Thoughts on the Game & 2nd Viewing

[Gotti]

Watching the first half again and I suspect Samuel Kalu has not recovered from his long term injury he sustained last season he didn’t look well. The other winger Chukwueze is very selfish and needs to pass more rather always try and take his man on every time losing the ball in the process. He gave away the corner which resulted in Algeria scoring. We only won one corner in the whole of the first half.

Players that don’t belong are as follows: number 9 the basketball player, has no football ability ,cannot close down, no pace ,can’t hold up play and made no quality impact on the game did not have a single shot on goal in the whole of the first half he was there trying to defend when Algeria scored. The only good thing he did was block a free kick when the ball hit him in the face and he went down.

Number 4 was a passenger just send him home he is a waste pipe.

Number 13 Semi Ajayi is a very average player and at international level the requirement has to be exceptional. Yes he can tackle ,head , run and pass but Nigeria needs some one special in that position someone with vision that can distribute the ball and Ajayi is not it.

Number 17 Samuel Kalu appeared to be injured and played way below his usual level skying a shot when getting it on target looked easier. He was grimacing when walking on for the second half and was forced off in 47th minute.

Number 11 chukwueze needs sometime away from the starting line up to regain his form and learn to play as part of the team. The breakdown in the attack appeared alway come from him.

Good debuts from number 12. Number 21 appears to have recovered from injury.
Number 18 was running all over place with very little quality to show final ball was poor several times not finding his man. Number 18 is never a 10. Number 5 was average Number 6 had a good game making several last ditch tackle keeping the score line down.

Our transition from defence to attack seem to run out of ideas often with the attack fizzling out losing the ball rather than ending with a shot on goal.

Here's someone who watched the game...
Sanusi, Ebuehi and Balogun were the best SE players on display.

[Gotti]

Was today a tournament ?

The team you say "cannot pass" finished 3rd in the first 24 team tournament, losing at the last minute to a team that twice beat Senegal in that tournament, shutting them out twice, and thrashed Colombia 3-0 to cap off their trophy.

This hyperbole is not helpful.

But YOU PERSONALLY campaigned to fire (and apparently wished DEATH) on a coach that won the same 24-team tournament...

He won a 16 team tournament without the likea of Senegal, Egypt, Cameroon, even taking part.

Algeria and Morocco were much weaker than they are today. Did not have all their European born players yet.

CIV was literally our only legitimate contender in that tourney.

Reason I wanted him fired was because he was a crook not interested in building a formidable SE, but more concerned with lining his pockets.

In the end I was proven right and he couldn't even qualify us to the next tournament, disgracing us against Sudan, fake Congo, and this put Nigeria into the darkest period of 2 missed ANCs and our lowest ever FIFA ranking all because of his destabilization.

Haha too easy! Gotti dangles the bait, VanCity swallows hook, line and sinker. And just like that: thread diverted!!

It's like taking candy off a manchild...

[Gotti]

Rohr's call-ups have mostly been on point.

In my opinion, there's nothing wrong with the process that brought Okoye into the team. Rohr's critics on this front simply weren't paying attention.

As for Otabor, I'm still trying to figure out what the thought process was (in terms of his call up). That and calling up Junior Lokosa ahead of the World Cup, are the two most wasteful national team invites of the Rohr era.

Trust me, we are paying attention alright...
That's why I said we can cut Rohr a break on GKs.

Nonetheless, let's be unequivocally clear on one thing...
If an indigenous coach made same call, accusations of corruption would be rife.

DaMunk understands the point myself and EII made wrt Okoye...
But as the self-anointed Rohr Voltron obfuscates by conflating all Rohr criticisms.

[Adisboy]

Just finished the First half Second time around

- It is becoming a common theme that the match I saw the second time is not the one I remember

- No way was this game as bad as people are saying, even I am guilty in this regard

- Algeria and Nigeria were both dead even. It was an even match, dare I say we actually even had the better chances to score, other than the sloppy goal at the beginning of the match

-the tired cliches about us "not being able to string together passes" is a complete lie and fabrication by either emotional people stressed at watching live games (myself included) or those with an agenda. We had some very neat passing play at times. In fact we did not give the ball away as much as I remember, and when we did it was usually when the Algerians double or triple teamed our guys with a high press.

- Our defence was SOLID. It is understandable why Rohr went back to the "Oyibo wall" Nothing was getting by these guys, and the wing backs were great as well and it is understandable why the Algerian website gave their attackers such low scores.

-Onyeka was not as bad as people made him out to be. He got disposessed once early in the game in a bad area, but other than that, he worked hard, covered lots of ground, and even tried to get into the attack part of the game. I would definately not write him off, and want to see more of him vs Tunisia.

- Ajayi also wasn't bad at DM, and he won lots of ball in the air from midfield as well as on the ground. He is an extra tall body on the pitch for set pieces.

- Onuachu is just not a fit for this SE. Not a diss on him, but we dont need that kind of forward. We need a guy who will press the defence, and a guy who is far more dynamic. Onuachu is not it, and it wasn't just about "service" He is too one dimensional, not a good fit.

- Iwobi is very talented, we are lucky to have a player like him. The hate against him needs to stop. He was everywhere, covered lots of ground, dropped back deep to make things happen, made intelligent passes and decisions. Iwobi is a G, and he can only get better.

- Kalu and Chuks were OK, but I expect a lot from them, they weren't bad, but they were just OK, they defended as well too.

- Zaidu what an upgrade from that hapless Collins. Frankly with Aina and Ebuehi both able to play left back, I struggle to see the relevance of Collins in a SE 23. I would rather take Aina, Ezibuhe, Ebuehi, Sanusi to any tournament. I hope Rohr can see things this way, since he loves players who can play multiple positions.

- Ebuehi was very good defensively and has quick recovery speed, would like to see a little more in attack.

- Chei Balogun still has it. That boy get vexxed and joins the attack to try and make something happen, I was one of those writing him off, but he is here to stay for the time being. Omeruo and Awaziem will be the ones to lose out.


Overall a very good work out so far. I am not worried about this team at all.

Now on to the 2nd half.

Please could you post the link for us

Just rewatched the full game and Vancity was spot on. NO BODY SHOULD EVER INSULT IWOBI AGAIN. There's absolutely nothing to worry about in this team. The friendly has achieved it's purpose, we now know more about the players that are not capable going forward. Onuachu can't fit the playing style of this team so I do not expect more invitations to him.
We just need to add a bit more quality in the middle - hopefully Ejaria, Lookman, Nwakali and get a valid back up for Osimhen then I think we are fine. The defence was solid, full back areas sorted. Sanusi is a blessing. Certified baller!!!
On the game itself, apart from the 1st 6mins where we weren't fully tuned in and conceded off the rebound on a set piece, the game could have easily ended nil nil. Okoye wasn't seriously troubled. I honestly don't get why people are getting worked up about. THIS TEAM IS GOOD!!!

[maceo4]

Perhaps we in the middle of rebuilding after losing a few 1st team players to retirement/age (Mikel, Moses, Ighalo, Onazi, Ogu) and not having 3 of our current central midfielders available yesterday. That is what you call sliding backwards?

Meanwhile, yesterday was a friendly with both teams playing understrength but our own understrength was worse. Ajayi (as DM), Onyeka, Onuachu are really understrength. Kalu and Chukwueze are out of form. And Algeria are the current African champions. And yes, they looked better than us. That is the purpose of friendlies.

Please pull your noggin out of Massa's behind and realize that I am actually AGREEING with you that "The key issue is the change of personnel on both sides." SMH

Nonetheless, yes, teams actually do slide backwards, for any number of reasons. The tiresome excuses of "understrength" is quite frankly rubbish because the reality of football is that injuries and absences are a routine feature, and therefore the best teams are those with quality and strength in depth. If the absence of a handful of players emasculates your team, that in itself is a succinct sad self-indictment. Meanwhile, looking at Algeria's squad for these friendlies (and their lineup on Friday), they have just much (if not more of) a turnover in personnel as we have.

Folks seriously need to quit making obtuse excuses and accept this for the reality it is. It was a DISJOINTED performance in a friendly after almost a year of inactivity. We LEARN (hopefully) from it, and move on. Onyeka ko, Odogwu ni!

Agreed, lets stop with the excuses and hope for better more coordinated play going forward.

[Bigpokey24]

The excuses are pretty much pathetic... 4 years plus and they are shouting understrength . I cannot wait for the massive shame come WCQs, nah then una eye go open

[Lolly]

The excuses are pretty much pathetic... 4 years plus and they are shouting understrength . I cannot wait for the massive shame come WCQs, nah then una eye go open

Understrength for one match. Haba! You no go school? When you are forced to play without 5 first choice players, you are understrength. That’s even easy for casuals to understand.

[maceo4]

The excuses are pretty much pathetic... 4 years plus and they are shouting understrength . I cannot wait for the massive shame come WCQs, nah then una eye go open

Understrength for one match. Haba! You no go school? When you are forced to play without 5 first choice players, you are understrength. That’s even easy for casuals to understand.

They played with even more of their first choice out, so that’s a moot point...just admit team didn’t look good and let’s move forward. Injuries are part of the game, SE lost their top scorer vs Mali in 2013 but was still able to win the final. We definitely need depth and seemed both teams were working on testing out their depth but they still looked better at it than we did. We never once felt like we were gonna equalize or really had any sustained threat. That is something we need to work on, no excuse can hide that fact.

[Tobi17]

The excuses are pretty much pathetic... 4 years plus and they are shouting understrength . I cannot wait for the massive shame come WCQs, nah then una eye go open

Understrength for one match. Haba! You no go school? When you are forced to play without 5 first choice players, you are understrength. That’s even easy for casuals to understand.

They played with even more of their first choice out, so that’s a moot point...just admit team didn’t look good and let’s move forward. Injuries are part of the game, SE lost their top scorer vs Mali in 2013 but was still able to win the final. We definitely need depth and seemed both teams were working on testing out their depth but they still looked better at it than we did. We never once felt like we were gonna equalize or really had any sustained threat. That is something we need to work on, no excuse can hide that fact.

Bros they had Mahrez and a very promising Behranma with some of their key players on the bench... whom did we have? basketball star Onuachu leading our attack and some experimental midfield with Semi playing in an unfamiliar position and Onyeka looking out of sorts with no chemistry with Semi. Not taking anything away from our poor performance, but Algeria fielded a far more balanced team than ours despite missing some first starters on their side. Against Tunisia play Dessers, Ejuke and Simon upfront... then let's see what Tijani can do in the midfield and Akpoguma in defense. Already Sanusi and Ebuehi have solved our full back problems as it seems.

[maceo4]

The excuses are pretty much pathetic... 4 years plus and they are shouting understrength . I cannot wait for the massive shame come WCQs, nah then una eye go open

Understrength for one match. Haba! You no go school? When you are forced to play without 5 first choice players, you are understrength. That’s even easy for casuals to understand.

They played with even more of their first choice out, so that’s a moot point...just admit team didn’t look good and let’s move forward. Injuries are part of the game, SE lost their top scorer vs Mali in 2013 but was still able to win the final. We definitely need depth and seemed both teams were working on testing out their depth but they still looked better at it than we did. We never once felt like we were gonna equalize or really had any sustained threat. That is something we need to work on, no excuse can hide that fact.

Bros they had Mahrez and a very promising Behranma with some of their key players on the bench... whom did we have? basketball star Onuachu leading our attack and some experimental midfield with Semi playing in an unfamiliar position and Onyeka looking out of sorts with no chemistry with Semi. Not taking anything away from our poor performance, but Algeria fielded a far more balanced team than ours despite missing some first starters on their side. Against Tunisia play Dessers, Ejuke and Simon upfront... then let's see what Tijani can do in the midfield and Akpoguma in defense. Already Sanusi and Ebuehi have solved our full back problems as it seems.

Bros, Mahrez was their worst player on the night. We should stop throwing out names because even our best player is not the level of Mahrez that doesn’t mean that we shouldn’t be able to put passes together and look somewhat coordinated. If Mahrez beat us with individual brilliance you hold your hands up and say well it is what it is. But Mahrez was not the one hampering our play, their midfield that was all non starters had more of an affect on our flow of play.

The players you listed didn’t impose themselves on the team, they were picked by the coach, we all asked why an Azeez would be overlooked with all these injuries, only for the same coach to play a CD in midfield, does that make any sense to you? We’ve all said the same about Onuachu why can’t the coach see it? Why can’t Sadiq Umar get a chance if you are looking for a tall forward that would better fit into SE rather than having to adjust to their lumbering style.

It just wasn’t a good showing, we should have enough depth to do better than this, I don’t see how anybody can argue with what Gotti said. Let’s chill with the excuses, focus on where we need to improve instead.

[vancity eagle]

maceo4

for the most part Rohr has got the scouting and callups correct, but as I stated earlier he made a few mistakes with this window

Onuachu is nothing new, we have seen him, he even started ANC matches for us and this guy has always been unable to fit into the team. I feel that Rohr was under pressure because of his club form and Dessers sitting bench on the very same club to call Onuachu up and start him because of his goals in training.

I really hope this Onuachu chapter has fully ended, he has had enough chances, plenty in fact, he needs to be absolutely and equivocally written off for GOOD.

He even jumped ahead of Maja, who was the one on the standby list, Onuachu wasn't even originally on it.

There is no reason why Rohr and his scouting crew have not identified the fact that Sadiq is not only tall, but quick, and very technical with goals and assists galore. NO EXCUSE TO OVERLOOK HIM.

IMO I think Sadiq is the backup for Osimehn we are looking for, its just too bad he couldn't make a proper move this transfer window.


Now to the midfield, a huge mess up by Rohr and the crew calling up a paper thin midfield with all of our injuries. I personally called this out before the game, now it is glaring as ever.

Alhassan Yusuf, Azeez should both have been called up. No excuse whatsoever to exclude Azeez. Nwakali sef should have been called up if the Covid was not an issue, which I doubt it was.

How on earth you can go into 2 matches with a midfield of Onyeka, Agu, Tijani is simply astounding.

You mention that Algeria midfield were all non starters, yes but those midfielder ALL play in Ligue 1, while we are parading a guy playing in Denmark, a youngster who just started his career in Austria, and a central defender, and we wonder why we were outplayed in midfield.

Again I have been happy with most of Rohr's decisions, but some of them have been head scratching to say the least.

[maceo4]

maceo4

for the most part Rohr has got the scouting and callups correct, but as I stated earlier he made a few mistakes with this window

Onuachu is nothing new, we have seen him, he even started ANC matches for us and this guy has always been unable to fit into the team. I feel that Rohr was under pressure because of his club form and Dessers sitting bench on the very same club to call Onuachu up and start him because of his goals in training.

I really hope this Onuachu chapter has fully ended, he has had enough chances, plenty in fact, he needs to be absolutely and equivocally written off for GOOD.

He even jumped ahead of Maja, who was the one on the standby list, Onuachu wasn't even originally on it.

There is no reason why Rohr and his scouting crew have not identified the fact that Sadiq is not only tall, but quick, and very technical with goals and assists galore. NO EXCUSE TO OVERLOOK HIM.

IMO I think Sadiq is the backup for Osimehn we are looking for, its just too bad he couldn't make a proper move this transfer window.


Now to the midfield, a huge mess up by Rohr and the crew calling up a paper thin midfield with all of our injuries. I personally called this out before the game, now it is glaring as ever.

Alhassan Yusuf, Azeez should both have been called up. No excuse whatsoever to exclude Azeez. Nwakali sef should have been called up if the Covid was not an issue, which I doubt it was.

How on earth you can go into 2 matches with a midfield of Onyeka, Agu, Tijani is simply astounding.

You mention that Algeria midfield were all non starters, yes but those midfielder ALL play in Ligue 1, while we are parading a guy playing in Denmark, a youngster who just started his career in Austria, and a central defender, and we wonder why we were outplayed in midfield.

Again I have been happy with most of Rohr's decisions, but some of them have been head scratching to say the least.

You’ve said it all sha, he didn’t do well replacing those who had to pull out. Hopefully these two matches don’t turn out to be a waste.

[Tobi17]

maceo4

for the most part Rohr has got the scouting and callups correct, but as I stated earlier he made a few mistakes with this window

Onuachu is nothing new, we have seen him, he even started ANC matches for us and this guy has always been unable to fit into the team. I feel that Rohr was under pressure because of his club form and Dessers sitting bench on the very same club to call Onuachu up and start him because of his goals in training.

I really hope this Onuachu chapter has fully ended, he has had enough chances, plenty in fact, he needs to be absolutely and equivocally written off for GOOD.

He even jumped ahead of Maja, who was the one on the standby list, Onuachu wasn't even originally on it.

There is no reason why Rohr and his scouting crew have not identified the fact that Sadiq is not only tall, but quick, and very technical with goals and assists galore. NO EXCUSE TO OVERLOOK HIM.

IMO I think Sadiq is the backup for Osimehn we are looking for, its just too bad he couldn't make a proper move this transfer window.


Now to the midfield, a huge mess up by Rohr and the crew calling up a paper thin midfield with all of our injuries. I personally called this out before the game, now it is glaring as ever.

Alhassan Yusuf, Azeez should both have been called up. No excuse whatsoever to exclude Azeez. Nwakali sef should have been called up if the Covid was not an issue, which I doubt it was.

How on earth you can go into 2 matches with a midfield of Onyeka, Agu, Tijani is simply astounding.

You mention that Algeria midfield were all non starters, yes but those midfielder ALL play in Ligue 1, while we are parading a guy playing in Denmark, a youngster who just started his career in Austria, and a central defender, and we wonder why we were outplayed in midfield.

Again I have been happy with most of Rohr's decisions, but some of them have been head scratching to say the least.

The highlighted is summarily my whole point, Maceo is talking about us getting outplayed by non-starters on the Algerian side, but those Algerian midfielders despite not first starters, still play for established clubs in France. How would you expect us not to get outplayed when we fielded a rookie from Denmark, some 18 year kid still on loan in Austria and a natural defender playing as a CDM... This one is on Rohr, if we had the likes of Azeez, perhaps even Nwakali and even Ejaria (if only his passport issues were sorted out in time), that Algerian team was easily there for some thrashing... and we didn't even need the likes of Ndidi, Etebo or Aribo to do that.

[vancity eagle]

maceo4

for the most part Rohr has got the scouting and callups correct, but as I stated earlier he made a few mistakes with this window

Onuachu is nothing new, we have seen him, he even started ANC matches for us and this guy has always been unable to fit into the team. I feel that Rohr was under pressure because of his club form and Dessers sitting bench on the very same club to call Onuachu up and start him because of his goals in training.

I really hope this Onuachu chapter has fully ended, he has had enough chances, plenty in fact, he needs to be absolutely and equivocally written off for GOOD.

He even jumped ahead of Maja, who was the one on the standby list, Onuachu wasn't even originally on it.

There is no reason why Rohr and his scouting crew have not identified the fact that Sadiq is not only tall, but quick, and very technical with goals and assists galore. NO EXCUSE TO OVERLOOK HIM.

IMO I think Sadiq is the backup for Osimehn we are looking for, its just too bad he couldn't make a proper move this transfer window.


Now to the midfield, a huge mess up by Rohr and the crew calling up a paper thin midfield with all of our injuries. I personally called this out before the game, now it is glaring as ever.

Alhassan Yusuf, Azeez should both have been called up. No excuse whatsoever to exclude Azeez. Nwakali sef should have been called up if the Covid was not an issue, which I doubt it was.

How on earth you can go into 2 matches with a midfield of Onyeka, Agu, Tijani is simply astounding.

You mention that Algeria midfield were all non starters, yes but those midfielder ALL play in Ligue 1, while we are parading a guy playing in Denmark, a youngster who just started his career in Austria, and a central defender, and we wonder why we were outplayed in midfield.

Again I have been happy with most of Rohr's decisions, but some of them have been head scratching to say the least.

The highlighted is summarily my whole point, Maceo is talking about us getting outplayed by non-starters on the Algerian side, but those Algerian midfielders despite not first starters, still play for established clubs in France. How would you expect us not to get outplayed when we fielded a rookie from Denmark, some 18 year kid still on loan in Austria and a natural defender playing as a CDM... This one is on Rohr, if we had the likes of Azeez, perhaps even Nwakali and even Ejaria (if only his passport issues were sorted out in time), that Algerian team was easily there for some thrashing... and we didn't even need the likes of Ndidi, Etebo or Aribo to do that.

KPOM

Well for those who have been saying that Nwakali has not done enough to warrant a call.

Nonsense.

If Rohr can be looking to the future with Tijani, there is no excuse for him to not do the same with Nwakali, especially when Nwakali is much further forward in his development.

This is where they should have even invited a guy like Kingsley Michael.

I wonder if these guys even have a detailed depth chart like the one I created. When 3 or 4 midfielders are absent, it shouldn't be a great mystery, or shot in the dark who will be called up to replace them.

[vancity eagle]

and with all of these teams losing players to Covid, Rohr and co. better come correct with callups, and in fact I would call up more than 23 players, or have a long stand by list.

We must be prepared no getting caught off guard.

I feel like we can handle withdrawls in defence and in terms of wide players, but losing Key midfielders or Osimehn will hit us hardest.

It is simply unacceptable to call up so few proper midfielders, that is the spine of your team, I dont know why Nigerian coaches always do this.

[Lolly]

maceo4

for the most part Rohr has got the scouting and callups correct, but as I stated earlier he made a few mistakes with this window

Onuachu is nothing new, we have seen him, he even started ANC matches for us and this guy has always been unable to fit into the team. I feel that Rohr was under pressure because of his club form and Dessers sitting bench on the very same club to call Onuachu up and start him because of his goals in training.

I really hope this Onuachu chapter has fully ended, he has had enough chances, plenty in fact, he needs to be absolutely and equivocally written off for GOOD.

He even jumped ahead of Maja, who was the one on the standby list, Onuachu wasn't even originally on it.

There is no reason why Rohr and his scouting crew have not identified the fact that Sadiq is not only tall, but quick, and very technical with goals and assists galore. NO EXCUSE TO OVERLOOK HIM.

IMO I think Sadiq is the backup for Osimehn we are looking for, its just too bad he couldn't make a proper move this transfer window.


Now to the midfield, a huge mess up by Rohr and the crew calling up a paper thin midfield with all of our injuries. I personally called this out before the game, now it is glaring as ever.

Alhassan Yusuf, Azeez should both have been called up. No excuse whatsoever to exclude Azeez. Nwakali sef should have been called up if the Covid was not an issue, which I doubt it was.

How on earth you can go into 2 matches with a midfield of Onyeka, Agu, Tijani is simply astounding.

You mention that Algeria midfield were all non starters, yes but those midfielder ALL play in Ligue 1, while we are parading a guy playing in Denmark, a youngster who just started his career in Austria, and a central defender, and we wonder why we were outplayed in midfield.

Again I have been happy with most of Rohr's decisions, but some of them have been head scratching to say the least.

The highlighted is summarily my whole point, Maceo is talking about us getting outplayed by non-starters on the Algerian side, but those Algerian midfielders despite not first starters, still play for established clubs in France. How would you expect us not to get outplayed when we fielded a rookie from Denmark, some 18 year kid still on loan in Austria and a natural defender playing as a CDM... This one is on Rohr, if we had the likes of Azeez, perhaps even Nwakali and even Ejaria (if only his passport issues were sorted out in time), that Algerian team was easily there for some thrashing... and we didn't even need the likes of Ndidi, Etebo or Aribo to do that.

KPOM

Well for those who have been saying that Nwakali has not done enough to warrant a call.

Nonsense.

If Rohr can be looking to the future with Tijani, there is no excuse for him to not do the same with Nwakali, especially when Nwakali is much further forward in his development.

This is where they should have even invited a guy like Kingsley Michael.

I wonder if these guys even have a detailed depth chart like the one I created. When 3 or 4 midfielders are absent, it shouldn't be a great mystery, or shot in the dark who will be called up to replace them.

Ya”all have forgotten so quickly. Are you talking about the same Nwakali and Kingsley Michael that stunk up the joint during the world youth cup. Some of you guys don’t know how to spot a good player. Did you play the beautiful game at all?

[Akure4Life]

The making of sausage is never as sweet as the final product, what we saw today was an experimental team trying to find its strength during its first game. Its unreasonable to expect the SE to come out blazing vs a well drilled Afcon Champs like Algeria. Algeria scored through a lucky bounce of the ball, dominated the MF but huffed and puffed to create any clear cut chances.

POSITIVES

1, SANUSI-------- One of the best defensive efforts I've seen against Mahrez. This boy is a top notch LB. No wonder Porto snapped him up and sent Zelles packing. Excellent debut!

2, OKOYE ------------ We found a keeper here folks. Confident, organises the defense well , good with,not a vampire and rather agile for his size. If he ever gets regular time in Holland Uzoho will be in trouble.

3, EBUEHI ‐------------ A joy to see him getting back to his best self even though he seems to be a step slower. More games should fix that.

NEGATIVES

1, THE WINGERS ------- We have too many so called wingers who are just not productive enough to be starting yet let alone together. Chukwueze and Kalu starting together should never happen again. They're too similar and offer very little attacking output, their lack of defensive discipline puts more pressure on the MF. Iwobi and Simon should move to the left wing, no more cul-de-sac sac wingers.

2, ONYEKA ----‐-- I felt sorry for him and Ajayi. They were simply overwhelmed in MF but had little in terms of technical ability to do much but hustle. I'll give Onyeka a pass and take a raincheck on judging him until I see him in a more balanced team.

THE UNAPPRECIATED

ONUACHU --------- what was he supposed to do? He got absolutely no service whatsoever but won his aerial duels and flicked on a few balls. Was he suppose to run into lanes that weren't open to score imaginary goals? Players like him need a stable MF and wing play to flourish. Judging him harshly is tantamount to football ignorance.


CONCLUSION ‐-‐--------- it was just a friendly afteral. ROHR must be happy as he got to see a few new players perform and got reassurance about the ability of others that haven't played in a while.
Has to be stoked about Okoye and Sanusi and happy to see Ebuehi performing again.

Ajayi should be moved back to CD. He is not fast enough to play in the midfield although he did ok

[Enyi]

The excuses are pretty much pathetic... 4 years plus and they are shouting understrength . I cannot wait for the massive shame come WCQs, nah then una eye go open

Understrength for one match. Haba! You no go school? When you are forced to play without 5 first choice players, you are understrength. That’s even easy for casuals to understand.

They played with even more of their first choice out, so that’s a moot point...just admit team didn’t look good and let’s move forward. Injuries are part of the game, SE lost their top scorer vs Mali in 2013 but was still able to win the final. We definitely need depth and seemed both teams were working on testing out their depth but they still looked better at it than we did. We never once felt like we were gonna equalize or really had any sustained threat. That is something we need to work on, no excuse can hide that fact.

Bros they had Mahrez and a very promising Behranma with some of their key players on the bench... whom did we have? basketball star Onuachu leading our attack and some experimental midfield with Semi playing in an unfamiliar position and Onyeka looking out of sorts with no chemistry with Semi. Not taking anything away from our poor performance, but Algeria fielded a far more balanced team than ours despite missing some first starters on their side. Against Tunisia play Dessers, Ejuke and Simon upfront... then let's see what Tijani can do in the midfield and Akpoguma in defense. Already Sanusi and Ebuehi have solved our full back problems as it seems.

Bros, Mahrez was their worst player on the night. We should stop throwing out names because even our best player is not the level of Mahrez that doesn’t mean that we shouldn’t be able to put passes together and look somewhat coordinated. If Mahrez beat us with individual brilliance you hold your hands up and say well it is what it is. But Mahrez was not the one hampering our play, their midfield that was all non starters had more of an affect on our flow of play.

The players you listed didn’t impose themselves on the team, they were picked by the coach, we all asked why an Azeez would be overlooked with all these injuries, only for the same coach to play a CD in midfield, does that make any sense to you? We’ve all said the same about Onuachu why can’t the coach see it? Why can’t Sadiq Umar get a chance if you are looking for a tall forward that would better fit into SE rather than having to adjust to their lumbering style.

It just wasn’t a good showing, we should have enough depth to do better than this, I don’t see how anybody can argue with what Gotti said. Let’s chill with the excuses, focus on where we need to improve instead.

so we handled their best player.....their world class player and you think the team played badly.......

so you agree that if we were beaten by a Mahrez brilliant strike....u hold up ur hands.....but if its a crappy goal.....u condemn the team......

Guys what exactly are we saying here!!!!!!

BOTH TEAMS WERE POOR PERIOD....THEY HAD BETTER PLAYERS ON THE PITCH STILL HE HANDLED OURSELVES.....WE FIELDED PLAYERS LIKE TIJANI, AGU, ONYEKA, AJAYI(IN MIDFIED) STILL CAME OUT LOOKING OK AND PPL ARE TALKING REALLY, WTF IS GOING ON HERE!!!!!!

[maceo4]

The excuses are pretty much pathetic... 4 years plus and they are shouting understrength . I cannot wait for the massive shame come WCQs, nah then una eye go open

Understrength for one match. Haba! You no go school? When you are forced to play without 5 first choice players, you are understrength. That’s even easy for casuals to understand.

They played with even more of their first choice out, so that’s a moot point...just admit team didn’t look good and let’s move forward. Injuries are part of the game, SE lost their top scorer vs Mali in 2013 but was still able to win the final. We definitely need depth and seemed both teams were working on testing out their depth but they still looked better at it than we did. We never once felt like we were gonna equalize or really had any sustained threat. That is something we need to work on, no excuse can hide that fact.

Bros they had Mahrez and a very promising Behranma with some of their key players on the bench... whom did we have? basketball star Onuachu leading our attack and some experimental midfield with Semi playing in an unfamiliar position and Onyeka looking out of sorts with no chemistry with Semi. Not taking anything away from our poor performance, but Algeria fielded a far more balanced team than ours despite missing some first starters on their side. Against Tunisia play Dessers, Ejuke and Simon upfront... then let's see what Tijani can do in the midfield and Akpoguma in defense. Already Sanusi and Ebuehi have solved our full back problems as it seems.

Bros, Mahrez was their worst player on the night. We should stop throwing out names because even our best player is not the level of Mahrez that doesn’t mean that we shouldn’t be able to put passes together and look somewhat coordinated. If Mahrez beat us with individual brilliance you hold your hands up and say well it is what it is. But Mahrez was not the one hampering our play, their midfield that was all non starters had more of an affect on our flow of play.

The players you listed didn’t impose themselves on the team, they were picked by the coach, we all asked why an Azeez would be overlooked with all these injuries, only for the same coach to play a CD in midfield, does that make any sense to you? We’ve all said the same about Onuachu why can’t the coach see it? Why can’t Sadiq Umar get a chance if you are looking for a tall forward that would better fit into SE rather than having to adjust to their lumbering style.

It just wasn’t a good showing, we should have enough depth to do better than this, I don’t see how anybody can argue with what Gotti said. Let’s chill with the excuses, focus on where we need to improve instead.

so we handled their best player.....their world class player and you think the team played badly.......

so you agree that if we were beaten by a Mahrez brilliant strike....u hold up ur hands.....but if its a crappy goal.....u condemn the team......

Guys what exactly are we saying here!!!!!!

BOTH TEAMS WERE POOR PERIOD....THEY HAD BETTER PLAYERS ON THE PITCH STILL HE HANDLED OURSELVES.....WE FIELDED PLAYERS LIKE TIJANI, AGU, ONYEKA, AJAYI(IN MIDFIED) STILL CAME OUT LOOKING OK AND PPL ARE TALKING REALLY, WTF IS GOING ON HERE!!!!!!

E bi like sey the Inkrish don pass your level. Handling Mahrez na defensive job abi? Eh hen, now when we come win ball then we go dey which side? Offense abi??? Eh ehen, so wetin we take do when we get ball for offense? Na wetin we dey tok be that, how Supa Eagus no fit hold ball sotey Algeria second choice goalie go vacation for Austria market for the full 90 minutes...

I hope that clears it up...

[okidoki]

Throw Aribo and Osimhen in this game and the outcome would have been different. Next game I want to see what the likes of Chidera Ejike, Tijani, Dessers can do.

Wait till Ejaria and Nwakali join the team. Just wait.

Ejaria, Lookman and Nwakali will bring some serious creative edge to this team.

Like I said a week ago.

After seeing Lookman for 2 small Fulham cameos, I believe he is our best winger.

Todays game makes me believe that even more.

Can't wait for Ejaria to join, and I also think Nwakali has something to add.

He’s not close to being our best. Couldn’t get games in Everton, and now In Germany. Na. The importance you are giving the friendlies is mind boggling. We had how many debutants on again, Yes! I thought so. If we had beat the African champions with that amount of people making their debut, and a keeper that is largely untested for both club and country, then Africa should quit football.

[Gotti]

Bros, Mahrez was their worst player on the night. We should stop throwing out names because even our best player is not the level of Mahrez that doesn’t mean that we shouldn’t be able to put passes together and look somewhat coordinated. If Mahrez beat us with individual brilliance you hold your hands up and say well it is what it is. But Mahrez was not the one hampering our play, their midfield that was all non starters had more of an affect on our flow of play.

The players you listed didn’t impose themselves on the team, they were picked by the coach, we all asked why an Azeez would be overlooked with all these injuries, only for the same coach to play a CD in midfield, does that make any sense to you? We’ve all said the same about Onuachu why can’t the coach see it? Why can’t Sadiq Umar get a chance if you are looking for a tall forward that would better fit into SE rather than having to adjust to their lumbering style.

It just wasn’t a good showing, we should have enough depth to do better than this, I don’t see how anybody can argue with what Gotti said. Let’s chill with the excuses, focus on where we need to improve instead.

Well said!

[Gotti]

The highlighted is summarily my whole point, Maceo is talking about us getting outplayed by non-starters on the Algerian side, but those Algerian midfielders despite not first starters, still play for established clubs in France. How would you expect us not to get outplayed when we fielded a rookie from Denmark, some 18 year kid still on loan in Austria and a natural defender playing as a CDM... This one is on Rohr, if we had the likes of Azeez, perhaps even Nwakali and even Ejaria (if only his passport issues were sorted out in time), that Algerian team was easily there for some thrashing... and we didn't even need the likes of Ndidi, Etebo or Aribo to do that.

The fact that Saïd Benrahma that you specifically picked out plays in the English SECOND DIVISION (er...sorry, the "Championship" - the saying that a pig by any name...comes to mind) merely serves to validate Maceo's point that "we should stop throwing out names"! The primary reason those Algerians play in Ligue 1 (the same league as Samuel Kalu and Simon Moses both of who played on the SE team on the night) is that they were born in France. The one Algerian that was not, plays for modest Beerschot in Belgium.

Accordingly, let's not obfuscate with names, leagues and/or clubs. It was simply a DISJOINTED performance (again, perhaps understandably so). Re-watching the game million times over doesn't change that stark reality. It merely increases your tolerance and accommodation thereof.

[Gotti]

so we handled their best player.....their world class player and you think the team played badly.......

so you agree that if we were beaten by a Mahrez brilliant strike....u hold up ur hands.....but if its a crappy goal.....u condemn the team......

Guys what exactly are we saying here!!!!!!

BOTH TEAMS WERE POOR PERIOD....THEY HAD BETTER PLAYERS ON THE PITCH STILL HE HANDLED OURSELVES.....WE FIELDED PLAYERS LIKE TIJANI, AGU, ONYEKA, AJAYI(IN MIDFIED) STILL CAME OUT LOOKING OK AND PPL ARE TALKING REALLY, WTF IS GOING ON HERE!!!!!!

So you "handled their best player" and yet they BEAT you?! SMH

Reaffirming that it is about the TEAM, not throwing out names, leagues and/or clubs...
We won the AFCON in 2013 with the likes of Oboabona, Mba, Ambrose (at FB), debutants Omeruo, Onazi, etc.

A GOOD TEAM should be able to play basic football properly, regardless of names.