Forget Saka, Abraham and Tomori

[Damunk]

Eze will get his 3-4 England caps and watch the WC from a pub in Crystal Palace.

Is that cos he's not good enough, or for non-footballing reasons?

[vancity eagle]

Eze will get his 3-4 England caps and watch the WC from a pub in Crystal Palace.

Is that cos he's not good enough, or for non-footballing reasons?

Grealish
Mount
Foden
Sterling
Sancho
Rashford


None of these guys are old. You really expect Eze to have a meaningful 3 Lions career ?

Why do I think he is still playing U20 ball while his age mates have already played for the full team.

My prediction, he will be capped, but not go to either the Euros or the WC, barring mass injuries.

[EMIR KONGI JAFFI JOFFA]

Eze will get his 3-4 England caps and watch the WC from a pub in Crystal Palace.

Is that cos he's not good enough, or for non-footballing reasons?

Grealish
Mount
Foden
Sterling
Sancho
Rashford


None of these guys are old. You really expect Eze to have a meaningful 3 Lions career ?

Why do I think he is still playing U20 ball while his age mates have already played for the full team.

My prediction, he will be capped, but not go to either the Euros or the WC, barring mass injuries.

They all play for the big clubs too, Madison is not even on that list. Eze wil literally have to help CP qualify for the champions league to even be in contention for a call from England. The talent might be there but the opportunity will be hard to come by..
.

[TonyTheTigerKiller]

Eze will get his 3-4 England caps and watch the WC from a pub in Crystal Palace.

Is that cos he's not good enough, or for non-footballing reasons?

Grealish
Mount
Foden
Sterling
Sancho
Rashford


None of these guys are old. You really expect Eze to have a meaningful 3 Lions career ?

Why do I think he is still playing U20 ball while his age mates have already played for the full team.

My prediction, he will be capped, but not go to either the Euros or the WC, barring mass injuries.

They all play for the big clubs too, Madison is not even on that list. Eze wil literally have to help CP qualify for the champions league to even be in contention for a call from England. The talent might be there but the opportunity will be hard to come by..
.

Madison is not as good as Eze. He’s more attack minded which, a lot of times, is quite damaging to his club


Cheers.

[Dammy]

Eze will get his 3-4 England caps and watch the WC from a pub in Crystal Palace.

Is that cos he's not good enough, or for non-footballing reasons?

Grealish
Mount
Foden
Sterling
Sancho
Rashford


None of these guys are old. You really expect Eze to have a meaningful 3 Lions career ?

Why do I think he is still playing U20 ball while his age mates have already played for the full team.

My prediction, he will be capped, but not go to either the Euros or the WC, barring mass injuries.

Add Maddison

[vancity eagle]

Eze will get his 3-4 England caps and watch the WC from a pub in Crystal Palace.

Is that cos he's not good enough, or for non-footballing reasons?

Grealish
Mount
Foden
Sterling
Sancho
Rashford


None of these guys are old. You really expect Eze to have a meaningful 3 Lions career ?

Why do I think he is still playing U20 ball while his age mates have already played for the full team.

My prediction, he will be capped, but not go to either the Euros or the WC, barring mass injuries.

Add Maddison

And Harvey Barnes.

Im just watching Eze vs WestHam

Sorry but I think u guys are over hyping this guy.

I dont even think he is better than Iwobi tbh.

Maybe a bigger goal threat, but I prefer Iwobis drive and creativity in the opposing box.

Anyways Eze and everyone who thinks he can make it with England are delusional.

Never before has England had so many YOUNG creative talents, and "real" British talent to boot, if u catch my drift.

The boy should wake up , make the switch and take his rightful place on the SE bench.

[vancity eagle]

Supposedly Rohr is working on making sure both Ejaria and Olise are called up for the March qualifiers.

Hopefully Ejaria can help convince Olise who does not need a complicated switch from FIFA.

[Damunk]

Supposedly Rohr is working on making sure both Ejaria and Olise are called up for the March qualifiers.

Hopefully Ejaria can help convince Olise who does not need a complicated switch from FIFA.

[Showboy]

Eze will get his 3-4 England caps and watch the WC from a pub in Crystal Palace.

Is that cos he's not good enough, or for non-footballing reasons?

Grealish
Mount
Foden
Sterling
Sancho
Rashford


None of these guys are old. You really expect Eze to have a meaningful 3 Lions career ?

Why do I think he is still playing U20 ball while his age mates have already played for the full team.

My prediction, he will be capped, but not go to either the Euros or the WC, barring mass injuries.

Potentially, but that will stop him from donning the GWG.

[TonyTheTigerKiller]

Eze will get his 3-4 England caps and watch the WC from a pub in Crystal Palace.

Is that cos he's not good enough, or for non-footballing reasons?

Grealish
Mount
Foden
Sterling
Sancho
Rashford


None of these guys are old. You really expect Eze to have a meaningful 3 Lions career ?

Why do I think he is still playing U20 ball while his age mates have already played for the full team.

My prediction, he will be capped, but not go to either the Euros or the WC, barring mass injuries.

Add Maddison

And Harvey Barnes.

Im just watching Eze vs WestHam

Sorry but I think u guys are over hyping this guy.

I dont even think he is better than Iwobi tbh.

Maybe a bigger goal threat, but I prefer Iwobis drive and creativity in the opposing box.

Anyways Eze and everyone who thinks he can make it with England are delusional.

Never before has England had so many YOUNG creative talents, and "real" British talent to boot, if u catch my drift.

The boy should wake up , make the switch and take his rightful place on the SE bench.

Harvey Barnes is a hustling, jam-body player with few skills to match his hustle. Just the kind of player England loves


Cheers.

[vancity eagle]

Supposedly Rohr is working on making sure both Ejaria and Olise are called up for the March qualifiers.

Hopefully Ejaria can help convince Olise who does not need a complicated switch from FIFA.

Owngoal.

[EMIR KONGI JAFFI JOFFA]

Supposedly Rohr is working on making sure both Ejaria and Olise are called up for the March qualifiers.

Hopefully Ejaria can help convince Olise who does not need a complicated switch from FIFA.

Owngoal.

Olise is a French youth international who also qualifies for Nigeria but he'll need a switch of nationality to play for SE. So far talks are still early. No way he makes SE for the March qualifiers even if he agrees to join SE. Besides, he will not debut in a competitive game.

[vancity eagle]

Supposedly Rohr is working on making sure both Ejaria and Olise are called up for the March qualifiers.

Hopefully Ejaria can help convince Olise who does not need a complicated switch from FIFA.

Owngoal.

Olise is a French youth international who also qualifies for Nigeria but he'll need a switch of nationality to play for SE. So far talks are still early. No way he makes SE for the March qualifiers even if he agrees to join SE. Besides, he will not debut in a competitive game.

It's only the British players who take a year to switch.

And Olise has only played friendlies which makes his switch even quicker. If the process is started soon he will be available for the March window.

[Tobi17]

Supposedly Rohr is working on making sure both Ejaria and Olise are called up for the March qualifiers.

Hopefully Ejaria can help convince Olise who does not need a complicated switch from FIFA.

Owngoal.

Olise is a French youth international who also qualifies for Nigeria but he'll need a switch of nationality to play for SE. So far talks are still early. No way he makes SE for the March qualifiers even if he agrees to join SE. Besides, he will not debut in a competitive game.

It's only the British players who take a year to switch.

And Olise has only played friendlies which makes his switch even quicker. If the process is started soon he will be available for the March window.

Yeah Olise's switch won't be like the Lookmans etc case, players that are not born in England don't typically have a longe time to switch.

[Showboy]

Eze will get his 3-4 England caps and watch the WC from a pub in Crystal Palace.

Is that cos he's not good enough, or for non-footballing reasons?

Grealish
Mount
Foden
Sterling
Sancho
Rashford


None of these guys are old. You really expect Eze to have a meaningful 3 Lions career ?

Why do I think he is still playing U20 ball while his age mates have already played for the full team.

My prediction, he will be capped, but not go to either the Euros or the WC, barring mass injuries.

Add Maddison

And Harvey Barnes.

Im just watching Eze vs WestHam

Sorry but I think u guys are over hyping this guy.

I dont even think he is better than Iwobi tbh.

Maybe a bigger goal threat, but I prefer Iwobis drive and creativity in the opposing box.

Anyways Eze and everyone who thinks he can make it with England are delusional.

Never before has England had so many YOUNG creative talents, and "real" British talent to boot, if u catch my drift.

The boy should wake up , make the switch and take his rightful place on the SE bench.

Harvey Barnes is a hustling, jam-body player with few skills to match his hustle. Just the kind of player England loves


Cheers.

Completely agree with your take on Harvey but I must add that there has been a lot of work put into English football right from grassroots through to the very top. Dem Harvey type players will never smell the national team with Southgate at the helm. Its taken some time but there is a realisation that they will never win with jam-body type hustlers. It will only ever get you to nearly there.

[Damunk]

Harvey Barnes is a hustling, jam-body player with few skills to match his hustle. Just the kind of player England loves
Cheers.

You are stuck in the pre-Southgate era.
Just like those that stubbornly continue to refer to the EPL as 'kick and rush'.
I can't think of any of their players that can be typically defined as 'jambodi' at the moment.
Harry Mcguire? Jordan Henderson maybe? Tyrone Mings?

Are they any more 'jambodi' than one of our greatest defenders, Taribo West?
Or Austin Eguavon?
Or striker Emmanuel Emenike perhaps?

[Bell]

Let´s learn to sow and reap and not reap where others have sown.

Pinnick has been in charge of Nigerian Football for 5 years and can´t boost of players coming through the age - ranks!

What about to the age group developmental programmes left by his predecessors?

If the energy, zeal, money and commitment used chase Saka, Abraham and Tomori, now Eze was put into football development. There would be no need to raise a committee to convine Eze!

fabio, PLEASE HANG ON...

...you're on the right side. As I've said several times before, let me re-state: I applaud and welcome Nigeria-connected players who want to play for the SE and other Nigerian teams. My beef is that, it should not be done at the expense of meaningful development programs for those born and living in Nigeria. Like the NFF is now doing. It is a crime being perpetrated on the poor Nigerian kids.
Bell

I really do not think there is any dispute on this.
NONE.
The issue really is to determine whether it is really the case and if so, how?

To reach a meaningful conclusion, let's ask a few basic questions:

1. Is the NPFL suffering neglect BECAUSE the NFF is focusing on foreign based and foreign born Nigerian players? If so, how?
- Resources: Are major NFF resources being diverted in pursuit of these FBs? In what way? Foreign travel? Player invitations? Foreign training? Agents fees? Others?
How much of the NFF's resources being spent on these FBs as a proportion of its total budget could reasonably be deemed significant enough to impact so negatively on the NPFL as we are undoubtedly witnessing?
- Commitment: Resources aside, are these FBs drawing the attention of the NFF away from the NPFL to such an extent that interest has been essentially lost, or significantly diminished? Is there anything to support this i.e that the NFF as a body of administrators (rather than just Pinnick himself) is less committed to the local leagues because of the lure of foreign players? Let's remind ourselves that a keen interest or belief in one thing does not automatically translate to a loss of interest in another.
- Discrimination: Are NPFL players being discriminated against - either actively or passively - by the NFF or any of its national team coaches? For discrimination to be real, it has to be shown that such players are as good or even better than those being given the opportunity. Do we have anything tangible to suggest this is happening?

2. Is the NPFL suffering neglect for OTHER reasons, totally unrelated to FBs?
- Finance & Sponsorship: Has he money dried up? If so, to what degree and what is the likely impact? Is this simply a reflection of the wider Nigerian economy?
- Poor Management: An age-old problem and how much of this has contributed to the present predicament, if at all?
- Corruption: A universal issue. It isn't just limited to one aspect of our football. Is there any proven corruption in the NFF? What about at club level which directly impacts on players and by extension the quality of the league? Referees? Governments, state and maybe even federal?
- Talent Sequestration: We've heard how the best young talent is being held back, away from the NPFL for direct sale to foreign agents. Is the NPFL suffering the cumulative effect of this?
-Talent Flight: We all know that a high percentage of our best local talents (regardless of age) are being cherry-picked by foreign agents, actively encouraged by clubs and local coaches obviously for commercial reasons. It's a global trend and it won't stop. How much of this is contributing to the problem.

And are these reasons individually or collectively just as likely or even more likely to be responsible for the poor state of the NPFL than the alleged preoccupation with foreign born and/or based Nigerian players?

3. Are OTHER AREAS of Nigerian football (under the NFF) showing similar neglect?
- Youth Development: Are our youth programmes suffering too? If so, does this not suggest that there might be more universal and far-reaching reasons for the NPFL decline rather than the NFF focus on FBs?
- Women's football: Same as above

These questions of course are not exhaustive but it is important not to live in an echo chamber and keep recycling truths, half-truths, assumptions and in some cases well-dressed lies. We need to challenge what we believe and what we hear coming from others.
I don't know the answers any more than you do, but I have my beliefs.
Moreover there is too much emotional investment in this topic, understandably so, but it doesn't allow for clarity.

Bottom line is your premise that the NFF's preoccupation with our foreign born (and foreign based) players is at the expense of our local league and youth development.
We all need to examine that premise more closely. Is there a real correlation here? Or a false one?
No fighting please.

Someone said you can't name five local players good enough to make the Nigerian squad. If that is true, it proves the point we're trying to make, namely that the authorities have abandoned the local kids.

It doesnt prove it. It is simply a possibility as highlighted in my breakdown above, i.e. it might be multifactorial

If you doubt the ability of Nigerian kids in sports, I direct you to go to the "Other Sports" forum and see that five of the first 30 players in the recent NBA worldwide draft have Nigerian blood. The same goes for the NFL. So what's the difference? The Nigerian environment and local authorities, of course.

Absolutely. The question is what lies beneath that truth. Foreign focus? Or deeper reasons?

A poster suggested that those in authority have a short window to deliver results and cannot devote any time to development, a statement that highlights the disregard of long-term planning by some Nigerians. What would the authorities do if these overseas kids were not available or they dry up? Don't the authorities in these foreign countries also have to deliver within a narrow window? In short, what we're seeing is is an abject failure of basic management in Nigerian sports.

Again this is fundamentally true.
My only minor disagreement here is your use of the word 'some'.
Most, if not all Nigerians don't have the time or the 'liver' for long term planning. Nigerians want instant results. It is not even worth arguing.

Nigerians criticise their leaders for the very things they are themselves guilty of. So as football fans, we rightly criticise for "lack of long term planning", "lack of 'vision'', "lack of foresight" etc, but when such plans start to play out before our eyes - with the inevitable bumps, dodgy results and shaky performances of the teething period - we scream for change.
Na so-so "sack him, sack dem" we go dey hear.

I'm sure Keshi, Siasia and of course Rohr would all agree.

I THINK YOUR FOCUS ON THE NPFL IS MISPLACED


Although the NPFL, like the NFF, has an interest in developing soccer, the responsibility rests on the NFF. And you asked, "Are NPFL players being discriminated against - either actively or passively - by the NFF or any of its national team coaches?", and the answer is yes. Having found a source of ready-made players, Pinnick and the NFF, have not felt any pressure to look inwards. And BTW, you don't wait for the players to get to the NPFL level before you start thinking development. You need to identify the kids before they become teenagers, bring them into a training program and monitor them until they grow. Why this is so complicated to the NFF is well beyond me. It's a complete dereliction of duty, if you ask me.
Bell

[Damunk]

I THINK YOUR FOCUS ON THE NPFL IS MISPLACED

Bell, I thought that was the whole point?
No?
We are trying to determine exactly how - specifically - the NFF is "neglecting" the NPFL. I've broken it down into the various ways it could be happening.

Although the NPFL, like the NFF, has an interest in developing soccer, the responsibility rests on the NFF.

I refer to the NPFL as the league made up of players and clubs and the competition between them, which it is. It seems you are referring to it like some kind of governing body (the LMC), which it is not. I am therefore not sure why you think I'm saying the NPFL "has an interest in developing soccer" itself. That's not my focus at all. We all know it is the NFF.

And you asked, "Are NPFL players being discriminated against - either actively or passively - by the NFF or any of its national team coaches?", and the answer is yes.

Okay, this is more to the point, though it addresses only one of several issues I raised, all of which are relevant but none of which you had the time to address, even if only with a YES/NO response.
But let's go with this for now.

Having found a source of ready-made players, Pinnick and the NFF, have not felt any pressure to look inwards.
And BTW, you don't wait for the players to get to the NPFL level before you start thinking development.

On the first point, do we actually have any real evidence of this? Like I would like to know how looking at/inviting FB players and local players are mutually exclusive. That FB players populate the SE does not automatically imply our local players are being shortchanged, unless you are suggesting their quota is not being met. In a merit-based system, the pressure comes when you are being forced to choose something that has a better alternative.
- For instance, do we know that Agu, Yusuf, Amapakabo, Bosso, Eguavon, Yobo and whoever else are NOT looking inwardly, from watching our young academy players all the way up to the continental club competitions involving our teams?
If not, then what exactly are they doing collecting salary?
- We can agree Rohr has not being watching the NPFL, though there isn't exactly any real proof of that either, but let's assume it to be true. Personally, I don't think it is his job to be monitoring youth players.

You need to identify the kids before they become teenagers, bring them into a training program and monitor them until they grow. Why this is so complicated to the NFF is well beyond me. It's a complete dereliction of duty, if you ask me.
Bell

Again, is there real evidence of this neglect, or just an assumption made from afar? What were we doing then that we are no longer doing now?

The only youth program the NFF has scrapped in recent years as far as I know is the U13. The U15 is alive and well, and is under joint sponsorship of the NFF and Zenith Bank.
The fact that we haven't strolled through African youth tournaments to appear on the world stage is not proof in itself that youth programs are being "neglected". Its not a birthright.

I personally feel that NO youth player from abroad should be invited to our national youth teams. But that's a slightly different debate. But I also feel that an U13 program should be run strictly at the local level, not national. They are too young in my opinion

No-one is even looking at the impact of the economic downturn in all of this. Even in the UK, youth programs are being shut down left, right and centre as a result of the struggling economy. Its all about the money and resource management.