₦airaland Forum

Subzero047:
Ghana is playing so disorganized, relying on their speed and strength against a technical Morocco side, I expect them to gas out towards the end of the match

Morocco too is playing poorly.

I am yet to see a well structured team in this AFCON. All the teams are too poor compared to how you see teams structured in the Euros. No cohesion, strikers are isolated, play is disjointed. Any team that is organized will score goals like hell in this tournament.

I said it since 2019, Senegal’s coach is too tactically bereft. Forget the ex-international bias, the CC earlier they sack that guy is the earlier they can get that star-studded team back on track.

For a side with so much attacking talent, they struggle too much to score goals.

Boomgist:
I hope Serezo picks the right player to lead our attack.
Umar might not be able to lead that attack; his performance during the olympics speaks volume though it's been years.

Awoniyi would be preferable though he played second fiddle to Umar during the olympics.

Wait did we watch the same Olympics?

Sadie then at 19 was one of our best players… I still remember his header against Sweden and his screamer against Honduras. I was surprised seeing the guy there for the first time without U17 or U20 experience.

Shukusheka:
As much as I love this formation and selection, the attack won't work. Should Iheanacho play central forward in a 4-3-3 formation, he should be partnered with pacey inside forwards like Ahmed Musa who can feed off his creativity upfront. Like how Rodgers used Lookman to feed off Iheanacho against Liverpool or how Mane/Salah play off Firminho.

Playing Iheanacho, Chukwueze and Ejuke upfront will have them dribbling, passing the ball around without any them attacking space or being aggressive in the box.

That’s the point…

We don’t have to be necessarily aggressive in the box… we just need to be fast enough to create chances and score goals.

This should be more of a 4-1-3-2 with Chuks and Ejuke a bit more central (I.e Salah and Mane) and Nacho slightly behind in a Firmino-esque false 9 spraying through passes and finishing in the box where necessary.

Moniter0:
here we go again . I am of the opinion that if the audience and people here want to discuss Christ, then they should do so. The thread was meant for the people, not the people for the thread. After all, Christ is everywhere, and even this thread is in Him, as the Bible says "in him all things consists"

The same Bible says give to Caesar what is Caesar's. This thread is for football. Give to football what is football's.

TheSuperNerd:
It's an opinion. But it's also a heavily ill-informed one.

Nwakali has played deeper more times. Even this season alone, Aribo has played much closer to the box either from the left or right or from midfield compared to Nwakali.

So please, due checks will easily tell you which opinions are junks and which are well researched.

While true, I still think Nwakali's stats are nothing to write home about, deep or not. With his talent from U17 (and I am not being sarcastic here), I don't understand how he is managing not to have numbers. If not goals, then at least assists. I hope he learns to add numbers to his game, else how does he convince bigger clubs to invest in him?

Sportilitica:
So who do we play?

Awaziem for starters. Omeruo or Ajayi in the eventuality of the occurence stated earlier. I could even take a chance with Ndah.

ChrisKels:
Simmy - age and penalties

Onuachu - quality

Dennis trump's the two

It would have been better if you had said Ismailla Sarr from same club, but Dennis's Bernabeu exploits will go a long way to get him a good club as he has proven in the EpL so far that that showing in the champs league was no fluke

So Onuachu doesn't have the quality and he scored 33 league goals in a season, breaking a record that had lasted decades?

Subzero047:
Ekong is a good person btw and I will not be insulting him for the duration of this tournament

Until he plays an airball that allows Salah equalize in the 90th minute

ChrisKels:
Dennis has done enough to leave Watford for a better team even if Watford gets demoted today.

We said the same thing for Simy and Onuachu.

Subzero047:
The guy is already bracing himself for abuse and I don't think it is good for him or for Nigerians

The coach is almost obligated to start him, and he is very error prone. Such a situation is almost inevitable. The only thing we can pray for is that the mistake happens early enough to force the coach's hand to bench him and the mistake doesn't cost us.

Sportilitica:
Ethiopia ranking up silly yellow cards. How did we struggle against this Cape Verde?

Rohr made up play nonsense footy. Good riddance.

forgiveness:
Sorry for digressing. You shall know the truth and the truth shall set you free. Meaning, you were never free in the first place hence your suffering due to sin even though you claimed to be “Christian.” Because everyone who met Jesus had peace if only they truly believe in Him.

No true Scotsman.

samtol4:
Check the history of Nigerian football

Imagine Nigeria going to 2014 world cup and leaving Osaze with his EPL form out because of politics. Even with the politics then, you couldn't try that.

Edopesin:
It will take some outstanding excuse to prevent Dennis from going to the world cup if he can maintain this form.

No NFF politics will prevent the player with one of the highest goal contributions in EPL from being called up

Nigerians are more concerned about world cup than AFCON, especially as our top players are not in AFCON.

You can't play politics with world cup, you will only harm yourself.

samtol4:
Osihmen , Ndidi and few players are sure bet for world cup if we qualify. For Dennis, it is 50/50 even if he scores hat trick again Man city because of NFF politics

Nigerians will make noise...

safarigirl:
You must be unfamiliar with how NFF works.

Dennis is not on the list of people with automatic call ups. In fact, he fit don enter black list so.

Nigerians watch the EPL more than any other league.

Check Watford social media handles and see the disaster there all because Dennis did not come for AFCON. Nigerians that I thought were much more civilized than SAns or Algerians in that respect, see what they are doing there.

Do you honestly think Dennis will keep the form making him the second best player in the EPL behind Salah and he will not be invited and Nigerians will keep quiet? These are not the days of Keshi where you can do that.

drDoom3:
Any good team will easily beat this Cameroon team I saw today. No sense, no attacking efficiency, just muscle and inshallah.

So many times a simple pass would have left players one-on-one or to tap into an empty net and they just wasted it. Aboubakar is holding that Cameroon attack in bondage, guy is too selfish and it is rubbing off on the other guys.

Their set-piece defending was nothing to write home about. Onana is overhyped, at least in the Cameroonian jersey if not Ajax's.

Any team that is well organized and can pass the ball on the ground will run circles round this Cameroon team. You don't need to match their strength to beat them. Watch as Cape Verde will give them a tough time in their next game.

Starboytwo:
yes, yes I feel so, I think Egypt will whoop them also with sallah Egypt can strike dem so fast without dem knowing. chucks and ejuke will definitely get at their body builders, I’m just marveled at how big they appear, and so fast and the way they tackle I mean they can just rough handle many teams without really being outstanding themselves. Many of the bokina boys will have bruise.

Any good team will easily beat this Cameroon team I saw today. No sense, no attacking efficiency, just muscle and inshallah.

So many times a simple pass would have left players one-on-one or to tap into an empty net and they just wasted it. Aboubakar is holding that Cameroon attack in bondage, guy is too selfish and it is rubbing off on the other guys.

safarigirl:
Lol

That's some months ahead, this tournament will probably determine if Dennis is called up for the WCQ or not.

I said it before. If Dennis keeps his EPL form, nothing and nobody will decide if he will be called up. It is automatic.

Curtisaxel10:
Bookies ain't giving us no chance at all. Imagine SportyBet giving Nigeria 3.33 odds to beat Egypt. What an insult!.

I don stake better money on am sha. Bookies must pay for this gross underestimation of the SE.

The deepest misttake you can make in betting is to bet on a team you have a personal connection to. It clouds reasoning.

You don't eat where you sh!t.

samtol4:
Burkina Faso also has a strong team. They played against Algeria twice during the qualifiers and both games ended a draw.

Exactly why I say BFaso will top Cameroon in group A. To go toe to toe with Algeria the way they did without even Bertrand Traore, they have to be good. Trust me, they’ll blow Cameroon out of the water.

Icon4s:
What of Cameroon winning it in 2017? Were they the highest rated team?
Even in 2019, before the kickoff of the tournament Algeria was not the highest rated team to win it. It was Senegal and Egypt. Nigeria was even rated higher than Algeria in terms of probability of winning.

Bookers rated teams based on rankings rather than on current form. Algeria had amazing form before the AFCON, those were the early days of their current unbeaten streak. FIFA was just not fair to them in the rankings but everyone knew they were good.

TheGoodJoe:


Dr. Terry is fully part of the coaching team. So he will not just serve as a back room staff.

I believe his work will hinge on giving us a modern approach to the way we will handle it.

I believe he will provide support in detailed analysis of opposing players. Spot their weaknesses through analysis and also propose alternative approaches to counter them.

There is a lot of tactical background studies that takes place in football today.

Below (although highly advanced) is from Bielsa's press conference after his staff got caught spying on Lampard's training session.

Under the screen are documents, each one for a player. He highlighted the amount of work put in to analyze teams.

So Dr. Terry will likely bring a bit of this kind of approach to the team.

All these are important, but remember, before plucking out the needle in your brother's eye, first remove the plank in yours.

The most important thing the SE needs right now is to solve our internal players. We can do this by defining the way we play to maximize available players, making the right selections, mastering the basics of the game etc. This is not the world cup or the champions league where almost every team is already good and the competition is for who is "gooder" if I can use the word. This is the AFCON. At least half the teams present are farmers. Having a balanced well set-up team will already destroy most of the teams present. That is why Algeria is doing so well, because their team is so well set up. Even in friendlies and impromptu matches they still comfortably beat teams with 3+ goals. It is not necessarily because they know what their opponents' top striker ate for breakfast the day of the game.

Tactically overanalyzing opponents, while good, is a sign of inferiority. When your team is well set-up, other teams will be the ones trying to counter your playing style. For example, Mourinho is more known for spying on other teams tactics and so on, but look where it got him playing against guys like Pep and Klopp who set up their teams to play in a well-defined way. I am not saying don't analyze your opponents, I am saying focus more on analyzing yourself and your abilities.

TheGoodJoe:

Let me tell you again, so you get the point before you post that misconception again.

DICTATE PLAY FROM DEEP WITH LONG DIAGONAL PASSES.

Note

DICTATE
DEEP
LONG DIAGONAL PASSES.

So Aribo given a long pass is not dictating play from deep. Okay?

Let's look past the word salad. I can concede that the frequency of Aribo's long diagonal passes is less than your expectations (note: I didn't say Nwakali's level because he just hasn't proved it to me yet, which I hope he does at the AFCON).

However, the argument I replied to alleged that Aribo didn't know how to playmake at all, to which I used an example to debunk.

All these dictate play talk all boils down to one thing: how often a player can create opportunities via long passes from deep (controlling the flow of the game and such is still creating opportunities both offensively and defensively). With the example I gave, Aribo can clearly create opportunities with long passes from deep. The only question is how often, and that is where the comparison to Nwakali comes in. I just hope both of them get enough gametime so that we can rate them objectively and see truly who is better at dictating play from deep bla bla bla.

drDoom3:
Remember the match against CAR away where Osimhen received a through pass and dribbled the keeper only to have his weak footed shot cleared off the line? That was the best through pass in the SE for the entire year.

Guess who gave the pass? Ejuke? Iwobi? Nwakali?

It was Aribo of course.

Guess what? It was a long overhead pass from midfield too. The type they said only Nwakali in the whole Nigerian history of football can give?

Your arguments hold no water.

Watch from 1:13 if you think I am capping.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aV-7B47T-cA

Meliforme:
I am not saying that Aribo is a bad player.
I am saying that there are players who are more excellent than him in the current SE fold.

I narrowed it down to his performances due to Gernot Rohr poor tactical input and i said Rohr takes the greater blame.
But even in the midst Rohr's poverty of tactics, some players were able to stamp their influence.

Take for instance his pairing with Frank Onyeka. Frank Onyeka was winning duels even in advanced areas and making forward passes. What exactly was Aribo's, you can't exactly tell whether he is a CM or a DM. He will receive a pass and then sends it backwards, so that what will happen.

I want you to realise that we have better playmakers who are better at making decisions.
Take for instance Ejuke, in one of the matches, when he found it a bit difficult to maneuver with dribbles partly because some of our players weren't moving into good positions to receive (benefit from) the ball, which resulted to what some of you guys will term unnecessary dribbles. He picked his moment for a through pass to Osimhen. This is playmaking, it requires good decision making.

Remember the match against CAR away where Osimhen received a through pass and dribbled the keeper only to have his weak footed shot cleared off the line? That was the best through pass in the SE for the entire year.

Guess who gave the pass? Ejuke? Iwobi? Nwakali?

It was Aribo of course.

Guess what? It was a long overhead pass from midfield too. The type they said only Nwakali in the whole Nigerian history of football can give?

Your arguments hold no water.

None of our attackers are even in the conversation… We still have a long way to go.

I am confused. Conflicting reports everywhere.

Half of the media is saying Ighalo will be replaced by no one and we will go to AFCON with 1 less player. The other half is saying Dessers has been called up and Feyenoord is even negotiating releasing him with the NFF. Which is the correct news?

Danielnino00:
This rubbish again!

How many times will you be told that Rohr complied the list?
Rohr omitted Dessers name!

What's this deep hatred for local coaches and obsession with oyibo coaches you have?
it's pathetic o.. You, Komekn,Idenna and Emeka are all on the same WhatsApp group in case you don't know ..

It is the fault of both coaches.

Rohr failed by omitting Dessers from the initial list. Eguavoen came in and was not interested in the player. If Eguavoen was interested in the guy he would have put him in once news came out that Osimhen would miss out.

JohnBullMySon:
lol . I think we should just leave this team as it is before we enter trouble for fielding an ineligible player.

It is just painful because this was a great opportunity to really determine who Osimhen's backup would be going into the world cup. All the strikers would have gooten enough game time to audition and show why they deserve a place in the team going forward.

TheGoodJoe:
With all your experience in English football, I am surprised you do not know about a work permit. Kelechi Nwakali suffered in his early career due to work permit issues.

More like Arsenal didn't value him enough to use the special talent clause. Awoniyi also had the same problem.

If they performed well enough in the clubs they were loaned to, they would have gotten either work permits or permanent deals. Awoniyi's work permit came after a stellar season with Union Berlin, but he chose to stay with them permanently.