₦airaland Forum

@ Somze

No, there are NO designated free-kick takers. There is only one designated corner taker which is Lampard. By designated, I mean, on the coaches instruction. No team in the World has a designated free-kick taker. Like I said, it depends on the type of free-kick. Eg: For Man Utd, Ronaldo takes the long range freekicks whilst Hargreaves takes the short. It is up to the players discretion.

Anyway, from your retort, you have not engaged the argument. I said Drogba was the fourth best player yesterday and you said he was the first. I think I have been proved right. end of.

As for Maka, I love Obi as well but I still think Maka is the man. You cannot compare Obi to Maka based on a match against a half-strength United. Plus, I do not believe they play the same position. In strict terms of defensive midfield, Obi is more like Xabi Alonso whilst Maka is more like Mascherano. Do not forget that the defensive midfield position is renamed after Makalele. It is called the "Makalele position". And as yet, only Mascherano has categorically surpassed him in that position.

As for Anelka, yes, I prefer him to Drogba. At this moment however, I prefer Drogba because Chelsea system is set up to play to his strengths. I can assure you that if we had real creative midfielders who put the passes on the floor such as Barcelona midfield do, then there is no contest between Anelka and Drogba. At this moment we keep playing high balls to Anelka which is not his strength. Plus he needs time to settle. After all, didn't Drogba take a whole 2 years to settle?

Anyway, I leave you with the Sunday Times rating of Didier Drogba so you can see for yourself that not everybody is percieving the game the way you do:

Didier Drogba - 6/10

"Put himself about a bit and left Vidic on a stretcher, but never threatened. Body language says he can't wait to move on."

This is the same performance you describe as "Great". Get some perspective bro.

somze:
Ibime
You really have to check your anti-drogba sentiments.

How come you did not say Ballack had an ego problem?

Drogba is the next freekick taker after Lampard and also a more senoir player in Chelsea. If anyone has the ego then it was Ballack. On top of it all Drogba allowed him to take the penalty and hugged him after that.

Dude u really have anti-Lampard and Drogba issues

Go to skysports and see his ratings

Firstly, your beloved Sky Sports commentators spent a whole five minutes castigating Drogba for his ego problems (ask Nateevs). I don't know what channel you guys watch the game in Naija but maybe you are missing some vital commentary.

Secondly, each club has designated penalty takers, of which Lampard is no1 and Ballack is no2 for Chelsea. So please don't try and make out that Drogba allowed Ballack to take the penalty because Drogba is lower down the designated list of penalty takers.

Thirdly, there are no designated free-kick takers at Chelsea or any club for that matter. Depending on the angle of the free-kick, the distance from goal, whether it favours a left foot or right foot - that is how free-kick takers are chosen. Drogba had just wasted a free-kick and the Sky Sports commentators said it was Ballacks turn to take the free kick and broadly castigated Drogba for acting like a prick. Even your beloved Steve Clarke got angry and had to take issue with Drogba about his pigheadedness.

The fact is that you idolise Drogba. I am not allowed to say anything bad about him or to you I have blasphemed. Bleep that. I am not into idol worship. Nateevs also doesn't like Drgs, neither does my brother inlaw who has supported Chelsea for 15 years. Many Chelsea fans called the radio station to criticise him. We are not anti-Drogs, we just have a different perspective. Maybe, we like a different style of football. Drogba is amazing in the air, but he is very poor on the ground. Maybe we prefer players who are better on the ground. Not cos we personally hate Drogba or anything.

You say I criticise Lamps but you virtually had his manliness in your mouth on Tuesday because you refused to concede he had made a mistake and actually blamed Maka for it. I am sure you have now repented of those views because everyone has said that Lamps was at fault. So who is anti-who and who is pro-who? You accuse me of being anti-Lamps and anti-Drogs. The fact is, I don't have a problem with Lamps. I want him to stay. I am just not happy with the kind of money he is asking for - I also criticise him when he plays poorly - as I do every player.

OK - you are anti-Makalele. Defend yourself.

As for Drogba's performance, he did all those things you say he did. That is why I said that he played OK. I say OK because I can also count the no of balls he miscontrolled, the no of passes he didn't see and also because he didn't score. Hence, it is an OK performance. A GREAT performance is a performance when he scores, terrorises the opposition, creates chances for himself etc. I don't know what you classify as great. If his performance in this game is great, then I don't know what you will say when he scores hattrick. They haven't invented that word in the dictionary yet. For your info, his BBC rating is 6.71, equal to John Terry. Ashley Cole, Essien and Ballack scored higher than him. Which is EXACTLY how I called it. And the BBC ratings are voted for by the fans. You said he was the best - and I said Ashley, Essien and Ballack played better. So who is correct and who is wrong? What game were YOU watching? Please stop all this unnecessary idol worship.

[center]United In Bust-Up With Chelsea Ground Staff[/center]

Several of Manchester United's substitutes became embroiled in a tussle with Chelsea ground staff while warming down after their 2-1 defeat to the Blues,

The match was settled by Michael Ballack, who headed his side into the lead, then after a Ricardo Carvalho blunder allowed Wayne Rooney to equalise, it was Ballack who scored decisively with less than five minutes of normal time remaining, scoring a penalty after Michael Carrick was penalised for handball.

The result blows the title race wide open, and evidently emotions were running high even after the final whistle, as club captain Gary Neville, Patrice Evra, Paul Scholes, Gerard Pique and John O'Shea were involved in a post-match scuffle with the Chelsea ground staff.

It is alleged that the argument started when the players, in the process of a warm-down, were asked to move by the ground staff but refused. What was said from there on is not quite clear, but things quickly turned into a wrestling match, and the groups required separating by stewards.

After being separated, the peace did not last long. The spat resurfaced soon after, though there was no more physical altercation.

What consequence this will have for the ground staff and the Red Devils remains to be seen, as it is not quite clear who provoked whom and who will be held accountable for the incident.

The price of soft commodities will either increase or stay stable for the medium to long term so if you are waiting for the prices to go down, hungry go catch you.

I will see it when I believe it. I mean - I will believe it when I see it. Whatever happened to Cardinal Arinze?

A few shots can kill someone easily. Why so many shots?

grafikdon:
Isn't Mugabe that monkey that was caught on camera snoring without any care in the world, in the middle of a UN summit, together with other 'power-till-I-die' African 'rulers'?

Why we no go sleep during UN meeting? Abeg, those meetings are very long and boring plus it's not like we are there dividing money or anything.

I talk say Drogba needs to check his ego, na him them want crucify me. Lord Jesus! Please get some perspective. I made comment on his attitude, not his game. Against Arsenal, I was also the first to say that he had a great game. Even against Liverpool, people said he had a bad game but I said he had a good game. Why? Cos he provided a good outlet in the hot atmosphere whenever we had to pump the ball up to him. Unlike you Somze, I don't idolise players. I analyse the game based on its merit.

He did not have a great game today, he had an OK game. Don't brow-beat anyone into thinking otherwise. If that is a great game, I wonder what we will call the games that Messi, Ronaldo et al play. Out of this world? What will you say when he actually scores? That he is the greatest of all time?

You say he was the BEST player today by far. Really? So you did not see Essien and Ashley, even Ballack? Maybe instead of accusing me of being Anti-Drogba, I should accuse you of scuking his privates too much.

Ako, please go and stop yourself being exposed in the Odejayi thread before coming here to talk about DSTV boys.

What are you talking about Big Show?

Mayweather should fight Miguel Cotto first before talking about being as good as Mohammed Ali. I think he is wary of Cotto otherwise he would have taken that fight long ago.

Yes. Yes. I have to PRAISE Avram Grant for his brave substitutions today. Unfortunate for Ricky, but we love him all the same whether we win or not.

Ashley Cole has been IMMENSE today.

Drogba needs to check his ego.

Yes. Yes. We are playing really well. I was just telling my friend that we need to score before Ronaldo comes on. And we did.

Must say, I've been really impressed with Ashley Cole this season. He has really improved his performances for us.

How come Kalou's crosses do not leave the ground?

Odejayi is 26. Idiots!

somze:
Modric is either a Arrow or the whole staff at Chelsea are senseless.

Look at the amount he was bought for and how much they wanted us to pay for him.

Who is in charge of our player acquisition anyway?

I think it goes to show that Abramovic is unwilling to back Grant until he wins something. Anyway, Slaven Bilic encouraged Modric to go to a mid-to-top team rather than a really top team and I guess he took his advice.

As for the game today, I am not pinning too much hopes on it. If we win, Ill be excited. If we lose, well then . . . . I was not putting much hope in the league anyway.

Spurs have signed Luka Modric for £15.8m

Another one bites the dust.

Hehehehehe - I just found out about this competition. I cannot believe what I am seeing. I haven't seen the Onye's for 9 years - and to suddenly find out that they have achieved fame as dancers. I am soooooooooo happy and surprised.

The Onye's are my friends from my teenage days in Port-Harcourt. I went to school and formed a rap group with Anderson Onye. Chukwuma was two years below us. They were also my neighbours. Chukwuma was such a fantastic footballer, I'm surprised that he didn't become a professional footballer. His older brother Albert was in the Junior team of Julius Berger FC when we were young. I even remember that some of the brothers (they are 7 boys) made a five-a-side team and won a competition against some players from Eagle-Cement who were Nigerian League Champions at the time. Anderson was always a good dancer/rapper whatever. They were good dancers even back then. I have some pictures with the Onye brothers which I will try to post up if I can scan them. I am sooooooooo delighted.

Uche2nna:
Dont tell me u are comparing yeking's stint in division II with Kayode's perpetual stay in the Championship.

Don't mind him.

I wouldn't even call him a perpetual Championship player. The guy has only been ONE season in Championship. Before that, he was a semi-professional. Earlier in his career, he was released on a free transfer by Bristol City who played in the fourth English division at the time. Plus, he is already 26 years old so I don't see his 'potential'.

You see - this is easy research that these so-called Naija pundits could easily do but fail to do. Instead, they mislead Nigerians into thinking that the guy is a prospect. Some pundits indeed! It also goes to show how much Shaibu Amodu is out of touch. He is a dinosaur.

Akolawole:
1) What makes a good striker?

2) Tell me any of those Naija Pundits that you can match. Is it Mumini,Mitchel Obi or Feyi Ogunduyile.

3) Whose yardstick? Did you even know Shaibu at all?


(4.) Yekin excelled for Nigeria when he was playing for setubal(then a division 2 team in portugal) whereas Owobukiri Richard sruggled even though he was a winner of the second highest goal scorer in Europe

Ako, I cannot believe you are here arguing the merits of Kayode Odejayi. Please do not dig a hole for yourself before I expose your argument. You always want to take the opposite view to me? Wetin be your own? See, you want even turn this small issue into debate. OK, I will oblige you - but only because I can't stand ignorance.

(1.) http://www.skysports.com/football/player/0,19754,11713_195098,00.html - Check his stats - 4 goals in 43 games. His average rating is 5/10 - Below average. If he is below average for Barnsley, a team facing relegation from the Championship, what will he be for Naija?

Someone mentioned Junior Agogo. Junior Agogo is a top star for Notts Forest. Plus he is wanted by Premiership clubs. The only reason he is playing in lower divisions is because he went to America to play for Colorado Rapids. When he wanted to come back, he had to come back to a lower level because no one respects American football. Even at Colorado, he scored a goal almost every game. Even still, he is only playing for Ghana because Ghana is very weak in the strikers department. I assure you, he cannot smell Naija squad.

I watch Championship football so please do not lecture me about Odejayi.

Before we even talk about Odejayi, we have so many other Naija strikers doing well in Ukraine, Belgium and many other leagues. Okoronkwo is always toward the top of the charts in Ukraine. Ditto Manasseh Ishiaku while he was in Belgium till he moved to Germany last season. I would even rather recall Ogbeche before I look at Odejayi.

(2.) I do not care to learn their name.

(3.) BCC Lions of Gboko? Come-on now, you think say na yesterday them born me? Hasn't he been Naija coach twice before? Even Oliseh said the same things I am saying so if you have any questions, please refer them to Oliseh.

(4.)
a. Yekini played in the eighties and early nineties. Football has changed a lot since then. Back then, I remember that Uche Okafor was in the squad despite not having a club.

b. Setubal were a yo-yo team, not strictly a 2nd league team. They used to alternate between divisions and Yekini topped the charts in both divisions.

Funny how every one in Naija thinks he is a good player but everyone in UK thinks he is rubbish. I noticed that AIT and other Sports shows have been giving him airtime in Naija like he is actually a prospect.

Trust me guys, he IS absolutely rubbish. No be come chop. Those Nigerian football pundits know nothing about football. Everytime I watch Naija pundits talking about European football, I have to laugh - the average person on Nairaland knows way more than them. They don't do their research. They just found out that this Naija guy scored against Chelsea and they started bigging him up. In the UK he is a laughing stock. It just goes to show that Shaibu Amodu knows nothing about what is happening in Europe and should not have been appointed in the first place.

Odejayi is rubbish, just like his cousin, Ade Akinbiyi aka Ade Akin bad buy as the Leicester fans call him. Go and check his stats. This guy is a non-league player. I swear he scored something like 5 goals this season despite playing almost every week.

Kaka. maybe

Akolawole:
Kayode is a good player.

How do you know?

I can't believe what I'm seeing. Kayode Odejayi is in Naija squad. This is a man who has scored like 1 goal in his last 27 games. This just goes to show that Shaibu Amodu is out of touch. He doesn't know what is happening outside Naija. Odejayi is a grade-one wastepipe as evidenced in the FA Cup semi-final. Just cos he scored against Chelsea, that doesn't make him a star.

My condolences to Frankie's family. I think he might stay at Chelsea after this. I am sure he will want to be around family.

@ 4Play. So Deco is overrated eh? The guy just unzipped his pants and pissed on ya whole United midfield tonight. Mind your mouth oh!

Agbonlahor maybe.

@ Somze,

Grant certainly has the blessings of Abraham. His name is even Abraham. Let us hope he can win us the CL this season . . . . I still want him to be sacked sha . . . . . but I also believe we will be blessed by Gods promise to Israel, bestowed upon us through Avram Grant.

Also, we cannot apportion any blame the coach yesterday. Even our finest JM could not achieve anything up there.

Babel was a worry yesterday. Benitez should have kept him on. Kalou did his thing yesterday. Everybody knows he can dribble - I just wish he would stop dribbling in our own half sometimes. I also wish he would straighten his leg . . . . it is like he doesn't know how to aim . . . . . . be it a shot, a cross or a pass.

I personally didn't see much problem in Makas performance. I know he gave the ball away a few times, but he was the only midfielder we had who was willing to get on the ball and spend time on it. The others didn't show for him when he had the ball so he gave it away a few times. I think Ballack and Lampard were seriously hiding last night. They were scared.

@ Somze, abeg watch the goal again before you come here spouting rubbish.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ha8k1WzkrWM

Maybe you watched the match in black and white in a crowded bar and your viewing was disturbed.

I am also ready for Lampard to leave. Bleep that untouchables shit. You may love Lampard but he doesn't love you cos he turned down #135,000 a week. He should Bleep off abeg. He isn't good enough to earn that kind of money. Even Barca are getting ready to sell Ronaldinho, Deco et al. Why? Because they have come to the end of a cycle. We have also come to the end of a cycle. Bleep living in yesteryear. You are here talking about the 4 goals Lamps scored against Derby like we should be impressed. What has he done since? Straight after that game against Derby, he was quick to hold us to ransom over a new contract. Bleep him. We are at the end of a cycle and Drogba and Lamps are part of that process. I thought Drogba played well today - but if you listen to the radio today, Chelsea fans are lambasting Drogba for his poor performances. You are out of touch - stop living in yesteryear. The untouchables era is over.

@ Somze,

Make you take your time o! How can you blame Maka for the goal. Maka did not go full in for the tackle cos Kuyt's body was between himself and the ball. If he had gone in full, he would have conceded the penalty easily.

Please, it was easily Lampard's fault for the goal. If you like make you go watch the replay 10 times. Lampard should have been in Hospital with his mum, not on the pitch. Take the scale off your eyes.

Why Ballack just dey stroll sef? Abeg, Essien has to replace him in the second leg. His legs are not strong enough for top level football anymore.

Malouda deserves to keep his place in the second leg. Joe Cole was anonymous and should be replaced with Kalou in the second leg. It is obvious they could not deal with Kalou's pace. All we need to do in the second leg is sit-back and ping balls up to Drogba and wait for Kalou, Malouda and Lampard to catch up with him.

Anyway, all being said, psychologically, this is a big shift in our favour.

John Arne Riise! There's only one Arne Riise
John Arne Riiiiiiiiiiiiise! There's only one Arne Riise!


[size=16pt]GOD DEY OUR SIDE[/size]

It is about time Liverpool got a taste of their own medicine. Benitez will not know what to do in the second leg. He has to come and score a goal at the Bridge. Something he has never done in his life.

Lampard need to be fined 1 month wages for that nonsense. £140,000 a week? You're having a laugh!

Drogba is playing well, Ferreira is maintaining. I can see the reason for playing Malouda rather than Kalou. He is more defensively aware. Apart from that, we need to buck up our ideas.