₦airaland Forum

Midfield is begging for a strong battling type who will stop our middle of the park becoming express for opponents to easily circumvent and get to our shaky defense. Defense maybe needs the return of an experienced street wise performer. We need to return to that defensive stinginess we had at the AFCON. Attack already has enough talent people just need to step up and contribute. Ademola and Osimhen can't do it all.

At the end of the day the overall attitude of the players will determine if our flag will be hoisted at the WC in 2026. They have to be prepared to leave it all on the pitch.

ChrisKels:
Who are the possible additions that needs to be made to improve the team in order to help us qaulify for the world cup?

Sorry for the late response just seeing this.

Present and available for duty.

Danielnino00:
Maidaboi, Psittacus, Chrisooblog, aicon4s

Here is the official nomination committee thread....
Kindly signify your presence so we can start on time.

thank you all once again

Omo check out another midfield maestro

Jokes apart black bonez get tekkers won't be surprised if he dey academy when he was younger.

EMEKINHO vs X mercenaries

30 Touches

96% Pass Accuracy
4 Key Passes
2 Big Chance Created
2 Ground Duels Won
2 Successful Dribbles
1 Tackle
2 spins
2 foul throws

a performance for the ages 💫 pic.twitter.com/bjfAyeGeBJ

— NOMADINHO (@BlaqBonez) December 19, 2024

charlesemeka85:
Nigerian midfielder, David Moses has joined Czech outfit, Slavia Prague

The young playmaker penned a contract until 2029

Christmas bonanza https://x.com/DangoteGroup/status/1869655865168408907

iamoyindamola:
Is it true dangote slash petrol price to 899/ ltr

I'm game

Danielnino00:
Only two volunteers so far.... this is not encouraging at all... we need at least 6more volunteers.
I've decided to extend the deadline to Sunday.. If by Sunday, we don't get at least 3 more volunteers, I might go back to the previous format of selecting committee members. either way, we have to ensure that the award hold this year ...

Accolades to you and your Lagos Liga family for the great initiative you and your colleagues have started may it grow from strength to strength and become a permanent fixture of the Lagos entertainment business scene.

Jarus:
Baba, you still dey Nairaland?

Wow

This is one of the reasons I wasn't a big Yakubu Ayiegbeni fan. That I could hardly be bothered attitude. Fans, players and coaches are tense you will be catwalking on the pitch like nothing is at stake.

Mujtahida:
He's a frustrating player. It's not even the lack of goals that is my concern. It's his nonchalant attitude.

I really wish Osimhen was part of Conte's plans would have cooked under him this season but it is what it is.

His recruitment this season has been shrewd and on point. Still think Inter have the superior squad to win the Scudetto but no doubt Atalanta and Napoli will run them close.

lbrichman2:
I understand you ..
The only reason Napoli are in the title race.. one word only ..Conte
That man is an enigma when it comes to the Serie A
Writing him and Napoli off would be dangerous

Yeah early contenders for next year seem to be Salah and Lookman for now. If both of them maintain their form till end of season then it will be trophies won that will separate the two.

Odunayaw:
Ah na true o

I don't think Dessers should be judged too harshly on the level of european football he plays in. As long as he can prove to be a reasonable outlet for goals in absence of or loss of form of Osimhen I'm good.

jihday:
while I’m not against having Dessers in the team but anytime the bar is raised high for him he doesn’t do well i.e his time in Italy and even now Rangers fans don’t exactly think highly of him, I don’t think he’ll do better than the strikers we have in the team. What we have is a chance creation problem not necessarily a scoring problem

Doc! I think what a lot of our fellow posters don't realize is that in the AFCON tournament there were crucial moments where without Osimhen's impact the team would have crumbled.

Have some of us forgotten how barely a few hours to the semifinal game against SA Victor was receiving drip and seriously dehydrated yet came through to win a penalty out of nothing. I'm not saying he had a fantastic tournament but boy was he crucial to our success.

Like Maradona for the Argentines in Italia 1990 who didn't perform to his best but almost with sheer will power helped drag the team to the finals with notable contributions from Cannigia and the goalkeeper whose name escapes me now.

TheSuperNerd:
Osimhen was top 3 to be candid. Without him, we are not making it past the round of 16 not to mention getting to the final.

You are underplaying the importance of having a striker of his ilk feature in that haram defensive setup and still carried the attack on his back. No other striker could have made such immense impact. None! Not Awoniyi. Not Boniface. Not Iheanacho. Not Sadiq. Not Tolu. Not Akor. Not Moffi. None of them.

Osimhen gave our attack purpose and shape and carried the Fear Factor of the team on his shoulders. He was major key to how we targeted our transition game in the counter.

Ekong was awesome. Lookman shone. Aina was superb, Nwabali was a sweet revelation amongst others but Osimhen was beast level throughout. Without him, no final.

He's injured for the rest of the year calf strain.

Had been playing after the accident even scored the week after the incident.

That said Boniface is too lax with what he posts on social media.

iamoyindamola:
He hasn’t been playing for leverkusen since his accident, I thought he recovered
A day after the accident he was on X, I hope this won’t affect his career

Mikel turned out to be a decent DM but as a CDM I personally feel he would have undoubtedly been world class.

Samueltemi337:
How did Mikel struggle? 😒

Exactly get players who will do the business unnecessary fixation on where a player plays his football might make you miss out on a quality decent player. On the flip side we should also not ignore that when you're playing in a high profile league consistently emphasis on CONSISTENTLY it's expected you should be able to outperform players from lesser profile leagues when facing each other in their respective countries.

At the end of the day there should be a balance don't go too far on one spectrum you become komeknish in your analysis or too far the other way that you'll be looking for 'special skill set'

Odunayaw:
I'm all for parading quality players, fit for purpose. I don't like all this divide of Home based or Int'l based.

No guarantees with football, that divide just sets up blame games till infinity. Dem go cheer home based till they lose then it will be why not professionals abroad and vice versa.

The coaching crew have a responsibility to scout for players that fit how they want to play irrespective of where they ply their trade. The problem is will the fans not start suspecting this or that.

Na dilemma

You make solid points however I will follow the thought pattern of other contributors here who have rightly said it's a coaching problem.

We may think ours is a unique problem but it isn't that different. You will see clubs and countries with an appreciable level of talent look absolutely clueless bring a different manager they turn to world beaters.

No national team in the world even the high profile ones are covered in every angle but what stands them out is they adopt a system that maximizes their strengths. Spain that won the last Euro they don't have a reliable 9 aside Morata but they devised a plan that allowed their wingers and midfield to thrive. SE handlers have to be more innovative and think out of the box in their approach. If you have a player who's position is in defense or attack they shouldn't limit their thinking that it's only in so so position he can function. If a RB for instance has attributes that help the team in the midfield so the play is more fluid why not play him there?

The problem of Lookman and Boniface not clicking could be a style of play issue which again it's the duty of the coach to sort out.

As poor as we think our midfield is I insist we shouldn't be performing so poorly against the likes of Rwanda and Benin with due respect to them when you have Iwobi, Onyedika, Onyeka, Ndidi, Bashiru, and Yusuf in your squad. How many players does Cameroun, Egypt (without Salah), Algeria have at the moment but they do the business against teams they are expected to beat.

Once the coaching and attitude aspect of the team is handled you'll be surprised how different the team would look. Nothing excuses why AFCON finalists should be struggling this badly.

kennysville:
Top 5 league... we put Boniface for front, nothing happened. Sometimes you see a player doing well in these supposed top 5 leagues, many people tacitly forget a number of factors that make them excel seemingly. There is the coaching element, the complement of players surrounding you and the pedigree of the supposed club as well as the team football philosophy. All these happen and yet these players come into the national team and become a shadow of themselves. Iwobi plays on the right side of the field and has done so week in week out for his clubs... (fulham and everton) but alas, once he lands national team, na straight to the midfield to accommodate a chukwueze or Iheanacho. These are the imbalances we are talking about. You might say should Iwobi now be benched for an unknown player from an obscure league? But truth is if that will give us the right result in the long term, then so be it. But trust us Nigerians... we want result and never wanna build the right way. We love fire brigade and makeshift approaches. And that basically translates to the field of play and how we perform.

We have players that don't know the first thing about team work. Our supposed in coming African Balon d'or is practically guilty of this. And if you are wondering who am talking about, it's Ademola Lookman. I see the frustration on Boniface's face each time he is set up with Lookman. These may seem like a coaching problem. but by the time the coach tries to put a not so popular player in his line up, we start hearing things like Ihefu fc.

Another worrisome thing about our current setup is that once Osimhen doesn't play, to find a goal becomes hard. We play disjointed and uncoordinated football. You begin to wonder are these guys professionals at all ? My point in all this epistle is simple, we need passionate players and the right profile players in our national team. The rest boil down to the coaching crew. If the right player is found in Kafanchan fc then let him play even if you have to bench Osimhen for him to play. We need to have a different playbook apart from Osimhen so our opponents don't have us figured out. Once Simon Moses is in the line up, automatically na wing play and all balls will be routed through his wing. Isn't that insane? We can't even keep possession against a supposed minnow team that have all their players ply their trade here in Africa. So my question is what's the use of all the hype about top 5 leagues?


Africa wake up. Not everything European is advantageous. And not everything African is synonymous with retrogression.

Reminds me of them Blush and Bliss Cross River budget days that would make Hush Poppi shout o ti o!

OasisX:



Governor Umaru Bago has approved a proposed budget of N1.20 trillion for the year 2025.

During the Executive Council meeting held by the Niger State Government on November 26, 2024, a draft budget estimate of N1.20 trillion for the 2025 fiscal year was put forward for Council approval.

The Commissioner of Planning, Mustapha Ndajiwo updated the Council, stating that the budget estimate consists of N188.42 billion, which accounts for 15.68% of recurrent expenditure, alongside N1.01 trillion, representing 84.34% of capital expenditure. He noted that when this estimate is compared to the approved budget for 2024, it indicates a significant increase of 32.94%.

Cc DissTroy

Crazy segment still laugh everytime I watch it

raumdeuter:
These guys were trying to get Micah Richard's fired

https://www.instagram.com/reel/DC2farWxlM_/?igsh=MWM5Z3YwY2luY2tyMA==

I still think Dangote will be in the drivers seat if he plays his cards right.

How much petrol does NNPC have to meet the demands of Nigeria? Even at full capacity NNPC's old refineries put together couldn't meet up to 30% of national demand so Alhaji Putin still has production capacity on his side to match their shenanigan. I'm guessing the reduction of the lifting cost to 970 was to counter the impending 'reactivation' of the PH refinery.

Some marketers are already complaining that the refurbished refinery's cost is higher by about N75.

My own is let the Nigerian consumer sha benefit from all this rogbodiyan.

BlueRayDick:
Yeah, I noticed the different grades of petrol abroad in one video I watched recently.

The bitter truth is that if Dangote goes the way of marketing his PMS as " High Quality PMS" with its price higher than NNPC's blended PMS, Dangote may be out of business in no time.

This is because the average poor Nigerian consumer will jejely buy NNPC's blended PMS and give Dangote's the middle finger.

I dare say if Rabiu Ali had been born with a more football advanced country he would've been quite a player.

TheSuperNerd:
Rabiu Ali must be superhuman to still be able to withstand the physicality and intensity of the NPFL and still dropping top performances in the big league games. I recall his showing vs Rangers in Enugu. Damn!

Both he and Musa must be on the CHAN team. I dropped a report here pages back which said that is even the plan sef. Impressive stuff. 46 yrs and balling.

I seriously doubt Jonathan would ever be interested now but let's say for argument sake he was I don't think he personally has the political clout to win a national election again.

The forces that came together to ensure he won in 2011 are no longer on his side.

He's not outrageously popular in the NW or NE to garner votes nor does he have political heavyweights on his side to run things for him up North unlike PBAT.

NC that is not so homogeneous and not against voting a Southerner he still doesn't have the big political players in those areas on his side.

SS would probably be his best shot of doing well in terms of votes but most of the big political heavyweights from that zone are either with PBAT or maybe Obi.

SE will never dump Obi for GEJ no long story.

SW are not exactly enamored with Goodluck from his first time as president. He might not be detested infact he has the grudging respect of many people for the way he conceded defeat in 2015 but people in the SW don't think care that much for him to come back as president.

NikoWinaman:
With the way things are going with APC who seem to be trying so hard to destroy all other political parties, do you think the major opposition party PDP would have a chance to take back power and give GEJ a historical comeback?

If the 2027 presidential election tickets are like this, who will you vote for?

APC - Tinubu
PDP - Jonathan
LP- Obi

One of European football's current elite wide forwards/wingers.

Hope he gets to play for a bigger club soon that will put him in a position to win multiple league titles and who knows the UCL one day.

TheSuperNerd:
Adefire strikes again!!! 🔥🔥

Ademola Lookman back on the scoresheet.

7 Goals, 4 assists 🅰️ in 10 Serie A games.

That's 9 goals and 5 assists in all competitions.

They are both similar in the sense that they can play in a two man attack or top 9 roles.

Both rely on physicality and direct play that is less about guile but about brute strength.

Where Osimhen trumps Awoniyi is dominant aerial presence, pace, and work rate. I always feel if Taiwo losses a couple of pound his movement will be much of smoother.

Subzerooo:
How is Awoniyi even like for like to Osimhen, their playing styles are not even the same

Boniface out for the year wish him speedy and complete recovery.

I didn't see this post before I responded.

Very dirty people.

BlueRayDick:
I don’t think LAWMA is the problem but the people themselves . People will literally dump refuse in places where there is clear sign of “ Do not dump refuse here “ . They pass urine in areas where there is a sign prohibiting public urination .

Recently KAI brigade has been going after people involve in open defecation. Can u imagine places like CMS , Marina , Ebute Ero, etc on the island , u will see people openly defecating early in the morning in this age and time.

There’s not much government can do honestly , na the people gan gan be the problem .

I think Lagos' problem with waste disposal is I think combination of people's poor hygiene habits, population explosion, and lack of government capacity however the koko is the attitude of our people to cleanliness. To put it bluntly people are just dirty and filthy general in Lagos. I'm how do you explain of all places taking a shxt on the bridge wtf!

BlueRayDick:
I first visited PH in 1998 and I will not even lie, everyone in my family was dazed as to how clean the roads were . It was a very huge contrast to what we were used to in Lagos.

Even though Pure water, Takeaway packs and other disposable plastic wastes have found their way into the average Nigerian city in the new millennium, I can still attest that present day PH is still cleaner than present day Lagos even with LAWMA doing serious waste management job in Lagos.

Could it be she's half Igbo cos her mum is black?

Funny how unverified rumours run in this country because of politics.

OasisX:


.......Name of Seyi Tinubu's Wife is Layal Holm and below is a clip of their wedding reception attended by Bride's real father - Mr. Holm as well. LOL!


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ccb9sSINDGs?si=xYkAmEFkLAmOlGEQ

The only era one can probably say there was some measure of enjoyment were the 1970s.

Even then some measure of lack was still there during that time but undoubtedly most of our folks who grew up during that period speak glowing about it.

izzou:
[color=royalblue]"Food no dey"
"Water no dey"
"And our road no good oh"

This was African China in the early 2000s...The same era that Nigerians were enjoying.

Nigerians and Enjoyment has never happened ever..[/color]

Living dog better than a dead lion things.

raumdeuter:
Sometimes its better to call the mad man the groom so he can allow you achieve your aim. If you face such situation, try escape with your life and move on. These soldiers cannot make you but can destroy you and your future

I saw a story on Facebook about a house on Queens avenue in Ikoyi. Ijesha House belonging to S.B Bakare. They said that was the house Obasanjo fled to and hid from coup plotters in February 13 1976.

Some of the comments called him a coward for running to hide as a General. That cowardice has earned him extra 50yrs alive, That cowardice earned him 3 terms as president, he got a lot of money as a coward, he achieved all his goals, nack plenty women, drove the best cars. The non cowards of that same coup have been forgotten. No one even remember their names anymore

Ibime:


Christ Embassy brought one Pastor Femi from Christ Embassy USA branch to collect award on behalf of Elon Musk. No be today Pastor Chris dey do Yahoo.

Fact say many Nigerians believe it means they should just drop nuclear bomb on the country. We are irredeemable.

You're right it's a daunting task but with the right mentality and a bit of good fortune they can still turn it around.

Going into those matches will require a warriors mindset players ready to leave everything on the pitch.

I also agree Sadiq, Iheanacho even Osayi should be excused. Osho still looks like he has potential given time but he needs guidance from the other senior players.

We should also be careful with our invitations not too many green horns to disrupt the flow.

At the end of the day it's only the attitude and determination of the players that will show the outcome. I've seen teams with the most below average managers still turn things around once the players amongst themselves decide to play. Under Rohr, JP, and AE are players have performed wonderfully while under these same coaches they have plunged the depths almost hitting crude so it's not solely a managerial issue.

Maybe if our past legends like JJ, Kanu or Mikel talk to them because now I know again.

daveP:
Make God just epp us

Cos with this table like this, we need to win ALL 6 games left. That is the big business ahead of this team. The terror of missing consecutive World Cups should be the starter motivation to go alllllll the way. Anybody that is showing any rubbish attitude, no matter how talented, should getat. NFf should do their part and stop the mental gymnastics and get the manager that can take this team to the world cup now.


We don't want a nobody handling the WCQ because they plan to get a foreign manager after the December AFCON. That would never work.

6Wins
No loss
And a compact defense
No excuses for mediocrity. Bring on the A-game and dust away that 'no minnows' excuse. Our mediocrity birthed that crappy punchline excuse.

Once again, the two managers that contributed to this debacle.. i no wan swear for them.

All these testing testing with Tanimu and Osho, Sadiq should be thrown out the window.


This is possible if we take on a superiority and classy mental approach like we did at the last AFCON, but even more clinical on both ends.

Yeah, i should lower expectations. But i will after the 7th game of the WCQ. Till then.

Phil Foden though art https://www.nairaland.com/8270173/tehran-signals-hezbollah-accept-ceasefire

I was talking more specifically just after AFCON during the Finidi era.

Hopefully AE can maintain that solidity into next year's WC qualifiers cos we have no more room for mistakes.

mekabuachi:
For a team that has conceeded only one goal

You sure say you know wetin you dey talk,👀