Musa is not a Winger

[airwolex]

For me, he did excellently. Time and time again he beats his man, either for pace or with his movement and he puts balls in. The problem is that Ighalo is more or less the only person in the box. For some reason, Iwobi is rarely there and the midfielders - Ndidi and Etebo - never there. He actually did not deliver a bad ball except for one that was a bit too high in the second half.

[Schillachi]

For me, he did excellently. Time and time again he beats his man, either for pace or with his movement and he puts balls in. The problem is that Ighalo is more or less the only person in the box. For some reason, Iwobi is rarely there and the midfielders - Ndidi and Etebo - never there. He actually did not deliver a bad ball except for one that was a bit too high in the second half.

I was thinking about this. Musa certainly beats his man but seems he will do much better with short passes and more attacking players around. It's just not working with our current style..

[osita]

If musa was our number 9 we would have won by four goals with the movement of chukwueze and Kalu.

Against a team like Senegal we need to be more potent in attack.

[Synopsis]

Ighalo is the leading scoring of AFCON 2019. No way he gets benched for Musa. This isn't the right time to experiment.

[Tobi17]

If musa was our number 9 we would have won by four goals with the movement of chukwueze and Kalu.

Against a team like Senegal we need to be more potent in attack.

That's IF Senegal even gets past Tunisia or Madagascar... watch some funny upsets unfold now, Nigeria is winning this trophy, it's written in the stars.

[Scipio Africanus]

If musa was our number 9 we would have won by four goals with the movement of chukwueze and Kalu.

Against a team like Senegal we need to be more potent in attack.

I 100% kpom this!

[BigMuze]

In my opinion Musa seems to have lost a lot of his goal scoring confidence. Instead of going for goal he has shockingly chosen to play a mate in several times in the last couple of games. World Cup Musa would have had several goals in this tournament by now

[Scipio Africanus]

Musa roasted the SA right back all day. Now knowing dis, at least one player should escort him very closely and stay just off of Musa's right shoulder. When Musa is about to send in one of his okirika crosses, the escorter should shout : "Oga Musa, abeg I dey hia o!".


Or

All the SE players should crowd the box when Musa is doing his thing on the left, and ANTICIPATE i.e look to feed off scraps.


Or

Just play him centrally and give up the opportunities he creates out on the left. Me I no like dis wan too much.

[Bigpokey24]

But Musa dey ball oo, bobo nah handful

[Bell]

AHMED MUSA IS A WINGER, A GOOD ONE, NOT A STRIKER


There's nothing about his play that suggests he's a striker. What's more, he did very well today getting past his marker although the finishing was poor, maybe because as some have pointed out, there weren't enough friends in the box. Not only that, it's a different mindset to be a striker, as you'll find if you study the best known strikers, and Ighalo is the closest in what it takes to be a striker in the SE.
Bell

[kulu]

Musa roasted the SA right back all day. Now knowing dis, at least one player should escort him very closely and stay just off of Musa's right shoulder. When Musa is about to send in one of his okirika crosses, the escorter should shout : "Oga Musa, abeg I dey hia o!".

Or

All the SE players should crowd the box when Musa is doing his thing on the left, and ANTICIPATE i.e look to feed off scraps.

My thoughts exactly. He appears to be unstoppable when playing on the left wing - if he can make accurate crosses and have some support nearby, Nigeria could register one or two more goals in a match.

[Scipio Africanus]

The problem Musa have in this particular Afcon in Rohr. He must have drummed shape and defensive discipline into Musa so much that the poor man seem so scared to go and score. Even when he’s running forward, he must have been thinking of the player on his wing. Musa got into the box so many times this Afcon, and unlike the World Cup, seemed frozen, looking to pass, even when his teammates are anticipating a rebound from the opposing GK.

I cannot believe how timid he had become, even when he runs into his trademark position, where in the Russia league or at the World Cup, he would be shooting at goal, he was still looking to pass in the box. The 2018 Musa would be the one scoring that Chukwueze goal. But, in the last two games, he seemed scared to even attempt a shot at goal. Rohr should just let him loose and sit Ighalo on the bench abeg.

Also Rohr should stop this inverted rubbish, or at least vary it during the match. Play these wingers at their main positions.

GBAM! I thought I was the only one thinking this.

[Goalgetter]

Good luck to any team that have to play this Naija side with both Chukwueze and Musa manning the flanks at the same time. That’s a lot for one team to handle at the same time.

[olu]

What's the point of beating the FB if you can't make a simple pass or cross? Kalu if fit or Onyekuru may be more effective.

[green4life]

His final ball wasn’t good today. Most of it was his fault but part of the problem is our reluctance to fill the attacking gaps in the last third with attacking options in their box or in midfield during counter attacking transitions. More options available to him will simplify his decision making ability.

Case in point is Raheem Sterling prior to Pep. Terrible decision making in the last third. Pep implements a setup where they fill gaps offensively and defensively. Raheem et al benefit. When Musa makes those runs the team doesn’t get runners from central midfield and the opposite wide area along with the CF entering the box in various gaps. Fill the gaps and his probability of connecting with a teammate increases. Just a thought.

[danfo driver]

This is what I wrote about Musa in the game thread:

Finally a good final ball from Musa, but nobody around to do the honors! Kai dis life ehn!

Musa needs to understand that crosses into the box are actually a type of pass. Thus, you need to look up, pick your man and make the fooking cross like you pass

Musa, like other players who arent smart, do not understand that crossing is a type of passing. They think all you gotta do is "get to the by-line and pull out." Only dumb players do that! Crossing is passing. Just the same way you look up, see your teammate and pass the ball to him, when you are crossing the ball into the penalty area, you look up, make sure your teammate(s) is/are there and then you pick the teammate you want to cross to! You do not just cross for the sake of crossing, hoping it gets to anyone!

Look at the Iwobi pass for CHukwueze's goal.

[9jaMan]

What's the point of beating the FB if you can't make a simple pass or cross? Kalu if fit or Onyekuru may be more effective.

Sadly it seems Musa May be best as a sub. Rohr needs to hurry up and teach onyekuru how to play and play him or kalu on the left wing and chukwueze on the right.

Our attack should be

Chukwueze, Iwobinho, kalu/onyekuru

Ighalo/Osimhen



Musa as super sub
Simon as cheerleader
Onuachu as cheerleader

[Tobi17]

What's the point of beating the FB if you can't make a simple pass or cross? Kalu if fit or Onyekuru may be more effective.

Sadly it seems Musa May be best as a sub. Rohr needs to hurry up and teach onyekuru how to play and play him or kalu on the left wing and chukwueze on the right.

Our attack should be

Chukwueze, Iwobinho, kalu/onyekuru

Ighalo/Osimhen



Musa as super sub
Simon as cheerleader
Onuachu as cheerleader

Stop the Simon hating, he might not be popular among the fans, but the Bobo has been silently effective. Needless to remind you that the same Simon has provided two assist from set pieces already.

[9jaMan]

What's the point of beating the FB if you can't make a simple pass or cross? Kalu if fit or Onyekuru may be more effective.

Sadly it seems Musa May be best as a sub. Rohr needs to hurry up and teach onyekuru how to play and play him or kalu on the left wing and chukwueze on the right.

Our attack should be

Chukwueze, Iwobinho, kalu/onyekuru

Ighalo/Osimhen



Musa as super sub
Simon as cheerleader
Onuachu as cheerleader

Stop the Simon hating, he might not be popular among the fans, but the Bobo has been silently effective. Needless to remind you that the same Simon has provided two assist from set pieces already.

Yes, thanks to Simon the SE made it to the semifinals, but that does not hide the fact that we have better players in the bench that can score and assist effortlessly. So what if the South African keeper was not daft? The game was going to penalties. Simon is good, but numbers don’t lie, when goal scoring is the issue, onyekuru, kalu, and osimhen are better options.

[Schillachi]

Everytime he looks up, Ighalo is not open. So he has to execute a low percentage pass that he does not have the skill for..

[danfo driver]

Everytime he looks up, Ighalo is not open. So he has to execute a low percentage pass that he does not have the skill for..

then you hold on to the foooking ball. how the hell do you make a pass, when no one is available? that is literally giving the ball to your opponent.

[ANC]

He should just shoot the ball.

[deanotito]

His final ball wasn’t good today. Most of it was his fault but part of the problem is our reluctance to fill the attacking gaps in the last third with attacking options in their box or in midfield during counter attacking transitions. More options available to him will simplify his decision making ability.

Case in point is Raheem Sterling prior to Pep. Terrible decision making in the last third. Pep implements a setup where they fill gaps offensively and defensively. Raheem et al benefit. When Musa makes those runs the team doesn’t get runners from central midfield and the opposite wide area along with the CF entering the box in various gaps. Fill the gaps and his probability of connecting with a teammate increases. Just a thought.

KPOM! We don’t attack in numbers because we are a defensively oriented team. In this game there were too many 3 (Nig)v 5 (SA) breaks. No matter how promising they looked, crossing into a sea of SA jerseys is a waste of time. So the choice is just to boot it into the box and hope. Unless you are Okocha, holding on to the ball in that situation will get you yanked off the field ...cause you’re gonna get dispossessed.

We sorely lack a late runner into the box. These are the kinds of drills they do all day in more organized teams. It’s like clockwork. The first 1/2 runners will drag the defense towards the post...the late runner is usually free in the center of the box.