What Keshi must do to improve the Super Eagles

This article is a sequel to my last piece titled "Keshi's contract extension: A reward for Mediocrity?" As I write this, I am not sure if Stephen Keshi's contract situation has been finalised but we all know that the contract offer by the NFF to Keshi for him to manage the Super Eagles team, barring a twist similar to what you would see in a Hollywood movie,  is a foregone conclusion.

And if that is so, then Keshi has to begin to find ways he can improve the Super Eagles. There are certain key areas of the team Keshi may want to look into as we prepare for the AFCON qualifiers which will commence in June.

For those who are not in the know, Nigeria will be taking on Egypt, Tanzania and Chad in the AFCON qualifiers this time around. There will be no prizes for the runners up on this occasion as it's a winner takes all scenario. This is why Keshi has to pull all the stops and ensure that Nigeria wins the sole AFCON ticket for our group.

Keshi should stop being stubborn

One of the reasons why Keshi failed to take the Super Eagles to the the Nations Cup held in Equitorial Guinea this year is his attitude which many have perceived as arrogance on his part. Keshi stubbornly stuck with and selected players whose performances and form were not up to scratch for crucial qualifier matches and which in the end, didn't pay off for him. 

He also selected some untried and untested players in key games which was a gamble that ultimately failed. Apart from Aaron Samuel and Sone Aluko, every other new player Keshi fielded didn't justify his inclusion. Keshi needs to listen to his critics with an open mind and pick players on current form rather than on sentiments. 

A dependable understudy for Enyeama is needed 

Vincent Enyeama remains Nigeria's first choice and rightly so, but for how long he remains Nigeria's number one is a question Keshi can provide an answer to whenever Enyeama decides to call time on his career with the Super Eagles. 

Austin Ejide has been Enyeama's deputy for a long time now and should step into Enyeama's shoes when Enyeama elects to step down. The problem is, Enyeama  and Ejide are in the same age bracket and that means he is unlikely to be around for too long. That brings up another conundrum for Keshi or his successor.

Keshi needs to begin to scout the land for top class goalkeepers because there is a dearth of decent goalkeepers in our local league which has been producing our goalkeepers for a while now.  He however, has the option of inviting Wolverhampton Wanderers Carl Ikeme to the national team. He is tried and tested and he has loads of experience to fill any void Enyeama's absence may cause.

Chigozie Agbim is the other option for Keshi but Agbim has failed to develop his game. He is a useful backup at best but no more for now. In the games he has appeared for Nigeria, he has been jittery and lacking in confidence. He needs to work on his confidence if he wants to mount a serious challenge for the number one spot.

Keshi needs an established Right Back and a cover as well.

It is shocking that after almost 4 years at the helm, Keshi has failed to find a natural right back for the Super Eagles. A flaw that was brutally exposed during the last qualifiers by the likes of Congo DR and South Africa. He was able to get good cover for Elderson Echiejile in Juwon Oshaniwa who was outstanding in Brazil. But he has failed to find cover for Efe Ambrose who is a central defender by trade. Ambrose has filled that void well over the years but good teams are likely to find weaknesses in makeshift situations and exploit it to the max. And this sadly, was the case in the last AFCON qualifiers.

Keshi needs to look into this loophole and plug it immediately! I recommend that Ambrose be shifted to central defence either as cover for the established pairing of Omeruo and Obaobona or that Keshi drop one of them and pair him with any of Omeruo or Obaobona. 

The central defence needs some shake up too because they were for most times all over the shop when under pressure by their opponents but a tweaking shouldn't be as radical as the right back position which needs some major surgery. Their sloppiness could be explained by the poor form and lack of serious match practice by Kenneth Omeruo. Although, the likes of Azubuike Egwuekwe should not be invited any longer to the Super Eagles. They are just a liability and dinstinctively average.

In my next article, I will discuss areas in the midfield and attack where Keshi needs to work on so that the Super Eagles team can return to their rightful place at the zenith of African football.

Keshi's contract extension: A reward for mediocrity?

Stephen Keshi is set to be offered a 2 year contract extension by the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) to manage the Super Eagles presumably till the 2017 Nations Cup finals if we qualify. The deal ought to have been signed since Friday 17th April, 2015 but the NFF seem unprepared to finalise the deal for reasons best known to them. And if reports are anything to go by, the deal will not be signed any time this week. We wait and see how the signing ceremony will pan out.

The aim of this article is not to criticise the incompetence of the NFF in their shoddy handling of the failed contract signing ceremony of Keshi but the decision of the NFF board to reward Keshi with a new contract.

Does Keshi deserve a new deal? Is the hand of outgoing president, Goodluck Jonathan, involved in ensuring Keshi remains coach of the Super Eagles? Is there no other manager the NFF can hire to take the Super Eagles to the next level?  When other coaches like Christian Chukwu and  Samson Siasia failed to qualify Nigeria for a major competition they were shown the door, why is Keshi's case different?

If we are to look at this scenario based on his achievements with the Super Eagles and his past record with other nations then Keshi would get the backing of many to lead the Super Eagles into the future especially because of how he was able to bring in some unheralded players like Sunday Mba who were in the local league to limelight. Players he used ultimately to bring glory to Nigeria in the African Cup of Nations (AFCON) in South Africa in 2013 and our qualification for the World Cup in Brazil last year.

However, if we are to look at the team's performance critically, especially after the Brazil 2014 World Cup and their failure to qualify for the African Cup of Nations held in Equitorial Guinea to defend the title they won in 2013, then one wouldn't be overly excited that Keshi's contract is being renewed. In fact, in other climes, many managers' heads would have been chopped off without a moment's hesitation if they had overseen such a mediocre performance that the Super Eagles showcased during the last AFCON qualifiers.

The reality of football today is that you are as good as your last game. And the Super Eagles' recent performances at the AFCON qualifiers where they struggled to beat Sudan in Nigeria and failed to beat South Africa over 2 legs as well as embarrassing losses to Sudan away and Congo at home are the type that even the best in the business of football management would struggle to survive.

To be fair, Keshi didn't have the goodwill and support of the NFF board who were neck deep in crisis between themselves. Who could forget the drama they regularly served the watching Nigerian public as the battle for the leadership of the NFF board unfolded? We had different chairmen emerging through every kangaroo election they held and FIFA were kept busy monitoring the farce as they unfolded.

How many times did Nigeria flirt with FIFA's hammer? Nigeria eventually got suspended though. It took good old president Goodluck Jonathan's intervention for sanity to be brought back to the Glass house and the resulting bans from FIFA lifted.

There were even more twists that played out during the ill fated Equitorial Guinea AFCON qualifiers. Keshi after presiding over a hard fought victory over Sudan, was sacked the following day by the NFF but was reinstated a few weeks later after technical director, Amodu Shuaibu, wisely rescinded his decision to accept the job of managing the Super Eagles for the rest of the qualifiers. He had probably thought  that it was better Keshi was allowed to finish what he had started. The team was in such disarray that no right thinking coach worth his salt would accept such a poisoned chalice which was Keshi's post.

Clearly, Keshi was being frustrated by the NFF hierarchy and it probably had an effect on the team's performance. That notwithstanding, the team had their AFCON qualification hopes in their own hands but at the end, they narrowly escaped defeat to South Africa's Bafana Bafana after another sloppy performance especially at the back in the last round of matches in the group. Two late goals from Sone Aluko could not save Nigeria from being bundled out of AFCON as we forced South Africa to a 2-2 draw.

Now that we are back to the drawing board and Keshi has been given the nod to manage the Super Eagles again, he needs to sort out several problems with the Super Eagles. Problems which led to the fiasco Nigerians witnessed during the last AFCON qualifiers and problems if resolved could aid the Super Eagles to reach the pinnacle of African football again.

These problems and what he should do to tackle them would be discussed hopefully in my next article.

Is the Ballon D'or award really bad for the game?

Arsene Wenger and Jose Mourinho are hardly the best of friends but they both agree on one issue. And the issue is, they both feel the award for the best player in the world, the Ballon D'or, is dentrimental to the game. 

Wenger earlier this year in an interview published in the Guardian, stated that he was against the tradition of awarding or voting an individual the best player in the world. Wenger added that although he is not opportuned to vote since club managers are not eligible to vote, he would refuse to get involved if the reverse was the case. According to Wenger, football is a team sport and not about the individuals.

Jose Mourinho also agrees with Arsene Wenger's views on the the Ballon D'or award. He believes that even though teams can have an exceptional player, it is unfair for a player to take praise for what was a collective effort. Mourinho's comments were published in an interview with UK based newspaper, The Telegraph. 

Mourinho said: "For me, football is collective. The individual is welcome if you want to make our group better. But you have to work for us, not we have to work for you."

"When the top player arrives, the team is already there. It's not him who comes to discover the team, like Columbus discovering America. No,no, you are coming now to help us be better."

The current player of the year is Real Madrid's Cristiano Ronaldo who won the Ballon D'or award ahead of Barcelona's Lionel Messi and Bayern Munich's goal keeper, Manuel Neuer.

Both managers seem to have valid arguments against the award for the best player of the year but in reality, does it really affect the team as a whole? Messi and Ronaldo for the last 7 years have won this award between each other but have their dominance truly affected their respective team mates? Or even affected football as a whole? Is it possible that the award for the best player of the year affects players or teams in the Nigerian premier league?

If we take a look at Real Madrid this season especially after the winter break, you would notice the petulant reactions of Cristiano Ronaldo whenever team mates especially Gareth Bale fail to pass the ball to him or even score goals he failed to score. The only logical reason for such reactions by Ronaldo is that Ronaldo's personal duel with Messi has made him put his personal interests above his team mates and as a result, if he is not taking the plaudits for the goals scored he begins to throw a tantrum.

Lionel Messi on the other hand, is not exhibiting the same petulant reactions as Ronaldo on the pitch. And it appears Barcelona still plays to his strengths and so there is unlikely to be any tantrums coming from Messi if there was any in him.

It is pertinent to note however, that there have been reports of bust ups between Messi and Luis Enrique at the training ground possibly over tactics and training methods. Only the 'star power' held by Messi could make that happen and still make him get away with it. 

All in all, is there sufficient evidence to suggest that these reactions have affected Real Madrid or Barcelona as a team and their performances?  I think the effects have been exaggerated by Arsene and Jose. One thing, Barcelona or Madrid would probably be affected long term if they had to do without their star men for a prolonged period of time. The team would get a lift and inspiration on the other hand, if they were present cause their team mates are professional enough to know that the star players are key to the team's success.

Overall, every team has a star or top player that gives the team confidence on the pitch. That the star player gets recognised for individual performances should not cause much disaffection in a team especially if the star player is humble enough to recognise the contribution of his team mates when receiving his personal accolades. 

Besides, only one player wins Ballon D'or award on the entire planet.

Now that the Elections are over, can we have our football back?

The presidential elections have come and gone. General Muhammadu Buhari has emerged as winner of the elections and now the 'wind of change' will sweep the incumbent and outgoing president, Goodluck Jonathan out of office. 

I haven't published any posts recently because the mood of the nation was set on the conduct of the presidential elections. I doubt if anyone would have been willing to read any articles on football in Europe or anywhere else in the last couple of hours or days before the elections, Election Day proper and the days in which results were being collated. 

There was also excitement and tension in the land in anticipation of the announcement of the election results. Football to say the least, was the last thing in most people's minds. But now that the results have been announced, a winner has emerged which reflects the mood of the nation at this time as we grapple with the fall of the Naira and falling oil prices, we can now begin to relax.

And since the announcement, there has been celebrations all over the country, especially among president elect, Muhammadu Buhari's supporters. The celebrations are over or subsiding and we can now return our focus on other happenings around the world and football remains one of the pleasures  that can take our minds off the painful change that is coming for us Goodluck Jonathan supporters even though another round of elections are coming up  on the 11th of April with the Gubernatorial elections being the main event. 

While we were all awaiting the outcome of the election results, friendlies and Euro 2016 qualifiers were being played all around Europe. There were a few shocking results as Portugal lost at home in a friendly to Cape Verde Islands 0-2. Although the rest of the world may not  know much about the Cape Verde Islands, we in Africa know that Cape Verde is an emerging force in football in Africa at least and so, it may not be entirely shocking that Cape Verde shocked a mediocre Portuguese side who had Cristiano Ronaldo on the bench.

Spain were also defeated by the Netherlands 2-0 in Amsterdam in a result that may not be entirely shocking but what would be worrisome for Spain and Vicente Del Bosque is how they can return Spain to the level where they dominated the planet for 6 straight years with a team which is arguably the best in the history of the game at international level.

The English Premier league resumes this weekend with the Arsenal-Liverpool fixture at the Emirates being the pick of the pack. The game is expected to be entertaining. We hope the game will live up to the hype. Arsenal are favourites to win since Liverpool will be missing a few key players including Steven Gerrard and Martin Skrtel. Liverpool know however, that if they hope to force their way into top 4 reckoning, this is a game they cannot afford to lose. Manchester United will be expected to defeat Aston Villa at Old Trafford and if Liverpool lose, it might be extremely difficult for them to catch up even though United have tough games against Manchester City and Chelsea to come respectively after their game against Aston Villa.

As the EPL begins to reach its climax, the fate of teams who are battling relegation and those seeking a place in Europe's premier club competition, the Champions League, might be cemented after this weekend's round of matches.

Welcome back EPL !