Sports
Don’t Blame Finidi George On Our Poor Performance – Noble
Enyimba’s Goalkeeper, John Noble has defended Finidi George following the recent criticism from the media.
Finidi has been under intensive pressure following their inconsistent form in the Nigeria Professional Football League this season.
The Aba Elephants started the campaign on a good note, but deep in form saw them slipped further down the table.
They have lost seven matches out of 18 matches, one defeat short of the 8 they suffered last season.
The eigh time Champions are also struggling to put chances away, while leaking goals at the other end of the pitch.
“It has been a tough season for us,” Noble told the club’s media.
“I know I’ve been here for over two seasons now. Last season wasn’t this way.
“But then, I think the only thing we should do is for us, the players, to commit ourselves more, to put in our best because the coach (Finidi George) has been trying his possible best. And he can’t come to field to play with us. He can’t come to the field to play. He’s only giving us instructions, and we should be able to adhere to the instructions and keep working hard, and playing according to the pattern he wants us to play.
“I strongly believe that we’ll get out of this very soon because this is Enyimba. And this is a club that is always known for big games, and also known in the continent. So, we can’t give it up now. This is just the first round of the NPFL, and there’s every hope that the second round will be a different story”.
Iwobi spoke to Tidesports source ahead of Nigeria’s crunch playoff semi-final against Gabon on Thursday, November 13, in Rabat, Morocco.
The 28-year-old was reacting to Nigeria’s shaky World Cup qualifying campaign that saw the Eagles finish second in Group C behind South Africa’s Bafana Bafana.
“We’ve managed to rescue ourselves from the dead,” Iwobi told Tidesports source.
We know we have the players and the abilities to compete against any other country in the world.”
The Fulham star pointed to Nigeria’s star power, highlighting African Footballer of the Year winners Ademola Lookman and Victor Osimhen as proof of the squad’s quality.
“We have last year’s African best player (Ademola Lookman), the year before that (Victor Osimhen),” he said.
“It’ll be a shame if we don’t make it, but we have a lot of confidence. We just have to prove it to ourselves.”
Nigeria’s path to the United States, Canada and Mexico has been turbulent, with two coaches departing during the early stages of qualifying before Éric Chelle steadied the ship to steer the Super Eagles into November’s CAF playoffs.
Four nations from the continent – Nigeria, Cameroon, DR Congo and Gabon – will vie for a solitary spot to compete in next March’s inter-confederation playoffs, with a view to joining the already nine qualified African nations at the Finals.
It would mark Iwobi’s second appearance at the World Cup Finals and the Super Eagles’ first since the 2018 edition of the competition.
Back then, Iwobi featured in all three games as Nigeria was knocked out in the group stage.
The Chief Executive Officer(CEO) and Publisher of the Atlantic Bell Online medium, Mr. Celestine Ogolo has advised sports writers in Nigeria to diversify in sports writing and not to concentrate on football reporting alone.
The Deputy National President of Sports Writers Association of Nigeria (SWAN) Mr. Bonny Nyong has expressed commitment to support sports development and move SWAN forward.