WATFORD'S ROMANCE WITH NIGERIA

Following the announcement by Watford that Nigerian midfielder, Peter Etebo, has been signed on a one year loan deal from Stoke City, less than 24 hours later, Watford soon announced the signing of yet another player of Nigerian descent, Dapo Mebude from Rangers.

Dapo Mebude who is a Scotland youth international is eligible to play for Nigeria as he has not been capped by the Scotland national team as he is still very young and is still developing his game. 

He joined Watford from Glasgow Rangers who have opted to release him after he was unable to break into their first team. Mebude is a pacy forward and will probably have opportunities limited due to competition from more established forwards like Ismaila Sarr and the pressure on the Watford manager to hit the ground running and ensure Watford’s survival in the premier league.

Watford manager Xisco Munoz, who oversaw Watford’s promotion back into the the premier league, has 4 other Nigerians in his squad to call upon when needed and they include Super Eagles captain William Troost Ekong, Isaac Success, recent signing Emmanuel Dennis from Club Brugge and Tom Dele Bashiru. 

Of all the players mentioned, only Troost Ekong appears to be trusted by Munoz after appearing 32 times for Watford in the Championship last season. Isaac Success appears to be a squad player as he only appeared 9 times last season and has scored only just one goal. 

Dele Bashiru didn’t fare much better as he only appeared twice throughout the whole of last season. Bashiru is 21, still quite young and should have more opportunities in the League Cup and a handful of games in the premier league as a sub. 

What is baffling for me though, is how Isaac Success keeps getting contract extensions at Watford despite being largely unproductive in the last 2 or 3 seasons. He has made a total of 63 appearances spanning 5 years for Watford and has scored only 3 times. A pathetic stat for a forward if you ask me. 

Success and Bashiru have to do more if they want to be more than just squad players. They need to raise their game whenever they are called upon. Fortunately, Bashiru has time on his hands but Success on the other hand, not so much. 

I expect Etebo and Ekong to contribute immensely to the Watford cause in the coming EPL season as they are vastly experienced and seasoned internationals. 

Emmanuel Dennis, however, looks an interesting prospect as he comes with champions league pedigree and even though he fell out with Club Brugge and was subsequently loaned out to FC Cologne where he was unsettled, Watford provides a refreshing opportunity for him to rediscover the form that made him score 19 times for Club Brugge.

Super Eagles Off To A Good Start But Not Yet Uhuru

The Super Eagles over the weekend defeated 'minnows' Chad Republic 2-0 in Kaduna to give Nigeria a perfect start in the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON ) qualifiers. Nigeria who missed out on the last edition held in Equitorial Guinea will be hoping to win the sole ticket for their group which also comprises of Egypt and Tanzania in the next tournament which will be held in Gabon in 2017.

The result was respectable, however, the performance on the field of play was less than Super from the Nigerian side. The Chadians surprisingly didn't come to pack the bus and actually gave the new look Nigerian defence some worries. After they had gone a goal down though, they did their best to contain Nigeria so as not to lose by a large margin.

Goal keeper Vincent Enyeama, was called into action a few times in the first half to make important saves. Enyeama, as usual, was composed and commanding throughout the match.

Leon Balogun, who earned his third cap on the day was made to fill in at right back. He was not comfortable since his natural position is at centre back. He made quite a few errors especially in the first half when the Chadians pressed very quickly.

Again, the right back position continues to remain a thorn in Stephen Keshi's flesh. He is yet to find a natural right back that will slot into that position with ease let alone a natural cover for the first choice right back. A stronger opposition such as Egypt might fancy their chances building their attacks from that wing.

William Troost-Ekong made his debut for the Super Eagles and partnered Kenneth Omeruo in central defence. The defence looked shaky initially because of the high pressing of the Chadians but Ekong eventually settled and gave a decent performance. He is currently a free agent and he willl be hoping that his call up to the Super Eagles will put him in good stead in getting a new club. With more games, he should form a good understanding with Omeruo.

Kingsley Madu, a former youth international, made his debut at left back and was quite impressive especially in the second half when the Eagles were in the ascendancy. In contrast to the right back position, Nigeria is not lacking in quality left backs. But his emergence can only be good for the Super Eagles.

In midfield, Stephen Keshi went for two holding midfielders in Ogenyi Onazi and debutant, Anderson Esiti to shield the defence. Anderson and Onazi who eventually got sent off in the latter stages of the match didn't do too badly. We would expect however, that their discipline and concentration levels will be raised when Egypt comes calling because on a few occasions, Onazi's concentration was suspect and it led to the Nigerian defence being exposed in the first half.

Babatunde Michael was very mobile in the the first half but the creativity which Keshi would have loved him to exhibit was missing and as a result, Rabiu Ibrahim came on in his place and his introduction yielded the impact Keshi would have desired.

Gbolahan Salami, who was deployed on the wing and who seems to be a favourite of Stephen Keshi, probably because of his work rate, got the opening goal. The execution was quite impressive. Fans will be hoping that they will see more of this sort of display from him in subsequent qualifying matches.

In attack, Aaron Samuel who was the lone striker, had a bad day at the office and his substitution came as no surprise. And of course, Odion Ighalo, his replacement made a better contribution to the Super Eagles' cause than him. 

it was Ighalo who carved out the opening for Salami to score the curtain raiser and It was also he who scored the penalty to give Nigeria a second goal and quash any hopes Chad had in getting a positive result from this game.

This victory no doubt is a good one for Nigeria but it is glaring that there is still work to be done. The team still needs a dependable striker. Whether Rabiu Ibrahim or Babatunde Michael become the creative elements our midfield desperately needs is still to be seen. Our fruitless search whether Keshi realises it or not for a quality right back continues.

The team is in transition and so Nigerians will need lots of patience as there will inevitably be bumps on the road as Keshi tries to rebuild his squad and get Nigeria back to the pinnacle of African football.

Pictures are courtesy Goal.com