Two friendlies against Congo DR and Cameroon begin to show clearer the footprints of Oliseh's tenure as coach of the Super Eagles.
The most visible imprints lie in the possession phase of the game, specifically in the build-up stage, with a focus on a more methodical approach, especially in midfield.
The loss against Congo DR showed a team with sterile possession, lacking the right tempo and movement to endow its passing game with cutting edge in the last third.
An improved performance against Cameroon led to a 2-0 win, albeit with a little help from a 'compliant' Indomitable Lions team, and Stephen M'bia at his daft best!
Two major tactical issues stand out from both matches:
Considerable work still remains to be done in organization of the team in the non-possession phase, especially in central midfield. Lacking any truly creative midfielders, successive managers have in recent times looked to Mikel to assume greater responsibilities upfield. The impact has often been a concomitant loss of his best qualities from his club career, as the 'keeper of the team shape'...
In my opinion, we should consider restructuring the shape in central midfield with Mikel in a deeper role, in a 1-2 inverted triangle shape. Such a move must necessarily recognize that Igboun is not a midfielder but a forward; specifically a wide forward.
While the spacing between players has improved, you get the sense that sterner opposition will expose the frailties of the team's organization. In many respects, spacing in football has interesting parallels with a lady's mini skirt! Long enough to cover the essential parts, but short enough to be attractive...
There is a lack of consistency in the spacing between players, with the result that the team does not dominate space as well as it could, there are not enough lines of support around the ball and the tempo of the passing game remains lukewarm.
Related to the structural issues is continuing problems of the quality of options available to the team. As stated earlier, the use of Igboun in midfield is a disservice to both the player and the team. Although energetic, Onazi often does not display the same level of tactical awareness, while a player in left midfield is completely lacking in this selection.
In defence, the performance of Balogun as a 'front foot' centerback was very encouraging. If he is to remain in the role however, a powerful stopper is required behind him. While Omeruo has the potential to fill such a role, his recent performance and continuing lack of first team football is clear evidence of the merit in Oliseh's selection policy.
Recurring gaps from undefended zones continue to persist behind the lateral defence, especially on the right where the lack of a quality is palpable.
It is hard to see Oliseh's rebuilding project succeed and the small improvements made so far sustained without sufficiently addressing the problems in central defence.
In attack there needs to be clearer definition of lines of movement, as well as the requisite support around the ball, whether attacking diagonally or when stretching the field wide.
I continue to believe in the long term merits of Oliseh's selection policy. There will be those who will criticize this policy as naive, not practical or sustainable. I couldn't disagree more! A team whose players are selected simply on the basis of past performance or club profile, is a team living on borrowed time. .
But the flip side of this is that Oliseh must back this up by an aggressive search for the players to match his philosophy of the game. Such an aggressive mindset would need to ignore the club profile of players, or phony classifications of age grades....
