NPFL Season 2019/2020: Matches, News and Developments

[ukwala]

Ogunbote dumps Rangers for Lobi

Gbenga Ogunbote has dumped Enugu Rangers for Lobi Stars ahead of the 2019 Nigeria Professional Football League season, Sports Extra has reliably gathered.

The 54-year-old signed a one-year deal with the Markudi outfit.

Ogunbote guided Rangers to a third-place finish at the just-concluded NPFL Championship playoffs and also clinched a Confederations Cup spot for the former league winners, but opted to move on after talks over an extension at the club fell through.

He takes over from interim coach Evan Ogenyi, who led Lobi to a fifth-place finish last season.

“Lobi Stars made an offer to him (Ogunbote) at the end of the season which he informed the Rangers hierarchy about, but they didn’t make any move to renew his deal and we decided to bring our relationship to an end,” his representative, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, told Sports Extra.

During his two-year spell at Rangers, Ogunbote won his first ever silverware in two decades as a coach when he guided the Flying Antelopes to their maiden Aiteo Cup title in 35 years, defeating Kano Pillars 4-2 on penalties after regulation time ended 3-3 in 2018.

Ogunbote had coached several clubs like Sunshine Stars, Shooting Stars, Enyimba and Giwa FC.

Meanwhile, Rangers have appointed Benedict Ugwu as a caretaker coach.

The General Manager of the Flying Antelopes, Davidson Owumi, said in a media statement on Wednesday that “There is no room for any vacuum and Ugwu has shown through his actions and technical contributions that he has what it takes to lead our team on a caretaker basis.”

https://punchng.com/ogunbote-dumps-rangers-for-lobi/

[ukwala]

Enugu Rangers name Ben ‘Surugede’ Ugwu caretaker coach

Enugu Rangers yesterday named former defender, Ben ‘Surugede’ Ugwu as their caretaker head coach following the expiration of Coach Gbenga Ogunbote’s contract with the Flying Antelopes.
A source in Rangers’ camp told The Guardian yesterday that Ogunbote chose not to renew his contract hence the decision to fill the vacuum with Ugwu.

A statement by Rangers yesterday said the General Manger of the Club, Prince Davidson Owumi has charged Ugwu to prepare the team for the pre-season preparations, adding that the players retained for the forthcoming season would soon return from their vacation.

“There is no room for any vacuum and Ugwu has shown through his actions and technical contributions that he has what it takes to lead our team on a care-taker basis.

“As a senior national team player, Benedict distinguished himself. As a player of Rangers, he was full of the ‘Never Say Die’ spirit. Even when he took his game overseas, he was a great ambassador of the club and country.

“When he came back, he showed some great stuff with the feeder team. Naturally, it is the belief of management that he has what it takes to guide us before a substantive technical adviser comes around,” Owumi said.

Apart from spending 10 years playing for Enugu Rangers, Ugwu also played for the famous BCC Lions of Gboko, under the tutelage of the late Shuaibu Amodu, winning the Challenge Cup (now Aiteo Cup) in 1989 before adding the CAF Cup Winners Cup title a year later.
https://t.guardian.ng/sport/enugu-range ... ker-coach/

[Toxicarrow]

Ogunbote dumps Rangers for Lobi

Gbenga Ogunbote has dumped Enugu Rangers for Lobi Stars ahead of the 2019 Nigeria Professional Football League season, Sports Extra has reliably gathered.

The 54-year-old signed a one-year deal with the Markudi outfit.

Ogunbote guided Rangers to a third-place finish at the just-concluded NPFL Championship playoffs and also clinched a Confederations Cup spot for the former league winners, but opted to move on after talks over an extension at the club fell through.

He takes over from interim coach Evan Ogenyi, who led Lobi to a fifth-place finish last season.

“Lobi Stars made an offer to him (Ogunbote) at the end of the season which he informed the Rangers hierarchy about, but they didn’t make any move to renew his deal and we decided to bring our relationship to an end,” his representative, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, told Sports Extra.

During his two-year spell at Rangers, Ogunbote won his first ever silverware in two decades as a coach when he guided the Flying Antelopes to their maiden Aiteo Cup title in 35 years, defeating Kano Pillars 4-2 on penalties after regulation time ended 3-3 in 2018.

Ogunbote had coached several clubs like Sunshine Stars, Shooting Stars, Enyimba and Giwa FC.

Meanwhile, Rangers have appointed Benedict Ugwu as a caretaker coach.

The General Manager of the Flying Antelopes, Davidson Owumi, said in a media statement on Wednesday that “There is no room for any vacuum and Ugwu has shown through his actions and technical contributions that he has what it takes to lead our team on a caretaker basis.”

https://punchng.com/ogunbote-dumps-rangers-for-lobi/

Hmmm...Not a good news for both sides.

[ukwala]

Ogunbote dumps Rangers for Lobi

Gbenga Ogunbote has dumped Enugu Rangers for Lobi Stars ahead of the 2019 Nigeria Professional Football League season, Sports Extra has reliably gathered.

The 54-year-old signed a one-year deal with the Markudi outfit.

Ogunbote guided Rangers to a third-place finish at the just-concluded NPFL Championship playoffs and also clinched a Confederations Cup spot for the former league winners, but opted to move on after talks over an extension at the club fell through.

He takes over from interim coach Evan Ogenyi, who led Lobi to a fifth-place finish last season.

“Lobi Stars made an offer to him (Ogunbote) at the end of the season which he informed the Rangers hierarchy about, but they didn’t make any move to renew his deal and we decided to bring our relationship to an end,” his representative, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, told Sports Extra.

During his two-year spell at Rangers, Ogunbote won his first ever silverware in two decades as a coach when he guided the Flying Antelopes to their maiden Aiteo Cup title in 35 years, defeating Kano Pillars 4-2 on penalties after regulation time ended 3-3 in 2018.

Ogunbote had coached several clubs like Sunshine Stars, Shooting Stars, Enyimba and Giwa FC.

Meanwhile, Rangers have appointed Benedict Ugwu as a caretaker coach.

The General Manager of the Flying Antelopes, Davidson Owumi, said in a media statement on Wednesday that “There is no room for any vacuum and Ugwu has shown through his actions and technical contributions that he has what it takes to lead our team on a caretaker basis.”

https://punchng.com/ogunbote-dumps-rangers-for-lobi/

Hmmm...Not a good news for both sides.

Probably good news for Ogunbote who will enhance his pay (i suppose that's the purpose of the move). If Chelsea can appoint Lampard and United OGS, we can and have appointed Surugede, albeit on caretaker basis

[Senator WIRES]

Enyimba unveils three Ghanaian players

Nigerian giants, Enyimba, have unveiled three Ghanaian players as new signings.

Striker, Mohammed Abass, released by Asante Kotoko follow a below par two years, has joined the Nigerian champions.

Daniel Darkwa, former captain of Aduana Stars and the Black Stars B, also joins Enyimba from Kumasi Asante Kotoko.

Emmanuel Ampiah, also a left back who previously played for Elmina Sharks will also join Enyimba from Nigerian side Delta Force.

The trio will team up with fellow Ghanaian, goalkeeper Fatau Dauda, who won the league last season with Enyimba.

[Enugu II]

ukwala,

How are you? What do people think about the appointment of Benedict "Suru-gede" Ugwu as Rangers coach? What is his coaching background? Is he up to snuff? Also what is the general take on the club's recruitment of players. It will be a shame if both Enyimba and Rangers fail to go far considering the early exit of Pillars, especially. For Tornadoes, I really never expected much from them to begin with.

[ukwala]

ukwala,

How are you? What do people think about the appointment of Benedict "Suru-gede" Ugwu as Rangers coach? What is his coaching background? Is he up to snuff? Also what is the general take on the club's recruitment of players. It will be a shame if both Enyimba and Rangers fail to go far considering the early exit of Pillars, especially. For Tornadoes, I really never expected much from them to begin with.

EII, I am fine thanks. Trust you are too. Thanks for reviving this thread, though after this reply, we may need to start a fresh thread for the 2019/2020 season.

I don't think any fan is sold on Surugede as Rangers coach, and it would appear neither is the club Management as he is but a caretaker coach. He has been Youth coach in Rangers for a couple of seasons but nothing spectacular and we are still waiting for the substantive coach.
MFM's former coach, Fidelis Ilechukwu, who may not have won anything yet but did very well to keep MFM among the top teams (much like Pochetino at Spurs) was touted at some point but he ended up in Heartland.
The Brazilian, Rafael Everton, who has been at Ifeanyi Ubah and Akwa United was also touted but so far nothing yet. He is still free, having just left Akwa United and so may yet end up with us and though I am not a big fan, I won't be too displeased to see him at Rangers (afterall he won the Confed cup - FA cup - with FCIU). I still remember with Nostalgia, the exploits of his compatriot, Roberto Diaz in the early 80's.

A number of new players have been recruited - Kehinde Adedipe (Rivers United), Obinna Eleje (unattached), Agu Kenechukwu (Lamryl United), Uche John (Enyimba), Ibrahim Olawoyin (Abia Warriors) and the most notable of them Ikechukwu Ibenegbu (alias mosquito, the veteran attacking midfielder who has been all over the place and lately with Enyimba). A couple were promoted from the youth team (Surugede boys??).
On the downside, we lost two of our best players of last season; our captain Godwin Aguda who left for a 2nd division team in Saudi Arabia, and Bright Silas (much loved goalscoring wide midfielder) who moved to a club in Egypt. We also lost Bobby Clement who was injured for much of last season and has returned to Kuwait for a second spell there.

Not knowing the current form of the team with all the changes in players and coaches, we can only hope and pray that they do well both at home and on the continent when the season starts soon. Our pre-season preparation however seems to be going well; we defeated Heartland (Ilechukwu et al) in Okigwe (Heartland's home) on Wednesday and will play Warri Wolves tomorrow Sunday in Warri. We also won the inuagural edition of the Enugu FA super cup (???).

[Enugu II]

ukwala,

How are you? What do people think about the appointment of Benedict "Suru-gede" Ugwu as Rangers coach? What is his coaching background? Is he up to snuff? Also what is the general take on the club's recruitment of players. It will be a shame if both Enyimba and Rangers fail to go far considering the early exit of Pillars, especially. For Tornadoes, I really never expected much from them to begin with.

EII, I am fine thanks. Trust you are too. Thanks for reviving this thread, though after this reply, we may need to start a fresh thread for the 2019/2020 season.

I don't think any fan is sold on Surugede as Rangers coach, and it would appear neither is the club Management as he is but a caretaker coach. He has been Youth coach in Rangers for a couple of seasons but nothing spectacular and we are still waiting for the substantive coach.
MFM's former coach, Fidelis Ilechukwu, who may not have won anything yet but did very well to keep MFM among the top teams (much like Pochetino at Spurs) was touted at some point but he ended up in Heartland.
The Brazilian, Rafael Everton, who has been at Ifeanyi Ubah and Akwa United was also touted but so far nothing yet. He is still free, having just left Akwa United and so may yet end up with us and though I am not a big fan, I won't be too displeased to see him at Rangers (afterall he won the Confed cup - FA cup - with FCIU). I still remember with Nostalgia, the exploits of his compatriot, Roberto Diaz in the early 80's.

A number of new players have been recruited - Kehinde Adedipe (Rivers United), Obinna Eleje (unattached), Agu Kenechukwu (Lamryl United), Uche John (Enyimba), Ibrahim Olawoyin (Abia Warriors) and the most notable of them Ikechukwu Ibenegbu (alias mosquito, the veteran attacking midfielder who has been all over the place and lately with Enyimba). A couple were promoted from the youth team (Surugede boys??).
On the downside, we lost two of our best players of last season; our captain Godwin Aguda who left for a 2nd division team in Saudi Arabia, and Bright Silas (much loved goalscoring wide midfielder) who moved to a club in Egypt. We also lost Bobby Clement who was injured for much of last season and has returned to Kuwait for a second spell there.

Not knowing the current form of the team with all the changes in players and coaches, we can only hope and pray that they do well both at home and on the continent when the season starts soon. Our pre-season preparation however seems to be going well; we defeated Heartland (Ilechukwu et al) in Okigwe (Heartland's home) on Wednesday and will play Warri Wolves tomorrow Sunday in Warri. We also won the inuagural edition of the Enugu FA super cup (???).

Ukwala,

Thanks for the update. I sensed that this Suru-gede stuff isn't going to cut it but I was not sure. The loss of Amapakabo and then Ogunbote were big, in my opinion. I did not know what Suru-gede has done previously as coach. It seemed to me his claim is simply being a former Rangers' player.

Ilechukwu had shown ability to mold unknown names at MFM to become a respectable team year after year and I believe he will do well at Heartland. At MFM, he lost players annually to better financed clubs but kept the club at the top with unknown guys every year.

It really will be disappointing if Rangers join Pillars and Tornadoes as eliminated teams in the continent. I am not at all enthused by the recruitment. To contest for the continental trophies, our clubs must recruited the best players around the continent. We cannot compete against clubs from North Africa, South Africa, and Congo DR that recruit across the continent. We blame our continental woes on coaching in Nigeria but I believe it is a lazy cop-out. There are numerous reasons for non-performance and that includes poor recruitment. I read a recent interview of Esperance managers and they pointed out the importance of recruiting continent-wide if you hope to win in Africa. I have always believed this. Enyimba's victory in Africa was a major recruitment of the best Nigerian talent spearheaded by then NFF Sec-Gen Ogunjobi. Although it was not continent-wide but Enyimba was virtually home-based SE in those two years. Depending on regular recruitment of local talent as Rangers appear to have done instead of seeking Africa-wide talent is not going to cut it. It is a huge gap. Of course, there are other issues.

[ukwala]

ukwala,

How are you? What do people think about the appointment of Benedict "Suru-gede" Ugwu as Rangers coach? What is his coaching background? Is he up to snuff? Also what is the general take on the club's recruitment of players. It will be a shame if both Enyimba and Rangers fail to go far considering the early exit of Pillars, especially. For Tornadoes, I really never expected much from them to begin with.

EII, I am fine thanks. Trust you are too. Thanks for reviving this thread, though after this reply, we may need to start a fresh thread for the 2019/2020 season.

I don't think any fan is sold on Surugede as Rangers coach, and it would appear neither is the club Management as he is but a caretaker coach. He has been Youth coach in Rangers for a couple of seasons but nothing spectacular and we are still waiting for the substantive coach.
MFM's former coach, Fidelis Ilechukwu, who may not have won anything yet but did very well to keep MFM among the top teams (much like Pochetino at Spurs) was touted at some point but he ended up in Heartland.
The Brazilian, Rafael Everton, who has been at Ifeanyi Ubah and Akwa United was also touted but so far nothing yet. He is still free, having just left Akwa United and so may yet end up with us and though I am not a big fan, I won't be too displeased to see him at Rangers (afterall he won the Confed cup - FA cup - with FCIU). I still remember with Nostalgia, the exploits of his compatriot, Roberto Diaz in the early 80's.

A number of new players have been recruited - Kehinde Adedipe (Rivers United), Obinna Eleje (unattached), Agu Kenechukwu (Lamryl United), Uche John (Enyimba), Ibrahim Olawoyin (Abia Warriors) and the most notable of them Ikechukwu Ibenegbu (alias mosquito, the veteran attacking midfielder who has been all over the place and lately with Enyimba). A couple were promoted from the youth team (Surugede boys??).
On the downside, we lost two of our best players of last season; our captain Godwin Aguda who left for a 2nd division team in Saudi Arabia, and Bright Silas (much loved goalscoring wide midfielder) who moved to a club in Egypt. We also lost Bobby Clement who was injured for much of last season and has returned to Kuwait for a second spell there.

Not knowing the current form of the team with all the changes in players and coaches, we can only hope and pray that they do well both at home and on the continent when the season starts soon. Our pre-season preparation however seems to be going well; we defeated Heartland (Ilechukwu et al) in Okigwe (Heartland's home) on Wednesday and will play Warri Wolves tomorrow Sunday in Warri. We also won the inuagural edition of the Enugu FA super cup (???).

Ukwala,

Thanks for the update. I sensed that this Suru-gede stuff isn't going to cut it but I was not sure. The loss of Amapakabo and then Ogunbote were big, in my opinion. I did not know what Suru-gede has done previously as coach. It seemed to me his claim is simply being a former Rangers' player.

Ilechukwu had shown ability to mold unknown names at MFM to become a respectable team year after year and I believe he will do well at Heartland. At MFM, he lost players annually to better financed clubs but kept the club at the top with unknown guys every year.

It really will be disappointing if Rangers join Pillars and Tornadoes as eliminated teams in the continent. I am not at all enthused by the recruitment. To contest for the continental trophies, our clubs must recruited the best players around the continent. We cannot compete against clubs from North Africa, South Africa, and Congo DR that recruit across the continent. We blame our continental woes on coaching in Nigeria but I believe it is a lazy cop-out. There are numerous reasons for non-performance and that includes poor recruitment. I read a recent interview of Esperance managers and they pointed out the importance of recruiting continent-wide if you hope to win in Africa. I have always believed this. Enyimba's victory in Africa was a major recruitment of the best Nigerian talent spearheaded by then NFF Sec-Gen Ogunjobi. Although it was not continent-wide but Enyimba was virtually home-based SE in those two years. Depending on regular recruitment of local talent as Rangers appear to have done instead of seeking Africa-wide talent is not going to cut it. It is a huge gap. Of course, there are other issues.

EII,

Surugede hasn’t done it anywhere as a coach and if he is given the job on a permanent basis, it would be a massive gamble.

Ilechukwu should do well at Heartland. He was unveiled by the Governor (I assume that means he is interested!) and Papillo, his Special Adviser on Sports, should be able to lend his considerable weight to his former club.

Nigerian clubs are plagued by the general societal issues; inadequate funding, weak league (poor management and a paucity of facilities), no motivation (constant breach of contracts), etc. etc. Some, like Rangers, do have players from other African countries but they are understandably not the best of the bunch.

Clubs that do well on the continent are well funded, well managed (mostly private owned) and well supported. As for me, I will just try and enjoy the games and hope for the best. I can’t say I am optimistic because there is no basis for optimism.

If Rangers conquer the local league again this year to tie Enyimba on 8 apiece, I will be more than happy.

[Gotti]

Rangers will do well domestically and advance far enough into the group stage of the CAF Confederation Cup...

Rangers have played several friendlies (albeit mostly against lower league sides), and the 4-2 victory over Heartland in Okigwe was only kept close by 2 second-half PKs for Heartland. Even though captain Godwin Aguda has left, several new players (both young and relatively experienced) have been recruited, including new strikers (Dauda Madaki, Ibrahim Olawoyin and Chinonso Ezeikwe, in addition to the aforementioned Kehinde Adedipe), two of the better players that helped Niger Tornadoes get to the FA Cup final (Ugochukwu and Ifeanyi), another Ghanaian goalkeeper and several others. Meanwhile, I do not think Ibenegbu was the top recruit, but simply the most visible, and from the 2 preseason games that I watched he is unlikely to be either a sure starter or a 90-minute player (unless he’s being saved for the real deal). Instead I think the midfield will probably revolve around the duo of Christain Madu and new recruit Godspower Tower (the ex-U23 international).

Once the coaching situation is settled (should have been already), and perhaps after a short gelling period, it should be a relatively solid season.

[Enugu II]

Rangers will do well domestically and advance far enough into the group stage of the CAF Confederation Cup...

Rangers have played several friendlies (albeit mostly against lower league sides), and the 4-2 victory over Heartland in Okigwe was only kept close by 2 second-half PKs for Heartland. Even though captain Godwin Aguda has left, several new players (both young and relatively experienced) have been recruited, including new strikers (Dauda Madaki, Ibrahim Olawoyin and Chinonso Ezeikwe, in addition to the aforementioned Kehinde Adedipe), two of the better players that helped Niger Tornadoes get to the FA Cup final (Ugochukwu and Ifeanyi), another Ghanaian goalkeeper and several others. Meanwhile, I do not think Ibenegbu was the top recruit, but simply the most visible, and from the 2 preseason games that I watched he is unlikely to be either a sure starter or a 90-minute player (unless he’s being saved for the real deal). Instead I think the midfield will probably revolve around the duo of Christain Madu and new recruit Godspower Tower (the ex-U23 international).

Once the coaching situation is settled (should have been already), and perhaps after a short gelling period, it should be a relatively solid season.

Gotti

I hope this isn't about Cup half full as a fan of the club. In any case, you make me feel good and hopeful that the club can, at least, be at the league stage of the continental. You have watched the team, how has been the play?

[ukwala]

Rangers continue their impressive pre-season form with a 1-0 win over Warri Wolves in Warri

[ukwala]

Rangers will do well domestically and advance far enough into the group stage of the CAF Confederation Cup...

Rangers have played several friendlies (albeit mostly against lower league sides), and the 4-2 victory over Heartland in Okigwe was only kept close by 2 second-half PKs for Heartland. Even though captain Godwin Aguda has left, several new players (both young and relatively experienced) have been recruited, including new strikers (Dauda Madaki, Ibrahim Olawoyin and Chinonso Ezeikwe, in addition to the aforementioned Kehinde Adedipe), two of the better players that helped Niger Tornadoes get to the FA Cup final (Ugochukwu and Ifeanyi), another Ghanaian goalkeeper and several others. Meanwhile, I do not think Ibenegbu was the top recruit, but simply the most visible, and from the 2 preseason games that I watched he is unlikely to be either a sure starter or a 90-minute player (unless he’s being saved for the real deal). Instead I think the midfield will probably revolve around the duo of Christain Madu and new recruit Godspower Tower (the ex-U23 international).

Once the coaching situation is settled (should have been already), and perhaps after a short gelling period, it should be a relatively solid season.

Thanks for the first hand info Gotti. It is nice to know that Rangers are in good shape without much cause for concern.

[YemiBrazil]

No comment.

I hope they have another Super 6 this season? That way I will be 100% sure that some yeye team won't accidentally win the league .

[Gotti]

No comment.

I hope they have another Super 6 this season? That way I will be 100% sure that some yeye team won't accidentally win the league .

Bros, abegi what part of "Professional Football" was too hard to understand?

The semi-professional, amateur or Sunday-Sunday league thread is in the R&R forum!!

[naijaguy]

Going by preparation so far for the new season, Rangers will most likely clinch the title.
But then seeing the caliber of players Enyimba has signed, mehnnnn. Abiodun Adebayo from Abia warriors, Martins Usule from Kastina united, Cyril Olisema(Former Almary sc, Egypt player), Even Olufemi Kayode(Lobi stars Giant goalkeeper) among others..

[ukwala]

No comment.

I hope they have another Super 6 this season? That way I will be 100% sure that some yeye team won't accidentally win the league .

Bros, abegi what part of "Professional Football" was too hard to understand?

The semi-professional, amateur or Sunday-Sunday league thread is in the R&R forum!!

[YemiBrazil]

No comment.

I hope they have another Super 6 this season? That way I will be 100% sure that some yeye team won't accidentally win the league .

Bros, abegi what part of "Professional Football" was too hard to understand?

The semi-professional, amateur or Sunday-Sunday league thread is in the R&R forum!!

I go laff my own wella at the next Super 6 or whatever they call it. You all have been warned.

[wiseone]

Enyimba has a history of signing foreign players. Their past title winning teams had internationals from Ghana (Joetex Frimpong), Benin (Ogunbiyi), and Niger Republic (Saminou). Despite being a SE club, they also had players from other parts of Nigeria, including northerners Ahmed "Yaro Yaro" Garba, Musa Abubakar, Yusuf Mohammed, Musa Aliyu, Omolade from the SW, and Tyavkskase from the middle belt.

I look forward to seeing what the new Ghanaian trio can do (although I am concerned about "Striker, Mohammed Abass, released by Asante Kotoko follow a below par two years"...

[ohenhen1]

Going by preparation so far for the new season, Rangers will most likely clinch the title.
But then seeing the caliber of players Enyimba has signed, mehnnnn. Abiodun Adebayo from Abia warriors, Martins Usule from Kastina united, Cyril Olisema(Former Almary sc, Egypt player), Even Olufemi Kayode(Lobi stars Giant goalkeeper) among others..

They signed Kayode wow

Enyimba is the team to beat.

[naijaguy]

Going by preparation so far for the new season, Rangers will most likely clinch the title.
But then seeing the caliber of players Enyimba has signed, mehnnnn. Abiodun Adebayo from Abia warriors, Martins Usule from Kastina united, Cyril Olisema(Former Almary sc, Egypt player), Even Olufemi Kayode(Lobi stars Giant goalkeeper) among others..

They signed Kayode wow

Enyimba is the team to beat.

They are way above other teams in terms of management and organisation. They pay well too.

[Gotti]

[TonyTheTigerKiller]

ukwala,

How are you? What do people think about the appointment of Benedict "Suru-gede" Ugwu as Rangers coach? What is his coaching background? Is he up to snuff? Also what is the general take on the club's recruitment of players. It will be a shame if both Enyimba and Rangers fail to go far considering the early exit of Pillars, especially. For Tornadoes, I really never expected much from them to begin with.

EII, I am fine thanks. Trust you are too. Thanks for reviving this thread, though after this reply, we may need to start a fresh thread for the 2019/2020 season.

I don't think any fan is sold on Surugede as Rangers coach, and it would appear neither is the club Management as he is but a caretaker coach. He has been Youth coach in Rangers for a couple of seasons but nothing spectacular and we are still waiting for the substantive coach.
MFM's former coach, Fidelis Ilechukwu, who may not have won anything yet but did very well to keep MFM among the top teams (much like Pochetino at Spurs) was touted at some point but he ended up in Heartland.
The Brazilian, Rafael Everton, who has been at Ifeanyi Ubah and Akwa United was also touted but so far nothing yet. He is still free, having just left Akwa United and so may yet end up with us and though I am not a big fan, I won't be too displeased to see him at Rangers (afterall he won the Confed cup - FA cup - with FCIU). I still remember with Nostalgia, the exploits of his compatriot, Roberto Diaz in the early 80's.

A number of new players have been recruited - Kehinde Adedipe (Rivers United), Obinna Eleje (unattached), Agu Kenechukwu (Lamryl United), Uche John (Enyimba), Ibrahim Olawoyin (Abia Warriors) and the most notable of them Ikechukwu Ibenegbu (alias mosquito, the veteran attacking midfielder who has been all over the place and lately with Enyimba). A couple were promoted from the youth team (Surugede boys??).
On the downside, we lost two of our best players of last season; our captain Godwin Aguda who left for a 2nd division team in Saudi Arabia, and Bright Silas (much loved goalscoring wide midfielder) who moved to a club in Egypt. We also lost Bobby Clement who was injured for much of last season and has returned to Kuwait for a second spell there.

Not knowing the current form of the team with all the changes in players and coaches, we can only hope and pray that they do well both at home and on the continent when the season starts soon. Our pre-season preparation however seems to be going well; we defeated Heartland (Ilechukwu et al) in Okigwe (Heartland's home) on Wednesday and will play Warri Wolves tomorrow Sunday in Warri. We also won the inuagural edition of the Enugu FA super cup (???).

Ukwala,

Thanks for the update. I sensed that this Suru-gede stuff isn't going to cut it but I was not sure. The loss of Amapakabo and then Ogunbote were big, in my opinion. I did not know what Suru-gede has done previously as coach. It seemed to me his claim is simply being a former Rangers' player.

Ilechukwu had shown ability to mold unknown names at MFM to become a respectable team year after year and I believe he will do well at Heartland. At MFM, he lost players annually to better financed clubs but kept the club at the top with unknown guys every year.

It really will be disappointing if Rangers join Pillars and Tornadoes as eliminated teams in the continent. I am not at all enthused by the recruitment. To contest for the continental trophies, our clubs must recruited the best players around the continent. We cannot compete against clubs from North Africa, South Africa, and Congo DR that recruit across the continent. We blame our continental woes on coaching in Nigeria but I believe it is a lazy cop-out. There are numerous reasons for non-performance and that includes poor recruitment. I read a recent interview of Esperance managers and they pointed out the importance of recruiting continent-wide if you hope to win in Africa. I have always believed this. Enyimba's victory in Africa was a major recruitment of the best Nigerian talent spearheaded by then NFF Sec-Gen Ogunjobi. Although it was not continent-wide but Enyimba was virtually home-based SE in those two years. Depending on regular recruitment of local talent as Rangers appear to have done instead of seeking Africa-wide talent is not going to cut it. It is a huge gap. Of course, there are other issues.

EII,

Surugede hasn’t done it anywhere as a coach and if he is given the job on a permanent basis, it would be a massive gamble.

Ilechukwu should do well at Heartland. He was unveiled by the Governor (I assume that means he is interested!) and Papillo, his Special Adviser on Sports, should be able to lend his considerable weight to his former club.

Nigerian clubs are plagued by the general societal issues; inadequate funding, weak league (poor management and a paucity of facilities), no motivation (constant breach of contracts), etc. etc. Some, like Rangers, do have players from other African countries but they are understandably not the best of the bunch.

Clubs that do well on the continent are well funded, well managed (mostly private owned) and well supported. As for me, I will just try and enjoy the games and hope for the best. I can’t say I am optimistic because there is no basis for optimism.

If Rangers conquer the local league again this year to tie Enyimba on 8 apiece, I will be more than happy.

It is so inappropriate to make such sweeping judgements about Surugede considering that not even one coach ever got his first job with any experience in coaching. I would just wish him the best and hope he succeeds


Cheers.