My Thots on the Nigeria - Ghana match.

[azuka]

This is the best match i have seen so far in this competition all things considered. It was a display of two equally well coached and tactically sound teams who are not there yet but very much on the road to getting there. No doubt. Dont get me wrong, both Nigeria and Ghana are not finished products yet. But if what we saw yesterday was anything to go by, other teams on the continent better beware that these two are back for good.
Now to the match proper. No doubt Nigeria had a better share of the play due to Ghana's tactics of soaking in pressure and waiting to catch us on the break. It nearly worked but then they could not take their chances when they came simply because they were not expecting them or what? For the first time in a very long while, Nigeria had a vibrant midfield, a defence that was on its feet for most times but surprising a blunt attack. Yes our attack yesterday was blunt. Will come to this shortly.
My comments on all aspect of the SE:
Goalie:
No questions asked and no answer expected. Enyeama has improved but still a little suspect with crosses. His mental alertness can not be faulted at all. Sorry to the other goalies, baring injuries Enyeama is here to stay for a long time.

Defence:
Growing with better understanding every day. Kept a clean state which is all that matters really. But without doubt our biggest problem in the defence remains Yobo. Yes Yobo. What is it with his momentary loss of concentration? That is a trait one has come to associate with Yobo. Yobo never plays a match without losing concentration at least twice in a match. I think he needs serious talking to really. That is the only barrier in his path to being a world class CD. That said i am happy with the defence.

Midfield:
Let me say this is the revelation of the team. I cant remember the last time i saw such a compact and mobile midfield as we had yesterday. I was mightly impressed with Ayilla - Obodo combo. They are the bedrock on which a better midfield will emerge no doubt. A lot has been written about Oruma. Yes Oruma was every where. Yes he was energetic. In all these the question is did Oruma play to the coaches instruction? Given that he played the whole game then one can safely assume he did. But honestly i think he is the weak link in the midfied. Now hear me out before you castigate me. Earlier i mentioned that the attack was surprising blunt, Oruma is responsible for this. Many times he just refused to do the simple things: get the ball and release immediately. Rather he tried to take on the defenders - hustle them in fact - even when Martins and Aghahowa were free thus rendering both impotent. This limited the number of chances the strikers really have to make hay. Then there is Odemwegie on the right side who did not get into the game until very late. But after all said and done, i think this is the best performance of an SE midfield i have seen in a long time. However we still need to search for a veriable left sided midfield.

Attack:
In discussing Oruma i have said a lot about the attack. One fact though we have to face is Martins / Aghahowa combo did not jive. The search continues. But one is happy though that we abundantly blessed in this area.

The Bench:
Giving what i saw yesterday i think the technical crew are on the right path. NO MATTER WHAT THE OUTCOME OF THE COMPETITION IS, THEY SHOULD BE ALLOWED TO CONTINUE. What they need right now even if we fail to progress beyond the second round is support rather than sack. For once we saw a tactically disciplined Super Eagles from beginning to the end. They had the game under-wraps. One thing though this SE is yet to play to its full potential and trust me they can only get better. Eguavoen, Siasia, Amo and Sorunmu should guide against is ego and the Nigerian factor. Hoepefully the egbon in their midst, Amusa Adisa will help a lot in this regard. If they can guide against these two things, the sky will be the limit for them no doubt.

Revelation:
The revelation in this team to me is the midfield anchored by Ayila and Obodo. For the good of the team, these two should form the bedrock of whatever formation is being used in the midfield and allowed to grow. I was also impressed by the totality of the team as a whole in the way it moves forward and fall back to defend.

Going forward:
The issue of Yobo losing concentration during matches needs to be addressed not only for the good of the team but for Yobo's own good too. I will recommend only one - or two if Utaka is eligible to play - change(s). Obi should come in for Oruma and let's see how that goes. Aghahowa & Martins should still be giving another shot and maybe with Obi feeding them properly they will blossom.

Prediction:
The coast seems really clear for us to progress to the final. I see us beating Zimbabwe and taking it easy with Senegal thus getting a draw. WIth 7 points in the kitty we lead our group and as such avoid facing Tunisia at this stage. And if hopefully Egypt is sorted out by any other team the ride to the final will be easy.

This will not be complete without a word about our brothers the Ghanians. They are back no doubt. And definitely will not disappoint at the world cup. Apart from Tunisia, Ghana is the next team that gives me a lot of confidence among our representatives to the World Cup. Anything under-rating them in this competition is doing so at its own peril. Dont be surprised if the Black Stars pops up on the final day to face Nigeria once again.

[kulu]

Nice write-up!

[omey2k4]

Azuka your reports suckz so bad its pathetic!RU serious?FYI Oruma was #16 & Obodo was #18 and after wasting my time reading this thread its obivious u must be an Okocha or Obi groupie because u obiviously have problems analysing a decent Game.U suck! :x

[muzines]

Azuka your reports suckz so bad its pathetic!RU serious?FYI Oruma was #16 & Obodo was #18 and after wasting my time reading this thread its obivious u must be an Okocha or Obi groupie because u obiviously have problems analysing a decent Game.U suck! :x

I think somebody needs their pacifier...

[deanotito]

I thank God there are others that saw oruma for what he truly played....you all get so easily carried away...thats why there are still some people here who support peeps like lawal and yakubu.

[Catalyst]

This is the best match i have seen so far in this competition all things considered.

I know you deliberately put this here becauase you have an already made answer for any dissenter but common are you serious? Have you seen all the matches btw? And for what it is worth can you define your "best match" qualification thingy for us.

I will say this is about one of the dullest matches I have seen so far. We did not make hard runs. There was way too much standing for my philosiphy and liking. There was very little motion. We made the Ghana defenders' jobs easier by our lack of movement with my beloved Julius as the biggest culprit here. All this derby talk is hogwash imho. I did not feel it and I bet the players did not feel it much - not much was on the line and Abedi Pele is retired. The style of game we played yields goaless draws or one nil loses. The free kick TT scored with was a fluke (though a powerful one).

Anyway over to you. I just had to get those off my chest.

There was very little that was beatiful about this match. Off the top of my head the games involving Senegal, Cameroon, Zaire just to name a few were better in quality, excitement, technique and tactically that this one we are talking about.

I hope and believe that better days are ahead though.

[azuka]

azuka wrote:
This is the best match i have seen so far in this competition all things considered.


I know you deliberately put this here becauase you have an already made answer for any dissenter but common are you serious? Have you seen all the matches btw? And for what it is worth can you define your "best match" qualification thingy for us.

I will say this is about one of the dullest matches I have seen so far. We did not make hard runs. There was way too much standing for my philosiphy and liking. There was very little motion. We made the Ghana defenders' jobs easier by our lack of movement with my beloved Julius as the biggest culprit here. All this derby talk is hogwash imho. I did not feel it and I bet the players did not feel it much - not much was on the line and Abedi Pele is retired. The style of game we played yields goaless draws or one nil loses. The free kick TT scored with was a fluke (though a powerful one).

Anyway over to you. I just had to get those off my chest.

There was very little that was beatiful about this match. Off the top of my head the games involving Senegal, Cameroon, Zaire just to name a few were better in quality, excitement, technique and tactically that this one we are talking about.

I hope and believe that better days are ahead though.

Fegwu my man, not only have i seen all the matches, i actually have all recorded on dvd so if you want a copy just holla. What we look for in a match are different given we are different human beings. For me, i look for the tactical play of the teams, formation on display, how they improvise, players movement on and off the ball, how well coached the teams are.
And from what i have seen so far of all the other teams play, i believe the SE can handle all but Tunisia at this stage right now. That's why the target will be to avoid Tunisia at all cost until the latter stages.

[maddock]

Firstly Congrats Naija. I also think this game lived up to it's reputation and proved to be the game of the tourney thus far. I actually think only the finals will upstage it, but not by much. I take my hats off to both sides with special mention to 3 players on both sides that impressed me , Wilson Oruma [ Outstanding performance ] Taye Taiwo [ Brilliant ] and Laryea Kingston [ apart from the miss was a revelation for BS ]
And special mention to Sammy Ku4. But in my opinion bith sides don't have much between them even though the BS played more defensively they created clear cut chances they did not finish off. But that was great thinking By Taiwo 4 the goal. CONGRATS SE.

[so__so_scandalous]

Firstly Congrats Naija. I also think this game lived up to it's reputation and proved to be the game of the tourney thus far. I actually think only the finals will upstage it, but not by much. I take my hats off to both sides with special mention to 3 players on both sides that impressed me , Wilson Oruma [ Outstanding performance ] Taye Taiwo [ Brilliant ] and Laryea Kingston [ apart from the miss was a revelation for BS ]
And special mention to Sammy Ku4. But in my opinion bith sides don't have much between them even though the BS played more defensively they created clear cut chances they did not finish off. But that was great thinking By Taiwo 4 the goal. CONGRATS SE.

kingston looked very trick indeed. Kuffour was immense. Nigeria will have to be careful not to let this victory go to their heads

[azuka]

omey2k4 wrote:
Azuka your reports suckz so bad its pathetic!RU serious?FYI Oruma was #16 & Obodo was #18 and after wasting my time reading this thread its obivious u must be an Okocha or Obi groupie because u obiviously have problems analysing a decent Game.U suck!


I think somebody needs their pacifier...

abi o. wey nanny.

[slyk]

This is the best match i have seen so far in this competition all things considered. It was a display of two equally well coached and tactically sound teams who are not there yet but very much on the road to getting there. No doubt. Dont get me wrong, both Nigeria and Ghana are not finished products yet. But if what we saw yesterday was anything to go by, other teams on the continent better beware that these two are back for good.
Now to the match proper. No doubt Nigeria had a better share of the play due to Ghana's tactics of soaking in pressure and waiting to catch us on the break. It nearly worked but then they could not take their chances when they came simply because they were not expecting them or what? For the first time in a very long while, Nigeria had a vibrant midfield, a defence that was on its feet for most times but surprising a blunt attack. Yes our attack yesterday was blunt. Will come to this shortly.
My comments on all aspect of the SE:
Goalie:
No questions asked and no answer expected. Enyeama has improved but still a little suspect with crosses. His mental alertness can not be faulted at all. Sorry to the other goalies, baring injuries Enyeama is here to stay for a long time.

Defence:
Growing with better understanding every day. Kept a clean state which is all that matters really. But without doubt our biggest problem in the defence remains Yobo. Yes Yobo. What is it with his momentary loss of concentration? That is a trait one has come to associate with Yobo. Yobo never plays a match without losing concentration at least twice in a match. I think he needs serious talking to really. That is the only barrier in his path to being a world class CD. That said i am happy with the defence.

Midfield:
Let me say this is the revelation of the team. I cant remember the last time i saw such a compact and mobile midfield as we had yesterday. I was mightly impressed with Ayilla - Obodo combo. They are the bedrock on which a better midfield will emerge no doubt. A lot has been written about Oruma. Yes Oruma was every where. Yes he was energetic. In all these the question is did Oruma play to the coaches instruction? Given that he played the whole game then one can safely assume he did. But honestly i think he is the weak link in the midfied. Now hear me out before you castigate me. Earlier i mentioned that the attack was surprising blunt, Oruma is responsible for this. Many times he just refused to do the simple things: get the ball and release immediately. Rather he tried to take on the defenders - hustle them in fact - even when Martins and Aghahowa were free thus rendering both impotent. This limited the number of chances the strikers really have to make hay. Then there is Odemwegie on the right side who did not get into the game until very late. But after all said and done, i think this is the best performance of an SE midfield i have seen in a long time. However we still need to search for a veriable left sided midfield.

Attack:
In discussing Oruma i have said a lot about the attack. One fact though we have to face is Martins / Aghahowa combo did not jive. The search continues. But one is happy though that we abundantly blessed in this area.

The Bench:
Giving what i saw yesterday i think the technical crew are on the right path. NO MATTER WHAT THE OUTCOME OF THE COMPETITION IS, THEY SHOULD BE ALLOWED TO CONTINUE. What they need right now even if we fail to progress beyond the second round is support rather than sack. For once we saw a tactically disciplined Super Eagles from beginning to the end. They had the game under-wraps. One thing though this SE is yet to play to its full potential and trust me they can only get better. Eguavoen, Siasia, Amo and Sorunmu should guide against is ego and the Nigerian factor. Hoepefully the egbon in their midst, Amusa Adisa will help a lot in this regard. If they can guide against these two things, the sky will be the limit for them no doubt.

Revelation:
The revelation in this team to me is the midfield anchored by Ayila and Obodo. For the good of the team, these two should form the bedrock of whatever formation is being used in the midfield and allowed to grow. I was also impressed by the totality of the team as a whole in the way it moves forward and fall back to defend.

Going forward:
The issue of Yobo losing concentration during matches needs to be addressed not only for the good of the team but for Yobo's own good too. I will recommend only one - or two if Utaka is eligible to play - change(s). Obi should come in for Oruma and let's see how that goes. Aghahowa & Martins should still be giving another shot and maybe with Obi feeding them properly they will blossom.

Prediction:
The coast seems really clear for us to progress to the final. I see us beating Zimbabwe and taking it easy with Senegal thus getting a draw. WIth 7 points in the kitty we lead our group and as such avoid facing Tunisia at this stage. And if hopefully Egypt is sorted out by any other team the ride to the final will be easy.

This will not be complete without a word about our brothers the Ghanians. They are back no doubt. And definitely will not disappoint at the world cup. Apart from Tunisia, Ghana is the next team that gives me a lot of confidence among our representatives to the World Cup. Anything under-rating them in this competition is doing so at its own peril. Dont be surprised if the Black Stars pops up on the final day to face Nigeria once again.

Azuka,

My sentiments exactly. Oruma was impressive yesterday but like you writely stated it would be nice to see a midfielder (JJ or Obi) who can bring Martins and Jag more into the fray. But only in the last group match (after beating Zimbabwe) or if we find the going tough against Zimbabwe.

[slyk]

This is the best match i have seen so far in this competition all things considered. It was a display of two equally well coached and tactically sound teams who are not there yet but very much on the road to getting there. No doubt. Dont get me wrong, both Nigeria and Ghana are not finished products yet. But if what we saw yesterday was anything to go by, other teams on the continent better beware that these two are back for good.
Now to the match proper. No doubt Nigeria had a better share of the play due to Ghana's tactics of soaking in pressure and waiting to catch us on the break. It nearly worked but then they could not take their chances when they came simply because they were not expecting them or what? For the first time in a very long while, Nigeria had a vibrant midfield, a defence that was on its feet for most times but surprising a blunt attack. Yes our attack yesterday was blunt. Will come to this shortly.
My comments on all aspect of the SE:
Goalie:
No questions asked and no answer expected. Enyeama has improved but still a little suspect with crosses. His mental alertness can not be faulted at all. Sorry to the other goalies, baring injuries Enyeama is here to stay for a long time.

Defence:
Growing with better understanding every day. Kept a clean state which is all that matters really. But without doubt our biggest problem in the defence remains Yobo. Yes Yobo. What is it with his momentary loss of concentration? That is a trait one has come to associate with Yobo. Yobo never plays a match without losing concentration at least twice in a match. I think he needs serious talking to really. That is the only barrier in his path to being a world class CD. That said i am happy with the defence.

Midfield:
Let me say this is the revelation of the team. I cant remember the last time i saw such a compact and mobile midfield as we had yesterday. I was mightly impressed with Ayilla - Obodo combo. They are the bedrock on which a better midfield will emerge no doubt. A lot has been written about Oruma. Yes Oruma was every where. Yes he was energetic. In all these the question is did Oruma play to the coaches instruction? Given that he played the whole game then one can safely assume he did. But honestly i think he is the weak link in the midfied. Now hear me out before you castigate me. Earlier i mentioned that the attack was surprising blunt, Oruma is responsible for this. Many times he just refused to do the simple things: get the ball and release immediately. Rather he tried to take on the defenders - hustle them in fact - even when Martins and Aghahowa were free thus rendering both impotent. This limited the number of chances the strikers really have to make hay. Then there is Odemwegie on the right side who did not get into the game until very late. But after all said and done, i think this is the best performance of an SE midfield i have seen in a long time. However we still need to search for a veriable left sided midfield.

Attack:
In discussing Oruma i have said a lot about the attack. One fact though we have to face is Martins / Aghahowa combo did not jive. The search continues. But one is happy though that we abundantly blessed in this area.

The Bench:
Giving what i saw yesterday i think the technical crew are on the right path. NO MATTER WHAT THE OUTCOME OF THE COMPETITION IS, THEY SHOULD BE ALLOWED TO CONTINUE. What they need right now even if we fail to progress beyond the second round is support rather than sack. For once we saw a tactically disciplined Super Eagles from beginning to the end. They had the game under-wraps. One thing though this SE is yet to play to its full potential and trust me they can only get better. Eguavoen, Siasia, Amo and Sorunmu should guide against is ego and the Nigerian factor. Hoepefully the egbon in their midst, Amusa Adisa will help a lot in this regard. If they can guide against these two things, the sky will be the limit for them no doubt.

Revelation:
The revelation in this team to me is the midfield anchored by Ayila and Obodo. For the good of the team, these two should form the bedrock of whatever formation is being used in the midfield and allowed to grow. I was also impressed by the totality of the team as a whole in the way it moves forward and fall back to defend.

Going forward:
The issue of Yobo losing concentration during matches needs to be addressed not only for the good of the team but for Yobo's own good too. I will recommend only one - or two if Utaka is eligible to play - change(s). Obi should come in for Oruma and let's see how that goes. Aghahowa & Martins should still be giving another shot and maybe with Obi feeding them properly they will blossom.

Prediction:
The coast seems really clear for us to progress to the final. I see us beating Zimbabwe and taking it easy with Senegal thus getting a draw. WIth 7 points in the kitty we lead our group and as such avoid facing Tunisia at this stage. And if hopefully Egypt is sorted out by any other team the ride to the final will be easy.

This will not be complete without a word about our brothers the Ghanians. They are back no doubt. And definitely will not disappoint at the world cup. Apart from Tunisia, Ghana is the next team that gives me a lot of confidence among our representatives to the World Cup. Anything under-rating them in this competition is doing so at its own peril. Dont be surprised if the Black Stars pops up on the final day to face Nigeria once again.

Azuka,

My sentiments exactly. Oruma was impressive yesterday but like you rightly stated it would be nice to see a midfielder (JJ or Obi) who can bring Martins and Jag more into the fray. But only in the last group match (after beating Zimbabwe) or if we find the going tough against Zimbabwe.

[Elexus]

Your observations are accurate. It was by far the best match I have seen in the competition. I was screaming every time Oruma had possession. He refused to release the ball promptly. Yobo is not an attacker, yet he tried to play like an attacker and was dispossessed of the ball on two ocassions while trying to take on a Ghanaian striker. He nearly gave me a heart attack. I do not foresee Ghana losing to Senegal. I think Nigeria and Ghana will qualify from the group.

[Vindave]

To me, the best best player on the Ghanian side was Sammy Adje and Sammy Kuffuor... IF NOT FOR KUFFOR, WE WOULD HAVE WON THE GAME.

He was too bucky and very alert - He understand and know what Martins can do afterall they are club mates and he knows that if you keep an eye off Aghahowa you are in for trouble. He did well by checkmating this two....but I must give credit to JAG and especially Martins for trying several times to outweight the bukky Kuffor.... reason why Sammy Adje the goal tender need some good praises.

Ghana has a good team Essien or no Muntari..... Our midfield was really brilliant but azuka u must give credit to Oruma if he wasn't budozing the Ghanian defence they would have gotten more courages to swoop on us.... remember they have kept an eye on Martins and markman Julius, and it would have been very good that we have Okocha or Kanu on the pitch ontime to split some passes to JAG and Martins as consentration was already been taken to Oruma. You noticed that Oruma was the most fouled player in the pitch yesterday, inspite of that he kept on overweighing the BS defence which supposed to be an advantage to both Martins and JAG supposing there was another player in the mood of MIKEL, OKOCHA or KANU could do some brilliant passes to them.

I think, we will get it right - we missed UTAKA i must confess, he would have done better with good drilling which Osaze started doing at the later path of the match and almost paid off.

GHANA will do well in this tourney, is a pity for Senega, they better watch it against Ghana cus the group is still very open. If Nigeria wins against Zimbabwe they must not go to sleep cus Ghana could defeat Senegal and if Ghana continue their runs and and Senegal coms with all cylinder against Eagles who may have gotten 6points, then if they are not careful they may be surprise to see themselves going home with first flight (God FORBID). So we should know that the game is not over yet.

Like azuka said, Yobo is our weakest man in the defence reason why EGU has to introduce Nwaneri into the game to complements or help Yobo in the defence - I was expecting Cerezo to inject more blood in the attack by introducing MIKEL leaving Nsofor to fully operate from the left wing and Kanu taking the center mf to feed Martins but bcus Yobo will not allow that it has to be Nwaneri instead of Mikel.

All the same, thanks for good thinking by the coaching crew.

[bakana]

This is the best match i have seen so far in this competition all things considered.

I know you deliberately put this here becauase you have an already made answer for any dissenter but common are you serious? Have you seen all the matches btw? And for what it is worth can you define your "best match" qualification thingy for us.

I will say this is about one of the dullest matches I have seen so far. We did not make hard runs. There was way too much standing for my philosiphy and liking. There was very little motion. We made the Ghana defenders' jobs easier by our lack of movement with my beloved Julius as the biggest culprit here. All this derby talk is hogwash imho. I did not feel it and I bet the players did not feel it much - not much was on the line and Abedi Pele is retired. The style of game we played yields goaless draws or one nil loses. The free kick TT scored with was a fluke (though a powerful one).

Anyway over to you. I just had to get those off my chest.

There was very little that was beatiful about this match. Off the top of my head the games involving Senegal, Cameroon, Zaire just to name a few were better in quality, excitement, technique and tactically that this one we are talking about.

I hope and believe that better days are ahead though.

Fegwu I also had the impression also that our players were a bit immbile until I realised 2 things, the players are really yet to click haven't really played any competetive game together and that they actually seemed capable of taking their game a notch up and that dude is the scariest part, just can't wait.

[RAFIOZO]

Midfield:

Let me say this is the revelation of the team. I cant remember the last time i saw such a compact and mobile midfield as we had yesterday. I was mightly impressed with Ayilla - Obodo combo. They are the bedrock on which a better midfield will emerge no doubt. A lot has been written about Oruma. Yes Oruma was every where. Yes he was energetic. In all these the question is did Oruma play to the coaches instruction? Given that he played the whole game then one can safely assume he did. But honestly i think he is the weak link in the midfied. Now hear me out before you castigate me. Earlier i mentioned that the attack was surprising blunt, Oruma is responsible for this. Many times he just refused to do the simple things: get the ball and release immediately. Rather he tried to take on the defenders - hustle them in fact - even when Martins and Aghahowa were free thus rendering both impotent. This limited the number of chances the strikers really have to make hay. Then there is Odemwegie on the right side who did not get into the game until very late. But after all said and done, i think this is the best performance of an SE midfield i have seen in a long time. However we still need to search for a veriable left sided midfield"

I agree with you Azuka, me thinks Oruma held on to the ball for too long and there cutting off the strikers. he did well anyway but in our next game he should be told to release the ball more often.
i think he played that way to prove that he is ready to take over from Jay Jay and the fact that he playing like Oruma and not trying to immitate Jay Jay really impressed me.
he has really improved in the National team.
we saw the Oruma of Japan '93.
i hope he continues that way.

[megapro]

Azuka,
You have written splendid post-match analysis in the past and would just hope you did not write this before the encounter.

Eguavoen castigated oruma for not freeing the attackers in algeria. subbed him and washed him to the world press afterwards.

BOYS PLAYED TO INSTRUCTIONS
yesterday after the cagey first quarter, it was clear that with a resident sweeper and 2 stoppers the ghanaian defensive wall was there to stay and we needed:
1. oruma (ex one touch footballer) to smuggle the ball personally to the box and try getting something in the process
2. Osaze to shoot from the distant right half position.

That the coach did not sub oruma yesterday the whole game but instead praised him after the match for being the MOM despite alledgly not threading those passes means the issue is clossed.

[kulu]

To me, the best best player on the Ghanian side was Sammy Adje and Sammy Kuffuor... IF NOT FOR KUFFOR, WE WOULD HAVE WON THE GAME.

He was too bucky and very alert - He understand and know what Martins can do afterall they are club mates and he knows that if you keep an eye off Aghahowa you are in for trouble.

Hmmm...

1. Player or players?

2. Didn't we win the game?

3. Martins and Kuffour, club mates? I didn't realise Inter Milan and AS Roma are the same team....

[theYemster]

azuka, I am dissapointed in a few of your comments.

How can you say we should drop Oruma for Obi after a performance like this but say we should give JAG and Martins (who arguably played worse) another chance? JAG hasn't performed for us in years yet he almost always gets a free ride from you folks. Had it been Yakubu that played today instead of JAG, the daggers would've been drawn.

Until Oruma fails to impress, I won't drop him for anyone. Hopefully Utaka coming in for Osaze may open things up. If anythng I would expect that you would harp on EguSi to instruct Oruma to involve the strikers more. Personally I feel JAG is overrated just as much as YAK is underrated. The dude is a finisher (nothing more, nothing less). Once he's tightly marked he really can't do much else. Had it been Yak my guess he would've found a way to be in scoring positions...thought he would've most likely fluffed the chances.

I hope you're not about to start sounding like these Okocha groupies. Now the talk is Oruma couldn't play thru balls to the striker..yet how many through balls did Okocha play to our strikers when we met this same Ghana in 2002? Was it not a Lawal volley from a reboud that enabled us score? What about last time out, in our first game against Morocco? How many through ball assists did Okocha make? I'll answer - zero. It seems you all like to give a free pass to favored players while treating differently those players you don't like. Is this not Oruma's first ANC start? I think he did pretty darn good and has earned every opportunity to start again with a few adjustments. People are just too used to seing fancy dribbles that they fail to appreciate that sometimes direct business like play is much more effective.

I will not start Obi until I have seen him come in as a sub...not in a tourney like this. I will definitely give him some play against Zimbabwe though if we are already comfortable. The hussle Oruma brought is one of the main reasons our midfield was vibrant and we won the midfield battle. No frills. Oruma in this game reminded me of Edgar Davids and a bit of Seedorf. We played 4 midfielders compared to Ghana's five yet you would've thought it was the other way around. That is no easy feat especially playing against a tough rival. I just can't see Obi bringing that kind of hussle...what he brings is creativity and one cannot be substituted for the other. Rather they need to complement each other.

One flaw I did notice in EguSi was their inabilty to fully exploit Adjei's weakness - crosses. After the two fumbled crosses, I thought we were gonna start dropping balls into the 6 yard box. and maybe introduced Makinwa. I do agree with you though that Ayinla-Obodo should always be the first two names on the team sheet.

As for Yobo, he probably needs to talk to a shrink...he might have ADD. For real though that is one aspect of our game that is still irritating me. We need to stop trying to dribble anywhere within our own 3rd of the field. Just play the ball out. I think we should have a rule in the team that if there is no teammate between you and the goalie, then you cannot attempt a dribble.

@Fegwu do you know the meaning of fluke? How you can call Taiwo's goal a fluke when he almost scored an identical goal in the first half beats me. Only a reflex save from Adjei prevented a goal.

[omey2k4]

azuka, I am dissapointed in a few of your comments.

How can you say we should drop Oruma for Obi after a performance like this but say we should give JAG and Martins (who arguably played worse) another chance? JAG hasn't performed for us in years yet he almost always gets a free ride from you folks. Had it been Yakubu that played today instead of JAG, the daggers would've been drawn.

Until Oruma fails to impress, I won't drop him for anyone. Hopefully Utaka coming in for Osaze may open things up. If anythng I would expect that you would harp on EguSi to instruct Oruma to involve the strikers more. Personally I feel JAG is overrated just as much as YAK is underrated. The dude is a finisher (nothing more, nothing less). Once he's tightly marked he really can't do much else. Had it been Yak my guess he would've found a way to be in scoring positions...thought he would've most likely fluffed the chances.

I hope you're not about to start sounding like these Okocha groupies. Now the talk is Oruma couldn't play thru balls to the striker..yet how many through balls did Okocha play to our strikers when we met this same Ghana in 2002? Was it not a Lawal volley from a reboud that enabled us score? What about last time out, in our first game against Morocco? How many through ball assists did Okocha make? I'll answer - zero. It seems you all like to give a free pass to favored players while treating differently those players you don't like. Is this not Oruma's first ANC start? I think he did pretty darn good and has earned every opportunity to start again with a few adjustments. People are just too used to seing fancy dribbles that they fail to appreciate that sometimes direct business like play is much more effective.

I will not start Obi until I have seen him come in as a sub...not in a tourney like this. I will definitely give him some play against Zimbabwe though if we are already comfortable. The hussle Oruma brought is one of the main reasons our midfield was vibrant and we won the midfield battle. No frills. Oruma in this game reminded me of Edgar Davids and a bit of Seedorf. We played 4 midfielders compared to Ghana's five yet you would've thought it was the other way around. That is no easy feat especially playing against a tough rival. I just can't see Obi bringing that kind of hussle...what he brings is creativity and one cannot be substituted for the other. Rather they need to complement each other.

One flaw I did notice in EguSi was their inabilty to fully exploit Adjei's weakness - crosses. After the two fumbled crosses, I thought we were gonna start dropping balls into the 6 yard box. and maybe introduced Makinwa. I do agree with you though that Ayinla-Obodo should always be the first two names on the team sheet.

As for Yobo, he probably needs to talk to a shrink...he might have ADD. For real though that is one aspect of our game that is still irritating me. We need to stop trying to dribble anywhere within our own 3rd of the field. Just play the ball out. I think we should have a rule in the team that if there is no teammate between you and the goalie, then you cannot attempt a dribble.

@Fegwu do you know the meaning of fluke? How you can call Taiwo's goal a fluke when he almost scored an identical goal in the first half beats me. Only a reflex save from Adjei prevented a goal.

Nice,testify abeg.It just seems liek these guys just prayed for Oruma to fail and when he out peformed and did extremely well they looked for another lame exuse.Watch the game again,our strikers didnt even move well in the box,I mean there was a time Oruma himself ran to attack snatched a ball form the Ghanian defenders and won a corner out of nothing,where was the fowards back then.When he gave a beautiful pass to Aghahowa in good space what happened?All i see is these guys mad as hell Oruma proved all of them wrong.

[azuka]

azuka, I am dissapointed in a few of your comments.

How can you say we should drop Oruma for Obi after a performance like this but say we should give JAG and Martins (who arguably played worse) another chance? JAG hasn't performed for us in years yet he almost always gets a free ride from you folks. Had it been Yakubu that played today instead of JAG, the daggers would've been drawn.

Until Oruma fails to impress, I won't drop him for anyone. Hopefully Utaka coming in for Osaze may open things up. If anythng I would expect that you would harp on EguSi to instruct Oruma to involve the strikers more. Personally I feel JAG is overrated just as much as YAK is underrated. The dude is a finisher (nothing more, nothing less). Once he's tightly marked he really can't do much else. Had it been Yak my guess he would've found a way to be in scoring positions...thought he would've most likely fluffed the chances.

I hope you're not about to start sounding like these Okocha groupies. Now the talk is Oruma couldn't play thru balls to the striker..yet how many through balls did Okocha play to our strikers when we met this same Ghana in 2002? Was it not a Lawal volley from a reboud that enabled us score? What about last time out, in our first game against Morocco? How many through ball assists did Okocha make? I'll answer - zero. It seems you all like to give a free pass to favored players while treating differently those players you don't like. Is this not Oruma's first ANC start? I think he did pretty darn good and has earned every opportunity to start again with a few adjustments. People are just too used to seing fancy dribbles that they fail to appreciate that sometimes direct business like play is much more effective.

I will not start Obi until I have seen him come in as a sub...not in a tourney like this. I will definitely give him some play against Zimbabwe though if we are already comfortable. The hussle Oruma brought is one of the main reasons our midfield was vibrant and we won the midfield battle. No frills. Oruma in this game reminded me of Edgar Davids and a bit of Seedorf. We played 4 midfielders compared to Ghana's five yet you would've thought it was the other way around. That is no easy feat especially playing against a tough rival. I just can't see Obi bringing that kind of hussle...what he brings is creativity and one cannot be substituted for the other. Rather they need to complement each other.

One flaw I did notice in EguSi was their inabilty to fully exploit Adjei's weakness - crosses. After the two fumbled crosses, I thought we were gonna start dropping balls into the 6 yard box. and maybe introduced Makinwa. I do agree with you though that Ayinla-Obodo should always be the first two names on the team sheet.

As for Yobo, he probably needs to talk to a shrink...he might have ADD. For real though that is one aspect of our game that is still irritating me. We need to stop trying to dribble anywhere within our own 3rd of the field. Just play the ball out. I think we should have a rule in the team that if there is no teammate between you and the goalie, then you cannot attempt a dribble.

@Fegwu do you know the meaning of fluke? How you can call Taiwo's goal a fluke when he almost scored an identical goal in the first half beats me. Only a reflex save from Adjei prevented a goal.

You know why i am not blaming the attackers and would rather give them another chance at the combo, simply because they were not properly fed with the ball from the midfield. The dude who was suppose to be doing that will rather have a go at the opposing defence than lay it for the strikers to make hay. One question i wish the journalist in Egypt will ask Egu and co is what was the defined role for Oruma against Ghana. Also they need to ask also given that he was allowed to play the full game is it a case of him playing to instruction or just a case of the coaches hoping that something good will come out of the hustling.
Dont get me wrong, Oruma had a good game but whether he played his role well is another thing altogether. And you know what, nobody is pointing fingers because we won. But believe you me, if we had lost, Oruma would have been a scapegoat. Period.

[Robbynice]

To me, the best best player on the Ghanian side was Sammy Adje and Sammy Kuffuor... IF NOT FOR KUFFOR, WE WOULD HAVE WON THE GAME.

Hmmm and here I am thinking we won the game even with those guys on the green grass.

[omey2k4]

You know why i am not blaming the attackers and would rather give them another chance at the combo, simply because they were not properly fed with the ball from the midfield. The dude who was suppose to be doing that will rather have a go at the opposing defence than lay it for the strikers to make hay. One question i wish the journalist in Egypt will ask Egu and co is what was the defined role for Oruma against Ghana. Also they need to ask also given that he was allowed to play the full game is it a case of him playing to instruction or just a case of the coaches hoping that something good will come out of the hustling.
Dont get me wrong, Oruma had a good game but whether he played his role well is another thing altogether. And you know what, nobody is pointing fingers because we won. But believe you me, if we had lost, Oruma would have been a scapegoat. Period.

Kai Azuka UR just posting garbage once again.Give instances where there was an opportunity Oruma coulda passed to the fowards and he refused to thread the ball thru,when u do that i will take everything i said back.But u have no case but wanna insist on hating on the best player on our team right now.U forgot it was Oruma that got fouled to earn that freekick?Why didnt u mention the fact that when our mid-fielders had the ball our fowards didnt move.And the time our fowards had the ball they were easily dispossed by Kuffour and Mensah.U didnt even watch the game and UR making a lame case for yaself.