Moving On From The Drama In Brussels

The Super Eagles on Sunday defeated arch rivals Cameroun emphatically in Brussels and in some ways, the result will bring some calm and belief to the team after the whole fiasco which erupted between Vincent Enyeama and coach Sunday Oliseh and which in retrospect, may have impacted negatively on the team in their first outing against Congo DRC.

It was an encouraging performance which was aided by the rashness of the Cameroun skipper, Stephane Mbia. There were positives to be taken from the performance on the field of play and there is obviously still room for improvement both on it and off it.

The emergence of Leon Balogun in a central role, the energy and verve of Moses Simon, the assured confidence of John Obi Mikel, the movement of Sylvester Igbonu, and the confidence of Odion Ighalo whose purple patch at Watford continued here are some of the positives to be taken out of the game.

There was without doubt some negatives. The most glaring of which was the handling of the Vincent Enyeama situation. A lot has been said about what transpired in the media and since there has been a lot of unconfirmed statements , I prefer not to draw any conclusions from what has been said.

However, it is clear for all to see that Oliseh showed his managerial inexperience in the handling of the situation and going by what he tweeted recently, there is still a long way to go for him. 

Even though there is nothing wrong with being on social media, I find it extra ordinary that Oliseh is on twitter tweeting statements that could be misconstrued by his followers. I'm not aware of any 'top' manager of any team having a twitter account and tweeting thanks to fans and supporters and insinuating some Nigerians are 'true' while others are 'false' or 'liars'.

I doubt you would find a Mourinho, Wenger, Guardiola, Ancelotti and so on using twitter to thank the fans or passing any remarks about anything concerning their teams. It is what press conferences and post match interviews are meant for. 

Oliseh may seem a modern Nigerian coach, UEFA certified and a former FIFA instructor or something, but a bit of wisdom is always required when using social media.

He might have the full support of the NFF in these early days but he needs to remember that in football, things can change very quickly. If he is in doubt, let him ask Brendan Rodgers or even the 'Special One' himself, Jose Mourinho how swiftly things can change.

No doubt Oliseh is the boss now even though his lack of managerial experience should raise questions about his suitability for the job. And as such, he needs the backing of the NFF and Nigerians so that there will be no excuses if he fails. However, he needs to learn how to manage the egos of himself and the key players in the team.

The harsh reality of football is, when things get ugly, the manager usually gets shown the exit door while the players usually remain or return. Enyeama and John Obi Mikel have survived different Super Eagles coaches in the likes of Festus Onigbinde, Christian Chukwu, Berti Vogts, Amodu Shuaibu, Austin Eguavoen, Lars Lagerback, Samson Siasia and recently Stephen Keshi but they are still key players for the Super Eagles under Oliseh.

The manner in which Oliseh has gone about in stripping Enyeama of the captaincy and the fact that Enyeama was even considered for selection in a friendly not minding his psychological state shows Oliseh needs to brush up in his man management skills. The mere fact that Enyeama might be grieving the loss of a close family member was enough grounds to excuse him from a meaningless friendly in the first place. If he had done that, perhaps, Enyeama's forced retirement might have been averted. 

The NFF chairman, Amaju Pinnick has revealed that the NFF intend to organise a testimonial for Enyeama. As a result, he may have been persuaded to reverse his rather hasty decision to quit the national team. Going forward though, Oliseh needs to show why he is the boss by doing what top managers do in potentially tricky situations and thus, avoid a repeat of the farce that occurred in Belgium. Respect after all begets respect. 

This is not to say Enyeama should not shoulder some of the responsibility for the mess, but the coach is the one in charge and he should be able to handle conflict in a manner that will not affect the unity of the squad. Whether he likes it or not, player power is still very much in the Super Eagles like in many teams all over the world.

The Super Eagles will next month start their World Cup qualifiers campaign against Swaziland or Djibouti. Let's hope the problems in Belgium both on and off the pitch are resolved before they show up in the crucial games which if they do, may spell doom for the nation. Nigeria cannot afford to miss out on the African Cup of Nations back to back and possibly the World Cup all because of pride.

Oliseh's First Game Is One To Forget

Sunday Oliseh began his reign as Super Eagles manager on a mediocre note as the Super Eagles played out a drab goalless draw with the Taifa Stars of Tanzania in Daresalaam.

It was a game the Super Eagles were clearly second best. Oliseh had debutante, Carl Ikeme, to thank for the score line as he made a couple of excellent saves that stopped Tanzania from getting a victory that could have condemned Oliseh to a defeat in only his first game in charge.

If Oliseh did not realise the enormity of the task he had inherited when he took over from Stephen Keshi, he would now after watching this performance. The Eagles were quite painful to watch. 

The same old problems remain for the Super Eagles. A lack of creative midfielders, bang average forwards and a shaky back line. These areas remain a conundrum for the Nigerian national team managers. The most glaring weakness of the team is the midfield which is key to many a successful team. 

The Super Eagles midfielders who were on the field of play in Dare salaam failed to make a case for their continued inclusion in the national team as their performance was not up to scratch. Obiorah Nwankwo who is a defensive midfielder, failed to provide the protection the defence needed to contain the Taifa Stars who were able to breach the Super Eagles defence easily.

Haruna Lukman who was a surprise call up in the first place, failed woefully to justify his recall to the squad with a performance so dire that Oliseh felt he had seen enough after 35 minutes and quickly hooked him off and replaced him with Sylvester Igboun.

The attack fared slightly better than the midfield with some attempts on goal through Emmanuel Emenike, although, I can't recall Tanzania goal keeper, Ally Mustapha,making any save of note as most of the attempts on goal either went wide or were blocked by a well organised Tanzania defence. A poor midfield didn't help matters as they were unable to unlock a resolute Tanzania defence.

The defence came out of this game unscathed for a second game in a row. This however, cannot be said to be as a result of the excellent performance of the back line but a combination of good fortune, poor marksmanship and world class goalkeeping from our goal keepers. When the Super Eagles lock horns with the Pharaohs of Egypt in their next two games, they should not expect them to be as generous as the Tanzanians.

The midfield failed to provide adequate cover for the defence and so the defence was easily breached. But the Tanzanians ran into an inspired and an in form Ikeme who ensured that the absence of first choice, Vincent Enyeama, who had to be excused due to a family bereavement was not missed.

So what positives can we take out of this game? The one positive that can be taken out of this game is the performance of Carl Ikeme. Ikeme who is currently the goal keeping number 2 at English club Wolverhampton Wanderers, showed that he is more than a capable deputy to Vincent Enyeama and should probably go on to be his successor after Enyeama hangs his gloves after the 2017 African Cup of Nations in Gabon (if Nigeria qualifies of course).

The other positive is that the Super Eagles have not conceded yet. And when you don't concede, you can't lose. But if you don't score, you can't win either...

A draw has to go down as a positive result for Oliseh if the display in Daresalaam is anything to go by because frankly, the Super Eagles deserved to get beat. A repeat of such a show against Egypt especially in Cairo could spell an embarrassing defeat. 

What does Coach Sunday Oliseh have to do to keep the Super Eagles on track? He should be having Ogenyi Onazi back from suspension in the next game. His presence should bring some solidity and threat from the midfield. John Obi Mikel's presence in midfield remains influential until we find another flair player of his calibre or if the likes of Joel Obi become available.

The defence is decent enough. With good protection from the defensive midfield the defenders should be able to cope with the likes of Mohammed Salah and company. The right back position which has been a problematic area for the Super Eagles has not been fully sorted even though the team appears to be gradually reaching a long term solution for that position. Solomon Kwambe had a decent performance but the jury is still out on him after all, he only played because Leon Balogun (a centre back by trade) pulled out because of injury.

As for the forwards, a swift recall for the likes of Victor Moses and Sone Aluko is imperative. Since the attacking/creative midfield jigsaw puzzle defies solution at this point in time, we need the trickery and threat of these two wingers to score goals. Oliseh should also try and test the resolve of Jordan Ibe and Victor Anichebe and see if he can convince them to play for Nigeria. 

If the likes of Lukman Haruna can earn a call up to the Super Eagles, I don't see any reason why these players including players such as Kelechi Iheanacho ( who surely, can't do any worse than Haruna) can't have invitations extended to them.

After Keshi's Controversial Exit, Who Should Replace Him?

The axe which had been dangling over the head of Stephen Keshi for a while finally landed on him over the weekend when the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) announced that they were parting company with him due to a 'lack of commitment' on his part to attain the objectives of the Federation as was set out when he was employed.

It was plain the marriage between Keshi and the NFF was one of convenience and as soon as they felt he was dispensable, they cut him loose. The constant battles between Keshi and the NFF was one that turned into a circus show. We should not be surprised though, if there is another twist in the drama as things continue to unravel.

There are hints that Keshi could go to the Court of Arbitration for Sport to challenge his sacking. If he wins, he could be forced back into a job where his services are no longer wanted. What it means is that the frosty relationship between both parties could get more nasty as the NFF could seek to do all it can to undermine the Big Boss while carrying out his duties.

It is weird though, that barely 3 months of taking charge of the Super Eagles, a disciplinary committee has been able to get enough facts to reach a conclusion that Keshi was not committed to his job and thus, recommend his sack. 

What led the NFF to set up this committee? Or was it in place already before news broke that Keshi's name turned up in a list of candidates applying for the Ivory Coast job? And if it was set up after the news broke, then shouldn't we be suspicious that he is being fired for perceived disloyalty to the NFF rather than for lack of commitment?

Anyone with half a brain knows that the time frame with which Keshi has been in charge since he was re-appointed as Super Eagles Coach in April is not enough to reach such a conclusion since there was no major act of misconduct on Keshi's part. Apparently, Keshi's misdemeanours in the last African Cup of Nations (AFCON) qualifiers have been revisited and Keshi, without the protection of the powers that be in the Presidency any longer may have suffered some form of payback.

Have we heard the last of this NFF-Keshi  saga? Don't bet on it.

Meanwhile, the NFF quickly announced the appointment of Shaibu Amodu as interim coach pending the appointment of a permanent replacement for Keshi. The next set of AFCON qualifiers come up in September. Nigeria will be taking on Tanzania away from home. Knowing the NFF's antecedents, a permanent replacement for Keshi will not be coming any time soon.

Who are the potential suitors to replace Stephen Keshi on a permanent basis? We should note however, that Nigeria at this point in time lacks top coaches with the clout of Keshi. We do have a few we can recycle however.

The logical replacement for Keshi may be one of Daniel Amokachi, Augustine Eguavoen, Christian Chukwu, Sunday Oliseh or Samson Siasia. With the exception of Oliseh, all have had stints with the Super Eagles as manager with varying degrees of failure and success. Siasia is in charge of the Olympic team currently and might not wish to have any distractions as he would want to prepare adequately and focus on qualifying for the  Olympics in Rio next year. Unless of course, the NFF elect to 'promote' him.

Amokachi was Keshi's assistant in the glory days of Keshi's reign and could be one of the favourites for the job. However, apart from being Keshi's assistant, It's difficult to see what Amokachi brings to the table. Could be more of the same from the Keshi era. A more of the same we hardly need.

Christian Chukwu and Augustine Eguavoen failed to take the Super Eagles to new heights after leading the Super Eagles to creditable bronze medals at the  AFCON finals in 2004 and 2006 respectively. 

Chukwu was sacked for failing to lead Nigeria to the World Cup finals in Germany in 2006 while Eguavoen who was Chukwu's replacement, although led Nigeria to third place at the AFCON finals in 2006, was also fired after a string of poor results after taking over from Berti Vogts who was shown the exit door for over seeing one of Nigeria's most dismal performances in AFCON finals history.

Sunday Oliseh could be the breath of fresh air Nigeria football needs but his inexperience at this level could prove costly even though he has a UEFA Pro licence. Nigeria cannot afford to miss out on another AFCON tournament for a consecutive time. 

Will the NFF be willing to take a gamble on Oliseh as recent reports suggest? Or will they go for a foreign manager as Bonfrere Jo advised? Whatever their decision is, they need to get this right so that we can move on. We don't play Egypt until next year. It's more than enough time for them to sort out this mess.