₦airaland Forum

samtol4:
Those who asked the coach to drop Simon mores from the squad , how far?

Ejuke would had done better at this game

minfelix:
Doz that criticize the inclusion of Moses Simon should bury there heads in shame....the guy has been so far the most active player leading to our first goal... Una go just they wail nya nya nya nya

You dey mad. Typical Simon dribble and no end touch.. today, he even dribble his man self

minfelix:
Calm down...no be must we go use ejuke and Chukwueze start....Moses is also a decent winger, not that he is poor

Simon played 6 games in WCQ No goals and no assist as a winger, RWB that’s not good enough. Even if Dr conjure any kind of statistics, it’s unacceptable.. we had some players discarded immediately after playing 1 bad game while the likes of Moses Simon and musa can flop multiple games simultaneously and people will be mentioning irrelevant stats

minfelix:
Ppl dont jus rate Simon Moses...that guy is a solid wing player..
We can't have Chukwueze and ejuke playing similar football starting for us...we need one bully winger and one trick master on the other side....I like this forward line

So Bayern Munich that had Ribery and robben on the opposite wing are Goats? Abi gunners that had Pires and ljunberg at the opposite wing are imbeciles? Or perhaps the current Liverpool team that has salah and mane at the opposite wings are ekwensu?? If you guys love Simon defensive qualities so much, convert him to RB or LB. A winger main attribute is to assist, create chances and score goals and if your wingers doesn’t do any of those 3, idk

Iheanacho has to step up because another sluggish performance I.e poor awareness, bad first touch, losing the ball unnecessarily and he will be out. As for Simon….

minfelix:
Ppl dont jus rate Simon Moses...that guy is a solid wing player..
We can't have Chukwueze and ejuke playing similar football starting for us...we need one bully winger and one trick master on the other side....I like this forward line

Absolutely nonsense. Do
You think that bayern golden generation would had been successful if one of Ribery or robben was removed for a defensive winger? Abi Barcelona era of Messi and ronaldinho? Or Arsenal era of Ljunberg and pires?

JohnBullMySon:
We are not missing Dennis abeg. We were only going to be better with him but we've been playing without him ever since. It's just like saying that we're missing Ronaldo. He was never part of the team in the first place.

Osimhen will surely be missed but we have Taiwo Awoniyi who has done so well this season. He will step up to the challenge don't worry.

On current form, he is one of our best players so yes, he will be missed. Him and osimehn being unavailable is akin to salah being unavailable for Egypt

ChrisKels:
Lol imagine this Franco-German bingo already had an already made excuses going to the AFCON. Dude didn’t even believe in his team yet he couldn’t give other players chances to stake a claim. To him, we don’t a chance against a one man team like Egypt. So that criminal was just there because of money, yet he was pretending all these while?

This ekuke once had players from Mancity, Arsenal, Chelsea *2, and he couldn’t do jack with them, he is here dey yarn opata?

Rohr is the worst thing to have happened to the SE.

This Rohr of a man is an slowpoke. First of all, Algeria and Egypt might have salah and mahrez 2 global superstars but overall, our players are collectively rated higher. So, how can he insist that we shouldn’t aspire or believe that we can defeat both because of salah and mahrez… the man should had been fired immediately after 2018 World Cup simply because of lack of believe. The first step to winning, is believing that you can win and once you don’t believe that you’re capable of winning, the end

Englandboy:
even livescores neva do there own lineup , please calm down owngoal is using rohr old line up static

Owngoal are usually inaccurate but for whatever reasons, they have been accurate at reporting SE team Selections for the past few games

On current form, musa dosent even deserve to be included in our 28 man squad

I just read on owngoal that musa and Simon moses are starting. Basically, all the noise that we did to remove Rohr for a new coach and he decide to select the same players as starters lol.. if this is how Eguavoen has decided to pay us, so be it…. My interest level don reduce

ChrisKels:
Omeruo na big time calamity

Omeruo has been our best defender in the past few tournaments

Joebie:
Osimhen for sweet for this nations cup. He would be greatly missed

The most important one is the wcq. Him and Dennis will be needed for ot

TheSuperNerd:
Happy New Year My Good man, Zobo. Your moniker is as old as this thread. I don't forget old monikers that easily.

Ejuke as an AM.... Hmmm... Believe me, My preference is to have Aribo as AM and Ejuke doing his playmaker-winger thing from the left wing. That is my undisputed first choice take.


But to answer this anyway, because I understand from my folks on twitter close to the team that Eguavoen is toying with the idea of an Ejuke in the #10 role depending on in-game dynamics.

Now, placing Ejuke in that role automatically activates his Playmaker gene and when you have a Playmaker that advanced rather than deep in midfield, the instructions has to be for the lad to be business-like and cut the showboating. It is easier to track an AM-playmaker than to track a deeplying Playmaker.

I say this because, an AM has limited space and gaps to work with except if he falls deep & tries his magic from there. He has to be quick witted about his decisions & be press-resistant as well.
Whereas a Deeplying Playmaker has all the space and time in the world to "dwell" on the ball and make the best decisions based on his "sight".

Ejuke, from his style, works with space and although he is good at resisting the press, he often will lose the ball as a result of attempting so many takeons.

My feeling about Ejuke as an AM is mixed. The experiment could pay off depending on the quality of the opposition defences.
He is super capable of beating multiple men in a dribble and can pick out a pass intelligently but he would have to be disciplined enough to not overdo it so as not to kill potential chances or break down potential attacking moves.

Ejuke is a playmaker-winger who prefers to work with space from the left wing and his decisions are almost always "Spinal" coz he acts on reflex most times when with the ball and on the move. So moving that ability centrally will require certain adjustments like "moderate dribbles, more incisive passes". He has the potential to excel in the role as a Makeshift AM but time will tell.

Why can’t coaches just select players at their favorite and best position instead of trying to convert them? Ejuke best position is LW playmaker, why not just play him at that position.. sometimes, we try to over complicate things in this country

Danielnino00:
Awoniyi for me.. Aside him being the most in-form striker, he was also among the very first to arrive camp, so he definitely must have earned some level of trust from the coach...

His goals on YouTube and his overall play isn’t as impressive as sadiq or Seniorman. In my opinion, I will go with
1) Senior man
2) Sadiq
3). Awoniyi

Please, before saying that iheanacho cannot play as a top 9, go and watch his season under pellegrini

TheSuperNerd:
Now I can say, Happy New Year Sir 12large1.

I love that you went on your own to check things and not just take my words for it.

That right there is what football analysis and verification of info is about. Well done.

I hope Humility33 sees this and understand because you have already saved me the stress of making the simple point I wanted to make later on humility return to my post.

I will use your own words and add a little to it...

"....as a Central midfielder (Midfield conductor/Central Playmaker), you might not score/assist bountifully, but, your over control of the tempo of the game can have a huge impact on your team result"

In one of the videos I shared with Mkrest, Nwakali vs Sporting Gijon in La Liga 2 dated December 10, 2021.
Huesca were down to 10 men and were losing by a goal.
It was around the 80th min or so, A corner by Gijon was turned over and Nwakali picked up the ball and swiftly turned. On his turn, he immediately spotted a teammate (Joaquin Munoz) racing down the right wing and you know what happens next... Kelechi sent the pass. Perfectly weighted into his path.
Munoz went on and provided a cross assist for Jaime Seoane who nodded it in for the Equaliser. Game over. Game finished a tie at 1-1.

That right there is called a Pre-assist in Football. This is part of where the Deeplying central Midfield playmakers/conductors come into play. They are the ones who majorly set the wheels in motion for build up plays or for an attacking phase.

They usually will have far more pre-assists and what we call, "Pass before the final pass & Pass before the pass before the pass & Pass that begins that build-up leading to a goal or chance".

Stats sites don't normally record these things but research will show that indeed these breed of MFs excel in these functions of the middle game dynamics.

So this is why Goals and Assists... Direct Goals Involvements is not really their strengths. They are primarily THE BUILDING BLOCKS of what leads to these.

But that is not to say, they cannot have the numbers. Nwakali in his last game for Huesca created about 3 beautiful chances for his teammates, imagine if one or two of them had converted. We would be talking 2 assists for the lad. And trust me, Huesca is not a clinical side. This explains why chances go begging even when they are created.


Thanks again Sir 12Large1. The bulk of this post is actually for the Royal one, Oga Humility33 himself. But I trust all can see and hopefully learn a thing or two. We move.

Doc, happy new year and compliments of the season to you. you have been missed on this platform and you shouldn’t ever leave without a formal warning.. Consequently, CM or no CM, pre assist or no pre assist, 0 goals and 0 assist in a division 2 is a horrible statistics. But, since we don’t really have solid available options, we can try and access his performance.. what about Ejaria that plays in the same exact position as nwakali and similar division. Why was ejaria stats much more impressive than nwakali own? (He dey score) and if ejaria switch process becomes complete, who do you advise to play that CM position between Ejaria vs Nwakali?? Personally, Nigeria is lacking CM and AM and one shouldn’t blame the coach for inviting a fairly good option…. The ball is on Nwakali court, if he succeeds, it’s a life changer, while if he fails (god forbid) he might not return back to SE…. Eguavoen has no blame for inviting nwakali in my opinion….

TheSuperNerd:
Good..... now that you mention the bolded... help me with these. because I want to show you something. I asked Emeka but he ran away from the questions.

Nwakali is a Central Midfield playmaker/Conductor and there is something about players of his ilk you need to understand.



How many assists did Modric have at the World Cup in Russia? And why exactly was he named best player at that WC?

How many assists had Xavi at Euros 2008 and tell me why he was named MVP of the tournament?

How many assists did Mikel have at Holland 2005 FIFA U20 WYC to be named by all who saw him & others as the true best player of the whole tournament?

And how many goals and assists did Modric have in the 2017/18 season across all competitions to be crowned Winner of the Ballon D'or and FIFA The Best?



And please, lol... stop misinforming yourself and by extension, others. You don't even know the League Nwakali, Omeruo & Sadiq play in.

It is NOT Segunda B. It is La Liga 2 AKA La Liga Smartbank.
Segunda B used to be the Third (3rd) tier of Spanish football before the current leagues hierarchy so ofcos Segunda B was "Lowly". I speak of the Spanish 2nd tier which is one of the most competitive 2nd tier leagues in the world and definitely the most technically proficient.

Also, I posted his stat ratings. One you never bothered to check all the while you were castigating the young man. Also, you haven't watched Nwakali of recent so your takes on him is always gonna be laced with ill-information.


Just answer the above questions. because it is tied to something you and some others here shouting Goals and assists everywhere DON'T know about most genuine Midfield controllers.



Let me give you a hint. They don't always boast good goals and assists numbers. I will explain after you have answered the questions.

You might have a good point here o because I just viewed Xavi and Modric 2010 and 2018 stats and it doesn’t seem very impressive enough to win b’allon d’or

Modric 2018 World Cup stats
2 goals and 1 assist in 7 games

Xavi 2010 World Cup stats
0 goals and 0 assist

Okay, as a Central midfielder, you might not score/assist bountifully, but, your overall control of the tempo of the game can have a huge impact on your team result

forgiveness:
Menhhhh! Onyeka got that potential to be a world class player. He is got massive talent that can’t go unnoticed.

He is arguably the best midfielder we have now though still growing.

I don’t see the reason to keep him on the bench in this tournament. He should be starting games alongside Ndidi.

Better than ndidi??

Shukusheka:
I think we have a good squad that can make the final in this AFCON. The only player I have zero confidence in is Onuachu. Dude plays like Peter Crouch on clutches.

Which kind mumu be this wey nor nor say onuachu isn’t even among the team and that, onuachu is injured. Na Mumu full this place foreal.. i cannot wait to see romario score for us at this tournament…. (Make we all mumu ourselves here)

humility33:
U know from the name you listed

Only Oshimen is proven goal striker for the super eagles as at now only Onauchu come close

The rest are goal scorers for their club sides we haven't seen what they can offer the super eagles..if more or less.

Iheanacho has more SE goals than osimehn wtf are you blabbing

forgiveness:
Osimhen 9 goals are 3 assists
Dennis 8 goals and 5 assists
Awoniyi 14 goals and 3 assists
Dessers 10 goals and 3 assists
Onuachu 14 goals


Can you please explain?

Epl, la liga and Seria are the Big 3. Their goals holds more weight than any other league that’s why I said “on current form”.. bundesliga and Lique 1 are among the big 5 but they’re still farmers league.. to me, 1 goal scored at Epl, la liga and Seria is an equivalent of 1.75 at bundesliga and Lique 1 while 2 at all other backwater league

nelszx:
But Iheanacho is not a striker. Eguavoen himself said Iheanacho is positionally confused. He functions better as a SS not a striker.
Currently we have only 2 strikers, Umar and Awoniyi.

That’s the greatest lie that people has told themselves on here that iheanacho isn’t a striker. You should say that he doesn’t have certain qualities like some other strikers not that, he isn’t a striker

kingphilip:
Someone mentioned earlier that it might be so because he was given the opportunity.

So let's see what comes out of the opportunity to be given to others in this tournament.

Iheanacho has more goals than osimehn for Nigeria wtf are you talking about

JohnBullMySon:
I have a feeling that one or two players who missed Afcon due to one reason or the other will never return. especially now there's a new coach, that would watch the Afcon and these new strikers, and base decisions on it. Onuachu comes to mind

It depends on this current strikers performances. But, if Dennis and osimehn continue scoring in Seria A and Epl, they will walk into our 11.. wow, SE is really going to a tournament without their 2 best forward on current form

Famocious:
Cyriel Dessers called up to replace Odion Ighalo on Eagles' AFCON'21 squad

@ojbsport

Good pound for pound replacement but I would had preferred a midfielder considering that we have 9 listed forward and defenders.. we cannot afford to lose any of our 5 midfielders if not, things can go south.. anyway, good luck to dessers he deserved this invite

komekn:
Can you explain please ?

KC is so heavily left foot reliant , he cannot be called an excellent finisher .

Personally I think Ighalo is a better finisher.

When it comes to clinical finishing, Kelechi is one of the best in the history of Nigeria football.. trust me, I have following Nigeria football for a Very long time.. if you look at his stats Minutes/goals, it is very favorable. Also, if you watch how easy and calm he is, in front of goal and how easy he convert such, you will understand… The issue with kelechi, is utmost professionalism, Seriousness and focus. Once he fully sort out those, he is World class.. I just rewatched all his goals from last season

drDoom3:
Iheanacho has never been a lone striker. Scoring goals doesn’t automatically make you a striker.

Personally I don’t get why we can’t just close eye and play Nacho as a 10. Las las he has most of the skill set for the role: passing, outside the box shooting, etc. Everyone says he is bad as a 10 but when have we honestly really seen him play there at all? Deep lying SS that he has been playing for SE recently, what really differs from an out-and-out AM? Assist for Osimhen’s Lesotho first goal comes to mind. No one wants to talk about the elephant in the room.

Iheanacho is the best clinical finisher in our squad and you want him at the opposing goal as much as possible. He is also fast, creative and intelligent. He has a better attribute of becoming a forward than a midfielder.. also, there are different type of forwards and nacho will fit in the form of a ‘firmiho’. How can someone even watch nacho and suggest that he should be played as a midfielder? Someone with bad first touch, energy and a dictator… stop that talk abeg.. iheanacho can definitely play as a forward

drDoom3:
Ejuke will be Eguavoen’s joker in the tournament.

If we can secure defensive stability, we will go far. Our attack is a beauty to behold.

I see us playing possessive football rather than the bus parking Rohr almost made our trademark.

He should be played at his favorite and best position. LW or RW and not as a CM, DM or AM. It isn’t any good dribblers that Nigerians always think is an AM

I just watched the trio of awoniyi, umar and iheanacho and to me, iheanacho seem more impressive and should be our starting striker in the absence of osimehn. Eguavoen must instill extreme discipline and seriousness into iheanacho or else, he can lose attention. My ranking of the 3
1) Iheanacho
2) Umar
3) awoniyi

Also, we can field 2 strikers and 1 winger while also selecting 3 midfielders in order not to imbalance the midfield

Utonwanne:
I don't believe in this.
Though, players from Brazil get easy attention but.... they keep working hard. It doesn't matter your nationality, if you don't work hard, nobody will ask for your signature. You will definitely go back to your comfort zone.

Gabigol comes to mind.

That’s very untrue. Trust me, I am based overseas and I know how politics affects football decisions

andrewbaba44:
Cameroon no go smell final

There was no time I have ever rated the Cameroon team since after the Samuel eto mbami ndiefi Pierre Webb days

If they make it to the finals ,good for them ,as for me I don’t rate that team at all

On paper, Senegal has the most complete team but they’re infamous for choking similar to the Ivory Coast team

andrewbaba44:
I didn’t even know I was being insulted self ,till I saw people quoting him

Lone citizen Dey para sha ,but all is well .

Sorry bro I don’t want to convey my mind yet because it seem really odd from that moniker… (I can’t believe it) there’s one thing to call people the F word or personal insults, but to involve someone child, let alone dead child is just horrible. One of the worse insults that I have seen on this website.. #Istandwithandrew.. #Childrenandparentalinsultsareunacceptable