₦airaland Forum

I don't think England will just cap them. Don't forget England with their colonialist mindset know perfectly how to brainwash these kids into believing they have a great future with The Three Lions. We must take this news seriously

Humility017:
thanks Sir
good to know we share same thought on this issue...
the truth is...should they opt to start capping these lads unnecessarily just to keep them out of Nigeria reach.. they will end up frustrating some of these guys as many will only manage 1 or 2 caps all through their professional career like fashanu...with time these evil deeds will be visible to all and be a lesson for the upcoming ones to learn from...

I bet you one thing that makes the lads love play in Nigeria... is the sense of belonging they get here...the love and the no discrimination showed to them...iwobi himself said this

coaches see different things.
Don't forget Manu Garba dropped Etebo. However Etebo was one of Siasia's best.
I believe no player in the NPFL is as polished as their foreign counterpart. But some of them are diamonds in the rough.

tbaba1234:
““No player in the NPFL is good enough for the Super Eagles at the moment”, Yusuf said, after he was asked why there were no [outfield] locally based player in the latest [current] national team selection”, he told Lagos Talks 91.3Fm.

Source: owngoalnigeria.com

No you don't get me. By Grade A i'm not speaking about African oppositions. I'm thinking way ahead although it may be too early. Just because we beat a physical Cameroon home and away does not mean we can challenge Argentina (for example). Take note that Rohr have been thinking of big physical players in our set up to challenge Cameroon. I'm thinking match-ups. And as soon as we are done with the qualifiers the dynamics changes a great deal. I don't know what you guys are aiming for. Personally i want to see Nigeria in the final game in Russia. Then it is possible we can win the cup. I don't think it is a mere dream, which is why we have to go all the way in making sure we get our best players, and doing everything right. OTHER COUNTRIES ARE NOT SLEEPING. An awkward tackle from Balogun can send us out of the world cup easily. Let's see our players make some mistakes that can be corrected ahead of time. That's what friendlies are for. Personally, I rather have us lose all our friendlies against the best teams in the world so we can fix something we otherwise won't have seen.

Icon4s:
Hahahaha! You have just help me with that valid point: We played a Grade 'A' friendly against Senegal to help us prepare against Cameroun.

You write mock exam to prepare you for the actual exam right? So which is the bigger test? The mock exam or the actual exam itself?

Okay let me give you an example. Why did we play Senegal? was it not to measure our strengths tactically to prepare us for Cameroon. AFCON and World Cup are two different things. In fact I would rather have us not qualify for AFCON again and again, if that would mean going to the world cup every time. The dynamics in tackling big teams at the global stage is totally different. We also have to prepare for that challenge. Grade A friendlies is not a true test, but its far better than rating ourselves highly just because we beat Cameroon home and away (I hope we do).

Icon4s:
See my brother, no Grade A friendly can be as testing as playing Cameroun in Uyo and 4 days later playing them in Younde. Also playing Zambia in Uyo and going to face Algeria in Blida.

These 4 fixtures are tougher than so many WC games already. Friendlies are what they are: 'friendlies'. These these 4 WC qualifiers battles are what they are: 'Battles'.

I am not ruling out friendlies but what IMO opinion will toughen that defense more are those 4 WC qualifying battles including the games against SA.

Well the qualifiers, yes and No. While international friendlies may not be a true test, it adds another dimension to their experience. I always like to ask, what will give us an edge over other teams? If we do the average, we should not expect big results in the long term. Most teams are also in the qualifying round and they will be working on building a cohesive unit as well. Hence, we should always be on the look for better players.

Icon4s:
This is what u were supposed to say all along.

They are best option for now.

That's why i earlier said we need to continue playing them to attain cohesion. Not only Grade A international friendlies. These our WC qualifying group games are even more testing than international friendlies.

We simply dont have experienced defenders. But we should build the team with that in mind -- Hence, grade A friendlies. Inexperienced forwards can score against big teams. But you need experienced and well tested defenders to protect the lead, because Big teams are highly tactical and come up with different tricks when down.

goldfish80:
I have studied teams who have made it to the later stages of the world cup in the last 8years and I came to the conclusion that you need experience in the heart of the defence.
That diamond that is the Gk, CBs and Dm is the most important unit in a championship winning side.
This unit could have been solidified if we had played a major tournament since 2014. Unfortunately we haven't and this is a little bit of a handicap. Its not about the personel but about the unit.




Talking about Chidi Nwanu, you do realise we had an experienced Rufai in goal, Okechukwu and Sunday Olise. It is not am unstable unit at all.

Most people do not realise, we had a great chance of winning the world cup in 1994.

Our defence shipping in 2 goals after we had gone 1 goal up, against a 10 man Italian team was a huge let down.
Imagine the scenario if we had won that game, we would have played an underachieving Spanish team in the quarter finals. The same Spaniards we won in 1998 with a below ebb squad.
In the semi finals, we would have faced our side kicks, Bulgaria. The same Bulgarian team we won 3:0 in the first game.
In the finals, we could have faced Brazil. The same Brazilian team a squad of part timers that was the USA held to a goalless draw.

how far did Senegal go? How far did Nigeria go at the World Cup? You seem not to get my point.. maybe you need to read my comment again.

Icon4s:
Keshi's defense to 2014 WC how many had previous WC experience?

The Senegal team that reached the 2002 WC Quarter final, how many had WC experience?

my last words says "PARTLY experience". Same reason why you said we would have probably beaten Italy. At least you get my point.

tglobal:
Not discounting experience in any way. Just stating that having a competition specific experience is not more important than the quality of the teams paraded.

Your last line however suggests that world cup winning experience is the reason only a few teams have been winning the world cup. I don't agree with that as none of the winning players since that same 1998 had ever played in a world cup winning team before their triumphs.

I agree that experience is valuable, but only when form is present. I also accept that we would probably have beaten Italy with more experience on our side

You can't buy experience.. it comes with time.. For now they look like our best option. Grade A international friendlies will be very helpful.

Icon4s:
Yeah, experience at that stage will help the team.

But you cannot tell me matured players like Balogun and Ekong cannot cope with the demands of the WC by next yr. If so then why are wasting time building the defense around them? We should flush them out of the team then.

big stage get grade oh

Icon4s:
God bless you my sister. That was also Ambrose's And Onazi's first AFCON.

When a player attains a certain level of experience he finds it easier to cope at the big stage.

Experience will come to bear especially in the later stages of the World Cup. Can the inexperienced stand the occasion and the tension that the play off stage brings in a competition of that magnitude? Until France hosted and won the world cup in 98, it has been the usual winners that win it again and again. Reason -- partly experience.

tglobal:
@goldfish, Chidi Nwanu didn't have AFCON experience before USA 94 neither did Taribo in 98

Like safarigirl pointed out, our AFCON winning CB pair didn't even have a lot of national team experience before the tournament and we are not even going to win the world cup next year anyway.

Regarding the bolded, 23 or the 24 teams in the tournament came up short. Nigeria had one of the best defenses at the stage we went out of the competition and they kept out the bulgarian attacking force. Our vulnerability was set pieces which was responsible of for 3 of the 4 goals we conceded!

#SuperEagles Radar: Ndidi Score Cracker. Simon, Onyekuru Fire Brace. Etebo Too. Agbo and Ekong See Red
Add Comment14 hours agoby Bryan Efe100 Views
Wilfred NdidiDailyMail
Ndidi celebrate after scoring 22-meter stunner against Stoke City
Share:
FacebookTwitterGoogle

SPOTKIK TEAM OF THE WEEK (APR ’17 WEEK 1)



AUSTRIA (ROUND 27)

Austria Vienna 0-2 Admira
Austria Vienna continued their recent poor form by losing at home to Admira. They had suffered a humiliating loss away to leaders Salzburg penultimate weekend. Olarenwaju Kayode, fresh from international duty failed to put the homers in the score-sheet.

BELGIUM
(Championship Group ROUND 1)

The Championship Group is a mini league format reserved for the top six placed teams, after 30 round of matches in the Jupiler League. The six clubs engage themselves home and away once again, continuing from HALF of the accumulated points (rounded to the nearest integer) they garnered from the regular season. The eventual winners of this mini league will get the sole automatic spot to represent Belgium in the UEFA Champions League next year. The runner up gets the ticket for the UEFA Champions League qualification round. This year, three of the top six clubs that made the the Belgian championship group are represented by at least one Nigerian player. Here is a review of their performances:

http://spotkik.com/2017/04/04/supereagles-radar-ndidi-score-cracker-moses-onyekuru-fire-brace-agbo-and-ekong-see-red/

Hopefully Conte gives him a chance next season. We need him to further develop.

goldfish80:
I think that's the reason Rohr have been calling for Enyeama. He would have brought a fine balance to the CBs.
Omeruo is a key man in the defence. It will take an unrealistic fellow to write him off.

Yes I realized that lol

Icon4s:
We are saying the same thing then.

That wasn't my point. I was talking about the long run if that means Russia 2018 proper. For the qualifiers, if Ola Aina can make his way into the team, why not Idowu if he can prove he is better than Echiejile? I think Rohr's mentality is to keep on building.. Not saying any newbie will just displace the regulars. The likes of Echiejile will keep their place for the meantime not because they are the best option but because they have been dependable. You don't change a winning team too soon.

Icon4s:
No be matter of manage Super Eagles. The guy was worried abt LB options.

The fact is from the available LB players we have now. Both home and abroad Echiejile is the best option.

Or can u suggest for us a player u would feel comfortable to field as LB against SA and Cameroun.

I am talking in the light of the available players we have presently.

If u think Rohr is gonna field any debutant LB in any of our next 3 games then u are on a long thing.

gbam!

TheGoodJoe:
There is always room at the top. We must continue an aggressive search for better players in every role and not replacements or second fiddle.

Be like say na manage manage SE you go like make Rohr build oh. Though it may be too early, I'm already thinking Brazil. Not playing Brazil but i'm talking about standard wise. I'm sorry Echiejile is not good enough. We are not looking for a back up, but a better option. This is also applicable to the RB and Central Defense.

That reminds me. Rohr said he has a good feeling, he wants to raise a team than can beat any team in the world.

Icon4s:
Chairman, we dnt have issues with our LB IMHO. Echiejile is there.

When Iroha was the LB boss who were the other options? When it was Babayaro who were the other options? When it was Taiwo who were the other options?

Lets not make the mistakes of the more recent past that we were focusing more on 'the other options' rather than focusing on how to maximise the abilities of the main player. Oliseh fielding Onobi ahead of Mikel, all in a bid to create an option for Mikel, comes to mind.

If Echiejile is not in the team for any reason, we have tried Madu and Amuzie in that position before and heaven did not fall. Echiejile is nt too far better than those 2 IMO.

As for Torunarigha and Uduokhai I cant rate them yet for very obvious reasons. Though they may be good additions to the squad if invited.

Our next 3 games for the Super Eagles are very very crucial. Echiejile is first choice. Madu is 2nd. I dnt see Rohr parading any debutant in that LB position for any of those 3 games.

Let's compare Simon to Musa (on his best day).
Think about this.

How about we just focus on current form. Hence, I agree with you

tbaba1234:
Why not? Moses spent half a season in Gent in his first year and was a major factor in their title win.

Onyekuru has taken a newly promoted side and almost singlehandedly saved them from relegation, comfortably.

The level of competition is the same.

Onyekuru has a higher goal rate of 0.5 compared to Simon Moses (in his first season) 0.411
Simon moses had a slightly higher assist ratio of 0.235 to Onyekuru 0.219

Simon Moses form has drastically fallen from his first year.

At this point, Onyekuru is performing better.. Let us see the progress in the coming season.

very true

Icon4s:
Emmm.. the comparison u are making between Okon and Mustapha is that of comparing a player at U17 and another player at U20. That is nt a fair comparison.

For eg, the Musa Yahaya of U17 and the Musa Yahaya of U20 who seemed better?

The Iheanacho of U17 and Iheanacho of U20 who was better.

What Chidi Nwakali of U17 vs Chidi Nwakali of U20?

The thing is the competition at U20 is far more than U17. Most exceptional players at U17 become average at U20.

You need to close that gap in the team by introducing some professional 19 and 20 yrs olds in the team.

I had always said that the U17 is for cadet or academy players while the U20 is for young professionals. Players with mostly 2 to 3 seasons of professional football. And nt for academy players.

I personally thought Edwin Okon was better than Mustapha Abdullahi. Okon reminded me of Babayaro at UAE. He joined Akwa United after the U17 WC. Chigozie Obasi never signed with Deportivo. There were also rumors about a Bastia move at the time..

Lazarus.. I dont know.. Have you asked about Makanjuola Habeeb? Still with Chelsea?

I think Manu Garba did the right thing. But some of these forgotten players we have mentioned may topple others eventually. It's just too early to say.

Icon4s:
Exactly.

I have always maintained that football development is not arithmetic. Some players development is in multiples, some +vely arithmetically progress while some will even regress.

MOST players after U17 do not progress well.

It would be a big error to assume that all graduates of U17 will keep improving. There are some players you will not jst hear them names any where again.

For instance I asked a question yesterday: WHERE IS JOHN LAZARUS? No answers yet.

What of Chigozie Obasi or Edwin Okon?

Why didnt Manu promote those two along with the others?

But Amuneke promoted all his players.

I will not buy that argument that what if all of them have progressed to be U20 materials.

I have been long enough in this game to know that that is very unlikely.

That's football for you. Development and other factors is crucial. Look at Brazil at the U17. Look at Brazil again at the U20s. Some stars in the U17 disappear never to return. Remember Sinama Pongole of France? So Muazam now may not be as good as Iheanacho, and may never reach his level even when he moves to Europe. Take note I said MAY. Rating him higher at U17 does not mean he will be a better player eventually. The likes of Onyekuru didnt pass our youth system, but MAY end up getting a higher rating than Iheanacho. Let's keep our fingers crossed and watch them play through their 20s.

Icon4s:
Prio to the CAF U17 I also rated this guy including Benerd Bulbwa ahead of Iheanacho.

Iheanacho was warming the bench when this Al-Hassan and Bulbwa were running things in that team. Awoniyi was initially the main CF before Success broke in.

Another player I rated and still rate highly is Ifeanyi Mathew. Complete baller.

That selection process is suspect

Icon4s:
TheGoodJoe said he called over 600 players to an open camp and yet only one new player joined the first team from among the 600.

Well Amuneke should take the blame. Plus he should have considered other boys that were not part of his former U17 set up

Icon4s:
Amuneke and his boys needed to have consulted from Siasia and his boys on how they did it when they were not being properly catered for en-route qualification for the 2005 AYC. Amuneke's boys were not mentally matured. They lacked the Nigerian spirit. Period.

I think it's a combination of factors. Our boys are used to that terrain. However, Amuneke should have instructed them to change tactics. Overall, they came into that game already at a disadvantage psychologically.

tbaba1234:
Most of those boys were amateurs. Pros worry about pitch not amateurs. The pitch had no bearing on their performance, they were just not prepared mentally for the game. All other excuses are void.

Rotational policy na. U know sef. But did not feature in Europe I think

Icon4s:
Yeah.

He is goal-bound..lol

goldfish80:
Etebor scored? Or he's playing in goal?

Since after his loan spell?

Icon4s:
Have you been following his club performance in the last 6months?

The Championship Group format employed in the Jupiler League is a nice format I think NPFL should adopt to determine the league champions.
The top 6 teams play each other again, but without resetting the points they had garnered.

He's been pretty good at the qualifiers though. Solid in Rio

Icon4s:
His overall game play. Including the Super Eagles. Nt jst bc of this red card incidence.

Are you saying that because of the red, or his overall game play?
Troost has been steady for SE.

Icon4s:
Troost Ekong.

His game has nt been impressive of late.
He was never a first teamer both under Keshi and Oliseh. Rio catapulted him.

Hmmmm... I remember the debate we had abt him and Omeruo. Who is better.

We need to reopen that discussion. Jst thinking.

it's been a while we've seen those kind of crosses in SE play. Reminiscent of Finidi George.

TheSuperNerd:
That Kalu is very good.... I mean very very good... ofcos he still has weaknesses but that can be worked on with time. He is just 18 or 19 I think.


Good To see Him and Simon Moses combining nicely...

lovely assist..
Kalu is an SE material already

tbaba123456:
Golazo by Simon Moses, Assist by Samuel Kalu