₦airaland Forum

chrisooblog:
your eye did not see the part in shorunmu's interview that they were different cliques in Brazil 2014 which included those loyal to Mikel, osaze and enyeama

Did oliseh carry girls? Did he go to nightclub before a crucial match? So tell me how his indiscipline is so different from Vincent's that warranted him being pushed out in 2002

chrisooblog:
it's like you need a history lesson in 2011 when siasia was coach didn't he send enyeama back home just before the AFCON qualifier against madagascar. in 2014 enyeama ignoring communication channels he could have used to expressed any misgivings internally publicly criticized the NFF for taking the AFCON game vs Chad to kaduna. ironically oliseh defended him not knowing vincent go show am pepper too. when sunday sef show am sey him get craze he come dey form victim. ok oliseh left rohr came called you yet still forming victim that nff bla bla doesn't want you back yet you were dining with pinnick after the oliseh kasala burst. so forgiveness i don't need to answer any silly question to know what went down.

oliseh as bad as he was in his time fought for the right of his fellow players the shorunmu interview as much as confirmed that if that is indiscipline well that's your opinion

goldfish80:
Iwobi's form rightly should worry any fan.I can't understand the overindulgence he gets from Nigerians.

Rohr set to invite Italy-based striker, worries over Iwobi

April 24, 2018
Festus Abu

Alex Iwobi’s current poor form is a major worry for Nigeria coach Gernot Rohr, our correspondent has learnt.

The 21-year-old forward, who burst onto the scene in 2015 and enjoyed starting roles in Arsenal’s first squad until last season, has copped heavy criticism this term because of his inconsistency and paltry form.


Iwobi, who sent many Super Eagles fans into a frenzy when he switched his international allegiance to Nigeria from England in 2017, has only scored two Premier League goals in 21 appearances.

And his poor form has also sparked concerns that the former England junior international’s inclusion in Nigeria’s Russia 2018 World Cup squad may not benefit the Eagles much.


With Kelechi Iheanacho struggling at Leicester City, our correspondent learnt that Rohr fears that he could have China-based striker Odion Ighalo as the only trusted top striker in Russia.

A source close to the team told our correspondent that the former Gabon manager is considering his options and has decided to invite Italy-based forward Simeon Nwankwo, who has been knocking on the national team’s door by scoring eye-catching goals in the Serie A.


The 25-year-old Crotone striker scored his fourth Serie A goal in the 2-1 defeat of Udinese at Stadio Friuli on Sunday to help pull Gli Squali (The Sharks) a bit clear of relegation zone.

Nwankwo, who was on the books of Portuguese club Gil Vicente from 2013 to 2016, stepped into the spotlight on April 18, after he latched on a loose ball to bury a spectacular overhead kick from inside the box into the net to level the score in their 1-1 draw against Italian powerhouse Juventus at Ezio Scida.

Sources close to Rohr said the former Burkina Faso coach, who has been monitoring the player’s performance in recent times, “is highly impressed by Nwankwo’s style of play”.

Spokesman for the senior national team Toyin Ibitoye refused to confirm nor deny if the Crotone star would be invited by Rohr to fight for his place in the World Cup squad.

He said, “Rohr hasn’t named his provisional or final squad so all players are on his radar. We are happy that many of our players are playing well and scoring too.”

http://www.punchng.com

buhariguy:
This is one of the best reason buhari have to continue the good work, 4yrs is not enough.

somehow:
Yes, thank you for using the right word

andrew444:
I Also pray I love my country as much as you do,when we get past group stage I will start thinking of that,our goal keepers dey give me heart attack

chrisooblog:
So why do you want Vincent back if you are against indiscipline

TheSuperNerd:
Funny how you asked the right question.... because Egbon Forgiveness is indeed a die hard Chelsea fan... Hahahahahahahahaha

Lucque:
So if he makes a wrong call na to fire am straight??...are u a chelsea fan??

TheSuperNerd:
Yes, the info is 100% correct as regards the GK trainer visiting him. But I'm not yet sure of how many goalies Rohr will call in for the final prep.

somehow:
Yea, i still believe we will achieve the listed this coming world cup.

Certitude:
He doesn't need to resign. You'll just have to fire him.

andrew444:
I hope we get past the group stage

tbaba1234:
Uzoho is our number 1 keeper... After reading recent statements by Rohr, I think he has made up his mind on Uzoho..

“I don’t think goalkeeping is the weak link in my team,”

“After we lost Carl Ikeme to sickness, we had what seemed like a goalkeeping crisis but Ikechukwu Ezenwa did well in the qualifiers but we kept looking for options.

“Francis Uzoho came as an option because to go to the World cup, you require two good goalkeepers and I must say he has done well in the three games he has played for the Super Eagles that I won’t be afraid to start him in our opening game against Croatia at the World Cup in Russia.

“Francis is good and tall, and he is ready to learn. He did well in the friendly games against Argentina and Poland with two clean sheets and conceded two goals against Serbia in his third game in which I experimented with some players and tactics.

“I don’t believe he will get stage fright playing against the likes of Messi and other big names in Russia, because after playing against the likes of Lewandowski of Poland, Aguero and Di Maria of Argentina, I am optimistic that he would rise to the occasion in Russia.”

Martz101:
So from the lengthy write up you didnt notice reason why Shorumu joined the team and he was not even happy with the team.

So after all finidi, oliseh and the rest had done for Nigeria you expect them to call the coach and beg for a call up, is just like asking Mikel to call and ask for a call up

chrisooblog:
forgiveness make up your mind first you say chief festus was not the one that it was nigerian government that disbanded the team so why was he asking players to call him govt should kukuma have continued to coach the team Na since they were the higher authority

chrisooblog:
sorry with due respect to chief festus what had he achieved in the Nigerian landscape that he should arrogantly appropriate to himself the authority to tel players to call him

After he was appointed did oliseh n co say that they didn't want to play for nigeria again that necessitated them being treated like school kids

As much as sunday and co also made some bad decisions they were unjustly chased away from the national team with chief festus as the hatchet man

If it is true that the powers that be in the nigerian football federation did not want Vincent in the team again by using oliseh to chase him away then forgiveness I put it to you that you are being hypocritical if you say that it wasn't the case in onigbinde's time

chrisooblog:
well on lesson 1 yes onigbinde wasn't directly responsible but it can be argued that chief festus was the hatchet man used to push the ''mafia'' out

which door did he open by arrogantly saying they should call him first? if oga onigbinde really wanted them oliseh crew back he would have called them. when rohr came on board didn't you read that he called enyeama?

enyeama has been called people have intervened to speak with him. the ball was/is in his court

lesson 4? debatable read what i wrote for lesson 1

lesson 5 true true

lesson 6 it happens even loving couples fight it's how to manage it that is the issue

somehow:
We will do this in this worldcup. Iheanacho will score a free kick.

As for Cornerkick, i don't think we have players who love using their heads except maybe Ogu

Scoring from indirect freekick, an Ogu can do that and maybe Musa.

We might get to win PK this world cup if we go far, players like Moses and Iheanacho can win us PKs.

tbaba1234:
One of Arsenal's best young prospects, 16 year old goalkeeper Arthur Okonkwo is being chased by RB Leibzig and Celtic.

Arsenal risk losing him..

Another one to keep an eye on. He already has caps for England.

MetalJigsaw:
Ajagun, Nwakali and one other guy comes to mind.

Great form is not the issue now. The issue is we badly need a natural AM that can decently deputize Mikel... At least to some extent.

These other midfielders have priven too incapable for that role.

kennysville:
I think at this rate, it would be wise to have a cerebral attacking midfielder. I havent followed Ajagun but i think Aluko would work given his exploits in the middle of the park. Ajagun could also be given a chance..., you never know.... Forgiveness might be right (hahahaha...Ayam not believing that I agree with this man)

Truidstar:
4-4-2 and 3-4-3 i agree with. Seems you don't rate shehu and uzoho.

chrisooblog:
In this first instalment of Saturday Telegraph’s ‘My World Cup Experience Series,’ CHARLES OGUNDIYA caught up with former Super Eagles goalkeeper, Ike Shorunmu. He revealed his disappointment at missing out of two World Cup competitions and finally making it to the 2002 Mundial as a player and later in 2014 as a coach. Excerpts…



How does it feel missing out of two World Cup competitions in 1994 and 1998?
With regard to the first one, I didn’t feel bad, because as the youngest among all the goalkeepers in the team, there was Peter Rufai, Alloy Agu and the late Wilfred Agbonavbare, the coach of the team, Clemens Westerhof, called and told me that since this was the first ever World Cup that the country would be attending, he needed experience. I expressed my appreciation to him because personally I knew it was not going to be easy to compete with all these great goalkeepers I just mentioned, so I wished the team all the best. In 1998, everyone believed I was going to be the Number One for the country going to France, but a month to the tournament, I got injured. When I got to the hospital, I asked the doctor, ‘what’s the situation of my hand.’ He just said; ‘Ike, forget about the World Cup.’ I was so devastated, especially after looking forward to it, but I took it as my destiny.
The following morning, I saw my wife by my side, consoling me that I should not be thinking of the World Cup and I made her believe that I am not going to think about it, but seriously, that’s the Mecca of football which all good footballers would to give anything to be part of. However I consoled myself that age was still on my side and that if God really wanted me to be at the World Cup, I would make the next one. Great players like George Weah and Abedi Pele never featured at the World Cup, and they still feel it till today as one of the things they missed during their illustrious careers. In 2002, I was opportune to appear for my country in Korea/Japan, it was finally a dream come true for me. I want to use this opportunity to appreciate my family, my fans and the journalists who believed in me.

Do you think if you had made the team to 1998, Nigeria would have performed better?
I don’t want to go back. The destiny has been made and I believe whatever happens to a man has been destined. A lot of people have expressed similar sentiment, that if I was there it would have been better, but I believe if I was there, it might have be worse and at the same time it might have been better. Who knows? Maybe the God I serve didn’t want me to be at France 1998. Maybe if I was there, I might not have got to the level I did in football. I will just say I was never meant to be at that World Cup.

There were issues leading to the 2002 World Cup with some of your colleagues that were at the 2002 AFCON in Mali excluded from the Mundial in Japan/Korea; could you recall what really happened?
I was injured in the game against Ghana and was rushed to the hospital during the course of the game but thank God I was revived, and later returned to the team’s hotel in the night. People expected the minister of sports, late Ishaya Mark Aku, to visit me and ascertain the extent of the injury, but he didn’t come. On the third day after the incident, my first training with the team, it was a day before the semifinal game against Senegal, the minister came to the field and tried to address the team after the training.

It was then that Sunday Oliseh stood up and told him that the team members were not happy with the way he treated their injured goalkeeper, that was me. Oliseh stated that if it was the minister’s son, would he not check him at the hospital or probably at the hotel for more than two days. That was all he said. But the minister and the FA members around were asking why Oliseh was talking to the minister like that.
When we lost in the semis, we played the third place match and got a bronze medal. But after the tournament, a lot of things came up- people saying the players were disrespectful, mafia in the team and so many negative things; so the team was disbanded. I had still not fully recovered due to the injury, I was still having severe headache, so I decided to go back to Switzerland for proper treatment.

So how did you receive your invitation to Korea/Japan or was it that you love Chief Adegboye Onigbinde so much?
I was in the hospital for two weeks. Nobody called or informed me of anything until around April when I started playing again, and somebody called me from Nigeria that Chief Adegboye Onigbinde said players that wanted to be part of the team to the World Cup among those who went to Mali must call him, that means such person is ready to work with him. I didn’t do anything about it, but my guys in the team, Oliseh and Finidi George also called me, they said; ‘Ike, you know you already missed out of two World Cup finals, and this is another opportunity for you, so it is better for you to call this man, so you can be part of the team.’ I quickly asked them why they were not calling him, they said they were not calling him, if he needed their service, he should call them and not the other way round.

An hour after, another person called me, a senior person in the media, Ade Somefun, he persuaded me to call Chief Onigbinde, saying after so many sacrifices, it’s time for me to go to the World Cup, that I should not be stubborn. So, I called chief and after introducing myself and exchange of pleasantries, he asked if I wanted to play for him and I said who am I not to play for my country? That was how that part was concluded. Two weeks later, I called my colleagues, and tried to make them see reason to reconsider their decision, but they said they were not coming. That was how I came into the team.
How did it feel joining the team without many of your colleagues?
Initially, when I came for holiday around May 2002, I was told the team already left for Ireland for camping before moving to London and later to Korea. However I met Chief Onigbinde at Sheraton; he asked me questions and I told him I heard the team already left for Ireland a day before, but I that couldn’t just travel to Ireland as I had to get some things done in Nigeria. He told me I should not worry, that they would be waiting for me. The next day, I flew to Ireland to meet up with the team , I got to the hotel immediately they were coming back from training; one of the coaches said that I was not going to be part of the team, that I came just for the sake of showing up.

The coach said ‘we go drop am,’ but I am not going to mention his name. It was actually one of the players that told me and I said as long as he is not God, he could not decide my fate. They were actually thinking that in the friendly match against Ireland, perhaps I would not play well and they would use that excuse to drop me.

But thank God, on the night after the game when the coach was addressing the team he announced that the only person guaranteed of World Cup slot among the players that featured in the friendly game was me, because of my performance that night. The next day we flew to London to play against Jamaica; I was named the captain and after first half, Chief Onigbinde said it was enough for me, that I should go and rest. That was it.
Do you think if the full squad that went to Mali were in Korea, it would have been a different outcome entirely?
Believe me, then we had a very solid team with a lot of love among us. If not for the injury I sustained against Ghana, I believe we would have won the game. Two players, Austin Okocha and Finidi, came to my room and warned me not to play the game against Senegal, but I forced myself to play because there was a lot of pressure from home on the coaches that I must play the

game. But truth is, if we had used the same team that played in Mali, I believe we would have gone far in Korea/Japan, but that’s the way God and the people in power wanted it – dropping experienced players for some new and young players.

How disappointed are you with the outcome at the Mundial?
There was nothing I could do at the end of the day; the government wanted it that way and nobody can fight the government and win. So, we managed what we had, but I believe we have learnt a lot of lessons. Whenever you want to punish someone, it’s best you do that immediately after a tournament and let everything end there. If the team goes far, the federation gains, same applies to the country. We continue to learn at every tournament; just like what happened to the team in 2014, we learnt something too.

There was this rumour that Nigeria would have defeated France in 2014 if not for the fact that the players were sharing money all through the night; how true is this?
I will not say the team lost because they were sharing money till late in the night on the eve of the game against France. Our elimination from that competition was due of lack of love. There was a lot of argument among the big boys in the team – (Joseph) Yobo, Mikel (Obi), Osaze (Odemwingie) and also Vincent (Enyeama). Besides, each of these players had some young players who were loyal to them; there were different caucuses.
The truth is, when big players start having problems among themselves in a team, and you don’t solve it immediately, it’s going to cause problem for the team. The game was a reflection of what happened outside, we felt it with the coaches too. Actually before the tournament proper, we, the coaches, had a meeting and we let Stephen Keshi know the problems in the team. We told him that if some players were at the Mundial, they would constitute a lot of problems to the team. Although he made us believe he had heard us, he didn’t follow our advice. He is late now, but he would have come out to say that we actually warned him.

The day Osaze and Mikel fought, it was in a meeting with the coaches, players and some of the medical team. Something happened between them and they almost exchanged blows, some people had to come in between them to separate them. The meeting ended immediately and when we (coaches) got to his room that night, he (keshi) told us that he should have listened to us. But there was nothing we could do then. It is an experience and we are supposed to learn from it.

https://newtelegraphonline.com/2018/04/when-the-doctor-told-me-to-forget-france-98-my-world-crashed-shorunmu/


hi interesting interview sorry it's a long read but i found the last few paragraphs eye opening

andrew444:
Your formations are okay but are you sure aiyenugba will be called up ? If so I am happy

I think it will not be bad to pair omeruo and balogun also thou Ekong has been relegated to the bench at his club but the league is almost over,will that affect his starting place in the eagles ?