my fears are not only on qualification but the shame of not winning a match in sa in case we qualify.

Sincerely, my own fear is opposite. Against European and American opposition, I know SE do well. Even in this hard time, they did well against Ireland and France.
I expect a decent world appearance,even if they don't get beyond the group stage, they are not going to be the whipping boys. Our 2002 squad, despite coming last in the group, were not that bad. Argentina, tipped as favourite pre-tournament, managed to get away with one-goal victory, two moments of folly from the defenders spoilt their otherwise impressive performance against Sweden, while the English NT, fresh from beating the Argies, still couldn't beat our already demoralized team.

So my own fear is qualifying, not what will happen in SA.

Sagamite:

Your argument is credible by-and-large but I was uncomfortable with the following parts

There have been changes in the squad and formation since Amodu, he has also won games, brought more discipline and solidified our defence. I don't think it is easy to say he has no long term plans just because we do not like the present quality football being played, it might actually be the temporary result of the changes specified in the plan.

In my opinion, only 4 local coaches have the pedigree to be worthy of leading the SE. And they are, in the following order of worthiness:

1) Samson Siasia
2) Stephen Keshi
3) Shaibu Amodu
4) Kadiri Ikhana

Any other local coaches, in my opinion, is a scandal.

I think you are adding spice when you said Siasia has coached in other countries and was successful. I don't think coaching U-12s in regional competitions count, neither does it peer equitably with a non-SA African coach headhunted to lead one of the leading clubs in the SA league that could easily have afforded a foreign coach with the sum they paid Shaibu.

Also, even Mourinho, Scolari, Lippi, Hiddink etc have been sacked before, so saying he was sacked is not a strong enough argument to discredit is ability. Also, if I remember correctly, he lasted 2 years in the role, he surely can not be that bad since it is very easy to sack black coaches.

I think most of these is conjectual.

What makes you think Amodu is a yes man? Is it the same man that stood his ground in 2002 against the FA and lost his chance of taking SE to WC?

What makes you think the that the NFA did not choose Amodu over Siasia so as not to derail our Olympic plans?

In regards to your Klinsmann analogy and saying that is the kind of coach we need, are you saying then that the likes of Ferguson, Hiddink, Scolari etc are not qualified to lead the SE? I don't think fitness of a coach is a valid enough point.

Bros anyone who plays, watches, and understands football well would know after watching Nigeria's last few games including the friendlies would know that the manager is highly unintelligent and doesn't know how to read a football match or motivate his team. Those dudes were playing like pregnant women. In all the games, he's been tactically outclassed by the opposing managers. Even in the kenya game, they were rubbish. They were just lucky that those wankers couldn't take their chances when they had theirs. I'm not one to call for the heads of managers but this guy should go. He's had about 6-7 games to prove himself and its still the same ol tactless strategies he brings out during the games. Also some of those players need to be axed from the squad, they need new fitness coaches and some young hungry blood needs to be brought into the squad. I second redman44's comments about siasia being a no nonsense person and comparing him to klinsman. That's exactly what the super eagles need.


You said something about them not trying to derail olympic plans. Please if u were asked if you would prefer Nigeria to crash out of the group stage of olympics and get to the semi finals of the world cup, would you take that or you'd prefer Nigeria winning the olympic gold and crashing out of the group stages of world cup. If Nigeria needs to become a force to be reckoned with in football, they need to start doing what they did in in the mid/late 90s when teams were scared to play against us and we all looked forward to seein the Super eagles play. As far as i'm concerned, if a good scout goes round d streets of lagos and picks some random chaps, this present SE team would only be slightly better than them even if they are better.

I just pray we don't qualify and fail to give account of ourselves cos we'll stand a good chance of securing a 3 figure position in the world ranking.

Sagamite:

Your argument is credible by-and-large but I was uncomfortable with the following parts

There have been changes in the squad and formation since Amodu, he has also won games, brought more discipline and solidified our defence. I don't think it is easy to say he has no long term plans just because we do not like the present quality football being played, it might actually be the temporary result of the changes specified in the plan.

In my opinion, only 4 local coaches have the pedigree to be worthy of leading the SE. And they are, in the following order of worthiness:

1) Samson Siasia
2) Stephen Keshi
3) Shaibu Amodu
4) Kadiri Ikhana

Any other local coaches, in my opinion, is a scandal.

I think you are adding spice when you said Siasia has coached in other countries and was successful. I don't think coaching U-12s in regional competitions count, neither does it peer equitably with a non-SA African coach headhunted to lead one of the leading clubs in the SA league that could easily have afforded a foreign coach with the sum they paid Shaibu.

Also, even Mourinho, Scolari, Lippi, Hiddink etc have been sacked before, so saying he was sacked is not a strong enough argument to discredit is ability. Also, if I remember correctly, he lasted 2 years in the role, he surely can not be that bad since it is very easy to sack black coaches.

I think most of these is conjectual.

What makes you think Amodu is a yes man? Is it the same man that stood his ground in 2002 against the FA and lost his chance of taking SE to WC?

What makes you think the that the NFA did not choose Amodu over Siasia so as not to derail our Olympic plans?

In regards to your Klinsmann analogy and saying that is the kind of coach we need, are you saying then that the likes of Ferguson, Hiddink, Scolari etc are not qualified to lead the SE? I don't think fitness of a coach is a valid enough point.

Bros anyone who plays, watches, and understands football well would know after watching Nigeria's last few games including the friendlies would know that the manager is highly unintelligent and doesn't know how to read a football match or motivate his team. Those dudes were playing like pregnant women. In all the games, he's been tactically outclassed by the opposing managers. Even in the kenya game, they were rubbish. They were just lucky that those wankers couldn't take their chances when they had theirs. I'm not one to call for the heads of managers but this guy should go. He's had about 6-7 games to prove himself and its still the same ol tactless strategies he brings out during the games. Also some of those players need to be axed from the squad, they need new fitness coaches and some young hungry blood needs to be brought into the squad. I second redman44's comments about siasia being a no nonsense person and comparing him to klinsman. That's exactly what the super eagles need.


You said something about them not trying to derail olympic plans. Please if u were asked if you would prefer Nigeria to crash out of the group stage of olympics and get to the semi finals of the world cup, would you take that or you'd prefer Nigeria winning the olympic gold and crashing out of the group stages of world cup. If Nigeria needs to become a force to be reckoned with in football, they need to start doing what they did in in the mid/late 90s when teams were scared to play against us and we all looked forward to seein the Super eagles play. As far as i'm concerned, if a good scout goes round d streets of lagos and picks some random chaps, this present SE team would only be slightly better than them even if they are better.

I just pray we don't qualify and fail to give account of ourselves cos we'll stand a good chance of securing a 3 figure position in the world ranking.

na waoo
result not very bad
so, u will not support SE again  

Nigerians are very funny people. Remove the name Nigeria, the SE are like the average rwandan, malawi sides. The Stallions of Burkina faso outplayed and defeated Tunisia in the same rades. Nigeria didn't even test the palms of kasraoui. Tunisia missed several players and they will get a drwa if they come to abuja. Angola got a draw they needed in 2006, a case of dejavu

na_so,
truth is, Mikel is nothing like what people like chidichris,the media and the like  would want us to believe he is.At best,he's an ordinary player.
I would dare say that on reputation alone,Mikel should have won the game for us.Apparently,he doesn't deserve this reputation.

I have actively campaigned for him as the heir-apparent to jay-jay in our midfield.Ghana 2008 was a crude and rude awakening to the fact that he cannot carry Jay-jay's boots to clean after training,not to talk of filling them as our midfield marshal.
maybe 2005 was a mirage,because I see Lionel Messi as his contemporary aboout to win the FIFA player of the year for 2009,yet Mikel who probably was at par with him just 4 years ago is just a pale and sad shadow of the player we came to love and hope the best for.

Simply put,Mikel cannot marshal our midfield.direct our attack for the SE.I would advise amodu to shop around (even though right now it's a bit difficult to achieve that),but I wouldn't trust Amodu with it because he is as clueless as he looks.
We were poor on Saturday.hopefully we can make home advantage count againt the carthage eagles.

I wonder why people keep blaming mikel for everything
Olofinjana is the black sheep
Uche Kalu is a CW and not a midfielder
I wonder why Amodu cant invite guys like Obodo & Oruma
We need a skillful midfielder who can run the show against any team

Nobody's blaming mikel.
Reality just struck us asregards who he really is.
Of course,Amodu has his own problems.
His selections are mind-numbing.
Olofinjana isn't fit for the eagles.Same for the Kalu brothers.Another set of over-rated players.
Osazehas outlivedhis usefulness.
Please give us some hungry players.these ones are content with their mediocrity wherever they've foundthemselves.

Eastbay:

Nobody's blaming mikel.
Reality just struck us asregards who he really is.
Of course,Amodu has his own problems.
His selections are mind-numbing.
Olofinjana isn't fit for the eagles.Same for the Kalu brothers.Another set of over-rated players.
Osazehas outlivedhis usefulness.
Please give us some hungry players.these ones are content with their mediocrity wherever they've foundthemselves.

Dont blame the Kalu brother
Ik is really trying, if not for his first goal against kenya
God knows what would have happened in that match
Uche like i said plays a striking role for Almeria (laliga)
I wonder why Amodu is playing him in the midfield
I wonder why Ehutu (Fulham Qualified for the Eurocopa next season) is on the bench
while Olofinjana (he played 18 games with 2 goals for stoke City, No goals in 46App. for SE) is playing

Which Players do you want him to invite?

can anyone explain to me why all probs are heaped on one player? Doesn't matter if he is on the pitch or not.
certainly he did not select himself?
I for one do not want to believe that those players go to the pitch to play badly. Damn they need a proper and sound manager/coach.

Can anyone say for sure what formation we are playing?

FBS:

can anyone explain to me why all probs are heaped on one player? Doesn't matter if he is on the pitch or not.
certainly he did not select himself?
I for one do not want to believe that those players go to the pitch to play badly. Damn they need a proper and sound manager/coach.

Can anyone say for sure what formation we are playing?

All formation, from 4-4-2 to 4-3-3 to 5-4-1 sometimes na any wing you find yourself
make sure you do your job

Can anyone say for sure what formation we are playing?

We played all formation but no formation

khanye:

Dont blame the Kalu brother
Ik is really trying, if not for his first goal against kenya
God knows what would have happened in that match
Uche like i said plays a striking role for Almeria (laliga)
I wonder why Amodu is playing him in the midfield
I wonder why Ehutu (Fulham Qualified for the Eurocopa next season) is on the bench
while Olofinjana (he played 18 games with 2 goals for stoke City, No goals in 46App. for SE) is playing

Which Players do you want him to invite?

My bros,
Amodu can't discover talents.He relies on ready-made material,which is a far-cry from when he was with bcc Lions.
Westerhof combed the nooks and cranies of counrty,watching all manner of league games from Onikan stadium to El-Kanemi stadium, just to discover payers.My oga amodu just dey dia,dey sidon.Any body who scores a goal in europe (courtesy of Fast Trackon BBC) will get an invitation,that's why overfed clowns like Eneoramo and Odejayi make his list,instead of hungry,blood-thirsty players looking for any kind of break.
You got it right.Amodu cannot be trusted to field a sensible line-up even if he had a pool of players to choose from.So whwther or not players are available,you can trust the over-bloated sod to make wrong selections.

na_so,
truth is, Mikel is nothing like what people like chidichris,the media and the like  would want us to believe he is.At best,he's an ordinary player.
I would dare say that on reputation alone,Mikel should have won the game for us.Apparently,he doesn't deserve this reputation.

I have actively campaigned for him as the heir-apparent to jay-jay in our midfield.Ghana 2008 was a crude and rude awakening to the fact that he cannot carry Jay-jay's boots to clean after training,not to talk of filling them as our midfield marshal.
maybe 2005 was a mirage,because I see Lionel Messi as his contemporary aboout to win the FIFA player of the year for 2009,yet Mikel who probably was at par with him just 4 years ago is just a pale and sad shadow of the player we came to love and hope the best for.

Simply put,Mikel cannot marshal our midfield.direct our attack for the SE.I would advise amodu to shop around (even though right now it's a bit difficult to achieve that),but I wouldn't trust Amodu with it because he is as clueless as he looks.
We were poor on Saturday.hopefully we can make home advantage count againt the carthage eagles.

@Eastbay,
what did i make you believe about mikel?
what did the media make u believe about mikel? and which media are u talking about? nigeria, british or world media?
i can understand the frustrations of nigerians. if mikel did not honour a match, there will be problems and if he honours a match there will be more problems. is anyone here suggesting death for him?

ferguson, mourinho, grant, scolari and hiddink all believe that mikel is good but unfortuantely, nigerians believe he is not good so how can he work well for us?
if u must get the best from a player, u must accept and appreciate him otherwise there will be no magic.
despite his inabilities to kick the ball, mikel was rated jointly with one other player as the men of the match so i don't know how they come to that.

with your analyses here, u must be an authority in football, i suggest u insert more time and energy in discovering talents rather than condemming discovered ones.

do u realise that these guys at the end of the day receive huge sums of money for doing what they did in tunisia. do u know that u are even paying them to watch them even from a far distanceon screens.

most of us here have ended up using their own funds to buy heart attack. the truth of the matter is that mikel has turned to be the problem of every househood in nigeria.

because of the backward system of football mikel is into now, everything in nigeria has turned to backwardness. i enjoined nigerians to pray for mikel to start playing well so that other players will follow suit, so that our politicians will start behaving well, so that police and other security outlets will start functioning well, so that our priests will start preaching well, so that our married men will start being good husbands, so that madmen in our streets will become normal again.

now that we all have agreed that mikel is the course of our various problems in nigeria, my prayer is this;

God please help mikel to start playing well again if possible better than ever. please give him the strenght and courage to dribble from post to post and score as many goals as possible in every match. i pray and hope that members of nairaland who claim to love nigerian football will say amen to this in Jesus name - Amen

@eastbay

I always have a problem when people compare mikel and messi on the ground that they were almost at par in 2005. As a follower of the game I know scores of players that excelled at age competitions but never excelled at the senior level, I also know a lot of players that were not even picked for age grade competitions but later shone at the senior level.

In nigeria 99 seidu keita of mali  shone better than  ronaldinho and xavi but a few years done the line the difference between these players is as wide as you can imagine.

Players like sinama pongole,li tallec,saviola,marcel witezek,ojigwe,godwin opara, emmanual ebiede, geovanni dos santos are players that even Fifa picked as possible superstars in the future but we all know the story.

Mikel I believe is doing well for himself and career, 4 different coaches in chelsea ,all from different countries and different footballing  background cant be wrong. The problem is that we have refused to use him the way he plays in chelsea.


We believe okocha's role is vacant hence he must play that role. This in my opinion is a very lazy way of looking at the issue. My take on mikel is simply to use him as our main DM where he plays in front of the defense and I know he will do it much better than whatever olofijana is doing now.

Mikel may have started as an attacking midfielder but now he is  DM. Drogba started as a defender but now he is a striker, Kolo toure started as an attacking midfielder but now a defender. These changes happen.

Coming to the SE and the playmaker problem , I think it is wrong to assume that we will always be fortunate to  have a player like J J . Before J J we did not really have a playmaker , even when J J joined the SE it took sometime to tune is pattern to work for the team and in that process we were playing some formations that was working but not with any special playmaker.

Siasia's benjin 2008 team did not have any special playmaker but he made sure that solomon okoronkwo although playing from the right side of the midfield held the ball enough and created something for the team.

I think our problem is our techincal crew, If we hand this team to a better coach you will see that we will not just get results but be playing the real nigerian brand of football.

I don't even understand all these fuzz about Mikel.

Nigeria played Tunisia on the 20th and we all want to blame the draw on one single player.
I think we should rather focus on the fact that AMODU IS A BAD COACH. INFACT HE IS NOT A COACH!

Let Siasia become Mikel's coach then you will know whether Mikel is good or not. Lets leave the boy alone jare

I always have a problem when people compare mikel and messi on the ground that they were almost at par in 2005. As a follower of the game I know scores of players that excelled at age competitions but never excelled at the senior level, I also know a lot of players that were not even picked for age grade competitions but later shone at the senior level.

In nigeria 99 seidu keita of mali shone better than ronaldinho and xavi but a few years done the line the difference between these players is as wide as you can imagine.

Players like sinama pongole,li tallec,saviola,marcel witezek,ojigwe,godwin opara, emmanual ebiede, geovanni dos santos are players that even Fifa picked as possible superstars in the future but we all know the story.

Mikel I believe is doing well for himself and career, 4 different coaches in chelsea ,all from different countries and different footballing background cant be wrong. The problem is that we have refused to use him the way he plays in chelsea.


We believe okocha's role is vacant hence he must play that role. This in my opinion is a very lazy way of looking at the issue. My take on mikel is simply to use him as our main DM where he plays in front of the defense and I know he will do it much better than whatever olofijana is doing now.

Mikel may have started as an attacking midfielder but now he is DM. Drogba started as a defender but now he is a striker, Kolo toure started as an attacking midfielder but now a defender. These changes happen.

Coming to the SE and the playmaker problem , I think it is wrong to assume that we will always be fortunate to have a player like J J . Before JJ we did not really have a special playmaker , even when J J joined the SE it took sometime to tune is pattern to work for the team and in that process we were playing some formations that was working but not with any special playmaker.

Siasia's benjin 2008 team did not have any special playmaker but he made sure that solomon okoronkwo although playing from the right side of the midfield held the ball enough and created something for the team.

I think our problem is our techincal crew, If we hand this team to a better coach you will see that we will not just get results but be playing the real nigerian brand of football.

na_so,
Nice post.
I see where you are coming from.
The point is;
When we remember the prospect Mikel showed,and what he is today,it's no fault of anybody that you can't but wonder where he might have been.
Yes,people have different rates of progression,but Mikel hasn't added to his profile since 2005.If anything,it's just marginal progres.one would have thought that the experience gained by playing as a DM would broaden his array of skills.
It's actualy painful that the potential seems not to be progressing t anything but potential in Mikel's case.that'swhy it's going to be inevitable for people to compare Mikel with Messi.
i also agree with you:we may not hae a direct replacement fot JJ.
this is where the coach comes in.A reasonable coach would know the type of players at his disposal and employ the best formation that would  bring out the best in them.Not Amodu.
I'm not saying Mikel is a bad player.I'm saying that for some of us who saw him in 2005,it's not easy comparing him then and now.The obvious thing would have been for him to have taken his game to another level much in the same way Messi has done.it's inevitable i draw up the parallel.
I also have a problem with your justifying Mikel's inability to build on his 2005 exploits with others who haven't made the mark even after they were tipped for glory.In a way,it would seem like we're saying it's ok for Mikel to be average when he has the world at his feet.And you may have your opinions on that,but i'd like to think that he has had the benefit of world exposure at an early age,something his "predecessor"JJ didn't have going for him.
i know it's easy to knock Mikel.But right now,he cannot ease himself from criticism,based on his conduct off the pitch as regards the Eagles.But then again,i don't have the right to call him to question.

our boiz are too lazy and why was mikel obi included in that list, to be sincere i wasnt happy with the way he play,
tunisia go hear weiy in naija

our boiz are too lazy and why was mikel obi included in that list, to be sincere i wasnt happy with the way he play,
tunisia go hear weiy in naija

our boiz are too lazy and why was mikel obi included in that list, to be sincere i wasnt happy with the way he play,
tunisia go hear weiy in naija

@eastbay
Nice one.
Atleast we both agree that the problem of the team is technical and not necessarily individual skill level of the team.

@Sagamite

Donugapi has helped me in providing some answers to your questions. I just came back from work Let me give you a more detailed reply, mate.

You talked about Amodu Shuaibu standing his ground in 2002 and being denied the opportunity of taking the Super Eagles to the World Cup in Korea-Japan. One of the main reasons why he was not allowed to take the Eagles to the World Cup was that could not win the African Nations Cup trophy in Mali that year. The NFF [ NFA as it was called then ] also felt he was not good enough to compete against the tactics of other coaches at the mundial. So Chief Adegboye Onigbinde was brought in.

You said the Eagles played well in Korea-Japan . If you watch all the games they played against Argentina, Sweden and England, you will realize that the boys had not really understood each other and that team had no bench with the likes of Femi Opabunmi and Mutiu Adepoju [ whose better days had gone ] on the bench, the Eagles crumbled gracefully. Onigbinde was very sentimental during the tournament, Sagamite. Where is Opabunmi now? Where is Christopher Ogbeche and his flying kicks now?

Comparing Amodu Shuaibu and Samson Siasia is like comparing Milo and Pronto or better still Schweppes Bitter Lemon and Fanta Lemon So because Siasia coached youth teams in the States, he cannot handle the Super Eagles. It is the same techniques he imparts into the kids that he will impart into the players in the national team. Siaone did that successfully with the U-20 and Olympic squads. Amodu Shuaibu is not on the same level with Siasia. They are poles apart. Siasia knows how to groom players for the future and that is why he started his football academy. Why is it that anytime Siasia is given an assignment by the NFF, a lot of young boys flock to him? Look at his recent screening of U-20 players in Abuja. Hundreds of young footballers came to the camp without being invited and begged him to conduct trials for them and see their talent It shows these young chaps believe in Samson Siasia. A shining light cannot be hidden. Siaone is gradually building his team for the youth championships in Egypt later in the year. He has laid low for now. Lets see the team he will come up with

Jurgen Klinsmann is one of Germany's best strikers in History. Samson Siasia is one of the most intelligent strikers in Nigerian history. Yekini scored loads of his goals with sheer brawn and powerful shots [ I respect him for his strenght ] while Siasia scored goals that were well thought out. You saw Chinedu Ogbuke's goal against Argentina in the 2005 WYC final. That goal was classic. It was just Ogbuke being a chip off the old block of Siasia. Klinsmann silenced his critics by leading the German team to a respectable third position at the 2006 World Cup. He put fire and passion into players like Lukas Podolski, Philip Lahm, Bastian Schwenteigger [ His crazy long distance goals were awesome ], Oliver Kahn and Torsten Frings. Siasia does the same thing with his boys. Lets dont talk about the organization of German Football. They are far ahead of us.

I'm not condemning Amodu, Sagamite. It is just that we need hungry players and a hungry coach who is technically gifted. Sunday Oliseh is coaching in Germany and Belgium currently. He is learning a lot from the Europeans. Exposure makes you very competent and focused. I'm a product of exposure and I'm still under construction in Media and writing. Samson Siasia has learnt a lot from his overseas experience. We need to change in Nigeria and do the right things at the right time. Who says Siasia could not have handled the Olympic team and the Super Eagles together? It was obvious that the Olympic Squad would transform into the Super Eagles. Sagamite, is it not happening now before our faces? We have taken the wrong steps and we need to do something fast before things fall apart

I need to do other things online, mate. Cheers All.

If Mikel does not play the return leg we will win, he plays as lazily as Kanu, but we understand Kanu is old and he sure does his magical bit.
Mikel is jus a waste of space in d nigerian team, with him you dont even know our formation,. MIKEL pls go 2 chelsea.
If we play our normal 4-4-2, tunisia will go down in ABJ

My analysis of the situation is

We must concentrate on the next 3 matches
Because at this point things are within our
control.

The area we have a advantage over Tunisia if we can capitalize on it
despite their lead is.

we have 1 away game and 2 home games
as opposed to them with 2 away games and 1 home game

The bad side is the we can't afford a draw (assuming they win all their matches)

I am sure that Tunisians are

1. Rather worried because they would have wanted to win this match
2. Are reduced to playing only counter attacking football in Abuja


(because I would be if I were in their shoes).

So if the players stay fit,show mental discipline, and get the
tactics right we are in with a chance. (this football you never know)

The fight is far from over.

Tunisia Vs Nigeria : Birds That Would Not Fly - The Flop At Rades
http://2dramasports.com/Tunisia_Vs_Nigeria_The_Flop_At_Rades.html

i was not impressed at all with Amodu game plan

it like we went to Tunisia to play for a draw

one more draw or God Forbid a defeat

and the Super Eagles are out

mean while

i am not sure if this is official yet

but Nigeria plays v Uruguay in August, 2009

na_so,
The question of the technical crew has always been there for all to see.I just think that sometimes,individual brilliance can step up to win a game when nothing is going right.
chidichris,
please tell me something new.
Mikel this, Mikel that from you.I won't go there.
The local media (or a good portion of them) tell us Mikel is about the greatest thing to emerge from our borders since JJ.
Read my posts.I have never said mkel is a bad player.I will never say that.His show in 2005 in Holland tells me that.
I'm saying Mikel hasn't done enough to convince us that we can heap our fate on his shoulders.Both on and off the pitch.
cduke,
I tend to agree with you about Tunisia being a bit disappointed not to win the game.but I think,looking back,that we could have won that game.The Tunisians weren't spectacular.I feel a win in Tunis for us would have sent a big psychological blow to them.The return leg woudl have been won before a game would have been kicked.Or so i think.
Now it's clear they will come and settle for a draw the way we did,preserving the status quo with two games left.

chidichris,
please tell me something new.
Mikel this, Mikel that from you.I won't go there.
The local media (or a good portion of them) tell us Mikel is about the greatest thing to emerge from our borders since JJ.
Read my posts.I have never said mkel is a bad player.I will never say that.His show in 2005 in Holland tells me that.
I'm saying Mikel hasn't done enough to convince us that we can heap our fate on his shoulders.Both on and off the pitch.

@Eastbay,
i can understand your pains and frustrations over mikel°s inabilities in living up to your expectations but what do u do in such situations? another question that comes to my mind when ever this issues of not living up to expectations is, who is he playing for? if mikel plays better than the ronaldinhos, messis, kakas, ronaldos etc, who enjoys the benefits? broda, there is nothing worth taking panadol for another man°s headache.
it is time u know that the young man has not come to be the okocha we want rather the mikel he is. it is either nigeria withdraws from all these competitions until we get the okocha we want or we make do of the mikels we have.
are u the only one talking abt mikel? even in the days of okocha, he was not talked abt in this same manner. it is obvious mikel does not know that he is not improving as only nigerians know that. at club levels, his club have not mentioned his name among those for sale rather they keep on talking about improved contract.
have we heard the coach complain that mikel is not playing out of instruction? those who choose him are happy with him and that is why he keeps on coming.
to me, the coach loves what he is doing so why are we always here to talk about him.
from your tone brother, u want to see a mikel that will dribble the 11 oponents and his own players before sending the ball into the net but what if the coach says, my friend, on no account must u cross the center line?
with the interest u have in the so called downfall and progress of mikel, find out from the coach if mikel is playing according to his instructions and if not why is he always in the line up?

chidichris,
First of,
I want to tell you that the views I expressed are entirely mine,and as such you really shouldn't have problems with them.
I think I'm in order to say that Mikle hasn't lived up to the expectations we all had of him.
you talk about him in Chelsea.truth is,the fact he plays week-in week-out doesn't exactly qualify him as good as you make him to be.

If you think I'm taking panadol for another person's headache,just because you don't like my assessment of him,that is fine.I don't have to convince you,but I can't swallow your defence of him like you were his publicist.
The reason people weren't talking about jj the way you say they talk about your darling Mikel is that JJ didn't court as much controversy as this upstart calledMikel.
Thanks anyway

Amodu's defensive play really worked cos we secured a vital point.

God forbid we had lost that match.

On the performance of the Players i think Mikel Obi is under performing but i surely knows he can do better.

For the striking roles the Eneramo guy because of his built should play along Uche, we need 2 striking partners to make our attack bite.

Thank God we have a world class goal keeper in Enyeama, scoring against him almost seems impossible now.

Osaze should add more precision and dierection to his game apart from his energy and will to player there is need for creativity in his style.

The team is without a player who can dribble 2 3 players and make a correct pass for the attack.

Olofinjana is hardworking but not creative.

Maybe Obodo should be recalled to add flair into the team.

I theresay an opportunity should be extended to an enterprising local player who could spring a surprise.

Amodu will deliver Insha allah.

When is the next set of Matches?

mean while

i am not sure if this is official yet

but Nigeria plays v Uruguay in August, 2009

Well I also heard on radio so I guess it is true.