₦airaland Forum

forgiveness:
So, if Iwobi get injury God forbid, who should replace him? or if these players perform well for their clubs, you mean Iwobi don buy Nigerian National team Jersey?

I don't know Rabiu and Ajagun to be wingers.

For the number 10 role Iheanacho is available. Etebo also plays 10.

Iwobi is naturally a winger and if he is injured just like the Tanzania game we have so many wingers na.. Musa, Etebo, Simon, Ezekiel, Moses .The coach can also draft a striker like Success to the wings.

forgiveness:
Musa Ahmed and Simon Moses.

OK na.

I noticed the way Musa Mohammed played but I fear the way he drifted into the midfield without a backup.

Well, Na inconsequential matches.

Omerue always lose concentration. It's high time we test another defender.

Just like how some peeps condemned Ekong before the Olympics.

Omeruo is still one of our best CBs. Defenders make mistakes once in a while.

Omeruo and Ekong can form a CB pairing. No harm in inviting Otigba to compete also. But to say outrightly that Otigba should replace Omeruo is a no-no for me.

Leon Balogun started off as a RB for us. I don't know if Musa Mohammed can face the opposition at the qualifiers, considering also that he was recently released by his Turkish club. Leon Balogun can take up that RB role. No room boyish mistakes as every game would be like a cup final.

TheGoodJoe:

Your Ighalo point also came to my mind. He looks improved and his strength is phenomenal. Bailly and Smalling could not get him off the ball when he backed each of them to retrieve the long ball.

His drifting to the sides is also brilliant, which can create gap for Nacho to slot in.

However, his miss when De Gea and Smalling clashed was terrible. If he did that against Westerhof, he would not play another game.

Apart from that, Ighalo is now dominant in games, more skillful and mobile. He drops deep to defence more than waiting for services.

I see the goals coming. He looks better under Mazzari and makes a claim to maintain the starting position.

I won't complain if Rohr chooses Ighalo to lead the front line.

Yeah. He played a lot from the wings today and his movement on the ball has been excellent. He may draw attention to the wings creating room for Iheanacho to cause havoc at the centre.

Ighalo is a 4-4-2 kind of striker.

forgiveness:
Of course, why not? Give Rabiu Ibrahim and Abdul Ajagun chance for National team and dem go perform wella. Abi I lie?

This is part of what I was arguing with TheGoodJoe and Tbaba the other day about.

We have gone past that stage.

We don't need these type of distractions.

TheGoodJoe:

Take into context a striker's ability to take on defenders and score. Most of our strikers depend on the midfield to create clean chances for them.

With the way Success turned Bailly inside out like if Success was removing his singlet gives us an idea of his ability with the ball.

At the end, I expect the coach to make his choice after watching them in camp.

Success is a kind of forward that is not shy of taking on defenders, just like Imoh Ezekiel. This is typical of strikers that play from the wings.

Success deserves a call up for the Zambia game . Even if Rohr had not made up his mind seeing what Success did today he'll be convinced.

forgiveness:
This not bad but I don't think Iwobi and Victor Moses should be played at the same time because they don't like defending or are poor at it.

Moreover, you can not drop your best defender for another. Balogun I watched today his better in that position than either Omerue or Ekong.

I think another defender like Otigba or Brain should replace Omerue. On the right wing we can try Musa continuously.

It is just my opinion.

We should not play Iwobi and Moses together cos they dnt like defending or are poor defenders? Oya list our wingers that like defending.

From the formation I posted I did not drop Balogun from the CB position. I only put Omeruo/Ekong i.e. either of the two to partner with Balogun at CB.

On a second thought why not Balogun play RB so Ekong and Omeruo play CB. I don't trust Musa Mohammed with that RB yet. The Luxembourg and Tanzania games are not true tests.

And why do you want "Omerue" to be dropped for Otigba?

forgiveness:
This is what some of us is talking about.

Pulisic and Kljesten were overlooked for the regular players but when they were given the chance, they did better than the so called regular players.

This is a great lesson our coaches must accept if they want to see the best players in green white green.


Bring Raheem Lawal, John Ogu, Nosa Igbeibor, Esiti, Kayode Olanrewaju, Anthony Ujah, Brain Idowu, Kenneth Otigba, and Alampasu to the camp for the next world Cup qualifiers and we go see ballers.

Etebor Ogehnekaro and Simon Moses are out of the qualifiers due to injury. Raheem Lawal can take his place. We need to see Esiti fight with Ndidi for the defensive midfield position.

These are the players invited for the last qualifier against Zambia and opposite them are the players doing very well in their various clubs.

GK Ikechukwu Ezenwa vs Alampasu
GK Carl Ikeme
GK Emmanuel Daniel
DF Elderson Echiéjilé
DF Shehu Abdullahi vs Tyrone Ebuechi
DF Leon Balogun
DF William Troost-Ekong
DF Jamiu Alimi vs Kenneth Otigba
DF Kingsley Madu
DF Musa Muhammed vs Daniel Adejo
DF Chidozie Awaziem vs Brian Idowu
MF John Obi Mikel (Captain) vs Ramon Azeez
MF Ogenyi Onazi Vs John Ogu
MF Nosa Igiebor vs Raheem Lawal
MF Wilfred Ndidi Vs Anderson Esiti
FW Ahmed Musa
FW Brown Ideye vs Kayode Olanrewaju
FW Victor Moses vs Sone Aluko
FW Moses Simon vs Isaac Success
FW Odion Ighalo vs Anthony Ujah
FW Alex Iwobi vs Rabiu Ibrahim vs Abdul Ajagun
FW Kelechi Iheanacho
FW Imoh Ezekiel vs Seyi Ojo

You dare put Rabiu Ibrahim and Abduljeleel Ajagun on the same line with Alex Iwobi.
Na wa.

forgiveness:
Chai! are you indirectly telling us what is going on behind the curtain with the National team selection kwa?

I see! So, Dey have decided to drop inform Ideye for a winger.


Success is not a striker. Why bring him for a striker?

Rorh we dey observe ooooo. No follow follow follow Nigerian coaches oooo.

You see, football is dynamic. Gone are those days when only natural wingers play from the wings. Did you notice in d second half of the Watford vs Manu game Ighalo played from the wings. Strikers can be made to play from the wings depending on the dynamics of the game.

And note that national team football is different from club football. Success is a striker that can also play from the wings.

We have wingers aplenty of which Iwobi and V. Moses are first choices(my opinion). Where we need more bite and dynamism is in the attack.

Brown Ideye has been with Super Eagles for almost 4yrs and d only highlight I have abt his contribution to the Super Eagles was that jab he made to Emenike from which we scored against Burkina Faso in our 2013 AFCON group game. Which form are u talking about now that he could not display while he was at the more competitive EPL. Greek league na league? We are talking about building a new team and so we need players whose careers are on the rise. We have seen the better days of Ideye.

And pls, pls Mr forgiveness, any thing I post here is strictly my opinion and nothing to do with what happens at the glass house or any where else.Pls.

The challenge we may have as regards goals scoring is how to best utilize the Iheanacho-Ighalo strike partnership combination.

Ighalo thrives better in a 4-4-2 formation. Being a lone striker in a 4-5-1 formation does nt really favour him. He needs someone to play with him.

I initially opined that Iheanacho be made d point man but after several considerations I think Ighalo should remain d point man in a 4-4-1-1 formation with Iheanacho playing behind him just like in the Tanzania game. Iheanacho should be made to combine more with Ighalo while also finding space to aim for goal. With this we can easily switch between 4-4-2 & 4-5-1.


I would like a formation like this:

.................Ighalo

Iwobi......Iheanacho.....V. Moses

..........Mikel
....................Onazi

Echiejile...Ekong/Omeruo...Balogun.. (?)

4-4-1-1.

My major concern in that defends is the RB. Though Musa Mohamed did well against Tanzania, but I am not completely sure we have got a right back that can stop the rampaging Algerian, Zambian and Cameroonian attackers/wingers.

Against Tanzania We attacked more and didn't face any major attacking threats. Mohammed was almost a winger in that game. Can he make those runs againt our WC qualifying opponents and we wouldn't get punished?
Well Shehu Abdulahi is another candidate. Let d coaches decide.

forgiveness:
Isaac Success has skills and speed but I don't think he is prolific in front of goal as we think.

I have seen him missed goals severally in la liga though he's good at dribbling and creating goals. In addition, he played as a winger for Granada and now Watford.


If invited, he can only come in as a Winger and not a striker. Now, the question is who should be dropped for him? Simon Moses, Victor Moses or Ezekiel Imoh?

Success may likely be invited as one of the strikers. I would take him over Ideye.

He may not b a starter yet but can deputies for Ighalo.

tbaba1234:
It is difficult to rate players playing different games.

Yeah. Sure.

Orkpekyandega:
Zambian fans at the moment

Let them save that look till October 9th.

I think we need to be coming up with weekly ratings of our players especially in the EPL.

Already there are arguments about who made d biggest impact between Iheanacho and Iwobi in their respective games.

We also saw Victor Moses, Ahmed Musa, Odion Ighalo, and Isaac Success all in action for their various clubs. Ovie Edjaria also made the Liverpool squad list against Chelsea.

cc: Joseph1013, terzurum5, Orkpekyandega

Zambian fans would be like......"So Success is also a Nigerian"? Lol!

Isaac Success only involvement resulted in a penalty. Mennn that guy is so strong and pacey.

Success in my opinion is one of the least reported young players in Europe. He was even the best player in the whole of Granada for last season.

I was of the opinion that Success should take Ideye's place on the squad list and some1 was accusing me of tribalism.

TheGoodJoe:

We are not far from each other.

What I am saying is, as long as we keep searching for the best in each position, we will have a steady pool of the best.

Inviting Adi to camp for instance does not make him a starter or make the team unsteady. If Adi fails in camp, the team is still steady. The pool is still steady and we know this pool is the best.

If he does better, someone has to drop for Adi and we know we have the best.

That was what happened and we maintained a steady pool of the best players. We were one of the best team in the world.

It went bad when Aiyegbeni missed four clean chances in a match and he was sure of his next starting place. While Martins was on bench. Until the famous Aiyegbeni miss before it dawned on Nigerians that he was passed it.

I thought you were against using the word "steady".

My point remains clear. We have a pool of 14-15 regulars and 2-3 new additions (if need be)

TheGoodJoe:

Best players, not stability. A stable team of wack players will produce wack results. A team made of the best players, even though they are not long together will perform wonders.

Are the current pool of Super Eagles whack players?

tbaba1234:
Adepoju, Amokachi, Okechukwu, Iroha were introduced in 1990.

We also had key players like Elaho that didn't make the team.

Yes, I highlighted that in one of my earlier posts.

TheGoodJoe:

If a left back comes out as Iheanacho did, or one is making waves in another League, we will do ourselves a disservice sticking to what we have.

Whether home or foreign born, if the player can make us stronger, then he is what we have.

No problems about that. If any new talent emerges we invite him. But for now let us focus on what we have.

chrisooblog:
exactly my point westerhof did a lot of chopping and changing within that period but as much as possible he tried to maintain a steady eleven throughout.

plus that era was a rebuilding period when the super eagles were still discovering talented players. not many nigerian players were in europe so it's not like we had a dossier of nigerian players doing exceptional things in europe.

unlike today bar a few players we know the players we will use to execute the qualifying campaign. all i'm saying is based on merit their are not many players that have been left out if i'm wrong please list them.

Exactly!

TheGoodJoe:

I should mention, like seriously. Did you not read me say we should keep searching.

We should focus more on building on what we have. We need stability. As we progress some new players will emerge and we add them to the squad.

No body say we should stop searching.

TheGoodJoe:

In the same period these additions took place. That means, we kept on building. We know Ighalo, Mikel, Onazi, yet we should keep looking. We need the best players.

In 1994, those were the best available players.

No body says we should stop searching.

We have a pool already. Our primary objective for now should not just be to keep adding to that pool but to screen out the best in that pool and maximize the quality there in. If any untested player is found worthy to be added, let him be invited.

What I am preaching is stability. That is all.

tbaba1234:
Amokachi, Adepoju, Iroha and Okechukwu joined the team in 1990.

Many of that home based team were the crust of the Super Eagles for ages.

As at 1990 only very few Nigerian players were foreign based.

tbaba1234:
The point is that, the team changed a lot. Some key players in 90 were not key players in 94. Westerhof was not afraid to experiment and try new players.

From 1990 to 1994 was a long period and so you should expect the team to change with time. But note that some players were there all through from 1988, 1990 to 1994: Rufai, Keshi, Okechukwu, Okafor, Eguavoen, Amokachi, Yekini, Siasia, Oliha, Ekpo, Iroha, Adepoju. These pleyers formed the spine of the team.

Finidi joined in 1991/1992, Amuneke, Okocha and Oliseh joined in 1993.

tbaba1234:
Oliseh joined that team in 93/94
Okocha in 92
Amuneke played his first game in 93

Several players were part of the building process.

Reubens Agboola
Elaho
Emeka Ezeugo
Emenalo was at usa 94
Friday Ekpo
Chris Ohenhen
Ajibade babalade



Etc

Before we got to the 94 team.. There were plenty changes along the way.

And who says this current team should not evolve?

TheGoodJoe:
No. A team of the best players of the country. Not a team of regulars.

That is the point. Are the players who represent us now the current best players that can represent us in each position?

If the are not, then we are fielding a weaker Super Eagles than we can have.

Answer the bolded by yourself. Recommend players u think are better in those positions.



I am waiting....

chrisooblog:
every successful team needs or has had a touch of consistency. you may add or substract two or three but the basic spine needs to be there. take our golden generation the 1994 super eagles set. we knew who would almost all the time start. yekini, finidi, ben iroha, amokachi, jayjay, uche uchechukwu, peter rufai plus or minus a couple of players based of coaches formation, injury or loss of form. the world cup winning german team check there line up in 2010 compare to 2014 you would see that most of their stalwarts for that 2010 team were ever present in 2014.

i agree that for teams to progress and succeed you need to evolve but the trick is knowing the right time to change personnel and bring in fresh talent. do it too soon and you upset the balance of the team, do it too late your team stagnates. germans of the mid 80s to mid 90s dominated but the core of their winning group like klinsmann, luther mathais, brehme, hassler etc were kept on for too long and by the time they were replaced the new guys couldn't cope because it was a sudden change of the old guard instead of a seamless change.

as icon has rightly noted you can not use club football to do a comparison. man city, man u, arsenal etc can always go to buy quality players to replace any player in their ranks who has lost form but with the national team even if you have an aging quality player you want to replace if the replacement is not up to scratch you make do with your current guy until another can be discovered or groomed. unfortunately if the grassroots programme of the fa is nothing to write home about then it will many years before you can get quality ready replacements.

Abeg what is your favorite brand of drink? Let me stock your refrigerator with it for the weekend.

The bolded just simplifies it for me.

TheGoodJoe:

As I said, no regulars. Invite those who show better promise than those in the pool. That is the key. Not because a player is regular, means his position is secured.

If a player pops up in another club and he is doing better than the regular, he should get an invitation to camp. Not the starting line up. This is not rotation.

There is no steady team but best players. We keep looking for better players. The camp will decide if the player will fit into the team or not.

There must always be regulars. ELSE YOU DON'T HAVE A TEAM.

TheGoodJoe:
We have a pool of best players. While we keep searching for better players to add to the pool.

If we find a better player, we test him with the pool. If he is better than any in the pool, it means the pool is no more made of the best players.

So we replace one in the pool with the new better player. This makes the pool have the current best players.

While the we continue searching for better players home and abroad.

This is my point exactly!

Having 4 or 5 changes in every starting line up is a no-no for me.

tbaba1234:
From 90 to 94, The Nigerian team was chopped and changed. Westerhof hardly used the same team for two matches in a row. He had a core of reliables but he was very flexible in his invitations.

He blooded in young players early. He dropped players when they went off the boil. There was really competition in the team. It was that competition that gave rise to a formidable team by 94.

Westerhorf took charge of the Green Eagles during qualifiers for the Italia 90 World Cup.
Westerhorf had to rely on most of the Maroc 88 players to finish the qualifiers for the World Cup.

After we crashed out of the World Cup qualifiers he had the African nations qualifiers to handle and then came Algiers 1990 AFCON.

This was the opportunity for Westerhof to build the new Team more so as a good number of the Maroc '88 squad were aging. Mind you a good number of the old lads still remained in the Team: Rashidi Yekini, Stephen Keshi, Ademola Adeshina, Uche Okafor, Austin Eguavoen, Peter Rufai
Infact Keshi, Okafor and Eguavoen were 3 defenders carried from Maroc '88 even to 1994. Uche Okechukwu and Ben Iroha were included from Algiers 90 and I dnt need to tell you that crop was the best defence troop we have ever produced. They were in that defense up till the 1994 World Cup. That is the consistency I am talking about. Rashidi Yekini and Samson Siasia were some of the other players of the 80s era that transcended to the mid 90s.

Now, down to the Team Rotation:

Look at this formation below:

..........................Rufai

Eguavoen....Keshi....Okechukwu.....Iroha

....................Oliseh

Finidi........ Oliha/Okocha.......Amuneke

.............Amokachi
...................................Yekini

4-4-2

Substitutes:

Okafor
Nwanu
Adepoju
Siasia
Agbonavbare
Okocha/Oliha

More than 22 years after I am sure you too still remember this deadly squad.
That was how that team was set up for most of its matches.

I am not a against the introduction of new players. My point is we need a regular set of 14 players based on merit. New additions can be brought gradually as the Team will also need to evolve with time.

If I ask you to name your likely starting 11 for the Zambia clash and I name mine, I know they will not be much different.
We know the players we need to form the new Super Eagles already any other performing players can be introduced as time goes on. That's my point. No need for wild goose chase now.

TheGoodJoe:


The best crop of talents should make the pool of players we invite and play. Leaving a better talent out of the pool for a weaker player because he is a regular invitee, make us weaker.

We won the AFCON under Keshi because he scouted the best players home and abroad. Then some of them became the go to players.

If a player shows quality that he can be better than the pool of players, we should invite him.

No one says invite a low quality player in the name of scouting.

The talk is about a better player than what we have. If we walk this way, the squad will reach a steady peak.

If we keep inviting a regular squad based on history with the team, we leave out talents that will make us have a steady peak.

I don't really see anything to argue about here cos we are almost saying the same thing.

We agree that we have a pool. And selection should be made based on merit from the pool.

What I am talking about is having a Team that will have up to 9 regulars( and of course based on merit) with maybe 2-3 inclusions from outside the pool if need be. Or are you of the opinion that the coach should rotate the squads with every game? Or what are you talking about?

TheGoodJoe:
I remember us calling back Omeruo and Oboabona. Now we used Leon Balogun at Center-back, he flourished.

When we had Emenike and Ideye, Ighalo started performing and we invited Ighalo.

We can not stick to a steady team. If a better player emerges, we carry him to the camp. Then the coach monitors him closely and sees if he is better.

Just as Salisu Yusuf invited Musa Mohammed. Just as Ndidi started performing and Salisu invited Ndidi.

I think Salisu deserves the credit more than Rohr so far. Salisu showed innovation and vision and invited youngsters who showed promise.

That is the point. We can not have a steady team. When we see a player who can do better, we invite him.

If Rohr feels Adi will do better than Ighalo, he should invite him. If Rohr does not feel he will do better, he can leave him out.

Not Ighalo must play because he is part of the steady team.

The Omeruo, Obaobona and Leon Balogun you mentioned have been part of the Team for years now. Where I have issue is ignoring Omeruo or Balogun and be inviting one Jamiu Alimi just in the name of scouting for raw talent or something. Some people even often forget that Troost-Ekong has always been part of the Super Eagles defence since the days of Keshi. I over heard some1 one day calling him (Ekong) that new defender. Nigeria currently has a large pool of CB options let us consolidate on that and adopt the best pairing with 1 or 2 substitute CBs.

We have a large pool of players for selection. Rohr did the right thing by inviting from that pool. Gradually new players would be introduced.

And to your last sentence, have I not been advocating for Iheanacho to lead the attack instead of Ighalo? Ighalo has not proven his rating for the national team so why not try another player from that same pool.

Some other players will get their time also. Not every Nigerian footballer will get to play for the Super Eagles. The coach may decide to invite Adi for the Zambia clash, all well and good, but I expect consistency in our line ups from here hence forth.