₦airaland Forum

@I-man,
I think this opposition(us that is ) is coming too soon after the Lip's departure and they would really need a lot of motivation to even play their usual game. Meanwhile we ain't doing too badly now. I just think we have less things to distract us now and have the added motivation of slowly nicking in results in our last few games.


WAN UNITED

The Lip was by far the most colourful character in the EPL in the last few seasons and it's a pity he's gone. He is without doubt their most successful manager of all time and maybe for a long time to come(forever) I wish him well .

2 things can happen to Chelsea. . .they either implode or explode.

Come Sunday though they'd be extremely (de?)motivated and anything can happen.Both sides badly need the win .My guess? I think we'll win.

WAN UNITED 

Our land is going mad again.

Years of military rule has made us mad. 8 years of civil rule(not democracy)is making us crazier.

Few weeks back Lagos State government and its Police Commissioner insisted they gave no order to arrest indecently dressed ladies(What is indecent dressing and who determines that anyway. 70% of the Policemen on our roads in their embarassing  slippers  dirty uniforms and sloppy appearance are the best examples of indecently dressed people in any case). So who gave the order has he/she been brought to book for embarssing the State? Who are they fooling.

If you drive a branded car in the East(or indeed anywhere in Nigeria these days) you will see the extent of lawlessness of Local govt touts on our roads. Govt denies sending them and yet they work hand in glove with the Police. Who are they fooling?

I always have this "wicked" prayer for the wickedness of our leaders and may God forgive me. It is however borne out of frustration of the powerlessness of the masses to be counted/treated as decent citizens of their country.It goes thus:

"May their people be the first and maybe the worst victims of highhandedness of the Police and other goons so that they will feel our pain and put a stop to their excesses.",  . ,  Cross border banditry was tackled firmly when Obasanjo lost those poor kids . Can't remember who they were to him but maybe their lives might have been spared if the problem was handled with the focus ,dispatch,zeal commitment and empathy that the Police and other agencies showed after those kids died.

In our Nigeria that is only when government listens.

I couldn't help but comment on this topic because really the Ogba Police are just a reflection of the rot in the force and in our society.My take is that YOU GET THE POLICE FORCE THAT YOU DESERVE.

Many years of military rule has so traumatised us that the rule of law takes second place.
Many do not know what  their rights are and how to insist on those rights. Those who know are just too selfish to care what happens to others. How many of us would pass by checkpoints knowing the Ploice are extorting money from a woman with kids in the vehicle and stop to enquire what's going on.How many of us indeed have all our necessary documents and are willing to sacrifice the extra 30 minutes to see that we are not swindled by some of the goons that litter our roads in the name of the Police. I have had several encounters with the Police to know that those guys are definitely NOT your friends.While not all are terrible the few good ones are still part of a terribly rotten system and are difficult to identify. In any case just like engineers in GSM companies might be courtoeus and respectful we form most of our opinions on their call centre executives or other frontline staff. Makes sense.

@Sojioguns,
I disagree that being well dressed or your approach will stop the man who wants to swindle you from doing so. Sometime last year my brother and I were accosted once by Policemen on Stop and Search by Allen /Toyin roundabout in Lagos. We came out of the car and they searched.They requested for ID which was given. My brother works in well known oil company while I work with an equally well known blue chip so you'd expect that based on your theory that should be all.I do not wear face caps or baggy jeans or blare music in my car. Next the  'officer'  picked our phones and wanted to begin to operate . It was of course locked and I warned him of the consequences of any damage to the phone. We reported to the Inspector on duty who was as dumb as his subordinate.We now asked the guy if he wanted to check the numbers on the phone and he said yes. I told him to bring the phone so I could unlock it .On collection we refused and told them to take us to the station and obtain a proper warrant to search personal things on the phone. We insisted that their right to search stopped when it came to looking at personal stuff on our phones(without a warrant).We were eventually allowed to go.
In Nigeria you can only get redress when you call their bosses or are a lawyer or a journalist. Or if you take pains to insist on your rights and follow through to make sure they are not trampled upon.When more people do this those guys will sit up and these things will reduce.

For now though the Police is not your friend

All clubs have glory hunters some in more proportion than others.
This is the best opportunity for all those who wish to decamp.Please do so now

As for me and my household we will always be

WAN UNITED

@debo,
what's up?
you know i can't hide.Just been attending to some stuff that's all.

No doubt Baba may have to get a striker sometime soon. Even with everyone fully fit we still lack the kind of striker that can conjure something out of absolutely nothing.Jackal I think has consistently made that point in the past. I think the lack of confidence that comes from not scoring despite creating many chances may soon set in.

I also think that after watching Man U win so many matches last season a lot of teams are beginning to understand exactly how to neutralise Man U. Not for long though cos there's just too much quality in that team.

@Mk,
You bet new songs will come out. New books too.Like


The Mirage                                    by      The Pretenders  
Doing things the hard way            by      Man U  
It's a Marathon                             by       The Champs  



It's gonna be a looooooooooooooooooooooooong season.

WAN UNITED

Guys, we have a problem.

It's early days yet but lets face it we appear to have hit the wrong chord.The last time man u had such a poor start we won the treble but those kinds of statistics only tend to deceive.In fact statistics are meant to deceive.

The trend in the last 3 seasons is that you win by blazing early on all cylinders.Chelsea did it twice and we did it last season. While the league is not yet won it can be lost early on and 7 points lost in 3 games is what we had lost by the time we met Chelsea in September last year and we did not lose another until W'Ham in December.As it is we need others to drop points before we can move on more confidently. In any case who says we won't while they are dropping theirs.

I am confident that we will reverse this trend but worried that a lot of teams are getting confident that they can take us on and get a result.Our football is good but scoring goals is the most important part of any game.In spite of the names in our attack and the goal scoring options we have managed 1 goal in 3 games. If that is not cause for alarm I don't know what else is.Every team has it's crisis point but ours is so bad coming this early cos we have no other experience to fall back on this season.

I am only being honest not defeatist. . . we have a major problem.

The only solution is to start scoring.Like we did last season.Whatever personnel or formation that will achieve that must be deployed now. We need to start Scoring . . . and winning.

We have the players to do it so we need to start doing it. Once we start the momentum will be strong but it needs to come pretty soon before it is too late.

A friend said these first 3 fixtures are tight but which fixture isn't. Remember we lost twice to a team that was almost relegated and to an Assnal that was out of sorts for extended parts of last season.

I am not defeatist but lets face it the winning has to start now. . .else?


@Ejaculators,
Keep having fun now riding on the back of the tiger

Start scoring,
Start winning,

WAN UNITED

Mongue:
In my opinion this is a big disaster! I was so gutted to find that I couldn't watch Liverpool start their championship wining season in style!!
And now I 'm being told that I have to buy some new TV, but one big uly pole on the side of my house that will reach way up above my roof, run more cable, pay more money and have even more remote controls in my living room!

But what can you do. In this Lagos it's becoming too risky to go out at night so I have to stay at home and watch football, excpet they've taken that away from me as well,

Anyone think that DSTV will reduce their price? N10,000 for that and another N4000 for (S)HITV is too much!

No problem bro. Don't be too hard on yourself cos Pool ain't winning yet. 

By the time Pool will be ready to win the EPL even NTA Channel 7 will be showing it.   

Sorry mate 

WAN UNITED

Been using Hitv now for 3 months and I agree it is not yet uhuru. But it has taken DSTV all of 10 years to be where they are today so there's still some way to go.

If you really love the Prem (and can afford it)you may need 2 get Hitv cos they'd show about 75% of matches. I watched 5 matches on Hitv this weekend. Unbelievable.I think it's a good start and will only get better. For wider coverage they might to come to some agreement with others which DSTV never wanted to do .





WAN UNITED

Guys,
I am extremely happy with the way we played yesterday if not the result.
Lovely attacking footie and I know the best is yet to come.
Good we are learning from day one that the pressure is on us. Anyone who thinks we steamroll everyone must have a rethink.No one is steamrolling nobody not us not Ass,not Chek,not Pool nobody.
But we are the Champs and will lead the way right?
@Reds,
you don't have to argue with these guys cos everyone wants to see us beaten. If we won 1-0 (it would have been ordinary Reading )if it was 2-0( so ), 3-0 (when then?) bla bla bla.

Some observations though.

1.We could have lost the game.Just one chance and that could have been it.On days like that real shit could happen. It didn't.
2.We have learnt that some teams could come out not to play or adopt tactics to suit their aims. The game showed that we do not cope well with some types of marking and we need to shore up certain aspects of our game to neutralise that. . . .better set plays for instance(so many corners/freekicks without a goal)
3.Silvestre is bad luck.
4.This is the first of 38 games . By the time we won the league last year we had lost about 5 games. It is early days yet to read any meaning into this other than "we drew our first game", period.

Like last year whenever we lose or draw some guys were made to pay. 

So don't sweat.


WAN UNITED

_{sneaks in ,sees blood everywhere.Shakes head.Hears gunshots.Shakes head again. Decides to stay and tell combatants}

NO MAS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
COMPRENDE?

dason4life:

How did he, can you explain better?

Two trophies every season is enough reason to make such comparison, let alone player management, club discipline, players relation, anti-discriminination.
Man, you need to learn more before you get engaged in an arguement.
Give Mourihno 3 more years, he will outwit Ferg.'s 15 years record

@dason,
Mourinho is good but comparisons are premature and probably baseless. Not many managers had the kind of vault the Lip has benefitted from in the last few years.Many feel with all the wad he could have done more(UCL trophy or at least finals). Some even feel that he just came to take all of the glory after Ranieri had done most of the work.That's their view.
They say for instance that the first time Abrams said no more pocket money JM lost the League. Says a lot about his managerial competence. Injuries?Bla bla. Who didn't have them.

Glad to hear he wants to mellow this season. He did not need to announce it though. . .we would have known if he did .


WAN UNTD

@Wormy,

Dispassionate,brutally frank post.

WAN UTD

@Wormy,
Everone will be back in time for the new season fully loaded and rearing to go . Watch out!

@Mk,
Want more titles?

@Jackal & Razorr,
You both may have to go to Okija to swear o.  

WAN UTD

Working on something big. Like I've always said we need to do a duet very soon
Great titles too. Sneak preview??

The woes of the Chasing pack  by  All Others
A Cup at last                             by  ? ? ?
Season Sealed with a Lip          by  The Special Lip


More 2 come


WAN UTD

Team list of cool headed players:

Keepers:
Toni Schumacher
Jose Luis Chilavert
Jans Lehman

Defenders:
Martin Keown
Bright Omokaro
Asia del Horno
Ben Thatcher
Claudio Gentile
Andoni Goycochea(Butcher of Bilbao)

Midfielders:
Roy Keane
PaulGascoigne
Robbie Savage
Mikel Obi
Stefan Effenberg
Uwe Stieleke



Forwards:
Wayne Rooney
Eric Cantona
Diego Maradona
Andrew Cole
Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink
Hristo Stoichkov



Still counting

WAN UTD

@Kit,
Great 2 be back. After Jackal's ordeal(he can't even remember me)I have gone to do otumokpor and no kidnapper can see me.
Was on break and now back with a bang and a lot fresher ready for the usual fireworks

@Somze,
Cool.

@Jackal,
Like kit will say i'm supposed to be one of the  'the fruit of your loins' It must have been really bad with the kidnappers

**Saw Tevez in my dream in the (new) Man U shirt.He smiled

WAN UTD

MUUUUUUUUUUUKKKKKKKKKKIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII


WAN UTD

@Kit,
Sent the post on my colleagues' system but forgot to log in .

Oops.

Ooolala


WAN UTD

jjjjjjaaaaaaaccckaaaaaaaallllllll!!!!!

@All,
I insist again that people reserve the right to choose the charities they give to.Nurses on 19k are not worse off than orphans in Africa,AIDS victims,autism patients ,meningitis victims ,etc. Even if all of a squad do not contribute to one cause(for whatever reason )that in itself DOES NOT mean they do not contribute to others,nor does it really mean anything. In any case you do NOT determine for others whom to help with their money. As long as they help some needy people as best they can that in  itself is enough. In any case ideally (emphasis mine) charity should really go unnoticed,uncelebrated.

We need to find out if Kanu contributed . If he didn't which is quite possible wouldn't it be extremely stupid to hold it against him. And if he did does he contribute to famine victims in Africa,jaundice patients,cancer victims,etc.

Many of those that criticise do even worse with the "kobo kobo " they earn. It does not even trickle to those they know  talk less of charities.

You choose where to spend your money and if Chelsea players by coincidence or design choose not to donate to nurses that earn 19,000 pounds that is neither good nor bad. Those are my views.



WAN UNITED

What we have really is Vogts side of the story.

If indeed he has resigned an impartial arbiter would have to adjudicate.

Unfortunately since the NFA has never really been upright, public(expert) opinion is stacked against it.

My views:

1)If the NFA has signed a contract it must abide by it. If in retrospect you discover you might have been shortchanged you wait for the next review or call for renegotiation.

2)The FA's penchant for corrupt practices,poor admin and ineptitude is legendary.

3)Berti Vogts must have heard an earful the past few months. Just read our papers,go to some Nigerian or non-Nigerian websites(this inclusive )and you won't touch the job with a long spoon. If you do and you have a way to get out you  seize it before the job consumes you. It appears we might have shown him the way and he has seized it.

4)Is Berti Vogts good?Maybe. Would he have succeeded. Categorical NO!Why? The FA.
Many claim Clemens Westerhoff has been the most successful coach in Nigeria in recent times. Why?Amongst others because in the absence of a good FA/NSC(it was not this bad then) he was a personal friend of Augustus Aikhomu and got everything he needed through him. That was key to his success. If we have the kind of FA we have you need to be a friend of the President to succeed. That is the plain truth.

5)Glo needs to act fast so their image is not rubbished.

6)The FA has shown again that while we might blame the boys for being unpatriotic,we can trace their behaviour right back to the FA. If Vogts after 3 months is calling it quits then the pain of the boys might be easier to understand,just maybe.


WAN UNITED

@Razorr,

This issue always comes up even with nigerian players when signing for the prem and i doubt any prominent player has been barred from playing. There are always  clauses which clubs depend on so I'm sure he will scale through.

@Akola,

Initial payment will surely be a lot less. Also I doubt if any of the 3 has passed his prime.If things go well  at least 2 of those guys still has a minimum of 6 years of continuous improvement and with their current form/talent they will be a delight to behold.

That's all my comment . . . for now.


WAN UNITED

@Ruud,
The joke is on you

WAN UNITED

Bros Akola,
Just a few points,

1.No comments.

2.Neutralising opponents and attractive football are not mutually exclusive events.AC/Barca 94,Ajax/Milan 93,Milan/Man U 07,etc

3.No comments

4.What got us out in 94 was not entertainment but forgetting that the game is not over until "the fat lady sings"

5.Even teams that play really attractive football come out on some days to play 'rubbish'. That is when they need to dig into their reserve and scrape something. That's when you are happy to simply win . Thankfully for a truly (effective)entertaining those days come few and far between.


Your comments?


WAN UNITED

@Akola,

I disagree that boring football is only when you sleep. It can be boring if it is not attractive to the eye. What makes it attractive ? Many things including breathtaking wing play,pacy counter attacking football, effective wing backs, creative midfield,(even some showboating),immense individual skills,etc. Chelsea has the players to deliver this but many games do not appeal to the eye probably due to formation and style of play. Nigeria's team of Saturday may actually have played a better game had a different formation been used,maybe.

Arsenal does not play effective football now. Entertaining yes,not effective.The entertainment value of their game now cannot be compared with when they had their unbeaten run and won the league .Then entertainment was very effective. They were quite a delight to watch(even if I hated their guts then) .

Nigeria in 94 was the second most entertaining team but remember that the most entertaining team evetually won the World Cup.

It's all about winning yes,but attractive football makes winning more compelling. Chelsea has players that can do it and we need to see more of it for the good of football. Those are the memories that endure.


WAN UNITED

@All,
Players will choose which charities/NGO's they contribute to. That some don't contribute to needy nurses does not mean they might not contribute(even more) to AIDS Awareness ,Cancer research , Homeless kids or Sickle Cell research. Truth is you can't possibly respond to every single request no matter how important it may seem to some.

WAN UNITED

Sorry guys for all the heartache.

Remember good old Murphy's law. If something will go wrong it will.

If we had won the match some would have screamed Hossana. Even if we had played good and won we would still have had to face our problems somewhere down the line.

They are so many but if we tackle the most important ones we will fare better. They include:


1.Organistation:

Government only need give direction not leadership. As long as government(which can't collect tax,or provide power,fund the police,control smuggling,solve murder cases of principlal officers,conduct fair elections,etc,) is still seen as controlling the FA no sane person will put his money there(except maybe to pay foreign coaches and buy clothes for Supporters Club).Even if we qualify or win it will be by default not because we have the structures to deliver.

2.Players:

Overrated,over-indulged.
All these big boys should see the way John Terry plays for club and country or Becks.No Nigerian star will probably ever be as big as Becks in the next 20 years but see what playing for England means to him.At 33?!I do not support NFA whacking players money but hey if you step out on that pitch you are playing for Nigeria and NOT the FA.There was a time when Eagles lost to teams but you CAN NEVER FAULT THEIR COMMITMENT TO THE CAUSE. When Nigerians see that they usually take defeat in good faith . That is why in spite of Oliseh's monumental blunder in 94 against Italy Nigerians were still proud of their team and Oliseh still played a key role in subsequent tournaments. In the game against Uganda you'd think we were 4-0 up when we started the second half.Only when we had conceeded 2ce with 10 minutes to go and a man advantage did we notice what looked like urgency
Our 'stars' are spoilt brats local champions at best . They get away with their attitude cos we have not resolved (1) above.

3.Away form/True form:

Even at our heights in 94 our away form was always suspect. Check the records and you'd see we always seem to struggle away from home.Always. Yes one or 2 wins here and there but they do NOT match our reputation.Except when our backs are truly against the wall.

Same for beating big teams in the World . For all our reputation we have never beating any of the top footballing nations:Brazil,Italy,Germany,England(?),Holland,Argentina,France,etc. Even in the next layer we could only beat Spain and couldn't get it out of our heads before falling scandalously to Denmark days after. In Africa Cameroun still dominates when the stakes are higher and now Ghana is on a rebirth.

We have been too inconsistent in recent times to be called giants. Just like England in World football,we are all hype and need to be modest in appraising ourselves. That will guide our preparations cos form is ALWAYS current. When we do we can only get better.


4.No reliable factory:

No true underaged competition . Our 'young' players usually have reached their peak after just 3 senior caps. The competition for places is just not there. Time was in the Eagles we had Uche,Keshi,Emenalo,Eguavoen,Iroha,Nwanu,  jostling for places with others at the back. Now you can't play for the Eagles unless you play outside Nigeria. .  .Iroha,Oliha,Finidi,Amokcahi,etc all started out as homebased. Berti Vogts(or whoever else we choose when we have guided him to fail) needs to stay back more and fish out talents. In spite of our shabby league diamonds abound and are hungry.

Solve these problems and even when we lose we'll know it's because you can't win 'em all not because we've not done the needful.

Sorry guys , Kampala was no upset


WAN UNITED

@Somze,
Well done.
The next movie star loyika


WAN UNITED

@Loyika,
You have to test the bulletproof on yourself first b4 I can even think of wearing it. 

I don't trust your offer. It looks like a Greek gift

But seriously we need to instill/install some discipline/codes in the Sports section so that things don't degenerate every full moon.

WAN UNITED

I hope nothing new happens again. Can't keep dodging bullets.

WAN UNITED

@Viee,
The key will be finding the right blend. Plus 2 of the guys are yougsters who have their careers ahead of them . For Shevy and Ballack their better playing days are arguably behind them.

WAN UNITED