AkinDS's Posts
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That was then, we are talking of now. Oshoala and Ordega have lost a step or two, pace wise. Oparanozie was never fast and was the slowest of the three O's. Yes, Onumonu does have pace, having been a sprinter in her middle and high school days. You can watch her games for FC Gotham to get a sense of how fast she is. mostob: |
This is really a stretch. The issue with Oparanozie is she is incapable of playing on the flanks (due to her lack of pace) and is therefore, very limited in what she brings to the team, outside of being a point person in the attack. Meaning, IF she is (wo)man marked, she pretty much becomes redundant. As opposed to Oshoala, Franny, Onumonu, Kanu or Okoronkwo, who can play anywhere on the front line and drag their markers out of position, so they cannot be effectively (wo)man marked. The role Oparanozie is best suited for is IF there is a change in strategy (i.e., coach switches to a 4-4-2 formation, from a 4-3-3), and she plays alongside one of the other strikers. Otherwise, if the formation is a 4-3-3, I very much doubt Randy will start her. We saw an example of that against New Zealand, where he seemed to switch to a 4-4-2 near the end of the game, allowing her to come in when Oshoala got injured. Deltamani: |
Likelihood of Ashleigh as left back is slim anyway. Reason is IF Imuran is unavailable (for whatever reasons), Ogbonna will likely be the next in line. Regarding centerbacks, surprised most here don't think highly of Tosin Demehin. I strongly believe she is high up Randy's list. I think she will be a starter. She is quick, physical and her ball playing skills (ball control and passing) and tactical awareness (reading of the game) are way up there. She started and played the full 90mins in all of our last 5 games. I really don't see how she does not start. Deltamani: |
Oopps! My bad. No vex ![]() On a more serious note, the good thing is it looks like Halimatu and Rash are only going to miss ONE game (based on what Randy said during his interview). If true, that is great news!! Deltamani: |
I think Ashleigh will do fine at left-back also, as she has a better defensive mindset in comparison to Payne. Also, Imuran should be fine. She seems to have matured and her confidence has improved over the last couple of months, especially since she became a started at Stade Reims towards the end of the season. I believe we should be okay overall. My key concern is Oshoala - she is quite injury prone and her absence inn the starting lineup could be an issue, as it will be one less problem for our opponents to be concerned about. Deltamani: |
I am surprised at the questions you have asked. Barring injuries, save for Onome Ebi (replaced by Ohale), Halimatu (replaced by Ucheibe) and Rash (replaced by Kanu), the starting 11 will be the same starting lineup we all saw against New Zealand. Deltamani: |
Unfortunately, Nicole was unable to make the last 5 matches of the SF and therefore was rightfully dropped. There is absolutely no doubt that IF her move to PSG comes to fruition and she proves herself and becomes a regular member of the PSG team, her place as SF right back will be on lockdown. No doubt! It would have been unfair on Glory Ogbonna to miss out, since she was present for those 5 matches. Now, if the idiots at the NFF had indeed organized the camp in Nigeria and Nicole was present, she would have very likely displaced Ogbonna and made the team (based on her performance at USC in the NCAA D1 season. Deltamani: |
That's the language Nigerians always use which breeds a sense of entitlement. The players should be picked on MERIT only! If their level of performance (at the time of selection) warrants they should be in the SF squad, then great. Nobody needs to be 'drafted'. solonnachi: |
You forgot to mention she has the lungs of a horse. Was watching the SF matches against Costa Rica and New Zealand again over the weekend and that girl covered literarily every blade of grass on the field. Left channel, right channel, center, defense, attack, back and forth, nonstop. Her level of coverage is scary. Wish her all the very best! Deltamani: |
https://www.fifa.com/fifaplus/en/watch/gRJ7J_lXOESzY7aMBuRvRA Women's football has improved significantly from yester-years |
You may be right, when you factor in the layovers. Unfortunately for our Super Falcons, no easy way to get to Aussie-land. JohnBullMySon: |
Obviously someone with little or no knowledge of women's football in America. FYI... there was the USL W-League and the WPSL PRIOR to 1999. Do some research, young man!. I presume reading and understanding clauses in bylaws and regulations might be a struggle for you - like I once stated earlier, stick to what you do best - videography! Cheers! BascoVanVeli: |
Dude, you're a very interesting fellow. 1. I guess the NFA didn't care about women's football either, that they opted to send the Falcons to the 1999 WWC where they beat Denmark and North Korea but fell to Brazil in the QFs. I can tell you Nigerians in diaspora cared enough to drive hundreds of miles to the then RFK Stadium in DC to watch Nigeria take on Denmark and beat them 2-0. Lauren Gregg was an integral part of the coaching crew for the US team that beat Nigeria 7-1 in the group stage and you don't get to be a USWNT coach if you are not the best. But hey, according to you, nobody cared about football then. 2. Don't get ahead of yourself as you didn't prove anything! What exactly are you going on about Debbie training under Waldrum at Pitt? When did I say the coach COULD train his team? Did you even bother to read the NCAA Manual about the do's and don'ts during the off season? Because it is crystal clear that a coach has the latitude to encourage his team members engage in off season activities that do not violate the bylaws. You did hear Waldrum talk about her strength and conditioning work she has been doing off season (or did you miss that)? NCAA D1 Manual - article 17.20 is clear as to what a student athlete / coach can or cannot engage in (nothing in the manual stops her from training with an off campus team - like Steel City, FC in Pittsburgh) 3. Not sure why you have it in your head that I am against 'most' players coming out of Nigeria? That is a bizarre conclusion on your part. There have been some good players, like Tosin Demehin, who impressed the very first time I saw her play live in Houston in 2021, and there are some who I was unimpressed with, like Ogbonna. It is disingenuous on your part to state that I dislike most players out of Nigeria just because I was unimpressed with a player like Ogbonna. Most would agree that I was right in this instance. And for the record, I never back away from debates on this forum, unless they fail to be intellectually stimulating or the person I am debating keeps going around in circles and skirts around the facts presented. You tend to be the latter. I really cannot continue to waste my precious time with someone who choses to ignore the facts that are presented and decides to debate peripheral issues instead. BascoVanVeli: |
That's if the imbeciles at the NFF don't insist on only home based players making up the Super Falcons, especially after this World Cup, considering the issues with Randy insisting on Yewande. Those bastards at the NFF will be on a revenge mission. They have already damaged the Super Eagles brand by insisting that 4 HB players must always be in the squad. 4 useless players who add absolutely zero value to the team. Deltamani: |
Makes more sense to fly out from the US or UK: Lagos to Brisbane - 27 hrs flight time Los Angeles to Bribane - 16.5 hrs flight time London to Brisbane - 21.5 hrs flight time lovewins: |
We will never know now, would we? The NFF should be blamed for having little or no trust in Ann Chiejine capability and not giving her an ample chance. Again, absolutely NOTHING to do with Randy! Also, based on Randy's judgement, having worked close with a Women's World cup and Olympic gold medal winning coach in his vast and expansive career, he is undoubtedly in the unique position to determine if a coach is capable or not and is spot on about a member of his coaching crew's ability, or lack thereof, to lead and coach a WWC team. Most importantly, its an EXTREMELY LONG walk from coaching a 'young Abia' team to coaching the Nigerian Super Falcons at a WWC! Lastly, Randy, according to his contract, has the right to pick the team that he feels would prosecute his strategies best at the WWC. He therefore decided to pick Jennifer Echegini (in place of the older Ngozi Okobi) and also decided to pick Debbie Abiodun (in place of Regina Otu) who he has seen and worked with up close since May 2023 in Pittsburgh, and can verify she is fit and ready for the WWC. As one journalist (Fisayo Dairo) aptly and correctly stated in his piece, Ngozi Okobi has refused to read the writing on the wall. Best of luck to her. BascoVanVeli: |
Its seems your MAIN bone of contention with Waldrum's comments are his supposed (in your words, paraphrased or otherwise) 'disrespect' for his coaching staff. Which means you are in consonance with everything else he stated! So which one, of Waldrum's CURRENT Nigerian coaching staff, would you state as being the most competent enough to lead and COACH the team? Is it Ann Chiejine, who has been an assistant coach with the Super Falcons for close to 10 years, but keeps getting passed over for the head coach position when changes are made? If memory serves me right, she has been Asst. Coach under Omagbemi, Dennerby, Danjuma and now Waldrum. It's clear she is LEAD Nigerian coach currently attached to the team. Reading the tea leaves, its also clear the NFF has little confidence in her abilities to lead and/or coach the team. Who else? Was Randy misrepresenting the truth about the limited capabilities of the Super Falcons staff? BascoVanVeli: |
Too little, too late! Strange that Okobi's 'fake news' rebuttal to her alleged rant on Waldrum is only coming out now, when this has been circulating in the news for over a year (before WAFCON). Yet, she intentionally opted not to address it then. naptu2: |
In actuality, the 2 supposed 'gatecrashers 'to the Falcons camp in Houston for the Summer Series in 2021 were: 1. Esther Okoronkwo, who had just finished at Lamar University, Houston in May 2021 and 2. Michelle Alozie, who, like you stated, was in tryouts with the Houston Dash and had no professional contract with them. Yewande Balogun, as Randy verbally confirmed, was contacted by him to join the team after he became aware of her Nigerian background. At the time, she was under contract as a goalkeeper coach for University of California, Davis. Randy also reached out to Iffy Onumonu and convinced her to switch nationalities. lovewins: |
This Olajire fellow is even more dumb than he looks. 1. Why would Randy want a camp for HBs, when the WWC was barely a month away? Randy's comments about a camp for the team in Nigeria is more believable. So, the fact that he names his team means they shouldn't have a camp in Nigeria? How daft can this fellow be? 2. Okobi was never going to start ahead of the trio of Echegini, Payne and Ucheibe. Upfront, Uchenna Kanu is more than a capable replacement for Ajibade. So, this Olajire is simply talking out of his arse. 3. Chiamaka was 'badly' injured in the Mexico trio of friendlies, yet Yewande came in, played the full 90 and won with a clean sheet. In the process, ending a bad losing streak for Nigeria. And what exactly is his point? This guy just showed how completely inept and incompetent the NFF is! solonnachi: |
Which young keeper? The keeper they wanted to impose on him had never been recommended by his Naija assistants, meaning that person the NFF was pushing for, simply wasn't good enough. Saying she adds nothing is rather disingenuous. In the game she was asked to tend goal, she had a clean sheet. She adds depth, reassurance and vast experience into the position. None of your so-called 'young goalkeepers' (whoever they are) have that! isan: |
I'm sorry, what ![]() Please, don't even go there. Better than who? Oshoala? Heck NO! That's a complete fallacy! Which dribbling skills does Oparanozie have? She has always been a power forward, relying more on brute strength (gra-gra), than skill. Oshoala has more goals in less appearances with the National team. There is a reason why Oshoala is regarded as one of (if not) THE greatest striker in African Women's football and its not because she plays from the flank! For club and country, she is miles better than Oparanozie and her goal scoring records prove it. Deltamani: |
We are our own worst enemies! This is not only sabotage, but is also gross incompetence on the part of the NFF and they are clearly setting our girls up for failure. Pinnick looks like a saint compared to this inept Gusau! Deltamani: |
And what is the correlation between an African medal and good performance at the World level? Morocco, for example, got knocked out in the quarter finals of the 2022 AFCON, but went on to post the greatest performance by an African team at the World Cup. Zero correlation. yinkeys: |
A credible argument could be made that she DID lose the ball. Watch min 7:33 (slowmo) which shows Cameroon defender Awona toe-poking the ball away from Okobi, while Okobi was trying to turn away. Watch Awona's left leg swing and toe-poke, as well as the path of the ball. Deltamani: |
As always, you seem to enjoy arguing for argument sake but unfortunately for you, your arguments are typically void of facts. Which NCAA rules are you referring to about training? Attached is the NCAA rule book - focus on 17.20.8.1.2 Out of Season. Hopefully, that would help ground you in some of the NCAA rules. Go back and read my comments - the discussion here was not about WAFCON, but the WWC. Stop trying to conflate issues. The two caps Debbie got were AFTER the U20WWC, just as I had previously advocated. You really need to go back and refresh you memory on our previous discussions regarding when Debbie should be invited to the National team. BascoVanVeli: |
There is always a first time for everything. Doing it the 'traditional way' has never benefited Nigeria in terms of performance at the WWC, so nothing wrong it trying an alternative approach. Flourish played more CL and NWSL games, while Debbie played only 2 NWSL games before she went to Pittsburgh. So what? Flourish is not a critical need to the team - as a DM, Debbie is and so she made the team. Randy believed the quality of training at Pitt (and at US D1 Colleges) surpasses that in the NWSL, especially regarding the quality of players he wants on his team to prosecute the WWC. Makes perfect sense to me! Its funny - months ago during the qualifiers for the U20 WWC, you were adamant about Debbie being fast tracked to the National team (I recall debating you on this issue, citing she shouldn't be set up for failure). Months AFTERWARDS (U20WWC, two high profile international caps against the US and Japan, where according to you in your video, she performed brilliantly and was recruited by the University of Pittsburgh who offered a full ride scholarship), you now turn around and cry BS? The truth of the matter is she is deserving of her WWC spot. She has EARNED it! BascoVanVeli: |
Why do you need a training session to release a final list? There were at least 5 or 6 countries that released their final 23 without a single traiing session. After Nigeria had played 5 matches in the past 4 months, the team was pretty much set. No need for any camp to determine who to pick. The lady's comments were completely irrelevant. Regarding Ajibola, which once or twice did Debbie play in the league? She was with Rivers Angels during their 2021 CAF Champions League qualifications and Campaign, as well as the FIFA U20WWC. So, why is she not deserving of a spot? Your performance video of her contradicts your comments https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TqQVRGK4iFc https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FGZiMmi8EJM BascoVanVeli: |
Some of these ex players just talk without reason or deep thinking. My response is: Who on the list isn't Nigerian and who on the list should be dropped for an underdeveloped home based player? The best Nigerian players were selected by Randy. He has worked with them for over a year and knows they have what it takes to compete against the best in the world. LET HIM DO HIS EFFING JOB!!! When he leaves the team, you can appoint your bush uneducated coaches and let them do what they want. When the likes of Ghana and Ivory Coast knock Nigeria out of the Olympics again, these same ex players will be the same ones advocating for a foreign coach. Circle of insanity! Deltamani: |
Udoh is just trying to stir up a hornets nest. If he employed common sense, he would realize Okobi had really become less and less relevant to the team. The last five games showed Echegini on the accendancy and if he bothered to be objective, he would have realized she was a direct and credible threat to Okobi. Deltamani: |
Agree, but overall, the list is very okay. solonnachi: |
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I remember that it was after the 99 world cup that America started their league. Who do u think u are talking to? 