The Amaju Pinnick Rhapsody

[Otitokoro]

Are you honestly comparing D. Advocaat and Guus Hiddink to the clowns we have as coaches? I mean, seriously?
Those guys are light years ahead in terms of the required knowledge and experience to handle a big team on an emergency basis.

In 1998, the Dutch had Advocaat manage the NT through the qualifiers, but had Guus Hiddink in a holding role to coach them at the WC...

Its about planning and proper decision making...

[txj]

Are you honestly comparing D. Advocaat and Guus Hiddink to the clowns we have as coaches? I mean, seriously?
Those guys are light years ahead in terms of the required knowledge and experience to handle a big team on an emergency basis.

In 1998, the Dutch had Advocaat manage the NT through the qualifiers, but had Guus Hiddink in a holding role to coach them at the WC...

Its about planning and proper decision making...

Let me highlight the point here since u seem to have missed it:

ITS ABOUT PLANNING AND PROPER DECISION MAKING.

[Ugbowo]

Pinnick took a risk and it backfired.

He assumed there was apathy towards the SE that was caused by Rohr in the last 18 months of his reign. He believed there will be little interest in the AFCON and Nigeria would use it as a dress rehearsal/prep for the WCQ. The new coach will get to know his players by playing some glorified friendly games disguised as AFCON games....thinking the real prize was WCQ.

He did not imagine Eguavoen (Augustine, not Monday...I think Monday is his brother) would deliver the knock out against Egypt that galvanized the SE back into reckoning and made casual fans believers again. AFCON became a big deal all of a sudden to Nigerians again.

He never saw it coming!

I still think Rohr should have been let go but whoever was going to coach us during the WCQ, should have been in charge during AFCON.

I'm not sure your theory is correct Ugbowo.
It is based on a faulty premise in my opinion. Far too many assumptions.

From all indications, Pinnick was the one holding out for Rohr and eventually succumbed to pressure from within to agree to sack him.
I don’t really buy the idea that he misjudged the public appetite for AFCON either.
These theories are just constructs that fit a preconceived narrative but often are far removed from reality.

Any one that has even a rudimentary knowledge of Nigerian football and it’s fans would know that the appetite for Nigerian football and it’s national team is always there.

I and others predicted a few times during our debates here that Nigerians will not take kindly to any sort of failure despite all the screams for Rohr to be sacked. After he was sacked, I said that I was fearful of a backlash on Eguavon despite all the love shown him “if things didn’t go well”. That’s exactly what we are seeing and will continue to see for a while. The only thing shielding Eguavon from the full, tsunami-like wrath of the Nigerian people is the fact that a sizeable chunk actively campaigned to get rid of Rohr “immediately” and by all means necessary. So they would stand accused of hypocrisy if they were to heavily descend on Eguavon barely a few weeks later. But some, as we know and can see, can’t hold back.
Nigerians? Forget!

These things are easily predictable, so to suggest Pinnick underestimated the public’s interest in the success of the team @ AFCON is pure speculation and most unlikely. That would require an incredible degree of ignorance on his part but Nigerians are happy to make such assumptions just to push a preferred point of view.

I don’t know Pinnick personally but I find it fascinating how analysts have profiled him in various ways usually to fit their own speculative analyses of the goings on behind the scenes. Same with other NFF members.

Don’t get me wrong. I’m not saying he is the best thing since sliced yam, but he is probably nothing like what we like to portray him to be - some kind of evil, narcissistic genius one day and an ignorant, fumbling incompetent with little interest in the success of Nigerian football the next. That’s just funny.

As one who ‘profiles’ human personality and behaviour for a living, I recognise that what you see from afar is usually very different from what is going on within once you have the opportunity to get up close and personal.

DaMunk,

I'm not saying he was right. I am saying this is what he was inferring talking about averting disaster. Surely the disaster was not a bad AFCON performance. It's not qualifying for the WC. That's what he was thinking and that the ANC would be the best way to blood in a new coach for the WCQ. But time was running out and someone needed to be the coach so in comes the technical director who has kind of been close to team. So once coach came, the news was he'll be in Cameroon as an observer.

Again, I am not saying any of this is right. I am just trying to explain how i think he calculated or miscalculated.

I still support firing Rohr, but Amaju should have appointed the SE coach in November but he was out looking for money to payoff Rohr and hire a new coach.

One day the story will come out on what happened with the SE/NFF Sponsorship deals. I have my ideas......

[txj]

Pinnick took a risk and it backfired.

He assumed there was apathy towards the SE that was caused by Rohr in the last 18 months of his reign. He believed there will be little interest in the AFCON and Nigeria would use it as a dress rehearsal/prep for the WCQ. The new coach will get to know his players by playing some glorified friendly games disguised as AFCON games....thinking the real prize was WCQ.

He did not imagine Eguavoen (Augustine, not Monday...I think Monday is his brother) would deliver the knock out against Egypt that galvanized the SE back into reckoning and made casual fans believers again. AFCON became a big deal all of a sudden to Nigerians again.

He never saw it coming!

I still think Rohr should have been let go but whoever was going to coach us during the WCQ, should have been in charge during AFCON.

I'm not sure your theory is correct Ugbowo.
It is based on a faulty premise in my opinion. Far too many assumptions.

From all indications, Pinnick was the one holding out for Rohr and eventually succumbed to pressure from within to agree to sack him.
I don’t really buy the idea that he misjudged the public appetite for AFCON either.
These theories are just constructs that fit a preconceived narrative but often are far removed from reality.

Any one that has even a rudimentary knowledge of Nigerian football and it’s fans would know that the appetite for Nigerian football and it’s national team is always there.

I and others predicted a few times during our debates here that Nigerians will not take kindly to any sort of failure despite all the screams for Rohr to be sacked. After he was sacked, I said that I was fearful of a backlash on Eguavon despite all the love shown him “if things didn’t go well”. That’s exactly what we are seeing and will continue to see for a while. The only thing shielding Eguavon from the full, tsunami-like wrath of the Nigerian people is the fact that a sizeable chunk actively campaigned to get rid of Rohr “immediately” and by all means necessary. So they would stand accused of hypocrisy if they were to heavily descend on Eguavon barely a few weeks later. But some, as we know and can see, can’t hold back.
Nigerians? Forget!

These things are easily predictable, so to suggest Pinnick underestimated the public’s interest in the success of the team @ AFCON is pure speculation and most unlikely. That would require an incredible degree of ignorance on his part but Nigerians are happy to make such assumptions just to push a preferred point of view.

I don’t know Pinnick personally but I find it fascinating how analysts have profiled him in various ways usually to fit their own speculative analyses of the goings on behind the scenes. Same with other NFF members.

Don’t get me wrong. I’m not saying he is the best thing since sliced yam, but he is probably nothing like what we like to portray him to be - some kind of evil, narcissistic genius one day and an ignorant, fumbling incompetent with little interest in the success of Nigerian football the next. That’s just funny.

As one who ‘profiles’ human personality and behaviour for a living, I recognise that what you see from afar is usually very different from what is going on within once you have the opportunity to get up close and personal.

DaMunk,

I'm not saying he was right. I am saying this is what he was inferring talking about averting disaster. Surely the disaster was not a bad AFCON performance. It's not qualifying for the WC. That's what he was thinking and that the ANC would be the best way to blood in a new coach for the WCQ. But time was running out and someone needed to be the coach so in comes the technical director who has kind of been close to team. So once coach came, the news was he'll be in Cameroon as an observer.

Again, I am not saying any of this is right. I am just trying to explain how i think he calculated or miscalculated.

I still support firing Rohr, but Amaju should have appointed the SE coach in November but he was out looking for money to payoff Rohr and hire a new coach.

One day the story will come out on what happened with the SE/NFF Sponsorship deals. I have my ideas......

He could've had Peseiro in the same holding pattern as he did and maintained the status quo, re Rohr until the end of AFCON, knowing that he had to find the money for the pay off....

To say one supports firing Rohr in the time he was is in effect saying you support the disaster of having a manager meet his team for the first time at the tournament venue!

Again, one cannot look at Rohr firing in isolation. The timing of it, and the consequent effect of it, is central to whether this was a good or bad decision...

[The YeyeMan]

There was zero value to the sack and we could easily have fired him at the end of the tournament, whether he won or not...

Assuming he led the team to AFCON and was sacked at the end of the tournament wouldn't that leave us in the same situation? - arguably worse off.

Pinnick would be scrambling to find a coach to prosecute the WCQs - likely ending up with Eguavoen. At least in the current situation he's reportedly hired a coach; or could revert to Egu who now has some degree of familiarity and exposure with the squad albeit limited.

The timing of the WCQs is almost as problematic as the other factors except the timing has been known for ages.

[txj]

There was zero value to the sack and we could easily have fired him at the end of the tournament, whether he won or not...

Assuming he led the team to AFCON and was sacked at the end of the tournament wouldn't that leave us in the same situation? - arguably worse off.

Pinnick would be scrambling to find a coach to prosecute the WCQs - likely ending up with Eguavoen. At least in the current situation he's reportedly hired a coach; or could revert to Egu who now has some degree of familiarity and exposure with the squad albeit limited.

The timing of the WCQs is almost as problematic as the other factors except the timing has been known for ages.

He could've had Peseiro in the same holding pattern that he's been while preserving the status quo for AFCON, re Rohr.

As I mentioned earlier, the Dutch had a similar arrangement in 1998

There are 4-5 weeks before the WCQs. Its not the same as 12 days before a tournament.

[Cellular]

The issue is not about Rohr and his sacking.

The issue is about the TIMING of the sack, and the quality of the decision making behind that.

Which puts Pinnick squarely in the middle and his atrocious decision making.

There was zero value to the sack and we could easily have fired him at the end of the tournament, whether he won or not...

At the point they fired him, there was no better time to fire him than the time they did.

The last result was the camel that broke the proverbial camel's back.

Rumbling started at the World Cup. Pinnick extended him despite the rumblings.

Things didn't change.

He was fired because the team had continued to regress.

Now, you are talking about timing? Timing?

So you will also use the excuse of Timing to not fire him after the AFCON.

At the point he was fired, timing will ALWAYS be cited as an excuse not to fire him.

[txj]

The issue is not about Rohr and his sacking.

The issue is about the TIMING of the sack, and the quality of the decision making behind that.

Which puts Pinnick squarely in the middle and his atrocious decision making.

There was zero value to the sack and we could easily have fired him at the end of the tournament, whether he won or not...

At the point they fired him, there was no better time to fire him than the time they did.

The last result was the camel that broke the proverbial camel's back.

Rumbling started at the World Cup. Pinnick extended him despite the rumblings.

Things didn't change.

He was fired because the team had continued to regress.

Now, you are talking about timing? Timing?

So you will also use the excuse of Timing to not fire him after the AFCON.

At the point he was fired, timing will ALWAYS be cited as an excuse not to fire him.

Timing is often what separates good and bad decisions.

At the time he was fired AFCON was 12 days away. That is not an appropriate time to make that kind of decision, esp since he had about 3yrs prior lead time.

By the time AFCON concludes, there are 4-5 weeks before the the WCQ.
That is more than sufficient time to make the change, esp considering you could have still had Peseiro waiting to take over...

All he succeeded in doing was instigate the disaster he claimed to be trying to avoid...

[fabio]

Anyone remembers Paul Le Guen appointment as SE coach.

[Ugbowo]

The issue is not about Rohr and his sacking.

The issue is about the TIMING of the sack, and the quality of the decision making behind that.

Which puts Pinnick squarely in the middle and his atrocious decision making.

There was zero value to the sack and we could easily have fired him at the end of the tournament, whether he won or not...

At the point they fired him, there was no better time to fire him than the time they did.

The last result was the camel that broke the proverbial camel's back.

Rumbling started at the World Cup. Pinnick extended him despite the rumblings.

Things didn't change.

He was fired because the team had continued to regress.

Now, you are talking about timing? Timing?

So you will also use the excuse of Timing to not fire him after the AFCON.

At the point he was fired, timing will ALWAYS be cited as an excuse not to fire him.

Timing is often what separates good and bad decisions.

At the time he was fired AFCON was 12 days away. That is not an appropriate time to make that kind of decision, esp since he had about 3yrs prior lead time.

By the time AFCON concludes, there are 4-5 weeks before the the WCQ.
That is more than sufficient time to make the change, esp considering you could have still had Peseiro waiting to take over...

All he succeeded in doing was instigate the disaster he claimed to be trying to avoid...

I think your timing may be a bit off.

Rohr for all intent and purpose was basically fired in November post Cape Verde game. Eguavoen announced officially first week in December i believe.

He was already Technical Director and had input on the list. He had some familiarity with the players.

I still think that was the right time to fire Rohr.

I agree with Cellular's reasoning here that Rohr was on the bubble. Losses to Algeria(friendly not AFCON), Cameroon, SLeone debacle, CAR loss and CVerde draw sealed the deal. He needed to go. AFCON was going to be blooding in period for new coach. Amaju made a mistake by calling Eguavoen interim. He should rectify that by naming him coach since there's absolutely nothing Paseiro can do for us in 4 days. Yes he may have 4-5 weeks to prepare if named at end of AFCON but the reality is he'll only have 4 days with the players.

As you well know, there's NOTHING like being with the players and spending time with them getting to know them and motivate them. If you can't get those basics right by knowing how to get through to your players, , throw your tactics away. That's not enough time for him.

[txj]

The issue is not about Rohr and his sacking.

The issue is about the TIMING of the sack, and the quality of the decision making behind that.

Which puts Pinnick squarely in the middle and his atrocious decision making.

There was zero value to the sack and we could easily have fired him at the end of the tournament, whether he won or not...

At the point they fired him, there was no better time to fire him than the time they did.

The last result was the camel that broke the proverbial camel's back.

Rumbling started at the World Cup. Pinnick extended him despite the rumblings.

Things didn't change.

He was fired because the team had continued to regress.

Now, you are talking about timing? Timing?

So you will also use the excuse of Timing to not fire him after the AFCON.

At the point he was fired, timing will ALWAYS be cited as an excuse not to fire him.

Timing is often what separates good and bad decisions.

At the time he was fired AFCON was 12 days away. That is not an appropriate time to make that kind of decision, esp since he had about 3yrs prior lead time.

By the time AFCON concludes, there are 4-5 weeks before the the WCQ.
That is more than sufficient time to make the change, esp considering you could have still had Peseiro waiting to take over...

All he succeeded in doing was instigate the disaster he claimed to be trying to avoid...

I think your timing may be a bit off.




He was already Technical Director and had input on the list. He had some familiarity with the players.

I still think that was the right time to fire Rohr.

I agree with Cellular's reasoning here that Rohr was on the bubble. Losses to Algeria(friendly not AFCON), Cameroon, SLeone debacle, CAR loss and CVerde draw sealed the deal. He needed to go. AFCON was going to be blooding in period for new coach. Amaju made a mistake by calling Eguavoen interim. He should rectify that by naming him coach since there's absolutely nothing Paseiro can do for us in 4 days. Yes he may have 4-5 weeks to prepare if named at end of AFCON but the reality is he'll only have 4 days with the players.

As you well know, there's NOTHING like being with the players and spending time with them getting to know them and motivate them. If you can't get those basics right by knowing how to get through to your players, , throw your tactics away. That's not enough time for him.

He was fired at about Dec 12. Your recollection is faulty. Just google it bro..

The way football works, there's a ton of work that is typically done ahead of the actual get together. And it is even possible to hold an informal session as several managers have done in Europe...

There's nothing we knew about Rohr following conclusion of the first phase of the qualifiers, successfully I might add, that we did not know 2-3 years ago...

One cannot reasonably argue that we were in a better position re AFCON with Egu meeting his players for the first session at the tournament, vs Rohr continuing for the tourney...

[Ugbowo]

The issue is not about Rohr and his sacking.

The issue is about the TIMING of the sack, and the quality of the decision making behind that.

Which puts Pinnick squarely in the middle and his atrocious decision making.

There was zero value to the sack and we could easily have fired him at the end of the tournament, whether he won or not...

At the point they fired him, there was no better time to fire him than the time they did.

The last result was the camel that broke the proverbial camel's back.

Rumbling started at the World Cup. Pinnick extended him despite the rumblings.

Things didn't change.

He was fired because the team had continued to regress.

Now, you are talking about timing? Timing?

So you will also use the excuse of Timing to not fire him after the AFCON.

At the point he was fired, timing will ALWAYS be cited as an excuse not to fire him.

Timing is often what separates good and bad decisions.

At the time he was fired AFCON was 12 days away. That is not an appropriate time to make that kind of decision, esp since he had about 3yrs prior lead time.

By the time AFCON concludes, there are 4-5 weeks before the the WCQ.
That is more than sufficient time to make the change, esp considering you could have still had Peseiro waiting to take over...

All he succeeded in doing was instigate the disaster he claimed to be trying to avoid...

I think your timing may be a bit off.




He was already Technical Director and had input on the list. He had some familiarity with the players.

I still think that was the right time to fire Rohr.

I agree with Cellular's reasoning here that Rohr was on the bubble. Losses to Algeria(friendly not AFCON), Cameroon, SLeone debacle, CAR loss and CVerde draw sealed the deal. He needed to go. AFCON was going to be blooding in period for new coach. Amaju made a mistake by calling Eguavoen interim. He should rectify that by naming him coach since there's absolutely nothing Paseiro can do for us in 4 days. Yes he may have 4-5 weeks to prepare if named at end of AFCON but the reality is he'll only have 4 days with the players.

As you well know, there's NOTHING like being with the players and spending time with them getting to know them and motivate them. If you can't get those basics right by knowing how to get through to your players, , throw your tactics away. That's not enough time for him.

He was fired at about Dec 12. Your recollection is faulty. Just google it bro..

The way football works, there's a ton of work that is typically done ahead of the actual get together. And it is even possible to hold an informal session as several managers have done in Europe...

There's nothing we knew about Rohr following conclusion of the first phase of the qualifiers, successfully I might add, that we did not know 2-3 years ago...

One cannot reasonably argue that we were in a better position re AFCON with Egu meeting his players for the first session at the tournament, vs Rohr continuing for the tourney...

December 12 is not 12 days to the tournament. So even per google, your timing is still off or faulty if i could borrow your words.

Again I do not agree with the new manager meeting the team 4 days before the WCQ. I would prefer he go to AFCON and get to know the team in a tournament setting (spending weeks WITH the team) and then meet them again for the WCQ with even more info gleaned from the AFCON experience.

Regardless of how much work you put in before formal meets, nothing compares to face to face interactions in terms of seeing ideas being put into place.

[txj]

The issue is not about Rohr and his sacking.

The issue is about the TIMING of the sack, and the quality of the decision making behind that.

Which puts Pinnick squarely in the middle and his atrocious decision making.

There was zero value to the sack and we could easily have fired him at the end of the tournament, whether he won or not...

At the point they fired him, there was no better time to fire him than the time they did.

The last result was the camel that broke the proverbial camel's back.

Rumbling started at the World Cup. Pinnick extended him despite the rumblings.

Things didn't change.

He was fired because the team had continued to regress.

Now, you are talking about timing? Timing?

So you will also use the excuse of Timing to not fire him after the AFCON.

At the point he was fired, timing will ALWAYS be cited as an excuse not to fire him.

Timing is often what separates good and bad decisions.

At the time he was fired AFCON was 12 days away. That is not an appropriate time to make that kind of decision, esp since he had about 3yrs prior lead time.

By the time AFCON concludes, there are 4-5 weeks before the the WCQ.
That is more than sufficient time to make the change, esp considering you could have still had Peseiro waiting to take over...

All he succeeded in doing was instigate the disaster he claimed to be trying to avoid...

I think your timing may be a bit off.




He was already Technical Director and had input on the list. He had some familiarity with the players.

I still think that was the right time to fire Rohr.

I agree with Cellular's reasoning here that Rohr was on the bubble. Losses to Algeria(friendly not AFCON), Cameroon, SLeone debacle, CAR loss and CVerde draw sealed the deal. He needed to go. AFCON was going to be blooding in period for new coach. Amaju made a mistake by calling Eguavoen interim. He should rectify that by naming him coach since there's absolutely nothing Paseiro can do for us in 4 days. Yes he may have 4-5 weeks to prepare if named at end of AFCON but the reality is he'll only have 4 days with the players.

As you well know, there's NOTHING like being with the players and spending time with them getting to know them and motivate them. If you can't get those basics right by knowing how to get through to your players, , throw your tactics away. That's not enough time for him.

He was fired at about Dec 12. Your recollection is faulty. Just google it bro..

The way football works, there's a ton of work that is typically done ahead of the actual get together. And it is even possible to hold an informal session as several managers have done in Europe...

There's nothing we knew about Rohr following conclusion of the first phase of the qualifiers, successfully I might add, that we did not know 2-3 years ago...

One cannot reasonably argue that we were in a better position re AFCON with Egu meeting his players for the first session at the tournament, vs Rohr continuing for the tourney...

December 12 is not 12 days to the tournament. So even per google, your timing is still off or faulty if i could borrow your words.

Again I do not agree with the new manager meeting the team 4 days before the WCQ. I would prefer he go to AFCON and get to know the team in a tournament setting (spending weeks WITH the team) and then meet them again for the WCQ with even more info gleaned from the AFCON experience.

Regardless of how much work you put in before formal meets, nothing compares to face to face interactions in terms of seeing ideas being put into place.

We KNOW it was not possible to have a new manager in place like Peseiro for AFCON cus NFF did not have the money to execute the change.

Of course nothing competes with face to face meeting, but its a comparison of the disaster that just unfolded vs the status quo for AFCON and a change thereafter...

We just witnessed a disaster...There's no way to brush paint it...

[The YeyeMan]

A disaster in preparation, yes.

An overall disaster - no, I disagree. Had we been knocked out in the first round then yes but we won three games on the bounce including one against one of the favourites. So the current situation does offer some hope for the WCQ but doesn't put us on a sure footing given the recent changes in management.

[megapro]

In other words
We sacrificed the AFCON

Pinnick took a risk and it backfired.

He assumed there was apathy towards the SE that was caused by Rohr in the last 18 months of his reign. He believed there will be little interest in the AFCON and Nigeria would use it as a dress rehearsal/prep for the WCQ. The new coach will get to know his players by playing some glorified friendly games disguised as AFCON games....thinking the real prize was WCQ.

He did not imagine Eguavoen (Augustine, not Monday...I think Monday is his brother) would deliver the knock out against Egypt that galvanized the SE back into reckoning and made casual fans believers again. AFCON became a big deal all of a sudden to Nigerians again.

He never saw it coming!

I still think Rohr should have been let go but whoever was going to coach us during the WCQ, should have been in charge during AFCON.

[megapro]

Pinnick took a risk and it backfired.

He assumed there was apathy towards the SE that was caused by Rohr in the last 18 months of his reign. He believed there will be little interest in the AFCON and Nigeria would use it as a dress rehearsal/prep for the WCQ. The new coach will get to know his players by playing some glorified friendly games disguised as AFCON games....thinking the real prize was WCQ.

He did not imagine Eguavoen (Augustine, not Monday...I think Monday is his brother) would deliver the knock out against Egypt that galvanized the SE back into reckoning and made casual fans believers again. AFCON became a big deal all of a sudden to Nigerians again.

He never saw it coming!

I still think Rohr should have been let go but whoever was going to coach us during the WCQ, should have been in charge during AFCON.

I agree with your narrative but I think Pinnick has now recaptured the initiative after this loss. He can sell Peseiro far more easily. If Egu had gone to the AFCON final it would have been extremely difficult to sell Peseiro. Not any more.

I agree with the idea that Pinnick going in , thought Nigeria had no chance at the AFCON given the recent results under Rohr. However how the team played against Egypt suddenly energized a dormant fan base. I state this because if you notice, not a single preparatory game was played for the AFCON. This dormancy for the Eagles is an aberration under Pinnick. Thus, it begs the question that it is possible Pinnick saw no point spending on what he considered hopeless and that AFCON would be used as preparation for the World Cup.

At the end
It was a wrong gamble I think

We will.learn from this in the future

[megapro]

A disaster in preparation, yes.

An overall disaster - no, I disagree. Had we been knocked out in the first round then yes but we won three games on the bounce including one against one of the favourites. So the current situation does offer some hope for the WCQ but doesn't put us on a sure footing given the recent changes in management.

Winning three games is not an ultimate achievement is football. Only Eguavoen managed this before

When the rankings are made
Few remember the first round
Italy won WC after drawing 3 first round games

[Lolly]

The issue is not about Rohr and his sacking.

The issue is about the TIMING of the sack, and the quality of the decision making behind that.

Which puts Pinnick squarely in the middle and his atrocious decision making.

There was zero value to the sack and we could easily have fired him at the end of the tournament, whether he won or not...

At the point they fired him, there was no better time to fire him than the time they did.

The last result was the camel that broke the proverbial camel's back.

Rumbling started at the World Cup. Pinnick extended him despite the rumblings.

Things didn't change.

He was fired because the team had continued to regress.

Now, you are talking about timing? Timing?

So you will also use the excuse of Timing to not fire him after the AFCON.

At the point he was fired, timing will ALWAYS be cited as an excuse not to fire him.

Timing is often what separates good and bad decisions.

At the time he was fired AFCON was 12 days away. That is not an appropriate time to make that kind of decision, esp since he had about 3yrs prior lead time.

By the time AFCON concludes, there are 4-5 weeks before the the WCQ.
That is more than sufficient time to make the change, esp considering you could have still had Peseiro waiting to take over...

All he succeeded in doing was instigate the disaster he claimed to be trying to avoid...

I think your timing may be a bit off.




He was already Technical Director and had input on the list. He had some familiarity with the players.

I still think that was the right time to fire Rohr.

I agree with Cellular's reasoning here that Rohr was on the bubble. Losses to Algeria(friendly not AFCON), Cameroon, SLeone debacle, CAR loss and CVerde draw sealed the deal. He needed to go. AFCON was going to be blooding in period for new coach. Amaju made a mistake by calling Eguavoen interim. He should rectify that by naming him coach since there's absolutely nothing Paseiro can do for us in 4 days. Yes he may have 4-5 weeks to prepare if named at end of AFCON but the reality is he'll only have 4 days with the players.

As you well know, there's NOTHING like being with the players and spending time with them getting to know them and motivate them. If you can't get those basics right by knowing how to get through to your players, , throw your tactics away. That's not enough time for him.

He was fired at about Dec 12. Your recollection is faulty. Just google it bro..

The way football works, there's a ton of work that is typically done ahead of the actual get together. And it is even possible to hold an informal session as several managers have done in Europe...

There's nothing we knew about Rohr following conclusion of the first phase of the qualifiers, successfully I might add, that we did not know 2-3 years ago...

One cannot reasonably argue that we were in a better position re AFCON with Egu meeting his players for the first session at the tournament, vs Rohr continuing for the tourney...

December 12 is not 12 days to the tournament. So even per google, your timing is still off or faulty if i could borrow your words.

Again I do not agree with the new manager meeting the team 4 days before the WCQ. I would prefer he go to AFCON and get to know the team in a tournament setting (spending weeks WITH the team) and then meet them again for the WCQ with even more info gleaned from the AFCON experience.

Regardless of how much work you put in before formal meets, nothing compares to face to face interactions in terms of seeing ideas being put into place.

Thank you sir.

Amaju really messed up with the interim coach nonsense. He should have gotten someone on board right from the day they started talking about sacking Rohr. Even if it meant giving the new manger a short contract - 1 year. They all decided Rohr had to go on 16th November after the Cape Verde match but they were dragging their feet and claiming they had no money to pay him.

[The YeyeMan]

A disaster in preparation, yes.

An overall disaster - no, I disagree. Had we been knocked out in the first round then yes but we won three games on the bounce including one against one of the favourites. So the current situation does offer some hope for the WCQ but doesn't put us on a sure footing given the recent changes in management.

Winning three games is not an ultimate achievement is football. Only Eguavoen managed this before

When the rankings are made
Few remember the first round
Italy won WC after drawing 3 first round games

Never said it was the ultimate achievement.

[txj]

A disaster in preparation, yes.

An overall disaster - no, I disagree. Had we been knocked out in the first round then yes but we won three games on the bounce including one against one of the favourites. So the current situation does offer some hope for the WCQ but doesn't put us on a sure footing given the recent changes in management.

Let me as you this then.

If Rohr were the coach in the tournament, would 9pts in group games and a 2nd round exist be a disaster to you or not?

[The YeyeMan]

A disaster in preparation, yes.

An overall disaster - no, I disagree. Had we been knocked out in the first round then yes but we won three games on the bounce including one against one of the favourites. So the current situation does offer some hope for the WCQ but doesn't put us on a sure footing given the recent changes in management.

Let me as you this then.

If Rohr were the coach in the tournament, would 9pts in group games and a 2nd round exist be a disaster to you or not?

Given the amount of time and prep he's had on the job, and the team's recent form that outcome wouldn't have surprised me. It's a disaster in terms of where Nigeria thinks it ought to be on the African stage.

[Enugu II]

Pinnick took a risk and it backfired.

He assumed there was apathy towards the SE that was caused by Rohr in the last 18 months of his reign. He believed there will be little interest in the AFCON and Nigeria would use it as a dress rehearsal/prep for the WCQ. The new coach will get to know his players by playing some glorified friendly games disguised as AFCON games....thinking the real prize was WCQ.

He did not imagine Eguavoen (Augustine, not Monday...I think Monday is his brother) would deliver the knock out against Egypt that galvanized the SE back into reckoning and made casual fans believers again. AFCON became a big deal all of a sudden to Nigerians again.

He never saw it coming!

I still think Rohr should have been let go but whoever was going to coach us during the WCQ, should have been in charge during AFCON.

I agree with your narrative but I think Pinnick has now recaptured the initiative after this loss. He can sell Peseiro far more easily. If Egu had gone to the AFCON final it would have been extremely difficult to sell Peseiro. Not any more.

I agree with the idea that Pinnick going in , thought Nigeria had no chance at the AFCON given the recent results under Rohr. However how the team played against Egypt suddenly energized a dormant fan base. I state this because if you notice, not a single preparatory game was played for the AFCON. This dormancy for the Eagles is an aberration under Pinnick. Thus, it begs the question that it is possible Pinnick saw no point spending on what he considered hopeless and that AFCON would be used as preparation for the World Cup.

At the end
It was a wrong gamble I think

We will.learn from this in the future

Mega,

All gambles are just that .... a GAMBLE. If you know it will come out right, it is no longer a gamble.


Somewhat, thinking about this some things begin to make sense. See also earlier posts by others which mesh with my take on this as well. Has anyone asked why this team failed to play a preparatory game for the AFCON? This administration has been good in arranging preparatory games during Amaju's tenure but for the AFCON there was none (not counting the practice with Cotonsport). Was this by design?

I ask the question because in rethinking this one wonders whether it was all by design. Did Pinnick simply decide that (1) We do not have funds to bring in Preseiro at this moment but we have to let Rohr go because the latter's position had become clearly untenable not just based on results at home but also the public pressure, and (2) That Preseiro can be invited to watch the team at the AFCON and get to meet the players where the NFF bears just cost of hosting him (LOL ).

Meanwhile, the team under Eguavoen plays well that the NFF began to question the idea of even hiring Preseiro given the issue of funds. Now, after the team is eliminated, Preseiro is back on the table.

[txj]

A disaster in preparation, yes.

An overall disaster - no, I disagree. Had we been knocked out in the first round then yes but we won three games on the bounce including one against one of the favourites. So the current situation does offer some hope for the WCQ but doesn't put us on a sure footing given the recent changes in management.

Let me as you this then.

If Rohr were the coach in the tournament, would 9pts in group games and a 2nd round exist be a disaster to you or not?

Given the amount of time and prep he's had on the job, and the team's recent form that outcome wouldn't have surprised me. It's a disaster in terms of where Nigeria thinks it ought to be on the African stage.

In effect the only thing that makes it 'not a disaster' is the coach that achieves the result, NOT the result by itself?

Interesting...