'Zero Shots On Target' Is a Serious Discussion Point

[Damunk]

Inject Onyekuru (still has time to fully get fit for WC) and Nwakali into this squad, and this team will be a nightmare for most of your top teams this WC.

How did Nwakali enter this discussion for God's sake?

You dey ask kwesion like you no know hawa pipul? Abegi leave God out of this one o

God dey.

[smartbrother]

this is absurd
We have NO attacking midfield when Mikel is unavailable (and by the way Mikel cannot last >70 minutes when available)
and people don't think this is a problem?

instead we are clamouring for Joel Obi even though we already had about 5 similar "box to box midfield destroyers" - Ndidi, Onazi, Agu, Etebo,Ogu- in the team
What happens if Mikel gets injured on the eve of the WC

I hope Rohr doesn't bury his head in the sand on this one
Unlike Ayo Akinfe i don't think we can conjure up an AM of mikel's quality in 2 months .
But there's time to turn us into a collectively creative team through ball possession, intelligent passing and movement
Siasia showed this can be done: Dream Team 3 and Dream team IV (pre Mikel) had no creative AM per se but were creative teams
key to this is ability to keep the ball in midfield - something we struggle with at the moment

[smartbrother]

We still need to try out the likes of Onyekuru, Ajayi, and perhaps Sadiq Umar... we still have the friendly against England to make these corrections.

I'm a fan of Umar but he cannot correct the problem of zero shots on target
the problem is that without Mikel, we are a mediocre attacking side
none of these players you listed can fix that problem.
this issue was revealed in the 2-0 home defeat to Southafrica but Rohr has not yet addressed it
anyway I'm glad mikel is unavailable for this round of friendlies so he faces up to it
Ofcourse he might use the fact we managed to "win" the game against Poland as an excuse to continue burying his head in the sand

[pajimoh]

this is absurd
We have NO attacking midfield when Mikel is unavailable (and by the way Mikel cannot last >70 minutes when available)
and people don't think this is a problem?

instead we are clamouring for Joel Obi even though we already had about 5 similar "box to box midfield destroyers" - Ndidi, Onazi, Agu, Etebo,Ogu- in the team
What happens if Mikel gets injured on the eve of the WC

I hope Rohr doesn't bury his head in the sand on this one
Unlike Ayo Akinfe i don't think we can conjure up an AM of mikel's quality in 2 months .
But there's time to turn us into a collectively creative team through ball possession, intelligent passing and movement
Siasia showed this can be done: Dream Team 3 and Dream team IV (pre Mikel) had no creative AM per se but were creative teams
key to this is ability to keep the ball in midfield - something we struggle with at the moment

Again, toothless creativity when Mikel is not there is a problem. That has been the case over a few games.
Not hitting the target is a marksman issue. They had shots but their aim was off.
They've hit the target even when Mikel wasn't there and miss the target when Mikel is there. My point is it is unusual and NOT the norm for the SE not to hit the target once.
We did not make it to the wc by missing the target.

I

[Kabalega]

Wait do you guys even know what "shot on target" means? Because 0 shot on target is not an abberation. It actually happens.

Let me help you guys. Shot on target is a shot that either enters the goal, or would have entered the goal if it wasnt blocked. So, even a ball that hits the post or bar is NOT a shot on target. It has to be a shot inside the area of the bar/post.

Well, do you?
Where did you get that definition from?

There are many stats organizations but two primary ones with different definitions.

[Damunk]

Any new or revised views?
I've not watched the Nig-Serbia match yet but hear Ighalo was impressive...

[platinum]

Good thread Damunk. Nigeria tends to attack in one of two ways. Mikel playing the ball over the top to the point man or a speedster OR VM/Iwobi or whoever's playing the attack wing role ripping up the opponent. We didnt see any of that versus Poland or Serbia. VM didn't look like he wanted to be there.
I think the WC will see the intensity ratcheted up. I doubt we will fail to create like we have here this last week.

Like we had in 13 when we won the ANC, we will need Victor Moses and Mikel Obi to be the main creative fulcrums of this team. I really don't see anyone else up to the task. Ndidi is a midfield powerhouse but he isn't enough of a creative force. Iwobi is playing like a bad JJ Okocha which isn't a good thing, he needs to keep things simple. Onyekuru/Simon/Musa or whoever else may be funneled to the wings are lightweights. We will need to lean on VM and JMO. I really wish Iwobi can learn not play more smartly and my final hope for him is that the couple weeks of camping pre-WC will help him but he is playing for Nigeria like he does for Arsenal and that's not necessarily a great thing.

[Schillachi]

When people suggested onyekuru and Martins, my first instinct was to curse them out, but at this point, I won't mind having a look at them. I'm also for having a look at Enyeama

[platinum]

When people suggested onyekuru and Martins, my first instinct was to curse them out, but at this point, I won't mind having a look at them. I'm also for having a look at Enyeama

Onyekuru? That's a no brainer. He's a part of the future and should be a part of the present if healthy. He's one of Nigeria's finest players in Europe.

Martins? He's 33 with no upside. Musa already plays the Obi role. Our problem wasn't lack of bite in the central attacking role, it was a failure to create. Martins at his finest was never a creator. He thrived on movement, speed, and finishing.

Enyeama? Does he have a club? We did this in 98 with Rufai. Let's be a bit more professional this time.

[Schillachi]

When people suggested onyekuru and Martins, my first instinct was to curse them out, but at this point, I won't mind having a look at them. I'm also for having a look at Enyeama

Onyekuru? That's a no brainer. He's a part of the future and should be a part of the present if healthy. He's one of Nigeria's finest players in Europe.

Martins? He's 33 with no upside. Musa already plays the Obi role. Our problem wasn't lack of bite in the central attacking role, it was a failure to create. Martins at his finest was never a creator. He thrived on movement, speed, and finishing.

Enyeama? Does he have a club? We did this in 98 with Rufai. Let's be a bit more professional this time.

Lol.. so the current goalie fills you with excitement?

Enyeama was injured. He's back. Let's take a look..

[Schillachi]

We are sweet talking ourselves into ignoring the elephant in the room. We have a striking problem and that's the weakest link in the team at the moment. If Ighalo and Kelechi weren't being fed chances to score, they could have done their bit to take some pressure off the defence. Instead they played crap to put it bluntly. Ighalo made poor runs or didn't run at all on those wasted counter attacking opportunities. We could have played with 10 men to equal Kelechi's influence. We've beaten two good teams in friendlies but we need to keep our feet on the ground. At the WC, Aguero will not faint at half time and Lewandowski will stay on the pitch bleeding. We are sweet talking ourselves with the 6th ranked team talk. We didn't do well upfront yesterday, and didn't create much from open play. If we start counting setpieces and feel we did ok, then we need to start employing Big Sam and Tony Pulis tactics turning throw ins into corners and all.

We've always known we've not had a Yekini for a long time. That is not what this thread is about. No one is singing how prolific our strikers are/were.

We can't manufacture prolific strikers at this stage. We can only hope to discover one or two or a favorable pairing.

What this thread is about I having no shots on target in a game. Even with our goal shy strikers and as a team, is that the norm?

Not sure what you're saying, this is about shots on goal but not the guys playing closest to goal? Zero shots on target in a game is not a good thing, friendly or not.

Wait do you guys even know what "shot on target" means? Because 0 shot on target is not an abberation. It actually happens.

Let me help you guys. Shot on target is a shot that either enters the goal, or would have entered the goal if it wasnt blocked. So, even a ball that hits the post or bar is NOT a shot on target. It has to be a shot inside the area of the bar/post.

Lol, not sure why you think your definition make things better.

[platinum]

When people suggested onyekuru and Martins, my first instinct was to curse them out, but at this point, I won't mind having a look at them. I'm also for having a look at Enyeama

Onyekuru? That's a no brainer. He's a part of the future and should be a part of the present if healthy. He's one of Nigeria's finest players in Europe.

Martins? He's 33 with no upside. Musa already plays the Obi role. Our problem wasn't lack of bite in the central attacking role, it was a failure to create. Martins at his finest was never a creator. He thrived on movement, speed, and finishing.

Enyeama? Does he have a club? We did this in 98 with Rufai. Let's be a bit more professional this time.

Lol.. so the current goalie fills you with excitement?

Enyeama was injured. He's back. Let's take a look..

When last did Vincent Enyeama play a game? Is he willing to play for the SE? Would he be willing to come to camp and say "I am the 4th choice goalie, I'll mentor the guys in front of me and show I am better than them and win the starting job". Is he willing to do that or does he expect to be starter right away?
It's not a clear cut situation with Enyeama. Let's not act like he'd solve the goalkeeping issues, the fact is we don't know what we'd get with him. Worth a look-see? Sure....under the right circumstances.

[wale1974]

Seriously now.
Sentiments aside, we can't sweep this vital statistic under the carpet.
The return of Mikel isn't going to correct this, and neither will Etebo.

So what is the problem?
What do we do?
What are our options?
What is Rohr thinking about this?

Yet some people wants to blame the fullbacks and goalie

[wale1974]

Seriously now.
Sentiments aside, we can't sweep this vital statistic under the carpet.
The return of Mikel isn't going to correct this, and neither will Etebo.

So what is the problem?
What do we do?
What are our options?
What is Rohr thinking about this?

We have no problem with scoring.................we will always score goals when needed, it is the hallmark of this team.
My fear is just about conceding easy goals that end up demoralising the whole team...............the problem is a goalkeeping one!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

1 PK and 180 Mins and you don't have a problem.........................Then again what do you know about football anyway.
Go and Post some Obama memes

[wale1974]

There is no problem. It was a friendly. The coach is most likely not showing everything to the prying eyes and he was experimenting. Our defense has improved that is a good sign.

Friendly means don't shoot on goal......................SMH.

[wale1974]

Anyway, we will see what Rohr does. I am sure he knows he needs to work on the team's creativity, so we will just have to sit back and rely on his judgement.

I for one am happy to go along with whatever he deems best. Were I in his shoes though, this is what i would do:

[1] Play Kelechi Nwakali as my playmaker
[2] Play Tyronne Ebuehi and Joel Obi as my fullback with a mandate to get forward and provide width
[3] Play Victor Moses and Henry Onyekuru as my wide forward with a mandate to run into the penalty area at every opportunity.

So far, I am yet to read of any better plans. However, we have until June to sort this out.

[Obong]

When people suggested onyekuru and Martins, my first instinct was to curse them out, but at this point, I won't mind having a look at them. I'm also for having a look at Enyeama

Onyekuru? That's a no brainer. He's a part of the future and should be a part of the present if healthy. He's one of Nigeria's finest players in Europe.

Martins? He's 33 with no upside. Musa already plays the Obi role. Our problem wasn't lack of bite in the central attacking role, it was a failure to create. Martins at his finest was never a creator. He thrived on movement, speed, and finishing.

Enyeama? Does he have a club? We did this in 98 with Rufai. Let's be a bit more professional this time.

Lol.. so the current goalie fills you with excitement?

Enyeama was injured. He's back. Let's take a look..

When last did Vincent Enyeama play a game? Is he willing to play for the SE? Would he be willing to come to camp and say "I am the 4th choice goalie, I'll mentor the guys in front of me and show I am better than them and win the starting job". Is he willing to do that or does he expect to be starter right away?
It's not a clear cut situation with Enyeama. Let's not act like he'd solve the goalkeeping issues, the fact is we don't know what we'd get with him. Worth a look-see? Sure....under the right circumstances.

I must state unequivocally that Uzoho is the real deal and definitely should start at the World Cup with the options we have now. However, his relative inexperience(which showed in instances in the Poland and Serbia matches) is still cause for pause. As to Enyeama, in answering a couple of your questions, he has already declared he will return to the Super Eagles and has been keeping in touch with Rohr and other players. As to the last time he played, that was last Saturday for Lille reserves in a 3-0 win (still in the business of clean slates ). The other questions are best left to him and the Super Eagles coaches.
See the following links.

http://owngoalnigeria.com/2017/08/25/ex ... -to-mikel/

[platinum]

When people suggested onyekuru and Martins, my first instinct was to curse them out, but at this point, I won't mind having a look at them. I'm also for having a look at Enyeama

Onyekuru? That's a no brainer. He's a part of the future and should be a part of the present if healthy. He's one of Nigeria's finest players in Europe.

Martins? He's 33 with no upside. Musa already plays the Obi role. Our problem wasn't lack of bite in the central attacking role, it was a failure to create. Martins at his finest was never a creator. He thrived on movement, speed, and finishing.

Enyeama? Does he have a club? We did this in 98 with Rufai. Let's be a bit more professional this time.

Lol.. so the current goalie fills you with excitement?

Enyeama was injured. He's back. Let's take a look..

When last did Vincent Enyeama play a game? Is he willing to play for the SE? Would he be willing to come to camp and say "I am the 4th choice goalie, I'll mentor the guys in front of me and show I am better than them and win the starting job". Is he willing to do that or does he expect to be starter right away?
It's not a clear cut situation with Enyeama. Let's not act like he'd solve the goalkeeping issues, the fact is we don't know what we'd get with him. Worth a look-see? Sure....under the right circumstances.

I must state unequivocally that Uzoho is the real deal and definitely should start at the World Cup with the options we have now. However, his relative inexperience(which showed in instances in the Poland and Serbia matches) is still cause for pause. As to Enyeama, in answering a couple of your questions, he has already declared he will return to the Super Eagles and has been keeping in touch with Rohr and other players. As to the last time he played, that was last Saturday for Lille reserves in a 3-0 win (still in the business of clean slates ). The other questions are best left to him and the Super Eagles coaches.
See the following links.

http://owngoalnigeria.com/2017/08/25/ex ... -to-mikel/

Obong,

Good to see he is getting some actual game minutes. The unanswered question is probably the most important though....Would he be willing to come to camp and say "I am the 4th choice goalie, I'll mentor the guys in front of me and show I am better than them and win the starting job". Is he willing to do that or does he expect to be starter right away?

[zee]

Seriously now.
Sentiments aside, we can't sweep this vital statistic under the carpet.
The return of Mikel isn't going to correct this, and neither will Etebo.

So what is the problem?
What do we do?
What are our options?
What is Rohr thinking about this?

We have no problem with scoring.................we will always score goals when needed, it is the hallmark of this team.
My fear is just about conceding easy goals that end up demoralising the whole team...............the problem is a goalkeeping one!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

1 PK and 180 Mins and you don't have a problem.........................Then again what do you know about football anyway.
Go and Post some Obama memes

We have no problem scoring.........it is a normal Nigeria (good team) sickness not to turn up in friendlies close to the WC.
The 1994 & 1998 WC teams were no 'friendly-matches' world champions unlike Pa Oni's useless 2002 team that were friendly-match kings.

[Obong]

When people suggested onyekuru and Martins, my first instinct was to curse them out, but at this point, I won't mind having a look at them. I'm also for having a look at Enyeama

Onyekuru? That's a no brainer. He's a part of the future and should be a part of the present if healthy. He's one of Nigeria's finest players in Europe.

Martins? He's 33 with no upside. Musa already plays the Obi role. Our problem wasn't lack of bite in the central attacking role, it was a failure to create. Martins at his finest was never a creator. He thrived on movement, speed, and finishing.

Enyeama? Does he have a club? We did this in 98 with Rufai. Let's be a bit more professional this time.

Lol.. so the current goalie fills you with excitement?

Enyeama was injured. He's back. Let's take a look..

When last did Vincent Enyeama play a game? Is he willing to play for the SE? Would he be willing to come to camp and say "I am the 4th choice goalie, I'll mentor the guys in front of me and show I am better than them and win the starting job". Is he willing to do that or does he expect to be starter right away?
It's not a clear cut situation with Enyeama. Let's not act like he'd solve the goalkeeping issues, the fact is we don't know what we'd get with him. Worth a look-see? Sure....under the right circumstances.

I must state unequivocally that Uzoho is the real deal and definitely should start at the World Cup with the options we have now. However, his relative inexperience(which showed in instances in the Poland and Serbia matches) is still cause for pause. As to Enyeama, in answering a couple of your questions, he has already declared he will return to the Super Eagles and has been keeping in touch with Rohr and other players. As to the last time he played, that was last Saturday for Lille reserves in a 3-0 win (still in the business of clean slates ). The other questions are best left to him and the Super Eagles coaches.
See the following links.

http://owngoalnigeria.com/2017/08/25/ex ... -to-mikel/

Obong,

Good to see he is getting some actual game minutes. The unanswered question is probably the most important though....Would he be willing to come to camp and say "I am the 4th choice goalie, I'll mentor the guys in front of me and show I am better than them and win the starting job". Is he willing to do that or does he expect to be starter right away?

I doubt he expects to be handed the starting job, given Uzoho has earned it. I just feel his experience will be needed. Bet he has some good stuff to pass on to Francis and would be another wizened head in a young locker room.

[platinum]

I doubt he expects to be handed the starting job, given Uzoho has earned it. I just feel his experience will be needed. Bet he has some good stuff to pass on to Francis and would be another wizened head in a young locker room.

I agree with that sentiment. More importantly, if he's actually getting actual playing time at Lille B, then he can be even more valuable.

[donadoni]

Victor Moses had a shot on target around 10mins in vs Serbia that was parried by the keeper for a corner

[Damunk]

Victor Moses had a shot on target around 10mins in vs Serbia that was parried by the keeper for a corner

Yup.
Acknowledged.