eterisan:
What Went Wrong In London? Viable Replacements Needed In Super Eagles
Published: March 28, 2018

The clarity of the Super Eagles misdemeanor at the Hive Stadium in London skewed a lot towards some inevitable deficiencies and once again set pulses racing, calling for measures to be taken as well.
This had been a long time coming and the death knell seemed to have sounded as soon as the last minute change resulted in Leon Balogun dropping out due to illness and quite why Rohr thought it wise to replace him with Chidozie

Awaziem ahead of Kenneth Omeruo remains baffling.
While that seemed the necessary evil the German could have mustered, addition of a viable experienced head in defence, it must be said, was a tactical nous which could have paid off.

Joel Obi has yet not done so well to justify his re inclusion, Ogenyi Onazi tried to do one too many things in the absence of the team's adhesive Mikel Obi.

Ndidi remained egregious but unavoidably rendered ineffective. It seemed the team's best players the likes of Victor Moses and Alex Iwobi all struggle to replicate any sort of cohesiveness when the Tianjin Teda man is absent. Yet again, it showed.

As Serbs resorted to exploiting the less experienced Tyronne Ebuehi down the right, much of the cover up work fell to the aforementioned Onazi and the team's attackers failed to truly trouble Vladimir Stojkovic in the Serbian goal.

It is worth noting that the Super Eagles would come up against much more organised teams as Serbia were on the night in Russia come June.

And there was young Francis Uzoho. The 19-year old would hardly be blamed for both of the goals he let through but realistically should not be saddled with so much responsibility as a first-choice teamer, no doubts about his quality though.

This first loss since June 2017 is a very necessary reality check and now that Rohr and his wards are no longer under any illusions as to where they are, it is important corrections are taken now, with three more tune up games to be negotiated before the tournament proper and that would mean to sniff out worthy replacements for every position in the team.

Emmanuel Chinaza
Source: http://www.allnigeriasoccer.com/read_news.php?nid=27134

Goke7:


@the bolded, I hope some folks will come to terms with this

Joebie:
Okay I am coming to UK.. I'm going to find a lawyer and I will gather all the evidences.. are u ready? lol

RichardKajola:
My observations based on the two friendly
Nigeria played badly in both games. We were just lucky against Poland. Lewandowski shot hit the bar, one of their shot actually cross the goal line couple with the fact that the penalty awarded was a dive. Same goes with the match against Serbia, just that in this case we conceded twice but remember they were denied a goal which looked like it had also cross the goal line.
However the most disturbing feature of the game was that we created no notable chance. This means that something is wrong with our midfield and attack. Rohr didn't help matters by putting basically three CMF in our second match and Iheanacho was ineffective as AMF in the first match.
High press is now a feature in major football teams. The team actually did a little of that against Poland but it was nonexistent against Serbia. Rohr needs to work on that if we are to have any chance beating the best team in the world cup. One thing we should note is that in the world cup we won't be playing against African who respects us and allow us to have most of the ball and that is where the high press system becomes very important.
I think we are hyping Mikel a little too much here. Agreed Mikel is a leader in the team, but he is no where the level of Messi. Remember Mikel slows Nigeria down sometimes. Now what's my point? my point is that its possible we could have still lose the match with him involved so his absence should not be the reason why we loss. we should instead look for the fault among the players and coach involved.
Again I think Rohr is too conservative and maybe doesn't trust his players. This explains why his substitution doesn't come early. Someone will say you don't change a winning team but this is a friendly. For example in our match against Serbia, though we were playing badly he didn't deem it fit to change anyone or to try to alter the formation or tactics. Most teams actually used two teams for their two different friendly.
Meanwhile I think Uzoho is good enough for the no 1 position
The pitch used against Serbia was also small and might have affected the players though that is no excuse.
In summary I think we are still a work in progress though with our performances this break, I doubt our advancement to the knockout round if we do not up our game.
#soarsupereagles

Oasis007:


Bro..... why do we have Aina in the Squad pls? Is he not fit too?! What's the essence of inviting him in the first instance?!

You claimed he's not fit, yet he played 90mins while a fit Aina was on the Bench throughout the Match Duration?!

Let's be frank here Dude, if indeed he's unfit, then Rohr must be stupid and naïve to play him for 90mins.

Oasis007:


Bro..... why do we have Aina in the Squad pls? Is he not fit too?! What's the essence of inviting him in the first instance?!

You claimed he's not fit, yet he played 90mins while a fit Aina was on the Bench throughout the Match Duration?!

Let's be frank here Dude, if indeed he's unfit, then Rohr must be stupid and naïve to play him for 90mins.

realpoacher:


No sir, My FIFA rankings simulator says otherwise

We are moving 7 places up to 45th position

Oasis007:


Nah...... Ebuehi ain't fit, but Rohr had no Alternative but to play him for the whole Match Duration.

tbaba1234:
No one has said this but Ekong could be blamed for both goals.. I have seen blames for Ebuehi and Awaziem but few have looked at Ekong but he arguably had the chief blame. Ekong has been our most consistent defender but he could have done better on both occasions.

The truth is that, you can not hold just one or two persons responsible.. It was poor defending as a group. A sharp contrast to the organized defensive display against Poland.

Awaziem had a solid game (especially in the second half) before the goal, he certainly has a role in the final 23. Ebuehi started strongly but seemed to fade.. (could be that he is not yet 100%).

After reviewing the game, i do not see what the panic is about.. The coach will learn his lessons and come again.

Chill, it is just a friendly.. The purpose is to discover weaknesses and areas where we can improve.

In the run-up to Atlanta 96, Togo beat our Olympic dream team 3:1 in the national stadium, Lagos.. We played with all our stars and were battered by Togo. Several Nigerians wrote off the team.. In fact, many people did not watch our games till we got to the knock out stages. It was this same team that beat Brazil and Argentina.

The USA 94 and France 98 teams, lost almost all their friendlies before the WC but still had impressive performances in the tournament proper. Better to struggle in March, than to struggle in June. The coaches has a few months to review the tapes of these friendlies, figure out their weaknesses and work hard to improve during the final camp.

Kalapizim:
have you also thought why conte has morata injured with giroud on the bench but choose to play harzard at number 9 ? coaches do these things for reasons best known to them. I don't know why we are blaming players . They didn't have a good game period ! Uche Agbo didn't play yet again how about that.

Kalapizim:
have you also thought why conte has morata injured with giroud on the bench but choose to play harzard at number 9 ? coaches do these things for reasons best known to them. I don't know why we are blaming players . They didn't have a good game period ! Uche Agbo didn't play yet again how about that.

Martz101:


The comparison is not thesame, Hazard was playing the false 9 but he was fit, Ebuehi was allegedly not fit while we have another option Aina on the bench.

Kog45:
Sir you are not getting the point,pls was Harzard not fit for that match cos the bone of contention here is Ebuehi fit or not?

No need to bring Morata and Giroud to it cos a fit Harzard replaced injured Morata and leaving Giroud out was Conte tactical decision.

Kalapizim:
I understand you but only rohr and his crew knew why they did so.

tbaba1234:
Another thing that was obvious to me was that Rohr was testing out different strategies... Against Poland, we were pressing.. Against Serbia we were not. Double pivot vs single pivot...etc...

Oasis007:


Nah...... Ebuehi ain't fit, but Rohr had no Alternative but to play him for the whole Match Duration.

tbaba1234:
No one has said this but Ekong could be blamed for both goals.. I have seen blames for Ebuehi and Awaziem but few have looked at Ekong but he arguably had the chief blame. Ekong has been our most consistent defender but he could have done better on both occasions.

The truth is that, you can not hold just one or two persons responsible.. It was poor defending as a group. A sharp contrast to the organized defensive display against Poland.

Awaziem had a solid game (especially in the second half) before the goal, he certainly has a role in the final 23. Ebuehi started strongly but seemed to fade.. (could be that he is not yet 100%).

After reviewing the game, i do not see what the panic is about.. The coach will learn his lessons and come again.

Chill, it is just a friendly.. The purpose is to discover weaknesses and areas where we can improve.

In the run-up to Atlanta 96, Togo beat our Olympic dream team 3:1 in the national stadium, Lagos.. We played with all our stars and were battered by Togo. Several Nigerians wrote off the team.. In fact, many people did not watch our games till we got to the knock out stages. It was this same team that beat Brazil and Argentina.

The USA 94 and France 98 teams, lost almost all their friendlies before the WC but still had impressive performances in the tournament proper. Better to struggle in March, than to struggle in June. The coaches has a few months to review the tapes of these friendlies, figure out their weaknesses and work hard to improve during the final camp.

tbaba1234:
Another thing that was obvious to me was that Rohr was testing out different strategies... Against Poland, we were pressing.. Against Serbia we were not. Double pivot vs single pivot...etc...

tbaba1234:
No one has said this but Ekong could be blamed for both goals.. I have seen blames for Ebuehi and Awaziem but few have looked at Ekong but he arguably had the chief blame. Ekong has been our most consistent defender but he could have done better on both occasions.

The truth is that, you can not hold just one or two persons responsible.. It was poor defending as a group. A sharp contrast to the organized defensive display against Poland.

Awaziem had a solid game (especially in the second half) before the goal, he certainly has a role in the final 23. Ebuehi started strongly but seemed to fade.. (could be that he is not yet 100%).

After reviewing the game, i do not see what the panic is about.. The coach will learn his lessons and come again.

Chill, it is just a friendly.. The purpose is to discover weaknesses and areas where we can improve.

In the run-up to Atlanta 96, Togo beat our Olympic dream team 3:1 in the national stadium, Lagos.. We played with all our stars and were battered by Togo. Several Nigerians wrote off the team.. In fact, many people did not watch our games till we got to the knock out stages. It was this same team that beat Brazil and Argentina.

The USA 94 and France 98 teams, lost almost all their friendlies before the WC but still had impressive performances in the tournament proper. Better to struggle in March, than to struggle in June. The coaches has a few months to review the tapes of these friendlies, figure out their weaknesses and work hard to improve during the final camp.

RichardKajola:
My observations based on the two friendly
Nigeria played badly in both games. We were just lucky against Poland. Lewandowski shot hit the bar, one of their shot actually cross the goal line couple with the fact that the penalty awarded was a dive. Same goes with the match against Serbia, just that in this case we conceded twice but remember they were denied a goal which looked like it had also cross the goal line.
However the most disturbing feature of the game was that we created no notable chance. This means that something is wrong with our midfield and attack. Rohr didn't help matters by putting basically three CMF in our second match and Iheanacho was ineffective as AMF in the first match.
High press is now a feature in major football teams. The team actually did a little of that against Poland but it was nonexistent against Serbia. Rohr needs to work on that if we are to have any chance beating the best team in the world cup. One thing we should note is that in the world cup we won't be playing against African who respects us and allow us to have most of the ball and that is where the high press system becomes very important.
I think we are hyping Mikel a little too much here. Agreed Mikel is a leader in the team, but he is no where the level of Messi. Remember Mikel slows Nigeria down sometimes. Now what's my point? my point is that its possible we could have still lose the match with him involved so his absence should not be the reason why we loss. we should instead look for the fault among the players and coach involved.
Again I think Rohr is too conservative and maybe doesn't trust his players. This explains why his substitution doesn't come early. Someone will say you don't change a winning team but this is a friendly. For example in our match against Serbia, though we were playing badly he didn't deem it fit to change anyone or to try to alter the formation or tactics. Most teams actually used two teams for their two different friendly.
Meanwhile I think Uzoho is good enough for the no 1 position
The pitch used against Serbia was also small and might have affected the players though that is no excuse.
In summary I think we are still a work in progress though with our performances this break, I doubt our advancement to the knockout round if we do not up our game.
#soarsupereagles

elyte89:

Boss tbaba1234.. We all knw u love super eagles,but at dis junction we don't av to sugarcoat d truth

Bolowolowo:
For those who seriously unimpressed with our showing in the last 2 friendlies, I'd like for you to consider how different we look as a team this time around. We play a definitely more organized and composed style football nowadays. Now compare this to WC 2010 and 2014 when our players would run around playing like headless chickens.

safarigirl:
na una sabi. I kuku no watch, was just saying

Both can play no mean say the coach wan play them. You no dey Rohr mind

tbaba1234:
Another thing that was obvious to me was that Rohr was testing out different strategies. Against Poland, we were pressing. Against Serbia we were not.

Joebie:
Echiejile has had many more games.. none were convincing. At least it's looking like Idowu is ahead at the moment with one goal and one great show. But yes you are right.. it's not yet over.

Farzat:
I didnt watch d match against Serbia live, so I was not under any pressure when i watched d replay and my observations are as follows;
1. Serbians has size and physical fitness advantage over us. (You will always struggle when challenging someone bigger than you. E.G d disallowed goal. Awazie was struggling to stop d player from heading d ball but d player was taller and stronger than him)
Advise- We shud not go into physical battle with a team physically stronger than us. Imagine playing 3 DM/Tacklers (Ndidi, Onazi n joel) in such match, u dont expect such match to be free flowing and entertaining. Winning such match can only be by a slim chance as d case of Poland. We must approach such game with a different formation n tactics to outsmart them like our 2nd half approach against Argentina.
2. The Selection. I think d choice of Onazi in front of Awazie is wrong. Onazi is a kind of tackler that moves to wherever ball is available thereby leaving lots of space behind, In any case he misplaces passing, the opponent utilizes d space he left thereby exposing Awazie who is not experienced enough to handle such pressure.
Advise- We should have a commanding CBs that would always call d DM to order or shout on another player to fall back whenever d DM is caught out of position. As for Onazi I think he should be coming in as a late subtitute for maybe a striker whenever we are defending a goal.
3. There are many areas to improve in this team before WC, so i wont be surprised to see any of these players gatecrash d team. 1-Sareren bazee. GR will like to use d NT success of these German breeds to lure others. 2-
Isaac Success. GR likes him. If his form picks, he has edge over Musa and Simon. He can be another version of VM on d left. 3-Austin Ejide. He is d best option to fall back on. He has d experience. No issue with NFF like Enyeama and he has no terrible past working against him like DeleAyenugba. 4-Chinedu Obasi. His move to Bolton is simply to showcase his quality to avoid criticism when invited. He is eager to start playing and we all know what he can do. So dont be surprises that after 2 matches d call for his invitation will start (maybe Mikel's Connection). 5-Onyekuru. This guy wants this WC more than others, its d easiest way for him to return to Everton and so he can do anything to prove himself. If he recovers on time, he will definitely work harder than ever n increase d fan's call for his inclusion.
This remaining 2 months will be very intense for players fighting to be recorgnized and others fighting to retain their place in d team. My prayer is that non of them will be injured and d injured ones would recover quickly.