₦airaland Forum

TheLoneCitizen:
Bro what does this map teach you? That the player likes to be high up the pitch?

TheLoneCitizen:
100%, sir. Has low propensity to join attacks.

TheLoneCitizen:
The propensity of a player to join the attack.

TheLoneCitizen:
Iwobi doesn't have the attacking aggression of an AM..
And just as Mourinho once said. You will be wasting a good CM for a poor AM.

To push Iwobi higher up the pitch at best will be a box-box, anything further than that is overkill.

TheLoneCitizen:
You ought to know, brother, as a self-professed analytical kingpin that three deep-lying midfielders cannot function in the same team without compromising balance.

TheSuperNerd:
I have been avoiding suggesting this here until Nwakali hits 10 games this season showing same form and quality in the middle.... but the hint is this and I have long mentioned it as one of the options on twitter.

An Ndidi-Nwakali-Iwobi Midfield, with all in form, will be a near perfect mix of Steel and Complete cruise control. I know you have mentioned this too before (I just nodded at that post and smiled).

It is also similar to what I expect in an Ndidi-Alhassan-Iwobi MF Trio. Another near perfect trio from tactical POVs.


But these will hopefully take place with time...

For now, I want to see an Ndidi-Iwobi-Aribo MF trio first. I know its couple of tactical imperfections but that is the midfield combo that, I believe, has earned a chance to be seen properly when next we meet for international games.


Eguavoen really messed us up at the Afcon. You talk of long balls yet kept Nwakali benched despite seeing what he could do in that 3rd group game...and then he kept Iwobi benched too and when he played him, it was wingwards towards the right for most of the Afcon tournament.
Ofcos Iwobi in turn didn't do himself any favors by flunking in that role. But it still all falls on Egu.

Thanks goodness for Lampard who got Iwobi going again and finally moved him centrally (as already suggested beforehand by me via twitter) for about 6-9 games or so before finishing with him as RB last season.

Before this new season began, the question arose on twitter about where Lampard should play Iwobi and I said, he should simply use him exactly how he did when Iwobi began playing under Lamps.... As a deeplying CM.

The best part is that Peseiro understood from the first moments he resumed the Super Eagles job that Iwobi is the man to properly oil the wheels of our middle game and keep things rolling from deep.
I guess he saw that we were lacking that deeplying conductor and it shows in the way we have been playing under him even though it is still early days.

Iwobi is our main central midfield playmaker and one who can also play further forward as a number 10 if another deeplying midfield player is assigned that deep conductor role.

What we have here is an opportunity to lift the face of our middle game dynamics. It is up to the SE crew to take things further.

TheSuperNerd:
Video Clip: K.Nwakali's Assist

pic.twitter.com/JdHNYgMTcF

— Nwakali25 (@nwakali25) August 16, 2022

P.S: *For those interested abeg. Don't quote me saying nonsense. Thank you.

TheLoneCitizen:
Etebo.
Bonke Innocent
Azubuike Ikechukwu.

ChrisKels:
Because we dey hail am based on how he is keeping this thread busy for us, the kid come dey over rate himself.

TheSuperNerd:
K.Nwakali's first half for Ponferradina vs Cartegena

Cartegena 1-1 Ponferradina (HT)

1 assist (You need to watch it to understand how good it was)
1 chance created.
100% ground duels won (5/5).
3/5 accurate long balls.
8 recoveries.
2 interceptions.
2 tackles.
70% passing accuracy (23/33).

He's also the most fouled player in the game so far (2).

TheLoneCitizen:
Dessers topflight career so far:

82 starts
86 G+A = 64 goals + 22 assists

Are you ready, Italy?

Alfryd:
amen thanks sir

Alfryd:
family

I'm plus 1 today

wish me well

been part of this family forum is amazing
Happy to me

Truidstar:
All the coaches in all the clubs he played and worked with him day in day out also failed to see this abi? Your statement is just based on nostalgia and sentiments.

JohnBullMySon:
Please never again should you keep Nwakali and Aribo in the same sentence. Nwakali's only talent is in creative passing. Other than that, he cannot play at a high level beacause he does not keep up with the pace. He is not just hadworking enough, gets lost on the pitch, loses his man, makes poor tackles.

If you think talent only is what is needed in the premier league then you're mistaken.

TheSuperNerd:
Expectedly. Scored the 3rd goal.

Danielnino00:
Continued

TheSuperNerd:
The same Mikel who was back then seen as the end of all chances of equalising by opponents.

Almost everyone who saw Mourinho or any other manager bringing him on had a saying....

"It is all over. Mourinho is closing up shop..."


Here below is one of Chelsea's biggest fan accounts on Twitter testifying to the Mikel of that era as a DM. The same one Oliseh wants us to forget was brilliant as a DM.

Same tweet was corroborated by Ben Jacobs, one of the experts on Chelsea transfers and a Journo at CBS sports.

The tweet is dated June 5, 2022.


P.S:
Mind you, Mikel only came off the bench 66 times in his EPL career while starting 183 games. So he was no bench warmer too.

TheSuperNerd:
Oga, cease repeating yourself like a robot and give me one game Ndidi's DM showing trumped the DM masterclass dropped in a UCL Final for 120mins vs Bayern by Mikel.

I have given you a few EPL seasons Mikel excelled in which you can always research yourself and still added that your reference to stats is a cheap plot to dodge the truth. Eyetest Supercedes stats. Stats are only a part of my argument while it is the entirety of yours.

Let me spell it out to you more...
NDIDI REMAINS INFERIOR TO MIKEL AS A MIDFIELDER BE IT AS A DM OR CM. Hard facts.

I cannot believe I would meet anyone else who sees sense in the nonsensical comments of Oliseh comparing Ndidi and Mikel as DMs.

Mikel as a DM started several Major finals and won. Played full EPL seasons under different managers and even emerged League Champion as a key part of a Chelsea side coached by arguably the most successful coach in Europe across the top 5 leagues and in an era (2009/10) where stats emphasis on defensive actions weren't even so strong and pronounced as they are today.

Ndidi has been at Leicester since 2017 and somehow we don't know if he would ever make the jump to an Elite side. His ball playing still remains an issue and since he hit an improved mark in 20/21, he hasn't shown he can surpass that even in the NT.


Rest!

TheSuperNerd:
He did feature in the UCL in his first season with Leicester. Have you forgotten so soon?

And I already told you I won't allow stats alone dictate this discussion. You have eyes and clearly didn't watch Mikel as DM so you shouldn't be having this convo.

Less fancied teams? So Valencia, Sevilla, Barca and Bayern are less fancied teams?? Your Ndidi bias has clearly made you amnesiac.

Look, your case for Ndidi is not cogent enough to hold against the class act that Mikel was both as a DM and a CM. So rest it.

A DM not highly comfortable with the ball at his feet and can't dictate the flow of a game but is defensively solid vs A DM who is highly comfortable with the ball at his feet, can dictate the flow of a game and is also defensively solid.

The better option is clear. Finito.


Meanwhile..... you are still dodging the so called Important tackle you say Ndidi makes.

What say you about the one he made vs Algeria so carelessly which led to our ouster?

What say you about the cluelessness of a midfield led by Ndidi at the last Afcon vs Tunisia? Please answer.

TheSuperNerd:
Yes. Stats from his UCL 2011/2012 season. But this is not going to be just limited to stats. I refuse it coz I also have the biggest and best assessment/comparison method of them all and it is called Eye-Test.

Mikel was simply more majestic and assuring as a DM. There is a reason he was Makalele's heir and played in several Major finals for Chelsea as DM and won.

So don't you limit and reduce this discussion to "stats" alone. because stats will also show that KDB outshone Zidane as a Playmaker and CAM in terms of Goals and Assists when infact we all know Zidane is the better player overall.

TheSuperNerd:
His time at Chelsea is lost on you abi. Please what role did Mikel play at Chelsea?

His DM showings in the 2011/2012 UCL season also is a joke to you abi? That season alone trumps Ndidi's finest DM season so far which is 20/21 season.

Should I also move to NT performances with Ndidi as a CDM and Mikel as a DLP (Regista)?

Meli.... in no conversation will Ndidi come out tops over Mikel either as a DM or a CM. That is the honest truth and I am one of Ndidi's biggest Hypemen anywhere on social media.

TheSuperNerd:
Yes, and Ndidi is still not above Mikel. EOD.

BannedLarge:
And you think it is easy to have player consistently at one of the best ever clubs competing for the most important trophies for 10 years. Don’t you ever in your life insult MIKEL OBI. As good as Oliseh was, he only played for juventus for one season and was shipped out. (Oliseh didn’t had a better career than Mikel obi)

TheSuperNerd:
Oliseh did just that. So take it up with him however unfair or fair it sounds.

Ofcos I know about each players' evolution and growth into the role but don't miss the point.

And Ndidi doesnt trump Mikel VERY WELL in the defensive aspects of the DM role. We are talking a Mikel who dropped a DM Masterclass vs Bayern in a UCL Final and did so against Barca in the Semis leading up to that final.

That Oliseh taught it wise to even consider Ndidi over Mikel is the reason for my breakdown of why they shouldn't be in the same convo. And yes, both are synonymous with the DM roles too.


And did you just say Ndidi commits important fouls?? What would you call that foul vs Algeria at Afcon 2019 that knocked us out of the competition?? What would you call that please? Important?? Ndidi in Nigeria's colors have made some silly fouls that many times would have caused us harm. The Algeria game was just the moment it really came back to bite us.


Honestly your take is ridiculous here. I only gave you a mention as regards Ndidi-Aribo and the need for ball playing midfielders like Nwakali. Maybe you could have addressed that instead of coming here to talk down Mikel because of some soft spot for Ndidi as if I don't love Ndidi too.

BannedLarge:
My friend, respect yourself. Mikel was playing champions league semi final at 22 tell Ndidi to sign for a big club before we even have this conversation

TheSuperNerd:
Sunday Oliseh was being highly hypocritical and I addressed this strongly on twitter the day his silly comments surfaced. My post was well received by most.

ChrisKels:
Good but is this boy good enough for the EPL? That is the question on everyone's lips. Does he have the sinequanon to thrive and make his mark, or is he going there to warm the bench instead of remaining in the SPL or going to Turkey or Belgium where his abilities could get him playing opportunities?

#OBIdiently-YUSful