Should Oliseh not be watching players in Europe?

[Waffiman]

Ayo, Oliseh's job is to build a successful team and if this means using home based players, so be it. I do not care wherever they are based, so long as they are Nigerian.

Not at the expense of the main task of qualifying for the Nations Cup. His neglect of the players plying their trade at the highest level at this crucial juncture is tantamount to dereliction of duty in my opinion.

Over the weekend, the following Nigerians played in the English Premiership:

Mikel Obi
Odion Ighalo
Kelechi Iheanacho
Osaze Odemwingie
Victor Anichebe
Victor Moses

Did Oliseh watch one of them?

Kinglsey Ehibuze of Zwolle, playing in the Dutch Eredivisie is arguably our best rightback at the moment. He played over the weekend. Isaac Success put in another great performance for Granada over the weekend as Granada beat Getafe 3-2 and Leon Balogun also played for o90 minutes as a centreback for Mainz, while Efe Ambrose also played a full game as a centreback for Celtic.

Oliseh simply needs to be at these games watching his players to know their current form. He will get one or two players from Chan but come on, that cannot be his main priority!

Ayo, as far as I know, Oliseh has a good scouting network for all his players. He has his links at Arsenal and I'm told he has formal avenues to all clubs in England with our players like any other FA. Oliseh is no JJC, he did coaching badges in England, he knows how the system works in Europe, he is nobody's fool.

Waffi but can anyone really know what he wants from his players. If I were coach, I would want to see the players myself and determine if they have the qualities I want. How can anyone tell me for instance if Kinglsey Ehibuze has the pace and lungs that I am looking for in a rightback?

Because the clubs give him videos of his players and he has analysis software to do the rest. He at times gets scouting analysis from friends in Europe. Oilseh has top links and has access to tools top clubs use. His Assistant is no mug too. Ayo, do not underestimate Oliseh.

Indeed, he is better off in Naija where he has a remit for the local league and we know he will not get what he gets in Europe to assess players, he has to do it with his eyes and being present.

[Ayo Akinfe]

Ayo, Oliseh's job is to build a successful team and if this means using home based players, so be it. I do not care wherever they are based, so long as they are Nigerian.

Not at the expense of the main task of qualifying for the Nations Cup. His neglect of the players plying their trade at the highest level at this crucial juncture is tantamount to dereliction of duty in my opinion.

Over the weekend, the following Nigerians played in the English Premiership:

Mikel Obi
Odion Ighalo
Kelechi Iheanacho
Osaze Odemwingie
Victor Anichebe
Victor Moses

Did Oliseh watch one of them?

Kinglsey Ehibuze of Zwolle, playing in the Dutch Eredivisie is arguably our best rightback at the moment. He played over the weekend. Isaac Success put in another great performance for Granada over the weekend as Granada beat Getafe 3-2 and Leon Balogun also played for o90 minutes as a centreback for Mainz, while Efe Ambrose also played a full game as a centreback for Celtic.

Oliseh simply needs to be at these games watching his players to know their current form. He will get one or two players from Chan but come on, that cannot be his main priority!

Ayo, as far as I know, Oliseh has a good scouting network for all his players. He has his links at Arsenal and I'm told he has formal avenues to all clubs in England with our players like any other FA. Oliseh is no JJC, he did coaching badges in England, he knows how the system works in Europe, he is nobody's fool.

Waffi but can anyone really know what he wants from his players. If I were coach, I would want to see the players myself and determine if they have the qualities I want. How can anyone tell me for instance if Kinglsey Ehibuze has the pace and lungs that I am looking for in a rightback?

Because the clubs give him videos of his players and he has analysis software to do the rest. He at times gets scouting analysis from friends in Europe. Oilseh has top links and has access to tools top clubs use. His Assistant is no mug too. Ayo, do not underestimate Oliseh.

Indeed, he is better off in Naija where he has a remit for the local league and we know he will not get what he gets in Europe to assess players, he has to do it with his eyes and being present.

But he has already seen the Chan players. Why does he need to go to Rwanda with them?

[vancity eagle]

I would like someone to tell me when last an African team ignored its FB players and had any sort of success ?

Thanks in advance.

[kalani JR]

I would like someone to tell me when last an African team ignored its FB players and had any sort of success ?

Thanks in advance.

[mystic]

I would like someone to tell me when last an African team ignored its FB players and had any sort of success ?

Thanks in advance.

How exactly does Oliseh coaching the Super Eagles at CHAN equate to ignoring FB?

[Cellular]

I would like someone to tell me when last an African team ignored its FB players and had any sort of success ?

Thanks in advance.

How exactly does Oliseh coaching the Super Eagles at CHAN equate to ignoring FB?

CE logic...

[YUJAM]

Mystic:
I don't believe our positions on this issue differ that much.

I believe the long term success of a national team is enhanced by a well organized and viable league. Pinnick seemed to understand this which is why I assume Oliseh's contract stipulated that he work on proposals to develop the national league. Besides, I am sure he nor any of us wants to see another repeat of Libregts or Vogts 'chop money' operations again.

In addition to this, I am of the opinion Oliseh should spend a significant amount of time scouting players in Nigeria and building a solid home based national team. The recent contributions of some of the local lads to the NT lately support the view that there is much to be gained by giving local players a chance. Besides the idea of relying on a foreign based NT is simply unsettling to me. There are many reasons why having a solid home-based team is important. You outlined many of them.

BTW, one of the most interesting players in the home based NT is Usman Muhammed because of his strength on the ball and mobility.

Ayo and yourself are confused. Oliseh's focus should be more on the local league. His contract stipulates that he come up with a plan to develop the league which means he has to understand its weaknesses and strengths. He also needs to scout the upcoming players in that league. Last, as you know, to create a top national team you need a decent and competent league. Pinnick and Co realized this when they structured Oliseh's contract and I agree with them completely. The idea that some coach will spend all his time in Europe and just work a few weeks a year when the NTs have engagements is just ridiculous and should never be repeated again

Ayo, Oliseh's job is to build a successful team and if this means using home based players, so be it. I do not care wherever they are based, so long as they are Nigerian.

Not at the expense of the main task of qualifying for the Nations Cup. His neglect of the players plying their trade at the highest level at this crucial juncture is tantamount to dereliction of duty in my opinion.

Over the weekend, the following Nigerians played in the English Premiership:

Mikel Obi
Odion Ighalo
Kelechi Iheanacho
Osaze Odemwingie
Victor Anichebe
Victor Moses

Did Oliseh watch one of them?

Kinglsey Ehibuze of Zwolle, playing in the Dutch Eredivisie is arguably our best rightback at the moment. He played over the weekend. Isaac Success put in another great performance for Granada over the weekend as Granada beat Getafe 3-2 and Leon Balogun also played for o90 minutes as a centreback for Mainz, while Efe Ambrose also played a full game as a centreback for Celtic.

Oliseh simply needs to be at these games watching his players to know their current form. He will get one or two players from Chan but come on, that cannot be his main priority!

KPOM X 1000

Ayo and yourself are confused. Oliseh's focus should be more on the local league. His contract stipulates that he come up with a plan to develop the league which means he has to understand its weaknesses and strengths. He also needs to scout the upcoming players in that league. Last, as you know, to create a top national team you need a decent and competent league. Pinnick and Co realized this when they structured Oliseh's contract and I agree with them completely. The idea that some coach will spend all his time in Europe and just work a few weeks a year when the NTs have engagements is just ridiculous and should never be repeated again

Ayo, Oliseh's job is to build a successful team and if this means using home based players, so be it. I do not care wherever they are based, so long as they are Nigerian.

Not at the expense of the main task of qualifying for the Nations Cup. His neglect of the players plying their trade at the highest level at this crucial juncture is tantamount to dereliction of duty in my opinion.

Over the weekend, the following Nigerians played in the English Premiership:

Mikel Obi
Odion Ighalo
Kelechi Iheanacho
Osaze Odemwingie
Victor Anichebe
Victor Moses

Did Oliseh watch one of them?

Kinglsey Ehibuze of Zwolle, playing in the Dutch Eredivisie is arguably our best rightback at the moment. He played over the weekend. Isaac Success put in another great performance for Granada over the weekend as Granada beat Getafe 3-2 and Leon Balogun also played for o90 minutes as a centreback for Mainz, while Efe Ambrose also played a full game as a centreback for Celtic.

Oliseh simply needs to be at these games watching his players to know their current form. He will get one or two players from Chan but come on, that cannot be his main priority!

KPOM X 1000

There are so many backwards thinkers on CE. It is a mental disease. It seems Nigerians just cannot see the obvious and always look to silly answers to solve simple problems.

Yujam,

Oliseh's job of helping to re-engineer the Nigerian League is one thing; while coaching the Super Eagles is another thing altogether. Granted, as the Nigerian League improves, the benefits to the Super Eagles will be immense. But development of the Nigerian League is a long term project whereas coaching the Super Eagles is a win today or else you are gone tomorrow affair. So when it comes to coaching the Super Eagles, Oliseh needs to look at the total picture of where his talent lies, and not just focus on one part of the picture. This means that he not just focusing more on Europe or focusing mostly on Nigeria. Rather, he's got to be paying attention to all the top Leagues where he can potentially mine for talent. Furthermore, on Oliseh's staff Salisu Yusuf is the point man on scouting the Nigerian League, while he concentrates on scouting Europe - so inspite of his brief, Oliseh does not necessarily spend more time focusing on domestic league players.

Also, I think that it is a mistake for folks to frame this in terms of Nigerian League players and European League players. Thankfully Oliseh does not think this way (he does not call the CHAN team 'Home Based Eagles' or 'Eagles B Team', but simply refers to them as 'The Super Eagles'). Indeed, his task is to build a Nigerian national team that we can all be proud of again using the best players at his disposal. Now within this task of returning the Super Eagles to glory he is also looking towards the future - in order to build a team that will be good for a long time. So it is no surprise that he will lean towards young players or look to see what talents are available who ply their trade in Nigeria. That is why we see young players the likes of Shehu Abdullahi, Moses Simon, Dele Alampasu, Wilfred Ndidi, Alex Iwobi and Kelechi Ihenacho, among others, coming into his team. And that is why some players from the CHAN competition will also come into his team.

Now going into CHAN it is safe to say that the Nigerian League players who had broken into Oliseh's thinking in terms of the Super Eagles are the following: Ikechukwu Ezenwa, Austin Oboarakpo, Chima Akas and Paul Onobi. No doubt, the African Championsip will go a long way in determining if these players will remain in the thinking of the coaching staff. It will also throw up new options as we are seeing in the likes of Ifeanyi Matthew, Chisom Chikatara and Osas Okoro.

In any case, whoever emerges from the African Championship as potential national team players, it is all for the better because the idea is to throw up more options for the Super Eagles at all positions. If Chisom Chikatara, for instance, continues to build on what he's accomplished in the first two games at CHAN, how is this not an absolute positive for Nigeria? Assuming he does indeed emerge from CHAN as a future option for Nigeria, does this not then improve our depth at striker for the Super Eagles? And does the experience garnered at CHAN not improve the coaching staff's ability to trust him in future assignments?

In my view, CHAN is part and parcel of the essential rebuilding process that Oliseh has embarked upon. True, folks should not put more weight in it than it merits, but folks should not dismiss it, as well, because it is every bit as important as the U20 World Cup and the Olympic Games (which will be coming up in the summer) in terms of throwing up options for the national team.

So folks should not be writing silly essays about how Oliseh's time should be better spent scouting players in Europe when he has a critical job to do in Rwanda that is essential to rebuilding the team. After all, are we not in the 21st century? Can Oliseh not keep tabs on the progress his players in Europe from Rwanda? Or are we suddenly in the Dark Ages? And has Oliseh not spent his time in charge of the Super Eagles building relationships and developing contacts in Europe who can keep him up to date on certain things when he cannot be physically present? Indeed the argument is so vacuous because it presumes that Oliseh has not been scouting his players in Europe all this while. Indeed, it is only if Oliseh has been playing hooky on the job all this while that one could argue that he could not spare 3 weeks to guide the Super Eagles at CHAN.

Then, of course, there is the FIFA ranking to think of. Nigeria currently lie in a previously unheard of 14th place among the African teams. This is dangerous because when the World Cup Qualifying draw is held later in the year, if we remain in such a position (or worse, drop further in the rankings) chances are we will land in a group that is so tough, that the difficulty of qualifying for the Mundial will be multiplied. Along this line, we basically have 4 results, thus far: a 1-1 draw with Angola and 1-0 win over Ivory Coast in pre CHAN friendlies; and two CHAN games (which also count as friendlies in the FIFA ranking scoring system) a 4-1 hiding of Niger and a 1-1 draw with Tunisia. In addition to these games, we have the rest of the African Championship and ANC qualifying games against Egypt (along with any friendlies that the NFF might be able to squeeze in) to do something about our current ranking and improve our chances in the WCQ draws. So even if certain folks are too daft or simply refuse to see the importance of CHAN, this alone makes it worth Oliseh's time.

[YUJAM]

Ayo:
Oliseh can scout the players in Europe by video if it absolutely comes down to it and all indications are that he does that. This is a guy who writes extensively about strategy in European games

I think you have it backwards. He should spend significant time on the home-based NT and players too because ultimately they should form the backbone of the NT

Vancity Eagle, it is sometimes pointless arguing with some of our folks here. They simply do not understand the concept of planning.

Yujam, I expect you to know better. A man of your experience and age should not be talking ignorantly like these green youngsters. Poor planning and organisation has been the Archiles Heel of African teams over the years:

[1] Oliseh should scout for players in the local league with a view to grooming them for the national team. Nobody disputes that
[2] However, football is a results-based business and Oliseh will be judged by how well the Super Eagles fare. Qualifying for major tournaments like the Nations Cup and World Cup is his number one priority.
[3] Oliseh has a make-or-break double header against Egypt in two months time and that should be his focus for now. It should occupy 95% of his time
[4] What Oliseh should be doing now is looking at the players who he will use in the two games against Egypt between March 23 and 29. Everything else must be secondary
[5] He will get one or two players from the Chan squad but how can that be more important that looking at the 20 or so other players he will use?
[6] With Moses, Onazi, Balogun and Oshaniwa recently returning from injury, surely, Oliseh must be concerned about their fitness levels if he is going to risk them in such an important tie
[7] On Saturday, I noticed that Mikel appeared to have either picked up a knock or run out of breath in the last 10 mins against Arsenal. He slowed down terribly. Now, did he pick up a knock or is his fitness in question? Oliseh should be monitoring players like that to know what is what
[8] By now, Oliseh should have a good idea of who his 22 players for the Egypt games are subject to injury and loss of form. How on earth can he do that when he is not even watching the players?
[9] Some new players like Kinglsey Ehibuze at Zwolle and Uche Agbo at Granada need to be looked at before they can be invited. Does Oliseh know their best positions, how quick they are or what their current fitness levels are?
[10] There are over half a dozen coaches who can give him reports about the one or two good players at Chan but no one is scouting the players in Europe, who will form the bulk of his team. Sheer madness if you ask me. We all marvel at German thoroughness and then go and do something stupid like this and expect to compete with them. In life, you seldom reap where you have now sown!

[Ayo Akinfe]

It pointless arguing with you Yujam as you simply do not want to see reason. Winning games is Oliseh's primary priority as national team coach.

What you are saying is that he should relegate that to discovering players for the future. Never heard such drivel in my life!

[vancity eagle]

I would like someone to tell me when last an African team ignored its FB players and had any sort of success ?

Thanks in advance.

So 9 out of 11 FB players amounts to ignoring. Did you graduate from high school?

[vancity eagle]

I would like someone to tell me when last an African team ignored its FB players and had any sort of success ?

Thanks in advance.

How exactly does Oliseh coaching the Super Eagles at CHAN equate to ignoring FB?

Not necessarily directing that to Oliseh, but to those on here who think HB should form "the backbone" of the team.

[Ayo Akinfe]

When Egypt waya us una go know

[mystic]

Yujam,

I see where you're coming from but your position is not workable at this present time.

First off, as I said before, Oliseh's first priority as Nigeria coach is to win games. That comes first because, if he loses matches, none of the other stuff in his brief will matter because he will be out the door. So he must use the players who he adjudges to be the best for Nigeria regardless of where they play.

Secondly, the reality of the present day Nigerian League is that any player who gets a sniff of national team action, will be eager to take the first train out of Nigeria to perceived greener pastures. This means that it is darn near impossible to build a around a group of players that will based at home as there will always be too much turnover year to year because of players jetting out of the country to sign contracts elsewhere. Stephen Keshi learned this the hard way. He started out with a group of home based players and built them up to a respectable level, but by CHAN 2013, they were almost all gone with only the likes of Azubuike Egwuekwe, Ejike Uzoenyi and one or two others left from the original home based side, which he had raised. No surprise then that when Stephen Keshi contract was officially renewed last year one of his first statements was that he had no team. So until the situation is reversed, where players see value to remaining in the Nigerian League (and this will take time to accomplish) building around a home based group is tantamount to building your house on a foundation of sand.

Thirdly, building solely around home based would be discriminatory towards players who play outside the country. In my view, all players, regardless of where they ply their trade ought to be eligible to represent Nigeria, provided that they are Nigerians and that they are good enough. Just as you do not want to discriminate against Nigerians playing domestically by ruling them out of the national team you also do not want to be guilty of doing the opposite.

Lastly, I a firm believer in Nigeria's best players being used for Nigeria regardless of where they play. The reality is that Nigerian players are scattered across the globe, and it is only a lazy coach who refuses to do his homework that will not put in the effort to ensure that he knows who Nigeria's best players and best potential talents are.

So I would say that yes, for the long term health of Nigerian football, Nigeria does need to build up her league and this is part of Oliseh's brief. But in terms of managing the Super Eagles he needs to go with those who he believes to be his best players, whether they play in Nigeria or elsewhere.

[Ayo Akinfe]

Now that this nonsensical Chan distraction is over, can Oliseh please get back to his main job. He placed winning Chan above watching his chore players. Hmmmmmm

[mystic]

Now that this nonsensical Chan distraction is over, can Oliseh please get back to his main job. He placed winning Chan above watching his chore players. Hmmmmmm

Well I guess you are happy now.

[metalalloy]

Can't he watch them on TV or online?

[vancity eagle]

Now that this nonsensical Chan distraction is over, can Oliseh please get back to his main job. He placed winning Chan above watching his chore players. Hmmmmmm

Ayo you are a voice of reason. I hope Oliseh now feel the heat on him, because we fail against Egypt and he is probably done.

I hope he now realizes that these HB jokers cannot get the job done and he does his job and familiarizes himself with our FB talents. There are so many of them, and I am sure he is barely aware of many of them.

This coach/agent thing will continue to kill our football.

Oliseh is only marginally better than Ke$hi in this regard.

[rasak74]

(1) Is it just me but is Sunday Oliseh making the best use of his time going to Rwanda with the home-based Eagles?
(2) He is only ever going to need three or four players from that squad
(3) By now, Oliseh should know the players he wants in that squad
(4) Just watching Ighalo, Moses and Iheanacho in the English Premiership today, I have to ask myself why Oliseh was not at one of the matches
(5) Has Oliseh ever been to Scotland to watch Ambrose and Oshaniwa?
(6) Has he ever been to Spain to watch the much talked about Isaac Success?
(7) I heard Celtic want to buy Olanrewaju Kayode from Israel. Does Oliseh know what his current form is like?
(8) Our Eagles will always struggle when the coach only has three days with them and half that time is wasted determining who are the best to play. Before they hit camp at all, Oliseh should know his starting 11
(9) Those two days in camp should be for forging team chemistry. However, this cannot be possible when the coach is not aware of the current form of his players
(10) I think Oliseh should have delegates responsibility for the home-based team to someone like Tijani Babangida and focus on his main job. I think him going to Rwanda is a misplaced priority!

Kayode Olarenwaju plays in Austria now not Israel. Looks like YOU should be the one watching our players in Europe, so you can know what clubs they play in.

[mystic]

Now that this nonsensical Chan distraction is over, can Oliseh please get back to his main job. He placed winning Chan above watching his chore players. Hmmmmmm

Ayo you are a voice of reason. I hope Oliseh now feel the heat on him, because we fail against Egypt and he is probably done.

I hope he now realizes that these HB jokers cannot get the job done and he does his job and familiarizes himself with our FB talents. There are so many of them, and I am sure he is barely aware of many of them.

This coach/agent thing will continue to kill our football.

Oliseh is only marginally better than Ke$hi in this regard.

How do you know that Oliseh is 'barely aware of many of them'? You make a lot of assumptions that you have no clue about.

[Ayo Akinfe]

I hope Oliseh watches at least two players live this weekend in Europe. Has he ever been to Watford before?

[mystic]

I hope Oliseh watches at least two players love this weekend in Europe. Has he ever been to Watford before?

Say what?

[Waffiman]

I hope Oliseh watches at least two players love this weekend in Europe. Has he ever been to Watford before?

Say what?

[Ayo Akinfe]

Cabn Oliseh please tell us if he has watched all the folowing players this season:



English Premiership
[1] Mikel Obi - Chelsea
[2] Odion Ighalo - Watford
[3] Kelechi Iheanacho - Manchester City
[4] Victor Moses - West ham
[5] Victor Anichebe - West Bromwich Albion
[6] Osaze Odemwingie - Stoke City
[7] Alex Iwobi - Arsenal

German Die Bundesliga
[1] Leon Balogun - Mainz
[2] Anthony Ujah - Werder Bremen

Spanish La Liga
[1] Isaac Success - Granada
[2] Uche Ogbe - Granada

Italian Serie A
[1] Ogenyi Onazi - Lazio

French Le Championet
[1] Vincent Enyeama - Lille
[2] Uwa Echiejile - Monaco

Dutch Eredivisie
[1] Kingsley Ehizibue - Zwolle

Turkish Ligue
[1] Godfrey Oboabona - Çaykur Rizespor
[2] Kenneth Omeruo - Kasımpaşa

Scottish Premiership
[1] Efe Ambrose - Celtic
[2] Juwon Oshaniwa - Hearts

Belgian Pro League
[1] Simon Moses - Genk
[2] Imo Ezekiel - Anderlecht

Russian League
[1] Ahmed Musa - Spartak Moscow
[2] Sylvester Igboun - Ufa

Portuguese Primiera Liga
[1] Shehu Abdullahi - Uniao
[2] Anderson Esiti - Estoril
[3] Nwankwo Obiora - Académica
[4] Dele Alampasu - Feirense (Second division)