₦airaland Forum

TheSuperNerd:
@Bolded... 3-man midfield you obviously mean.

And nice analysis Egbon. This is actually one of the MF trio combos I discussed on Twitter if the plan is to play Onyeka alongside Ndidi with Ndidi to sit as the defensive shield and Onyeka to roam as the pressing machine. I told folks there that Ndidi-Onyeka together can work if they play alongside an actual Playmaker. Ejuke's name came up and Nwakali was also mentioned.

An Ndidi-Onyeka-Nwakali combo looks decent and can be utilised in some game situations.... we would have good measure of control and Onyeka's mobile pressing combined with Ndidi's rock-solid reliability in front of the defence and Nwakali's conduction would make us quite hard to get past. But Nwakali is not a die-hard goals getter like Aribo. He doesn't have Aribo's Lampard-esque thirst for goals close to the box.


...And then I reached a conclusion. And I will put it in bold.

ARIBO MUST NOT BE BENCHED. HE IS THE MOST SPECIAL WEAPON IN OUR MIDFIELD ARSENAL AND MUST BE UNLEASHED FROM THE START UNDER THE RIGHT TACTICAL SET-UP. PLAY HIM ALONGSIDE AN ACTUAL MF PLAYMAKER AND YOU WILL LIKELY SEE THE BEST OF ARIBO. In a nutshell, Aribo must start!!! And not just for the sake of starting him. He must start as our #10. Dude is something else close to the box. I cannot have such beast on the bench that can give you goals from midfield and offer up his workrate to cover grounds as well in defensive phases. Aribo will excel if he is Played close to the box, allowing him to exploit the gaps in the final third while a genuine Playmaker from deep does his thing and locates Aribo as one of the attacking options towards goal.


I say this because finding the right tactical balance in our Middle game is more about setting the Midfield up for almost all facets of Midfield plays: Attacking, conducting, Defending, pass recycling.

Aribo could be one of the finest revelations at this tournament if we play to his strengths and place a Playmaker alongside him, behind in deeper central areas.

I know it hasn't been tested but careful observation and analyses on my part tells me it can click.

No offence to Onyeka. He is a beast also. But he doesn't offer control in the middle like Nwakali does and is not as dangerous as Aribo close to the box even though he can bag a few goals occasionally.

Also, Nwakali and Aribo are better ball passers than Onyeka and better ball carriers as well. Ndidi's passing is also very much improved so pass recycling in the middle game will look much more assured with Nwakali, Aribo and Ndidi.

The reason Man city could not dominate Brentford was because of Onyeka.

I don’t know if you watched the game.

Philosophy of the coach which some claimed to be the factor for Nwakali’s inclusion, was the bases of my opinion of playing Nwakali as an AMF because he can get that freedom to focus on playing long balls to the forwards without consciously thinking of defensive duties.

Not necessarily scoring goals but creating chances through long balls.

In addition, his defensive aspect is not trusted by me hence the need to support the midfield with two energetic players in the mold of Onyeka and Ndidi.

But if it has nothing to do with long balls or whatever philosophy of the coach, I don’t think I will pair him with only Ndidi instead play Aribo ahead.

TheSuperNerd:
Thanks kee you diaaaa Taaaaaaaa!!! Gbafuo!!!
Who you wan give work? You no sabi the amount of screenshots I need to take to show it for every game? See ehn... Just go to Sofascore. Search Kelechi Nwakali... go to his matches tab... click on each game... go to lineups and click on Players' average position. After that click on the Huesca badge at the top of the dialog box that pops up and click on #8. It will bring out his entire heatmap for that game.



Here is an example below.

Nwakali vs Alcorcón on December 19, 2021.

Listed as a LW on Transfermrkt and also placed there in Sofascore's match lineup as futher forward but see his heatmap right below indicating he played a more central role.
So Yep, even sofascore can get lineup positions wrong but their heatmaps info is far more reliable.

Ultimately eye test shows you everything. Watching the games gives you a huge edge to see the difference.


So my man, at your own convenience... check out the rest. Go do your assignment.

Heatmaps in some cases don’t tell the position of the player but the movement of the player.

In situation where you have to park the bus, the striker will move along the middle of the field. Does that indicate he played as a CM?

If we look at the heatmaps of Man city’s defenders when they dominate teams, how will the heatmap look like?

The point remains that Nwakali has played as an AMF most times throughout his professional club career.

ChrisKels:
Dude was that statement really that complex for you to easily decipher? Yes, English isn't our language but the simplest of it shouldn't be that hard to comprehend. What's the function the word "maybe" and what does the word "tend" really mean to you?

How could you talk about drawing a conclusion when there was a probable(maybe) preceeding your statement to authomatically give it a sense of uncertainty?

How did you pass GST101

That’s what makes the matter worse. You are not sure you watched him closely but you believe he “tends” (regularly or possesses the ability to) misses chances.

My man, truly truly, English no bi our language but from what you wrote, I can see contradiction.

GES 101, I pass am wella. Is that what you call it in your school GST?

Surely surely! You no see de material before. How you come take pass am? Na joke I Dey ooo.

If I have my way, from what I heard about Eguavoen’s philosophy (if true), I will play Nwakali in a 3 man defense alongside Ndidi and Onyeka. So that we can be balance in midfield and also use Nwakali’s ability to throw long passes. Hence, he will play slightly ahead of the Ndidi and Onyeka, and at the same time give him freedom to move around. But if not, Aribo should be the 3rd man in the midfield.

This will be my team.

.......................................Uzoho/Okoye

.Aina......Ekong .....Omerua....Zaidu

..............Ndidi.................Onyeka.........

..........................Nwakali/Aribo

Chuks................Awoniyi..’...Ejuke/Olayinka

Kog45:
Sadiq is a good striker with a little deft touch of Kanu while Awoniyi is a poacher,who is beginning to gain more confidence in front of goal,not really as aggressive as Osimehn.

Sir,Sadiq Umar miss scoring chances than Taiwo Awoniyi.

Sure we will miss Osimehn but Eguavoen should play to the strength of the strikers available.

Osimhen misses chances too. Let us tell ourselves the truth.

ChrisKels:
Well, let's see how it goes. I'm not really sold on Awoniyi, maybe I haven't really observed him closely, but he tends to miss more than he scores and that could harm the team in a match where chances are scarce.

You haven’t observed him closely but you arrived at a deduction “he tends to miss more than he scores”. Hmmmm!

What contradiction!

TheSuperNerd:
Modric recorded 2 goals and 8 assists for the entire 2017/2018 season in 43 matches as a central Midfield player for Real Madrid.

He also recorded 2 goals and only 1 assist in 7 starts at the WC that same season.

Now, that was a Ballon D'or, FIFA The Best and Uefa Best player in Eurooe awards-winning season for Luka Modric. Shocking from a statistical POV isn't it?

Point made on Modric.




Now on Nwakali, please Transfermrkt can get positions right several times for major leagues but they can mix things up oftentimes for 2nd tiers and some other obscure leagues and occasionally even Top leagues. I know this because I saw every Nwakali game in a Huesca game up until January 2nd, 2022.

He's played mostly as a Central Midfield player, mostly deeplying, for Huesca this season. He was almost always falling deep to conduct plays. He has only stayed as an AM for a longer portion of a game a few times like in his last game vs Girona on Jan 2nd.

If you want proof, check his Sofascore heatmaps for some of those games Transfermrkt listed him as an AM and see the positional errors.

And then check his heatmap for his last game. Totally different for the most parts. So you see... Eye test tells the story better. Not Transfermrkt ref which can be wrong sometimes.

The bone of contention is the position they play. Nwakali has played mostly as an AMF throughout his professional career.

I remember we had that argument during the days of Jelili.

You can post the proof of him playing mostly as a CMF here for me to see. Thanks

TheSuperNerd:
Relax Egbon... Now also answer this. How many Assists and Goals did Modric have to win the Ballon D'or, Fifa The Best and UEFA Best Player in Europe awards in 2018? How many for Real Madrid across that entire season? And how many at the WC for Croatia in 2018?

Going holistic is fine sometimes but breaking things down is finer and clearer.

Let us break it down. Modric scored 1 goal and had 6 assists as a CM in Laliga that season.

Modric scored 1 goal and assisted once In UEFA Champions league as a CM.

Modric scored 2 goals and assisted once in 7 games in the World Cup. In addition, won 3 motm and won golden ball. All these as a CM. Please take note.

What position did Nwakali play majorly this season? AMF

12large1:
Better than ndidi??

In my opinion, he is got better potential though he still needs to reach Ndidi’s level.

However, he is a CM while Ndidi is a DMF.

12large1:
You might have a good point here o because I just viewed Xavi and Modric 2010 and 2018 stats and it doesn’t seem very impressive enough to win b’allon d’or

Modric 2018 World Cup stats
2 goals and 1 assist in 7 games

Xavi 2010 World Cup stats
0 goals and 0 assist

Okay, as a Central midfielder, you might not score/assist bountifully, but, your overall control of the tempo of the game can have a huge impact on your team result

Point of correction, Xavi had 2 assists in 2010 World Cup.

Besides, he had 154 assists and scored 68 goals in 607 games as a CM for Barcelona.

Moreover, he scored 12 goals and had 19 assists in 54 games as an AMF for Barcelona.

Let us analyze things holistically.

Papi85:
they are just trying to make case for nwakali to start ahead of a whole ‘frank the tank’

Well, that’s their personal opinion though I would like to see what he can offer to the team but I am worried if he is paired with Ndidi because I don’t know if he has improved defensively else Ndidi could be overwhelmed by opponent in the midfield.

drDoom3:
This argument of Ndidi standing alone is crap. Onyeka has never been a DMF. He doesn't handle defensive duties for Brentford, he is not a 4. I've watched all Brentford games in the prem so far, Onyeka is most times the one advancing the attack. He also drifts to the wings sometimes to whip in crosses (especially right wing). He wins almost as much fouls in the attacking third as the strikers. Because of his excellent work rate he also helps out a lot defensively with tackles and interceptions. His heat map is almost always in the opponents half (except against big teams when Brentford is parking the bus).

It is just like saying Ndidi cannot play alongside Kante because they are both defensive minded players. Ndidi is a different type of defensive player to someone like Onyeka or Kante. Ndidi does not make forward runs on most occasions. He wins the ball back and immediately passes it forward, sitting back to protect the defense. Kante and Onyeka are different. When Kante plays for Chelsea, he is mostly the one winning balls and initiating counters. He can play DM, but he is not a DM.

It is true though that Ndidi struggles playing alongside similar players to him (e.g. with Soumare at Leicester). This is because his role gets confused. Soumare doesn't contribute to the attack. He likes to win balls and sit behind to protect the defense. As this is Ndidi's role, Ndidi becomes confused because he has an intruder in his territory and doesn't know which positions to take up that will stop them both from getting in each other's way.

Menhhhh! Onyeka got that potential to be a world class player. He is got massive talent that can’t go unnoticed.

He is arguably the best midfielder we have now though still growing.

I don’t see the reason to keep him on the bench in this tournament. He should be starting games alongside Ndidi.

TheSuperNerd:
Kessie has more skill than Nwakali?? Oh because he is at Milan. Lol

Kessie is all power and Brawns. Not much brains.

You don start again ooooo. Chai! The way you wan take say happy new bi dis?

Anyway, you are welcome back to the thread. I expected you to be here going into the tournament and you showed up.

jl115:
QOL index, Quality of infrastructure index, WB lpi index

It doesn’t change the fact that Sri Lanka, Indonesia, Saints Kits etc are more developed than South Africa.

Now, show me the ranking of each of these indexed. I want to show you something.

jl115:
nope not in terms of infrastructure it isn't

What facts do you have now since your HDI didn’t back you up?

jl115:
in terms of HDI yes.....in terms of infrastructure no..

Then Nigeria is more developed than Namibia and all other countries in Sub Sahara Africa save South Africa (for now).

jl115:
yes in terms of HDI they are.... Can't argue with facts my friend

Very good. Sri Lanka, Indonesia, Saints Kits etc are far more developed than South Africa. EOD

jl115:
because its just plain wrong.....there are many SSA countries that rank higher in terms of HDI than Nigeria.

Same with infrastructure

Based on your assertion, Sri Lanka, Saint kit, Libya, Indonesia etc are more developed than South Africa because they are ranked higher in terms of HDI than South Africa.

12large1:
Epl, la liga and Seria are the Big 3. Their goals holds more weight than any other league that’s why I said “on current form”.. bundesliga and Lique 1 are among the big 5 but they’re still farmers league.. to me, 1 goal scored at Epl, la liga and Seria is an equivalent of 1.75 at bundesliga and Lique 1 while 2 at all other backwater league

Stop lying to yourself. All top 5 leagues goals carries 5 points each.

When last did Seria A win UEFA Champions league?

Bundesliga team still won it in 2020.

jl115:
nope

Is Casablanca better than your top 3 cities in South Africa?

jl115:
its not about belief but statistical facts

Show me your statistical facts. Lagos, Abuja, Ikeja, and Lekki are more developed than any place in that country.

jl115:
No!!

Ok it is as develop as South Africa. Is that what you hate to here?

However, can you explain your objection to my assertion?

humility33:
U know from the name you listed

Only Oshimen is proven goal striker for the super eagles as at now only Onauchu come close

The rest are goal scorers for their club sides we haven't seen what they can offer the super eagles..if more or less.

He claimed “we are going to AFCON without our 2 forwards on current form” and he listed Dennis and Osimhen as those two forwards which is not true.

12large1:
It depends on this current strikers performances. But, if Dennis and osimehn continue scoring in Seria A and Epl, they will walk into our 11.. wow, SE is really going to a tournament without their 2 best forward on current form

Osimhen 9 goals are 3 assists
Dennis 8 goals and 5 assists
Awoniyi 14 goals and 3 assists
Dessers 10 goals and 3 assists
Onuachu 14 goals


Can you please explain?

Famocious:
Cyriel Dessers called up to replace Odion Ighalo on Eagles' AFCON'21 squad

@ojbsport

Nice one.

Kazikazi:
In GDP numbers yes,naija is way above TZ.
Naija has 500+b while TZ has 65b .Almost 1 ninth.

But on ground? Can naija have 9 times of what TZ has?

How many airports do you have?

How many universities do you have?

How many manufacturing companies do you have?

What are the 9 things TZ have?

Kazikazi:
10 times?
I thought you are more than that? You have agriculture sector way bigger than Brazil, surely you should be in Brazilian leagues,why are you busy trying to prove youselves

No! I am not trying to prove anything. I am just reminding you.

Tanzania is too way below Nigeria in all rectification. Don’t take it personal. I am just stating the facts on ground.

Kazikazi:
That's how you get respected. A GDP alone won't command respect.
But a day when naija reaches the level of developments which SA has,no one will be here arguing with you folks

It doesn’t change the fact that Nigeria is ten times more developed than any country in Subshara Africa save South Africa.

Ikanium:
Unconfirmed

E bi like say na true oooo.

ChrisKels:
No call ups outside the the 40man preliminary squad. Know this, and know peace.

Rohr didn't list Dessers

Na so! Nwakali Dey list before? How e take enter?

safarigirl:
Wey dem for call Dessers since, forget Ighalo, but based on Pinnick baby boy, dem wan carry am.

If Ighalo makes the team, not bad but if not, Dessers should be call up.

jihday:
The coach, Austin Eguavoen; "If we don't have any positive news on Ighalo by 5pm, I will replace him."

Who will be your replacement?

Eguavoen; "I won't say it."

Call Dessers if Ighalo is not available.