₦airaland Forum

SymphonyRad:
Iwobi and Ndidi aren't getting any younger boss, come next world cup they will be in the twilight of their 30's if we make that one...so better start getting used to that word "phasing out" cause it's the inevitable part of football, just like life.

Yes, they will be phased out as their careers won't last forever, but I pray we get better replacements.

lbrichman2:
Your second paragraph is gold

That statement should be framed

Yes, thank you.

ThunderFireAgba:
After this game I'm beginning to question the cohesive trio of
-Alex Iwobi
-Onyedika
-Ndidi and
-Frank Onyeka.
What have we been doing with this midfield for the last 4yrs??

Alex Iwobi, Wilfred Ndidi and Frank Onyeka retains their places in the starting lineup.

What Alhassan, Tijani, and Nnadi will achieve in five sequences of passes, Alex Iwobi can achieve in one stroke of a pass.
However, the only advantage that i saw in Alhassan, Tijani and Nnadi is in the cover they provide to the backline, their recovery rate is good, as well as their positioning during phases of defense.

SymphonyRad:
Sodiq was utterly rinsed in this particular game, na for here I confirm say the bobo no be am at all 😂

The blame shouldn't be entirely on him.
The coach that allowed him to play the fullback role without a thorough consideration of his qualities should be served the larger blame chunk.
The fact that he was allowed to continue on the pitch even for the duration the second goal rested on our goalpost says a lot about the kind of errors to expect from the coach.

123jamessmith:
Moffi has been giving so many chance to impress with the super eagles, he has always failed. Is time they stop inviting him. He's not a super eagle material.

For a player that provided two assists.
He did well today.

Papi85:
Nnadi is also very good and composed in the ball. In addition he is good tackler too and covers alot of ground

Both him and alhassan impressed me in this game

Nnadi, Alhassan, and Tijani are hardworking midfielders, they cover a lot of grounds, provide defensive cover and tidy in their passes.

Hardrive:
The reason why most of our strikers fizzled out Boniface, dessers, arokodare etc was because many were not given the opportunity of playing 2 upfront. The coach was trying to play them like osimhen. In such situations, goals would be hard to come by and Nigerians don't have the patience for that.

They do not have the quality of Femi Azeez.

Alex Iwobi's midfield presence is burgeoning into something gargantuan.
He is now a massive advantage.

His performance against Newcastle today gave Fulham reasons to keep playing him there.
Iwobi has his ways of moving the ball and locating players in open spaces.
He knows when to hoard the ball and when to quickly release it, offering coordination, stability and dominance

Napoleon55:
The result of this particular game was not Okocha's fault.

People are grossly unfair to Okocha and his talent especially on this game,

If the team(especially Rashidi) had converted 40% of the chances Okocha created on this game(Nigeria vs Italy),it would have ranked him among the greatest individual world cup performances of all time.

I had to go back and re-watch this highlights, and I counted at least 8 chances that he created that would have resulted into goals if our strikers were lethal that night.
And this is not even the full match.
Okocha would have went home with at least 4 assist if those chances were utilized by our forwards.

Yes,there were some misplaced passes,but the good ones far outweighs the bad ones.
If we had won,people would have much appreciated what he did that day.

Thank you.

Odunayaw:
Chidera Ejuke.

Yesooo.
Dribbles completed per 90 in La Liga, has Chidera Ejuke at the top of the list with Lamine Yamal following closely.

I vote TheSuperNerd.

No Super Eagles player comes close, save one.

Papi85:

Jay-Jay Okocha vs Italy - World Cup 1994
pic.twitter.com/fb5NhPUd9E

— SIR AHMED (@midopido21) May 11, 2026

/video/1?s=46

EElopa:
Samuel Chukwueze is a frustrating player, but he is very talented. I really understand why so many Super Eagles fans have grown tired and frustrated about his hot and cold performances for Nigeria. I am certainly one of those fans that have been on a lookout for a prospect for that right-winger position for Nigeria but having watched Azeez for two matches in a row now, I am not seeing that quality. Football is not rocket science. When you see a quality player, it will flash. A couple of years ago when I was watching the Nigeria U20 team, it took me about 20 mins to completely identify Benjamin Frederick. After watching him for 90 minutes, I turned around and told my friend that this boy will be marshalling the Super Eagles' defense in two to three years. I am just not sold on this Azeez dude. I have absolutely no problem with the young man as a person, but from what I have seen, he is not better than the options we currently have.

A player that created 18 big chances in a single season is a real deal.
If he maintains the same consistency when he steps into the EPL, then he is undisputedly more productive than all our wingers.

There are lots of things he does well, but his shortcomings can be worked on.

Papi85:
while Ejike is world class

Emeka Chaves, it seems like Ejike will be starting today against Real Sociedad.

Papi85:
while Ejike is world class

Even If I call him world class, you will still come after me.
Your aversion for the league he plys is well documented.

Anyways, above average could be anything above average including world class.
Are you now satisfied?

Above average

[quote author=Papi85 post=139303757]

Chibuike Nwaiwu v Göztepe pic.twitter.com/Qq9JBO9g5Z

— Emir (@EY61_) May 3, 2026

]

Kog45:
Okay but how many of his matches did you pointed this out, especially during Afcon...

None was obvious during the AFCON, but in the EPL

You cannot compare the technicality and tacticality of EPL football to that of AFCON.
You have more stretch of games in the EPL than in the AFCON, enough to discern lapses.

Kog45:
Just a game off now poor positioning,bad anticipation....Oga,Calvin Bassey of this season has good positioning,very good ianticipation and reason why he is highly rated in Fulham or abi not the same Bassey of Afcon

I don't make opinions on just a single instance.

I just pointed out areas he needs to improve.

lbrichman2:
Bassey has outgrown Fulham

I am simply pointing out the areas he needs to improve and whether he has outgrown Fulham is another topic for discussion.

It is so sad to remark that Calvin Bassey's defending is not yet Elite.
Good defending is not all about duels.

Positioning, good anticipation, are all components of good defending.

Alex Iwobi may not bring much to defending, but this Fulham team is missing the stability, coordination and creativity that he offers.

lbrichman2:
Beautiful breakdown

Thank you.

He was good.
Solid performance.

He played a more offensive role, and it payed off.
His assist is wonderful, but more wonderful is winning most of his duels in the opposition's half, for me this is a beautiful thing because of the options it opens up for the coach.

Papi85:

Tochukwu Nnadi vs OGC Nice pic.twitter.com/kDFpI1kJFs

— 🇫🇷 (@Medley1_) April 27, 2026

/video/1?s=46

lbrichman2:
I feel you my man

Alright.

Napoleon55:
This does not explain the fact that in abroad, they have world class facilities and advanced in technologies to help you be the best you want to be.
Against those whom some of them started from red sand and ajegunle, yet they excelled among the best from Spain, England ,Italy, France and Germany.

Do you think that the possibility of owning world class facilities and advanced technologies is non-existent in this part of the world?

Poverty in the mental culture prevalent in this part of the world is the culprit.
There are some who want to be rich at all cost.

Napoleon55:
So is with the foreign scientists and doctors.

You want to compare people who started playing almost from kindergarten to those who started from the streets, be my guest.

The mentality of the youngerly growing up in this part of the world is cultured with lack and In the need to make it at all cost.
They are not patient, and they are more inclined to cut corners just to get there. Whatever works.

When a person allows his temporary lack to affect his thinking, real development becomes very hard.

I do not think you are in any position to determine whether he has reached his peak.

You are not Ejuke.
You are not his Elohim.
You are neither any of his coaches nor trainers.

I do not think you are being fair even to yourself for saying this.
Please allow the player to determine this solely for himself.

lbrichman2:
Meliforme
I advise you move on from Ejuke..
Ejuke already peaked several years ago
He truly can't do more than he's doing now..
And I personally feel Chelle has been magnanimous to still have him around the SE setup..

zicky:
Ejuke will be one corner laughing at you 😂 😂

Do you know how Ejuke started?
Refrain from saying things you are not sure of.

Stop making assumptions.

Kog45:
Ejuke in Iwobi role,I will rather play Kelechi Nwakali

Ejuke is good at long and short passes of the ball and also very adventurous.

He has the moves and coordination that can control games.

There is a creative side to his game that is yet to be exploited.

All he needs is a coach that can spot these qualities and allow him the role.

Kog45:
Sir you're absolutely right

Thank you.

Foreign groomed players seem to have a better grasp of football basics when compared with home groomed players. Foreign groomed players tend to keep it simple and yet are very effective.

I believe t.hat the beauty of football lies in keeping it simple.

Watching Alex Iwobi and Felix Agu, validates this observation.

Napoleon55:
E be like say you no know who you dey quote, e fit be say na cruise he dey catch.
And sometimes people dey make statements wey rhyme or sound sweet for their hearing,just for humor sake

Okay.