Earthquake1:


Holding the ball is kind of useless, it does not help the attack rather puts a lot a lot of pressure on the team

Etebo always get rave reviews after every match but nobody can say what he has done

He usually has the highest take ons. lol... And then to what end?

edi287:

You mean like against Madagascar?

Exactly, they nearly lynched the man when we lost a dead rubber game to Madagascar, because they no like am. But they are here giving a pass to a local coach that lost to a even lowly rated Sudan u23. Yeye dey smell

Certitude:

He usually has the highest take ons. lol... And then to what end?

.
He's like Nigeria's Lingard. All activities and pace, but no end product.
That thing low-key annoys me, as he usually end up putting us under pressure with unnecessary ball hugging, and he ends up doing or wrong pass or doing a back pass

benji93:
Honestly, although i maintain my stand that the "saviour coach" is mostly clueless . I am not holding the ukrainian match against him. He was experimenting, and some of the specimens in the experiment just didn't fit in. I am refusing to comment on the "saviour coach" cos i am on the fence with respect to the opinion that the deterioration of our play against Ukraine was his fault. We will see if he has repented from his cluelessness under pressure when he decides on a more or less constant crop of players.

U just hate the 'saviour coach' and looking for an opportunity for him to fail

charlesemeka85:
When did I tell you that? The only players I said are light weights and need to bulk up are ejaria and oshimeh. I never for once said Alex is light weight so don't ever again quote me out of context.

Iwobi is by no means lightweight

The guy has upper body strength of a wrestler, just that he doesn't know how to use his weight

benji93:
Second you on Aribo- I once told someone that it would be better if this guys join the team at the youth level, especially the young ones, i was told that's insane- I guess from this submission, it cannot be you. It has to be Earthquake1, quake i hail oooo

Wait, are you saying you have been proven right based on an opinion of a member of this thread?

tbaba1234:
Philip Ejimadu wins save of the month in the USL league 1.

(In my opinion, the save was nothing special)


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8uFRyej6ohA&feature=youtu.be

Don't be deceived, if he took a theatrical fall after that save you would have conceeded that as the save of the season

Danielnino00:


Aribo is good but I don't think he will displace Etebo any time soon.. Etebo is well suited for Africa football.. Pace,stamina,power.. He has it all...

We aren't aspiring to be just local champions bro.

tbaba1234:


Algeria won the nations cup with technique not the usual attributes associated with African football. In my opinion, Aribo is more effective. He gets into the box from the midfield and that gives him a chance to get more goals.

Etebo is a good player but i feel that he sometimes over-elaborates on the ball. People might see that and say baller but it kills attacks.

Technique beats power every day of the week. Do European team not smash Africans in competitions?

I wonder

Meliforme:
Neither Ndidi, Etebo nor Aribo has the passing range, we have in Zuby. Comparatively, Zuby is a playmaker. Zuby brings a sort of dominance and stability. A midfield that has Zuby will hardly colapse. Zubys' infusion into the current crop will set a lot of difference.

Forgive my ignorance but l just haven't heard a whisper about this guy.

With all the accolades and attributes you have declared he has. Then no matter what league he is in he should be the stand out player for club and league.

Please do not make reference to youth glories they are TOTALLY IRRELEVANT.

Now can you give more detail club, league titles won, etc, etc

Please.

charlesemeka85:
I just pray we get the likes of Ehizibue, ejaria, Eze, lookman, any of tomori or uduokhai to fortify the team.

Here is my best 23 team squad moving forward(players yet to be cleared for us inclusive)

Goal keepers
Francis uzoho- Famagusta (cyprious)
Okechukwu ezenwa- heartland(nig)
Maduka Okoye- Fortuna 2(ger)

Defenders
Troost ekong- udinese(ita)
Ola aina- torino(ita)
Tomori- chelsea(eng)
Kenneth omeruo- leganes(spa)
Chidozie awaziem- leganes(spa)
Collins jamilu- paderborn(ger)
Kingsley Ehizibue- koln(ger)

Midfielders
Alex Iwobi- everton(eng)
Wilfred ndidi- leicester(eng)
Oghenekaro etebo- Stoke city(eng)
Joe aribo- Glasgow rangers(scot)
Ebere eze- queens Park rangers(epl)

Forwards
Victor oshimeh- lille(fra)
Samuel kalu- bordeux(fra)
Samuel Chukwueze- villarael(spa)
Ademola lookman- leipzig(ger)
David Okereke- club brugge(bel)
Henry onyekuru- monaco(fra)
Paul onuachu- racing genk(bel)

I love the way you excluded Simon. but I believe we still need Musa.

charlesemeka85:
Former Arsenal midfielder Kelechi Nwakali says he is still the heir apparent to John Obi Mikel and is a targeting a recall to the Nigeria national team ahead of the start of the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers.

The Diamond Academy product is one of the players tipped to replace the retired Mikel in the Super Eagles but manager Gernot Rohr did not look his way when he announced his roster for the recent friendly against Ukraine.

Though Nwakali has not played competitively this season, he sparkled as the Dream Team VII qualified for the U23 Africa Cup of Nations following their 5-0 rout of Sudan in Asaba on Tuesday.

''I am still the heir apparent (to Mikel),'' Kelechi Nwakali told reporters post-match.

''I believe my own is to do the playing and whenever it is time for me to come I am always available.

''It is always an honour to represent Nigeria. Of course, I am still knocking on the door of the Super Eagles, that's why we keep playing every day.''

The new SD Huesca signing has captained the Golden Eaglets and Flying Eagles in the past and knows what it takes to prepare for major tournaments including the U23 AFCON which holds in Egypt in November.

''The only thing I have to say is the Federation should support the team, the coach I believe he knows what is at stake.

''The main thing first is to go there to pick up the ticket to the Olympics, even if we don't win the competition, picking up the ticket is the most important thing, so one step at a time,'' Nwakali added.

He concluded by praising his teammates and Nigeria U23 coaching staff led by Imama Amapakabo for the big win against Sudan.

''Personally I take every game to improve myself, I know that footballers we can have bad days but we try all our possible best to make every game count for us.

''We put up a good performance to turn the game from 1-0 to 5-1, I must commend the coach, he did a very good job during the training sessions and the team as a whole for putting up a good performance.''

Kelechi Nwakali was named in an official Nigeria squad for the first time in August 2018 ahead of an Africa Cup of Nations qualifier against Seychelles.

True talent doesn't hide.

There is a HUGE DISPARITY between youth football and senior first team football.

Nwakali has had three seasons in European football and has been comprehensively WOEFUL. This is where you see emotive sentiment in the extreme, yet people call him a prospect.

Talent alone will not get you ahead but diligence and hard work. These are things he seems to lack.

What level is the Sudanese U23 team if indeed they are U23 but that's not important. We have a U23 league in the UK. Would it be wrong to suggest that the Chelsea or Fulham U23 are most likely better than them.

Consider that Nwakali with all his extraordinary talent struggled at Porto B. He then plays against Sudan and and some think he has arrived.

Using the Sudanese match as a yardstick for quality is nonsensical in the extreme.

chrisooblog:
are you surprised the brutal truth is that none of our defenders are top level just average I'm slightly above average we can only continue to search for a top level one

I said this before the best possible Nigerian Central defender yet to be capped is Fikayo Tomori.

chrisooblog:
there's a difference Joseph just move to Scotland and has been improving while zubby has been in and out of Turkey for years

Aribo actually had multiple offers for the EPL but believed that progression would be easier under the tutelage of Gerrard. That assumption is now working.

It's quite funny when l mentioned these guys donkeys ago l got all the vitriolic abuse under the sun. That league one is too low for the SE bla bla bla. That l am biased against Nigerian born players and a hater bla bla bla biased and a HATER.

Look at the sudden massive U TURN l know how Charlesemeka was also subjected to the same harangue.

When l said that Aribo is currently on the watch list of Liverpool people thought it was delusional.

TheGoodJoe:


When it comes to power play, some are rely a lot on their strength and have a high chance of beating the opponent to the ball based on their size.

Others, read the ball earlier than the opponent, who might be stronger than them but win the fight.

Others, will go for quick fouls, which will go on detected and then win the balls.

Some combine a bit of these.

While Osimhen lost some, he used hard work and pace to cover up.

Agreed without question.

With regards to the bold Akinfenwa comes to mind, it is not very nice to see but it's Effective and wins games. I remember him completely cancelling out too Liverpool defenders when he played Liverpool in the FA cup.

I think Osimhen need to learn how to time his runs and use his pace better and think more about his positioning. Sometimes he's running around like a headless chicken to little effect. Getting into physical battles is not his type of game.

benji93:
Honestly, what are you writing? Can't you differentiate between Power, vision and "craftiness" ? Which one be power play? This is neither a movie nor a series, bros.

The pun is on you.

You lack understanding that's why you just don't get it.

Humble yourself and get TheGoodJoe to give you a lecture on physicality and power play.

BascoVanVeli:


Turkey is still better than Scotland. Zuby went from a division 2 side to a team competing in Europe how is that not improving? You don't have to put another player down to hype another

Not exactly.

Scotland as a league has a much lower rating than Turkey. But there are two teams that are far better than the rest. Celtic and Glasgow Rangers and have a higher rating or comparable to Galatasaray and Fenerbache.

Then the other issue is that the Scottish premier league mimicks the EPL. Making the transition to the EPL not so difficult.

I will remind you to consider where Van Dyke came from arguably the best Defender in the world. Barcelona once bought a striker from Celtic.

One of the best U 16 players in the world is at Celtic.

So it's not so straight forward.

TheGoodJoe:
Wilfred Bony the first touch master. Used to like this homie.

A joy to watch.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7YKLc3XICg8

His biggest problem NO PACE.

He reminds me of our own Yakubu

One of my biggest problems for the Super Eagles is that we don't have a single quality pitch in the whole of Nigeria for my team to play matches on. This is not acceptable for a country of Nigeria's level.

Gernot Rohr

benji93:
This is not a good example bros- meanwhile please read the post i commented on, you mentioned three different things which belong to three different categories. The first requires power but the second and third, nada. It doesn't matter-even if you stand strong, i will always get the better of you in the air if i am taller than you, unless i am terrible at my job.

Let me give you three current examples.

Lukaku destroy opponents with both pace and power. His power play transfers to how he runs ( power running) that means if you try to barge him when he running you are the one most likely to.be thrown of the pitch. Lukaku doesn't have aerial dominance as much but good technical ability although touch isn't great but he always scores a nightmare to defenders.

Benteke is a beast in the air but you must play to his strengths, accurate crosses in the box and balls to feet in the box. I remember him receiving the ball with Yobo right on him but behind him, he successfully held Yobo off and scored against Norwich. Currently Crystal are not playing to his strengths same problem at Liverpool.

The master of all currently for me is "Bad boy" BALOTELLI actually he is a really nice guy and very generous too.

But he combines Athletic ability , power and strength and crazy technical ability with pin point accurate finishing. He does it all, Aerial dominance plus power running. If only he had the right attitude he would be competing with Ronaldo and Messi. He power runs, positionsl sense excellent. And his 1 on 1 even 1 on 2 is legendary.

Earthquake1:
One of my biggest problems for the Super Eagles is that we don't have a single quality pitch in the whole of Nigeria for my team to play matches on. This is not acceptable for a country of Nigeria's level.

Gernot Rohr

saw this news like 2 days ago..
Didn't find it worthy of discussion cos it's a flimsy and nonsense excuse by the gaffer.


What has he achieved on good and world class pitches in russia and Egypt?

He should shut up and play wherever he is told to play

seankafor:
saw this news like 2 days ago..
Didn't find it worthy of discussion cos it's a flimsy and nonsense excuse by the gaffer.


What has he achieved on good and world class pitches in russia and Egypt?

He should shut up and play wherever he is told to play

What's the meaning of this, Can't a coach request for a good pitch?

Earthquake1:


What's the meaning of this, Can't a coach request for a good pitch?

he should shut da fvck up bro..

He is in no position to detect where we play.

seankafor:
saw this news like 2 days ago..
Didn't find it worthy of discussion cos it's a flimsy and nonsense excuse by the gaffer.


What has he achieved on good and world class pitches in russia and Egypt?

He should shut up and play wherever he is told to play

Oga stop saying this Na.
In all honesty, do you think we can play that sort of fluid passing game we played on Tuesday on that Asaba pitch. Be truthful with your answer.

The only pitch were we can still play that kind of game is the UYo stadium. But the NFF decided to ignore UYo for an Asaba potato farm that they call pitch

timay:


Oga stop saying this Na.
In all honesty, do you think we can play that sort of fluid passing game we played on Tuesday on that Asaba pitch. Be truthful with your answer.

The only pitch were we can still play that kind of game is the UYo stadium. But the NFF decided to ignore UYo for an Asaba potato farm that they call pitch

what kind of fluid football?
Is it not the same asaba our youngins walloped Sudan 5-0?

Dude should focus on his coaching and leave off field decisions for the folks elected to do so.

If asaba pitch isn't good,the onus lyes on pinnick and his crew to fix it..
Not the coach whining like a girl on her period

Many times I'm very dissapointed that we can't boast of a single quality pitch in 9ja.... The whole north east west south of Nigeria and we don't have a 90 thousand cap stadium, very very very bad....

If countries were bringing their stadiums, we can only boast of uyo...

We cant even host Afcon...not to talk world cup or Olympics..

Abuja stadium- coma
National stadium - dead, buried, Ash thrown in the Atlantic...

seankafor:
he should shut da fvck up bro..

He is in no position to detect where we play.

Wow he is literally the coach of the team

Earthquake1:


Imama won against Sudan, Rohr drew against Ukraine
[font=Lucida Sans Unicode][/font]
Big difference

But before the match you guys were saying the Sudan game was more important than Ukraine friendly.

tbaba1234:


I don't buy this "rigors of African football" argument. A good player is a good player.

That is how we were told that Ebuehi can not cope with African football till we realized he was far better than Shehu.

That narrative of African football is stale and so old school, Egypt won a hattrick of nations cup without playing gragra football, Senegal with their gragra football couldn't beat small stature Japan, if you are good enough to play ball you'll play well

tbaba1234:
We talk about the rigors of African football yet our teams can't get past the first round of the world cup. All of them.

Maybe it is time to start having more technical players as physicality will not win us trophies.

France used their physicality to good effect and won the world cup with almost a complete black team.
The theme should be to get good players. Let's not over elaborate on the physical and technical. Even the other finalist Croatia, were one of the most physical teams in Russia.

Barryseal:

But before the match you guys were saying the Sudan game was more important than Ukraine friendly.

Definitely qualifying for the Olympics was more important, that does not mean that Sudan is a highly rated team

Barryseal:

France used their physicality to good effect and won the world cup with almost a complete black team.
The theme should be to get good players. Let's not over elaborate on the physical and technical. Even the other finalist Croatia, were one of the most physical teams in Russia.

The best player at the world cup was Modric