₦airaland Forum

elyte89:
No b adingra almost kill our defense …d guy is just a 22year old…I am sure if u were d coach, u wouldn’t av started him cos he’s too young

There is no basis for comparison with Ebenezer and Eletu.

Simon Adingra has had a very quick rise , a reflection of outstanding ability and talent.

From "Right to Dream Academy" in Ghana in 2020 to Danish league first debut in April 2021 within months he was bought by Brighton and Hove on a 4 year contract.

2023/24 he has played 17 games in the EPL and scored 4 goals with several assists. He was on loan at Union SG from Brighton &Hove but didn't stay long before introduced into the EPL.

This boy didn't spend years trying to prove his quality from club to club or obscure leagues. He was given MOTM against us and best young player of the AFCON.

TheGoodJoe:
Also, you are off tangent in your comparison. Onyedika is a Defensive midfielder/Deep lying playmaker while Ejaria is a winger/creative midfielder. You can't compare their playing patterns especially when it comes to dribbling styles. That is why they play different roles.

First of all I said Ejaria is no longer a prospect until he gets his club sorted out and proves that he is good enough.

Ovie has played DM but predominantly left sided midfield and AM. Just like Olise played AM in Reading FC But he is an appendage to the discussion him and Tega Onomah.

I expected you to talk about Tim Iroegbunam who is a clear prospect.

TheGoodJoe:
Now you are jumping to competitive league. Onyedika has played in the Champions League multiple times. He is a good player.

That's of little significance unless he was outstanding anf exceptional. And if he was a much better team would have bought him by now.

When Newcastle was beaten last year by Sheffield Wednesday from league one in the FA Cup. Did that make all the players automatically top quality.

In that team were 4 Nigerian origin players.

Joebie:
Onyedika when never play for England u dey follow komekn argue.

The Onyedika I saw in AFCON was pretty solid

You are reiterating what I said.

An immobile very strong solid brick 🧱 wall. He is not technically astute and or skilful, he is just bang average and not exceptional.

I want exceptional players for the SE it's time to upgrade.

TheGoodJoe:
Sorry but the bolded is far from the truth. It is clear you have never watched Raphael Onyedika. Try to watch his games. His is a quality player and opposite of what you posted.

He is fast. He is skillful. Very skillful for that matter. He is gifted in the short possession play. A tidy short passer. Good for combination build up plays. He is also gifted in delivering long balls and switching play.

Onyedika is also tenacious, a good defender. Also good at box to box runs too.

When it comes to DM/CDM role, it is criminal to start Iwobi ahead of Onyedika in that role.

Watch this clip to have an idea about what Raphael Onyedika offers.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZFtPDuhVzWs

I'm not a fan of multiple games in one clip it can be easily contrived and the player looks a lot better than he his.

I didn't see any outstanding skill or technical ability, I did not see any speed, not sure what league that is but it's not intense or fast, or particularly physical. And so he looks good somewhat, but put him in a more competitive league and he then fizzles out into obscurity. I did not see ANYTHING l can describe as VERY SKILLFUL

But let me post my forgotten and dismissed players in my opinion not good enough or in form to be in the SE.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0T6SHD4OZ3E?si=C2IG-YgpsZI9e7Aq


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-E9DQ8xnM7o?si=5BR4M-7zLdS7_OO8

I can without a shadow of doubt or question describe Ovie as being very skilful.

Now on to Tega Onomah not good enough currently to smell the SE. And he doesn't out of pride even have a club by right now.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v5jtm9hH91k?si=0Txvo863I9ZbPJTQ

And finally someone who I think should be in the SE , that's Tim Iroegbunam. I will put in clips of individual games .


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ClTdl1Wg958?si=GmPmPWELiq7FQiuQ


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qc3MOMCmXAA?si=hFHPw7yr5AgHy_wS

Kog45:
Eletu and Akinsanmiro don't need monitoring again but invitation cuz if care is not taken we are not qualifying for WC with our style of play due to poor midfield,losing possession easily in the middle is dangerous.....we need to solve this ASAP.

Three big disappointments for me among Nigerian origin players were in midfield were :

Oviemuno Ejaria - Petulant ,moody, indisciplined and insubordinate. Are issue's that have truncated his career. But ability undoubted.

Tega Onomah - Pride and lack of diligence too much money too early he has earned near £8millon. And feels too big to drop to certain teams or even go abroad.

Fred Onyedinma - Good kid , wrong career decisions and now way too injury prone. Getting lost in the Championship with Rotherham.

Philosopher1979:
It is only Tim Iroegbunam, David Ikechukwu Ozo and Dele bashiru that are accessible
As per dele bashiru he is already playing for us.
Forget carney chukquemeka and ethan nwaneri.

Also, the two of victor eletu and ebenezer akinsanmiro should be monitored

Nothing to monitor,when they break into the first team and perform, it will be there for all to see.

Do you know how many Nigerian origin teenager are in EPL and Championship academies just way to many to count. I am talking hundreds not 30 or 50.

Nwaneri and Chukwuemeka are up there but there are too many top level England midfielders. And there is no guarantee they can get in.

Look at Kobbie Mainoo Manchester United, 18 years old and first name on the team sheet. Dude is exceptional playing like he has been in the EPL for 10 years. I see him getting capped asap the England players are getting younger.

Don't forget Jude Bellingham at 16 he had played 40+ games in the Championship. Dortmund hurriedly paid £25 million for a 16 year old. Now destroying La Liga with Real Madrid.

So the talent pool in England is massive , there is one Nigerian origin 14 year old at Everton already playing U18's.

Blueelf:
Okay Komekn, I want to ask you a honest question

Could you please name 5 Central Midfielder that you think could help with the National Team that are not currently in the Set up Sir

I am actually curious to hear from you on this. ANd please, this is not a mischievous question and I have no ulterior motive behind it

Thanks

Tim Iroegbunam Aston Villa
Chukwuemeka Carney Chelsea
Ethan Nwaneri Arsenal
Fisayo Dele-Bashiru Hatayspor
David Ikechukwu Ozoh. Crystal palace

kingphilip:
Lookman own low o.

Abeg make big teams come for am make him begin earn better money.

He probably gets bonus for goals scored and has been Atalanta top goal scorer.

Joezinho:
7 games , 1 goal as a striker is good? 😊

Do you want them to come hunting for you with guns and knives.

For the player who can do no wrong.

charlesemeka85:
Orban is not even a midfielder let alone being an AM

Many pple here no dey watch ball but dem be any side wey belle face 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

Agreed without question

Amedino99:
this is not the dark ages you don't need an AM to control the game anymore. we didn't use any AM in the whole tournament and we created better chances than everyone else. Orban is a striker and should be used as a striker. He has never even played as an AM before so why forcing him to do what he has never done before.

Thank you

Dsimmer:
I haven't seen enough of Onyedika to make my opinion on him. I know he's not a playmaker but If he can read his position quite well, as well as be able to provide passing option for the defence while building up the play from the defence. He could be decent if he could do that. He would only need a playmaker beside him who would take it from there.

We have agreed that one dimensional players with just one main skill set are essentially obsolete in the modern game.

Sometimes it takes just 15 minutes to see the core skill sets of a player.

Onyedika is immobile, not particularly fast ,not skilful and with limited technical ability. Strong and physical a big yes.

He doesn't have the attributes for a top level DM Holding Midfielder that can defend attack and orchestrate play from the midfield.

We need to look elsewhere.

mostob:
And for those who said Iwobi can retire that you have midfielders that will replace him. I just wan remind you say Kingsley Iniesta Sokari still dey play ball o. Nwobodo, Ajagun and Dem Haruna Ishola are still pro. We gotta start singing for their invitation.

Where do they play ? League and club

ThunderFireAgba:
Let's pray Gift Orban resolves his issues with FIFA then you will see what an AM supposed to be like!
Very agile, controls the game, strong on his feet and even scores.

Dude you at gassing it.

He had not done anything yet and you are giving accolades.

zuchyblink:
Our midfield was flattened,I expected the Coach to convert to 3-5-2 with Yusuf,onyedika and onyeka as natural midfielders.
They were operating from midfield to the wings

Systems and formations are only as good as the players who play in them.

Yusuf,onyedika and onyeka any outstanding skill, technicality, 1,v1 dominance in these players.

Can you see any of them taking a shot from 30 yards and scoring,I DON'T.

ChrisKels:
Maduka Okoye made 6 saves “MOTM” and kept a clean sheet in Udinese's Serie A win over Juventus 🦅🇳🇬

Wow 😳 vereee 9iceee

Improving not remaining stagnant that's progression.

Dsimmer:
Holding midfield role has 2 different types. There are playmaking holding midfielders like Alonso, Kroos, Rodri, Busquet etc. While there are defensive holding midfielders such as Rice, Bissouma etc..

Generally, holding midfielders should have good awareness, ability to read the game, good positional discipline and ability to provide passing lane option for the defence in order to build/transition the play from the back defence. Their job isn't to run around.

On the other hand, the playmaking holding midfielders have got playmaking attributes such as good technique, much better awareness, ability to dictate the tempo of play etc, added with the aforementioned attributes already mentioned however they may not be as defensively solid as the defensive holding midfielders but they've equally got the ability to read the game and good positional discipline nonetheless as a holding midfielder.

We are saying the same thing essentially.

Modern top level DM can not be one dimensional.

All these attributes do you see them in Ndidi , Onyeka and Onyedika.❓

forgiveness:
Remove Rodri from Mancity and see him play his normal game. What you see is Pep style imposed on him.

Maybe so maybe not.

But I am talking about individual player abilities, in this regard can Ndidi, Onyeka and Onyedika to what Rodri can do ❓

minfelix:
with this statistics, nobody should come here again and hype one nonsense golden generation playing an 8team- Afcon tournament and getting beaten at almost all the final…imagine cameroon beating you in 3finals…abeg abeg mae una free iwobi and co, their predecessors were the main all time underachieving over-hype golden generation….Iwobi this Iwobi that.
intimidating young Nigerians playing their heart out for the nation…i follow Bafana Bafana page…see the massive support and how they rallied behind their players after that penalty loss to eagles…our own because Aina loss penalty some idiots have started talking him down….all these useless black smelling teeth analyst masquerading themselves as super eagles fans na God go punish ina…
Frustrate Okoye to quit eagles
Frustrated Vic Moses to quit eagles
Frustrated Ighalo to quit eagles
now they wanna frustrate Iwobi….walai if i be osimhen and any f**king blame comes to my page i will hire boys that will handle the page to give u guys the back to back vawulence and quit ina f**king eagles team…i love the response uzoho gave all those useless critics that period

The depths of hypocrisy, double standard and bigotry are unparalleled .

I have noticed that emotive favouritism and sentiment surrounding some players means they can do no wrong.

Let me say it , you can all call it HATE. VO played every single game and got one goal 🥅. Yes he pressed, yes he tackled and fought was relentless and worked himself to exhaustion. But he scores one goal missed several chances from good balls.

But not a word of criticism, only one goal in the AFCON from the African footballer of the year .

I watched the criticism given to IGHALO after all he had done. How is it we can have Musa in the squad who has done nothing for club and league but IGHALO forgotten.

The hypocrisy is beyond measure.

Omanambala:
I dont know why people go this extent to express their disappointment but I hope the coaches understand why. We need a proper midfielder

Like who ❓

AIG07:
I do not understand the rationale behind singling out players for blame in a team who played it all to the final.

Pointing fingers to one or two players is uncalled for.

The boys put in a great shift through out the tournaments and so must be encouraged going forward.

If I were to pin down the team's failure to lift the coveted trophy to anything. Then it has to be FATIGUE. The players were both physically and mentally tired. That was the sole reason we lost the match.

The entire team(first 11) were tired and worn out as at the semis. It reflected in the final match. There was no more gas in their tank from the 40th minutes. The midfield collapsed, the defense weren't helping and pressing from the front was non-existent.

Poor player rotation was partly responsible for this. CAF(the tournament organizers) made room for 27 players, we took 25 players to the tournament. Reason for this is unknown. We ran out of options the moment some players took their foot off the gas due to tiredness.

Going forward, I'll suggest top quality Physios and Psychologists be employed if not always, but during tournaments like this one.

Quality Recovery session can't be over emphasized and are very important to getting the best out of the team in the next game.

Iwobi should be spared of all this insults. Dude wasn't even on the pitch when we conceded the goal against SA and likewise the second goal against CIV. He has been unfairly criticized. I hope he recovers from this.

Gracias!

Agreed 💯%

What makes Manchester City so good is the strength and depth of squad.

In a grueling physically draining and intense two week tournament you need strength 💪🏿 of depth in your squad.

That means no favours no sentiment and absolutely no passengers. What's your engine 🚂 room, the midfield. What do you need creativity , innovation, physicality, skill and stamina. Player's need to hit the ground running.

I am shocked 😲 I didn't realise we had two slots not taken up that could have been filled. You must take the best available.

forgiveness:
The only playes left on my list are Onyedika and Zaidu. The rest should take a bow.

Onyedika is DMF and that's primary role. If you're looking for a defence splitting midfielder, take to Oliseh to play for Nigeria.

Let's talk about the DM and or holding midfielder role. That role is absolutely crucial, and it's the core strength and for many it's where things are orchestrated from.

Classic example is Rodri Spain and Manchester City. He can attack shoot long and short both feet, with an array of passes that are precise long and short. He can tackle, anticipate and intercept..He has the skill set to dominate in 1v 1 situation, his ball holding and ability to do defence splitting passes excellent he can dribble and is unpredictable. Add to that the ability to defend,
robustly and tackle aggressively.

What I've described is the modern day quintessential quality top level DM ( Holding Midfielder orchestrator)

Now tell me which of these attributes can be associated with Onyedika, Onyeka and Ndidi, who you want to build the team around.

A few informative screen shots to anchor ⚓ my opinion which is not just mine alone. See below

A system is only as good as the players you have playing it.

I think 🤔 you should have a rethink.

yinkeys:
Fatigue
Poor rotation by coach
Osimhen had nothing
Moffi & Iheanacho should have been used a lot more in this tournament
They couldn’t high press

Agreed without question

chrisooblog:
The two have a share of the blame more so JP cause he didn't do enough to scout for new midfielders. Nwabali that he discovered na fight cos left to him Uzoho would have been in goal.

Rohr for all his faults always tried bringing in and integrating fresh players.

I mean you took a player like Bruno and Raphael to a tournament and didn't give them minutes are they that bad?

I'm going to be controversial.

But NFF seem not to be looking for players as opposed to deals anchored ⚓ on self interest.

Nwaneri is 16 and played for Arsenal the othe day. How old was Iwobi when he played for the SE ( he had not played one game in the EPL)

There are several players who are good but not considered in Europe.

forgiveness:
We need to replace some players and bring in those that missed out due to injury and new players.

This is my own.

GK Francis Uzoho - Maduka Okoye
GK Olorunleke - Adebayo Adeleye
GK Stanley Nwabili
DF Ola Aina
DF Zaidu Sanusi
DF William Troost-Ekong
DF Semi Ajayi
DF Bright Osayi-Samuel
DF Bruno Onyemaechi - Patrick Dorgu
DF Chidozie Awaziem - Tosin Adarabioyo
DF Calvin Bassey
DF Kenneth Omeruo
MF Alhassan Yusuf
MF Joe Aribo - Micheal Olise
MF Moses Simon
MF Alex Iwobi
MF Raphael Onyedika - Wilfred Ndidi
FW Ahmed Musa - Nathan Tella
FW Victor Osimhen
FW Samuel Chukwueze
FW Kelechi Iheanacho
FW Ademola Lookma
FW Paul Onuachu - Taiwo Awoniyi
FW Terem Moffi - Victor Boniface

I can't remember another for now. If you can, please drop and show me who you want to drop.

Terem was not given any opportunity to show what he can do , he should be aggrieved. We had the opportunity to go 4-4-2 with VO and Moffi, but we opted for a negative defensive posture.

Aribo not really sure what he is midfielder or winger or what in the team ❓

Zaidu runs and has a natural left foot, what else ❓ He has zero end product and lack composure. I know the dogs abuse I got when I said he was poor. I said that about 3 years ago.

Onyedika is a very big strong and powerful brick 🧱 wall very immobile can he open up defences with clever passing and 1V1 dominance,a big NO.

It seems Onyemaechi was there for decoration, the same goes for Awaziem, Musa ( motivational speaker)
Omeruo old time sake, KC was never match fit for a
gruelling AFCON and had not been in form for ages.

Onuachu is an appendage it seems or a big tree 🌴 to lump the ball to when VO is exhausted. That's not very positive.

Alhassan is that player who does everything but is not good at anything. He huffs and he puffs but never blows the house 🏠 down. Very limited creativity, no physicality, nothing outstanding. That in itself is the problem, we need invention, creativity, and dominance. Alhassan promises but cannot deliver.

So what do we do ❓

We have to get quality players start early engage communicate and relate well before they BLOW 🌬️

akwesenana:
Do you think Joe Aribo merits further call ups?

No

chrisooblog:
We over achieved. We don't have the best set of players on the continent.

Yes we are blessed in some areas like the attack but let's not be dishonest going into the competition we complained about how poor our goalkeeping, defense and midfield was.

So don't make it sound like we were run away favorites.

The performance of the defense and Nwabali pleasantly surprised us that almost had us winning the trophy.

Nigeria is always a contender at the AFCON like Egypt, Cameroon and Ghana but that's not always a guarantee we will win all the time.

Our squad selection was poor, we cannot run away from that.

Too many passengers and motivational speakers no quality depth.

chrisooblog:
You've made very solid and logical points.

The only point I would chip in is that I feel JP should have risked playing a three man midfield to push Iwobi further up the pitch to add creativity and help repel the relentless Ivorians who had a field day in the midfield.

The only game we saw a semblance of Iwobi's creativity was when we played three midfielders against Equitorial Guinea. I understand fans frustration with Alex's overall midfield performance in this AFCON but he was clearly a square peg in a round hole because JP didn't manage his midfield options well in my opinion. Is he saying Onyedika was that poor? If so why did he call him up? Even Yusuf that wasn't in his plans at all got games.

Blame the NFF not Pasiero.

When the desirable is not available the available becomes desirable, ( make do)

TheGoodJoe:
Almost all top teams are using a more possessive/offensive approach. Park bus is failed and abandoned.

EOD Thank you

TheSuperNerd:
He surely can. Iwobi playing in the formation was the unnatural sight. For Nwakali, it would have been round peg in a round role. The perfect DLP.

Balderdash and Codswallop.

Charity begins at home in your club and league. Let him do it in the very poor Portuguese relegation zone were his team Chavez have remained since the league started.

Last game he was the worst player in the team according to Google ratings. He was playing RW, if lowly Chavez don't trust him in the midfield.

Then we should believe him to do wonders in the SE midfield, that's delusional.

lbrichman2:
Nwakali would have made a difference in this match
I am fully convinced
Iwobi wasn't opening up for passes
Nwakali does that to perfection
He passes, opens up and keeps the ball moving
He needs to be in this team ASAP

When you play against part time professional players in a very poor quality league. You may look good 😊 however, Nwakali team Chavez are bottom of his league and he doesn't even look good.

So stop this nonsensical charade it's delusional.

We are talking about players who are progressing not those going backwards.