daveP:
I doubt we need to see more from him. On your debut against the dreaded Argentina attack and you still find space to score? That is exceptionally enough to be on the plane to Russia?

Kog45:
My dear friend stop labelling guys here for expressing their views.

I see you calling Mujtahida'dear Aina'now me my love for Aina,so you hate him or what.

Pls talk football and let us have healthy discussion than name calling and i still repeat it Balogun was at fault for the Argentine second goal,just watched it again.

Hope you read my comment on Aina performance so what do you expect me to say or do you think Echiejele w perform better than Aina,if you think so no issue it's your opinion which I respect but i w rather take Aina to WC than Echiejele, my opinion cos am not Rohr.

OK you want me to say Echiejele is better, no my man Echiejele is not,Echiejele last good performance was 2013,till today he has been struggling to justify his inclusion.

Mujtahida:

Bleep FIFA rankings. Let my team continue ranking on the pitch. That's all I need. Cos I don't understand this voodoo arithmetics they use in ranking teams. We should be number two or three in Africa.

Mujtahida:

Question marks on Balogun. Since the double header against Cameroon he's not performed well enough again. Someone said he's out of form. I don't know but his showing has not been satisfactory meanwhile Ekong keeps improving.

goldfish80:

Maybe he should find a Turkish club in the winter transfer window. It is very evident that Ekong has found his feet playing in the Turkish league.
Balogun could benefit from such a move as he would be guaranteed good playing time more than anything else.

goldfish80:

Maybe he should find a Turkish club in the winter transfer window. It is very evident that Ekong has found his feet playing in the Turkish league.
Balogun could benefit from such a move as he would be guaranteed good playing time more than anything else.

Mujtahida:
” We have Ahmed Musa and the captain (Mikel Obi) of the team. He has a connection here through the family. Brian played well, scored a goal. His prospects depend on how he will perform at the club. His debut, I’m happy. on his position we have other options, so who will pick who plays better, he will be involved in the fight” Source: owngoalnigeria.com

---

Rohr is not resting on his oars. I have also on the back of our performance yesterday been saying it's a fight and the fight has just began.

Mujtahida:

I just took to the young man. His height too is another advantage in neutralising aerial threats. We still need to see him one more time again.

goldfish80:
The coaching crew should adjust expectations on Balogun. The guy seems to be reverting back to his pre - Gernot Rohr form.
A back 3 of...... Awaziem...... Ekong....Elderson/Ogu, should be considered at some point.
I will like a left-footed player on the left side of a back 3 like Chielini does for Juventus.

I recall reading somewhere that Rohr played Ogu and Elderson as CBs in training. Elderson seems to be tailor made to this role in my opinion. He's defensively solid and hard to beat at times. He just lacks the pace to run the flanks.

On the back of Balogun's display in recent times, the coaching crew should think outside the box and discard sentiments before making decisions.

bigblangston:
Nice trip down Memory Lane but I disagree on the form of Wilfred Agboni(basket) that time, he was actually given that epithet for a reason which is obvious. I can remember he conceded 6 goals in a LA liga game I think against Deportivo LA coruna where some argentines ply their trade. The argentines mocked the late agbonavabre and they wished he would be in goal against them so as to continue the onslaught. Dudu mayanna passed his prime in 94? I don't think so bro.

Icon4s:


When you draw with a team that is ranked far below you, you lose points. The calculation is not all addition there are negative operations embedded in it. And besides it is a 4 year ranking period. Although the more recent results carry more weight. A bad result we got 3-4 years could also be a contributing factor.

Thank God for that Argentina win else our ranking points would have been about 611. The win against Argentina brought it back to 671

Don't say I didn't tell you.

You will see things for your self the day the ranking is released.

junnyjake:


What I saw against Argentina isn't something that one should behold just once. We need to see more of that.

Joebie:
I must say Nigeria's move for Iwobi is the best move we've ever made for a Foreign-bred player.
England still biting their fingers.

Joebie:
I must say Nigeria's move for Iwobi is the best move we've ever made for a Foreign-bred player.
England still biting their fingers.

bigblangston:
Nice trip down Memory Lane but I disagree on the form of Wilfred Agboni(basket) that time, he was actually given that epithet for a reason which is obvious. I can remember he conceded 6 goals in a LA liga game I think against Deportivo LA coruna where some argentines ply their trade. The argentines mocked the late agbonavabre and they wished he would be in goal against them so as to continue the onslaught. Dudu mayanna passed his prime in 94? I don't think so bro.

Mujtahida:

When he plays for Nigeria and he gets into the eighteen yard box he just shoots. His first goal was like the one he scored to qualify us.

Icon79:
Yes, we're definitely playing 3-4-3, once we get a healthy Joel Obi. I am actually surprised that Joel wasn't considered for these two games.

Simon Moses can play a Wingback role ? I yam confused
I know that Simon can play in the Left wing (AM) position, but he would always have a LB behind him.



O pari

Mujtahida:

Well said the goodjoe.
They slotted in seamlessly. The truth is that football is a dynamic game. If you stick rigidly to certain self - imposed criteria you might be cheating yourself. It's good to have guidelines but still be flexible

Such mantras as these:
*you never change a winning team
*You must select from players who play in the best team and best leagues
*You must play the experienced players
*the old gaurd should be let off etc etc
are good as guidelines but if you do not respond sometimes as the occasion demands, if you do not give room for human ingenuity to sometimes trump rules, you will ossiffy and be blown apart by your own rigidity and the dynamism of your opponents. We must always remember that man was not made for the law but the law for man. Bottom line: Let's have guidelines but let's not be rigid.

Joebie:
good.. that was exactly my point.
Even Uzoho needs more game time. We are just so glad that he is such a young goalie with a huge potential. Personally, I'd like him to be #1 right away, but I want to see more from him still.

MetalJigsaw:
You forgot the one he scored against Zambia in the first leg last year.

realpoacher:

Guy you are good in analysis, I dey always gbadun your posts.

goldfish80:

Maybe he should find a Turkish club in the winter transfer window. It is very evident that Ekong has found his feet playing in the Turkish league.
Balogun could benefit from such a move as he would be guaranteed good playing time more than anything else.

Kog45:
Did he concede it with nation team,hope you remember Cech conceded like 5 goals this season,does it mean he is not good.

As at 1993 Rufai was just trying to get his feet back and dropping a la liga keeper keeping week in week out raised a lot of questions then,though we won Afcon but it was glaring in the semi final and final Dodo Manyana was not Dodo of maroc 88.

The best of Rufai was 1983 to 1989 and nobody to argue that, this was Rufai of Stationary Store,Femo scorpion of Eruwa,Require Dragon of Benin Republic.

Did you remember Rufai was clubless in early 90s that forced him to go back to school,his clubless gave rise to Alloy Agu who was doing it well with Maastricht in dutch league and Agbonavbare at Deportivo LA Coruna.

Rufai contract at Lokeren was later cancelled it was hectic for him during this period and Westerhoff need to come in and recommended him to Go Ahead Eagles in Dutch league.

Westerhoff needs to listen to yearnings of fans cos we don't want see any keeper apart from Rufai, this was what cost the like of David Ngodigba eagles shirt.

Prior to our last WC qualifications match against Cameroon in Yaounde, Rufai came to camp uninvited and Westerhoff said no way,he took Ngodigba to Yaoundé, we lost the match by a lone goal but fans descended on Ngodigba for no reason.

The meted the same treatment on Alloy Agu,Nigerians don't want Alloy in goal no matter his performance though a very average keeper by every standard but Rufai was not having it good in Europe.

The discovery of long forgotten Agbonavbare was a masterstroke that assisted Nigeria in qualifying for her first WC,despite his heroic performance, fans still believe he was not the best even the NFF believed Rufai was the ultimate.

This forced Westerhoff to invite Rufai after qualification to afcon and WC to see Rufai cos he thought despite Agbonavbare performance and for fans to be yearning for Rufai then he must be a good keeper.

Goalkeeper trainer really work on Rufai to bring him back to form,this paved way for Dodo as number 1 at Afcon and WC but very glaring those that watched him at afcon 84 and maroc 88 knew Rufai has passed his prime just like Stephen Keshi.

I had a lot of discussion with Clemens Westerhoff cos i handled most of his utilities bills so we talked a lot on Nigeria football and the politics involved,so i was able to get some fact from him ranging from players selections and he said loyalty first before perfornance.

He said initially he doubted Rufai loyalty and also his club form did not help the situation and need to settle for Alloy Agu and Agbonavbare but he regretted not given him the chance prior to Yaounde match in 1989,that he later listened to fans yearning after 4 years just to take a look but funny enough the goalkeeper trainer admired Rufai with that he doesn't have option than to start him.

he said Super Eagles was the most difficult job in the world cos everyone in Nigeria knows the game and love the team passionately.

Goke7:


stop misunderstanding me pls, am only pointing to the two matches aina has had more playing time and he has been poor so far which most folks have admitted to so what's my offence? not making a case for elderson but aina has not been better so far, ok? stop taking issues too far

Mujtahida:

Truly he needs to be seen again whether it was a dream or reality. One more solid performance like yesterday's then we can confidently say we've found another good RB. And boy is quite young. We go enjoy am for long

safarigirl:
England must be feeling like they got the wrong Nigerians right now