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5 Lessons From Super Eagles 1-0 Defeat To Cameroon

5 Lessons From Super Eagles 1-0 Defeat To Cameroon

The Super Eagles may have lost 1-0 to the Indomitable Lions of Cameroon in Friday’s international friendly game in Austria, however, there are few lessons to be learnt from the defeat.

Completesports.com’s AUGUSTINE AKHILOMEN highlights five areas the Super Eagles must work on before facing Cameroon in the reverse friendly game on Tuesday, June 7.

1. Poor Coordination and Understanding In The Team

The game against Cameroon may be considered as a friendly encounter, however, the game also exposed the Super Eagles’ inability to gel properly, most especially in the midfield, where the likes of Etebo, Alex Iwobi, and Wilfred Ndidi failed to create quality cohesion.

This also contributed to the lack of enough supply to Paul Onuachu in the attack as he barely threatened the defence of the Indomitable Lions. The Eagles hardly sprung two or three passes before losing the ball to their opponent.

2. Iwobi Still Unconvincing

It is still strange to imagine why Alex Iwobi always finds it diffuclt to replicate his club form in the Super Eagles. Iwobi, who is known to dazzle with the ball, failed to put his feet right as his poor passing and dribbles against Cameroon further highlighted the need for improvement from the former Arsenal player.

3. Onuachu’s Aerial Prowess Not Well Utilised

Despite scoring over 30 goals for Genk in the Belgium League last season, Super Eagles striker, Paul Onuachu was expected to continue with that same scoring form against Cameroon, but the story was not the same due to the players’ inability to utilize his aerial presence.

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The gangling striker was more of a ‘passenger’ in the game as the midfielders failed to connect with him in the attack. This is one area Gernot Rohr must work on or else the real potential of Onuachu won’t be well utilized.

4. Jamiu Collins, A Shadow Of Himself

In the absence of Zaidu Sanusi due to injury, Jamiu Collins was saddled with the responsibility of marshaling the left-back but he failed to fill the gap. He often failed to track back after overlapping to join the attack, a situation the Indomitable Lions capitalized on each time they attack from that position.

5.  Olayinka And Moffi Impressed, Need Starting Roles

The introduction of Peter Olayinka and Terem Moffi in the second half added some spark into the team’s attack against Cameroon. Both players displayed a glimpse of sharpness in the attack and committed the Cameroonian defenders to make serious fouls against them. To properly access them, it would be ideal for Gernot Rohr to give both players starting shirts.


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COMMENTS

WORDPRESS: 39
  • Let me add, cos there are more than 5 lessons.

    6. We still don’t have a world class goalkeeper and Uzoho should be starting for now.

    6. We need a new goalkeeper coach. Agu has not been able to discover any gem in over 5 years.

    7. We still need opponent’s defence unlockers like Ejuke, Chukwueze and Kalu.

    8. Etebo should not be a starter. He’s static. Loses balls easily and doesn’t cover well. Makes the team a little understrength. Harsh, but the truth.

    9. Rohr must stop playing people out of positions like he did with Iwobi, Olayinka & Iwuala yesterday.

    10. It’s okay for Rohr to shout instructions on the sidelines (Pep, Klopp, Conte, Mourninho etc do it) rather than applauding mistakes and making misfiring players feel relaxed eg Iheanacho who could have simply placed a ball to a better positioned teammate rather than trying to curve it in himself.

    • I thought I was the only one who noticed how terrible Etebo was. And it didn’t start now. Since the last Nations Cup. Go and watch all the matches again even including SouthAfrica where he shined small.. He was terrible in other aspects of the game.

      • Imnas 3 years ago

        sometimes he comes good, he’s dangerous when he moves the ball to opponent area,I mean by joining attack,he probably has more attacking value than ndidi..his problem is wrong passes which are often costly..and secondly his unprofitable inertia in his defensive midfield role..once in a while he could help the attack with some of his defence unlocking runs,and boy on his day,he could win hearts with his ball holding skills

      • Reason he keep moving up and down on loan, even at gala always play rubbish and bench, the guy is finish for real.

    • pompei 3 years ago

      Interesting observations, Oga Kel.
      I have a soft spot for Etebo, because he is such a hard worker! He works his socks off in the midfield each and every time he plays for us.
      Etebo’s problem is accurate passing. He can be so wasteful when it comes to passing or taking free kicks. Sometimes, he gets it right. Recall the pass he gave Mikel before our second goal against Algeria in the 2018 world cup qualifiers? He threaded that ball thru the eye of a needle. But other times, it seems he can’t make a pass to save his life! He covers a lot of ground in the midfield, tackles well, but the passing problem is becoming hard to ignore. He needs to work on this, or his SE days may soon be behind him.
      As I implied earlier, I like some things about Etebo. One of them is that the guy plays progressive football. He tries to move the ball forward, by driving forward, or with forward passes. I would rather have a midfielder with this mentality, even if they make a lot of mistakes, than a midfielder with over 90% of their passes going backwards and sideways. Even if you make sideways and backwards passes to keep possession, the objective should be to move forward. Make the pass, and move. See Kante as a reference in point. Making sideways and backwards passes and standing in one place like a statue, or sluggish movement in the midfield, WILL NOT WORK.

  • Michel 3 years ago

    My take is that it’s time for rohr to be serious and have a team, iheanacho and onuachu have returned to thier usual self,(bad players) iheanacho couldn’t get past his marker for once in over four attempts, onuachu does not know how to play football and I will never call for his inclusion again.its obvious we are far from ready to be world beaters ,I know most of our regulars didn’t play but why do we always say that we have bunch of good players all over d world,if there are injury crisis,we should have a strong second eleven that can beat a weak side like cameroun.i saw the game and they were there for the taken,Cameron had so many misplaced passes the we should have capitalized and score but they couldn’t.

    • Bro. I beg to disagree with you on Paul onuachu, I saw some glimpses of him yesterday, Expecially in the 2nd half, the ndidi long throw that lead to Simon massive miss was at first head by Paul which the GK clear back to him and he again lash onto it with his weaker left foot which the keeper again save to Simon for the unbelievable miss, Paul actually try yesterday. That’s my take.

  • Mr Hush 3 years ago

    The team selection wasn’t balanced.
    We got a 2 man attack of Onuachu and Iheanacho who are not known for pace and grit playing together,that definitely takes the bite of the attack.
    There was simply know feed from where the attack can draw from; Iwobi isn’t too effective from the wings, he is best in the middle. Simon was the only outlet and he was having an off day.
    The two side backs in Collins and Shehu aren’t good enough in terms of an attacking outlet. So the attack simply got no support.

    Not taking shades; It has been stated here severally, that Onuachu, though a scorer, isn’t really good enough to lead the Eagles line. Atleast not from the start.
    He has no fear factor because he lacks that persistency every quality striker possess.
    If he is off the ball; he is basically useless. He lacks the pressure to commit the opposing defenders to error. From the little I saw in Moffi, he has that, atleast more than Onuachu.
    And Etebo….just simply lack ideas. All muscle no service.

    Iwuala is simply over hyped. He has done nothing in his 3 games. He plays to the gallery. We shouldn’t waste space just because we want to be economical with the truth. We shouldn’t cave in to emotions. He has no business in the Eagles. Atleast for now.
    There are far better wingers out there. like most have mentioned; Ejuke for one.

    I see a Bernd Leno in Okoye. Could be good but a second of indecisiveness let’s him down. He takes his time to grow into the game. And international matches wouldn’t give you that time. He needs to build his confidence and make good decisions.

    The coach should make quick substitutions when needed. 20 to 10 mins might not be enough for a new player to the team to do much and prove himself.

    The positives .

    Awaziem is really getting more mature in his tackles and reading of the game. He has the commanding presence and has grown into a leader. If continue been paired with Ekong, they can build an understanding.

    • For your take on Anayo, God bless you.

    • Abdul 3 years ago

      Good points, except the one on Okoye. I watched the game yesterday (and other games) and i don’t know where you drew those conclusions from. The man was really undisturbed in major parts of the game. I’m very sure you know any goalkeeper would conceed such goal. In my opinion, i don’t think we have anyone better than Okoye right now.

      A player whose place in the eagles baffles me is Kelechi. I don’t know what is wrong with that guy when he plays for Nigeria. Most of the times he doesn’t really do much. We know he’s got the quality, but we just aint seeing it. Even, Onuachu showed more hunger than him. At least he was winning free kicks and he can always be a decent cover up for Osimhen.

    • pompei 3 years ago

      Lol Mr Hush, your observations on Iwuala, Onuachu and Etebo had me laughing uncontrollably. Some tough love being dished out here.
      These guys need to raise their game. There is no easy fix. They just have to roll up their sleeves, and put the work in to get their game to where it needs to be.

  • These are the lessons from yesterday match

    1. The shot that led to that goal was save-able. But that is not enough reason to drop the goalkeeper. He should be given a last chance.

    2. Awaziem did so well in central defence especially with his ball playing and calmness. For sure, he is better than Ajayi. But we still have to assess him further before final verdict

    3. Iwobi doesn’t have the pace to play in the wings. There were a lot of counter attacking opportunties that fell to him, but he couldn’t run fast enough. His best position in the SE is number 10.

    4. Onuachu is not good with his feet and doesn’t have pace. I know this already and have said it severally on this platform. Yesterday’s match was just a reaffirmation of my position on Onuachu.

    5. Rohr should look for a way of utilizing Iheanacho in the team or even start him from the bench. Iwobi should be the one to play the number 10 position going forward

  • _ Key Stats Following 1:0 Loss _

    With every match (friendly or competitive) serving to show how Nigeria’s march to greatness is going, the outcome of yesterday’s game against Cameroon told its own story.

    The Indomitable Lions ran away 1:0 winners in a match both sides were eager to win. The 5 points below tell us how far the Super Eagles have come since Afcon 2019:

    1) Nigeria have won only 4 out of 11 games since emerging bronze medalists from Afcon 2019. This equates to a 36% win ratio and clearly at odds with what one would expect from a team on the rise.

    2) Since Afcon 2019, the Super Eagles have not defeated a top tier African nation. Games against Algeria, Tunisia and now Cameroon ended in 2 losses and 1 draw.

    3) Games against non-African oppositions have ended in draws. With the game against Mexico coming up in July, a draw or a loss seems a more likely outcome at the moment. A win for Nigeria will surely be welcomed by me though recent results make this seem unlikely.

    4) Familiar foes are now taking their pounds of Nigerian flesh. Algeria and now Cameroon have avenged losses they suffered in the hands of Rohr earlier in the German’s reign. Is he becoming too predictable to oppositions?

    5) Nigeria have scored 18 goals and have conceded 13 from 11 games post-2019 Afcon. Whilst we are hitting home , we are also shipping in (in double digits).

    The Super Eagles are a collection of exciting players with a disciplined and experienced coach. The question is: what are the results of matches post-2019 Afcon telling us about how far the Super Eagles have come?

    I leave that for others to answer.

    • JimmyBall 3 years ago

      @Deo… Thank you. Let’s wait for Coach Rohr’s mindreaders to help us know why it appears we are on the decline! I said it yesterday, we are yet to beat a top African side since Afcon 2019. After five years in charge of Super Eagles… by now we should be having solid and dependable 1st and 2nd eleven.

  • Cameroon I learnt had three shots at goal they scored one and they one the game, Nigeria had 6 and they lost, sometimes a good free kicks taker can determine the fortune of a game, you will agree with me we have never had one,even our crosses are never convincing.
    In the days of Christian Chukwu, Chris Ohenhen changed the outcome of the games through their dead ball expertise but now we don’t have them in the team,the closest to them is Nwakali who is proficient in dead balls taking is not in the team.
    We have seen that goal wins the game not dribbling, invite Nwakali to feel that crucial gap in the Eagles if the lesson of Mgr/Cam game is anything to learn from.

    • Greenturf 3 years ago

      How many freekicks did Chris Ohenhen scored for Nigeria?Aside one scored against Russia in a surprise come back from four nil down.

  • Larry 3 years ago

    6. Under your leadership, SE lost to Cameroon in regulation time for the first time in 32 years.
    7. Under your Kokokoro eyes, SE lost a 4 goal lead for the first time.
    8. Under your technical capacity SE failed to record a win in a year for the first time.. It is obvious that the law of diminishing returns is beginning to set-in. All the teams that lost to you in Belmadi’s boy first term as SE coach have performed better in your second term (Algeria, Tunisia, Cameroon..).
    9. It is important to try other playing pattern,,players selection, playing pattern, substitution and over reliance on some unserious players. I don’t see you winning pangolo with SE.
    10. If the problem is unpaid salaries, this is the best time for GR to voice out, get all that is due to him before he becomes history.
    11. Get a new GK coach (Alloy Agu is an ethnic bigot who sees nothing good in othe GK from other part of the country, he is not even among the top 5 SE past GK).
    12. GR! Request for a part time technical assistant with winning mentality (Mike Emenalo)
    13. Give new players at least 30 minutes to prove their worth.
    14. Stop reserving slots for lazy players, get Lookman, Oliseh and Ejaria Now!!
    15. GR! Get your outstanding salary Now ! nff is not trustworthy.

  • Greenturf that is not correct, i think he scored three times, the first was the cracker against Saudi Arabia in the opening game.

  • We have all given our own reasons but we have failed to point out our mistakes….

    As we all know that GERMANS are known for “MASSIVE ATTACK & MASSIVE DEFENSE PATTERN OF FOOTBALL”….
    A typical example can be seen in the likes of KLOPP,TUCHEL,LOW,HYNKESS etc….

    Rohr during his first tenure deployed this pattern and his accussers had no point to use against him.

    They resort to accussing him of his formation, calling it “RIGID”.
    They claim the formation doesn’t give players room enough to flair and express themselves, the innocent poor man adhered to their wishes and desires knowing very well it will surely backfire the team psychologically.

    Now that the team can’t hold their own against their mates, who’s losing?…. LOLZ

    Allow this Man do what he was paid for,they won’t….

    They keep presenting names of players, formation & tactics to use, when the man succum to their selfish interest and it backfires, hell Will loose.

    Watch German pattern of game, compare it with what ROHR was doing during his first tenure, still compare it with the game we played against England, come back and thank me later….

    German coaches instill confidence in their players, caution them to hold their own against any opposition, neutralize the opponent by closing all loop holes, maintain the tempo of the game, hit your opponent on counter, by so doing the game is dead and buried.
    (Watch the game between CHELSEA &M MADRID….. CHELSEA & MAN CITY et all)

    This is what TUCHEL, KLOPP, HYNKESS, LOW does and it works…..
    In our own case we won’t allow ROHR perform his duties,and we still blame him at the end of it all….

    Let’s say no to”SELFISH INTEREST, GREED, MY PLAYER MUST BE THERE BY ALL MEANS,TRIBALISM, RACISM etc”……

    LET’S EMBRACE LOVE, UNITY, TOLERANCES and by so doing we’ll surely get there……

    :::::SHALOM:::::

  • Proudly 9ja 3 years ago

    @UBFE I love your writeup about tge German tactics used by Klop, Tucker, Low, etc. But my broda, GR drew the list of players by himself and his scouts, nobody imposed anybody on him. Also people saying we were missing most of our regulars are being economical with the truth and just emotional, the only regular we missed were chukwueze, osimen and balogun (we can’t call Aina or ebuehi or even Kalu regulars bcos they aren’t). Let’s face the truth GR is still making same mistakes over and over again as regards his late substitution, most GR fans including myself have been complaining about this trend for awhile now. Can u imagine it was only after cameroon (who were leading by d way) had made a change that GR made his 1st change knowing fully well we were chasing the game. Everybody here know Iwobi is not good playing from the wings both at club level and national team level, his crosses are poor (hardly passes the 1st defender), he is better playing thru the middle. He thrives when given the license to play thru the middle. If everybody here on this forum knows this, why does GR still try to play him from the wings? GR should have known playing Iheanacho and Onuachu would be a disaster waiting to happen (why play 2 slow and predictable forwards) against some green unripe plantain eating cameroonians who can break your leg. Even the shortest cameroonian defender will mark Onuachu and iheanacho out of any game, we aren’t talking about some soft Belgium players here, we are talking of plantain eaters here. GR should have played Moffi and Okayinka upfront, these guys are young, fast, energetic, full of running and would harass those cameroonian defenders until they make mistake. With Iheanacho and Onuachu, the cameroonian defenders had a holiday, they weren’t pressured/troubled at all. I am no coach ooo but playing Shehu as a RB is a waste of the young man’s qualities, i would have played Shehu and Ndidi with the instruction to just cover the defense and let Iwobi do all the creating, Their job will simply be to just provide cover for the defense, both have huge energy to burn, They should just collect the ball and give it to iwobi or our wingers. Ekong is still playing American football (punting), he can’t give long passes to save his life (1 or 2 out of 6 tries), he gives the ball away cheaply. When we are playing from the back, if the opposition pressures him he will just baloon the ball. He should be told when he has d ball, don’t try to look for the long ball as it will go astray most times, he should jejely just pass the ball on the grown to the nearest available player biko. Collins no be am abeg, he should just focus on defending and 4get venturing forward as his recovery is poor, but in the absence of any viable option he is ok. Instead of playing Iwobi from the wing, please GR give us Marcus, he can play there like Samu, thats what we want see. I personally can care less about the result, but more interested about what lessons were learnt. Nobody here can say they learnt anything from the 5-20 mins the new guys played for to render any kind of judgment. Even Iwuala (am not a fan as I think ejuke is better than) wasn’t given enough time for all the games he has played to render a verdict. With Ekong and Collins out, my lineup will be
    GK;Uzoho
    CB: Awaziem, Izu and Ozonwafor
    RWB and LWB: Simon and Marcus
    MF: Shehu, Ndidi, Iwobi
    FW:Moffi, Olayinka

    At 1st glance, some will say why use Simon and Marcus as wingbacks, tge reason is they have the skill to accomplish it and we have 2 holding midfielders that can cover for their lack of defensive attributes. Chelsea have used Pulisic and Wilson odoi as wingbacks even though they haven’t played there, even our Iwobi has played there for Arsenal and Everton, Simon has also played there for Levante. Also like I said with Ekong and Collins out, we are limited in terms of options available. This team will definitely trouble the cameroonians, you have ball players at the back, ball winners in the middle plus a creator, on tge wings we have skillful fast players and upfront we have guys that will harass and trouble tge cameroonian backline all day without giving them space to breathe (tireless runners). Give these guys good 60 mins to show what they have to offer. But am sure GR will be true to form and still stick with his “regulars” the likes of Onuachu and Iheanacho. Just my take.

    • walking 3 years ago

      OMO Naija, Your head get oil well well. Nice formation.

      I want to believe this is the best time to try out different formation and use players to test run, incases of unavailability.

    • Abdul handsy 3 years ago

      You have just spoken out my mind wallahi…. May God in His infinite mercy bless you more of your football knowledge…

      I am loosing it with Gernot Rohr!

      My confidence in him is depreciating in every super eagles match these days mehn!

      I don’t think that I will have that depleted squad and I wouldn’t have beaten toothless Cameroun in that match. It seems to me that rohr doesn’t cares about my super eagles feeling wallahi. I love my country more than anything so, anytime super eagles loose winnable match I feel bad mehn!

  • When I look at some people write up I laugh. This one problem is why he played Onuachu and Iheanacho, supposing he played his prefer choice and the result was like this they will say why didn’t he played Onuachu the highest goalscorer and best nigeria striker in Europe with Iheanacho current form in the just concluded season. I wonder how some people who are not trained coach will sit at comfort of his house and started saying a professional coach should do it like this after all this is just a test game with mostly new players in the team as most of u usually clamouring for. I thought Moffi or Olayinka would score 10 goals yesterday Nigeria people I hail oo

    • JimmyBall 3 years ago

      @tayo… If you played some level of football you will know, once a player gets introduced in a game his team is losing, it takes time to even get yourself to the tempo of the game not to talk of when you eventually will see the ball played close to you to make a contribution… in 10minutes Olayinka hustled the Cameroonian fullback on the right and drew a foul from a rash tackle, Iwuala made some intelligent plays in the frontline even with a shot on target albeit weak… Let Rohr not waste invitations and introduced players at a good time… Only Terem Moffi got at most 25minutes in that game. So you could not have expected Olayinka and Abraham to do Magic against a well-organized Cameroon team in just 10minutes. Be real bro…

      • Dr Banks 3 years ago

        JimmyBall and his excuses,you no dey tire to giving excuses when you’re wrong? 15 mins is good enough to make an impact in a match if you’re truly exceptional.
        When you are on the bench,you are afforded enough time to study the game, identify your opponents weaknesses and strengths from the bench hence once you are introduce into the game you should be able to something spectacular. Not necessarily about scoring a goal

        • JimmyBall 3 years ago

          @Dr.Banks… How many difference did your moongod Rohr make when Sierra Leone bloodied his team from 4goals down to 4 – 4 with that his preferred weak and amateurish Maduka Okoye on goal. That goal Cameroon scored ought to have been saved but as us we used to call poor goalkeepers when we played in the streets… Okoye is a confirmed “Para” grasshopper… that guy has been unduly and underservingly elevated above Uzoho and Alampasu… So sad.

          • Abdul 3 years ago

            My brother, some of your arguements are completely becoming baseless. Take a moment and reflect about what you are saying. Was the goal keeper the problem in that game? Or did he actually made a mistake that cost us the game? Of course no. If you really know about football, you won’t be spending all this time scanning through that goal that could be conceeded by any keeper. You keep talking about experience and all….What experinence does Uzoho and Alampasu have over Okoye?

          • JimmyBall 3 years ago

            @Abdul… Say what you want. Maduka is not half as good as Uzoho. That shot by Anguissa was from a distance and he could have parried it easily, even with his length in a dive… but no, it’s Olayinka that someone else wants to blame squarely. Some people writing Onuachu off are even blind because he had the most goal threatening plays from all who participated… I am not one of those who become a fool on sighting incompetent foreign borns… Maduka is not even as good as John Noble… He is just previleged to get it easy and find himself at Sparta Rotterdam. Uzoho was first choice at Deportivo and doing so well despite being under constant scrutiny for being preferred to the Spanish native who was initially number 1, until a populist coach came and relegate him back to the reserves… in a move that was more for social emotional pressure and not a footballing one… @Abdul,what did Rohr do when Sierra Leone rallied back to equalize 4goals against almighty Super Eagles? If you no get point just shut your trap and don’t let me take you apart this evening…

  • Proudly 9ja 3 years ago

    I wonder how some people reason really, so bcos one is a trained coach, they are beyond criticism. In a friendly match that was meant to try some new players but you as a coach chose to use players that you have been working with from 2-5 years. You already know what they are capable of. How many goals did d 2 highest goal scorers score yesterday The, if I may ask? I never said Moffi-Olayinka would score but i believe they would have offered more than Onuachu-Iheanacho combo did imho. If the coach tried the new players and lost, we will be able to atleast say we have seen them play and if the coach chooses not to invite them next time, it will be justified. Will the coach from yesterday’s game decide to drop either Onuachu and Iheanacho? The answer is No, but come next qualifier the likes of Moffi, Olayinka will be missing and the argument will be there is no time for experimenting since the WC qualifiers is not to be toyed with. If an inconsequential frindly match is too big to give players like Moffi, Marcus, Olayinka, Ozonwafir and Iwuala 60mins of game time, is it in the actual WC qualifiers proper that they will be tried? By the way i never clamored for any of those players, it was the coach that chose to invite them and so it is practical as a fan of the SE to want to see who the coach invited. I hail some people ooo. Osimen and chukwueze no play we are complaining but we have almost like for like replacement in Moffi and Marcus and they are both given less than 20 mins of game time in an inconsequential match. Onuachu has been playing for SE since 2019 (AFCON) and all the matches that he has played (started) has been thesame, very little energy but he starts whenever osimen isn’t around even though he struggles whenever he starts for SE and to add to that he arrived late to camp in Austria. I like GR alot but I will point out where in my view I see a flaw in his player selection or substitution.

    • Mr Ringmybell 3 years ago

      Ireho, I stand with u. Rohr isn’t the man. Only Pinnick sabi the business wey him dey do with the man’s contract. For me, Rohr is up with what next that is needed to push the eagles forward.

  • Field Marshall. General. Sir Johnbob 3 years ago

    My own take on all the above is very simple – I am appalled at how people always pick on the wrong player/s or maybe it’s the reading of the game?
    Whatever it is, I cannot explain it as it does not affect me, I see very clearly where the problem areas are and I am baffled how only one other person in all the responses to the instigating article above made any mention of it – IT’S THE PROVERBIAL “ELEPHANT IN THE ROOM”
    Most have complained about ETEBO, OTHERS MOANED ABOUT IWOBI, Some said it is ONUACHU, while others have rightfully brought up the lack of team play/ team cohesion and very poor and definitely sub standard passing , poor ball use on and off the ball, and woeful finishing.
    Many of the above are valid points but the important thing to remember is that many of these points/flaws are nothing new in football and can be addressed/improved through coaching and team building and of course the mental side things ie building or should I say re-building a team identity, a philosophy of who we are as a footballing side/nation – All these things are possible and I would even go as far as to say the Mr Rohr has the ability to address these points because we have seen him do very similar with this same SE team, I am referring to when he first joined, I can very well remember the joy his first few team selections and results brought, so I am sure he still has that ability in him – it is like riding a bike (as they say) and once mastered you can never forget.

    Having said all of the above however, I must say that personally, given a choice, I would have a different profile of manager for the SE now, I would say a massive thank you to Oga Rohr, he has done really well and his reputation remains intact at the very least, but I would be looking for a young, hungry and ambitious manager now! An ideological, strong willed, even maybe stubborn “A” level player who feels they still have a lot to prove in football and is full of energy and self belief himself to come in now and lead the SE – A young coach, perhaps in his 40’s or so, in the mold of a Thomas Tuchel, Nuno Espirito Santo, people like that. Now I know some may ask – how do you expect Nigeria especially with current standings and conditions etc to attract such high-end lofty names?
    Well, that we know can be difficult but not impossible, you just need to have a strong enough need, and a will and most importantly money to use for funding such a project – Nigeria is blessed and has these resources , but they won’t use it for the betterment of the country – NO, instead all they know how to do is make noise on twitter, embarrass their selves and the whole country, get banned, and vaguely threathen it’s own citizens with war, only thinking about their own pockets. Responding to on ground situations with a one-track mind. No wonder they do not show us any human respect or dignity when we refuse to show ourselves any.
    TO FINALISE, I HAVE COVERED EVERY PART OF MY GRIPE WITH THE ARTICLE AND THE RESPONSES I CAN SEE TO THE ARTICLE – HOWEVER I MUST NOW IDENTIFY THAT “ELEPHANT IN THE ROOM” WHICH I REFERRED TO AND WHICH NOT ANOTHER PERSON ON HERE HAS MENTIONED (WELL ONE PERSON HAS) AND THAT IS THAT KELECHI IHEANACHO IS NOWHERE NEAR THE GUY WE CAN PUT OUR HOPES ON O! I WATCH HIM PLAY A LOT, ALMOST EVERY TIME HE GETS IN THE TEAM I WATCH, HE MUST NOT BE SEEN AS A STARTER FOR THE SE BECAUSE IF THAT IS THE CASE THEN WE AND THE REST OF THE WHOLE WORLD ALONG WITH US ALREADY KNOW WHAT WE ARE WORKING WITH – AND THAT IS A BLUNT INSTRUMENT,THE GUY CAN’T PLAY, AND ALL THAT HAPPENS IS HE SOMETIMES(ONCE A YEAR GETS LUCKY) HOW NOBODY ELSE SEES THIS OR WHY YOU PEOPLE IDENTIFIED EVERY PROBLEM AND EVEN THOSE THAT ARE NOT PROBLEMS BUT LEAVE OUT THE MAIN AND MOST GLARING PROBLEM IS BEYOND ME!
    WHY OGA ROHR CANNOT SEE THAT IS ALSO VERY SCARY AS WELL.
    IS HE (ROHR) PAST HIS BEST? OR IS THERE ANY UNDUE PRESSURE ON HIM TO PLAY ALL THESE PLAYERS THAT ARE NOT EVEN CONSIDERED AS FIRST TEAM MEMBERS IN THEIR OWN CLUBS?
    SOMEONE SAID IWOBI IS KNOWN FOR HIS SILKY MOVES AND WING PLAY OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT AND WHEN I SEE SUCH THINGS WRITTEN I LAUGH!
    IT IS SCARY BECAUSE THAT IS NOT HIS REPUTATION AT ALL IN THE COUNTRY WHERE HE PLAYS HIS CLUB FOOTBALL AND WE KNOW AND HEAR AND SEE ALL ABOUT THE PLAYER.
    NONE OF THE ABOVE IS PERSONAL BECAUSE I KNOW THAT THERE ARE THE USUAL NIGERIANS ON HERE AS WELL AS EVERYWHERE ELSE WHO ARE INTELLECTUALLY CHALLENGED AND NOT ONLY CAN THEY NOT READ, REASON AND UNDERSTAND ANOTHER PERSON’S POINT OF VIEW, BUT THEY WILL IMMEDIATELY BE UP IN ARMS AND RESPOND WITH CURSES AND BE EXTREMELY DISRESPECTFUL WITH DISGRACEFUL DRIVEL.
    PLEASE IF YOU ARE THAT GUY THEN KINDLY DESIST FROM REPLYING TO ME. THE MUSINGS ABOVE ARE ONLY MY OWN HUMBLE OPINIONS WHICH LAST TIME I CHECKED, I AM STILL ENTITLED TO.
    I NOR FIT SHOUT ABEG

  • JimmyBall 3 years ago

    Rohr knows he must play Uzoho on Tuesday… anything short of that for us to see Uzoho again shows he is just giving Maduka match confidence clearly knowing he panics with
    lots of misjudgements to balls in flight out of tension, something that Uzoho hardly has troubles with… I have nothing against Maduka, but Uzoho is clearly far better than him despite his timeout for a lengthy injury. It will be absolutely senseless to play Maduka on Tuesday…

  • Greenturf 3 years ago

    Iheanacho has not played well for the super eagles lately because he was tasked to play deep as a midfielder rather than a support striker where he thrives alongside Jamie Vardy for Leicester city.
    Leicester plays Ndidi and Tieleman as holding midfielders then Madison plays just in front of them,Iheanacho and Vardy compliments each other upfront.But in the super eagles,Iwobi who should be playing in front of the two holding midfielders is played wild leaving Iheanacho to play deep as a number ten where he struggles.

    • Field Marshall. General. Sir Johnbob 3 years ago

      Please Sir, it really doesn’t matter where you play him (Kele), my point is not trivial and excludes any tactic, position or formation, on this particular topic I am taking an overall view of the player’s effectiveness both here in the SE or at his club Lesta, I love him as a person and his story and rise has been phenominal and long may that continue, but between us and when it comes to representing Nigeria, this should already be a forgone conclusion, playing Iheanacho is like playing short one, I do not like his effort or application and certainly brings nothing defensively, he has once or twice before at Lesta, when he listened to what his coaches were telling him and he increased his effort and helped defensively etc, this coincided with when he got a bit of a run in the team and actually hit a purple patch, and as I have said, that is typical of him, that is what he brings, no need to debate it again, we need to recognise that YES Iheanacho has the ability and potential, but there is something lacking which seriously lets his game down, it does not matter where you play him, we need to understand that he is a bench player who we can use for that purpose coming from the bench but to have him as a starter, and one of the key players that our nation’s hopes rely on is just suicidal.
      Why would Iheanacho be seen as a atrter over a player like Lookman?

      • Omiyale Agbarayashop 3 years ago

        I am loving your analysis sir. What about Iwobi, do you think he is minus one as well as he is a failure at Evatin and Arsinal.

  • I could remember this guy Maduka first game against Brazil they started praising him. Even when the man refused to play him in subsequent matches and use Akeyi in one of the friendly match they started branding the coach series of names why he did not start him. Even this Uzoho that is now messiah was at some point condemn to high even before his injury. I still maintain my point you are not a trained coach so complain less about the man choice of players or formations and if you think you know better wait for when the job is vacant apply and make sure you get it, then we shall see how u will fair since you think it is easy to do with ordinary mouth mtcccchew.

    • JimmyBall 3 years ago

      We don the play our mate now so na now we go know how sound our coaching dey… Cameroon again Tuesday, then Mexico for USA. We all go bear witness…

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