₦airaland Forum

If I knew I would have hidden the author of this write-up. Are you saying what he said is not true?

do4luv14:
hav come to dislike SEGUN alot, he is always bias in his analysis of game involving SE, never for once had he said something good about the SE,

and I bet if he was given the job he would be worse than our ex-coaches

Anybody who holds tight to his/her beliefs can never grow. As humans we need to keep learning. I was wrong about Awaziem.

Icon4s:
Joebie, I salute you for your objectivity. That is the spirit.

You were one of those that strongly recommended Awaziem to start over Omeruo. But after the game you have come to realize why some of us wanted Omeruo no matter how Awaziem performed at the 'drills'.

You now understand why I have always been against starting a rookie in the heart of the defense.

With time I know this wound will heal.

Watch Esiti:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fn78Q-laLV8

My line up for Cameroon.
I think we will need "The Rock" Esiti. Has good ball control. He is big and his passes are pretty good. No disrespect to Onazi.
Ndidi will be fine helping out defensively as well.

http://lineupbuilder.com/?sk=ty19s

Realistically speaking, let's not talk as if we have numerous options at the rear. Our best defenders remain Omeruo, Ekong and Balogun. Against cameroon we will need one or a couple solid defensive midfielders who are also ball playing ones. We will need a solid left back. For me Omeruo should remain at RB especially as Balogun is expected to return.

Modified.
The Defensive Midfielder should help support our defenders, but should still have a knack for good passes. As we have to be at A grade in our flowing game against Cameroon.

I will be scared to start a rookie again like Awaziem. Else I would have looked in the direction of Ola Aina for the LB role. If John Ogu can play there - great! Because he is a lefty

TheGoodJoe:
Most times, physical sides employ the direct route of long balls and set pieces. The solution lies in keeping the ball for a long time and prevent the opposing team getting a chance to win the ball in dangerous positions.

Anyone trying to play in artistic way will be the point of target. Most especially Victor Moses. They will rely on fouling, counter attacking with pace and power. Whipping the ball into dangerous areas.

The central back positions are key and I agree in selecting players who are strong and good in the air. But it could be detrimental to build up play because physical defenders prefer to hurl the ball out instead of passing. That entails giving back possession.

We should aim at keeping the ball and hitting them with off the ball mobility.

Some very important points from Segun Mathematical7 Odegbami

Reasons for our loss:

1. SOUTH AFRICA'S PROGRESSION OVER THE YEARS: "In short, the improvement of Bafana Bafana is real. It has taken them all of 25 years to break through the psychological, physical and technical barriers that generally held them back for so long.
Nigeria has been their ultimate litmus test because, aside from never defeating Nigeria..."

With my earlier opinion: 100% in agreement

2. ROHR FAILING TO STUDY SA: "He took South Africa for granted and assumed that any team he assembled would defeat them based on history and past tradition. He played with the weakest goalkeeper to have ever kept goal for the Super Eagles. He played a young debutant in the heart of the defence."

With my earlier opinion: 100% in agreement

3. PLAYER SELECTION AS REGARDS ROLES IN THE MIDFIELD: "He played with three great defensive midfielders in one team at the same time. Throughout most of the match they clashed in their roles. He did not have a holding midfield player as well as a creative midfield general. ... It needs a creative midfield general, an artist, a player that can hold the ball and deliver ‘killer’ passes to free a frontline brimming with goal-scoring talent. The very quick attackers must be filled with the confidence and freedom to take on defenders, use the spaces in the flanks and their natural physicality within the box to finish in front of goal."

With my earlier opinion: 100% in agreement (I had said we lost the match in the midfield)

4. DEPLOYING HIS IN-FORM FORWARDS: "Finally, he only deployed his new, young, in-form and lethal forwards late in the game when the match had already been lost." [Maybe referring to Kayode]

I didn't say this earlier. As I don't think either of Kayode or Osihmen would have made a difference even if they started

Another veteran has towed my line of thinking again.

by Segun Odegbami 16/06/2017, 16:52

Eagles - this time truly beaten

Last Saturday in Uyo, something went very wrong for Nigeria’s Super Eagles, and very right for South Africa’s Bafana Bafana.

While Nigerians were stunned into a state of disbelief by the pedestrian performance of their national team, South Africans were ecstatic in celebrating the heights to which their football soared in defeating the once-invincible Eagles with unbelievable ease.

The victory was not a fluke. It was real, and its significance is that, finally, the jinx of Nigeria’s 25-year superiority of competitive football between the two countries has been broken, the calabash shattered, and the myth destroyed, forever. Things will never be the same again between the two countries in football.

Such a feat by the South Africans, as was displayed by their team, is never accomplished in a day or in a sprint. Becoming a football giant is never achieved overnight. It is usually a marathon, a painstaking journey, a systematic progression through stages of slow development armed with the patience of a vulture that can produce such a performance.

In short, the improvement of Bafana Bafana is real. It has taken them all of 25 years to break through the psychological, physical and technical barriers that generally held them back for so long.

Nigeria has been their ultimate litmus test because, aside from never defeating Nigeria, it has never been an easy task for any country to accomplish. So, to do so on Nigerian ground was an exceptional feat that must be acknowledged, even though the Eagles were also abysmally poor on the night.

The South African team played with a lot of gusto, confidence, discipline, organisation and with a simple strategy that was executed effectively and masterfully. Towards the end of the match, they made the Nigerian team look like bungling school boys. The Nigerians resorted to the football of the 1960s – long, high hopeful balls from defence to a frontline that was tamed by towering defenders.

At the end of the day, everyone agrees, Gernot Rohr is to blame. It was all his fault, his mistakes, and his responsibility. The team he assembled was simply not good enough.

He took South Africa for granted and assumed that any team he assembled would defeat them based on history and past tradition. He played with the weakest goalkeeper to have ever kept goal for the Super Eagles. He played a young debutant in the heart of the defence.

He played with three great defensive midfielders in one team at the same time. Throughout most of the match they clashed in their roles. He did not have a holding midfield player as well as a creative midfield general. He did not play the young in-form forwards at the start of the game. He did not have the player(s) to calm things down when the going got tough, and to maintain some discipline in his formation.

Finally, he only deployed his new, young, in-form and lethal forwards late in the game when the match had already been lost. The players became totally lost, and will now require some deep psychological healing to regain their confidence going forward.

But having said all of that, I refuse to take back my words from last week that a new Super Eagles team is in the offing.

It is apparent that Rohr, the German manager of the Super Eagles, did not have the deep understanding of the psychology of Nigerian football - that you do not pamper players hewn on the rough, tough, crisis-driven and chaotic diet of Nigerian football. Clemens Westerhof made them ‘mad’ by depriving them, annoying them, challenging them and daring them before throwing them into the dungeon of hard games. Rohr must take a few lessons from his methods.

The greatest challenge Rohr will now have to face is how to rekindle the Nigerian spirit in the team and to restore the self-confidence that must have been shattered by their failure to live up to all the pre-match hype and huge expectations of Nigerians in the new players.

The absence of the experiences of players like Vincent Enyeama, John Mikel Obi and Victor Moses was apparent in that match. Those individuals were needed at a point during the match to calm down the players and help them to maintain their more effective passing game with fast runs down the flanks to break down the South African defence until the very end.

So, beyond last Saturday, Rohr’s work is well cut out for him. He must have learned new and useful lessons. Some elementary mistakes were made that must never be repeated.

He must get the Eagles to put this painful defeat behind them, and start to slowly nurture the team back to health. He needs time and many matches, both of which, unfortunately, are in short supply. He must finally reassure Nigerians about the future to secure their full support again.

Rohr, without question, has the right temperament. He is cool, calm and collected. The last things he needs now are any form of rebuke or interference by the NFF, its technical committee or the public. What he needs is support and understanding.

These Eagles can still be the future of Nigerian football if Rohr does not allow this one match to destabilise, discourage and distract him from his goal of a new and better Super Eagles team that can play at the highest levels.

He has embarked on the journey already and is assembling the right kind of squad amongst those available presently around the world. He will encounter hiccups like the South African defeat along the way, but how he manages to weather the storms and still maintain a winning tradition through the critical and difficult matches ahead will be his ultimate challenge.

The team needs an injection of a few critical mature and experienced players in the side, particularly in goal, in the heart of the defense and in the attacking midfield position.

It needs a creative midfield general, an artist, a player that can hold the ball and deliver ‘killer’ passes to free a frontline brimming with goal-scoring talent. The very quick attackers must be filled with the confidence and freedom to take on defenders, use the spaces in the flanks and their natural physicality within the box to finish in front of goal.

So, although their wings are temporarily clipped, they will soon grow back, and the Eagles will fly high once again.

This time the Super Eagles were truly well beaten. I say congratulations to Bafana Bafana for a well-deserved victory!

https://www.supersport.com/football/blogs/segun-odegbami/Eagles_this_time_truly_beaten

Aikhuomogbe who spoke with Soccernet.com.ng revealed that the result would only be a wake up call for both the technical crew and the players ahead of their subsequent qualifying games later in the year.

"You can't really blame anyone for Nigeria's 2-0 loss to South Africa considering the fact that the South African team played a good football more than our team," Aikhuomogbe told Soccernet.com.ng
"Besides, this will be a wake-up call for the team before facing a team like Cameroon on August in a 2018 World Cup qualifier."

Exactly what I've been saying. A perfectly executed teamwork is what played to South Africa's favor. Many of us fail to realize that even as we performed badly, South Africa created and took their chances well. So let's give our opponents some credits. To me Rohr is at fault. But I believe he will get it right. He was confident to say we will win our next 5 games. I like that.

This is the same strategy my good friend TheGoodJoe is expecting us to employ as a team against Cameroon. South Africa did that against us.
in the same vein South AFricans knew we were already stronger.

That's a good strategy particularly when we are in possession. I was speaking especially when they are in attack. In that only one man to beat scenario.

TheGoodJoe:
Duly noted but I fell the best solution to power and strength is speed and quick passing. If we do this, it will prove difficult for the Camerounians to use their strength to make a different.

Even a quick forward who keeps moving will prove difficult to mark than a stationary forward waiting for long balls.

My best bet is speed and quickness in play. They are already stronger.

A loss is a loss, even if we have lost by one goal.
I think the team performed woefully. I can hardly single out a player that performed well besides Moses Simon. But such kind of displays from Simon cannot really do much for us. We need to start emphasizing on the team playing for one another. After watching the Senegal friendly I must say Ndidi is a gem. I don't know what became of our lads at Uyo.

Icon4s:
Why is Onazi being blamed for the second goal?

Which Players are supposed to be the last backline when you are on the offensive? The CBs or the DM?

Nobody is even blaming Simon for losing the ball in such a cheap manner that led to the counter attack.

You do have a point. As a coach I will look at the different possible approaches we can take and pick the one that would most likely work against the Cameroonians.

However we would need some physical and robust players to match their strengths. Especially in the African game, referees may permit some challenges as fair.

TheGoodJoe:
Nice points and smooth read cheers. My opinion in cases like these has always been simple. Come up with a strategy and select the best squad for it. I am also about playing to our strength. If we try matching Cameroon with strength, we will play into their hands. We have to go against them with speed both on and of the ball.

Defend as a unit and win the balls with tidy interceptions. This gives a picture of what we need and we can sort the players that suit it.

Probably a false nine formation to keep the striker away from the huge defenders of South Africa. We need to keep the ball moving and our players will not need to dwell on the ball.

Strategy - selection - tactics.

Yes we need players that love to play for Nigeria. Because when problems come players are the first that can be affected psychologically. Well the game at hand is Cameroon. Many of us will resume the arguments once again as regards player selection. In football, 1+1 is hardly 2. Which is why we have to take every situation differently. We lost the South Africa game for many reasons than one or just two. I'm really hoping that Rohr will be more tactical going forward. And will do LOTS of studying the opponent.

I just watched the Senegal-Nigeria friendly again, because I think that match is one we have to look at in planning to play Cameroon. Football is a science. Your best players will not necessarily play well in every match they feature. Cameroon is a very physical side. they are big and also robust. They can convert half chances in forwards like Vincent Abubakar. Why your favorite player could be very good in his own right, he may be reduced to nothing against an opponent like Cameroon.

I think we have put so much weight on players like Iheanacho and Iwobi prematurely. Let's be realistic to realize that these players have not FULLY established themselves in Europe with lots of TOP games under their belt. While they have a very bright future, they are not reliable starters especially against Cameroon.

Let's continue the debate constructively with our next opponent in mind devoid of favoritism.

TheGoodJoe:

Yes. What some of this men complain as being maltreated is something that comes normal with the team. Remember during the CHAN Oliseh handled and he had to use his own money to feed the team during the competition. When Peterside Idah visited the team, Oliseh asked him for money for the team.

These guys sacrifice. We do not have a healthy football system. That is why the likes of Okwaraji, Keshi and co. are seen as more than footballers. Remember Siasia meeting Odili and Alameiseigha to raise money for the U20 team. If the players start listing the sacrifices they go through to wear our jersey, you will shiver.

In America, the Olympic team got stranded after a buglar stole Siasia's credit cards. That was before the arrival of Mikel. Is it selection challenges? Martins was on fire, Yakubu was missing and Martins will still jump at an opportunity to play. Even after Keshi refused to call him, Martins still wanted to play.

I hope Aluko gets a call up. The Super Eagles will benefit from his talent. I am just pointing out that the reality on ground needs players that will sacrifice a lot for the team.

Again there is NOTHING the Nigerian government protects like an egg. Nothing that can be a national pride. Even the new stadium in Abuja have to be revisited for repair. Why can't it be kept as a thing of pride always?

BascoVanVeli:
Nigeria to move venue, date for WCQ


2:42 AM PT
Colin Udoh, KweséESPN

Nigeria are considering a change to both the date and venue for their 2019 World Cup qualifier against Cameroon, originally scheduled for the Godswill Akpabio Stadium Uyo in August.

Top NFF sources informed KweseESPN that the match could now be played on 1 September, rather than the initial scheduled date of 28 August.

One reason, according to multiple sources within the NFF, is to allow coach Gernot Rohr a little more training time with his squad.

With the change in date also comes a change in venue, with Uyo on the verge of being discarded.

Officials say the Yakubu Gowon Stadium in Port Harcourt is top on the list of replacement venues, with the National Stadium Abuja as a fallback option.

The pitch in Abuja has fallen into disrepair, but repair work is already going on with Lansard Ltd doing clean up while waiting for major rejuvenation for the now patchwork grass.

And as they say, the rest is history...

Nigeria is a failed state. Football is our only hope. And if nothing comes up of this new generation of players expected to be the next golden generation then there is absolutely NOTHING to be proud of being a Nigerian.

Daninya11:
Hehehe..

Calm down sir..

He has given coach rohr his 100% support na

Nigeria is a failed state. Football is our only hope. And if nothing comes up of this new generation of players expected to be the next golden generation then there is absolutely NOTHING to be proud of being a Nigerian.

Daninya11:
Hehehe..

Calm down sir..

He has given coach rohr his 100% support na

Is this Dalung guy still one of the ministers? I'm no longer a Nigerian.

Daninya11:
Sports minister has given the NFF technical committee his 100% percent support.

Coach Rohr has to comply with their recommendations.

Funny enough. We are looking for pure 9. We are looking for a right full back. we are looking for a left fullback. tomorrow we will be looking for a keeper. Are you saying South Africa has it complete?
You can never win all matches. You are bound to lose at some point. But that should make the team stronger going forward. Nigerians need to chill. And this vetting players idea will cause more complications. History repeats itself but we never learn.

Seriously if our football fails there is nothing to be proud of being Nigeria. I repeat, NOTHING.

That's untrue. It can even happen in a World Cup

Modified.
They beat France in 2010 World Cup. And they have not been sleeping since then. Their league is highly commercial and their players don't go to Europe like ours. We dismiss other countries while they are quickly catching up with us. Now they are better. What they did in Uyo last week they almost did before in Uyo. Don't you see the progression?

somehow:
Was trying to be modest hence the "might", we all know it won't happen in any competive match.

That's ur term so answer.

somehow:
Who's a certified 9?

Okay who played the certified 9 when we were winning? And what did the person do? I agree that all modern forwards can play 9, although they may not be your ideal 9. But you are not a coach.

Modified.
In fact you are just somehow lol

somehow:
Just as he used Fabrigas as a 9, i guess that makes Fabrigas a 9?

He even used Pedro as a 9, Pedro must be a 9 too

Or maybe Sanchez is a 9 too afterall he was used as one before by Arsene Wenger and also Pep.

Before club football and senior national team games, what was his position and what position made him so popular and allowed him score and have ALOT of ASSIST?

please think wide my brother. shallow box thinking isn't healthy.

In your words "might". So the question is already dead.

somehow:
No matter how well SA studies or watch the clips of teams like Germany, Brazil, Argentina et.c, they might not be able to best any of these countries, why? Tell me

That's our arrogance. Truth is you have to study your opponents as well. SA did just that. They didn't let us play our game. No wonder our ex-SE players can't really explain what happened.

Go pages back and you will see what I said about the South Africans style, but we were all busy focusing on the individual strengths of the players and who should start.

.

somehow:
SA played well because we played poorly, no more, no less, the better side always win most of the time. we hailed them when they were winning and sang their song, so why shouldnt they be rebuked when they do wrong? He's a good player nonetheless, i didn't say otherwise. infact i reminded the house how efficient he was playing as a SS during his youth career. what's good is good and whats bad is bad. no asslicking here.

He's a starting 11 because we don't have a better replacement (tested) for him so far, if we were spoilt with options (strikers) like before, he won't even be in there which you know. the job is now in the hands of the coaching crew to find solution to our attacking prowess.

Spoken very correctly. Let's all study how other geo-political zones reacted to the Arewa youths call against the Igbos in the North. If Nigeir will break up it will happen in pieces.

Mujtahida:
Ohhhhhh if you going to make analogies make correct ones. Soviet union was a political union of countries in eastern Europe. Before the Russian revolution of 1917 those countries Russia, Hungary, Ukraine, Romania, Bulgaria, Yugoslavia etc existed as nation States. After the collapse of the Soviet political union they reverted back to their former Pre 1917 States.
Ottoman empire was not a Nation.

It was an empire built by the Ottoman dynasty of Turkey and when it dissolved Turkey still remained a nation just like Rome/Italy to the Roman empire, or the UK to the British Empire.

Only Yugoslavia comes close but not quite because the former Yugoslavia was not made up of more than 250 ethnic groups.

In any case I am not saying we should remain as one. I am only saying we will MOST LIKELY break into pieces

We want to lambaste our players. Can we pause a bit and give credits to the South African team. Even if we had all the players you are clamoring for on that day we would still have had it rough.

I repeat know the strengths of your players and play to each other's strengths as a team. Just because Iheanacho is not that kind of forward does not reduce his quality.

I think our argument now should center more on who can be the perfect partners up front? Iheanacho remains a starting material. We just need to get this issue right.

somehow:
Yes the team did wrong and HE as a sole person did wrong too!

Hope you read what he said with his own mouth? whether they fed you balls or not, a serious minded striker will surely go hustle for his ball if truly he wants to leave a mark. (ditto Suarez, Aguero, G. Jesus e.t.c) Not having a clear sight on goal is another negative addition to his bad game on saturday.

All in all, maybe Ideye (calling on him cos i don't think we have any other big striker that can act both as a CF and SS currently) can help him perform better against Cameroon if the coach is to go with Iheanacho in the starting 11.

The team did wrong. We didn't play as a team. Iheanacho is a quality forward. But he is not in the mold of Aghahowa for example who scores most of his goals by individual effort. Emenike is another example of that kind of striker who can single highhandedly create and score. Kelechi on his part needs to have a clear sight at goal or be set up by a team mate. We need to play according to the strengths of our players. When there is that kind of understanding, we will have team work. Baxter said his boys will play for each other. Their secret was revealed even before the match.

MODIFIED
Kelechi did not have a clear sight at goal. No thanks to the organized SA team. Neither was he well set up by his teammates.

somehow:
Not disputing his goals, rather disputing the asslicking that he did no wrong on Saturday.

clear difference!

Exactly my position which is why I never join issues in these debates. Because most of the time it's not constructive. And by constructive I mean how we all can come together and save Nigeria from the cabals. These are the people who recycle themselves and come to power again, all in the name of different political parties. And we deceive ourselves fighting tribe vs tribe. jona versus buhari.. na staging.. distractions. Before the Arewa youths made that move against igbos in the North they already had a backing politically. This is how they get us to fight tribal wars and distract us from really focusing on them.

Let's fight the real fight.

Mujtahida:
That is my perspective too. We have one common enemy: all our politicians irrespective of tribe or religion.

One more thing please don't call them masses. That's a disempowering word. Call them people. That way you recognise their dignity as human beings. We are not the masses. We are the PEOPLE.

Well I understand. But we can't still tell how things will eventually pan out for Solanke at Liverpool.

komekn:
Explain to me why that information is irrelevant according to you.

For instance the coaches in Everton and Liverpool have different emphasis and football strategy including structure. This is quite obvious when you watch them in training add to that when you ask the coaches what they are trying to achieve.

If I take player to a club without telling him what the philosophy, emphasis and strategy is, I would not be helping at all.

It's from that perspective of let's say price somewhat insider knowledge. It's in this regard I would have a better insight than someone who just watched the game on TV.

I await your answer without prejudice.

Okay I get it. My mistake. i'm sorry

achimotan:
You are not being fair to him. Take your time and read what he wrote again



Asamoah Gyan scored his 50th goal for Ghana yesterday. Meanwhile, our own top scorer of all time who is late(RIP) had only 37 goals..
Seriously after Yekini,Yakubu was the best striker the super eagles ever had.. He could have broken Yekini record if only Nigerians had forgiven him after that miss at South Africa 2010. Even Kanu himself with all the hype and glory(no disrespect) only managed 13 goals in 86 appearances for the eagles.Ahmed Musa self has 13 goals in over 60 appearance. That's pitiful.
maybe Iheanacho can br our own Asamoah Gyan, but he won't do it while playing as a lone striker!

Loyal fans remember the good times. Iheanacho remains our leading goalscorer under Rohr. Let's cut him a slack. But I maintain that game was lost in the midfield. Akpeyi probably should have stopped the first goal with better reflexes. Let's throw our weight behind the team. One thing I've learned in life is to assume responsibility even when I am not wrong. It is professional for Iheanacho to blame himself. It's also professional for Mikel to say the team can do well with or without him. That's a sign of maturity and humility.

somehow:
His asslicking is outta this world!

can defend iheanacho that he never said all these self.

to even say iheanacho is a certified 9 killed the whole seriousness i had discussing with him.

Read your post again. You wrote, "our own Asamoah Gyan", which is why I assumed you were Ghanaian.

Danielnino00:
Are you thinking am a Ghanaian??
Seriously, somebody can't make reference to another country without being tagged a citizen of that country .
Am a full blooded Nigerian sir,am just saying we lack a proper striker,and Ghana got a reliable one. Rohr should utilize Iheanacho were he is more useful