Nigerians demand Flying Eagles overhauling for Poland 2019

“It is good that we have qualified for the World Cup and I congratulate the team and its handlers,” he stated.

Haruna Ilerika, assistant coach of the National U-15 team and secretary of the FCT Football Association said the technical crew should search the leagues in Europe for young players who can complement the efforts of those in the domestic league.

He added that even if the Flying Eagles had managed to win the 2019 AFCON, there would still have been need to beef up the team in key areas.

“For us to produce a very formidable team, there will be need for more quality players who can add value to the existing team.

“When you miss qualification for an edition of a tournament, it is always difficult having a quality team at the next age grade in subsequent year because you will not have those that will form the nucleus of the next generation.

“The world cup is a different ball game and we have some young lads out there with European experience. They should look out for them alongside other players in the domestic league.

“Note that, even if they win the championship, there will still be some areas the technical crew would have noticed for adjustment,” said Ilerika.

Speaking in a similar vein, a football enthusiast and proprietor of Talented Football Academy Kaduna, Manasseh Udende said the team needs reinforcement in the key departments of midfield and attack.

He said in Niamey, the team lacked creative midfielders and sharp attackers to convert some of the chances that fell to the Flying Eagles.

“For me, the team needs reinforcements with quality new players to be able to compete with other countries at the world cup. Coach Paul needs to get good players in two departments namely, midfield and attack.

“From what we have seen the team play at the African Youth Championship so far, it is obvious that the midfield lacked creativity and an imposing figure who can coordinate this vital department so as to serve the attackers with maximum effect.

“The attack also lacked a clinical finisher. These two departments certainly require reinforcement with good players which we have in abundance, unless we want to be mere participant at the U-20 World Cup”, Udende enthused.

The proprietor of Youth Arise Football Academy, YAFA, based in Abuja and former junior international, Olagbemiro Olayinka was however more scathing in his criticism of the team as he called for the disbandment of both the players and the technical crew.

The former Plateau United player said the coaches lack basic knowledge of modern football. “Yes, the team and the Technical crew should be disbanded. The coaches lack technical knowledge of present day football.

“In every department the boys were poor. There was a lot of individuality in the game. They couldn’t even put the ball on the ground. So you wonder what have they have been taught or learned. Even a single normal basic shot could not be executed by our strikers.

“You see the boys are old. They can’t play fast football with high tempo and cohesion. We did not even have a creative midfielder so there was no creativity in the team,” he stated.

Talking of disbandment of the team as suggested by Olayinka, the football director of ABS FC and Secretary of Club Owners Association, Alloy Chukwuemeka differed slightly as he opposed complete overhauling of the team.

Instead he said the few weak areas in the team should be looked into for a more formidable squad ahead of the world championship.

“Yes of course, there is always a plan for every championship. The FIFA Junior World Cup in Poland is a bigger challenge and it is expected that the coaches will x-ray the team and look at areas that need to be beefed up.

“There is no need for complete overhauling of the team. Only the areas that require injection of players should be looked into. It is noticeable that the absence of Wasiu Alalade in the attack affected us,” he opined.

On his part, a former Editor of The Voice Newspaper of Makurdi, Chris Atsaka said “There is a need to not just overhaul the Flying Eagles but our entire National teams.

“The Flying Eagles are no longer making us proud as it was the case in the 80s and 90s. If the technical crew is no longer showing capacity, it should be changed.

“If they know their onions, the coaches should overhaul the team and position it for better results. This defeat is humiliating.”

A former Falconets assistant coach and assistant coach of the Falconets, Mansur Abdullahi also said there is the urgent need for the present squad to be reconstructed.

“There are two things that need to be done to the team. One, the coaches must have seen the lapses in the team. They need to work on that as a matter of urgency. The team needs to blend very well.