Super Eagles assistant Coach Joseph Yobo has denied reports credited to him that Alex Iwobi is not good enough for team’s number 10 role.
Reports on Monday morning claimed the former Super Eagles captain suggested in an Instagram live interview session over the weekend that Super Eagles needs a new creative midfielder.
The reports also added that Yobo stated that Iwobi is not a consistent performer for the Super Eagles which means the team must continue their search for players who fit into the role perfectly.
However, the Everton legend has now debunked the stories and explained that he only suggested that Nigeria has struggled to replace Austin Okocha and Wilson Oruma since their retirement.
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He stressed further that Iwobi is a player that he likes and he’s unpredictable as well.
The 2013 African cup of Nations winner added that the reporter twisted his word, and what he wrote was far from the truth.
“I don’t know where he (the writer) got it all crossed out, he changed my words, I didn’t use the word inconsistent for Iwobi, the anchor mentioned that. I said he’s unpredictable and I like him, and his game his hard for midfielders and defenders to understand what he’s going to do,” Yobo said.
Yobo was appointed as an assistant to Gernot Rohr a few months ago, he replaced Imama Amakapabo who departed after the expiration of his contract with the Nigeria Football Federation.
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COMMENTS
U never even start work beans don dy smell…….
Work don start already cos,na part of him assignment we dey see so.
But why not okocha in that Job
Laugh will finish me soon. Yobo Yobo Yobo how many times I called you?.
Lmao
Whether he said it or not, its the truth. While no one can doubt Iwobi’s commitment to the cause, his play is inconsistent especially at the number 10 position
Lord AMO, truth at times is a bitter pill that once ingested can cause a lot of bovine hallucinations. We see that manifest all all around us every day on cyberspace.
I wonder why press will release all this damaging news and leave better news like Rohr contract to talk about. These Yobo and Amokachi news of late will only destroy the chemistry in the super eagles, Naija have a way of destroying good things.
Oga CSN has to report this one..lol! Is he not the Assistant Manager?? We all want to hear what Rohr says whenever he speaks so goes with Oga Assistant na..LMAO!
See this Mumu has started his work (hidden agenda) given to him by his masters already and we never even play 1 match with Mr. 100 caps. By the time we play like 2 matches, hopefully Musa, Iwobi, Oshimen, Balogun and Ekong will not call it Quits with the Super Eagles. Ahh..What a Country!
Abeg make una leave Yobo alone, he said the truth, the media only twist his words just to create controversy.
Everyone knows that Iwobi is unpredictable, sometimes he is hot sometimes cold, he needs serious competition in that role.
Since you are a Nigerian, you can as well be that “serious competition”… By playing the role for SE
Mr Yobo has started the game plan of his employers, distabilise the team, cause confusion and division, thus thwarting the hard work of Rohr.
Yobo is going to disgrace himself and those who employed him. He is not a trained and certified coach and do not know what and how to handle even the most basic human aspect of the job he corruptly obtained. May l question the reason why the NFF should have made a decision to appoint Yobo to this critical position at this time? This is going to be the basic question every Nigeria will continue to ask so long as Yobo shall be in view at his job which was given to him by NFF.
This is just the beginning !
Yobo as Super Eagles assistant coach with no single coaching experience …. What a joke !!!
If NFF must find an assistant for Rohr, why not get a reasonable club coach from the domestic league … Someone that has COACH a team…someone who have being in the hot seat of managing a soccer team be it a clubside, grade team or even an academy setup !!!!!
Why do we like backwardness !!!
If you must replace the current coach, get a more creditable one!!!
If you must get him an assistant to understudy him; get a creditable assistant .
A replacement suppose to be an upgrade from the previous !!!
How on earth is Yobo an upgraded choice over the previous assistant to Rohr??? What mates him unique & better than the previous assistant (I no want even mention him name sef)?
NFF…. You just shot your selves on the foot … Keep it up !!!
See, let me say this … Super Eagie is a global brand ooo!!!
Our political leaders might stay at home and do what they like and lots of us (especially in the diaspora) will only feel the pain, complain and wave it aside.
But you see our National teams…especially the SUPER EAGLES….a lot of us I know very well… spend our hard-earn cash on flight ticket, accommodation and match ticket to watch them live all over the world.
We are patriotic DIE-hard fans … No bi today ooo!!!
I no dey take Super Eagles and our national soccer teams play ooo
NFF PEOPLE, I HOPE UNA NO WAN CAUSE BIG WHAHALA OOO…. I just dey talk my own oooo
We will be watching !!!
You guys forget that it the river state government that host most of super eagles matches therefore Yobo appointment is a political one.
_Yobo’s reply:more harm than good?_
In the article above, controversial Super Eagles nascent head coach Joseph Yobo tried to walk back aspects of comments attributed to him regarding Everton’s Alex Iwobi in which he was said to have described the former Arsenal star ‘inconsistent’.
In fact, Yobo – who recently threw his weight behind Iwobi to succeed in Everton despite his sluggish start to life in Liverpool – may have caused further damage with his rebuttal.
“I don’t know where he (the writer) got it all crossed out, he changed my words,” lamented Yobo perplexingly as he further said: ” I didn’t use the word inconsistent for Iwobi, the anchor mentioned that. I said he’s unpredictable and I like him”. End of quote.
‘Unpredictable’, hmmm! When I checked synonyms for that word in the dictionary, the options that came up weren’t too much of a sharp deviation from inconsistent.
Instead of unpredictable, you can use: uncertain, random, hit and miss, doubtful, erratic or inconstant.
Now, I choose not to criticise Yobo for whatever he might have said in that interview. What has to be bore in mind is that Yobo’s appointment is already frowned upon by many Super Eagles fans who will only be too happy to seize upon anything he does, says or project as confirmation that the former Everton man is damaged goods – one to spread nothing but desolation to the Super Eagles.
Nothing at this stage offers me this suggestion. I am willing to give Yobo a chance and if he makes any mistake, I will be happy to hear him out and accept any meaningful clarification.
Truth be told, Iwobi is an enigma; and like one of the synonyms above, the former Arsenal man can be a bit of a hit-and-miss.
After signing for Everton for a bumper £40 million this season , Iwobi has been more of a miss than a hit in the Liverpool based side.
As criticisms come Iwobi’s way based on his 2 goals and 0 assists across over 20 games in the English Premer League, guess who has recently come to the defence of Iwobi, yes, none other than former Everton defender Joseph Yobo.
Speaking on goal.com earlier this month, Yobo said: “I think we should be patient with him because we can’t doubt his talent. He has unbelievable talent and work rate.
I know he is going to achieve more with Everton, it is just the timing of everything happening to him. He will surely come good.” concluded Yobo as he struck an optimistic note about a player he would soon be working with in the Super Eagles.
Nice write-up @Deo
Thank you sir.
is it iwobi that his shot force be like aribo and etebo pass.
iwobi cant do the followings
1)cant dribble again.
2)cant run again.
3)cant shoot as usual.
4)cant tackle as usual.
5)cant hold ball again.
6) lose possessions.
7)lazy.
above all inconsistent.
iwobi has only one football quality ” only through passes”.
when every players have lowest 4qualities.
iwobi is just a waste of space in the line up.
Bro, becareful how you criticize people, the world revolves…..again you could have kept quite. Moreover, all these seems wrong to me, and it looks like you dont see beyond the physicality of football games.
Victor, go & rewatch the Ukraine game. That’s the best performance by an attacking midfielder i have seen for the SE since Okocha. This is the guy that scored the goal that took us to the World Cup. Also watch the friendlies against Argentina & England. For the national team Iwobi has been way better & consistent. I care less for how he performs for Everton.
On point @deo
Thanks bro – Yobo does have a point (Lol!) 🙂
@ Victor….oya go and collect Jersey and play na…..we can’t just appreciate this people…..go and play.
…It is the truth, Iwobi is not a No. 10, and he is clearly inconsistent for club and country. He is simply not a regular performer…
A player who cannot shot, who loses possession, who cannot tackle, yet he was bought for $35m, the highest so far by any Nigeria players also the highest goalscorer by an attacking midfielder in SE after JayJay.
I wonder what some people are saying. If you are a football agent and you want to sell your players and you don’t know how, just ask csn or other sporting paper to help you, you don’t have to come on this platform and bring anyone down before you accomplish your aim.
@Victor, I’ll recommend Ukraine vs Nigeria Match for you or Cameroon vs Nigeria 2nd Half at the Nations Cup.
I’m sure u will come back and delete Some.
Fine…he’s inconsistent but the best we have in that area for now.
And it’s like he performs better in international colors than club sides.
I still believe in the guy say.
Lol… I agree with you Sean, Iwobi might be – in your words – inconsistent but we love him all the same..lol.. 🙂
Iwobi is someone that blows hot and cold most times. Sometimes I watch him play and I’ll be like how on Earth did this guy get in the Eagles line up and sometimes I will just be wowed by his performance.
But above all, there’s one reason I think IWOBI can never be ignored in the Super Eagles as far as he’s fit! That’s CHARISMA and COMMITMENT! I personally just love Iwobi. My reasons…I don’t know. Whenever I see him in the line up, I feel so happy and I’ll just be chanting Iwobinho. I’ll be waiting for him to touch the ball so I can brag about him..sounds funny but that’s the truth with many too. And we can’t take away his commitment in the team. Even when he was a player for a big team like Arsenal and a Cousin to our legend JayJay, one will expect him to raise his shoulders high in the team but He’s always among the First 5-8 to report to the camp. Loves everyone in the team and gives his all in training and match days(even when his off-form you can see him struggling).
I think this are attributes one can rarely find in players nowadays. Iwobi has it and with that, he’s still Undisputed for me
Nephew to Jay Jay not cousin @chairmanFemi
Thanks for the correction@Ola
@chairmanfemi, infact i have extended my love for iwobi to you aswell, for relating my exact feelings towards the young man, thank you very much. i have always thought you probably didnt like him. Iwobi is off and on but indeed a great personality i cant imagine any formation in my head for the eagles. without reserving the drivers sit for iwobi(africa debrowne).
@deo your contributions is always awsome. However i think yobo mearnt to say, iwobi is full of ideas(skillfull workshop) in the field of play and that makes him unpreditable to opponents, i will also like to advice yobo to stay out of interviews from media for now, he should realise that football is not showbiz or fashion art as dr drey use to say, he should work and not be talking at list for now. Iwobi is one of the best tilent we ever had. I like him so much, expecially in supereagles games, you cant compare him to aribo or etebo, he is ahead of those guys in terms of quick passes and visions with pace and control, honestly i dont know why some of us dont like him, and we are already looking for his replacement. I think he is in is hard times which is very normal among most good players. he needs to work more on precision in long passes and shots. Luckily iwobi is young and will get to be a master. In the last nations cup iwobi and ndidi performers was well inspiring and classic considering the fact that they are debutants, okocha and oruma as debutants didnt do better than iwobi. At Iwobi’s age he scored twice against argentina, scored home and away against zambia, scored against england, cameroun and lesotho of recent making it 7 goals, plus about 8 assists, i dont think oruma or mikel obi nor christian obodo have such goals record in their many games for super eagles. Only Jayjay can boast of such record but it also took him time to perfect his games, Let us support Iwobi he will get better.God bless Naija
Thank you sir, point taken.
Iwobi is not good, iwobi is not this, iwobi is not that……why are we not feeling mikel’s absence in the SE today…?
When Jayjay and Kanu retired, why did we struggle to get a playmaker and creative force in the team evn though mikel was struggling to become one….?
Who is the creative force in the current SE team…? Who has played more key passes and started more moves that led to goals in this SE team in the last 2 years…?
Against Lesotho he was central to our first 3 goals, against Benin his neat exchange with Ola Aina resulted in the penalty for our 1st goal. He was similarly involved in the 2nd goal. Against Ukraine, South Africa, Cameroun, Burundi at AFCON, he was central to the goals we scored….these are very recent matches that should be fresh in the mind of anybody who can reasons straight.
If you hate iwobi, keep your hatred to yourself and not come here to disgrace yourself in public. 7 goals and as many assists for the SE in 38 matches in just 4years in the national team is never a bad return for a midfielder. How many goals and assists did his uncle the great Jay jay provide during his 13 year SE career…?
Is there room for improvement…Absolutely
Can he learn to be more consistent…..Of course
Has he been a 10 all his career….No
Can he build himself to becoming a 90 minutes player…Yes
Can he become better as a 10 with more games in that position…..Absolutely.
Iwobi is growing, he just started playing as a 10 at the top level recently, he is still growing and learning the position. He will come good with time. Most 10s peak in their late 20s.
LEAVE IWOBI ALONE……if e too pain you….you are also a man and a Nigerian, go and buy boot and enter field and play. Finis & Klaar…!
You are too right Dr Drey, it is really getting rather humdrum talking about this.
Yobo should be careful so his words aren’t taken out of context…,
we re still feeling jay jay absence, thats why we want ejaria, eze, ejuka.
not mikel nor iwobi has filled that vacant.
its our terrible wingers and young drogba. and midfield mysterios ndidi etebo aribo and wing wizard aina, recently shoot super eagle and remind us of 96. example brazil game iwobi was just a villain. aribo did the dirty work, that we have been pushing iwobi to do.
we didnt felt mikel moses ighalo because of aribo kalu chukwueze and osimhen not iwobi. dont even use that for excuse.
my favourite players are hazard and iwobi and aina. bt i dont know how to conceal truth. iwobi is my brother from delta state. bt i must say the truth.
iwobi game too lack pace nd strenght nd shooting.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=euWf3qPUUjA
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ySgn9iXwBjQ
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vdG764uwqhk&t=59s
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TcuEYc7QHsw
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c3hese81_5k
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W2s9kUKzaZo
Those are highlights of SE games played in the last 1 year by the iwobi cant do the followings
1)cant dribble.
2)cant run.
3)cant shoot.
4)cant tackle.
5)cant hold ball .
6) lose possessions.
7)lazy.
Wetin man eye nor go see for CSN…???
You’re spot on most times but your response shows like you’re fighting with everyone who doesn’t think like you! That’s Bitter you and Funny somehow.
Kudos anyways.
Remembered the Brazil game..lol. The Brazilians man-marked Iwobi and they knew little or nothing about Ariball. The Kid was just mesmerizing the whole pitch and having a smooth run that day. They unlocked Aribo indirectly. Awesome match
On the contrary @chairmanfemi.
Nothing gives me more joy and fun like putting lairs in their places with korokoro facts.
There no way others can thing like me, however whatever anyone is thinking or saying should be backed up with the truth and facts.
We people say completely baseless things, they are as good as insulting logic and other people’s intelligence.
The technical crew of Almighty BRAZIL days iwobi is the dangerman of this SE team, highlights of our last 10 matches shows iwobi either scoring, giving an assist or assisting an assist, but one somebody who has not successfully kicked an orange before is calling him useless…can you imagine..LMAO
Lol! Ok oo
Aribo is the Messiah now just like how Iwobi was some years ago. How many games has Aribo play for Nigeria? Very sure once the guy have one bad game our people will start their normal things. I wonder how some people think at times. He is not consistent, he is hot and cold that was what they were saying about Mikel during his time even the Okocha they were praising now that he is too selfish always dribble when he suppose to pass. Nigeria I hail una.
if remember vividly the coach of the last match we play single out Aribo and Osimhen as super eagle dangermen.
brazil coach said that bcus only iwobi is the popular eagle player, great club arsenal former. follow by ndidi, bt ndidi is a deep man.
the coach know no super eagle player better apart from arsenal iwobi, ndidi and mancity iheanacho.
bt after seeing iwobi performances, i believe the coach will never repeat such. thats why that coach omit iwobi name and put Aribo and Osimhen as dangermen.
Hahahaha…BRAZIL’s coach does not know any other Nigerian player apart from Iwobi…but lesotho’s coach already knows Aribo who had just played only 3 matches for Nigeria…?? LMAO.
I don’t have time for this….Pls this kid’s parents should kindly collect the keyboard from him. It’s high time CSN begins to enforce certain restrictions on this forum. LMAO
Oga doctor dont worry bad news for u. ejaria and ejuke is coming to super eagle next game, which means after two to three games iwobi will not make 18man squad. even his invitation will be determined by azeeze form. iheanacho and dennis will also come, bet me after 4games iwobi will not get invitation again.
Bad news for whoever is behind your predicament. I will save this page and re-paste your crap post for you to read after Iwobi’s 5th consecutive start even in the presence of all those five you mentioned.
You think being a premier League player, for the past 5 years, with UEFA champions league, world cup and AFCON experience is child’s play…?!
if etebo, ndidi, ariball, ejaria all free of injury for after 5 super eagle games, and then u still find iwobi in the starting line up then, i wont comment here again. or say, yes sir’ yes sir’ to every thing u said. i will openly declare u as my master.