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Sports › Re: "The Super Eagles Thread: The Road To AFCON 2027, 2028 And 2030 World Cup by Meliforme: 5:37pm On Jun 15

yinkeys:
ejuke lost his pace
doesnt track back

I feel for him.
His time will come.

Sports › Re: "The Super Eagles Thread: The Road To AFCON 2027, 2028 And 2030 World Cup by Meliforme: 5:26pm On Jun 15

Odunayaw:
Ejuke no sell again

Chidera Ejuke still remains the most technical Super Eagles player.
PSG vs Arsenal UCL clash, i saw PSG players failing to pull dribbling maneuvres that Chidera Ejuke would normally perform.

His time will come.

Sports › Re: "The Super Eagles Thread: The Road To AFCON 2027, 2028 And 2030 World Cup by Meliforme: 2:34pm On Jun 15

TheSuperNerd:
Omo, Stanley Nwabali (@NwabaliBobo ) throw long and accurate pass Robert Sánchez goalkick 🙆🏾‍♂️🥶

Crazy 😳
🎥: IG/@nwabali32 pic.twitter.com/8krfbli0N3
— Banky G 🎤⚽ (@BankyGee_) November 12, 2024

"Nwabali has his big arms that covers more distance with his throws than what Okoye delivers with his legs"

Proof. Just one of several examples. Not mere yappings like you are dropping as epistles.

Maduka Okoye's long kicks can cover even greater distances.

You cannot compare throws of the ball with kicks of the ball. The mechanical power generated by the human leg is more immense compared to the human arm.

I can't even believe that you are refuting this. It is unbelievable.

1 Like

Sports › Re: "The Super Eagles Thread: The Road To AFCON 2027, 2028 And 2030 World Cup by Meliforme: 2:12pm On Jun 15

TheSuperNerd:
What Nwabali does with his arms for distribution is factual. I did not make that statement to spite Okoye. It is just facts. Anyone who truly watched the last two Afcons or any of Nwabali's other competitive games will know it is. Comments have also been made on this thread praising Nwabali's distributionw via his big arm throws.

Finally, there is nothing to admire in epistles meant to elevate Okoye as some god between the sticks. He is not better than what Nwabali has shown in the GWG. Maybe someday, he will get there but for now, Nwabali trumps Okoye in several aspects already mentioned. So again, rest the need to pamper Okoye. He needs improvements big time.

You still have the mind to insist that "Nwabali has his big arms that covers more distance with his throws than what Okoye delivers with his legs"

There is no further need to engage you. It is a waste of time.

Sports › Re: "The Super Eagles Thread: The Road To AFCON 2027, 2028 And 2030 World Cup by Meliforme: 2:12pm On Jun 15

TheSuperNerd:
What Nwabali does with his arms for distribution is factual. I did not make that statement to spite Okoye. It is just facts. Anyone who truly watched the last two Afcons or any of Nwabali's other competitive games will know it is. Comments have also been made on this thread praising Nwabali's distributionw via his big arm throws.

Finally, there is nothing to admire in epistles meant to elevate Okoye as some god between the sticks. He is not better than what Nwabali has shown in the GWG. Maybe someday, he will get there but for now, Nwabali trumps Okoye in several aspects already mentioned. So again, rest the need to pamper Okoye. He needs improvements big time.

Sports › Re: "The Super Eagles Thread: The Road To AFCON 2027, 2028 And 2030 World Cup by Meliforme: 1:22pm On Jun 15

MetalJigsaw:
One key thing Okoye badly lacks his organization and communication with his defense.

This is not true.
Every professional goalkeeper organises his defense and communicates with them.

Some goalkeepers are more vocal than the others and Maduka Okoye is even among the vocal ones.

Sports › Re: "The Super Eagles Thread: The Road To AFCON 2027, 2028 And 2030 World Cup by Meliforme: 1:16pm On Jun 15

Kog45:
Oga Meli,Nwabali is better than Okoye,i just hope he sort his club situation out or else Okoye is number one but talking goalkepping Nwabali is better than Okoye

Both goalkeepers are somehow built differently and the situations they can handle well are quite unique, but to me Okoye edges in the overall, and his approaches to goalkeeping are more modern.

Anyways, you are free to have your preference.

Sports › Re: "The Super Eagles Thread: The Road To AFCON 2027, 2028 And 2030 World Cup by Meliforme: 12:57pm On Jun 15

How many of us noticed our deployment of the "offside trap" in the matches against Poland and Portugal. This is a pure revelation of Maduka Okoye advanced goalkeeping skills..

Sports › Re: "The Super Eagles Thread: The Road To AFCON 2027, 2028 And 2030 World Cup by Meliforme: 12:51pm On Jun 15

TheSuperNerd:
This epistle is just more prolonged jargons/forced perpectives to hide facts (one of which you emboldened) that have been proven overtime that makes Nwabali the better and more assured GK for now over Maduka Okoye. With Nwabali, we have recorded more cleansheets than we have with Okoye in Goal and this is due in part to the presence and command Nwabali brings to that backline.

Let Okoye improve on his box presence, box command, defence organisational communication, positioning, reaction time and anticipation. These are key areas and more Nwabali holds the edge over Okoye. Finito.

Enough of the Okoye-pampering. With Enyeama, Ezenwa, Uzoho, Akpeyi, Ikeme and Nwabali... we did not have prolonged discourses on saveable and non-saveable shots. But with Okoye, it has become a thing and it is disgusting. How do we improve when we keep making funny excuses for a GK who should be doing better especially since he plays in a Top 5 league? Please enough.

You could have stylishly ignored this statement of yours "Nwabali has his big arms that covers more distance with his throws than what Okoye delivers with his legs", but you decided to defend it head on believing that such a front will conceal the error contained in your statement.

The tactical insights contained in my profiling of Maduka Okoye's and Stanley Nwabali's goalkeeping is something that should stir admiration, but no. They weren't actually written for you anyway, they were written for the people who are more poised to see the quality within our grasp.

When it comes to defense organisation, both goalkeepers are vocal, with Maduka being more calm in his approaches.

1 Like

Sports › Re: "The Super Eagles Thread: The Road To AFCON 2027, 2028 And 2030 World Cup by Meliforme: 4:22am On Jun 15

TheSuperNerd:
Same way Nwabali gets his which is also undeserved. My critique of Okoye is valid and not agenda driven.

Nwabali has his big arms that covers more distance with his throws than what Okoye delivers with his legs. It is not a highly debatable discourse. Nwabali is the better GK right now. His positioning, reaction time and anticipation is better than Okoye's and that is why he is hardly beaten by outside-the-box strikes. His positioning makes several of those seem non-threatening.

Okoye has more to improve on compared to Nwabali. Box presence... 18 yard box Command and defensive organisation, Nwabali owns these so comfortably pls. It is no debate.

Nwabali has his big arms that covers more distance with his throws than what Okoye delivers with his legs
You are implying that Nwabali's throws of the ball travels more distance than Maduka Okoye's long passes or long punts. This is clearly a situation where feelings becloud reality. A kicked ball will always travel significantly farther due to the immense mechanical power generated by the human leg compared to the human arm.

Whenever i talk about Maduka Okoye's ball distribution (being good with the ball at his feet) I mean passes of the ball in his own half (initial play build up from the back which involves sequence of passes in order to retain possession and or to progress play) and passes of the ball into the opposition's half which will in most cases involve long punts of the ball. In these instances the involvement of the goalkeeper's throw of the ball is either non-existent or minimal.

A goalkeeper's positioning is dependent on the defensive structure of the team and how they map their defence strategy. A goalkeeper positions differently when the team is maintaining a low block versus when they intend to keep a high line. Maduka Okoye is more like a sweeper-keeper built for teams that maintain a high block, while Nwabali is suited for teams that like to keep a low block. Again a keeper's positioning is also dependent on how he organises his defence. Before a keeper is deemed wrongly positioned a look should be taken at his defenders and the lanes the defenders are covering or have covered. Maduka Okoye's clean sheets and saves, reveals a goalkeeper excellent at positioning. He organises his defense such that saves of the ball becomes quite easy for him.

When it comes to defensive organisation (box presence, command of the 18 yard box) both goalkeepers are vocal. Each built to manage different scenarios.
Stanley Nwabali's aggressive and more authoritative approach is excellent at handling chaotic situations like when the defence is under siege and heavy attack, he stamps his authority and manages his CB's well.
Maduka Okoye is excellent at managing more tactical situations like creating offside traps, organising his defense to smother counter attacks even before they start. Maduka Okoye's organisation is more preventative. The number of saves and clean sheets he has recorded club wise is a testament of his preventative approach to defence organisation. He is more calmer, yet very effective in the kind of situations he handles.

Nwabali's Jam body goalkeeping will often get him penalised in top European leagues were minimal body contact is encouraged. He needs to work seriously on his ball distribution, especially long balls to his players in the opposition's space to be truly considered elite.

1 Like 1 Share

Sports › Re: "The Super Eagles Thread: The Road To AFCON 2027, 2028 And 2030 World Cup by Meliforme: 12:04am On Jun 15

TheSuperNerd:
Okoye should improve pls. Making all these excuses for Okoye wont make him get better or assured in the Super Eagles shirt. Finito.

Okoye is not beyond improvement. I have in the past pointed out areas where he needs to improve.
What i am against is a player getting a backlash that is underserved.

Whoever is better at goalkeeping between Maduka Okoye and Stanley Nwabali is highly debatable because the two goalkeepers are very good.
However what Maduka Okoye does with the ball at his feet is what makes me prefer him the more, this is an area where he beats Nwabali by a very good margin.

1 Like 1 Share

Sports › Re: "The Super Eagles Thread: The Road To AFCON 2027, 2028 And 2030 World Cup by Meliforme: 11:15pm On Jun 14

TheSuperNerd:
Wrong. Positioning is irrelevant if the deflection is as heavy as seen from Curacao off Kimmich today.

You are not blaming Neuer yet pushing the positioning narratìve in the presence of a deflection. For Okoye, there were no deflections.

Just review the goal incident and take notice of Neuer's positioning.
Yes, the dynamics that played out rendered positioning somehow irrelevant. If Neuer's positioning was irrelevant, so is Okoye's positioning, deflection or no deflection. Okoye conceded world class goals.

If we are to bring positioning to the reckoning table, Manuel Neuer becomes more blameworthy.

Sports › Re: "The Super Eagles Thread: The Road To AFCON 2027, 2028 And 2030 World Cup by Meliforme: 10:48pm On Jun 14

TheSuperNerd:
Some. But not me. And with clear evidence, it wont even be a huge debate. The ball was heavily deflected off Kimmich.

This same "some will do or say this or that" applies to other GKs as well.

This one today has no correlation at all to what Okoye has been rightly criticized for in goal for the Super Eagles.

Poor positioning was part of the criticisms Okoye got.
The same will be said of Manuel Neuer regarding the goal he conceded, if he got his positioning right, the deflection will be inconsequential.

Please bear in mind that l am in no way putting all the blame on Neuer for the goal the Germans conceded because of the dynamics that clearly played out.

Sports › Re: "The Super Eagles Thread: The Road To AFCON 2027, 2028 And 2030 World Cup by Meliforme: 7:02pm On Jun 14

TheSuperNerd:
The ball that beat Neuer was clearly deflected. Not the same thing.

Even at that, it will be it for him.
Some will not even consider that there was a deflection.

Sports › Re: "The Super Eagles Thread: The Road To AFCON 2027, 2028 And 2030 World Cup by Meliforme: 6:35pm On Jun 14*

If it was Maduka Okoye that conceded the goal that Manuel Neuer could not stop.
The degree of persecution he will get.

6 Likes 1 Share

Sports › Re: "The Super Eagles Thread: The Road To AFCON 2027, 2028 And 2030 World Cup by Meliforme: 2:47pm On Jun 14

oloriooko:
Easily and profoundly

You shouldn't have used the word "profoundly", because your take is not profound.
You underrate the Super Eagles.

If not for our lack of quality coaches.

When it comes to modern football, Eric Chelle is very well ahead of Rohr, Peseiro, Eguavoen, and Findi in the understanding of it.
I have seen Eric Chelle's philosophy and formations, he is very modern.
But his errors and lapses are also there for the noticing. He will improve if he wants to.

During the times Super Eagles struggled to string passes together, a whole lot was heaping blames on the players. The narratives purviewed by the sect blaming the players were difficult for me to accept because beside my understanding of some of these players is a knowing that the responsibility of getting the players to play well is completely down to the coach, if the players immediately available struggle to string passes together (maybe due to their technical ability), invite new ones.

Eric Chelle was handed the reins and he showed that the problem was not with the players. We are not short of talents in this nation. If you like believe that we do not have the talents, it will not change a glaring fact.

Again do not use our players club situations to judge their capacity. Many of these players are first of all dealt with psychologically before their physical input is affected, anyways, they also allowed themselves to be treated that way. Victor Osimhen and Ademola Lookman are players that refused to be let down, they are real fighters. Kelechi Iheanacho is a highly talented player (a world class potential, you can doubt it if you want, but it is a glaring fact) who chose to play second fiddle for a very long time. His club situation is not a true testament of his potential.

Sports › Re: "The Super Eagles Thread: The Road To AFCON 2027, 2028 And 2030 World Cup by Meliforme: 1:46am On Jun 14

EElopa:
I was watching Bouaddi, and I was having a football orgasm. What a player. As mentioned before, to have an elite-level national team, you have to have technically ball-playing players in every position. The decline of the Super Eagles started when non-ball-playing players like Troost-Ekong, Omurue, Ajayi, Balogun, and Frank Onyeka started playing paramount roles in the Super Eagles.

I was watching the USA '94 Super Eagles games at the World Cup, and every single player on that team was so comfortable and technical on the ball. This is why I said the likes of Semi Ajayi and Sanusi need to be thanked and retired from the national team if we are really serious about competing with the big boys.

Morocco is a really good team, and they can really go far in this tournament. The people clamoring for all these junk NPFL players and non-technical ball-playing players don't really wish well for the Super Eagles to perhaps, in their lifetime, be in the semi-finals or finals of a World Cup.

I think there is a mix up in the players you listed above:
So please, explain what you meant by Non ball playing players?

1 Like

Sports › Re: "The Super Eagles Thread: The Road To AFCON 2027, 2028 And 2030 World Cup by Meliforme: 5:30pm On Jun 13

Mujtahida:
It is anticipation that makes Nwabali position himself better than Okoye.

You may have good positioning, but poor anticipation.
Anticipation is a trait that comes through attention conditioning, experience and a prior study of a player's preferences (a player's stronger foot, the use of feint shots etc)

Sports › Re: "The Super Eagles Thread: The Road To AFCON 2027, 2028 And 2030 World Cup by Meliforme: 4:55pm On Jun 13

Mujtahida:
His major flaw is positioning. This is where Nwabali is better than Okoye. Have you not noticed that for long shots, Nwabali rarely dives cos he's most of the time already well positioned.

Nwabali is a fantastic goalkeeper and I have upheld him on this thread. Nwabali is very good, but the reality is that Nwabali has conceded even cheaper goals, and it is shocking how he was not called out for it.

I really do not think positioning is his problem.
The goals he conceded made it look like he has a problem with positioning.
You should also consider the quality of players he faced and i am also certain that you won't blame the opposition goalkeeper and even Nwabali if they were the ones that conceded those kind of goals

The area he needs to work on is his anticipation
And it is a quality that can be worked on. He is already an elite goalkeeper

Sports › Re: "The Super Eagles Thread: The Road To AFCON 2027, 2028 And 2030 World Cup by Meliforme: 12:25am On Jun 13

Maduka Okoye is very good with the ball at his feet.
His ball distribution is the best that I have seen of any Super Eagles goalkeeper in recent times.

It was his long ball to Akor that led to the development of the first goal.
He read the situation very well and connected Akor with a sweet long pass, and bam! a goal situation.

3 Likes

Sports › Re: "The Super Eagles Thread: The Road To AFCON 2027, 2028 And 2030 World Cup by Meliforme: 2:31pm On Jun 12

Kog45:
Oga Meli,the match was a friendly match but big question in a competitive match can you stake it that Nigeria will beat Portugal.

Anything can happen in football.
With good coaching we can beat Portugal.

Portugal has more talents than us, but we have the assortment of players that can beat Portugal.
Ndidi was excellent in duels and ball recoveries, he outperformed all the midfielders in those metrics save Frank Onyeka who had more ball recoveries.

Wilfred Ndidi, Frank Onyeka, Tochukwu Nnadi are rock solid midfielders. The lapses we saw in the midfield against Portugal was down to Eric Chelle for fielding FDB and Alex Iwobi at the same time, their deficits in defensive duels has always been there, a situation that i pointed out in the last AFCON. Contrast FDB and Bruno Fernandes in how they fared in duels, FDB lost all, Fernandes lost only one.

Eric Chelle has his positives, especially in the manner he has improved our passes and composition of play, but he is yet to possess that cutting edge that can give us the foremost advantage to victorious situations.

Sports › Re: "The Super Eagles Thread: The Road To AFCON 2027, 2028 And 2030 World Cup by Meliforme: 12:59pm On Jun 12

Sugarboyy:
So you think these Japan and S/Korea that you mentioned won't be scared playing Nigeria?
Yes, Portugal dominated the SE without Osimhen, Lookman and with a debutant and inexperienced right back, why they had their full squad. Did you watched how Portugal totally dominated Chile? Or you think just the presence of a player like Osimhen wouldn't have changed a narrative in the match?

Possession won in the final third per 90 In the turkish super league has Osimhen sitting 3rd in the stats ranking. He is the only Center Forward in the top three.
Osimhen's game is not just about scoring goals, there are lots of things he brings to his game.
Yes, Osimhen's presence would have changed a narrative in the match.

3 Likes

Sports › Re: "The Super Eagles Thread: The Road To AFCON 2027, 2028 And 2030 World Cup by Meliforme: 12:22pm On Jun 12

Odunayaw:
Fellow Mexicans
Rejoice

Yes, we rejoice in the hope that they will soon carry their loads back to Joeberg

2 Likes

Sports › Re: "The Super Eagles Thread: The Road To AFCON 2027, 2028 And 2030 World Cup by Meliforme: 9:02pm On Jun 11

lbrichman2:
I'm not really sure what his strengths are
I know TheSuperNerd talks about it all the time, but I just don't see what FDB brings to the fold..
I know he's mostly disciplined and positionally aware, can pop up with a few goals, apart from that, I no know again..

But again, Portugal s superior midfield exposed flaws in our system and playing personnel
We should continue scouting for midfielders, proper CMs and AMs, not DMs again abeg..
This is where I would have loved to see Chrisantus

For the midfielders that started the game from both ends, Wilfred Ndidi outperformed all.
Nnadi is also good.

If we had Osimhen and Akor as the front two and Ademola Lookman in FDB's role, the story would have been different, belove me. Our attack wasn't as sharp.
Moses Simon is good, but offensively and defensively Osimhen has an edge.
FDB is good, but offensively and defensively Lookman has an edge.

1 Like 1 Share

Sports › Re: "The Super Eagles Thread: The Road To AFCON 2027, 2028 And 2030 World Cup by Meliforme: 2:20am On Jun 11

Regarding his midfield selections, Eric Chelle could have done better.
Featuring FDB and Iwobi at the same time, is a bad recipe especially during phases that involves breaking up opposition play through making and winning tackles, defensive duels, and loose ball situations.

I cannot recall a single defensive duel that Iwobi and FDB won in the match against Portugal. They were always beaten.
This poor mix of players is not new. I pointed it out during the AFCON.

Why not include an extra midfielder who can help break up play and win possession. FDB does not help defensively. Ademola Lookman in FDB's position contributes far more defensively, the same as Samuel Chukwueze.

2 Likes 1 Share

Sports › Re: "The Super Eagles Thread: The Road To AFCON 2027, 2028 And 2030 World Cup by Meliforme: 1:30am On Jun 11

lbrichman2:
We even still need like 3-4 more midfielders

.

Yes, we need midfielders who can not only win the ball, but can create chances.

Sports › Re: "The Super Eagles Thread: The Road To AFCON 2027, 2028 And 2030 World Cup by Meliforme: 1:12am On Jun 11

TheSuperNerd:
Thank you. Someone who reallly watched Alhassan in Belgium especially will find those assertions untrue.

Thank you TheSuperNerd.

Sports › Re: "The Super Eagles Thread: The Road To AFCON 2027, 2028 And 2030 World Cup by Meliforme: 1:11am On Jun 11

lbrichman2:
Bruno even played CB for around 15-20 minutes today and was flawless
Intercepted balls to Ronaldo I think twice ..

Dude is an elite defender..
No one is benching him in that LB position

Bruno is good.
If he can work more on his crosses.

1 Like

Sports › Re: "The Super Eagles Thread: The Road To AFCON 2027, 2028 And 2030 World Cup by Meliforme: 12:48am On Jun 11

EElopa:
I like Alhassan, but he is not a ball carrier, he does not have the passing range, and he is not a tempo-dictating midfielder. That is the profile that we desperately need.

All these facts about Alhassan Yusuf are not true, especially his passing range.
His passes are good both in the short and long range.

Sports › Re: "The Super Eagles Thread: The Road To AFCON 2027, 2028 And 2030 World Cup by Meliforme: 12:18am On Jun 11

elyte89:
Dt Akpan guy is decent defensively but Abdullahs better offensively

Actually Bewene is better in both departments.

Sports › Re: "The Super Eagles Thread: The Road To AFCON 2027, 2028 And 2030 World Cup by Meliforme: 12:07am On Jun 11

Tinneh:
As much as we are well stacked in the right back position, I hope Eric Chelle sees the need to scout for quality players at left back position....
Zaidu and Onyemachi have not really been convincing at all,,

If Bruno were to play the RB, only Aina has what it takes to sideline him.
As far as the defensive phases of football in the Super Eagles is concerned, He has outperformed every fullback including Aina.

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Sports › Re: "The Super Eagles Thread: The Road To AFCON 2027, 2028 And 2030 World Cup by Meliforme: 11:30pm On Jun 10

COOL10:
Maduka Okoye has been my Man of the match so far 💪😎

His long pass was crucial to the first goal.

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