₦airaland Forum

tbaba1234:
Imagine Bellerin playing for spain under 21 while we are struggling for right backs.

Maybe we should investigate his lineage whether he has any Nigerian grand father or great grand father. So we can lure him over.

Forgiveness, na ur area of specialty be this o. This one better pass Aso Rock, Majek Fashek, Moses Odubanjo, Tyron Ebue*c*hi and *Brain* Idowu join together o

tbaba1234:
Let the boy grow and prove himself. Kanu and okocha proved themselves in Holland and Germany. I am optimistic for the kid but let him face better challenges. There have been more failures than successes when it comes to star league players that played abroad.

Gbam!

goldfish80:
What happened to Kanu, Okocha, Olisadebe, yakubu, Omeruo, Enyeama, udenze, Yobo to name a few since they left the Nigerian league?

Let Nwobodo go to Europe so we can properly assess him.

tbaba1234:
Ok

Thanks.

tbaba1234:
It is not sealed that Ighalo will start. Rohr might have been more impressed by Ideye in the last match and ighalo can lose his spot in watford.

It is by no means guaranteed.

Get my point. HE IS FIRST CHOICE. Not a sure starter.

tbaba1234:
Nigerian league is not even the strongest in Africa. Not every player that has shined in Nigeria has become a success.

Let Nwobodo face tougher challenges abroad then we can really guage him. Mind you, Nwakali is carrying his team in Norway by himself. He is already their best player.

Same with Theophilus Solomon in Croatia.

Even though, these players are shining, we recognise that they are in lesser leagues.

Wait till they prove themselves at a higher level.

Infact, this hailing of Nwobodo is becoming something else.

What happened to the likes of Chikeluba Ofoedu, and Jude Aneke when they left our shores?

What has even happened with Gbolahan Salami since he left to Europe? I have not even heard anyrhing abt Ifeanyi Mathew and Chisom Chikatara since they went to Europe. What of Sunday Mba, the ogbu enyi1 of Super Eagles(Elephant Killer)

You just mentioned Chidi Nwakali and Theophilus Solomon as two youngsters doing great in their clubs yet no one has even called for their inclusion in this current Super Eagles.

"Nwobodo this, Nwobodo that". * In Osuofia's voice* "What kind of this is this"

cc:goldfish80

tbaba1234:
I believe that Ighalo's first choice role is shaky. I do not think, he is among those guaranteed a starting shirt. His barren spell is doing him no favors.

Who is likely to start against Algeria?

safarigirl:
exactly.

You should have read the way British Press mauled him after Watford's last game, one said point blank that he was a waste of space and Success should always start ahead of him.

Some said Watford should have sold him to that Saudi club last season. Let's be real, Ighalo is far from first XI material in current form. Not everybody can be Mikel.

When i said earlier this year that Odion Ighalo was a flash in the pan player just like Emenike, most peeps here wanted my head.

Odion Ighalo is average, Brown Ideye is not any better. I have been saying it.
However, in the absence of any other serious CF Ighalo has in last 7-8 games been the first choice.

HE REMAINS THE FIRST CHOICE TO START AGAINST ALGERIA. However, things may change at Watford and Success may leap frog over Ighalo and this can boost Success's chances of finally being our goals poucher(what we have earnestly been yearning for)

As for those calling for Gbolahan Salami, pls this team is forward ever and backward never.

zoboizee:
Any CF not scoring for us in say 3 matches is mediocre. Ighalo presence in our NT holds no threat. Even Gbolahan Salami holds a greater threat as a striker over Ighalo in the NT. believe it or not .

So Gbolahan Salami is our first choice CF against Algeria?

chrisooblog:
what makes him first choice?

Who has been the first choice CF since after Nigeria vs Chad game in Kaduna?

Wait.. or who do you think is first choice for now?

BascoVanVeli:
what brought that up was u saying South Africa should be a top country and that is wrong. U can have good facilities and still be poor. Countries like Qatar and China have good facilities but they still show no improvements.

U basically made my point Belgium uses players mostly playing outside their country, they had a fullback from the mls at the last euro's. U cannot use a national team to judge a league. There are other factors that can make it easier or tougher on the players. Can Real Madrid travel by bus from Uyo to Kano and then win their match?

You expected me to give facilities as the reason why the Brazilian league is better than the NPFL.
And I was only pointing out to u that if it is based on facilities alone then South Africa should be among top 10.

chrisooblog:
i don't think ighalo is a sure starter. for now he's not prolific in front of goal. ideye might not be any better but at least he provides assists and his movement gives opportunities for other players to strike. scoring that is supposed to be ighalo's strong point he can't do. giving assists he can't do. i know you may mention his hold up play but who has his hold up play been 'epping'? from egypt both legs, to tanzania etc na so so blanks odion just dey fire upandan

Jude Odion Ighalo is our first choice CF. But for his father's death he would have started in Ideye's position is it not?

Ighalo is in Rohr's best 11 @ least for now.

forgiveness:
I don't think Mohammed deserves a call up to the National team. He should solve his club issues. I heard he has been staying in Kano after the Tanzania game.

We don't need that kind of player hence one of those boys can fill that slot..

Even if they don't start we are guaranteed of a credible replacement in case of any eventuality.

Shehu Abdullahi also doesn't deserve to be in the National team because he plays in Cyprus for ANORTHOSIS. He has only managed 2 matches out of 6. So, he doesn't deserve to wear Super Eagles Jersey when we have better options.

We can replace him with either Raheem Lawal or John Ogu. But if we think we need a player that can play at the RB and defensive midfield then Brain Idowu can do that.


Afterall, Ezekiel Imoh was dropped.

While i may see reasons with you concerning Musa Mohammed, i would want to defend Shehu's inclusion in the team.
See, there are certain players when u have them in ur team it is like as if you have 2 or 3 players embedded in one. Shehu Abdulahi is one of such. U know the utility player thing. Ndidi is also another. These are players that can be used in more than one position. Shehu can play RB can Raheem play RB?

What Raheem can offer we have in Mikel and Onazi already.

Mikel is the father of utility in that team as he can play DMF, CMF and AM.

Utility players would always get callup no matter which coach is in charge. Notice that Shehu played under Keshi, Oliseh, Siasia and now Rohr.
Mikel has played under Eguavoen, Amodu, Siasia twice, Keshi, Oliseh and now Rohr. So just leave Shehu for us he is a valuable utility player.

You remember "Chindo"! Garba Lawal? Not so skillfull, no fansiful footwork, did nt play in the greatest leagues in Europe but was abt the most capped player of his time.

BascoVanVeli:
U can't judge a league by it's national team if that were the case England would at least make a final once in a while. We have good players the problem they make horrible moves. I would like to see Nwobodo go to France, Spain or Italy and not Norway, Finland, Morroco, etc.

We were discussing Nwobodo as a product of the NPFL. The discussion here is the strenght of the league. U asked me why players from the Brazilian league are better right?

Quality of players from a league is a function of the quality of the league.

The English league is of a higher quality than the Belgian league for instance but the Belgian national team is better than the English national team. A good number of the Belgian players play in the EPL.

Talking about moves, there are players that moved to those countries you mentioned that still made bad moves.

ChrisKels:
Anybody but Echiejile.

Madu is faster by the way. He falls back quickly after going forward

Take ur mind back to Madu's performance in that Colombia game at the Rio Olympics. I now rate Amuzie ahead of Madu.

As for Oshaninwa, i dnt know the current state of his game.

BascoVanVeli:
Why are the players so much better?

Where is Nigeria compared to Brazil as a power house of world football?

I know the answer u were expecting me to give. Facilities abi?

Nops just facilities are not enough if not South Africa should be among the top ten footballing nations of the world.

safarigirl:
...ot he could field Mysq M.

You never know how good a player is till you field him, and I don't think Rohr thinks like most of us here that are scared to take a risk against certain teams.

Like I said, he's unpredictable

You are very right. Rohr does not think like most of us here. If he thinks like most of us here Musa Mohammed would have started that game in Ndola.

Majority of peeps have already given musa mohammed the nod after his performance against Tanzania.
I recall i was one of the few that first raised concerns about Mohammed playing the Ndola game.

U think Rohr is a risk taker. On the contrary i think he is not. He goes for already tested big game players. No room for wild experiments. More risk taking coaches like Siasia, Oliseh or Keshi would have fielded Mohammed at RB and Amuzie at LB.

Rohr is very predictable in terms teams selection.

Some peeps say no one is sure of a starting place in the Algeria match but i can list players that if they are fit will surely start against Algeria.
They are Carl Ikeme, Echiejile, Balogun, Ekong, Onazi, Mikel, Iheanacho, Iwobi, V. Moses, Ighalo. Save for the RB position we almost have a starting 11 already.

BascoVanVeli:
I think Nwobodo can give a similar performance. If he was Brazilan we would be talking 20 million for him to leave the country.

You cant compare the Brazilian league with the NPFL.

ChrisKels:
Oga m, ur second paragraph is the reason I wanna see V. Moses start our next match, reckon he won TMTM in Chelsea's last match when he was deployed as a right wing back and his attacking instinct wasn't affected, rather it provided him with his much cherished duels (the Ono on one duels) against the opposition's left full back. He would help omerou capsize the threat mahrez poses whilst running at their full back to carve them out and open.

Yeah. I thought so too.

I just hope he is fit for that match.
It is a win or win game for Nigeria

Jefersoun:
Ok, well noted.

Your opinions are welcomed though. Hope to see more of you here.

ChrisKels:
Sir I just dey read ur quotes from page 38 and I must confess I can't hold it anymore. Dem born u born comedy? Ur quotes dey make me embarrass myself with laughter here. The most hilarious na *whether zuchylink saw his formation for dream... *, as if that wasn't enough, u took on sirforgiveness, mocking life outta him with Ajagun remarks. Pending when sirforgiveness mentions dem, i'm still waiting to read ur verdicts on *Asorock and majek fashek*.

Lol lastly i was proudly Nigerian while reading those SA/Zambian comments on kickoff.com.

But sir try to understand the rationale to Sirgoodjoe supporting the idea of trying Nwobodo as a RW to complete that passing synergy. I don't think he is vouching for it to be tried on the Algerians.

I would rather Omeruo as RFB and Balogun as CB than the reverse. I would pick Amuzie and Madu ahead of Echiejile to check Mahrez.

We are here to analyse and also have fun.

Most of us have been here together for close to 2 years. I have come to understand pple's temperaments.

The type of jokes i crack with forgiveness if i try am with some others na insult go follow. U recall that "Asorock and Majek Fashek" call by Forgiveness . That guy go just dey roll out sime names every time. But i love him for his patience and lack of short temper. He is a great guy.

The way i argue with TheGoodJoe if i try am with some others too e fit end for fight.

One basic thing is we should know the limits of every thing. There are certain arguments i dnt involve myself with also.

On the issue of Nwobodo, he is a bright talent but i doubt he can replace any of our Wingers or AM for now. He should focus on his game for now and make the move to Europe.

safarigirl:
I just realized something about Rohr's WCQ line-up that could cause the Algerians to be jittery.

While Algeria started their game with their best XI, our team just had a weird mix. Normally, coached study the weakness of the defense for ways to exploit it which is the vital aspect of winning a game, but with Leon Balogun not present, Rajevac can't use Omeruo's weakness as a standard to judge Leon, and even worse, Rohr played a DM as an RB the entire 90 minutes, the chances of him starting against Algeria are low if any. So, who does the coach mark? Musa Mohammed? Could Shehu start? Will there be shuffling?

The defense for now, is largely unjniwn ti them, then you have the fact that the only forward you may see against Algeria is Iheanacho, they banked on seeing Musa, but Rohr waited till the last few minutes to slot in a normally present Musa. Moses wasn't there, no Ighalo and no Success, and Rohr has shown by starting an inexperienced player in RB, that he's not scared of starting an unknown in a big game, so, we may actually see Success starting

That's what I like best of thus coach, his unpredictability. I actually don't think we have as much a replacement issue as sone think.

They can still exploit that RB knowing fully well that it is our major weakness and we'll likely field a make-shift player there. Who ever plays that RB may nt matter to them cos it will still likely be a weak link.

There attack will be more on that side. Rohr may as well instruct the RWF to do enough to provide first cover for the RB when under attack.

I fancy Omeruo a lot to play that RB as he is a very good marker and stopper.

Jefersoun:
It was when babatunde michael got injured by matuidi our midfield collapsed, and not onazi. Ok with that?

Bros this thread is an assembly of some of Nigeria's finest football encyclopedia. Be sure of your points next time. No wrong information goes unnoticed here.

Kog45:
pls let stop this praises of iwobi and iheanacho coz it can led to hatred from other eagles player,though they are fantastic players which everybody adore and remember 11 players make a team.When i look at d build up to iheanacho goal i say whao!Mikel is a baller and Ideye an intelligent player.

Hatred? Nothing like that.

It is normal for goals scorers of a game to be the most celebrated.

With all the talks about Messi and Ronaldo has that stired hatred from there national team mates?

forgiveness:
He should call one of those boys (Brain Idowu and Tyrone Ebuechi) to test them in training. I don't want to see Ndidi play there against Algeria.

The best option could be Omeruo pending the recovery of Leon.

I don't talk my own.


No, Moses Odubanjo got injured and he will be back after 6 months. I think maybe in 1 - 2 months time, he will be back.

We need to take this qualifiers a game at a time.
Is inviting Idowu and Ebuehi the most important elements to our victory against Algeria? No,,cos even if they are invited they are not likely to start.

A more important issue now is which of Omeruo, Balogun, Shehu or Mohammed would play that RB as these are the top 4 choices at RB for that game against Algeria.

forgiveness:
We don't need make shift RB defenders, we need natural RBS.

We are discussing the game against Algeria here.

No one is saying we dnt need natural RBs.
After the Algeria game we have up till August next yr before our game against Cameroun.Rohr can understudy several natural RBs during that long interval (of which i am very sure he and his crew would do). There would be Fifa windows during the period so we expect friendlies.

But for the next game which is jst next month we may have to try one of our CB at RB.

BTW has Moses Odubanjo left Hull City?

Oasis007:


I do not understand why a Particular Moniker is trying hard to defend the Flops of the Match.

Ndidi is a fantastic Player - a very good DMF, but he failed woefully as a RB. I can't really blame the Coach for playing him there, seems he thought with his CB Experience, he would fair better.

I saw a proposed Lineup, and I couldn't stop laughing. Onazi as LB?! LOL! Thank God that the Eagles is done with local Technical Adviser.

We need to play Musa Muhammad as the Team's RB henceforth. Someone is craving for Experience, but he forget we got the Goals from the inexperienced Kids in the Team.

I implore the Advocate of Omeruo to watch his last Match he played for his Club, they lost the Match disgracefully because of his fatal Errors.

I will rather play Musa/Shehu - Balogun - Ekong - Taiwo/Oshanjwa in the defence line.

Mikel and Onazi still remains the best Pivot for the Team's Midfield. I think we should stick to it, cos they ain't doing bad. Then we should have Esiti, Ndidi even Kelechi Nwakali as Backups.

I will pick S. Moses over V. Moses and Ahmed Musa as the Team's RM any day any time. Though he's not as good as V. Moses, but he's more committed to the Team than him, and better than Ahmed Musa with Ball on his Feet.

Iwobi is a fantastic discovery, a rare Gem, he should maintain the LM position. While Iheanacho should maintain his AM Role. The Trio are skillful, talented and can comfortably switch Positions without distorting the Team's Rhythm, rather make it hard for the Opponent to contain them.

Upfront - we've been let down by our present Strikers. However, I would suggest Isaac Success to lead the Line! He's strong and pacy, he's also terrific when he's in form.

Meanwhile..... we can't invite all to the Camp of the Super Eagles. We should stick with the present Squad, so that they would be able to gel-up well and become a Force to reckon with and a Team to fear beyond the Africa Continent.

I love your write up. But let me touch some points.

-Issue of "Experience": I have said it repeatedly that where experience counts more is in the midfield and defense(especially the defense).

If attackers make mistakes the other attackers or midfieldera are there to cover for them before it gets to the defense. But when defenders make mistakes it often leads to goals. See Omeruo's case for eg and our first goal came from a poor clearance from a Zambian defender. We dnt need school boys errors in the defense.

Teams typically find it easier to field inexperienced young players in attack but in the defense? Experience counts alot.

It is left to Rohr wether he has the guts to start Musa Mohammed against an Algerian side blessed with highly talented wingers. I would rarher we field either Omeruo or Balogun at RB.

-If Victor Moses is fit there is no way Simon would start ahead of him. Our first choice wingers are Iwobi and V. Moses.

forgiveness:
Prove one before moving to another.

You said he has not started in 'recent games' but now you are telling us about just 1 game. Is that not exaggeration?

Let me help u. Ajagun only missed one game due to the red card he received.

Ajagun played as a central midfielder recently for Roda fc. He only played in the attacking midfielder few times and it was even when dey scored the 3 goals. hahahahahah!

Ajagun for now is not good enough for the AM role in the Super Eagles. Period!

Forgiveness is like a man that has10 beautiful wives at home but will not show them love and would rather show love to women that are not likely to be his.

tbaba1234:
He has improved greatly, certainly.

That is exactly my point.

tbaba1234:
I disagree with the 'he struggled' part... I believe that Iwobi and Kelechi should have started the Egypt away game. It was a risk worth taking.

How did Iwobi fair in the friendlies against Congo DR and Cameroun? And even the Swaziland game. He has improved. That is my point.

forgiveness:
Iwobi never struggled in those matches. Chikena!

I also forgot to add the Mali and Luxembourge friendlies.

Did you watch Iwobi's first international game against Swaziland?

Iwobi's game has greatly improved. Can u compare his performances yesterday with his performances again DRC and Cameroun in those friendlies?