₦airaland Forum

caprikon:
Sad to say this but quite number of peeps view players through the ethnic lense. Bruno hasn't been able to match Zaidu's defensive displays.
Big issue with Zaidu is his crosses when he overlaps.

You see this thing? I just try to behave as if I don’t see such here but it’s becoming too disturbing of late.

semid4lyfe:
How far with Felix Agu, is he back from injury?

likely to miss playoffs

Fashanu Michael Ifeoluwa(20) played for Dynamic Plus Soccer Academy.Fash11, as he is fondly called by his admirers, announced his readiness by netting seven goals and creating two assists to inspire his side, Fortaleza to league victory in the Brazil under-20 division.
His impact in the club drew the attention of foreign scouts who watched him play seven months ago at a scouting program organized by ATJ Sports in conjunction with Trivella Brazil who later handled his move to Fortaleza FC.

Also is onuachu chapter for the super eagles closed? Remainder he's 31

Bruno onyemaechi thinks he’s playing against Lesotho wingers https://t.co/q05Ofo8lKO pic.twitter.com/TvLrexV4QA

— Ayomide (@_midoslim) October 21, 2025

Na this one and sanusi wan face yamal for world cup...

We desperately need options in our left back. If Agu is not ready for playoffs, Ola Aina should play LB and Frederick remains in RB position.

Odunayaw:
Came from "which bad goalkeeping" to "apart from.."

Go for gold in this gymnastics

Yes I had never seen Okoye keeped badly for Nigeria,
Prove me wrong??

joelsteron:

Bruno onyemaechi thinks he’s playing against Lesotho wingers https://t.co/q05Ofo8lKO pic.twitter.com/TvLrexV4QA

— Ayomide (@_midoslim) October 21, 2025

Na this one and sanusi wan face yamal for world cup...

We need desperately need options in our left back. If Agu is not ready for playoffs, Ola Aina should be play LB and Frederick remains in RB position.

Guy

Normally, Bruno na average defender but that move na snake bite and a very difficult move to defend against.

All my years of watching ball, I never see defender wey no chop the move.

By the way, Ola Aina might not return until January and is likely to miss the AFCON.

do4luv14:
Yes I had never seen Okoye keeped badly for Nigeria,
Prove me wrong??

😆😂you proved yourself by citing examples of bad keeping and you're saying never here?

CapitalCee:
Lol. Dr Congo with
Masuaku - Burnley. Wan Bissaka- west Ham. Tuanzebe - Burnley, Chancel Mbemba - Lille, Yoan Wissa - Newcastle,(Mbeumo brother), Noah Sadiki- Sunderland and Cedric Berkambu- Betis are unknown? These guys are key players in their respective clubs. We should thank our stars we are not meeting them first, they may likely win Cameroon sef. Their defence is Verumy Solid.

what's the meaning of this take, at the bolded. Make una no dey vex person for here... We should thank our stars on top Congo...

Who Be Masusku? Who be Tuanzebe, who be Bakambu

Right now,right now, I'm definitely sure people in Congo prefer to meet Gabon than Nigeria.. Masuaku, Tuanzebe, Mbemba are currently in a whatsapp group discusing and sharing videos on ways to thwart Osimhen, you are saying we should thank our stars....

Bameyi? Is CAF joining in on a joke?

QueenJazz:
If you seriously think people are only criticizing Nwabali because of bias or favoritism, in spite of the ACTUAL recent events that even materialized the debate in the first place, then I don't know what else to tell you.

It's hard to discuss topics like this when people who are simple-minded, to put it lightly, insist on making everything about agendas and sentiments.

Apparently, it's a crime now to point out legitimate concerns about certain players.

This is why Nigerian football is crumbling in all cardinal directions, with no limit in sight - because people would rather engage with imaginary issues rather than face the reality at hand.

At least make an actual argument for your case instead of trying to assume the motives of honest and concerned fans. THIS is how to make your case.

Rambling about imaginary favoritism is no different from people who make everything about tribe or champion the quota system rubbish.

Let's be guided abeg.

It's either intellectual laziness or deviousness when instead of refuting you on the basis of the truth or otherwise of your assertions, they deploy underhanded method of accusing you of pushing an agenda or accuse you of tribalism so as to stifle dissent or gaslight you. These are the favorite go-to defences of Nigerians.

I see no agenda because I have none. I read everyone with the same open mindedness with which I state my own views. Those who see agenda are projecting their own internal bias because their views are often agenda driven.

Someone criticizes a player. You label that an agenda. Such a daft thing to say.

QueenJazz:
Abeg ooo. YOU brought up a "narrative": a word commonly used to denote a biased or forced storyline, right after I gave my rationale. If you didn't mean to imply that my stance was disingenuous, then you chose your words poorly. If you genuinely believe that my perspective is rooted in some manufactured "narrative," then own that accusation, but don't try to backtrack now just because the conversation got a little heated.



Nobody is arguing about how physical the sport is. What we're talking about is on-pitch decorum, restraint and respect for authority. Ndidi was attempting to de-escalate, and Nwabali's dismissive shove, which is obviously a clear way to say "I know what I'm doing. Leave me alone" is a poor look from a goalkeeper to his captain. If anything, goalkeepers are supposed to be the most emotionally balanced players on the pitch. So don't act gobsmacked that people saw his actions as a lack of discipline and a refusal to be cautioned by a senior player in the heat of the moment.



A goalkeeper's "fight" should be demonstrated through commanding his box, making vital saves, and organizing his defense, not through taking out an attacker inside the penalty area unprovoked. That's not the kind of fight the Super Eagles need. It's a liability that can put our qualification hopes at risk. A penalty in that moment, or a red card, would have sunk the team, and it's still people like you that will come back rambling about "if it weren't for so and so...", after the damage has already been done.

As I stated elsewhere, erratic gameplay can be fun and entertaining when the timing is right. It's easy to tell the difference between when a player is just being eccentric and when he's being irrational and hazardous to team safety. Don't forget he's the reason we were even chasing 4 goals against Benin in the first place, because we had no business conceding that foolish goal to Lesotho.

Again, I'll restate my position: I have no problem with Nwabali. But if he's to persist in his antics of self-sabotage, I won't protest if I don't see him in the next game's starting line-up. In my eyes, there's no difference between an emotionally reckless goalkeeper and one who is shaky. Thankfully, Nwabali -- on days when he's not picking useless fights or taking risky decisions -- is a superb goalkeeper. If he can tone down on his nonsense, we have no issue.

I already told u if the shoe fits wear it. So if u feel I was talking about u then I was talking about you. U talked about Nigerians in the comment before so I don't understand how u made that jump. This is just argument for argument sake at this point.

The super Eagles drew 5 matches and lost to Benin but u are saying that a mistake made in a victory is why we needed 4 goals Does that make sense to you? So let's forget drawing Lesotho and Zimbabwe at home and start blaming Stanley for a mistake made in a win.

Both Ndidi and Semi were telling Stanley to focus and Stanley told them he was on the same page. U are seeing it as disrespectful because I want to see it as disrespectful. Neither player reacted because there was nothing to react about.

semid4lyfe:
Guy

Normally, Bruno na average defender but that move na snake bite and a very difficult move to defend against.

All my years of watching ball, I never see defender wey no chop the move.

By the way, Ola Aina might not return until January and is likely to miss the AFCON.

Omo seeing Ronny doing that to our LB...

Mujtahida:
What do you mean by least profiled player on the pitch? Do you by that mean the least important player in the team? If that is so, are goalkeepers not the most important players? And then again, every player is important to the extent that if one player is removed from the team, it's structure is affected.

Oga u dey dribble here oh. Stanley Nwabali plays in Africa while everyone else is based in Europe's top leagues. He is the least profiled player. That has nothing to do with how important or how good he is.

So please tell me an incident where a team targeted the LEAST PROFILED player on a team.

Also I am still waiting for u to tell us how Stanley Nwabali's character changed.

caprikon:
Sad to say this but quite number of peeps view players through the ethnic lense. Bruno hasn't been able to match Zaidu's defensive displays.
Big issue with Zaidu is his crosses when he overlaps.

But how did you see ethnic coloration in what joelsteron said? I mention that because that is the immediate context for your post.

Do you know joelsteron's ethnic group? Zaidu has earned praise all round. Just one person criticizing him has become a matter of seeing through ethnic lens?

This is the problem. We cannot accommodate dissent. Those who praised Zaidu are not doing so from ethnic considerations, but those who criticize him are? How does this advance conversations here?

Few weeks ago, a well known moniker here said that most of our best sportsmen are from the south. I wholeheartedly supported that position not because of tribal considerations but because to me it is factually true that most of our sportsmen are from the south just as it will be factual to say race athletes in America are mostly blacks. So in supporting the argument, I was in a certain sense arguing against my own region because I'm from the North Central.

For me, positions are either true or not and I believe that many monikers here take the same perspective.

Damn. You are actually right. I totally forgot he is indeed on loan.
Mehn, this is a hellish loan so far but I can breathe now knowing that Uche will return to Getafe if Palace doesnt work out in the end. Glasner is not giving our boy the chances he needs.

semid4lyfe:
I think Crystal Palace got him on loan with an obligation to buy at the end of the season so technically he's not their player yet so they can't loan him.

At least we know it is Othmane Maamma of Morocco that will win it.

Odunayaw:
Bameyi? Is CAF joining in on a joke?

Agu is unfortunately still sidelined till January 2026. If he will return earlier tham anticipated then it would be late december.

semid4lyfe:
How far with Felix Agu, is he back from injury?

TheSuperNerd:
Damn. You are actually right. I totally forgot he is indeed on loan.
Mehn, this is a hellish loan so far but I can breathe now knowing that Uche will return to Getafe if Palace doesnt work out in the end. Glasner is not giving our boy the chances he needs.

Pla confirm the loan clause.

I'm not certain but I think Crystal Palace has an obligation to buy him at the end of the season so he may not be going back to Getafe

It's sad unfortunately it's a national problem caused by people who don't insist on merit and competence. This consequently makes a lot of people hyper skeptical about people's abilities football included.

That said if we're factual we know certain parts of the country more often than not produce the best talents so it is natural for individuals to raise eyebrows if a team is dominated by players from a region not known to produce the most outstanding talents.

On the flip side too we shouldn't generalize and be quick to judge a player based on his ethnicity. If a player is called up to the national team we should give the person the benefit of doubt and believe they are quality until eye test says otherwise.

Goke7:
You see this thing? I just try to behave as if I don’t see such here but it’s becoming too disturbing of late.

BascoVanVeli:
Oga u dey dribble here oh. Stanley Nwabali plays in Africa while everyone else is based in Europe's top leagues. He is the least profiled player. That has nothing to do with how important or how good he is.

So please tell me an incident where a team targeted the LEAST PROFILED player on a team.

Also I am still waiting for u to tell us how Stanley Nwabali's character changed.

How is the profile of a player relevant to the fact that intelligent teams will do their best to upstage other teams through whosoever they perceive to be our weakest link. You are the one who introduced that category and want to force me to speak within that frame. No way.

My point is simple: teams will target your weak nesses whether through high or low profile players. Shikena

Was there any complaints about Nwabali during Afcon? No. Are they complaints now? Yes. Why? His character has changed or rather his on-field behavior has changed.

They actually do. For 17M pounds permanent transfer fee payment at season's end. But with the way things are going on Uche, I would like to see how Palace fulfill that obligation on a lad they are not using.

Mehn, Uche may not return to Getafe if Palace indeed pays up. I just reconfirmed now that the loan structure was because Palace could not pay the money upfront and immediately so they are buying time to raise it.

semid4lyfe:
Pla confirm the loan clause.

I'm not certain but I think Crystal Palace has an obligation to buy him at the end of the season so he may not be going back to Getafe

BascoVanVeli:
I already told u if the shoe fits wear it. So if u feel I was talking about u then I was talking about you. U talked about Nigerians in the comment before so I don't understand how u made that jump. This is just argument for argument sake at this point.

The super Eagles drew 5 matches and lost to Benin but u are saying that a mistake made in a victory is why we needed 4 goals Does that make sense to you? So let's forget drawing Lesotho and Zimbabwe at home and start blaming Stanley for a mistake made in a win.

Both Ndidi and Semi were telling Stanley to focus and Stanley told them he was on the same page. U are seeing it as disrespectful because I want to see it as disrespectful. Neither player reacted because there was nothing to react about.

Okay oo

You're absolutely right. My mistake was assuming a critical analysis could exist outside any supposed "narrative" you introduced into the discussion unprovoked. I'll stop demanding professional decorum from goalkeepers now on.

And forgive me for my pedestrian view on leadership. If a teammate doesn't physically react to being shoved, it didn't happen, and thus, no disrespect occurred. Of course, a dismissive shove to a captain is just his way of confirming he's "on the same page." Why didn't I think of this before? Ndidi must have been asking him about dinner plans, not trying to restore order. I see the light now. In fact, we need more dramatic shoves and quarrels for team cohesion.

The fact that we needed 4 goals to keep our World Cup dreams alive is DEFINITELY NOT related to the goal we conceded against Lesotho. How foolish of me to have thought that. In fact, we would have still made it if Nwabali had conceded that second goal.

Who am I to demand accountability? What do I know?

Sorry oo for even talking about this issue. If Nwabali likes, when the playoffs come around, let him take of his gloves and punch the referee down. It doesn't matter. Afterall he's the only good keeper we have. How dare I even think of criticizing him?

Foolish me.

Lovewins, pls little help here. Uche's deal to Palace has an obligation to buy. Does this mean Palace must still pay the 17M even if they bench him all season? This Uche gametime lack bothers me so much.

TheSuperNerd:
They actually do. For 17M pounds permanent transfer fee payment at season's end. But with the way things are going on Uche, I would like to see how Palace fulfill that obligation on a lad they are not using.

Mehn, Uche may not return to Getafe if Palace indeed pays up. I just reconfirmed now that the loan structure was because Palace could not pay the money upfront and immediately so they are buying time to raise it.

Mujtahida:
How is the profile of a player relevant to the fact that intelligent teams will do their best to upstage other teams through whosoever they perceive to be our weakest link. You are the one who introduced that category and want to force me to speak within that frame. No way.

My point is simple: teams will target your weak nesses whether through high or low profile players. Shikena

Was there any complaints about Nwabali during Afcon? No. Are they complaints now? Yes. Why? His character has changed or rather his on-field behavior has changed.

Don't you know that Nwabali is untouchable? Criticize anybody you want but don't talk about Nwabali. Afterall who do we have to replace him? Okoye is just an upgraded Uzoho afterall. /s 🤓

Osimhen nominated for the CAF APOTY 2025. Nice to see. But we all know it is between Salah and Hakimi this time.

2 yrs in a row for Nigeria. We don try. We shall return in 2026.

CAF GK of the year 2025.

Nwabali Stanley nominated.

Bounou, El Shenawy, Ronwen Williams are the front runners.

CAF Interclub Player of the year 2025


Fiston Mayele of Pyramids FC and DRC should easily take this. Africa's best striker based in Africa.

Mujtahida:
How is the profile of a player relevant to the fact that intelligent teams will do their best to upstage other teams through whosoever they perceive to be our weakest link. You are the one who introduced that category and want to force me to speak within that frame. No way.

My point is simple: teams will target your weak nesses whether through high or low profile players. Shikena

Was there any complaints about Nwabali during Afcon? No. Are they complaints now? Yes. Why? His character has changed or rather his on-field behavior has changed.

So u have zero examples and u are just talking to talk? Because I can name Rooney being targeted by Portugal, Suarez by Italy, even Cavani by Chile. No team is going to focus on Nwabali when we have Osimhen and Lookman. It is just common sense.

There were no complaints about Nwabali at the AFCON because there was no other option. Nwabali got in an argument with Ekong in that same tournament but we didn't hear any noise about it. Now all of a sudden because of Okoye u want me to believe that arguing with your teammates is sin against God. That's nonsense.

CAF Coach of the year 2025.

Morocco's U20 Coach (Mohamed Ouhabi) will take it even ahead of Walid of the senior side.

QueenJazz:
Okay oo

You're absolutely right. My mistake was assuming a critical analysis could exist outside any supposed "narrative" you introduced into the discussion unprovoked. I'll stop demanding professional decorum from goalkeepers now on.

And forgive me for my pedestrian view on leadership. If a teammate doesn't physically react to being shoved, it didn't happen, and thus, no disrespect occurred. Of course, a dismissive shove to a captain is just his way of confirming he's "on the same page." Why didn't I think of this before? Ndidi must have been asking him about dinner plans, not trying to restore order. I see the light now. In fact, we need more dramatic shoves and quarrels for team cohesion.

The fact that we needed 4 goals to keep our World Cup dreams alive is DEFINITELY NOT related to the goal we conceded against Lesotho. How foolish of me to have thought that. In fact, we would have still made it if Nwabali had conceded that second goal.

Who am I to demand accountability? What do I know?

Sorry oo for even talking about this issue. If Nwabali likes, when the playoffs come around, let him take of his gloves and punch the referee down. It doesn't matter. Afterall he's the only good keeper we have. How dare I even think of criticizing him?

Foolish me.

Ain't no excuse me. You were dead ass wrong. I didn't accuse you of anything. Just admit and move on.

We had 5 draws and 1 loss. The qualification didn't start at the Lesotho game.

BascoVanVeli:
Ain't no excuse me. You were dead ass wrong. I didn't accuse you of anything. Just admit and move on.

We had 5 draws and 1 loss. The qualification didn't start at the Lesotho game.

Admit what, exactly? That I hold goalkeepers to a professional standard?