₦airaland Forum

Mujtahida:
God bless you bro. Immediately I read that Ebuehi had groin injury, I said to myself what's this groin, groin I've been hearing about since forever. I checked the meaning of groin and I shook my head.
Yesterday in the heat of the argument with my fellow eagulians I kept emphasing two points: the human body is not a machine and I asked another the meaning of groin injury. But I was baffled that them began to talk like they've never been sick and recovered forever in their lives. They took a mechanical view of the whole thing. At a point i wanted to tell them that how I wish we could get the perspective of a footballer cos experience is the best teacher. Never knew you are one. Nobody could argue against the fact that the boy was recovering from an injury. He even winced in pain and he was hesitant in making tackles.

Criticism should be fair. It should not just be for the purpose of scoring cheap points or taking pot shots at the coach as was disappointingly done yesterday.

Groin is a nasty injury...for those that don't know groinn, its the muscle that separates your thighs from your blocus...a mild groin won't stop you from running at full speed, its the stretching or routines that requires quick snaps that gets you...there was no way Ebuehi healed that groin fully in 3weeks but I guess he didn't want someone else to be invited in his place for the friendly..same thing as what etebo did..they wanna force themselves play the friendly..

BascoVanVeli:
He had 2 major jobs in the qualifiers Mahrez and Basagog and I will let u answer if he did a great job or not.

So you are saying is sole job is to be man marking..who are you going to man mark at the world cup especially as a left back, you need to be sharp and be able to deal with any threat on your side..he was ok against algeria, made a few tackles that's all..he offered nothing apart from that..modern day LB and RB are required to contribute a lot to the game..can't u see what Shehu does for us. If Echiejile offers half of that, I won't be criticizing him...against cameroun, balogun covered for him a lot..against technical and tactical teams at the world cup, they would exploit echiejile to the fullest..

All have been asking so far is what does Echiejile truly offer the SE presently, we can point any RB on that team and point out what they offer..

realpoacher:
Please share the link too for me. I need to download some of our matches

Thanks

I posted it..I hope you saw it.

Hey guys I just watched that nigeria vs serbia game again with clear head and no tension, I know Joel Obi didn't play that well but I think he has something to offer the team. He wasn't has bad as we are all making it sound like, yes he misplaced some passes but he seem to have a dynamism to his play that Onazi, Ogu, and Agu doesn't have..his set piece wasn't too bad, a few more practise with the team and a better understanding might unfold.

Before you all crucify me,
go on facebook
type green eagles hq,
Search Nigeria Football highlights and
Watch the games again with a clear head, no tension involved.
All of nigeria games in the last one year is on that facebook page..for those that think Echiejile has anything to offer the team, you need to go watch most of our wcq games and you would see for yourself how much he has depreciated. If you think he is still good, tell us what he would offer the team or anything he truly excels at!! I no wan hear he has experience, mikel has experience and that experience does something for the national team we all can see..

Regarding Ebuehi, he tends to shy away from physical battles but he is more technical and reads the play well..him and ekong was just to soft regarding that second goal when that guy dribbled both of them and they didn't foul him. I would give Ebuehi benefit of doubt because I'm still playing actively and I know when you are recovering from groin injuries, you are scared of stretching your legs because of fear of the groin..you need a couple of games that would truly give you confidence its gone..

You could pass fit for a game but a lil snap tackle or stretch could make u feel a little pain there..this would stop you from commiting 100% in tackles..I'm talking from experience regarding this injury, I played for my city, for my university and I constantly struggled with it...Groin injury = minimum of 6weeks to recover and trust me you are not at 100% after 6weeks...I doubt he has had this injury for 3weeks..
Note: you could have a mild groin and still play the game but fear would be all over you..

BascoVanVeli:
Lets get this clear. Uwa Echiejile was convincing in almost every single game he played under Rohr his problem is that he now plays in Belgium second division.

I disagree, go watch those games again..you will notice he offers next to nothing going forward, his passing is not good, always passing backwards, can't advance play...he lacks speed now..the only thing he is good at currently is tackling!!!, put a good winger on him and we are in trouble..

Someone posted a facebook link fee pages ago where you can watch all of super eagles game in the last one year..I had to take time to watch most of our wcq again..bros echiejile is on a downward spiral with his game now...anyone clamouring for echiejile should take their time and watch those games and u would notice right away this is not the echiejile of 2014..

MetalJigsaw:
Nice post but I don't agree with where you said Ighalo wasn't clinical, as if he got chances in that match. Even Lewandowski will look ordinary in that match with an empty midfield and no supporter.

Ighalo is a good striker with good attributes of a striker but that doesn't make him clinical..Actually few strikers have the attribute of being clinical..just because a striker is not clinical doesn't mean he can't score goals..

When you see the level of composure and the calmness of strikers that score, you know they are clinical...Ighalo has never been clinical for SE, but that doesn't stop him from scoring goals...even when he was at Watford banging goals left right and center, he still wasn't clinical thou he was in form.. My broda I'm sure you can mention most of the clinical strikers we have in the world..the only clinical striker we have on our team currently is Iheanacho but he lacks proper hold up play...the coach would have to decide who he wants based on the attributes he needs for that position..

Icon4s:
First off, can the NFF please change those lemon jerseys we played with today?
1. They were very offensive to the eyes
2. They make the team look uncoordinated and unbusiness like
3. They make the team look childish and so ordinary
4. That jersey does not make a bold statement.

Can the NFF please make a white copy of the darker green as our away jersey while the darker green becomes the home jersey.

Peeps may wonder why I take this jersey issue this seriously. I take branding and image making seriously. Your national team jersey is your first medium of branding. I always make reference to the bigger brands in football and what their jerseys say about them. Nuff said on that.

Today's game, though we lost but we learnt some additional things that will help strengthen the team.

Some observations from our last 2 friendlies. I will drop more as discussions proceed:
1. This team has lost its passing and ball possessive abilities all in a bid to play more of counter attacking football. Rohr needs to do something about this as this has been a major strength for us especially when we play against European teams. Poland and Serbia totally dominated us.

2. Mikel is the heart and soul of this team

3. The oyinbo wall is the best CB pairing

4. We are going to the WC without cutting edge strikers.

5. Idowu's performance over the two games may have given Rohr reasons to take another look at Echiejile

6. Ebuehi is second choice to Shehu. Ola Aina: I fear for that lad. He may be the sacrificial lamb.

7. Uzoho had a better performance today but we are still in a crisis situation in that department. We may be watching the WC with our hearts in our mouths each time there is enemies incursion.

8. Alex Iwobi is the closest replacement for Mikel in that AM role. But when Mikel is in the team he may operate from the wings.

9. Onazi clawed his way back into a vantage position in the team. Presence of Joel Obi could be responsible.

9. Ndidi is the engine room of that midfield and should be handed the CM role while Ogu and Onazi should battle for the DM position.

10. Joel Obi's inclusion into the team, contrary to remarks on here, is value added. He has brought more steel to the midfield as he combines his skills with physicality. He may not make the first 11, though, with Ndidi as the CM and Mikel as AM.

11. We don't have business like wingers. Simon is not imposing enough, Musa never makes one perfect cross. Moses stands out but often plays to the gallery.
Iwobi some times does one trick too many and may occasionally get lost in the game

12. Odion Ighalo. I think we need to tell ourselves the truth. Once Mikel is back Iheanacho should take up that CF position. What do you call a CF that could not even test any goalkeeper over the two games?

13. We are most comfortable with the 4-2-3-1 formation with which we qualified for the WC. The other formations may just be back-up options that may be employed depending on the dynamics of the game.

14. One major positive: We have a better bench than that of the 2014 WC.

I am not shaken by this defeat even though I had wanted a 100% record in our build up process.
The team building is continuous even after the WC.

Over all, quality friendlies and quality oppositions. Yes we were tested.
Let's see what the team offers us in the May and June friendlies.

Ighalo is the only forward that offers any hold up play upfront..playing with Iheanacho means no proper holdup play..it would be hard playing nacho as the lone forward..he doesn't play well as the only striker..

Ighalo is not clinical but I'm just hoping he hits form b4 the world cup..

I doubt Echiejile can do any better than idowu..idowu was more energetic in the left back position, he just doesn't know how to take on players..I watched all our WCQ games again and I can tell you, echiejile would be exploited to the fullest by the Europeans..he plays like an old man now, no energy left..he offers nothing going forward..his pace defending would be a liability, now add Balogon to the mix..

I think our passing game has a chance when Mikel gets back so we could fully exploit our energetic fullbacks..

tbaba1234:
Ebuehi was not that bad... He is still our best right back....

I don't think he is at 100% yet..b4 the first goal, I saw him make a tackle and it seemed like he was in pain holding his groin..I don't think he is fully fit..

komekn:
You will not.

2 d Pure all tings are pure, 2 d impure - - - -

You didn't comment on the substance but the ambiguity in using the play on words, you read the negative and not the positive.

Nwa nem nwaiye only u can answer that 4 urself

Bro if you are a true SE fan, nothing stops you from driving 200miles which is just 2hrs drive to go watch a naija team play at your backyard..I had to drive 480 miles in 2014 to chicago to go watch USA play belgium, I wasn't even a fan of any of the team, I only wanted to watch the stars on parade..

I have always given you benefit of doubt regarding SE but that statement complaining of just 2hrs drive shows you are not really passionate for SE, you just like to pick on SE players flaws....if you truly loved SE, you would at least have done your best to make that game..rmbr i also had work the next morning and I still drove 480miles just to go watch ordinary US team!!!

gbosaa:
My biggest worry is our first match against Croatia. If we can beat Croatia, we’d get some good result against this team.

I think Iceland would chase shadows against a team that keeps possession.

Beautiful goals especially the free kick goal and the third goal from Miguel Layun of Sevilla


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=InacNvw1GDw

We can surely get a good result against Iceland but we can't underestimate them,that would be our greatest undoing..

Croatia team is beatable also, they seem not to have enough energy in the middle of the park, I'm sure if we get our tactics right and luck rides on our side, we can sure get a good result against this Croatian team..

Nigerian team needs to sort out our ball transitioning, but the fact is, our team looks very defensively organised and this might be one of our greatest assets at the world cup..I doubt omeruo can replace Balogon effectively but you can't take away his world cup experience...Omeruo is just poor at slide tackles, he prefers doing standing tackles which might work sometimes but to be a solid defender, you need to be able make sliding blocks like ekong did late in the game..

I'm watching the Mexico vs Iceland game also..my take..

They look like a very organised side playing a 3-5-2 formation but lack the cutting edge to their play. There is this bald guy on their team, he is just a good distributor just like what mikel does for us..

I think our speed, athletism and physicality might edge out iceland if we play to our full potential and I hope we don't underestimate them..we treat them like we are playing a world cup final, we should be fine..make no mistakes about this Iceland team, they seem to be very structured and disciplined..

Too be honest, I wasn't expecting us to win this game..ppl should rmbr we are playing a #6 team in front of their home crowd..difficult place to grind result..

Ekong really gave a captains performance tonight, we dearly missed Mikel, to say to hold the ball and transition defense to attack..

Uzoho needs more high intensity games like this to improve his confidence..he did a good job and the defense protected him well but I'm just afraid of the level of intensity at the world cup..I hope he doesnt succumb..

Moses is our star player but he needs to learn how to lead and not be selfish..he didn't have to take all set pieces with Iheanacho presence..I hope they practise more and the coach decide who the best is for those freekicks..

Can someone drop a link, my bein sports stopped working

somehow:
Between Ndidi, Onazi and Ogu, who is a better passer and distributor?

Can any of these at least serve as a make shift for Mikel?

Onazi once played the role but we lost 2:0 to South Africa.

To me, I woukd rather we use Iwobi there or if Joel is fit.

Another option is Iheanacho, he once played that role during his youth football era.

It's a friendly match so experimentation is allowed.

What do you guys think?

Ogu is the best distributor but he lacks the finesse to play the Mikel Role..non of those guys can dictate tempo of the game or control the game..Iwobi is still immature for that role but he is the best we have got..Iheanacho can play the role but that means we revert to 442 to suit nacho..so no one exactly can really effectively replace mikel in the team
.

For this game..team3

We can try option1 in the second half..

tbaba1234:
Very formidable side, a very good test. The home crowd adds a bit of spice.

I just hope ppl rmbr its just a friendly, most of those players might not go full throttle to avoid injuries..

I'm more interested in mastering tactics and formations in this friendlies..

Kog45:
Yes it's not about winning cos i remember US 94 didn't do well in friendlies but we all saw the glimpsed of a great team.

All we need is how the team would be faring in the absence of Mikel and if they can't do it against Poland then something is amiss cos i don't rate Poland.

Poland is number6 in the world sir..it shows they have a certain level of quality..don't understand why ppl are underrating poland...and rmbr we are playing them in front of their crowd..

ChrisKels:
Lol uv rly fallen in love with this kid that u had to screenshot this with an almost empty battery

I'm tempted to clamor for the inclusion of this boy in our next get together at least as a training cone but make I leave him till after the world cup make person no break my head here

If he keeps this form up, he deserves to be called up..at least he can make up the standby list in case of any injury..

He truly offers something different to all the strikers we have now, he would be a real asset..the only problem have always had with him is his decision making, I do hope he has improved in that aspect..

tbaba1234:
Sadiq Umar in Eredivise Team of the week again.. Two weeks in a row..

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DYF51iRUQAI-pyP.jpg

I think he should go back on loan to the top eredivise team so he can play champions league..after this season, I'm sure the top teams in Holland are at least coming to him to a year loan..

TheSuperNerd:
Excellently said....

Yea man..we need to be flexible with our tactics..

komekn:
Watched the game I don't think Tottenham was stifled possibly limited but it was very very close right to the last second.

Juventus were lucky two off the line clearances.

But still a testament to the quality of the EPL consider which league has the overwhelming highest number of teams in the last 16.

In that game, Tottenham dominated Juventus until around the 60min mark when asamoah came in for juventus to make it a 3-5-2 formation..initially both teams where using 433 formation..Tottenham didn't adapt well to the change in formation and pretty much lost the midfield. Juventus started using the wingbacks a lot when attacking which means there was constantly an overload due to the wingbacks..this created space for juventus to do the damage...

If u watch that game well, there was no way juventus would have won that game, Tottenham was just stronger in terms of team play..their coach failed to adapt to the new formation on time and they paid for it dearly..they conceeded 2goals in 5mins after juventus made this change..

Anyone that wants to learn impact of a formation change on a team should watch the first 30mins of that second half..

MetalJigsaw:
I think that 3-5-2 formation is the best option for SE currently because of its dual-strikers feature, threatening wing-backs and 5-man defence when the opposition is on attack.

Well depending on the opposition, most of our players are used to the 4-2-3-1 since we used it a lot during the qualifiers...hopefully they can master that 3-5-2 formation before the world cup tournament..you know mastering formation takes time for a national team...

If we can at least master these 2 formations, it would be difficult for any team to beat us...I know Rohr said we need to master 3 formations but I doubt the team has time to master 3 formations and be efficient with it..

One thing I know for sure, if we play against a top quality side that uses wing play alot, we can effectively stifle the opposition with our 3-5-2 formation.
If the opposition plays a lot from the middle like croatia, I think a compact 4-5-1 could limit their play..

It seems I already listed 3 formations already Ahahaha..I didn't even include our traditional 4-3-3 and 4-4-2 most of our players are used to..I hope the coach uses the best formation based on the opposition..

Did anyone watch that tottenham-juventus game today..just see how the coach changed their formation from 4-3-3 to 3-5-2..the 3-5-2 effectively stifled Tottenham out of the game...this new formation made sure juventus stayed compact in every area of the field.. Tottenham would have won this game easily but thanks to a smart coach..

I do hope the Nigerian team perfect that 3-5-2 formation b4 the world cup so we can use it to surprise our opponents..we can keep our default 4231 formation and just switch up on our opponents at some point..

tbaba1234:
ANS appears to be implying something about Simon Moses.. Read the thread below

What could Moses simon have done to ANS that fake news website? They have a really poor credibility!!

If he contacted the infectious disease 2years ago and he could infect his teammates, why didn't his club quarantine him? I know oyinbos don't joke with stuff like that.

I think this is just a poor attempt to damage to poor boys image..

somehow:
The same league won CCL back to back

Some of its clubs got to quarter finals of CCL and semi finals in recent times.

Some of the players go to foreign clubs to become stars there.

You can bereat the league whichever way you like but it won't add or improve it a dime. If you so much hate what is going on in the league, why not step in to correct it?

Shehu Diko and Irabor didn't sit somewhere far away berating the league, they came and contributed their quota, they don't have 2 heads, you can also come and change the league to eldorado overnight.
We are waiting.

Bro when did the league win back to back CCL..u mean back in the enyimba days when pure talents where in the league even thou there weren't refined yet, they were still talent..when Kanu played, he was a talent but not refined yet..

All I'm saying is the league is not as tough as u think, there is a lot of underlying problems in the league such as player welfare, organisation, salary issues, proper coaching..its just too much..

Even if any player scores 25goals in the league, I won't take them serious until they repeat it in a more serious league..a player that scored 10goals in the npfl could have more talent and potential than some scoring 20goals..

somehow:
Who's over hyping who here? For someone to score 11 goals in 10 matches, so he shouldn't be talked about? You sound like NPFL is a league where easy goals are scored.

For your information, we have never had anyone score up to 25-30 goals in a season in the NPFL , that's to show you how difficult it is scoring goals in this league.

So he doesn't have to go to Costa Rica to prove to anyhow he scored 11 goals in 10 games. Hopefully Kano pillars will keep him for next season so that he can repeat the feat again because I believe he will score more.

If Odey likes, let him score whenever he is, it has nothing to do with this young man, their destinies aren't tied together.

Switzerland is now a higher level goal wise? Switzerland that goals dey fly up and down? You make it sound like Odey is the only NPFL player to leave for Europe, that he's even scoring much now doesn't mean he's a bad striker, some players aren't that fast in adapting to newer environment.

Let's cut Nigerian players from the NPFL some slacks meen!

Hian!

Bros the quality of football sucks in NPFL!! How do you want to score 25goals and beyond in the league with little quality coaching, no proper set plays on how manage and execute games..

Stop hyping players from NPFL, their level of football education is at best level of primary school kids...they just have the raw physicality/speed and that's just about it...

Most of our players when they go abroad have to be re-educated on how to play the game..so abeg until npfl understands football has gone past kicking the ball around to a well controlled and executed set plays in diff part of the pitch..

HAVE YOU EVER ASK YOURSELF WHY FOREIGN BASED PLAYERS SEEM TO HAVE MORE QUALITY THAN HOMEBASE??

Farzat:
Akpeyi is not a good goalkeeper and can never give what he dont have. Siasia brought him as one of d overaged players in Olympic and d poor Emmanuel Daniel still benched him. I watched d match against Colombia live in sao paulo and I can say that Akpeyi's performance affected d whole team because everybody panics whenever ball is coming towards our post.
He has been given enough time to redeem his image but its obvious he has nothing better to offer. I thought they said he's very solid GK for his club but all I see is d same Akpeyi. His continuous invitation is actually injustice to many other Goalkeepers who are praying for an opportunity.

Thank you for this..a goal keeper confidence rubs off on his teammates..if ur goalkeeper becomes jittery, the whole team becomes jittery and have to worry abt their gk..

komekn:
With Musa he simply was not able to adapt to the EPL. Musa played a good number of games for the U23, was he the stand out player and how many goals did he score to make a claim for first team football.

I suspect he didn't give his all in the U23's I may be wrong, but he didn't put in the performances to be considered.

Making him go play for the u23 is an insult to him as a pro..that would even damage his confidence looking at his kind of profile..a player that has played in the world cup playing in the u23..how many world cup players play for the u23 except they are coming back from injury

Kog45:
I'm a real fan of Akpeyi but it reached a point especially against Argentina i need to dropped being a fan and look at things critically and even went back to Olympics why Siasia preferred Emma Daniel.

Good you mentioned Ajiboye,pls do you think Akpeyi and others are better than Ajiboye?and if they are better on what criteria.

Bengine,pls go and watch Sudan match again and be sincere,tell me any of our keepers put into consideration by Rohr that can makes those saves,may be Uzoho cos have not seen much of him.

A gk that couldn't even bench Emma Daniel at the Olympics..Ajiboye is way better than this Akpeyi..I know Akpeyi supporters would claim he has experience and exposure, I hate it when ppl use experience to limit talent..Ajiboye is more talented than Akpeyi in all the games have seen..

Lets look at some attributes and can anyone tell me in which one Akpeyi trumps Ajiboye..positioning, reflexes, diving, ball handling..one of the only problem I have with Ajiboye is aerial crosses, most of our Nigerian goal keepers struggle in this area so its normal..I don't really see any yardstick why we should take Akpeyi to world cup over Ajiboye..

tbaba1234:
If Akpeyi did not move his feet, we would have said that was a bad free kick because he would have grabbed it easily.

Keepers train with these balls everyday and should understand the movement. Would you blame the ball movement for the Argentina's goal too?

Enyeama was not beaten on his side. he was beaten on the wall side.

Two things, you learn when training as a keeper,

i. Always cover your near post,
ii. For freekicks, don't get beaten on your side.

Unless, the strike was unstoppable/exceptional .. Getting beaten on your near post or on your keeper's side has to count as a error..

Words spoken from a former GK..it seems Akpeyi just lacks the basics of gk..

Icon4s:
But u were hammering on the distance. That no WC goalkeeper should be conceding from such a distance.

How many players in the world can truly hit a ball from distance with power, curl and dip accurately consistently?? Its only messi and ronaldo have seen do this consistently over the years..There is just too few of them..

Sir, look at that fk again and tell me it has this attributes I mentioned that makes it difficult for goalies..the trajectory of that ball was not complicated at all, Akpeyi guessed wrong, he had enough reaction time to deal with that ball..

Icon4s:
What of the one Enyeama conceded against Messi?

I already explained it in my previous post..too be honest, Ajiboye is looking like a better option to this guy..anytime I see him in goal for us, fear just grips me!!! He doesn't inspire any confidence as a gk...you know a gk confidence rubs off on his defenders..