Nigeria U 23 (3) vs Zambia U 23 (1)

[metalalloy]

We were foolish with our selection. The international break meant we would have had players available to play this game, and the next 2 games.
We should have named a squad with at least 6 quality first team choices. We wouldn't have had them against CIV, but we would have them now.

6 players out of a 23 man squad for 1, at most 2 games? And then what happens after the international break?

[Tobi17]

Imama needs to be fired. The team is piss poor. If we manage to qualify, we need to bring in a different coach. Maybe we can go beg Oliseh.

Very poor coach, congrats to the boys but boy was that tough to watch.

[Lolly]

Something not right with our football teams. First the U20s, then the CHAN Eagles, then the U17 and now these U23s.

NFF is letting us down. They are not working.

[DIMKA76]

We were foolish with our selection. The international break meant we would have had players available to play this game, and the next 2 games.
We should have named a squad with at least 6 quality first team choices. We wouldn't have had them against CIV, but we would have them now.

6 players out of a 23 man squad for 1, at most 2 games? And then what happens after the international break?

Take their passports

[jette1]

Something not right with our football teams. First the U20s, then the CHAN Eagles, then the U17 and now these U23s.

NFF is letting us down. They are not working.

its a malady that trickles down from the top - Aso Rock. Even US is experiencing same thing I mean na who wan go die for Jubril

[Lolly]

Something not right with our football teams. First the U20s, then the CHAN Eagles, then the U17 and now these U23s.

NFF is letting us down. They are not working.

its a malady that trickles down from the top - Aso Rock. Even US is experiencing same thing I mean na who wan go die for Jubril

Ok. So the FG is now responsible for NFF's failures? Is that what FIFA recommended?

[bushboy]

We were foolish with our selection. The international break meant we would have had players available to play this game, and the next 2 games.
We should have named a squad with at least 6 quality first team choices. We wouldn't have had them against CIV, but we would have them now.

6 players out of a 23 man squad for 1, at most 2 games? And then what happens after the international break?

The goal is to qualify for the Olympics, not win the tournament. We can do that with the 6 top players. The other 17 players are enough to play the final match. Even if we lose in the final, no yawa.

[EMIR KONGI JAFFI JOFFA]

Imama needs to be fired. The team is piss poor. If we manage to qualify, we need to bring in a different coach. Maybe we can go beg Oliseh.

Fire the players then the coach, who's left the bus driver? Some of you have never seen anything built from scratch, you believe the only way to build a team is to go to London and load up a bus of cockneys with Nigerian name. If they're piss poor you can go to the Barca forum where every player is world class.

In Nigeria we are grinders! We grind till we get better. We did it in 94, 96 and every successful team we've ever built. This team too will grind till we the ticket. Keshi ,Mikel, Jay jay, kanu, finidi, Rufai, Vince, Yobo, Taribo, Okechukwu, Chaiman chukwu, Amodu were all grinders for the GWG. If you can't appreciate these boys now they won't need your support when the get the ticket.

[metalalloy]

We were foolish with our selection. The international break meant we would have had players available to play this game, and the next 2 games.
We should have named a squad with at least 6 quality first team choices. We wouldn't have had them against CIV, but we would have them now.

6 players out of a 23 man squad for 1, at most 2 games? And then what happens after the international break?

The goal is to qualify for the Olympics, not win the tournament. We can do that with the 6 top players. The other 17 players are enough to play the final match. Even if we lose in the final, no yawa.

Top tree qualify, International break closes on the 19th, the day of the first semi, would those 6 be able to play on the 19th? Are you certain that you will make the final, or even if you don't make the final, win the third place match? In your scenario, after the European players play the 2 games and depart, then you would be throwing in the "weaker" squad members straight into the semis and third place game and hope they win?

[bushboy]

^^^
We played today, play again on Friday, then the semi finals on Tuesday. We would have had top players available for the 3 most crucial games well within the international break. We messed up big time!!

[metalalloy]

^^^
We played today, play again on Friday, then the semi finals on Tuesday. We would have had top players available for the 3 most crucial games well within the international break. We messed up big time!!

Nah only Awoniyi and Azubuike dem ask for? How come those were the only two players released?

[bushboy]

^^
You don't have to "ask for" anyone. It is the international break for a reason. Clubs cannot hold on to the players after the weekend games, which is why they would have been unavailable the first match.
But if they were called up, the club can't hold them back. We just didn't call them. That was our own error.

[Damunk]

^^
You don't have to "ask for" anyone. It is the international break for a reason. Clubs cannot hold on to the players after the weekend games, which is why they would have been unavailable the first match.
But if they were called up, the club can't hold them back. We just didn't call them. That was our own error.

But if you call up players for a tournament, surely the objective would be for them to be available from start to finish?
Anything else is a high risk game and I can bet that you and most others will be the first to rain abuse on all'adem should they have made that choice and paid the price in the latter stages of the tournament.

[bushboy]

^^
You don't have to "ask for" anyone. It is the international break for a reason. Clubs cannot hold on to the players after the weekend games, which is why they would have been unavailable the first match.
But if they were called up, the club can't hold them back. We just didn't call them. That was our own error.

But if you call up players for a tournament, surely the objective would be for them to be available from start to finish?
Anything else is a high risk game and I can bet that you and most others will be the first to rain abuse on all'adem should they have made that choice and paid the price in the latter stages of the tournament.

Again, goal is to qualify for the Olympics and we would have had our best available players for the 3 games required to do just that.
Even if we don't qualify, nobody can abuse anyone for naming the best possible squad.

[metalalloy]

^^
You don't have to "ask for" anyone. It is the international break for a reason. Clubs cannot hold on to the players after the weekend games, which is why they would have been unavailable the first match.
But if they were called up, the club can't hold them back. We just didn't call them. That was our own error.

Which is why i am asking, who are these 6 top players that you are referring to? Awonyi and Azubuike are foreign based players who were named to the squad, yet their teams refused to release them until the international window opened up. There were reports that Chidera Ejuke was called up and his club refused to release him.

http://fcnaija.com/dutch-club-refuse-to ... -u23-afcon

How could it be ok for a coach to go to a tournament without 6 key players, who they would not have been able to conduct training sessions with etc until after the tournament started, would only play a couple of games and then depart immediately afterwards back to their clubs leaving the coach with a bare bones skeleton squad of 17 players (not even accounting for injuries and suspensions) to prosecute the last couple of games with?

All this is with the assumption that we would definitely win with the 6 players.

[Orion]

We were foolish with our selection. The international break meant we would have had players available to play this game, and the next 2 games.
We should have named a squad with at least 6 quality first team choices. We wouldn't have had them against CIV, but we would have them now.

6 players out of a 23 man squad for 1, at most 2 games? And then what happens after the international break?

The goal is to qualify for the Olympics, not win the tournament. We can do that with the 6 top players. The other 17 players are enough to play the final match. Even if we lose in the final, no yawa.

Are you aware that SE plays Benin tomorrow in an AFCON qualifier?

Anyway, congrats to the team and coach on his first win away from home. Hoping that this is the turning point for the team. Win two more games and qualify for the Olympics.

[bushboy]

^^
The players were not released BEFORE the international break. Try to keep up. Once the break begins, they cannot hold on to them.
Every U23 player who is not a part of the SE team should have been called.
Okereke. Onyekuru. Abdulahi. Odey. Ejike. Iheanacho.

[Orion]

^^
The players were not released BEFORE the international break. Try to keep up. Once the break begins, they cannot hold on to them.
Every U23 player who is not a part of the SE team should have been called.
Okereke. Onyekuru. Abdulahi. Odey. Ejike. Iheanacho.

Well you should have clarified that.

But the idea of adding 6 players to a tournament team that are not available at the start of the competition (or will be available at the end of it) is a crazy idea.

The coach seems inept but thankfully he is not that crazy.

[Tobi17]

Just watched the highlights, Awoniyi's goal was very well taken - pure strikers instinct goal right there.

[Damunk]

^^
The players were not released BEFORE the international break. Try to keep up. Once the break begins, they cannot hold on to them.
Every U23 player who is not a part of the SE team should have been called.
Okereke. Onyekuru. Abdulahi. Odey. Ejike. Iheanacho.

Well you should have clarified that.

But the idea of adding 6 players to a tournament team that are not available at the start of the competition (or will be available at the end of it) is a crazy idea.

The coach seems inept but thankfully he is not that crazy.

Imagine he actually was that crazy, went ahead with bushboy's recommendations and then crashed out badly towards the end of the tournament.
Now imagine the love he'd attract from CE and bushboy himself in particular.....

[bushboy]

^^^
There is no "crash out at the end" the final game is for an irrelevant trophy and we would already be qualified with a win at the semi finals. Its not that complex or that crazy. We should have called our best legs for 3 games!

[john12]

The more all these national teams keep failing to qualify or tournaments make Rohr result more appreciate able. You don’t know what you ave until you lose it

[metalalloy]

^^
The players were not released BEFORE the international break. Try to keep up. Once the break begins, they cannot hold on to them.
Every U23 player who is not a part of the SE team should have been called.
Okereke. Onyekuru. Abdulahi. Odey. Ejike. Iheanacho.

Onyekuru... does he have a residence permit in France? Isnt that why he wasn't able to play against Brazil?

The coach found it unacceptable that he would only have his players available for the duration of the international break, and i cant fault him He tried to invite some of the players listed above and was turned down by the club. I already posted about Ejike, Brugge refused to release okereke and Dennis. This is not playstation football where you can just insert and remove players after pressing pause on a gamepad


http://fcnaija.com/club-brugge-refuse-t ... -u23-afcon

https://www.pressreader.com/nigeria/sun ... 6991139509