terzurum5:
[b][size=14pt]
UEFA YOUTH LEAGUE: Umar grabs hat-trick for Roma
[/size]
Highly – rated Roma striker Sadiq Umar opened his account in the UEFA Youth League competition in superb style, notching a hat – trick as Roma thrashed Bayer Leverkusen 5 – 1 at Centro Sportivo Fulvio Bernardini (Trigoria Alta).

The lanky forward , who went the distance, netted in the 27th, 34th and 57th minutes and was cautioned in the 27th minute.

Teammate Nura Abduallhi slotted in at right – back for 70 minutes, while Ufumwen Osawe came off the bench for the German side 10 minutes out of intermission.

Arsenal could not keep their 100 per cent record intact after drawing 1 – 1 with Bayern Munich Under 19s 1 – 1 at Städtisches Stadion an der Grünwalder Straße (München).

Elsewhere, Aaron Eyoma made theGunners18 – man squad and hopped off the bench 14 minutes from time.

Over to the Cobham Training Centre, where defending champions Chelsea faced Dynamo Kiev. It ended 3 – 1 in favour of the Londoners.

England youth – teamer Ola Aina did not make the match day squad, whereas teammate Fikayo Tomori was introduced in the 83rd minute. Striker Ike Ugbo was an unused substitute.
[/b]
thenationonlineng.net/uefa-youth-league-umar-grabs-hat-trick-for-roma/

terzurum5:
[b][size=14pt]
UEFA YOUTH LEAGUE: Umar grabs hat-trick for Roma
[/size]
Highly – rated Roma striker Sadiq Umar opened his account in the UEFA Youth League competition in superb style, notching a hat – trick as Roma thrashed Bayer Leverkusen 5 – 1 at Centro Sportivo Fulvio Bernardini (Trigoria Alta).

The lanky forward , who went the distance, netted in the 27th, 34th and 57th minutes and was cautioned in the 27th minute.

Teammate Nura Abduallhi slotted in at right – back for 70 minutes, while Ufumwen Osawe came off the bench for the German side 10 minutes out of intermission.

Arsenal could not keep their 100 per cent record intact after drawing 1 – 1 with Bayern Munich Under 19s 1 – 1 at Städtisches Stadion an der Grünwalder Straße (München).

Elsewhere, Aaron Eyoma made theGunners18 – man squad and hopped off the bench 14 minutes from time.

Over to the Cobham Training Centre, where defending champions Chelsea faced Dynamo Kiev. It ended 3 – 1 in favour of the Londoners.

England youth – teamer Ola Aina did not make the match day squad, whereas teammate Fikayo Tomori was introduced in the 83rd minute. Striker Ike Ugbo was an unused substitute.
[/b]
thenationonlineng.net/uefa-youth-league-umar-grabs-hat-trick-for-roma/

TheSuperNerd:
I've been following news covering the progress of the duo of As Roma's Nigerian youngsters, Sadiq Umar (forward) and Nura abdullahi (Right back/defender).

Earlier this season, they both made the As Roma main team's substitutes bench for a league game....... *smiles*

I strongly believe they are "super bright" prospects for the future of Nigerian football........
*smiles*

[size=14pt]
Naija, We 've got the talent joor
[/size]
Sadiq Umar, born Feb 2, 1997 is
Striker - Centre Forward (AS Roma Primavera) is actually a future prospect and should be ready for the next U20 squad. He is a great player in the mould of the Legendry Nwankwo Kanu, the 18 year can also be comparable to players like Blessing Eleke and a Centre Forward like Taiwo Awoniyi

Sadiq Umar


Nura Abdullahi, born Aug 17, 1997
also of AS Roma Primavera
is a Right-Back in the mould of
Chidiebere Nwakali.

Abdullahi Nura

Abdullahi, who scored 6 goals in the youth league last term

European champions Barcelona made initial inquiries about him
before he snubbed Clubs like Genoa and others to sign for AS Roma.

If we no win next FIFA U20 World Cup ehhnn!!!, make I know wetin cause am.

TheSuperNerd:
Ok....... Now I need to raise this....... Again.

Sir TheGoodJoe, Please, I know you're a Man City Fan (A Honest and great one as that), so pls answer this?? Bony gets injured as early as that happened and instead of Pellegrini sending Nacho in, he sends in Navas and moves Sterling centrally............. I know Sterling can play centrally but with a "SUPER TALENTED FIT IHEANACHO" ON THE BENCH AND PELLE IGNORES HIM.... DON'T YOU THINK THIS ISN'T COOL?? WHERE'S THE "TRUST HIM MORE" I PREVIOUSLY RAISED COUPLE OF PAGES BACK??

I still feel that even Though Pellegrini is aware of Nacho's super talents and is doing a good job "nurturing" him, HE IS "SUBTLY SCARED" TO TAKE THE RISK OF THROWING HIM INTO THE LINE OF FIRE.......... HOW ELSE WILL NACHO KEEP PICKING UP "SUPER EXPERIENCE" IF HE DOESN'T GET GAMETIME EVEN WHEN BONY IS OUT??

If this how Man City wanna keep doing things, I guess I don't wanna see Osimhen and K.Nwakali there....... Spurs and Arsenal will be better options coz they're not afraid to "consistently" play "talented youth" plus they got great youth coaches just like Man City.

I like Nacho's progress at Man City so far (just as Ezeh's progress at Porto but he's yet to clock 18.... Same with Yahaya at tottenham.....) BUT PELLEGRINI REALLY NEED TO "TRUST HIM MORE". BONY GETS INJURED AND HE MOVES PLAYERS OUT OF POSITION TO FILL BONY'S ROLE WITH HIM ON THE BENCH........ This is not so good for Nacho's confidence...... (EVEN THOUGH I KNOW HE'S NOT TOO FAZED BY IT AS THIS WILL MAKE HIM EVEN MORE BEASTLY AND EVER READY TO PROVE "PELLE" WRONG on the issue of "more trust".

Godday Sir and have a lovely Day....... **smiles***

TheSuperNerd:
Ok....... Now I need to raise this....... Again.

Sir TheGoodJoe, Please, I know you're a Man City Fan (A Honest and great one as that), so pls answer this?? Bony gets injured as early as that happened and instead of Pellegrini sending Nacho in, he sends in Navas and moves Sterling centrally............. I know Sterling can play centrally but with a "SUPER TALENTED FIT IHEANACHO" ON THE BENCH AND PELLE IGNORES HIM.... DON'T YOU THINK THIS ISN'T COOL?? WHERE'S THE "TRUST HIM MORE" I PREVIOUSLY RAISED COUPLE OF PAGES BACK??

I still feel that even Though Pellegrini is aware of Nacho's super talents and is doing a good job "nurturing" him, HE IS "SUBTLY SCARED" TO TAKE THE RISK OF THROWING HIM INTO THE LINE OF FIRE.......... HOW ELSE WILL NACHO KEEP PICKING UP "SUPER EXPERIENCE" IF HE DOESN'T GET GAMETIME EVEN WHEN BONY IS OUT??

If this how Man City wanna keep doing things, I guess I don't wanna see Osimhen and K.Nwakali there....... Spurs and Arsenal will be better options coz they're not afraid to "consistently" play "talented youth" plus they got great youth coaches just like Man City.

I like Nacho's progress at Man City so far (just as Ezeh's progress at Porto but he's yet to clock 18.... Same with Yahaya at tottenham.....) BUT PELLEGRINI REALLY NEED TO "TRUST HIM MORE". BONY GETS INJURED AND HE MOVES PLAYERS OUT OF POSITION TO FILL BONY'S ROLE WITH HIM ON THE BENCH........ This is not so good for Nacho's confidence...... (EVEN THOUGH I KNOW HE'S NOT TOO FAZED BY IT AS THIS WILL MAKE HIM EVEN MORE BEASTLY AND EVER READY TO PROVE "PELLE" WRONG on the issue of "more trust".

Godday Sir and have a lovely Day....... **smiles***

mijestic:
Man City: Why Pellegrini didn't
bring on Kelechi sooner against
Aston Villa

Manuel Pellegrini has explained why
he didn’t bring on Kelechi Iheanacho for Wilfried Bony against Aston Villa.
Bony limped off after 25 minutes to
leave Manchester City without a
recognised centre forward.
Pellegrini opted to replace the Ivorian international with Jesus Navas, instead of academy graduate
Iheanacho.
The 19-year-old eventually came on as an 84th minute substitute for Raheem Sterling.
Asked why he didn’t bring the
teenager on sooner, Pellegrini said: “It could be another option, but I think that Jesus was important also to play for the right wing.
“Maybe if we scored the goal we are
talking about it being the correct
option, but after that you never know if Kelechi can change the game.
“But he’s not a striker. Normally he
plays behind the striker.”

www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/man-city-pellegrini-didnt-bring-10409591

terzurum5:
[b][size=14pt]
The Rise of Solomon Otabor
[/size]
Viv Solomon-Otabor capped off a 5-2 win against Fulham at the weekend with his first professional goal. Running from inside his own half, the Nigerian youngster forced Richard Stearman to backpedal for 40 yards before cutting back inside, dumping the Fulham defender unceremoniously on his backside in the process and lashing home from inside the area.

It’s been a meteoric rise for the youngster, who made his debut in the League Cup win over Gillingham at the start of the season having impressed in pre-season training. Now the winger, signed from Crystal Palace as a 16-year-old is in the Nigerian u23 squad for their upcoming qualifiers in Senegal and potentially on the verge of a new deal.

I think it’s easy to lump Solomon into a pattern of youngsters who have made it in recent years – Nathan Redmond, Demarai Gray and to some extent Koby Arthur all made it into the team as a tricky winger with the skills to get past opponents but Solomon is not that similar to them.

While he is a winger, Solomon is taller, stronger and probably quicker than Gray it’s that raw power that has seen him set people talking about him. I saw Solomon play for the reserves several times last year and in the last couple of months he particularly impressed me with how much he had come on in using his pace and power to beat people.

I think Solomon has benefitted from Dimmy (who is actually six months younger than him) being in the first team in that it gave the London-born youngster the chance to get a run in the development league and to build his skill there when he might have been competing with Demarai for a place. i’m sure he will have also seen how Dimmy has kicked on, improving on his game as he’s made more appearances and will have taken note that if he is to follow the same path he is to do the same.

Solomon is in a strong position now; with Gary Rowett sticking to his “small and tight” squad philosophy and having shipped out Mark Duffy out on loan to Burton it has given the teenager an opportunity to make the bench – something he has grasped with both hands. His cameos have all shown fleeting examples of what he can do and no doubt will have given Rowett food for thought about how he could cope with injuries like the one David Cotterill has recently sustained.

Although one of the biggest steps has been completed in making it to the first team, the next step is the hardest; maintaining that level of consistency to keep his place in the first team squad even when everyone is fit. For me, Solomon now needs to work on repeating what he did to Richard Stearman – driving back tiring defenders and forcing them into mistakes to create openings. The more he can do that, the more he is a real plan “b” off the bench and a potent weapon to change games.
[/b]
www.oftenpartisan.co.uk/archives/14509/the-rise-of-viv-solomon-otabor-2.html

TheGoodJoe:


With all due respect, Pellegrini dodged the question. He played a 4-3-3 formation with Yaya Toure behind the striker. He lost his only top man upfront and had only one striker on his bench and that is Nacho.

Nacho did well playing Behind Bony in a 4-4-2 formation where he had two strikers on the pitch. With only one striker fit, Nacho can not play behind a striker. Especially with the new style of play we are adopting with Yaya, Fernando and Fernandinho in midfield.

I think Pellegrini did not want to accept that his tactical plan failed. He felt if he gets De Bruyne upfront and brings in Navas to get the ball De Bruyne, we would win the game. Unfortunately, the chances came and De Bruyne squandered it.

BascoVanVeli:


He said Iheanacho is not a striker, since when did that happen?

thegoodjoehunt3:


[b]When I watched the game, I saw Pellegrini scratch his head and shake it when he was sending Nacho on. What I noticed Pellegrini knew he made a mistake in that game. Not just a mistake. A very big one that might affect our future signings of young players.

I expected the Navas Change. When the goal did not come, Pellegrini threw on Fabian Delph and took off Yaya.

Then this whole statement that Iheanacho can not play in the box is bothering.

I think he looked for an excuse to explain his fright in throwing on a youngster. I respect Pellegrini so much but sometimes he gets frustrating. His buys are not over the top in performances. He had Dzeko leaving and spent £100 million on Sterling and De Bruyne.

He kept Nacho to fill Dzeko's departure and refused to play him when Bony injured.

I wonder if Pellegrini is scared of Nacho outshining Bony. Men, if Nacho is better and suits the system more, he should play Nacho. Nobody is perfect. Not even Pellegrini if Bony does not suit the team, drop him and give Nacho his chance.

He should play the boy anytime his top players can not find the net. Sterling and De Bruyne were too wasteful upfront. Pellegrini should give Nacho more games or many Young stars will not look at the Etihad Campus as the right destination.[/b]

BascoVanVeli:


I also saw the game and even the commentator felt Iheanacho was going to replace Bony, as disappointed as I was I knew one thing for a fact, no matter what the scoreline read Iheanacho was going to feature. When u look at the whole picture u can see that Iheanacho is a regular on this team and it is unprecedented for an African to make it this far just coming from a youth team, the boy has played almost the same amount of matches as Mikel and his team is much better thus far. Delphi had to play because it was against his old club and Navas got the nod at first because coaches in those positions always opt for veterans with the hope that they will be ready to play, plus KDB is not a right winger he plays better on the move.
I feel Man City have done their job, they have polished Iheanacho and gotten him ready for the big time his value should at least surpass 10 mil by now and that is a great thing.
In the case of our younger ones i would say to each his own because Nwakali also signed with city and he hasn't done anything progressive since. I wouldn't even go for England because of the process of getting their work permit and not Germany because their own youth are their top priority so to me it leaves Italy, Spain or even Belgium.

thegoodjoehunt3:

My problem is not the Navas change. That was right. The Delph change was shocking. Delph is just returnjng to fitness. We were creating chances, De Bruyne and Sterling Kept squandering the chances.

Why he opted for Delph and the removal of Yaya who is one of our important goal scoring players baffles me.

Pellegrini also saying Nacho can not play as a striker is ridiculous because he plays it better than Sterling and De Bruyne. So why does Pellegrini continue trying them there and make it look as if Nacho can not play there.

Nacho attacks better than Bony. Last season Pellegrini played Milner in the striker position for a while. How bad is Nacho there that Pellegrini will make such statement.

I do not like questioning Pellegrini because he is a highky experienced Manager but if he continues this attitude of trying to force his buys to excel at the detriment of the team, I will be disappointed in him.

joseph1013:
I cancelled my schedule on Sunday to watch that match. I was disappointed he wasn't introduced as soon as Bony got injured. You should see that when he came in, the attack came alive and his flick to Navas?? would have turned to a goal save for the top bar.

Some of the fans are so angry that they want Kelechi to go on loan if Pellegrini will continue to snub him. I think though that his time will come.

safarigirl:
The whole talk about him not bing a striker was what particularly miffes fans, because Pelle made em believe he had 3 strikers, now he's trying to say Iheaacho fits more in Silva's role (which was his original position)

So, half way into the season, you suddenly realize you have just two strikers? Especially when you need a third because the two are injury-prone......seems careless

thegoodjoehunt3:


My problem is not the Navas change. That was right. The Delph change was shocking. Delph is just returnjng to fitness. We were creating chances, De Bruyne and Sterling Kept squandering the chances.

Why he opted for Delph and the removal of Yaya who is one of our important goal scoring players baffles me.

Pellegrini also saying Nacho can not play as a striker is ridiculous because he plays it better than Sterling and De Bruyne. So why does Pellegrini continue trying them there and make it look as if Nacho can not play there.

Nacho attacks better than Bony. Last season Pellegrini played Milner in the striker position for a while. How bad is Nacho there that Pellegrini will make such statement.

I do not like questioning Pellegrini because he is a highky experienced Manager but if he continues this attitude of trying to force his buys to excel at the detriment of the team, I will be disappointed in him.

Icon4s:


All these English tutored averagely talented players playing in lower leagues sef. Well hu knows? After all Dele Alli and Victor Moses started from championship sides.

BascoVanVeli:


Pellegrini is a player's manager and not playing Delph upon his return to Villa would have been wrong, Iheanacho is not the only player he has to take care of. So like i said he at least played and he also created a great chance. We all know and love what Iheanacho has to offer but please remember in England he is a bright but unproven talent and it would have taken serious guts for any coach to inject him in that game because if he didn't perform the the coach would have been blamed. Please don't believe what any premier league fan says they change like the weather one minute they love u the next u are Brown Ideye, I think Pellegrini wants to avoid that with Iheanacho by playing him when he is sure he will perform. I also loved Pellegrini saying he is not a striker because Aguero is in another world and should be there for a while, to be sincere if he stays a striker he won't play.