₦airaland Forum

OJEEMAH:
Your assertion about Sancho & Grealish is wrong. How do you even consider players whom have spent less than 6months flops??

Do you realize it take some players a year or two to finally find their feet?

Playing for a big English team is beyond being bold like you rightly said.

Several unforeseen factors could affect some players performance.

Price tag is another wahala especially on a player that was overpriced e.g Maguire

Alexis Sanchez said after his first training at Man united, he asked his agent if it was possible to go back to arsenal and you and I can attest to the fact that, the move didn't work out for him and man u.......... only Sanchez can say what may have influenced his decision.

See what Ibrahimovic said below......

The issue here is that most english players are over hyped which negatively hips alot of pressure on them when they make these big money moves to top clubs.

Meanwhile, you dont spend so much on players of such quality and keep waiting for them to click into gear. Even a certain lionel messi who is from another planet is being questioned because of his performances in Paris.


So Grealish and Sancho should prove me wrong through their performances, some man united players are even overwhelmed with the presence of ronaldo, as even prominent players like bruno fernandes have gone inside their shells already.

paulolee:
I get ur point bt his injury can be blamed on barca BT he wasn't like dis in Dortmund n it may stop if he makes d move n dts why he wants to leave..
on a good day, vinicious is no match for dembele

Dembele and Barca are to blame in the handling of his injuries. The cycle of friends he was keeping infleunced him wrongly and didnt help matters either, when u think he has outgrown turning up late for training sessions, he does it again.

Pedri is now even paying for lack of player management, i really miss seeing the genius ply his trade.

uthlaw:
Which yeye bold... Ena don come with ena over hyped league!

English Premier League is always a great league to watch, but i prefer Spanish La Liga anyday anytime.

paulolee:
m a chronic barca fan...even with his injuries, dey is no attacker currently in barca dts better than dembele...not even dt depay or dt ferran wey dm jus buy

You are certainly right about him being the best we have at barca, that is purely because of the club's financial sutuation, we are now only able to get average players. Meanwhile, these are players who on a normal day wont dream of playing at the camp nou.

Nobody is denying dembele's talent and skillset, but his inconsistency and injury record has been a major turn off for most barca fans. For how long are we going to keep waiting for him to be as decisive like the way vinicius junior is performing for madrid. For Heaven sake we tend to forget the frenchman is currently in his fifth season in catalonia.

Even Ansu Fati when fully fit is more productive in the final third than dembele. Remember last season Real madrid's young Brazilian Vinicius was always criticized for dribbling but not having the calmness in front of goal, this season we are all seeing how clinical and decisive the brazilian can be in the final third.

Yinkakolawole:
In this life, no champion remain forever.

As long as there is La Masia there is still hope for barcelona's future

paulolee:
player wey barca de beg mk e sign new contact

They are making him think he is indispensable,
which is not the case. To even a score a goal is a problem for him, na i almost score barca fans wan chop.

Skyfly007:
As per Director of sports at Barcelona

Am their foreign based sporting director lol But dembele inconsistency is just too much since he arrived la liga

BlaqFaze:
He has agreed to sign a new 5 year contract

They should make better use of such funds, when you take into account the number of games he has played in, since his arrival in Spain.

paulolee:
Xavi himself knew before he accepted dt job

He has to continue leading the inevitable transition period after messi's departure.

dedonfranco:
He was calamity

But on his day he is just unplayable

yuping:
You forget Andy Carol English press makes him look like a god.

Yes Andy carol right before he moved to anfield and turned out to be one of the worst signings in English Football.

ONLY THE BOLD CAN PLAY FOR THE BIG TEAMS IN THE ENGLISH PREMIER LEAGUE

We take a look at several English players over the years, who had made the bold step of leaving their comfort zone to make big money moves to the bigger teams in the Premier league.

1. DAVID BENTLEY

A certain youngster David Bentley took the premier league by storm during his time at blackburn rovers terrorising defences week in week out, opposition teams were always scared of visiting Ewood park back then, as Bentley and his team mates were always ready to cause all sort of problems for opposition defences, and each time I remember blackburn, a certain Norwegian Morten Gamst Pederson always comes to mind. Meanwhile, in 2008 Bentley signed for Tottenham Hotspur and was destined for greatness but things did not work out for him, as he failed to leave up to expectations.

2. WILFRED ZAHA

Sir Alex Ferguson made his last signing as Manchester United manager by signing the then English International in 2013, who had been performing tremendously with Crystal Palace, but on getting to Old trafford Zaha failed to live up to expectation as the pressure of performing at a big club seemingly got the better of him.

3. JACK GREALISH

This summer, Pep Guardiola's Man City broke the bank to sign Aston Villa's Captain Jack Grealish after his performances had caught the eye of several teams in the league, but again the hype surrounding english players has also gotten the better of him with barely 5months into his Man City career, he is already finding it difficult to nail down a regular spot in a City team filled with so many offensive players (ferran torres already saw the writing on the wall)

4. JADON SANCHO

Similarly, English international Jadon Sancho completed his move from German side Borussia Dortmund to Manchester United and so far judging by his performances he has also failed to light up old trafford since August this year, especially when you take into account the level of his performances during his time with Dortmund in the Uefa Champions League and the bundesliga.

5. ROSS BARKLEY

Some chelsea fans have already forgotten they have a certain Ross Barkley in their payroll, the English International made the move to Stamford bridge in 2018, after some brilliant performances for his Merseyside club Everton back then, his close control while he was plying his trade at Godison park was always a joy to watch, but unfortunately he has so far failed to live up to the hype, because the pressure of playing at a big club has been too much for him to handle.

CONCLUSION

The Hype especially around English players over the years has really not helped alot of their players in developing more as a player, before making such moves, with most of them failing to justify the huge amount of money spent on signing them. You can imagine Zaha who back then was being hyped and hailed as an English international youngster, is now being called up by Ivory Coast for the upcoming african nations cup. It is obvious as a player when you let this get to your head, you tend to forget the whole essence of playing football in the first place. So many players have made such moves in the past and their time in such teams has been a disaster, Everton are now seeking for a loan move for Ross Barkley, a player who was a darling of the Everton faithful back then. Please endeavor to stay at a team where you are adored by your fans, rather than moving to a bigger team and becoming a stranger.

CHELSEA ITALIAN MIDFIELDER JORGINHO SHOWS NO SIGN OF SLOWING DOWN

Chelsea's acquisition of the former Napoli midfielder in 2018 for a reported fee of 50 million pounds is now looking like a bargain, when you take into account his performances for the English side since he was brought to Stamford bridge by Italian tactician Mauricio Sarri.

However, like in many cases, we would have thought that Sarri's early departure from the london club in 2019 would have affected jorginho negatively, due to the close ties they had together in Napoles, but that clearly did not deter Jorginho, as his level of performances for both Club and Country ever since then has been nothing short of exceptional.

Chelsea's brazilian born Italian midfielder Jorginho has certainly been decisive in most of his displays for Chelsea once again this season and his performances did not go unnoticed after his name was among the top 3 best players during the last ballon dor ceremony held in Paris last month, following his triumphant exploits with Chelsea in the Uefa Champions League last season and the Azurri's campaign in Euro 2020 this year.

Note worthily, the solidity he brings to the middle of the park along with Frenchman Ngolo kante at Chelsea and Psg's Midfielder Marco Verrati in the Azzuri's squad is always a joy to watch. In addition to this, Jorginho has certainly excelled under the tutilege of German tactician Thomas Tuchel since his arrival at Stamford bridge and he has also repaid the faith showed in him by his coach through his performances, and from the look of things, he is only going to get better.

Finally, his contract at stamford bridge will be running out in 2023, but Chelsea's club hierarchy should be proactive in ensuring that his extension is confirmed as soon possible, because his importance to this chelsea side can not be over emphasized.

i already sent u a mail but have not been replied yet.

Op would you want beginners, I already did something on nairaland in the sports section.

XAVI HAS ALOT OF WORK TO DO

Barelona Club legend Xavi Hernandez time so far in charge of the Catalan giants have been riddled with several setbacks, coupled with poor performances from his side, with injuries to some key players not helping matters either.

On a Positive note, he has been willing to give young players game time, as shown in most of the matches he has been in charge of, since he came on board, which only bolds well for the future.

Furthermore, it is obvious that most of the current crop of players are not living up to expectation, when you look at players like the inconsistent Coutinho, dembele and sergino dest, while memphis depay has seemingly lost his confidence and with the ever reliable German shot stopper Marc Ter stegen putting in below par performances every game, which has become a really worrying sign.

However, despite the bad financial situation being faced by the club, they have been able to secure the services of spanish international ferran torres from Manchester City given them options in their attack, which is more than a welcome development during this difficult time in the history of the club.

The former Valencia player will certainly bring something different to the table in terms of his attacking play, which is badly needed by the catalan giants.

Xavi has to meet with the barcelona hierarchy ably led by Joan Laporta to find a way of deeping more into the upcoming winter transfer market to try in strengthening the squad even further.

OUSMANE DEMBELE CONTRACT RENEWAL SHOULD NOT BE CONSIDERED

There is no doubt the frenchman is a talented player, as he has shown this with some moments of brilliance since his big money move from Borussia Dortmund.

However, with that being said, the harsh reality for Barcelona will be for them to let him go, due to his injury history since he signed for them, in other to free up some funds to get players that can at least be consistent and more productive on a regularly basis in the final third.

Taking into consideration the retirement of Argentine striker Kun Aguero which has left the catalan giants short in the striking department and depleted their options even further, and the poor form of their strikers.

This is now showing as barcelona are finding it even more difficult to break down their opponents by scoring, with players such as memphis depay seemingly losing his early season scoring prowess.

BARCELONA DEFICIENCY COVERED BY LIONEL MESSI HAVE ALL BEEN EXPOSED THIS SEASON

The Catalan giants are going through a rough patch which has seen them drop into the Uefa Europa League this season and are currently struggling in La liga, while their bitter rivals Real Madrid are already running away with the Spanish La liga title even before Christmas.

The manner in which several events have unfolded since the beginning of the season has now showed us the bitter truth, which all barca faithful had failed to realize.

Messi over dependence by barcelona was always talked about but because he was still plying his trade in catolonia, barca faithfuls always felt the need to shrug off such opinions whenever it came up, but they are now seeing and feeling the effects firsthand of his absence in their teams performance, which ultimately led to the inevitable sack of dutch legend Ronald Koeman and the subsequent appointment of Club Legend Xavi Hernandez.

The Harsh reality is that barcelona have to embark on a rebuilding project, where they should focus more on nurturing the several talents in their la masia academy and bringing them through gradually into the first team by giving them game time, while they should also find a formula in ensuring that they blend these talents with other established players like Ansu Fati and Pedri who both are exceptionally gifted players, and this will certainly do them alot of good in their quest to get back to being one of the power houses of European Football again.

CHELSEA TIMO WERNER NOT LIVING UP TO EXPECTATION


One would have thought that the long injury lay off of Belgian Striker Romelu Lukaku would have helped Werner in trying to stake a claim for a place in this Chelsea side, but that has not materialized since his absence.

Although he has shown some moments of brilliance since his big money move from German outfit Leipzig, where he was such a prolific goal scorer but I believe he is lacking in confidence and Chelsea signing of Romelu Lukaku this season certainly didn’t help his course.

He should take some lessons from his fellow Germany international kai Harvetz who has certainly improved under Thomas Tuchel, especially with the Qatar Fifa World Cup approaching next year, with most national team coaches always tending to go for players who play regularly for their Club sides.

If that does not work out, he should endeavour to seek a loan move to a side in the bundesliga in the upcoming winter transfer market, in other to hit some form and get into the plans and mind of Hansi Flick more before the commencement of the FIFA mundial in Qatar.

UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE ROUND OF 16 PREVIEW



We take a look at the various match up after the draw at Uefa Headquarters, despite an initial glitch in the process, these 8 ties were later confirmed after the completion of the process, with several mouth watering ties to look forward to in 2022.



LILLE VS CHELSEA

Thomas Tuchel Chelsea tie with Ligue 1 champions Lille will be an interesting fixture.

Lille is certainly not the same team that conquered france last season and going by their league form retaining their title will certainly be difficult.

But they are a team chelsea should be careful with, as on their day they are capable of causing an upset, but we believe the reigning champions will do more than enough to go through over the two legs to the next stage.





BENFICA VS AJAX

This fixture is another intriguing tie which we are looking forward to, as the dutch giants were among the only few teams to have won all their 6 games throughout the group stages.

Portuguese side Benfica piped fc barcelona to the runners up spot in the group, although they had to rely on Bayern to beat barcelona, but they still had to win their home match against Ukrainian champions Dynamo kiev, which they did Comfortanly, and they will be hoping to go further than this stage this season.

However, with the kind of exciting brand of football produced by the Dutch side during the group stages, we believe they will go through over both legs comfortably.



INTER MILAN VS LIVERPOOL


Inter milan will be playing host to English side liverpool in the round of 16 knock out stage of this season's uefa champions league. Liverpool will fancy their chances and will also hope to continue from where the left off in the group stage, as they were among only three teams during the group stages to have won all their six games.

They will certainly face a stern test from italian giants inter milan, as Simone inzaghi's side will be ready to give them a run for their money, when they visit the giuseppe meazza stadium.

Meanwhile, some vulnerabilities of this inter side were exposed during their games against real madrid during the group stages, which jurgen klopp and his team will look to exploit once more.



MAN UNITED VS ATLETICO MADRID

Diego Simeone Side will be first happy to have qualified for this stage, after their rollercoaster performances during their group stage, where they had some poor results.

Manchester United meanwhile, have also had their fair share of criticism and crisis in recent times over their poor displays, and we feel both sides really have a point to prove when they lock horns together.

Diego simeone certainly has some experience in this stage more than his United Counterpart and will be hoping that his sides never say die attitude and approach to such fixtures will manifest itself again.

Interestingly, a certain Cristiano ronaldo will be visiting his former rivals and as they were a team he always seemed to love playing against during his time at Real Madrid.




PSG VS REAL MADRID

Psg will host Real Madrid in the first leg in the round of 16 of this season's Uefa Champions League, after both sides were drawn against each other at Uefa Headquarters.

It promises to really be an intriguing tie, as several psg players will also be returning to their old stumping ground, while this will be an opportunity for this Psg side to make a huge statement by knocking out one of the big sides in their bid to win their first Uefa Champions League title.

It is worthy to note that, majority of Psg's performances both in the champions league and french ligue 1 has so far been disjointed and underwhelming, with several of their key players failing to live up to expectations.

Meanwhile, Carlo Ancelotti's team seem to be getting better and better, and they cant be ruled out completely, as some key players from the Zidane Era still remains and with the right blend have so far been performing more well as a team.



SALZBUG VS BAYERN MUNICH

Austrian league champions Salzburg pratically got the worst draw in the round of 16 by being drawn agianst German bundesliga champions Bayern Munich.

Although Salzburg have already exceeded expectations this season by qualifying for this stage of the competition, but the might and power of Bayern Munich might be too much for them to handle over both legs.

Bayern Munich under the tutilege of Nagelsmann have certainly had their ups and down in the German league, but they tend to put on a different approach during the champions league games, and this actually led to them winning their 6 games during the group stages.





SPORTING LISBON VS MAN CITY


Pep Guadiola's men will be travelling to Portugal for thier round of 16 clash against Portuguese champions Sporting Lisbon.

The English side reward for topping thier group was been paired against the lisbon club, while Sporting lisbon narrowly qualified and will be hoping for a much better performance, even though they have been really flying high in thier league.

Manchester City will be hoping to continue thier good form in the champions league, as you can only beat teams that are pit in front of you.

it will certainly be an interesting match up but due to the English Side's offensive power which they possess, we believe they might go through over both legs a bit comfortably.


VILLARREAL VS JUVENTUS

This tie promises to be a mouth watering clash, with Unai Emery's Villarreal meeting Italian giants Juventus whose form in the uefa champions league have been a complete contrast to their form in the Seria A where they have been playing catch up.

Allegri's Juventus were able to beat the reigning champions Chelsea to top spot and will certainly fancy thier chances against the spanish side, if their form in the champions league is anything to go by.

However, Unai Emery is someone who has some experience in knock out ties, especially when you take into account his time at Sevilla, so we should expect a close match up.

Thatrealguy:
In recent interviews, Xavi talks about the problem of Barca and players to be signed.

Below are some extracts;

"Our style is lost completely. Some players don't understand automatism that I did when I was 11 years old. Everything is more difficult when no one ever worked tactically on this with them. I'm surprised how much we have digressed. "

Read by clicking the link below;

https://fanstimeout.com/xavi-talks-about-the-problem-of-the-team-and-players-to-be-signed/

BARCA DEFICIENCY COVERED BY LIONEL MESSI HAVE ALL BEEN EXPOSED THIS SEASON

The Catalan giants are going through a rough patch which has seen them drop into the Uefa Europa League this season and are currently struggling in La liga, while their bitter rivals Real Madrid are already running away with the Spanish La liga title even before Christmas.

The manner in which several events have unfolded since the beginning of the season has now showed us the bitter truth, which all barca faithful had failed to realize.

Messi over dependence by barcelona was always talked about but because he was still plying his trade in catolonia, barca faithfuls always felt the need to shrug off such opinions whenever it came up, but they are now seeing and feeling the effects firsthand of his absence in their teams performance, which ultimately led to the inevitable sack of dutch legend Ronald Koeman and the subsequent appointment of Club Legend Xavi Hernandez.

The Harsh reality is that barcelona have to embark on a rebuilding project, where they should focus more on nurturing the several talents in their la masia academy and bringing them through gradually into the first team by giving them game time, while they should also find a formula in ensuring that they blend these talents with other established players like Ansu Fati and Pedri who both are exceptionally gifted players, and this will certainly do them alot of good in their quest to get back to being one of the power houses of European Football again.

uthlaw:
leave hopeful...na sakamaje!

.

They should surprise us this festive period

Emperoo:
That's a point.

Most of us received stipends for September, and no reason for payment was stated.

Lets be hopeful

Op I just logged in to check my payroll status if they added for October but there was no update.

Maybe it might be updated later.

ezenwaez:
Understandable but exercise patience please, payment will commence very soon

Goodevening Honourable Ezenwa, we really hope so, as all their sins might be forgiven if we all get paid the backlog at once before Christmas and even before the year runs out.

However, it is obvious those in charge of payments of beneficiaries stipends have not handled the whole process in the appropriate manner since its commencement, they all simply have to do the needful, by ensuring we dont continue to go through all this stress before getting paid, as 2022 is fast approaching.

Honourable Ezenwa, the delay in payments of stipends for September, October and November is becoming frustrating. We certainly don't know what to believe and who to believe anymore regarding this programme.

Kaybae:
Mr Eze, I don't agree with that No6, a very close friend of mine did the registration In Enugu state but she has relocated to Osun, she didn't download the PPA letter nor do Physical verification because she said she can't go back to that place because of Npower and to be honest with you, she has been paid tete, so this Program is just survival of the fittest.

You are right, i think i have heard something like that happening to someone else, he didnt do physical verification also, anything is possible in nigeria.

Thanks Ezenwa for the updates, we just pray they are able to settle stipends for both October and November at least before the end of December cos its not being easy , especially transportation.

What are they grumbling for, we all know this is another means of embezzling even more relief funds all in the name of COVID-19.

Instead of them to make good use of the funds by settling several issues bothering nigerians especially this critical time in our economy, they are busy decieving themselves and enriching their pockets.

Am still wondering how nigeria would have coped if we were faced with COVID-19 cases like those of countries in south america.

Ofcourse our government cant resist the urge at every opportunity to embezzle, at the detriment of its citizens.

it is obvious some beneficiaries have still not been paid, despite the fact they have lodged their complaints through the npower appropriate channels for almost a month now.

Resolution of several issues raised, should have been done quickly to avoid the backlog we are facing now.

October and September Stipend payments are hanging in the balance presently.