Icon4s: So who was that target man that you feel would have been brought in when things went out of hand against SA?
that is why people like Komekn are complaining about Anichebe's absence and players like that, however I believe that even a midfielder can be a target man like Ogu for example but the problem is that you look at our entire bench and none of them can win a header so there we have a problem and that is why I am questioning the coach's integrity.
Loogan: You just pointed out what alot of people still do not understand about modern football, contrary to what people believe that when the going gets tough you need a tall target man when the reality is that target men are one of easiest kind of strikers to mark out of a game, because they can be predictable...but now the best coaches in the world prefer a skillful, technical,pacy and diminutive CF who has some certain degree of workrate and defensive contribution...people here amaze me when they say iheanacho is not a 9, Just because he is very creative?...The best strikers in the world are some of the most creative players in the game, Suarez, griezman and aubameyeng have exceptional vision which is one of their strengths, so would we now say because they have too good vision they should now be played as SS or AM when they have an exceptional goal scoring ability? They are not the most physically imposing but still get the job done, so why can't iheanacho also do so? His biggest strength in his game is his finishing, why not take advantage of that to the fullest while still having exceptional vision?
but when things get out of hand even the best teams employ a target man. when Barcelona starts losing a game, Pique goes forward and becomes the target man. When Man U starts losing a game, they start pulling long balls towards Ibra etc etc. the point we were making was that by virtue of how the match against south Africa was going, we needed a target man for our long balls. remember also that most of our midfielders were using long balls so why not implement a system/players that will utilise those long balls?
Humility017: you see....you've started. if you must make case for certain player... or advocate for certain players inclusion in the SE... must you tear down other players? why try to bring oshimen's case up? I really thank God....for rohr...had it been he was a Nigerian... he would have been called a tribalist, nepotist etc by now..... on kayode issue....I personally have advocated for him on these thread...likewise many others...and I think rohr fancy him too... but wait....if he was that good and far better than henry...why is that foreign clubs especially in the EPL are not queuing up jostling for his signature... after all those folks are not Nigerians...they don't even know his tribal background... you think.... the applause and media hype Henry has enjoyed recently has not gone to make rohr notice him......
you are misunderstanding the point he is making.
Ok if I come and tell you that you should stop drinking cowbell and try peak milk I will definitely have to tell you how peak is a better option than Cowbell. that doesn't mean I hate cowbell but I am just trying to explain why peak milk is better.
Humility017: you're spot on... but that first point... calling icon4s a tribalist make me laugh ... i never knew his tribe until the day......he said it.himself and the state he hails from... likewise many here...but not the case for other persons....from the players they advocate for you will just knw their tribe... I really don't wanna have online issues wit anyone that's why I am just being quiet... but good you came to the rescue wit this...but I still don't agree on your take on Supernerd. should we wanna advocate for certain players or make case fr them...we need not rubbish others... that's the point I really think annoys some of us here...supernerd inclusive
I will not include something I am not sure of, I gave him a bait and he took it. you remember I said Kayode is faster than Nacho, we all know that is true but he jumped in, called me a hater and said Nacho is faster than Kayode. now that particular stuff showed two stuffs, he was actually watering down Kayode's abilities(his strongest point in fact) just because I was comparing him with Nacho and he also called me a hater just because I made a point, and I tried to make him see reasons with me but he started adding insults to his comments and I ignored the rest.
however let's not dwell on that, onwards and upwards
Petrobros: Objectivity on this thread was lost the day Nigeria lost to South Africa
Some became personal attorneys to their favorite players. Some saw this as an opportunity to retable their favorite players.
All I see is sentiments, hate, tribalism, favouritism and what have you.
Oga Joseph1013, the original poster, is no where to be found. Tbaba1234 has gone to celebrate Sarah, safarigirl is probably more occupied in some other thread.
No more gentle-manly discussions that this thread has been known for.
Can we move a motion for the shut down of this thread already?
shut down the thread because of one loss? it doesn't really make much sense and we should all be ashamed. It's just something that happens all we need to do is quench these useless debates and try to be objective. we used to have similar arguments back then like I remember Oshaniwa vs Echejile but the difference then was that nobody was insulting the other, we could go 10 pages without even perceiving the slightest scent of an insult, now it seems to be the order of the day.
Some things need to stop; 1) Forgiveness you need to stop attacking Icon4s it makes absolutely no sense that whenever he says something creative you start calling him a tribalist even when it isn't related to the problem. if you must disagree with him please outline your points respectfully
2) we need to change this perception that once you criticize a player it makes you a hater. theSuperNerd is the main person here and that is why I respect Icon4s here and Tbaba if you criticize their player they will come out with sound reasons to defend them not just tagging you a hater and reeling out insults, that drives people away
3) we all need to remember why this thread is here, we have an aim to maintain this thread till 2022 to see how our predictions for that world cup will go. we all believe that Nigeria can finally get it right at that tourney it would be a shame if we don't get to celebrate that together
forgiveness: What balance view does a myopic mind has to give when he can't face facts?
How can one who lied Martins was lost in most the qualifiers have a balance view?
How can one who lied Martins didn't play in the match against Swaziland were we defeated them 2 goals to nut have a balance view?
How can one who claimed Martins was the most lethal striker in 2006 where Yakubu Aiyegbeni and Julius Aghahowa don dey National team tey tey have a balance view? The so called veteran kept mute till this moment. Smh
How can one who claimed Martins didn't substitute Mikel in the match against Swaziland which ended goalless have a balance view?
How can one shamelessly lied Martins wasn't deployed to the Midfield but was latter shown facts that indeed Martins came in not as a CF but as a CMF have a balance view?
How can one who lied Martins flunked in those two games against Swaziland but when facts started staring at face began to go the tribal way have a balance view?
How can one who in the face of factual facts still dey lie have a balance view?
I never finish ooooooo.
bro I toe your line of argument but you should realise that you were arguing with a childish guy who never believes that he is wrong. by now you should be used to that, remember the basketball argument with Goldfish? So my.point is that you shouldn't start insulting yourselves because of that, if he starts insulting you just do what I always do, ignore the mention.
however I do have to tell you plainly as well that your comments are becoming increasingly painful to the eyes because of the amount insults in it, let's try to be civil please
bigblangston: Oga Forgiveness, e don do. I won't like it if this debate turns to an avenue for hurling invectives, mudslingings, throwing subliminal slurs and exchange of derogatory remarks.
he didn't start it you know, maybe you should caution the two parties not just one
Icon79: Folks, instead of all these unnecessary back and forth about who should've played where and all what not, why can't we spend out time and talent discussing more important stuffs? You know, when you lose, the player who didn't play is always the best player ... the player who didn't play is always the one who would've made a difference. But take it from me, our problem is the game against South Africa was much more than the talent levels of the players deployed. Man to man, out players were better than SA but we just didn't play well as a team. That's the bottom line. That's what I would expect all the "experts" here to be discussing instead of focusing on one or two players. And I will give you a few examples of how poorly we played:
Today's game is all about movement - movement off the ball. And in our game against SA, there was totally no movement in our game. For instance, I expected more penetration in the midfield where Onazi, Ndidi, and Etebo were playing but they were all very static on that day.
Why did South Africa won, practically, all the 50-50 balls? And why didn't the team do anything to raise the tempo of the game, as most Nigerian teams do, after we conceded the first goal? Why did we stick with the same high/long range passes that weren't finding their targets? Why was there no creativity in our game? Who's the player maker in this team? Is it Etebo or Iwobi??
And by the way, did anybody realized that our game tend to collapse once we concede a goal ... even if we're winning? Go back and re-watch the two games against Algeria and Zambia. The team became jittery and started making mistakes once Zambia pulled one goal back. They almost gave me a heart attack. And playing at home against Algeria, the same thing happened! Did anybody else noticed the same thing or is it me?
Oya, I wanna hear the opinions of our local NL experts:
icon4s, TheSuperNerd, forgiveness, Safarigirl, tbaba, Mickael2, do4luv14, Humility, et al.
O pari
in the first half we were winning all the 50-50s then their coach adjusted their play and they came out for us in the second half and that was where nd when the limitations of Rohr as a coach was exposed, no plan B and that cost us.
about the second point I think it's normal for a team that just conceded to start making mistakes
forgiveness: Onazi is naturally an attacking midfielder or CMF but he was converted to a DMF. That should tell alot about him.
However, I don't have problem with Ndidi replacing Onazi at the DMF position but Ndidi must guarantee he sticks to that role strictly without trying to impress.
against Senegal he did just that so there is no reason why he can't do it again
Humility017: considering the Cameroonians stubborn defense... I will want two creative players ply the midfield.... should aluko be invited that will be just fine...but I don't see that happening.... so iwobi playing the AM role .and Mikel the CM will bring forth passes to unlock the Cameroonians defense....not forget...Mikel good in some long range passes too that will enable our wingers and forward excel.... my only problem wit their combination is that there will likely be dearth of long range shots...when the need arises... considering the fact that both players not really into such kind of play when there is need for it.....that's why aluko is also needed....
another problem is that we will have vacant spaces in the middle, if Mikel drops deep there will be a lot of empty spaces in the middle and Iwobi does not have the engine to cover that at all
Icon4s: Well, I understand our fears especially after the SA game. You don't try an UNTESTED player in a position in a big game. It shows we are coming to a landing on that issue as it caused several debates in the past.
Now the issue of Iwobi, if you recall my comment on it. I said I was just pondering on it. The thing is a CM needs to be a very creative player. Etebo is more of a forward direct player that with a very organized defense he cannot link up play with the attackers. Iwobi is more creative than Etebo. The creativity that Mikel brings for instance is what set him apart as an AM or CM for Nigeria even though he is a DM at Club level.
Etebo to me does better as a winger than as an AM or CM.
Now to set the records straight Alex Iwobi started off as a CM in Arsenal. The competition at the Center (Carzola, Wilshire, Ramsey, Arteter) made Wenger to draft him to the wings. Iwobi played as a CM in one of the cup games (I think Capital one cup) last season.
Mikel started off as an AM in his early years but got converted to a DM at Chelsea. But that AM instinct is still there in him.
It is the job of the coaches to understudy high potential players and see how best to utilize their potentials and not just to throw them straight to the bench just like the Iheanacho calls.
The Super Eagles team needs a very creative central midfielder. I hope Kelechi Nwakali too learns the ropes quickly.
cc: Michael2
personally for me, with a good creative AMF I don't think we need a creative CMF at all. Rakitic is obviously not creative, Kroos isn't all that creative himself although you can argue that Modric is also a CMF but generally CMFs don't need to be creative.
but now let's look at a situation where we might probably need a creative CMF, I think thinking outside the box is required here. Nwakali plays more like an AMF so he is out. in that case I think Ajagun is another creative CMF. If you search far and wide, we have zero Nigerians playing the CMF role for their teams bar Ajagun and since nobody wants to invite Ajagun I still think we can make do with what we have. I like being realistic, Rohr no offence is a limited coach so we know his starting eleven will still be his starting eleven. So we have Iwobi, Karo, Mikel, Onazi/Ndidi vying for the DMF, the CMF, the AMF and the LWF. now for Mikel to truly play the AMF well we need another good player playing as the CMF. at the Olympics we saw what happened when Azubuike was suspended, Mikel didn't really make his mark in that game. against Algeria too Etebo was the guy working with him and it made sense. but we are faced with the issue of Iwobi not being a good LWF( or please is it LMF? I don't even know if we are playing 4-3-3 or 4-5-1) so we need Etebo there. instead of trying to make Iwobi play Etebo's role I think he should take up that AMF while Mikel takes the CMF but problem is that Mikel isn't the type of CMF that will Sprint forward to come and join the attack, he has his own pace and that will create a huge workload for. Iwobi so I general Iwobi does not suit the system, however I can bet a 1000pounds with anyone here that Iwobi will start that game come August.
and meanwhile Iwobi started as an AMF literally CMF. the game where he played as the CMF he wasn't great I watched it and to think that it was against a low opposition shows just how good he is there
Trying so hard to discredit this lad. What is wrong with you sef?? This is becoming so irritating.
He has the best conversion rate in the EPL... is that hype or fact??
He is One of Europe's most clinical forwards... and one of the best young strikers around... is that hype or fact??
Is the stats even from me?? WhoScored.com posted that stats and we both know they are as true as the sun.... why can't you just deal with it??
Lad has the Best... not second best... not third best... but the best clinical ratio in a league that has Kane, Aguero and more and you are saying "not that it is bad".... can you imagine?
You will see fact and still wanna argue what?? Gibberish??
This is becoming so habitual/common place for some of you here.... shocking!
And what did we see of Kayode in the last match biko?? What exactly?? now you are the one suddenly doing what you advise against ba?? Hyping!
Kayode was superman when he came on abi?? Even Osimhen showed more class when he came on.. Kayode will always be Kayode.. full of huffing and puffing here and there and runnings... nothing new. So stop your subtle hypes of a player that Nacho is miles ahead of and just accept the truth. Haba!!!
you continue typing rubbish every single time. did I say Kayode is superhuman or that he is better than Nacho? I just said he us faster than him and even a blind man and his dog can see that, well except you it would seem.
here is the point, Kayode is faster than Nacho but obviously talent wise Nacho is ahead, how is that hyping Kayode? did I say he us the fastest player in the world?
oh and Kayode had two shots in that game after coming on, Nacho had zero
Icon4s: Bros if you have been on this thread long enough you'll know I should be the last moniker to hype Iheanacho.
I know how I continuously poured cold water on guys here hyping Iheanacho putting him on the same level, if not above, Messi and Ronaldo.
But, I can tell you that though Iheanacho may not presently be looking like a player that would take the world by storm as earlier predicted, he is our most lethal striker. It is no hype.
Create chances for Iheanacho to score and see whether he wouldn't rattle the net severally.
Our opponents now know that Iheanacho needs the balls to score. Cut him off supply and he will be a passenger on the field.
Now what I expected of the technical crew is to device a set up that will make the midfield and AM creative enough to dis-organize our opponent's midfield and defense and Iheanacho will continuously find himself in good scoring positions. You saw how Chile did this against Cameroon and Vargas, but for his poor finishing, would have scored at least 3 goals that night.
Sending Iheanacho to the bench and fielding another striker without our midfield and AM being creative enough is like moving from frying pan to fire.
Talking about creativity that is why I am not just of the opinion that Iwobi should be sent to the bench against Cameroon. Apart from physicality you also need creativity to beat a team like Cameroon. I have severally thought of Iwobi being played as the CM and Ndidi DM and Mikel as the AM.
Iwobi hardly makes wrong passes. His through balls are almost always perfect. He is a more creative player than Etebo. Etebo can play from the wings while Iwobi plays the CM role. Mikel and Ndidi to provide physical support to Iwobi.
you do understand that the CMF is the box to box, do you think Iwobi can do that?
TheSuperNerd: Messi misses, Ronaldo misses, Aguero misses.... even Lewandowski misses.... missing is part of the business.
Who can boast a 100% clinicality in front of goal? who? None....
But records have it that Nacho has the best Conversion ratio also in the EPL at 65.2% or so since August 2015!!!!! In the presence of established EPL strikers like Aguero, Kane, Lukaku, Firmino, Costa et al.... #Fact
We cannot throw him away and depend on "Maybe's"... He is our most clinical and most deadly forward and finisher.... We have to thread carefully here if Cameroun must indeed be beaten.
Kayode, Adi, Martins, Ideye, Ighalo and whosoever you have in mind are not as wickedly clinical.
All strikers/forwards miss chances and can have bad days in the office but Nacho's finishing/Clinicality is one of the best in European football. He is the best we've got for now.
you guys don't even understand what these people say sometimes. read it again slowly, best on target conversion rate. that is his off target strikes are not counted just that when he hits the target he scores 65% of the time, not that it is bad just that you are making it sound like he is so conical that anything that comes close to him is a goal. when you consider that most of his goals are tapins no offence that shows just why he has such a ratio.
now I am not saying he is.bad just that we should reduce the hype. the other time I said Kayode is faster and presses more than him, you almost reaped out my heart but we all saw it in this last match, that's just my point
TheSuperNerd: If you like count it as one.... Fact is he scored three as a starting CF in those games. Those are what the records state okay. And there is nothing you, me or anyone can do about it.
You asked for how many goals and I gave you his stats, now you ask for how many matches... next question will be how many competitive matches has he scored in?
Oga... like it or not... Nacho is the best CF we have for now and by far our best goals scorer upfront. That is the painful truth for you but the simple truth for some of us.
Nacho is also our finest and most lethal finisher. None of the CF options we have can be trusted to finish the way Nacho does and with emphasis too. His deadliness is well underlined... best goals ratio in World's toughest league since August 2015 no be beans biko! A few bad games does not change that or dampen such quality.
I remember Nacho missing chances against Senegal, Corsica and Algeria so it's not as if the 'clinicality' is 100%. not to mention that we haven't tried other players in this new system, who knows?they may score more
TheGoodJoe: The answer is so basic and self explanatory and does not deserve to be asked as a question.
Guardiola had Aguero one of the best striker in the World, bought Gabriel Jesus and dropped Aguero on the bench. Does that mean Aguero is not a good striker or is useless as a striker?
Na wa.
I believe I have told you before that Aguero isn't and has never been in my top five forwards of this season in fact, Guardiola is just saying the same thing I am saying. Aguero isn't world-class I have said that before and Nacho doesn't cut it as a striker a true nine, how is that hard to grab
TheGoodJoe: Your understanding of what you are reading is misleading you. Guardiola did not feel Bony will cut it at Manchester City. Does that mean Bony is not a number nine? You guys reason what you are reading before arguing. An Guardiola said normally I like one striker. He did not say Kelechi does not cut it as a nine. He is talking in respect of the competition in the club. Gabriel Jesus and Aguero are big competitions.
the fact that they had to spend so much to buy another striker should be the answer. I mean if you have a good player why spend so much on another?
TheGoodJoe: I do not get what you guys are talking.
Nacho is a forward that can play multiple roles and you select the best player for each role. At the moment, the striking position is key and Iheanacho is our best finisher. He should stay there because when we create loads, we need our best finishing.
One of the articles posted is from a coach talking of Iheanacho before the U17 World cup. Typical forgiveness posting not well thought out posts. You want us to take the decision of an amateur coach over highly paid professionals like Pellegrini and Vieira who played Nacho as a nine.
All the name Nacho has made so far in club football came as him playing as a striker. Forget the whole Guardiola talk in reference of Nacho's club football because he was doing it before Guardiola.
I did highlight the part that I was talking about, the part that Guardiola said himself and this is a coach that has worked with a target man at Bayern Munich and a slippery nine at Barcelona and for him to tell you that this lad just doesn't cut it as a nine shows a lot. the sooner Nacho moves to another club and demands the SS role the better for us all, Rivaldo did it once
"He told sports.bwin.com : "I’m a massive believer in what a manager does rather than what he says and I’m sure he thinks and says that Kelechi is a great young talent but Guardiola’s actions make it clear that he doesn’t believe he’s good enough."
"But I like normally one striker, not two. Of course, when Sergio [Aguero] was injured, players play the game. But then Gabriel came and Sergio didn’t play, so the space is what it is. But it is going to happen this situation with Gabriel so Sergio can’t play all the games and, of course, he [Iheanacho] is going to help us."
This was the answer Guardiola gave for not playing Iheanacho. Take note that he emphasized on playing one striker. And he thinks Iheanacho is not the first or second choice. What does it mean?
No 4
The Super Eagles are now on the lookout for a new man to lead their attack as Kelechi Iheanacho has proved not to be the man to do so, top team officials have told only SCORENigeria
"You can enjoy Kelechi more as a support striker because he is a creative player and a player that can make a difference anytime with assists or clear chances he can always covert that."
the answer to the hold part of your text should be that he is just not good enough as a striker. you will see now that even theGoodJoe who practically marvels at whatever Guardiola does will come out to argue now
Dedebanky85: I thought I was the onky person probably over reacting regarding Iwobi. I'm glad someone else would place Etebo in the wings ahead of Rohr. Well I believe Ndidi is a great talent, however I would utilize him in the LB position for now (afterall he played there for Genk in his initial season). There's something about Onazi's game I like when he plays with Mikel. Mikel lacks energy and pace but Onazi has that in abundance and seems to always pass to Mikel when they play together. So in Lieu of that, I'd like to see a team of: Ikeme; Shehu RB, Balogun & Troost CBs, Ndidi LB; Onazi DM, Mikel (anywhere in MF), Ajagun (AM/CM) Etebo/Aluko (LWF), V.Moses (RWF), Iheanacho (False9). We'd play without a point man. We'd just using roamers going forward.
I don't need to tell you that I will switch Onazi with Ndidi. and if you play a false nine, you need another player who can score very well playing in one of the wings so that when the false nine moves forward the winger can take up his position and still score, So I'd rather just have Iheanacho in the 9 role or if he doesn't pick up form by then I'd bring in Kayode
Dedebanky85: I like this Ajagun's style of play a lot. I have 2 answers to this - My fantasy and what I know Rohr would do. In Mikel"s absence
1) My fantasy would be either Ajagun, Aluko or drop Nacho to the 10 role. Nacho has the ability to pass and score. Aluko would give you a crazy work rate and some passint, Ajagun would give you guile and passing range but forget about him scoring. My pick would be Aluko anytime anyday.
2) But reality in Mikel's absence would be Rohr would play Etebo or Iwobi there. Iwobi has started making me mad these days that I don't even want to see him in the team for a while. As for Etebo, he just showed in the SA game that he's just a hustler only. My pick depends on the opposition. African opponents - Etebo. Any other continent I could manage Iwobi.
nice one.
however I believe we can be able to give Mikel a free role in the team. that is he will neither be the AMF or CMF he plays wherever he finds himself at that particular time, in such a scenario I would advocate for Ajagun's inclusion. Aluko is good as an AMF but as an all rounder ie CMF and AMF combined I think Ajagun gets the nod truth be told he isn't bad at all, not to mention his work ethics too, he hustlers for the ball and even before he wins the ball he has already seen who he is going to pass the ball to. I think he can do what Etebo did against Algeria while also adding creativity to it so that Etebo can start playing his natural position for us, the LWF and Iwobi? Well he may have to start working really hard
Let everyone watch his clip and be sincere. Does Ajagun make a strong case?
hmmmmmmmmmmmmmm
well, he can dribble very well, he has a good passing range, long balls and through balls he has them both, he is strong too and his ball control is amazing.
however I believe he is more of a CMF his goalscoring ability is abysmally poor. almost all his strikes were off target even when he was in front of goal alone. I like his style of play though he knows he can't score so he would rather pass and his decision making isn't bad.
all in all considering the fact that we have no attacking or CMF on our team he has a strong case, a very strong one
Dedebanky85: And whatever makes u happy as well. If you feel Ndidi was the CMF and Onazi was the DMF, that's possibly ur opinion and how you choose to draw the formation up. Let me explain something, no coach gives out his team shape to any tv pundit. All coaches or designated team personel do leading up to a game is that they hand out the names of the 11 players. What(how)ever a skysports, fox, bein, espn choose to arrange the team list is down to sheer speculation oir their pundits. That's why ever station does a simulation and state "here is how we THINK they'd play". Coaches sometimes do explain their approach after the games. That's how we know Conte switched to a 343 formation cos he explained it. Same with Wenger cos they explained it... But based on what I saw in the SA game, Onazi was a CMF to me and Ndidi was supposed to be the DMF, but did he play like one? That's up in d air to be debated. No one on this forum knows what happened except to speculate how the MF was set up. Except Rohr explains how he set the team up which I have not rest at this point. So if it makes u happy that Onazi was DMF or even a defender, that's your view.
there is something in this your comment that made it sound like you started watching football last week. So you also want the coach to come and tell you that Ekong was the CB? or that Nacho was the striker? in fact Moses Simon was the wing back since we want to be ridiculous
Dedebanky85: Naaaa. Ndidi and Onazi started oit as the DMFs, if there's a case to be made then it was even Onazi that was more advanced of the 2. Ndidi only started going forward more when we were losing and Onazi being the person with more stamina had the ability to pace up and down the MF. When we were losong there was no designated DM.
first you said there was no DMF now you are saying we had two DMFs whatever makes you happy bro
After the Super Eagles nervelessly took care of business against both Zambia and Algeria last year, it was a groan that greeted the news Cameroon lay a full ten months away. All the attendant fears: disruption of rhythm, the uncertainty of the future, as well as the very nature of the opposition, have now all been actualized. It would appear that we create what we fear.
Of course, no one could have guessed to what degree these would play up. Since that victory, when it seemed all the stars in their courses were aligning, everything that could possibly go wrong, has. This is accounting for personnel as well as extant circumstance.
Kelechi Iheanacho and Alex Iwobi, the two great young hopes of the national sides, have seen their rising club profiles curtailed. In the case of the former, there has been a dwindling to utter insignificance: his entrances toward the end of the season just past took on the air of tokenism, and the recent reports of Manchester City’s interest in Pierre Emerick Aubameyang have only served to infuse urgency into an already transparent situation: he needs a new club.
Leon Balogun’s injury monkey has clung stubbornly to his back; consequently, even when fit, his place in the Mainz set-up is no longer as assured as it once was. The same can be said of Carl Ikeme, the rebound guy for a nation still reeling from the shock of being jilted by Vincent Enyeama. Both with great ability, and leaders at the back: they give you their all, but they’re not always there when you call.
Neither, for that matter, is Victor Moses, splitter of the Maghreb sands and the Dani Alves of Cobham. He was injured again, this time not for a friendly, as the Super Eagles went down in Uyo; though, he was crocked the March friendly against Senegal. Thankfully, that has done nothing to threaten his place at Chelsea.
Both Elderson Echiejile and Ahmed Musa have somehow become worse as footballers; Moses Simon, once full of endeavour and end product, is now just full of endeavour.
Team captain and talisman Mikel John Obi has swapped London for Tianjin, and has somehow managed to get injured (weren’t we told China was a place to put your feet up, sip the tea and make easy money?).
Indeed, look through the team, and the flowering of Wilfred Ndidi has been the only positive personnel-wise.
Even that, going by his fish-out-of-water role against South Africa, might prove problematic going forward, especially considering the fact Ogenyi Onazi remains, for some reason, virtually undroppable.
The landscape has also changed.
From practically biting Zambia’s hands off for a draw at home, Cameroon are now playing in the Confederations Cup in Russia, somehow wearing the tag of ‘African champions’. Hugo Broos has got his side, technically limited and unimaginative, pulling in the right direction and winning simply by refusing to lose.
Gernot Rohr has also begun to see his authority undermined in certain quarters, most notably by the (infamous) NFF Technical Committee led by Barrister Chris Green (presumably without a white cat cradled in the crook of his arm); while the age-old chestnut of agents lobbying for the inclusion of their clients in the national team is smouldering once more in the fire.
More dangerously, and insidiously, hubris appears to have overtaken the man from the City of Squares who began so openly and humbly. His selection and decision-making for the loss to Bafana was troubling; throwing poor Chidozie Awaziem to the dogs is surely the sort of mistake that will not be repeated, but it betrays a deeper trend of increasing insularity.
However, the youngster performed in training, there can be no substitute for match experience, neither is there a means to recreate the pressure that comes with earning a first competitive cap for your country.
It also shows that man management may not be the strength we once imagined Rohr had.
His decisions to leave out Kenneth Omeruo, who surely would have been pumped to face Tokelo Rantie again; bypassing Ahmed Musa for the captaincy against Senegal; and leaving John Ogu out of the matchday squad completely, in spite of the fact he was the best passer available; these all speak volumes.
Then again, perhaps it is only natural that with familiarity comes knowledge. Whatever the case, the tide seems to have turned almost completely. Where once Nigerians were champing at the bit to face Cameroon, there is now hesitation. The simple passing of time, fraying at the nerves and introducing randomness, has beaten history’s finest armies. It may yet undo the Super Eagles.
the first part is practically saying the same thing we have been saying. for those who still do not understand it means that Ndidi was played out of position, that means he was playing as the CMF on the day hence the 'fish out of water' and that means Onazi was the DMF, all these guys that think FIFA is real football should take note.
then the second part is brilliant. some people were saying that Omeruo would have been psychologically weak against Rantie but the truth there is that he will.be out to impress. even if he is error prone he would have given a good account of himself because this is an opportunity to exert vengeance on his oppressor but somehow Rohr didn't see that. wouldn't blame him though, that's the work of a proper team psychologist
Dedebanky85: Everyone's bashing Onazi saying he did not do his primary ho1b as the DMF., that he was running around. Well I saw two DMs on the pitch against SA Ndidi and Onazi. Except u are Rohr or own Rohr's hear no one should say Onazi was the DM cos no one can claim to know that. I can also claim that Ndidi played rubbish cos he was the DM, but I already see people typing to refute such claims that he was not. Well, i stand by my fact that Onazi was not the DM. A team can play without a DM. If you feel that's a lie, why does EA sports have fifa formations without DMs? We too de claim coach for this forum just to drive home a point. A coach can change a formation and nobody knows what Rohr must have told the MFs during the game. So we should cut onazi some slack. I was one of the people really upset with him after the game in the heat of my emotions. However, having watched the game 3ce, I'd have loved to have 3 Onazi's in MF on the day. He was by far the best in terms of presence, passing, mobility. Ndidi was happy passing to the opponents or not even anticipating passes. Let's just at least be humble to call a spade a spade. I'm not saying Onazi is better than Ndidi, but when it involves that SA game Onazi was miles better than Ndidi
please name one actual team that plays without a dmf. how can you have two dmfs in a three man midfield? that means you either do not have a Cmf or an Amf which does not make sense. if after watching the match three times you still did not notice that Onazi takes up the dmfs position when the ball is in our side of the pitch then you need to watch it again the fourth time. please football isn't fifa where Messi can run from defence to attack and score,
TheGoodJoe: Oshaniwa was a revelation under Keshi and helped us on the left back role. It was under Oliseh we had a dip in that position and it has continued.
No one said Onazi did not work hard. He was a tyrant but a disorganized one. The reason Onazi works so hard in midfield is because of the amount of gaps he makes due to his disorganized play. We have talked about this before we qualified for the World Cup in Brazil.
Mikel looks lazier than Onazi on the field but his impact is more. Food for Thought. Make sure you finish your meal.
That's the problem African teams have. they don't know that the world has moved on from DMFs that run around the entire pitch like mad without performing their main duty. now football is perfectly organiZed, guys like Busquets and Nzonzi wouldn't survive if they are playing for African nations because they don't run around like Onazi. Matic too would have been a goner since day one but football has moved on, Onazi was the most agile and noticeable midfielder on the day but if we judge strictly on what each midfielder should be doing then he was the worst I don't know how that is hard to grab. That's why I respect Icon4s, he didn't even recognize that Onazi was the DMF he thought he was the CMF and immediately we corrected him he kept quiet, why some guys don't understand this sure beats me
forgiveness: @bolded write up is a very brilliant one. Kudos.
This is the highlight of the whole pattern of play 'we need an AMF that can also cover for Mikel in the cmf role because Mikel isn't the fastest player in the world so the AMF needs to drop really deep at times and cover a lot of grounds too, Iwobi won't last twenty minutes'
In the light of the aforementioned, I will suggest Ajagun to play alongside Mikel because they can both play AMF and CMF very well which will enable them interchange in the course of the game. Brilliant analysis.
Ajagun just dey sweet you for belle, are you sure he isn't your in law?
TheGoodJoe: We need to maintain shape at the back. We need to adhere strictly to this to prevent gaps in case we lose the ball.
With respect to the full back, we need the full back to play in a disciplined pattern and the defensive midfield shield to give more work in this respect.
If the left back goes forward, the defensive midfield must drop a bit deeper to prevent space for them to attack us. Also, the right back must maintain his position, forming a three man defence and a defensive shield in front of them. When once the left back is done with build up play, he must return to his position.
With two creative midfielders and three forwards, we do not need the full backs committing so much during attack build up. Our defensive shape is more important than forward attacking play in this scenario.
I agree with you with keeping the ball in our own half but we should keep in mind losing the ball in our own half is dangerous, so our defensive shape is the most important in this aspect.
the bolded is the entire point. Onazi will start, do you think he will do that?he didn't do it in the last game so all things being equal he won't do it in August. That's just my main fear
Also, we need to return with pace when we lose the ball. More players must contribute to winning the ball when we lose it.
Sports › Re: "The Super Eagles Thread: The Road To AFCON 2027, 2028 And 2030 World Cup by Mickael2(m): 7:33am On Jun 29, 2017
