₦airaland Forum

Raphael Onyedika and Fisayo Dele-Bashiru's impact are one the reasons why we kept possession of the ball in midfield and in the opposition's half.

Both are excellent at the game of passing.

We win a lot of duels in the middle, but go on to lose the ball because of an errant pass from a midfielder or from a forward.
But yesterday's was different.

kentebemoney:
Dey play!
Ndidi will always play as long as he's fit.
Guy watch our last five games, with emphasis on Ndidi; that guy dey win balls and he's ball retention and use as been top notch.

Thank you.

His long balls are his latest arsenal.

elyte89:
Any line up wout ndidi is dead on arrival..by now u shld av studied some coaches when newly appointed and Dey execute deir first three matches ,u shld knw Dey av some favorites …ndidi is one of dem ..if fit he will play ,even Moses Simon,he likes d guy too ,

Ndidi is a tactician. He is that good.
He is that kind of player that coaches will like to last for the entire 90 minutes.

charlesemeka85:
Olakunle he plays for Krasnodar in the Russian league.

He is giving carpenter vibes,

I hope he is not a carpenter.

Kog45:
Let's see Uche Christanus

Yes, i will like to see him in midfield so that i can properly assess him.
His passes can be carnal sometimes, I don't really appreciate his passing,

Let's see how he fares when he is closer to midfield and away from advanced courses.

zuchyblink:
Russia wan use crossing kpai Zambia players

African players and confusion, especially when the ball is floated into the sky.
Dem be like "egbon will it land here or there".

yinkeys:
Is Tella a better footballer than Ejuke ?
We really need pace, dribblers etc upfront
I wish Eagles goodluck in September sha

Ejuke at a point was Europe's top dribbler.

In La Liga stats table, in possession won in midfield per 90, Ejuke occupies the 9th position, a testament to what he can defensively. We have another good rep in Christantus Uche, who occupies the 12th position.

Kog45:
I think is all about reading the game,he lacks it...I saw a 13 years old boy who was slow but at the end he was picked as the best RB in a youth tournament...the boy played like a professional,he read the game very well,time to attack and to defend.....just check out Festus Agu and Benjamin Frederick you see that teaching of the basics in their games.

Thank you.

Felix Agu has what Bruno Onyemaechi and Zaidu Sanusi are lacking in their games, the basics.
Felix Agu, has an edge when it comes to movements and interpretation of space and he is also a good defender and shows more concentration
and presence on and off the ball.

Even though Bruno Onyemaechi is more skillful.

Kog45:
Maybe Nwakali,since his teammate equalized for Jamaica according meliforme...... Let's see what Uche Christanus brings to the table or how do you see it

Elder Kog45, our long balls are now coming more from the midfield, I know Wilfred Ndidi has it, as well as Frank Onyeka, but they do not possess the creativity of Nwakali.

Kelechi Nwakali's teammate levelled the ground for Jamaica.

Philosopher1979:
Sodiq is mail is not a defender. He is a winger forced to play defence. They should take him forward. He at least is effective in the forward position

He does not possess the acceleration of a winger.

TheGoodJoe:
We need a fuller camp. Then screen Samson Siasia way. High intensity drills. Select the best that can play at a high intensity.

Sadly, I don't think this administration is ready to spend big money for success.

Yes, money is the reason, they are not ready to spend.

junnyjake:
Under Peseiro, that should be at the end of his time with us.

Progressing play from the back has more to do with personnel. We can't have all 3 of our midfielders with the skillet of a traditional destroyer and expect them to quickly transition from defence to attack.

We need DLPs, ball carriers like a refined Etebo and we're good to go.

I never want to see the midfield trio of Ndidi-Onyeka-papa daniels ever again.

Does the coach know the perfect blend of midfielders, I mean midfielders that can compensate the deficiencies in his forward line.

He is not providing the right mix of the midfield option available to him.

Building from the back is not only a function of the personnel involved (even thought it borders on it to a great extent), it also has to do with the right movements of the players into spaces to receive the ball. It is a team effort, and therefore behooves the coach to perfect these in training.

BankyGee:
How's that a problem after just three games? This is not club football.

Or what's your point or suggestion in all of these? He should be sacked?

Why should he work at all with players he doesn't already know.
He should know his players even before his first match.
It doesn't take that long to know a player's abilities.

We have a coaching problem.

Our players are not alien to the game of high pressing (high pressure).

Even if they are, why will you try to infuse that in a very limited training exposure.
You either scout for players with the lungs for high intensity, or you leave out that approach altogether.

Again, complaining that our players can't cope with high intensity, is a discovery that should have happened during training, not after a match day.

Eric Chelle doesn't know his players yet

Odunayaw:
Did you lose your ability to communicate? I asked you a simple question. Why are you touchy eh?

You will get no reply, if your communication is without civility.
In an earlier response, i mentioned two clubs and ended with 'etc' to tell you that there are clubs that i did not mention.

You took no notice of it, and instead asked if the players at those mentioned clubs played yesterday, that was not expected from someone who had the boldness to ask such a question.

You made it seem like our foreign pros are allen to high pressure games.

It is either you don't know what a high pressure game is, or you don't know the clubs our players ply their trade, or both.

You just want to argue

kennysville:
That's the lie we keep telling ourselves all these years most especially ever since Gernot Rohr came into the scene. I can say a lot but it appears no one is willing to listen. So let's keep it all up. Soap go soon clear for our eyes. Let's see what happens after the world cup qualifiers

Do you watch the NPFL or you are just driven by your feelings.
There is a reason NPFL clubs don't do well at the continental level.

joelsteron:
Dear Eric Chelle,
Please deploy Victor Osimhen and Dessers as a two-man strike force for the remaining World Cup qualifiers. Thank you. 🤝

I think the following combination will be more effective:

Lookman - Osimhen,
Boniface - Osimhen,
even Christantus - Osimhen

Odunayaw:
Which one of them played yesterday?

You just want to argue.
West Brom, AC Millan.

Playing at a high intensity will not fetch results, if you don't know what you are doing.

Odunayaw:
What clubs are these foreign pros in that play high intensity pressing?

Fulham, Nottingham forest, etc.

Truidstarr:
The real question is do the players in the NPFL believe in the league? Everyone wants to go abroad. Ask any player what is his ambition next season. Na to Japa.

The development of the league is not with the players, but with the league managers.
What do you want the players to do, football career is short lived.
Na to japa to places where they can earn not just good money, but other things such as healthcare, in the event of injuries.

elyte89:
Ur complain just start …Sheyb I ask for ur support …u gree support me? 🤣🤣

The next time, but we will have a look at your proposal for good footballing and trophies.

Philosopher1979:
It shows that 70% of Nigerian coaches are not in tune with the modern game
NPfl players are talented but raw and crude. Its not their fault.
Its like bad teachers in a secondary school.
We need to do something about coaching in Nigerian football.
The knowledge of most Nigerian coaches is maybe 35%.
Something very well below average

The league can't afford sound coaches.
The league cannot afford to buy the equipment needed for good tactical and technical study.
The players may not endure the kind of training needed for good spatial awareness, stamina building, etc due to poor wages.

Money, money, money, that is the problem.

elyte89:
😎

Chai, we have suffered, so this is the excuse that Chelle came up with it.
God help us.

Let us be very clear, a high pressure game is not new to the foreign pros.
We watch these guys, week in and out.

Even at that, he has up to five substitutions to make for outfield players, so what is he saying.
He can manage his team well for any high intensity game, if he is moxie enough.

This one gave him out big time.
I think I have been patient enough to gain proper discernment.

Eric Chelle should please do serious work on his knowledge of the game.

kennysville:
That was not how westerhof won the 94 nations cup. I think this idea needs to die. If you can displace a supposed foreign based player.. by all means... why not?

How will they get exposure if your starting 11 is always gonna be figured out?

NPFL players do not have the kind of drilling in tactics that many of the foreign base players have been exposed to.
Rohr complained so much about this.

In fact, NPFL players are still crude.

zicky:
which sub was better, Iheanacho, moses or Musa. From the yesterday match, Iheanacho sub seems better than the other two. Moses came try to dribble the whole team as if he's Messi, after that he disappeared.

None was better.

lbrichman2:
I was screaming this all day
Even the Musa sub..
But then he didn't invite enough midfielders to start with
Our coaches have a serious midfield problem

Yes, his options in midfield was limited.
He takes the blame for it.

Or should we blame the NFF or members of this thread.

Considering the tempo of the game, the introduction of Iheanacho was a school boy error.
What was needed was a genuine midfielder, who can win duels and slow down the game with good controls of the ball.

lbrichman2:
At least the team runs better now
And they can sometimes string over 5 passes before they lose the ball

The team can run better, how?

junnyjake:
Yes.

I see our improvement in hustling for 2nd balls, our lackadaisical approach to games seems to have reduced a little bit.

Our defensive rigidity is where we need to see more improvements.

We hustled for second balls under Peseiro.

Our intensity did improve, but to what end.
We still struggle to progress the ball from the back.

Except we have an exceptionally gifted NPFL player, let them participate in the tournaments designed just for them.

Have we really improved under Chelle, if we have, I will like to hear those improvements mentioned.