I saw the 2007 under 17 WC final between Nigeria and Spain and was surprised to see De Gea in goal. But equally surprised that Dele Ajiboye did not get any interest outside of Nigeria. De Gea as we know has does exceptionally well but Dele has not excelled

Is there a case to include Dele Ajiboye into WC squad

na komekn arguement no forget.. we know his standards. This is a team that is currently 18th. Aina will have to be a stand out performer to even deserve an invite because he does not play for the top 3 teams.

if u are talking based on number of games he's played this season alone, yes it's outstanding oh also considering that the championship has 24 teams, meaning every club will have to play at least 46 games all season. Yes it's very outstanding sir. Satisfied now.. but to say he is rugged and better than Ebuehi.. na wa. I'm yet to see a better full back in this current SE better than a fully fit Ebuehi.

Kog45:
Sir am sorry,you are taking it to another level,so let me stop here.

safarigirl:
lol....Victor who? Sometimes, Kelechi even outshines him. Victor Moses is not our best player, Mikel Obi is.

We lose games without Mikel, Moses can be on the pitch and we will still lose. When last did we lose a game Mikel played?

If Mikel is our best player don't you think that we have major problems then. If the squad that you are taking to Russia have players that are not better than Mikel then I only see doom ahead.

Aina started the season very well no doubt.. but overall speaking, sir you have told a lie oh..

komekn:


I have seen him play up close and personal and he us strong, rugged and tenacious.

You really can not compare him to Ebuehi or Shehu because he has not played in the RB position for Nigeria to make a fair comparison.

Ola Aina is arguably the best RB in the championship.

Joebie:
na komekn arguement no forget.. we know his standards. This is a team that is currently 18th. Aina will have to be a stand out performer to even deserve an invite because he does not play for the top 3 teams.

if u are talking based on number of games he's played this season alone, yes it's outstanding oh also considering that the championship has 24 teams, meaning every club will have to play at least 46 games all season. Yes it's very outstanding sir. Satisfied now.. but to say he is rugged and better than Ebuehi.. na wa. I'm yet to see a better full back in this current SE better than a fully fit Ebuehi.

Good to have Shehu, Idowu,Ebuehi, Aina and experience Echiejile in the team competing.

Petrobros:


Oga, calm down.No be play station strategy we dey discuss here. Your opponent will always watch you as you move the ball to the sidelines? If you lose the midfield you also lose control of the sidelines.

Wake up! This is the national team.

What is wrong with you all?

Did i say that you should play to the sidelines and wings for fun?.... Or that the middle should be completely neglected?... Don't you all know that there is a reason why you have to play to the wings?

The reason is to stretch the Croats... Underline the word STRETCH!!!..

Croatia play a very compact midfield,.. How do you intend to break such a compact midfield?

By choking the middle with more men or attempting to outplay them through the middle?

I laugh in Mandarin...

I REPEAT, THE ONLY WAY TO BREAKDOWN A COMPACT MIDFIELD IS TO STRETCH THEM.. TO EXPAND AND CONTRACT THEM.... THAT IS THE ONLY WAY TO BEAT THEM.

Midfield gifting and stretching is what we have been doing all along since Rohr came on board. And it has been working for us. Many times when we play matches, we rarely hold and control the ball in the middle, we are always chasing the ball and waiting to hit our opponents on the counter.

We have been gifting our opponents the middle because we always defended our half well... So i am only buttressing on doing what we have always been doing. This time around, we just have to be conscious of what we are doing and do it well. Simple...

We rarely hold possession and complete 3-4 passes anyways, so what's the fuss?

Against Zambia home and away we played and scored from the wings. Against Cameroon away we scored from the wings, against Argentina 2 of goals came from the wings. Against Poland, even our penalty was won from a cut-in from the wings... In all of these matches i mentioned, we never controlled the game from the middle, we never had more possession...

So i ask again, what is the fuss concerning my tactics?

pelezico:


If Mikel is our best player don't you think that we have major problems then. If the squad that you are taking to Russia have players that are not better than Mikel then I only see doom ahead.

Doom ahead?

so true sir

Kog45:
Goid to have Shehu, Idowu,Ebuehi, Aina and experience Echiejile in the team competing.

Kog45:
Goid to have Shehu, Idowu,Ebuehi, Aina and experience Echiejile in the team competing.

still waitin to see the usefulness of experience of elderson
Some times we hide under the guide of experience to promote mediocrity

Adios West Brom!

Tears for young Swansea fans

Tammy relegated

Westbrom relegated


Stoke relegated

Chelsea loanee reflects on lengthy learning curve at Hull City

Let’s talk about Ola Aina.
By Ram Srinivas@rramesss May 4, 2018, 11:05pm BST

Ola Aina has had something of a bittersweet first full season out on loan, at Hull City. It’s been a time of uncertainty and chaos for the club itself, following their relegation from the Premier League last season. Most of their best players were sold all too easily by the owners and the club were left ridiculously short on first-team players until the very end of the transfer window. Aina was one of three Chelsea players loaned to Hull, who had Roman Abramovich’s friend Leonid Slutsky in charge for the first half of the season.

It was always going to be a tough job for Slutsky to produce results with a team that hadn’t even had a proper pre-season together and was generally quite young, apart from some senior figures like Michael Dawson, Allan McGregor and David Meyler. Many youngsters, such as Aina, Fikayo Tomori and Hull City’s own academy graduates such as Max Clark and Jarrod Bowen were thrown into the deep end. Bowen took to the Championship like a duck to water but the transition for Aina wasn’t quite as easy in the circumstances.

Here’s Aina himself, reflecting on the months gone by that have helped improve him as a player.

“It’s been my first loan and it has been enjoyable, even though it has been a difficult season at times.

“I’ve certainly enjoyed playing regular first team football and being part of the squad here. I think I have developed as a player over the season and I feel as though I have matured both on and off the field.

“I’ve always been able to look after myself but being away from home, away from my parents and my siblings, has probably been good for me in terms of maturing and it has all been a part of this experience here. Having Fik (Fikayo Tomori) and Hec (Michael Hector) here has probably also been a help, but even if they weren’t here I think I would still have been okay because of the way things are set-up here.”

That’s as far as the mental and off-the-pitch aspects of it go.

On the pitch, especially in his early appearances, one could tell that the young full-back had a lot to work on to get up to speed with the level required of him. As he’d shown at Chelsea, he could prove to be an effective force going forward but there were holes all over the defensive part of his game, from positioning to decision-making. Aina was also guilty on multiple occasions of taking one touch too many in dangerous areas, where simply clearing the ball might’ve been the better option. He acknowledges the same.

“On the field I have learnt a lot as well – it’s certainly not U23s football anymore. You’re learning how to judge games and when and where to do things.

“In the early stages of the season I was probably doing things in the wrong areas of the pitch. As the season has gone on, I’ve realised that sometimes it’s not a bad thing to just put your foot through the ball and clear it.

“That’s not necessarily the way we’ve been coached coming up through the youth teams, you’re taught to play your way out, but sometimes putting your foot through it is the best thing in men’s football.”

However, perhaps most importantly, both Slutsky and Nigel Adkins, his successor, have shown faith in Aina even as he made mistakes. He has over 40 appearances to his name this season and no doubt, he’s become a better player with each one of them. Regular minutes at Hull City have also seen him regularly called up to the senior Nigeria team and even make his debut. He may well be going to the World Cup, too!

As far as his future at Chelsea is concerned, Ola realises that it’s not going to be easy to earn a regular first-team place at Stamford Bridge and is simply focusing on tackling what’s ahead of him right now, as he should.

“Chelsea is a big club and they have a lot more to focus on than just me.

“They have a lot of other players out on loan, as well as the players currently there. For me personally, I’m working hard towards the dream of playing for Chelsea because they are the club that I have always supported, long before I was scouted by them.

“We don’t know what the future holds, but Hull City has been my bread and butter this season and all I want is for us to finish strongly at the weekend.”

-Ola Aina; source: Hull City Tigers

It’s been a lengthy learning curve for Aina at the KCOM Stadium this season but ultimately, it’s made him a better player and will help him a great deal when it comes to overcoming whatever his challenge is, next season. Sometimes it’s a long road to the first-team, and one that may not even lead there but if nothing else, there is a lot of experience to gain along the way.

Humility017:

still waitin to see the usefulness of experience of elderson
Some times we hide under the guide of experience to promote mediocrity

Sir early stage of WC qualifier,remember we have only Echiejile,no solid RB,Ndidi was used as RB against Zambia and Omeruo against Algeria but now we have Shehu,Idowu, Ebuehi, Aina and Echiejile,so what do you think

Has Swansea been officially relegated?

elyte89:
Tammy relegated

Westbrom relegated


Stoke relegated

Humility017:

still waitin to see the usefulness of experience of elderson
Some times we hide under the guide of experience to promote mediocrity

Even d likes of idowu,aina havnt given us a clear cut reason to dump echiejile,d duo performance so far havnt been convincing as such

Joebie:
Has Swansea been officially relegated?

E don sure na

elyte89:
Tammy relegated

Westbrom relegated


Stoke relegated

Swansea not relegated yet.

They will only relegate if Huddersfield get 1 more point from their next 2 Games which are against Chelsea and Arsenal.

Meanwhile Swansea host an already relegated Stokes.

Huddersfield can lose to a Chelsea team that are chasing top 4 and also to an Arsenal team that wants to ensure Wenger wins his last game in Charge.

So there is hope for Swansea if they can beat Stoke.

how na?
na so u hate Tammy reach? lol


na only West Brom and Stoke

elyte89:




E don sure na

Joebie:
Has Swansea been officially relegated?

No. But it is no longer in their hands.

elyte89:



Even d likes of idowu,aina havnt given us a clear cut reason to dump echiejile,d duo performance so far havnt been convincing as such

Echiejile will work his socks off to make the team,his performance this season is abysmal,not able to cut it in Turkish league and funny enough Belgium division two.

Ehen dat na another matter.

Huddersfield has two difficult games left.. it's not impossible for them to lose both and for Swansea to win their final game against already relegated Stoke.. make we keep our fingers crossed for Tammy and co.. lol

Icon4s:


No. But it is no longer in their hands.

elyte89:



Even d likes of idowu,aina havnt given us a clear cut reason to dump echiejile,d duo performance so far havnt been convincing as such

and elderson you believe will do better?

pelezico:


If Mikel is our best player don't you think that we have major problems then. If the squad that you are taking to Russia have players that are not better than Mikel then I only see doom ahead.

oh?

Argentina should also see doom ahead, nobody on the team is better than Messi

Same goes for Portugal. Who is better than CR7 there?

Egypt should also be terrified, Salah is their best player



How good were we when the likes of Yakubu and Enyeama were our best players? Is Mikel so woeful that he cannot be our best player?


On what ground should we be doomed if Mikel is our best player? Has he done anything to signify that he cannot hold the mantle when necessary?


I want to understand why we should be doomed if Mikel is our best as opposed to Moses? What does Moses bring that others cannot as compared to what Mikel brings?

Kog45:
When Rohr no dey craze Moses as WB,pls is Ebuehi not going to WC that Moses will play as WB.

I tire o

Joebie:
Ehen dat na another matter.

Huddersfield has two difficult games left.. it's not impossible for them to lose both and for Swansea to win their final game against already relegated Stoke.. make we keep our fingers crossed for Tammy and co.. lol

Huddersfield are playing a Chelsea that needs the win to have a hope of playing in UCL next year. See, Chelsea will win that game.

Huddersfield are on 36points and GD of -29
Swansea are on 33points and on GD of -27.

If Huddersfield loses to Chelsea their GD will even be worse.

The key for Swansea's survival lies on Arsenal to beat Huddersfield on the last day and for Swansea themselves to beat Stoke even by half zero.

I see HUDDersfield as even having the higher HUDDle to cross.

I don't know how serious Arsenal will take their last game but they will want to send Wenger off with a win. But Chelsea will aim at beating Huddersfield tomorrow by every means.

So there is hope for Swansea.

safarigirl:
oh?

Argentina should also see doom ahead, nobody on the team is better than Messi

Same goes for Portugal. Who is better than CR7 there?

Egypt should also be terrified, Salah is their best player



How good were we when the likes of Yakubu and Enyeama were our best players? Is Mikel so woeful that he cannot be our best player?


On what ground should we be doomed if Mikel is our best player? Has he done anything to signify that he cannot hold the mantle when necessary?


I want to understand why we should be doomed if Mikel is our best as opposed to Moses? What does Moses bring that others cannot as compared to what Mikel brings?

abeg leave that my brother.... anyone who have been watching the super eagles play knows mikel is the anchor of this team...

edi287:

Heard he is waiting for a Dutch invite.

he is already a dutch u21 player but still open to play for 9ja. he is a right winger who can be deployed as a righback/wingback as well. he is highly rated in the eirdivisie

Kog45:
Echiejile will work his socks off to make the team,his performance this season is abysmal,not able to cut it in Turkish league and funny enough Belgium division two.

and he can't even make the first team for that Belgium division 2 club and some peeps are hanging on the guise of experience to squeeze him into the super eagles...Russia party.

ehen u don talk am clearly..

Icon4s:


Huddersfield are playing a Chelsea that needs the win to have a hope of playing in UCL next year. See, Chelsea will win that game.

Huddersfield are on 36points and GD of -29
Swansea are on 33points and on GD of -27.

If Huddersfield loses to Chelsea their GD will even be worse.

The key for Swansea's survival lies on Arsenal to beat Huddersfield on the last day and for Swansea themselves to beat Stoke even by half zero.

I see HUDDersfield as even having the higher HUDDle to cross.

I don't know how serious Arsenal will take their last game but they will want to send Wenger off with a win. But Chelsea will aim at beating Huddersfield tomorrow by every means.

So there is hope for Swansea.

Icon4s:


I know the person that typed it too well to know her level of understanding of the game.

You know him too well that he knows everything and can never be wrong, right?
Bros try and be honest na.

safarigirl:
oh?

Argentina should also see doom ahead, nobody on the team is better than Messi

Same goes for Portugal. Who is better than CR7 there?

Egypt should also be terrified, Salah is their best player



How good were we when the likes of Yakubu and Enyeama were our best players? Is Mikel so woeful that he cannot be our best player?


On what ground should we be doomed if Mikel is our best player? Has he done anything to signify that he cannot hold the mantle when necessary?


I want to understand why we should be doomed if Mikel is our best as opposed to Moses? What does Moses bring that others cannot as compared to what Mikel brings?

Hahaha.

Safari, remember that open letter you wrote to the plastic fans on the eve of the 2014WC? Please start preparing another one cos we will need it a lot again.

forgiveness:


Wetin do am?

I have watched Awaziem closely and I discovered he is also attack minded. In short, he knows how to shoot at goal and score with his head.

I think he is a box to box midfielder.

awaziem started as a midfielder during his days with el kanemi jnrs. he is very good with the ball on his feet and knows how to shot. he has all it takes to metamorphose into a world class defender.