₦airaland Forum

lloydtruth:
We all know how Osihmen plays, he helps the midfield, bullies the opposing defenders, and takes his chances. Awoniyi was nothing of such and brought absolutely nothing to the team. Even the only goal he scored in the tournament na fluke.

How people compare Osimhen to Taiwo beats me.

Meliforme:
Eguavoen coming out in the open to tell us how he lost sleep drafting the 28 man list makes it look like he might not win the AFCON.

I have seen this kind of behaviour more in losers.

I pray he meets people that can help change his thinking and approach.
I pray we lift the AFCON trophy.

My criticism of Eguavoen started with this.

TheSuperNerd:
Eguavoen tried but he didn't diversify his tactics enough. Our tactical approach was too easy to analyse. It worked against Egypt because they didn't see us coming. But we repeated same thing vs Sudan and it became our pattern.

Our most tactically balanced game came against Bissau. We hurt them from various parts of the pitch. We created so many chances from different attacking scenarios. We showed a different approach tactically yet Eguavoen didn't think it wise to take a little bite from that and mix it in with our main strategy so as to counteract the obvious plan of the opposition to try nullify that main strategy.

Today we didn't even have a shot on target. Not one. We didn't create anything also through the middle yet Eguavoen benched our highest chances creator. See ehn.... football is not about sentiments or listening to what a majority say. You go with the facts and best analytical decisions.

Amunike is still my #1 pick for the SE job. More tactically diverse than Eguavoen. But yes, Egu tried.

I remember you used the Algerian situation to warn against this outcome.
This is not our best starting eleven.

We kept talking about the influence of Nwakali, and what the team really needs.
The truth is not always with the majority.

andrewbaba44:
Osimhen absence didn’t .

That's your opinion. The difference is clear.

COOL10:
Lethargic football - Bronze
Sweet Football- Round of 16 exit

Make your pick

Let me see any body hype any of these players again.

I will hype the players, and blame the coach.
I was the first to criticize Eguavoen on this thread.

COOL10:
Results are the most important thing in football.
As much as I love Tiki taka football, if such good football play doesn't result in goals, it does more harm than good.
Johan Cruyff said it, Guardiola said it, Xavi said it.

We rely so much on our wing play and that cost us today.

Give me results gaddammit

Not true.

zuchyblink:
It is better to play rubbish and win than to play entertaining football and lose

Have we been playing entertaining football.

I warned against 4-4-2.
We don't have the midfield for that.

andrewbaba44:
Osimhen will not do anything in this game oga

Osimhen absence didn’t hurt us

You Dey watch ball so ?

It did hurt us.

TheGoodJoe:
You forgot Chidera Ejuke.

Thank you for reminding him.

jihday:
Errrmmm….. but…. Never mind

This is beautiful.
When you have a good companion as a wife.
In good times and in bad times.
These pictures are now in the list of the sweetnesses of the day.

[color=#003300]One quality Chidera Ejuke needs to fuse into his game, to live up to expectations.[/color]

Chidera Ejuke is a gifted player who brings loads of technique to his game, but there can be more to what is already mused about him, if he brings leadership to his gameplay. Yes leadership is what he needs. The following are some of the leadership components that he needs to make more conspicuous in his geste:

[color=#005500]Teamwork:[/color] Football is teamwork. The ability of a person to work in synchrony with different people is leadership. Your teammates can make or mar you. Ejuke will shine more when he appreciates the importance of placing more premium on teamwork. Establishing connection and camaraderie with teammates both on the pitch and off the pitch will make the synergy that can magnify his performance.

[color=#005500]Responsibility and initiative:[/color] Taking the responsibility of making things happen. Being the man that drives the team forward. Accepting the blame when you fail, or make mistakes. Infact making yourself the talking point for the team woes and successes. Ejuke is currently the fastest in the current assembly of players and the player with the most technique. He has the speed to make dashing runs into the opposition's half and the trickery to remove obstacles that might disturb his flight. His passing accuracy is good and his long balls are also good. Let responsibility inspire confidence and remove fear. Ejuke should demand more of the ball and always place himself in good positions to receive passes.

[color=#005500]The right spirit:[/color] There are times when things may not go as planned and one may find oneself down the pecking order. Maintaining the right spirit is the decision to keep cheerfulness and accepting all things in good faith, hoping for the best. The refusal to lose confidence.

If Ejuke has these traits imbued into him, i believe he will put smiles on many faces, supplying just the required amount of positive thrills and entertainment, and winning games.

It is very good that these players are vastly improving in the areas they are mostly criticized.

EJuke won 4 tackles only behind Ndidi who has 6. Frank Onyeka has 3.
Moses Simon completed 7 dribbles, Ejuke completed 3.
Simon with goal bound shots in recent games is now more productive as a forward and it is a good booster for the team.

IDENNAA:
Are you insinuating I am lying ?

Just for sake of peace I live in Equatorial Guinea....case closed.

Don't say you live in Equatorial Guinea because of people who don't admire progress. Instead of attacking the points you raised, they pile attacks on your person.

The fact that you left the shores of Nigeria to the U.S shows progress. The fact that you can spend time on Nairaland while living in the US as an immigrant shows how far you have gone.

Don't let them drag you down, don't let them make you say things that you don't even desire.

komekn:
What makes your chosen player's the best ❓

I don't know if you have not noticed but football has progressed in the last two decades. Dribbling and playing to the gallery with skills and show boating will not get you anywhere. Ejuke is that type of player he may find it hard to go higher unless he changes..

However, end product, football intelligence, work rate, team discipline garnished with technical ability, skill and dribbling WILL get you FAR.

Considering Onyekuru club form it's not been great and or the league he is playing in Greek league rated 20 in Europe.

On the other hand Onyekuru has had some very good multi million £ transfer. From Everton to Monaco to Olympiacos. He must have made millions but his club performance are not good. Although he is laughing all the way to the bank.


.

Yes, Ejuke is the third best dribbler in the world according to CIES football observatory, and the seventh fastest player according to fifa 22, but i tell you that if those are all he brings to his game, i will not rate him.

I hope you know that no player in S.E is as technical as Ejuke. I am talking about a forward that drops deep to carry the ball. Ball carrying and holding on to the ball are some of his strong points. You can study his heat map to ascertain what i am saying.

Aside Olayinka no other forward is better than Ejuke at man marking, combined with his speed, Ejuke becomes a very good tool at the high pressing game.

Having you taken time to study Ejuke's passing accuracy and long balls. He passes with good accuracy.

As far as game tactics is concerned, tactically he is one of best, if not the best in the crop. I am still working on this aspect, i can tell you that he is better than Iwobi, Simon and Chukwueze, but i can't really say for Olayinka and Onyekuru, that's why i said that i am still working on this aspect.

Concerning Onyekuru, no winger in the current crop is better at finishing, he is very skillful, I don't really want to go into Onyekuru's style of play, but you might get it wrong many times if you continue to judge a player's quality by the club the player plays for, or by the woes he has been through at his club.

forgiveness:
Lied we were playing through the tight spaces and as a result got a free kick and a throw in that resulted to goals, right?

Through the same passes through the tight spaces we created goals that were either saved by the keeper or hit the goal post, na lie?

My man, you are the obvious liar here.

Eguavoen instructed the players to move forward and play through tight spaces which led to many goal scoring chances but you are here trying to give a different and false narrative to what actually happened.

Accusing and condemning the players for playing that way when it was actually how the coach wanted them to play.

You better pass Eguavoen?

But it is very easy for you to believe Nwakali and Iwobi played to the same instruction of the same coach that instructed those players to push forward, huh? Double standard.

Which kind of coach will instruct his players to play through tight spaces.
Can you cite any publication quoting him on this.

forgiveness:
em close dem mouth. Kkkkkkkkk

Peter Olayinka is the dude i even wished would start against Egypt.

Why?

Because no winger in S.E is better defensively plus he is also creative.

Why didn't he start?

It is an important game and i think he is a newbie, his teammates will get to understand him with time, team cohesion and chemistry is paramount.

You will always reason along ethnic lines, i will not tell you to stop, it is your life, it is your decision. I refused to reply to kog45 when he asked for my lineup, because he is navigating the same route.

And let me tell you something, Moses Simon is a good player, you can tell from his exploits at Nantes, MOTM performance shouldn't even be far from a player like Simon, but as far as the LW is concerned, he is not the best we have got. There is Ejuke, there is Onyekuru.

The best is what i will always clamour for, irrespective of ethnic affiliations, not minding if i am the only one calling for it.

Mujtahida:
It is not for nothing that Aribo plays in the first team ahead of Nwakali. Only bias will make anyone pick Nwakali ahead of Aribo yet I know Nwakali has his own bit to contribute but he's clearly not at par with Aribo and you know what? The technical crew knows this!

This is not true.
If you rate Aribo, please continue, but do not speak for the technical crew.

Aribo and Nwakali are very different players whose roles are complementary, and both can be given a starting berth at the same time.

And i tell you that as far as the S.E is concerned we don't have a player like Nwakali.
He brings something that no other player can.

komekn:
7 years ago as a youth player of 17 , should we dust the history books.

Can you give us something that's makes reference to senior football not youth football. So please tell us the award's .

You called him a never do well.
That means he has never done well.

He is currently representing our nation.
His stats against Sudan is impressive.

History is important.
Nwakali has international awards to his name.
I pray that someday i will have international awards too.

komekn:
The explanation given he is the only quality Midfielder that Nigeria has acces to, that can do long balls and bring stability to the midfield.

When did we start playing " police game"

That is a complete aberration from truth and fact.

We are starting a never do well over those who have done well in clubs and leagues much higher than his

With the hundreds of Midfielder

It is wrong for you to call Nwakali a never do well.
This player has international awards to his name.

TheSuperNerd:
Joe Aribo vs Sudan: Impressive showing.

Aribo in 65mins:

94% passing accuracy (43 accurate passes)
29 passes in own half.
14 passes in/into opposition half.
1/2 accurate long balls (50%)
1 shot on target
1 shot off target
100% dribbling success (2/2)
8/12 ground duels won
1/1 aerial duels won
4 tackles
2 interceptions
1 foul committed
Was fouled twice.
9 recoveries.
Lost possession 7 times.

Also, Had a key pass to Awoniyi that set up a very good cross pass that was not utilised in the end. The stats didn't pick that up as a Keypass but I do.



Cc Idennaa. You asked for it.

This is intimidating.
This is massive.

This is the kind of stats Etebo will give on his day, no wonder Etebo is playing in the EPL for Watford.

Actually, I likened Aribo to Etebo the very first time i saw him play for the Super Eagles.

andrewbaba44:
Moses Simon was man of the Match

I said I should remind some of you guys

Oga meliforme what do you have to say about Moses Simon and how many possession did he lost yesterday

Kudos to Moses Daddy Simon for winning MOTM.
I am so happy for him.

DrKlever:
It's my birthday fam . I only wish for SE to spell Sudan today.

Happy birthday DrKlever, more wins to you.

komekn:
Athleticism is different from Physicality.

Physicality in the context of football which is still a contact sport, is about strength, power, the ability to bully your opponent.

Athleticism makes reference to speed, pace , endurance and stamina as well as agility, which include in how high you can jump.

In terms of Brute strength Awoniyi is stronger however in terms of Aggression and fearlessness it's Victor O. this is a dangerous attribute he possesses, but its a two edged sword.

Which is better is open to never ending debate.

They are different players with different be attributesvsnd advantages. I would say Awoniyi is a late developer and he is growing in confidence, l believe and hope there is much more to come.

Athleticism is physicality because it can be developed through physical activity, take for instance speed, strength, stamina, power etc all these can be developed via physical training.

Athleticism is physicality and in these attributes mentioned inter alia Osimhen is more physical.

I don't know why you brought in aggression. Aggression is not even a physical quality. It is mental because it involves the feelings. We are talking about physicality.

In the context of football, aggression is desirable, and Osimhen is not more aggressive than Taiwo. Osimhen is developing more discipline to handle his aggression.

TheSuperNerd:
It's not a smuggle if you put on your tactical/analytical cap.
If you critically analyse the complimentary strengths of the Ndidi-Nwakali-Aribo combo, you will find no better balanced MF trio option in our ranks right now.

Nwakali came in for 10mins. Just 10 mins. And we almost buried that game for good when he orchestrated that sweet counter transition with Ejuke. If not for Ejuke's selfishness, we would have walked away with a clean 2-0 victory. No caps.

So it's not a smuggle. It is trying to see us open up more channels of attack that will yield an even more Commanding result.

Also, Nwakali offers passing recycling and control in the middle in terms of conduction and dictation with passes. Long or short. We would not have been out-passed by Egypt with that MF trio. It hasn't been tried but from a tactical POV, I know it's the truth.

We will also benefit from Nwakali's long distance volleys of the ball especially if Sudan packs their 18 yard box.

Kog45:
Oga,forgiveness just relax and dey look oh.....my third eyes dey tell me sometin and if it's true then dis country no go better.

I was just about to reply the post where you asked me to give my preferred line up, i decided to scroll down to read some more posts before replying, and then i saw this.

You should have been patient.

Mr Kog45, It is well.

TheSuperNerd:
The Midfield Talk: Partey and Ndidi at Afcon2021


I saw a post talking about Ndidi and Partey in the aftermath of yesterday's game and I felt it is a good opportunity to show us something about both so far in this tournament.

Against Gabon yesterday, Thomas Partey had an assist, yes, thanks especially to Dede Ayew's fine turn and shot execution but he (partey) executed 25 accurate passes. 14 in his own defensive half and only 11 in or to the opposition half/offensive half.

Against Morocco, it was much worse for Partey with 16 accurate passes out of 25 attempted passes. 10 of which came in his own defensive half and only 6 in the opposition half.




In Comparison, Ndidi had 46 accurate passes, 34 in or to opposition half and only 12 in own half. vs Egypt.
This shows Ndidi was key to keeping things moving in the opposition half.
He even laid on more passes than Aribo in the opposition half. Aribo had 11 passes in opposition half and 10 in own half.

And I think we should know partly why. Thing is, Aribo had more grounds to cover switching from attacking mode, in offensive transitions to create an attack overload in opposition box, to defensive mode in defensive transitions to help out in the high intensity press and markings. Ndidi only had to sit, roam a bit and read the game from a deeper role.

I saw this and many more stats references that day but didn't think to bring it up yet. So you see, Ndidi wasn't uncomfortable with the ball as a few thought in the Post-Egypt analyses.


Ndidi is just not appreciated enough. His passing game has improved as I pointed out over a year ago and yes he is no Kroos or Pirlo. He is no deeplying Playmaker but he is now above decent in the passing game in addition to his elite ball winning, game Reading and defensive actions skills.

Appreciate Ndidi More.

Up next, The Jediane Falcons of Sudan. A side we hold a +13 Goals Difference advantage over in History. 8 wins, 4 draws, 2 losses. 26 goals for, 13 against.

Immediately after the match, i gave Ndidi my MOTM, dude was massive.

jihday:
Rumor says we may likely see the same starting 11 and if anything will change it will be Onyekuru for Chukwueze

Judging by Chukwueze's typical game standard and rating, he had a very poor game.
Out of just 31 touches of the ball, he made 4 key passes, had only 1 successful cross out of 5 attempts, completed only 1 dribble out of 3 attempts. He completed 13 passes out 16 attempts, placing his passing accuracy at 81%.

Chukwueze had a very poor game, but with just 72 minutes on the pitch, dude made 4 key passes.

Going by this stats Chukwueze wasn't even the forward with the poorest stat going forward.
We are not defending against Sudan. We might be playing against a team that might likely sit deep. We need forwards who can create scoring chances. Eguavoen should find a way to play
Chukwueze, Iwobi and Nwakali together.

komekn:
I would say from a club perspective yes in the HERE and NOW.

But he's climbing and he doesn't have the pace and football intelligence that Osimhen has .

However, he has more physicality but less aggression.

Pace is included in physicality, Osimhen has more in physicality, from speed, strength and stamina to others like jumping and even agility.

Osimhen is very physical.

jihday:
Simon; "The game (Vs Egypt) is one of my best in two years. Every coach have their mentality & impact. The previous coach, I play to his instructions. With the new coach, he gave us freedom & allow us to bring our style of play at club side."

This is how he expresses his gratitude to a coach that kept faith in him despite his crosses to Chinhuahua.

This is how he makes excuses for his shambolic shows, as if anything has improved in his performances:
A handful of pagan crosses.
0 key passes,
0 assists.
0 shots on target.

What we have seen of him is his trademark defending which is commendable for a forward and his speedy runs which makes good highlights of his wing plays. So what exactly has changed.

In the game against Egypt, our forward line was the weakest, maybe because of our strategy to defend against Salah. We can do more with the personnel we have.

There are players that should have no business sitting on the bench. Let me see the players Eguavoen will field tomorrow.

My favourite name for Moses Simon is Daddy. i just modified this post with this addendum to make it clear how much i love the man Moses Simon, but Moses Simon will be happier if we are playing to our full potential.

komekn:
I always say this statistics are indicative not conclusive.

Taiwo Awoniyi played an outstanding game ,he worked tirelessly he SEIZED OPPORTUNITY he pressed non stop and he fought relentlessly, he made the entire defensive line up very shaky be first 15 minutes Egypt be was lost couldn't get any Rythm . And a big part was the bullying and physicality he brought to the game.

A lot of long balls went to him and he fought for everything hold up play was proficient not necessarily excellent but very good. You don't need 45 minutes to make a claim just 15 minutes to lay your marker down and set the tempo.

He is the young pretender to Ighalo's crown, if he continues, along side Victor O.

Many years ago Lukaku was termed the young pretender to Drogb's crown, today he is no longer the pretender but the owner.

The stats don't tell the full story.

Taiwo replaced Osimhen perfectly is what i am debating against.
And then i decided to unleash his poor stats on the day.

If you think it is a berating on Taiwo quality, then that is quite your conjecture.
Scoring 12 goals for his club is a proof of quality.

But even in the midst of his quality, he's yet to become the player Osimhen is.

Kog45:
Sir Meli,just say you don't rate Awoniyi Taiwo,simple and we move on....mind you I have players I don't rate in GWG and Ekong is one but the guy did very well against Egypt.

Sadiq better than Taiwo against Egypt said it all....Sadiq that Eguavoen needed to visit his room to talk to him that he wasn't impressed with his performance.

Good the legend like Asamoah Gyan is rating Nigeria as team to beat in this Afcon based on our Egypt match.

Baba,just calm down and let see how this team unfolds as tournament progress.

Why will i not rate a player who has 12 goals overall for his club.
All that i am saying is that Osimhen is more handful and that Sadiq impressed me more with glimpses of his skills.

Eguavoen may have expected more from Sadiq (Sadiw, I think i like this variant after that typo error coming a moniker in here), but that is not the point the point is that i will not wait for eguavoen to rate a player, before giving my rating.

I am not Eguavoen and Eguavoen is not me.

andrewbaba44:
Nobody is lying there

Victor was given a run of games before he started doing well

But someone here want awoniyi to score hatrick within 5 minutes against Egypt

We should not even deceive ourselves ,as it stands the quality of our strikers aren’t far from each other ,it’s not as if one is suarez and the other one is Shane long

The quality in each of our strikers are quite distant from one another.
Just like Safarigirl has said, Taiwo is Taiwo..
Taiwo is not Osimhen. Let's be content with what we have and hope for the best

And please do not forget my preference in Sadiq.