3 takeaways from the game

[Cellular]

my takeaways

Kingsley Michael was good. Good technique, always looked to make positive passes, drove forwards, made tackles. Def one for the future, but he should be in the mix.

Ahmed Musa has nothing to offer SE. Absolutely nothing. Zilch. These stupid NFF conmen are jeapordizing SE so that he can break the cap records. Musa should just walk away if he loves his country and stop being so damn selfish.

Okoye should sit on the bench. too many soft goals he has allowed, I'm sick of the excuses. Enough already.

Innocent Bonke is simply a carpenter nothing more. We need to get past this idea that all a DM does is "break up plays" A DM can have technical skill and passing ability for heavens sake. Dont want to see him again, nowhere near the ability of Alhassan Yusuf or even Nwobodo.

Ejuke is a very skilled player but still a diamond in the rough. I can see why Rohr does not start him, but he can be turned into a deadly sub impact player. He should always be in the mix for now.

Osimehn really needs to add some craftiness to his game. Like I have been saying for a long time, HE IS TOO ONE DIMENSIONAL. All he does is run and muscle. He needs to add intelligence to his game. Delay your runs, peel off from your markers to create space and channels for wingers to pass to you. I can see how top defenders will simply mark him out of games, as has been done many times in Seie A.

Overall we did not play too badly given the circumstances, poor pitch, missing players, away match, yes we had luck to win, but it was a decent outing

I hope Rohr has learned his lesson but I doubt it. He needs to be continually improving the team and player set, and not think the job is done. Some players should have seen their last match (Bonke, Musa, Shehu)

There is no alternative to Rohr unfortunately, we are stuck with him. The team isn't even bad, its just that Rohr needs to sort out a few things he seems slow to understand. The obvious NFF meddling in the team is also not helping.

You pretty much captured most of my thoughts wrt the Rohr issue.

Take a look at recent history. Algeria would not have won the AFCON if they had the mindset of some Naija fans and Arsenal fans. They saw that with the generation of players they have, they should be better than their results leading to the AFCON. They could have played it safe... they didn't. And the rest is history.

To compare Algeria and Nigerias situation is ridiculous.

They got a new coach because they were in a free fall of piss poor results.

They failed to qualify for World Cup (courtesy of Rohr but they also finished dead last even below Zambia)

They failed to get out of the first round of the previous afcon.

Of course they got a new coach. How is that situation anything similar to Rohr and Nigeria

What is ridiculous is your attempt at winding yourself into a pretzel trying to defend ****.

Algeria won the AFCON with pretty much the same team that underachieved under the previous coach. They did so by firing the old coach who couldn't get the best out of the players. They were not paralyzed with the mindset that you hold unto a coach who is incapable of getting the most out of your players especially when you believe that the players are good enough.

Had Algeria been Naijaria, they would have kept the previous coach using the excuses that you all have been proferring for ****. "He needs time"... "he played agianst good teams"... "the players are not as good as we think"... "the FA is hampering his success".

For me, it boils down to the fact that some of you are willing to tolerate being mediocre as long as it is from ****. Your expectations of the team has changed since he took over.

[Scipio Africanus]

Nwakali is actually playing well for his club and getting alot of playing time. It is criminal for Rohr not to invite more midfielders but rely on the combo of Ndidi/Etebo/Aribo. That is dangerous! Imagine if these 3 are injured( God forbid), we are toast. It is so obvious even the blind can see that.

So Nwakali is your answer?

Damunk you are a sensible man

there is no reason by now that Rohr has not had a look at

Kelechi Nwakali
Obinna Nwobodo
Alhassan Yusuf

live in camp during a callup

We have had plenty of opportunities but Rohr thought it was more important to call up 9 defenders, or second division wingers (Abraham Marcus)

Its not like these players have not merrited a callup

Nwobodo had better numbers than Etebo last year playing in the same league, but for a weaker team.

Nwakali has been doing well for his team in the Segunda, and if Rohr can call up a 2nd division winger ( a position we are not lacking in) then certainly he can call up a ball playing midfielder in a stronger 2nd division, when that is a position we lack in.

Alhassan Yusuf has been tearing up the Belgian league and was making waves in Sweden before. Again if they can call up Iwuala or Abraham Marcus for positions we dont even need them in, they can certainly call up Alhassan.

His ignoring of the most important position on the pitch is damn right criminal, you can make no excuses for Rohr here, he has failed abysmally.

Rohr even failed to call up midfielders for a 2 friendlies when we were missing, Ndidi, Etebo, AND Aribo. He simply called up Onyeka and 9 defenders. What kind of fool is that ? I am honestly asking you.

We should not have found ourselves in this position to be scrambling for midfielders.

Today we had ZERO midfielders on the bench. Had bonke or Kinglesy gotten injured, what will Rohr do ?

There needs to be no fewer than 6 proper midfielder for every 23 man squad. That includes Iwobi as our main AM, but there needs to be at least 5 after him. Anything else is completely irresponsible.

R**r does not believe in playing a possession game, he doesn't believe in using the midfield. R**r has a PHOBIA of midfield play. That much should be clear after his time in charge. That is the main reason we lost that game against Argentina at the WC. We all saw what he could not, or WOULD not see, because of his phobia for midfield play. I have been hammering on this since time imo river. He will neeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeever call up a midfielder when he can call up a defender or winger instead.

[Cito]

Difference is Algeria has a competent FA and well run league/footballing culture, Nigeria on the other hand does not... the mess was there before Rohr was tenured as coach, and it will most likely still remain there when he sees out his contract.

It's all Rohrs fault, meanwhile your NFF can't even pay the man's salary, even the same players who represent the GWG have on several occasions complained of not been given the match bonuses they were promised... you want success albeit with your overpampered expectations (which is fine) afterall we all want the best for our national football team... But your football administration including the whole structure is at a pitiable state yet somehow you expect success... Pray tell, which world class coach will be ready to work on such footballing environment where crass incompetence takes a front seat? you can't even pay your employee the wages he's due for and you expect a Pep Guardiola to somehow descend from the sky and tolerate our sh#t? unfortunately things don't work like that, what you see is what you get, until Rohrs contract ends and he fails to meet the expectations set for him, you might as well support your national team through thick and thin until that world class coach you have lined up to bring our beautiful football back comes along.

Bro, i will be the first to tell you that **** is still coach because of non-footballing reasons.

He has been a good soldier taking crap from the FA. And if Pinnick had any modicum of integrity would have paid the man off and went about searching for a coach that can give us a footballing identity. **** has done his job, he has triaged the patient and stabilized the patient. Continuing with him is fools gold.

But I don't blame Pinnick, he is after all an Arsenal fan.

And you think it's as easy as Pinnick just paying off Rohr and then go searching for a coach that will give us back our "footballing identity", while the rot in our general football structure remains unaddressed .. Maybe the new coach will do well in the first stint of his managerial tenure by making us play that attractive brand of football we badly want to see, perhaps he will win some games impressively... then what happens after he loses the momentum and everything goes back to sh#t again because the same problems I earlier highlighted (NFF wahala) pops up again?

At least Rohr has given the team a semblance of stability considering the mess and disorganization he met the team when he was appointed as coach. The reality we all know as the truth deep down but are scared to admit is that, Nigerian football will require a thorough revamp from bottom-up, our entitled winning mentality is a mere reflection of our nostalgia for the days Nigerian football was at its peak of glory, unfortunately nothing remains the same forever and that's why we NEED A COMPETENT FA to get their hands dirty and rebuild our footballing identity again, once that is achieved... the good coaches appointed to manage our various football teams will then have the quality materials on ground to work with and improve upon...Bros, Rohr is far from the problem, Rohr was brought in to steady the ship and he has done just that! every other thing after that was just a BONUS considering how we failed to qualify for two consecutive AFCONS. We even argue that Rohr has exceeded the expectations set for him in spite of our reservations about his coaching philosophy, he will rightfully see out his contract terms unless he fails to win an AFCON trophy or at least make the finals, ditto meeting the target of qualifying for the WC and making it out of group stage. So far Rohr has done well in nearly meeting two expectations required of him without us pulling out our calculators:

(1) we have comfortably qualified for the AFCON with games to spare barring any spiritual anomaly.

(2) We are in a very comfortable spot/position for world cup qualification, we played our football against minnows in third gear without even breaking sweat or keeping our blood pressure machines within reach as has been the struggle of Nigerian fans in previous years of qualification quagmires even in groups with the so called "minnows".

You totally captured the situation.
The main issue with those clamoring for Rohr's dismissal is the idea that we have an FA most coaches would even want to work for.
Until the issue plaguing our FA is fixed, we are stuck with coaches in the mold of Lagerbeer, miss Berty, Rohr etc

Fortunately for us, Rorh is doing the job to the best of his ability. the question of his ability is a topic for another time. Do i like him as a coach? NOPE! Am I realistic in my expectation of what is obtainable with our FA ineptitude? YEP!!

Rohr has done well when all things are put into perspective.

[Robbynice]

At times like this I am just glad that I do not understand the tactical aspect of the game like you guys do. That way I am able to just appreciate the little things that we take tend to take for granted on this forum like a road win and massive 3 points in a qualifiers.

[Cito]

At times like this I am just glad that I do not understand the tactical aspect of the game like you guys do. That way I am able to just appreciate the little things that we take tend to take for granted on this forum like a road win and massive 3 points in a qualifiers.

[vancity eagle]

my takeaways

Kingsley Michael was good. Good technique, always looked to make positive passes, drove forwards, made tackles. Def one for the future, but he should be in the mix.

Ahmed Musa has nothing to offer SE. Absolutely nothing. Zilch. These stupid NFF conmen are jeapordizing SE so that he can break the cap records. Musa should just walk away if he loves his country and stop being so damn selfish.

Okoye should sit on the bench. too many soft goals he has allowed, I'm sick of the excuses. Enough already.

Innocent Bonke is simply a carpenter nothing more. We need to get past this idea that all a DM does is "break up plays" A DM can have technical skill and passing ability for heavens sake. Dont want to see him again, nowhere near the ability of Alhassan Yusuf or even Nwobodo.

Ejuke is a very skilled player but still a diamond in the rough. I can see why Rohr does not start him, but he can be turned into a deadly sub impact player. He should always be in the mix for now.

Osimehn really needs to add some craftiness to his game. Like I have been saying for a long time, HE IS TOO ONE DIMENSIONAL. All he does is run and muscle. He needs to add intelligence to his game. Delay your runs, peel off from your markers to create space and channels for wingers to pass to you. I can see how top defenders will simply mark him out of games, as has been done many times in Seie A.

Overall we did not play too badly given the circumstances, poor pitch, missing players, away match, yes we had luck to win, but it was a decent outing

I hope Rohr has learned his lesson but I doubt it. He needs to be continually improving the team and player set, and not think the job is done. Some players should have seen their last match (Bonke, Musa, Shehu)

There is no alternative to Rohr unfortunately, we are stuck with him. The team isn't even bad, its just that Rohr needs to sort out a few things he seems slow to understand. The obvious NFF meddling in the team is also not helping.

You pretty much captured most of my thoughts wrt the Rohr issue.

Take a look at recent history. Algeria would not have won the AFCON if they had the mindset of some Naija fans and Arsenal fans. They saw that with the generation of players they have, they should be better than their results leading to the AFCON. They could have played it safe... they didn't. And the rest is history.

To compare Algeria and Nigerias situation is ridiculous.

They got a new coach because they were in a free fall of piss poor results.

They failed to qualify for World Cup (courtesy of Rohr but they also finished dead last even below Zambia)

They failed to get out of the first round of the previous afcon.

Of course they got a new coach. How is that situation anything similar to Rohr and Nigeria

What is ridiculous is your attempt at winding yourself into a pretzel trying to defend ****.

Algeria won the AFCON with pretty much the same team that underachieved under the previous coach. They did so by firing the old coach who couldn't get the best out of the players. They were not paralyzed with the mindset that you hold unto a coach who is incapable of getting the most out of your players especially when you believe that the players are good enough.

Had Algeria been Naijaria, they would have kept the previous coach using the excuses that you all have been proferring for ****. "He needs time"... "he played agianst good teams"... "the players are not as good as we think"... "the FA is hampering his success".

For me, it boils down to the fact that some of you are willing to tolerate being mediocre as long as it is from ****. Your expectations of the team has changed since he took over.

Those same set of Algerian players took Wirld champions Germany to the brink of extra time in 2014.

It is a golden generation of sorts, they then had a serious dip in form failing to qualify for next WC and failed to go beyond the group stage of Afcon.

And you are surprised they fired their coach?

When did Rohr fail to qualify for World Cup or fail to get out of an afcon group to be compared to their situation ?

You are just yapping for yappings sake.

Shut up already.

[Tobi17]

Difference is Algeria has a competent FA and well run league/footballing culture, Nigeria on the other hand does not... the mess was there before Rohr was tenured as coach, and it will most likely still remain there when he sees out his contract.

It's all Rohrs fault, meanwhile your NFF can't even pay the man's salary, even the same players who represent the GWG have on several occasions complained of not been given the match bonuses they were promised... you want success albeit with your overpampered expectations (which is fine) afterall we all want the best for our national football team... But your football administration including the whole structure is at a pitiable state yet somehow you expect success... Pray tell, which world class coach will be ready to work on such footballing environment where crass incompetence takes a front seat? you can't even pay your employee the wages he's due for and you expect a Pep Guardiola to somehow descend from the sky and tolerate our sh#t? unfortunately things don't work like that, what you see is what you get, until Rohrs contract ends and he fails to meet the expectations set for him, you might as well support your national team through thick and thin until that world class coach you have lined up to bring our beautiful football back comes along.

Bro, i will be the first to tell you that **** is still coach because of non-footballing reasons.

He has been a good soldier taking crap from the FA. And if Pinnick had any modicum of integrity would have paid the man off and went about searching for a coach that can give us a footballing identity. **** has done his job, he has triaged the patient and stabilized the patient. Continuing with him is fools gold.

But I don't blame Pinnick, he is after all an Arsenal fan.

And you think it's as easy as Pinnick just paying off Rohr and then go searching for a coach that will give us back our "footballing identity", while the rot in our general football structure remains unaddressed .. Maybe the new coach will do well in the first stint of his managerial tenure by making us play that attractive brand of football we badly want to see, perhaps he will win some games impressively... then what happens after he loses the momentum and everything goes back to sh#t again because the same problems I earlier highlighted (NFF wahala) pops up again?

At least Rohr has given the team a semblance of stability considering the mess and disorganization he met the team when he was appointed as coach. The reality we all know as the truth deep down but are scared to admit is that, Nigerian football will require a thorough revamp from bottom-up, our entitled winning mentality is a mere reflection of our nostalgia for the days Nigerian football was at its peak of glory, unfortunately nothing remains the same forever and that's why we NEED A COMPETENT FA to get their hands dirty and rebuild our footballing identity again, once that is achieved... the good coaches appointed to manage our various football teams will then have the quality materials on ground to work with and improve upon...Bros, Rohr is far from the problem, Rohr was brought in to steady the ship and he has done just that! every other thing after that was just a BONUS considering how we failed to qualify for two consecutive AFCONS. We even argue that Rohr has exceeded the expectations set for him in spite of our reservations about his coaching philosophy, he will rightfully see out his contract terms unless he fails to win an AFCON trophy or at least make the finals, ditto meeting the target of qualifying for the WC and making it out of group stage. So far Rohr has done well in nearly meeting two expectations required of him without us pulling out our calculators:

(1) we have comfortably qualified for the AFCON with games to spare barring any spiritual anomaly.

(2) We are in a very comfortable spot/position for world cup qualification, we played our football against minnows in third gear without even breaking sweat or keeping our blood pressure machines within reach as has been the struggle of Nigerian fans in previous years of qualification quagmires even in groups with the so called "minnows".

You totally captured the situation.
The main issue with those clamoring for Rohr's dismissal is the idea that we have an FA most coaches would even want to work for.
Until the issue plaguing our FA is fixed, we are stuck with coaches in the mold of Lagerbeer, miss Berty, Rohr etc

Fortunately for us, Rorh is doing the job to the best of his ability. the question of his ability is a topic for another time. Do i like him as a coach? NOPE! Am I realistic in my expectation of what is obtainable with our FA ineptitude? YEP!!

Rohr has done well when all things are put into perspective.

Someone finally fu*king gets it! you just apltly summarized my power point presentation in three short but succinct paragraphs.

The problem is not Rohr, that's what people still fail to understand... after Rohr is gone we will still attract more journeymen coaches looking to use any available African team boost their coaching CVs, much more a top market like Nigeria.

Until our own local loaches start to step up big time by changing the narrative, I'm afraid we will keep attracting more Rohrs with the way our FA and football structure is currently set up. Keshi tried but he was undermined by the same fans and employers that should have had his back, Oliseh saw the bullshit coming from afar and ran for his life, abandoning his team in the middle of a major qualifier... Siasia was the usual "fix the rot" guy, he tried but ultimately failed just like his predecessors... Meanwhile some journeyman German coach came on board and not only brought us back to qualifying with relative ease, but also infused the much needed organization, discipline and stability we badly needed (a blueprint the next world class coach will hugely benefit from)... The same Oyinbo coach js now been given the same treatment suffered by our own Naija coaches (lack of support from the NFF)... but when you state this salient facts, the usual suspects will immediately ring up the racial angle by posing their arguments on the "local vs foreign coach" thesis... all the while failing to cognitively criticize the elephant in the top- the Nigerian FA

[OJI]

This coach does not get our psyche. Does not set up his team to play to our strengths... has successfully turned us to a below-par European side. And like the Brazilians have discovered, you ain't gonna win NATHING playing like the Europeans. It requires a complete football philosophy overhaul. When you meet teams with better discipline and better clinical finishers, they will beat you... because that which makes you unpredictable and difficult to beat has been neutered.

Right there is the succinct summarization of the ROHR era.