The making of the new Super Eagles - A 20 man List.

[Gotti]

3. Chijoke Ejiogu - this is a goalie i believe deserves to be a member of the setup for the last 2 or 3 years. I guess our coaches lack of patience is responsible for this.

Wasn't he our GK for the LG Cup games in Libya?!

5. Ogechukwu Ileagu - this guys deserves another deep and closer look.

For Enyimba perhaps, where he does not even make the bench...

1. Solomon Okoronkwo - this is a player should be promoted very often depending on what the to be opponents play. If the need to play a 4-4-2 formation arises, there is no better player to play the support role today than this guy. For all you who have doubts i say PATIENCE. That is the key word in this guys case. I ask you all to cast your mind back to Amokachie of 1989, 1990, 1991 and you will understand what i am saying.

And this guy is being promoted to the SE as "reward" for struggling as a U-20 Flying Eagle?!

5. Dosumu - another player deserving another look.

Another player apparently being "rewarded" for slipping to a reserve role in the Austrian League....
<

[duduninja]

Coach:
Honestly if you ask me, i will rather give the job TODAY to Samson Siasia than employ an FC. Look all Siasia needs right now is a 5 year contract leading up to the WC in 2010. For trainings he can be seconded to teams like Holland, Croatia, Yugoslavia during these teams preparation for the European Championships. And also Brazil, Argentina during the South American championships. These to me are teams with the same football philosophy, mentality if you will as the SE.

As I have said before, Samson Siasia would not be my choice to coach the national team. He deserves all the kudos right now, but let us not stunt his development as a coach by throwing him into a situation that he may not be ready for. My preference would be for him to take charge of the Olympic side, as I have mentioned time and again. And I like Ayo's suggestion that take up any opportunity that he has in Europe (Nantes and PSV were reportedly interested) as an alternative. However, I have no qualms with him being on the national team coaching staff, as is rumored to be the case. Whether he is the Olympic coach or an assistant with the Super Eagles, he has a lot to offer. However, I disagree with handing him the job as the Super Eagles head man. He still has a lot to prove, in my opinion.[/quote]


I agree with mystic on this one...recall that Fanny Amun did an outstanding job with the youth in 93' but couldnt really take off from there...im not saying amun nd sss r the same, but lets not get carried away by sss's ability to manage the u-20 side....

[Gotti]

Goalkeepers: Vincent Enyeama, Murphy Akanji, Austin Ejide, Ndubuisi Egbo

Playing in Albania may have made Ndubuisi Egbo richer...
But I cannot be convinced that it is more competitive than Nigeria.

Left Backs: Taye Taiwo, Ifeanyi Udeze, Ifeanyi Emeghara, Celestine Babayaro (if he is committed, otherwise one of the trio of Mutiu Adegoke, Ajibade Omolade & Gabriel Melkam - if healthy - gets the nod)

Adegoke should be in the Eagles' mix...
Ahead of Omolade and an unhealthy Melkam.

Creative/Attacking Midfield: Austin Okocha, Wilson Oruma, John Mikel Obi, Osaze Odemwingie, Uche Ikechukwu

Ikechukwu Uche is NOT a creative midfielder...
In fact, most will classify him as a forward or wing-forward.

Left Midfield: Bartholomew Ogbeche, Garba Lawal, Ifeanyi Ekwueme, Emmanuel Ebiede

Emmanuel who....
On the back of his last five years at Al-Jazeera? Al-Ain? Dhafra? Al-Wasl? Or Ashdod?

Left Midfield: Bartholomew Ogbeche, Garba Lawal, Ifeanyi Ekwueme, Emmanuel Ebiede

And what of Kingsley Amuneke...
Folks given up on him already?!
<

[mystic]

Let me repeat once that my choice of the word "New" rather than "Present" as you indicated is in consonance to my overall perspective of the SE today. My target is towards 2010 rather than 2006. As far as i am concerned, 2006 is a lost cause no thanks to CCC himself. If the unexpected happens, which i doubt very much or do you see a situation where Angola will not get the maximum 6 points from the 2 remaining matches given that we have to play before them, and we qualify then i will revisit my list and address the issues of Okocha, Kanu and Celestine Babayaro as we all know there is really no substute for experience. Untill then my target once again is 2010.

Fine. I have a better understanding of your post now, in terms of your target being 2010. However, for me our target remains 2006. It is not about whether Angola falters in their last game or not. And it is not about whether the Eagles will win their remaining 2 games. Rather it is about the fact that we still have a chance, and until such a time that we are eliminated from contention, our target should be 2006.

Having said that let me go ahead to the points you raised.

Goalies:

Ambrose Vanzekin. In two areas this guy stand heads and shoulder above all our current goal keepers today. Yes Enyeama inclusive. One is crossing which you will agree with me is the weak side to all our goalkeepers since the retirements of Ogedegbe and Okala. During the WYC, i was highly impressed with his handling of crosses. He showed he was a master of it and can only improve with time. Then there is the way he handles one-to-one situations. I am particularly impressed by this. There were many times when he was in situations where i have seen great goal keepers and yes i mean it concede penalties with red cards or yellow cards as added bonus, yet he narrowed the angles very well with good time divings forcing the opposing player wide. Go back and look carefully at the match against Brazil and Argentina and see what i am talking about.
Austin Ejide dont get me wrong is a good goal keeper but very weak in crossing and on one-to-one situations. In the last six months alone i have watched him severally play for his clubside in Tunisia. That apart he is not giving Enyeama the expected competition required to bring out the best in Enyeama. Enyeama still remains our best goal keeper no doubt but he needs serious competition in the national team to develop. If we qualify for 2006 WC against all hopes, then Ejide will surely make my squad as the 3rd goalie.
I have not seen Akanji and Egbo in recent times to make good judgement. But given that goalies improve with age and yet they play in the lowly leagues of Europe say a lot about both. I would rather give Segun Oluwaniyi and Dele Aiyenugba shirts rather than the 2 above.

I do not dispute anything that you have said about Vanzekin. The guy has big time potential and aside from what you said, his greatest asset may be his competitive fire, confidence and leadership. That being said, the national team is no place for teenage goalkeepers. I support bringing him along for 2010, but for now, his focus should be the Olympic team. In 2008 we can revisit our goalkeeping situation in terms of where he fits in.

As for Ejide, your points have been noted, however in my view he has not been given a real chance on the national team. How can he be expected to push Enyeama, when he isn't given a shot.

I disagree with you on Murphy Akanji and Ndubuisi Egbo. You cannot always judge a player by the league that he is playing in or their failure to transfer to the big leagues. Look at Adefemi who was playing in the Israeli 2nd division. Going by the attitude that some folks have on this board, he should never have been on the Flying Eagles. And what of Julius Aghahowa. Despite being our most productive striker over the past few years, he has yet to secure a move to a more prestigeous league. Yet that doesn't mean that he isn't a quality player.

You have to look at these things on a case by case basis. In some cases, guys playing in lesser leagues are there because that is the best they can do, but that isn't always the case. I bet you Vincent Enyeama, for instance, is better than a lot of goalkeepers in some of the better leagues out there, and the best he can apparently do right now is to land in Israel. Even Ike Shoronmu toiled for the better part of his career in Switzerland and Turkey. Have you ever bothered to ask yourself why that is? Besides, it is not as if Akanji and Egbo are just marking time in Malta & Albania respectively. Year in and year out, they have been acknowledged as the best goalkeepers in their respective leagues. Yes, it may be a case of a big fish in a little pond, but if a big fish in a little pond cannot gobble up the smaller fish, it is then that you have a problem.

Defenders:

Take a closer look at my choice of players and you will see the versatility in them. And i believe we are virtually in agreement on my choice except for Okonkwo. Okonkwo that we used to know will make my list of 20 SE players. That was the Okonkwo before Tunisia 2004. Today i dont know his form and will rather include him in the waiting list. Unless you are talking about a different Obinna but the one i have seen severally and last saw on Sunday against ASEC is not an SE material. Before you make any further comment please go and see Sunday's match and tell me what you think. Note my judgement of him was not based on that match alone. I am yet to see Danny SHittu, Elejiko, Harrison play recently as per say in the last 12 months and can not say much about them. In such situation i would rather include them in my Waiting List.
On the full backs we agree. If i may ask you so, Abbey Geroge is also not receiving good coaching in his English club too. My point is no amount of coaching can polish Abbey from what he is. There is no doubting his patriotism but that's all there is to it. I would rather select that Enyimba's right full back ahead of Abbey any day. That guy is good from matches of him i have seen in the last six months but then he is not good enough to make my waiting list.

We really don't have any disagreements here, other than on Abbey. Look, the guy is a solid player, and has earned his position as our number two guy. In my view, he is has largely been unjustly maligned for his 'police' game.

On Okoronkwo, I continue to tentatively include him in all my player pools. It is my belief that if he regains his form in Russia this season (which, I believe will happen assuming he stays healthy) he will become very relevant to the Super Eagles once again. Except for injury, quality players do not fall off the map, just like that. Unfortunately for Okoronkwo, he found himself in a bad situation at Wolverhampton; and he compounded his situation by holding on to hope of playing in England, thus prolonging his stay in the wilderness of clublessness longer than was necessary. Thus far he is making reasonable progress at Alania FC, but he still has a long way to go, in my opinion.

Midfield:
I guess you only raised issues with Aliyu Mohammed. Well for clarification sake i am talking about Aliyu Mohammed Datti. That this guy today is not part of the SE mix is the greatest injustice you can think about. This is a guy that comes with a good use of both feets a luxury not common with our current SE players yet he is being overlooked. Everyone alludes to his performance in Angola. I ask can everyone be like Finidi George in their debut? Or if CW had closed the door on Amokachie on his debut would anyone have remembered him. Cast you mind back and tell me if Aliyu's debut is any worse than Amokachie's. Yet today we are lacking in the left side of the midfield and yet we dont want to give me a chance to see if he can fit into that position. He is included in my core 20 players for this position.

Perhaps you are confusing Aliyu Datti Mohammed with Rabiu Baita. My issue is not with Aliyu not deserving a shot (as you can see, he is in my pool of players) but rather, in describing him as a midfielder. Now is it possible that he can be deployed as a wide midfielder (whether left or right) in the future, given his skill set?

Yes.

However, until he proves that he can do that either at club level or on the national team, it is downright ludicrous to include him as a midfielder in any 20 man list of midfielders. Are you saying that Aliyu is currently among the top 5/6 midfielders in Nigeria? Because that would be ridiculous.

Attack:
A point of disagreement is Solomon Okoronkwo who is on my waiting list alongside Isaac Promise. Look from what i have seen of both players in the WYC, i will choose Okoronkwo ahead of Promise today. You see in what Promise can provide we have Utaka, Martins, Makinwa, Aghahowa. But for the aggression that Okoronkwo brings we have no body not even Martins. Dont get me wrong, Solomon is and should never be played as a top Striker. Rather play him as a support striker like Amokachie or as the midfielder cum striker as we saw Siasia play after losing the support striker position to Amokachie and you will get the best out of him. Dont worry with time, good coaching and hopefully patience which i hope he will receive in Hertha Berlin you will come to see my point.

No doubt, Okoronkwo has bags of skill and time will tell as to what type of player he will become (I personally remain sold that he potentially has a bright future, his poor WYC notwithstanding). However, right now, he is nowhere near ready for the Super Eagles. Simply put, he doesn't belong in any serious national team discussion right now.

On Siasia, it is the greatest misconception to allude inexperience as to why Siasia is not fit to coach the SE today. I say it with the greatest conviction and believe in me, he is more than ready to face the world as the SE coach. The coaches of Holland and Germany do not have his experience. And please dont sell me that story of his experience being at the U-20 level. Among some players at the U-20 which he faced are the following: Sonderoes and Owusu of Arsenal, Messi of Barcelona alongside several of his players from Boca Juniors and other top clubs in Argentina. In the Brazilian team are players from top Brazilian clubsides as well as Ajax among many others. So tell me again that this is U-20 players. My point is from the U-20 category there is not really much difference. Its all about tactics. And Siasia has shown he has it. He can only improve with it as he manages the SE. Above all he has shown he can learn from mistakes and not afraid of innovating. What else can you ask for.
Look with all these talk about him not being ready, we will soon be saddled with another Christian Chukwu in the guise of being an FC. Tell me can we get a Jose Marinho or a Rafael Benitez. Or is it a Guss d#$%(sp) of PSV or Rafgael of Greece that we can get. Or is it Ivica Osim with Jeff United in Japan my ideal coach for the SE that we can get. Of course you know we can not. Even Bruno Metsu who told me he will be willing to coach the SE if contacted we can not afford. Yes we can not afford him. So you see we will be only left with the likes of Troussier. And between Troussier and Siasia i will chose Siasia over Troussier today for the SE.

Sorry, but I don't agree with you on Siasia. Based on what he accomplished in the WYC, the best we can say about Siasia is that he is 'potentially' a great coach. And all things being equal, that is simply not good enough. Rather than hire a 'potentially' great coach, why don't we work with him to help him on the road to achieving that potential. That will be a better investment of our time and resources, in my opinion. And it will pay off in spades, because it will assure that he will be ready when his time comes. Unfortunately, we always want to take short cuts. I will rather invest in the time and effort that it will take to develop a cabal of world class Nigerian coaches, than hiring such potential great coaches before their time. Let Germany and other countries monkey around with hiring inexperienced coaches. That should not be for us.

[mystic]

Goalkeepers: Vincent Enyeama, Murphy Akanji, Austin Ejide, Ndubuisi Egbo

Playing in Albania may have made Ndubuisi Egbo richer...
But I cannot be convinced that it is more competitive than Nigeria.

Left Backs: Taye Taiwo, Ifeanyi Udeze, Ifeanyi Emeghara, Celestine Babayaro (if he is committed, otherwise one of the trio of Mutiu Adegoke, Ajibade Omolade & Gabriel Melkam - if healthy - gets the nod)

Adegoke should be in the Eagles' mix...
Ahead of Omolade and an unhealthy Melkam.

Creative/Attacking Midfield: Austin Okocha, Wilson Oruma, John Mikel Obi, Osaze Odemwingie, Uche Ikechukwu

Ikechukwu Uche is NOT a creative midfielder...
In fact, most will classify him as a forward or wing-forward.

Left Midfield: Bartholomew Ogbeche, Garba Lawal, Ifeanyi Ekwueme, Emmanuel Ebiede

Emmanuel who....
On the back of his last five years at Al-Jazeera? Al-Ain? Dhafra? Al-Wasl? Or Ashdod?

Left Midfield: Bartholomew Ogbeche, Garba Lawal, Ifeanyi Ekwueme, Emmanuel Ebiede

And what of Kingsley Amuneke...
Folks given up on him already?!
<

Gotti:

1. I do not believe that Albania is comparitively better than the Nigerian league. Nonetheless, my belief in Ndubuisi Egbo as a solid veteran reserve goalkeeper for Nigeria remains.

2. I like all 3 players (Adegoke, Melkam & Omolade). However, I haven't seen Adegoke play, so I will take it easy on making any categorical statements about him. However, it is instructive to note that he has displaced Omolade, at Enyimba, who is not exactly chop liver.

3. I am well aware that Uche Ikechukwu plays as a wide attacking player or as an out and out striker in Spain. Right now, I view him as a multi-purposed attacking midfielder who can fill a number of attacking roles which is why I have listed him as an "attacking midfielder". Perhaps my heading should read "creative & attacking midfielders" to avoid the ambiguity. I usually don't write it that way because in most of my articles I give detailed descriptions of the players on my lists (which clarifies any confusion). But in this case, I was soley focused on giving a quick retort to Azuka, rather than writing an article.

4. Yep. Emmanuel Ebiede! Just because a player is plying his trade in the hinterlands doesn't mean that he isn't a player (gosh, I sound like GT ). However, those who are familiar with my position on Ebiede are aware that I've always been a big believer in his talent, and I still am. Bottom line is that he had a super productive season in Israel and is worth a shot, in my view.

5. I have not forgotten about Kevin Amuneke. Amuneke remains a prime time talent, in my view and I remain one of his biggest boosters. However, he is one of those players that is on the borderline of my pool (i.e - depending on which way the wind is blowing on any given day, I may decide to include or ommit him). On a serious note, he has bonafide national team talent, but he isn't quite ready for prime time yet - which is what was apparent against Angola. I realize that I have been one of his biggest boosters, but all along I have said that my preference was for him to work his way up from the Flying Eagles, which unfortunately did not happen. Left to me, I will let him sit on the sidelines for a while, but if he were called up tommorrow, I would have no qualms because he is the real deal.

[Mudi E]

There has to be a lot of hunger on this team.
I will put David Abwo to this team for his versatility and pace upfront.
Dele Adeleye should also be on the reckoning in central defense.

[Martin]

While I was very impressed with the FE's play in Holland the jump from U-20 to the senior level is great and in my opinion the only FE players ready to make the leap now to the Super Eagles are Taye Taiwo and John Mikel Obi. Others such as Apam, Vanzekin, Kaita, Isaac and S. Okoronkwo remain good prospects but are not yet ready for national team play. Overall I agree with Mystic's pool of SE players. If I was picking a 23 man roster now it would be:

GK:
Enyeama
Ejide
Etafia

CB:
Yobo
Enakarhire
Olajengbesi
Afolabi
Nwanneri

FB:
Odiah
Taiwo
Abbey
Udeze

MF:
Obodo
Yusuf
Okocha
Oruma
Obi
Lawal

FW:
Martins
Utaka
Aghahowa
Ogbeche
Makinwa

[azuka]

Perhaps you are confusing Aliyu Datti Mohammed with Rabiu Baita. My issue is not with Aliyu not deserving a shot (as you can see, he is in my pool of players) but rather, in describing him as a midfielder. Now is it possible that he can be deployed as a wide midfielder (whether left or right) in the future, given his skill set?

Yes.

Yes i will still include Aliyu Mohammed in my pool of 20 players. John Utaka is an attacker, but does he not play in the midfield for the SE? As such i will love to test Aliyu Mohammed in the left side of the midfield which to me remains the one position we lack quality. I will love to have him tried there in a few matches to see if he will jive.

On Siasia there is no need belabouring the issue seeing we can never agree on this. But tell me something. What qualifies Marco Van Basten, Vogts, Klinsman, Rijkaard etc to coach their national teams and yet disqualifies Siasia from same. After all these players were appointed without previous coaching experience something Siasia does have?

[mystic]

Perhaps you are confusing Aliyu Datti Mohammed with Rabiu Baita. My issue is not with Aliyu not deserving a shot (as you can see, he is in my pool of players) but rather, in describing him as a midfielder. Now is it possible that he can be deployed as a wide midfielder (whether left or right) in the future, given his skill set?

Yes.

Yes i will still include Aliyu Mohammed in my pool of 20 players. John Utaka is an attacker, but does he not play in the midfield for the SE? As such i will love to test Aliyu Mohammed in the left side of the midfield which to me remains the one position we lack quality. I will love to have him tried there in a few matches to see if he will jive.

On Siasia there is no need belabouring the issue seeing we can never agree on this. But tell me something. What qualifies Marco Van Basten, Vogts, Klinsman, Rijkaard etc to coach their national teams and yet disqualifies Siasia from same. After all these players were appointed without previous coaching experience something Siasia does have?

Azuka:

1. I understand your position on Aliyu particularly with the desire to try something different on the left side of midfield. However, he is not one of Nigeria's top 20 players at the moment, and he has shown nothing thus far in his career to suggest he can solve our left midfield problem if moved there. You are basically projecting a player into your top 20 list that no one can be sure of. Even as a striker, he is not amongst our top 20. Utaka, on the other hand is a different case, because he will make any list of Nigeria's top players even if you decide to play him at Goalkeeper.

2. Vogts had more experience than Siasia before being handed the Germany job. Nonetheless, I would not have hired him if I were Germany for reasons that have nothing to do with experience. Of all the coaches that you have mentioned, Rikjaard is the only guy that would have intrigued me if I were in a position to hand them a national team post. Nonetheless, as I said earlier, let the European countries monkey around with hiring inexperienced coaches. Must we copy them in everything that they do? Am I not allowed to disagree with hiring inexperienced coaches simply because it is suddenly in vogue around Europe? If you are inexperienced, then you are inexperienced - whether you are Samson Siasia or Marco Van Basten. While one can always take the occasional leap of faith, national team jobs should, by and large, be for the tried and true.

[Enugu II]

It is interesting to read your list for SE. I like the dept and the broad scope of your discussion. Here are my comments and opinions:

1. I hope that the new coach is focused on WC 2006 as Nigeria still has a chance to make it. Thus his invitees must reflect the reality of a near and not a long term future. In addition, it is a bit difficult to plan for 2010 as that is littered with errors. While several teams do this, you will find that the amounts of errors increase as the target date lengthens. We are five years away from 2010 and you will find that if the list below reflects that plan many of these players will not be there when the time comes. Thus, while a coach must think of a distant future, he cannot ignore the near future.

2. I like Vanzekin but I am not sure that his performance at WYC suddenly puts him at #2 but that IMO is not really a big deal as he is not very far off.

3. DEFENDERS: Afolabi, hopefully, will get a chance but I do not believe the guy will be in the mix as he is neither quick enough nor is he agile to assure himself of a place on an SE squad. Someone else mentioned Udeze, I loved Udeze's game but we must begin to come to grips with the fact that Udeze's last great game is now part of a distant memory. This guy has been declining over the years and I believe Taiye Taiwo now is ahead of him and that ought to be reflected as you have done.

4. MIDFIELD: Here you make the very mistake that you so often criticize our coaches. How come you listed Martins and Aghahowa as attackers then you proceeded to play them as midfielders in your 4-4-2? In any case, I do not believe for one minute that Utaka has a chance to start as an attacker for the SE. His best position is wide on the right as a midfielder. He has the ball skills but is not the sharpest in front of goal. I also do not agree that he is similar to Martins. IMO, Martins is more similar to Aghahowa than he is to Utaka. Both Martins and Aghahowa provide the closest thing to deadly attackers in an SE uniform, Utaka does not. As for Christian Obodo, his days of getting invitations must surely be numbered. If we are hoping to raise a fast squad, then he is unlikely to be considered.


5. ATTACKERS: I have no contrary points here. The only thing I will add is that Ogbuke ought to be considered to be on the bench. This kid brings three rare things to the game (Rare in the fact that it is scarcely found in that combination with SE players) -- he has an abundance of speed, hunger, and he is learning the art of diving. Only Kanu has perfected the art of diving and that is very important in today's game as we have learned from Kanu in an SE shirt and as we learned in the recent FE/Argie game. Ogbuke has it and it is important particularly with his runs creating panic among defenders.



NOTE: In essence, my take is that few new players should be added to the squad but the squad should not be dramatically changed. It is not yet time to discard the likes of Okocha. Furthermore, my favorite SE player Adefemi Olubayo would be given consideration if I was making this call. Olubayo is not flashy but he provides 110% effort, gets the job done, and plays compellingly as a DM covering every blade of grass. Never mind that Siasia chose to use him as a defender in the WYC.

For me, this is a list of 20 players the new coach should make the core of the New Look Super Eagles:

Goalies - 2:

1. Vincent Enyeama
2. Ambrose Vanzekin - we really need someone who can push Enyeama to give his best. Ejide and co have failed severally in this regard. He will bring a new fresh of breath to the goal keeping task.

Defenders: 7

1. Joseph Yobo - designated as captain
2. Joseph Enarkhire
3. Seyi Olajengbesi - if fully recovered from his injury. Otherwise i will give this spot to Apam Onyekachi

4. Rabiu Afolabi - a good backup for the CD and RB position.

5. Chidi Odiah
6. Taye Taiwo
7. Ifeanyi Emeghara - time to bring a fresher option to this position.

Midfield: 6

1. Atanda Yusuf
2. Sani Kaita
3. John Mikel Obi
4. Xtian Obodo
5. Osazee Odemwegie
6. Aliyu Mohammed

Attack: 5

1. Obafemi Martins
2. Ayodele Makinwa
3. John Utaka
4. Yakubu Aiyegbeni
5. Julius Aghahowa - if fully recovered from his injury. And if not, i will chose Solomon Okoronkwo over Isaac Promise for the option he brings in a 4-4-2 formation.

With this squad the team can easily line up in the 3-5-2 formation as follows:

1. Enyeama.

2. Enarkhire - CD
3. Yobo - CD
4. Olajengbesi - CD

5. Odiah - RWB
6. Taye - LWB
7. Atanda - DM
8. Kaita - DM
9. Obi - AM/CM

10. Makinwa - Attack
11. Martins - attack

Or if the coach prefers in a 4-4-2 formation as follows: - for me here is innovation:

1. Enyeama

2. Odiah - RFB
3. Taye - LFB
4. Yobo - CD
5. Olajengbesi - CD

6. Atanda - DM
7. Obi - CM
8. Aghahowa - RW
9. Martins - LW

10. Utaka - support Striker
11. Makinwa - Main Striker

Waiting List:

This comprises of players i believe are currently knocking on the door for the SE. Some are bonafides member in the CCC era, but seriously some of these guys are lacking in their respective position. As such the need to bring in fresh breath to these positions.

Goalie:

1. Austin Ejide
2. Dele Aiyenugba
3. Chijoke Ejiogu - this is a goalie i believe deserves to be a member of the setup for the last 2 or 3 years. I guess our coaches lack of patience is responsible for this.
4. Segun Oluwaniyi of Rangers - who from reports seems to be very good and tops in the local league today.

Defenders:

1. Isaac Okoronkwo - at his peak was good. How is he doing today at his new club.
2. Apam Onyekachi
3. Ifeanyi Udeze - Despite all his years in the SE, he is yet to convince me that he deserves a place. He could be really good if he gets to bring some professionalism into his play. Most times he plays secondary school football. What exactly has he learnt in Greece?
4. Dele Adeleye - To me another revelation of the WYC.

Midfield:

1. Yinka Adedeji - hopefully will get a good club and develop as a DM. He does have the potential though.
2. Paul Obiefule - another prospect. But please not for the DM position.
3. Seyi Olofinjana - his problem in the SE is mostly the misconception of his position. Seyi is never and will never be a DM. At best he provides an option similar to what Thompson Oliha provides in the SE of old. He will flourish if used as the water carrier of the midfield. Remember the role Eguavoen played in Maroc 88?
4. Uche kalu
5. Ogechukwu Ileagu - this guys deserves another deep and closer look.

Attack:

1. Solomon Okoronkwo - this is a player should be promoted very often depending on what the to be opponents play. If the need to play a 4-4-2 formation arises, there is no better player to play the support role today than this guy. For all you who have doubts i say PATIENCE. That is the key word in this guys case. I ask you all to cast your mind back to Amokachie of 1989, 1990, 1991 and you will understand what i am saying.
2. Isaac Promise - i believe we saw just a little bit of what he can do at the WYC because of his injury.
3. Ogbuke - another revelation from that competition.
4. Manasseh - i think this guy deserves a look in
5. Dosumu - another player deserving another look.

Coach:
Honestly if you ask me, i will rather give the job TODAY to Samson Siasia than employ an FC. Look all Siasia needs right now is a 5 year contract leading up to the WC in 2010. For trainings he can be seconded to teams like Holland, Croatia, Yugoslavia during these teams preparation for the European Championships. And also Brazil, Argentina during the South American championships. These to me are teams with the same football philosophy, mentality if you will as the SE.

But if we must go for an FC for me the ideal choice remains Ivica Osim. However any of the following will do though:

1. Lue Guen
2. any of the two Ottos from Germany
3. PSV Coach - former South Korean coach

This is my contribution to the making of the New Super Eagles.

[azuka]

EII, i quite agree with your points. But note here i am considering a team of 20 top players with a wide depth of pool for the rest. Among the rest will include the remaining Flying Eagles players and others like Ogbeche hopefully he will continue to improve and many more i did not cover here.
For me the 4-4-2 formation is a innovation which i think a coach should give a second thought to. As i see our players we are more situited for the 3-5-2 formation than 4-4-2. As you can see from signature, my preference and line up for the 3-5-2 is displayed.
Yeah i am thinking of 2010 with the additional hope that Siasia will have the mandate to start preparing now. Like i said in one response to Mystic, 2006 is not ours anymore to decide. Having said that i really do hope we qualify but with not jeopardise my sleep wishing against wish that Angola drops a point. Look i have seen Zimbadwe and Algeria play. I believe that we can handle both conveniently without breaking a sweat. Even after getting the maximum 6 points what next. Our biggest chance now is that Angola draws with Gabon in Luanda otherwise it is a foregone conclusion unless FIFA jugdes by goals Difference. And if we do get to that stage then we can think about people like Okocha, Kanu, Cele and co for experience.