I am not too perturbed about today's loss

[Ayo Akinfe]

[1] personally, i am not too bothered about the loss today. We played at a very slow tempo, which for me is understandable as the players do not want to pick up injuries
[2] We also did not challenge for enough 50:50 balls in midfield, also not to pick up injuries
[3] I also noticed that Balogun plated on the right of the defence and Ekong on the left. This is the first time they have switched and it appeared to work better
[4] We held on to the ball a lot better than we did at Wembley, primarily due to the return of Ndidi
[5] We just had two problems in this game - Our fullbacks and our creative midfield
[6] What Gernot Rohr loves in Shehu Abdullahi is beyond me,. Ebuehi is two classes above him
[7] Bryan Idowu is right footed so cannot cross with his left foot. Echiejile is a total liability who cannot cross the ball to save his life. Ola Aina is right footed, so is not an option either. Our only option is to play Joel Obi as leftback. Even a blind person can see that. It is sheer madness that Joel has not been played in that role. Some dumb people are claiming he has not played there before but hey, John Ogu has never played as a centreback but Rohr has used him there in two matches and he has equipped himself well.
[8] In midfield, I also do not understand why Iwobi was playing so deep today. We need him playmaking behind the front three
[9] We lose the ball in midfield when we do not have Mikel and Ndidi shielding the back four. Some dumb people want Mikel playmaking but anyone who knows anything about top flight football will know that possession is key. We need that duo in front of the defence so we can retain possession
[10] If we play this way, at a fast tempo, we should be fine:

**********************************************Ighalo***********************************************

************************Moses**********************************Iheanacho***********************

***************************************************Iwobi*******************************************

**********************************Mikel**************************Ndidi****************************

***Joel******************Ekong*************************Balogun*********************Ebuehi***

**************************************************Uzoho*******************************************

[Ayo Akinfe]

The next week will be crucial. How Rohr reacts to these loseswill be key.

I will not comment in those advocating that the right footed Victor Moses should play as a leftback. Idowu is solid defensively but offers little going forward because he has to come inside and change feet. Moses would be a far worse option in that role.

Take it or leave it but of the 180m of us, Joel Obi is the best equipped Nigerian to play left back at the moment. It is unfortunate that he has not been used in this capacity during the friendlies.

[Bestplayer]

I have tried to give Rohr the benefit of the doubt, however these series of defeats with the questionable starters he has chosen simply made me temper my expectations. Perhaps that's his goal. It's siddon look mode for me

[soccernut]

Success does not come from building castles in the air...you can only give what you have.

Too many lackeys in this squad, the quality is simply not there. And those thinking 2022 is going to be different have something else coming... go and watch Morocco play football! It is not about losing but being clueless and devoid of professional footballing skills is unacceptable at this level. In some cases - I dare say some of our players are lacking basic football skill set. When I was younger and played the game as a semi-pro for a brief period, I could bend the ball from corners into the box three different ways with a spin or curve, and in many instances it would reach the targeted player (I learned this skill on my own as a teenager). Intelligent passes in soccer are made based on other players making runs and the precise timing of the release of the ball is critical to the fluid movement of play. When you wait for a pass with your back to the defender and you expect that pass to reach you without running forward or sideways into space, you are simply playing lazy football and your opponents can simply read the play and close down that lane, besides it creates too many 50-50 balls. When you play too many high balls in midfield that your players cannot control in motion, you invite rough challenges

You don't have to be a rocket scientist to know that what we have is an average team -- even from watching their training sessions - I had already noticed the lack of quality. Lack of confidence, jittery reaction, and poor man marking is shown in our defense against set pieces. Do we even have wingers who can whip the ball into the eighteen on target consistently throughout a match? The last time I checked I don't believe there is anyone providing that kind of service from the left flanks and the right flank is equally suspect. Maybe these are some of the basics Mr. Rohr needs to return to if we are to have a decent outing at the WC.

[marutimon]

A few things:
The midfield needs an explosive player - Ndidi isn't it, neither is Mikel obviously. Iwobi has many strengths but he's not explosive.

That leaves Etebo, who needs to be a starter. His incessant drive, quick changes of pace really change the mobility of our whole front line.

For all his strengths Ighalo has too many weaknesses. If you want to score goals Iheanacho is a must.

While testing Joel Obi at left back would be nice - you can't do that at a World Cup game! That means the following two setups are optimal:

4-2-3-1

-------------------Uzoho----------------------
-Ebeuhi----Balogun--------Ekong----Idowu-
---------Ndidi------------Etebo---------------
-Moses-----------Mikel----------------Iwobi-
---------------Iheanacho---------------------

3-5-2

-------------------Uzoho----------------------
-----Balogun-----Omeuro----Ekong---------
---------Ndidi------------Etebo---------------
-Moses-----------Mikel---------------Ebeuhi-
------------Iwobi------Iheanacho-------------

[Ayo Akinfe]

Please stop playing Moses at left wingback! He is rightfooted.

[Shownoja]

The only thing I'll say here is that its more than glaring for our style to have a left footed wing back. We have now played a back 3 twice and defensively we were solid. The Idowu role is what need to go to a left footer and its a straight fight betweem Echiejiele and Obi.

[Ayo Akinfe]

The only thing I'll say here is that its more than glaring for our style to have a left footed wing back. We have now played a back 3 twice and defensively we were solid. The Idowu role is what need to go to a left footer and its a straight fight betweem Echiejiele and Obi.

I would rather call Sam Ojebode back to play than use Uwua Echiejile there!

[Ayo Akinfe]

The only thing I'll say here is that its more than glaring for our style to have a left footed wing back. We have now played a back 3 twice and defensively we were solid. The Idowu role is what need to go to a left footer and its a straight fight betweem Echiejiele and Obi.

I would rather call Sam Ojebode back to play than use Uwua Echiejile there!

[wanaj0]

The next week will be crucial. How Rohr reacts to these loseswill be key.

I will not comment in those advocating that the right footed Victor Moses should play as a leftback. Idowu is solid defensively but offers little going forward because he has to come inside and change feet. Moses would be a far worse option in that role.

Take it or leave it but of the 180m of us, Joel Obi is the best equipped Nigerian to play left back at the moment. It is unfortunate that he has not been used in this capacity during the friendlies.

It is unfortunate that Joel Obi is going to the WC at all.

Best left back since when?

[gmoni1]

The only thing I'll say here is that its more than glaring for our style to have a left footed wing back. We have now played a back 3 twice and defensively we were solid. The Idowu role is what need to go to a left footer and its a straight fight betweem Echiejiele and Obi.

I would rather call Sam Ojebode back to play than use Uwua Echiejile there!

[Lolly]

The only thing I'll say here is that its more than glaring for our style to have a left footed wing back. We have now played a back 3 twice and defensively we were solid. The Idowu role is what need to go to a left footer and its a straight fight betweem Echiejiele and Obi.

I would rather call Sam Ojebode back to play than use Uwua Echiejile there!

And he will definitely do better than Joel.

[Ekorian]

You yearn correct come inject little opaks into an otherwise great analysis. Don't you think that experimenting Joel at this stage is suicidal.
Anyway, when are you publishing your next book? I honestly enjoyed the " Fueling "