₦airaland Forum

Chuks4041:
Omo nnadi dey ball ooo.

I like what am seeing. Nnadi, Akinsanmiro, Onyedika, Iwobi, Francis Onyeka midfield will give us solid ball playing midfielders. I also like the kid at Prague. His name is sulaiman. He is an attacking midfielder. I have started following him. Complete baller. Definitely SE bound. I am tired of the runners and carpentry.

opes:
You didn't read the news well.

it was not news. Everything I wrote there can be seen on his podcast. He also said that spots on Nigerian youth teams under the NFF were reserved for players based on religion and ethnicity. People interested should go and watch the podcast on YouTube. GANT FOOTBALL. The guy hosting that program have inside sources within the NFF.

I am hearing that U17 coach that failed to qualify U17 Afcon did not even have a coaching certification. The man was not allowed to be on the sidelines because you have to have certification to be on sidelines according to CAF regulations. Well when the president of the country doesn't even have a high school certification what do you expect. Criminals have taken over and the results are coming in on all sectors. Once they frustrate Eric Chelle out then RIP to Nigerian football in totality. Report are saying he only picked 7 players the rest was bought up slots for the highest bidders. For more information go and check out Smith Gaant Football.

There are reports that Eric Chelle was in Germany for the Bundesliga game to watch Francis Onyeka. He is really pushing for that boy. Remember there were reports a while ago that he already held talk with him. Fingers crossed 🤞

Tochukwu Nnadi with another start for Marseille. Nnadi and Akinsanmiro development is critically needed ul fixing that Nigeria midfield problem.

The tribalists, a corrupt set of mischievous ruffians that have ruined Nigeria, have entered our football, and they have completely ruined it with their corrupt ways. Nigeria is now the weeping boy that gives away 3 points in thier group. The next NFF president needs to understand that the average Nigerian is a tribalist and incredibly corrupt. Go and get a foreign coach for our youth football. Give him the freedom to tour every nook and corner of the country and search for talents without prejudice. There is nowhere in the living hell these boys I am seeing here are the best U17 players we have in Nigeria. Most Nigerians are all tribalists, corrupt, and incapable of being a professional in anything we do. Nigerian culture just does not believe in equity and fairness It hurts me to say this, but this is just who we are. These people parading themselves as leaders and administrators have given Nigeria the title of the poverty capital of the world with the highest infant mortality rate in the world. We are at the bottom of the barrels in every developmental indicator, and they have taken over our football, and they are driving it to the bottom of the barrels in West Africa and then Africa.

If anybody can find me a left center back in the premier league playing better than Bassey I will like to know who he is. Bassey is getting better by the day. I will not swap him for any center back in Africa. Iwobi is balling. When i here people talking of dropping this guy i Just laugh at the ignorance. There is no midfielder currently available for Nigeria that is anywhere remotely close to him.

Napoleon55:
Pls speak your opinion and let's stop at that,don't assume that everyone in Nigeria doesn't think critically or logically but you.

Okoye is better to you,that's fine.
Saying those who believed Nwabali is better are illogical and irrational also implicates you as being guilty of what you are accusing others.

Nwabali took us to back to back AFCON semi finals, winning silver and bronze, and almost qualified us for world cup if not for some players who failed to convert their penalty kicks.
When Okoye was given a chance at the AFCON,what did he do? he crashed us out after group matches.
So it's more logical to conclude he is better for us than Okoye

Nwabali is already aging while Okoye is young, he should prove he is better than Nwabali for us,not winning best player at Udinese.

Now because Osimhen couldn't get a club at top 5 leagues means that the likes of Akor,Awoniyi and Sadiq Umar are better than him?if your logic about Okoye and Nwabali is to be accepted.

Just like Okoye, Onyedika need to stamp his authority in that midfield to convince everyone when next the opportunity comes, Ndidi is already old.

You are not thinking critically. Go and sit down at a corner and critically think; you will see how wrong you are here. People in Nigeria need to start thinking critically and deeply. When the general populace starts doing that, maybe we will start developing. In Nigeria, government officials build roads with no pedestrian sidewalk and close drainage; that is because they are not thinking, and we are talking of a country where 98 percent of the populace does not own a vehicle. 99.99 percent of clubs in the top 5 leagues will get on their knees and beg Osimhen to come to their club if Galatasaray is willing to let him go for 20 million pounds.

Amedino99 he had a bad game last week, and he bounced back this week with an outstanding performance. The players people like you are clamouring for will struggle to make the match day squad of any team in the Bundesliga talkless of starting. All these players you guys are wishing to replace, Onyedika, are inferior players, and with time they will be exposed. I don't follow the crowd and shout 'blue murder' toward certain players due to personal biases. I think logically, and I look at issues from a critical thinking point of view.

I don't need Stanly Nwabili to have atrocious games to know that he is not better than Maduka Okoye. My logical point of view is in Maduka Okoye, I saw a player that won the best player of the season for a Serie A midtable club, Udinese; a player that Inter Milan are after; a player that Roma had an inquiry on this summer with Udinese. On the other hand, Stanly Nwabili cannot even get a club in Africa. There is no logical person that will tell you that Stanley Nwabali is better than Maduka Okoye. People don't think critically or logically in Nigeria. Everything is about emotion, biases and agenda driven. Morocco, Ivory Coast, and Senegal have top quality midfielders across the big 5 leagues. They can get rid of Onyedika, but Nigeria currently cannot afford to do that because we lack midfielders that are currently playing at the highest levels.

Rafael Onyedika starts for Frankfurt. Eric Chelle needs to find a way to integrate Rafael Onyedika. Nigeria is not France, England, or Spain, where we have elite talented players playing at the highest level. For a country like Nigeria, I still find it difficult to accept discarding a player who is one of the few we have that are constantly starting games in the top 5 leagues in the world. Bundesliga is a very technical and effective league. I believe Frankfurth finished 7th last season. All the players I see people mentioning here to replace Onyedika will not even make the Frankfurt match-day squad. Rafeal Onyedika is a good player; Eric Chelle needs to find a way to make him effective in the SE. This dude was a beast in Belgium; he is now a mainstay in Frankfurt. Logic should tell people that he is not a bad player. A country like Nigeria simply does not have that luxury to be discarding a player like this for a random nobody.

Truidstarr:
Your own opinion brother, I respect yours.

I respect your opinion but this is faceless football forum and opinions are welcomed. No body is going to beat you up for having your opinion. I think what he was trying to derive from you is why you don't rate him. Is it his ball playing ability, one on one ability, reading of the game? To make this discussions more informative people need to be more clear in thier opinions. For example I don't rate Frank Onyeka highly because of his limited technical and ball playing ability. If I simply say I don't rate frank onyeka without giving a reason the whole discussion becomes vague

Kog45:
Nwaiwu is better than Fernandez and Ogbu

You are underestimating Fernandez. I like Nwaiwu but am not sure he is a better quality player than Fernandez. Fernandez is a proper ball playing defender. You will see his quality when he is playing with better players around him. One v One i will take Nwaiwu but as an overall quality defender currently I will take Fernandez. The reason big clubs were coming for Fernandez was his on the ball quality.

This short video provides all the information you need to understand who Eric Chelle truly rates. Pay attention to what he said about Iwobi. Iwobi is a very good player, and anyone who cannot see that is either a novice in football or has an agenda towards Alex. As he ages, it is essential to have a successor already in the works. Alex to me is still going to be a mainstay in SE through the 2030 cycle. There is nobody on the horizon that is remotely close to him but in quality and experience. He needs better midfielders around him. He is not the problem in that midfield.
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/t2Ifi0R-KAs?feature=share

The new NFF president have alot of work to do. He should scrap the hiring of black nigerian coaches. Go get a diaspora European coach, allow him to go all over the country and scout for talent. If these are truly the best U17 we have in Nigeria then we are in a big trouble. I did not see a single player here that is truly talented.

I am not seeing technical players. All am seeing here are all commitment, hardwork but technically poor players. What is happening to our football? Are these really the best U17 we have in Nigeria? These are really poor players. I like thier commitment but am just not seeing any real talent.

Napoleon55:
The question is whether Chelle will keep using Ndidi and Iwobi,or bring in the younger ones?
And whether he trust the younger ones are up to task or not?

Are you guys really understanding the game you are watching. Alex Iwobi in the last 3 plus years has been by far Nigeria best player. He is not the problem in that midfield. Ndidi, Onyeka and Onyedika are. Non of the mentioned 3 have stepped up to help Iwobi out. Iwobi is the only decent ball playing and creative midfielder we have. Most of the time he is on the pitch, the young man is getting overworked trying to do everything. Ndidi failure to go get the ball from the defender, carry it and distribute it meant that Iwobi is always dropping deeper doing the work of the DM and CM. We need better ball paying midfielders to subliment him. There is nobody currently on the horizon that can't bench Iwobi. Eric Chelle, i can tell you without an atom of doubt sees Iwobi as his most important player. I was watching the Morroccan TV pundits and fans leading up the last Afcon semi finals clash we had with them and they were all having sleepless night on how to stop Iwobi. They were more worried of Iwobi than Osimhen. Every Solution on fixing the SE Midfield should involve Iwobi as one of the solutions. When i see some people talking of disposing Iwobi here i really question thier football knowledge.

solonnachi:
OGN reports that Tim Irogbenum is close to featuring for Nigeria as he has submitted his papers to FIFA.

Exellent news. I will take him over Onyeka and Ndidi any day of the week. I taught he was very good for Everton last season. He is only 23 too. Him and Iwobi will definitely give us a better ball playing midfield. Eric Chelle still need to go all out and hunt down on a creative midfielder. The capture of Francis Onyeka will be transformational. We have to get this boy now because we will not be able to get him in a year or two.

TheSuperNerd:
Kelechi Iheanacho Goal again!

Scoring in 10 consecutive league games.

Bursaspor still lost 1-2 to AmadinSpor

IHEANACHOO OFF OFF! 🔥🔥🔥#Bursa #Bursaspor #Texas pic.twitter.com/UFu5sOEjMc

— Süper Lig Yolu® (@Superligyolucom) October 11, 2026

I have not changed my stand on Kelechi Iheanacho. We need to start building for the future. Kelechi needs to show me he can still ball at a higher level than the Turkish second division. That goal he scored against Russia was good. That his left foot is still deadly. Eric Chelle will probably always have 4 strikers in his squad. In the Super Eagles currently, we have two strikers that I really rate; they are Victor Osimhen and George Ilenikhena. Akor Adams's strong partnership with Victor Osimhen means that he will always be there. So there is really one position that will be up for grabs in the strikers department. Left for me, I will give that sport to a promising striker with a high ceiling. I will give it to a player that I believe in 2 to 3 years, he will grow into a proper striker.

This young player will come to train, develop, sit back, and learn from Victor Osimhen. Strikers that come to mind are Stanley Iheanacho, Uchenna Ogundu, Hafiz Ibrahim, Rafiu Durusimni, etc. I like Rafiu; he is dominant in the air, and he is technically superior to Tolu, and Awoniyi. He will get better with time. He can consistently score with his head and both feet, and currently only Victor Osimhen can boldly say he can do those too among our strikers currently. That move to Pisa was just a bad move.

To be perfectly honest with you guys, if Eric Chelle chooses to go with a more experienced player for the 4th striker role, I will take Kelechi Iheanacho over Tolu Arokadare and Taiwo Awoniyi.

Terem Moffi is the 3rd most talented SE striker currently. He is a streaky player and that is my problem with Moffi. When he is on, he is elite, but sometimes due to his consistent injuries, being fully fit and on form has become a massive challenge for him.

Victor Boniface is just a wasted talent. How this boy essentially went from being the second-best striker in the Bundesliga to a player Leverkusen cannot wait to sell for scraps need to be studied. It is really difficult to take a player who is not even professional enough to be in a football shape seriously. I have completely given up on him. He can still prove me wrong, and I will gladly eat the humble pie. Really talented but just not a serious person or professional.

Napoleon55:
Talk of Osimhen alone,you can't rate Ilhenikina on Eagles shirt yet.

Akor delivered in his major tournament for Eagles,
so they did not made him to be anything which he is not,he is clearly off form for Eagles now,so is almost all the players including Lookman,
but that does not mean he won't bounce back especially if he move to a better club away from Venezia.

Of all other strikers we have tried before him,he was the only one that came close to what we needed,others have all flattered to deceive,only to disappoint when we truly needed them.
Dessers,Arokodare,Onuachu,etc.
Hopefully,Ilhenikina will deliver when he is most needed,
but Akor does not deserve this kind of roasting irrespective of his club's and current plight.

If Ilhenikina is far better as you implied when paired with Osimhen,good for us,but that is yet to be tested,
but in the absence of Osimhen is when he will be more useful for us if he turns out to be how you have described him.

We need to stop getting emotional about these things. If Eric Chelle invites my cousin who currently plays in Vietnam to the SE team, I will tell you guys that he is the worst player to ever play for the SE. Akor Adams is a very brilliant, bubbling person off the field. I have seen a couple of his interviews, and he seems like a really nice dude. Akor Adams is not a bad player; I simply said that he is not a striker that we should rely on to carry the SE in the absence of Osimhen. I have absolutely nothing personally against him. I was simply commenting as a SE fan who wants this team to be at the Afcon in 2027, 2028 and the World Cup in 2030. There are qualities I look for in players that go beyond just looking at stats. IIhenikina has all the qualities you want in a top striker. He is a fox in the box; he times his runs perfectly, and he makes dangerous runs needed in top strikers. He is the best striker of the ball currently in the SE. He still needs a lot of improvement in his aerial ability, and that is a glaring weakness in his game. When evaluating strikers, there are no areas in the parameters of measuring skillsets that Akor Adams is ahead of George in, perhaps outside of holdup play. George holdup plays is also outstanding, but you can perhaps make a legitimate argument for Akor since I honestly think Akor Adams holdup play is very good.

I have ignored this Super Falcons players bullcrap for long. I don't care who the coach is the Super Falcons should comfortably be beating comoros at home. I am watching thier first half performance and I am not seeing any sense of urgency and pride. Listen if the NFF have treated you guys horribly please when they call you up decline. Once you put on that national team jersey you are representing your country and you must give your 100 percent. If these group of players fail to qualify for the Olympics they should disband the team and give the U20s a chance. The performances I have been seeing from this girls this year has been terrible. Forget tactics, running, working hard, showing a sense of urgency is the minimum requirements if any professional footballer and am not seeing any of it from these girls. Like I said if you don't like the way the federation have been treating you, the failed promises just decline their invitation. There are hungry girls looking for an opportunity to show clubs outside of Nigeria what they can do.

The first time I saw Benjamin Fredericks play, it took me about 25 minutes to make a call on him. That call was that he will be a mainstay in the SE, and he will be in the big 5 league in 2 to 3 years. I saw all the attributes needed in a proper defender, and most importantly, he was technically sound with a football brain. He was reading the game, processing the game, and playing the game at his own speed, tempo, and terms. I knew this boy was heading straight to the top.

The first time I ever saw Akpe Victory kick a football was in the friendly between Basel and Juventus. He was technically superior to all his teammates. His comfort on the ball and his passing accuracy caught my eyes. The game was never too fast or chaotic for him. Dude was playing on his time zone and terms. Quality players are never rushed; they play the game on their terms. His reading of the game was also advanced. This boy will not be in the Swiss League next season. He will be playing in the big five next season. This boy will be extremely difficult to keep out of the Supereagles starting lineup.

I have now watched Abdullahi Bewene play two solid games for the Super Eagles. I am sold on this kid. Ola Aina better sit up or this kid will relegate him to the bench. The way this boy was coming inside, the runs he was making in the middle I taught, and I was watching Hakimi sometimes. His ball carrying ability, and technicality on the ball made me to wonder why this boy is still in the Czech league; surely he will not be in that league next season. This boy is levels above Oseyi Samuel, and it will be a crime for him not to be in the November Afcon squad. Make no mistake about this: Eric Chelle will not hesitate to start this boy over Ola Aina. The SE right-back position is completely sorted now. When Aina is on his game, he is a top 10 right back in the world, and he has to be on his game now to keep this boy out of that starting lineup.

Finally, on Chibuzo Nwoko, I like what I saw. He is technically sound, but he is just pure raw talent. The skillsets are there; it just needs to be more polished, which will come with time and experience playing at a higher level. He will be a mainstay in the SE in about 2 years time.

SymphonyRad:
Akinsanmiro maybe...but he seem to me like another Onyedika type of player (good on the ball but lightweight), I don't know why Chelle hasn't really given him a chance, this Russia friendly would have been perfect for him to get a full runout.

I believe something happened in camp during Afcon and it was probably the reason he did not see minutes at Afcon. Chelle then invited him for the Unit cup where he gave an excuse of being sick. I believe there are some personal beef going on between the two. Akinsanmiro is way better than any of the midfielders that played today. His absence is definitely not a football reason. It could be a character or discipline issue that Eric Chelle probably does not want on his team.

Blueelf:
Felix Agu ke??

I hope this isn't nostalgia bias though??

He recently returned from injury and is Currently training with Werder Bremen first team. He is a regular starter for them when he is fit. Definitely better than anything we have now in that position. The risk is that he has never played against an African side in Africa so the physical side of the game and not so smooth pitch could be a massive factor. Bruno Onyemachi really bumped me up with that performance. Sometimes the best way to get a player refocused is to humble him.

The goalkeeper should have done better in that 3rd goal. I was not really all that impressed with him today. He had an ok performance. Bwene has now established himself as the backup for Ola Aina. Benjamin Frederick has now established himself as the starter partnering Calvin Bassey. Fernandez is good player. He made a mistake but he is a good player. His technical quality on the ball is solid.Solid backup for Calvin Bassey. The new leftback was OK. I don't think am yet sold on him but I will bring him in along with Felix Agu for the November qualifiers. Let Bruno sit this one out. He really need a self reflection after that atrocious performance he cooked up in GB. The Fulham youngster is a quality player. I saw some of the technical qualities in his game but he is not yet ready. He will come good but he is not better than what we currently have. The other midfielders did not impress me at all. Osuji actually outplayed all of them despite the fact he is a defender. Akor Adams answered the call today. He needed a redemption and he delivered.

Diavolo:
So what exactly is the usefulness of Amaju pi nick who is a fifa committee member in all of this. Similar to how we've had Nigerians in the upper echelons of caf and they have so far allowed the wafu zoning arrangements for both the U17 and U20

A country that keep giving criminals critical positions wants accountability and competency. You guys play alot in that country. A person with criminal record can not even get a job to fry burgers here in the United States but in Nigeria they are your government officials and you want quality outcomes. The DR Congo payed them off and as the criminals they are they accepted the bribe. We are not a serious nation and the evidence are there for all to see. The result is the average Nigerian living standard is worse than the living standards of people in war ravaged countries.

TheSuperNerd:
Tochukwu Nnadi back from injury and is in the frame for matchday squad return ahead of Marseille's ligue 1 game vs Troyes on Sunday, October 11.

Great news. We really need this kid to continue to get better. He is a very good player. Technically sound and can get dirty when he needs to. The continuos development of this kid and Akinsanmiro will solve alot of our midfield problems. If we can steal francis Onyeka from Germany then all these midfield talk will be a thing of the past.

People, I just finished watching the Mali vs Morocco friendly, and it confirms what I have been saying here for a long time. If Mali can get a proper winger and an elite striker, Mali will be as good as any national team in Africa. Mali has technical midfield players that can control the game against any opposition in Africa. I was watching that midfield today, and jealousy was killing me slowly. Complete ballers. They are all technical and comfortable with the ball, and they dominated Morocco in their own backyard. We cannot control games with Ndidi and Onyeka starting in our midfield. We need ball-playing midfielders. Tochuckwu Nnadi, Akinsamiro/Iwobi, and Onyedika midfield trio, should be given a chance. We need Francis Onyeka and Ethan Nwaneri badly. I am glad that it looks like Tim iroegbunam is in the bag. Tim can play the DM and Box-to-Box role better than anything we currently have.

Onyedika is a quality player. He is very misunderstood by so many people here. He is technically sound and can manipulate the football. The Bundlesliga is a highly technical league, and for the fact that this boy walked straight into the Frankfurt team and has been a mainstay on that team, tell you he is a quality player. He is technically sound, can shoot, dribble, and has unlimited passing range. Eric Chelle needs to find a complementary partner for him in the midfield. He is not a destroyer like Ndidi or Onyeka; he is a ball circulator and distributor. I was watching this Bundesliga program, and this boy is highly rated in Germany. He simply can not play as the single DM holder in the Eric Chelle triangle system. Eric Chelle needs to find ways to connect the dot and start making use of this quality player.

Blueelf:
Some players are serial underperformers

Tolu Arokodare
Taiwo Awoniyi
Frank Onyeka post-2023
Semi Ajayi - Not sold on him and I don't know why he starts

Those players you mentioned there are simply not good enough. They all have one thing in common, and that is very little technical ability or quality. In the case of Onyeka, Awoniyi, and Arokodare, they are very limited and technically poor. They are all brawn with little to no football refinement associated with their game. Semi Ajayi is just too limited. He is slow and technically poor, but he does read the game well. He is very limited and is simply a championship level player. He occasionally can get the job done for you, but eventually all his weaknesses will be exposed. I have never rated him, and his performances in the last two games are exactly who I taught Semi Ajayi was. Everything I said about Semi Ajayi equally applies to Bruno Onyemachi and Osayi Samuel. Good lads but simply not good enough.