HONEST TAKEAWAYS FROM ANC

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vancity eagle
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HONEST TAKEAWAYS FROM ANC

Post by vancity eagle »

Looking forward here is what we have learned.

1. 442 is a no no. I've said it a million times. It finished Rohr, and now it finished Egu. We must ALWAYS deploy 3 central midfielders. 1 attacking any of (Aribo, Iwobi, Nwakali, Ejaria) and any 2 combo of central, defensive or even attacking behind the main AM.

The 442 not only isolates our wing forwards leaving them to dribble into culdesacs, but we lack in the middle both on the defensive and creative sides. How many more coaches must fail using this outdated formation.

The big loser in us reverting back to a 433 is Iheanacho. For me, despite his goal and assist he was PISS POOR this tournament and his poor touches have just become unbearable at this point, and frankly its just not good enough at this level. Rohr was right when he dropped Nacho in 2019 and Egu was right when he said "Nacho is confused as to his position) Unfortunately these 2 coaches did not stick to their guns and both failed almost directly as a result to try and force Nacho into the team to the detriment of our midfield.

If Nacho MUST be played then it has to be a 352. We cannot lack in midfield to accomodate Nacho.

But do we lose all our attacking wide option to accomodate him ? I'm not so sure.


2. Ola Aina is our undisputed RB. No ifs ands or buts. and should we ever play a 352 I will start him at RWB over any wide forward.

3. Maduka Okoye just cannot be in between the posts any longer. ENough is enough. He will always let in weak shots. We cannot succeed at international level with such a keeper. I suggest Adeleye be called and Okoye sit on the bench.

4. Kelechi Nwakali is a baller but needs to put in the physical work. I see him more as an impact sub off the bench to open up the midfield.

5. Samuel Chukwueze was absolute garbage this tournament. In fact he was poor in Egypt as well. Probably the biggest dissapointment for our entire team. With the wide options we have he needs to sit out for a bit.

6. Sadiq Umar - To me he is the best backup we have to Osimehn at the moment. He showed far more in terms of creativity and getting into deadly positions in less than half the time that Awoniyi had. For all Awoniyi's hustle, he just has not solidified his position, but I will take him over the basketballer.

7. Aribo is way too overburdened with 2 central midfielders. Either he plays AM, or a CM in a midfield 3 where he doesn't have the sole responsibility of being creative.

8. Reinforcements are needed - Contrary to the opinion of many, we need the likes of Lookman and Ejaria in the team ASAP. Lookman frankly can walk into our starting 11. Our only winger who can cross, and his passing range and decision making in the final third is far superior to any winger we have. EJaria can even be better than Nwakali, he plays more consistently and at a higher level. He is a much more established and rated player than Nwakali. I'm not knocking Nwakali (he did well) but imagine how good Ejaria could be if not written off because he plays div 2 and is given a chance like Nwakali. Dennis is also needed in the team if he isn't too much of a distraction.

9. Dead woods need to be cut - Ahmed Musa, Jamilu Collins have no business in the team. Olayinka, Onyekuru, etc. just made the team because of withdrawls and 28 player squads. Shehu should also never come back. Awoniyi still should be in the mix but relegated further back.

10. We have a solid foundation, we just must not employ juvenile tactics the way Egu and Rohr before him did. The team MUST be built with midfield as a focus, with smart technical players who are willing to put in the work. Guys like Bricklayer Bonke should be nowhere near the team. Guys like Kingsley Michael, Alhassan Yusuf, Ovie Ejaria, Onyedika need to be heavily scouted and drafted into the team.

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