Nacho, Ndidi 1 vs 0 Liverpool…

[Enugu II]

I was strictly watching the Nigeriansd on display today and I am happy that they each did reasonably well. Ndidi, although he gabe uip the pk, he seems to be slowly but surely regaining the szenith of his ability. If you note for club and country he had been a bit off for a while but today there was a ghlimmer of hope that he can be at the very top again. As for Kele, you did notice his fight which is usually there when he suits up for Lericester. He really has to up his game in the green and white and show similar grit and determination. As for Lookman, he did quite well but the reality is that he had acres of space to run onto as his team basically defended most of the second half.

LOL. There's something off about this analysis....I'm not sure what it is yet.

Is Lookman a wide midfielder or a wide forward?

I do not know what he is nor do I care. What I put up there is where he presented himself today down the left when he came in. I hope you watched the actual game. In essence, what his heatmap will demonstrate.

This is reference to your quote in another thread saying the SE AFCON list is littered with midfielders and we have no issues there. You then proceeded to name Samu, Ejuke, Musa, etc as wide midfielders! So in the same vein I am asking you about Lookman who you seem to have a very lukewarm attitude to. Seeing that he plays in somewhat similar roles to Ejuke, Musa and Samu, is he a wide midfielder or a wide forward??

In my view, he played well today as a wide midfielder on the left but TBH it is difficult for me to say he is such a good player given the fact that he presented mostly (aside from the goal) when Liverpool left acres of space as they pushed forward to tie the game. Generally (Beyond this game), i am not one to tag a player with one position. I abhor that and believe it to be ridiculous. I believe that most players can/should play in multiple positions and that is actually a necessity given the evolution of the game. Thus, while I may discuss positions, deep inside I believe they matyer little as per tagging a player with a precise position as something inherent and immutable.

I couldn't disagree with you more.

Players need to master a role with the ability to adapt as necessary. But they need to be masters of certain roles. You cant ask a defender to go strike. I mean you can, but what do you get exactly? In my coaching journey, i find it fool hardy asking players to continue to adapt to multiple roles with different tactical instructions. It's an exercise in futility unless u are dealing with a special breed of player. Even then you cant ask them to continuously change.

But my wide midfielder wide forward question was tongue in cheek. Wide midfielders are archaic, its an almost extinct term especially when you view it from the lines of pressing teams adopt. The terms wide and midfield used together can today, be classified as an oxymoron. So when someone is complaining of a lack of depth in the SE midfield and you list wide forwards as wide midfielders to try to make your point, you are not having the same discussion. We don't have proper cover for Ndidi. I know you will say Shehu but he's a hybrid who is not necessarily good at either role. Na manage we go manage am. Aribo always tires out at minute 65/70 and Iwobi is having a dreadful season. Onyeka is a good add as is Nwakali. The team needed at least 1 more. A like for like replacement for Ndidi.

So please dont list Musa, Ejuke, Simon, Samu as wide midfielders when discussing the SE depth issue. They are wide forwards in today's game.

Ugbowo,

Sure you can master a role and become adept in it but that does not and should not prevent adaptability to another role. One thing that I actually believe that Rohr has done is build a team of players adept at playing several roles. I have merntioned this severally. Think Samuel Kalu, for instance. Not only has he played as a wifde midfierlder but he actually played atleast one game, under Rohr, as a wideback. See Ujah as well. Therre are many other examples Shehu, Musa, Iheanacho, etc. Now, my reference to the announced list is that the list on the face of it includes midfielders and infact the bulk of the invitees are midfielders. What Vancity often refers to is central midfielders. However, Chukwueze, Musa, Ejuke, etc are all midfielders but they play in wide MIDFIELD positions. That is what I weas referring to.

[greg]

Apparently Lookman's SE paperwork hasn't completed yet https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.bbc.co ... 120687.amp

[gochino]

I am convinced Kele can play 10 for the SE. he just needs a run in that position.

Kele is intelligent and can pass the ball. He has a great eye.

His only problem is he cannot dribble at pace at players. This is a big problem for an attacking midfielder.

And yet he has 7 assists despite starting few games this season? What does that tell you?

[Dammy]

I was strictly watching the Nigeriansd on display today and I am happy that they each did reasonably well. Ndidi, although he gabe uip the pk, he seems to be slowly but surely regaining the szenith of his ability. If you note for club and country he had been a bit off for a while but today there was a ghlimmer of hope that he can be at the very top again. As for Kele, you did notice his fight which is usually there when he suits up for Lericester. He really has to up his game in the green and white and show similar grit and determination. As for Lookman, he did quite well but the reality is that he had acres of space to run onto as his team basically defended most of the second half.

LOL. There's something off about this analysis....I'm not sure what it is yet.

Is Lookman a wide midfielder or a wide forward?

E11 was high on Christmas "things" when he commented. Don't drink and write!