The premier league clubs, always leaving it late.

 I’m talking about the champions league,  nowadays it’s always a final match thing to qualify, we even have to carry calculator and be doing small math, to see how many points we need to get to scale through to the round of 16, whether we need a draw or if we cannot afford to lose, stuffs like that, it’s always a sad tale for the English teams in the champions league nowadays, gone are the days of the golden era in the champions league for English clubs, when Chelsea and Manchester united would meet in the finals( even though it was only once), you get the feeling that it could never happen again, if you do, I’m sad to say I totally agree with you…

But why is it so?

Speaking to a friend recently, one of the reasons I got was that the English premier league have very tight fixtures especially during the December period, so the players don’t get enough time to recuperate, hence undermining their performance in the champions league, they play matches even on boxing day, a day after Christmas, while other leagues would probably be on a mini holiday, but it has always been like that, it has suddenly become an issue, in truth, the tight fixtures do play a major role in determining these things, e.g. Chelsea have had to travel almost 12000 miles across Europe to play away champions league games.

In my opinion, I feel it could be that we do not just have the quality to complete at the highest level of club football, or we are simply not evolving fast enough, the last English team to win the champions league was Chelsea fc in 2012, and I dare say they didn’t really cruise to the trophy, let me just say they were destined to win it that year, nobody can stop your destiny!

Another was like ‘shey they’ve increased the money in premier league (talking about the new TV rights deal), they are probably not too bothered’.

But really, why do we find it hard to qualify easily from the group stage in recent years, only man city has qualified, Arsene Wenger needs a calculator, Jose Mourinho has it all to do against Porto and Van Gaal, well, he just can’t seem to get the best out of his lads.

It’s quite simple, the premier league clubs simply need to look for more quality or get the best out of their current crop of players, if we are ever going to qualify out of the group stage, let alone win the champions league AGAIN.

                                                                                                        ...for the love of sports.

GOLDEN EAGLETS>SUPER CHICKENS

Its Sunday 8th November 2015, and it’s almost 11pm, and I’m still awake…
Anxiously awaiting the kickoff of Nigeria’s match
Nigeria???
A lot of things can keep me awake but certainly not Nigeria’s match, I’m kinda tired of getting disappointed…unless of course it’s the GOLDEN EAGLETS.
So I was thinking of a suitable title for this post, it just didn’t come initially, eaglets are baby eagles, they will one day learn to soar and explore uncharted territories
Ahha!
Our super eagles have simply refused to fly, so, super chickens would be a proper, befitting title, chickens can’t fly, can they?
     It is astonishing that we have recorded such a huge amount of success at the under 17 level and yet we seem to falter at every attempt at the senior level. The super eagles, once the pride of the country, during the days of Austin JJ Okocha, and Kanu Nwankwo, Daniel ‘the bull’ Amokachi and in more recent times I dare say Vincent Enyeama, okay, I won’t pretend as if I knew anything about football then, but I heard stories, beautiful stories, but nowadays it’s just stories of another bad day at the office.
Yet again I would like to critically look at why we do so well at one stage, and not so very well at the other…
      Nigeria’s golden eaglets successfully RETAINED the FIFA under 17 world cup after beating mali at the Estgadio Sausalito Vina Del Mar in Chile on in the early hours of Monday 3rd of November, while they were at it they also bagged most of the individual accolades at the tournament.   That’s the 5th time (1985, 1993, 2007, 2013, and 2015), we’ve won the trophy.  The super eagles won the AFCON title in 2013, which was good, but their failure to even qualify for the next tournament showed how not so good we are, some quarters even suggested that the AFCON win was just a stroke of luck, kinda hard to disagree with them in that one, but a masterstroke that was, we simply are not good enough to put up a good fight on the world stage, yeah the world cup, I mean the world cup, why can’t we win it? Is It out of bound for Nigeria? Or Africa as a whole?
NO PROPER INTEGRATION
       This to me seems to be the most obvious reason our super eagles have clipped wings, there is no proper integration that explains why only a handful of these youngsters are in the super eagles’ team. Kanu Nwankwo won the M.V.P at the tournament in 93, and went on to become a great player for Nigeria, he truly made us proud. Some might argue that they are too young, no experience and so on, but what about those that won the trophy in 2007, where are they now? Why weren’t they properly integrated into the team, the reason to me is crystal clear, they weren’t in ‘pole position’ to break into the team.       I learnt about social imagination which tells one to question the obvious and look beyond the ordinary, so, I have come to the conclusion that the issue with our football team can be used as a model  to replicate the corrupt state of our nation.
some of the players that play for the super eagles are not even good enough to play for our very own Enyimba United whom I learnt just won the league, there have been allegations and/or speculations that these players sometimes pay their way into the super eagles team (I’m trying really hard to refrain from using the term chickens, maybe ostrich will do, ostriches don’t fly, do they?), therefore there is no chance for them to get into the team, they don’t have hard currencies to pay.
      Some of these golden eaglets also sometimes just do not have the zeal to further their development in football, while some find their way to clubs abroad and swish! That’s the end of Solomon grundy, these players do not simply wish to play for their country, the ones who really do, most times never get the chance, well we have hope for people like Kelechi Iheanacho, who is doing relatively well for himself at Manchester City, and I heard that president Muhammadu Buhari has recently vowed to redeem the pledges made to the maiden winners of the competition in 1985 (he was the president, or rather the head of state then). Fulfilling this promises will go a long way in developing the spirit of patriotism in these young chaps.
On a final note, I think proper integration of these lads into the senior team will go a long way into building a stronger super eagles, and we need to STOP CHANGING COACHES. I’m beginning to think Nigeria is looking up to Chelsea who by the way if they eventually decide to sack the special one, will be the 12th manager they’ve ‘released’ in about the same number of years. So, I do hope Sunday Oliseh when he gets well, reads this, and sees reason with me, lol, we need to give these lads a chance, don’t lose sight of these current crop of champions, set up a team, monitor their progress, and when they’re ripe (not in 10 years’ time ooo or when they have ‘hard currency’ to pay), integrate them into the super eagles team and watch us fly.
Leemme now see the juju that will stop us from winning the world cup! Yes! The WORLD CUP!

CHELSEA'S SLUMP: A CANDID OPINION PART I

I'm back!
Sad to have been away, been really busy
But I’m back!!!
“CARRY CHELSEA LOOSE OR DRAW, NA SURE BET BE THAT”. I couldn’t believe my ears, this same Chelsea, so prolific a few months ago, now a laughing stock, I must be dreaming, alas, I’m not, this is reality, Chelsea is nowhere to be found, last season’s best player is a shadow of himself, Matic won’t just pass the ball on time, Fabregas’s vision is quite blurry nowadays, Costa thinks he’s in the WWE, Willian has been by far our most outstanding player, WILLIAN! This is the start to the  premier league season I never imagined, with the  premier league champions currently languishing in 16th position, and  Leicester city currently sitting in third position, who would have ever imagined the premier league current standings could turn out this way, yet again, its football and as the saying goes ‘anything can happen’…
      So, if we were to critically examine Chelsea’s decline this season, we would probably find some alarming statistics, the defensive lapses this season has cost the blues so much. obviously the title race is out of the question, Chelsea are in dire need of a miracle to even make the top 4, and with every passing week, it seems unlikely that they’ll be playing in the champions league next season, unless of course they win the champions league…lol.
     It all started from Branislav Ivanovic, he seemed to be the perfect scapegoat to heap the blame on, ‘we have Rahman! Why won’t you use him Mourinho’!, that was what was on the lips of all Chelsea fans (including me I must admit at this point),
      well Rahman is playing now, and I must say, there hasn’t been much difference, although there has been signs of life in our two past games, seems like hazard is finally coming around, he was lively in our latest defeat at stoke, defeat! Sounds odd, but it’s a phase.
      In Ivanovic’s case, we were desperately looking for some excuse to cling on to, as our famous special one would always do, who he hasn’t blamed, oh I think I know, only himself!
He has been undisputedly the best manager to ever grace Stamford Bridge, but some pundits say that the days of the minds game master are over, oh! How I so badly want to disagree with them! Some might say he went a little bit too far with dr. Eva’s case, I’d totally agree on that one, that was way too far, that lady was like our good luck charm.

Wait…

Hmmmmm…

Her case got me thinking, if the Barclay’s premier league was in our own dear native land, we’d have probably heard stories like ‘she has gone to swear for Chelsea. That’s why they are playing rubbish, and that’s why the dip in form hit hazard so hard’.
But really o, this is Chelsea’s worst start since before I was born sef, 3 consecutive losses for the first time in 18 years, and Jose Mourinho has lost 7 league games, a league high for him in his entire illustrious career. Looking at the Portuguese’s record, you’ll find that he has only managed a maximum of 3 seasons at all the club he’s been to, he seems to burn out after then. Some questions we can’t just help but ask.
Is there any way back for the special one?
Are the players even solidly behind him??
How do you explain a team that played so creatively for the better part of last season now languishing somewhere in the other half of the table, dangling aimlessly above the relegation zone?
If you’re a Chelsea fan out there, it would interest you to know that the Russian billionaire oligarch is still standing solidly behind Mourinho, FOR NOW. This is the time to rally behind him, and support your team, be a true blue, as for me, I know this is a phase, I can only say ‘win, lose or tie, Chelsea till I die’
More to come…

WHAT DOES CHELSEA NEED THIS SUMMER?

WHAT DOES CHELSEA NEED THIS SUMMER

Premier league champions Chelsea look like a side that doesn't need much adjustment. A team which saw out the title challenge with an uncanny team spirit and determination, all hands were on deck in order to ensure that the premier league trophy returns to Stamford Bridge after five long years of waiting.

This Chelsea side boasted one of the meanest defenses in Europe, not losing any game at home in the league, a  midfield that was both creative and resourceful and a strike force (usually one man) that seemed to be able to get under the skin of every defender and yet still remain as efficient as ever.

One might be tempted to ask, does a team like Chelsea really need a lot of changes in this transfer window…? With all the buzz around the transfer window which was officially opened on July 1, one might notice that not a lot of names have been linked to the champions, it could be that the self-proclaimed special one does intend on sticking to his league cup double winning side, but a few additions here and there wouldn't hurt I think.

Let’s look at the defense, with Cech now a full-fledged Arsenal player, that leaves Thibaut Courtois firmly in the no 1 choice spot for goalkeeper, and also creates a vacuum, Chelsea will definitely need to sign a “willing to play second fiddle” goalkeeper…that which primary target Begovic of Stoke city has adamantly refused to accept…

The defense doesn't look like it needs much fine-tuning, with the resurgent captain fantastic leading a defiance line that for most of the season looked impossible to penetrate, one might be tempted to say “leave it that way”. To be honest, a few additions will be necessary, considering the fact that a major injury to any of the normal back four starters and Chelsea will be in serious trouble…so a bid for Baba Rahman, Raphael Varane, Seamus Coleman, etc. is well on track, ride on Jose!!!

Meanwhile, in the middle of the pack, Chelsea seem to be fairly comfortable in the midfield position with the likes of Matic and Fabregas bringing a mix of reliability and creativity to the team. Due to the heavy reliance on these two though, there seems to be the need to add an equally creative edge to the mix, Chelsea’s formation of 4-2-3-1 for most of last season seemed to pay off as the result told, Mourinho seemed to be able to have solved the problem from the previous side, but if there’s one thing this Chelsea side lack’s it’s the team depth…which other teams seem to have abundantly…verdict? A good midfielder or two will go a long way to strengthen the team’s depth. Paul Pogba? Arda Turan? We will see…

STRIKE! STRIKE!! STRIKE!!!

This is one department in which the blues seem not to be in a hurry to add more names to, considering the fact that they have one of the  most feared strikers in the game today in the person of Diego Costa, they have anyways added the ‘fading away’ Radamel falcao to their ranks…and Loic Remy too…who’s not such a bad idea for a striker, considering the fact that he has to deal with sitting on the bench for most of the season…talks are even surfacing of a planned move for relegated side Qpr’s striker Charlie Austin.

He has expressed his desire to play for the blues one day, it remains to be seen if the special one can restore the Colombian to his past glory, I do hope Jose mourinho has some tricks up his sleeve, because the falcao we saw at the just concluded Copa America was quite “unappealing”

Can one think of better options in the market now? Alexander Lacazzette? , Gonzalo Higuaín? Benzema???

HAVE YOUR SAY…

                                                                                                …..for the love of sports

Meanwhile…SOME TRANSFER NEWS…in case you missed it

Nani has completed a deal to move to Fernabache from Manchester united for a reported 4 million pounds

Lukas PodolskI has also completed a move from arsenal to Fernabache

Nathaniel Clyne has completed his move from Southampton to Liverpool

Neto has joined Juventus from Florentina on a free transfer

Carlos Bacca and Luiz Adriano have completed deals to join Seria A giants Ac Milan

Braga striker Eder has signed a deal with English side Swansea

Nigel Pearson has been sacked by Leicester city…

Steven Gerrard has been given a “hero’s” welcome at La Galaxy…

Miranda has signed for inter Milan from Athletico Madrid

Douglas Costa has completed his move from Shaktar to Bayern

Alvaro Negredo has made his loan move to Valencia from Man City permanent….

OPINION POLL-Can Jose Mourinho really help Falcao rediscover his mojo?

Player profile: Radamel Falcao

Position: Forward

 

Height: 5'9" (1.77m)

 

Weight:  165 lbs (75 kg)

age:  29 

 

DOB: February 10, 1986 

 

POB:  Santa Marta, Colombia

The once feared striker seems to be a shadow of himself nowadays, for both club and country, most falcao faithful’s have already started losing faith in the 29 year old. And his disastrous spell at Manchester united in which he managed a paltry 4 goals and had to be informed that he was to play for  the under 21 side by email has not done much to redeem an almost lost image

And thus far, his performances at the copa America have equally been as unimpressive….but yet, the special one wants him (on a yearlong loan deal). We can only but wonder what tricks Jose has under his sleeves. Can we really see the striker that we used to know? Well….that would be a story..

your say?

meanwhile...

Pepe Reina signs for Napoli after being released by Bayern Munich

Porto striker Jackson Martinez agrees deal with Athletico Madrid.

                                                                                                ...for the love of sports

IN THE NEWS-PETR CECH AGREES DEAL WITH ARSENAL

PETR CECH

Arsenal have agreed a deal for Chelsea goalkeeper Petr Cech for a reported fee of around 11milion pounds. he decided to turn down a 140 thousand pounds a week deal at PSG in order to remain in London as his family is properly settled there. he will now earn 100 thousands pounds at arsenal.

also...
Inter Milan have also completed the signing of as monaco midfielder Geoffrey Kondogbia.

Athletico Madrid striker Mario Mandzukic is in Italy to complete a medical ahead of a move to Juventus on a 3 year deal...
More to come...
                                                                                                   ...for the love of sports

PLAYER PROFILE: PAUL POGBA-The big guns are out for the Frenchman

Position:

    Midfielder

Height:

    6'3" (1.92m)

Weight:

    176 lbs (80 kg)

age:

    22

DOB:

    March 15, 1993

The 22 year old seems to have captured the hearts of the top clubs in Europe and there is no doubt that he will be a fine addition to the midfield position of any of these clubs.

 He is seen as a midfield genius already and watching him play one won’t be surprised at that verdict, he seems to be able to control the midfield comfortably while making football fun to watch, an undisputed necessity to the old lady’s double winning exploits this past season.

His agent has reportedly asked Barcelona to step up their interest in the player as his preferred destination is camp nou, and with juventus coach Allegri failing to rule out the possibility of a big money move for the French international, and even openly admitting that a big money offer (we are talking within the range of 50 to 60 million pounds) from Manchester city might be “impossible to resist”, he seems destined to leave juventus this summer.

    Juventus coach has already started making plans for life without the versatile midfielder, with reported interest in Chelsea’s Oscar…but the big question remains…where would Paul be playing come 2015/2016 season? Barcelona? Real Madrid? PSG? Manchester City? Chelsea?  ...what’s your say?

    Be rest assured that every update on the player’s situation will be made available as soon as it drops…

                                                                                                                 ...for the love of sports.