₦airaland Forum

TheGoodJoe:
I never said this before. The first time I noticed Icon4s on one of these threads, I thought he was Jonathan Akpoborie. Especially, when he cautioned against praising Iheanacho so he would continue working hard.

I was so convinced, even when he talked of the youth teams of the eighties being better than the 2015 Flying Eagles.

I said in my mind, keep praising your team-mates.

How wrong I was. LOL.

Lol! You and terzurum5 just make me laugh.

Jonathan Akpoborie ke? That one na my senior bros o. When he played "Baby Eagles" (former name for Golden Eaglets) in 1985 I was still in Primary school! We (including Amuneke plus some other Orile/Amukoko/Ajegunle ballers then were still playing footy on the streets with bare foot.

I am neither an ex-international(I never played for any of our national teams) nor a journalist. The closest I have come to journalism is analysing football on Radio, which I do for leisure on invitation.

I visited Manu's camp in the company of a renowned journalist hu also grew up in my hood.
Amuneke was the greatest football export from my then neighbour-hood. Hearing he was the assistant Eaglets coach was amazing to us. And so we decided to pay him a visit on Manu and Amuneke's approval.

So bros I no be Akpoborie o.

Realdeals:
http://www.businessdayonline.com/en/fg-stateslgs-share-n510bn-for-august-as-revenues-ramp-up/

Good

terzurum5:
Don't tell me you skipped this portion of the article.....
* This list is by no means official. It is purely the opinion of the writer hence it’s not binding.

I just tire.

One of the pix I took when I visited the UJ Esuenne stadium camp of the 2013 Golden Eaglets, just to see my pally Amuneke way back 2012.

[quote author=Icon4s post=49524173][/quote]

TheGoodJoe:


I am tied down, no much time to check but I will research more about. However, I suspect Ikpeba has a hand in our coach pick, Paul Le Guen is a ball playing defending kind of coach and I suspect Rohr who coached in the Ligue 1 when Ikpeba was with Jean Tigana (Another high line ball playing defending coach) might be similar.

Ikpeba is part of the technical committee. That is where I drew my opinion. Not just the last game.

Further games will clarify his style.

The bolded is just my point. From further games we will know about that.

CFCman:
Admittedly, I based his inclusion on his WC performances lol.

As you were saying earlier, Onazi would have to be disciplined in his DM role, because the team has 4 deadly forwards who can wreak havoc on any defense line.

Mikel could most likely be deployed as a deep-lying playmaker to help keep the midfield compact. The big reason why the Dream Team lost to the Germans was Siasia's refusal to drop Mikel from the AM position to the playmaker role. As a result, the Germans overran the midfield, exposing the defense to wave after wave of attacks.

World Cup of 2014?

He was good then no doubt. But I cannot say same for now.

We missed Azubuike in that Germany game. Mikel for most part of the game was trying to support Ndifreke in that midfield.

Plus our attackers suffered from Germanophobia (fear of Germany)

chrisooblog:
ok apologies if i misunderstood you. although you did suggest that balogun should be shifted to RB as an emergency alternative for musa mohammed which i don't agree with. shehu or even onazi can play that role. Balogun is our best CB for now let him continue and build himself in that position.

No wahala. I only suggested Balogun as one of the alternatives for the RB. I also suggested Shehu Abdulahi. However, my point here is I dnt think Musa Mohammed is ripe enough to shoulder that responsibility.

TheGoodJoe:

I agree with the bolded. Against an attacking side that causes us problems, the coach might want a strong defender to marshall the defence.

However, I think Rohr is a high line defending coach and I see Balogun and Ekong staying there. The next match will tell.

Asides the Tanzania game which other games have you seen Rohr's teams play?

chrisooblog:
i'm not comfortable with us dropping balogun for omeruo or shifting him to the RB position. at this moment leon is our most inform defender let's make good use him now in his natural position.

omeruo for some reason hasn't been at his best these past years but he would still edge it for me to partner balogun in center of defence due to his experience however ekong has shown enough IMO that he would be better than omeruo in the long run.

I never said that.

andrew444:
juwon oshaniwa that does not make the starting line up for hearts of scotland?you want him to make the nigeria team,what do you take the super eagles team for?

Abeg ask them.

forgiveness:
No wahala but age doesn't count in Football. What counts is your ability and your current form. As at now Raheem Lawal is currently in form than most of the players in the National team. Why deny him of his right to play for national team ahead of the inform players.


Even his Turkish club is doing better than Onazi's club.

Please direct this question to the author of that publication and not to me.

TheGoodJoe:
As for Oshaniwa, I hope Rohr invites him to camp and check him. If he is good, he prepares him to the that role. If he is not up to the task then we drop. I am against us dropping him like that.

As for Omeruo vs Ekong, it comes to a preference of style. When it comes to playing a high line and ball playing, Ekong trumps over Omeruo. Ekong on the high line is so comfortable there. He looks a better passer than Omeruo and can make those, Bonucci/Kompany busting runs when there is a gap.


When it comes to staying deep, marking and clearing the ball, Omeruo is better.

Rohr's defence looks a very high line and ball playing defenders .

You only saw the bolded due to his participation in the Olympics. Did you observe those when he played under Keshi or Oliseh? The nature of the opposition you face at the Olympics is not as tough as what you face at the senior team level. As I said earlier Omeruo also could have performed excellently well at the Olympics.

It also depends on the role the coach wanted each defender to play.

The last bolded was because we played a team like Tanzania who defended almost all through the game.

CFCman:
Based on the Olympics and current form, I'd pick Lawal and Azubuike over Onazi. They're that good.

Oshaniwa is slightly better defensively than Echiejile, so he gets the nod.

Leon Balogun could replace Omeruo

Raheem is more of a box to box midfielder and if invited it would be to boost our CMF options.

I would pick Ndidi ahead of Azubuike but Onazi remains my first choice DMF for this campaign. He (Onazi) is a very experienced campaigner on the African soil. He has also been very consistent in his Turkish club this season. He may just be instructed to cut his unnecessary forward over-lapping moves just like in the Tanzania game. He and Mikel have formed a very good partnership for many years now and we need to really exploit that advantage especially in our first two games (vs Zambia and vs Algeria). We have little or no time to experiment various midfield combos before those two games.

No qualms in replacing Omeruo with Balogun on your list. But I want to iterate the fact that Omeruo remains a valuable asset in the thick of that defense. Ekong may be getting more approval ratings from fans compared to Omeruo due to the former's involvement in the last Olympics, but you guys should remember that, Omeruo, prio to the Olympics was preferred ahead of Ekong. Also remember the Olympics is an age grade competition. Omeruo has been to the AFCON and World Cup where he faced some of the best oppositions both in Africa and in the world of which you know how he performed.

I still don't think Ekong is better than Omeruo. If Omeruo was also in the Olympics he too could have performed creditably well.

And when was the last time you watched Oshaninwa play?

Kai! why not Egypt so they qualify as hosts and we take the group's ticket.

CFCman:
How will the starting line up below fare against Zambia and Algeria?

-----------------------Ikeme---------------------------

---Shehu------Ekong----Omeruo------Oshaniwa---

----------------R.Lawal--Mikel-------------------

---Victor Moses----Iheanacho-------Iwobi--------

--------------------Ighalo--------------------

Note that Mikel would be a deep-lying playmaker in this system in the mould of Albertini or Xabi Alonso.

I like your forward line of Ighalo in CF, Iheanacho behind him and Iwobi and Moses at the flanks.

Your defense, why drop Leon Balogun? and why Oshaniwa?

Onazi would be my prefered DMF while Mikel plays the CMF role.

forgiveness:
When last did you see Raheem Lawal finish? Single out Azubuike Okechukwu who is struggling to play in a Turkish second division over Raheem Lawal who plays in Turkey first division? Seriously?

see, I am indiffent about whether Raheem Lawal is invited or not. You can go all the way to dig up statistics or reasons why he should be included. That publication is just the author's opinion


I had to single out Azubuike bc he is the youngest on that list and just starting a career. He is just 19yrs old.

It is just like you including Taiwo Awoniyi, and Kelechi Nwakali on that list bc dey play for second division teams.

Remember I said "he may be out for now but not for long".

forgiveness:
First of all, we need to find out if what is written hear emanated from Rorh or na de author opinion.


As we can see, it is glaring that this author mischievously wrote this em em..... to show his biased mind towards some players here.

I agree that Efe is warning the bench, Nnamdi Oduamadi, Azubuike Egwuekwe and Paul Inobi are in obscure league, Igbonu has many to contend with in the wing, Azubuike Okechukwu is in a second division of Turkey, Aaron Samuel is in chinko land and Daniel Akpeyi do himself away from the team.

But why em con take style style put Raheem Lawal for list? He said he has no future with the National team because of many options available in the National team and he stands no chance. Chisos!

His he for real? Seriously, who are those plethora of options ba?

Unfortunately, he refused to mention one but decided to style style pull him down.

Raheem Lawal is a box to box midfielder, AM, DM and CM, so who do we have in the mold of Raheem Lawal dat e doesn't stand a chance?

I no sa dat Joel Obi name na decoy. He no mean am. Na joke em dey joke

That list is not far from the truth. I can even add some more names sef. We don see many of those guys finish. We have to move on and try other players.

I can only sigle-out Azubuike for the fact that he is up and coming. He may be out for now but not for long.

tbaba1234:
I believe that the CB role is more important than Rb, best to have your best player there. Omeruo can also play right back.

Ok u mean Omeruo.

Akpoguma's introduction is highly welcomed so we can add to our pool of CBs. I am not sure he is a better choice over Omeruo right now. But let us secure his international future first.

tbaba1234:
I believe that the CB role is more important than Rb, best to have your best player there. Orem can also play right back.

No-no. It requires one weak link to destabilize the whole defense. A weak RB means one of the CB would drift a lot towarda RB to provide cover thereby leaving a gap at the centre.

Shehu Abdulahi i believe should be able to cope at RB if we Balogun must play CB.

Who is "Orem"?

tbaba1234:
Akpoguma might not be ready for the super Eagles. He is not better than Omeruo, Ekong and Balogun.

Balogun is not a right back. How will you move your best CB to right back. If Akpoguma can play right back, he should start there.

I went tactical over this one. Let it not seem as if i am always against the introduction of new or foreign groomed players. Just like you pointed is he better than Omeruo at present?
Akpoguma may also jst be invited to secure his international future.

On issue of Balogun, I believe Omeruo and Ekong can marshal that CB for Balogun to play RB. Balogun played RB under Keshi.

tbaba1234:
About the creative role, Joel Obi is playing regularly again in the Seria A... That is a good option.

Joel Obi.

Well, the coaches have the final say.

TheGoodJoe:


Wow. Very interesting news. If Rohr pulls this off, then my hats off to him. Maybe Icon4s might get his wish of a solid defensive right back with Leon Balogun. With Akpoguma going go the central defence with Ekong.

My wish? Are you comfortable with Musa Mohammed as a RB for the qualifiers? I may be wrong but I think we need a more established & experienced player there for now pls.

Well, I hope Apkoguma lives up to his rating as a centre back good enough to break into the Super Eagles starting back line.

this ur headline though.

forgiveness:
No for now. He should support.

What if the dynamics of the game requires u to play a lone striker? Say any of the variants of the 4-5-1 formation.?

forgiveness:
Second striker or striker.

Would you play him as a lone striker instead of Ighalo?

forgiveness:
According to positioning along the field, attacking midfield may be divided into left, right and central attacking midfield roles. A central attacking midfielder may be referred to as a playmaker, or number ten (due to the association of the number 10 shirt with this position).[27][28] A good attacking midfielder needs good passing abilities, vision, the ability to make long shots, and solid dribbling skills.

These are the functions of a no 10 according to these association.

How is this different from my illustration?

TheGoodJoe:

He looks a mixture of Kanu and Finidi to me. That back heel was straight off Kanu's footballing text book.

Yeah, a hybrid. A Finidi that passes like Kanu. Na die be that o.

See how Wenger has really mastered how best to utilize that boy. He plays the typical Arsenal kind of football. Now it is left to Rohr to know how best to utilize him.

He and Iheanacho keep improving with each passing game. We must be at Russia o.

forgiveness:
Well, the last time I saw him played there, he flopped big time. The boy na goal scoring machine.

So what role do you think is most suitable for him in the Super Eagles?

TheGoodJoe:

I see Iwobi more like a creative midfielder than a Natural winger. In the game against Hull, he drifted a lot behind the attack and helped a lot. Looked comfortable there.

When you look at the likes of Ozil and Carzola who play a lot of the wings of Arsenal, you see that Wenger plays creative Midfielders on the wings.

Just like Pellegrini with Silva, Nasri and De Bruyne.

Rohr might feel differently and opt to play Iwobi behind the attack.

Iwobi is a special kind of winger that brings to the table more than wings play.

He is not the stereotype kind of winger like Walcott, Chamberlain, Moses, Or Simon.

Some times I even imagine what he can do in the CMF position. Iwobi would have been AM but because there is an Ozil in the team he was converted to a winger. He plays so effortlessly and has brought a whole new dimension to wings play.

He looks more like a Kanu that an Okocha to me.

forgiveness:
Iwobi na number 10 for Nigeria National team. Etebor is no bi no 10 na no 8.

Iheanacho is not no 10. He is no 9 and no 8.

Ah! U are mixing things up. I think u need to know the difference between a number a 10 & an 8.
In a 4-5-1, 4-2-3,1, 4-1-4-1 or 4-4-1-1 the player behind the CF is the number 10. While in the 4-4-2 formation the second striker (supporting striker) is the number 8. Iheanacho and Etebo can function well as either 10 or 8 depending on how the team is set up.

Iwobi has mostly been played as a winger for the national team.Although he can also play the number 10 role.

forgiveness:
Leon Balogun had always been a CB and I can see he more comfortable there.

Another fresh legs needs to be tried. No more automatic Jersey for any player. We should try Otigba and Brain Idowu.

Leon Balogun under Keshi played as a RB. I would be more comfortable seeing him at RB than Musa Mohammed. Musa Mohammed mayb for the future. He might deputise for Balogun for now.

And u are the one that wanted to give automatic jersey to Otigba from "Omerue".