Cybereagles

Adarabioyo is definitely not average. He does not have any of Ajayi's traits. I have seen Ajayi beaten in the air by shorter players directly for 4 (FOUR) goals. Twice for West Brom and Twice for Nigeria. Sierra Leone's 2nd goal is one of them in which he made no attempt to contest a header by a shorter player. It happened also against Arsenal but luckily it didn't result in a goal. Now i have watched Fulham last 6 consecutive matches and i have never seen Tosin beaten in the air by his opponent once. His positioning and awareness has been excellent. Check Fulham's defensive stats recently and compare with West Brom's. It not by accident.

Not against you in particular but I have always wondered why Nigerians are obessed with players who have not signaled any interest to play for Nigeria or outrighly rejected Nigeria's advances. Just Weird!

I see today is 'beat up on Semi Ajayi' day. Nigerians and scape-goating, sha. What else is new?
Perhaps you need to re-watch the match and see the events leading up to the second goal. That SL cross from the left was Maduka's to claim. He didn't. The SL lad snuck in between Ekong and Ajayi and got a good header in. Your blaming him for the goal is disingenuous, at the very least.

Football is a game of obsession.
Many of our wives and/or girlfriends who see us on this site every day are baffled by our "obsession" with what many call 'the green site".

Having said that, are you not equally baffled by the "obsession" of those who cannot let those of us tracking potential Nigeria SE players enjoy ourselves in peace?
I've often wondered why they get so anal about it. Some even appear upset and angry.

Any ideas why?

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"Ole kuku ni gbogbo wọn "

Una see the own goal wey Ekong and Awaziem actually scored? Ewo!!
My number one quality in a defender na stability too. Ekong - panicky and jittery all the time. Awaziem - mistakes everywhere.

More like 'era', than day.

But that's what fans do.
Let's see...do you remember...
Beat up on Moses Simon era?
Beat up on Ahmed Musa era?
Beat up on Daniel Akpeyi era?
Beat up on Odion Ighalo era?
Beat up on Jamilu Collins era?
Beat up on Maduka Okoye era?
Beat up on Leon Balogun era?
Beat up on Kenneth Omeruo era?
Beat up on Troost-Ekong era?

And of course
Beat up on Amaju Pinnick era?
Beat up on Gernot Rohr era?

And that's just on the current squad.


We 'learn' to (Oops! Forbidden word)...we get used to it.
It comes with the territory of fandom.

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"Ole kuku ni gbogbo wọn "

This is your opinion which is not backed up by any facts. Facts are he hasn’t been able to make it at City and is only at a very poor EPL team having had multiple seasons in the lower leagues trying to prove himself. Sounds to me like an average player. Unless the definition of average has suddenly changed. He’s playing at the exact same level as Ajayi might be slightly better and also has age on his side. But let’s not act like he’s suddenly a class defender or levels above Ajayi, he’s about the same kind of defender with similar traits as you can see mentioned in his who scored rating. He’s comfortable with the ball, good at interceptions, but not the best tackler. Very similar to Ajayis weaknesses:

Adara: avg 6.79 https://www.whoscored.com/Players/13646 ... Adarabioyo
Semi: avg 6.33 https://www.whoscored.com/Players/24781 ... Semi-Ajayi

Hopefully he can work his way up the EPL ladder as I think better teams would take a chance on him if Fulham are relegated as expected and City still won’t give him a chance. I don’t know if I can say the same about Ajayi as of yet but you never know.

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Super Eagus 4 Life!

I am not in anyway against him being invited to the SE as he can be a defensive midfield option, however I will not rate him among our top 4 CBs. For me he would be an emergency CB option, where we will have to keep our figures crossed.

Bros, I know you don’t follow my every word but just like you, this is MY NUMBER ONE criticism of Ekong. I am definitely not a fan.

In my own opinion, Awaziem is not panicky, but he’s an average defender. Never have seen anything from him that gives me that much confidence that he should hold down a spot. Ekong, in all his panicky glory, would at least give you a goal line clearance here and there. Awaziem on the other hand is very ‘meh’.

In my own opinion, our best defenders are Balogun and Ebuehi. Balogs is a bit too old now though but Ebuehi has all it takes to be great.

On Ajayi, he seemed not to know what his legs were doing. He just kinda swung them and until the ball hit the post, he looked like he was in a daze. Fa fa fa fowl. That’s how you get eliminated from the world cup

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We vex come

You might be saying this casually, but its a genuine thing. It has happened a few times before, once at least against Brazil that I definitely remember.

'Sorting your feet out' is crucial and its about adjusting your balance quickly and effectively.
Its not a crime in itself, as every player can be caught on the wrong foot from time to time, but when it becomes noticeable because its happening a little more often than usual, then maybe it is a real issue.

Your observation about him ''not knowing what his legs are doing'' is definitely something that has come to mind before.
Nor be say you yab am.

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"Ole kuku ni gbogbo wọn "

BTW, on Ebuehi, I've been watching most of his games on ESPN+, his defending has been very solid, very very solid, bobo has been putting in a shift defensively. But what is glaringly obvious is his unwillingness to try and attack, even when it's clear he has a pace advantage over his opponent. I don't know if he's trying to avoid injury or what, but he does need to improve that side of his game to be a top modern day full back. I get so frustrated just seeing him go sideways and backwards all the time, even when he has space to advance even a little. The few times I have seen him attack resulted in poor crosses, whiffed shots etc, underlining the more reason why he needs to continue to try and work on that aspect of his game. Bobo has the talent to be a baller on both sides of the ball like Sanusi has been with Porto, hopefully he can improve on it.

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Super Eagus 4 Life!

All depends on the coaches instruction and tactical game plan. If the team have enough playmakers in the middle and they are not playing with wing backs, then Ebuehi will be expected to sit. In the GWG he doesn't play with such restraints. He is a bona fide baller.

Good thing I wasn’t the only one. I was holding out on judging him cause I hadn’t seen much beyond some grainy friendly match footage and an odd EPL game...But there are times you see one thing and you’ve seen enough. There’s still time for him to improve but right now, if I were coach, he won’t be starting at all.

I like confidence and control in a defender. Know what you’re doing. Do it with resolve and control of your body. Panic is more deadly to a defense than most people realize, and for the love of grace, don’t just swing your legs and arms aimlessly

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We vex come

Good obs. I haven’t watched any Dutch league games but for Nigeria, the defensive quality was evident from the first game I saw him play. Smart. Keeps his eye on the ball. Makes good decisions. Doesn’t panic.

That knee injury did him in tbh. He was clearly on an upward trajectory in football.

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We vex come