Iwobi vs Simon

@thebolded. It was an Ighalo assist, not Victor Moses

BascoVanVeli:
How Simon escaped last chance saloon after Rohr riot act
Colin Udoh, KweséESPN

Moses Simon was as close as it gets to being axed from the Super Eagles starting line-up last month.

Impressed by his speed, silky skills and willingness to take on and turn defenders, Nigeria coach Gernot Rohr had elevated him above Ahmed Musa as his starting wide forward on the right.

But with the position came responsibility; the responsibility to track back and help his fullback when defending. Simon, apparently, did not take that task seriously. At least not as seriously as he should have.

His tardiness in that regard largely went unpunished as Nigeria won game after game, both in friendlies and World Cup qualifying. However, shorn of the protection offered by captain John Mikel Obi's calming influence in midfield against South Africa, Simon's inadequacies were brutally exposed.

A keen stickler for detail, officials told KweséESPN that Rohr played the tape of the Bafana Bafana loss time and time again. And then some.

Among the things that reportedly stood out was Simon's part in at least one of the goals, where his failure to track back continually left his fullback isolated and exposed.

Team sources told KweséESPN that when the team congregated ahead of the Cameroon game, Rohr called Simon and gave him a stern dressing down, issuing him an ultimatum: track back, or sit on the bench.

The threat worked a charm. Not only was the forward involved in two of the goals, he was also back helping Shehu Abdullahi, and later Elderson Echiejile.

"It wasn't easy because I like to go forward and express myself," Simon told KweséESPN after. "But I had to do what the coach said."

Four days later, he found himself on the scoresheet in Yaounde, after coming in from deep to rifle home from Victor Moses' half-volley.

With Alex Iwobi now back in the squad after injury, the competition for places is even stiffer, and Simon will be well aware that if there is any time to knuckle down even further, it is now.

Zambia have the potential to present a very difficult test; one full of energy and running, and one which needs every Super Eagles player to be on their best game.

Having starred into the abyss and tracked his way back, Moses Simon will surely not be looking to return there.

yes he was fast but his intelligence was what stood him out for me.

tbaba1234:


People forget that young finidi was very fast too but he had more to his game than pace.

libero808:
over the bar

hahahahahaha yeye h tink say you go shout inside the net before

libero808:
Iwobi vs Simon

@thebolded. It was an Ighalo assist, not Victor Moses

Both assisted, but it was VicMoses volley.

tbaba1234:


People forget that young finidi was very fast too but he had more to his game than pace.

Yes o.

Which was why I said he was class.

His funny goal celebrations tho.

lexyman:


you can say that again.... Babangida is cheap and with 13k point you can have him and use him earn points to buy other players ... if you didnt play videoo game you will not be able to understand this ....lol

Hehe. Once a gamer, always would be.

I'dm yet to graduate to FIFA tho.

TheGoodJoe:


I am not understanding the report. Who did Ighalo score three against?

Akpeyi I guess

Kog45:
Truly very fast winger but we have many fast wingers Nigeria can talk of,hope u remember Dimeji Lawal,Pius Ikedia a carbon copy of Tijani,similar style,of recent Ahmed Musa.

But till today no winger like Finidi George,very intelligent player who know when to run and how to slow things down,watching Ajax in d 90s was a delight with master Finidi George who knows time to take a cross into 18 yard box,not easy to mark but if u are able to mark him is out of d game completely,still remember how he was removed for Siasia by Westerhoff in d first half against Zambia(94 afcon final)

The two were wide apart,as u said Finidi was a class.A lot thought that Finidi was a slow player but No,he moved according to d pace of d game and read d game very well not a direct player like Tijani.

I can only compare Finidi and Segun Odegbami,i w find it hard to pick between d duo in my starting XI coz Odegbami was a master class when it comes to wing play,he does it just like CR7,too much of skill,his goal scoring was a top notch,very fast winger with beautiful crosses and powerful player that intimidate any defenders.

Nostalgic memories though vague.

We were truly blessed and ought to have gone further than where we are at the moment.

But I'm keeping faith with the present golden generation of players, they can in their own way write their names in gold.

Kog45:
Kai u don't know Yisa Sofpluwe,Mujtahida pls go back to d archives and read about Nigeria football at least from 1980.

Yisa Sofoluwe was one of d best RB Nigeria has ever produce if not d best.

icon4s w tell u much about him.

They call him "King of defence" in his days

Kog45:
Good to keep yourself cool even if u are young but our guys are still young or what do u think

Yeah, true that.

But I won't want to talk about how young some of them are because I know what happened the last time I did.

junnyjake:


I think Babangida was arguably the fastest player in the world back then.

Those who were gamers then would know he had a speed of 99 in the then Winning Eleven game. That was year 2000.

But finidi was class.

I think Julius Aghahowa would be the one to have that title in my opinion.

Kog45:
Don't tell me u are a dreamer.

Hehehe, maybe.

I dreamt and saw the exact scoreline in our game against SA. I was too busy to post and decided against saying anything about it afterwards.

I'm hoping this one follows through.

He connected Ighalo's pass.
Let's say it as it is. Or we can start from who started the build up.
that sentence is erroneous.

Daejoyoung:

Both assisted, but it was VicMoses volley.

junnyjake:


Hehe "Undiluted waffi pidgin? " I no gree.

I still have this feeling, your pidgin would be flavored with that English accent.

That's because you have not seen me buying Banga Soup and starch at Enerhen jnct. or Okirigwe in Sapele.

Actually, what they (particularly the late Ernest Okonkwo) used to call him was "Dean of Defence".

I didn't watch him play but my uncles had lots of great things to say about his game. They described him as the best refined Nigerian defender of his generation. Another player they rated very highly was Henry Nwosu.


O pari

kennysville:


They call him "King of defence" in his days

Weak links....

Ekong with his bad ball control,bad pass and panic. If put under intense pressure by a more technical team Ekong will make costly mistake.

Victor Moses over carries the ball and dribble too much to the extent he will jeopardise the success of the team. Moses need to learn when to release the ball. He ruined what would have been a beautiful goal for Ighalo against Cameroon in Uyo. His dribbles need to be in check and he can be a little selfish. In fact,Victor Moses is not my favourite SUPER EAGLES player,he annoys me half of the time and now he didnt come to camp early....smh

Simon Moses has improved a bit but his final ball needs to be worked on and his crosses must get better. I like his tacking back to help but he waste alot of ball....Again,just like VicMO he (Simon) likes to dribble and half of the time he loses the ball.

Echiejile is a disaster waiting to happen...Dude is our weakest link. bad passes,shaky,out of position and what have you....When I see Echiejile I get depressed.


Mikel Obi,though a smart player but he lost a lot of possession in our match at Uyo. Can also be a little slow but I will put that on his lack of match fitness. But Mikel must do better than against Cameroon.


The only problem I have with Onazi is to not get a red card ,as long as Ndidi is there I have confidence in that midfield.

no camp news today?

Thanks for sharing.

Are you on the ground in Uyo? If so, let me know .... we need to talk.


O pari

denniece1:
Iwobi snr watched iwobi train today.
mikel
Onazi


Courtesy @makingofchamps

Libero, are you on the ground in Uyo? You need to give me a call if you're in Uyo ASAP, abeg. I am having bad feelings about this game. We need to make sure that the match officials are well taken care of, before it's too late.


O pari

libero808:
Gernot Rohr said

“Everybody is looking fit, no injuries so I hope that it will be difficult for me to choose eleven starting players because everybody want to play, so it’s a good confidence”, he said after their evening training session.

“Now we are going to continue tomorrow. It will be a close training session I ask you (journalist) to understand because we need to prepare our team at least once alone”, Rohr concluded.

My biggest joy going into this encounter with Zambia is IGHALO JUDE. I am confident we have found a real top 9 who can ruffle any defense, put them under pressure and even score a breathtaking goals.

I remember before our match against Cameroon I described Ighalo as a skillful and tricky player and some guy cried blue murder. Now,everybody is ridding Ighalos back....Such is life. But Kelechi need to learn how a to 9 works.

What about Akpeyi?

Oh, he isn't gonna start anyway. So he doesn't count.


O pari

OMANBALA1:
Weak links....

Ekong with his bad ball control,bad pass and panic. If put under intense pressure by a more technical team Ekong will make costly mistake.

Victor Moses over carries the ball and dribble too much to the extent he will jeopardise the success of the team. Moses need to learn when to release the ball. He ruined what would have been a beautiful goal for Ighalo against Cameroon in Uyo. His dribbles need to be in check and he can be a little selfish. In fact,Victor Moses is not my favourite SUPER EAGLES player,he annoys me half of the time and now he didnt come to camp early....smh

Simon Moses has improved a bit but his final ball needs to be worked on and his crosses must get better. I like his tacking back to help but he waste alot of ball....Again,just like VicMO he (Simon) likes to dribble and half of the time he loses the ball.

Echiejile is a disaster waiting to happen...Dude is our weakest link. bad passes,shaky,out of position and what have you....When I see Echiejile I get depressed.


Mikel Obi,though a smart player but he lost a lot of possession in our match at Uyo. Can also be a little slow but I will put that on his lack of match fitness. But Mikel must do better than against Cameroon.


The only problem I have with Onazi is to not get a red card ,as long as Ndidi is there I have confidence in that midfield.

(Opponent Watch: Drills On Counter Attack Tops Zambia Training Session In Abuja
October 5, 2017


The senior national team of Zambia had their first training session in Nigeria ahead of their clash against the Super Eagles of Nigeria in Uyo on Saturday.

Zambia are expected to arrive Uyo later today, but had a one hour session in Abuja at the popular astro turf pitch to loosen up after arriving Abuja yesterday evening fron Ghana, where they had a training camp.

It started with the players observing the traditional warm up session which lasted a little over twenty-five minutes, before doing drills on shooting with the players up against the three goalkeepers of the team.

Coach Wedson Nyirenda later shared them into two teams for a training match, which had a lot to do with how they could play against Nigeria as the coach spent time on counter-attack drills.

Nyirenda also spent time with his defenders on drills that has to do with defending as a unit, with details on tracking the runs of quick forwards very much a part of the drill.

However the players were a bit uncomfortable with the nature of the playing surface of the astro turf , and as early as 40 minutes into the session that lasted a little over an hour they looked uncomfortable.

They won’t have to bother much about playing on astro turf as Saturday’s game which will be played at the Godswill Akpabio Stadium in Uyo will be on a pitch with natural grass.

Rohr Speaks On Coaching Zidane, Desire To Beat Germany At The World Cup In Russia
October 5, 2017


Many followers of the Super Eagles of Nigeria are not aware of the coaching credentials of the present coach of the team Gernot Rohr, who has helped them to a win away from qualifying for the World Cup.

Nigeria have moved from the team that failed to qualify for back to back Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) to a team that is on the verge of been the first Africa nation to qualify for the World Cup in Russia, if they can beat Zambia in Uyo.

Rohr in a chat with newsmen in Uyo revealed his desire to be at the World Cup with Nigeria is even more than that of the players, as it will be the peak of his coaching career.

Although he has had some very happy moment as a player and later as a coach, the highest which according to him is helping the likes of French super stars Bixente Lizarazu, Christopher Dugarry and ‎Zinedine Zidane become football icons.

He handled the trio during the formative years of their career at Bordeaux where he was the head coach, but according to him the joy of being associated with such top stars can’t be equated to what he will feel if he leads Nigeria to the World Cup.

” It’s very important for the coach, it’s a big challenge to go to the World Cup, of course we want to go there absolutely. I had a long career like a player and like a coach. I have a lot of beautiful things to celebrate “, Rohr said.

” Yes, I am happy I had the chance to coach players like Zidane, Dugarry and Lizarazu in Bordeaux we went to the final of the European Cup. So we had wonderful thing already but the most beautiful thing, and I will go there is to go to the World Cup, and then beat my home country Germany “. He concluded.

Ade Emmanuel

in fact na own goal i go do instead
u can never score

do4luv14:



hahahahahaha yeye h tink say you go shout inside the net before

I dey uyo, I for don flood this place with pics na.
wetin u dey wait for?

Icon79:
Libero, are you on the ground in Uyo? You need to give me a call if you're in Uyo ASAP, abeg. I am having bad feelings about this game. We need to make sure that the match officials are well taken care of, before it's too late.


O pari

Omo, I no dey naija o. If for say I dey naija, I for don land for the city of Uyo since Tuesday ... to welcome the boys.

Please if any member of the forum has Amaju Pinniki's number, let me know ASAP. I would like to know how much money the NFF has budgeted for "technical". We can't leave any stones unturned this time.


O pari

libero808:
I dey uyo, I for don flood this place with pics na.
wetin u dey wait for?

libero808:
in fact na own goal i go do instead
u can never score

hahahahahaha!!!!!!! Badt market

Just like some people have been saying it, I also think this is one aspect (Counter Attack) the zambians would want to exploit.
However, I hope Rohr will also envisage this and possible ways of stopping them

Eligreat247:

(Opponent Watch: Drills On Counter Attack Tops Zambia Training Session In Abuja
October 5, 2017


The senior national team of Zambia had their first training session in Nigeria ahead of their clash against the Super Eagles of Nigeria in Uyo on Saturday.

Zambia are expected to arrive Uyo later today, but had a one hour session in Abuja at the popular astro turf pitch to loosen up after arriving Abuja yesterday evening fron Ghana, where they had a training camp.

It started with the players observing the traditional warm up session which lasted a little over twenty-five minutes, before doing drills on shooting with the players up against the three goalkeepers of the team.

Coach Wedson Nyirenda later shared them into two teams for a training match, which had a lot to do with how they could play against Nigeria as the coach spent time on counter-attack drills.

Nyirenda also spent time with his defenders on drills that has to do with defending as a unit, with details on tracking the runs of quick forwards very much a part of the drill.

However the players were a bit uncomfortable with the nature of the playing surface of the astro turf , and as early as 40 minutes into the session that lasted a little over an hour they looked uncomfortable.

They won’t have to bother much about playing on astro turf as Saturday’s game which will be played at the Godswill Akpabio Stadium in Uyo will be on a pitch with natural grass.

chrisooblog:
to be fair things have changed a bit at chelsea as regards the youth setup. christensen is in the team this year, musonda too has been involved with the first team. last season chalobah played a role while aina was also on the periphery of the team. conte unlike mourinho has shown faith in the youth players as long as you are good enough.

Awoniyi yes he's still a bit behind but truth be told the strikers in liverpool now how many won't he have a fair chance against? sturridge and mane yes are miles ahead of him but who else? solanke i'm yet to see anything outstanding. has he even scored a competitive goal yet? origi who's now at wolfsburg didn't exactly blow peoples minds at lille before he was recalled back to liverpool. i think if awoniyi works hard and keeps his head down i don't think he would be so far from liverpool first team squad like you make it seem

i can understand that with your vast knowledge of the english youth football setup which you are deeply involved with you would think alot of these british nigerian boys are ahead of their counterparts in mainland europe but from my own personal opinion the only area where the english game has a huge advantage is the physicality but technically there is still some way to go even though i will admit things have improved in that regard somewhat

Essentially very few English clubs can teach you technical football. And if any it will.be in the top six of the EPL. The rest will struggle.

Nonetheless, certain clubs have pedigree for instance Charlton, Peterborough and MK Dons have always played a good standard of technical football.

In recent times things have changed dramatically particularly with the top 6 EPL teams. It's now about teaching technique. Showing skills and ball control even well before positional sense and structure. This is the trend until 12 years old. Remember the academy starts with age grade 5/6 sometimes younger.

So for instance Everton produces very good teams because from the age of 5/6 they are playing structured football with specific positions. However individually they are not developing and lack technical ability.

All the Nigerian and African players that I know, who were at Everton have all attested to this fact not been taught any skill.

But back to Liverpool, Solanke is in the first team and his presence sent Origi out. Awoniyi is in a low level club he is not making waves.

Lukaku was playing for Anderlecht at the age of 16 he had played 91 games and scored 41 goals at the age of 18. Not surprisingly Chelsea came and the rest is history.

What I am saying is for Awoniyi to get in to Liverpool he has to be outstanding in the Belgium league. Which he simply is not.

How many games has he played and how many goals it's not outstanding. That's why I say and I can tell you he is a forgotten man at Liverpool as well.

on the bolded its too early to say at least wait till december before giving a definitive answer. yes the belgian league might be lower quality but a lot of gems of recent have emerged from there

komekn:


Essentially very few English clubs can teach you technical football. And if any it will.be in the top six of the EPL. The rest will struggle.

Nonetheless the less certain clubs have pedigree got instance Charlton Peterborough and MK Dons have always played a good standard of technical football.

In recent times things have changed dramatically particularly with the top 6 EPL teams. It's now about teaching technique. Showing skills and ball control even well before positional sense and structure. This is the trend until 12 years old.

So for instance Everton produces very good teams because from the age of 5/6 they are playing structured football with specific positions. However individually they are not developing.

All the Nigerian and African players that I know, who were at Everton have all attested to this fact not been taught any skill.

But back to Liverpool, Solanke is in the first team and his presence sent Origi out. Awoniyi is in a low level club he is not making waves.

Lukaku was playing for Anderlecht at the age of 16 he had played 91 games and scored 41 goals at the age of 18. Not surprisingly Chelsea came and the rest is history.

What I am saying is for Awoniyi to get in to Liverpool he has to be outstanding in the Belgium league. Which he simply is not.

How many games has he played and how many goals it's not outstanding. That's why I say and I can tell you he is a forgotten man at Liverpool as well.

Kog45:
Truly very fast winger but we have many fast wingers Nigeria can talk of,hope u remember Dimeji Lawal,Pius Ikedia a carbon copy of Tijani,similar style,of recent Ahmed Musa.

But till today no winger like Finidi George,very intelligent player who know when to run and how to slow things down,watching Ajax in d 90s was a delight with master Finidi George who knows time to take a cross into 18 yard box,not easy to mark but if u are able to mark him is out of d game completely,still remember how he was removed for Siasia by Westerhoff in d first half against Zambia(94 afcon final)

The two were wide apart,as u said Finidi was a class.A lot thought that Finidi was a slow player but No,he moved according to d pace of d game and read d game very well not a direct player like Tijani.

I can only compare Finidi and Segun Odegbami,i w find it hard to pick between d duo in my starting XI coz Odegbami was a master class when it comes to wing play,he does it just like CR7,too much of skill,his goal scoring was a top notch,very fast winger with beautiful crosses and powerful player that intimidate any defenders.

we have noah serenren obazee

komekn:


That's because you have not seen me buying Banga Soup and starch at Enerhen jnct. or Okirigwe in Sapele.

Hehehe, Only then would I be convinced