₦airaland Forum

terzurum5:
Sure.
You must have saved yourself and many other paesonalities here the stress of engaging in energy sarping debates which could have spanned pages of threads
TheGoodJoe should be nodding his head somewhere by now.

TheGoodJoe, you can now bring down your raised foot.

Nobody was saying some of these players should never be invited. The debate/search for a credible RB became strongest after the Zambia game in Ndola.

Forgiveness in particular and not even the TheGoodJoe was the one who started the call for Brian Idowu's inclusion as we were preparing to face Algeria. I was one of those that kicked against his inclusion for that game that it may affect the balance of that defense. Playing a debutant in a game of that magnitude was not the ideal. I personally recommended Omeruo for that RB position as he had played that position on one or two occasions for the Super Eagles and also at his first club in Holland.

We however all pointed out that after the Algeria game there would be room for friendlies and we can experiment with those new players. And so it is now. This is the right time to play Brian Idowu. So this is good news.

One thing I observed from the current coaching crew is they minimize risks as much as possible. They only play tested players in very crucial games.

Lazyerudite:
It is just like not making the champions league and you want to claim that you are one of Europe's best, I did not say win but at least participate, let's stop this idea that we are there but instead pray we keep improving, we have missed two consecutive nation's cup and you still want to rate us as top five Time has a way of sorting things out

I am sure Algeria will make your top 5.

But did we not beat them 3-1 in Uyo?

I am sure you know why Nigeria didn't make this AFCON.

Lazyerudite:
You claim for us to be top 5 and yet we could not make it to the Nation's cup Going through my comment you would realise that i said we have players on the rise but we are still building a team. For now we are no there yet and I will not deceive myself but wait patiently for our time. For me this is our time to build so saying we are top 5 for me is premature, I don't live on past glory, but would rather face the present and hope for the future. If you were talking of the super falcons then I would agree but for the super eagles, I would not ready them top 5 yet. We can start by qualifying for the world cup first

I am talking about the present. If it was this time last year (the past) I may not have put Nigeria in top 10.

Are you undermining the quality that the Super Eagles has presently. The future is here and You are still talking about the future.

Put the Current Senegalese, Algerian, Ivorian and Nigerian teams side by side and tell me we are not at par.

goldfish80:
My list compilation was in no particular order. Sorry I dint point that out.

I think South Africa have made some giant strides in the past few years. They deserve to be in company of Africa's best teams.
Their team is relatively young and I see an upward trajectory going by the standard of their league which is being reflected in the Caf champions league. If Countries like Zambia, Zimbabwe, Uganda owe their recent improvements to the PSL, how about South Africa themselves who owns the league?

I watched SA play against Burkina in Ouagadougou, they should have won that gave if not for the dubious penalty call in stoppage time. Against Senegal, they dominated the Teranga lions for long periods. Let's forget about the controversial referee call in their favour but based on the balance of play, they deserved the win.

I deliberately left out Maroc because they haven't done anything worthy of note in football at any level for the past 10 yrs. Absolutely nothing. Even down to their clubsides. They aren't just there yet, infact I would rather have Cape Verde than Morocco. Technically the Cape verdians have been more successful than Morocco over the past few years,they were ranked inside the top 30 just last year.
A fluke win against a fledgling Ivorian side counts as nothing after all these years, in my opinion.

South Africa. A country that would bring their 'A' game when they face a very strong opposition. But you find them crumbling when they play teams like Mauritania, Sierra-Leone or Gambia.

Morocco may not have done anything worthy of note in the last 10 years, just also like Algeria, Senegal, DR Congo, Mali and the likes. But if you are a very keen follower of African football, which I know you are, you will know what Morocco are capable of.

BascoVanVeli:
The Afcon proves who is the best but if we must include Nigeria here is my top 5 list.

1. Senegal
2. Nigeria
3. Ghana
4. DR Congo
5. Tunisia

Are you saying that countries like Guinea-Bissau, Togo and Zimbabwe are better than Nigeria? That's why I said general assessment. Eg Algeria and Ivory Coast are out of the AFCON but they remain on my top 10 list.

And it is not an issue "we must include Nigeria". AFCON or no AFCON Nigeria remains a power house in African football. We are assessing the teams based on their capability and strength. Eg forget that Algeria and Ivory are out of the AFCON they are still teams to be feared as far as African football in concerned.

terzurum5:
English FA Reduces Ikeme’s Three Match Suspension To Two Games

The English Football Association has reduced Wolverhampton Wanderers' goalkeeper, Carl Ikeme's three-man suspension to two matches, Comple tesportsnigeria.com reports. ‎


The reduction of Ikeme's suspension was confirmed on the FA's official website on Tuesday following an appeal by Wolverhampton Wanderers.


Ikeme was shown a straight red card for pushing Norwich City's player Wes Hoolahan after accusing the player of diving inside the 18 yard box to con the referee for‎ a penalty.


Wolverhampton Wanderers went on to lose the game 3-1.
A statement on the FA's website reads:"Carl Ikeme’s three-match suspension for violent conduct has been reduced to two matches after a claim of excessive punishment was successful.


"An earlier wrongful dismissal claim in relation to the Wolverhampton Wanderers player’s sending off against Norwich City on Saturday [21 January 2017] was rejected.


"Both claims were heard before an Independent Regulatory Commission today."

www.completesportsnigeria.com/english-fa-reduces-ikemes-three-match-suspension-two-games/

So will he now play against Liverpool in the FA Cup?

joseph1013:
it still does jor. Are you going to remove Ivory Coast from your top 10 because they crashed out? Or worse, Nigeria. we didn't even qualify for the tournament. Algeria crashed out too, but we know they have a good team, they just lack a good coach who can help them with cohesion.

So you still don't see Morocco and DR Congo as forces to be reckoned with in African football? I drew that list even before the last night's games. So it is not only about this AFCON performances. Recall DR Congo trashed Nigeria 3-0 in a friendly last year. Look also at the array of the DR. Congo stars playing the England and France.

tbaba1234:
Yes, it was reported as a statement from his agent and that is possible. Agents say crap like that all the time.

Just like the story of Onobi going to Monaco, days before he signed for Abia warriors.

Chai

goldfish80:
Almost all the links to Liverpool goes back to owngoalnigeria.com
A Merseyside based blog tagged them as a "dubious website" in their report of the story
http://www.thisisanfield.com/2017/01/rumour-mill-liverpool-linked-teenage-nigerian-winger-henry-onyekuru/

Ok na. I withdraw my eyes shining.

krattoss:
gradels of this world,bony,aurier, etc..

yet NOTHING COME OUT..

They are back to default mode: -Perennial underachievers just also like Senegal and Mali.

terzurum5:
Exclusive – Agent Confirms Liverpool Interest In Signing Prolific Nigerian Forward Henry Onyekuru

https://owngoalnigeria.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/image-144-1024x674.jpg

English Premier League giants Liverpool have joined the likes of Fenerbache, Celtic, CSKA Moscow, RB Leipzig and Hoffeinheim in registering their interest in signing Henry Onyekuru.


Onyekuru has taken the Belgian league by storm with 10 goals to his name for newly promoted Eupen in the first stanza of the league, which has made him the beautiful bride of most European teams.


Scottish giants Celtic reportedly failed with a bid to sign him few days ago according to various reports in Belgium.


However an intermediary who sounded out Fenerbahce interest to the representative of the 19 year old forward says Liverpool have also the hunt for him.


”His agent told me about Liverpool’s interest yesterday when I tried to re- ignite Fenerbahce’s interest in his services. I don’t how long Eupen can hold on to him, he is a very good player.


”He (Onyekuru) will most likely leave Eupen before the end of this transfer window despite their hard stance. They could be forced to cash in on him”, he told Owngoalnigeria.com.

owngoalnigeria.com/2017/01/24/exclusive-agent-confirms-liverpool-interest-in-signing-prolific-nigerian-forward-henry-onyekuru/

Really? (Shines eyes)

tbaba1234:
My team DR Congo representing..

Looks like the glory days of DR congo are back.

Zaire of those days.

terzurum5:
Agent Says Nigeria International Goalkepper Will Join Mamelodi Sundowns This Week

https://owngoalnigeria.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/image-112.jpg

Owngoalnigeria.com can exclusively reveal that Enugu Rangers and Nigeria U-23 shot stopper Emmanuel Daniel could arrive South Africa this week to complete his transfer to Mamelodi Sundowns.


Daniel has been heavily linked with the defending champions of the CAF Champions League and the Premier South Africa League by the media in South Africa.


The Nigeria U-23 goalkepper who also doubles as the third choice goalkepper of the Nigeria senior national team is expected to have his medical this week with the club.


”Daniel will most likely travel this weekend to join Mamelodi Sundowns, talks are already at an advanced stage and barring any last minute hitch, the deal could be sealed as early as next week”, one of his representatives told Owngoalnigeria.com.


Nigeria League champions Enugu Rangers have already started planning without him for their CAF Champions League campaign with Nana Bonsu and Itodo Akor selected for their midweek tie in the Nigeria Professional Football League.

owngoalnigeria.com/2017/01/24/agent-says-nigeria-international-goalkepper-will-join-mamelodi-sundowns-this-week/

Good move for now.

I hope he keeps developing. We need credible back-ups for Ikeme.

terzurum5:
Exclusive – Russian-Nigerian Defender Idowu Cleared To Play For Nigeria After Meeting With Rohr

https://owngoalnigeria.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/image-110.jpg

24 year old Russian-Nigerian defender Brian Idowu has assured coach of the Super Eagles of Nigeria Gernot Rohr that he will be available to play for Nigeria if called up.


Amkar Perm defender Idowu gave the assurances to Rohr during a meeting according to report exclusively gathered by Owngoalnigeria.com editorial staff.


A decision on his inclusion in the Super Eagles squad for their next friendly tie against Senegal will be made in the coming days.


Idowu was born in Russia to a Nigerian father but his mother is half Russian according to reports.


He reportedly spent time in Owerri, South- East Nigeria, arriving Nigeria at the age of 3 before leaving back for Russia at the age of 6.


Since then he has spent the rest of his life in St. Petersburg, where he started his career as a footballer for FC Smena St. Petersburg before moving to Russian giants Zenith St. Petersburg.


However he failed to make the grade at the Russian side and joined Amkar Perm in 2011, where he has spent the last six seasons although he spent time on loan with Dinamo St. Petersburg in 2013.

owngoalnigeria.com/2017/01/23/exclusive-russian-nigerian-defender-idowu-cleared-to-play-for-nigeria-after-meeting-with-rohr/

Good news. Lets quickly try him in our next friendly.

goldfish80:
It's a nice list you put together. But if you put Nigeria in a top 10 list then South Africa deserves a shout too.
The south Africans have been enterprising and steadfast in their football development more than many countries in the world not to talk of Africa.
They have been getting their rewards recently as exemplified by Sundowns winning the champions league.

In the world cup qualifier they have played against 2 teams in your list(Burkina Faso and Senegal) and have not lost a game.

I think Senegal are slightly being overhyped . In my opinion, the 2002 team pisses all over this team. There is just something about this team that am yet to be convinced about.

My top ten African teams are;
Ghana (1)
South Africa (2)
Nigeria (3)
Egypt (4)
Senegal (5)
Tunisa (6)
Algeria(7)
Congo (
Cameroun(9)
Mali (10)

Finally, I think African countries should reach out to some of their foreign born players.
In my opinion, teams like Cameroun will be better with a player like Mbappe, Tunisa would present a better team if Ben Yedder was playing for them. Algeria will do a lot better with Nabil Fekir in their team. The list goes on.....

Senegal are not over-hyped. I even feel they have under-achieved. They are among my top favorites to win this AFCON.

goldfish80:
It's a nice list you put together. But if you put Nigeria in a top 10 list then South Africa deserves a shout too.
The south Africans have been enterprising and steadfast in their football development more than many countries in the world not to talk of Africa.
They have been getting their rewards recently as exemplified by Sundowns winning the champions league.

In the world cup qualifier they have played against 2 teams in your list(Burkina Faso and Senegal) and have not lost a game.

I think Senegal are slightly being overhyped. In my opinion, the 2002 team pisses all over this team. There is just something about this team that am yet to be convinced about.

My top ten African teams are;
Ghana (1)
South Africa (2)
Nigeria (3)
Egypt (4)
Senegal (5)
Tunisa (6)
Algeria(7)
Congo (
Cameroun(9)
Mali (10)

Finally, I think African countries should reach out to some of their foreign born players.
In my opinion, teams like Cameroun will be better with a player like Mbappe, Tunisa would present a better team if Ben Yedder was playing for them. Algeria will do a lot better with Nabil Fekir in their team. The list goes on.....

South Africa? You even Rank them ahead of Nigeria in ur top 10 list. We are not talking about league structure/organization. We are talking about the strength of the senior national teams. Before I will even list South Africa I would mention countries like: Mali, Burkina Faso, Zambia and Guinea. And the Congo on your list is it Congo DR or PR Congo. You did not include Morocco on your list but they did needful last night.

wayodude:
In no particular order and based on current playing personnel the top 5 teams in Africa are;

Senegal, Algeria, Nigeria, Ivory Coast, DR Congo

A good list.

chrisooblog:
interesting question let me take a shot at it.

1. NIGERIA
currently we have very exciting young players doing great things in top clubs in europe. right now we are in dominating form in the qualifiers rohr has so far moulded our individual talents into a very team and our rise in FIFA rankings indicate this change in fortune with continued good coaching and seriousness on the part of our players we would make a great african representative.

2. SENEGAL
team filled with great emerging talents all over europe with sheer ability they would beat most on the continent. i'm not yet 100% convinced the senegalese have a coach who can harness their talent to play to their full potential yes they are doing well in the AFCON but their world cup qualifying campaign hasn't been quite smooth. i feel with excellent coaching they will be formidable opponents.

3. GHANA
in terms of talent they are not as formidable as they were a couple of years ago but they are still a threat. they have a good coach who uses tactics wired to their strengths. doing well so far in AFCON were unusually sloppy in their preparations for the world cup qualifiers hence their poor start.

4. DR CONGO
these guys have been knocking on the door for some years now have some exciting players an ambitious coach things are really looking up for the congolese been great in the world cup qualifiers AFCON campaign hasn't been too shabby either seems the glory days of congolese football are gradually coming back.

5. IVORY COAST
most of their golden generation of players are now retired but make no mistakes they are still a dangerous team started their qualifying campaign for the world cup on a decent note though AFCON has been shaky. still a great african team.

for the rest of the top 10 cameroon is a bit depleted talent wise, algeria need a good strong coach to handle the ego of their players, egypt few outstanding players but very disciplined and dangerous, tunisia just there above average, burkina faso have potential just need belief and more confidence

Good analysis. Except I would replace Ghana with Egypt.

BascoVanVeli:
So far in the Afcon my top 5 is,
Senegal
Ghana
Tunisia
Burkina Faso
Congo DRC

The assessment goes beyond AFCON. A general assessment we need.

Lazyerudite:
I love my country to be honest but I would not put us in the top 5 yet even top ten for now. Your list is good except Nigeria for Mali. My reason is simple, if we were top 5, we would have been in the nation's cup. Also if the list was about future prospects in terms of players we have then we would be number one. For now let's keep building and watch how good we can become. I pity those countries that are making fun of us now, time has a way of sorting things out

How can you replace Nigeria for Mali? What has Mali achieved in the last 15 years or even in the last 3years? They don't have the kind of quality we have. Sentiments aside Nigeria is in top 5 in Africa.

joseph1013:
Remove Morocco and put Burkina Faso
Remove DR Congo and put Mali

South Africa deserves a place but I don't know who to remove.

After last night's games does this opinion still stand?

Nice. No be like now wey Africa wives dey dress like...

TheGoodJoe:

Plus this one.

U need it

We will not forget

TheGoodJoe:
I will rather bath you with cold beer.

That is no water it is beer. You need it more.

TOP FIVE TEAMS IN AFRICA.

I was discussing with a friend a while ago and he said this AFCON is boring - A view I countered anyway but that is not what this write up is all about.

He further said this AFCON has also pointed out that Africa does not deserve the additional slots being award for the future expanded world cup, which I also countered. I told him that African Power houses are almost at par. That the additional countries from Africa would not in anyway diminish the standard because of the parity I earlier mentioned.

I gave him a simple test by listing the top 10 African footballing nations presently. And that irrespective of FIFA ranking, based on his understanding of the game in Africa, he should chose the best 5 footballing nations based on current form.

I tell you, after picking his first 2 he became confused and started analyzing who the other 3 should be.

See the list of top 10 African teams I gave him in no particular order:

Nigeria
Ghana
Cameroun
Ivory Coast
Senegal
Algeria
Egypt
Tunisia
Morocco
DR Congo

I want to throw it open to the house, forget about FIFA ranking. Using your knowledge of African football and knowing the capabilities of these individual nations can u list the best 5 teams presently in Africa? If you don't agree with my top 10 you can also list yours.

cc: All parliamentarians here.

TheGoodJoe:

At which point. I said I have not watched Etebo closely. I clearly explained to you that I am not in the right position to judge. You explained to me you were in a better position and you have watched both. You told me Etebo was better. I said I will watch closely at Rio. After Rio, with one game, I said Etebo was better.

So, What is the problem?

No problem my brother. Just take a cup of cold water and breath in and out.

I grew up seeing the second one on vehicles. And I have used the last two.

TheGoodJoe:


When was Rio? Was it not after? I said we discussed Etebo and Usman after the Egypt games.

And at that point u still believed Usman was better than Etebo?

TheGoodJoe:

I doubt Egypt was before our discussion. We discussed in preparation for Rio. I told you I will watch Etebo at Rio. I did not say I will watch Etebo against Egypt.

I said I prefer Usman Mohammed. You said Etebo was better. I said okay I will watch him at Rio. After Rio I said Etebo was better. Please, can you tell me what was wrong or the problem. Because I do not get why listening to your opinion and trusting your opinion is not suitable for you.

Honestly, I do not get it. You said, Etebo was better. I checked and agreed with you. So, what is wrong?

You agree Etebo was not explosive, so do you want me to judge him on that? Tell me what I did wrong. I will really like to know.

Nigeria vs Egypt was in March.

Well, I have made my point.

TheGoodJoe:

I did but he was not explosive but was that not before our discussion?

Explosive? Were even Iheanacho and Iwobi explosive on their debuts?
And yes that was before our discussion. Meaning you still had another opportunity to look at him. Yet u still preferred Usman.

TheGoodJoe:

I did not watch it. Honestly. I also told you then I have not watched Etebo closely. I said I will watch him closely at Rio. Unfortunately, he injured at Rio. My next chance to watch Etebo was against Algeria in the qualifiers . He impressed me a lot.

You didn't watch him in the Egypt double header abi? A player that scored Nigeria's only goal in the double encounter.

Ok. Kontinu.