₦airaland Forum

Joebie:
No harm in trying lol

Hahaha sit and watch.

Humility017:
that 3rd points of yours does not hold water...just a fiction of your imagination.

We will still go through all the points, edit and prioritise them and possibly be silent over some so it would nt seem as if we are teaching the NFF and the coaching crew their jobs.

I know Godfatherism exists, but pointing at Garba Lawal as being in the team on political grounds is a big fat lie!

The same thing was said of Shehu Abdullahi until he shut people up.

Please my people, Nigeria belongs to all of us.

We need to take off Political/Regional sentiments for our football to move forward.

Garba Lawal was one of the major revelations at the 1996 Olympics.

He was such an exceptional player in that he could play as LB, DM, CM, and LWF. And he slotted in almost effortlessly in any of those positions. Plus his level of commitment was top notch. He was never a fanciful player but was so very efficient.

Such a player would always make any coaches squad.


What would Ikpe Ekong had offered the team different from what likes of Okocha, Oliseh and Oruma were offering. Lawal was that cherished utility player in that generation.

Goke7:
Some lessons so far on our failed world cup attempts from responses so far include

1. Stick to the coach that qualifies you for the world cup cos you you need that strong bond between the coach and the players who have been working tirelessly together.
2. Do not discard half or majority of the players that qualified you for the world cup as it affects team spirit and you end up with players in the world cup who are strange bed fellows. Case in point keshi despite qualifying for the world cup and going to the world cup ended up with players who were not really used to each other. This may be the reason Mikel rejected the inclusion of ramon azeez [though unprofessional of mikel] in the game against France.
3. Go with at least 90% of your players who qualified you for the world cup. case in point USA 94 team. If you must bring in new players, very very few however there seems to be strong cases for the inclusion of Kayode Olanrewaju, Henry Onyekwuru and Sone aluko to the team. They are not strangers to the Eagles as they have been invited before.
4. Nff need to sort out issues of bonus and players welfare on time. I heard before the end of this year, Nff will meet with the players to tell them how much they will earn during the world cup next year. Good one I must say.
5. Quality warm up games for the team, perhaps warm up games against Germany and Yugoslavia brought out the best of Nigeria against Spain in France 98.
6. We must check over confidence from the players, case in point is one of the reasons we lost the Denmark game in 1998 as the players were already thinking about brazil when they haven't finished with Denmark
7. We must check players who tend to be selfish in the game, result against argentina in the 2010 world cup would have been different if the likes of martins were not selfish in their play. Okocha was another culprit in past world cups. Victor Moses need to be checked on this. Players in better position must be given the ball for clinical finishes in front of goal like we saw against zambia with Iwobi's goal. This could decide games.
8. Team selection must be based on those who are hungry for the team success and not those who just want to appear as some big players have failed to turn up on the big occasions, e.g. Yekini of blessed memory and Okocha.
9. Good mix of youthful and experienced players. One of the reasons we failed in the 2002 world cup was the way we discarded experienced players who were still in form and hungry. Thank God Rohr had admitted that it was the mix of young and experienced players that achieved qualification. So those who feel the likes of Mikel, musa, onazi, echiejile even omeruo are not relevant may need to have a rethink. One advantage of the crop of young players we have now like iwobi, iheanacho, ekong and co is that by the next world cup, they will be very experienced players.
10. Updated FIFA rules must be understood by players and coaches to avoid naive situations. Reason we even failed to qualify in 2006 as we knew nothing about head to head rule. This also showed in 1994
11. The technical bench assisting the coach need to have a good balance of competent and experienced hands that will complement the coach technically. e.g. in 2014 world cup the technical team that won the afcon in 2013 was overhauled without coach kehsi's consent which in turn affected the balance of the team from what we saw in afcon earlier.

Good, we are making progress.

TheGoodJoe:
Political backup and godfatherism. Did you ever ask yourself why Obiora Nwankwo kept on getting a call-up to the Super Eagles from Siasia's U20, to Keshi's AFCON winning team, to Oliseh's time, despite causing the team problem?

That is the problem I am talking about.

Either we want to get it right or keep deceiving ourselves.

Political back up?

Please when you are ready to discuss football. Give me a call back.

TheGoodJoe:
Our problem of poor performances goes beyond the World Cups, although my point is within the time frame. Was Ikpe-ekong in 1980 squad? Ha.

Where did I say Ikpe Ekong was in 1980 squad.

Are we not discussing 2002 and 2004 AFCONs?

TheGoodJoe:
Garba Lawal was atrocius in lots of games. We had better players than him for years. There where games Garba Lawal failed to make simple crosses.

Look at his goal against Spain in France 98. Fortunately, it entered the net but Garba Lawal confessed he was trying to cross the ball.

You can imagine such atrocity. That was a cross. Such a player was a regular for ages in the Super Eagles starting lineup. Then we make excuses that he defends or plays like a midfielder despite repeated poor games.

To you it is just Ikpe Ekong's opinion. To me, even before France 98, that was our biggest problem. Political/sentimental choices in the team. Including the choice of coaches and the coaching crew.

The NFF must get it right this time. Give Rohr the liberty to rectify the team. Rohr must to a good job to his own satisfaction.

As Ikpe Ekong said, get that right and everything will fall into place.

Your opinion about Garba Lawal.

Have you asked yourself why he always made every coach's selections from 1996 up till mid 2000s?

TheGoodJoe:
Anyone given a job should always be able to do it perfectly. The ability to do the right thing at the right time is what makes an individual perfect in what he or she does. So, my advice to Siasia is that he must take total charge of the team. If it requires signing an agreement with the football Federation, he should do that.

Taking charge means that he should enforce discipline in the team. The bible says if the foundation is destroyed, what can the righteous do? It’s all about the foundation. If he can deal with the foundation by doing what is right, every other thing will fall into place.

This excerpt from Ekong's Interview summarises what I feel is the true detriment of the Super Eagles. Not only in the World Cups but also in failing to qualify for different tournaments and failing to win AFCON tournaments.

You last paragraph see my comment above

TheGoodJoe:
Why 2014 and beyond, when you are asking for past five World Cups.

Counting the clock backwards. 2014 to 1994 .
Or you prefer it 1994 to 2014.

TheGoodJoe:
I was frustrated out of Super Eagles – Ekong
…Tasks Siasia on tactical discipline
By EMMA NJOKU
Saturday, November 27, 2010

https://www.nigerianbestforum.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2010/11/ikpe-ekong-150x150.gif

Out-of-favour Super Eagles’ midfielder, Prince Ikpe Ekong, has sensationally revealed that he quit the national team out of frustration after the 2004 Nations Cup in Tunisia.

The born again Christian footballer, who currently plies his trade with Djurgarden FC in the Swedish League, told Saturday Sunsports that he was serially dropped from tournament squads despite proving himself while in camp just because he had no ‘godfather’ to front for him in the national team.
According to him, he had to hold on to God’s assurance that he would put on the green and white national team’s jersey during the Nations Cup in Tunisia in 2004, a promise that actually came to pass irrespective of the stumbling blocks.

“Actually, I personally called it quits with the Super Eagles. The last time I played for the team at the Nations Cup in Tunisia (2004), I played with a lot of pain and frustration, trying to prove myself over and over again,” the Akwa Ibom State-born player began. “I went on trying to watch my left and right to know what was going on, but it shouldn’t be so. I had to go through all that because I had nobody behind me. However, I was able to make the Nations Cup in 2004 and I was very glad.

“Even at that Nations Cup, I was supposed to be a regular player, but I was not given the opportunity until the third place match against Malawi, which we won and brought the bronze back home. After that match, people protested why I was kept on the bench in the previous matches. They argued that I was good enough to make the first team. It was after that Nations Cup that I decided to focus on my club career and forget about the national team.

“I was off and on in the national team. From 1997, when Coach Monday Sinclair was in charge of the team, I proved my ability to be part of the team. I went abroad at a very tender age and was given the opportunity to train with the national team despite the fact that I was not among the invited players. There was a time we went to Zambia, where we played two games and I was adjudged the best player. I was extraordinary and the coach said ‘that boy must go to France ’98 World Cup finals’. But what happened later? I never got a call up letter again. That has been my case.

“In 2002, I came back to the team and Coach Shaibu Amodu said that I was the revelation of the team when we were at the Otta Camp in Ogun State. But I was dropped again from the Nations Cup squad to Mali that year. They took me to Abidjan in Ivory Coast and dropped me there to ensure that fans back home would not make trouble over my exclusion from the Nations Cup squad.

“In 2004, I almost gave up, but God promised me that I would make the Eagles’ squad to the Nations Cup that year. He told me not to give up. So, when I put on that green and white jersey in 2004, I felt that the dream has come true and I said to myself, ‘it’s all over for me’.

Ekong, who has not ruled out a possible return to the national team if only he would be accorded the respect he deserves, said the current Super Eagles lacked tactical discipline. He also commented on Samson Siasia’s appointment as Eagles’ new coach, the quality of players in the team and what the coach must do to actualise the full potentials of the players, among other issues.

Return to Super Eagles
I might come back to the Super Eagles, but I’m not ready to go through the hell I past through before. If I’m called up and I’m sure that I would be well respected, I will honour the invitation.

Siasia’s new appointment
Anyone given a job should always be able to do it perfectly. The ability to do the right thing at the right time is what makes an individual perfect in what he or she does. So, my advice to Siasia is that he must take total charge of the team. If it requires signing an agreement with the football Federation, he should do that.
Taking charge means that he should enforce discipline in the team. The bible says if the foundation is destroyed, what can the righteous do? It’s all about the foundation. If he can deal with the foundation by doing what is right, every other thing will fall into place.

Would Keshi have been better?
When I played in the Super Eagles at the Nations Cup in 2002 under Coach Amodu, Stephen Keshi was his assistant and he has been a good coach. He was also a professional footballer. Siasia is good too. He was a professional footballer also. But like I said earlier, it’s what you do that makes the difference in you.

Rating current Eagles
At the moment, the Super Eagles team is tactically undisciplined. It baffles me because all the players in the team at the moment are professionals. So, I wonder why they are not tactically disciplined.
Take for instance, when a corner kick is about to be taken, teams are expected to map out which player that marks who. It’s called ‘man marking’. But I wonder why we cannot implement that tactics in the Super Eagles. Is it that the players were not taught or that they were taught but they failed to carry out the instruction? This is what I cannot comprehend because we have the potentials and everything one can think of, but what we lack in the team is tactical discipline.

No reason to fail
Nigeria has exceptional players. With a population of about 150 million people, the country has players that are playing in the best teams in the world. Mikel Obi plays for Chelsea in England, and Chelsea is an exceptional team with exceptional players. Yakubu Aiyegbeni, Joseph Yobo, Obafemi Martins, Obinna Nsofor and Osaze Odemwingie are all exceptional players doing well in Europe.

Being an exceptional player, goes with certain qualities. The tag you carry in your club, as a professional, is the same tag you carry when you come to the national team. So, I wonder where the problem is coming from. May be the coaches are not stamping their feet to get the best from those players or perhaps, the players are not motivated well enough to exhibit professionalism.

If player are well motivated, you will see it on the pitch. Motivation in this sense may not be financial; it could be psychological. Football has a lot to do with psychology. You can psyche up players. You can make them to understand why they must not disappoint. Probably, we need an expert in that area.

http://www.nigerianbestforum.com/blog/i-was-frustrated-out-of-super-eagles-%E2%80%93-ekong/

Thank God a good number of us have been following football for some time.

I know Ikpe Ekong very well even reach his hood in Ajegunle.

All those his talks of proving himself in camp are just his personal opinion.

Ikpe Ekong was an unused substitute midfielder at the 2004 AFCON.

Other midfielders in that squad were JJ Okocha, Garba Lawal and Seyi Olofinjano. Which of this trio was Ikpe better than that he would deserve a starting place? Mind you also Wilson Oruma did not even make the squad.

As I said thank God for some of us are here. Tomorrow now someone like John Ogu fit come out with something like this and some people will believe.

But TheGoodJoe is this one of the reasons we failed in the last 5 World Cups?

modified: 2002 AFCON midfield: JJ Okocha, Sunday Oliseh, Wilson Oruma, Garba Lawal, Justice Christopher. Christopher was what Kelechi Nwakali is today(talented young player). Who Ekong for displace here?

TheGoodJoe:
Our major problem is unfair selections and not given the right players the opportunity to grow into the team. Our only solution to succeed in the World Cup is to have the right blend of players and with the best tactical set-up.

A good example is how Alloy Agu who is visibly incompetent is the goalkeeper coach in Rohr's technical crew. The men in suits and kaftans in the offices of the NFF know he is incompetent but put him there.

How can we succeed if we do not get it right with our team and coaching crew selections.

This article will give you an insight of how a good player gets dropped despite being good enough. We find an excuse to keep a weaker player and members of the press exonerate the poor choices.

Article coming up.

Bros we are making reference to 2014 and beyond.

I know the root of your problem with Alloy Agu.

Just post the reasons for PAST failures.
Thanks.

Why Nigeria failed at the 2010 world Cup:

1. Just like 3 previous consecutive failures(NFF no dey learn), a new coach for the world cup

2. No proper friendlies as the only one I can recall is the 0-0 draw against Saudi Arabia.

3.Inexperience in the squad. We were not at the 2006 WC. So even the then big boys like Yakubu, Osaze, Shittu and co were debutants. Only Enyeama, and Yobo had the pre-WC experience from 2002.

4. Sani Kaita lost his brains. He single handledly "Kicked" us out of the tournament.

5. The overall quality of the team was poor as even the key players were already nearing the twilight of their careers.

6. Injuries to Mikel and Ike Uche. These two players were at the peak of their careers and would have no doubt contributed immensely to the midfield and attack respectively.

7. Yakubu's miss. That had to go down as the miss of the tournament.

TheGoodJoe:
I expect Iheanacho to make the best of his stay at Leicester City. He had lessons at Man City and I hope he stays discipline and focused. No one said he is still at Man City. Just that Man City was a better option. Finito.

By the way, I have not seen your inputs for reasons why we have failed in our last 5 World cup outings.

Goke7 is collating. We intend publishing it on the NFF and Toyin Ibiyoye's(Super Eagles Media officer) handles. We can also create a separate thread for it here and call on the modes to take it to front page.

Rexsul:
Can an experienced person answer d question please?

Nothing.

B.Sc and B. Tech are employed on the same grade level.

TheGoodJoe:
Iheanacho scored and had an assist. He has that ability but I am talking about developing and then moving on. Does it mean Iheanacho can nit work hard, improve and give Gabriel Jesus a run for his money. There was a time Sane was on the bench. Later he showed remarkable improvement and to some became better than Gabriel Jesus later.

You do not get that kind of improvement at Leicester City. Scoring and assisting is not the same thing as improving.

In the last EPL game of City against Burnley, when the camera caught Mangala warming up, it was hard to recognize him. He has lost so much weight. You can see what Guardiola is doing with him. He wants Mangala very fast. A lot of clubs will play him but the improvement will not be that rapid or stay the same.

I did not say Manchester City is the only club for improvement of Nacho but Leicester City does not have that kind of environment to give Nacho the right challenge to develop.

Also, no one says Nacho should stay on the bench all his life but in his formative years. I wonder why such a point is so difficult to get. Next thing you will type bench all his life. When no one said that.

Iheanacho has left City. So he must not move on. We should continue wishing he remained at City to 'develop'.

My own is Iheanacho should be getting enough playing time at Leicester as he could be vital to our WC campaign. Take him back to City to 'develop' if you want. I have said my own.

No need continuing with this argument because it is like going round in circles.

As someone rightly said, arguing Iheanacho's case with you is like looking for the coefficient of x in 2=2.

Loz!!

Case closed.

TheGoodJoe:
Even Kanu Nwankwo was on the bench at Arsenal. Making benching at 21 a taboo does not add up. Morata, a player I watched in awe in the last game against Watford, where his play sparked light bulbs in my head, coining a term I tagged a deep lying striker, was benching at Madrid last season at 24.

The development at Man City is more important than the playing time and fighting for shirt at Leicester City. I just hope Nacho lands in the hands of a quality coach although I doubt the ambitions of Leicester board members.

Read your first paragraph again. Were you not clearly making a case for Iheanacho being on the bench comparing his case with those of Morata and Kanu? Abi I know understand English again.

So if Iheanacho does not play or 'develop' at Mancity he should not play for any other club?

OK he scored and gave assist last night. Are we not happy for it?

The boy go chop Mancity bench all him life?

safarigirl:
he was talking about Ibe, not Akpom

Thanks you gerrit.

tbaba1234:
Two different things.

Kelechi plays well with Slimani is not the same as drop your first choice forward line.

Meaning we just wait until when next we see him play with Slimani before we should expect anything from him. Cos the comment is 'Iheanacho-Slimani is a BETTER combination'.

komekn:
Akpom has never been at Liverpool

Of course Akpom is my Emirates boy. I was referring to Jodon Ibe.

tbaba1234:
No be Man city dey struggle with wolves. Playing lower league opposition is not easy.

There is nothing wrong or sentimental about that assessment.

OK. I yaff heard.

Em what is that Leicester coach again? Due to the combination between Iheanacho and Slimani in today's League cup game against Leeds United. We recommend to you Iheanacho-Slimani combo as your first choice attacking force for the remainder of the EPL season.

Better now? Case closed.

OMANBALA1:
Iheanacho is still very new,we dont know what is gonna become of the Leicester frontline in coming weeks. Slimani-Nacho could be a hit.

Come on let's be factual. We can be only hope.

Okazaki- Vardy is first choice.If it is only when Iheanacho combines with Slimani that he can play well then he is on a very long thing because we may only see that combo in a competition like the league cup.

tbaba1234:
I think he is trying to say that Kelechi combines better with Slimani than Vardy.

Let them test that combo against an EPL team first before coming to that conclusion. They just played Leeds let's put away sentiments abeg.

libero808:
he only said Iheanacho and Slimani will make a better pairing na

A better pairing than Okazaki-Vardy?

Just because they beat Leeds.

safarigirl:
so, the problem is with his striking partner then?

Y I have issues with peeps here when they discuss Iheanacho they throw away objectivity and bring in sentiments. Look at that suggestion.

BascoVanVeli:
I think Kelechi should be played more with Slimani and not Vardy. He needs somebody to do the heavy lifting while he operates. I feel he played better with Bony at Man City his first season.

So the coach should bench their most prolific striker and play a wasteful Slimani just to accommodate Iheanacho? Or what are you saying? So what happens to Okazaki another very resourceful striker?

You make this conclusion from just a League Cup win against Leed?

libero808:
Nketiah brace for Arsenal

That guy is the newest bread off from the Wenger's bakery.

libero808:
Nketiah brace for Arsenal

That guy is the newest bread off from the Wenger's bakery.

BascoVanVeli:
hybe has been doing pretty well lately o. I really think he might be turning a corner.

I know but he is still no where near where he was hyped up to when he was at Liverpool.

edi287:
Finishing is his problem. Give him Nacho's finishing ability and he'll be top class. Alexis no dey call am Thierry Henry for nothing.

Abegii, Chuba is one of those overhyped English groomed players just like Jodon "hype".

AlfaSeltzer:
chanel 6

NTA channel 6 Aba!

libero808:
Chuba Akpom wastes a chance for Arsenal

That one na player?

Mujtahida:
Seems the dude is on fire. Our players will burn Europe down ooo

So has he adjusted to Leicester style now or Leicester has adjusted to his style? Which one?