₦airaland Forum

Sadiq almost dragging his team singlehandedly to La Liga. Scored one and created the other two from scratch.

TheLoneCitizen:
Sadiq Umar with a goal and assist to send Almeria top of La Liga 2.

Finally scores with his head.

He scored two games ago with his head though.

charlesemeka85:
https://guardian.ng/sport/talented-nwakali-brothers-risk-fading-away/

This is the most annoying part of the Nwakali dilemma. You would have thought that with the first brother falling into the trap of big club signing + endless loans + getting comfortable with big money, the younger would see a precedent and be wiser in his decision making. Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me.

Look at Osimhen for example. Any mistake Osimhen made early in his career would not only affect him but his entire family and community because he is the one singlehandedly carrying them financially. The pressure and stakes to succeed are so high that he has no choice but to do so. That is what drives him and makes him want to die on the pitch.

Once you start getting comfortable in your current situation, you can't move further. The Nwakali brothers are clear examples.

Joezinho:
Blame the coach who used the outdated 442 formation and couldn't read the game and play to counteract whatever formation he saw in front of him..

Playing 442 in 2022 with only two CMs tasked with both creating and defending is just rubbish.

Villareal is very good with their 4-4-2. They use it to stretch the pitch laterally, hugging the touchline on both sides while playing sideways passes. It is very difficult to play against them with the way they are set up, Juve struggled badly today. They are just really missing Gerard Moreno, he is the king in that formation.

TheGoodJoe:


Stop spreading false narratives Osimhen declared himself ready for the AFCON. It was Covid-19 that stopped him from fighting to play for us.

COVID-19 Auba had that he became available for Gabon's last group game? COVID-19 Khazri had that he recovered in time to play against us? Imagine Sarr that doctors declared totally incapacitated before the tournament, did he not stilll play knockouts? Abeg leave that talk. If Osimhen persisted, he would have made it. The pressure from a club, its fans and city is not something you trifle with. If you want to blame Dennis, blame Osimhen too.

13large:
I don’t want him starting at such a crucial game vs Ghana that’s why I said after the Ghana game. Immediately after the Ghana game, we can go ahead

He doesn't need to start. Give him cameo appearances to assess his quality.

13large:
After the Ghana game, I wil like to see Calvin bassey as a LCB for eagles. Young, fast, comfortable in the ball, we can invest our time into him as a CB

Why not now? If he proves to be better than what we have, it will be for the good of the team. Carrying the Oyibo wall to the world cup is a disaster waiting to happen, Omeruo is no better. The earlier we organize our defensive issues, the better for us.

BOOOMNAIJA:
Someone said Umar Sadiq is better than osimhen

Manufacturer. Please show us where someone said that.

mostob:
Isak or Sadiq? Who do you think is better?

Isak obviously. Sadiq has similar qualities but is unproven at top level.

andrewbaba44:
Boom score 12 goals in segunda and immediately you will bench almost any striker in Laliga

Sadiq even scored 20 goals last season which was very impressive but I didn’t see such statement from anyone here

Well championship cr7 which is mitrovic should be dreaming of a move to mancity or Liverpool

Let’s not make conclusions now. His team will likely get promoted. He will get a chance to show us whether it’s all hype or he is the real deal.

andrewbaba44:
Sorry not Sevilla ,Sevilla is a fvcking big team in Europe ,with Rafa mir ,martial ,el nesry where sadiq wan okay ?

Valencia have not been a top team for long so he can make it there

You don watch real Betis recently

Anything is possible for him ,but I am busy stating what I think

It’s obvious you don’t rate the guy, no need to hide. If Sadiq gets to La Liga, with what he has been playing he will bench almost any striker in La Liga except at the Barcas, Madrids and co. and the special talents like Isak and co. Let him get there first and we will see.

kellycute:
all this shalaye ontop one bad game against barca. Na wa o.

There are bad games and there are games that blatantly expose a player’s deficiencies. Osimhen did not have a bad game against Barca by the way.

andrewbaba44:
Remove PK for what exactly ,I don’t understand you ,as if pk no be goals

Oya go and remove all cr7 pks since no be real goals

Without pk onuachu still have more than 10 goals

Without pk last season onuachu still score more than 25 goals in a first division so don’t come here and try to downplay that

Immobile is Serie A top scorer, is he the best striker? Old Immobile. You know very well how taking penalties can inflate stats. Sadiq has won over 3 penalties himself this season (not to talk of the ones others won), if he took all and scored wouldn’t he be the league top scorer?

andrewbaba44:
Mention the top level Laliga teams

Sevilla, Valencia, Betis at Least. Atletico an outside chance.

Karlovych:
If we are to be honest, Ighalo was a one season wonder in the EPL

Help me tell him. Ighalo never did in the EPL what Dennis is doing right now or what Nacho did last year, so this argument of Ighalo being outstanding in the EPL of over 5 years now doesn’t fly.

charlesemeka85:
I will pick him ahead of onuachu any day any time

And as for Almeria to be relegated back to laliga 2 is very possible but all sadiq needs is to score atleast 10 league goals and I bet you that mid table teams in laliga will snap him up

I think his level is higher than just “mid table la liga teams”. His game is good enough for the top level, just needs to improve more on physicality, directness, and work rate. After all, this is someone Man City were reportedly looking at a while back.

andrewbaba44:
Picking him ahead of onuachu is the opinion of you and 10 other people ,so it’s fine .

Christian stuani scored more than 10 goals for girona oooo

Compare with non-PK goals. Sadiq is not his team’s PK taker so he can’t use PKs to stat pad the way other guys do.

andrewbaba44:
Akuko ,better than which onuachu ?

Better pray he moves to a better team instead of you praying for almeria promotion

The almeria I have watched cannot survive Laliga unless they improve

Once you get promoted, you buy players with the money. Almeria just need like 3 improvements to their first 11 to survive La Liga. Not too much.

drDoom3:
I watched their game today, they were so good in attack but their forwards can’t finish to save their lives. Missed like 3 tap-ins first half alone. Problem is Sadiq has to drift out wide or drop deep to link up and create chances leaving someone else to have to finish in the box. Second half though, my guy took matters into his own hands. It would have been a hattrick but the other tall striker, Sousa, was selfish at times.

By the way, Sadiq is 3rd in goals and 2nd in assists in the league despite missing games due to AFCON. Dominance.

andrewbaba44:
Victor was not that good at Wolfsburg despite suffering some injuries go and watch the games he played

All thanks to that move to sporting chaleroi and his hard work .

He started slow but was gaining form in training and friendlies before he went to Charleroi. I remember a friendly I watched some weeks before he left Wolfsburg, he scored a hattrick for them. He said it himself that they wanted to keep him but he was fed up and forced a move.

charlesemeka85:
sadiq is better than onuachu and awoniyi

Can’t wait for almeria to gain promotion next season

I watched their game today, they were so good in attack but their forwards can’t finish to save their lives. Missed like 3 tap-ins first half alone. Problem is Sadiq has to drift out wide or drop deep to link up and create chances leaving someone else to have to finish in the box. Second half though, my guy took matters into his own hands. It would have been a hattrick but the other tall striker, Sousa, was selfish at times.

komekn:
People call it HATE.

But when Victor was at Wolfsburg I could see why he was not getting game time. He was technically and tactically naïve.

He did not have the knowledge base to jump straight in and compete. It's in that context I said he would struggle at most academies in England.

I felt a move to a lesser league where his main attributes of speed and agility and as a true 9 he will have more success. That has happened but those handicaps are getting a bit more exposed now.

He has to learn, but for a £75 million player it may be strange to some.

Wrong. He was good enough to easily get game time at Wolfsburg, he was just unlucky. As much as I complain about Victor he is still way above most other strikers his age technically. Physically he is a monster and that is mostly enough to succeed. However, if you want Haaland or Mbappe levels you need more and that is only where I feel he can do better because he has the potential.

komekn:
In all honesty from what I have seen of Sadiq over the years from his abysmal mediocrity at Ranger's to his recent showing in the SE.

He will struggle in English league 1.

Maybe he need to stay in Segunda Division or the less competitive and much slower and not so physically taxing Spanish football.

https://eaglestracker.com/2022/02/20/sadiq-umar-goals-vs-mirandes/

Wow. What abysmal finishing to score a rocket from over 20 yards. Such a player cannot even succeed in English league two, let alone league one.

The second goal was even the worst, what a poor chip from the edge of the box on his weaker foot. He should have used more power in the chip like Premier league quality strikers do. He is such an embarassment to not only Nigerian football, but footballing history in general. Maybe with his height he may succeed in basketball, although it is highly unlikely because he always falls like a bag of beans anytime breeze blows him.

Joebie:
Offsides per game this season in comparison to Osimhen

Osimhen:0.5
Halaand: 0.5
Lukaku: 0.8
Ronaldo: 1.0
Salah: 0.5
Mane: 0.5

I can go on..

That narrative is an exaggeration from just one game. Make una calm down. You are not Napoli. Osimhen will not lack suitors and Napoli will not sell him easily.

That's because no one in Serie A plays a high line against Napoli. It backs up my point earlier that the league is helping him conceal the poorer parts of his game which will hurt him in the long run. It is not an exaggeration or just a fluke, there have been flashes for a while now.

Left foot, right foot. Only head remains for a perfect hat-trick by Sadiq.

Sadiq scores a chip from outside the 18 yard box with his weaker left foot. Cold.

Sadiq with a banger from outside the 18 yard box.

13large:
You think I’m an idiot like you? When I analyze players, I’m judging based on their overall abilities and not dribbling. Moses dribbles outstandingly but his end product isn’t exceptional that’s why I prefer Dennis and lookman for now

The best course of action is to have Simon start with Lookman slowly easing into the team. On the right, Dennis should start over Chuks. Have Ejuke on the bench to deputize.

mostob:
I agree...
His pace and aggressiveness should be a bonus for him. His primary focus should be positioning, shooting accuracy, heading and so on. He will be able to avoid all those weird injuries.

The irony is that he was better at all those when he was in Lille. Ligue 1 is a very physical league, so having muscle and pace alone does not suffice. He had to learn finishing, positioning, and link up to succeed at Lille. Victor rarely missed one-on-ones at Lille, he was very efficient in his shooting especially at the beginning of the season.

Apparently, Serie A is not as physical, coincidentally, Victor was also adding muscle. It seems he started overrelying on physical dominance to oust opponents and his development in other areas regressed to an extent. For games against smaller clubs where you don't need to be prime Ronaldo technically to succeed, he was performing as expected. However, against bigger teams where strength is not enough and things like positioning and tactical awareness come into play, he seems to struggle. I would argue he should probably have stayed one more season at Lille to hone his tactical abilities before making the big money move.

drDoom3:
True. My problem with Ighalo is he doesn't necessarily stand out in anything. Onuachu is a better target man, Osimhen is faster, Dennis (although a winger) is more dynamic, Sadiq has better dribbling and link up play, Nacho has better passing and shooting. He doesn't add anything special, he is old and not as fit as what we have, so why bring him in?

Having strikers with different profiles is very important because you always have a weapon no matter how the opposition play. If the opposition is good and keeps possession just throw in Osimhen and Dennis and you will make them bleed on the counter. If they decide to play a low block send in Onuachu and cross or send in Nacho as a false 9 and have him drop deep to shoot. For teams who do neither use Sadiq or Awoniyi's technicality to link up play and create chances.

Osimhen needs to learn intelligent play if he wants to achieve his full potential. Football is not only pace, muscle and gra-gra. Know when to pass, when to stop and bring others into play, when and how to slip through passes (which I have never seen him do), etc. Imagine a 70 million striker struggling with offsides at this level, it is frankly embarassing tbh. I hope he keeps on working on himself and he knows he is not the finished product yet.

mostob:
God bless you bro.
That's exactly why I want him on the team. You can't just packed strikers like sardines just because of goals. We need varieties..Dennis is like a wide forward, Osimehn is a pressing forward, Onuachu is just a goalscorer, Sadiq links up well with others. TBH, Ighalo is good as a target man. A team should have varieties in the attacking department.

True. My problem with Ighalo is he doesn't necessarily stand out in anything. Onuachu is a better target man, Osimhen is faster, Dennis (although a winger) is more dynamic, Sadiq has better dribbling and link up play, Nacho has better passing and shooting. He doesn't add anything special, he is old and not as fit as what we have, so why bring him in?