Nigerian football:Beyond the likes of Cape Verde ,cape what?

I saw nigeria labour to a goalless draw against wait for it Cape Verde. Cape what? It is not so much of the score line  that agonises me. After all bigger calamities have befallen our football in recent times. It was more of the inept nature of the "super eagles" that made me begin to realise the extent of the rot.I saw a nigerian team hopelessly limited in options both on and off the bench and even more limited in control, creativity or quality playing against even more inept opposition. I then asked myself, is this the best nigeria has to offer, are these the best human beings (footballers) carrying nigerian passports . I looked at the lads on the field and on the bench and the answer was an agonising NO,NO. Off course the answer was an emphatic no. Off my head I could reel off seven to eight names conspicuosly missing that would definitely make all the difference in a squad of 23 and that would give the much needed stability and confidence to the few illustrious ones on display here today. Back to today's debacle, this is how they fared.

Central Defence - yobo Joseph - showed flashes of stability and composure,lacking pace though which the inept oppostion could not exploit. sadly still one of our best options when fit.6/10

Godfrey oboboana - did well , showed confidence at this level. But then who were we playing?cape verde got three chances that could have been three nil were they not the minnows they are.looks like a player that might go places though. Will like to see this pairing against real opposition. 6.5/10. I think if Daniel shittu is still good enough to captain mill wall at championship level, then he is still good enough for nigeria and should be in this squad. shittu is a player that has always given his all for the eagles. One wouldnt need any clairvoyance to know that he obviously opted out when he saw that majority of the best players were not there hence he didn't want to risk his team place for what would be an obvious jamboree.

Right back - Efe Ambrose - had a very poor outing. Always gave the ball away, decidedly undecided .if I hadn't seen him at Celtic in the champions  league I'd say throw him out. Definitely did not show versatility to play at right back. 3/10

His replacement omeruo fared a lot better. Brought in stability, confidence with forays upfront. 6.5/10

Left back - elderson echiejile - allways said he was at best a below average player, yet to prove otherwise, lacking drive with bouts of indecision. taiye taiwo still a better option anyday even with his defensive frailties  - 4/10. His replacement  juwon oshaniwa showed more confidence on and off the ball, with some intelligent runs upfront - 6/10 .All in all the defence did not do too badly. They didn't have much to worry about though considering he quality of the attack they faced. I will like to see them play against some decent strikers.

Midfield - this was the worst part of the nigerian team . For the entire first half, no control, no direction , it was pitiful .Here goes ..fengor ogude - cant perform at this level. Lacking confidence, composure or required skill or technique in defensive midfield where he was deployed.Could not read the game. Will obviously be worse if asked to do a creative job -3/10, ogenyi onazi - weakest link ,gave the ball away every nine out of ten times, anonymous for the entire first half where he was deployed to play a number 10 behind the strikers.Seemed to lack the skill,creativity or overall quality to appreciate the role talk less of playing it. A halftime reshuffle saw him at defensive midfield where he kept on giving the ball away and making poorly timed tackles . Beats me how he is in the eagles. Racism is surely not one of the many reasons why he doesnt play at lazio - 2/10. Mikel obi - our midfield general and by far our best player looked a shadow of himself today as he was totally submerged by the glaring amateurism around him. He could not play the much anticipated free role upfront as he was constantly bugged down by the ineptitude of onazi and ogude hence he played very deep until  the introduction of Nosa igiebor whose presence gave him some confidence to meander upfront and show some flashes of the mikel obi we know late in the game. certainly a game to forget by his own high standards but you have to give him a pass mark when you look at his colleagues around him 5/10. Nosa igiebor - skilful player, good technique as we all know. But he needs to stand up and be counted,stop disappearing in games and raise his game to the next level to enable him complement mikel obi in a box to box midfield pairing with a defensive midfielder of some quality behind them.(needs to work hard every ninety minutes to stamp authority on a game and thus become a big match player. That is what is required at this level)-5/10

Obiora nwankwo - a whole lot better in defensive midfield than the likes of onazi and ogude. Showed some composure and control. Good work rate 5/10

Overall verdict - nigeria has obviously shortchanged herself tremendously in midfield by omitting seasoned campaigners with proven quality like  haruna Lukman  and Dickson etuhu . It would have been appropriate to see Dickson etuhu play the makalele role (as he so diligently did at the world cup)with obiora nwankwo in reserve and a mikel obi cum haruna Lukman box to box midfield partnership in front of him with Nosa igiebor and possibly a match fit rabiu ibrahim in reserve. (Yes Rabiu because his abilities and confidence are undoubted. Question is wether he is match fit)

Attack - I think the worst sacrilege was committed here. Nigeria played  speedster Ahmed musa and Chelsea kid victor moses on either side of a winged formation which is not pretty bad,but I  then asked myself, where are the options? I looked to the bench and saw absolutely no one and I wandered if osaze odemwingie, Kalu Uche and  even chinedu Obasi ogbuke had given up their citizenship. Arguably,these should actually be the starters with Ahmed musa and victor Moses coming in from the bench as impact players or possibly vice versa. Na wah oh ! If you have a Mercedes Benz why park it at home and go on bare foot when you can use it. Na wah oh!

In strikers position I saw an emenike who held the ball up well, but who for all his size could not prove a direct threat as he could not manage a short at goal in almost ninety minutes. 4/10 .  I definitely think nigeria has better to offer. Brown ideye did not fare better either as  there was no direct threat. You just didn't feel a buzz the few times either of them had the ball or had the privilege of chasing after it. Yes indeed the supply was almost non existent particularly in the first half but I still know these are not the best strikers in the land . Another 4/10. I have not  stopped wandering  why ike Uche who is our only other striker apart from osaze with the flair to single handedly unlock defences is always confined to the bench . This guy is Nigeria's  leading scorer ! I can't find the logic! He came in with about fifteen minutes left and only got one pass. I need  keshi and his "wise men" to pls tell us what we don't know.

Summary - overall we have shortchanged ourselves by omitting key members of the team that would have bridged the yawning gap in quality, stability and experience that we see. Osaze odemwingie ,obafemi martins,Kalu Uche,Dickson etuhu, haruna Lukman,Obasi ogbuke, taiye taiwo and possibly Daniel shittu (who I repeat if he s good enough to captain millwall at the english championship is still better than some of the names I see in nigeria's squad.)the team lacked any semblance of quality,technique,drive and leadership. I have not talked about the goal keepers because we have picked our best keepers so there is nothing to add.

Prediction - like majek fashek said, you don't sow cassava and reap coco yam , neither do you sow maize and reap rice.  The team simply has too many gaps in it. In a generation that is quite obviously not the most gifted, too many of our few "top" players have being omitted leaving the team extremely lacking in depth,options,stability and overall quality. I think this is one of the poorest sides to represent nigeria at a major championship. While we may narrowly graze our way through the minnows in our group, the team definitely lacks the quality to surpass the second round. So an early exit from the AFCON is imminent for nigeria. I think this will help our football as the coaching crew will then be changed hopefully to bring another coach that will be able to achieve the basic fundamental of selecting our best legs based on merit . I know that once the players know that the only way to get into the eagles is on merit and only the best will play for nigeria then they will give their all as they do in their various club sides  and coaching the eagles succesfully will then be a much much easier job than it presently is.