₦airaland Forum

Kog45:
Ha Mikel Agu no go area for me,just too glaring, it has been long i see super eagles player jittery like Agu against Zambia in the first half,thanks to Ndidi for shielding him in the second half.

If you see how they rated this same Mikel Agu here?

Let's even pray for the Buhari to live till then first.

Kog45:
OK what of Egwueke cos i watched both at CHAN,Odunlami was the real man at back and made the tournament XI.

Egwuekwe was already an integral part of the team and even featured at the 2013 confederations cup due to injury to Omeruo.

Coaches don't just hastily drop their players like that.

Mujtahida:
Yes. I am trying to make you see that if Rohr could say that Ezenwa is second after the Cameroun game when he did well, he'd still say Ezenwa is second not to Akpeyi this time but to Uzoho. Rohr has never trusted Ezenwa. If the situation forces him, he will choose Uzoho. That's how I see it though.

Haha, time will tell.

Rohr has the final say. But I have made my points crystal clear.

kentebemoney:
Bros i can tell you what a challenge means,

(Physical + psychological +tactical) challenge =Jumbo size challenge.
If you smoke am, nobody go tell you, na instant messaging.
Na match where the big masquerades go come out to dance, small men blokus go run enter.

That is why we need to get the needed points from our first two matches.

Argentina is always not easy for us to play at the WC. The only two times we have beaten them were friendlies.

Mujtahida:
And the dynamics have since become dire for both of them:Akpeyi's howler against Argentina, Ezenwa is very erratic. Uzoho has come into the frame and will take the first place. It's a crisis. That's what it does. Nigerians will not cry if Rohr fields Uzoho as number but they will panic if it's Ezenwa.

But you made reference to after the Cameroon game.

Goke7:
truth be told we have a goal keeping crisis that we can't do much about. Ikeme's illness has truly opened our yansh wella. No wonder great sides always make they have at least two solid keepers any day any time which we normally do before as we have never had this too bad before.

For me I can't even bank on any keeper now even with Enyeama. I hope we would learn our lesson going forward cos it looks as if we retired some of our former keepers too early despite the fact that some of them are still active even signing up for clubs in recent times. We over relied on Ikeme and see what it has cost us.

Truth is even Carl Ikeme was not so reliable as even before he was diagnosed of Leukaemia he was mostly out injured which was why Akpeyi kept goal a number of times.

Akpeyi and Ezenwa are the real causes of this keeper crisis and not the Leukaemia that affected Ikeme.

The duo have been within the Super Eagles fold since the time of Keshi and Oliseh. Playing second or third fiddle to the top goalies then. Now this is a time for them to step in and we found out they have not learnt much.

Akpeyi is even more disappointing to me because he is the most exposed of all the goalkeepers in the squad. You need to see him in Chippa United colors.

Post Russia I would willingly want to push out the duo from the team completely but first we need to climb that huddle of a world cup. I have nothing personal against Uzoho but there is no way I would agree to making an inexperienced goalie a first choice. Second choice, third choice no wahala.

If u look at Ezenwa's down side it is easier to manage than Uzoho's and Akpeyi's down sides.
Ezenwa even despite his height disadvantage never conceded any goals from open play in his 4 games against big African oppositions. His problem of lack of composure can be worked on by the goalkeeper trainers. I have seen his best and his worst. We can work on his worst.

Uzoho's lack of experience is a major down side for him. I am not just talking about WC experience, I am talking about real competitive game experience. How can the goalkeeper trainers make up for that? The team psychologists may try to work on him but if probably he was a little older he may find the mental strength to pull through. That boy is still a teenager and may get overwhelmed with the responsibility. Being the goalkeeper of a side is a very huge responsibility. Taking a teenage goal keeper as your first choice, without a real competitive game experience, is a huge huge huge risk that if it back fires the coache's coaching certificate could be queried.

After the 2018 WC, as we play the AFCON qualifiers, we can boot out Ezenwa and Akpeyi and parade only Uzoho, Alampasu and Okoye if we like (which is still not likely because we still need at least an experienced goalie in the mix).

Mujtahida:
My earlier statement has been modified. Not Ezenwa but Uzoho. Read his statements on Ezenwa even when Ezenwa performed well against Cameroon. He said Ezenwa is the second gk.

Second to Akpeyi

Mujtahida:
We have a crisis. If Enyeama doesn't return Uzoho will be the number one.

Mark my word Rohr would rather make Ezenwa number one in Enyeama's absence.

Magink:
Peterside said on the radio which I listened to on Lagos talks that the conversation he had with Enyeama was actually after that Oliseh incident occurred, so this report isn't recent but around last year.

The truth is gradually coming out.

Mujtahida:
We drew first blood. Argentina are coming with vengeance especially. The Messi factor is huge. Rohr said it's a physical challenge against Iceland, a tactical challenge against Croatia and a challenge against Argentina. I don't know what a challenge against Argentina meant to him ooo but I dare say that against Argentina it would be a physical, tactical and psychological challenge all rolled into one. We should prepare to meet a different beast.

And we are down playing the goal keeping position.

Even Rohr has said he has a goal keeping crisis and is making all efforts to get back Enyeama.

Uzoho ba wo?

Goke7:
reason we should be careful with the way we are throwing up names of players that we assumed are better than the current players. Omeruo's experience can never be discarded. The likes of omeruo, mikel, onazi, moses, musa 2014 world cup experience I think is very valuable to this current team

Experience!

That is one word some pretend is not important.

You want to make a 19years old inexperienced goalie your first choice to the FIFA world cup and feel cool with that?

We laboured hard to get this world cup ticket abeg.

Kog45:
It's simple Omeruo was out of the team for sometimes and Uche Agbo always in the team warming the bench but Omeruo got another opportunity due to injury to one of the players in the main team and at the end he was able to have 32 minutes appearance against Argentina,this should tell you he is better than Agbo.

My man you said you don't mind having Agbo in place of Omeruo and you are still asking how good is Agbo ball control skills and passing,pls a rejuvenate or back to form Omeruo is better than Awaziem and would give Ekong and Balogun a good fight for starting lineup.

Pls go back and watch Zambia vs Nigeria first leg and tell me who was better between Ekong and Omeruo minus the (error)did you know Omeruo is another good ball playing defender apart from Balogun in the team.

What really counted against Omeruo in this team was his late start this season and with more playing time we would have a better Omeruo at WC if he make the team.

The thing is we are always too quick to push away an old player when you see a new player even if the new player is untested. How can someone prefer Agbo to Omeruo?
A new player that has no pedigree would always appeal to them more than a proven player.

Some say I am resistant to changes and stuffs like that. If left to some even Mikel Agu would have replaced Mikel Obi.

goldfish80:
I don't like using hindsight to judge. At that world cup, even the much heralded Vic Moses was absolutely poor. His contribution was dire. If things had gone South for him at club level and found himself in Kazakhstan like Nathan Oduwa, you wouldn't have singled him out as one of the good players.

You forgot that prior to the world cup, these same set of players played friendly games and impressed against Catalonia, Peru, Scotland and Italy

Nigerians practically begged for Azeez and Uzoenyi to be introduced. Uche Nwofor impressed massively with Venlo and was the top scorer for the flying Eagles in Colombia.

Uche Nwofor was a pretty decent player then. I was one of his heavy fans. A typical quick strong number 9.

How many of those Keshi's 2014 WC players' careers went South since after that WC is baffling. That is why we failed to qualify for the 2015 AFCON.

tbaba1234:
I watched him in CHAN and he was decent. I did not mean to single him out but he was not WC level.

Hmmmm.....

Kog45:
Well the bench get as ebi,but why singled out Odunlami, did you know that Odunlami made CHAN best XI,did you know the guy was better than Egwueke and Oboboana but Keshi doesn't rate him,i was even surprised he made the team.

The icon4s baba and goldfish80 can say much about Kunle Odunlami.

Kunle Odunlami, and Shehu Abdullahi were two major revelations from the 2014 CHAN.

Going into that WC Keshi already had his backline settled. Odunlami was a CB. But we already had Omeruo, Obaobona, Egwekwe and Yobo in the team, all CBs, carried over from the 2013 AFCON winning squad.
Odunlami's exceptional abilities could not be put aside an so a space was created for him at RB instead where we already had Efe Ambrose. He couldnt have displaced Ambrose and so was a back up RB.

Omeruo and Obaobona were in a form of their lives and they had built a very solid partnership right from the AFCON and no way Odunlami could have broken that partnership. Coaches rarely break a CB pairing especially if it is a partnership that has achieved results.

Just like it is not likely for any player to break the current Ekong-Balogun partnership baring any injuries.

Danielnino00:
NPFL invitational tournament...


Akwa Utd-1 vs MFM-1
Plateau utd-1 vs Enyimba-1



Both Akwa and Plateau scored via PK after going down..


I didn't watch the game,so I can't judge...but I hope this consistent last minute penalties being awarded in the league will stop soon...its embarrassing...

Na their way.

Na so so 0-0 and 1-1 draw you go dey see.

No single NPFL striker is even close to being considered for invitation to the Super Eagles pre-world cup camping. No out field player self.

Humility017:
let ajiboye be tried...
I have always know you sir icon as someone always not receptive to change and taking risks as it pertains to fielding young and new players...many a time you pitch tenth on the guise of experience which does not always follow....

prior ezenwa introduction you sticked to akpeyi and even downplay here the impact any of alampasu and ezenwa will make in the team's play.....
but after ezenwa performance....and play you now want him to be super eagles no 1 at the world cup should enyeama not come back.....
I believe you will change your stance again should any of the other goalies prior the World cup proves better on the super eagles shirt....

I rarely take your downplay of these young players serious.....
I remember also.....your stance as regard ebuehi...and I know should the lad build on his last performance in the next few games...you will shift goal post as well.

please let us build and shop for a reliable option...should enyeama return to the super eagles...good for plus...but in case things work out differently....let us build a reliable option...in the current goalies we have in the team....
no one is too young to play the round leather game....

Get my stance. I don't clamor for untested players. At best I may clamour for there invitation to camp.

It is left for the coaches to field who ever they want. They see them in camp and know what they are capable of.But from my position as a TV viewer I cannot stick my neck out on a player that has not undergone that test and say he is the best or better.

I cannot stop Rohr from making Uzoho first choice for the world cup but there is no way judging from that 45mins play I will conclude Uzoho is the best. He has not undergone the type of tests Ezenwa went through.

If you have followed the world cup well enough you'll understand that Nigeria is an underdog in this tourney and we will be severely under attacks from our more illustrious opponents. The goal keeping department is a critical issue. If I remember the kind of saves Enyeama was making in our last two world cups I would become afraid that do we have any keeper in the team that can do such? Believe me when we play Argentina again you will see a completely different Argentine team in terms of attack.

Expect fire and crackers from the Croatians on our match day one.

This is why I would want Enyeama back.

On Uzoho, he, IMO is not tested enough for me to conclude he would do the job better than Ezenwa.Let me see him again in another friendly. Until then let me sit with the devil I know before I clamour for an angel I don't know that may even become a worse devil.

Maybe it is due to my kind of profession where there is little or no room for errors, which will definitely lead to loss of heavy investments, I don't trust untested and unproven professionals. That is me.

tbaba1234:
Keshi's selections were always problematic. It was overlooked because we won AFCON but look at the AFCON and the confederations cup team.

We had maybe 13 good players out of 22. We were carrying so many average players.

I always had headaches on Keshi's selections. Even the tradition of keeping 7 slots for home based players. Always quarrelling with the big players.
This is what Rohr is getting right that Keshi and Oliseh had failed. Not that Rohr is even tactically superior.

Imagine Oliseh benching Mikel for Paul Onobi, Chima Akas benching Echiejile and the forcing of Silvester Igboun on 180Million Nigerians.

Kog45:
The problem is guys don't rate this WAFU or CHAN of a thing cos nobody ever talked about four goals Ezenwa conceded against Ghana at WAFU so do not worry if the guy didn't mentioned the penalty he saved in CHAN qualifier.

I hammered on those 4 goals he conceded and his attorneys claimed they were not his fault. Because then the focus was on kicking Akpeyi out. Nothing else mattered.

tbaba1234:
Keshi looked for the best That is very very debateable.

Several of Keshi's choices were questionable. We only had a first 11 in 2014. We had no bench. There were so many active players who were obviously better and would have improved the team.

Hahaha Keshi felt he was looking for the best only to get the worst. That was what Kog45 was trying to say.

Gabriel Reuben, Okechukwu Uchebo(aka Flavour) and Shola Ameobi come to mind.

Kog45:
Hmmm great question to ask,definitely you bring out the best from what you have to make a good outing at WC,looking for the best always backfire,hope you remember how Keshi looked for the best for 2014 WC but at the end he got the worst believing they are the best.

Honestly we already have a team may be two or three players to the team we are ok

Gbam.

elunico:
I have a question to ask. Is this the time to go about "looking for the best?" or is this the time for us to "bring out the best in what we already have?"

Kratoss, Kog45, Safarigirl, Mujtahida, TheGoodJoe, Komekn, Jihady, Icon4s, Icon79, Soetanoreoluwa, elyte89, Goke7, Jobie, Forgiveness, Somehow, goldfish80, Tbaba1234 + others who's got a thing to say.

Of course it is both.

We presented a solid team all through the qualifiers.
Rohr knew he had a team that was good enough to qualify Nigeria and so he stuck to majority of them and then applied changes gradually so as to still maintain balance and standard while in the process of building.

The only game we attempted to play without the senior players in the team we got our fingers burnt. . It became obvious that some players are the spin of the team.

Such players you and I know that baring injuries they are already in Russia: That is Balogun, Mikel and Moses. It simply means this is not a time to start experimenting for players who are better than Mikel for Eg. If there is any such player we would have known him by now. Or no point playing a Jamiu Aremu in a friendly cos we know he cannot displace Ekong or Balogun. Mind u also Awaziem and Omeruo are 2 other CB options.

The search should be focused more on specific areas that we feel need beefing up. Eg the attacking and FB positions.

My point is for areas of the team we know that is settled in terms of personnel we just maintain playing the regulars so as to attain more cohesion.
We only try new players in the grey positions.
We can also do a troubleshooting of some of the regular players in other positions like trying Shehu as a DM and Ahmed Musa as a false 9.
Some also say we should try Moses as a wing back.
And I also say we can try Moses as a false 9. Stuffs like that.

Friendlies are not there only to test new players. You also use it to test old players in new positions, test different formations and combo of players and ultimately to build cohesion in the team.

Lastly, no point in calling for an open camp or inviting 600 players. We know our team. We see almost all Nigerian players in the major leagues and so we know which ones are close to being Super Eagles ready. Those are the ones the coaches should invite.

Agali has been appointed Super Eagles scout. Watch out and see the names he will role out whether they will be different from those we mention here on daily basis.

isan:
Uduokhai only have to say yes to Rorh and he is off to russia

That is why I say his is not more than 30% chance.

Probability of saying yes is 50% already.
And after saying yes probability of giving a good performance in a friendly is still there and another probability of making it to Russia after giving a good account of himself in the friendly is still there also.

elunico:
Thank you very much Sir.

You are welcome

komekn:
Agreed without reservation 100%

In my opinion Enyeama is the best goalkeeper we have since the millennium. I really did think he performed magic against Argentina in 2010.

Yes o.

The thing is Nigerians forget too easily.

Enyeama that won MOTM in our first two group games in that World cup even though we lost.

elunico:
The boy is good on the ball, loves to play the ball a lot, he's not easily dispossessed, I haven't seen him play at the defense before. You can watch one of his games at Granada when he played against Barca last year. He practically marked Messi out.

First time post.

Welcome.

We hope to see more of you.

isan:
Nigeria players and their chances of making 23 man list for the world cup

Francis uzoho - 50%
Dele alampasu - 30%
Enyeama - 50%
Mikel obi 100%
John ogu 70%
Ndidi 100%
Balogun 100%
Akpeyi 40%
Ezenwa 50%
Martins 30%
Agu 40%
Ekong 100%
Awaziem 100%
Ebuehi 60%
Shehu 100%
Kayode 30%
Onyekuru 60%
Onazi 100%
Etebo 80%
Iwobi 100%
Iheanacho 100%
Ahmed musa 100%
Victor Moses 100%
Ighalo 95%
Ola aina 50%
Idowu 70%
Nwakali 10%
Simon Moses 100%
Osaze 5%
Uduokhai 50%
Uche agbo 50%
Elcheljile 70%
Anderson esiti 20%
Efe Ambrose 20%
Maduka okoye 10%
Nwakeme 50%
Ryan sanusi 1%
Abdul ajagun 1%
Tiago ilori 1%
Sone aluko 20%
Osimhen 5%
Dessers 5%
Success 30%
Raheem lawal 10%
Aiyenugba 20%
Brown ideye 5%
Ik uche 2%
Bonaventure 20%
Bazee 30%
Tammy Abraham If he change his mind 0.00000%

Funny but mostly accurate.

Firstly, I feel Echiejile stands more than 70% chance. His should be up to over 90%.

Secondly Ezenwa seems to be the surest goalie to make it to Russia. Though whether he will be first choice or not is another thing.He would be a ready back up for who ever becomes first choice. He has up to 70% chance.

John Ogu should be up to 90%.

You forgot Kenneth Omeruo

Uduokhai and Ola Aina cannot be on the same chance. Uduokhai should not be more than 30% for me.

realpoacher:
Erm ...I take an exception to the bolded. Though I believe so much in Ezenwa. I don't even believe that he played badly against Algeria but his biggest undoing is his height. He is good enough but I don't trust that he can save for us a last minute penalty. He is not good on spot kicks, he has never caught anyone. Such a keeper to me is not excellent.

A well rounded keeper should be able to catch penalties too but for his height, it is a big disadvantage to him.

Based on this premise I will stand by Uzoho for now until a better option becomes available

Ezenwa caught a penalty against Benin, during CHAN qualifiers.

I know height is an issue with Ezenwa but In his 4 games in the WC qualifiers he never conceded a single goal from open play.

I am not satisfied with him. In fact he is an evil. But a lesser evil.

Uzoho is not tested. I don't trust such players.

dhabrite:
With a population of over 170 million, and we are still searching for a quality goalkeeper to go with to the world cup. Its a shame.

India with a population of over 1Billion which goal keeper dem get?

tbaba1234:
The year Mikel lost to Toure, Toure was not better than him.

That is subjective.
Just like some today believe Moses did better than Salah.

tbaba1234:
BBC award is based on votes not performance.

Performance induced votes.
Mohammed Salah is Africa's best. Gbam!