Report: Ighalo held back by club because of late invitation....

[maceo4]

So ermmmmmm….can we now officially say that Odion was the player that told **** he won’t play for the SE again because he was sacked

[Lolly]

Dunno about you guys, but I don’t think that many countries can lose their top strikers in the numbers we have and still live to tell the tale:
Osimhen - out
Dennis - out
Ighalo - out
Onuachu - out

Every single one of these guys has got a CV to die for, yet we are not shaking.
Let’s at least acknowledge that we’ve got some things right.
It’s not all negative.
No?

Expectations are low, don’t let us pretend. The squad is weaker and our preparation get as it be.

At least people now see the value of Ighalo. A big miss in the absence of Osimhen. But we still have Musa.

[1naija]

How different could they have prepared given the limited time frame? This was why Rohr did not invite new players for the CAR and Cape Verde games. And he was crucified by the same people crying now...

Dunno about you guys, but I don’t think that many countries can lose their top strikers in the numbers we have and still live to tell the tale:
Osimhen - out
Dennis - out
Ighalo - out
Onuachu - out

Every single one of these guys has got a CV to die for, yet we are not shaking.
Let’s at least acknowledge that we’ve got some things right.
It’s not all negative.
No?

Expectations are low, don’t let us pretend. The squad is weaker and our preparation get as it be.

At least people now see the value of Ighalo. A big miss in the absence of Osimhen. But we still have Musa.

[Enyi]

The good thing is that the end of afcon we will see who is who. So many names have been circling around as potential forwards, now most of them are in the team, nowhere to hide. Let’s see who can excel in tournament conditions and who can’t do when it comes times to select the WC qualifier team and hopefully World Cup team thereafter we would have already separated the men from the boys

Depends on how long we last and who gets played. Rohr toke Oshimen and co and played Ighalo and Onuachu till the 3rd place game

I have the feeling that Egu is believing his own hype. He is over thinking this stuff and if we lose Egypt badly….we are %%%%

It’s not like you to shirk in the face of adversity but you’re not very confident this time around.
Eguavon believes what he believes and it’s coming across as positive.
It was this aspect of Eguavon that Nigerians wanted to hear from Rohr and they crucified him for not showing it.

Maybe you are affected by the last minute change in personnel more than you think.

Egu talks a good game like last time and he ended up doing what Dan wanted…..

This time round, he sounds more like he is gaslighting us…he is saying what everyone wants to hear but no substance behind it…ie Ejuke..

They played training games….Ejuke created Zero goals still he will be the number 10…..on what basis?

Rohr deserves to be sacked but Egu needs to not mess this up by pandering to the crowd

[Enyi]

why not get a defender? Bassey is playing well in a back three....

Enyi

But a manager has to think beyond simply who is playing well or not. There has to be consideration of team balance especially with the virus issue. Afterall that is why CAF has allowed an expanded list. Right now how many pure strikers are on this team with Osimhen, Ighalo iur; Onuachu unavailable. These are issues Manager must consider. I n defense there is already Aina, Said, Collins, Ebuehi available wide and centrally you have 4- 5 also in the squad.

If John Noble or another goalkeeper is injured tomorrow, he must be replaced with a goalkeeper and it should not matter that any other outfield player is having a whale of a season.

Your point is solid but….our defenders are “falling like flies”….
Balogun…..gome
Awaziem….training by himself
Ndah……just back from injury
Ekong…..off form
Ajayi……..off form
Omeruo….that’s it….

I will get a defender

Everywhere else is covered…..

Awaziem has been training with the full team from all the recent photos...I understand your concern, but Calvin Bassey will still have to play with one or more of these defenders who you think are useless, so it still won't stop you from having a heart attack

Mace, I don’t think any of our players are useless just not in form and I am all about calling players on merit not on name…

My worry is that if u take half fit players to the AFCON it is like bringing a stone to a gun fight

[Tbite]

This is why I keep telling our people to stop relying on foreigners.

Foeigners.
Which ‘foreigners’ are you relying on?
Or maybe I misunderstand you.

If I had a dollar for every time an Oyibo man yabbed Africa in my presence, I would have more money than Jagaban.

We need to develop our own leagues to at least give us some leverage.

And you think “our own leagues” are gonna compete with the world’s best?
Maybe give it 25 years.
We are talking AFCON 2022 here, not AFCON 2050 in eldorado Africa.
Some of the world’s very best footballers will be competing in large numbers, none of whom are playing in Africa.
You need to get real.
For now and the near future, “our very best” young’uns just like you will be poached by the world’s very best.
And now you’re sitting pretty all the way out there in faraway Australia with no plan on returning to where your Mama born you.

It’s a jungle out there and it’s all about the money.

By foreigners I mean the product of foreigners.

The entire European football system is the work of foreigners, there are diminishing returns the further down the ladder you go. The European football system benefits Europeans first and foremost, and then everyone else less so.

In fact, the exponential growth of that system is making the age old European versus South America less competitive.

Actually to be dominant in global football the formula is rather simple. So many people act like it is a big mystery, like we just don't know. Oh, if only we knew. Nope! The recipe to dominate global football is known and the stats are known. The answer is LOCAL.

The key is to be strong in everything local. One you have to have strong local participation, strong local academies, strong local leagues, strong federation, even strong LOCAL managers. It has something to do with the pieces aligning. While coach John Doe might be even marginally better than your coach Bob Doe, John Doe is less likely to gel with your system!

And I think this is a problem even for countries in better positions than us. There is a huge disadvantage for countries that are outside of UEFA's top 10 leagues right now!

We think that recruits are just recruits, but they are products. When you get a player like Ola Aina, how much can you really coach him? Is it Eguavoen's job to teach him foot philosophy? No, Ola Aina learned most of what he knows about football in the Chelsea youth system! But does the Chelsea youth system suit our style of play?

Of course, I am not saying Ola Aina is not useful for us, but I am saying small margins. Success boils down to small margins! Every little bit of discrepancy is the difference between finishing in the 2nd round of the World Cup and winning the damn thing.

I have no problem with these recruits, but I would then task Pinnick to get them even younger! Don't get them at U20, U23, why not get them at U16, U14, U12! We need to be coaching people in Nigeria philosophy as early as possible.

This is also a response to Enugu's proposal of players switching back and forth. You do not get teams like Brazil 1970, if you have players who did not grow up with that system!