Former Super Eagles defender Taribo West says Rangers midfielder Joe Aribo is too weak to play for the team.
Aribo scored on his debut for the three-time African champions, a 2-2 friendly draw against Ukraine last September.
The 23-year-old further proved his class when he scored a sublime goal in Nigeria’s 1-1 friendly draw against Brazil the following month.
The former Charlton Athletic star performance in both games earned him plaudits in Nigeria but Taribo believes he is not good enough to feature for the Super Eagles and insists Getafe midfielder Oghenekaro Etebo should play instead.
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“I’ve watched Joe Aribo play for Nigeria, but in my view, it’s clear he is yet to come to terms with it, ” Taribo was quoted by dailyrecord.co.uk.
“There’s no other way of putting this – I think Joe is not a bad player, but he needs time to adjust to African football. It’s not the same as playing in Europe.
“In Africa, there’s no time on the ball and for me, Oghenekaro Etebo is a far better option, He’s quick, physical and reads the game. He should get Joe Aribo’s spot when he comes back.
“African football is just too physical for Joe.”
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77 Comments
I strongly respect Taribo west but he is entitle to his opinion. In his days it was strength but nowadays its tactics. Joe Aribo compliments Ndidi very well. S.E needs technical and skillful midfielders and that is what Aribo brings to the team. One of the reasons S.E didnt do well in last world cup and Afcon is because pur midfield was full of strength but no sense.Granted Etebo is strong but what does he do after getting the ball ? No sense . Pls S.E best miffield trio include Ndidi, Aribo and Ovie Ejaria . Thats the best for mow.
Pastor Taribo please stop to discourage this young playmaker. Joe Aribo is far better than Etebo in that position. He is too good.
Oga pastor i encourage you to first watch Aribos games on youtube and watch Etebos own too if any. Aribo uses both feet, hes a defensive midfielder who can wade thru defences easily with both feet and scores amazing goals regularly. That is not to put down etebos achievements though. But Aribo is just pure class. I dont expect u Taribo of all people to say such a thing.
Hey, I think he is right. Aribo is not a very good ball holder. Transition play not too good.
Pastor TARIBO WEST;
One of the few reasonable Ex-Internationals that mean well for our Re-branded Super Eagles team. Thanks for your concern. Though I will suggest you don’t grant this kind of interview because you never know if Aribo might get to see this. It’s discouraging for the young lad.
Now, without being biased let’s really look at the best possible way Pastor Aribo should have put his statement. He might be right..but he’s not balanced. Joe Aribo is an amazing young star. No doubt about that. He’s so brilliant just like Semi AJAYI…like they went to school to study football itself so they don’t just play football anyhow. Very technical. Due to his background, he grew up learning the European technical part of football and he learnt it well. But the Physicality part of the game which is pure African style of football is definitely lacking. You saw how he excelled against European opponent Ukraine and Brazil. He was a thorn in the flesh in both matches. Arguably the best. When it came to the games against Benin and Lesotho, he could hardly replicate the same game. Something changed! Physicality aspect came in but he was not used to it. For those of us that managed to watch the poor display by NTA against Benin, one could see that he toiled all through the game till he was subbed off same with Lesotho game. These were both teams that are not up to par with Ukraine or Brazil where he shown. Am sure he must have said to himself after those AFCON qualifiers..”wow men! this is a different ball game”.
Unlike Etebo. Total opposite. Against European opponent and American teams, I will choose Aribo anyday anytime but for now against African oppositions and physically Talented teams, I’ll choose Etebo over Aribo till ARIBO adjust to the physical game too. I will suggest the Coach to sub in Aribo like every 20 minutes to the end of the game against African oppositions because that’s the way to integrate or introduce him to the African game gradually not benching him the whole game. He will surely get used to the Physical type of football too and by then we can call him Master of the Central Midfield for any of our matches. Also Age is a factor here. We all know as he grows age-wise, he gains more Strength/physicality too.
Keep it up Aribo.
I see your point Chairmanfemi. Very well said.
He didn’t shine against Lesotho and Benin because of our bad pitches in Africa and our harsh conditions of playing football not because Lesotho and Benin are physically stronger than Brazil and Ukrain
Your points are clearly stated. I can still remember when Alex Iwobi joined SE I kept asking myself if he is the same Iwobi I know with Arsenal but the guy has evolve. So Aribo has not disappointed as far as I can remember.
I love Etebo with passion but we must know that some task requires more that physically.
How physical was Nwanko KANU? But he excelled both within and outside of Africa. The blend KANU brings to the game then was super.
Nigeria didn’t lose to Croatia at the world cup be we were weak, we lost to them because they were more intelligent.
It will be derogatory to place ruggedity over intelligence. Aribo is an excellent player and I am not playing down what Etebo brings to the table though.
What Taribo said is very unnecessary in my own view. If he says the coach will find the necessary blend that will win a match is better than saying, Aribo is not relevant to Super Eagles because he is not rough.
Very well analyzed, but I presume the pastor himself should have known better, that young and brilliant chap was just affected by African weather being the first time he’s playing here, he will get accustomed to it and you will see him perform in Africa just the way he did against crotia and Brasil…keep it up boy…
Aribo & Etebo are wonderful plays. But on my own , Offensive I will go Aribo , defensive I will go for Etebo
Exactly, a different player for a different type of game. Having said that, the Scottish league is very physical as well, leading me to infer that it may have been “environmental conditions” like the pitch, the weather etc that meant his performance against Lesotho and Benin were below that of against Brazil and Ukraine.
However, it is good that Joe Aribo is cap tied now and that we did not wait until it was too late and he decided that he had waited too long for Nigeria and switches his mind.
As it stands now, we have one player for the fire and brimstone matches against sides that require that and anther player for the matches where a different approach is needed.
Absolutely! BigD, we are talking about a Super Eagles team that is now oozing in the way of core competencies and dynamic capabilities that can be deployed in line with the nature of opposition that we face.
Sometimes, something good can indeed come out of harsh criticisms as players have been known to push themselves to pristine performances in order to prove critics wrong.
Troost-Ekong never forgot similar sentiments exprresed by the controversial Sunday Oliseh who he quoted as saying that mixed raced players were too feeble to face the rigours of African Football. The mental and physical toughness that Ekong exhibits these days can be arguably linked to his undying desire to prove Oliseh wrong.
I guess observers like Pastor Taribo are welcome to their views, it is up to the footballer to choose what he reacts to, how he reacts and what he ignores.
Expert contributions from you guys @BigD and deo. Thumbs up
Physically etebo is not stronger than aribo….Aribo is more balanced than etebo and he wins a lot of tackles on the pitch….Aribo is also a better goal threat that etebo….Aribo is also flexible than etebo…..For a seasoned professional and coach like Steven Gerard to speak so much good things about aribo it shows the lad is destined for greater things.
Aribo is a modern day midfielder one moment he’s defending the next minute he’s scoring goals. I feel the weather affected him in both games not the physicality. The young man is a blessing to Nigeria football. Etebo is a fantastic player but young aribo brings something extra and comparing this two players is unnessary. Whoever the coaches chooses to play depending on circumstances will definitely deliver. Can’t wait for the show to start again
Taribo, lacks discretion and mannerism. He talks from the two sides of his mouth, he celebrated our victory over Brazil friendly, and he is discrediting the man of the match just because of the privileges granted to him. Pls, Mr. Taribo how many goals did you score against Brazil when you played for SE. Desist from planting seeds of discord and disunity in our present team, Your grey hair should be commensurate with your discretion in sports matters.
God bless u..u jst seal it up with dis wonderful comment..Taribo should be ashamed to make such comment. We need to encourage these young lad not d other way round..
Its too arsh to say Aribo is too week to play for eagles after scoring 2 goals against ukr and brazil, though i dont think aribo is strong enough for our central midfield, he can play from the wings too expecially from the left and can also play 10 or 8 i think aribo will be more dangarouse if he plays from left wing attack or a supporting striker. He is our dele ali, very clinical in front of goal he also remind me of kanu nwakwo, abeg taribo should not discourage him at all, this is wat holiseh told ekong that almost discouraged the young man. As for you mr taribo, if you remove the T from your name you will have Aribo, simple
Joe Aribo is welcomed to the world of international football. Nobody said it was going to be easy. You please some but you fail to please others, that is just how the cookie crumbles.
Pastor Taribo West said Joe Aribo is not ready yet for the physicality of African Football however the Rangers man can draw inspiration from the likes of William Troost-Ekong, Leon Balogun and Alex Iwobi who had to learn the rigours of African Football so much so that they are now African Football Aficionados.
Iwobi in particular was a thorn in the flesh of the Zambians in 2017, yet the former Arsenal man was slightly fragile when first introduced to the African stage.
Aribo will toughen up. Acclimatisation, humid weather, awkward pitches and rash tackles (that go unpunished) that are part and parcel of the African game do take some getting used to.
As for comparison with Etebo, that just does injustice to what each has to offer. The tenacity and combativeness of Etebo is something that Aribo can only aspire to whilst Etebo can’t live with Aribo’s poise and panache with the ball.
Still, Aribo is combative in his own way whilst Etebo is very good on the ball on a good day which appears counterintuitive to my previous sentence yet makes sense in some way.
I would have no problem benching one for the other. Etebo will add more of stability to the midfield whilst Aribo brings fluidity and enhanced mobility to play.
Whichever one plays will add value to the middle of the park.
But something tells me that once Aribo masters the art of African Football, he will be unplayable to opponents!!!
This guy is super intelligent. Thank you Deo
Master Deo. You too much
If it is true you said so, may God forgive you Pastor Taribo. I respect you a lot and you have played this game to the highest level and you didn’t see anything so special in Aribo ba? Hmm… I’m speechless.
Akpeyi has been with the Eagles for so long, you did say anything about him.
Did you know what have bn through before I introduced him to the world?
So if Ejeria started playing for Nigeria, you will say he’s too slow abi? for getting that you and Kanu were playing together during your playing days.
none of you said anything about these two players until I came out to called people attentions to these great players.
Etobo is a fantastic player no doubt but please, don’t compear Etobo and Aribo together because they have different styles of play.
Even, Oga Rohr and those that scouting for him didn’t see Aribo you are downgrading today, not even Ejeria.
Please Mr. West, leave that young man alone jęję. He’s my pikin. I’m always proud of my boys, “Aribo, Ejeria” and the rest of the players.
Azeez is another player that needed game time under coach Rohr. I’m working tirelessly to scout for more players and goalies but for now, let’s enjoy my products for now.
If you can not give us good players, is better to leave our best players alone. God bless Nigeria!!!
Well done jare our great scouter for your selfless service, only God can reward you o.Murasi sogbo
Hahhaaahaa…lol Yusuf oo. Am rolling off the chair reading your comment..lol
Omo9ja the Chief Scout that discovered Ronaldo and Messi even before they were born. Dakadaa oo!
The competition is good for us,no one should feel untouchable even ndidi,during afcon he committed some fouls in dangerous ereas and sometimes gave the ball away unnecessary, all of them must continue to work hard in other to improve, they all have great potentials and talents,
“….If it is true you said so, may God forgive you Pastor Taribo. I respect you a lot and you have played this game to the highest level and you didn’t see anything so special in Aribo ba? Hmm… I’m speechless….”
Those are the ex-internationals without coaching credentials that you are claiming will do a better job than Rohr…..LMAO
Give then the SE today and we are on our way back to 70th position in the world….LMAO
Lol….chief scout of the eagles….kwantinu with ur selfless services, God will bless u immensely….lol…csn clown…
Oga Taribo west is not far from the truth,Aribo struggled against Benin and Lesotho just like other players born abroad who are playing for us.
Eg is iwobi, he initially struggled and used to go missing in a match before getting used to the system, ola aina Missed the World Cup with similar reasons, his blunder against Dr Congo before the World Cup comes to mind.
So Aribo will come good.
But that doesn’t make etebo a better player than Aribo, the later is a box to box midfielder with massive goal threats.
Aribo is too weak to play for Super Eagles. Hmmmm. Na waya.
Was West misquoted? I hope so. I would never have expected him to talk with such obvious prejudice.
I recall when West started his own career, many were not convinced of his quality. Very rough play on the pitch. A lot of yellow cards and marching orders. And error prone as well. Lots of school boy errors. With time however, he improved and became the West that we all know. So, I expect West to understand that a young footballer is a work in progress. As West himself mentioned, what Aribo needs is time to adjust to African football. His physical frame is already strong enough. What he needs now is more African games. I will not say a player should start, or not. All I know is currently, we have the following midfielders Rohr is likely to call upon:
Ndidi, Ejaria, Iwobi, Aribo, Etebo. And maybe Azeez or Onazi. Add a possible Ebere Eze to the mix, and the situation gets even better. I don’t see Rohr inviting more that 6 midfielders at any point in time though. So if Eze comes through, someone on this list has to drop. It might end up being Eze that is not selected. I don’t know.
All of them are good enough to start, which in my opinion is the ideal situation.
I am a firm believer in squad rotation. I don’t think it’s best that Ndidi for instance should play every game. That will only result in burnout and injuries in major tournaments.
It is up to Rohr to select from these players for every game. If selected, I have no doubt that Aribo can do well against any opponent, African or not.
Agreed, Aribo had sub-par games against Benin and Lesotho. But even in those games, there were flashes of quality here and there. The poor pitch might have been a factor, and he might also have been jet-lagged, but for me, these are not valid excuses. As a professional, he should be ready for whatever. So I expect him to learn from these two games and come back stronger.
The audacity and courage to perform and score against Ukraine and Brazil in his first two games reveals the mental strength and resilience of the lad. We need people like this who are not afraid of the big stage.
West and other ex players should please desist from making comments that will dampen the morale of our boys. Constructive criticism is always welcome, but it should be delivered in a way that is not unbecoming.
Has Taribo forgotten Korea/Japan 2002 World Cup? In the Super Eagles match against Sweden, Eric Larsson controlled a pass with his chest, sending Pastor ‘Physicallity’ (Taribo) the wrong way, to score a beatiful goal against Nigeria. That’s an example of how intelligence and skill overide roughness.
After the tournament, he blamed coach Onigbinde for taking “junk” players to the World Cup. He needs to show humility afterall he was never an exceptional footballer like Keshi, Omokaro, Okocha, Kanu, Yekini, Amunike, Mutiu and Okewchukwu Uche (the gentle giant).
Hahahaha… I thought Eric controlled the ball with his leg. Uche Okechukwu was the rock in the defence then, not Taribo.
I concur with you @Pompei
I wish most of these our so-called ex-internationals have the same thoughts and mindset as most positive guys in this forum.
Taribo West, just fall my hand big time!!!
No bi him pal, George Oppong Weah dey rule him country, Liberia after bagging a degree in business administration at DeVry University in Miami.
Make e dey here dey grant interview dey criticize player wey old enough to be his son!!!
What a pity!
If West was the current SE coach, with his prejudiced mindset, one can only imagine the kind of damage he will do in camp. This is what we get with local coaches and most ex internationals. A coach that should be encouraging and boosting the morale of players is doing the opposite. How can you build a team in such an environment? Can you imagine Pep Guardiola, or Jurgen Klopp, or any of the top coaches bad-mouthing one of their players to the press? Even if you have a problem with a player, is the press the ideal arbiter?
Even if there is a valid point to be made, why not encourage Aribo and provide useful tips that the guy can use to improve?
Hopefully, Aribo will make Mr. West put his foot in his mouth, eventually.
I go with this my CSN gee@Pompei
Thanks my friend.
Ete will no doubt hassle and win the ball but after that he lAcks technical acumen on how to move the ball. Aribo is less physical but very technical. He is better than Etebo .
Taribo need his brains examined. A sensible person don’t come out in the media making such destructive comments. I have lost every respect for you Taribo or whatever you are called. You should never pitch players against players. Both of them are good n game strategy determines who is called upon by the coach. You just showed why local coaches/ ex internationals are a bunch of disaster to our national teams.
Taribo has experience, so i will not argue with him .Let us give aribo time and see, from his videos on youtube his style of play is simillar to mikels but like the guy said he likes to drive the ball forward up the pitch which is better than mikel’s style.
Time will tell if he is suitable for African football, but for someone 6.2 tall and exposed to the best gyms and physical conditioning in the world. it is better to leave him to the judgement of time.
am a man of few word, Aribo is good and a new addition to the team, Etebo is super prefect if i am to say. thanks
Just imagine an ex-international coming out to say negative thing about player that is currently playing for the national team!!
Absolutely disgraceful and so uncultured.
These are the ex-internationals that are lobbying to come into the national team and work in any available capacity; whereas they lack man management and ethnic conduct.
How will Taribo West feel if in his playing days, he reads on the media that an ex-international or a respectable sportman siad during an interview that another fellow defender in the team is better than him because he looks ugly, or concede Penalties or can’t defend a one-on-one !!!?
Joseph Oluwaseyi Temitope Ayodele-Aribo aka Joe Aribo is a sure regular in his current club, Rangers Fc which is a top club in Scotland and in Europe.
Next year he will be playing in the UEFA Champs league!!!
He has played four matches for the Super Eagles and scored two goals in his first two caps !!!
This lad is tagged the New YAYA TOURE !!!
For the four matches he has played with the super eagles, He has shown steel, doggedness and purpose in his role.
And guess what, He is just 23 years old !!!
An age most of our lads in the past will register and play u-17 tournament for!!!
So what the crap is Taribo saying? He wants Joe to get to 35 yrs then claim that he is 25 yrs before he starts playing for the Super Eagles….???
Listen to an advise Taribo West; as an ex-international, you need to be mature and positive when you make comments concerning the players currently donning the colours of the national team and watch your words when you make public interviews…your statements about Joe holds no water and please keep your negative views to yourself.
The likes of Joe are raised abroad and they traced and honour their parent heritage to play for motherland, we can only be encourage such talents to strive and become greats ….not airing unnecessary distractive personal views that will dis-spirit such a young talent of immense quality!!!
How I wish some so-called ex-internationals should borrow a leaf from the likes of Nwankwo Kanu and Austin “Jay-Jay” Okocha when they are granting interviews !!!
If we allow these unethical and bias statements such as this one from Taribo to start penetrating into our national team on players who has being raised in a different socialized and western culture, I tell you, the likes of Bukayo Saka might just look else where.
Taribo West, please kindly be informed that the Super Eagles have a coach and he sure knows how to use his players!!! What Gernot Rohr sees a soccer coach in Joe Aribo and Efe Etebo is very different from what you see as a mere TV match viewer!!!
Let’s allow the gaffer led his team and select his players accordingly FFS!!!
Just Go and manage your church if you still have one!!!
We are cursed in this our country with a self destructive attitude and mentality. Just when things are going well, one of us will push the self destruct button either with one kind of unnecessary behavior or uncouth comment. Whether its Giwa’s shenanigans or Odegbami’s senseless rants.
Something else we seem to lack is guile, tact and professionalism. Even if it is true that Aribo isn’t rugged enough for the African terrain, an ex-international should know better than to open his mouth and spout such utter rubbish, completely undermining the good morale and harmony our Gaffer has worked very hard to establish. Shame on you Taribo. Shame on you. You should know better especially being a member of the fraternity of super eagles but as they say, common sense is not common.
These ex-internationals are a disgrace. They are self-centred. Imagine a pastor, a man of God, making this soy of outrageous statement. Someone who should know that man only aspires to a higher state of enlightenment.
How can he pull down the elegant Aribo who found the back of the net at his very first game for Nigeria? How rash to compare Aribo to Etebo! Are men created equal? Soccer is a team sport, the players complementing one another.
Most of these our ex-internationals don’t have deep learning. Here we are trying to attract foreign born Nigerians to commit to us, and here is a senior who should encourage the boys rather voicing caustic criticisms.
Learn from my grand mother. She smiles, patting the shoulders of a child who comes 10th position in the end -of-year test: “You did well; all fingers are not created equal. Next time you’ll be number one.”
I met taribo recently and I thought the guy need rehabilitation urgently and he has proved me right.
To imagine that these are the so called ex internationals that the mathematical is clamouring for to take over the SE.
Taribo spoke spoke so brashly without an iota of intelligence.when taribo first moved to Auxerre, He was so brash and raw with little intelligence.He want to do everything until the coach sat him down and cultured him.
Granted Aribo might not be physical for now, but the guy has a cultured and well educated left foot and bring something refreshing different to the table.
If you include him in our squad to Russia 2018, we would not have been out thought and out manoeuvred my Modric luka and co because his positional play is also excellent.
Maybe Taribo need to go back to school and learn man management and psychology so that he does not open his vocal cavity anyhow as it is capable of dampening players morale even if what he is saying is true.
Toni, well said. I read somewhere that Taribo’s childhood was very rough. He joined street gangs as a young lad and led a very high-risk lifestyle. He himself admitted once that football saved him. So his early childhood perhaps explains his brashness. He played his football with this same brashness. The “I no go gree for you” attitude, the “never say die” swagger. It was ok on the pitch. But now, he needs to polish up. An ex international of his stature should be careful how he addresses the press, because if Taribo talks, many want to hear what he has to say. And if he says the wrong things the wrong way, he can do a lot of damage!
I had hoped Taribo was misquoted. If he was not misquoted, then that puts him in a really bad light. As an ex international who played the game at the highest level, he should know better than to talk anyhow to the press. He has a right to his opinions. Yes. But there are better ways to address issues instead of bad-mouthing a young, promising player via the press!
I don’t care how experienced he is. If he likes, he can be the next Guardiola. What he did is not right. One can imagine what happened in camp when the last African Guardiola was in charge, culminating in the untimely retirement of one of our greatest goalkeepers!
In an ideal situation, Taribo could have called Yobo, and expressed his concerns about Aribo. Him and Yobo could compare notes, and then Yobo could work on Aribo. Yobo does not have to wait until players are called to camp. He can call Aribo from time to time, just to check up on him, see how he is doing. And then, while making conversation, he can make suggestions to Aribo on how to improve his game. Aribo would love that kind of mentoring, and most importantly, you leave out the press! This is just one of several ways Taribo could have gone about this.
It is never ok to bad mouth a fellow professional via the press. If you do this, you better have a very good reason! Talking anyhow to the press hardly yields positive fruits. If you grant press interviews, you must have your thinking cap on, lest you say something destructive.
Just in!!!!
Gernot Rohr reportedly signed two and half years contract, OMG, I’m so happy for this.
Oga Taribo this young man deserves encouragements from you.
I can see the manifestation of a high
Profiled illiterate.
Character assasinators without rethink
How could you go to the midia to play
down “Aribo a rising star” you should be encouraging.
I thought you know the implications of
Using Media strength against a player.
Inotherwords,you are also trying to
employ miadia strength against the
Super Eagles coach.You guys should
Allow mr.JR to do his job rightly with out fear of favouritism
We want to see Nigerian flag sailing
Higher in next world cup.And we cannot
Achieve that by instigating disunity.
Oga Taribo this young man deserves encouragements from you.
I can see the manifestation of a high
Profiled illiterate.
Character assasinators without rethink
How could you go to the midia to play
down “Aribo a rising star” you should be encouraging.
I thought you know the implications of
Using Media strength against a player.
Inotherwords,you are also trying to
employ media strength against the
Super Eagles coach.You guys should
Allow mr.JR to do his job rightly with out fear of favouritism
We want to see Nigerian flag sailing
Higher in next world cup.And we cannot
Achieve that by instigating disunity.
Please Taribo the word you use was too harsh, go back to media and change what you said before
All is well
I would blame the media and not taribo.. Taribo was misquoted to attract the masses.. What he said is far from the headline.. Aribo needs time to acclimatize to the African play, that’s so true, he was born and brought up in England, so it’s true, he might be finding the style of play over here in Africa as strange.. Give an aribo time, like the time an iwobi and aino were given, you would see his pure class, that boy is good,, etebo is another wonderful player that Nigerians shouldn’t just forget in a hurry, I still remember his bullet shot against Algeria that won us a penalty and that man of the match performance against Croatia… Etebo Can also play defensive midfield, and has replaced ndidi on many occasions when ndidi was suspended.. The both of them would competition that would move us forward
You cant even air your opinion on here all you get is abuse over abuses. When someone comes out with their opinion the right thing to do is counter their points with your own facts not abusing or calling them names. Grow up, guys.
@Ayodele A forum is made up of people using a medium to share ideas and “views”on a variety of subjects,and some come in form of debates especially when a conflict of ideas or opinion arises.
So in other words,you should be free to air your views,judgement,or appraisal you have in mind on a particular subject,without fear of abuse.
Obviously,there are two things that happens in a forum,those who shares your views,and some who are against it but fears comes in when those who are against your views responds harshly with abuses,which also makes some group of forum members to be intimidated to support certain views despite having a totally different opinion because of fear of attack from abusive and stronger members who themselves are bullies.
I see this as harassment.
But you also get some members with very strong intellectual views which can also be intimidating for some who are less read and are lacking in mental strength to go toe to toe or into debates with this kind of members,though they get large support for their mastery of English and phenomenally broad knowledge of vocabulary,however,that does not make their opinions better or having better views in a particular subject or matter.Though this can be very depressing as well and it’s another way to intimidate,but this time it happens indirectly but one cannot fault or point a finger to that,just a shame indeed.
Lastly,i think members should rise to any form of challenge,intellectual or otherwise,what matters is facts that comes with her arguments,and also the need to try as much as possible to avoid abusive members because end of the day there’s no need for that and no one should put up with abuses.I think if this steps are taking we may have a much better and civil forum.
I don’t think Taribo West was misquoted in fact he has been unequivocal in his opinion of Aribo as clearly stated by the writer.And this are his unbiased opinion of Aribo,it happens in England as well where people are openly honest with their views of players performances and statistics.
Taribo has seen both players in action for the national team and this are his honest assessments.Apparently,he was an ex footballer who played at the highest level so i give him that.
However,people are proven wrong sometimes because we can never be right all the time.Great sportsmen have made public their opinions,sometimes which are not a true judgement of a player especially,after proven them wrong on the field,some of who’ll eat their words eventually example is our own Ighalo who had to contend with an open backlash from the British tabloids and pundits some who were legends of Manchester united.
Like Taribo rightly said he is yet to get used to playing the African way which is a fair assessment.So it’s just a matter of time for us to get the best of his great potentials.
Your comments are never devoid of common sense deeply rooted in the topic at hand.
Thanks Greenturf, I really enjoyed reading your submission above.
Thanks @Deo that’s very kind of you
@ greenturf
I agree with you that West had played the game at the highest level. The question is whether he would have gotten there if someone had criticised him severely at the start. The coaches would have overlooked him. And what sense does it make if you compare a rising star like Aribo with an established guy, a guru, like Etebo.
My point is that it takes more than being an ex-international to contribute positively to our soccer. Haven’t we been contending with the views of an ex-international that’s clearly at variance with our current level?
I think these guys should encourage and nurture the younger ones rather than making dismissive statements about the enterprising boys.
Thank you kangA for your intelligent views.
Meanwhile,pundits differ in their ways of assessment just like we forumites,as we do also have different ways of assessing players.
Many successful sportsmen today went through hard critics to get to where they are today,as well hardcore fans who turn blind eyes to their downsides.But all this factors never stopped them from reaching the summit of their career.
Take note,Gernot Rohr isn’t bothered with all this criticism nor would such determine Aribos inclusion or position in the team,neither is Aribo because as a professional he do get the stick from fans when he falls below his standards and it’s no different from the national team it’s just what the sports bring and if you take the positives from the critics and walk to the topmost levels attainable in your career,then I see you having the last laugh as well winning many more fans as well your critics.
Same thing was said about the two oyibo(Ekon and balogun) when they started. But nobody can accuse them of that now. So I think with time Aribo will know how to adjust his game when playing an African opponent
That is a perfect response Ernie and I applaud you for this. This sort of criticisms can only help bring out the beast and the best in Joe Aribo.
There often can be 2 factors to propel any sport-man to success: inspiration or desperation. Inspiration by kind comments, desperation by harsh criticisms. Inspired to greatness by kind words or positively desperate to prove doubters wrong.
As you so dispassionately allude to, Ekong and Balogun rose to the occasion of proving doubters like Sunday Oliseh wrong.
Markedly, it is this same Taribo West who sang the praises of Leon Balogun.
In a heartwarming language of unflinching endorsment,The former Inter Milan rock of Gibraltar was quoted on brillafm sometime ago as saying: “The chemistry of the Oyinbo wall is beginning to work…..Leon Balogun was outstanding in world cup qualifying series and Ekong is doing well in the team also.”
The 1996 Olympic football hero would follow this up with yet another vigorous and voluptuous verse captured by a local newspaper in which he was quoted as saying:”The boy (Leon Balogun) is good, he is no way the finished product yet, but I have not seen any defender in the colours of Nigeria, who reminds me of myself like him,” Taribo West was quoted by Daily Post.
“He won everything in the air, calm with the ball at his feet and good in reading and intercepting play.
He is a natural leader, a sure captain material if he maintains his performance.” End of quote.
Both Balogun and Ekong would have needed Panadol to calm their delightfully swelling heads on the back of such heartfelt words of encouragement from Pastor West.
Mohammed Ali once said that the man who sees the world at age 40 the same way he saw it at age 20 has wasted 20 years of his life – in effect, the Greatest One was saying that we should never discount man’s capacity for change.
This is Taribo West’s views of Aribo today. Tomorrow, he might well have a change of heart and may even come to apologise for a statement that was neither dispassionately said by him nor sadly dispassionately responded to by others at the time
Perhaps, the most important aspect of Pastor West’s statement on Aribo was where he said: ‘There’s no other way of putting this – I think Joe is not a bad player, but he needs time to adjust to African football.’ End of quote
That much is true. Aribo will be given the time to adjust to the African game. He has earned it with his passion, patriotism and poise which will afford him the space to polish his play in tune with the demands of African Football.
Once he gets going, Aribo will be unstoppable!
Expertly said @ KangaA. Majority opinion has never been proven to justify the truth but only opinate view of a group with same characteristics,that most of the time is skewed to selfish purpose. For man by nature is a desperately wicked entity. That being true, why then must we keep trusting on status quo regarding our attitude to anything, however destructive that thing is, baffles me. That some drug addicts, Ex England internationals who due to life frustration, ends up snowballing into huge emotional wreck, and start destructively criticising players does not mean we should follow suit. We as humans, are unique,and not made to tailgate to hell,every idiots out there. I felt a deep pain in my bones reading through that good for nothing comment from Taribo West that I used to respect alot. Aribo proudly putting the Nigeria jersey is enough reason to if ever, find a more decent away to address anything about him. Never in public or media. Then honestly looking at it, Aribo has always done well whenever he played. Concerning those matches people refering to, tiredness of travelling long distances combined with haven regularly played for his club, might have affected him. Both players, Etebo n Aribo, are of top quality. It’s absolutely baseless to be comparing these players. The gaffer in charge knows who best to feature at every given moment. But I know where all of these are coming from. They tried everything they could to get rid of Rohr but to God Almighty be THE GLORY, they failed, as Rohr has signed another 2.5 year contract. They now go about with tails stuck in between their legs letting out wicked fart in the midst of that. Wicked fart, in now trying to destabilise the team by pitching players against players through this satanic comparison of players. The ex- internationals, the agents, some members of NFF, the media men n foreign agents are behind this new strategy. Forumites especially those that have solidly stood by Rohr beware. Make Una shine Una eye wella..
Glory, good points. I particularly did not like the way he was creating a “ARIBO vs ETEBO” situation. Yes, they are competing for spots in the midfield, but they are first and foremost TEAM MATES! Thoughtless comments to the press can create unnecessary bad blood in the team. This kind of behaviour must be discouraged.
@Pompei I disagree there wont be any bad blood.Fans using words like “wicked”and other destructive abusive language at Taribo is not right,expressing emotions to harm others doesn’t make you any different after all.I understand they are fighting for someone who picked Nigeria ahead of his country of birth fair play to that,but they are getting unnecessarily worked up over things that doesn’t really matter so much.
This two players in question are professionals who gets the stick all the time in Europe because club fans are more fanatical.
In Liverpool for instance,the scouse Everton fans love Amokachi but aren’t a big fan of Iwobi and they bare their mind,we should stop been overly sentimental about things that should be taking in the chin.This footballers don’t take things to heart they are professionals and they know fans reacts differently and that’s why they work so hard to improve their game.
Taribo West has always being a blunt person,he says it as its that’s his personality we all have ours,this are the qualities,the traits,the distinctive character in us that makes us who we are.The attitudes,the behavioural characteristic,both inherent and acquired,that distinguish one person from another is what makes the world an interesting place,is what makes our opinion different,but does it defy us i don’t think so rather this distinctive individual patterns of behaviour makes everyone different,that’s why we can’t be Taribo and him us and we all have a right to freedom of speech.I know people from third world countries find it difficult to respect peoples opinion and thinks people should have a stereotyped ways to think,to express their opinions and if otherwise all hell will let loose.
Honestly,we should relax and take things easy it could be worse,and it’s not as bad as they are making it.
Greenturf, I disagree with your view. Taribo may be entitled to his opinion, but freedom of speech does not negate the requirement to choose your words wisely and carefully. For instance, someone may come on CSN and state that Greenturf is a big fool. That is his opinion. Is he entitled to proclaim it though? Would that comment be appropriate, given that he has a right to his opinion?
What parameters did Taribo use to arrive at the conclusion that Aribo is “too weak” for African football? Even if he is right, is that the best way to pass the message across? The Taribo comment was tactless, harsh, and overly blunt.
As a professional who started his own career somewhat shakily, but was given the opportunity to develop, I would have expected Taribo to be more tolerant of Aribo’s deficiencies. Yes, Aribo has some faults. But his positives are more than his negatives. And he has had a dream start to his international career. At the moment, his goal per game ratio is better than Yekini! It doesn’t sit well to castigate a player showing promise like that via the press. As I mentioned before, Taribo could have gone about expressing his misgivings in other ways without involving the press, and without casting aspersions on Aribo.
So yes, we have to agree to disagree with each other on this one. Peace.
Correction – Aribo’s current goal per game ratio is 0.5, which falls below Yekini’s 0.64.
@Pompei I don’t think Taribo is casting aspersions on Aribo rather stated his opinion of Aribo’s downside as a greenhorn to African football which is his own professional and honest opinion.
The headline”Aribo too weak to play for Nigeria”is misleading and obviously the handwork of the press to market their wares and as you can see it’s working for them because clearly he was misquoted and the caption does not represent Taribo who never made such controversial statement in his interview as clearly and boldly written above and i quote “I watched Aribo play for Nigeria,but in my view he is yet to come to terms with it”he carried on in the next paragraph “I don’t think Joe is a bad player but he needs time to adjust to African football” so what has Taribo said in this interview that warrants all this chaos and animosity towards him?he never said Aribo isn’t good enough for the super eagles as the press is wanting you to believe,rather he needs time to understand or figure out how to play the African way,which is a honest opinion.
I just feel like droping it here….
… I pray their BP don’t go higher than KILMANJARO MOUNTAIN
Now that ROHR will stay till after the world cup (QATAR 2022); what will those haters do???
He obviously doesn’t know what he is talking about. Thank God he is not a coach!
I was misquoted.
Criticisms are basic tools for career explosiveness for REAL professionals.Milk are for babies while bones are for men.Aribo will definetly live to the task.
I began my first comment by asking if Taribo was misquoted. If that is the case, then obviously the pressman that interviewed him should bear the brunt of our displeasure.
However, if he was not misquoted, his comments are in poor taste. If you say Aribo is not up to speed with African football, why stop there? How about suggestions for improvement? If your experience allows you to see faults and deficiences in a player’s game, that same experience should enable you to profer possible soultions. To criticize a young, up and coming player without making any suggestions for improvement, and then to state or imply that he is not good enough, is not ok. It dampens the player’s morale, and leaves Taribo in a position where for him to be proved right, Aribo has to fail.
Taribo could have aired his opinion in a better way. The kid gloves can come off and you can be as blunt as you wish when talking about a player who performs poorly. But that approach would not be a good fit for a player who has done well so far!
Instead of making hasty generalizations like “African football is too hard for Aribo”, state your case and profer possible solutions. And as an experienced professional, Taribo knows that the press are only too happy to print whatever captures the public’s interest. He should have approached the interview with necessary caution.
Bottom line, Aribo has had a wonderful start to his international career. His game is a work in progress. He has some things he needs to work on to get better. I would like to see him improve in the area of assists and goals. Also want him to work on his physical strength and stamina. Hopefully, with more games, African and otherwise, he will come good, just as Taribo himself did in his own time.
@Pompei
Methinks these ex-internationals are arrogating too much authority to themselves. They are allowed to be blunt and encouraged to make apparently poorly thought-out remarks against young players while the rest of us should cheer! Just as well, they can be allowed to fabricate lies to run down a coach who has been doing well, for selfish reasons. Again they expect us to cheer as if we don’t know their real motives.
Some of us will not cheer while they embark on destroying our soccer. People promoting lies, ineptitude, greed, insensitivity, and selfishness will have to reexamine their conscience and change.
Then we will cheer them up as worthwhile leaders who are coming to the table with something to share . . . as the present Sports Minister!!!
KangA, well said.
John Utaka has been appointed as an under 19 coach and one of the four assistant coaches at his old club Montpelier in France.The club announced it on their website today. We now have Seyi Olofinjana at Wolves in England, Finidi George at Real Betis in Spain and of course John Utaka in France. They are all coaches of under 17s and under 19s. A truly forward NFF will hire these developmental coaches for our junior teams.
The other jobless, self entitled ex internationals should take a cue from these guys and look for jobs elsewhere instead of all of them depending on the NFF for jobs.Shebi Taribo played for Auxerre, inter Milan , Partizan Belgrade, Derby County. None of the aforementioned clubs found him worthy for any of their junior teams?
The Nigerian national teams is not a place to rehabilitate ex internationals please.
All of you who are exalting and hyping this SE team and coach Rohr, please don’t set us up for a big fall.
No doubt we have some talents and potentials in the current SE team, but the coaches are a big joke.
From Rohr to his assistants, they are a big joke.
If the NFF is serious and sincere by now they should be ready for the day after Rohr.
After the WC. Amuneke should have been drafted into the team as the first assistant to say the least. They would have told Rohr that we are a nation with winning mentality, that fears no foes, but they did not.
I have no faith in coach Rohr, the man has no confidence in himself and in his team.
He is a compulsive defender, even with an 11 Okochas and Etim Essiens the man will still play his usual defensive pattern.
Nigeria with winning mentality, what will Egypt With 8 afcon trophies, that’s has Aboutrica who has won it four times, or cameroon with six trophies call there team, Nigeria’s history in football in Africa does not suggest Nigeria as a super power in Football. Let reality cover your Judgement then you will be able to judge right, Just like Mr Odegbami hyping players of his days, but they only won one afcon trophy, couldn’t even qualify for one world cup.
aribo a dangerous left footer. chukwueze also a left footer. now we have 2left footers. i like aribo and chukwueze to compete the right wing. since aribo is a magical, compose in front of goal and creative. he also play right wing at club. he can help super eagle with magical goals. etebo suit centre midfield due to his defensive minded. aribo is an attacking minded player. we can easily concede goal with attacking minded aribo, but easily score goal with attacking minded aribo. aribo and chukwueze will rotate each other in the right wing.