₦airaland Forum

Earthquake1:
England U21 team, many of these guys will walk into our first eleven

Only Foden and Aarons imo

Rohr confirms Josh Maja is on standby...

If all Nigerians in South Africa are criminals - by all means send them all back.
If you are stereotyping all Nigerians based on the actions of a certain group - Go Bleep yourselves. Simple as that.
I don't approve of the criminal activities that some Nigerians carry out abroad but this pathetic narrative needs to stop.
Two can play this stupid game...

What a throwback. Have we had a better AM than these 2 in the last 20 years??

Rohr calls up Esiti and Idowu to replace Ndidi and Ebuehi.

Rohr considers inviting Josh Maja for Ukraine friendly.

Earthquake1:
If you want to start from somewhere start by signing young talents not has beens

A club signing 35yr old former star is going down instead of moving up, ask QPR

Yet they've come 2nd in the last two seasons? They're clearly doing something right.

komekn:
He haa played 37 games of professional first team football he is nearly 22.

I find it hard to look at that as outstanding quality his parent team is not a team bustling with top quality players. So he will have OPPORTUNITY bit it seems his quality is in doubt.

Why then is there so much interest in him by the NFF, is there something l am missing. ❓

Arsenal were once interested in him. He definitely would be a great addition to SE

Barryseal:
You're saying his talent vanished after the Olympics or he never was talented in the first place?
What I see is a player on the right path after an ill adviced move. He presently plays for an ambitious club and so far he has been very good. Ekong and Omeruo played for lesser teams in Turkey and still played for the super eagles.
I don't understand the negative stereotype he is getting. It smells like an agenda driven bias.

I've got to agree with you. Dude deserves a look in. Playing in Turkey should not be an excuse.

Earthquake1:
That does not in anyway make them a big name club

No ambitious club will buy washed off has- beens

They obviously need to start from somewhere. Did City start with signing the likes of Aguero and Silva after Mansour took over?

ChrisKels:
Today, Pepe is playing like a low budget Iheanacho, with his one LEGGEDNESS

Showed a glimpse of what he's capable of. Dude will be immense once he's fully match fit.

charlesemeka85:
And I made a point here few pages back that it is no longer the sole responsibity of a 10 to be his team's creative spark. Creativity comes from every part of a team nowadays.

That is true. The modern day no 10 has to have the work rate to drop into midfield and become part of a midfield 3. Eriksen, De Bruyne, Silva, etc have all adjusted...only Ozil still dey do shakara.
Creativity can come from full backs like Liverpool

charlesemeka85:
Meaning pep deploys 3 number 10s in his team for a match?

They got converted to CMs. They are still playmakers whether number 10s or not.
Wenger did that not too long ago too

komekn:
Some people are stuck in a time warp of the 90's forgetting football has moved on.

Who is the playmaker for Man city and Liverpool if it was so important.

De Bruyne? Bernado Silva? David Silva? All 3 played as a 10/wide playmaker earlier in their career.

andrew44444:
Ogbeni fastest right back doesn't means he is better than all available options ,simple and clear

He is the best RB in the league defensively.

Humility017:
I tell you.....
I really think we messed it up...we would have go for him while he was still in Holland... even before we go for ebuehi

Heard we went for him before Ebuehi and he rejected us.
I've heard he's now open to playing for us

somehow:
He's a good player but not creative enough for that role of an AM

He's a decent midfielder, saying otherwise is 5ignorance.

Etebo is a good midfielder. He is being played in the wrong role.
Watch replays of some of our games and you'd see he was the deepest midfielder at times.
He is a box to box mid who can do a bit of everything though not at a high level.
If you want to play him and Ndidi in midfield, you need a controller or a good ball playing midfielder.
Mikel poor form is what messed AFCON up for us.

Humility017:
please what's the progress so far on his nationality switch?
is the process on already?

Holland will not let him go without a fight

Earthquake1:
Throughballs I can't remember an Etebo assist in a long time

Maybe they weren't converted??

Earthquake1:
Ok he loses possession many times, his pass accuracy is low

How can you then describe him as a ball holder?

He hardly losses possession that much. Rohr is misusing him by playing him as the deepest option.
Funny enough, Whoscored contradicts both of us...

Earthquake1:
'Holding' is a football term different from its real life definition

Holding in footballing terms means retention, hugging defines what you mean

Not in the context you were putting it in regards of Etebo.
We all know what it means in terms of positioning. You can't use the term "ball holding" to describe someone who is only good at dictating play.
Saying Etebo is not a good "ball holder" doesn't make sense based on your definition. He can/does retain possession by his ball carrying skills/"hugging of the ball" but he doesn't keep the ball ticking aka dictating play.

The most balanced midfield we've had in recent times in terms of profile has to be the 2013 AFCON mid of Mikel, Onazi and Sunday Mba.
Mikel as the DLP dictating play from deep
Onazi as the destroyer buzzing around to break up play
MBA as the box to box midfielder making those late 3rd man runs into the penalty box.
It's a shame we haven't been able to find that balance in midfield since then.

Earthquake1:
A ball holder as differentiated from a ball carrier which is geared towards RETENTION of possession, hence a ball holder can be called a ball 'retainer'

Nobody wants a ball carrier who can't make accurate passes

Nope, it's the same thing. You can argue that Etebo isn't good at dictating play (which is obvious to anyone who has watched him) but to say he isn't good at holding the ball because he can't pass isn't true.
Moussa Dembele could hold the ball well and was difficult to get dispossessed but his passing and dictating of play wasn't that great like say Pirlo, Xavi, etc.

gamaliel9:
Say your opinion...differ if you like...agree...if you like...some people in this forum can never do without insults...it is like they grew up seeing their fathers and mothers insulting each other and fighting...


Aribo and Ejaria are average.....they are not better than those already in camp....i do not see that SPARK....that RESOLUTENESS in them....that WOW in their play even at that level....i am even tempted to say that they are below average

I'd much rather have both than Ogu in the side.

Earthquake1:
Let's settle our doubts

"A DLP is a HOLDING MIDFIELDER...where does it say anything about "BALL HOLDER"? And how does it prove that Etebo isn't a ball carrying CM?

charlesemeka85:
the major reason the team was behind possession wise at the last afcon was the lack of a quality cm/b2b who can calm the pace of the game or high the tempo when there is need.

there is no way a team will have high % of possession when you lack a good ball playing cm/b2b and defensive midfielder at the same time

We had that in Mikel who didn't show up and wasn't utilized that way by Rohr.

Earthquake1:
Do you think a ball holder is person who hugs unto balls

A ball holder is a person who makes sure balls are retained in his team by high percentage of passes and Etebo is not that

You are mixing "ball playing" with "ball holding". Etebo drives with the ball well...it's one of his strongest qualities. He is a ball carrying CM. His passing may not be good but it's hilarious to compare him with Ndidi. He's far ahead of Ndidi attacking wise.
Blame Rohr for playing him in a pivot and limiting him.

Curtisaxel7:
Smartass. Using his option to play for naija to force the hand of the English FA to call him up.

Warri blood no dey lie. Smart guy!.

Exactly. Either ways, it's a win -win situation for him. Dude might just do a Zaha sha

forgiveness:
Was Falcao also washed because of injury?

Why did he pick up as soon as he left Chelsea for Monaco?

Why did a 32 years old Torres score 11 goals in la Liga?

One fluke season. How come he flopped at Milan too? Falcao at least had a mini renaissance but he obviously didn't return to his peak level.
Torres was washed. Everyone knows this. Peak Torres would've bossed Chelsea. Chelsea signed him a season too late.

Tammy is much sharper than I thought

forgiveness:
Torres scored 20 league goals once in his entire football career. His average was 13 goals at best. So, if he went to score 11 goals in la Liga at 32 years old, then he was never washed before he came to Chelsea. He couldn't just fit into Chelsea's style of play. Meaning, he struggled.

If that same Torres that left Liverpool went to Athletic Madrid instead of Chelsea, em go score 20 goals.

The almighty Andriy Shevchenko even struggled at Chelsea, who bi Torres?

Gabriel will flop big time. Even Abraham is already struggling.

Sheva was old when he moved. Torres was washed. He had sustained a big injury. You don't want to admit Liverpool played a fast one on Chelsea.
You're talking about style of play like every coach since Mourinho played the same way and Roman didn't go all the way to get coaches to suit Torres style of play.
The guy brought AVB, Heck even Benitez back and dude flopped.

forgiveness:
Torres career didn't start at Liverpool.

So, how many times did Torres score 20 league goals in a season?

Starting from Athletic Madrid, he played 30 games consistently but he never scored 20 goals in a season. However, when he went back he almost tallied what he scored before he left for Liverpool. That's the undiluted facts.

Now, how did a 32 years old Torres scored 11 goals in 30 games in the La Liga?

If the old Torres could score 11 goals in the La Liga, he would had done better if he went to any other club save Chelsea.

What is the difference between 14 goals/10 assists and 15 goals/15 assists?

Sarri did nothing to improve Hazard. Fact

The guy even struggled as a striker when used. Gbam

Gabriel will struggle at Chelsea life and direct.

Again - different Torres at Atleti. Younger with potential - hence why Liverpool paid what they did for him.
Dude was washed at Chelsea... that's why he flopped. Nothing more, nothing less. He also flopped at Milan too before he went to Atleti.
He scored double digits at one season. Why didn't he maintain it then if he was on form and playing for Chelsea was the issue?
You guys have had different managers with different styles of play. Torres flopped under every one of them yet someone like say Anelka didn't. How come?
Gabriel will do better than Tammy at Chelsea. He is better than Tammy at the moment.
Chelsea are playing attacking football so there's really no excuse at the moment.