₦airaland Forum

TheGoodJoe:
Vardy is washing up like hypo bleach. He can not last long in the scene. Holding on to Vardy is clutching on straws.

Nacho has years to offer and still has room for improvement.

Dude hasn't lost pace at all. He still has two to four solid years to give and considering he is a cult figure there I think every coach will build around him

TheGoodJoe:
Pellegrini was at Villareal. Took over the team when they got promoted and led them to the Champions league semi finals where they crashed out to Arsenal after Roman Riquelme missed a penalty that would have taken them to the finals against Barcelona. He had Senna, Sorin, Riquelme, Carzola, Forlan in that team.

Coached Malaga. When he took over them, they were number 20 on the table. When he was done with them, they reached the semi finals of the Champions league and his best work was with Isco.

I totally didn't know the Villarreal part, no wonder why you love the guy to bits. I only took notice of him at Malaga, I thought he was a good coach and when they lost to Borrusia it was unfortunate, I believe they needed just one goal to qualify no thanks to the away goals rule

TheGoodJoe:
The point is Nacho made a wrong move. I knew this was going to happen before he moved. I am just explaining what I was arguing against. Now is the time for Nacho's agents to earn the money he made them and work on a move for him to a more offensive side that creates chances at will.

Adapting to Leicester City style of play will only slow him down.

You know how this agent thing works right? You don't just go to Wolves and tell them that you have a player you want to sell to them and they will just come and buy. As at now hardly anybody wants him for 10M never mind the 25M Leicester may want to get back, he needs to make himself relevant again by churning out top performances and he isn't going to so that if he keeps on telling himself that the Leicester system is his problem

TheGoodJoe:
If it is for Vardy runs, then it has nothing to do with build-up because the man just dashes and expects long balls. It is different from dropping deep to make cohesive play for a good final pass.

The problem is the system to get the best from Nacho. Not to get the best from Vardy.

Hmm. So if you have a team with Nacho and Vardy you will setup the team to get the best out of Iheanacho and not Vardy? You know...that guy that broke Ruud's record of scoring in 12 games, that's the guy you will leave out for a player with 16 goals in 84 appearances. Toh I am dumbfounded sha.

Meanwhile I think you aren't getting my points, if Iheanacho drops deep and collects the ball he will definitely see Vardy making runs then he can connect passes to him, finito so he does not have to be at the end of the final passes. He can create for the team.

TheGoodJoe:
You miss the point. The point is in the game against SA Nacho made repeated good runs and the passes did not come. Saying he missed one or two does not mean he is not clinical.

Do you see how many chances Gabriel Jesus gets to miss? Put Nacho in such system and see his stats rise.

As for Pellegrini, he always adopts a compact set-up when his teams loses the ball and when they get the ball back, they attack in full force.

Wait, in this last match against SA? That's before or after he was subbed?

TheGoodJoe:
You can see you are judging play with an offensive strategy. Leicester City is not Barcelona. Heck, it is not even Swansea or Bristol City. Heck not even Brighton.

When Nacho falls deep, you still do not get enough forward runs to play final ball.

So when Nacho drops deep, it is to increase the passing option in the middle, enabling interplay and then he makes run into space for the pass.

When he makes the run, we are back to square one. Poor passes or passing choices.

They play a 4-4-2 system if he drops deep I am certain Vardy will make proper runs for him.

TheGoodJoe:
What intelligent players do is play in systems that favor their talents. Look at Jadon Sancho moving from Manchester City to Borussia Dortmund. Today all whistles are in him. You think Sancho will have the hype he has now playing for Leicester City?

Look at Aubameyang who had the liberty of missing three good chances in a game at Dortmund and still score two. Today, he is at Arsenal, exercising the same liberty.

Suarez moved from Ajax to Liverpool to Barcelona. That is a brilliant player who always considered the teams philosophy before moving. Before he joined Barcelona, there was a chance of him moving to Arsenal.

I can give you a list of players that have gone to such teams and they still pull such numbers. Diego Costa feeds on scraps in Atletico, I cannot point out any truly creative player there just workhorses everywhere (please don't call Saul or Joke creative players) but he still scores over and again. Carol once played under Big Sam in West Ham and it didn't stop him one bit. Players make moves that will suit their playing style, yes if I argue with that then I am juat lying through my teeth but the fact of the matter, the present continuous is that Iheanacho has a five year contract with Leicester. Telling everybody that they should keep quiet while he keeps on losing form is not possible, he made the decision when he moved to the club, I will give you kudos because you wanted him to stay back at City, I at some point believe I did so too but he didn't do it, he is at Leicester now and after two seasons he should have learnt well enough that he is in a new, dire environment

TheGoodJoe:
I am not saying the coach should lose his job or change his system. He can for all I care do what he wants. My point is the criticism against Nacho when the circumstances around him clearly shows why the stellar performances suddenly dried up. The system is not working and the same goes to the National team.

As for Nacho the best advise is to work towards joining a side know for creative attacking football and working with a coach that shares the same ideology. Then we can critique.

But how is it not justified when he actually gets chances and he misses them. I mean look at the game against South Africa he missed the chance he got, does he need twenty chances to score? Then he isn't clinical.

By the way what I was implying was that if push comes to shove Pelligrini would easily adopt a defensive approach to save his job unlike managers like Siasia for example.

TheGoodJoe:
Even when Nacho drops deep to make things happen, after the build up play, the final balls are still poor. It is difficult for mobile strikers to work in such position.

If he drops deep shouldn't he be the one giving the final balls? I mean the other day against Levante, Messi played upfront with Suarez and when he dropped deep he created a goal out of nothing for Suarez as well as other chances for Suarez and Denis which they missed. So I don't understand how he will drop deep and still the final balls will be poor, that means he isn't creative

TheGoodJoe:
You guys have started. What is big club when it does not suit the player? Chukwueze played for Amunike who is an offensive/possessive coach. Then he moves to villareal which is a team known for good possessive football since the time of Pelegrini. Now you want him to go to a coach known for a Conservative style. Later you guys will say loss of form.

I thought Pellegrini coached Malaga? Did he also coach Villarreal? I remember the run to the quarterfinals though with the likes of Demichelis. That's by the way.

I would personally want Chukwueze to move to either Sevilla or Valencia, I have absolutely no inkling as to what goes on in Atletico but if he is actually wanted to come and replace Vitolo who himself is behind Lemar and Correa fighting for one spot then that would be a bad choice. Sevilla and Valencia play brilliant sweeping football and I think he would thrive there, or worse comes to worse stay with Villarreal and become a god there. That's why I like Aduritz, despite all the interest he stayed put which is what Inaki Williams is doing now and they are rewarding him with a better contract. The move to Atletico is a bad one

TheGoodJoe:
The point is too simple. Nacho went from
Manu Garba - Offensive
Patrick Vieira - Offensive
Pelegrini - Offensive
Guardiola - Offensive

To
Puel - Known Conservative

Before you critique the player, you have to note that the change in system affects players performances. It is not rocket science.

It will be funny if you think Messi will win ballon d'Or playing in a system of Tony Pullis Stoke, packing bus and hoofing the ball.

Let us look at stats. How many goals did Pellegrini's city score? I remember going in against Real Madrid with a 4-4-2 totally forgetting what it means to attack. So do not add him to the free flowing category so to say.

Now to the issue at hand nobody will argue that Leicester do not create chances, which is why I try as much as I can not to criticise his games(the other day I was talking about the fact that he has lost a yard or two of pace, I noticed that because truly he was making runs but he was a second too late or more) but the truth is you can't just keep making runs after runs without anything working, why not come and try to make things work? We go on and on about how creative he is but aside that chance he created for Vardy two games I cannot point to any creative play this season or at least for the past four weeks that I have watched so let us conclude that his creative side has been effectively coached out of him.

Now how many teams create chances the way you just pointed out?? Fulham's previous coaches sacrificed defensive solidity for attacking flair and they used to create loads of chances but where is their coach now? Gone. Will a coach risk his job just because he wants to create a system that will create goalscoring chances for one player? Meanwhile Vardy has been scoring from the same system and the team is perfectly placed in midtable, if you are the coach tell me you will risk your job just to play that kind of football. It was Rayo in 2013 or so when they got trounced 10-2 by Real Madrid that played that kinda football and they got relegated and I don't know where that their coach is now. The simple point I am making here is it is difficult to find teams who will create ten chances per game among the teams that will be willing to purchase Iheanacho as at this point in time. And considering the fact that he has a 5year contract he needs to suit himself to the team he is now. In 2014 when Tata was the coach of Barca and had them playing american football it didn't stop Messi, he became the creative fulcrum of the team, can't Iheanacho become that for Leicester? Must he be the one at the end of the final pass? Can't he be the one making the final pass?

At 21 though he still has a lot of time. He needs to decide if he is a 9 or a 10 then while signing another contract he should ensure that the club is willing to play him in that position that he wants to play, that's what intelligent players do.

For all those who said Ndidi cannot pass, hope you are watching this

At the risk of being called a hater I have a curious observation that I want to point out.

I understand that players lose form but scientifically I believe that you only start losing pace with age. Iheanacho has lost at least two yards of that, I mean dude was at some point allegedly faster than Kayode but watching him now not to mention that he has lost a lot of stamina too. Even when Gabby Jesus was out of form, the pace was still there but the reverse is the case. Can we have this discussion that perhaps this isn't a drop in form for Iheanacho but him slowing down? It seems he peaked when he was 19 or thereabouts which is very very....interesting

Icon4s:
Dr Michael, you are talking about the 2019 general elections and yet you are yet to take part in the simple in-house elections we are currently having here.

See voting thread and go do the needful Jare:

https://www.nairaland.com/4897410/nairaland-nigerian-football-fans-awards/2#73932220

I been dey postpone am since, my apologies

1) Musa

2) Lokosa

3) Kalu

4) Uzoho

5) Ekong(no offence but how many matches did Ebuehi play this year for the SE so how did he make it in ahead of others?)

6) Obi

7) Musa

Musa

9)Kalu

10) Ebi

11) Musa's second goal against Iceland

I came across a comment concerning the recent VP debate and funny enough people said he was derailing the thread. This is the problem with Nigeria, apathy towards anything concerning politics. How is a discussion about the future of the nation as a whole not welcomed in a thread that is concerned predominantly with the growth of the super Eagles? Abi development of sports in Nigeria is now under private investors and not government again? When the US held her own elections, virtually every US forum I knew then even the health forums talked so much about the elections that even though I wasn't going to vote I knew who unwanted to win, but here we shy away from all such conversations and we wonder why our nation is falling apart. I applaud Chriskels for bringing up that discussion and with the newxt few months leading up to the election I think we should discuss more about the elections and not shy away from the topic

ChrisKels:
Lol u claim to be a foreigner buh u reason like an average Nigerian. In an international gathering(forum, pages et al) u can easily tell a member is Nigerian whenever u c a line like this "he can feed u" due to their warped sense of reasoning.

Ehm just to correct one thing here I never said I am a foreigner, if you are referring to when I pointed out that I watched Liverpool vs Fulham live, that was just a random visit. Born and brought up here, from the East too for that matter, I have said that over and over and over again. The rest of what you have been saying is just nonsense to me

ChrisKels:
Sorry buh for u to have used this line typical of Nigerian destitutes who perceive everybody out there as capable of feeding another man, I think I have been over-rating u. I never thought u could come this low mentally.

How you rate me isn't that your business? If you change it tomorrow will it take away one B from the MBBS behind my name? Or suddenly the FWACS which is well within my grasp will now get K leg? I don't know why you attach so much importance to a faceless forum. At some point one of the former national team coaches who I know personally(and o have defended him a lot) had a nairaland account, 2014 actually which was why I even joined, can't that kind of guy feed you over and over? I have also come across an engineer here on nairaland who was in charge of about 7 road construction sites in Abia State, me telling you that somebody you meet here can feed you is just the simple fact, take it how you want to Sir


Anyways sorry for telling you that you were wrong for calling someone you know nothing about a street urchin, it is your laptop or phone and you can decide to type what you want. I won't talk about it again

ChrisKels:
By the way, Mr foreign, what did u do when this came outta blue without any shred of provocation? I indulged u buh because he is who and what he is, he couldn't handle his emotions even though I was not discussing with him, below is what he vomited and u eulogised him. Dude u are a hypocrite

Continue reading and you will see where I pointed out that the insults he was dishing out was wrong. I criticised him for what he said about Safarigirl too but what you said is just plain wrong

ChrisKels:
It is OK bro, let it slide. I understand how u feel though u cant help it bkus in here people perceive u as someone from the gutters, a person with a very poor home training, devoid of proper up bringing due to ur penchant to go low at every slightest argument. Dont worry, u can still redeem ur image by trynna get a grip of urself and be more mature with the way u relate with people in here. My honest advice

Who are you and how dare you condemn another human being like that? Is his behaviour worse than yours? You use profane words in Igbo language at will, to me that actually makes you a very very local fellow yet has anybody called you a street urchin for that? Is his behaviour worse than the one that said his girlfriend broke his TV? Why would you ever dare call someone a street urchin someone you have never met and may be able to feed you. And for some reason nobody is condemning you for this, this our idea of ganging up against anybody that does not support the general view here is bad, so this comment is not enough to be condemned? Come on.

groundnutoil:
i wish they can just score one goal

0-0 in Algeria is a fantastic result.

ChrisKels:
I made ur point yet u are of the opinion that Chukwueze who is more suited to the style would struggle in his first season more than Dembs did in his?

Bros if after watching Samu you think he is more suited to Barcelona than Dembele was then;
1) You never watched Dembele at Dortmund
2) You do not really know what is expected of a LWF in Barca's system AND/OR
3) You are taking Samu's talent way way higher than it actually is.

I have watched Samu at least five times, he is a good wide forward, not an inside forward. So saying he is more suited to Barcelona than the Dembele I used to watch for Dortmund is you stretching it a lot. Anyways to make this matter a little bit easier for you, on Fridays Balague always has a Q&A session on twitter, since you don't want to believe me because you don't know my personality maybe you would believe him, just ask him that question I will make sure it is noticed

ChrisKels:
Sorry but the first bolded contradicts the second. Like I told u early, nothing is certain. Chuks would probably have had it better against the less defensively disciplined Dembs

Is it Cout that is more defensively disciplined than Dembouz? Come on man, for starters Coutinho no longer plays in midfield because of his lack of defensive awareness, it used to put a lot of pressure on Busquets so he was dropped. Both of them are defensively deficient but Dembouz is a better option if you want to play a defensive game thanks mainly to his pace.

ChrisKels:
Did I hear u say Chuks is a direct winger? Dude the Dembele u so exhalt is even more direct in his wing play than Chuks bkus unlike Chuks, he drifts outwide a lot. Chuks thrives in picking pocket passes and releasing his better positioned mates, he likes cutting in to exchange passes with his mates thats why u see him in the middle sometimes operating like an AM. Chuks is the more Barca kinda player than Dembs was before he was bought from Dortmund.

You have just made my point for me. Last season which was Dembele's first season how many matches did he start?
If Samu has all these talents you listed then I wonder why PSG and Real Madrid aren't hot on his tail, then again I know better

ChrisKels:
Now that's good, oya back yo the main topic, would Dembele have had the kinda impact he had in that match if he had occupied the position, Coutinho played in?

Yes why not? That was the position he occupied against Espanyol and had a better game, a goal and an assist for Suarez. However he didn't occupy that position in that match so I cannot say if he would have had the same impact but considering that Espanyol have been a better team than Villarreal this season I think I can say yes, he would have had a better game if Coutinho wasn't there. Dude is double footed mind you

ChrisKels:
Now thats why we are fans. After the heated argument and now this. Respect!

na una no just want understand my point. Samu can go to Madrid and easily bench Asensio no doubt, but Barcelona is more concerned with passing triangles and they do not play wingers instead they use inside forwards, Samu is not used to these things so he will not be able to bench these guys that have been practicing it for a year or more. If he stays in Barcelona for a year then maybe he would learn it but passing triangles and stuffs isn't his style of play, he would rather take on his man and in Barca taking on your man should not be your first nature, so I think he may struggle in Barcelona but any other club in the world that suits his style of play? He may make it there. I do hope this puts an end to this idea that I am trying to water down his abilities

ChrisKels:
Forget the long epistle, nothing is cast in stone, and u can never tell who the coach would prefer in his chosen formation.

Simple question, Before the injury to Suarez, was Dembele playing ahead of Coutinho?

Guy I have begged you to stop exposing yourself but you just don't want to agree. Before Suarez got injured Messi was injured so both Dembele and Coutinho used to start. In fact before then when everybody was fit Coutinho used to start in midfield that was until Dembele first showed up late for training which eventually led to him training alone and being left out of the squad, then he resolved his issues with the coach and he went straight back to the starting lineup. Coutinho no longer starts in midfield because of how impressive Arthur has been so now you have predominantly a first choice midfield of Arthur-Rakitic-Busquet but at the start of the season Coutinho was playing as a midfielder.

So to answer your question in simple terms, when Suarez was still playing Dembele and Coutinho were playing as well because Messi wasn't available. And at the start of the season when all of them were fit Dembele started 6 out of the first seven games. Do you have any other question?

andrew444:
Bros make match end first sha ,me no wan talk for now

these guys are missing five first team players (Aguero, De Bruyne, Silva, Sterling and Mendy, even Otamendi started) yet Everton, I believe they are in 7 cannot even come close to them. Commot Benzema, Bale, Kroos, Modric and Marcelo and see what Samu will use that team for

Meanwhile where is the guy that said that Man City will have issues against Everton? the EPL is worse than LA Liga, the only teams City can lose to are Liverpool and then one odd game against Chelsea. In LA Liga Barca or Madrid can lose to Atletico, Sevilla. Valencia, Villarreal or even Eibar and Girona. But then again make we dey watch

BascoVanVeli:
Honestly I saw the same thing in those comments. During the world cup when there was talk about a boy from Senegal going to Barca there was no such talk from these same people and we all know that talk was false

Haba bros Wague is a barca player now na, the news was authentic and I confirmed it so why would I say it is false? So because I said that something which is visibly false is false that means I am a hater, lol

ChrisKels:
U knew Suarez had no business on that wing yet u kept on using Suarez's absence as an excuse? U are quite funny. Dude if Suarez had played, Dembele would have been on the bench not the other way round. Are u sure u really follow laliga santander?

Wait eh, Coutinho will bench Dembouz? Haba bros did you even watch this match against Espanyol? Coutinho has been off colour ever since he came back from injury, there was no way he would send Dembouz to the bench na. As at now Barcelona's front line reads Dembele-Suarez-Messi. Stop exposing yourself further.

Let me even ask you if you know what we are arguing? Which one is using Suarez as an excuse? The only thing I have said about Suarez is that I thought Cout was the one who sat out of that particular match which I later corrected, you were the one who said if Suarez had played Samu would have had more joy thus hinting that Suarez would play from the wings which is false. So which excuse are you talking about now?

ChrisKels:
U showed graphics not written remarks like u did when u gave us Castel in the stead of Chuks. How about u gave us the ratings from that particular site u pulled Castel's from?

I apologise but SportsKeeda no lover gives player ratings, after every match they release a '5 talking point' post and sometimes a 'hit and flop' about the match and nothing else. But if you want to see and check for yourself then here is the link

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.sportskeeda.com/amp/football/laliga-2018-19-fc-barcelona-2-0-villareal-cf-five-talking-points-ss/3. There is nothing about rating on the site