Gabriele Marcotti on the SE .

[hangingfire]

Nigeria under Keshi is quite a dangerous side. To the contrary, the SE played a great game against Tahiti given the Nigerian antecedent conditions that preceded that game.

I started taking this team very seriously when they beat Venezuela which to me, is not a bad team and followed that with a draw against Catalonia.

If Keshi can see beyond Ideye and give other quality Forwards a chance to challenge Emenike for the top attacking shirt, this team will be about ready. He needs two playmakers and have them in Gabriel and Nosa when fit. He must forgive Nosa and give him another chance. That boy will go places. I am sure of that.

The plus for this team is that they play for each other-no big man football-as opposed to the past trend of later Super Eagles before now. Unfortunately, Ideye has not understood that concept and with Emenike out, Nigeria's attack has struggled. The defence is alright but work must be done on defending set pieces especially, corner kicks.

Mikel has come of age ditto Onazi (who is the modern Oliseh) with a much more disciplined approach and rare concentration. Giving him stiff competition is the hard as nut Ogude while Obi lurks in the dark wanting a way in. The defensive midfield is the forte of this team. The only missing link is an attacking midfielder.

Keshi has done a great job and it will be a travesty on Nigerians if the NFF allow their bloated ego to rule their senses by firing him before and after Brazil 2014.

[imehjunior]

Marcotti just made my day

Depiste the way we played yesterday and how disatisfied I was, he made mine too.

Kpom. I feel exactly the same way.

[imehjunior]

Marcotti just made my day

Depiste the way we played yesterday and how disatisfied I was, he made mine too.

Kpom. I feel exactly the same way.

[metalalloy]

Nigeria under Keshi is quite a dangerous side. To the contrary, the SE played a great game against Tahiti given the Nigerian antecedent conditions that preceded that game.

I started taking this team very seriously when they beat Venezuela which to me, is not a bad team and followed that with a draw against Catalonia.

If Keshi can see beyond Ideye and give other quality Forwards a chance to challenge Emenike for the top attacking shirt, this team will be about ready. He needs two playmakers and have them in Gabriel and Nosa when fit. He must forgive Nosa and give him another chance. That boy will go places. I am sure of that.

The plus for this team is that they play for each other-no big man football-as opposed to the past trend of later Super Eagles before now. Unfortunately, Ideye has not understood that concept and with Emenike out, Nigeria's attack has struggled. The defence is alright but work must be done on defending set pieces especially, corner kicks.

Mikel has come of age ditto Onazi (who is the modern Oliseh) with a much more disciplined approach and rare concentration. Giving him stiff competition is the hard as nut Ogude while Obi lurks in the dark wanting a way in. The defensive midfield is the forte of this team. The only missing link is an attacking midfielder.

Keshi has done a great job and it will be a travesty on Nigerians if the NFF allow their bloated ego to rule their senses by firing him before and after Brazil 2014.

What do you base the highlighted on? Ideye works really hard and is playing on the wing out of his favored position. He has more than one assist playing for Nigeria. He works hard for others.

As for your other comments, if Joel Obi gets his form back, it is no competition between him and Ogude. He will take that spot every single time. Ogude has either regressed from the first couple of games he had under Siasia or flattered to deceive like Ejike Uzoenyi who had one decent game against Egypt. I agree with you. Keshi hasn't done anything yet worth firing. I am sure he will widen his basket a bit if he comes out of this competition and the players on the bench do not improve drastically. We need continuity.

[imehjunior]

Sent him a tweet that i posted his article and most people liked and agreed with him, and he asked if it was CE .

[metalalloy]

Sent him a tweet that i posted his article and most people liked and agreed with him, and he asked if it was CE .

Lol just saw your tweet. GM is a very good and knowledgeable pundit unlike some of our ITK's wey sabi pass the whole world on here whose views are ALWAYS right.

[truetalk]

Nigeria under Keshi is quite a dangerous side. To the contrary, the SE played a great game against Tahiti given the Nigerian antecedent conditions that preceded that game.

I started taking this team very seriously when they beat Venezuela which to me, is not a bad team and followed that with a draw against Catalonia.

If Keshi can see beyond Ideye and give other quality Forwards a chance to challenge Emenike for the top attacking shirt, this team will be about ready. He needs two playmakers and have them in Gabriel and Nosa when fit. He must forgive Nosa and give him another chance. That boy will go places. I am sure of that.

The plus for this team is that they play for each other-no big man football-as opposed to the past trend of later Super Eagles before now. Unfortunately, Ideye has not understood that concept and with Emenike out, Nigeria's attack has struggled. The defence is alright but work must be done on defending set pieces especially, corner kicks.

Mikel has come of age ditto Onazi (who is the modern Oliseh) with a much more disciplined approach and rare concentration. Giving him stiff competition is the hard as nut Ogude while Obi lurks in the dark wanting a way in. The defensive midfield is the forte of this team. The only missing link is an attacking midfielder.

Keshi has done a great job and it will be a travesty on Nigerians if the NFF allow their bloated ego to rule their senses by firing him before and after Brazil 2014.

What do you base the highlighted on? Ideye works really hard and is playing on the wing out of his favored position. He has more than one assist playing for Nigeria. He works hard for others.

As for your other comments, if Joel Obi gets his form back, it is no competition between him and Ogude. He will take that spot every single time. Ogude has either regressed from the first couple of games he had under Siasia or flattered to deceive like Ejike Uzoenyi who had one decent game against Egypt. I agree with you. Keshi hasn't done anything yet worth firing. I am sure he will widen his basket a bit if he comes out of this competition and the players on the bench do not improve drastically. We need continuity.

Nosa and Ogude are not National team class.

Lukman Haruna and Joel Obi should shut them out permanently pretty soon.

[amoky]

i have met Gab macotti once along his very good friend Tancredi palmeri,Gab is one bank of football football information, he is very more knowledgeable about African football more than our suposed seasoned one. He very good friend with KOC, i remember the first time i met him, he asked if i know KOC,very good but very huge man

[metalalloy]

Nigeria under Keshi is quite a dangerous side. To the contrary, the SE played a great game against Tahiti given the Nigerian antecedent conditions that preceded that game.

I started taking this team very seriously when they beat Venezuela which to me, is not a bad team and followed that with a draw against Catalonia.

If Keshi can see beyond Ideye and give other quality Forwards a chance to challenge Emenike for the top attacking shirt, this team will be about ready. He needs two playmakers and have them in Gabriel and Nosa when fit. He must forgive Nosa and give him another chance. That boy will go places. I am sure of that.

The plus for this team is that they play for each other-no big man football-as opposed to the past trend of later Super Eagles before now. Unfortunately, Ideye has not understood that concept and with Emenike out, Nigeria's attack has struggled. The defence is alright but work must be done on defending set pieces especially, corner kicks.

Mikel has come of age ditto Onazi (who is the modern Oliseh) with a much more disciplined approach and rare concentration. Giving him stiff competition is the hard as nut Ogude while Obi lurks in the dark wanting a way in. The defensive midfield is the forte of this team. The only missing link is an attacking midfielder.

Keshi has done a great job and it will be a travesty on Nigerians if the NFF allow their bloated ego to rule their senses by firing him before and after Brazil 2014.

What do you base the highlighted on? Ideye works really hard and is playing on the wing out of his favored position. He has more than one assist playing for Nigeria. He works hard for others.

As for your other comments, if Joel Obi gets his form back, it is no competition between him and Ogude. He will take that spot every single time. Ogude has either regressed from the first couple of games he had under Siasia or flattered to deceive like Ejike Uzoenyi who had one decent game against Egypt. I agree with you. Keshi hasn't done anything yet worth firing. I am sure he will widen his basket a bit if he comes out of this competition and the players on the bench do not improve drastically. We need continuity.

Nosa and Ogude are not National team class.

Lukman Haruna and Joel Obi should shut them out permanently pretty soon.

The jury is still out on Nosa. He had one bad game at the nations cup and was frozen out. I still think he is worth giving a second look to prove whether he belongs or not. Ogude has gotten another chance and shown he may not be up to par. Mba is not exactly lighting it up so we might as well see if Nosa has something to offer while we wait for another more offensive CM/AM to fill the spot.

[Cellular]

That said, this is exactly the kind of scenario bigger teams hate, as they have little to gain apart from the three points. You see it every time a big European nation plays San Marino or Andorra. The opposition puts nine men behind the ball (expect Vahirua to be rather lonely up front), the neutrals all rally behind the underdog, and unless the favorite scores straight away, it finds itself frustrated and desperate as the minutes tick by. It's difficult to even play well when the disparity between the two teams is so huge. Nor does the assumed winner learn much about itself because it never quite knows if it got to the ball first simply because the other guys are slower or weaker or if it actually hit a pass or completed a movement well.

True words..

It is like wrestling with a midget. You can never win... you beat them badly, they call you a bully (pick someone your own size)... they somehow manage to beat you because you don't want to appear a bully... they claim, "see this big for nothing".

Well, Thursday is around the corner. When we beat Uruguay dem go blame am on lucky bounces like say for you to get a lucky bounce don't you have to force the bounce?

[Cellular]

Nigeria under Keshi is quite a dangerous side. To the contrary, the SE played a great game against Tahiti given the Nigerian antecedent conditions that preceded that game.

I started taking this team very seriously when they beat Venezuela which to me, is not a bad team and followed that with a draw against Catalonia.

If Keshi can see beyond Ideye and give other quality Forwards a chance to challenge Emenike for the top attacking shirt, this team will be about ready. He needs two playmakers and have them in Gabriel and Nosa when fit. He must forgive Nosa and give him another chance. That boy will go places. I am sure of that.

The plus for this team is that they play for each other-no big man football-as opposed to the past trend of later Super Eagles before now. Unfortunately, Ideye has not understood that concept and with Emenike out, Nigeria's attack has struggled. The defence is alright but work must be done on defending set pieces especially, corner kicks.

Mikel has come of age ditto Onazi (who is the modern Oliseh) with a much more disciplined approach and rare concentration. Giving him stiff competition is the hard as nut Ogude while Obi lurks in the dark wanting a way in. The defensive midfield is the forte of this team. The only missing link is an attacking midfielder.

Keshi has done a great job and it will be a travesty on Nigerians if the NFF allow their bloated ego to rule their senses by firing him before and after Brazil 2014.

What do you base the highlighted on? Ideye works really hard and is playing on the wing out of his favored position. He has more than one assist playing for Nigeria. He works hard for others.

As for your other comments, if Joel Obi gets his form back, it is no competition between him and Ogude. He will take that spot every single time. Ogude has either regressed from the first couple of games he had under Siasia or flattered to deceive like Ejike Uzoenyi who had one decent game against Egypt. I agree with you. Keshi hasn't done anything yet worth firing. I am sure he will widen his basket a bit if he comes out of this competition and the players on the bench do not improve drastically. We need continuity.

Nosa and Ogude are not National team class.

Lukman Haruna and Joel Obi should shut them out permanently pretty soon.

The jury is still out on Nosa. He had one bad game at the nations cup and was frozen out. I still think he is worth giving a second look to prove whether he belongs or not. Ogude has gotten another chance and shown he may not be up to par. Mba is not exactly lighting it up so we might as well see if Nosa has something to offer while we wait for another more offensive CM/AM to fill the spot.

One bad game? Dude had two bad games sootay you could hear Keshi for TV asking what did he do to Nosa and why was Nosa strolling and refusing to return. Not only was he refusing to return, dude was HIDING from the ball... bobo no get dat kin luxury to wander around aimlessly for field like say im be Oga...

[Bigpokey24]

That said, this is exactly the kind of scenario bigger teams hate, as they have little to gain apart from the three points. You see it every time a big European nation plays San Marino or Andorra. The opposition puts nine men behind the ball (expect Vahirua to be rather lonely up front), the neutrals all rally behind the underdog, and unless the favorite scores straight away, it finds itself frustrated and desperate as the minutes tick by. It's difficult to even play well when the disparity between the two teams is so huge. Nor does the assumed winner learn much about itself because it never quite knows if it got to the ball first simply because the other guys are slower or weaker or if it actually hit a pass or completed a movement well.

True words..

It is like wrestling with a midget. You can never win... you beat them badly, they call you a bully (pick someone your own size)... they somehow manage to beat you because you don't want to appear a bully... they claim, "see this big for nothing".

Well, Thursday is around the corner. When we beat Uruguay dem go blame am on lucky bounces like say for you to get a lucky bounce don't you have to force the bounce?

tfco is a huge headache

[kolinzo]

Nigeria under Keshi is quite a dangerous side. To the contrary, the SE played a great game against Tahiti given the Nigerian antecedent conditions that preceded that game.

I started taking this team very seriously when they beat Venezuela which to me, is not a bad team and followed that with a draw against Catalonia.

If Keshi can see beyond Ideye and give other quality Forwards a chance to challenge Emenike for the top attacking shirt, this team will be about ready. He needs two playmakers and have them in Gabriel and Nosa when fit. He must forgive Nosa and give him another chance. That boy will go places. I am sure of that.

The plus for this team is that they play for each other-no big man football-as opposed to the past trend of later Super Eagles before now. Unfortunately, Ideye has not understood that concept and with Emenike out, Nigeria's attack has struggled. The defence is alright but work must be done on defending set pieces especially, corner kicks.

Mikel has come of age ditto Onazi (who is the modern Oliseh) with a much more disciplined approach and rare concentration. Giving him stiff competition is the hard as nut Ogude while Obi lurks in the dark wanting a way in. The defensive midfield is the forte of this team. The only missing link is an attacking midfielder.

Keshi has done a great job and it will be a travesty on Nigerians if the NFF allow their bloated ego to rule their senses by firing him before and after Brazil 2014.

What do you base the highlighted on? Ideye works really hard and is playing on the wing out of his favored position. He has more than one assist playing for Nigeria. He works hard for others.

As for your other comments, if Joel Obi gets his form back, it is no competition between him and Ogude. He will take that spot every single time. Ogude has either regressed from the first couple of games he had under Siasia or flattered to deceive like Ejike Uzoenyi who had one decent game against Egypt. I agree with you. Keshi hasn't done anything yet worth firing. I am sure he will widen his basket a bit if he comes out of this competition and the players on the bench do not improve drastically. We need continuity.

Nosa and Ogude are not National team class.

Lukman Haruna and Joel Obi should shut them out permanently pretty soon.

The jury is still out on Nosa. He had one bad game at the nations cup and was frozen out. I still think he is worth giving a second look to prove whether he belongs or not. Ogude has gotten another chance and shown he may not be up to par. Mba is not exactly lighting it up so we might as well see if Nosa has something to offer while we wait for another more offensive CM/AM to fill the spot.

One bad game? Dude had two bad games sootay you could hear Keshi for TV asking what did he do to Nosa and why was Nosa strolling and refusing to return. Not only was he refusing to return, dude was HIDING from the ball... bobo no get dat kin luxury to wander around aimlessly for field like say im be Oga...

I believe he was the one who told Keshi he would not play defence. I believe he was the one Keshi was so mad at that he said to his bench "if you know this guy you better tell him to fall back and defend" during a game in AFCON. It seems the guy na knucklehead.

[frlawrence1]

That said, this is exactly the kind of scenario bigger teams hate, as they have little to gain apart from the three points. You see it every time a big European nation plays San Marino or Andorra. The opposition puts nine men behind the ball (expect Vahirua to be rather lonely up front), the neutrals all rally behind the underdog, and unless the favorite scores straight away, it finds itself frustrated and desperate as the minutes tick by. It's difficult to even play well when the disparity between the two teams is so huge. Nor does the assumed winner learn much about itself because it never quite knows if it got to the ball first simply because the other guys are slower or weaker or if it actually hit a pass or completed a movement well.

True words..

It is like wrestling with a midget. You can never win... you beat them badly, they call you a bully (pick someone your own size)... they somehow manage to beat you because you don't want to appear a bully... they claim, "see this big for nothing".

Well, Thursday is around the corner. When we beat Uruguay dem go blame am on lucky bounces like say for you to get a lucky bounce don't you have to force the bounce?

Chai...
tfco go shoot you o...

[metalalloy]

Nigeria under Keshi is quite a dangerous side. To the contrary, the SE played a great game against Tahiti given the Nigerian antecedent conditions that preceded that game.

I started taking this team very seriously when they beat Venezuela which to me, is not a bad team and followed that with a draw against Catalonia.

If Keshi can see beyond Ideye and give other quality Forwards a chance to challenge Emenike for the top attacking shirt, this team will be about ready. He needs two playmakers and have them in Gabriel and Nosa when fit. He must forgive Nosa and give him another chance. That boy will go places. I am sure of that.

The plus for this team is that they play for each other-no big man football-as opposed to the past trend of later Super Eagles before now. Unfortunately, Ideye has not understood that concept and with Emenike out, Nigeria's attack has struggled. The defence is alright but work must be done on defending set pieces especially, corner kicks.

Mikel has come of age ditto Onazi (who is the modern Oliseh) with a much more disciplined approach and rare concentration. Giving him stiff competition is the hard as nut Ogude while Obi lurks in the dark wanting a way in. The defensive midfield is the forte of this team. The only missing link is an attacking midfielder.

Keshi has done a great job and it will be a travesty on Nigerians if the NFF allow their bloated ego to rule their senses by firing him before and after Brazil 2014.

What do you base the highlighted on? Ideye works really hard and is playing on the wing out of his favored position. He has more than one assist playing for Nigeria. He works hard for others.

As for your other comments, if Joel Obi gets his form back, it is no competition between him and Ogude. He will take that spot every single time. Ogude has either regressed from the first couple of games he had under Siasia or flattered to deceive like Ejike Uzoenyi who had one decent game against Egypt. I agree with you. Keshi hasn't done anything yet worth firing. I am sure he will widen his basket a bit if he comes out of this competition and the players on the bench do not improve drastically. We need continuity.

Nosa and Ogude are not National team class.

Lukman Haruna and Joel Obi should shut them out permanently pretty soon.

The jury is still out on Nosa. He had one bad game at the nations cup and was frozen out. I still think he is worth giving a second look to prove whether he belongs or not. Ogude has gotten another chance and shown he may not be up to par. Mba is not exactly lighting it up so we might as well see if Nosa has something to offer while we wait for another more offensive CM/AM to fill the spot.

One bad game? Dude had two bad games sootay you could hear Keshi for TV asking what did he do to Nosa and why was Nosa strolling and refusing to return. Not only was he refusing to return, dude was HIDING from the ball... bobo no get dat kin luxury to wander around aimlessly for field like say im be Oga...

I believe he was the one who told Keshi he would not play defence. I believe he was the one Keshi was so mad at that he said to his bench "if you know this guy you better tell him to fall back and defend" during a game in AFCON. It seems the guy na knucklehead.

you are right cellular, i forgot he also played against Zambia.

[wale1974]

I rather listen to Gabriele Marcotti than the couch potatoes on CE any day

[wale1974]

Here is a journalist who has done his homework, sat down at his laptop, paused to make sure he can give a considered opinion...and then started typing. From now on when Gabriele Marcotti starts talking, i'll turn the volume up. If he is this reflective and perceptive with Nigeria, how will he be with nations he knows even more about?

Marcotti has always been my favorite from the Press Pass Panels, the guy sabi football

[soma]

Marcotti along with Martin Samuel are journos that talk and I listen.

[MI5]

Funny thing for me is if Gabriele had written any of the CE negative analysis I would have agreed. Why? He is an analyst. Not a pub ranter.

I listen to analysts and not amateur enthusiasts and hired agents-The most vocal negative posters on CE.

I did not log in to CE while the game was on because quite frankly only few posters know what they are talking about and not tainted with self interest beyond that of normal fans.

Marcotti gets paid for what he does, CE critics jostle for their hustle.

[Catalyst]

Actually in this game Nigeria scored pretty much straight away, so his hypothesis is super weak here.

Huh?

Hypo what? (catalyst, shut up - do not say it!)

Jeez. Wow

[ODUNYEMI]

Gabby was the one who corrected a
talksports guy how to pronouns
Mike Emenalo of chelsea. Great guys
knows his stuff.

[kalani]

Actually in this game Nigeria scored pretty much straight away, so his hypothesis is super weak here.

Huh?

Hypo what? (catalyst, shut up - do not say it!)

Jeez. Wow

He based a good part of his article saying that the lack of an early goal would be what would stop Nigeria from getting a steady flow of them throughout the match.

[Aswani]

Marcotti is a massive SE fan so it is not surprising that his article is not negative.

Excellent journalist though.