Calvin Bassey vs Celtic

[joao]

Talent alone is not everything needed for a team to be successful. Again, everybody has talent.
It is how you develop and prepare your talent to fit team objectives that matter. CAR, Madagascar,
Sierra Leone, teams that gave our 'better talented' SE nightmares proved my point. These teams came
with a plan and executed.
In today's football world, arrogance and swagger don't win games. Team focus and execution
of coaches' prescribed tactics has a better chance of getting the job done.

[wiseone]

Bassey had a good game. The best bits of his game are his crossing (he fizzes in really dangerous crosses from out wide on the left) and his physical power (CD physique playing at LB).

However, as with most young defenders, his game has rough edges. The roughest of which is his sometimes poor defensive positioning (which was exposed for Celtic's equalising goal).

Good player with lots of potential, and still a WIP.

[airwolex]

Bassey and Aribo can quite easily play in any of the top leagues. Yeah, the Scottish league is kinda weak, but they are good young players. The best performer over two legs is arguably Balogun. Not the other guys playing in so-called stronger leagues. Samu, La Liga was whack. Simon Lique one wack. Kele, Dennis whack.

[TonyTheTigerKiller]

The fact that more than half our starting line up in Abuja play for Watford and Rangers should make you pause and wonder if we really have any talent at the moment. When you add that the rest came from a benches in Cyprus, Torino and Brentford, along with worthy starters from Nantes and Napoli, it’s a far cry from our best days.

Even at full strength, it’s Everton and Leicester that we’re dependent on.

Dark days ahead.

It’s all relative, where do Ghanas play? Yet they beat us over 2 legs. In previous WCs that we qualified for where were our players playing? When we last won the ANC where were our players playing? Clearly we won’t be able to compete with the best of the best, but we should be able to compete in Africa…

Relative to what? You might as well use home based players because the Egyptians and Tunisians do. Having your best players doesn’t always guarantee winning but it should always be the starting point. Dropping Iheanacho and Simon for Dennis and Lookman was a truly retarded move, one that could only have been hatched in a mediocre mind like Pinnick’s


Cheers.

[maceo4]

The fact that more than half our starting line up in Abuja play for Watford and Rangers should make you pause and wonder if we really have any talent at the moment. When you add that the rest came from a benches in Cyprus, Torino and Brentford, along with worthy starters from Nantes and Napoli, it’s a far cry from our best days.

Even at full strength, it’s Everton and Leicester that we’re dependent on.

Dark days ahead.

It’s all relative, where do Ghanas play? Yet they beat us over 2 legs. In previous WCs that we qualified for where were our players playing? When we last won the ANC where were our players playing? Clearly we won’t be able to compete with the best of the best, but we should be able to compete in Africa…

Relative to what? You might as well use home based players because the Egyptians and Tunisians do. Having your best players doesn’t always guarantee winning but it should always be the starting point. Dropping Iheanacho and Simon for Dennis and Lookman was a truly retarded move, one that could only have been hatched in a mediocre mind like Pinnick’s


Cheers.

The OP is saying how bad our players are based on the clubs they play for, but relative to the clubs of the Ghana players our players are not in a bad position...I have no thoughts on the rest of your statements, except that the team in the second leg looked better in attack, who knows how they would have looked with the same personnel as the last game who might have been more tired/fatigued. Its not like Simon came on and did any better in the second leg, he was just as if not more useless...you also forget they both started against Tunisia who shut them both down quite easily...those two starting doesn't guarantee a damn thing...

[waka-man]

The fact that more than half our starting line up in Abuja play for Watford and Rangers should make you pause and wonder if we really have any talent at the moment. When you add that the rest came from a benches in Cyprus, Torino and Brentford, along with worthy starters from Nantes and Napoli, it’s a far cry from our best days.

Even at full strength, it’s Everton and Leicester that we’re dependent on.

Dark days ahead.

It’s all relative, where do Ghanas play? Yet they beat us over 2 legs. In previous WCs that we qualified for where were our players playing? When we last won the ANC where were our players playing? Clearly we won’t be able to compete with the best of the best, but we should be able to compete in Africa…

Relative to what? You might as well use home based players because the Egyptians and Tunisians do. Having your best players doesn’t always guarantee winning but it should always be the starting point. Dropping Iheanacho and Simon for Dennis and Lookman was a truly retarded move, one that could only have been hatched in a mediocre mind like Pinnick’s


Cheers.

The OP is saying how bad our players are based on the clubs they play for, but relative to the clubs of the Ghana players our players are not in a bad position...I have no thoughts on the rest of your statements, except that the team in the second leg looked better in attack, who knows how they would have looked with the same personnel as the last game who might have been more tired/fatigued. Its not like Simon came on and did any better in the second leg, he was just as if not more useless...you also forget they both started against Tunisia who shut them both down quite easily...those two starting doesn't guarantee a damn thing...

To be fair I wasn’t talking about the Ghana game. Merely saying that there are dark days ahead because we do not have great talent.

Ghana is hardly the benchmark I want to go with despite them qualifying for the WC.

The fact remains as someone else has pointed out, we are falling further and further behind the world game.

Dark days

[maceo4]

The fact that more than half our starting line up in Abuja play for Watford and Rangers should make you pause and wonder if we really have any talent at the moment. When you add that the rest came from a benches in Cyprus, Torino and Brentford, along with worthy starters from Nantes and Napoli, it’s a far cry from our best days.

Even at full strength, it’s Everton and Leicester that we’re dependent on.

Dark days ahead.

It’s all relative, where do Ghanas play? Yet they beat us over 2 legs. In previous WCs that we qualified for where were our players playing? When we last won the ANC where were our players playing? Clearly we won’t be able to compete with the best of the best, but we should be able to compete in Africa…

Relative to what? You might as well use home based players because the Egyptians and Tunisians do. Having your best players doesn’t always guarantee winning but it should always be the starting point. Dropping Iheanacho and Simon for Dennis and Lookman was a truly retarded move, one that could only have been hatched in a mediocre mind like Pinnick’s


Cheers.

The OP is saying how bad our players are based on the clubs they play for, but relative to the clubs of the Ghana players our players are not in a bad position...I have no thoughts on the rest of your statements, except that the team in the second leg looked better in attack, who knows how they would have looked with the same personnel as the last game who might have been more tired/fatigued. Its not like Simon came on and did any better in the second leg, he was just as if not more useless...you also forget they both started against Tunisia who shut them both down quite easily...those two starting doesn't guarantee a damn thing...

To be fair I wasn’t talking about the Ghana game. Merely saying that there are dark days ahead because we do not have great talent.

Ghana is hardly the benchmark I want to go with despite them qualifying for the WC.

The fact remains as someone else has pointed out, we are falling further and further behind the world game.

Dark days

Oh you mean Africa in general? It’s not just a Nigeria thing and our talent is one of the better on the continent. But yea the gulf in class is getting larger and we are not investing in the ground roots and local development like countries serious about challenging for world titles at some point.

[Enugu II]

The fact that more than half our starting line up in Abuja play for Watford and Rangers should make you pause and wonder if we really have any talent at the moment. When you add that the rest came from a benches in Cyprus, Torino and Brentford, along with worthy starters from Nantes and Napoli, it’s a far cry from our best days.

Even at full strength, it’s Everton and Leicester that we’re dependent on.

Dark days ahead.

It’s all relative, where do Ghanas play? Yet they beat us over 2 legs. In previous WCs that we qualified for where were our players playing? When we last won the ANC where were our players playing? Clearly we won’t be able to compete with the best of the best, but we should be able to compete in Africa…

Well said. Ghana's team has less quality.

You guys are actually highlighting the problem - lack of real quality.
You say Ghana beat us with a mediocre team. Fair enough, but it means we aren’t that great in the first place. It also means Ghana isn’t going to go very far. Yeah they qualified but what does it really mean?
Nothing, other than they had a lucky break and are going on a footballing holiday to Qatar.
Kudos, but longevity is the real metric.


Just like us winning AFCON. Great achievement but what came next? Nothing.
Fluke victories and achievements happen all the time. The key is recognizing that real quality lasts and weathers most storms.
Not here today, gone tomorrow.

No need sugarcoating it. If Ghana is that bad, then shame on us, not on them.
Next thing Nigeria will start using bad medicine to treat a real ailment.

It’s started already.

Damunk

You are mixing a lot here.

Winning an AFCON is not a fluke. It means you are Africa's best team in that period. There is no is and buts there. That counts.

Then put it in the second thought of a World Cup is entirely separate. The WC requires a global contest. If you focus on that, I agree. Clearly Nigeria based on your analysis is no where close. However, as I always note this focus on a club that a player suits up is not an accurate measure of a team's strength. It may give you an idea but there are significant problems.

[txj]

The fact that more than half our starting line up in Abuja play for Watford and Rangers should make you pause and wonder if we really have any talent at the moment. When you add that the rest came from a benches in Cyprus, Torino and Brentford, along with worthy starters from Nantes and Napoli, it’s a far cry from our best days.

Even at full strength, it’s Everton and Leicester that we’re dependent on.

Dark days ahead.

It’s all relative, where do Ghanas play? Yet they beat us over 2 legs. In previous WCs that we qualified for where were our players playing? When we last won the ANC where were our players playing? Clearly we won’t be able to compete with the best of the best, but we should be able to compete in Africa…

Well said. Ghana's team has less quality.

You guys are actually highlighting the problem - lack of real quality.
You say Ghana beat us with a mediocre team. Fair enough, but it means we aren’t that great in the first place. It also means Ghana isn’t going to go very far. Yeah they qualified but what does it really mean?
Nothing, other than they had a lucky break and are going on a footballing holiday to Qatar.
Kudos, but longevity is the real metric.


Just like us winning AFCON. Great achievement but what came next? Nothing.
Fluke victories and achievements happen all the time. The key is recognizing that real quality lasts and weathers most storms.
Not here today, gone tomorrow.

No need sugarcoating it. If Ghana is that bad, then shame on us, not on them.
Next thing Nigeria will start using bad medicine to treat a real ailment.

It’s started already.

Damunk

You are mixing a lot here.

Winning an AFCON is not a fluke. It means you are Africa's best team in that period. There is no is and buts there. That counts.

Then put it in the second thought of a World Cup is entirely separate. The WC requires a global contest. If you focus on that, I agree. Clearly Nigeria based on your analysis is no where close. However, as I always note this focus on a club that a player suits up is not an accurate measure of a team's strength. It may give you an idea but there are significant problems.

From my understanding of his post, Damunk is not mixing anything here. It seems to me its rather a case of you not understanding his post.

He is talking about longevity and sustainability of success, which comes from proper management, and especially proper analysis of both your successes and failures.

Nigeria's AFCON win was a fluke. It owed much more to the motivational and leadership skills of the manager than comprehensive and sustainable planning.

A fact proven by failure to qualify soon after...

[Sunset]

The fact that more than half our starting line up in Abuja play for Watford and Rangers should make you pause and wonder if we really have any talent at the moment. When you add that the rest came from a benches in Cyprus, Torino and Brentford, along with worthy starters from Nantes and Napoli, it’s a far cry from our best days.

Even at full strength, it’s Everton and Leicester that we’re dependent on.

Dark days ahead.

It’s all relative, where do Ghanas play? Yet they beat us over 2 legs. In previous WCs that we qualified for where were our players playing? When we last won the ANC where were our players playing? Clearly we won’t be able to compete with the best of the best, but we should be able to compete in Africa…

Well said. Ghana's team has less quality.

You guys are actually highlighting the problem - lack of real quality.
You say Ghana beat us with a mediocre team. Fair enough, but it means we aren’t that great in the first place. It also means Ghana isn’t going to go very far. Yeah they qualified but what does it really mean?
Nothing, other than they had a lucky break and are going on a footballing holiday to Qatar.
Kudos, but longevity is the real metric.


Just like us winning AFCON. Great achievement but what came next? Nothing.
Fluke victories and achievements happen all the time. The key is recognizing that real quality lasts and weathers most storms.
Not here today, gone tomorrow.

No need sugarcoating it. If Ghana is that bad, then shame on us, not on them.
Next thing Nigeria will start using bad medicine to treat a real ailment.

It’s started already.

Damunk

You are mixing a lot here.

Winning an AFCON is not a fluke. It means you are Africa's best team in that period. There is no is and buts there. That counts.

Then put it in the second thought of a World Cup is entirely separate. The WC requires a global contest. If you focus on that, I agree. Clearly Nigeria based on your analysis is no where close. However, as I always note this focus on a club that a player suits up is not an accurate measure of a team's strength. It may give you an idea but there are significant problems.

From my understanding of his post, Damunk is not mixing anything here. It seems to me its rather a case of you not understanding his post.

He is talking about longevity and sustainability of success, which comes from proper management, and especially proper analysis of both your successes and failures.

Nigeria's AFCON win was a fluke. It owed much more to the motivational and leadership skills of the manager than comprehensive and sustainable planning.

A fact proven by failure to qualify soon after...

The stuff I read on this forum

[Enugu II]

The fact that more than half our starting line up in Abuja play for Watford and Rangers should make you pause and wonder if we really have any talent at the moment. When you add that the rest came from a benches in Cyprus, Torino and Brentford, along with worthy starters from Nantes and Napoli, it’s a far cry from our best days.

Even at full strength, it’s Everton and Leicester that we’re dependent on.

Dark days ahead.

It’s all relative, where do Ghanas play? Yet they beat us over 2 legs. In previous WCs that we qualified for where were our players playing? When we last won the ANC where were our players playing? Clearly we won’t be able to compete with the best of the best, but we should be able to compete in Africa…

Well said. Ghana's team has less quality.

You guys are actually highlighting the problem - lack of real quality.
You say Ghana beat us with a mediocre team. Fair enough, but it means we aren’t that great in the first place. It also means Ghana isn’t going to go very far. Yeah they qualified but what does it really mean?
Nothing, other than they had a lucky break and are going on a footballing holiday to Qatar.
Kudos, but longevity is the real metric.


Just like us winning AFCON. Great achievement but what came next? Nothing.
Fluke victories and achievements happen all the time. The key is recognizing that real quality lasts and weathers most storms.
Not here today, gone tomorrow.

No need sugarcoating it. If Ghana is that bad, then shame on us, not on them.
Next thing Nigeria will start using bad medicine to treat a real ailment.

It’s started already.

Damunk

You are mixing a lot here.

Winning an AFCON is not a fluke. It means you are Africa's best team in that period. There is no is and buts there. That counts.

Then put it in the second thought of a World Cup is entirely separate. The WC requires a global contest. If you focus on that, I agree. Clearly Nigeria based on your analysis is no where close. However, as I always note this focus on a club that a player suits up is not an accurate measure of a team's strength. It may give you an idea but there are significant problems.

From my understanding of his post, Damunk is not mixing anything here. It seems to me its rather a case of you not understanding his post.

He is talking about longevity and sustainability of success, which comes from proper management, and especially proper analysis of both your successes and failures.

Nigeria's AFCON win was a fluke. It owed much more to the motivational and leadership skills of the manager than comprehensive and sustainable planning.

A fact proven by failure to qualify soon after...

Is that what you understand by real quality? Unfortunately, that is not my understanding. So if Senegal that won this AFCON, fails to win the next then there was no real quality with the team that just won this AFCON? I doubt that real quality means that unless you are referring to sustained quality and that isnt what he attempts to describe. In any case, let Damunk explain himself.

[txj]

The fact that more than half our starting line up in Abuja play for Watford and Rangers should make you pause and wonder if we really have any talent at the moment. When you add that the rest came from a benches in Cyprus, Torino and Brentford, along with worthy starters from Nantes and Napoli, it’s a far cry from our best days.

Even at full strength, it’s Everton and Leicester that we’re dependent on.

Dark days ahead.

It’s all relative, where do Ghanas play? Yet they beat us over 2 legs. In previous WCs that we qualified for where were our players playing? When we last won the ANC where were our players playing? Clearly we won’t be able to compete with the best of the best, but we should be able to compete in Africa…

Well said. Ghana's team has less quality.

You guys are actually highlighting the problem - lack of real quality.
You say Ghana beat us with a mediocre team. Fair enough, but it means we aren’t that great in the first place. It also means Ghana isn’t going to go very far. Yeah they qualified but what does it really mean?
Nothing, other than they had a lucky break and are going on a footballing holiday to Qatar.
Kudos, but longevity is the real metric.


Just like us winning AFCON. Great achievement but what came next? Nothing.
Fluke victories and achievements happen all the time. The key is recognizing that real quality lasts and weathers most storms.
Not here today, gone tomorrow.

No need sugarcoating it. If Ghana is that bad, then shame on us, not on them.
Next thing Nigeria will start using bad medicine to treat a real ailment.

It’s started already.

Damunk

You are mixing a lot here.

Winning an AFCON is not a fluke. It means you are Africa's best team in that period. There is no is and buts there. That counts.

Then put it in the second thought of a World Cup is entirely separate. The WC requires a global contest. If you focus on that, I agree. Clearly Nigeria based on your analysis is no where close. However, as I always note this focus on a club that a player suits up is not an accurate measure of a team's strength. It may give you an idea but there are significant problems.

From my understanding of his post, Damunk is not mixing anything here. It seems to me its rather a case of you not understanding his post.

He is talking about longevity and sustainability of success, which comes from proper management, and especially proper analysis of both your successes and failures.

Nigeria's AFCON win was a fluke. It owed much more to the motivational and leadership skills of the manager than comprehensive and sustainable planning.

A fact proven by failure to qualify soon after...

Is that what you understand by real quality? Unfortunately, that is not my understanding. So if Senegal that won this AFCON, fails to win the next then there was no real quality with the team that just won this AFCON? I doubt that real quality means that unless you are referring to sustained quality and that isnt what he attempts to describe. In any case, let Damunk explain himself.

I believe he was referring to sustained quality, which comes from proper planning and which leads to sustained success.

And the Senegal example you cited would appear to be ignoring the fact that they have been at to top end of the African game consistently for close to ten years...That is sustained quality.

[txj]

The fact that more than half our starting line up in Abuja play for Watford and Rangers should make you pause and wonder if we really have any talent at the moment. When you add that the rest came from a benches in Cyprus, Torino and Brentford, along with worthy starters from Nantes and Napoli, it’s a far cry from our best days.

Even at full strength, it’s Everton and Leicester that we’re dependent on.

Dark days ahead.

It’s all relative, where do Ghanas play? Yet they beat us over 2 legs. In previous WCs that we qualified for where were our players playing? When we last won the ANC where were our players playing? Clearly we won’t be able to compete with the best of the best, but we should be able to compete in Africa…

Well said. Ghana's team has less quality.

You guys are actually highlighting the problem - lack of real quality.
You say Ghana beat us with a mediocre team. Fair enough, but it means we aren’t that great in the first place. It also means Ghana isn’t going to go very far. Yeah they qualified but what does it really mean?
Nothing, other than they had a lucky break and are going on a footballing holiday to Qatar.
Kudos, but longevity is the real metric.


Just like us winning AFCON. Great achievement but what came next? Nothing.
Fluke victories and achievements happen all the time. The key is recognizing that real quality lasts and weathers most storms.
Not here today, gone tomorrow.

No need sugarcoating it. If Ghana is that bad, then shame on us, not on them.
Next thing Nigeria will start using bad medicine to treat a real ailment.

It’s started already.

Damunk

You are mixing a lot here.

Winning an AFCON is not a fluke. It means you are Africa's best team in that period. There is no is and buts there. That counts.

Then put it in the second thought of a World Cup is entirely separate. The WC requires a global contest. If you focus on that, I agree. Clearly Nigeria based on your analysis is no where close. However, as I always note this focus on a club that a player suits up is not an accurate measure of a team's strength. It may give you an idea but there are significant problems.

From my understanding of his post, Damunk is not mixing anything here. It seems to me its rather a case of you not understanding his post.

He is talking about longevity and sustainability of success, which comes from proper management, and especially proper analysis of both your successes and failures.

Nigeria's AFCON win was a fluke. It owed much more to the motivational and leadership skills of the manager than comprehensive and sustainable planning.

A fact proven by failure to qualify soon after...

The stuff I read on this forum

Pay attention to the discourse. Its not a judgement of the team by itself, but of the football program of which the team is a part...