Mujtahida:

You should understand the applause for Mikel stems from the fact that while Spain with Xavi, Iniesta and Busquets were loaded in the middle, the SE on the other hand were lean in that sector. Mikel was like the guy from a poor family who goes on to make it big while Busquets is like the scion of a rich family just doing his thing. Widows mite

see how they are trashing Busq just to exult Mikel, I don't do that

Mujtahida:

You should understand the applause for Mikel stems from the fact that while Spain with Xavi, Iniesta and Busquets were loaded in the middle, the SE on the other hand were lean in that sector. Mikel was like the guy from a poor family who goes on to make it big while Busquets is like the scion of a rich family just doing his thing. Widows mite

see how they are trashing Busq just to exult Mikel, I don't do that and it's bad

Ezenwa is good but I won't lie to you... He is not world class material. But yes he is good and one of the very best (if not the very best) we have in the local scene.
And hey guess what? I rate the uncapped Alampasu ahead of Ezenwa. I believe Alampasu will be a long term mainstay in the Super Eagles with time and if and when he gets the chance to man goal... I believe Rohr will find it difficult ignoring Alampasu for long too.... and we will have another strong headache in Goalies selection...


Meanwhile, Vincent is on his way back... more recently updated clips from his twitter account shows he has made remarkable recovery from his right knee injury... he is still involved in Light one-on-one training with a Goalie coach and Physio too... but eventually, Enyeama will make a comeback but first he needs to find a club and get his match fitness levels up.


Finally Carl... all I can say is keep praying for Carl. Right now he stands no chance of making it before the mundial... a miracle is possible but as things stand.. nope... no miracles in sight. Carl is out of the picture for now... he has to fully concentrate on his therapies and steps to recovery from this cancer before he can settle down and know if he can return to the Beautiful game or not coz his condition is really serious.... but I am optimistic he will recover and live a little longer. But to return to Football? That is kinda hanging... so just #prayforCarl

stephenGee12:



Wish he could come back.
But I believe ezenwa is a great replacement.
But who wud be first choice if and when ikeme eventually comes back from therapy

Mickael2:



see how they are trashing Busq just to exult Mikel, I don't do that and it's bad

Noooo I am not trashing him. I just wanted you to see the background. Okay imagine Mikel in the Spain team. What do you see?

Tammy Abraham for Nigeria switch?



The The Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) are confident that they will be able to convince Swansea City forward Tammy Abraham to play for the Super Eagles rather than England.

NFF President Amaju Pinnick is hopeful that the lanky forward will switch alliances, despite the fact that he has played for the Three Lions at youth level.

Abraham, 19, qualifies to represent Nigeria through his father and could follow Ola Aina, Victor Moses and Alex Iwobi in players opting to play for Nigeria at senior international level instead of England.

South Africa consider appeal over FIFA’s replay order

"We are working on getting Abraham," Pinnick is quoted as saying by BBC Sport.

"Tammy is like my son. His father and I grew up in the same neighbourhood

"So when they talk about him, I just laugh because I know what to do."

On-loan from Chelsea, the towering forward has started life in South Wales with a bang having starred for Bristol City last season.

Nigeria will book their place at the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia with victory over Zambia in Uyo next month.

https://mtnfootball.com/news/727173/Tammy-Abraham-for-Nigeria-switch

Held his own -- I like that. Say it just as it is. No exaggerations. However if one says Okocha bossed Denmark despite we losing 4-1, that's not debatable. Okocha did it again and again against big teams almost throughout his playing career.

And that's the main reason even though Okocha may not have won lots of laurels for club, country and personally, he Is seen the world over as a very special player. Some things are not debatable.

Mujtahida:

You should understand the applause for Mikel stems from the fact that while Spain with Xavi, Iniesta and Busquets were loaded in the middle, the SE on the other hand were lean in that sector. Mikel was like the guy from a poor family who goes on to make it big while Busquets is like the scion of a rich family just doing his thing. Widows mite

TheSuperNerd:
Ezenwa is good but I won't lie to you... He is not world class material. But yes he is good and one of the very best (if not the very best) we have in the local scene.
And hey guess what? I rate the uncapped Alampasu ahead of Ezenwa. I believe Alampasu will be a long term mainstay in the Super Eagles with time and if and when he gets the chance to man goal... I believe Rohr will find it difficult ignoring Alampasu for long too.... and we will have another strong headache in Goalies selection...


Meanwhile, Vincent is on his way back... more recently updated lips from his twitter account shows he has made remarkable recovery from his right knee injury... he is still involved in Light one-on-one training with a Goalie coach and Physio too... but eventually, Enyeama will make a comeback but first he needs to find a club and get his match fitness levels up.


Finally Carl... all I can say is keep praying for Carl. Right now he stands no chance of making it before the mundial... a miracle is possible but as things stand.. nope... no miracles in sight. Carl is out of the picture for now... he has to fully concentrate on his therapies and steps to recovery from this cancer before he can settle down and know if he can return to the Beautiful game or not coz his condition is really serious.... but I am optimistic he will recover and live a little longer. But to return to Football? That is kinda hanging... so just #prayforCarl

there are currently 4 or so clubs fromTurkey looking for Enyeama if not for his injury(there own transfer window is still open), they even want to tie him down to a post-injury contract just like Ibra and Manu, but Enyeama wants to move to a better league, so he may stay till January for a bigger league but the guy's class is just too much.

Alampasu like you rightly said should be the third choice going to the world cup but the problem is that you have to remember that Nwokolor is still alive, he is young and is doing better than Alampasu, he is closer to that first team than Alampasu. I personally would go with Enyeama, Nwokolor and Ezenwa/Alampasu in that order

Ndidi 'coming out of his shell' - Leicester City’s Shakespeare

Sam Francisco

The 20-year-old midfielder joined the Foxes in January and is finally revealing more of himself which helps his play, according to his manager

Leicester City boss Craig Shakespeare says Wilfred Ndidi is finally coming out of his shell which is enhancing his performance on the field.

In January, the Nigeria international joined the King Power Stadium outfit from Belgian outfit, Genk for £15 million and immediately made an impact starring alongside ex-teammate Danny Drinkwater in midfield.


Those performances saw him win the club’s Young Player of the Year award and his manager has hailed his 'endearing personality'.

“He is quite the joker, if I am honest, when he is away from the pitch,” Shakespeare told club website

“That might surprise one or two. He has a lovely personality.

“He always comes to team meetings 15 or 20 minutes early. He sits there on his own as if he is ready. He is a very endearing personality.

“He is quite quiet but he is slowly coming out of his shell as well. I think sometimes we forget how young he is. He is 20 years old and you forget that.

“When he came in we said to give him time to adapt, but he was pushed straight in and took to it very well. I see him improving all the time and getting better and better.”


Leicester will host Victor Moses’ Chelsea in their next English Premier League game on Saturday.

http://www.goal.com/en-ng/news/ndidi-coming-out-of-his-shell-leicester-citys-shakespeare/18f9h18moumul1rput9f7qkmi9

Mujtahida:

Noooo I am not trashing him. I just wanted you to see the background. Okay imagine Mikel in the Spain team. What do you see?

I was referring to those calling him names and not you.

I can't see Mikel in a spanish team because he never will. If Mikel was a spainard he would have probably developed as an Amf at a top Spanish team but this current Mikel playing in China will not be a starter for Spain. So you see, that assumption isn't concrete


but I totally understood your point and you are correct. He held his own and can hold his own against anybody

Dele Alampasu : Many People Did Not Believe In Ezenwa But He Proved Them Wrong



CD Feirense goalkeeper Dele Alampasu was full of praise for Ikechukwu Ezenwa on the back of his performances in the two World Cup qualifiers against Cameroon in Uyo and Yaounde.


In a no-holds-barred interview, the former Golden Eaglets netminder admitted that himself and Ezenwa were not trusted by majority of Nigerians before the double-header against the Indomitable Lions, but the FC Ifeanyi Ubah star proved his doubters wrong.

''He (Ezenwa) did a very good job, he proved to so many people that those always on the bench can do it,'' Alampasu told allnigeriasoccer.com.

''In life everybody is seeking opportunity and the opportunity came for him and he utilized it very well.

''For me, I learnt a lot both from Ezenwa, Carl Ikeme, even brother Daniel. We are all great goalkeepers, I am the young one and I learn a lot from them.''


Alampasu added : ''So the opportunity came for him and he grabbed it, everyone in life prays for opportunity to come.

''If I have the opportunity, I will pray to God that He should give me the knowledge to utilize it very well and we pray to see more opportunities in our lives.

''He did a great job and I really appreciate our department for what he did because many people did not believe in him, they don't believe in me.


''They only believe in the two senior ones, but they don't know those of us behind them can also do it.''

Alampasu was back-up goalkeeper to Ikechukwu Ezenwa after Chippa United's Daniel Akpeyi withdrew from the squad due to injury.

Ifeanyi Emmanuel

http://www.allnigeriasoccer.com/read_news.php?nid=24548

The Search For The Next Super Eagles Predator



There was a time, from 1989 to 1994, when Nigeria's national team had an abundance of good strikers, and ex-Super Eagles coach Clemens Westerhof had nothing but quality options to pick from when choosing the player to lead the line for his team.


There was hardly a national team in Africa that could boast striking options as good as Nigeria's, striking options which included Rashidi Yekini painting the Portuguese Premier League with goals at Vitoria Setubal, and Samson Siasia, who was also at the peak of his powers, taking the French Ligue 1 by storm alongside Japhet Ngoram at Nantes.


Daniel Amokachi, too gave a fine demonstration of his capabilities, with his fearless and physical approach. Have your forgotten the aerial presence that Efan Ekoku brought to the attacking set up of the Super Eagles?


A certain Richard Owubokiri painted Europe with goals, yet he did not really get the chance to impress. Upcoming lads Kanu Nwankwo and Victor Nosa Ikpeba were seen as the Next Generation stars, who didn't disappoint during their time.

After the era of Westerhoef, Ben Akwuegwu, Yakubu Aiyegbeni, Julius Aghahowa, Obafemi Martins, Kalu Uche, Peter Odemwingie and Emmanuel Emenike all came to show the quality they possess.

But unfortunately for current Super Eagles boss Gernot Rohr, those days are far, far gone.

Each of the aforementioned strikers have either retired or declined significantly, to the point where none of them are worthy of making the Nigeria national team squad any longer, let alone starting for the team.


Now, Rohr has been forced to look at Nigeria's other options up front, and thus far, his search has been very frustrating at some stage.

Many hoped the likes of Brown Ideye, Odion Jude Ighalo, Kelechi Iheanacho, Ahmed Musa, Henry Onyekuru, Anthony Nwakaeme, Victor Osimhen or even Kayode Olarenwaju would prove good enough to succeed their predecessors.

Unfortunately, while some have proven themselves to be better international goal-getters than others, none have been able to really excel against the big teams of international football.


Ighalo has not really proved himself under Rohr, despite arguably possessing one of the most impressive resume among the group of strikers available to Rohr. But he showed his qualities in the double header with Cameroun this month.

Again, success has varied. Some strikers like Stephen Odey and Anthony Okpotu, both prolific goal-scorers in the Nigeria Professional Football League, have proven themselves to simply not be good enough on the international stage.


In the case of Iheanacho, his goals, with the exception of one scored recently in the World Cup Qualifiers against the Indomitable Lions, have been scored in extra-meaningless friendly against the weakest countries.

The case for Ideye is a little different. Though he’s never been quite as amazing as he was in the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations, where he introduced himself to the world.


Many have labelled him a “second-striker” a Del Piero might even be a bit generous, since he does enjoy dropping very far back. As such, while he’s an excellent option for the team, he’s not the answer they need up front.

Which brings us to the final group of players, the “unknowns” as I like to call them. These are players who are still early in their careers.

Players who fall into this group are Osihmen, Kayode, Stephen Odey, Junior Ajayi, Sadiq Umar and Onyekuru. Ideally, this group should be a bit bigger.


As for Osihmen, who emerged as the top scorer of the 2015 FIFA U17 World Cup, he is just coming into his own as a striker. He looks a very promising prospect, possibly the most promising prospect among Nigeria's current options up front, but it may prove better to wait for him to get into a rhythm with VFL Wolfsburg before giving him enormous responsibility in the senior national side.


Odey is a promising prospect who could well develop if he eventually completes his move to FC Zurich. With his consistent show for MFM FC in the Nigerian top flight, he is destined for the top.


Why forget the physical trident that Kayode is ready to offer to the team? He did his reputation a whole lot of good with a big move to Manchester City and his subsequent loan switch to Girona. You can trust Larry to deliver if given the chance.


Some have been asking this innocent question, who is Junior Ajayi? Ajayi is a player who delivered for First Bank FC and Shooting Stars before his move to Sfaxien of Tunisia. His stellar display made him a hot property and he
earned a switch to Al Ahly of Egypt.


Lanky striker Umar, was outstanding at the 2016 Olympic Games held in Brazil but he hasn't really been stable at Roma with loan moves in the Serie A.


Right now, Rohr is doing all he can to keep the search for Nigeria's next great striker alive, he’ll be able to take a wider and better look at the most in-form front-men.


It’s not been easy having to constantly search and search for a reliable player to put up front for the national team, and there’s no denying that Rohr's work in this department is far from done.


If the former Niger Republic tactician can make the right moves and narrow his pool down to the players with legitimate potential, there is great hope that the answer to Nigeria's striker problem will be found sooner rather than later.

Ademetan Abayomi

http://www.allnigeriasoccer.com/read_news.php?nid=24551

On Enyeama... true.... I even read rumors of Nice and Nantes interests in Enyeama which cooled because of his injury situation. But it is well shaa... I believe Vinny will get a move by latest January even if a post-injury contract possibility is not utilized. Quoting you, "His class is indeed too much"...


On Alampasu... hmmmm... ofcos I still recall David Nwokolor... He and Alamps will have a big battle for that long term no.1 shirt also alongside Odinaka Uzoho of Deportivo... and any other rising unknown... the future of our Safe hands dept is good and I agree that Nwokolor has the edge over Alamps because of experience playing top flight football as first choice in Bosnia before making his return to Rijeka (in croatia) for the new season... (mind you, haven't confirmed if he was loaned out again.. or retained as second choice). But in the national team... Alampasu is well rated by the Techinal crew and will be hard to look past if or when Rohr wanna try out a true young padawan between the sticks..


Nwokolor is cutting it nicely but Alampasu is not doing bad too. Games at Cesarense in 3rd division Portugal and now back at CD Feirense as the second choice with the no.1 jersey bearing his name. It will be exciting seeing how both will progress even further for their clubs making use of the game time they will get.

Alampasu... Nwokolor... and Uzoho.... and any other rising unknown... these are our future... (I will also mention Emma Daniel but he needs to step up too with regular plays clubwise).



Enyeama, Carl (not in the picture for now), Ezenwa and Akpeyi (yep... hate him or love him.. lol) are ahead of other goalie options we have now....

Mickael2:


there are currently 4 or so clubs fromTurkey looking for Enyeama if not for his injury(there own transfer window is still open), they even want to tie him down to a post-injury contract just like Ibra and Manu, but Enyeama wants to move to a better league, so he may stay till January for a bigger league but the guy's class is just too much.

Alampasu like you rightly said should be the third choice going to the world cup but the problem is that you have to remember that Nwokolor is still alive, he is young and is doing better than Alampasu, he is closer to that first team than Alampasu. I personally would go with Enyeama, Nwokolor and Ezenwa/Alampasu in that order

The game against cameroun had come and go, upon all the razzmatazz that accompany the games, and the ever boasting lion,

the irony, or should I say oxymoron of the games is

1. We take from them, what they are planning to take from us -- 4pts

2. Upon all their secrecy, and hide and sake, even going as far to train under bed, they still fail

3. Its also expose our bench and depth of personal, I.e mike l replacement, and the ever faulty LB,


if I miss anything, pls add us, as we look forward to OCT7

adegwurulez:

We barely have a year to the mundial, any coach that doesn't already have 75% of his team has no business in the world Cup. Our main focus now should be team blending and cohesiveness. The areas we need reinforcements are just few. The LB position, A creative midfielder and a winger. I don't think there is anything Martins can bring to the table that Iheanacho, ighalo, kayode, (in all likelihood, these are the three point men we're going to the world Cup with) can't bring.

I'd rather we spend that time trying to get tammy Abraham. If not, a LB, a creative midfielder, a winger(if bazee comes good he'll be a great addition), with 1-2 months extensive training camp and quality friendly games, then we'll be ready for the world Cup.

Of course, we need to know 75% of our team and focus on cohesion but team cohesion can be disrupted by injuries hence the need to look out for equally good replacement.

This replacement must have played in high profile matches to ascertain the level of cohesion or damages should incase a key player is out due to injury.

Moreover, they must be acquainted with the pattern of play before the world cup else a player becomes jjc and confused when brought in to replace a player.

What happens peradventure Balogun get injured or get banned for a match? Who partners Ekong?

What happens peradventure Mikel is indisposed to play a match against France in the world cup, who will play in his place? Etcetera etcetera.

However, I disagree that the only positions for reinforcement are left back, creative midfielder and winger.

The defense, the goalkeeper department, CMF and even the striker position are also areas with deficiency or stability.

So, if Martins is scoring goals we should just ignore because he too old, ba?

Abi, what is your point.

And you think there won't be acres of gaps if Aina plays? Even with the gaps, how many goals came from there? Ekong and shehu played at the other end where the PK came from, what do you have to say about that?

My issue here is that we shouldn't throw Aina into a do and die match come october 7th except of course we have no option. Aina is not even a natural LB and there is no guarantee that he will perform better than the natural LB we currently have there. (Forget club football for now).

TheGoodJoe:


Totally disagree. I doubt we should tag a good performance by no goal came from the left. There were acres of gap on that win in both legs. There were times Balogun had to leave his position to deal with threats coming from the left. Such disorganization is what we need to stem out of the team. This caused Balogun to do more work than he should.

So I think this is a problem we should solve by our next game. We do not need leaking wing.

NDIDI 'COMING OUT OF HIS SHELL' - LEICESTER CITY’S SHAKESPEARE
By Sam Francisco




The 20-year-old midfielder joined the Foxes in January and is finally revealing more of himself which helps his play, according to his manager

Leicester City boss Craig Shakespeare says Wilfred Ndidi is finally coming out of his shell which is enhancing his performance on the field.

In January, the Nigeria international joined the King Power Stadium outfit from Belgian outfit, Genk for £15 million and immediately made an impact starring alongside ex-teammate Danny Drinkwater in midfield.

Those performances saw him win the club’s Young Player of the Year award and his manager has hailed his 'endearing personality'.


“He is quite the joker, if I am honest, when he is away from the pitch,” Shakespeare told club website

“That might surprise one or two. He has a lovely personality.

“He always comes to team meetings 15 or 20 minutes early. He sits there on his own as if he is ready. He is a very endearing personality.

“He is quite quiet but he is slowly coming out of his shell as well. I think sometimes we forget how young he is. He is 20 years old and you forget that.

“When he came in we said to give him time to adapt, but he was pushed straight in and took to it very well. I see him improving all the time and getting better and better.”

Leicester will host Victor Moses’ Chelsea in their next English Premier League game on Saturday.


Source: http://www.goal.com/en-ng/news/ndidi-coming-out-of-his-shell-leicester-citys-shakespeare/18f9h18moumul1rput9f7qkmi9

TheSuperNerd:
Chaaaiiiiii.... see as him break am down sef.... the brief history and pathospiritiogenesis of the fall and die movement.... Hahahahahahahahaha....


Forgiveness you be clown I swear.....

Hahahahahah! To all Barcelona fans, I hail ooooooo!

I just dey talk true sorry play ooooooo.

kingphilip:
you said chelsea won them on away goals rule and i'll also like to remind you that in 2008 too it was on same rule but laced with controversies

Help me tell am.

forgiveness:


Every squad player must be tested prior to the world Cup in other to avoid what happened to us against Italy in 1994, Greece in 2010 and against France in 2014 when some players where delibarately injured but we couldn't replace them with a better quality players.

To avoid another reoccurrence, we must see how we play without Mikel, Ndidi, Onazi, Moses, Balogun, Ekong etc in the team.

Bigger teams does that regularly.

God will bless you for this post oga forgiveness. You sabi

LMC, NTA sign broadcast production agreement
Published on Friday, 08 September 2017 10:32 Hits: 583

A broadcast production agreement was on Thursday in Abuja signed by the League Management Company (LMC) and the Nigeria Television Authority (NTA) for production of matches of the Nigeria Professional Football League (NPFL).

The papers were signed by the LMC Chairman Shehu Dikko and Mallam Yakubu Ibn Muhammed, the Director General of NTA.

An official statement jointly signed by the heads of the two organizations indicate that the LMC and NTA would be setting up a private sector driven company to manage the business of the broadcast production.

According to the statement, “the company which shall be operated as a private, commercial venture will leverage its operations on the huge infrastructure, technical and human capacity and equipment of NTA spread across the country. The equipment includes very high grade eight Outside Broadcast (OB) Vans specially designed for football and sports coverage, which had been acquired by the Federal Government at huge cost.”

It marks a new vista in the management of broadcast content in the annals of professional football league in the country as hitherto; broadcast right holders have also produced the games. However, in the new dispensation, the LMC treading the path of some European football leagues such as the English Premier League and Spanish LaLiga, is aiming to control the production and distribution of broadcast content across all media including live streaming, terrestrial and cable platforms.

This landmark venture has been facilitated and strongly supported by the Federal Government of Nigeria represented by the Honourable Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed. It is a culmination of strategic engagement initiated by LMC officials with the Minister of Information and Culture seeking to deploy the vast equipment procured by the Federal Government on behalf of NTA for past FIFA tournaments hosted by Nigeria. NTA also enjoys a robust network spread in the country with stations in every state capital and which the LMC hopes to leverage on to take the NPFL to the homes of millions of Nigerians in cities and rural communities.

Dikko, at the ceremony, explained that LMC will towards meeting modern broadcast standards, assist NTA to upgrade the OB Van equipment to ensure that contents produced will be globally competitive.

“The operation of the company, as envisaged will rely on the services of international technical partners and domestic expertise to provide the much needed vehicle for the production of high quality programmes and events for broadcast in the sports and entertainment industries. This model is in keeping with proven international best practices in sports content production, distribution and broadcast,” the two organizations declared in their joint statement.

Continuing, they gave an assurance that “as from next season of the NPFL, Nigerians are, therefore, assured of the enjoyment of high quality football matches to be produced by the independent media services company for distribution, sales and broadcast across all media platforms on a domestic and global basis.

Dikko noted that the production company will serve national objectives as it is not be restricted to just football or sports production but such other industries like entertainment and cultural, political and business events in general.

“All over the world, countries develop because they have a standard production broadcast company with capacity to serve not just the sporting industry but also the entertainment industry. We are delighted that the Federal Government, through the Ministry of Information, has backed this project and we look further to other fantastic partnerships,” the LMC Chairman concluded.

"For us, this is just another step for NTA to stamp its authority as the biggest broadcast network in Africa. We have the widest reach and sports, especially football is a big industry, and we are happy to be in partnership with the LMC and NFF,” Muhammed said.

Also in attendance at the event which held inside the Conference Hall of NTA were the General Secretary of the NFF, Dr Sanusi Mohammed, Director-General of the NTA, Chief Operating Officer of the LMC, Mallam Salihu Abubakar, Samson Ebomhe, Legal Adviser to LMC and other top management staff of the NTA.

http://npfl.ng/index.php/news-features/lmc-news-updates/2461-lmc-nta-sign-broadcast-production-agreement

safarigirl:
God will bless you for this post oga forgiveness. You sabi

Yes ooooooo! Hahahahahah!

Any Nigerian fan who has been following the team since 1994 must know this except he didn't learn from the past experiences or e no wan learn.

You can't just sit on the bench come go World cup but when you are called upon in crucial match, you begin look fine boot instead of ball.

You are just somehow o.

somehow:
And you think there won't be acres of gaps if Aina plays? Even with the gaps, how many goals came from there? Ekong and shehu played at the other end where the PK came from, what do you have to say about that?

My issue here is that we shouldn't throw Aina into a do and die match come october 7th except of course we have no option. Aina is not even a natural LB and there is no guarantee that he will perform better than the natural LB we currently have there. (Forget club football for now).

terzurum5:
The Search For The Next Super Eagles Predator



There was a time, from 1989 to 1994, when Nigeria's national team had an abundance of good strikers, and ex-Super Eagles coach Clemens Westerhof had nothing but quality options to pick from when choosing the player to lead the line for his team.


There was hardly a national team in Africa that could boast striking options as good as Nigeria's, striking options which included Rashidi Yekini painting the Portuguese Premier League with goals at Vitoria Setubal, and Samson Siasia, who was also at the peak of his powers, taking the French Ligue 1 by storm alongside Japhet Ngoram at Nantes.


Daniel Amokachi, too gave a fine demonstration of his capabilities, with his fearless and physical approach. Have your forgotten the aerial presence that Efan Ekoku brought to the attacking set up of the Super Eagles?


A certain Richard Owubokiri painted Europe with goals, yet he did not really get the chance to impress. Upcoming lads Kanu Nwankwo and Victor Nosa Ikpeba were seen as the Next Generation stars, who didn't disappoint during their time.

After the era of Westerhoef, Ben Akwuegwu, Yakubu Aiyegbeni, Julius Aghahowa, Obafemi Martins, Kalu Uche, Peter Odemwingie and Emmanuel Emenike all came to show the quality they possess.

But unfortunately for current Super Eagles boss Gernot Rohr, those days are far, far gone.

Each of the aforementioned strikers have either retired or declined significantly, to the point where none of them are worthy of making the Nigeria national team squad any longer, let alone starting for the team.


Now, Rohr has been forced to look at Nigeria's other options up front, and thus far, his search has been very frustrating at some stage.

Many hoped the likes of Brown Ideye, Odion Jude Ighalo, Kelechi Iheanacho, Ahmed Musa, Henry Onyekuru, Anthony Nwakaeme, Victor Osimhen or even Kayode Olarenwaju would prove good enough to succeed their predecessors.

Unfortunately, while some have proven themselves to be better international goal-getters than others, none have been able to really excel against the big teams of international football.


Ighalo has not really proved himself under Rohr, despite arguably possessing one of the most impressive resume among the group of strikers available to Rohr. But he showed his qualities in the double header with Cameroun this month.

Again, success has varied. Some strikers like Stephen Odey and Anthony Okpotu, both prolific goal-scorers in the Nigeria Professional Football League, have proven themselves to simply not be good enough on the international stage.


In the case of Iheanacho, his goals, with the exception of one scored recently in the World Cup Qualifiers against the Indomitable Lions, have been scored in extra-meaningless friendly against the weakest countries.

The case for Ideye is a little different. Though he’s never been quite as amazing as he was in the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations, where he introduced himself to the world.


Many have labelled him a “second-striker” a Del Piero might even be a bit generous, since he does enjoy dropping very far back. As such, while he’s an excellent option for the team, he’s not the answer they need up front.

Which brings us to the final group of players, the “unknowns” as I like to call them. These are players who are still early in their careers.

Players who fall into this group are Osihmen, Kayode, Stephen Odey, Junior Ajayi, Sadiq Umar and Onyekuru. Ideally, this group should be a bit bigger.


As for Osihmen, who emerged as the top scorer of the 2015 FIFA U17 World Cup, he is just coming into his own as a striker. He looks a very promising prospect, possibly the most promising prospect among Nigeria's current options up front, but it may prove better to wait for him to get into a rhythm with VFL Wolfsburg before giving him enormous responsibility in the senior national side.


Odey is a promising prospect who could well develop if he eventually completes his move to FC Zurich. With his consistent show for MFM FC in the Nigerian top flight, he is destined for the top.


Why forget the physical trident that Kayode is ready to offer to the team? He did his reputation a whole lot of good with a big move to Manchester City and his subsequent loan switch to Girona. You can trust Larry to deliver if given the chance.


Some have been asking this innocent question, who is Junior Ajayi? Ajayi is a player who delivered for First Bank FC and Shooting Stars before his move to Sfaxien of Tunisia. His stellar display made him a hot property and he
earned a switch to Al Ahly of Egypt.


Lanky striker Umar, was outstanding at the 2016 Olympic Games held in Brazil but he hasn't really been stable at Roma with loan moves in the Serie A.


Right now, Rohr is doing all he can to keep the search for Nigeria's next great striker alive, he’ll be able to take a wider and better look at the most in-form front-men.


It’s not been easy having to constantly search and search for a reliable player to put up front for the national team, and there’s no denying that Rohr's work in this department is far from done.


If the former Niger Republic tactician can make the right moves and narrow his pool down to the players with legitimate potential, there is great hope that the answer to Nigeria's striker problem will be found sooner rather than later.

Ademetan Abayomi

http://www.allnigeriasoccer.com/read_news.php?nid=24551

another trash piece of journalism.

These ANS people really are useless. So, the goal Kelechi scored against Zambia was another 'extra-meaningless friendly' goal against 'weak' teams?

Whichever idiot wrote this trash deserves to have his license seized.

www.nairaland.com/4041192/official-thread-russia-2018-world#60254660 OFFICIAL FIFA WORLD CUP THREAD

daveP:
that will be so heavy. lol. im i the only one noticing a consistent lack of manners in players of IUFC? if this is becos their oga na bigi man, they wont go anywhere o.

I think it was a rush of blood, believe it or not a lot NPFL players are capable of doing that. Players just need to learn that it is a big no no to touch a referee.

do4luv14:



abi nag, nah MESSI suppose be bishop

the wey hin dey Dance skelewu ehn, if peson touch am, na anointing be dat

Hahahahahah! Skelewu!

BascoVanVeli:
LMC, NTA sign broadcast production agreement
Published on Friday, 08 September 2017 10:32 Hits: 583

A broadcast production agreement was on Thursday in Abuja signed by the League Management Company (LMC) and the Nigeria Television Authority (NTA) for production of matches of the Nigeria Professional Football League (NPFL).

The papers were signed by the LMC Chairman Shehu Dikko and Mallam Yakubu Ibn Muhammed, the Director General of NTA.

An official statement jointly signed by the heads of the two organizations indicate that the LMC and NTA would be setting up a private sector driven company to manage the business of the broadcast production.

According to the statement, “the company which shall be operated as a private, commercial venture will leverage its operations on the huge infrastructure, technical and human capacity and equipment of NTA spread across the country. The equipment includes very high grade eight Outside Broadcast (OB) Vans specially designed for football and sports coverage, which had been acquired by the Federal Government at huge cost.”

It marks a new vista in the management of broadcast content in the annals of professional football league in the country as hitherto; broadcast right holders have also produced the games. However, in the new dispensation, the LMC treading the path of some European football leagues such as the English Premier League and Spanish LaLiga, is aiming to control the production and distribution of broadcast content across all media including live streaming, terrestrial and cable platforms.

This landmark venture has been facilitated and strongly supported by the Federal Government of Nigeria represented by the Honourable Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed. It is a culmination of strategic engagement initiated by LMC officials with the Minister of Information and Culture seeking to deploy the vast equipment procured by the Federal Government on behalf of NTA for past FIFA tournaments hosted by Nigeria. NTA also enjoys a robust network spread in the country with stations in every state capital and which the LMC hopes to leverage on to take the NPFL to the homes of millions of Nigerians in cities and rural communities.

Dikko, at the ceremony, explained that LMC will towards meeting modern broadcast standards, assist NTA to upgrade the OB Van equipment to ensure that contents produced will be globally competitive.

“The operation of the company, as envisaged will rely on the services of international technical partners and domestic expertise to provide the much needed vehicle for the production of high quality programmes and events for broadcast in the sports and entertainment industries. This model is in keeping with proven international best practices in sports content production, distribution and broadcast,” the two organizations declared in their joint statement.

Continuing, they gave an assurance that “as from next season of the NPFL, Nigerians are, therefore, assured of the enjoyment of high quality football matches to be produced by the independent media services company for distribution, sales and broadcast across all media platforms on a domestic and global basis.

Dikko noted that the production company will serve national objectives as it is not be restricted to just football or sports production but such other industries like entertainment and cultural, political and business events in general.

“All over the world, countries develop because they have a standard production broadcast company with capacity to serve not just the sporting industry but also the entertainment industry. We are delighted that the Federal Government, through the Ministry of Information, has backed this project and we look further to other fantastic partnerships,” the LMC Chairman concluded.

"For us, this is just another step for NTA to stamp its authority as the biggest broadcast network in Africa. We have the widest reach and sports, especially football is a big industry, and we are happy to be in partnership with the LMC and NFF,” Muhammed said.

Also in attendance at the event which held inside the Conference Hall of NTA were the General Secretary of the NFF, Dr Sanusi Mohammed, Director-General of the NTA, Chief Operating Officer of the LMC, Mallam Salihu Abubakar, Samson Ebomhe, Legal Adviser to LMC and other top management staff of the NTA.

http://npfl.ng/index.php/news-features/lmc-news-updates/2461-lmc-nta-sign-broadcast-production-agreement

shuuu NTA ! deploying those OB vans is not the issue, Those clowns will rather show a Political rally than a league match

I don't see why this is an argument in the first place.

forgiveness:


But I think the coach doesn't have confidence in some of these players hence my submission.

We can definitely categorize our wingers. Some of them are actually CFs turned wingers. It would be a great thing to have the ones that actually do both crossings and cut-ins. That will be ideal.

TheSuperNerd:

Okay... very well said. Now I get you.

Well... that is where we will now focus our radar on the likes of Noah Sarenren Bazee, Samuel Kalu and maybe "some unknown darkhorse" (who can be anyone i am missing right now) who can actually cross the ball in typical winger style.... Anyway... the moulding continues...


P.S: Samuel Adegbenro of Rosenborg did come to my mind but he is more of a power playing Left Winger/wing forward who cuts inside often... crossing is not a regular feature of his game from the little I have seen of him. But hey he has a full season so I could get to observe him much closely.

Henrg Onyekuru also does less crossing... he is typical skillful and goals-hungry Wing forward/winger..

Thanks boss. But this one right here is encompassing.

gritzky1996:
www.nairaland.com/4041192/official-thread-russia-2018-world#60254660
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