tbaba1234:
Aron Jóhannsson:

2013: Chose USA over Iceland.

Reason: "More chance of playing in a World Cup."

2017: Iceland qualify. USA don't.

tbaba1234:
Aron Jóhannsson:
2013: Chose USA over Iceland.
Reason: "More chance of playing in a World Cup."
2017: Iceland qualify. USA don't.

tbaba1234:
Aron Jóhannsson:
2013: Chose USA over Iceland.
Reason: "More chance of playing in a World Cup."
2017: Iceland qualify. USA don't.

Mujtahida:

True that. Modern Football calls for such dynamism now ooo. That's why this cliché that you never change a winning team is one which has to be re-examined cos I feel the team has to be set up in accordance with the type of opponent one has to face, the personnel at one's disposal. Rohr stuck to the cliché and it nearly cost us cos Zambia and Cameroun don't play same kind of football. Yet I am not mindful of the pitfalls of always changing things but again that's what modern Football thrives on.
Icon4s what do you say? Joebie. Humility017

Icon4s:


Two of the rudiments of coaching:

1. You don't change a winning formation
2. You don't change a winning team.

These two principles work more often than not.

Talking about starting Simon ahead of Iwobi against Zambia, the 2 principles above held sway, especially considering the fact that Simon put up two wonderful performances against Cameroon while Iwobi's last game (against SA) fell short of expectations. You are as good as your last game (another principle).

I remember when the topic was raised here about who to start between Simon and Iwobi, 90% ,of us said Simon cos that was a no brainer.

Team building works on consistency. Rohr did the right thing.

Mujtahida:

Noted. But modern Football is pushing the boundaries ooo. In any case Rohr seems to be the conservative type

tbaba1234:
Aron Jóhannsson:

2013: Chose USA over Iceland.

Reason: "More chance of playing in a World Cup."

2017: Iceland qualify. USA don't.

soetanoreoluwa:
NWAKALI’S STYLE MEANS HE IS NOT THE NEW OKOCHA



Nwakali’s style means he is not the new Okocha
African Football, International, NewsNow, Opinion
By O-Posts Team
Oct 10, 2017



During and after the FIFA U17 World Cup in 2015, not a few Nigerian fans were excited with their no. 10, Kelechi Nwakali, with a handful of them more excited with the prospect of finally finding a replacement for Austin ‘Jay Jay’ Okocha.

His range of passes and ability on set-pieces endeared him to the fans, who thought ‘the new Okocha’ had been born.



Hardly any similarities between the two

However, asides his impressive range of passes, Nwakali and Okocha hardly have any other similarities in terms of style. But then, it wasn’t too much of a surprise.

John Obi Mikel and Rabiu Ibrahim are just two of the players who have been likened to Okocha, having also worn the jersey no. 10 for Nigeria at youth levels at different times.

Of the two, it was Rabiu, who looked closest to being an Okocha-esque kind of player. But just like Nwakali, and with the exception of his passing ability, Mikel never looked an Okocha-type of player.

While it is pertinent to note that the search for Okocha’s ‘heir apparent’ continues (in the minds of the fans, at least, and I still wonder why), it is also pertinent to warn that Nwakali, just like Mikel, is not an Okocha, and will not be.

Both players have their own distinct qualities which makes them unique, but we will focus on the former today.



The imminent question will be: who then does he play like?

Well, the 19-year old is more of a composed and intelligent midfield-controller than a swashbuckling, attack-oriented midfielder.

Although he played in more advanced midfield roles for MVV Maastricht last season, and has continued to do so for VVV Venlo this term, his future lies at the base of midfield.

He has a combination of power, creativity and elegance on the ball, and more often looks to pick out a pass in difficult situations than go for the dribble. These qualities make him a lot more similar to France and Manchester United’s Paul Pogba than Okocha.

Like Pogba, Nwakali’s physical presence and passing accuracy means he can dominate games in ways Okocha couldn’t.

In only 107 minutes of Eredivisie football this season, Nwakali has a pass completion rate of 86%, even higher than Pogba’s 85% in 360 minutes of Premier League football before his injury.

The Nigerian youngster also notches an average 0.75 key passes per game, similar to Pogba’s 1.75, even though the Frenchman has played more minutes.



No Okocha, but may turn out alright

While he may not be exactly what many Nigerian fans had hoped for, Nwakali may turn out even better than anticipated, but in a different way.



Written by Chris Oguguo
http://www.o-posts.com/international/nwakali-not-okocha/

Icon4s:


What do you term modern football?

Or are you referring to club football?

Does modern football entail frequent changes to teams?

Mujtahida:

There's so much dynamism with players required to be able to play at least two positions, attackers required to track back, goal keepers required to build up plays, shifting of emphasis from the traditional playmaker aka 10 etc. I read on goal.com that Holland is stuck in the past and has now paid dearly for it by not qualifying for the WC

AIG07:
I'm not against a Tammy's possible switch. But my question is Is he better than the duo of O. Ighalo and KI? If yes, your assumption is on what basis? Youth football or club football?

We don't want a scenario where d dude will switch finish and he'll be forced on Rohr.
Cos the only player I rate ahead of this duo is Obafemi Martins and age is not on his side.

kennysville:



I am gonna have to disagree with you. Those chances were half chances and sometimes thats all the chance you get in a high profile, high octane match. Frankly speaking, his decision making there left a lot to be desired. Cutting back was wrong. Check out the one time hit by Iwobi. Though there wasnt enough power behind it, it did the job. Imagine if the first thing he did was to trap the ball.

This is why I said Iheanacho should work on the use of his right. Balls wont always fall on a convenient spot for u to shoot and a timeous use of your right or left as the case may be may just be the game changer

Icon4s:


All these things you mentioned are what teams(clubs and countries) typically do.

Football has evolved, yes, and most coaches have evolved with it. Rohr inclusive.

Sticking to same starting 11 does not necessarily mean being out of touch of modern football.

komekn:


The operative word is Duo. Tega is what you get if you were to combine the attributes of KC and Ighalo into one player. Then you get the complete striker it is not a small feat for player to be leading the front line for a premiership team.

In addition he Tega adds an attribute they both lack aerial dominance and heading ability.

junnyjake:


Maybe, our definition of Half-chances are different. To me none of the chances Ighalo missed were half. The goal Yaks missed at the 2010 WC - That's what I call a half - chance.

His decision making can be better; he could have been faster granted. But I'd tell you, he had a fair game. It's not today we've seen world class strikers arriving late for a tap-in.

Iwobi had no reason to trap that ball before shooting, those were two different scenarios, from a square play, no reasonable player or even a goal keeper would have any option than taking it one-time.

Look at Ighalo's position again, I would have expected him to be on his heels in anticipation, from that position the only thing he could have done was bring the ball forward before shooting with his left. The defender would have still caught up with him. The point is He wasn't well balanced to take the shot with his weaker foot.

If iheanacho was at the opposite side of the box, we all know he'd cut it back so he can take the shot with his left.

Don't also forget, Samuel Adegbenro scored a goal from that position for his club - Rosenberg, he had to cut back and still had to get rid of another player before he could score, all of us here applauded him and some went as far as comparing the goal Okocha scored against Oliver Khan while he was at Frankfurt.

Many are even putting up a case for his exclusion from the WC list, 1 goal and 1 assist in 3 games is suddenly not good enough.

B4 the SA game I had called on Rorh to bench iheanacho for Ighalo, You need to see the way I was attacked, saying I was just being sentimental, we see what layer happened and how the game went and how everyone were singing his praises, now with the Zambian game, he's not good enough for us. I think Thegoodjoe and the supernerd were the ones who came for me then.

Mujtahida:

Was Matuidi taking out Onazi intentional as in premeditated like he was acting based on instruction?

Mujtahida:

Or he will switch and not perform. Many factors involved. If he doesn't connect with us at a deep visceral level like Iwobi, Aina, Balogun and Ekong it might affect his play. Balogun said we accepted him totally and that he connects with us. Iwobi and Aina you can see their affinity with us. They love our noisyness and warmth. That's one thing I fear about Ebuehi though he appears to be an introvert and introverts warm up slowly.

komekn:


A lot of talk but very little substance and comparing his statistics to Pogba’s adds no value.

He is playing in low level league ranked below Turkey and he should be within the top 5 midfielders in that league to be considered real top quality.

safarigirl:
soon as I saw this comment, I knew it was you ....checked and voila, no surprises

Mujtahida:

Iwobi chose us because England stopped calling. His Dad said choosing Nigeria is the best choice they ever made and that he played some football back in Nigeria with ambition to don the green and white but that dream was never to be and that the day Iwobi made his debut he(the Dad) wept tears of joy for his son reaching heights he could not reach, doing what he wished he did but couldn't do.
In all honesty none of them will ditch their adopted countries for Nigeria. However like Alex's Dad said with us they have better opportunities. Do you think Iwobi would be making it with the three Lions as he's been doing for the Eagles?

daveP:
The attack 9 might give us the biggest headache b4 d world cup. just discovered we dont have a header hungry striker.

Mujtahida:

October 11, 2017
ROHR: SUPER EAGLES DON’T HAVE WORLD CLASS GOALKEEPER, ENYEAMA MUST EARN RECALL



By Richard Jideaka, Abuja:


Super Eagles coach Gernot Rohr has admitted that his biggest problem during the chase for a World Cup ticket has been that of goalkeeping, Completesportsnigeria.com reports.

The Super Eagles secured a Russia 2018 ticket on Saturday with a 1-0 win over Zambia in Uyo with Ikechukwu Ezenwa in goal.

“I don’t have a world class goalkeeper now but we’ll go with what we have,” Rohr told Completesportsnigeria.com in Abuja.

However, Rohr also has nice words for FC IfeanyiUbah’s Ezenwa who stepped in during the home win over Cameroon and has conceded only one goal in three games.

“Ezenwa is progressing so much that in the past few weeks he is becoming a very good goalkeeper and that is why he kept in the games against Cameroon and Zambia. He is a goalkeeper much stronger than before, we shall have to see what will happen in the next few months,” Rohr added in the interview with Complete Sports.

“It is a very important position for any team. For the moment, we are very happy about the performance of Ezenwa. He has suddenly become an important member of the squad and we would keep working on him and see how how it goes.”

Rohr commended the Nigeria Football Federation President Amaju Pinnick who brought up the idea to get an additional goalkeeping coach to team up with Alloy Agu and work on the available goalkeepers.

“One moment, (Vincent) Enyeama was out, Carl Ikeme was sick, (Daniel) Akpeyi was injured, so we had to play with our fourth goalkeeper. And what we decided was a brilliant idea from the President who told me since we don’t have another goalkeeper, let us hire another coach for goalkeepers even though the one we have is a very good one in Agu to complement each other,” Rohr revealed.

Asked if Enyeama, who voluntarily retired from the national team, and Ikeme were still in his World Cup plans, Rohr said he is not sure of Carl Ikeme but said he is in good communication with Enyeama. He however pointed out that Enyeama, who has been released by Lille and recovering from a long-term injury, must first find another club, be fit and play regularly to get a recall to the Super Eagles.

“We go to World Cup with the best players. Only players who are in good spirit, I mean the spirit of quality, hard work, respect, dedication and togetherness. Nigerians close to Vincent and other
Source:https://www.completesportsnigeria.com/rohr-super-eagles-dont-world-class-goalkeeper-enyeama-must-earn-recall/

do4luv14:
Since nobody is satisfy with IGHALO, especially thegoodjoe,

there for we should #bringbackVICTORANICHEBE

Joebie:
fine idea

junnyjake:


Maybe, our definition of Half-chances are different. To me none of the chances Ighalo missed were half. The goal Yaks missed at the 2010 WC - That's what I call a half - chance.

His decision making can be better; he could have been faster granted. But I'd tell you, he had a fair game. It's not today we've seen world class strikers arriving late for a tap-in.

Iwobi had no reason to trap that ball before shooting, those were two different scenarios, from a square play, no reasonable player or even a goal keeper would have any option than taking it one-time.

Look at Ighalo's position again, I would have expected him to be on his heels in anticipation, from that position the only thing he could have done was bring the ball forward before shooting with his left. The defender would have still caught up with him. The point is He wasn't well balanced to take the shot with his weaker foot.

If iheanacho was at the opposite side of the box, we all know he'd cut it back so he can take the shot with his left.

Don't also forget, Samuel Adegbenro scored a goal from that position for his club - Rosenberg, he had to cut back and still had to get rid of another player before he could score, all of us here applauded him and some went as far as comparing the goal Okocha scored against Oliver Khan while he was at Frankfurt.

Many are even putting up a case for his exclusion from the WC list, 1 goal and 1 assist in 3 games is suddenly not good enough.

B4 the SA game I had called on Rorh to bench iheanacho for Ighalo, You need to see the way I was attacked, saying I was just being sentimental, we see what layer happened and how the game went and how everyone were singing his praises, now with the Zambian game, he's not good enough for us. I think Thegoodjoe and the supernerd were the ones who came for me then.

jotey:


big fat big lie @ the bolded

iwobi has always said he wanted to play for Nigeria