoroughly and take each game as it comes.

Korea/Japan 2002: Pre World Cup preparations were fair as we played three friendlies against Paraguay and Jamaica and Scotland- not top sides though. We didn't learn from the previous World Cup as we changed Shaibu Amoudu who qualified us and replaced him with Onigbinde. Newbies like Ogbeche who flashed a bicycle kick in one friendly had everybody hollering his name. He went to the World Cup and was a flop. That team also lacked depth. We heard stories about Taribo refusing to play to instruction.
Lesson: Do not change the coach. We need quality grade A friendlies not teams like Liechtenstein or Azerbaijan. We need discretion to be able to sift real quality from empty showmen who will disappoint when crunch time arrives. Players should avoid insubordination. The team should have depth.

South Africa 2010: preparations were poor. I can't remember that we played any friendlies. Same mistake again occurred (them jazz us abi) as Amoudu qualified us again and was ditched. Lars Lagersback took charge and I swear I really can't pin point what the problem was except to say our players played like they had drunk Lager beer: Yakubu suddenly became epileptic in front of goal, Kaita flared up for no reason. Of course since we didn't participate in Germany 06 we took an inexperienced side to the World Cup. They were not just inexperienced, they also were not hungry enough because our group wasn't that tough(Nigeria, Argentina, South Korea and Greece) The team also lacked depth as our lean years had begun from 2006 or even farther back. First round we were out.
Lessons: Don't change the Coach. The team must be robust in all departments and deep in depth and quality.

Brazil 2014: The lesson had been learnt or so it seemed cos Keshi qualified us and was at the Mundial as our Coach. Preparation was poor as we played just two or so friendly matches. Uchebo, Reuben Gabriel, Oshinawa, Babatunde broke into the squad and some into the first eleven. In fact much of the players that won the Afcon 2013 and played in the qualifiers were dropped. It even looked like a new squad was taken to the World Cup a new squad that was seriously lacking in depth as can be seen from the Onazi injury in the match with France. Those were the peak of our lean years because truly everywhere was barren (in terms of quality) as personally I couldn't reel off players doing well at least not like we can do today. Player agents played their cards well and succeeded, the coach compromised and wafflers made the squad. Issues of player bonuses made headlines and a chartered flight with cash had to be flown to Brazil to save us from international embarrassment.
Lessons: Preparation for the tournament should be top notch with quality friendly matches at least four. FIFA handles much of the logistics regarding hotels and flights during the tournament proper so no excuses. No compromises: players should go by merit. New bloods should be of high quality and should not be more than seven so that baring injuries, loss of form etc 90% of those who played the qualifiers should form the nucleus of the squad. We should be hungry to go far beyond our best yet. Nothing stretches and brings out the best like a dream that is deep and glorious. Our coach should also brush up tactically because football has become an intensely intellectual endeavour where men have turned the sport into a battle field of the mind. Tactical strength, suitable tactical game plan and flexibility should come to play in our strategies.

I wish our team the best. Mikel greet Olga family on our behalf.
Assignment:Project Vladimir
Codeword: Victoria
Location:Russia
Time:June/July 2018

Viva Super Eagles!!!!

Wow, wow wow! this is top notch analysis.

You are an elder in this game indeed and you are a true follower.

Mickael2:



Was Mikel poor in that tournament or not? The question is why did we lose and he was a major reason. For God's sake he was the CMF, the central man in the middle who controls play and he was poor. Simple and short Mikel was poor in the 2010 World Cup.

Yobo had a solid game, I was impressed with his game, he played so well probably because that was his 100th appearance, he scored an OG but that does not mean he was the reason why we lost.

No need debating it. Mikel was poor. He was like a shadow drifting across the middle field. He was not himself cos he was outstanding at the Afcon and confed. Even Moses was put in one corner at the World Cup . None of our players were outstanding except Enyeama.

Icon4s:


Wow, wow wow! this is top notch analysis.

You are an elder in this game indeed and you are a true follower.

Thank you Sire. I dey far far for una back. And thanks for bringing up this debate.

Mickael2:


Yes, 2014, thanks a lot

Correct the error please.

Goke7:
Some lessons so far on our failed world cup attempts from responses so far include

1. Stick to the coach that qualifies you for the world cup cos you you need that strong bond between the coach and the players who have been working tirelessly together.
2. Do not discard half or majority of the players that qualified you for the world cup as it affects team spirit and you end up with players in the world cup who are strange bed fellows. Case in point keshi despite qualifying for the world cup and going to the world cup ended up with players who were not really used to each other. This may be the reason Mikel rejected the inclusion of ramon azeez in the game against France.
3. Go with at least 90% of your players who qualified you for the world cup. case in point USA 94 team. If you must bring in new players, very very few.
4. Nff need to sort out issues of bonus and players welfare on time. I heard before the end of this year, Nff will meet with the players to tell them how much they will earn during the world cup next year. Good one I must say.
5. Quality warm up games for the team, perhaps warm up games against Germany and Yugoslavia brought out the best of Nigeria against Spain in France 98.

We even played Holland and lost 5-1.

Reasons why we failed in France 98.

1. Change of coaching Crew. Bora Militunovic had just months or weeks to prepare the team.
Thank God we are not doing this this time

2. We went to the world cup without a goalie.An Almost retired Peter Rufai was on vacation in his house in Belgium when the NFF sent him an invitation to join the world cup squad after Abiodun Baruwa fumbled in pre-world cup friendlies against Yugoslavia and Holland. Something to remember for those calling for Vincent Enyeama.

3. We went with almost a retiring number 9. Rasheed Yekini. I remember the talks then was that if Rodger Miller could do it. Yekini could also do it. Yekini was almost an embarrassment.
To the present, I am not comfortable with Ighalo whose career generally seems on the down ward trend.

4. Some players went to the World cup to show-off. Number 1 culprit was JJ Okocha who started by dying his head reddish brown. He was so hell bent on dribbling every player in the tournament with the end result always poor or average. Though he ended up winning his way to PSG.
Lesson for Alex Iwobi: Don't behave like your uncle o.

5. Over confidence. We were more interested in the Brazil fixture which could have been if we had beaten Denmark. "Of course haven beaten Spain and Bulgaria (1994 4th placed team) who be Denmark. Denmark that even drew with ordinary South Africa at the group stage." You know....talks like that. We got whipped really hard. The Sand brothers rubbed Sand in our eye.
Lesson learnt: Rohr and the entire crew plus the players must not underrate any team. At least that SA loss was an eye opener. Plus even if we manage to draw or beat Argentina on 14th November, we should still remain humble and maintain that underdog status.

6. Team segregation. There were big boys in that team. Oliseh became too powerful and just like his boss, Keshi, was influencing coach's selection. You must be a big boy to be in the Super Eagles then. Go check out the squad list. Even more stars studded than the 1994 set.
We thank God for a humble captain like Mikel. Moses appears to be arrogant but thank God he is not the captain. The other senior boys in the team are all also gentle and humble: Echiejile, Onazi, Musa, Omeruo. This is the major reason why the team has remained together and it is playing out on the field. If it were teams past, as Musa has not been used in the last 3 games when next he is invited ho wouldn't show up. My respect for that guy called Musa has really increased of late.

7. We didn't participate in the 1998 AFCON. We would have sorted out many grey areas from that tourney as we only had to play Yugoslavia and Holland in friendlies just 2-3 weeks before the world cup, to prepare the team. We found out too late that Baruwa had lost form completely and we couldn't recognise that Baba Yekini should have been watching the world cup from his home in Ibadan.
Lesson learnt: we need plenty of games for the current team to avoid late rush inclusions

An unpopular opinion..

Apart from Yakubu terrible miss, he was one of the better players in the 2010 WC.

Mujtahida:

In 1994 though we had a really good team inexperience took us out. It was a first for the players, the technical crew and also the officials. And then in fighting and squabbling among the players as there are stories that players refused to pass the ball to Rashidi.
Lesson: Rohr too is a newbie. He should ask coaches who've been to the World Cup to learn from their experiences, he should brush up tactically and maintain the good spirit in the team. Apart from Mikel, Echiejile, Moses, Omeruo (? dey him head sha) Enyeama (if he makes the squad) Musa, the rest of the players are new. Team spirit and morale should be the highest priority cos it is where there's unity that anything worthwhile can be achieved. As for the officials, we lack continuity. I doubt if there's still any of the officials that went to Brazil that is still with the federation to give useful hints and guidelines.

France 98: first error was to change the coach who qualified us Phillipe Trousier for Bora Militunovic . We took a fairly experienced World Cup squad but yet had weak spots in the attack and GK departments. Rashidi was old and out of form, ditto Rufai. We had no real CF as Ikpeba wasn't an out and out forward for the Super Eagles (though he scored in the game against Bulgaria). That team too had serious issues of disunity as those were the heydays of the much talked about Super Eagles mafia(Amokachi was injured but he still went to the World Cup). Hubris took over us after we topped our group and we began dreaming of Brazil instead of Denmark who were our next opponents(I read that the Danes got our tapes, watched it and you all know the end)
Lessons: Don't change the coach. Washed up players of the old brigade should be totally left out(of course except Enyeama who also must prove himself). Players must be united and should not let pride eat into them should they win matches. We must also study our opponents thoroughly and take each game as it comes.

Korea/Japan 2002: Pre World Cup preparations were fair as we played three friendlies against Paraguay and Jamaica and Scotland- not top sides though. We didn't learn from the previous World Cup as we changed Shaibu Amoudu who qualified us and replaced him with Onigbinde. Newbies like Ogbeche who flashed a bicycle kick in one friendly had everybody hollering his name. He went to the World Cup and was a flop. That team also lacked depth. We heard stories about Taribo refusing to play to instruction.
Lesson: Do not change the coach. We need quality grade A friendlies not teams like Liechtenstein or Azerbaijan. We need discretion to be able to sift real quality from empty showmen who will disappoint when crunch time arrives. Players should avoid insubordination. The team should have depth.

South Africa 2010: preparations were poor. I can't remember that we played any friendlies. Same mistake again occurred (them jazz us abi) as Amoudu qualified us again and was ditched. Lars Lagersback took charge and I swear I really can't pin point what the problem was except to say our players played like they had drunk Lager beer: Yakubu suddenly became epileptic in front of goal, Kaita flared up for no reason. Of course since we didn't participate in Germany 06 we took an inexperienced side to the World Cup. They were not just inexperienced, they also were not hungry enough because our group wasn't that tough(Nigeria, Argentina, South Korea and Greece) The team also lacked depth as our lean years had begun from 2006 or even farther back. First round we were out.
Lessons: Don't change the Coach. The team must be robust in all departments and deep in depth and quality.

Brazil 2014: The lesson had been learnt or so it seemed cos Keshi qualified us and was at the Mundial as our Coach. Preparation was poor as we played just two or so friendly matches. Uchebo, Reuben Gabriel, Oshinawa, Babatunde broke into the squad and some into the first eleven. In fact much of the players that won the Afcon 2013 and played in the qualifiers were dropped. It even looked like a new squad was taken to the World Cup a new squad that was seriously lacking in depth as can be seen from the Onazi injury in the match with France. Those were the peak of our lean years because truly everywhere was barren (in terms of quality) as personally I couldn't reel off players doing well at least not like we can do today. Player agents played their cards well and succeeded, the coach compromised and wafflers made the squad. Issues of player bonuses made headlines and a chartered flight with cash had to be flown to Brazil to save us from international embarrassment.
Lessons: Preparation for the tournament should be top notch with quality friendly matches at least four. FIFA handles much of the logistics regarding hotels and flights during the tournament proper so no excuses. No compromises: players should go by merit. New bloods should be of high quality and should not be more than seven so that baring injuries, loss of form etc 90% of those who played the qualifiers should form the nucleus of the squad. We should be hungry to go far beyond our best yet. Nothing stretches and brings out the best like a dream that is deep and glorious. Our coach should also brush up tactically because football has become an intensely intellectual endeavour where men have turned the sport into a battle field of the mind. Tactical strength, suitable tactical game plan and flexibility should come to play in our strategies.

I wish our team the best. Mikel greet Olga family on our behalf.
Assignment:Project Vladimir
Codeword: Victoria
Location:Russia
Time:June/July 2018

Viva Super Eagles!!!!

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.

Kog45:
Mikel did not make 2010 WC due to injury.

Truly 2014 WC Mikel failed to carry d team due to lost of form and d team in general cannot make it to quarter final coz d team wasn't cohesive enough.

Honestly am always surprised anytime we blame our lost to d injury Onazi got during d match.It was glaring d team was struggling right from the first match against Iran,Bosnia match was a saving grace.

Mikel had a low performance but our lost against France wasn't Mikel fault.The two goals we conceded was due to individual errors.

The first error came through Enyeama, he went for a cross and missed d ball giving Pogba d opportunity to nod in.Enyeama doesn't need to come out and he was punished for it by Pogba,after d match Keshi blamed Enyeama.

The second goal was basically Yobo's fault,no pressure at all and Enyeama was already on d ground but on rushing Yobo just tapped d ball in.

Generally d team was poor,d coach,Defence,midfield, attacks.We didn't get it right and d players to carry d team failed woefully, players like Mikel,Emenike,Moses.

I will have to disagree, the team wasn't poor, the bench was. I think we can all now agree that Mikel was a shadow of himself that year, does it not baffle you that a team with a bad CMF still got to the round of 16?

If you sit down and watch all these games again you will understand. We were poor against Iran, however we scored a legal goal which was disallowed, the mark of champions is their ability to win even when playing in a bad way and that we could have done if not for the ref.

The match against Bosnia, we created the better chances and limited the Bosnian's to a maximum of 4 chances. We were not outrightly better but we were very very good.

The match against Argentina we lost due to Mikel(Safarigirl can come for my head now). First Rojo was Mikel's man for that corner and he lost his man, I remember tbaba blaming Omeruo for a similar mistake. I think it was also in that same match that Mikel missed a glorious chance as well, a team that matched the eventual finalists was not poor. I mean we performed better than the dutch and swiss did against Argentina, we lost due to a single error.


I know we may want to blame the team as a whole but the truth is that team was good, the bench was poor

Mujtahida:

We even played Holland and lost 5-1.

Thanks for the reminder, dem pepper our gang no be small,

safarigirl:
The whole team was poor

somehow they got to the round of 16, great

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/

terzurum5:

If Enyeama refuses to come back who should be our first choice goalie?

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

Goke7:


2010 world cup? mikel was not there o, am sure you are referring to 2014 world cup. But for oboabona's injury, yobo had no business in the 2014 world cup, sentiments from Nigerians made him to be selected which is why we will continue to flop at the world cup if we are not cautious. hope you are also aware that moses was even poorer in that world cup than mikel. Even mikel's performance can be contested as the stats in the 2014 world cup even favoured mikel

let me ask you a simple question. Which CB should have been invited in place of Yobo and why

tbaba1234:
An unpopular opinion..

Apart from Yakubu terrible miss, he was one of the better players in the 2010 WC.

abeg no go talk this kind thing for oshodi market o! I no dey o

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/

Mujtahida:

No need debating it. Mikel was poor. He was like a shadow drifting across the middle field. He was not himself cos he was outstanding at the Afcon and confed. Even Moses was put in one corner at the World Cup . None of our players were outstanding except Enyeama.

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

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

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.

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.

Mickael2:



somehow they got to the round of 16, great

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

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

Mickael2:



let me ask you a simple question. Which CB should have been invited in place of Yobo and why

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.

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/

If na money eh no wahala. How much we go pay to get Tammy Abraham join?