Cybereagles

smartbrother wrote:He was the top defender based on which metrics? Lol
How does your being in the stadium change awaziems performance on that day?

Pls point to the exact moments he 'saved our behinds' as you claim
Compare the number of crucial interventions he made with those made by ekong and tell me how he was our best defender

I've noticed people here often take subjective opinions as dress them up as fact until you challenge them for actual evidence
I personally have no issue with his miskicks and mistakes on that day .
That was probably down to nerves
The problem I have is his aerial weakness
Weaknesses like that mean our opponents can score without doing anything special
All they need to do is cross into the box as often as possible.

a good defence is one that requires an exceptional piece of play to beat
Notice how we never concede cheap goals from open play when ekong and balogun are on the pitch . Even when useless echejile is playing at left back

Now awaziem in a 3 man defence is a different matter
Against Argentina I would argue he was our most intelligent defender
In a flat back four best I would take any combination of ekong balogun and omeruo before looking his way

Bros,

I was not in the stadium. You may have misread what I wrote.

I assume we are both reporting how we saw the game, which means that they are by definition subjective. However, if you require exact moments, I actually keep those for some games (not all). In the South Africa game, I recorded those moments and particularly in the opening half. However, do you keep them to arrive at the fact that Ekong was better on that day? If you did, could you answer your own question by providing them?

BTW, one correction. I had stated that Awaziem was best Nigerian defender on that day. That is inaccurate. I looked back at my match sheet and the best was Shehu but Awaziem did better than Ekong.

Ayo Akinfe wrote:

chief nfachairman wrote:

mystic wrote:

Ayo Akinfe wrote:

Gotti wrote:

Shownoja wrote:We can flip to the positive and hope they all have a barnstorming end to their seasons, even though both Balogun and Troost did not make the matchday squads this week. Don't know about their situations with injuries though.

Balogun had hand surgery....
While Troost-Ekong came off injured in the 2H of their 2-0 Turkish Cup victory on Wednesday.

Meanwhile, watched Awaziem as well, and he had an even better game against Monaco on Wednesday. Today, he twice turned the ball over in potentially dangerous situations and turned his back on the shot that came off the bar which could have given St. Etienne an early lead. Nonetheless, he continues to improve with each game and IMHO I believe that playing for the SE has raised his confidence level.

Thanks for the analysis Gotti. As ever, you have highlighted his shortcomings, which we should look out for. I find it tiring when people just shrine players without looking at their weaknesses and the potential pitfalls.

From what you have highlighted here, Awaziem could become a weak link, which opposing teams exploit. No doubt, the Argentine, Croatian and Islandic coaches will be taking note of these weaknesses.

For depth, I hope Rohr has not given up on Uduokhai and Akpoguma yet. They may be needed.

Ayo,

My guess is that Uduokhai and Akpoguma are long term targets for Rohr and the NFF. Now of course, if one of them pops before the World Cup, that will be a bonus but the pitch to have them commit to Nigeria is as much about the future as it is about the present.

Please, we need to slow down with Foreign grown Nigerians flooding the SE, FE and even GE.

Why? Do you not see the way France uses the remnants of its empire to man its team?

Imagine where DR Congo would be in world football today if it could get all of its diasporans to play for its national team. With globalisation, the disapora is now a reality of world football.

As per France, these are players that were either born in France or grew up in France.

But in NIgeria, we are filling up the National team with FOriegn Raised Nigerians, to the detriment of 200m Nigerians based in Nigeria as against the 10m Nigerians in Diaspora. I have an issue with it and Nigerians here are beginning to talk about this

chief nfachairman wrote:But in NIgeria, we are filling up the National team with FOriegn Raised Nigerians, to the detriment of 200m Nigerians based in Nigeria as against the 10m Nigerians in Diaspora. I have an issue with it and Nigerians here are beginning to talk about this

Keyword: Nigerians.

The best Nigerians should be selected - the only criteria is that they're Nigerians. Nothing more.

Besides, if you do a breakdown of the players who qualified for the World Cup you'll find the vast majority were born in Nigeria. There's no issue here.

chief nfachairman wrote:

Ayo Akinfe wrote:

chief nfachairman wrote:

mystic wrote:

Ayo Akinfe wrote:

Gotti wrote:

Shownoja wrote:We can flip to the positive and hope they all have a barnstorming end to their seasons, even though both Balogun and Troost did not make the matchday squads this week. Don't know about their situations with injuries though.

Balogun had hand surgery....
While Troost-Ekong came off injured in the 2H of their 2-0 Turkish Cup victory on Wednesday.

Meanwhile, watched Awaziem as well, and he had an even better game against Monaco on Wednesday. Today, he twice turned the ball over in potentially dangerous situations and turned his back on the shot that came off the bar which could have given St. Etienne an early lead. Nonetheless, he continues to improve with each game and IMHO I believe that playing for the SE has raised his confidence level.

Thanks for the analysis Gotti. As ever, you have highlighted his shortcomings, which we should look out for. I find it tiring when people just shrine players without looking at their weaknesses and the potential pitfalls.

From what you have highlighted here, Awaziem could become a weak link, which opposing teams exploit. No doubt, the Argentine, Croatian and Islandic coaches will be taking note of these weaknesses.

For depth, I hope Rohr has not given up on Uduokhai and Akpoguma yet. They may be needed.

Ayo,

My guess is that Uduokhai and Akpoguma are long term targets for Rohr and the NFF. Now of course, if one of them pops before the World Cup, that will be a bonus but the pitch to have them commit to Nigeria is as much about the future as it is about the present.

Please, we need to slow down with Foreign grown Nigerians flooding the SE, FE and even GE.

Why? Do you not see the way France uses the remnants of its empire to man its team?

Imagine where DR Congo would be in world football today if it could get all of its diasporans to play for its national team. With globalisation, the disapora is now a reality of world football.

As per France, these are players that were either born in France or grew up in France.

But in NIgeria, we are filling up the National team with FOriegn Raised Nigerians, to the detriment of 200m Nigerians based in Nigeria as against the 10m Nigerians in Diaspora. I have an issue with it and Nigerians here are beginning to talk about this

I tire for you oooo. So foreign-raised Nigerians are no longer Nigerians?

Let anyone say what they want. We will pick our best 23 players, wherever they were born or raised. Xenophobia manifests itself in numerous ways!

The YeyeMan wrote:

chief nfachairman wrote:But in NIgeria, we are filling up the National team with FOriegn Raised Nigerians, to the detriment of 200m Nigerians based in Nigeria as against the 10m Nigerians in Diaspora. I have an issue with it and Nigerians here are beginning to talk about this

Keyword: Nigerians.

The best Nigerians should be selected - the only criteria is that they're Nigerians. Nothing more.

Besides, if you do a breakdown of the players who qualified for the World Cup you'll find the vast majority were born in Nigeria. There's no issue here.

And in the not so distant future, 23 of the players representing Nigeria would not have ever set foot in NIgeria or cant even speak their local dialects

chief nfachairman wrote:

The YeyeMan wrote:

chief nfachairman wrote:But in NIgeria, we are filling up the National team with FOriegn Raised Nigerians, to the detriment of 200m Nigerians based in Nigeria as against the 10m Nigerians in Diaspora. I have an issue with it and Nigerians here are beginning to talk about this

Keyword: Nigerians.

The best Nigerians should be selected - the only criteria is that they're Nigerians. Nothing more.

Besides, if you do a breakdown of the players who qualified for the World Cup you'll find the vast majority were born in Nigeria. There's no issue here.

And in the not so distant future, 23 of the players representing Nigeria would not have ever set foot in NIgeria or cant even speak their local dialects

You better go and open an academy to prevent that then

I think people are judging Yobo on the final 1-2 years of his career. He was an excellent player in his early years at Everton. Age subdued his performances (as it does to all players) but he was an excellent player in his prime.

Damunk wrote:

Ayo Akinfe wrote:Whether Akpoguma joins the Eagles is vital. With Ekong, Balogun, Omeruo and Awaziem, we have a little depth although none of them are world class like Taribo, Keshi and Yobo.

To be honest, our only real problem now is in the playmaker position. We need one before the season ends.

Not many would describe Yobo as 'world class' - apart from 1Naira.
Decent at best.
Too many brain farts for a 'world class' defender.

But he's a great guy.

Enugu II wrote:

smartbrother wrote:He was the top defender based on which metrics? Lol
How does your being in the stadium change awaziems performance on that day?

Pls point to the exact moments he 'saved our behinds' as you claim
Compare the number of crucial interventions he made with those made by ekong and tell me how he was our best defender

I've noticed people here often take subjective opinions as dress them up as fact until you challenge them for actual evidence
I personally have no issue with his miskicks and mistakes on that day .
That was probably down to nerves
The problem I have is his aerial weakness
Weaknesses like that mean our opponents can score without doing anything special
All they need to do is cross into the box as often as possible.

a good defence is one that requires an exceptional piece of play to beat
Notice how we never concede cheap goals from open play when ekong and balogun are on the pitch . Even when useless echejile is playing at left back

Now awaziem in a 3 man defence is a different matter
Against Argentina I would argue he was our most intelligent defender
In a flat back four best I would take any combination of ekong balogun and omeruo before looking his way

Bros,

I was not in the stadium. You may have misread what I wrote.

I assume we are both reporting how we saw the game, which means that they are by definition subjective. However, if you require exact moments, I actually keep those for some games (not all). In the South Africa game, I recorded those moments and particularly in the opening half. However, do you keep them to arrive at the fact that Ekong was better on that day? If you did, could you answer your own question by providing them?

BTW, one correction. I had stated that Awaziem was best Nigerian defender on that day. That is inaccurate. I looked back at my match sheet and the best was Shehu but Awaziem did better than Ekong.

Smartbrother is too funny. According to him, 'people here often take subjective opinions as dress them up as fact until you challenge them for actual evidence'.

He blamed Awaziem for South Africa's first goal, a popular and subjective opinion on here, that does not stand up to the facts. I now bring up the actual evidence of the series of events that led to the goal. I guess I can humbly state that those are the facts. So in this case, your own words ensnare you.

Now you want to ask about Opta stats for the entire game. Well, I don't have it, but based on my recollection, Awaziem saved us a number of times, when Bafana had cut through our defense.

I mention that I was in the stadium, because a lot of people around me were mentioning that Echiejile was out of gas in the 2nd half, and shortly after he decided to lie down and look for a cheap foul, which left the entire defense is 6s & 7s and directly led to the goal.

Anyway, no problem. Awaziem is a quality addition to the team. Something to be excited about, and he will definitely be needed, as we'll need a deep team to go far. Personally, I think we are set in Central Defense with Balogun, Ekong, Awaziem and Omeruo. I have not seen Agbo, and since Rohr has not deemed it necessary to play him thus far, I doubt that he will make the team, but you never know.

wiseone wrote:I think people are judging Yobo on the final 1-2 years of his career. He was an excellent player in his early years at Everton. Age subdued his performances (as it does to all players) but he was an excellent player in his prime.

Damunk wrote:

Ayo Akinfe wrote:Whether Akpoguma joins the Eagles is vital. With Ekong, Balogun, Omeruo and Awaziem, we have a little depth although none of them are world class like Taribo, Keshi and Yobo.

To be honest, our only real problem now is in the playmaker position. We need one before the season ends.

Not many would describe Yobo as 'world class' - apart from 1Naira.
Decent at best.
Too many brain farts for a 'world class' defender.


But he's a great guy.

You have a point. And I looked back at his time at Marseille and he was fantastic in a back 3. Maybe he was just not comfortable enough in a back 2.

but to call Yobo world class is just plain lie. he was never world class. Do you know what world class means??? Maldini, Cannavaro, Baresi, Matheus, Sammer, Nesta, Puyol, Taribo West, Osei Kuffour, bro.... was Yobo ever in his career at that level??

I see the low life bigot is on the loose again. shame that this ugly rodent with deformed front teeth cant be put out of his miserable existence.

Ayo Akinfe wrote:

chief nfachairman wrote:

The YeyeMan wrote:

chief nfachairman wrote:But in NIgeria, we are filling up the National team with FOriegn Raised Nigerians, to the detriment of 200m Nigerians based in Nigeria as against the 10m Nigerians in Diaspora. I have an issue with it and Nigerians here are beginning to talk about this

Keyword: Nigerians.

The best Nigerians should be selected - the only criteria is that they're Nigerians. Nothing more.

Besides, if you do a breakdown of the players who qualified for the World Cup you'll find the vast majority were born in Nigeria. There's no issue here.

And in the not so distant future, 23 of the players representing Nigeria would not have ever set foot in NIgeria or cant even speak their local dialects

You better go and open an academy to prevent that then

I am. I have a local clubside here on the Island but i have told the coaches to start bringing in younger boys, real 15yr old boys (not the ones I have now that are 16 but did Waec 14yrs ago). So i am transforming the club to an Academy. And if we do well in the World Cup, I don blow be dat

danfo driver wrote:I see the low life bigot is on the loose again. shame that this ugly rodent with deformed front teeth cant be put out of his miserable existence.

Bobrisky my guy/ bi!tch,
How you doing?

Incase you no longer have anal control and can't control whatever comes out of it, i recommend this

chief nfachairman wrote:

Ayo Akinfe wrote:

chief nfachairman wrote:

The YeyeMan wrote:

chief nfachairman wrote:But in NIgeria, we are filling up the National team with FOriegn Raised Nigerians, to the detriment of 200m Nigerians based in Nigeria as against the 10m Nigerians in Diaspora. I have an issue with it and Nigerians here are beginning to talk about this

Keyword: Nigerians.

The best Nigerians should be selected - the only criteria is that they're Nigerians. Nothing more.

Besides, if you do a breakdown of the players who qualified for the World Cup you'll find the vast majority were born in Nigeria. There's no issue here.

And in the not so distant future, 23 of the players representing Nigeria would not have ever set foot in NIgeria or cant even speak their local dialects

You better go and open an academy to prevent that then

I am. I have a local clubside here on the Island but i have told the coaches to start bringing in younger boys, real 15yr old boys (not the ones I have now that are 16 but did Waec 14yrs ago). So i am transforming the club to an Academy. And if we do well in the World Cup, I don blow be dat

Until your players come through, we are happy using our diasporans abeg. You have to learn to live with the realities of changing demographics!

Ayo Akinfe wrote:

chief nfachairman wrote:

Ayo Akinfe wrote:

chief nfachairman wrote:

The YeyeMan wrote:

chief nfachairman wrote:But in NIgeria, we are filling up the National team with FOriegn Raised Nigerians, to the detriment of 200m Nigerians based in Nigeria as against the 10m Nigerians in Diaspora. I have an issue with it and Nigerians here are beginning to talk about this

Keyword: Nigerians.

The best Nigerians should be selected - the only criteria is that they're Nigerians. Nothing more.

Besides, if you do a breakdown of the players who qualified for the World Cup you'll find the vast majority were born in Nigeria. There's no issue here.

And in the not so distant future, 23 of the players representing Nigeria would not have ever set foot in NIgeria or cant even speak their local dialects

You better go and open an academy to prevent that then

I am. I have a local clubside here on the Island but i have told the coaches to start bringing in younger boys, real 15yr old boys (not the ones I have now that are 16 but did Waec 14yrs ago). So i am transforming the club to an Academy. And if we do well in the World Cup, I don blow be dat

Until your players come through, we are happy using our diasporans abeg. You have to learn to live with the realities of changing demographics!

In whatever we do especially when there is diversity, we must have balance. In Naija, at the sports bars, joints, viewing centers etc, people are beginning to talk about the influx of Foreign born Nigerians in the National team. If we do not balance it, it would become an issue.

Only some very few years ago, we had the battle of foreign based vs Homebased. Now its Diaspora Foreign based vs Nigeria foreign based vs Homebased.

A team of 23 players that dont even know where Lagos is on the map is NOT a full representation of Nigeria

smartbrother wrote:

Ayo Akinfe wrote:Given how Balogun struggles for pace, will Rohr be bold enough to play Awaziem in his place in a back four? Balogun is our rock at the back but I worry about how he got done for pace by quick Argentine strikers.

the last time ROhr made that mistake we conceded cheap goals vs Southafrica
Awaziem is weak in the air.
Believe me the defensive solidity we take for granted will be jeopardized if we play Awaziem in a back four

My bro, you are wrong on that one. One of Awaziem's strengths is his ariel ability.

chief nfachairman wrote:

Ayo Akinfe wrote:

chief nfachairman wrote:

Ayo Akinfe wrote:

chief nfachairman wrote:

The YeyeMan wrote:

chief nfachairman wrote:But in NIgeria, we are filling up the National team with FOriegn Raised Nigerians, to the detriment of 200m Nigerians based in Nigeria as against the 10m Nigerians in Diaspora. I have an issue with it and Nigerians here are beginning to talk about this

Keyword: Nigerians.

The best Nigerians should be selected - the only criteria is that they're Nigerians. Nothing more.

Besides, if you do a breakdown of the players who qualified for the World Cup you'll find the vast majority were born in Nigeria. There's no issue here.

And in the not so distant future, 23 of the players representing Nigeria would not have ever set foot in NIgeria or cant even speak their local dialects

You better go and open an academy to prevent that then

I am. I have a local clubside here on the Island but i have told the coaches to start bringing in younger boys, real 15yr old boys (not the ones I have now that are 16 but did Waec 14yrs ago). So i am transforming the club to an Academy. And if we do well in the World Cup, I don blow be dat

Until your players come through, we are happy using our diasporans abeg. You have to learn to live with the realities of changing demographics!

In whatever we do especially when there is diversity, we must have balance. In Naija, at the sports bars, joints, viewing centers etc, people are beginning to talk about the influx of Foreign born Nigerians in the National team. If we do not balance it, it would become an issue.

Only some very few years ago, we had the battle of foreign based vs Homebased. Now its Diaspora Foreign based vs Nigeria foreign based vs Homebased.

A team of 23 players that dont even know where Lagos is on the map is NOT a full representation of Nigeria

Tell them that is the reality of the 21st century. If they want to reverse it then they have to start producing better local players. Simple and straightforward!

chief nfachairman wrote:A team of 23 players that dont even know where Lagos is on the map is NOT a full representation of Nigeria

You're inventing fables now.

Can the 35 year old men masking as 14 year olds in your academy place Lagos on a map sef?

The YeyeMan wrote:

chief nfachairman wrote:A team of 23 players that dont even know where Lagos is on the map is NOT a full representation of Nigeria

You're inventing fables now.

Can the 35 year old men masking as 14 year olds in your academy place Lagos on a map sef?

i am not inventing nada. I wonder if Jordan Aibay knows where West Africa is.

You see, if i have to keep begging you to play for "your country", then there is a problem somewhere while people like people like Orji Okonkwo in Bologna are saying they would keep scoring until they get Rohr's attention.

chief nfachairman wrote:

The YeyeMan wrote:

chief nfachairman wrote:But in NIgeria, we are filling up the National team with FOriegn Raised Nigerians, to the detriment of 200m Nigerians based in Nigeria as against the 10m Nigerians in Diaspora. I have an issue with it and Nigerians here are beginning to talk about this

Keyword: Nigerians.

The best Nigerians should be selected - the only criteria is that they're Nigerians. Nothing more.

Besides, if you do a breakdown of the players who qualified for the World Cup you'll find the vast majority were born in Nigeria. There's no issue here.

And in the not so distant future, 23 of the players representing Nigeria would not have ever set foot in Nigeria or cant even speak their local dialects

And whose fault it that? While you are at it, send word to the 'real Nigerians' who speak the local dialects and what not to also reject the annual $20 to $30 billion in diaspora remittances sent by the 'fake Nigerians'. The point is na sun wey make crayfish bend which is why the 'fake Nigerians' left the country in search of greener pastures. Ironically, poor opportunities for football development on ground in naija will result in more recruitment overseas and justifiably so. If folks are concerned in naija, they should fix our football on ground. Until then, the SE coaches will have to keep spreading their nets far and wide given our best materials do not all operate in Nigeria.

chief nfachairman wrote:You see, if i have to keep begging you to play for "your country", then there is a problem somewhere while people like people like Orji Okonkwo in Bologna are saying they would keep scoring until they get Rohr's attention.

The problem you have is that you call it begging. There's not a single Nigerian player born overseas who has been begged to play for Nigeria. They're sounded out, asked, and invited like everyone else. The only player who I can think of that has been "begged" to play - or on his case - finally turning up after declining invitations is Obafemi Martins. Place of birth: Lagos.

Dammy wrote:

smartbrother wrote:

Ayo Akinfe wrote:Given how Balogun struggles for pace, will Rohr be bold enough to play Awaziem in his place in a back four? Balogun is our rock at the back but I worry about how he got done for pace by quick Argentine strikers.

the last time ROhr made that mistake we conceded cheap goals vs Southafrica
Awaziem is weak in the air.
Believe me the defensive solidity we take for granted will be jeopardized if we play Awaziem in a back four

My bro, you are wrong on that one. One of Awaziem's strengths is his ariel ability.

Kpom! He wins a lot of headers and scores the occasional headed goal...

Gotti wrote:

Dammy wrote:

smartbrother wrote:

Ayo Akinfe wrote:Given how Balogun struggles for pace, will Rohr be bold enough to play Awaziem in his place in a back four? Balogun is our rock at the back but I worry about how he got done for pace by quick Argentine strikers.

the last time ROhr made that mistake we conceded cheap goals vs Southafrica
Awaziem is weak in the air.
Believe me the defensive solidity we take for granted will be jeopardized if we play Awaziem in a back four

My bro, you are wrong on that one. One of Awaziem's strengths is his ariel ability.

Kpom! He wins a lot of headers and scores the occasional headed goal...

Why don't we wait for the smart brother to bring up his objective moments where Awaziem missed headers? I sense we may have to wait a long time.

chief nfachairman wrote:

The YeyeMan wrote:

chief nfachairman wrote:A team of 23 players that dont even know where Lagos is on the map is NOT a full representation of Nigeria

You're inventing fables now.

Can the 35 year old men masking as 14 year olds in your academy place Lagos on a map sef?

i am not inventing nada. I wonder if Jordan Aibay knows where West Africa is.

You see, if i have to keep begging you to play for "your country", then there is a problem somewhere while people like people like Orji Okonkwo in Bologna are saying they would keep scoring until they get Rohr's attention.

Your xenophobia and bad belle for diasporans is starting to sound disgusting now. It comes across ads sheer malice and the attitude of someone with a bitter personal agenda who has a score to settle after an individual bad experience.

One of the main reasons why Nigerian players are finding it hard to get clubs in Europe is due to age cheating. Now, our diasporans solve that problem as when William Ekong says he is 24, we know he is not ready to retire like some of our home grown boys.

Have you also noticed how disciplined and professional our players have been since the influx of diasporans? There is no longer any of the silly bigmanism, vain showing off, arriving in camp late, bringing prostitutes into hotels, man-pass-man and that “Me, I no dey carry Nigeria for head” attitude.

Take it or leave it but the influx of diasporans is the best thing that has happened to Nigerian football over the last 20 years. Learn to live with the new reality or change countries!