TheLoneCitizen: Bassey with two errors leading to goal in one game
I know the errors are on him. But his partners are also to blame.
Bassey will place himself in good positions to receive passes, but will his partners do the same. In the event of an onrushing opponent, the normal will be to step back and make it easier to get a pass from a teammate who is being closed down, but what did Bassey's colleague do?
Many times you are as good as your partner.
I will blame the entire defense line for those goals excluding the goalkeeper.
kennysville: Someone goes out of his way to do a compilation of Nwabali's errors and posts it on youtube and you dont see an agenda there hey? Thats damn nitpicking. When he was the last line of defence and did the saves, no one did compilation. I am n ot even exonerating Nwabali but this needs to be called out for what it is. It is very misleading to go do compilation of a goalie's errors to what end? We can also do a compilation of Osimhen misses that will make you just downright dislike him and question what people see in him that is so special. When Gary Lineker did his, it was very subtle. And the deed got done nicely. Now he is apologizing to Osimhen, doing damage control for his own credibility
Look at the Nwabali that many people are gnashing their teeth at. I wish his confidence and bullying proclivities can ripple throughout the team and enable us flog minnows in degrees they can bear.
Confidence and creativity are like the siamese twins.
Thank you Mujtahida for making me see this video. Sunday Oliseh's submissions reveal a sound tactical depth.
I quite agree with him on the notion that we should stick to a conservative approach for the time being.
In my opinion, we should stick to a conservative approach for the following reasons:
Our composition of play does not allow for a quick recovery following a counter attack. This is down to coaching, and it is an issue that can be corrected.
The absence of genuine creative midfielders. We need at least two creative midfielders who are also good at winning back possession, to make something out of a possession style of play We have shown that we can dominate possession, if we choose to, but the absence of a creative midfield has made us easy to nulify. We have wingers that can create, but no genuine creator operating mid field. Iwobi's EPL exploits has come from the wings. How many chances has he created for S.E players whenever he is operating through the middle.
It took me some time to realise that Iwobi is not yet a genuine midfield profile. If he must operate mid field, he needs at least two supporting midfielders with him operating a very advanced role.
We need midfielders who cannot only win possession, but can hold the ball, dribble their way through tight spaces, deliver accurate passes and create chances. I can only see two midfielders with those abilities: Ebenezer Akinsanmiro and Kelechi Nwakali
Honestly, I will pick Ebenezer Akinsanmiro above any midfielder in S.E as things stands because of my studies of him. He ticks every box and much more.
Playing without a creative midfield makes our players overwork, making these players injury prone
We should all throw our support around Eric Chelle as Oliseh has advised and hope for the best.
daveP: Are you insinuating that his confidence is fueled by his arrogance and lack of regard for authority on the field of play? He's meant to do a job and at an emergency time and he's failing woefully at it. Appreciate him? Abeg abeg abeg!!
Your conjecture while watching remotely can be very distant from what really transpired over there. So do not just conclude.
Please please, please what did he fail woefully at?
TheSuperNerd: Nwabali is good. But the criticisms over his antics in the last game vs Lesotho are justified. I dont mean over-the-top criticisms but sound criticism. He almost cost us.
But all the same. He is a big presence in the dressing room and still our number 1. Losing both parents is a blow so I can relate from a clinical and psychological POV.
And this is partly why I dont want to hear any funny talks of Aniagboso right now near where we have Nwabali and Okoye.
Nwabali is tested, trusted but needs to be careful going forward. No more unnecessary antics. The cleansheet vs Benin will do good for his proper show of confidence and composure.
Nwabali is not beyond criticism. But people can be malicious.
GMBOFASIA: Nwabali just lost both parents he might be going through a lot everyone is just criticizing him and forgetting we are coming from uzoho era lol
All these digs at Nwabali should stop. I don't want his confidence to take a dig.
Someone is already clamoring for Arthur Okonkwo to deliver us from Nwabali. Is this blindness or just plain ignorance. How much of Arthur Okonkwo does this person know. (I am not taking anything away from Arthur)
Could it be that Nwabali's composure and confidence is intimidating the timidity of some people. They cannot just come to grip that someone can be as confident as that.
We have over the years clamored for a goal keeper like Nwabali. Nwabali is very good. Please appreciate him.
CapitalCee: You feel sorry for Benin, but when they knew it is over for them, they were wasting time and goalkeeper pulling saves all in the bid to deny us the needed goal. Abeg forget that thing abeg. They dont like us as most people here think.
Moreover tgose hyping Gernot Rohr. He tried in Benin but there is nothing spectacular, he got 17 points from 10 matches, Niger got 15 points from just 8 matches. Little xountries like Madagascar, Mozambique etc got more points. Even Comoros ,Namibia and co got similar points. So whtever he did in Benin is ordinary
Meliforme: Benin might win this game if they mount sufficient pressure on our defense. If our route to goal is through a patient build up then we need at least two defensive midfielders.
I suggest long passes from the midfield to the forwards, even if the passes miss their intended targets. We will be in position early enough to recover. We don't need counters from the opposition, until some issues are sorted out.
We have very lethal forwards. We just need fewer opposition players in their own box and therefore more spaces to attack. We need the opposition to come out, that's the reason for the long passes from the midfield rather than dillydallying around their box and running the risk of dangerous counters.
I said this before the match.
We had more precision in our final delivery, but we need to improve the more.
lbrichman2: I see your point, but can you in all honesty say we played exceptionally well? We had good moments, yes But we didn't control the game Benin always looked like they would score anytime We still need to fix our midfield We should be controlling games and smashing opponents
Benin did not control anything. Our conservativeness was intentional. Was this really difficult to see?
lbrichman2: Well, he got away with what should probably have been a clean goal today He should be grateful the referee was that lenient Another referee would have awarded that goal straight up
Did you also notice he dropped the ball again today? That could have gone anywhere..
I like the guy But he needs to get himself together
I will wait to get the details of what really transpired.
lbrichman2: Hmm.. Nwabali still found a way to show himself today.. We still need keeper oh
Nwabali's issue has to do with his attitude and not his skill. Dude has sharp reflexes.
Bad attitudes can be corrected.
We all have to bear in mind that the game is even more psychological than anything. Nwabali should not tolerate any bad behaviour around his yard. He should caution any cautionable, the opposition should not be free to behave as they seem fit around him. He needs to provoke and frustrate them when possible.
lexyman: na Rohr BENIN we want play , no be Guardiola Benin ..... tactically Rohr is clueless , what has worked for him is the determination of the guys . ones the boys bring their A game today , then the scoreline will be 3:1 or 3:0 ..if If its Rwanda or SA we are playing with Today i would have been more concern , because those guys are fast and discipline ... lets see what the result will be
If our approach was not a bit conservative, we could not have scored up to four goals past a very desperate Benin. They needed to come out to play.
If we have fought for every ball without being laid back a little. Benin would have been more defensively aware. They needed only a draw.
Benin might win this game if they mount sufficient pressure on our defense. If our route to goal is through a patient build up then we need at least two defensive midfielders.
I suggest long passes from the midfield to the forwards, even if the passes miss their intended targets. We will be in position early enough to recover. We don't need counters from the opposition, until some issues are sorted out.
We have very lethal forwards. We just need fewer opposition players in their own box and therefore more spaces to attack. We need the opposition to come out, that's the reason for the long passes from the midfield rather than dillydallying around their box and running the risk of dangerous counters.
Damiana5248: No vision, no mission. They don't play with the same tenacity as players who want to play in the World Cup. If they fail in their quest to qualify for the World Cup, they should blame themselves. They don't even play like professionals.
I recall that in the qualification series for the 2006 World Cup, our players turned up after the 1-0 loss to Angola and went on to defeat Algeria in Algiers and Zimbabwe at home. Still, it was not enough, as the head-to-head rule gave Angola the edge over us. However, this group of boys has not shown the resilience and determination to achieve results against countries we have no business struggling against.
I don't trust them to get favourable results in their last two games in October. I wish them all the luck, though.
I wonder how someone watching our boys play, will dare say that the boys haven't shown enough determination. The boys played on a bumpy surface, and under very wet conditions and you still find them running and chasing the ball with grit. Many of these guys picked up injuries of varying degrees puting their bodies in line, risking their careers.
And someone has the heart to say that they did not play with determination. It is very clear you did not watch them.