Eberechi Eze - New Crystal Palace signing

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Eberechi Eze - New Crystal Palace signing

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The making of Eberechi Eze: ‘It’s all about the way he moves’

By Dominic Fifield and Matt Woosnam

The Friday routine during Ian Holloway’s second stint in charge of Queens Park Rangers used to follow familiar lines.

Players would complete their drills down at the Harlington training ground, get changed in Portakabins and then head up to the tactical team briefings held in what was once the bar for Imperial College’s sports teams. But first, the manager would split his squad up, blow his whistle and see out the week with a burst of in-house rivalry.

The elder statesmen — experienced journeymen seasoned after careers spent playing up and down merciless divisions — would gather in one half of the pitch. The younger contingent, bibbed up and cocksure, would stare them down in opposition.

What ensued would be competitive, even with the weekend’s Championship fixture so close, though it tended to play out rather predictably. Everything hinged upon the dreadlocked teenager in the youthful ranks.

“The kids would break your back the way they played… such free-flowing and exciting football,” says defender Nedum Onuoha, a QPR regular for over six years and now in Major League Soccer with Real Salt Lake. “It’d be respectful — we’d jab them, they’d jab us back — but that’s when I knew the young guys coming through at QPR were an exciting new generation. I could see their shining ability.

“They were always up for trying to take something away from us. If we won, we’d often be scraping a result, whereas they’d deserve to win every time they did. They had the work ethic and mentality. And Eze was always the main man.”

Onuoha is perhaps being kind on the seniors’ showings. Others felt the writing was on the wall as soon as the make-up of the respective teams became clear.

“If Eze was playing, they’d almost always win because he made that much of a difference,” says James Perch, another who had graced the ranks of the QPR senior pros against the club’s tearaways. “If he wasn’t in training that day, or was injured, the older boys would have the better of it. But whenever Ebs played for the young boys, he would carry their team and get them the win. That’s how much he could change a game.

“Players like him… they’re one-offs. You don’t get them every day. The first time I saw him, I remember just thinking, ‘How is the kid not playing every week?’”

Eberechi Eze, the outrageous talent from Greenwich, south-east London, who has illuminated QPR over the past two seasons in the second tier, is coming to the Premier League.

Crystal Palace took the plunge today, securing his services on a five-year contract in a deal worth an initial £16 million. West Ham United, Newcastle United and the newly-promoted trio of Leeds United, Fulham and West Bromwich Albion had expressed interest in a player who has thrived at a mid-table Championship club. West Brom, in particular, pushed hard late on to trump Palace’s offer, but the player’s preference was always to stay in the capital.

Eze mustered 14 goals and eight assists in Mark Warburton’s team last season, starting every league match and featuring in all but 227 minutes across all competitions. As painful as his departure will be for a club who backed him to succeed when others had doubts, he is ready for the next stage of his career.

Even at 22, and for potentially the third largest outlay in the club’s history, Palace are still purchasing potential. A level of patience will be required as Eze settles into new surroundings, and deals with a sizeable step-up in the quality of opponents.

But Eze has all the tools to thrive. QPR’s director of football Les Ferdinand has suggested he could end up “the best player I’ve ever seen”. Even taking into account the reality that Ferdinand has good reason to build up the forward — to pay tribute to the way he was coached at Loftus Road and drum up an auction for his services — that constitutes heady praise indeed.

Eze’s story is one of early rejection, frustration, and, eventually, fulfilment, all played out at a string of clubs in and around the English capital.

South London born and bred to Nigerian parents, he initially became part of Arsenal’s youth set-up at age eight, only to be released in 2011 at 13.

That first knockback was probably the hardest to take, with the sense of devastation colouring his subsequent three-year stint with Fulham. They, like Arsenal, recognised raw talent but were not convinced enough to pursue his progression. Released at Christmas in 2013, there were a few months at Reading, just outside London, then a scholarship with Millwall, back closer to his Greenwich roots.

As Eze himself admitted recently on the excellent Beautiful Game Podcast, that failure to break through often boiled down to the perception he had “underperformed” within the confines of a club’s youth set-up.

To a certain extent, and with the benefit of hindsight, he might have done better. But the academy system felt robotic, almost stifling, for such a free-spirited player. He craved an opportunity to express himself in the way he had done in the football cages south of the river, where he had cultivated his skills from dawn until dusk, like so many talented players who are already gracing the top-flight game. “How I played wasn’t always appreciated or understood,” he said.

Yet at Millwall, the style of play — more direct, with an emphasis on scrapping for the second ball, and little scope for a rampaging No 10 unshackled from defensive duties seeking passes to feet — suited his game even less. He did not want to admit it at the time, but there was an inevitability to his departure at the end of the two-year scholarship. Confirmation he would not be retained was relayed in a meeting with Millwall’s then-manager, Neil Harris. Even so, his release remains a sore point at the club. Questions have undoubtedly been asked behind the scenes in the four years since as to why a player who has since thrived was allowed to leave quite so readily.

The same might apply at Swansea City, Sunderland and Bristol City, who each scrutinised his credentials on trial in the wake of his departure from Millwall, only to opt against taking the plunge on the free agent.

He was deemed too much of a luxury. They were forever citing a lack of work rate, pointing fingers at Eze’s body language. He would admit he has never been one to tear around a pitch attempting to tackle everything in sight, preferring instead to time his interventions in more calculated fashion. In a trial, though, a lack of urgency may have been perceived as an absence of hunger and drive.

Maybe Eze should have adapted his game, choking what came so naturally, to try better to fit in. Coping with rejection was never any easier to endure, and he leant even more on his family and his faith that summer. Opportunities appeared to be running out. Thankfully, QPR considered him a risk worth taking.

Technical director Chris Ramsey, together with the youth-team coach Andy Impey and under-23s manager Paul Hall, was convinced and took the plunge on the teenager after watching him on his latest trial. Eze was approaching his 18th birthday then, and effectively moving straight into contention for the elite development squad, but there was talent waiting to be tapped. Hall, once a winger at Portsmouth, took him aside for one-to-one tuition, constantly pushing him to coax more from his raw ability. He duly caught the eye, with nine goals in 14 starts for QPR’s second string.

Holloway, who had been Millwall manager over the first year of Eze’s scholarship there, had tracked the progress upon his appointment at Loftus Road that autumn and was taken by the youngster’s languid style.

“With the ball, he’s one of the most beautiful floating players I’ve ever seen — and by floating, I mean dummy and go, like an old rugby player who would feint to throw it, keep it and be past you like that,” Holloway said. He grew with more outings in first-team training and expressed himself under Holloway’s gaze, not least in those in-house Friday kickabouts.

It said much about his progress that, a little over eight weeks after the manager’s arrival in November 2016, Eze was handed a senior debut.

The stage was an FA Cup third-round tie at home against fellow Championship side Blackburn Rovers and Holloway, his side having lurched out of a sequence of six successive league defeats shortly after his appointment to steady the ship with successive wins either side of New Year, spied an opportunity to build on that momentum.

Eze had featured in first-team squads already, but not been given any game time. His inclusion would freshen up the side and have the locals salivating. News that the precocious attacking talent had signed a contract extension on the eve of the tie merely added to the sense of theatre.

Except, typically perhaps given everything that had gone before, this would prove another false dawn.
Eze celebration QPR Stoke
Eze was QPR’s top goalscorer and co-leader for assists last season (Photo: MI News/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

Yes, there were some nice twists and turns, some crisp passing and the odd burst of skill to showcase his potential. But, a quarter of an hour after kick-off, Eze pulled up in clear discomfort. He would hobble on for a little while longer, attempting not to put too much weight on his ankle, before reluctantly making way for Yeni Ngbakoto. His first senior outing had lasted 18 minutes. “That was his big moment, so he must have been down about it,” says Onouha. “He’d started the game well, too, and we almost felt as if we were relying on him, even at that stage.

“Even in the short time he played, you could see how talented and confident he was in his ability on the ball. He’ll admit this himself but, tactically, he still wasn’t the best. But he had more than raw skill. He had a type of ability you don’t see in many players. It was exciting to see something like that at QPR, very promising: you felt he was a once in a… well, not quite once in a generation but, in my time at QPR, I’d never seen anyone play the game the way he did.”

“He had something special,” says Jamie Mackie, who started that 2-1 loss to Blackburn alongside Eze. “We could all see his amazing ability, and he was such a hungry and dedicated young man who wanted it so badly. I’m sure what had happened to him, being released by so many clubs, spurred him on — a bit of early disappointment made him determined to do well. All I said to him was not to come off the pitch with any regrets: ‘Play like you do in training, with no fear, and express yourself. Don’t play within yourself or worry about making mistakes’.

“He seemed to take that on board. He got the ball and expressed himself, no problem. He’s so natural. It’s like he’s playing for fun. He makes it look easy and that’s what separates people who can be top players. He’d just needed that opportunity.”

It would be a while before he got another opportunity with QPR.

It was a Monday afternoon in mid-August, eight months on, when Wycombe Wanderers’ Marcus Bean joined the group of scouts and observers on the touchline at Harlington as QPR’s under-23s played their Hull City counterparts in the season opener.

Bean was a stand-in scout. His manager at the then-League Two club, Gareth Ainsworth, had been unavailable and was relying upon his experienced midfielder to report back on any attacking players who caught the eye. Wycombe, just a short drive to the north west of London, were short in that area and the transfer deadline was only a few weeks away.

His makeshift scout was on the phone to Ainsworth long before the final whistle, raving about the 19-year-old in the home ranks who had scored after a trademark surging run, added a second with a header, and completed his hat-trick from the penalty spot late on.

“The boy stood out a country mile,” Bean tells The Athletic. “The level was far too easy for him. He was waltzing around people and almost scoring at will. I always find it difficult to judge how good players are in under-23s games because of the lack of tempo and physicality, but when someone stands out as much as he did, it was obvious I had to speak to the manager about him. He was in the door at Wycombe a couple of weeks later.

“His natural position was as a No 10 and, at Wycombe, we used him mainly pushing on in a three-man midfield, but he did have to play on the wing as well. He adapted pretty well considering the style of play we had, which probably wasn’t that suited to someone like him. The questions were about him off the ball, though I never really understood that. It was never about a lack of effort. It was more a lack of positional sense at the time. And that’s something you learn on the job. Your coach will have input, but when you’re in the hustle and bustle of it, you pick up these things.”

Bean, Craig Mackail-Smith, Adebayo Akinfenwa and Nathan Tyson provided an experienced core for Ainsworth’s team. Eze learned from them all. “I don’t remember ever having to bark at him,” says Bean. “I’d tell him positionally where to be, but I didn’t have to shout to him because of any laziness in him. I’ve had to do that to other players over the years, giving them a rocket when they’re failing to close people down, but Eze tried. I’m not saying he was a pressing machine because clearly, that’s not how he is. But he’s not lazy. And the key to him was he was willing to learn.

“He listened. The boss would have him in every week, watching back his touches on Wyscout, seeing where he hadn’t tracked back or where he had taken a poor decision, and he took it all on board. That’s the most important thing for a young footballer to have, that willingness to learn. That loan spell was pivotal for him. He answered a lot of questions Ian Holloway had about the other side of his game. A lot of myths about him were dispelled. I was telling Premier League clubs they needed to come and watch him, because he was the best young player I’d ever seen.”

That four-month loan spell in the EFL’s bottom tier yielded his first professional goals — five of them, starting with an eye-catching brace in a 3-1 win at Cambridge United – and 20 league appearances. “He came back more of a man,” says Onuoha. “He could take the hits, he wouldn’t let his head go down. They’d wanted him to express himself at Wycombe, to become a big influence on the team, but the biggest benefit was playing every week. They don’t just play nice football in that league. It’s very committed. He had to adapt and returned with a greater understanding of what it was to be a professional.

“The previous year, he might have had that academy mentality some players carry: when you play with people your own age, you can excel and there’s no real consequence whether you win or lose. (At Wycombe) he had to adapt his style to help a bunch of players who weren’t interested in just seeing 10 passes in the build-up to a goal, or to enjoy nice football. The whole experience provided his game with more mental and physical substance.

“We certainly saw progress. A year before, he might not necessarily have taken criticism too well, pushing back against it. But, as he got older, he started to understand some of the criticism was valid and would benefit him in the long term. If it comes from your team-mates or your coach, it’s because they know you can do better and there’s something greater for you there. He started to listen a lot more and understood some of the things said were constructive.”

QPR duly reaped the rewards with Eze — whose younger brother, Chimaechi, has followed him from Millwall into their scholarship system — making 16 Championship appearances in the second half of that 2017-18 season under Holloway. He had learned when to take a player on, or when to shift possession to a team-mate rather than overindulge. His game awareness had improved.

“You still had to indulge him a bit because he was in the side to win us football matches,” says former team-mate Mackie. “You have to accommodate all different types of players to create a winning combination. There is no point getting someone with that attacking ability to change his game completely and do the work others might be better suited to, as he won’t be as good when he’s got the ball.

“It’s about fitting players into your system. But, in terms of work rate and application, he has a fantastic attitude. Yes, he’s a real asset when the team is in possession but, within a structure, he does work off the ball. I can’t speak highly enough of his attitude in all parts of the game. He’s confident enough to know he needs an air of arrogance about him as such a talented player, but he doesn’t cross the line. He is respectful and humble, refreshing to be around. His ability is unquestionable.”

Former England manager Steve McClaren, who succeeded Holloway that summer, handed the attacking midfielder the No 10 shirt — following in the footsteps of 1970s stars Stan Bowles and Rodney Marsh in those parts — and made him integral to the team’s set-up. Then last August, there was a new three-year contract.

Mark Warburton, the latest incumbent in the Loftus Road dugout, might have taken a while to get onto Eze’s wavelength, but has brought his game on further and offered him a platform from which to excel, either as a No 10 or wide, cutting inside in a front three.

The 2019-20 season was his most impressive yet. His goal tally tells some of the story, but he was also physically resilient in a demanding division — it is no mean feat to start every match in the Championship — and his style fitted in with the open, attack-minded brand of football Warburton has pursued.

QPR were the sixth-highest scorers in the division. Admittedly, they were also far too open at times and laboured in results-terms post-lockdown to finish 13th, but that should not overshadow the signs of progress at a club slowly recovering from the financial repercussions of overspending during their most recent stints in the Premier League.

Warburton has had little leeway in the transfer market so leaned heavily on a core who have come through the elite development squad and, when offered opportunities, prospered. Bright Osayi-Samuel, a school mate of Eze’s in their days at Woolwich Polytechnic, excelled on the flank, while another 22-year-old, Ilias Chair, was a regular in central midfield. Others are on the fringes, awaiting their chance. Eze, unstoppable when on-song, has inspired the entire group.

He has played centrally, wide right and wide left, already chalked up a century of Championship appearances and been praised by Adel Taarabt, a former QPR playmaker Eze and his brother used to idolise. He has also been capped by England Under-21s, replacing Phil Foden in a 3-0 away win over Albania last November. There have been two further appearances for the Under-21s to date. Nigeria still want to secure his international allegiance at competitive senior level and, at some point, Eze will have to address that issue.

First, though, comes the chance to prove himself in the top division.

Palace first enquired in January, but their interest never crystalised into a formal bid. They toiled last season in front of goal, overly reliant on Wilfried Zaha for invention and too often lacking a creative spark with which to break opponents down. That they managed only 31 league goals — the second-worst in the division — tells its own story.

The rekindling of their interest, driven by sporting director Dougie Freedman’s long-standing admiration for one of the most incisive talents in the second tier, reflected a switch in emphasis. They are seeking to revitalise their squad with young, hungry players who might also boast future resale value.

Eze, who lives in nearby Purley, left for his summer holiday to Crete knowing Palace’s initial offer, the opening gambit in a negotiation likely to drag, had been dismissed out of hand. QPR were just as firm towards the end of July when presented with an improved bid, believed to have been worth £12 million guaranteed and a further £4 million in potential add-ons. Yet the player, aware of interest surfacing beyond the capital — from Yorkshire to the Black Country — was always keen to return to south London.

A third bid was lodged last Friday evening and negotiations continued over the weekend, with the player’s omission from QPR’s friendly against AFC Wimbledon on Saturday afternoon considered an acceptance agreement on a deal that could rise as high as £19 million was close. Warburton admitted post-match that Eze’s future most likely lay elsewhere.

As it transpired, the talks dragged painfully over the days that followed. The situation was complicated by time differences when dealing with QPR’s key decision-makers, who are based in Malaysia, and West Brom’s late attempt to hijack the move. Discussions were protracted over the payment structure of the deal, the performance related add-ons and the size of the sell-on clause the Championship club were insistent should be incorporated in what has become their club record sale.
Those tortuous and occasionally fractious talks appeared to have reached a positive conclusion at close of business on Wednesday and the player duly underwent a medical at a private hospital in central London. Yet there was another day of toing and froing to endure before this morning’s formal confirmation of the transfer.

The move is a logical next step. The temptation is to assume that, by signing Eze, Palace have merely recruited a replacement for the unsettled Zaha. Both men, after all, boast an array of skills, tricks and flicks, and each tends to revel when offered free rein. Yet any comparison is unfair and, in truth, misleading. They may both enjoy bamboozling a marker, but they do so in very different ways.

“Eze doesn’t necessarily beat you with tricks,” says Bean, the former Wycombe team-mate. “He has those in his locker, but it’s more about the movement of the body, that languid style. He is deceptively quick and looks like he’s just walking past people. Zaha is a bit more explosive, direct. Eze can also link the play, slow it down when he needs to, or accelerate it with his movement of the ball. And, if he’s taking it up-field himself, it can stick to him like glue.”

Perch compares him to former Manchester United whizkid Ravel Morrison, another player who “had this balance which allowed him to drift past players without them knowing he was even there”.

“I’d played a long time by the time I came across him and seen lots of talented players, but I always had to be on my guard with him in training because he’s so good at manipulating the ball,” says Onuoha. “He’s quick, but not rapid. He’s quite strong, but not the strongest. And yet he could find a way past anybody.

“It’s the way he moves. The defender would move as well, find himself off balance, and then Ebs would be away. It’s a skill that not many people have. Others have the stepovers, the skills, but he’s quite flexible to be able to move in whichever way the moment brings.

“He’s got the potential to play anywhere across a front three. But, with some players, unless you find a team with the right formation or approach, talents like his can go wasted. He is not one to stay wide. If he can play in a team that uses three forwards — where those widest come inside, to try and link the play — as opposed to two wingers and a striker, he’ll do well. Or as a No 10.

“He already reads the game so well, but just needs a better understanding about how to play that position. You just need to coach him the right way because he is someone who will listen. A really nice kid. An infectious smile. I don’t know anyone with a bad word to say about him.”

Eze considers himself “an entertainer”. The thought of Roy Hodgson finding a way to incorporate him and Zaha in the same XI is mouth-watering, but there will need to be some patience, even for the player who has attracted the largest fee Palace have forked out in three years. It will take time for him to ease into life in a more competitive and demanding division.

But the shyness that accompanied him when he first arrived at Harlington, a legacy perhaps of self-doubt after all those early rejections, has long since given way to confidence in what he can deliver. These days, Dele Alli — another player who made his name at the lower level with MK Dons — Jadon Sancho and Raheem Sterling are his inspirations.

“He can make it look effortless,” says Mackie. “He can improve. There are aspects of his game he will want to be better at, but he’s the sort of lad who wants to learn. With the right coaching and the right club, he won’t stand still.”
Courtesy - The Athletic
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Re: Eberechi Eze - New Crystal Palace signing

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YNWA
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Re: Eberechi Eze - New Crystal Palace signing

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Good luck to him!
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Re: Eberechi Eze - New Crystal Palace signing

Post by maceo4 »

Will def watch and support him, whichever country he chooses to play for.
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Re: Eberechi Eze - New Crystal Palace signing

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Hmmmm.
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Re: Eberechi Eze - New Crystal Palace signing

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Damunk wrote:Hmmmm.
Say what's on your mind :taunt:
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Re: Eberechi Eze - New Crystal Palace signing

Post by EMIR KONGI JAFFI JOFFA »

Yup. You already guessed it. Yes he is! :boo:
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Re: Eberechi Eze - New Crystal Palace signing

Post by heavyd »

Damunk wrote:Hmmmm.
you dont think its a good move?

I think its the perfect step up for him.

Hopefully he chooses Nigeria cos England arent gonna pick him
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Re: Eberechi Eze - New Crystal Palace signing

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Re: Eberechi Eze - New Crystal Palace signing

Post by furiously frank »

this boy can play..
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Re: Eberechi Eze - New Crystal Palace signing

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"it is better to be excited now and disappointed later, than it is to be disappointed now and later." - Marcus Aurelius, 178AD
metalalloy wrote: Does the SE have Gray, Mahrez or Albrighton on our team or players of their caliber?
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Re: Eberechi Eze - New Crystal Palace signing

Post by Dammy »

Make I no lie, even though I don yab am for this forum, this boy will add quality to the SE.
Imagine Eze driving forward through the midfield with Kalu and Chukwueze on the wings and Osimhen in the centre!
Tantalising!!!
I am happy
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Re: Eberechi Eze - New Crystal Palace signing

Post by vancity eagle »

heavyd wrote:
Damunk wrote:Hmmmm.
you dont think its a good move?

I think its the perfect step up for him.

Hopefully he chooses Nigeria cos England arent gonna pick him
They will cap the boy out of spite, especially after the saka situation.

Watch this space.

But realistically he is not in their plans.
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Re: Eberechi Eze - New Crystal Palace signing

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Mr Eyebs, are you watching?! :clap:
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Re: Eberechi Eze - New Crystal Palace signing

Post by Dammy »

vancity eagle wrote:
heavyd wrote:
Damunk wrote:Hmmmm.
you dont think its a good move?

I think its the perfect step up for him.

Hopefully he chooses Nigeria cos England arent gonna pick him
They will cap the boy out of spite, especially after the saka situation.

Watch this space.

But realistically he is not in their plans.
The new FIFA eligibility rules will discourage serious countries from cap toeing players as the player will need to be capped at least 3 times to be cap tied.⁴
I am happy
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Re: Eberechi Eze - New Crystal Palace signing

Post by Cally »

Baller...
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Re: Eberechi Eze - New Crystal Palace signing

Post by danfo driver »

na e make me post am :rotf: :rotf:
Gotti wrote:Mr Eyebs, are you watching?! :clap:
danfo driver wrote:
"it is better to be excited now and disappointed later, than it is to be disappointed now and later." - Marcus Aurelius, 178AD
metalalloy wrote: Does the SE have Gray, Mahrez or Albrighton on our team or players of their caliber?
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Re: Eberechi Eze - New Crystal Palace signing

Post by vancity eagle »

Dammy wrote:
vancity eagle wrote:
heavyd wrote:
Damunk wrote:Hmmmm.
you dont think its a good move?

I think its the perfect step up for him.

Hopefully he chooses Nigeria cos England arent gonna pick him
They will cap the boy out of spite, especially after the saka situation.

Watch this space.

But realistically he is not in their plans.
The new FIFA eligibility rules will discourage serious countries from cap toeing players as the player will need to be capped at least 3 times to be cap tied.⁴
From what I understand if the player is over 21 , he only needs to be capped once.

Eze is over 21.

Saka is not and this Saka would have to be capped 3 times, while Eze would only need to be capped once.
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Re: Eberechi Eze - New Crystal Palace signing

Post by Damunk »

Tobi17 wrote:
Damunk wrote:Hmmmm.
Say what's on your mind :taunt:
Na fear dey catch me o. :P

Let's put it this way....
Back in the day I once overheard my then girlfriend lamenting on the phone to her friend when she saw my new flashy car: "Wọn ti gb'ọkọ mi o!" ("they've taken my man")

Basically she felt the car would bring me too much attention and she'd lose me to someone else...
:rotf: :rotf: :rotf:
"Ole kuku ni gbogbo wọn "
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Damunk
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Re: Eberechi Eze - New Crystal Palace signing

Post by Damunk »

heavyd wrote:
Damunk wrote:Hmmmm.
you dont think its a good move?

I think its the perfect step up for him.

Hopefully he chooses Nigeria cos England arent gonna pick him
I def think its the right move. :thumb:
But I wish I could share your optimism regarding him and Saka and England not wanting them.
"Ole kuku ni gbogbo wọn "
olu
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Re: Eberechi Eze - New Crystal Palace signing

Post by olu »

The boys seems to be stalling to see if England calls him up, and I don't blame him for that. With the move to the EPL his chances of being called up for the England senior team goes up if he does well at Palace.

Wish the young man well. If he chooses to play for England we will move on. He will definitely add quality to the SE though if he plays for us.
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Damunk
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Re: Eberechi Eze - New Crystal Palace signing

Post by Damunk »

Oya, wey Flex Swift?
:taunt: :taunt: :taunt: :taunt:

Flex Swift wrote:
Damunk wrote:
Flex Swift wrote:Apart from the on pages of Cybereagles nobody has even heard of Osayi- Samuel
Only on the pages of cyber Eagles has Osayi-Samuel received rave reviews.
Only on the pages of cyber Eagles has Osayi-Samuel turned down a big money transfer
The season is over let’s see the EPL team interested in Osayi-Samuel.
I bet at the start of next season he will still be at QPR
The same applies to Eze he will still be with QPR next season
How many times have we heard a EPL wanted Eze ....today it’s Tottenham tomorrow it’s Liverpool and Chelsea all the rumors coming from Cybereages.

I know we want to support our British /Nigerian players but lets be honest no EPL team is interested in both Eze or Samuel.
England will not call- up Eze for the full national team .....:...who is he going to replace? He couldn’t even help QPR get into a play off place.
If Saka was an average player he would not be a regular for Arsenal at 18.
Saka is left footed ,takes set-plays and very creative.
Was played out of position as a fullback and still managed to catch the eye.
The rave reviews are not coming from me they are coming from the football media.
If he were average English-media would not be agitating for his inclusion in the England squad.
Why aren’t the same English-media agitating for Eze or Samuel ?
Guy, you are completely WRONG on Eze.
Make e no go do you like film trick, but barring any catastrophic error, Eze is a guaranteed EPL player next season.
Its not even a matter of 'if', but more a case of where. :idea:

Damunk wrote:
Flex Swift wrote:like I said let's wait for them to transfer to this EPL club

How do you plan to pay once he moves to an EPL side?
Abi na ordinary mouth you dey take yarn?
Like the late Solowe nobly demonstrated when he put his neck on the line regarding Olise's managerial career in Europe (and honoured it when he was proven wrong), you have to show your conviction.

So which humble pie you go chop? :taunt:


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The YeyeMan
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Re: Eberechi Eze - New Crystal Palace signing

Post by The YeyeMan »

Gotti wrote:Mr Eyebs, are you watching?! :clap:
danfo driver wrote:
That was the very first thing I thought. :lol:
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