Humility017: please forget all that Wing role for success he can play perfectly well as CF.... remember he started as a CF... if you could advocate for nacho to be played as a SS...then you shouldn't refute Success being deployed to the CF....role.
Ok. But you have not answered my question on why I should remove Ideye and Martins?
Humility017: can somebody tell me why is the NFF slow about that Dressier's guy... having him play for us...is far better than going after Tammy and co...who are still considering playing for for their birth nations... he should be contacted and assured of future call ups soon.... hopefully we get to settle our world cup issues against the Cameroonians come August and September this year....he will get to play either against Zambia or Algeria
Humility017: please remove ighalo and martins from that options.... I will prefer a combo of kayode and nacho start against Cameroon.... then the likes of success and iwobi can be introduced in the 2nd half... I can't risk ideye in that match....though... we can't afford miss chances
Icon4s: Sorry none of them is good enough to keep Iheanacho on the bench.
Iheanacho is not good enough for the CF position. Many countless articles by reputable football analysts, successful professional footballers, licensed coaches both locally and internationally etc have empirically emphasised and hold up to the opinion that Iheanacho is not good enough for the CF position.
So, where did you get your aproka knowledge of Football from?
Sorry, no thanks. Iheanacho can't play that CF. He should fight for the ss role. EOD.
Icon4s: I have read countless articles on how Iheanacho should be played as an AM/SS. So who is that player that deserves to start as the CF of this team?
Does that not tell you two heads (countless articles) are better than one (you)?
Iheanacho shouldn't be forced down the throats of Nigerians despite his obvious inability to play as the CF.?
We have better options like Ideye, Martins, Kayode, Ighalo etc. Thanks
Dedebanky85: I didn't need to watch to the end to know that Ajagun is a damn good AMF. He is that connector btw MF and Attack. He passes very well, he's always on time to pop up and shoot. I watched a couple of his games last season he was good but his team was just too leaky in the back. Well he's on loan from Panathanaikos. I hope they sell him. But as for SE, lets forget it, he won't be invited as long as Mikel still states that he's playing for SE. Rohr may never put a newbie in that AM position after what SA did to us. If na you, you go put new person there? But Ajagun can make a good case by going to a top team in either France or Belgium, he has the talent to succeed there. E.g. could be Marseille, Nice, Genk, or Liege. I'd be glad to see him in SE but I know Rohr won't invite him
Someone here said he is going to Belgium but I don't know how true it's.
Besides, is the position of all the players in the National team guaranteed peradventure they have no game time next season?
Let everyone watch his clip and be sincere. Does Ajagun make a strong case?
hmmmmmmmmmmmmmm
*clearing throat*
Out of his 16 shots at goal (I no count the two goals he scored with his head oooo)
Only 4 were off target, 2 were blocked by the Defenders though goal bound, 2 were saved by the keeper, one hit the post and 7 were buried into the net.
Out of 7 long range shoots from outside the box 18, 3 were off target, 1 was brilliantly saved by the keeper and 3 were buried into the net.
How come some said his shooting, strikes and scoring ability are poor?
Una sure dem watch the match?
Besides, his ball control, stamina, dribbling skills, pace, ability to defend, long range pass, through pass, ability to transform defense to attack etc connotes with the modern day attacking midfielder. Three gbosa for Ajagun!
Let everyone watch his clip and be sincere. Does Ajagun make a strong case?
hmmmmmmmmmmmmmm
*clearing throat*
Out of his 16 shots at goal (I no count the two goals he scored with his head oooo)
Only 4 were off target, 2 were blocked by the Defenders though goal bound, 2 were saved by the keeper, one hit the post and 7 were buried into the net.
Out of 7 long range shoots from outside the box 18, 3 were off target, 1 was brilliantly saved by the keeper and 3 were buried into the net.
How come some said his shooting, strikes and scoring ability are poor?
Una sure dem watch the match?
Besides, his ball control, stamina, dribbling skills, pace, ability to defend, long range pass, through pass, ability to transform defense to attack etc connotes the modern day attacking midfielder. Three gbosa for Ajagun!
Humility017: I think the lad want to stay fight for his place... I doubt if he has good advisers.... I just pray we get that dressiers and one of those English groom players...we are good to go... I am feed up of bothering myself over a players who don't care about their career growth
Really! Em wan die untop person wey no send am?
Well, I hope somebody tells him the truth. Pep doesn't want him hence he declared him surplus to requirement.
It's to glaring to see but if he insist to stay and eventually doesn't have game time, he should bid his call to the national team farewell.
Humility017: Lol...abeg nor use laugh kill person I think rohr don't really fancy players...in Turkish league... I really blame keshi for snubbing these guy during his reign as SE coach
No mind d guy. He doesn't fancy players in Turkey but why did he invite Onazi and Omeruo?
So, Rohr fancies Israeli, Portuguese second division and Cyprus league ahead of the Turkish league?
New Ferencvárosi TC central defender Kenneth Otigba has revealed the toughest opponents he faced while in Turkey.
The former Hungary youth-team skipper, who has committed his international future to Nigeria, was on loan at Kasimpasa last season, and scored three goals in 20 appearances in all competitions.
''It was a good move to go to Kasimpasa because I learned a lot,'' Otigba told Nemzeti Sport.
''Before that I was one of the strongest players in the championship, but in Turkey I faced a number of strong and fast footballers.''
Quizzed on the toughest opponents he faced in the Super Lig, Otigba replied : ''Robin van Persie, Samuel Eto'o or Vágner Love are skillful, but the hardest part was against Galatasaray, Lukas Podolski and Wesley Sneijder.''
The 24-year-old Otigba was approached by Premier League side Liverpool before he signed for Heerenveen in 2008.
Joebie: Beauty is in the eyes of the beholder they say. In this case the beholder is Rohr. Hence whether they have earned it in camp, during friendlies or in club matches, they all have earned their right to be in the team.
No wonder South Africa showed him the ugly part of his team.
Leicester City manager Craig Shakespeare is leaving no stone unturned in his bid to land Manchester City Nigerian forward Kelechi Iheanacho.
Already a bid of £25m has been lodged for the forward, who has been told he can leave the club but only if a replacement is signed as the club need three strikers for next season.
However City are keen on inserting a buy back clause in any deal for the 20 year old, who was close to joining West Ham few weeks ago before talks stalled over the fee for the buy-back.
Although talks are back on with West Ham, Leicester City are now odds on favourite to sign Iheanacho as aside offering City a decent fee, they have also promised him a new role just behind the striker.
Leicester City already have Jamie Vardy and Islam Slimani as top strikers, Shakespeare will hand Iheanacho his favourite role behind the striker, if he agrees to join the club, a move which could make him force his move away from Manchester City.
The Nigerian although boast of a fantastic goal scoring record, he isn’t entirely at home playing as a lone striker, as he prefers playing just behind the main striker where his late runs into the box often go unsighted.
Ex Nigeria U-17 Ace Femi Joins Portuguese Top League Side Belenenses, Eyes Eagles LB Spot June 20, 2017 Nigeria
Highly rated Nigeria left foot dazzler Femi Balogun has joined Portuguese top league side Belenenses on a two year deal from newly promoted side Deportivo Aves.
Balogun signed a one year contract with Desp. Aves last season, but left the club after helping them gain promotion and will now defend the colours of Belenenses till the summer of 2019.
The former Kaduna United defender is originally a forward player by trade, very much at home playing as a left or right winger but last season he made a positive impression playing in an unfamiliar role as a left back.
He scored five goals last season for Aves, and has already outlined his priority this season, which includes building his abilities as a left full back which will help him realise his dream of representing Nigeria at the World Cup 2018 in Russia.
” My main target is to do well with my new team in the top division in Portugal. I truly believe I can help Nigeria solve the left back issues because I enjoyed myself playing from the role last season”, he told Owngoalnigeria.com.
” I represented Nigeria at U-17 level in 2008, and played in both league of the qualifiers which we lost to Benin Republic. It’s a pride to wear the green white green of Nigeria, and i’m looking forward to it”.
Mickael2: ok you want us to play a 4-3-3? then either Nacho or Ideye has to sit on the bench. Nacho is not a LWF at all, the pace isn't there and the trickery isn't well developed. honestly we have Etebo who performs best as LWF yet you want to put Nacho who has never played there just because you don't want him to sit on the bench?
now here is my own analysis. I can cry from now till August but Onazi will start so I have to put that into consideration. the CB pairing will be Balogun and Ekong, in the full back roles we have a problem. Echejile and Omeruo will be totally murdered with pace if they venture forward at all, So we are in a tough situation, either we play with sitting fullbacks (the way Abidal used to be a sitting full back for barca) and sacrifice their offensive output or we may be needing honest replacements. The reason is simple, Onazi will start and like we saw in the last game he is not going to cover for these guys when they go forward and these guys do not have enough pace to cover that entire wing in less than 10 seconds so they should just sit back or attack timidly so that they will never be caught out of position. in that case we need true wingers that can work virtually alone I would even recommend playing inverted wingers so that we won't even be crossing the ball at all thereby reducing the number of times we utilise the wings. the wing forwards will cut in and either look for a passing option in the middle of the pitch or look to shoot, in that case the starting wingers have to be Moses and Etebo, that's their natural position and they are very good there. If Victor Moses isn't available then we should look for anybody beside Simon because all he does is put in senseless crosses again and again, no offence.
then the middle is where the problem is. given the opportunity I would say don't even start Onazi but barring any injury he will start, call it sentiments or whatever. in that case Mikel has to drop into the CMF role, he has a football sense so when Onazi moves forward or gets caught out of position like we know he will, Mikel will either sit for him or instruct him to fall back, that's the work of a true captain. now since we already have a CMF who can thread brilliant passes through to the forwards we need a route one AMF, that's the type of AMF that will look to beat opponents and score not the type that will be passing and passing in the middle without the ability to shoot, outwit opponents or even score long rangers, if I am to choose between Ajagun, Aluko and Iwobi it will have to be Aluko preferably or Ajagun in that order. No offence to Iwobi but 1) we need an AMF that can also cover for Mikel in the cmf role because Mikel isn't the fastest player in the world so the AMF needs to drop really deep at times and cover a lot of grounds too, Iwobi won't last twenty minutes 2) we need an AMF who can also get into goalscoring opportunities. Mikel is there to create the chances we need someone who can put them away. if we have another creator in the team with only one true finisher it's going to be another problem.
then for the striker. if we are playing a 4-3-3 and not a 4-5-1 I don't really see why Nacho can't be the main striker. in this case he won't get isolated. playing Ideye will not work because he isn't going to put away those chances, and from the look of things we aren't going to invite any other striker so it's rather simple. if we can put out something like this I don't really think we should have any problem against the cameroonians and if we can get Enyeama back that would be a big plus. Ikeme is coming back from an injury, he will be risky
@bolded write up is a very brilliant one. Kudos.
This is the highlight of the whole pattern of play 'we need an AMF that can also cover for Mikel in the cmf role because Mikel isn't the fastest player in the world so the AMF needs to drop really deep at times and cover a lot of grounds too, Iwobi won't last twenty minutes'
In the light of the aforementioned, I will suggest Ajagun to play alongside Mikel because they can both play AMF and CMF very well which will enable them interchange in the course of the game. Brilliant analysis.
goldfish80: When a football man talks, you cannot help but listen. Respect to you Mr Mastoroudes. He talked like someone who followed the after game analysis on this thread. .................
Mastoroudes : Super Eagles Have Capacity To Overcome Bafana Setback; Must Fight Cameroon ‘Fire To Fire ’
By Nnamdi Ezekute: Veteran Nigerian football administrator and onetime boss of Leventis United FC of Ibadan has predicted that the Super Eagles will stage a strong comeback following a disgraceful 2-0 defeat to Bafana Bafana of South Africa in a 2019 Africa Cup of Nations qualifier in Uyo, Completesportsnigeria.com reports. Nigeria host Cameroon in a 2018 FIFA World Cup qualifier on August 28, looking to win and extend lead in the Group B of the African qualifying zone. Mastoroudes, slams Gernot Rohr's team for confronting South Africa without grit and losing disgracefully at home, but believes the Nigerian side has the capacity to bounce back on winning note if the coach and players get back to work with the hard lessons learnt. "I am still optimistic they will bounce back. Yes, we lost the first match of the AFCON qualifiers, but we haven't lost everything. There are still many matches to play. We were wounded but we're not out yet," Mastoroudes tells Completesportsnigeria.com. "Cameroon is the next game. We must resolve to stand up to them fire to fire. "I saw Cameroon against Chile at the FIFA Confederations Cup. They have speed, great physique, height and power. It is a very important game to play, and we must win it to qualify for the World Cup. "I am convinced that Nigeria can fight well and win when they have their back against the wall." The Greek-born Mastorodes continues on his desire to see the national team his adopted country bounce back from the loss to South Africa. "We did not play well in that match against South Africa, so losing it was inevitable," reckons. "I felt that the players approached it like a friendly match. It's like they didn't realize the importance of of the game. I was very disappointed with their performance. Like I've always said, the new crop of Nigerian players coming through have the capacity to go far, but unfortunately they didn't show that promise against South Africa. "I notices too many weaknesses in the team against South Africa. For example, the two full-backs were so much below par. "The Eagles initially held the game but lacked creativity to to last the distance and then allowed South Africa to come up in the match. "Going forward, Moses Simon was holding the ball, doing all sorts of tricks, but his final touches were so pathetic. Ahmed Musa was a disappointment when he came in. Most of us believe Musa is fast, but many African defenders are faster than him. His speed was completely neutralized by the Bafana defenders. "Iheanacho was played completely out of position. We need a top class centre-forward. The forwards were substandard against South Africa. I did not see one Nigerian forward that I liked in the match. "I was also very disappointed with Arsenal boy, Alex Iwobi. He didn't play well in that match. "The only player who impressed in the midfield was Onazi. He fought like a lion, but unfortunately, he was on his own. "I think we missed players like Mikel Obi in the midfield. And of course, we missed Victor Moses. He is such an important player for us. Without him against South Africa, the Super Eagles lost 50 per cent of his capacity. "Going by the selection that played South Africa, I can say we don't have a team. We should just forget that match and concentrate on the future games. "I have confidence in the capacity of the talents Nigeria have. We need to work very hard going forward. Hard work is the alfa and omega of every team. I believe we can improve. We should look for and get the right players to man the positions we have found to be weak. We have the players." He also challenges Super Eagles Technical Adviser, Gernot Rohr to brace up with the lessons he must have picked from his howlers against South Africa. "Yes, the coach is to blame when the team loses, but it's a very good lesson for him. When people talked highly of him – about having not lost a match, I said good, the team must play more matches to test him properly. He may not have expected the players to play badly like they did even with his selection lapses, but it's a lesson for him going forward," he says. "It's up to the coach now. He should get the right players for the positions. We have them out there. The team must work harder and play African football. This is important. They must play African football, not Oyinbo football. We have the talented players who will play that brand of football and make the difference."
@bolded 1, I keep saying it, we don't need to play players in a makeshift position in other to accommodate them in the team when we have enough players in that role scattered allover the world. I think there is politics at play in the selective selection of players.
We have been having problems with the LB position since the late Keshi wickedly blocked informed Taye Taiwo from the National team. Till today all the players brought in struggled to fit into that position. But the irony of the whole issue is calling and playing Echiejile who hardly had game time last season ahead of many LBS who played regularly last season for their various clubs.
Yes! The likes of Taye Taiwo and Mohammed Yousef(imagine NFF and coaches pretended not to know him) should be called and tested in that team through friendlies to ascertain their level of fitness and quality with immediate effect. Brian Idowu should also be considered despite the rumors of him chosen to play for Russia because I don't believe our biased, sentimental and one lopsided press.
For the RB, why call Shehu Abdullahi when we know he has not offered anything tangible to the national team? Is it to share the allowance among those who gave him a mention to the coach, at the detriment of a whole country?
This has to stop once and for all. The likes of Tyronne Ebuechi and Ehizibue should be considered first then Ola Aina and Moses Odubajo after resolving their eligibility and playing regularly for their clubs. But for the match against Cameroon, I think Brian Idowu is best for this position though he's equally good as a LB, CB etc.
@bolded 2 emphasizes on lack of creativity and putting all your eggs in one basket.
The coach packed Etebor, Iwobi, Ndidi and Onazi in one basket without any quality replacement on the bench to bring balance to the team if these fizzles out in the course of the game hence the confusion experienced when the going got tough and when the lacked ideas of what next to do.
Most of these players where played out of their natural position, the case of Etebor a natural LW was played as the creative midfielder, Ndidi as the central midfielder, Onazi as the DMF, Iwobi as the LW and Iheanacho as the Striker. This is cluelessness of the highest order and it ought not to be so.
Ndidi should had played the DMF because there was no time in his football history career he played as a Central midfielder.
Onazi should have been given the central midfield role or John Ogu who also is a guru in that position but the gullible and ignorant coach dropped one of the most experienced and suitable player from the match and dropped Onazi deeper in the midfield.
Playing Etebor who is never know for being a creative midfielder to play that was a big gamble that was payed for.
The absence of Mikel Obi opened many foul yanch in that game because many thought Etebor was the best since agege bread against Algeria. Mbanu! It was Mikel Obi the guruguru of Super Eagles that did the creative works on that victorious day. Enough said.
The likes of Alex Iwobi, Abdul Ajagun, Sone Aluko and Raheem Lawal should be allowed to do what they do regularly for their various clubs. It's very glaring the are better.
@bolded 3 should be addressed with immediate effect. The boy can create space but no good striker good at the air were able to utilize the crosses. Meaning we need a striker good both on the air and on ground. Period.
@bolded 4 is what we Nigerians have been saying here and now a foreigner devoid of sentiments has confirmed Iheanacho was impotence as a lone striker. He was played out of position. It will do us and him no good if the coach continues to play him there. He even termed them substandard while some are too sentimental to see. Thank God say no be for my mouth dem here else hell go release devil today.
@bolded 5 Confirmed Onazi was the best in the midfield. Gbam.
@bolded 6 NA WETIN I DEY HAMMER, RIGHT PLAYERS SHOULD BE CHOSEN FOR EACH ROLES IN THE TEAM. STOP THE MAKESHIFT TO ACCOMODATE YA BOYS IN THE NATIONAL TEAM.
TheSuperNerd: Nicely said Sir Joebie.... nicely said indeed.
You see for years since I started following the beautiful game, Africa has always come up short because we somewhat just refuse to get grounded in the science of the game. This has been a problem for years and decades upon decades upon decades long before I was even born.
But thank Goodness for Information that is readily available to us all. We can make things Right. Some of our coaches are beginning to recognise thus science of the game stuff such as Nduka Ugbade, Manu Garba and Amuneke. Information rightly applied is indeed power.
Okay so we have Rohr and his team of Experts and I hope they bring their knowledge to the fore in full volume because this super eagles team has the full potentials to execute great formations like 4-2-3-1, 4-3-3, 4-5-1, 4-4-2, 4-3-1-2, and whatever else..... even the 3-4-3 can be executed if mastered enough based on the depth of playing personnel we have that can execute such roles.
But talking 4-2-3-1 mainly..... or even 4-3-3 or 4-4-1-1.... You are right that it is much more about Roles assignments and I will also add, "near perfect" to it.
Ndidi is a dmf, yes but has the potentials to operate as a CMF.... he's got a better range of passing compared to Ogenyi Onazi. And he also got a fair high level of Great Vision too.
Now Onazi on the other hand is a destroyer.... he does the dirty work and is good at laying off those short passes to the other midfielders around him in more advanced roles. Onazi is an asset when a team wanna win the balls and gives his midfield partners a fighting chance to work out team plays of their own.
Now the big question is.... Who should be our no.4?
Wilfred Onyinye Ndidi who also got great potentials as a CMF in addition to his Primary DMF portfolio... Orrrrr... Ogenyi Eddy Onazi, who when disciplined can give a remarkable as the no.4 as he did at Afcon 2013 where Mikel was playing deeplying playmaker/CMF allowing Sunday MBA bomb forward as the Roaming AMF and Onazi doing the destroying work and laying it off with quick timed short passes for Mikel to spray the passes to the wingers or the center forwards.
Or thinking wider beyond those Two above... Should we bring in Azubuike Okechukwu, who is a DMF with good playmaking skills/abilities??
or Should it be Mikel Agu of Fc Porto who is a destroyer-like battler and also good as a ball playing DMF.... or the KAA Gent Lad, Anderson Esiti who is very good as the midfield anchor in the no.4 role for his good range of passing and calm distribution abilities plus neat marking ....??
If Mikel Agu and Esiti are to be considered alongside Onazi...... then it means The likes of Ndidi should be groomed for the CMF role.... But what about the AMF position?
We got Mikel (midfield all-rounder as a DMF, CMF and AMF with his super wealth of boundless class and experience).... super proven, Super tested, world class, anytime-anyday top performer for the Super Eagles. But in his absence then what??
Alexander Iwobi is the closest we can get to Mikel Obi in that role (AMF) among the players who has featured under Rohr.... But he is always getting played on the left side of attack and he is no Left wing forward... but more of a left-sided Creative midfielder. Iwobi should be made to fit in as one of our no.10 options for his abilities to also dictate plays and open up team's defences and crear countless chances thanks to his Boundless Vision, mad Skills and Confidence to dictate a game's tempo (if given the chance).
Kelechi Iheanacho can also play the no.10 and has got excellent vision, beautiful thru-the-eye-of-a-needle passing abilities too but his style is a bit different from Alex.... Alex brings a more beautiful melody and sexiness to that role as seen when he did it a few times for Arsenal last season(this past season).
If not.... then we may have to look at Forgiveness' Ajagun (who is very well technically gifted and got a very good passing range and vision too).... or even an Aluko, who is more direct as an AMF but comes with his bag of quick feet and skills too and ability to unlock stubborn defences with his constant probings.
For the future, Kelechi Nwakali is another player who deserves a keen look in for the AMF/CMF roles also for the lad is blessed by the gods of the midfield game. He needs to be groomed too for the future.
So we have a lot to discuss and a lot to really set right in terms of the "deep anatomy and actual physiology" of our team for now and the near future and in case certain Generals of the team are unavailable because of Injuries or whatever.
So in answer to your first two questions in bold....
For now, I will say "Mikel Obi" But we must start grooming his stand-by and replacement whenever he is not available and also ahead of his retirement Post-2019 Afcon
As for Etebo.... He is super versatile but I believe his best roles were the roles he shone most for Nigeria in these scenarios:
- against Algeria (as the destroyer-like CMF in a double pivot with Onazi where Onazi sat and he, Etebo was mobile and roamed the Central midfield positions marking and winning balls to feed Our orchestrator, Mikel Obi to work his passing magic)
- Against Japan and co at the Olympics (as the left-wing forward who always love to bomb forward and take on players with his searing pace and power and also get into goal scoring positions)
- Against All opponents at the U-23 Afcon 2015 (as the man behind the striker as the SS where he can always improvise his own moves using his goal instincts, positioning and boundless pace to tear apart defences).
Hmmmmm! I just want to clear somethings.
I will only pick players based on their natural positions.
Playing these players in a makeshift position should not be encouraged and banned in the National team. It's making the national team becoming a cult of some group of players. If you are a defender in your club, you must be restricted to that role in the National team, and if we have better players that are ahead of you, no thanks, you are not needed. Players should be restricted to the role/roles they play or have played in thier clubs with the exception of only Mikel Obi. Chikena.
In this light, I will place and limit players to the role/roles they play in their various clubs.
DMF: Onazi, Ndidi, Agu and Esiti
CMF: Mikel Obi, Raheem Lawal, John Ogu, Onazi, Ajagun
AMF: Mikel Obi, Alex Iwobi, Sone Aluko and Abdul Ajagun
S/S: Iheanacho, Bazee Noah, Sone Aluko,
That is it.
Modified
The above is the roles some of these players can play but if I want to be specific and rigid about their best position this is how it will look like.
DMF: Ndidi, Agu and Esiti
CMF: Mikel Obi, Ogenyi Onazi, Raheem Lawal and John Ogu,
correctNwa042: you are an illiterate, I know mowe, ibafo, ofada magboro axis of Ogun state. You call that place developed? You think you can just come online and type rubbish.
As for otta to ifo axis, they have industries but have no decent roads, they have dirty street and the government presence is very low. Otta is not worth calling a city
The literate one. List the infrastructures you know.
correctNwa042: please shut up, mowe, ibafo, magboro, ofada are all erosion villages, did you mention mowe? The only thing there is redeem camp, you can't walk in mowe when rain falls.
Ota? Industrial yes, but very underdeveloped with Lack of infrastructures. Same with agbara.
Najokee: As in eh… the dude can dish out stale report… .he has even brought a report done 13 yrs back ..I just dey laugh am from afar… make him they feel like James Evans Bond
Sports › Re: "The Super Eagles Thread: The Road To AFCON 2027, 2028 And 2030 World Cup by forgiveness: 9:20am On Jun 23, 2017
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