The UK Independent article on Alex Iwobi

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The UK Independent article on Alex Iwobi

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Arsenal vs Bournemouth: Alex Iwobi is highly rated by his boss and peers and doesn't deserve so much criticism

Iwobi has become an increasingly important player under Unai Emery

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Alex Iwobi has all the hallmarks of a cult hero. He joined Arsenal at the tender age of eight, while still practising his times tables at primary school. He has never played a single match of professional football for any other club — not even on loan. And, at 22, he has already been a first-team regular for three seasons.

But for a player who has spent fifteen years playing for the same club, Iwobi remains curiously unloved by Arsenal supporters. Just earlier this month, he was jeered when substituted against Huddersfield — a game in which he scored — while the famously neurotic Emirates crowd always seems to lose patience with him first before any other player.

And, unlike down the road at Tottenham, where Harrys Kane and Winks are dotingly serenaded as “one of our own” approximately every two-and-a-half minutes, precious few Arsenal supporters seem that inclined to celebrate the progression of one of the club’s precious few Hale End graduates, instead preferring to obsess over his shortcomings.

It is difficult to pinpoint exactly why Iwobi has become such a lightening rod for criticism. Especially when his stature in the Arsenal dressing room appears to have grown exponentially, as Unai Emery revealed ahead of this evening’s clash with Bournemouth.

“When I ask Nacho Monreal and Send Kolasinac who is the player who you feel better on the pitch when he is playing, they say to us: Iwobi,” Emery said, when asked just how important he considers Iwobi to be at Arsenal.

“It is because Iwobi can open space on the overlap for them. So I think Iwobi is giving a lot for us. We want to play and we want to create our philosophy and I think for that Iwobi is important. But he needs to carry on improving and he knows that the situation can still improve.”

The area in which Iwobi most needs to improve is obvious. His end product since first breaking into the Arsenal team has been consistently underwhelming, with first Arsene Wenger and now Emery repeatedly urging the midfielder to improve his decision making in dangerous areas.

“When he is getting into the attacking third, into the box, he needs to be calm and to make better decisions in the final action so that he can assist and score more,” Emery added on Tuesday.

“We have to be demanding with him and he has to be demanding of himself, so that he can improve these things and increase his overall quality. But he is giving us a lot of attacking moments and opening space for other players when they are arriving to the ball. So I am very happy with him and I think that he is working a lot to improve.”

Finishing has long been a weakness for Iwobi but he is certainly making progress. For the first time in his career Iwobi has worked closely with a data analyst this season, in order to improve his decision-making when in dangerous positions in the final third. And while he can remain wasteful in front of goal, he has already equalled his highest goal tally in a season, while recording six assists. In fact, only one other Arsenal midfielder — the much-maligned Henrikh Mkhitaryan — has scored more goals than him this season.

Image
Alex Iwobi is often a target for criticism (Arsenal FC via Getty)
For some Arsenal supporters, Iwobi will always be an easy scapegoat no matter these improvements or even his individual performance. Old habits die hard and there is a growing sense that a great many supporters seem to misunderstand his fundamental attributes: wishing for him to win matches single-handedly when in reality he plays a relatively thankless role in Emery’s midfield.


But, under Emery, Iwobi has become a key player and does not deserve much of the criticism that lands at his door. Both Emery’s answers on Tuesday, plus the glowing testimonies of his team-mates, would indicate that everybody at Arsenal agrees.

https://www.independent.co.uk/sport/foo ... 98396.html
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Re: The UK Independent article on Alex Iwobi

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Nuff said...the haters will ignore this thread.
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Re: The UK Independent article on Alex Iwobi

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Racist Bstards

I cannot understand it, oneof your own and they dont want to encourage him
Oya back to the matter
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Re: The UK Independent article on Alex Iwobi

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If his name was Alex White and he was Caucasian, we for no hear word from the English press.

Brits like to portray themselves as civilized and above racism, but they are not fooling anyone.
Brexit only confirmed what we already know about a large proportion of English society in particular.

As for Nigerians hating on one of their own,...well, all I will say is you can take the colo out of the mentality, but you cannot take the mentality out of the colo.
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Re: The UK Independent article on Alex Iwobi

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But for a player who has spent fifteen years playing for the same club, Iwobi remains curiously unloved by Arsenal supporters. Just earlier this month, he was jeered when substituted against Huddersfield — a game in which he scored — while the famously neurotic Emirates crowd always seems to lose patience with him first before any other player.
And, unlike down the road at Tottenham, where Harrys Kane and Winks are dotingly serenaded as “one of our own” approximately every two-and-a-half minutes, precious few Arsenal supporters seem that inclined to celebrate the progression of one of the club’s precious few Hale End graduates, instead preferring to obsess over his shortcomings.
Despicable set of fans. That's why we call them assnal fans. before it was restricted to explayers, now they turn on their own still wearing their colors.

Some of dem dey dis forum.
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Re: The UK Independent article on Alex Iwobi

Post by maceo4 »

metalalloy wrote:
But for a player who has spent fifteen years playing for the same club, Iwobi remains curiously unloved by Arsenal supporters. Just earlier this month, he was jeered when substituted against Huddersfield — a game in which he scored — while the famously neurotic Emirates crowd always seems to lose patience with him first before any other player.
And, unlike down the road at Tottenham, where Harrys Kane and Winks are dotingly serenaded as “one of our own” approximately every two-and-a-half minutes, precious few Arsenal supporters seem that inclined to celebrate the progression of one of the club’s precious few Hale End graduates, instead preferring to obsess over his shortcomings.
Despicable set of fans. That's why we call them assnal fans. before it was restricted to explayers, now they turn on their own still wearing their colors.

Some of dem dey dis forum.
The thing weak me o, that’s why I was praying for consistency from Iwobi knowing how these fans are, one small dip and they start raining abuses on him.
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Re: The UK Independent article on Alex Iwobi

Post by bk-one »

Emile Smith Rowe is the darling of the said fans but quality wise its not that he is better than Iwobi was when he was breaking into the first team but one is canonized and the other one is vilified.....Why?......Is it because he decided to play for Nigeria instead of England or is it because he is........well............black?

The other thing is that......Iwobi has got what I will call the Ozil's syndrome.......meaning he is as good as those around him.....he tends to play better when surrounded by good quality players
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Re: The UK Independent article on Alex Iwobi

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The fact he chose Nigeria over England may have alienated the English press.

That's how is with minds conditioned by the Daily Mail/Express.
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Re: The UK Independent article on Alex Iwobi

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The English guys never forgive him after he choose Nigeria over England.Rooney and Wilshere beg him to consider England and he told them better he never represent any country,English FA even try to used Wenger and Iwobi say NO.
When Emery told Iwobi that he is the future star of the team as playmaker is concern,Iwobi was shock and ask what about Ozil,he told him from what he sees in training Ozil is not better than him in his system and no player is guarantee start,people wonder why Ozil has chop more bench and Iwobi get more playing time.
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Re: The UK Independent article on Alex Iwobi

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Prince wrote:Racist Bstards

I cannot understand it, oneof your own and they dont want to encourage him
Of course it would be a different story if he was white.

Alex has more talent than Raheem Sterling. But see how Sterling, such a headless chicken, has improved and is becoming more decisive. This will come for Alex with the coach's support.
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Re: The UK Independent article on Alex Iwobi

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cchinukw wrote:The fact he chose Nigeria over England may have alienated the English press.

That's how is with minds conditioned by the Daily Mail/Express.
Nope. They malign Sterling who plays for England.
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Re: The UK Independent article on Alex Iwobi

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cic old boy wrote:
Prince wrote:Racist Bstards

I cannot understand it, oneof your own and they dont want to encourage him
Of course it would be a different story if he was white.

Alex has more talent than Raheem Sterling. But see how Sterling, such a headless chicken, has improved and is becoming more decisive. This will come for Alex with the coach's support.

Ummm....I don't think so. You use the term "talent", but that is irrelevant here. Production is what fans judge. Raheem Sterling of 2 years ago was a wastepipe. I for one don't know how he kept getting opportunities to start. But let's be honest...Pep has changed Sterling into a near world-class player. 2 years ago, Iwobi was definitely better...but now? Sterling has eclipsed him. Sterling is a legit threat to any opposing team. Iwobi is not.

I would agree with you that racism (probably latent) has something to do with his harsh criticism. But let's be honest, Iwobi can be pretty wasteful at times. If you give Alex 7 games, he's that kind of player that gives you 1 excellent game, 3 okay games, and 3 bad games.....He's just too inconsistent. Even for Nigeria, it's the same....Wasn't a large section of us calling that he be dropped after the 1st world cup game against Croatia? He was a complete passenger in a game we needed him to show up...and it's not the first time. Then you remember games like that Argentina friendly, where we beat them 4-2, and you ask where in the actual blazes is THAT Alex Iwobi. Cause I haven't seen him in a while.

The boy has talent, but that talent is not deployed consistently enough at a high level [Sterling was even worse btw]. Knowing fans, they would never warm to such a player. In fact, that is the kind of player easiest to hate. It was partly the reason why many Nigerian fans hated on Musa for so long.
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Re: The UK Independent article on Alex Iwobi

Post by maceo4 »

cic old boy wrote:
Prince wrote:Racist Bstards

I cannot understand it, oneof your own and they dont want to encourage him
Of course it would be a different story if he was white.

Alex has more talent than Raheem Sterling. But see how Sterling, such a headless chicken, has improved and is becoming more decisive. This will come for Alex with the coach's support.
Haba, Alex does not have more soccer talent than Sterling, it’s not even close. Abi you mean dancing ajasco skills?
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Re: The UK Independent article on Alex Iwobi

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Iwobi is more technically gifted than Sterling. Sterling is just quicker and more effective.
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Re: The UK Independent article on Alex Iwobi

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deanotito wrote:
cic old boy wrote:
Prince wrote:Racist Bstards

I cannot understand it, oneof your own and they dont want to encourage him
Of course it would be a different story if he was white.

Alex has more talent than Raheem Sterling. But see how Sterling, such a headless chicken, has improved and is becoming more decisive. This will come for Alex with the coach's support.

Ummm....I don't think so. You use the term "talent", but that is irrelevant here. Production is what fans judge. Raheem Sterling of 2 years ago was a wastepipe. I for one don't know how he kept getting opportunities to start. But let's be honest...Pep has changed Sterling into a near world-class player. 2 years ago, Iwobi was definitely better...but now? Sterling has eclipsed him. Sterling is a legit threat to any opposing team. Iwobi is not.

I would agree with you that racism (probably latent) has something to do with his harsh criticism. But let's be honest, Iwobi can be pretty wasteful at times. If you give Alex 7 games, he's that kind of player that gives you 1 excellent game, 3 okay games, and 3 bad games.....He's just too inconsistent. Even for Nigeria, it's the same....Wasn't a large section of us calling that he be dropped after the 1st world cup game against Croatia? He was a complete passenger in a game we needed him to show up...and it's not the first time. Then you remember games like that Argentina friendly, where we beat them 4-2, and you ask where in the actual blazes is THAT Alex Iwobi. Cause I haven't seen him in a while.

The boy has talent, but that talent is not deployed consistently enough at a high level [Sterling was even worse btw]. Knowing fans, they would never warm to such a player. In fact, that is the kind of player easiest to hate. It was partly the reason why many Nigerian fans hated on Musa for so long.
Isn't that the point? Pep stuck with him and he has improved in that time frame. Didn't Wenger bench Iwobi for a while after fans were raising an uproar over his performances?
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Scholes. UK Guardian 9/6/16
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Re: The UK Independent article on Alex Iwobi

Post by deanotito »

cic old boy wrote:Iwobi is more technically gifted than Sterling. Sterling is just quicker and more effective.

Again, like I said, technical gifting is irrelevant (and subjective too) here. There are way too many players who are more technically gifted than [Insert almost any World Class Player]. The bolded portion above shows all we need to know. Its about their output, and right now, Sterling's is way higher than Iwobi's, and has been for the past year....That's what the fans are looking at.
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Re: The UK Independent article on Alex Iwobi

Post by deanotito »

metalalloy wrote:
deanotito wrote:
cic old boy wrote:
Prince wrote:Racist Bstards

I cannot understand it, oneof your own and they dont want to encourage him
Of course it would be a different story if he was white.

Alex has more talent than Raheem Sterling. But see how Sterling, such a headless chicken, has improved and is becoming more decisive. This will come for Alex with the coach's support.

Ummm....I don't think so. You use the term "talent", but that is irrelevant here. Production is what fans judge. Raheem Sterling of 2 years ago was a wastepipe. I for one don't know how he kept getting opportunities to start. But let's be honest...Pep has changed Sterling into a near world-class player. 2 years ago, Iwobi was definitely better...but now? Sterling has eclipsed him. Sterling is a legit threat to any opposing team. Iwobi is not.

I would agree with you that racism (probably latent) has something to do with his harsh criticism. But let's be honest, Iwobi can be pretty wasteful at times. If you give Alex 7 games, he's that kind of player that gives you 1 excellent game, 3 okay games, and 3 bad games.....He's just too inconsistent. Even for Nigeria, it's the same....Wasn't a large section of us calling that he be dropped after the 1st world cup game against Croatia? He was a complete passenger in a game we needed him to show up...and it's not the first time. Then you remember games like that Argentina friendly, where we beat them 4-2, and you ask where in the actual blazes is THAT Alex Iwobi. Cause I haven't seen him in a while.

The boy has talent, but that talent is not deployed consistently enough at a high level [Sterling was even worse btw]. Knowing fans, they would never warm to such a player. In fact, that is the kind of player easiest to hate. It was partly the reason why many Nigerian fans hated on Musa for so long.
Isn't that the point? Pep stuck with him and he has improved in that time frame. Didn't Wenger bench Iwobi for a while after fans were raising an uproar over his performances?
Metal, one thing I've learnt in watching soccer all these years, is that the patience that Sterling benefited from is very rare. Most other players would be playing in Portugal right now if they did what Sterling used to do back then. I'm not even a ManC fan, but I used to scream at my TV when he played....

A player...any player....cannot bank on a Sterling-Pep situation, where a coach sticks with you and even improves you in the face of competing evidence. What is more likely to happen is what Victor Moses just experienced at Chelsea.....I have known many-a-player who I knew were talented beyond doubt, but who were tossed aside very quickly after a patch of bad form.

So a player cannot be there turning up below-par performances and think a savior coach is going to come and make him a world beater....doesn't usually happen like that. Coaches are under enormous pressure to succeed, and succeed fast.

Iwobi has to take this thing into his own hands...work with his Uncle if he has to. Work with the data analyst the story talks about...but he needs a lot of work.

I see him as a potential star, though not a super star....but right now, he's playing way under that level....in aggregate.
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Re: The UK Independent article on Alex Iwobi

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kajifu wrote:The English guys never forgive him after he choose Nigeria over England.Rooney and Wilshere beg him to consider England and he told them better he never represent any country,English FA even try to used Wenger and Iwobi say NO.
When Emery told Iwobi that he is the future star of the team as playmaker is concern,Iwobi was shock and ask what about Ozil,he told him from what he sees in training Ozil is not better than him in his system and no player is guarantee start,people wonder why Ozil has chop more bench and Iwobi get more playing time.
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Re: The UK Independent article on Alex Iwobi

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kajifu wrote:The English guys never forgive him after he choose Nigeria over England.Rooney and Wilshere beg him to consider England and he told them better he never represent any country,English FA even try to used Wenger and Iwobi say NO.
When Emery told Iwobi that he is the future star of the team as playmaker is concern,Iwobi was shock and ask what about Ozil,he told him from what he sees in training Ozil is not better than him in his system and no player is guarantee start,people wonder why Ozil has chop more bench and Iwobi get more playing time.
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Re: The UK Independent article on Alex Iwobi

Post by maceo4 »

metalalloy wrote:
deanotito wrote:
cic old boy wrote:
Prince wrote:Racist Bstards

I cannot understand it, oneof your own and they dont want to encourage him
Of course it would be a different story if he was white.

Alex has more talent than Raheem Sterling. But see how Sterling, such a headless chicken, has improved and is becoming more decisive. This will come for Alex with the coach's support.

Ummm....I don't think so. You use the term "talent", but that is irrelevant here. Production is what fans judge. Raheem Sterling of 2 years ago was a wastepipe. I for one don't know how he kept getting opportunities to start. But let's be honest...Pep has changed Sterling into a near world-class player. 2 years ago, Iwobi was definitely better...but now? Sterling has eclipsed him. Sterling is a legit threat to any opposing team. Iwobi is not.

I would agree with you that racism (probably latent) has something to do with his harsh criticism. But let's be honest, Iwobi can be pretty wasteful at times. If you give Alex 7 games, he's that kind of player that gives you 1 excellent game, 3 okay games, and 3 bad games.....He's just too inconsistent. Even for Nigeria, it's the same....Wasn't a large section of us calling that he be dropped after the 1st world cup game against Croatia? He was a complete passenger in a game we needed him to show up...and it's not the first time. Then you remember games like that Argentina friendly, where we beat them 4-2, and you ask where in the actual blazes is THAT Alex Iwobi. Cause I haven't seen him in a while.

The boy has talent, but that talent is not deployed consistently enough at a high level [Sterling was even worse btw]. Knowing fans, they would never warm to such a player. In fact, that is the kind of player easiest to hate. It was partly the reason why many Nigerian fans hated on Musa for so long.
Isn't that the point? Pep stuck with him and he has improved in that time frame. Didn't Wenger bench Iwobi for a while after fans were raising an uproar over his performances?
This una yarn get as e be, I'm wondering when Sterling was worse than Iwobi? Sterling at Liverpool was better than anything we've seen from Iwobi at Arseanal thats why Man City splashed big money to get him at 20 to get him. He might have had some dips at City, but his ceiling was and is always higher than Iwobi because of his natural ability, so of course they would be more patient with him knowing what he can do once they get him on his game. I feel we are getting carried away here and blinded by patriotism. If Iwobi ever leaves Arseanal it will be to go to a lesser club and its not because of his race or because he chose SE over England.
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Re: The UK Independent article on Alex Iwobi

Post by Cally »

deanotito wrote:
metalalloy wrote:
deanotito wrote:
cic old boy wrote:
Prince wrote:Racist Bstards

I cannot understand it, oneof your own and they dont want to encourage him
Of course it would be a different story if he was white.

Alex has more talent than Raheem Sterling. But see how Sterling, such a headless chicken, has improved and is becoming more decisive. This will come for Alex with the coach's support.

Ummm....I don't think so. You use the term "talent", but that is irrelevant here. Production is what fans judge. Raheem Sterling of 2 years ago was a wastepipe. I for one don't know how he kept getting opportunities to start. But let's be honest...Pep has changed Sterling into a near world-class player. 2 years ago, Iwobi was definitely better...but now? Sterling has eclipsed him. Sterling is a legit threat to any opposing team. Iwobi is not.

I would agree with you that racism (probably latent) has something to do with his harsh criticism. But let's be honest, Iwobi can be pretty wasteful at times. If you give Alex 7 games, he's that kind of player that gives you 1 excellent game, 3 okay games, and 3 bad games.....He's just too inconsistent. Even for Nigeria, it's the same....Wasn't a large section of us calling that he be dropped after the 1st world cup game against Croatia? He was a complete passenger in a game we needed him to show up...and it's not the first time. Then you remember games like that Argentina friendly, where we beat them 4-2, and you ask where in the actual blazes is THAT Alex Iwobi. Cause I haven't seen him in a while.

The boy has talent, but that talent is not deployed consistently enough at a high level [Sterling was even worse btw]. Knowing fans, they would never warm to such a player. In fact, that is the kind of player easiest to hate. It was partly the reason why many Nigerian fans hated on Musa for so long.
Isn't that the point? Pep stuck with him and he has improved in that time frame. Didn't Wenger bench Iwobi for a while after fans were raising an uproar over his performances?
Metal, one thing I've learnt in watching soccer all these years, is that the patience that Sterling benefited from is very rare. Most other players would be playing in Portugal right now if they did what Sterling used to do back then. I'm not even a ManC fan, but I used to scream at my TV when he played....

A player...any player....cannot bank on a Sterling-Pep situation, where a coach sticks with you and even improves you in the face of competing evidence. What is more likely to happen is what Victor Moses just experienced at Chelsea.....I have known many-a-player who I knew were talented beyond doubt, but who were tossed aside very quickly after a patch of bad form.

So a player cannot be there turning up below-par performances and think a savior coach is going to come and make him a world beater....doesn't usually happen like that. Coaches are under enormous pressure to succeed, and succeed fast.

Iwobi has to take this thing into his own hands...work with his Uncle if he has to. Work with the data analyst the story talks about...but he needs a lot of work.

I see him as a potential star, though not a super star....but right now, he's playing way under that level....in aggregate.
With all due respect, what you wrote here is nonsense. Bobo is already a bonafide star. Whether you choose to it as it is, or you choose to put 'potential' in front, or you add or remove 'super,' it makes no difference in the scheme of things.

Talking about consistency, he is once of the most consistent, if not top 2-3 consistent Arsenal players this season. Only thing he hasn't consistently done is score goals. You folks see what you choose to see. Iwobi has not had more than 2 below par performances all season, yet you demand for more even as he gives more.

Nonsense.
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Re: The UK Independent article on Alex Iwobi

Post by metalalloy »

maceo4 wrote:
metalalloy wrote:
deanotito wrote:
cic old boy wrote:
Prince wrote:Racist Bstards

I cannot understand it, oneof your own and they dont want to encourage him
Of course it would be a different story if he was white.

Alex has more talent than Raheem Sterling. But see how Sterling, such a headless chicken, has improved and is becoming more decisive. This will come for Alex with the coach's support.

Ummm....I don't think so. You use the term "talent", but that is irrelevant here. Production is what fans judge. Raheem Sterling of 2 years ago was a wastepipe. I for one don't know how he kept getting opportunities to start. But let's be honest...Pep has changed Sterling into a near world-class player. 2 years ago, Iwobi was definitely better...but now? Sterling has eclipsed him. Sterling is a legit threat to any opposing team. Iwobi is not.

I would agree with you that racism (probably latent) has something to do with his harsh criticism. But let's be honest, Iwobi can be pretty wasteful at times. If you give Alex 7 games, he's that kind of player that gives you 1 excellent game, 3 okay games, and 3 bad games.....He's just too inconsistent. Even for Nigeria, it's the same....Wasn't a large section of us calling that he be dropped after the 1st world cup game against Croatia? He was a complete passenger in a game we needed him to show up...and it's not the first time. Then you remember games like that Argentina friendly, where we beat them 4-2, and you ask where in the actual blazes is THAT Alex Iwobi. Cause I haven't seen him in a while.

The boy has talent, but that talent is not deployed consistently enough at a high level [Sterling was even worse btw]. Knowing fans, they would never warm to such a player. In fact, that is the kind of player easiest to hate. It was partly the reason why many Nigerian fans hated on Musa for so long.
Isn't that the point? Pep stuck with him and he has improved in that time frame. Didn't Wenger bench Iwobi for a while after fans were raising an uproar over his performances?
This una yarn get as e be, I'm wondering when Sterling was worse than Iwobi? Sterling at Liverpool was better than anything we've seen from Iwobi at Arseanal thats why Man City splashed big money to get him at 20 to get him. He might have had some dips at City, but his ceiling was and is always higher than Iwobi because of his natural ability, so of course they would be more patient with him knowing what he can do once they get him on his game. I feel we are getting carried away here and blinded by patriotism. If Iwobi ever leaves Arseanal it will be to go to a lesser club and its not because of his race or because he chose SE over England.

Dat one is not an argument that I made. My point was that when Sterling had a dip in form at the end of Pellegrini's stay and the begining of Pep's reign, his manager stuck with him and it paid off in the long run.

There were articles like this about Sterling when he left Liverpool
https://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football ... ---5747773

This is how Pep treated Sterling when he was struggling at Mancity. A manager texting a player reinforcing his belief in him at an international tournament!
https://www.givemesport.com/857979-pep- ... -euro-2016

This is what i was pointing out above that a home grown kid like Iwobi, at the very least, deserves a modicum of. And i didnt read deanotito's comment about Iwobi being better than sterling the way you did. I thought he was refering to inconsistency between both players and argued that back then, when he struggled, Sterling was more inconsistent than Iwobi is.

@Deanotito, i agree with you, the patience that Sterling received is not common.
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anikulapo
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Re: The UK Independent article on Alex Iwobi

Post by anikulapo »

deanotito wrote:
metalalloy wrote:
deanotito wrote:
cic old boy wrote:
Prince wrote:Racist Bstards

I cannot understand it, oneof your own and they dont want to encourage him
Of course it would be a different story if he was white.

Alex has more talent than Raheem Sterling. But see how Sterling, such a headless chicken, has improved and is becoming more decisive. This will come for Alex with the coach's support.

Ummm....I don't think so. You use the term "talent", but that is irrelevant here. Production is what fans judge. Raheem Sterling of 2 years ago was a wastepipe. I for one don't know how he kept getting opportunities to start. But let's be honest...Pep has changed Sterling into a near world-class player. 2 years ago, Iwobi was definitely better...but now? Sterling has eclipsed him. Sterling is a legit threat to any opposing team. Iwobi is not.

I would agree with you that racism (probably latent) has something to do with his harsh criticism. But let's be honest, Iwobi can be pretty wasteful at times. If you give Alex 7 games, he's that kind of player that gives you 1 excellent game, 3 okay games, and 3 bad games.....He's just too inconsistent. Even for Nigeria, it's the same....Wasn't a large section of us calling that he be dropped after the 1st world cup game against Croatia? He was a complete passenger in a game we needed him to show up...and it's not the first time. Then you remember games like that Argentina friendly, where we beat them 4-2, and you ask where in the actual blazes is THAT Alex Iwobi. Cause I haven't seen him in a while.

The boy has talent, but that talent is not deployed consistently enough at a high level [Sterling was even worse btw]. Knowing fans, they would never warm to such a player. In fact, that is the kind of player easiest to hate. It was partly the reason why many Nigerian fans hated on Musa for so long.
Isn't that the point? Pep stuck with him and he has improved in that time frame. Didn't Wenger bench Iwobi for a while after fans were raising an uproar over his performances?
Metal, one thing I've learnt in watching soccer all these years, is that the patience that Sterling benefited from is very rare. Most other players would be playing in Portugal right now if they did what Sterling used to do back then. I'm not even a ManC fan, but I used to scream at my TV when he played....

A player...any player....cannot bank on a Sterling-Pep situation, where a coach sticks with you and even improves you in the face of competing evidence. What is more likely to happen is what Victor Moses just experienced at Chelsea.....I have known many-a-player who I knew were talented beyond doubt, but who were tossed aside very quickly after a patch of bad form.

So a player cannot be there turning up below-par performances and think a savior coach is going to come and make him a world beater....doesn't usually happen like that. Coaches are under enormous pressure to succeed, and succeed fast.

Iwobi has to take this thing into his own hands...work with his Uncle if he has to. Work with the data analyst the story talks about...but he needs a lot of work.

I see him as a potential star, though not a super star....but right now, he's playing way under that level....in aggregate.


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