Cybereagles

NFF Please Don’t Cost Nigeria a World Cup Ticket



Whichever way you look at it, sacking Gernot Rohr now is the most stupid thing to do. I know as a fact that the German was not the most popular coach we have employed. Some wanted him sacked almost as soon as he was nominated. Many wished a Nigerian should have been appointed. Others had candidates they were sponsoring. In the almost six years Rohr has been our national football team head coach, he has remained haunted. Almost like someone you expect to just drop dead. Or perhaps,he should just disappear.

Regardless of his situation, the German has been able to perform fairly creditable. He has a win rate of about 54%. He has qualified the Super Eagles for two Africa Cup of Nations competitions, one World Cup final, and is about to add qualification for a second World Cup. In other words, he has so far delivered on the contract he renewed with the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF). This piece is not about what Gernot Rohr has done right or wrong. I intends to look at all the parameters involved in asking him to go and possible implications for our country.


Let’s take a look at our football calendar. In about six weeks we have the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) kicking off in Cameroon. We cannot possibly appoint a new coach and expect him to be able to compete favorably at the tournament. There has been talks of hiring another foreign manager for our team but it is going to be a near impossibility getting one to fit our bill in the time available before AFCON. Some have suggested getting a Nigerian coach to take over but it is going to be difficult knowing which one would fit our bill. Moreover, almost all of those who could do a good job are not in good stead with the NFF. Unless, of course, our football governing body eats the humble pie.

Asking anyone of Rohr’s assistants to takeover would similarly be unproductive if the original target of playing in the final round of AFCON given to the German is maintained. I believe more than 70% of our present Super Eagles would be playing in Cameroon. I do not see them paying more respect to a coach that was hitherto a subordinate. We have tried changing coaches midstream before with little success. In 2002 Amodu Shaibu, Stephen Keshi and Joe Erico were replaced by Festus Onigbinde. We ended up being 27th which was our worst placing up till that time.

I do not know why this frenzy to sack Rohr is gaining currency except to conclude that forces against his being employed have coalesced to capitalize on perceived flaws.

My view is that now is not the time to ask the German to go. What I think we should do is support him massively to succeed. We can not even afford to sack him. I am told he is being owed about 5-8 months salary if his monthly wage is around 46000$ then we would need first to pay his areas and pay an additional penalty for prematurely terminating his contract. Where would an NFF owing just about everybody get the funds? Now is not the time to derail our World Cup plan if we have one. As at the moment, Gernot Rohr is the best option to qualify Nigeria for the World Cup. Those who want him out will tell you that at the moment our Super Eagles would not be able to beat any of the nine teams that have qualified for the final round. That is simply not true. On a good day, our team can beat any of the qualified teams. What we should be doing is putting all hands on deck to ensure we win. We should engage our coach on what he needs to succeed. Get our players to commit to qualifying for the World Cup. Pay all monies owed to them. Increase their winning bonuses if need be. Choose a venue that would help galvanize the players.

This is not an endorsement for Gernot Rohr. I believe he was less than adequate in Russia. If he was sacked immediately after Russia2018, not many would have complained. Instead, he was forced to take a pay cut and given some targets to be achieved within a two-year contract. So far he has delivered in almost ALL aspects of the agreement signed. True, we lost to lowly rated Central African Republic (CAR) and drew with Cape Verde. These results to me are indicative of a need by all concerned to get more serious. Sacking Rohr now can only help him and hurt us. He will smile to the bank and use his play log with the Super Eagles to get a new and maybe a better job. Please, do not let us throw the baby out with the bathwater. Let’s help Gernot Rohr to help us. We must qualify for the World Cup. And we still can if we get less emotional and more practical and proactive. We have deliberately over hyped the mistakes there were in other to make our team look worse than they are. Getting a draw against Cape Verde, particularly when that is all we need isn’t as bad as critics made it appear. By the way, the same Cape Verde defeated ‘All-mighty ‘ Cameroon 3-1 earlier this year.

https://www.thisdaylive.com/index.php/2 ... up-ticket/

The begging has started in typical fashion. Look, just pay up and Rohr will disappear. Das all.

what is the point of going to world cup if we going just to come out of the first round if we lucky to qualifier,with this present team at moment whether new coach or not.

People just love quoting facts without the proper context or analysis. In 2002, we didn’t have a coaching problem therefore the change was wrong and proved costly for Nigeria. Today, we do have a serious coaching issue and a change is warranted. That is the big difference between Amodu and Rohr that’s being completely ignored by Rohr apologists


Cheers.

TonyTheTigerKiller wrote: ↑Wed Dec 01, 2021 3:55 pm People just love quoting facts without the proper context or analysis. In 2002, we didn’t have a coaching problem therefore the change was wrong and proved costly for Nigeria. Today, we do have a serious coaching issue and a change is warranted. That is the big difference between Amodu and Rohr that’s being completely ignored by Rohr apologists


Cheers.

Well if they stop procrastinating and do away with the coach it’ll be fine but if they hold onto him sack him after the Afcon they probably won’t qualify to the World Cup and these same clueless amateurs (NFF) will be the same ones appointing the next coach so nothing will change.

The team is losing to CAR. You also watched the last game against CV at home right?

Why the delay? Sack him and let us move on.

TonyTheTigerKiller wrote: ↑Wed Dec 01, 2021 3:55 pm People just love quoting facts without the proper context or analysis. In 2002, we didn’t have a coaching problem therefore the change was wrong and proved costly for Nigeria. Today, we do have a serious coaching issue and a change is warranted. That is the big difference between Amodu and Rohr that’s being completely ignored by Rohr apologists

Cheers.

Hindsight is great. You are right. There was no coaching problem. Just
But I’m certain that if you went back to 2002, the whole country (and NOT just the NFA as is popularly reported today) was convinced we did have “a coaching problem”.
Nobody can legitimately deny this. There was “a public outcry” according to reports.
It’s on record. Amodu paid the price in 2002…and then again in 2010 in similar circumstances.

Everyone can find a reason to say “this one is different”. Let us wait for another 10 years and look back to today and see whether we indeed “had a coaching problem back in 2021”.

Everyone is caught up in the moment and feelings are too raw, just like back in 2002.

Damunk wrote: ↑Mon Dec 13, 2021 11:30 am

TonyTheTigerKiller wrote: ↑Wed Dec 01, 2021 3:55 pm People just love quoting facts without the proper context or analysis. In 2002, we didn’t have a coaching problem therefore the change was wrong and proved costly for Nigeria. Today, we do have a serious coaching issue and a change is warranted. That is the big difference between Amodu and Rohr that’s being completely ignored by Rohr apologists

Cheers.

Hindsight is great. You are right. There was no coaching problem. Just
But I’m certain that if you went back to 2002, the whole country (and NOT just the NFA as is popularly reported today) was convinced we did have “a coaching problem”.
Nobody can legitimately deny this. There was “a public outcry” according to reports.
It’s on record. Amodu paid the price in 2002…and then again in 2010 in similar circumstances.

Everyone can find a reason to say “this one is different”. Let us wait for another 10 years and look back to today and see whether we indeed “had a coaching problem back in 2021”.

Everyone is caught up in the moment and feelings are too raw, just like back in 2002.

Damunk

But it seems you are denying a clear difference. Amodu was never sacked because of a coaching problem or any major public outcry. Please remember that the angst was that the players were disrespectful to the Minister who had visited them in Mali. The players however claim that they reacted because the Minister never bothered to ask about Shorunmu's health after Shorinmu was injured. An angered Minister was determined to get his pound of flesh. Amodu was promptly replaced and certain players blacklisted. It was not about a general outcry on performance Rohr's removal was about three clear poor results at home clearly pointing to a trajectory of doom in WCQ and AFCON. Don't forget the difference.

Enugu II wrote: ↑Mon Dec 13, 2021 12:21 pm

Damunk wrote: ↑Mon Dec 13, 2021 11:30 am

TonyTheTigerKiller wrote: ↑Wed Dec 01, 2021 3:55 pm People just love quoting facts without the proper context or analysis. In 2002, we didn’t have a coaching problem therefore the change was wrong and proved costly for Nigeria. Today, we do have a serious coaching issue and a change is warranted. That is the big difference between Amodu and Rohr that’s being completely ignored by Rohr apologists

Cheers.

Hindsight is great. You are right. There was no coaching problem. Just
But I’m certain that if you went back to 2002, the whole country (and NOT just the NFA as is popularly reported today) was convinced we did have “a coaching problem”.
Nobody can legitimately deny this. There was “a public outcry” according to reports.
It’s on record. Amodu paid the price in 2002…and then again in 2010 in similar circumstances.

Everyone can find a reason to say “this one is different”. Let us wait for another 10 years and look back to today and see whether we indeed “had a coaching problem back in 2021”.

Everyone is caught up in the moment and feelings are too raw, just like back in 2002.

Damunk

But it seems you are denying a clear difference. Amodu was never sacked because of a coaching problem or any major public outcry. Please remember that the angst was that the players were disrespectful to the Minister who had visited them in Mali. The players however claim that they reacted because the Minister never bothered to ask about Shorunmu's health after Shorinmu was injured. An angered Minister was determined to get his pound of flesh. Amodu was promptly replaced and certain players blacklisted. It was not about a general outcry on performance Rohr's removal was about three clear poor results at home clearly pointing to a trajectory of doom in WCQ and AFCON. Don't forget the difference.

Prof, this your narrative is more like a footnote.
The story about the Minister is probably true but hardly features in the historical narrative of what happened to Amodu.
I have not once read anywhere that Amodu was fired because of an angry Minister.

The “public outcry” was real and nothing to do with that.
This your story sounds like revisionism to me.

Damunk wrote: ↑Mon Dec 13, 2021 1:42 pm

Enugu II wrote: ↑Mon Dec 13, 2021 12:21 pm

Damunk wrote: ↑Mon Dec 13, 2021 11:30 am

TonyTheTigerKiller wrote: ↑Wed Dec 01, 2021 3:55 pm People just love quoting facts without the proper context or analysis. In 2002, we didn’t have a coaching problem therefore the change was wrong and proved costly for Nigeria. Today, we do have a serious coaching issue and a change is warranted. That is the big difference between Amodu and Rohr that’s being completely ignored by Rohr apologists

Cheers.

Hindsight is great. You are right. There was no coaching problem. Just
But I’m certain that if you went back to 2002, the whole country (and NOT just the NFA as is popularly reported today) was convinced we did have “a coaching problem”.
Nobody can legitimately deny this. There was “a public outcry” according to reports.
It’s on record. Amodu paid the price in 2002…and then again in 2010 in similar circumstances.

Everyone can find a reason to say “this one is different”. Let us wait for another 10 years and look back to today and see whether we indeed “had a coaching problem back in 2021”.

Everyone is caught up in the moment and feelings are too raw, just like back in 2002.

Damunk

But it seems you are denying a clear difference. Amodu was never sacked because of a coaching problem or any major public outcry. Please remember that the angst was that the players were disrespectful to the Minister who had visited them in Mali. The players however claim that they reacted because the Minister never bothered to ask about Shorunmu's health after Shorinmu was injured. An angered Minister was determined to get his pound of flesh. Amodu was promptly replaced and certain players blacklisted. It was not about a general outcry on performance Rohr's removal was about three clear poor results at home clearly pointing to a trajectory of doom in WCQ and AFCON. Don't forget the difference.

Prof, this your narrative is more like a footnote.
The story about the Minister is probably true but hardly features in the historical narrative of what happened to Amodu.
I have not once read anywhere that Amodu was fired because of an angry Minister.

The “public outcry” was real and nothing to do with that.
This your story sounds like revisionism to me.

You don't have to search the web. You can search right here on CE.

The Minister felt disrespected and orchestrated the move to sack the coach and the players who disrespected him.

After the rush of blood to the head, the new coach decided to reach out to the very players... some stood their ground about the injustice and 2 crossed over.

So the inability to recall these facts is by you... not a case of revisionism.

Damunk wrote: ↑Mon Dec 13, 2021 11:30 am

TonyTheTigerKiller wrote: ↑Wed Dec 01, 2021 3:55 pm People just love quoting facts without the proper context or analysis. In 2002, we didn’t have a coaching problem therefore the change was wrong and proved costly for Nigeria. Today, we do have a serious coaching issue and a change is warranted. That is the big difference between Amodu and Rohr that’s being completely ignored by Rohr apologists

Cheers.

Hindsight is great. You are right. There was no coaching problem. Just
But I’m certain that if you went back to 2002, the whole country (and NOT just the NFA as is popularly reported today) was convinced we did have “a coaching problem”.
Nobody can legitimately deny this. There was “a public outcry” according to reports.
It’s on record. Amodu paid the price in 2002…and then again in 2010 in similar circumstances.

Everyone can find a reason to say “this one is different”. Let us wait for another 10 years and look back to today and see whether we indeed “had a coaching problem back in 2021”.

Everyone is caught up in the moment and feelings are too raw, just like back in 2002.

Damunk,

This isn’t about hindsight and this situation is vastly different from 2002 and 2010. In those yesteryears, there was a lot of confidence and optimism regarding the teams. Why do you think that Onigbinde was universally labeled a backstabber? Wasn’t it because a majority of fans felt he had no business taking over from Amodu


Cheers.

Cellular wrote: ↑Mon Dec 13, 2021 4:05 pm

Damunk wrote: ↑Mon Dec 13, 2021 1:42 pm

Enugu II wrote: ↑Mon Dec 13, 2021 12:21 pm

Damunk wrote: ↑Mon Dec 13, 2021 11:30 am

TonyTheTigerKiller wrote: ↑Wed Dec 01, 2021 3:55 pm People just love quoting facts without the proper context or analysis. In 2002, we didn’t have a coaching problem therefore the change was wrong and proved costly for Nigeria. Today, we do have a serious coaching issue and a change is warranted. That is the big difference between Amodu and Rohr that’s being completely ignored by Rohr apologists

Cheers.

Hindsight is great. You are right. There was no coaching problem. Just
But I’m certain that if you went back to 2002, the whole country (and NOT just the NFA as is popularly reported today) was convinced we did have “a coaching problem”.
Nobody can legitimately deny this. There was “a public outcry” according to reports.
It’s on record. Amodu paid the price in 2002…and then again in 2010 in similar circumstances.

Everyone can find a reason to say “this one is different”. Let us wait for another 10 years and look back to today and see whether we indeed “had a coaching problem back in 2021”.

Everyone is caught up in the moment and feelings are too raw, just like back in 2002.

Damunk

But it seems you are denying a clear difference. Amodu was never sacked because of a coaching problem or any major public outcry. Please remember that the angst was that the players were disrespectful to the Minister who had visited them in Mali. The players however claim that they reacted because the Minister never bothered to ask about Shorunmu's health after Shorinmu was injured. An angered Minister was determined to get his pound of flesh. Amodu was promptly replaced and certain players blacklisted. It was not about a general outcry on performance Rohr's removal was about three clear poor results at home clearly pointing to a trajectory of doom in WCQ and AFCON. Don't forget the difference.

Prof, this your narrative is more like a footnote.
The story about the Minister is probably true but hardly features in the historical narrative of what happened to Amodu.
I have not once read anywhere that Amodu was fired because of an angry Minister.

The “public outcry” was real and nothing to do with that.
This your story sounds like revisionism to me.

You don't have to search the web. You can search right here on CE.

The Minister felt disrespected and orchestrated the move to sack the coach and the players who disrespected him.

After the rush of blood to the head, the new coach decided to reach out to the very players... some stood their ground about the injustice and 2 crossed over.

So the inability to recall these facts is by you... not a case of revisionism.

Definitely Damunk don forget what happened, it was the sports minister that dismantled that team and coach along with it for backing the players that were standing up to him. Here’s some context, I’m sure I’ll find more if I look harder, and I think Oliseh has spoken about it before and also what fueled a small beef with JJ and Kanu as they later agreed to come back after the bust up with the sports minister, while Oliseh and Finidi refused.

Oliseh was stripped of the captaincy of the Eagles for standing up to the then sports minister.

https://goalballlive.com/sunday-oliseh- ... lized-him/

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.goal.c ... 2yy93bvnz7

Cellular wrote: ↑Mon Dec 13, 2021 4:05 pm

Damunk wrote: ↑Mon Dec 13, 2021 1:42 pm

Enugu II wrote: ↑Mon Dec 13, 2021 12:21 pm

Damunk wrote: ↑Mon Dec 13, 2021 11:30 am

TonyTheTigerKiller wrote: ↑Wed Dec 01, 2021 3:55 pm People just love quoting facts without the proper context or analysis. In 2002, we didn’t have a coaching problem therefore the change was wrong and proved costly for Nigeria. Today, we do have a serious coaching issue and a change is warranted. That is the big difference between Amodu and Rohr that’s being completely ignored by Rohr apologists

Cheers.

Hindsight is great. You are right. There was no coaching problem. Just
But I’m certain that if you went back to 2002, the whole country (and NOT just the NFA as is popularly reported today) was convinced we did have “a coaching problem”.
Nobody can legitimately deny this. There was “a public outcry” according to reports.
It’s on record. Amodu paid the price in 2002…and then again in 2010 in similar circumstances.

Everyone can find a reason to say “this one is different”. Let us wait for another 10 years and look back to today and see whether we indeed “had a coaching problem back in 2021”.

Everyone is caught up in the moment and feelings are too raw, just like back in 2002.

Damunk

But it seems you are denying a clear difference. Amodu was never sacked because of a coaching problem or any major public outcry. Please remember that the angst was that the players were disrespectful to the Minister who had visited them in Mali. The players however claim that they reacted because the Minister never bothered to ask about Shorunmu's health after Shorinmu was injured. An angered Minister was determined to get his pound of flesh. Amodu was promptly replaced and certain players blacklisted. It was not about a general outcry on performance Rohr's removal was about three clear poor results at home clearly pointing to a trajectory of doom in WCQ and AFCON. Don't forget the difference.

Prof, this your narrative is more like a footnote.
The story about the Minister is probably true but hardly features in the historical narrative of what happened to Amodu.
I have not once read anywhere that Amodu was fired because of an angry Minister.

The “public outcry” was real and nothing to do with that.
This your story sounds like revisionism to me.

You don't have to search the web. You can search right here on CE.

The Minister felt disrespected and orchestrated the move to sack the coach and the players who disrespected him.

After the rush of blood to the head, the new coach decided to reach out to the very players... some stood their ground about the injustice and 2 crossed over.

So the inability to recall these facts is by you... not a case of revisionism.

You guys have time for damunk.., The guy is trying too hard. i do recall that same minister passed away in a plane crash

Damunk wrote: ↑Mon Dec 13, 2021 1:42 pm

Enugu II wrote: ↑Mon Dec 13, 2021 12:21 pm

Damunk wrote: ↑Mon Dec 13, 2021 11:30 am

TonyTheTigerKiller wrote: ↑Wed Dec 01, 2021 3:55 pm People just love quoting facts without the proper context or analysis. In 2002, we didn’t have a coaching problem therefore the change was wrong and proved costly for Nigeria. Today, we do have a serious coaching issue and a change is warranted. That is the big difference between Amodu and Rohr that’s being completely ignored by Rohr apologists

Cheers.

Hindsight is great. You are right. There was no coaching problem. Just
But I’m certain that if you went back to 2002, the whole country (and NOT just the NFA as is popularly reported today) was convinced we did have “a coaching problem”.
Nobody can legitimately deny this. There was “a public outcry” according to reports.
It’s on record. Amodu paid the price in 2002…and then again in 2010 in similar circumstances.

Everyone can find a reason to say “this one is different”. Let us wait for another 10 years and look back to today and see whether we indeed “had a coaching problem back in 2021”.

Everyone is caught up in the moment and feelings are too raw, just like back in 2002.

Damunk

But it seems you are denying a clear difference. Amodu was never sacked because of a coaching problem or any major public outcry. Please remember that the angst was that the players were disrespectful to the Minister who had visited them in Mali. The players however claim that they reacted because the Minister never bothered to ask about Shorunmu's health after Shorinmu was injured. An angered Minister was determined to get his pound of flesh. Amodu was promptly replaced and certain players blacklisted. It was not about a general outcry on performance Rohr's removal was about three clear poor results at home clearly pointing to a trajectory of doom in WCQ and AFCON. Don't forget the difference.

Prof, this your narrative is more like a footnote.
The story about the Minister is probably true but hardly features in the historical narrative of what happened to Amodu.
I have not once read anywhere that Amodu was fired because of an angry Minister.

The “public outcry” was real and nothing to do with that.
This your story sounds like revisionism to me.

Damunk,

I am truly shocked that you did not know that. CE covered it extensively.

In fact, even before the blacklisted players became known I remembered naming them via intuition and all the players that I named turned out to be accurate. All that was in CE and I am sure that you may still be able to locate same in the archives. Besides, the issue of the Minister's visit and his angst was well covered in the Nigerian media. He visited the team along with the then Director of Sports, Pat Ekeji. The players were miffed before he criticized the play after the team had beaten Ghana. Amodu was angry noting that Nigeria had just beaten a historically difficult rival and that the criticism was unwarranted. Oliseh, then captain, spoke on behalf of the players and indicated the team's displeasure in front of the Minister. He noted that the Minister had not bothered to ask about Ike Shorunmu's injury. BTW, you can also refresh your memory by reading Sunday Olish's version in his book.

After the Minister returned to Nigeria, he immediately commenced action. Stories emerged about Amodu thrashing Onigbinde's note to the Technical crew. Lo and behold, the Minister announced the removal of Amodu and appointment of a squad of coaches led by Onigbinde top take over the team. You cannot possibly state that you are unaware of all that history!!!