ChrisKels:
People hail Rohr for getting us an Afcon and world cup tickets Lol. Need I remind u that a less fancied coach with a poorer CV, with less talented bunch of players under a harsh environment(less cash), also, got us these tickets, got us to the knockout stage of the world cup, won the Afcon in far away kuviki land? Yet we are here celebrating a mediocre bkus he is foreign. I aint no fan of Keshi buh as bad as he was, he is better than this scam we Parade as a coach.

ChrisKels:


There is what is called pride bro. I guide mine with my life, hence I never settle for less. One thing I believe in, stay away from a fight that doesnt worth it buh whenever a minor tries to rise above his level in disrespect to his superiors, beat him to stupor to serve as a deterrent to others. We have everything in our Arsenal, why should we be so soft on opponents like SA. No disrespect to SA buh if they had the quality we had, they would mop the floor with us. The had more injury worries and withdrawals, yet they looked more coordinated with their play than us that have had majority of our players playing together for more than 3years now. If we played good football and ended up wt the score he got, I wouldn't mind, buh fvck it, we were damne poor like a cow dung

Rohr is a disgrace. I want him gone for a coach who understands what it means to protect the pride of a nation.

mank1234:
Oga, forget patriotism, truth is we don't have quality. Rhor has tried. I don't have tactical knowledge of football so I won't criticism him on that. My issue with him is that he keeps players that are obviously tired on pitch for too long and talking down on not having quality players at the world cup - even though that's the fact.

TheGoodJoe:


Keep in mind a better coach could have worse results. Football is complex and good results are hard to achieve. So we should appreciate Rohr for that.

Joebie:
This team is not a delight to watch. I was so marveled with our play after the first ten minutes of the game that I had an urge to come here and say this is best I’ve seen the SE okay in a long time, but I didn’t have my phone on me.

There is nothing professional about failing to string good passes from defense to attack. SA don’t have Barca players either. That’s the only criticism I have shared on the team today. And that’s objective. As regards the timing of subs I can’t believe some people can still defend Rohr in this.

Modified
They needed the win most don’t mean we were in control of the game in the run of play.

mank1234:
Did this pull of talents suddenly appear after two years?We missed this tournament two years ago. When Shuabu Amodu was churning out result with his brand of football, It's criticism like this that caused NFA to stop him from taking us to world cup after qualifying us twice.

chrisooblog:
I still say it wasn't a sh*tfest play wise some good passages of play led to goals that were disallowed. Yes the southies are no barca but I have seen them in recent times give the best on the continent a good game.

Like I said before rohr is not some sacred cow who can't be called out. Like some other posters have said appreciate and respect the man we have qualified for the nations cup after 5 years there will be a time and place to interrogate his tactics.

PS some people are funny baxter who could not qualify south africa for the world cup and is still not sure of qualifying for the nations cup is now a better manager lol

Curtisaxel7:


Etebo and Ogu/Ajayi as double pivot with Iwobi as AMF in a 4-2-3-1 with Aina at RB would've served up a better game than this filth of a match we played today.

TheGoodJoe:


Baxter would definitely have us playing better if he had our team and Rohr would definitely not get the South Africans playing as good as they did today with his kind of tactics.

TheGoodJoe:


Baxter would definitely have us playing better if he had our team and Rohr would definitely not get the South Africans playing as good as they did today with his kind of tactics.

ChrisKels:
Buh after every-every, Percy Tau is a baller. He made a mistake changing his position to from Omeruo's side to Balogun who was having a good game, otherwise, he would have stung us more than he did.


Like I av always said, Collins is a liability, poor defending, wanting in attack, poor marking, poor ball sense. I dont see anything good in this boy, bar his handsome frame and red lips. Too bad, Idowu isnt helping matters either

Curtisaxel7:


Can you compare the quality of players available to Rohr to those available to Baxter?

ChrisKels:
A loss against Eagles would av cost Baxter his job, Baxter had a meeting with Rohr last month in London, Rohr came up with a suspicious list of players to prosecute the match, he chose a questionable line up and he was all Smiles when calls were going against his team. Yet, some ppl wanna tell me, nothing happened behind closed doors? If only this nonsense was done by a local coach

ChrisKels:
Buh after every-every, Percy Tau is a baller. He made a mistake changing his position to from Omeruo's side to Balogun who was having a good game, otherwise, he would have stung us more than he did.


Like I av always said, Collins is a liability , poor defending, wanting in attack, poor marking, poor ball sense. I dont see anything good in this boy, bar his handsome frame and red lips. Too bad, Idowu isnt helping matters either

Curtisaxel7:


And Keshi achieved all these with a more piss poor lowly rated average team than what we have today (the Mbas, Uchebos, Odunlamis, Egwuekwes, Oshaniwas.....).

Just imagine if it were Keshi in charge today, with this present array of talents we presently boast of.....

TheSuperNerd:
The #RSANGA drama.... My Take - Part 2.


Now to the other matters of the game...


1). On Ezenwa... I am sure you all noticed that Ezenwa was practically on holiday. He was not tested on bit and credits for that must go to the defensive shape of Balogun, Ekong and Omeruo. The only time they were actually bamboozled real good was by the magical Percy Tau (Who I did warn us to be careful of in my pre-match analysis). Percy was everywhere in attack for the Bafana Bafana. Their tactic was simple... Get the ball from the back, move to the base of the SA central/defensive Midfield area and launch a perfect "Route One" pass to the ever running and pacy Percy... And Pacy Percy did worry on several occasions but Balogun and Co did great to keep him quiet after that SA goal.

Balogun produced a magical libero moment one time even when he robbed Pacy Percy of the ball, turned him 180' and galloped majestically into space away from danger and away from the Pacy Percy. Such Class from Balogun! Ekong too was great and so was Omeruo but Percy asked them both for their jersey numbers and they both obliged which led to the goal SA scored. Percy proved me right... He was always the danger man to watch alongside Mothiba who was there to tap in easily (A tap in that Nacho could not.... Make I just no talk... The exorcism is on).


So in all, Ezenwa had nothing to do except to pick the ball once from his net. He was simply not tested at all at all... Even Khune made a save (albeit not a hot one) due to a beautiful Nacho-Musa interchange in the game's early goal mouth moments before the first wrongly cancelled goal by Nacho and before the goal created by Kalu.

How Ezenwa got to start is also baffling to be honest... I was expecting Akpeyi in as much as I also was not comfortable with it... But it seems to me it would have been the same story for Akpeyi. In goal for 90 and properly protected by his back three.



2). Jamilu Collins needs to be more assertive.

Yes, the lad clearly had talents. There were moments he was actually class in the way he ball-controlled and the way he also kept composure despite the fast pace of the game but he needs to be much more commanding up and down the left if he is gonna make that position his own. In all, he put in a decent showing but nothing spectacular. Hopefully he will still grow into the role. But he needs another left footed LB competition. Idowu cannot be his only competition as Idowu is even predominantly right footed.



3). Believe it or not... But Samuel Kalu is also an asset defensively.

What a performance from him. Not only did he create the game's first goal with a fantastic piece of skill thanks to his quick feet and legs overs, but he also intervened and made a vital interception and tackle in the first half with Mothiba looking almost certain to draw level soon after Nigeria's first goal. He bombed up and down that right like he had played RWB before or have been doing so for some time. Kalu was impressive and did have a few moments where he always seemed to hug the ball too much but the lad is really really quality. It is little wonder we didn't see Chukwueze today. Kalu did his job very decently indeed as RWB both offensively and defensively.


4). Ogu is not as slow as people think... BUT...

A legendary question once asked here is "Who is slower between Ogu and Mikel?"

Well, today, Ogu did a decent job of shielding the back line of three... There were times he was beaten due to ball scrambles in Midfield or some misplaced passes and at times beaten for pace by the "Pacy" Percy but in all, he kept up with the general pace of the game and didn't panic one bit.

He was decent today but we can certainly do better with a Philip Billing in Ogu's stead. Billing is not only faster than Ogu but also much taller and has greater strides and covers greater ground.

Ogu is 30 or 31 and will need replacement (and an upgrade) after Afcon 2019. We cannot just sit and wait till then though. The earlier the better.



5). Musa have truly become the main stay of our attack in any formation whatsoever.

It is ironic that a player who was once the butt of jokes on the laughing lips of many Nigerian fans have suddenly grown and matured into becoming a true leader of the side from the front and the first name on the team sheet in our attack dept in any formation be it 4-3-3, 3-5-2, 4-2-3-1/4-5-1...

Musa will be key to Nigeria's Afcon assault without a doubt. His world ranking super pace is certainly a big worry for any defence on the continent.

When was the last time Musa had a bad game in the GWG? Anyone remembers? Funny right... Even if you remember, it certainly was ages ago...



6). Etebo needs to do more than just running around in Midfield and ball retention.

His passing has just got to improve. It was atrocious on some occasions today. Sometimes, he was chasing the game and ending up not doing his job but later settled into a manageable decent rhythm. He needs to keep working on his passing as Box-to-box midfield players or CMs won't be worth much if they cannot pass good enough consistently.


7). Iwobi was on and off... But his class still shone through at certain occasions in the game.

Yes, Percy Tau the Pacy one stole the show as arguably the game's most impressive player but Alexander the Great was still able to show his flashes of beautiful class and brilliance with his ball works and ability to escape tight marking situations... The only problem is that he didn't create much today as his skills only shone through to escape his markers and find his fellow midfielders with a pass... Iwobi was well watched by Kekana and even tried to do beyond his role specs by pressing the SA defence which was a job for both Nacho and Musa to do consistently.
This certainly reduced Iwobi's influence as the game wore on as the negative effects of the High altitude which is proportional to your Oxygen levels set in and saw Iwobi looking so lethargic on the ball so much that he was caught in possession and robbed of the ball on more than two occasions at critical game points...

Thankfully, the defence led by Balogun stood tall and dangers were averted.

Iwobi is a super quality player amd has got world class potentials but he needs to keep working on a side of his game that will see him master the art of the Midfield Orchestrator and game dictator. He has the genes and brains for it... He will get there.



8.) Our two legitimate goals ruled out....


The first goal was beautifully worked by Nacho into Musa's parh who was clearly onside and the pass was returned swiftly and smarlt by Musa for an easy Nacho tap in but the goal was unjustly cancelled ..... Case 1


The second goal came with Musa and Success both clearly onside.... But I think what may have confused the linesman in the second goal was the fact that Musa actually came back into an onside position from an initial offside position.

But the Koko is this... Was Musa onside when the Iwobi pass was made into the path of Success and Musa? ANSWER IS YES! GOAL SHOULD HAVE STOOD ESPECIALLY AS JUSTICE FOR THE WRONGLY CANCELLED FIRST GOAL.

I think the NFF should have to look into it to send out a message. And I was disappointed it happenend in a game where Gassama, famed to be one of Africa's best refs, officiated.
This was the same ref that was in the centre for the Battle of Uyo between Nigeria and Cameroun that ended 4-0 in our favor and also was the ref when we beat Algeria 3-1 in Uyo. In all his games he has officiated involving the Super Eagles, we have never lost and he ahs almost always been fair and left each match with good testimonies but today, he just put a big question mark on his reputation. Gassama, Check yourself!!!



9). Gernot Rohr needs to be more daring as this young generation of Super Eagles talents are meant to flourish and truly fulfill their immense potentials under a more daring and more super Attacking approach.

The Comeback Rise of Dutch football is not only because of the super talents they now have sprouting up all over the place but also becos they have a coach who is dynamic enough to utilise the best of them in order to truly bring out the best of them. In defence, Koeman pairs a 19 year old De Ligt with a 27 yr old Van Dijk... But a very experienced De Vrij who is 26 sits on the bench. A conservative would have gone for DE Vrij-Van Dijk CB pairing but Koeman went for the De Ligt + Van Dijk because it is simply the best in Dutch football in terms of talents and huge potentials.

Rohr must be more dynamic and do same in the positions of the team that needs super injection and upgrade and also he has to incorporate a more attacking dominating approach to utilise the very best of our young and growing new "potentially Golden" generation of Super talents in the likes of Osimhen, Chukwueze, Iwobi, Iheanacho, Kalu, Onyekuru, Success, Ndidi, Simon Moses and many more.





In all, Congratulations Nigeria.... We are back at the Afcon. Africa's Own World Cup. Excelsior Super Eagles!!!

ChrisKels:
A loss against Eagles would av cost Baxter his job, Baxter had a meeting with Rohr last month in London, Rohr came up with a suspicious list of players to prosecute the match, he chose a questionable line up and he was all Smiles when calls were going against his team. Yet, some ppl wanna tell me, nothing happened behind closed doors? If only this nonsense was done by a local coach

ChrisKels:
A loss against Eagles would av cost Baxter his job, Baxter had a meeting with Rohr last month in London, Rohr came up with a suspicious list of players to prosecute the match, he chose a questionable line up and he was all Smiles when calls were going against his team. Yet, some ppl wanna tell me, nothing happened behind closed doors? If only this nonsense was done by a local coach

Curtisaxel7:


I noticed it too. Everything Rohr said there is what any layman would say. No comment on tactics and strategy. No in-depth game analysis, nothing. Just rambling about nothing.....

In many ways Rohr reminds me of Buhari. Old, dull, slow to react, unintellectual, incoherent of speech and seemingly unaware of events happening around them.

Oasis007:




There is a moment for Everything. Belgium was in oblivion for so many Years, but now they are back in the frame cos there are talented Players available for pick.

This is our time in Africa, our Boys are doing considerably good at their respective Clubs but with Rohr in charge, I'm seeing no Light at the End of the Tunnel.

We have Aina, yet Rohr experimented with Kalu as RWB. The same Rohr would keep playing Shehu as a RB bar injury, despite the fact that Shehu ain't the Position at his Club.

I don't have time for long Epistle bro.......!

edi287:
My thing is this - half of the people who defend Rohr no matter what are the same ones who probably criticized Amodu despite him performing just as well or even better.
Rohr's in game management is very suspect. Even a blind man can see that.

nelszx:
How on earth are these offside calls?
I think the NFF should petition the assistants to CAF and FIFA not because we've qualified but to serve as deterrent for others. To be fair I think VAR will be needed for the AFCON