Kano Pillars midfielder Shobowale Azeez has expressed his appreciation to
Super Eagles coach Stephen Keshi for the opportunity handed him to have a feel of senior national team.

In an exclusive chat with SportsTalk, he said that the experience he has gained cannot be quantified
despite not making the list of eight players retained by the gaffer for the Afcon qualifier against Chad.

''I like to thank God for everything and to coach Keshi for calling me up in the first place, - he said.

Read more here >> http://sportstalkwithamos..com/2015/06/super-eagles-experience-shobowale.html

Having spent over 17 years at Anfield, Liverpool Captain Steven Gerrard would be saying
his good-bye soon but he writes to the club supporter as he makes that move to the MLS this summer.

The letter reads:

To all my fans,

Saying goodbye hasn't been easy.

Liverpool Football Club has been such a massive part of my life since I was eight years old
and I know how much I'm going to miss it.

It's been an emotional time for my family and I with my final game at Anfield against
Crystal Palace and then my last appearance away to Stoke City.

But I've been blown away by the send-off I've been given by the supporters and I'd
like to thank every one of you. It's been very humbling and it's something I'll cherish for the rest of my life.

Read the full letter here >> http://sportstalkwithamos..com/2015/05/steven-gerrard-reveals-best-moment-of.html

It is often said that to whom much is given, much is expected.
This is often the situation with ''big'' clubs like Real Madrid.
The club management sign top quality players and managers both for on and off the field business
which explains why the demand is usually high.

Carlo Ancelotti won the much coveted La Decima (10th Champions league title),
Copa Del Rey, Eufa Super Cup and the FIFA Club World Cup in in December 2014,
yet he was axed simply because the club ended the season without a trophy.
He delivered what ''the special one could not deliver in his first season.

What is Arsene Wenger still doing in Arsenal despite the call for his sack year after year
by fans of the club? You may ask. Answer: Obviously the philosophy and target are not the same.

Between 2004 till date, the Whites have employed the services of over nine coaches
with Jose Mourinho as the longest serving enjoying three seasons at the club.

Read the full article here >> http://sportstalkwithamos..com/2015/05/carlo-ancelottis-sack-what-wrong-with.html

By Amos Joseph
http://sportstalkwithamos..com/2015/05/opinion-lmc-and-this-compulsory-three.html

The League management Company (the body saddled with the responsibility of organizing
and coordinating the league in Nigeria) has announced a three weeks break in the 2014/2015 league after match day 10.

In fact, the Chairman of the LMC Mallam Shehu Dikko said the break period would be
used amongst other things to carry out spot checks on Clubs’ compliance with the NFF
Clubs Certification Regulations and also allow the clubs Managers some space to engage
meaningfully with the new political leadership in their respective states.

''You may wish to recall that we started the league with blanket provisional waiver to the clubs
to allow them comply with all registration requirements before Match Day 9 when a review will
be conducted by the LMC. The break period is also a time to revisit club stadium facilities to
remedy observed defects as the clubs have so far operated with provisional certificates" the LMC
Chairman added (as quoted on the body;s website).

Mallam Dikko said the break had also become necessary to allow the club managers time to
"acquaint themselves and engage meaningfully with their respective new Governor-owners."

The League will now resume June 14 with games of Match Day 11, some stakeholder have berated
the decision to put the league to a halt at this point in time.

Meanwhile, Coach of Enyimba, Kadiri Ikhana expressed his displeasure with the action and stated that
it is a setback for teams especially his own side.

''Its very bad for the League, very bad for the teams and its likely to give us a big setback, he told football live.ng in an interview.

''Why do we need a break, I don’t see the reason why or what we need the break for. Everybody is playing their game, we should be allowed to play on, its to bad.''


His team just bounced to winning ways with victory over Dolphins FC and their most recent over
Elkanemi on Wednesday which saw the team land third spot on the log with 18 points from 10 matches.

It is also worthy of note that some team are yet to find their feet in the campaign and would not mind having a break to fine tune or restrategize on their tactics and approach to the league.

I saw on the news how fans of Lobi Stars protested when their team failed to record a win, but until match day 10 the team recorded its first win in the campaign against Heartland FC on Wednesday.

Other teams rocking the bottom of the log are also caught in this web and
would also be glad that this break is coming at a time as this. But that is not to say
that they would do better when the league returns if nothing is done during the break.

Flowing from the above, the intentions of the LMC is clear and not far from the obvious
truth since most clubs in the league are owned by government. It is move in which every
stakeholder would benefit from.

Elections were held in over 20 states across the federation with virtually all these states having
a team in the Premier League, some can boast of two, like Rivers and Abia state.
The government is the sole financier of most clubs and come May 29th, 2015, power will
change hands as the baton would be passed to Governors elect in concerned states which
will affect every affair of the state including funding of football club in a way depending on
the interest of the government of the day.

LMC is however left with no choice but to pause and allow the transitions processing happen to ensure stability.

Meanwhile, for football reason, Coach Ikhana and some other who may be feeling the
postponement is uncalled for may be justified to an extent based on the impressive performance of
their teams which they would love to keep the momentum going. But it should also be noted that the football business is beyond the field of play and every stakeholder need to be aware of this fact.

Simply put, our clubs have been thriving on government funds which means they would be affected
by their activities. Many have termed this as unhealthy for the development of our football and
kudos must go to the privately owned clubs like Giwa et al as we also look forward to seeing
more individual with genuine interest in Nigerian football development buying up clubs and take
our game to the next level.

Flying Eagles defender Wilfred Ndidi has joined his teammate at their Germany camp
(NOVINA HOTEL SUDWESTPARK NURNBERG) on Monday.

The 18-year old is one of the foreign-based expected in the squad ahead of the FIFA U-20 World Cup in New Zealand.

Read more here http://sportstalkwithamos..com/2015/05/wilfred-ndidi-join-flying-eagles-camp.html

Belgian defender Gregory Mertens has been confirmed dead three days after
he suffered a heart filure while playing for Lokeren reserves in Genk.

The 24-year-old had been in a critical state after collapsing on the field 20 minutes
into a reserve game against Genk on Monday.

A club statement said: "The medical staff have done everything to save Gregory,
but they finally had to acknowledge their impotence.

"Gregory passed away at around 16:30."

According to sky sports, He was given emergency treatment on the pitch
before being rushed to hospital where he was placed in an induced coma in an effort to save his life.

Read more here >>> http://sportstalkwithamos..com/2015/04/belgian-defender-gregory-mertens-dies.html

Arsenal and Manchester United playing grounds (Emirates Stadium and Old Trafford)
have been adjudged the Ground Team of the season in the Premier League.

This award shows that tireless efforts of the men working behind the scene is being recognized.

Run by the Playing Surfaces Committee in conjunction with the STRI, there is a scoring system
in place which is compiled using marks from match officials and match delegates.

Read more and see other clubs commended http://sportstalkwithamos..com/2015/04/old-trafford-and-emirates-stadium-are.html

Floyd Mayweather's Sr has advised his son to call it quit after Saturday's ''Money-fight'' against Manny Pacquiao.

Mayweather, 38, has said he will fight one more time after the clash with Pacquiao at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.

"I hope he walks away after this fight," Mayweather Sr. told the British-based Sunday Telegraph.

"This is a gambler's game and I don't think Floyd should be gambling too much.
Once you reach that pedigree and make that kind of money, you don't have to fight no more.
Whenever you get in that ring, anything can happen. It looks easy but it ain't as easy as it looks. He makes it look easy."

Read more here >> http://sportstalkwithamos..com/2015/04/mayweathers-father-encourages-son-to.html

United Kingdom based youth coach Folabi Ojekunle has bemoan
the deficiency in Nigeria football coaching system.

''Coach Folley'' as he's fondly called gives an insight into his stint in the
United Kingdom where he has worked with Tottenham FC under Harry Redknapp, Luton FC and some other clubs.

The former Nigerian Railway Corporation FC and Nitel FC of Lagos player,
also shares his thought on the vivid difference between coaching in the Nigerian
environment at the grassroots level in comparison to European climes.

Born 11th of October 1975, he attended St Phillips Primary School and Eko Boys High School Mushin,
and his coaching career kicked began July 3rd 1993, approximately in coaching for 22 years.

Click here for the full interview http://sportstalkwithamos..com/2015/04/nigerian-coaches-are-passionate-but-far.html

Yes! Monaco can celebrate having made it to the quarter final stage
of the UEFA Champions League ahead of Arsenal .

Although the French club lost 0-2 to Arsenal at home but qualified
based on the away goals rule which saw them proceed on 3-3 aggregate.
They defeated Arsenal 3-1 at the Emirates about a week ago and that settled it.

Nigerian defender Elderson Echiejile shared this moment from the dressing room
via instagram @uwa_Elderson with the comment ''Great qualification
looking ahead to the next round#AllerMonaco #ChampionsLeague''

Read more interesting stories here >>>http://sportstalkwithamos..com/2015/03/moments-from-monaco-dressing-room-after.html

If this is for real, it's not a bad idea as we understand
the bottled water goes for N100 each at the stadium.

More image here >>> http://sportstalkwithamos..com/2015/03/enugu-rangers-football-club-has-branded.html

Yes, i agree.

The Egyptian second seed Omar Assar defeated Aruna Quadri of Nigeria
12-10, 13-15, 7-11, 11-8, 11-8, 11-8 in an interesting final of the Men’s Singles event
at the Molade Okoya-Thomas Indoor Sports Hall, Teslim Balogun Lagos on Saturday 14th March.

Watch interview here >>> http://sportstalkwithamos..com/2015/03/interview-with-omar-assar-after-after.html

Cameroonian Footballer Samuel Eto’o, narrated his ordeal at at jewelry shop in the UK of how
he and his brothers tried to shop but the sales rep acted funny because
some Nigerians had come to use fake credit cards at the shop.

The former African footballer who is worth over $100million, said he had gone in search of a watch
worth over $15,000 but said the shop assistant looked at them
suspiciously and reluctantly allowed them to view the watches.

''I went to go buy a watch at a jewellers, not too far from my house.
The watch I wanted to see was expensive. I asked the saleswoman - who was also black -
''Could you show me that watch please?’ First, I saw her turn to her co-workers like,
''Uh, what should I do?'' Eventually, she let me see the watch. I looked at it and said,
''OK, I’ll buy it.'' I took out my credit card and when she went to go run it through the machine,
she came back and said it was declined.”

Read more here >> http://sportstalkwithamos..com/2015/03/fighting-racism-how-nigerians-caused.html

The Glo Nigerian Premier League has kick off over the weekend with exciting games
from across different match centers.

In the opener on Saturday, it was a double header in the city of Port Harcourt as Dolphins FC
were held at home by visiting Kwara United while Sharks FC also played out
a goalless encounter with Sunshine Stars.

It was goals galore in the match between new entrants FC Taraba and Rangers
as the game ended 3-2 in favour of the home side.

Enyimba of Aba also welcomed Akwa United an it ended scoreless, Gabros bashed Warri Wolves
2-0 as Wikki Tourist came tops in the battle of the newcomers winning 2-0 over Shooting Stars.

See full week one result here >> http://sportstalkwithamos..com/2015/03/enyimba-held-wolves-beaten-in-glo.html

Wayne Rooney has spent about 11-years with Manchester United,
won many trophies but the FA Cup trophy still eludes him.

United will confront rivals Arsenal in the quarter final of the FA Cup
this weekend and it promises to be a cracker.

Rooney has missed out in the finals on two occasions,
in 2005 shootout defeat to Arsenal and again in 2007 when Didier Drogba’s
solitary goal in extra-time earned Chelsea a 1-0 triumph at the new Wembley

''We have an FA Cup quarter-final against Arsenal on Monday and
that is massive for us,'' Rooney told ManUtd.com and thePress Association.
''We haven’t been to a final for a few years, we want to try to win that game and we are looking forward to that.

Read more here >> http://sportstalkwithamos..com/2015/03/arsenal-in-trouble-rooney-hopes-to-end.html

It is the dream of every footballer to hit the highest level of football, Kevin-Prince Boateng is no exception.

The Ghanaian footballer has played for quite a number of clubs and against household names in world football.

He shared a pic along with a comment via instagram on Tuesday ahead of his club's ULC clash on Wednesday:

''Told my brother when I was 10 years old I promise you, I will play with the biggest and play against the biggest!!!
My dream came true... Thanks to all my fans aswell!! ������ #CL #S04RM #cantwait''

See Photo and more here >> http://sportstalkwithamos..com/2015/02/kevin-prince-boatengs-boyhood-football.html

French giants Paris Saint German will host Chelsea football club in the first leg
of the knock out stage of UEFA Champions League, in Paris on Tuesday night.

On-loan Chelsea defender Kenneth Omeruo is wishing his colleagues at the
London club a beautiful result from Paris.

Read more here http://sportstalkwithamos..com/2015/02/uefa-champions-league-kenneth-omeruos.html

Nigerians home and abroad await the appointment of a new coach for the senior
national team, the Super Eagles.

Recent reports have it that the NFF technial committee members are currently deliberating
on filling the vacant position. chairman of the technical committee of the Nigeria Football
Federation (NFF), Chief Anynsi Agwu says his committee had passed its recommendations
on the reappointment of Stephen Keshi to the executive committee of the federation.

''We deliberated on Keshi’s contract renewal and have made our recommendations to the
NFF board,'' Felix Anyasi-Agwu, chairman of the NFF technical committee, said after
their meeting in Abuja on Tuesday.

Did you just say Keshi again! Yes Stephen Okechukwu Keshi. Soon and very soon this
announcement will be made and Nigerians will know who will take the Eagles to the next level.

Although we also hear that his the new deal will contain clauses that will be make him
answerable to the technical committee. Also, the former Mali and Togo boss will work
with a backroom staff picked by the NFF.

Coach Keshi's contract lapsed after the Brazil 2014 FIFA World Cup and was asked to return
to lead the team to the recently concluded African Cup of Nations won by Cote d'voire in Malabo, Equatorial Guinea.
You know the rest. We simply did not qualify to play in that tournament and
the 'ifs' began to fill the papers. If only Nigeria had qualified, If only, if only.

From his football playing days to his present status as a coach, ''the big boss''
as coach keshi is fondly called, has experienced all the ironies of the round leather
game applauds, adoration, successes, controversies and lately failure.

Many are quick to accuse him of being money conscious, power drunk, arrogant,
tactically incompetent and placing mediocrity over merits.

Here's the thing. What exactly is Keshi not getting right aside the fact that he failed to lead
the team to Malabo? Or could it be said that Nigerians just want him out going by the usual
hiring and firing? This same Coach won the nations cup in 2013, led the team to
Confederation Cup in Brazil, qualified Nigeria to play in the world cup where he made the knock-out stages.

Let's just say the name Stephen Keshi means different things to different
people in this football loving nation called Nigeria. What then do you think about his reported return?
###
Have ur say people.
Written by Amos Joseph
http://sportstalkwithamos..com/2015/02/why-should-nff-not-retain-stephen-keshi.html

Nigeria international Ogenyi Onazi has urged fellow Nigerians to shun violence
in the forthcoming General elections in the country.

The SS Lazio midfielder also campaigns that the citizens endeavor to perform
their civic rights in electing their choice of candidate in the poll.

He share his message via instgram on Tuesday with comment:
''Election loading............. Vote for the right candidate no violence.
#ilovemycountrynigeria# Nigerians don't be brain washed.''

Watch his video here>> http://sportstalkwithamos..com/2015/02/vote-not-fight-super-eagles-player.html

Cristiano Ronaldo's Agent Mendes has believes that the Portuguese should
not be condemned for going ahead with his birthday celebration despite the heavy defeat to Atletico Madrid on Saturday.

Reports have it that captains of the club Iker Casillas and Sergio Ramos
didn't buy the idea of celebrating after such a debacle but the player's agent sees from another angle.

"He was very angry," Jorge Mendes told Spanish radio station Cadena Ser as reported by ESPN
"Any player that loses a game and more so Ronaldo, who is a great professional,
who continues to be the best professional in the world would be angry.

Read more and view more pictures here
http://sportstalkwithamos..com/2015/02/pictures-from-cristiano-ronaldos.html

taly and Liverpool striker Mario Balotelli has joined a host of others who
have reacted to Africa Cuo of Nations final match which produced Ivory Coast
as eventual winners over Ghana on Sunday.

The Black Stars of Ghana lost 8-9 to the Elephants of Cote d'voire after a scoreless draw in normal play time.

Balotelli share the Ghana flag on his instagram along with this comment
''Proud of my original country.. Unlucky but you guys gave everything and deserve a win.
But football sometimes is a b**** ! Head up. All your people are proud of you.''

His parents are of Ghanaian origin and he acknowledges the fact.

Find out more >> http://sportstalkwithamos..com/2015/02/proud-of-my-original-country-says.html

African footballer of the year Asisat Oshoala spent the weekend with
Super Eagles and Middlesborough defender Kenneth Omeruo.

The Super Falcons player who recently signed for Liverpool share a pic on
Social media via Twitter @asisato1 along with comment ''A weekend well spent
with my young daddy KEN but na only ZEUS(dog) wan pursue me......
had fun with good food hahahahahah #BORO #LFC''

Omeruo on the other hand dropped the same picture last on Sunday on his
instagram with a congratulatory message to the female African most promising talent,
''Congrats on your move to Liverpool Female Team @superzeee and African
player of the year. More to come dear'', - he said.

I'm not suggesting anything but, this UK Connection is good.

View pic and read more here >> http://sportstalkwithamos..com/2015/02/uk-connect-asisat-oshoala-and-omeruo.html

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has taken to the defense of Jack Wilshere
on the recently reported smoking incident.

The England midfielder was pictured holding a Shisha pipe in a night club in London
just months after he was caught smoking at a pool party during the summer holidays.

According to reports on Talksport, "But I observe him well and he behaves
in a very professional way. It's down to him to master his life. He had the
day off the next day and he went out to watch the Superbowl, -said Wenger.

"When he's here he has to follow the rules that we dictate here, when he's
out of his job it's his own responsibility to behave like he wants to behave.

"I believe he works hard, he practices well, he's ahead of schedule in his training,
he's two weeks ahead, and you don't do that if you are not serious.He is first in,
last out, and he works very hard to get there. I am not worried at all about that.

Read more here
http://sportstalkwithamos..com/2015/02/wenger-defends-wilshere-says-he-is-not.html

Super Falcons player Asisat Oshoala and Perpetual Nkwocha are optimistic that
Nigeria will do well in the forthcoming FIFA Women's World Cup.

The 20-year old forward who recently signed for Liverpool is confident that
the country will perform better than they have in previous tournament.

''I am confident that this year we will see Nigeria doing well. We have the players and
many of them have already played together at youth level'' - she said in an interview with FIFA.COM

Veteran Super Falcon striker Perpetual Nkwocha also shares similar view ''We have huge number of talents at the youth level, but we need to properly harness them as they graduate to the senior team,''

''But with good preparation surely our team will excel. We have the players and experience to do well in Canada.''

Asisat Oshoala is likely to lead Nigeria's attack along with Perpetual if invited.

Read more exciting stories here http://sportstalkwithamos..com/2015/02/asisat-oshoal-nkwocha-have-high-hope.html

Arsenal midfielder Jack Wilshere was seen in the night club
holding Shisha pipe and this Picture has gone viral Twitter.

It is the third time he would be spotted with this habit.

Anothe player of the club Wojciech Szczesny was fined £20,000
and dropped for smoking in the showers at Southampton.

See how fans are reacting and share our opinion too.
http://sportstalkwithamos..com/2015/02/see-how-fans-are-reacting-to-wilshere.html

Italian club AC Milan has unveiled tentative plans for a new 48,000-seat
stadium with a retractable roof to open for the 2018-19 season.

Report on Skysports The club posted a video featuring a model of the two-tier arena to be built next to the club's recently opened headquarters in the Portell-Fiera area of the city.

This project has been estimated at 300 million to 320 million euros.

see more and pictures here >> http://sportstalkwithamos..com/2015/02/pictures-of-new-ac-milan-stadium-plan.html

Real Madrid manager Carlo Ancelotti has released a 19-man list in the squad to confront
Sevilla in a La Liga match on Wednesday evening.

The league match which was postponed due to the World Cup will not feature World's best,
Cristiano Ronaldo who is currently serving match ban.

Below are the players to feature in the fixture:

REAL MADRID SQUAD:
Goalkeepers: Casillas, Keylor Navas and Pacheco.
Defenders: Varane, Ramos, Marcelo, Carvajal, Arbeloa and Nacho.
Midfielders: Khedira, Kroos, James, Bale, Lucas Silva, Isco and Illarra.
Forwards: Benzema, Chicharito and Jesé.

Read more interesting stories here >> http://sportstalkwithamos..com/2015/02/real-madrid-manager-carlo-ancelotti.html

Whoever followed the qualifying series which saw Cote d'voire and DR Congo make
the AFCON 2015 would agree that both teams have what it takes to make proceed into
the final of the on-going tournament in Equatorial Guinea.

On a good day for the Congolese they practically got the better of the Ivorians right
in front of their home fans in Abidjan.

Read more here >> http://sportstalkwithamos..com/2015/02/afcon-2015-between-cote-dvoire-and-dr.html

Nigerian international Brown Ideye has dismissed reports linking him out of West Bromich Albion,
just hours after the transfer window closed.

Ideye who has only scored twice for the English club in all competition took to social media (Twitter)
@OfficialIdeye on Tuesday morning to share this statement.

''I'm still a West Bromwich Albion player, don't know where that news about me leaving #wba came from,
I've not started doing what I know how to do best, so I can't just leave #wba like that #biglovetoallthefans #lovewba.''

Read more here >>
http://sportstalkwithamos..com/2015/02/im-still-player-of-west-bromich-albion.html

In honour of Wilfred Agbonivbare who recently passed on, his former club Rayo Vallecano
have named their stadium after the Nigerian goalkeeper who lost the battle to cancer.

Report on the club website speaks volume of how much they appreciated his input to to the club.

The statement read: “The Board of Directors of the Club has decided unanimously to keep
alive the memory of Wilfred and therefore will call the Gate 1 Vallecas Stadium, Gate Wilfred Agbonavbare.

''The club managers also thanked everyone who showed love towards Agbonavbare while he
battled cancer on behalf of the late goalkeeper’s family. The directors said that
they were touched by “the countless signs of affection that have been coming to club on a sad day for everyone.''

See pictures shared by the club and more here>> http://sportstalkwithamos..com/2015/01/spanish-club-rayo-vallecon-names.html

Mario Balotelli's Agent Rino Maiola recently granted an interview in which he revealed
how he has been able to keep the Italian striker happy at Anfield even though he's firing blank.

''Of all the champions I have dealt with, I’ve never managed one who has suffered
more injustices than Mario. People just don’t know him. The truth is Mario is an insecure lad
and, due to this insecurity, he tends to do some ridiculous things.

''I’ve always been one who wanted to make my players happy. With everybody else,
I've always done things my way, but not with him. ''I need my mum and my friends in Italy,''
he said. And being a father myself and wanting him to be happy, I took him back to Italy from City.
I should have told him: ''You are not going back to Italy. City are a big club and they
will always support you. This is the football that matters and you want out of it.''

Read full gist here >> http://sportstalkwithamos..com/2015/01/see-what-mario-balotellis-agent-rino.html