₦airaland Forum

ChrisKels:
Lol you and this your Awaziem sef.

Nwanne me I no rate Awaziem and Osayi.

I really pray Kayode comes. I have been following him from his Fiorentina days, he is good.

If and when he comes, I would have him on the right and Aina on the left in important games against the top teams. No be me and una dey do that Zaidu, Bruno, Agu, Awaziem, Osayi things abeg.

😂😂 I am indifferent to Awaziem oo. If not that the coach mentioned him, I don't think I would have.

Apart from Balotelli, Italy doesn't give black players much attention. Remember one igbo guy that Italy used in the friendly we played on the road to 2014 WC. Afterwards nothing for am. So Kayode should be wise oo and now is the time.

elyte89:
This is my exact argument about this onyedika guy we fans are not cin …no worry ,dem go soon use am …2 foreign coaches can’t be wrong na ,same way we taught Bruno was better Dan zaidu ..if onyedika is dt good Dan ndidi ,den he shldnt be chopping bench under 2diff foreign coaches who has worked closer with these two players In trainings.

Another player I am looking with corner eye is Chrisantus. He received high praise on this forum but I was shocked when Chelle did not originally invite him for this last match. And now he is not featuring for Crystal Palace.

I just hope it's a matter of the coaches not having figured him out yet than footballing ability because he was decent for Getafe.

TheSuperNerd:
Which other Nigerian CDM outscored Oliseh in same era? Oya talk.

Oliseh was the best and still scored some goals in Eagles colors. Ndidi has not gotten one in 10 years of national team football, especially seeing the bangers he hit back in Belgium and his early years in England and you expect me not to be worried about that metric??

Okay, before Injuries hit Ndidi, 2016-2017 Ndidi was still scoring bangers, why didnt he hit them in the NT? So no excuses please.

Ndidi tops Onyeka in the CDM role yet when he started in 2021 Afcon as the main man in the role, Nigeria lost out in the round of 16. Even under Rohr at Afcon 2019, Ndidi had Etebo but their double pivot could not take us into the final.

Onyeka under Peseiro at Afcon 2023 (in 2024) played the main defensive midfield role like a lion and Nigeria reached an Afcon final for the first time since 2013.

If Ndidi had been at the Afcon under Peseiro and started, I doubt we would have made it.

Ndidi does not have Onyeka's never quenching Workhorse energy and he does not have Onyedika's top notch Ball playing.

Ndidi is a big let down with goals. Even when he gets into goal scoring positions, he bottles it. I have removed my mind from Ndidi ever scoring for Nigeria.

ChrisKels:
I'm of the opinion that we approach Kayode of Brentford. If he turns us down, he turns us down. We have no deputy for Aina. Osayi is a big down grade.

Osayi no be am. The Kayode has earned rave reviews with high praise for his long throw - ins.

Awaziem is still in the mix though.

elyte89:
Considering the circumstances, we really need to cut Chelle some slack. From the moment he was appointed, almost every match he’s handled has felt like a “final.” He hasn’t had the luxury of experimenting with his squad, except during the Unity Cup and the friendly games in Russia 🇷🇺. Surely, you wouldn’t expect him to test new players in must-win matches like those against Rwanda 🇷🇼 and Zimbabwe 🇿🇼, or even in crucial World Cup qualifiers.
From his recent interview, it’s clear that the emergence of Fredricks was purely circumstantial the originally invited players were unavailable for the Unity Cup, so Fredricks was drafted in because he was already with the team in Brentford.The same goes for Olakunle, who was also in Russia 🇷🇺 when some players withdrew from the friendlies.
Looking ahead, with two more important World Cup qualifying games coming up, it might not be wise to introduce too many new faces into a team still trying to grasp his playing philosophy especially when even players who’ve been with him for over ten months are just beginning to adapt.
Personally, I think the best time for him to bring in new talents would be either just before AFCON or after the March playoff fixtures.

You remember how we brought in new players in the crucial WC match against Ghana. I'm not saying that is why we didn't win but that was obviously not a good time to bring in new players.

kennysville:
This right here, my bruh... is the original origin of the current Super Eagles problems. The mindset! Other than the super Jersey that we went to the 2018 world cup to go and don,( and of course, it was the best jersey in the world ...even up till now) it wasn't enough to improve our play as we didnt do anything meaningful. That man did more harm than good to the psyche of the team all in the name of managing our expectations. We came to accept mediocre performances on the pitch of play and resorted to talks like you cant give what you dont have.

For crying out loud, we are Nigeria !!! if not for our visionless NFF, how did we get here? Can you imagine a world cup where brazil failed to qualify? Some will say well that's football but the grit needs to be there!

Exactly. We have some bit of history in football. Fight for that legacy. Improve on it. Go on higher.

Don't just put up limp performances because you are afraid to raise expectations. That's what Rohr did. And that's why I was strongly in support of his leaving the team.

"Sing a song sweet music man 'cause I won't be there To hold your hand like I used to, I'm through with you.
You're a heck of a singer and a powerful man but you surround yourself With people who demand so little of you"
- Kenny Rogers 'Sweet Music Man'

villagereporter:
.

You have only related to d fractions of 200 million plus people. No doubt bad and corrupt people exist but there are people out there who are genuinely not corrupt.

Though through your work you have met a whole lot of shady xters among Nigerians but dat doesnt mean all of us are bad people.
Tà bá ní ká dîjú ké ní ibis o köjá, ä oní mogbà téni 'rë má köjá.

When you are dealings with Nigerians be open minded " nothing gainful, nothing hurtful".

I no dey for theory ooo. Let all men believe whatever they want. I'm not as starry eyed as you are. I admire your open mindedness but I can't be fooled. I simply don't believe you or myself or any other person as being incorruptible because of our mere moral statements.

Go there and don't steal. When you do so, come back and preach. I will listen. Until then whatever you say is mere theory.

Since you are so confident, why don't we test the proposition:go and drop your phone in a public place and let us see the result.

QueenJazz:
We're technically saying the same thing. Skill and grit must go hand in hand. That's what makes South American teams so dangerous, for instance, because they marry the technicality and strategy of the Europeans with the physicality and aggression of the Africans. You can't divorce one from the other.

And to that point, aggression without tact and skill is also an exercise in futility. I used the CHAN eagles as example. In the match against Senegal, they had so much energy pressing the Senegalese and they won the ball back so many times in the first half. At the end they still lost because they were tactically clueless. Senegal were practically laid back for majority of that game. I didn't watch the game with Sudan so idk how they played there.

Even in the games against Lesotho and South Africa that people were blasting Lookman, he actually played with so much aggression, if you took notice. What good did it do tho? He still lost a lot of passes and kept hugging the ball in moments where he could have just let it go. Of course, we know it's because of his state of mind, but still.

If you carry a bunch of hungry and aggressive secondary school students and take them to play against prime Brazil, Spain or Madrid, what do you suppose the result is going to be?

So yes, grit and skill are important. But they are also mutually exclusive (i.e one without the other will always produce a flawed game)

In the game against Benin, we were 100% more aggressive compared to our game against Lesotho for instance. But let's not forget that it was also key changes like bringing in Chukwueze, taking Moses to the left wing, and keeping Ekong on the bench that also helped our chances.

Ndidi played with so much energy, and yet see the clear chance he missed in the 18 yard box.

Tactics and football intelligence is just as important as willpower.

At any rate, Chelle can't afford to tweak anything now in terms of formation or strategy because he's understandably trying not to rock the boat. So I perfectly understand his hesitance to bring in new players.

We are not saying the same thing to the extent that you zero in on aggression as the motif of my write up and your constant reference to the Chan team.

Warrior state of mind is not necessarily aggression oo. It is a never say die attitude. It is playing with determination and grit. To limit it to aggression is to miss the point. That's why I mentioned Benjamin who one can hardly describe as aggressive on the pitch yet the fact that the coach says he is first to turn up shows the mentality of a winner.

Madrid has that winning mentality which comes from their illustrious pedigree. Many national teams also have it. Sometimes we call them tournament teams meaning that they often put up a good showing. One can hardly say this teams are aggressive. So it's not about aggression. It's about the team knowing itself as a winner and playing that way. It's a mix of many excellent qualities not just aggression.

I don't think skill is a problem with the Super Eagles players. They have sufficient skill. So one can hardly complain about that. That's why the reference to the heavy footed Chan team in this context, is in my opinion, misplaced.

The coach is solely constrained for time. He would have to do with these set of players for the playoffs.

QueenJazz:
Honestly the whole "fighting spirit" ideology is not entirely perfect imo. You can be pressing the opponent with all the smoke in your eyes, and then when you get the ball, you still bottle your chance because you simply don't have the football intelligence. I saw that type of behavior in spades with the CHAN team earlier this year. To be honest, those guys tried to be aggressive, especially in their first game against Senegal. But you can't give what you don't have.

Anyway, I understand where Chelle is coming from though, especially with regards the introduction of new players. Not that I agree with him at all, but I can see why he'd be too scared to try out any experiments for now, when we have do or die matches to play.

Obviously he still needs plenty of time with the team to understand the players.

After watching that interview with Segun Odegbami, I've honestly tempered my expectations going into the playoffs. Hopefully we make it, but I'm preparing myself now for more twists, turns and heart attacks.

It also doesn't help that some of our most important players are getting injured left, right, centre. 🤧

He spoke about our players having a warrior state of mind and any serious fan of our team knows that we sorely lack that spirit. And while every player might not physically display the kind of relentless aggression of Osimhen, every player is expected to fight. Like Donald Trump often says: fight! fight!! fight!!! Look at young Benjamin, Chelle said that the boy is the first at everything, as in, in camp, I suppose. That's a fighter.

He likened football to war. He said that the play - offs is a we - win - or - die - here affair. Truly that's the spirit we want to see.

Winning is not all about talent or skill or tactics. It's about grit, determination and a never-say die attitude. We have seen or read many epic accounts of few men coming against vastly superior opponents on the field of battle and defeating them.

Our team used to have that fighting spirit. But somehow we have lost it - and I think it is because of the innit boys (I might be wrong
here).

Chelle, in the presser after the Benin match, said that Osimhen is the best striker in the world. Well, we took that for granted. But in this interview, he also said that the team is the best and then with restraint, he added that maybe we among the best ten teams in the world. My head scatter. I loved that. Not because we are the best ooo but that speaks to his vision of the team. And how he sees the team, is how the players will see themselves.

Mentality is key. I tell you something: in the qualifiers for 2018 WC, we stomped like a bull through a very tough group, trouncing Cameroun 4-0, Algeria, 3-1 and qualified. Immediately we qualified, Rohr's body language and words turned negative because he was afraid or rather felt we weren't good enough to face the world. Every time he spoke of the team, he kept on saying that he had the youngest team in the world and that the players lacked experience. He said this several times in the presence of the players. I just weak. Rohr was really saying that he had no high expectation of the players and this in turn meant that we shouldn't expect much from the 'youngies'.

Many people here complained. Some defended him by saying it was mind games. Well, our world cup games were pffffffff. We didn't make the second round. And It was from that time Rohr lost the plot and he and the team never recovered their magic.

We are Nigerians. Two strategies work on us - hype us or yab us. But never be lukewarm with us. Never encourage complacency. In this last match, it was yabbing some fans employed. They mocked Osimhen, called the team names. The result is 4-0.

Meliforme:
Ndidi is a tactician.
I keep saying it.

How? Why do you say so?

Papi85:
I read after Chelle’s appointment that because of the precarious position of the team in the World Cup qualifiers group that he isn’t going to experiment much by testing many players but that such will happen once the qualifier series are over

I believe if he remains in the job that he will surely reach out to some players eligible to us

He is a measured man taking things gently in his stride. You can tell even from the way he defended his players.

When asked about Nwabali, he defended him saying that do we know whether the guy is playing according to instructions?

That doesn't mean he's supporting Nwabali. What it means is that he will not condemn his players in public. Baba, people like bosses who are like that.

Odunayaw:
Make Chelle reach out. Even if not before November but at least before AFCON or March

They know these players. He said they monitor at least 80 players per week!

Goke7:
You got to observe table manners 😂

Na so ooo

elyte89:
I don’t know y ppu just like to turn a blind eye to something so obvious….peeps here will be putting out first eleven wout ndidi

I Dey always tell dem ,any line up wout ndidi na wash ,u heard d part where chelle said he took his time to explain via video sessions to ndidi aw he wants him to play the role and he’s now getting it ..he also used dt analogy to quash fans hope of cin deir players favourite for now ,saying it would be hard drafting new players to the team except for one or two

He spoke well of Awaziem too. Players will be added but I don't think they will be more than two or three unless we have a gale of injuries to the regulars which is unlikely.

Meliforme:
Uche Christanthus should not be starting ahead of Ndidi, Alhassan or Onyeka until we see him play that role over and over.

Forget it. In the interview, Chelle spoke effusively that Ndidi understands the 4-4-2 formation.

The others can only fight. Ndidi got it.

Odunayaw:
I really like that Chelle talked about identity & philosophy of Nigerian football. Things like that make thing Eguavoen is a figurehead Technical Director.

Chelle also mentioned his formations 442, 451, 532.

The screenshot below is exactly what I was expecting Chelle's thoughts of the Benin game to be

I just pray he keeps churning out good results

Goke7:
Interesting interview so all of Una wey no wan see Nwabali again coach say make Una take Una time o cos he doesn’t want nice guys as his players but warriors who are ready to die on the pitch and if possible beat the hell of any opponent wey Dey misbehave for pitch. He even said he’s ready to get on the pitch himself if possible to slap any anybody that touches his players, Chelle no Dey play o! I say make I warn Una 😂

I actually admire the way he stands by his players!

As e talk am, I pinch myself. I say abajo. But I know he'd still tell him to restrain himself.

Goke7:
That’s why you will see so many critics of govt just go quiet of all sudden 😂 na that time you go hear e don collect one govt job or contract Dey clean mouth. You no go hear pim for their mouth again

When eating, don't talk 😂😂

Amedino99:
people will be activists campaigning for better governance, once they get inside they become the very thing they were against. I have been exposed to way too many activists turned politicians puppet on social media to believe good people exist in government. People whose following was built on criticising the govt becoming their lap dogs. When you confront them on why they are in bed with their supposed oppressors, their response will be "you have to change the system from the inside". They never do that. The system was not built for good people to thrive in.

The bolded shows you understand the koko. All their condemnations is noise oo. Put them there, your eyes go peel.

The issue is that we often feel that if you are against the government or if you are a government critique, you are righteous.

forgiveness:
"I watch all the players the world gives me and try to analyze"

If you want to play you have to be better than what we have. He said it all.

Yes oo and that's a good criteria. He said that they have a data base of at least 500 Nigerian players. That tells us that most of the players we talk about here are known to the coaching crew.

It was an insightful exchange. Loved where he said he wants our players to have a warrior state of mind.


The man like Nwabali oo.

Goke7:
No be lie o 😂 you’re only good when you never see govt money

I dey tell you oo. In my line of work I don see things oo and I know it's not unique to me. Any one who is in government or deals with its agencies or officials can testify.

So I often say that the Nigerian who preaches against corruption and I will believe him, is the one who has gone there and comes out with his integrity intact.

Any other person, na theory you dey oo. I go just dey look them dey laugh. Country wey 9 out of ten times, if your phone fall inside car or just miss, e don go be that.

lovewins:
First, good people exist in government, maybe not in the majority but they do exist. That's however wasn't my focus. I personally believe government should largely divest from sports in Nigeria as I believe it's the only way we'll see any meaningful progress. I have spoken about this before in details and will probably do more in future should it be necessary.

By good I mean people with a stake in the football ecosystem in Nigeria. If I were to suggest, I'll probably give votes to sponsors, increase the vote of media, referees association and players association. Our current model adopts State chairman as statutory members currently, I'll lobby owners of private clubs in the NPFL to get votes too. You can give every living Super Eagles and Super Falcons captain a vote. These are just examples of how we can fill up the voting block with persons who have a stake in seeing football in Nigeria succeed and not just politicians who are waiting for the next FIFA grant and FG largesse to share.

Your first line. They do exist but like you said, rare species.

Well said.

Wait ooo. Where is humility? It's been long since he posted. I hope he's fine. He's a staunch and regular member of the thread.

QueenJazz, elyte89, Kog45, Charlesemeka85, Odunayaw, ChrisKels, Joebie, MetalJigsaw, Meliforme, yinkeys, Goke7, forgiveness, BankyGee, lovewins, jieta, jihday and others

This is Chelle's latest interview granted to Odegbami. I'm off to go listen to it now. Come along my people.



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d7AZVMUhx-4?si=Req_agMMAT9ckulH

lovewins:
This wouldn't bring any change, at least not the way most assume. The only way the NFF changes is by good people getting into the mess and changing it from the inside out. And the only way good people can get in is to change the voting composition of the NFF to wrest power from the cabal cause right now only 46 members vote for the NFF board and at least 37 of them are politicians. The goal is to dilute their voting power by increasing the number of delegates allowed to vote to at least 100. (The composition of the extra delegate makeup is another conversation all together). This is the only way to effect change. But it's naive to think someone is coming to save our football, nobody is.

Please what do you mean by good people? Do mean people who will not 'chop' or people who will chop and still work?

Because - make una no vex - I don't believe that good people as people who are incorruptible exist in naija oo. They might exist when outside government but once inside, na choppings oo. So goodness will be a matter of degree of the choppings.

Sugarboyy:
If FIFA themselves aren't corrupt, they would have handled the project themselves by paying directly to the contractors and not sending money to the corrupt NFF hoping that they would use the money judiciously. That's how the World Bank handles most of their projects in "corrupt" countries.
Though, I really wish this would bring a lasting change to this inept NFF board, from the President to the Eguavoen that has held the technical director position for long with no meaningful progress

Any international organization still giving money to any government agency, institution or ministry for project are on a fool's errand. The money will be siphoned. Too sure.

Rather let a need be identified, a project designed with the local administrators and officials and then you execute it yourself. That's the only way to achieve meaningful results.

yinkeys:
Disagree with this statement 100%
We are not all cut from the same cloth
Our society still has noble men who aren’t cul. tists
E. vil just prevails in the land because people aren’t collectively willing to sacrifice their lives for future generations benefit.

Hahaha hahaha hahaha. As yoruba people will say yinmu.

I have seen things ooo. What do you say when even the water that is meant to quench the fire becomes petrol that makes it burn the more. I'm not talking theories oo. Forget oo.

AndSunGorilla:
Fantastic assist for Ebenezer e. His assist got the 2nd goal for Pizza against AC Milan.

Chelle should invite this boy instead of Alhassan who has not played a single game under Chelle but is always making the team list.

Even Chrisantus is not getting enough game time

Cocony:
The reference to Brazil was the France 98 Super EAGLES that were thrashed 4:1 by Denmark not the USA 94 Super EAGLES.

Denmark demolished us. Eber Sand was substituted and with his first touch, he scored. Went to school the next day, rumor spread that fifa was going to replay the match. We believed it. We had to because we needed that illusion to staunch our bleeding hearts.

QueenJazz:

Explanations, no Evidence!!!
Azamen glasshouse @thenff please Nigerians need actual answers !!!#SAVENIGERIANFOOTBALL pic.twitter.com/mSNTZ6zV8x

— The Big Bird🦅⚽️ (@c_mobike) October 24, 2025

This Mobike guy is fast becoming my favorite sports content creator. Keeping his foot on NFF's neck.

When Nigerians cry about corruption, I don't make bones out of it. Put him or her there, dem go do the same or worse. We underestimate how much of the virus of corruption we have in us until opportunity presents itself.

Goke7:
We would have met Spain in the quarterfinal, and who knows, the same Spain we beat in 1998

Okocha was a delight, I think what annoys people the most about him is when he balloons the ball and starts smiling, That thing dey pain sha I no go lie.

I think the catch of the '94 team was the completeness from defence to attack, including the bench; it was a very lucky team.

Kanu was from the U-17 World Cup-winning team of 1993 with teammates like Oruma and Babayaro. There was no one they could bench in the '94 team. In fact, many believe Okocha is the reason we never get to see much of Oruma in the Eagles

We would have defeated Spain. Spain only became a force from 2006.

Yes. Jay Jay made Oruma almost irrelevant. And the thing is that he was always available so no space for Oruma like that.

Goke7:
That Italian team was also poor before meeting us. During the first round, they also struggled in the group stage with teams like Ireland, Norway, and Mexico, and they came third in the group, qualifying as one of the best losers. It would have been some form of joke if they won that World Cup. Our inexperience was just our bane!

Sometimes teams tick off slowly. I think Bulgaria qualified as best losers from our group. They went all the way to the semis. Remember in 06, France struggled to get out of their group but eventually got their grove in the second round.

Your favorite 2013 set too na higgedly piggedly dem take enter second round but their engine roared into life in the game against CIV. Thereafter na cruise dem cruise till they won the tournament.

So it's not necessarily that a team is poor. Sometimes they don't gell quickly or tactical set may be a hindrance.