₦airaland Forum

we are all praising APAM now because by some twist , Amodu's favourite players got injured. While Apam ,Shittu pair has worked for us thus far, I still think the best defensive pair will be Adeleye and shittu. A good guy, calm, collected and intelligent (Adeleye) and a bad ,combative,power playing guy (shittu).

Two roughnecks (shittu and Apam ) is hardly the best. check out the best defensive pairs in the world and see what I mean.

I have always said Kanu is still relevant in that team, people have been shouting me down. Sincerely we still need a player like him in the WC, when we play less combative white defenders, the guy will sure do some good stuff.

semid4lyfe:
I don't think anyone on this forum criticizes Mikel as much as I do. . . .but to be fair to the guy, he was brilliant today and played his best game of the tournament. . . . However my previous criticisms of Mikel still stands. . . .he needs to play more as a ball carrier and not a ball passer, he needs to be more mobile with the ball, move forward,release passes on time & stop dilly-dallying or doing 'merry go round' etc etc etc. . my criticisms of Mikel too plenty in fact so etc etc . . .lol.We need to get a ball carrier in the mould of Didier Zokora to play our 10 (Lukman Haruna IMO) and not just a ball passer like Mikel - who is an old dog set in his ways and can't be taught new tricks. Overall, It's my opinion the team played it's best game of the tournament today. We lost this game due to a player error - Nwaneri (but why couldn't we score?). . . .I'm surprised he even started this game. . . . Anyway sha, na Amodu know why im choose am for the 23-man team and even chose am to start today. . . . .There was a time during the match when the camera focused on Kanu & Apam on the bench and kanu was lamenting. . .aah Nwaneri. . .Nwaneri  (You don't believe me? Watch the replay & read Kanu's lips) . . . .Even amongst the players, there is a general feeling that Nwaneri is not good (a certain member of the team once said to me 'Nwaneri yen? Ko da jo. . .a ti e mo bo se ma make team')

Having said this, Amodu used the wrong formation & tactics to prosecute today's match. Anyone who has watched Ghana's matches in this competition knows they play with 1 striker, look to steal a goal (in the 1st half) and then pack the bus in front of their goal in the 2nd half. . .before today, they'd used this tactic successfully against Burkina Faso and Angola. . . .so I was surprised Amodu started off with 4-5-1/4-4-3 formation (that makes use of a lone striker) rather than a 4-4-2 against a team that was obviously coming to defend. When they scored, I said to my brother. 'If we can't equalize in the 1st half, we cant score again becos 'oma di ile pa ni 2nd half'. . .and this turned out to be true as they played defensive throughout. Our strikers didn't help matters too by wasting the many good goal scoring chances that came their way.

Anyway, a surgical operation needs to be done on this team. . . . .certain players need to be dropped e.g Nwaneri, Kanu, Yusuf Mohammed (always takes him at least 3 touches to control a ball and he's too injury prone) and certain players need to be recalled (e.g Adeleye, Adefemi, Ajilore, Eneramo etc). . . .  Amodu must also be more flexible in his approach to matches. . . .you don't go thru' a tournament playing opposing teams that play different patterns with the same formation and tactics, Haba! He must also be willing to try players in positions other than the traditional roles we know them for playing in the S.E's eg Why can't Nsofor for example play as a 10 & Osaze or Ogbuke as a point man like Sia1 used them in the Olympics etc,etc.

Amodu must also keep his mind open and give the home-based players and the better players from the U-17 (Azeez, Chukwudi, Emmanuel, Ajagun) U-21(Obot Etuk, Obiorah Nwankwo, Kingsley Udoh, Rabiu Ibrahim and Beijing 2008 team a chance to fight for a place in the final 23-man list. . . . . These players must not be used as mere training materials. . . .THEY MUST NOT. . .some of them MUST actually make the final team to South Africa. I see no reason why at least 3-5 players from the domestic league can't make the final team to the World cup. . . . Amodu cannot in his right senses tell me players like Ike ThankGod, Chibuzor Okonkwo, Osanga King, Ibrahim Babale, Obiorah Nwankwo, Valentine Nwabili, Jonah Abutu, Solomon Okpako, John Nnam etc are not good. HE CANNOT. . . .Amodu's take on the domestic league and the players is not only pathetic but laughable. .  Heartland got to the CAF champions league final and eliminated a Kano Pillars that knocked out Ahl-Ahly of Egypt (that is the bedrock of the Egypt's Angola 2010 team) in the semi-finals. It's funny Amodu saw no player worth donning the green-white-green amongst these two teams. . . Very Funny. . . .A local homebased coach who cut his teeth in the domestic league but does not believe in home-based players?. . . oh. . . .LAUGH WAN KILL ME DIE!

Finally, I have been a vocal supporter of Amodu but at the same time, I have often tempered this support with criticism and often expressed my displeasure with his player selection, tactics, formation, substitutions and what have you. I hope he has a change of mentality and does what needs to be done before the World cup. . . . .(YES HE STILL DESERVES TO TAKE US TO THE WORLD CUP albeit with Siasia in tow) otherwise hmmm. . ,  . make I just stop for here for now.

I think we must all get something straight here. A team can play well and still lose. I hate it when we come up with analysis the seem to praise the coach when we win albeit anyhow(luck,prayer,refs assistance etc) Talking about Amodu's tactics being wrong in this match because we lost is the same flaw as saying he was always right when we conjured  unimpressive wins. I sense that you are close somehow to some key figures in our football circles hence objectivity from people like you will help right the wrongs in our sports. please lets try to be objective.


The tactics was right, remember I have always been an Amodu critic. This was our best match. Even CIV did not peg Ghana the way we did. One a luckier day we could have beating Ghana by 3 clear goals. From the start of the game , the tempo was wholly dictated by SE. The goal was Nwaneri's flaw and I was telling my broda that we should not just drop him from the team but even alert SA to put him on their watch list  and not allow him into SA during the competition. He should watch the matches on TV  .


On mikel if with the slow speed and all the flaws you mentioned , he could still give some 4 killer passes that could have finished Ghana off with better finishing , then i dont seem to understand you. Okocha was not very good at releasing players the way mikel effortlessly does. In the first match , his value only came to the fore after he was pulled out by Amodu. In the second match CAF named him MOTM. In the third and fouth matches he was definitely above average. Yesterday he was brilliant. so what are we talking about?


On the list of players you mentioned to be tried b4 WC , I think with the short time left , that will be all work with little result. Amodu's biggest problem by my reckoning is how he ranks players. How did he rank Nwanneri higher than Adeleye. what does he look at? Odiah played for just about ten minutes yesterday , and it is glaring that only a buffon would have ranked him higher than Adefemi. Amodu will just invite all these players make them train but since he is inadequately skilled to appraise player skills rightly, the exercise will yeild no result. Amodu should just leave.


For those saying that this was Ghana's U-21 side hence we had to beat them, we must understand first that it is not wholly true. Gyan,sappei,asemoah,dramman,anthony annan are first team players. Even Abedi's son was a key member of the Ghana team in CAN 2008. Yes they drafted some u-21 players into the team after some first team players  got injured , but they are the best Ghana has to offer for now. The u-21 boys are playing their lives out to impress the coach for a WC SLOT. There is no Guarantee anywhere that this current team would not hold their own even against the established Ghana first team with the Essiens of this world . Remember they beat the impressive ANGOLAN side.


Amodu has kept his record of not beating any top African team in a competitive match intact. We luckily managed draws against tunisia on two occasions and lost to Egypt and Ghana. we will see how they fare against algeria.

FBS:
God bless you real good.  You really know footie.  
He made at least 4-5 vital intelligent passes good enough to kill off any game.
Needless to add, yes he certainly has room for improvement.

God bless you. Infact for me it is the Spontaneity of those passes that i admire. Whenever he seems to be romancing the ball, he has one eye watching the movement of the atackers so that he can release the killer pass.

See how he created something out of almost nothing for Obafemi against zambia in the dying minutes of ET. People have simply conditioned their minds never to see anything good in the young man.

shesi:
that's because chelsea only need him to hassle opposition players. he is not chelsea quality at all.  not to play in any creative capacity. have you ever seen him shoot the ball towards goal? for god's sake he is one of the tallest chelsea players and i have never seen him win a corner. defense or offense.

that whole razzle dazzle that landed him at Chelsea via ManU was from his performance at that U20 world cup. where he was playing kids 5 years younger than him. That was his lucky break and he is still riding that wave. The promise of perhaps something more to come from him. When infact nothing is going to come. He just shone because he was a grown man playing amongs kids.

and btw, i don't need you to honor me. Our U21 boys have done that plenty today.

Please i do not want to be percieved as Mikel's mouthpiece. I am only trying to be objective at least within the context of how i understand the game. So if a player can come and help razzle and dazzle opponents cleanly   and thereby help his team win, and five coaches see that as useful , so what is you complaint. That is what the gatusso's of this world do .

Get you facts straight it was not his performance at the U-20 that got Chelsea and Man u fighting over him. The fight started before he came for the competition. The fight only heightened the focus on him as everyone wanted to see the young man two big English clubs were fighting for. He did not disappoint , coming second best only behind Messi.

If every football fan/coach likes the same kind of players then some players will never have clubs to play for. The beauty of the game is that some players you dont see as good enough are special in the eyes of some others. You are free to hate on any player but please do not twist facts to support your claims.

If mikel has never won a corner kick in chelsea, nor has he taken a shot at goal, then i will simply submit that you are free to see only what you precondition your mind to see.

shesi:
i completely agree with your assesement of mikel. and this coming from a chelsea fan. to be honest, that guy is very very lucky to be playing professional football. players like him are a dime a dozen in most african countries. certainly in ghana. he got lucky in that u20 world cup and he's been riding that luck ever since.

Be objective here man. He has played under 5 different coaches in chelsea and is still in the team because of luck? You even said he got lucky at the U-20.
_{I am just honouring you with a response mind you.}

Ibime:
Nah bruv. . . Echiejile caused the Ghana goal. . . he was the one marking Gyan. . . Nnwaneri was marking the front post, and Gyan came at him from his blind side. . . he had no time to react. . . at best, I can criticise him for not putting his arms out to stop anyone running across him from his blindside. . . but Echiejile was Gyan's principal marker. . .

Until i see the clips again. Thot it was Nwanneri that was on Gyan while Yusuf was marking the keepers blind right side?

Ibime:
In all honesty, the blame for this defeat lies with the forwards rather than the manager. . . . Odemwingie was infected by messiah complex. . . instead of passing the ball, he wants to shoot from impossible angles and distances. . .also, for all those saying the Ghana goal was Nnwaneris fault are wrong. . . .Naija play a mix of zonal and man-to-man marking. . . .Nnwaneri was marking the near post. . . . Echiejile was the one marking Asamoah Gyan. . . and he let him run free. . .

That said, Echiejile played a good game. . . Kaita's performance was also 9/10.


Enyeama - 6/10 (Had nothing to do)
Echiejile - 7/10 (Very composed on the ball, very hardworking. Failed to track Gyan for the goal)
Shittu - 6.5/10 (Poor passing and touch, but good organisation)
Nnwaneri - 6.5/10 (Nothing really special and nothing bad either)
Yusuf - 7/10 (Very poor touch, but had the energy to support the attack and also drop back)
Kaita - 9/10 (One man wrecking crew)
Ayila - 8/10 (Performed honourably)
Mikel - 6/10 (Slows the game down too much, bad freekicks and corners)
Odemwingie - 3/10  (Woeful lack of composure, also didnt track Sarpei at all)
Obasi - 5/10  (Only came alive in the last 20 minutes)
Martins - 5/10  (Stretched the defence, but the ball never dropped kindly for him)


Subs:

Nsofor - 4/10 (Very disaapointing. Did not make a single difference)
Yakubu - 4/10 (Didnt take his golden chance)
Odiah - 3/10 (even his 10 minute cameo shows he is unfit and old)

How can nwaneri score 6.5?his poor alertness caused the ghana goal, the central defence really had little to do probably because of the work rate of AYILA and KAITA.

kaita worked well in the middle but was largely wasteful with our final balls with those shots (abi na wetin i go call am?) that are not to be tried even in trainings.

Mikel should have scored high as his through pass freed up our strikers for one-on-one on at least 2 occasions.

For yusuf i will subtract 2 points for wasting our time when we were down.

Obasi should have scored a little higher.

on Osaze you are spot on.

FBS:
OK. Ghana scored a goal and thereafter packed the bus. What sort of tactic is that?  
But when I remember that the majority of Ghanaian players from the are from the U-21 squad?   There is nothing much I can say.

The SE were woeful, disgraceful and played irritating football (bar an excellent 30 mins against Egypt in the opening match) and stumbled to the semis but only to be thunked by their junior brothers. Hope some vital lessons were picked up. 3rd place match here they come.

Let it be known that I, FBS, supported them through and thorough (and will always support whoever plays for Nigeria) and now I ask, which way forward?

In fact right now, I'm having mixed feelings.

If we criticise them when they win but dont play well, we have to appreciate their effort when they play well but sometimes fail to win. In today's match they simply played well, the tactics was not bad and the general team effort is commendable even CIV that defeated Ghana 3-1 did not outclass Ghana this way.

Watching the match  brings memories of the NIG-SENEGAL  quater final match at the 2000 ANC when the SE did everything to come back from a goal down and by some stroke of luck (some say it was Lakoko that removed the senegalese Juju) Aghahowa was able to get us back into the game, and a subsequent extra time winner .

I have been a potent Amodu critic (check my posts) but today's effort could have given us a 4-1 win on a lucky day. Make we dey talk true.

my own dream na say we beat ghana 3-0, and that Ogbuke was too hot for Ghana to handle. we go see who near God pass inside me and you.

mastalee:
I      _{wanted to}        QUIT AFTER ZAMBIA VICTORY -----AMODU

how sweet.

Sagamite:
Moooron, please tell me where your more talented CIV and Cameroun are with their white coaches.

Oga , no use being spiteful here.

We all know the teams Cameroon and CIV lost to, need I remind anyone what Egypt did to us at the beginning of the competition? With the way we are playing we sure would have been worse off if either of these teams crossed our path at this knockout stage.


When our national team plays a team like Zambia with largely home-based players  and  every fair viewer knows that the result was unfair to the Zambian team and we still do not see that we have issues in the team, then we have no business blaming a sickly presido clinging on top power.

I still would have preferred a loss to Zambia compared to the impending disgrace in the hands of the Ghana starlets . Yes if once again  we will bank on luck and display total lack of technical know-how as displayed against zambia.

This game is dynamic but we have a static Amodu as coach, who still relies on his BCC Lions style . 

Maybe we dey forget say na  world cup we dey go.

snakova:
Kanu is Indispensible. He's still a match winner.

Thank you my broda.

In the WC proper he will definitely be a plus when we face less combative white defenders. All these jambodi African style na im dem use dey cheat papilo. His imagination and passing skills are still top class.

why is he not asking for SIA1's help instead if he is really serious?

It has to be Algeria.

^^^^^^^^^^
I mean chibuzor okonkwo(Bayelsa united) , the guy that played left full back for SIA1'S olympic team, The guy that won the MVP in the glo premier league last year.

I am not one of those that make the mistake of thinking that once a player plays for a big club in europe he is automatically better than a home-based counterpart. Let them try chibuzor in an open friendly for us to appraise him. He is one of the players that held his own against the MESSIs and AGUEROs of this world during the olympics.

Besides when you have a right-footed player that can play left back well , it is a plus in a competition that might require some shuffles in the defence due to injury or cards to other members of the team.

EYEAMA

YOBO ADELEYE SHITU TAIWO/ECHIEJILE/CHIBUZOR



MIKEL ETUHU HARUNA LUKEMAN


OBASI/IK UCHE MARTINS OSAZE


With this squad we can hold our own against any team.

dont worry , a bigger and more honourable prophet on NL(not joshua o) dreamt that we won the cup which automatically invalidates your dream.

FunkyDany:
What a pity! The linesman killed them, the goal that was disallowed is not an offside but a clean goal. Hope to see them in Libya 2012.

Throughout this competition the offside calls have been most times wrong. Yes the goal could have extended the match may be to penalties but truth be told Algeria deserve to win the match any way you look at it.

CIV has one of the weakest defence line in the competition but a lot of teams never exploited, they played CIV with too much respect trying to curtail the CIV attack and fail to be adventurous. Algeria started poorly with the "respect" thing but when they came out to play, the Drogbas of this world became ordinary.

This Algerian team get stamina no be small, I hOPE SAY NO BE DRUG SHA?

Cant wait for the lip smacking Egypt VS Algeria rivalry that will likely be rekindled in the semi finals.

If we can get past Zambia today, which I believe we will, then a NIG vs Algeria finals is very likely.

@paddy_lo

I dey always enjoy you. nice thread. captures it all (larger society and NL republic).

I dont believe in AMODU, but truth be told our boys should easily beat that cameroonian team.

Aside CIV and Egypt we no get mate for the competition

Suddenly Okocha is now the standard for every midfielder in Nigeria. Abeg make we hear word, Okocha tried but i dont remember him steping into anyones shoes so lets let it rest.

Okocha came with his shoe and left with it. NO BE ONLY ONE WAY DEM DEY PLAY FOOTBALL.

candylips:
^^ junk playas

Na u sabi. Me i don talk my own.

These boys showed a lot of promise then.

honeric01:
Lol, man, we shouldn't waste time on Mikel, he's not worth the wahala, he's not a progressive kinda player, maybe he should be converted to a defender because i just hate seeing him in that middle.

As for Nwaneri and Kanu, i thought Nwaneri has improved but he disappointed me and i just can't wait to see him off that team, we can get 22 strong teams from 4 of our top league clubs (Eyimba, Heartland, Warri wolves, Pillars and even Bayelsa) but then Amodu already closed that chapter.


As for Kanu, he should quit football, go into coaching (he has the potentials) he should go to a coaching course and stop wasting a space in our team.

Thanks for helping with the video, i used my e71 record the clip and kinda divided it into 2, i am going to post the other part now so you can watch the goals and how it all went. sorry for the unstable recording, i couldn't concentrate because i was not the only one watching and i didn't go near the TV.

Pillars really yeye Eyimba yesterday. By the way, is Oke Emordi the coach or Eguavoen?

I think there are many ways to approach a match thats why no matter how perfect a teams strategy is, an opposing time still find space atleast for some form of self expression in a match. I think we are not being fair on kanu here , yes even in his best days speed was a challenge for him , hence the drag in his legs these days. However we can look at the qualities he still has that can benefit the team. He still has the intelligence, good passing ability and reliable finishing prowess that can be exploited. It only depends on the coach and the tactical approach. Zidan did not do much running in the last WC but had younger players like Ribery that could give 120% in terms of energy and speed, in the end the team played well.


Sincerely I know the guy has some disciplinary lessons to learn , he however still needs a serious look in. I am talking of HARUNA LUKMAN( and may be Rabiu Ibrahim), younger players with enough energy and drive can come in and help add life to that midfield.


On Nwanneri who is a BACKMAN(not a defender), I think we should not discard him, there are matches when you simply need players like that at the back. When you player a cameroonian team where there attackers rely excessively on power and pace(little intelligence except ETOO), a player like Nwanneri will do a good job.


Guys make una free Mikel na. If a more mobile attacker like Obafemi replaces YAKUBU, I strongly believe that will enhance Mikel's game. Sometimes he keeps the ball to watch the movement of the attackers but instead of Yakubu to free himself, the guy go dey mark defender.

ANYHOW AMODU GET TO BOUNCE BEFORE WC.

Nice thread.
It pains my heart that two very good players I thought would have turned superstars did not really excel. They are:

Emmanuel Ebiede -----------AYC 1995 wobbling and fumbling Fanny Amun team

Alfred Omoefe------------------ ALL AFRICA Games 2003.

markjohn12:
good people of nairaland please i beg you,i want you guys to give me the addresses of those hotels and guess house that you know is very cheap in lagos ranging from n2,000 to n2,500 per night,please i need it,i am coming to lagos nigeria for a seminar next week,i thank you all for your response.god bless you.one love.

ol boy i doubt if there are any hotels in Lagos at that price. No go take any risk o.

Onlytruth:
As an Igbo person, I often wonder what would have happened from 1967 till today had Ojukwu simply surrendered to Gowon after Aburi Accord was breached; you know, play dead and let the sleeping dog lie. Apart from the dead victims of the war, these could have happened:

(4) Some Niger deltan elements won't hate Igbos based on lies told by our common oppressors after we lost the war

(7) Ojukwu would not have risked and lost his father's wealth and his personal standing in Nigeria. He'd be in the class of the Obasanjos and the Babangidas.

Something tells me that Ojukwu knew all these before he decided to fight almost bare handed.

So, why did he decide to fight anyway?

The most reasonable explanation is that the man was thinking about the interest of the whole of the eastern region and that is the only reason he chose to fight.
As a man who accurately foresaw the future of Nigeria, this man chose to fight for something higher than himself -justice and fairplay.
He fought and lost, but those he fought for must never forget why he fought. We must resist the lies!

I am proud that my hero fought in defense of the whole east including our kith and kin in Niger delta. We would do so again if necessary and as long as some elements there don't continue their line of thinking.

Oga abeg lets appraise issue rightly here.

If there are Niger Deltans that hate the IGBOS as you have said , then the Civil war had little or nothing to do with it. The grouse of the Minorities against the Eastern Regional Government was as a result of utter neglect and selective development , coupled with a sustained machinery to deny the minorities proper identity in the political and economic space of the nation .

Make i no talk too much.

otokx:
Most Nigerians hate to queue anywhere be it in a banking hall or petrol station. They always want to show they know the "officer in charge". This poor man should have simply ignored that chap and let him be; see now as he has died just like that.

SPOT ON.

In fact even in church people hate protocol. The problem here is that it cuts accross all classes of our society. People simply find it had to exercise any form of self restraint when they feel they can invoke certain powers and enjoy certain privileges at the expense of laid down rules.

I will not be surprised if this is politicised later. Afterall if a man has command of the thugs in Nigeria, he is supposed to be a political heavyweight.

largie:
now that Jonathan is about to be sworn in Yaradua will appear from wherever he had been trust that

I think so too.

The guy go show now now with all those test tube connected to different parts of his body. His tailors will only have to increase the size of his agbada .

Ol boy try attach the document ASAP make i see wether your story resemble truth.

scottN:
lol!

Ol boy why u dey laugh na? Dis na serious matter o.

NLers please lets brainstorm . The question below requires serious brain-storming



Who will return home first? Yar’ Adua or Super Eagles?