I was getting ready to have my dinner of snail vegetable soup well balanced on
boiled rice distracted with brown beans when the unthinkable happened: Vincent
Enyeama knocked 'The List' off top spot on Twitter.
Naturally, my curiosity chased the cat
out of the room. Something was amiss.
After a wait of four months plus injury time, President Buhari finally released the list of his ministerial nominees last week. Having been conjured in secrecy and delivered to the Senate Nollywood style, the list had raised hope, debates and irritation in equal measure. And on the day the content of the list was eventually made public, no other public issue could possibly raise as much dust. Or so we thought until Sunday Oliseh did the unimaginable and got Enyeama trending.
Apparently, there was a personality clash between Oliseh and Enyeama in the Eagles camp in Belgium and Oliseh reportedly asked security personnel to bounce the Lille goaltender out of camp.
While I am certainly not a doom merchant and having renounced my penchant for raising false alarm, it is important to note that this isn't just a slight, one-off disagreement that was allowed to leak to the press.
These are actually tell tale signs that the new Super Eagles handler is going about his job the wrong way and he may sooner than expected be facing the wrong end of the barrel that fired his predecessor.
Let me make some points clear at this junction.
1. I am a big Sunday Oliseh fan. I loved him both as a player and as a person. He is easily the finest holding midfielder I've seen in a green-white-green jersey. And his long ranged missile blast past Spain's Zubizaretta at the France 98 remains my best Nigerian World Cup moment.
2. I want him to succeed.
However, a manager who desires success, who hungers for it, needs all the help he can get. From his players, his assistants, his bosses, even the fans and mother luck. Even more so if he's a rookie manager like our very own coach.
After a wait of four months plus injury time, President Buhari finally released the list of his ministerial nominees last week. Having been conjured in secrecy and delivered to the Senate Nollywood style, the list had raised hope, debates and irritation in equal measure. And on the day the content of the list was eventually made public, no other public issue could possibly raise as much dust. Or so we thought until Sunday Oliseh did the unimaginable and got Enyeama trending.
Apparently, there was a personality clash between Oliseh and Enyeama in the Eagles camp in Belgium and Oliseh reportedly asked security personnel to bounce the Lille goaltender out of camp.
While I am certainly not a doom merchant and having renounced my penchant for raising false alarm, it is important to note that this isn't just a slight, one-off disagreement that was allowed to leak to the press.
These are actually tell tale signs that the new Super Eagles handler is going about his job the wrong way and he may sooner than expected be facing the wrong end of the barrel that fired his predecessor.
Let me make some points clear at this junction.
1. I am a big Sunday Oliseh fan. I loved him both as a player and as a person. He is easily the finest holding midfielder I've seen in a green-white-green jersey. And his long ranged missile blast past Spain's Zubizaretta at the France 98 remains my best Nigerian World Cup moment.
2. I want him to succeed.
However, a manager who desires success, who hungers for it, needs all the help he can get. From his players, his assistants, his bosses, even the fans and mother luck. Even more so if he's a rookie manager like our very own coach.
But the former Ajax and Juventus midfielder
is trying to go it alone by showing all the attributes that brought his
illustrious career to an abrupt end.
This can't end well either.
Oliseh started out by insisting only players playing regularly for their clubs, top clubs, would earn a spot on his team only to ignore Obafemi Martins plus Ogbeche scoring very regularly in the US and Holland but put an invite across to Arsenal trainee Iwobi. While it is up to him to decide whichever players he wants to work with, it is also vital that he is seen to be fair and just.
Which brings me back to his clash with Enyeama.
Oliseh needs leaders in that team. Sadly, Yobo is retired. And Enyeama, in the Eagles squad since 2002, is the longest-serving member and current captain.
This can't end well either.
Oliseh started out by insisting only players playing regularly for their clubs, top clubs, would earn a spot on his team only to ignore Obafemi Martins plus Ogbeche scoring very regularly in the US and Holland but put an invite across to Arsenal trainee Iwobi. While it is up to him to decide whichever players he wants to work with, it is also vital that he is seen to be fair and just.
Which brings me back to his clash with Enyeama.
Oliseh needs leaders in that team. Sadly, Yobo is retired. And Enyeama, in the Eagles squad since 2002, is the longest-serving member and current captain.
Needless to say, he's the greatest
goalkeeper Nigeria has ever had, no disrespect to Peter Rufai.
Ahmed Musa is no captain material, atleast not yet. How much influence does the CSKA Moscow forward wield in the team? Can Musa tell Mikel to his face that he’s had a bad game without attracting a slap in return?
If after Enyeama and Mikel, Musa is Oliseh's authority on the playing field, then the rookie boss has no team that can stay strong under pressure.
Oliseh needs a united dressing room.
Enyeama has proven his worth as a goalkeeper for the national side but the same cannot be said of Oliseh as a manager.
Ahmed Musa is no captain material, atleast not yet. How much influence does the CSKA Moscow forward wield in the team? Can Musa tell Mikel to his face that he’s had a bad game without attracting a slap in return?
If after Enyeama and Mikel, Musa is Oliseh's authority on the playing field, then the rookie boss has no team that can stay strong under pressure.
Oliseh needs a united dressing room.
Enyeama has proven his worth as a goalkeeper for the national side but the same cannot be said of Oliseh as a manager.
If the players don't back him, he will
most certainly fail.
It's become clear that Enyeama, the
skipper, was not consulted before the coach handed Ahmed Musa the armband for
the game against Tanzania. And you would have expected the former International
to show some empathy to a player who over the weekend just buried his mother.
Simply put, Oliseh's man-management skill is still in the toddler stage.
His actions are only going to fan the
embers of discord and hatred in the team. No manager can win with a divided
group.
With only a few weeks spent at the helm
of affairs, Oliseh is peddling fast down a path leading to failure. His
selection process is faulty. His team lack leaders and he's doing his best to
force the few ones left out of the squad to pamper his huge ego.
Nigerians love him and practically
begged him to take the job believing he's smart enough to turn the national
side's fortunes.
To that effect, only results matter. And if he fails to win us the AFCON ticket after all this drama, it won't take long before the same fans that hailed his appointment will call for his head.
To that effect, only results matter. And if he fails to win us the AFCON ticket after all this drama, it won't take long before the same fans that hailed his appointment will call for his head.
And I will be one of them.
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