ChrisKels:


Their next line will be, if he could conduct so well, why then is he still in the Segunda Liga? Komekn will lead the charge, and others will follow.

ChrisKels:


Trust me, some people in here know better than these ekuke foreign coaches wey we dey hire some times.

Someone like TheGoodJoe clearly sabi football pass Rohr. Thesupernerd would do well as a backroom staff, an assistant or a PA

12large1:


You might have a good point here o because I just viewed Xavi and Modric 2010 and 2018 stats and it doesn’t seem very impressive enough to win b’allon d’or

Modric 2018 World Cup stats
2 goals and 1 assist in 7 games

Xavi 2010 World Cup stats
0 goals and 0 assist

Okay, as a Central midfielder, you might not score/assist bountifully, but, your overall control of the tempo of the game can have a huge impact on your team result

humility33:


You're not a serious person at all

BOOOMNAIJA:
Quick eba before flying.....

12large1:


You might have a good point here o because I just viewed Xavi and Modric 2010 and 2018 stats and it doesn’t seem very impressive enough to win b’allon d’or

Modric 2018 World Cup stats
2 goals and 1 assist in 7 games

Xavi 2010 World Cup stats
0 goals and 0 assist

Okay, as a Central midfielder, you might not score/assist bountifully, but, your overall control of the tempo of the game can have a huge impact on your team result

TheSuperNerd:



Now I can say, Happy New Year Sir 12large1.

I love that you went on your own to check things and not just take my words for it.

That right there is what football analysis and verification of info is about. Well done.

I hope Humility33 sees this and understand because you have already saved me the stress of making the simple point I wanted to make later on humility return to my post.

I will use your own words and add a little to it...

"....as a Central midfielder (Midfield conductor/Central Playmaker), you might not score/assist bountifully, but, your over control of the tempo of the game can have a huge impact on your team result"

In one of the videos I shared with Mkrest, Nwakali vs Sporting Gijon in La Liga 2 dated December 10, 2021.
Huesca were down to 10 men and were losing by a goal.
It was around the 80th min or so, A corner by Gijon was turned over and Nwakali picked up the ball and swiftly turned. On his turn, he immediately spotted a teammate (Joaquin Munoz) racing down the right wing and you know what happens next... Kelechi sent the pass. Perfectly weighted into his path.
Munoz went on and provided a cross assist for Jaime Seoane who nodded it in for the Equaliser. Game over. Game finished a tie at 1-1.

That right there is called a Pre-assist in Football. This is part of where the Deeplying central Midfield playmakers/conductors come into play. They are the ones who majorly set the wheels in motion for build up plays or for an attacking phase.

They usually will have far more pre-assists and what we call, "Pass before the final pass & Pass before the pass before the pass & Pass that begins that build-up leading to a goal or chance".

Stats sites don't normally record these things but research will show that indeed these breed of MFs excel in these functions of the middle game dynamics.

So this is why Goals and Assists... Direct Goals Involvements is not really their strengths. They are primarily THE BUILDING BLOCKS of what leads to these.

But that is not to say, they cannot have the numbers. Nwakali in his last game for Huesca created about 3 beautiful chances for his teammates, imagine if one or two of them had converted. We would be talking 2 assists for the lad. And trust me, Huesca is not a clinical side. This explains why chances go begging even when they are created.


Thanks again Sir 12Large1. The bulk of this post is actually for the Royal one, Oga Humility33 himself. But I trust all can see and hopefully learn a thing or two. We move.

POSITIVEBRAINS:
The super eagle has arrive cameron. The question now is who now strike against Egypt. Even if igalo make the team, he cannot be drafted to the first eleven. Which Players who now strike against against Egypt.

Danielnino00:


Awoniyi for me.. Aside him being the most in-form striker, he was also among the very first to arrive camp, so he definitely must have earned some level of trust from the coach...

zoboizee:
@TheSuperNerd.
Please, do you think Chidera Ejuke if used in the attacking midfield role can function efficiently & effectively for the Super Eagles Judging by the way the team build up slowly from the back & with constant high balls into the opponents half. Because to me, he's a player who would rather hold on to the ball & look for one or two or three players to dribble rather than pick out a free & open team mates on time for transition into the opponents half.

Danielnino00:


Awoniyi for me.. Aside him being the most in-form striker, he was also among the very first to arrive camp, so he definitely must have earned some level of trust from the coach...

12large1:


His goals on YouTube and his overall play isn’t as impressive as sadiq or Seniorman. In my opinion, I will go with
1) Senior man
2) Sadiq
3). Awoniyi

Please, before saying that iheanacho cannot play as a top 9, go and watch his season under pellegrini

humility33:

This players are first class footballers

We can't compare what they bring to a team to Nwakali. We need get this right that Nwakali is not in their level so comparing or expecting him to live up to similiar expectations is something i dont see as realistic

I still see his inclusion in the team for reasons best know to the coach and as a gamble that may prove best or other way round

An elite CM balling for Berca or Madrid shouldn't be used to make case for Nwakali

TheSuperNerd:
Happy New Year My Good man, Zobo. Your moniker is as old as this thread. I don't forget old monikers that easily.

Ejuke as an AM.... Hmmm... Believe me, My preference is to have Aribo as AM and Ejuke doing his playmaker-winger thing from the left wing. That is my undisputed first choice take.


But to answer this anyway, because I understand from my folks on twitter close to the team that Eguavoen is toying with the idea of an Ejuke in the #10 role depending on in-game dynamics.

Now, placing Ejuke in that role automatically activates his Playmaker gene and when you have a Playmaker that advanced rather than deep in midfield, the instructions has to be for the lad to be business-like and cut the showboating. It is easier to track an AM-playmaker than to track a deeplying Playmaker.

I say this because, an AM has limited space and gaps to work with except if he falls deep & tries his magic from there. He has to be quick witted about his decisions & be press-resistant as well.
Whereas a Deeplying Playmaker has all the space and time in the world to "dwell" on the ball and make the best decisions based on his "sight".

Ejuke, from his style, works with space and although he is good at resisting the press, he often will lose the ball as a result of attempting so many takeons.

My feeling about Ejuke as an AM is mixed. The experiment could pay off depending on the quality of the opposition defences.
He is super capable of beating multiple men in a dribble and can pick out a pass intelligently but he would have to be disciplined enough to not overdo it so as not to kill potential chances or break down potential attacking moves.

Ejuke is a playmaker-winger who prefers to work with space from the left wing and his decisions are almost always "Spinal" coz he acts on reflex most times when with the ball and on the move. So moving that ability centrally will require certain adjustments like "moderate dribbles, more incisive passes". He has the potential to excel in the role as a Makeshift AM but time will tell.

Danielnino00:


Awoniyi for me.. Aside him being the most in-form striker, he was also among the very first to arrive camp, so he definitely must have earned some level of trust from the coach...

humility33:

This players are first class footballers

We can't compare what they bring to a team to Nwakali. We need get this right that Nwakali is not in their level so comparing or expecting him to live up to similiar expectations is something i dont see as realistic

I still see his inclusion in the team for reasons best know to the coach and as a gamble that may prove best or other way round

An elite CM balling for Berca or Madrid shouldn't be used to make case for Nwakali

drDoom3:


And that is why we will need energetic players who can wrest control of the midfield, not jololo players who are not strong and have poor work rate but can "command a midfield" and "lead the attack from behind".

All this focus on creativity from the midfield is tiring to hear. Nigeria has never depended on creativity from midfield, our creativity has always been from the wings. Nigeria is blesed with excellent wingers who can drift to the middle and create chances. Now we want to be playing De Bruyne slide rule passes from deep midfield when we don't have the players to execute it.

chrisooblog:
Great to have you back Doc it's been a minute!

I won't lie I'm not a member of the Kelechi Nwakali appreciation society, he's in the squad so he has my full backing to do well. Hope he proves doubters like me wrong.

humility33:

This players are first class footballers

We can't compare what they bring to a team to Nwakali. We need get this right that Nwakali is not in their level so comparing or expecting him to live up to similiar expectations is something i dont see as realistic

I still see his inclusion in the team for reasons best know to the coach and as a gamble that may prove best or other way round

An elite CM balling for Berca or Madrid shouldn't be used to make case for Nwakali

ChrisKels:


With a midfield of Ndidi-Nwakali-Aribo, I would start a more clinical striker in Iheanacho, because surely chances will be created. Then, I would flank the striker with Ejike and Chuks.

These days, Chuks creates chances like bad

TheSuperNerd:
Cc: TheGoodJoe et al

Below is a neutral view coming from one of the finest Sports Photographers/Photojournos in the country - Modo Victor... someone who witnessed the training sessions live before they left for Cameroun


Recall that before my sabbatical, I have always harped on Awaziem having the best passing range among all our Defenders. I showed clips of how he did it at Boavista and how he repeated it in GWG colors vs CAR for Balogun's Goal.

This is just an example of making careful observations overtime before reaching analytical conclusions on players.

TheGoodJoe:


cc: TheSuperNerd did I not tell you?

---

It is not a comparison in what they bring but highlighting the role of a deep lying playmaker.

A deep lying playmaker has a role not to have goals or assists but dictate the tempo of the team.

It is about making small intelligent decisions that compounds into the team's overall performance.

Whether you are Pirlo, Xavi, Verrati, Paul Scholes, Obinna Nwobodo (in his early years), or Kelechi Nwakali is not the discussion.

The discussion is what is expected of the person playing the role. Dictation, conduction, exploitation, and some defensive shifts.

TheGoodJoe:


cc: TheSuperNerd did I not tell you?

---

It is not a comparison in what they bring but highlighting the role of a deep lying playmaker.

A deep lying playmaker has a role not to have goals or assists but dictate the tempo of the team.

It is about making small intelligent decisions that compounds into the team's overall performance.

Whether you are Pirlo, Xavi, Verrati, Paul Scholes, Obinna Nwobodo (in his early years), or Kelechi Nwakali is not the discussion.

The discussion is what is expected of the person playing the role. Dictation, conduction, exploitation, and some defensive shifts.

ChrisKels:


With a midfield of Ndidi-Nwakali-Aribo, I would start a more clinical striker in Iheanacho, because surely chances will be created. Then, I would flank the striker with Ejike and Chuks.

These days, Chuks creates chances like mad

nelszx:

I'd like Austin to try out Ndah and Awaziem CB pairing for the friendly against Coton Sports.

Aina and Zaidu as left and right back respectively

Then play Ndidi-Nwakali-Aribo midfield

Ejuke from the left, Chuks on the right side of attack

Whoever plays upfront doesn't matter cos he will score goals but I'd pick Umar as the striker.

Iheanacho can replace Nwakali and Iwobi can replace Ejuke, Simon can sub Chuks

ChrisKels:


Trust me, some people in here know better than these ekuke foreign coaches wey we dey hire some times.

Someone like TheGoodJoe clearly sabi football pass Rohr. Thesupernerd would do well as a backroom staff, an assistant or a PA

12large1:


Why can’t coaches just select players at their favorite and best position instead of trying to convert them? Ejuke best position is LW playmaker, why not just play him at that position.. sometimes, we try to over complicate things in this country

drDoom3:
My criticism of Nwakali is not because I hate him, it is because I see hiss potential and how it is being wasted.

Sure, he is a decent player on the ball. He has the "touch" I talked about earlier that players like Nacho, Ejuke, Aribo etc have that makes them look like they are gliding effortlessly on the ball. His passing is decent, albeit not to the level hyped on this thread (playing teams with top players in top leagues with better tactical positioning closes spaces for the long defense-splitting passes you guys have been longing to see). On the ball, sure, I can see what he adds to the team.

However, off the ball, the guy is a mess. He strolls on the pitch like he is on the runway of a beauty pageant. For an 8, that is disastrous.

For example, note his movement (number 8 jersey) for the Girona goal from 0:11 until 0:18:


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CH4z_Gw-xqg

Note his movement for all the goals, both his team and the opponents:


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2eUI4SFWRy0

Just watch basically all Huesca highlights and look at how static he is off the ball. He just switches off.

That tells you two things:
1. How poor the league is. You will never see in any of the top five leagues an 8 standing static in one spot without running or marking any player in a dangerous attack by the opponent. It doesn't happen. Do that in the Prem and you won't finish that game.

2. How far Nwakali has to go to chill with the big boys football wise. In competitive leagues, players don't stop moving unless in a dead ball situation or you are a GK. You are either pressing or marking or moving into positions to receive passes. You switch off for five seconds and it can cost you a game. My guy only switches on when he receives the ball. The guy i almost watching the game as if it is on TV when he is not with the ball.

It is not all about having good technique, being skillful and all that crap. If you can't do the basics of the game, you're not ready.

TheSuperNerd:


Comparing kwa....

I hope you know an elite CM balling for these top sides should be Commanding numbers that align with that elite status but alas, it is not all so. I was simply explaining why it is that way. Mfs of such ilk with little or no direct statistical influence on G+A but deliver the most Masterclass in the middle game that births such in the forwards ahead of him.

Man, TheGoodJoe was right. Humility totally missed the point. Heeeiiii....

TheGoodJoe:


I believe so too but I don't think Eguavoen sees Nacho as a striker. I have noticed that our old professionals share similar views of football.

Nacho, Aribo, and Iwobi might battle for the ten role. Eguavoen has already defined what he wants.

Someone who can play close to the midfield and also contribute to the attack. He used Kanu Nwankwo.

I see Nacho edging them due to his passing ability, long and short. He is also a lethal finisher.

Awoniyi and Sadiq will battle for the nine role.

That is my take from my observations.