me 2

na_so:

I always have a problem when people compare mikel and messi on the ground that they were almost at par in 2005. As a follower of the game I know scores of players that excelled at age competitions but never excelled at the senior level, I also know a lot of players that were not even picked for age grade competitions but later shone at the senior level.

In nigeria 99 seidu keita of mali shone better than ronaldinho and xavi but a few years done the line the difference between these players is as wide as you can imagine.

Players like sinama pongole,li tallec,saviola,marcel witezek,ojigwe,godwin opara, emmanual ebiede, geovanni dos santos are players that even Fifa picked as possible superstars in the future but we all know the story.

Mikel I believe is doing well for himself and career, 4 different coaches in chelsea ,all from different countries and different footballing background cant be wrong. The problem is that we have refused to use him the way he plays in chelsea.


We believe okocha's role is vacant hence he must play that role. This in my opinion is a very lazy way of looking at the issue. My take on mikel is simply to use him as our main DM where he plays in front of the defense and I know he will do it much better than whatever olofijana is doing now.

Mikel may have started as an attacking midfielder but now he is DM. Drogba started as a defender but now he is a striker, Kolo toure started as an attacking midfielder but now a defender. These changes happen.

Coming to the SE and the playmaker problem , I think it is wrong to assume that we will always be fortunate to have a player like J J . Before JJ we did not really have a special playmaker , even when J J joined the SE it took sometime to tune is pattern to work for the team and in that process we were playing some formations that was working but not with any special playmaker.

Siasia's benjin 2008 team did not have any special playmaker but he made sure that solomon okoronkwo although playing from the right side of the midfield held the ball enough and created something for the team.

I think our problem is our techincal crew, If we hand this team to a better coach you will see that we will not just get results but be playing the real nigerian brand of football.

nice post man I absolutely agree with you,   Okocha was not our best player in 90s era squad because he wasted ball alot many ppl showered courses on him then because after wasted the ball he will not show any sign of seriousness always laughing and when he began  many good players are  in the team to compliments him I  don’t  think  there is any quality  midfield player in dis present squad who can compliments Mikel’s talents (or d coach  can’t bring out d best in them) and the team is not built  based on quality & type of  players in the team Ancelotti said  '‘I build team depending on the characteristic of the player for example in Juventus there was Zidane he was an offensive midfielder and I built the team for Zidane. First you have to know the characteristics of the players and after you can put a system  for the player’'  the players at a coach disposal determine his formation/style and tactics. All we need is a good coach who can bring out the best in our player n u will see dem flying.

vikiviko:

Amodu's defensive play really worked cos we secured a vital point.

God forbid we had lost that match.

On the performance of the Players i think Mikel Obi is under performing but i surely knows he can do better.

For the striking roles the Eneramo guy because of his built should play along Uche, we need 2 striking partners to make our attack bite.

Thank God we have a world class goal keeper in Enyeama, scoring against him almost seems impossible now.

Osaze should add more precision and dierection to his game apart from his energy and will to player there is need for creativity in his style.

The team is without a player who can dribble 2 3 players and make a correct pass for the attack.

Olofinjana is hardworking but not creative.

Maybe Obodo should be recalled to add flair into the team.

I theresay an opportunity should be extended to an enterprising local player who could spring a surprise.

Amodu will deliver Insha allah.

When is the next set of Matches?

06/09/09 17:00 Abuja Nigeria - Tunisia
10/10/09 TBA Nigeria - Mozambique
14/11/09 TBA Kenya - Nigeria

All we need is a good coach who can bring out the best in our player n u will see dem flying.

Abi o!

Lets change Amodu quick quick before it is too late if not already late 

Siasia where art thou?

waledoy:

Ancelotti said '‘I build team depending on the characteristic of the player for example in Juventus there was Zidane he was an offensive midfielder and I built the team for Zidane. First you have to know the characteristics of the players and after you can put a system for the player’' the players at a coach disposal determine his formation/style and tactics. All we need is a good coach who can bring out the best in our player n u will see dem flying.

@Waledoy
word man. You said it all.

People should understand that okocha did not step into anyone's shoes, before him we had a team, he came with his own shoe and style, contributed his quota and left with his shoe.

When Abedi was palying for Ghana , the entire team was built around him but I wonder what Ghana football would have been if they remained under the illusion of seeking someone to wear Abedi's shoes after he left the scene.

we need a miracle in the midfield

kalu Uche has been M.I.A in the last 2 games

Kenya & Tunisia

Amodu

needs to recall Oruma & Obodo back into the fold

also needs to invite Rabiu Ibrahim, Lukman Hurana , Rabiu Mohammed (Kano Pillars), Victor Moses
Dennis Aogo,Eke Uzoma, Nnaemeka Ajuru, Sunny Stephens

Super Eagles need to fix that midfield A.S.A.P

na_so,
That's the technical side that has been lacking since amodu took over.
I fear he will bungle our qualification prospects.I seriously do.

People should understand that okocha did not step into anyone's shoes, before him we had a team, he came with his own shoe and style, contributed his quota and left with his shoe.

When Abedi was palying for Ghana , the entire team was built around him but I  wonder what Ghana football would have been  if they remained under the illusion of seeking someone to wear Abedi's shoes after he left the scene.

abi!  true talk

I fear he will bungle our qualification prospects.I seriously do.

uhmmm, NFF 

all we r saying,,,,,,,,give us sia-sia!!!

if u want all the info abt the games nigeria will play, go to http://www.fifa.com/associations/association=nga/index.html  and  http://www.fifa.com/associations/association=nga/fixturesresults/gender=m/index.html

I can't believe Okocha has become Nigeria's Overnight Celebrity.

Let's take a retrospective look at how we missed out on the last World Cup. During the period in question, the duo of Okocha and Kanu, were the ringleaders who only report to camp on the eve of a make or mar qualifiers.

Take a look at AFCON 2004 and 2006, this ugly act was prevalent.
The excuse? Club commitments!
I can remember vividly well, Okocha reported to camp on the eve of Nigeria's AFCON opener against Morocco back in '04.

All of a sudden, he's d hero.

As for Mikel, a lot of pple are casting club sentiment.

At least, he was not responsible for the two dead weight the team carried for most duration of the encounter - the Uche brothers.

If anyone feels, he shldn't be in the team, too bad ur opinion doesn't count!

People should understand that okocha did not step into anyone's shoes, before him we had a team, he came with his own shoe and style, contributed his quota and left with his shoe.

When Abedi was palying for Ghana , the entire team was built around him but I wonder what Ghana football would have been if they remained under the illusion of seeking someone to wear Abedi's shoes after he left the scene.

T R U T H said!

I had a serious chat with Super Eagles' ex left winger, Adokie Amaiesiemaka, on the inefficiency
of Shuaibu Amodu technically but I was surprised at his response. He was very unhappy with me
because according to him, result is all that mattered. And for Amodu to be getting the 'result',
he is technically efficient. For the sake of peace I had to bulge to him and found a way to change the
conversation.

As for me, I still stand on my point that Amodu is technically deficient and he is not good enough for
that job. A team could lose a match and you will still be happy with her because you can tell that the
team has a great future because of their display of technical depth even in the loss. In my book, the Super Eagles are hot
today, tomorrow they are cold. That tells me something, and that is the fact that they play without any focus
or game plan so to say. Play the ball, if you get a chance you score. If you don't, draw the match. and be happy.
That is what I call kalo kalo football in the year 2009.

Is the result even worth celebrating?
If it's true that an ex-Eagles winger is saying that,then i m not surprised that most of the former players turning to coaches (largely out of hunger) are failing to make the grade.

As for Mikel, a lot of pple are casting  club sentiment.

At least, he was not responsible for the two dead weight the team carried for most duration of the encounter - the Uche brothers.

Much as I also believe it is unfair to hold Mikel only responsible for Eagles' faliures, I disagree with the above. IK Uche has been more useful to SE than Mikel, so that was why many people forgave him for his unimpressive performance against Tunisia. I can't remember any game Mikel put up a five-star performance in SE's shirt, maybe against Zimbabwe in 2006 Nations cup and against Benin republic in Ghana 2008, his other games in SE's shirt were nothing to write home about. He was our poorest player on field against Mozambique. Ike Uche, on the other hand is a consistent performer, and disappointing display has been an exception, rather than the rule, for him. And the game against Tunisia was just one of such exception.

Then talk of discipline and commitment. Ik has it. He is one of the few SE players that don't give silly excuses to miss SE matches. Arriving early in camp etc. Needless to talk about Mikel here. So this is another reason many Nigerians will pardon poor performance from IK Uche, which is very rare anyway.

As for his brother, he was truly shit against Kenya and Tunisia, but many people still hold him in high regard than Mikel simply because of he's more committted and he has also had his own fair share of excellent games for SE(against France, first round qualifiers etc).

@ Jarus

Tunisia said it clearly before the match that they were going to mark out IK Uche.
The question now is, what was Amodu's plan to make Uche effective on the field of play.

I can tell now that the Tunisian coach is already planning what to play against us in September
while our own Amodu could be busy eating Turkey with his NFF beneficiaries.