Chuba Akpom declares for Nigeria - Curious case...

[Damunk]

Scoring a whopping 6 goals in the Greek league is good enough for an SE call? Mschew....

Not necessarily.
For me this story is of a slightly different significance: we might be witnessing the early rumblings of an avalanche of Nigerian talent around the world opting to play for the SE.

Nigerian talent is in abundance around the world, and believe me, it is actually increasing.
You just need to take a look at the youth ranks of the top teams in western Europe.
Even the England national youth teams are spiced with a healthy dose of Nigerian names.

It is just occurring to me now that of all the footballing nations of the world (ie countries that have football as their primary sport) Nigerian might be the most populous.
So this is not going to slow down any time soon and there will not be enough transformers for those who have a problem with it.

You mean an avalanche of below average Nigerian talent abi? Then I agree with you...but how does that help SE?

I know you are a bit cynical but youve got to get past that.
If as I am suggesting, there will be an increasing interest in playing for Nigeria from eligible players abroad, it stands to reason that the quality of players will rise rather than sink.
Make no mistake, there are hundreds of Nigerians playing in the lower leagues right now that cannot even dream of being called up.

I said it a couple of years ago that with all his potential, Alex Iwobi signing for Nigeria would be a game-changer. If it turned out that his career did not suffer for making that decision, then expect it to start with a trickle and then a wave. The fact that players are hanging out for an England call has only minimal significance. England's needs and Nigeria's needs are not necessarily the same.

For instance, I was listening to Joe Cole a few days ago on TV and he spoke about how England has traditionally not given enough recognition to their more naturally gifted players like Hoddle, Le Tissier and of course himself because they were seen as "luxury'' players.

So I doubt players like JJ Okoha or Kanu would have made the England team in their day for that simple reason.

Don't be so negative. It's all good.

[maceo4]

Scoring a whopping 6 goals in the Greek league is good enough for an SE call? Mschew....

Not necessarily.
For me this story is of a slightly different significance: we might be witnessing the early rumblings of an avalanche of Nigerian talent around the world opting to play for the SE.

Nigerian talent is in abundance around the world, and believe me, it is actually increasing.
You just need to take a look at the youth ranks of the top teams in western Europe.
Even the England national youth teams are spiced with a healthy dose of Nigerian names.

It is just occurring to me now that of all the footballing nations of the world (ie countries that have football as their primary sport) Nigerian might be the most populous.
So this is not going to slow down any time soon and there will not be enough transformers for those who have a problem with it.

You mean an avalanche of below average Nigerian talent abi? Then I agree with you...but how does that help SE?

I know you are a bit cynical but youve got to get past that.
If as I am suggesting, there will be an increasing interest in playing for Nigeria from eligible players abroad, it stands to reason that the quality of players will rise rather than sink.
Make no mistake, there are hundreds of Nigerians playing in the lower leagues right now that cannot even dream of being called up.

I said it a couple of years ago that with all his potential, Alex Iwobi signing for Nigeria would be a game-changer. If it turned out that his career did not suffer for making that decision, then expect it to start with a trickle and then a wave. The fact that players are hanging out for an England call has only minimal significance. England's needs and Nigeria's needs are not necessarily the same.

For instance, I was listening to Joe Cole a few days ago on TV and he spoke about how England has traditionally not given enough recognition to their more naturally gifted players like Hoddle, Le Tissier and of course himself because they were seen as "luxury'' players.

So I doubt players like JJ Okoha or Kanu would have made the England team in their day for that simple reason.

Don't be so negative. It's all good.

I'm not being cynical, I'm being realistic. You are acting like Iwobi was such a special case, the bobo was born in Nigeria and the nephew of a Nigerian soccer legend, its not such a shocking thing he chose Nigeria. Also English born players have been choosing Nigerian way before Iwobi (from Efan Ekoku to Ameobi to Moses before Iwobi), so what exactly makes his choice so special?

The truth is if these players have a realistic shot at England they will hold out for that, just like Akpom was doing all this while. Now that he's useless and playing in a useless league where he's still not shining he now turns to Nigeria. Aren't you embarrassed that a striker who could only muster 6 goals in the useless Greek league in an entire season feels he deserves to be called to a National team, talk less of our National team simply because he's now 'chosen' us. To me that's a slap in the face, when you were hot you didn't want us, now you are extra sub zero you now talking as if you are entitled to a place on the SE team. Shouldn't he rather focus on improving his game so the NT's he's eligible for can now be fight to have him (like a Tammy Abraham etc)?

Unlike you, I'm not excited about every tom d#$% and harry with Nigerian blood in them feeling they deserve a place on our NT simply because they were trained in England, regardless of their current form. ATEOTD current form is what we should be using to pick players for SE not where they were born or trying to cap them ahead of other countries who could care less. This is a dangerous precedent being set here if Rohr is forced to chose this player simply because he's filed papers. Apart from filing papers you actually have to DESERVE to make our NT, what has he done that he deserves such an honor?

[Bigpokey24]

Scoring a whopping 6 goals in the Greek league is good enough for an SE call? Mschew....

Not necessarily.
For me this story is of a slightly different significance: we might be witnessing the early rumblings of an avalanche of Nigerian talent around the world opting to play for the SE.

Nigerian talent is in abundance around the world, and believe me, it is actually increasing.
You just need to take a look at the youth ranks of the top teams in western Europe.
Even the England national youth teams are spiced with a healthy dose of Nigerian names.

It is just occurring to me now that of all the footballing nations of the world (ie countries that have football as their primary sport) Nigerian might be the most populous.
So this is not going to slow down any time soon and there will not be enough transformers for those who have a problem with it.

You mean an avalanche of below average Nigerian talent abi? Then I agree with you...but how does that help SE?

I know you are a bit cynical but youve got to get past that.
If as I am suggesting, there will be an increasing interest in playing for Nigeria from eligible players abroad, it stands to reason that the quality of players will rise rather than sink.
Make no mistake, there are hundreds of Nigerians playing in the lower leagues right now that cannot even dream of being called up.

I said it a couple of years ago that with all his potential, Alex Iwobi signing for Nigeria would be a game-changer. If it turned out that his career did not suffer for making that decision, then expect it to start with a trickle and then a wave. The fact that players are hanging out for an England call has only minimal significance. England's needs and Nigeria's needs are not necessarily the same.

For instance, I was listening to Joe Cole a few days ago on TV and he spoke about how England has traditionally not given enough recognition to their more naturally gifted players like Hoddle, Le Tissier and of course himself because they were seen as "luxury'' players.

So I doubt players like JJ Okoha or Kanu would have made the England team in their day for that simple reason.

Don't be so negative. It's all good.

I'm not being cynical, I'm being realistic. You are acting like Iwobi was such a special case, the bobo was born in Nigeria and the nephew of a Nigerian soccer legend, its not such a shocking thing he chose Nigeria. Also English born players have been choosing Nigerian way before Iwobi (from Efan Ekoku to Ameobi to Moses before Iwobi), so what exactly makes his choice so special?

The truth is if these players have a realistic shot at England they will hold out for that, just like Akpom was doing all this while. Now that he's useless and playing in a useless league where he's still not shining he now turns to Nigeria. Aren't you embarrassed that a striker who could only muster 6 goals in the useless Greek league in an entire season feels he deserves to be called to a National team, talk less of our National team simply because he's now 'chosen' us. To me that's a slap in the face, when you were hot you didn't want us, now you are extra sub zero you now talking as if you are entitled to a place on the SE team. Shouldn't he rather focus on improving his game so the NT's he's eligible for can now be fight to have him (like a Tammy Abraham etc)?

Unlike you, I'm not excited about every tom d#$% and harry with Nigerian blood in them feeling they deserve a place on our NT simply because they were trained in England, regardless of their current form. ATEOTD current form is what we should be using to pick players for SE not where they were born or trying to cap them ahead of other countries who could care less. This is a dangerous precedent being set here if Rohr is forced to chose this player simply because he's filed papers. Apart from filing papers you actually have to DESERVE to make our NT, what has he done that he deserves such an honor?

Finally Mace has seen that damunk really isn't smart, the fact he has a mod title has bamboozled so many folks on this forum, this last few month i have come to realize bobo and Odas are both struggling intellectually to figure out who is slower..My goodness all of a sudden if you are from the UK it means you are a top class player.."Akpom or whatever plays in the same league Ideye plays.

in Damunk's head the only reason you need to play from the SE if you are based in England is just about being born in England ...we should start capping Nigerians born in Luxembourg too

[Otitokoro]

I hear the arguements from both Maceo and Damunk and they are both valid. However, there is merit to what Damunk is saying, as it seems that (if Owngoal is to believed at all) there may be up to four (4) new players switching their allegiances. I suspect Ademola Lookman and one of the German kids might be amongst them.
Looks like has taken the more resonable approach to work in the background and finalizing the switches before going public.

Source
Chuba Akpom, Three Others Sign Switch Of Allegiance Document To Represent Nigeria
September 25, 201901

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Former England youth international Chuba Akpom isn’t the only player who has agreed to switch his international allegiance to Nigeria after appearing for another country at youth level, Owngoalnigeria.com can exclusively reveal.

Akpom confirmed in an interview that he has signed the document which will enable him represent Nigeria at senior level after playing for England at various youth levels.

The PAOK striker is however not the only player who has agreed to switch his nationality to Nigeria as three others have also signed off the papers and just like Akpom they are waiting for the green light from FIFA to complete the switch.

” Akpom isn’t the only one, three others have also agreed to play for Nigeria. Infact two of them initially turned down the chance to represent us last year but they are ready this year and very soon they will have the necessary documents to enable them play for Nigeria “, a source told Owngoalnigeria.com.

DONT MISS ==> Golden Eaglet Thrash Guatemala In Second Game At Pre U17 World Cup Tourney
” At this stage we won’t be mentioning names because of the dicey nature of these switch but in the coming days their identity will be made public as we believe by then the switch would have been made official by FIFA “, he concluded.

[bret- hart]

I hear the arguements from both Maceo and Damunk and they are both valid. However, there is merit to what Damunk is saying, as it seems that (if Owngoal is to believed at all) there may be up to four (4) new players switching their allegiances. I suspect Ademola Lookman and one of the German kids might be amongst them.
Looks like has taken the more resonable approach to work in the background and finalizing the switches before going public.

Source
Chuba Akpom, Three Others Sign Switch Of Allegiance Document To Represent Nigeria
September 25, 201901

Share Facebook Twitter Google+Save

Former England youth international Chuba Akpom isn’t the only player who has agreed to switch his international allegiance to Nigeria after appearing for another country at youth level, Owngoalnigeria.com can exclusively reveal.

Akpom confirmed in an interview that he has signed the document which will enable him represent Nigeria at senior level after playing for England at various youth levels.

The PAOK striker is however not the only player who has agreed to switch his nationality to Nigeria as three others have also signed off the papers and just like Akpom they are waiting for the green light from FIFA to complete the switch.

” Akpom isn’t the only one, three others have also agreed to play for Nigeria. Infact two of them initially turned down the chance to represent us last year but they are ready this year and very soon they will have the necessary documents to enable them play for Nigeria “, a source told Owngoalnigeria.com.

DONT MISS ==> Golden Eaglet Thrash Guatemala In Second Game At Pre U17 World Cup Tourney
” At this stage we won’t be mentioning names because of the dicey nature of these switch but in the coming days their identity will be made public as we believe by then the switch would have been made official by FIFA “, he concluded.

I suspect they are Ademola Lookman, Arthur Okonkwo and Sheyi Ojo

[maceo4]

I hear the arguements from both Maceo and Damunk and they are both valid. However, there is merit to what Damunk is saying, as it seems that (if Owngoal is to believed at all) there may be up to four (4) new players switching their allegiances. I suspect Ademola Lookman and one of the German kids might be amongst them.
Looks like has taken the more resonable approach to work in the background and finalizing the switches before going public.

Source
Chuba Akpom, Three Others Sign Switch Of Allegiance Document To Represent Nigeria
September 25, 201901

Share Facebook Twitter Google+Save

Former England youth international Chuba Akpom isn’t the only player who has agreed to switch his international allegiance to Nigeria after appearing for another country at youth level, Owngoalnigeria.com can exclusively reveal.

Akpom confirmed in an interview that he has signed the document which will enable him represent Nigeria at senior level after playing for England at various youth levels.

The PAOK striker is however not the only player who has agreed to switch his nationality to Nigeria as three others have also signed off the papers and just like Akpom they are waiting for the green light from FIFA to complete the switch.

” Akpom isn’t the only one, three others have also agreed to play for Nigeria. Infact two of them initially turned down the chance to represent us last year but they are ready this year and very soon they will have the necessary documents to enable them play for Nigeria “, a source told Owngoalnigeria.com.

DONT MISS ==> Golden Eaglet Thrash Guatemala In Second Game At Pre U17 World Cup Tourney
” At this stage we won’t be mentioning names because of the dicey nature of these switch but in the coming days their identity will be made public as we believe by then the switch would have been made official by FIFA “, he concluded.

I have no issue with players switching over to us, thats their prerogative. However, they just like every other eligible Nigerian player, they have to be deserving of a NT call based on their current form and not just as a reward for making the switch. If switching starts to equal an automatic call up then I'm not in support of all these players switching, as for the most part it will be players who stand no chance of making it on any other NT. Widening of the pool of players we have to choose from is a plus, but not at the expense of doing things in a fair and balanced way. The troubling thing in this Akpom story is he doesn't say anything about hoping his form would catch the eye of the Nigerian coach, he simply assumes him filing papers to switch entitles him to a spot on the team. That's why I'm so negative on this story, this is BAD not good for us going forward!

"Going to play abroad and in another league has helped me, but I hope to take my career to the next level with Nigeria."

Basically, my career is not going where I thought it would, so now I will like to use Nigeria to improve my fortunes, afterall they did it for the Iwobi's and Aina's that I used to play with...

[bushboy]

^^^
It is DEFINITELY not Lookman. If it was, he would have been mentioned. He isca bigger name than Chuba.

[EMIR KONGI JAFFI JOFFA]

^^^
It is DEFINITELY not Lookman. If it was, he would have been mentioned. He isca bigger name than Chuba.

Akpom can't even make our U23 team, only bigger names are Ejaria and Abraham. Definitly not Abraham since he already said he'll wait for till 2020 when England rejects him to join Nigeria. Maybe Tomori but he's also patiently waiting for the Queen's team to call him. Imho, Ejaria is all we need, the rest can go suck a lolly pop.

[bret- hart]

^^^
It is DEFINITELY not Lookman. If it was, he would have been mentioned. He isca bigger name than Chuba.

I cant imagine a player lower than Akpom in terms of name recognition turning us down. We all know Lookman turned Nigeria down last year and the NFF have been after him for a while. Also he isn't making the England squad anytime soon.

[Otitokoro]

The hightlighted in your statement is the over arching intent of this exercise. Creating DEPTH!
The equitability of the selection process will be determined by whoever the coach is.
Akpom never stated he expects to walk into the squad. He said it will be an honor for him to play for Nigeria IF selected. He is smart enough to realize that there are other prospective candidates he will have to contend with and I am pretty confident this will inspire him to step up his game.

I have no issue with players switching over to us, thats their prerogative. However, they just like every other eligible Nigerian player, they have to be deserving of a NT call based on their current form and not just as a reward for making the switch. If switching starts to equal an automatic call up then I'm not in support of all these players switching, as for the most part it will be players who stand no chance of making it on any other NT. Widening of the pool of players we have to choose from is a plus, but not at the expense of doing things in a fair and balanced way. The troubling thing in this Akpom story is he doesn't say anything about hoping his form would catch the eye of the Nigerian coach, he simply assumes him filing papers to switch entitles him to a spot on the team. That's why I'm so negative on this story, this is BAD not good for us going forward!

[cchinukw]

^^^
It is DEFINITELY not Lookman. If it was, he would have been mentioned. He isca bigger name than Chuba.

I really wonder about you man when you post this crap you just did there.

A bigger name than Chuba on what basis? The Daily Mail?

[EMIR KONGI JAFFI JOFFA]

^^^
It is DEFINITELY not Lookman. If it was, he would have been mentioned. He isca bigger name than Chuba.

I cant imagine a player lower than Akpom in terms of name recognition turning us down. We all know Lookman turned Nigeria down last year and the NFF have been after him for a while. Also he isn't making the England squad anytime soon.

Shattap dia. Ewu of the internet.

[maceo4]

The hightlighted in your statement is the over arching intent of this exercise. Creating DEPTH!
The equitability of the selection process will be determined by whoever the coach is.
Akpom never stated he expects to walk into the squad. He said it will be an honor for him to play for Nigeria IF selected. He is smart enough to realize that there are other prospective candidates he will have to contend with and I am pretty confident this will inspire him to step up his game.

I have no issue with players switching over to us, thats their prerogative. However, they just like every other eligible Nigerian player, they have to be deserving of a NT call based on their current form and not just as a reward for making the switch. If switching starts to equal an automatic call up then I'm not in support of all these players switching, as for the most part it will be players who stand no chance of making it on any other NT. Widening of the pool of players we have to choose from is a plus, but not at the expense of doing things in a fair and balanced way. The troubling thing in this Akpom story is he doesn't say anything about hoping his form would catch the eye of the Nigerian coach, he simply assumes him filing papers to switch entitles him to a spot on the team. That's why I'm so negative on this story, this is BAD not good for us going forward!

Ol boy, I didn't see any IF in the BBC story, maybe the bobo knows something we don't , like he was guaranteed a call up if he switched, lets see sha as of now we can all agree he doesn't deserve a call up.

[Damunk]

Scoring a whopping 6 goals in the Greek league is good enough for an SE call? Mschew....

Not necessarily.
For me this story is of a slightly different significance: we might be witnessing the early rumblings of an avalanche of Nigerian talent around the world opting to play for the SE.

Nigerian talent is in abundance around the world, and believe me, it is actually increasing.
You just need to take a look at the youth ranks of the top teams in western Europe.
Even the England national youth teams are spiced with a healthy dose of Nigerian names.

It is just occurring to me now that of all the footballing nations of the world (ie countries that have football as their primary sport) Nigerian might be the most populous.
So this is not going to slow down any time soon and there will not be enough transformers for those who have a problem with it.

You mean an avalanche of below average Nigerian talent abi? Then I agree with you...but how does that help SE?

I know you are a bit cynical but youve got to get past that.
If as I am suggesting, there will be an increasing interest in playing for Nigeria from eligible players abroad, it stands to reason that the quality of players will rise rather than sink.
Make no mistake, there are hundreds of Nigerians playing in the lower leagues right now that cannot even dream of being called up.

I said it a couple of years ago that with all his potential, Alex Iwobi signing for Nigeria would be a game-changer. If it turned out that his career did not suffer for making that decision, then expect it to start with a trickle and then a wave. The fact that players are hanging out for an England call has only minimal significance. England's needs and Nigeria's needs are not necessarily the same.

For instance, I was listening to Joe Cole a few days ago on TV and he spoke about how England has traditionally not given enough recognition to their more naturally gifted players like Hoddle, Le Tissier and of course himself because they were seen as "luxury'' players.

So I doubt players like JJ Okoha or Kanu would have made the England team in their day for that simple reason.

Don't be so negative. It's all good.

I'm not being cynical, I'm being realistic. You are acting like Iwobi was such a special case, the bobo was born in Nigeria and the nephew of a Nigerian soccer legend, its not such a shocking thing he chose Nigeria. Also English born players have been choosing Nigerian way before Iwobi (from Efan Ekoku to Ameobi to Moses before Iwobi), so what exactly makes his choice so special?

Iwobi is talented and if/when he achieves his full potential, can be world-class. But even with that, I am not saying his case is a ''special one" as you claim.
What I am saying is that his decision to play for Nigeria might have been that game-changer, in that here is a player with everything ahead of him, chose to play for Nigeria and nothing detrimental to his career has happened. Iwobi was also eligible to play for England and you might be aware that up to the minute he was about to step on the pitch for his Nigeria debut, the English FA were still trying to dissuade him from doing so.(Source: his own father)

But thats not even what is ''special".
What is significant is that his case would have been studied by many younger players in the same situation and over time more and more players will find they have little to lose by making a similar choice especially when it eventually dawns on them that they might not make the England team. Not because they are not good enough, but because there are various factors that go into choosing a national team player.
It makes the choice easier for them.

The truth is if these players have a realistic shot at England they will hold out for that, just like Akpom was doing all this while. Now that he's useless and playing in a useless league where he's still not shining he now turns to Nigeria.

'Realistic' will always be subjective.
I had 'realistic' chances of playing for England schoolboys as a 10-year-old but that was all in my head. I had no idea what other factors went into the decision.
Akpom is only now waking up to smell the coffee. As the tug of war continues, more and more players will come to the stark realization earlier. You can only play 11 players on the field at any one time and have 23 players in a tournament squad. I believe they are slowly beginning to realize that now.

Aren't you embarrassed that a striker who could only muster 6 goals in the useless Greek league in an entire season feels he deserves to be called to a National team, talk less of our National team simply because he's now 'chosen' us.

Of course I am but he is the one believing he is qualified, not the coach. Anyone can claim they are 'ready' but what does the coach think?
Gone are the days when we called up the likes of Danny Shittu and Olofinjana even though they had green and white blood in their veins. My point is people are free to make themselves available as much as they like, but that means jack if you are not good enough.
Besides, you can't stop them 'claiming'. But national team places are won on merit, not on IG or tweeter pages.

To me that's a slap in the face, when you were hot you didn't want us, now you are extra sub zero you now talking as if you are entitled to a place on the SE team. Shouldn't he rather focus on improving his game so the NT's he's eligible for can now be fight to have him (like a Tammy Abraham etc)?

Like I said, thats his problem, not ours.
If however he actually is better than anything we have, thats another story. But he isn't IMHO.
Even Onyekuru is struggling to get a place on the team as things are. Same with Iheanacho. Same with Onuachu. So he isn't going to leapfrog them just because he declares himself ''ready''.

Unlike you, I'm not excited about every tom d#$% and harry with Nigerian blood in them feeling they deserve a place on our NT simply because they were trained in England, regardless of their current form.

I m not sure why you are saying this as it is obviously untrue. Maybe it's just your way of having a dig at me out of your frustration with something or someone else. But I do not get excited over mediocre players and if there was anyone that yabbed players like Danny Shittu and Olofinjana it was me. Even Efan Ekoku wasn't exactly a favorite of mine and all the while I thought he was a FB Nigerian but it turns out he was born in Naija.
So don't misrepresent my position just to make your point. I'd like to believe its a genuine mistake you are making rather than manufacturing fabu.

ATEOTD current form is what we should be using to pick players for SE not where they were born or trying to cap them ahead of other countries who could care less. This is a dangerous precedent being set here if Rohr is forced to chose this player simply because he's filed papers. Apart from filing papers you actually have to DESERVE to make our NT, what has he done that he deserves such an honor?

So here's the thing: nobody has invited him and there isn't any indication he will be invited any time soon.
You have jumped from his own self-promotion to getting upset about him being invited to the SE.
If that's not a panic attack you are having (and may I say, understandably so), then I don't know what is.

Calm down. Right now, he is surplus to requirements IMHO.

[maceo4]

Scoring a whopping 6 goals in the Greek league is good enough for an SE call? Mschew....

Not necessarily.
For me this story is of a slightly different significance: we might be witnessing the early rumblings of an avalanche of Nigerian talent around the world opting to play for the SE.

Nigerian talent is in abundance around the world, and believe me, it is actually increasing.
You just need to take a look at the youth ranks of the top teams in western Europe.
Even the England national youth teams are spiced with a healthy dose of Nigerian names.

It is just occurring to me now that of all the footballing nations of the world (ie countries that have football as their primary sport) Nigerian might be the most populous.
So this is not going to slow down any time soon and there will not be enough transformers for those who have a problem with it.

You mean an avalanche of below average Nigerian talent abi? Then I agree with you...but how does that help SE?

I know you are a bit cynical but youve got to get past that.
If as I am suggesting, there will be an increasing interest in playing for Nigeria from eligible players abroad, it stands to reason that the quality of players will rise rather than sink.
Make no mistake, there are hundreds of Nigerians playing in the lower leagues right now that cannot even dream of being called up.

I said it a couple of years ago that with all his potential, Alex Iwobi signing for Nigeria would be a game-changer. If it turned out that his career did not suffer for making that decision, then expect it to start with a trickle and then a wave. The fact that players are hanging out for an England call has only minimal significance. England's needs and Nigeria's needs are not necessarily the same.

For instance, I was listening to Joe Cole a few days ago on TV and he spoke about how England has traditionally not given enough recognition to their more naturally gifted players like Hoddle, Le Tissier and of course himself because they were seen as "luxury'' players.

So I doubt players like JJ Okoha or Kanu would have made the England team in their day for that simple reason.

Don't be so negative. It's all good.

I'm not being cynical, I'm being realistic. You are acting like Iwobi was such a special case, the bobo was born in Nigeria and the nephew of a Nigerian soccer legend, its not such a shocking thing he chose Nigeria. Also English born players have been choosing Nigerian way before Iwobi (from Efan Ekoku to Ameobi to Moses before Iwobi), so what exactly makes his choice so special?

Iwobi is talented and if/when he achieves his full potential, can be world-class. But even with that, I am not saying his case is a ''special one" as you claim.
What I am saying is that his decision to play for Nigeria might have been that game-changer, in that here is a player with everything ahead of him, chose to play for Nigeria and nothing detrimental to his career has happened. Iwobi was also eligible to play for England and you might be aware that up to the minute he was about to step on the pitch for his Nigeria debut, the English FA were still trying to dissuade him from doing so.(Source: his own father)

But thats not even what is ''special".
What is significant is that his case would have been studied by many younger players in the same situation and over time more and more players will find they have little to lose by making a similar choice especially when it eventually dawns on them that they might not make the England team. Not because they are not good enough, but because there are various factors that go into choosing a national team player.
It makes the choice easier for them.

The truth is if these players have a realistic shot at England they will hold out for that, just like Akpom was doing all this while. Now that he's useless and playing in a useless league where he's still not shining he now turns to Nigeria.

'Realistic' will always be subjective.
I had 'realistic' chances of playing for England schoolboys as a 10-year-old but that was all in my head. I had no idea what other factors went into the decision.
Akpom is only now waking up to smell the coffee. As the tug of war continues, more and more players will come to the stark realization earlier. You can only play 11 players on the field at any one time and have 23 players in a tournament squad. I believe they are slowly beginning to realize that now.

Aren't you embarrassed that a striker who could only muster 6 goals in the useless Greek league in an entire season feels he deserves to be called to a National team, talk less of our National team simply because he's now 'chosen' us.

Of course I am but he is the one believing he is qualified, not the coach. Anyone can claim they are 'ready' but what does the coach think?
Gone are the days when we called up the likes of Danny Shittu and Olofinjana even though they had green and white blood in their veins. My point is people are free to make themselves available as much as they like, but that means jack if you are not good enough.
Besides, you can't stop them 'claiming'. But national team places are won on merit, not on IG or tweeter pages.

To me that's a slap in the face, when you were hot you didn't want us, now you are extra sub zero you now talking as if you are entitled to a place on the SE team. Shouldn't he rather focus on improving his game so the NT's he's eligible for can now be fight to have him (like a Tammy Abraham etc)?

Like I said, thats his problem, not ours.
If however he actually is better than anything we have, thats another story. But he isn't IMHO.
Even Onyekuru is struggling to get a place on the team as things are. Same with Iheanacho. Same with Onuachu. So he isn't going to leapfrog them just because he declares himself ''ready''.

Unlike you, I'm not excited about every tom d#$% and harry with Nigerian blood in them feeling they deserve a place on our NT simply because they were trained in England, regardless of their current form.

I m not sure why you are saying this as it is obviously untrue. Maybe it's just your way of having a dig at me out of your frustration with something or someone else. But I do not get excited over mediocre players and if there was anyone that yabbed players like Danny Shittu and Olofinjana it was me. Even Efan Ekoku wasn't exactly a favorite of mine and all the while I thought he was a FB Nigerian but it turns out he was born in Naija.
So don't misrepresent my position just to make your point. I'd like to believe its a genuine mistake you are making rather than manufacturing fabu.

ATEOTD current form is what we should be using to pick players for SE not where they were born or trying to cap them ahead of other countries who could care less. This is a dangerous precedent being set here if Rohr is forced to chose this player simply because he's filed papers. Apart from filing papers you actually have to DESERVE to make our NT, what has he done that he deserves such an honor?

So here's the thing: nobody has invited him and there isn't any indication he will be invited any time soon.
You have jumped from his own self-promotion to getting upset about him being invited to the SE.
If that's not a panic attack you are having (and may I say, understandably so), then I don't know what is.

Calm down. Right now, he is surplus to requirements IMHO.

I am calm , as long as we all agree he doesn't deserve a call up currently and oga **** doesn't pull some BS and call him, then I might need you to prescribe me some panic attack meds lol

[Damunk]

I am calm , as long as we all agree he doesn't deserve a call up currently and oga **** doesn't pull some BS and call him, then I might need you to prescribe me some panic attack meds lol

Maceo4, I have your back any day.
Nuttin do you and na laff we go dey laff when Osimhen, Kalu, Chukwueze and Iwobi begin to terrorize the world's best defenses.
Akpom no enter chart.