₦airaland Forum

forgiveness:
No no no. I just wanted to clarify something.

Yes, I believe Ajiboye is a better option than both after I deliberated on the best choice for the gk position. And you can see I made it clear when I listed him among my goalkeepers.

After all, Enyeama and Ejide were home based when they broke into the national team.

I think he is one option people are neglecting. The dude is a solid GK

forgiveness:

i been wan keep quiet oo

TheGoodJoe:
Let me make it easy. Ifeanyi Matthew plays like Mikel Obi and Chidiebere Nwakali plays like Onazi. If the coach is looking for a player that plays like Onazi, Ifeanyi Matthew will not fall on his radar. Chidiebere Nwakali will.

So asking why Chidiebere Nwakali got invited and despite the exploits of Ifeanyi Matthew, the attributes and style of play of Chidiebere Nwakali and the needs of the manager could play a deciding factor.

for the record, Ifeanyi Matthew plays more like Joel Obi which is also who Nwakali plays like, sometimes you need to watch these people to decide. I just noticed that you have not watched either/both of them


for the record I typed that without consulting whoscored.com but here is the link sha incase you still wan argue https://www.whoscored.com/Players/281046/Show/Ifeanyi-Mathew

TheGoodJoe:
Do they play the same way?

so you actually don't know?

TheGoodJoe:
Chidiebere Nwakali and Ifeanyi Matthew have contrasting style of play. So you can not expect Ifeanyi Matthew opted ahead of Chidiebere Nwakali if the coach is looking for a player with the attributes Chidiebere Nwakali has.

what is Ifeanyi Matthew's style of play and what is Nwakali's style of play?

forgiveness:
Yes, Uzoho plays regularly for his team B in third division regularly while Dele Alampasu who at one time was a second choice with the team A in the second division three seasons ago had played regularly in the third division last season before he was promoted to the first team in the Portuguese first division. You can see he is progressing and he is in a better position than Uzoho.

The difference is clear.

is it now Uzoho vs Alamapasu? What happened to Ajiboye? I believe he is better than both

tbaba1234:
Lol, Mickael2 loves to criticize.

The Nigerian team has things to improve upon but we have the quality of players to hurt anyone. I think we can get 9 point off the group but work starts now.

Before our next friendly, we should have studied all our opponents extensively. We should try out potential approaches in friendlies to see how it works out.

That is why it is important to select similar teams.

these guys sef

Joebie:
@ Mickael2
Why are we crying over Enyeama?. He is already on the road to recovery.
Let's see what happens between January and May. I will never shift my goal post. Performance at club level will show a player deserving for national call up. Then performance at the battlefield should show a player is deserving of selection for the WC. Rohr has already said Enyeama will have to start playing at the club level first before he will get a chance for recall... shekina!

this I agree with totally

Mujtahida:
I disagree with the bolded. It is present ability, present quality, present performance that earns one an invite. The past would not count as such. The team is already a blend of the young and experienced.
The second bolded : we've always called up three CFs so I don't think Iheanacho or Ighalo would be dropped for a performing Martins unless their form is awful. Martins can be among the three attackers.

He doesn't have a poor form for the SE. That is what matters. He will sort out his issues with Leicester.

As for Enyeama I agree that his situation is not the same as that of Rufai - we still have up to five months to the WC but those in the know say he's not coming back.
Too bad we are in this gk crises.

I think you misunderstood my point. I am not asking for Martins to be invited because of his past history no, I am saying that he should not be discarded just because he made his debut a long time ago. Just because he was part of the past SE does not make him ineligible for the present crop of players

safarigirl:
another delusional statement

Just any club? You overrate Enyeama. He isn't Buffon, he isn't De Gea, currently, he's not even Ondoa, so how can you say that he would be a starter for jist about any club when no EPL club, for instance, would buy him?

The way some people talk about Enyeama here, one would think he has never let in a goal. Enyeama that once we give away a Corner, 95% of the time, you know he won't save it.

Abeg let January do and come make we see the just any club that Enyeama will start for

the fact that you are comparing Enyeama and Ondoa shows just how ridiculous you can get to prove a lame point. I thought I had seen the most ridiculous comment ever earlier today until I saw yours

safarigirl:
World Cup that has been in existence since 1930....so, of the over twenty times winners have emerged, most have been teams that struggled prior to the mundial proper?

Is this another one of those "Pull It Out Your A**" statistics?

I don't know if you are always trying to be funny but it is getting ridiculous. I gave you examples and unless you have other examples to counter it then you may as well keep quiet.

Humility017:
you've a problem wit decoding one's write up....
please read my comment again and then reedit your reply.....

I said they will beat Martins team in a match....and not what you writing up there..if they registered for the Chinese league and will win it....

I did say such...Mr.

Martins' team just won the chinese cup, the chinese cup is different from the chinese league and since you want to assume that a team of U23s garnished with bench warmers can destroy Martins' team then they sure as hell can win the Chinese cup

mank1234:
Even players on bench who are not scoring should be called too since they trained with the team and would have been scoring if they were paying them.

I would have tagged this is a ridiculous comment but for let me clear you up. Enyeama is not on the bench, if he is fit he would be a starter for just about any club. So saying a benchwarmer will score if he is given a chance gives a whole new meaning to the word 'ridiculous'

Mujtahida:
Edited. Do read the fuller post.

the primary problem we have is that we are too eager to jump to the future forgetting that the past gives us a better springboard. I have mentioned it before that Iheanacho merits his place on the plane to Russia(despite his poor form) and I still want to believe that, where I now have a problem is people kicking against bringing Martins to camp at all, I mean if he comes and the coaches and team psychos believe he is bad for the team(based on performance or otherwise) then there is no harm done, if he comes to training and outperforms Ighalo and Iheanacho then one of them has to make way and return for the AFCON, there are no sentiments just perform and you are in.

Now we are also talking about Enyeama and people are bringing up a totally unrelated analogy(Rufai's case). I mean Rufai was on holidays, Enyeama still trains every other day with the team physiotherapist so is he fit? Absolutely but he may be match rusty which can be corrected with training sessions not even a match, there is a big difference between the two but people here once they have a personal issue with you, that's it

Mujtahida:
Let him be invited. That's all. We don't need to drag this issue much. If the ability to perform at the highest levels the Coach will surely pick him. Our arguments on whether to call or not to call Martins sometimes gets too personal. Some(not you though) do not embrace the team because Martins and others have not been invited. That to me is just too annoyingly partisan.
Again others have set a barbed wire fence against the recall of Martins. That too is petty. I once argued strenuously against his invitation but I've since re-evaluated my position. I now say let him be invited. Not because of experience per se, not because the young lads cannot deliver but simply because one cannot argue against performance. If he performs I think the team stands to be all the better for his inclusion.

Well said

nelszx:
I share in this optimism too.
A game isn't played until it's done and dusted
Nigeria should make the QF or even the SF
#SoarEaglesSoar
#GwG

And in all honesty, Argentina won't qualify from this group. Rohr will need to see the footages of the European Qualifiers to the WC as they have already sized themselves up and other matches between that time. Apart from Germany, Spain and maybe Portugal, the rest are just overrated average teams that benefitted from good rankings.

most of the world cups have been won by teams who had difficulties during the qualifiers. France did it, Italy and even Argentina before. Tbh I see Argentina in the final, does that mean they must top our group? No, we can that's assuming Croatia plays the way they did at the Euros instead of the way they played against Greece. Do not forget Sirgudsson and his crosses and setpiece prowess so I wouldn't write off Iceland, like someone mentioned before, at the world cup minor things like setpieces determine games. At the last world cup we lost to Argentina and France because of crosses/setpieces. In 2010 we lost to Argentina and drew against SK because of setpieces, I can go on and on and Iceland have a wonderful setpiece king, that should worry us as well but we can navigate the group

jihday:
and nothing pisses me off when people just visit YouTube and pull off clips, Oga please I use God beg you, don't say it anywhere that Kanu was a better player than bergkamp, very laughable I could also pull off Dennis Bergkamp YouTube videos mind you I've been an arsenal fan since 98/99 and I've got nothing but love for Kanu but fact is Dennis was better it's not even up for argument.
on nsofor and Jayjay at hull, didn't really watch them so can't say much, but if okocha was as vital as you've said then hull wouldn't have cancelled his contract and send him into retirement as they had just been promoted to the epl for the first time.

As in Bergkamp that had the best first touch in football then is who the guy was talking about? As in thesame guy that can bring down a ball travelling at an astonishing pace with just one single touch without even stretching his legs? The thing tire me. I will agree that Kanu is better than Anelka and Adebayor(put together sef) but Bergkamp? Kai

goldfish80:
You're still taking about that friendly game? Look, we must be careful oh otherwise 2002 will repeat itself all over again.

Recall in 2002, we massaged our egos about going to the world cup with the youngest team. Even before the world cup, the team broke the Irish jinx by becoming the first team to defeat Ireland in Dublin for over 20 years if I recall, solid game against Paraguay with the infamous Ogbeche bicycle kick and a couple of other victories against Scotland and one other team.
We basically played the world cup before the world cup. Unfortunately, when the main event came up, we learnt the hard lesson at the mundial.
I mean, we nearly lost 3 games on the spin.

Make no mistake about it, the Argentina game is now in the dust bin of history. I get livid that we still make songs and dance out of the Atlanta 96 fame. We cannot keep stroking ourselves with that result. We must strive to get better thank goodness Gernot Rohr recognised this by not limiting his search within a particular circle.

I laughed when you made reference some pages back about Martins probably holding the team back due to a lack of pace. I laughed because just a fee years back, Martins was rated the top 2-3 fastest player in the world. You could say he's aged and the speed has dropped but I tell you after watching him sprint past 3 defenders in gear 2, to score last week I knew the guy still has it. Also, I must bring to your attention the case of Justin Gatlin.
You do realise this guy, the current world 100 meters champion is 35yr old, a good 2 years older than Martins. This guy can sprint past any teenage athlete you throw his way. This should tell you it's not about age but ability.

If you stick your head out that Victor Moses will outpace a 33yr old Obafemi Martins, you will wake up one morning and discover you're a dead man.

I love this guy

Humility017:
mind you...that under 23 team will beat your Martins Chinese team silly...
after all Wolfsburg under 23 team beat Mikel's team in pre-season friendly.

and you know from your self claimed permutations....the English championship is even ahead of the budisliga....

there is nothing I won't hear. So when Omeruo was playing for the U23's(Chelsea's U23 is way better than Leicester's) it was a very bad thing, but now that Iheanacho is playing for Leicester's U23 they will suddenly win the chinese cup if they register for it? Just read this again and check if it makes sense even to you

safarigirl:
This is the Super Eagles Thread

It is not the EPL or Serie A or LA Liga thread. Whatever Martins did at Inter or Lazio or Celtic or Everton or even Al Ahly, is none of my business

I am talking my own, let my elders talk their own. Some of them do not have the same joyous memories of Martins like others do.

Once again, it was never my toy sef, it's a hand me down, so why should I want it back after trashing it?

so that means you don't know the history of the toy and it's importance. You know its actually wise for you to keep quiet about things you don't know right?

TheGoodJoe:
Okazaki will forever remain a legend to the fans of the Foxes. You can not change that by arguing he was not a starter earlier in the season. He joined the team in 2015. He had to adapt before he became a big part of the team.


On 19 December 2015, Okazaki scored the winner in a 3–2 win over Everton at Goodison Park, to ensure that Leicester City topped the table at Christmas.

His performances in the 2015–16 season earned him the Asian International Player of the Year award in December 2016.

Iheanacho is a young player and has club legends ahead of him. With time he will get his shot. It is a marathon and not a sprint. No one said Nacho is Real Madrid bound. The point is very simple. Nacho's quality is not up for debate. He is a quality player.

Finito.

Xavi is a club legend was he not? Does that mean he wasn't replaced when he was still active? Abidal too. Forget this club legend crap and see the thing starring at you, Iheanacho does not have the quality to bench Okazaki. How can you expect the coach of a struggling side to just give a bench warmer a run of 5 games?! Shows that you don't know the basics of coaching, Iheanacho will only depend on his performance in those cameos to get a starting shirt and he has not made any impression there so how will he get games? Or you think it's preseason?

safarigirl:
komekn compared Kelechi and Martins, EDI did same, hence the comparison

I never liked the old toy to begin with, so I can throw it in the trash without a glance. I am not attached to the old toy, so I don't give a shiiit about it

so because you don't like the toy you suddenly want to forget that your elders enjoyed that particular toy. You seem to want to forget that at 19 Martins was a sure starter for Inter ooo, not even Leicester talkless of being a benchwarmer there

TheGoodJoe:
Iheanacho had an injury when he arrived Leicester City. Keep in mind that Iheanacho was not meant as a quick fix. He is still a young player and will need time to blend in.

You just see 25 mil and scream must start. News flash, Vardy, Okazaki and Mahrez are team legends. They will not just dump them because the club splashed 25 million on a player.

My criticism of Shakespeare was not just playing time but his system was negatively affecting the forward players including Albrighton, Slimani, Vardy, Mahrez etc.

how is Okazaki a club legend? Last I checked at the start of their title winning season Ulloa was actually the starter and he displaced him, there is no way Okazaki is a club legend and quite frankly if you can't displace Okazaki then I am not sure we should be screaming your name.

Now you kept on giving unrelated instances, in Nacho's case even the coach who bought him still kept him on the bench and even preferred Slimani to him. I am not saying Iheanacho is not a good player but the sooner we understand that Iheanacho is not going to be the first Nigerian to play for Real Madrid the better for us, then we can all come to agree that he is not the next best thing after slice bread

safarigirl:
agaonst Zambia, i suppose it was your Obagoal that scored the second goal, abi?

How many goals does Martins have for us in how many games? So, we should drop a prolific Kelechi who has scored against both mediocre and top opposition, in both competitive and friendly games, both from inside the box, outside the box, spot kicks and in open play and invite Martins and his gra gra football, abi?

Kelechi that breathed life into the team with a superb free kick when it looked like Argentina would roast us? And need I mention his assists as well? Minus his 8 goals in 14 games, when you include Kelechi's ASSISTS, you will find he has been involved in our goals almost as much as Mikel has, even with less playing time. How many assists does Martins have? Or you think it is ghosts that will create chances?


There is a reason why you people are called armchair analysts.

Nigerians...smh. Get a new toy and tag the old toy 'junk'. So Martins has never scored from outside the box? So he hasn't scored headers? This alone shows that it is pure bias that is fueling your motive. By the way nobody said 'drop Iheanacho for Martins', no, we said invite Martins let him come and show what he can do. Why are you so scared of that? Or deep within you you know he can displace your favourite player?

Humility017:
you're talking wit two sides of your mouth...
only a blind man will say nacho has not defended the colors of the SE in a good light....
a player that have scored over 7 goals in 14 matches...is a brainer...
how many did Martins scored in his 14 match appearance for the super eagles...

on the colors of the super eagles.....nacho is quite ahead of martins so far so good....even ideye and emenike...

you may want to check Martins stats again.

You may also want to check the meaning of 'talking with two sides of your mouth' so you won't use it in a wrong situation next time.

Now get this fact slowly, when it comes to goals per game ratio Martins wasn't bad, after 40+ games he still had a goal every 3games. I cannot dig up his goals after 14games but I am sure he had atleast 4-6 goals by then. Martins is not some demigod, but saying that because he scores in the Chinese league that Iheanacho and Kayode will come there and become the highest goalscorer is a pure lie. Oscar is there, Hulk too and a lot of other guys but why arent they highest goalscorers? You think the league is like that? Let me ask you a question, so because no team from the Italian league has won the UCL(appeared in the club world cup that is) that means the Serie A is whack? I don't understand

TheGoodJoe:

Mascherano, despite his quality was on the bench at West Ham. Lukaku, Salah and Kevin De Bruyne were on the bench at Chelsea despite their quality. You can be good and still be on the bench in a club. Damari Gray went on a marathon on the bench at Leicester despite his quality.

there are things you are missing. These guys had coaches who were different from the coaches that recruited them so it is highly possible that the new coach does not like them, that I agree. Iheanacho was bought by Shakespeare and yet he didnt play him, you think a coach just tosses 25mil into the river?

TheGoodJoe:
Iheanacho's National team stats prove that his stats in the EPL is no fluke. Considering he had limited time at City and the EPL is no walk in the park.

how many high-pressure games has Iheanacho scored in or played well? SA blank, Algeria twice blank, Cameroon return leg blank. It's not as if the stats define everything

safarigirl:
how many times do I have to tell you that National team and Club performance are not the same.

They are proven in the GwG, that is what matters to me. I am not in you people's club football gang, I couldn't be less interested in what is going on in their clubs.

Kayode is not one of the forwards on my list BTW, he is still on trial for National Team, so he and Obagoal are not very different as far as I am concerned

how are they proven in the GwG?

Iheanacho against Algeria twice, blank all through. Which other competitive game did he play and score? Yes Cameroon when the game was done, if that is what 'proving yourself' means then Bright Dike should still be playing for us

Humility017:
when last did he played in those leagues?

it is the same as saying that....yakubu should be recalled because he did wonders in the epl....

Martins of 3 4 5 6 years ago is different from martins of now....

your objectivity is highly questionable. First you said he has only showcased his skills in the Chinese league, then I remind of his exploits in other top leagues now you have arrived here again. So I ask, is he still scoring in the chinese league?

safarigirl:
more importantly. Who are the 'potentials' we are taking?

Because last I checked, all our forwards currently are proven.

proven yet sitting on the bench at Girona and worse still, Leicester City

Humility017:
what has he proven...?
you mean he has proven to be good in the Chinese league?

And Epl and La Liga and MLS and Serie A and just about anyother league you can think about

Humility017:
for any sane list....kayode and nacho should make the world cup roster.....
both are bunch of potentials.....I have said it severally...nacho and musa lack of game time don't worry me...provided they're allowed to play in EPL 2.... under 23 team. so as to keep fit.

everyone knows what they can offer when they play for the super eagles.....

so we are taking 'potentials' to the world cup ahead of proven talents?