Do You know that the YAK is the.........

[Thunder]

Man of the match - AIYEGBENI YAKUBU It could have been Gaizka Mendieta for the way he drove Middlesbrough forward, but Aiyegbeni exposed the lack of pace in Chelsea's central defence, scored a memorable third home goal and should not have had his second ruled offside.
-GUARDIAN UNLIMITED

[WINNERMAN]

They dont want to know this...

[PapaK]

he can be scoring on the moon for all I care. The guy doesnt care about Naija, so why should I care about him?

[GUEST]

A CLUB THAT CANNOT WIN 2 MATCHES IN A ROW HAS A SERIOUS

PROBLEM-SHINE TODAY AND BE FORGOTTING IN A MONTH.

[mastermind]

he can be scoring on the moon for all I care. The guy doesnt care about Naija, so why should I care about him?

He doesn't want to be involvrf with gamblers, bribery and corruption, unjust benching and unfair treatment. YAK is the man, he stand for what he believes in.

[omey2k4]

he can be scoring on the moon for all I care. The guy doesnt care about Naija, so why should I care about him?

He doesn't want to be involvrf with gamblers, bribery and corruption, unjust benching and unfair treatment. YAK is the man, he stand for what he believes in.

And teh crazy thing is okocha is par with those Bribery,corruption int he SE's team and thats the guy PapaK praises even when it was obivious Okocha was the reason we didnt go to the WC.

[PapaK]

he can be scoring on the moon for all I care. The guy doesnt care about Naija, so why should I care about him?

He doesn't want to be involvrf with gamblers, bribery and corruption, unjust benching and unfair treatment. YAK is the man, he stand for what he believes in.

And teh crazy thing is okocha is par with those Bribery,corruption int he SE's team and thats the guy PapaK praises even when it was obivious Okocha was the reason we didnt go to the WC.

no problem, when we fail to qualify for WC 2010, blame Okocha. It's always convenient to blame Okocha (even for the bird flu in Kaduna). Has anyone noticed that since Atlanta Olympics, we've either performed poorly or even failed to qualify for Olympics? I believe Okocha is responsible for our failure at the U-23 level as well.

[Naija fan]

They dont want to know this...

Last time I checked YAK was invited to camp and he declined the invitation. Even the Sports Minister was going to intervene before YAK told the entire world he is not interested. I am sure you would have been happy if we went to YAK on bended knees begging him to come and play.

[Chief Ogbunigwe]

winnerman & Omey:

with all due respect to your positions, Yak was invited to represent naija (all of us), not Egu. Even the great Kanu had nothing against being a non-starter. Nigeria is bigger than Egu and Yak, so I blame him for refusing to turn up.

Maybe Yak could have helped us to the trophy, but he declined to rep his country.

[Chief Gabtigab]

Yeyegbeni would not have done jack during this ANC. He did nothing spectacular during the WC qualifiers.

The only player we would have missed at the WC is Martins but thank God he went. I'll even go further to state that had he concentrated all his effort in the camp instead of going to play for Inter, may be he would have scored a few more goals and in the process lead us further.

As for Yeyegbeni "good riddance to bad rubbish". I'd rather we're kicked out at the group stages than allow any player to hold us to a ransom. During the ANC his team was struggling ( including a 7-0 spanking). Where was he then?.

Abeg mek man hia word with this nonsense and ingredients player!!! <<hissing>>

[Obong]

Let's see....Obinna Nsofor was his direct replacement.Considering Yak's lackadaisical approach to Nigerian matches and his questionable commitment,it was best he stayed away.We have seen what Nsofor can do!

[PapaK]

Let's see....Obinna Nsofor was his direct replacement.Considering Yak's lackadaisical approach to Nigerian matches and his questionable commitment,it was best he stayed away.We have seen what Nsofor can do!

U can say that again. Can U imagine that Obinna actually made the squad because of injury to Olofinjana. Sometimes, you wonder what these coaches are looking at during training. That Obinna boy should have made the list ahead of Osaze, Makinwa

[Globero]

All you YAK patriots are as pathetic as the cause you are trying to justify with regards to his absence from the ANC.

YAK should not go to the ANC because Egu is incompetent : As if that is a basis for which any player is suppose to avoid a major tournament.
YAK is the best striker we have so Egu should have guaranteed him a shirt : even Sven Erickson has not publicly come out to say he guarantees Beckham a shirt, just like Henry's coach, RVN's coach, Adriano's coach, Eto's or even Ronaldinho's coach so why tha hell would you expect a manager worth his salt to admit to a player before showing up in camp that he WILL get a shirt before a ball is even kicked ?

We would have won the cup, if YAK was at the ANC see how he scores goals in the EPL : Just like Mido won it for Egypt abi, or Eto won it for Cameroon alongside Didier Drogba winning it for CIV. Oh but the SE have more talented players than the rest of these teams ( a subjective point ) : Just like AC Milan had against Liverpool at the last CL final abi ?

Bottomline is Egu is in charge. All the people screaming about bribery and corruption in Nigerian football were not detered from following the Eagles as they qualified from the group stage up until they played in the semi's. If each and everyone of you had so much passion that you watched, listened or read about the SE while they were at the ANC regardless of how incompetent you felt about Egu and the NFA, then YAK should just as well have had enough compassion to honor the call to represent his country when he was called upon REGARDLESS of how talented he is while playing in England. Nobody is bigger than the FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF NIGERIA ! NOBODY ( Not even Adedibu, Abacha or Obj ) ! Everyones time will come and eventually go ( Okocha, Yekini, Odegbami ), but the SE will remain forever !

[gado]

All you YAK patriots are as pathetic as the cause you are trying to justify with regards to his absence from the ANC.

YAK should not go to the ANC because Egu is incompetent : As if that is a basis for which any player is suppose to avoid a major tournament.
YAK is the best striker we have so Egu should have guaranteed him a shirt : even Sven Erickson has not publicly come out to say he guarantees Beckham a shirt, just like Henry's coach, RVN's coach, Adriano's coach, Eto's or even Ronaldinho's coach so why tha hell would you expect a manager worth his salt to admit to a player before showing up in camp that he WILL get a shirt before a ball is even kicked ?

We would have won the cup, if YAK was at the ANC see how he scores goals in the EPL : Just like Mido won it for Egypt abi, or Eto won it for Cameroon alongside Didier Drogba winning it for CIV. Oh but the SE have more talented players than the rest of these teams ( a subjective point ) : Just like AC Milan had against Liverpool at the last CL final abi ?

Bottomline is Egu is in charge. All the people screaming about bribery and corruption in Nigerian football were not detered from following the Eagles as they qualified from the group stage up until they played in the semi's. If each and everyone of you had so much passion that you watched, listened or read about the SE while they were at the ANC regardless of how incompetent you felt about Egu and the NFA, then YAK should just as well have had enough compassion to honor the call to represent his country when he was called upon REGARDLESS of how talented he is while playing in England. Nobody is bigger than the FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF NIGERIA ! NOBODY ( Not even Adedibu, Abacha or Obj ) ! Everyones time will come and eventually go ( Okocha, Yekini, Odegbami ), but the SE will remain forever !

You still don't get it ? Egu is not good enough to coach a team as big as SE, he's only good enough to coach college or high school team.

Egu got no track record, the players that showed up only did cos of the fans back home. Look at Egu mistakes at the tournament, dude got no clue what to do with the talents in his disposal, he got to SF on individual talent. SE and the players deserve better, they deserve to have a world class coach.

[Globero]

All you YAK patriots are as pathetic as the cause you are trying to justify with regards to his absence from the ANC.

YAK should not go to the ANC because Egu is incompetent : As if that is a basis for which any player is suppose to avoid a major tournament.
YAK is the best striker we have so Egu should have guaranteed him a shirt : even Sven Erickson has not publicly come out to say he guarantees Beckham a shirt, just like Henry's coach, RVN's coach, Adriano's coach, Eto's or even Ronaldinho's coach so why tha hell would you expect a manager worth his salt to admit to a player before showing up in camp that he WILL get a shirt before a ball is even kicked ?

We would have won the cup, if YAK was at the ANC see how he scores goals in the EPL : Just like Mido won it for Egypt abi, or Eto won it for Cameroon alongside Didier Drogba winning it for CIV. Oh but the SE have more talented players than the rest of these teams ( a subjective point ) : Just like AC Milan had against Liverpool at the last CL final abi ?

Bottomline is Egu is in charge. All the people screaming about bribery and corruption in Nigerian football were not detered from following the Eagles as they qualified from the group stage up until they played in the semi's. If each and everyone of you had so much passion that you watched, listened or read about the SE while they were at the ANC regardless of how incompetent you felt about Egu and the NFA, then YAK should just as well have had enough compassion to honor the call to represent his country when he was called upon REGARDLESS of how talented he is while playing in England. Nobody is bigger than the FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF NIGERIA ! NOBODY ( Not even Adedibu, Abacha or Obj ) ! Everyones time will come and eventually go ( Okocha, Yekini, Odegbami ), but the SE will remain forever !

You still don't get it ? Egu is not good enough to coach a team as big as SE, he's only good enough to coach college or high school team.

Egu got no track record, the players that showed up only did cos of the fans back home. Look at Egu mistakes at the tournament, dude got no clue what to do with the talents in his disposal, he got to SF on individual talent. SE and the players deserve better, they deserve to have a world class coach.

You are the one that does'nt get it !

Egu's competence or lack thereof has nothing to do with YAK's refusal to honor the national call. You just like everyone on this board, followed the SE up until the semi's. Egu could be the worst coach in the world ( which is all a matter of opinion ), fact is when Nigeria is being represented our focus shifts towards supporting the team! I for one remember how people on this forum were close to having a heart attack against Tunisia when we were playing pk's. Congratulatory messages and excitement were spreading like a computer virus along this board in and around Nigeria. Fact was that YAK wanted a guarantee to play 1st team football, a request that NOBODY is suppose to make ON ANY TEAM REGARDLESS OF HOW GOOD THEY MAY BE. If that is too hard to comprehend go and ask Romario and dem Ronaldo what happens when persin dey do yanga for him team. Ask George Weah what he had to do to TRY to qualify his team for the world cup. Ask Anelka what it takes to get back to playing for a nation full of stars ( like Nigeria ) after you are out of favor with your coach for so long. Yeah some people will make you believe YAK should not be sacrificed at any cost just because he is as good as we believe he is, but if Egypt were to feel that way, they probably would have played Mido at the ANC finals simply because just like many like you, talent and adoration is suppose to be placed above discipline and integrity !

[mastermind]

He gave his many reasons why he refused, but you people choose to ignore his reasons blindly. Jag refused to dress for the 3rd place match, Oruma complained about unjust benching etc. The writing is on the wall, everything is not well with SE and y'all expect players to sharrap and just show up ?

YAK made the right decision to help his employer outta of a relegation zone instead of waisting precious time on the bench for no reason. YAK was being benched unjustly and Egu was giving prefrecial treatment to some players. YAK is our best striker and we gat to respect him more if we expect him to represent us.

Westeroff was sucessful cos of his man managament skills, he never benched Yekini and Amo for kids or unjustly, even with the beef that he got with siasia, he still start him against Argentina. We cannot keep picking a fight with talented and experienced players every ANC cos some kids show some flash of brilliance. We need a better coach to handle our SE.

All you YAK patriots are as pathetic as the cause you are trying to justify with regards to his absence from the ANC.

YAK should not go to the ANC because Egu is incompetent : As if that is a basis for which any player is suppose to avoid a major tournament.
YAK is the best striker we have so Egu should have guaranteed him a shirt : even Sven Erickson has not publicly come out to say he guarantees Beckham a shirt, just like Henry's coach, RVN's coach, Adriano's coach, Eto's or even Ronaldinho's coach so why tha hell would you expect a manager worth his salt to admit to a player before showing up in camp that he WILL get a shirt before a ball is even kicked ?

We would have won the cup, if YAK was at the ANC see how he scores goals in the EPL : Just like Mido won it for Egypt abi, or Eto won it for Cameroon alongside Didier Drogba winning it for CIV. Oh but the SE have more talented players than the rest of these teams ( a subjective point ) : Just like AC Milan had against Liverpool at the last CL final abi ?

Bottomline is Egu is in charge. All the people screaming about bribery and corruption in Nigerian football were not detered from following the Eagles as they qualified from the group stage up until they played in the semi's. If each and everyone of you had so much passion that you watched, listened or read about the SE while they were at the ANC regardless of how incompetent you felt about Egu and the NFA, then YAK should just as well have had enough compassion to honor the call to represent his country when he was called upon REGARDLESS of how talented he is while playing in England. Nobody is bigger than the FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF NIGERIA ! NOBODY ( Not even Adedibu, Abacha or Obj ) ! Everyones time will come and eventually go ( Okocha, Yekini, Odegbami ), but the SE will remain forever !

You still don't get it ? Egu is not good enough to coach a team as big as SE, he's only good enough to coach college or high school team.

Egu got no track record, the players that showed up only did cos of the fans back home. Look at Egu mistakes at the tournament, dude got no clue what to do with the talents in his disposal, he got to SF on individual talent. SE and the players deserve better, they deserve to have a world class coach.

You are the one that does'nt get it !

Egu's competence or lack thereof has nothing to do with YAK's refusal to honor the national call. You just like everyone on this board, followed the SE up until the semi's. Egu could be the worst coach in the world ( which is all a matter of opinion ), fact is when Nigeria is being represented our focus shifts towards supporting the team! I for one remember how people on this forum were close to having a heart attack against Tunisia when we were playing pk's. Congratulatory messages and excitement were spreading like a computer virus along this board in and around Nigeria. Fact was that YAK wanted a guarantee to play 1st team football, a request that NOBODY is suppose to make ON ANY TEAM REGARDLESS OF HOW GOOD THEY MAY BE. If that is too hard to comprehend go and ask Romario and dem Ronaldo what happens when persin dey do yanga for him team. Ask George Weah what he had to do to TRY to qualify his team for the world cup. Ask Anelka what it takes to get back to playing for a nation full of stars ( like Nigeria ) after you are out of favor with your coach for so long. Yeah some people will make you believe YAK should not be sacrificed at any cost just because he is as good as we believe he is, but if Egypt were to feel that way, they probably would have played Mido at the ANC finals simply because just like many like you, talent and adoration is suppose to be placed above discipline and integrity !

[ROSSIKE]

mastermind said:

YAK is our best striker and we gat to respect him more if we expect him to represent us.

He has to prove he's our best striker, not by scoring/playing well for Middlesbrough, but by scoring/playing well for Nigeria.

So far he's done the former, not the latter, which accounts for the 'lack of respect' you see.

This ANC was his opportunity to showcase his talents for the national team in a big way.

Unfortunately his arrogance and mendacity got the better of him.

[Globero]

He gave his many reasons why he refused, but you people choose to ignore his reasons blindly. Jag refused to dress for the 3rd place match, Oruma complained about unjust benching etc. The writing is on the wall, everything is not well with SE and y'all expect players to sharrap and just show up ?

YAK made the right decision to help his employer outta of a relegation zone instead of waisting precious time on the bench for no reason. YAK was being benched unjustly and Egu was giving prefrecial treatment to some players. YAK is our best striker and we gat to respect him more if we expect him to represent us.

Westeroff was sucessful cos of his man managament skills, he never benched Yekini and Amo for kids or unjustly, even with the beef that he got with siasia, he still start him against Argentina. We cannot keep picking a fight with talented and experienced players every ANC cos some kids show some flash of brilliance. We need a better coach to handle our SE.

First of all JAG not suiting up to play the 3rd place match does NOT in anyway justify that Egu is a bad coach. It simply emphasizes the point about players and their pride. Oruma complaining about unjust benching because YOU think he should have been played instead of Obi ? OR WHAT EXACTLY MAKES THE FACT THAT HE WAS BENCHED UNJUST ? Oh he is older than the boys that played and because he plays at Marseile he MUST play any game the SE are engaged in ? I missed the part where Egu was accused of collecting bribe from a bunch of kids, money that a jobless Obi can afford to pay to a legendary Egu but Oruma/ JAG/ Okocha cannot afford because they are saving their money to build houses in Nigeria ?
You talk about YAK giving reasons for not showing up, for which I would have thought of him being stupid for not going to the ANC if he did not have his reasons no matter how much we agree or disagree with them. You then go on to state that he was being benched unjustly for a tournament he did not show up for ! The thing is that many Nigerians feel that a player should be chosen before a coach even has a say. IT IS EGU'S JOB TO PICK HIS TEAM .
You talk about the Westeroff era as if I cannot name a bunch of players that fell out of favor with Westeroff. You state that he still played Siasa against Argentina even though he had beef with him, well did Egu not start JAG ? Did he not start Oruma ? Did Siasia come DEMANDING for a starting shirt before agreeing to follow the team to USA 94 ? So how are Egu's actions unjust while Westeroff's were not ? Did it not take forever for Rufai ( if not for fans that use to scream down Westeroff's neck ) to get the goalie shirt back from Alloy Agu and Agbonibasket ? Please put the fact that YAK is a good player aside ( a fact that I do acknowledge ) and understand that we can criticize Egu for being incompetent if we want ( an arguement I HAVE NOT taken sides on ), but YAK's actions are not dependent on that issue more so than it is a reflection of his own character !

[mmeny]

he can be scoring on the moon for all I care. The guy doesnt care about Naija, so why should I care about him?

..... I have noticed this in nigerians and africans as a whole.... we dont respects people decision... the guy didnt want to be part of a team that wont give him the respect he deserves...so he decided to stay away...

Some of us in this forum... quit a job, get of relationships that we are not comfortable with but..... since YAK plays soccer he must always honour international call ups whether he gets partial treatment .... so you guys can be happy..... as for me

I Dont have a problem wit him YAK.... infact i totally respect him so much.... because he stood his ground..... because i dont see any reason for this guy should be coming from the bench for JAG, Osaze, Makinwa, Nsofor..... u guys must be kidding .......
... The highest goal scorer so far for african strikers in da epl.... but in naija .... nah .... YAK should come from the bench... while players like Drogba.... wit 7 goals so far are starters in CIV....

..... YAK.... in ma books..... thanks for stayin away......U are the real deal.....

[mastermind]

Players have to right to protest against playing for a gmabler like Egu, they got the right to protect against playing for unqualified caretakers. SE needs a world class coach period, Egu got no clue and it was evident in our Semi-finals, he got no system he was just relying on individual briliance, we lost ayila and things fell apart. Egypt coach is a real coach Egu cannot even clean his shoes.

He gave his many reasons why he refused, but you people choose to ignore his reasons blindly. Jag refused to dress for the 3rd place match, Oruma complained about unjust benching etc. The writing is on the wall, everything is not well with SE and y'all expect players to sharrap and just show up ?

YAK made the right decision to help his employer outta of a relegation zone instead of waisting precious time on the bench for no reason. YAK was being benched unjustly and Egu was giving prefrecial treatment to some players. YAK is our best striker and we gat to respect him more if we expect him to represent us.

Westeroff was sucessful cos of his man managament skills, he never benched Yekini and Amo for kids or unjustly, even with the beef that he got with siasia, he still start him against Argentina. We cannot keep picking a fight with talented and experienced players every ANC cos some kids show some flash of brilliance. We need a better coach to handle our SE.

First of all JAG not suiting up to play the 3rd place match does NOT in anyway justify that Egu is a bad coach. It simply emphasizes the point about players and their pride. Oruma complaining about unjust benching because YOU think he should have been played instead of Obi ? OR WHAT EXACTLY MAKES THE FACT THAT HE WAS BENCHED UNJUST ? Oh he is older than the boys that played and because he plays at Marseile he MUST play any game the SE are engaged in ? I missed the part where Egu was accused of collecting bribe from a bunch of kids, money that a jobless Obi can afford to pay to a legendary Egu but Oruma/ JAG/ Okocha cannot afford because they are saving their money to build houses in Nigeria ?
You talk about YAK giving reasons for not showing up, for which I would have thought of him being stupid for not going to the ANC if he did not have his reasons no matter how much we agree or disagree with them. You then go on to state that he was being benched unjustly for a tournament he did not show up for ! The thing is that many Nigerians feel that a player should be chosen before a coach even has a say. IT IS EGU'S JOB TO PICK HIS TEAM .
You talk about the Westeroff era as if I cannot name a bunch of players that fell out of favor with Westeroff. You state that he still played Siasa against Argentina even though he had beef with him, well did Egu not start JAG ? Did he not start Oruma ? Did Siasia come DEMANDING for a starting shirt before agreeing to follow the team to USA 94 ? So how are Egu's actions unjust while Westeroff's were not ? Did it not take forever for Rufai ( if not for fans that use to scream down Westeroff's neck ) to get the goalie shirt back from Alloy Agu and Agbonibasket ? Please put the fact that YAK is a good player aside ( a fact that I do acknowledge ) and understand that we can criticize Egu for being incompetent if we want ( an arguement I HAVE NOT taken sides on ), but YAK's actions are not dependent on that issue more so than it is a reflection of his own character !

[Globero]

Players have to right to protest against playing for a gmabler like Egu, they got the right to protect against playing for unqualified caretakers. SE needs a world class coach period, Egu got no clue and it was evident in our Semi-finals, he got no system he was just relying on individual briliance, we lost ayila and things fell apart. Egypt coach is a real coach Egu cannot even clean his shoes.

So here lies the question: Did YAK refuse to honor the call-up because he felt Egu was incompetent or because Egu would not guarantee him a starting shirt ?

[Globero]

I Dont have a problem wit him YAK.... infact i totally respect him so much.... because he stood his ground..... because i dont see any reason for this guy should be coming from the bench for JAG, Osaze, Makinwa, Nsofor..... u guys must be kidding .......

Who CATEGORICALLY said he was going to come from the bench ? Btw, you think YAK coming from the bench after starting JAG is an insult ?

[Skylolo]

mastermind said:

YAK is our best striker and we gat to respect him more if we expect him to represent us.

He has to prove he's our best striker, not by scoring/playing well for Middlesbrough, but by scoring/playing well for Nigeria.

So far he's done the former, not the latter, which accounts for the 'lack of respect' you see.

This ANC was his opportunity to showcase his talents for the national team in a big way.

Unfortunately his arrogance and mendacity got the better of him.

Well put Rossike..

With Martins/JAG/Makinwa not exactly setting the place on fire, YAK would have got his chance like everyone else did but he refused to show up that is not Egu's fault! He did not promise anyone else guaranteed first team football, why make an exception with YAK?

This is the problem with Nigerians, we never learn to condemn indisciplined individuals instead we find excuses for them!