Top of the morning to yall
It’s a Friday today and on a normal Friday, we would be
buzzing and looking forward to the weekend’s games in the EPL, previewing the
Arsenal weekend game and looking forward to watching the best football on
display. But alas this is no normal Friday. It’s the interlull weekend and all
the irritations that come with it. Every Arsenal fan would have been glad to do
without the lull especially at this time when the team is beginning to look
like a really cohesive unit but there really is no point in moaning about it. It
just makes that PlayStation situation more desirable where Theo Walcott can
play for Arsenal and England in the same match. We definitely need cloning
technology in football.
How times change. Exactly this stage last season, the team
was still recovering from that horror show at Old Trafford and the interlull
was next and was I glad to have it. It was a welcome relief. A chance to
regroup, refocus and blend in the newly acquired signings. And it worked. We got
our first win of the season after the interlull against a naive Swansea but
still the break helped to divert attention a little bit from the United game.This time however, its an unwanted distraction. Its coming
just after an impressive performance from the team to secure the first win of
the season at Anfield after building on two successive goalless draws. Now the
very new looking attack line have to be dismantled just after they look to be
understanding each other. It’s a little like starting over a construction after
a relatively strong foundation has been built.
Am a little concerned about Diaby. His fragile nature and
style of play make him more susceptible to injuries and that Laurent Blanc decided
to recall him back into the national team after just three games is a testament
to his exceptional talent and I really do hope they use him responsibly and he
returns back in one piece.
Diving into the interlull proper on the home front, Nigeria play
Liberia in Monrovia on Saturday in an AFCON qualifier. I have to admit that in
recent times, the Nigerian National team game has not been the most interesting
choice of teams to watch for Nigerians and it sometimes takes the most loyal of
fans to follow the progress of the team. i have not been the most loyal fan
of the National Football team and am working on changing that and I intend to
bring more news on the national team in subsequent blogs.
Getting back to the game, the national team one would have
to admit is undergoing a major rebuilding process with most of the squad having
barely 20caps for the national team save for captain Joseph Yobo (who will win
his 88th cap if he plays) and a handful of other veterans. It’s a new
squad and the coach has a big job to integrate the old and the new, the local
and foreign based. It’s so complicated
that most Nigerians cant name a probable starting line up for the team. Stability
is such a big issue and its difficult and tedious job to have right now (the Nigerian
National team job) and I don’t at all envy Stephen Keshi.
I am excited by a couple of talents in that squad though. Apart
from the regular performers such as IK Uche and Vincent Enyeama, new players
like Victor Moses, Ahmed Musa, Brown Ideye and Joel Obi of Inter Milan give me
hope of a brighter future for the Eagles. Moses recently completed his move to
Chelsea and most EPL lovers are well aware of his abilities, Ahmed Musa is a
similar kind of player but plays for Russian
outfit Lokomotiv Moscow while Ideye is a striker for Dynamo Kiev with a
very good eye for goal. He scored 19goals for his team last season.
The national team is ranked 58th in the world
according to the latest FIFA rankings and Keshi is known to prefer a 4-3-3
formation and with wide players such as Moses and Musa, its not difficult to
imagine why. The Liberians are ranked 111th in the world and
according to their manager,
Nigeria isn't like before. They are living in the past, if Guinea could qualify at their expense in the last Afcon qualifier, Liberia can do same too
Nigeria and Liberia have met 12 times in the past and they
have won just once but judging by their manager’s statement, they definitely
have giant killing thoughts on their minds and they would be gingered by the
promise of $150000 by President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf for beating Nigeria. If they
can pull it off remains to be seen but the game is one in which the team must
win to win some critics over to their side and have something to develop upon
as a unit.
If I was a betting man, I would go for a straight 2-0
victory for the Eagles but am not so predicting that we would win 2-0 but if
they do win 2-0, you know where you heard it first. The game will kick off at
7:00 Nigerian time. So yall should go out there and support the National team
and make the most of the interlull. Be right back on Monday for a review of the
game when I hope we would be celebrating a victory.
God bless the Arsenal. and Nigeria too
Iree o
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