Mathieu Flamini: Everywhere But No Where

The second incarnation of Mathieu Flamini as an Arsenal player has
been a reflection of the reluctance of the club to adequately address
the grey areas of it squad. The 31 year old French midfielder who is
in his second spell signed a three year contract in 2013 that expires
this summer. If his second spell has been anything to go by, he is a
shadow of the player he once was when he made his name alongside a
midfield of Cesc Fabregas, Alex Hleb and Tomas Rosicky in the
2007/2008 season, when Arsenal almost won the Premier League.

Mathieu Flamini's now famous brain freeze was there for all to see
when he conceded a penalty just seconds after coming on as a
substitute against Barcelona in midweek.
That was a reflection of all that has been wrong with the former AC
Milan and Marseille midfielder in his second spell, his decision
making is short of terrible, he could be practically everywhere in
match, but no where actually. When he is deployed as the deepest
midfielder, he spends for time forward than as a midfielder as evident
by his advanced positions against Chelsea in a league match in
January, Since his brace against Tottenham Hotspur in a league cup in
September, he has ended up spending more time as an auxiliary forward
trying to be an the end of a move than a midfielder protecting the
back four.

Mathieu Flamini is a reflection of the malaise that is Arsenal's
transfer policy. If anything, Flamini should not be an Arsenal player,
as all the indices used to measure a technical midfielder that should
play for a club as Arsenal, he does not possess. His technical ability
is practically non existent. And despite still possessing some degree
of pace, he does not know how to apply same in a match situation.
There are midfielders in their thirties who have manage to evolve into
a sturdy player as they have grown old, yet the same cannot be said of
Flamini. Instead he was a far better player when he was younger. and
he offered more defensively to the team.

The Flamini conundrum is made even more puzzling when the inability of
Mohamed Eleny to make the squad for league matches and the recent
Champions League tie is considered.

Although the January signing is still settling into the rhythm of
English football, he should at least have been offered more playing
time than the FA cup matches he has played against Burnley and Hull
City. He certainly couldn't have done worse than Flamini if his
performance in the two matches he has played is anything to go by. He
has the positioning and technical ability that is lacking in Flamini's
game. Besides, he can only settle fully into English football if he is
offered the necessary playing time he needs in the league besides the
FA cup. For a player who has experience in European competition, and
who was part of a Basel team that played both Real Madrid and
Liverpool last season in the Champions League, he certainly would not
have been overawed by the occasion of playing Barcelona, rather than
Flamini that came in to discombobulate the team.

Whatever Arsenal achieves this season, Mathieu Flamini would have
played his part, as the injuries to key players ensured that he has
played more matches than would have been anticipated, but he should
not have been near the first team in the first place.

Sunday Oliseh: A Coach Who Thinks He Is Still A Player

Sunday Oliseh has always been a combustive person that is prone to
constant bouts of emotional outburst when he was a player. As captain
of the Super Eagles at the African Cup of Nations tournament in Mali
in 2002. He was the person that stood up to Ishaya Mark Aku who was
then Minister of Sports to complain about the condition of the
players' welfare at a meeting in Bamako. It was an intervention that
led to his subsequent ban from the Super Eagles for daring to
challenge constituted authority and for that he left the national team
prematurely.

As a player to be temperamental is a part of a personality that is
easily seen on the field of play, and that Oliseh showed on countless
occasions in his playing days. His random fouling on key opposition
players and constant challenge of referee's decisions was something he
did furiously in Nigeria's defeat to Argentina at the FIFA World Cup
in USA 94.
Yet for all his combustive attitude as a player he showed his
emotional side when he was in tears after Nigeria lost to Cameroun at
the African Cup of Nations final played at the National Stadium in
Lagos in the year 2000. He was practically inconsolable.
A player who featured for some of the top clubs in Europe during his
playing career such as Ajax, Borussia Dortmund and Juventus should
have learnt a thing or two about anger management and how to deal with
critics.

Which brings me to his coaching stint so far. His recent outburst in a
Youtube post on his website was amatuerish for a coach of a national
team to say the least. A key trend amongst national team coaches in
the world is that they are never anti-establishment, because a coach
is the face of a country's football association. Sunday Oliseh has
continually displayed anti-establishment tendencies as a coach,
something you find mostly from a player, and he did that severally
during his playing days.
To have come out openly to say his players had not been paid their
allowances at the recently concluded African Nations Championship so
as a result they lacked motivation, smacked of a coach who was looking
for excuses. Contrast this with the Samson Siasia led U23 team who won
the African U23 Championships in Senegal in 2015. Those players did
not get any allowance prior to and during the tournament, but the
situations were different. It showed a coach who was able to motivate
his players at a difficult time, without necessarily coming out in the
media to complain about the fact that his team had nothing from the
NFF.
While, Samson Siasia knows the system very well, so he showed
understanding of the situation having being in and out as a coach with
the Football House, but Sunday Oliseh, who though is in his first job
with the Football House should have known better what he was getting
into. He knows how the system works here and the fact he is being owed
five months salary arrears is a reflection of that.
He was a pundit at supersports before he became coach of the Super
Eagles, as a pundit he was meant to commend and criticise players.
Being a pundit means you are part of the media.
So having being part of the media, he should be able to handle criticism.

He labelled several persons as insane in his outburst, but later
claimed it was directed as some ex-players and the media and not the
generality of Nigerians in his apology posted on his twitter handle.
His further attack on certain sections of the media who are seeking
favours from him in order for them to write favourable stories about
him should disturb anybody. And the part where he also alleged that
some persons notably ex-players want the players that they are
managing to be included in his plans so that he can get some proceeds
whenever they are transferred to a club. Rumours of this particular
practice has been rife for several years in the various national
teams. So if he is standing his ground that only players worthy of a
place in the Super Eagles will be invited to camp so be it.

Again, his outburst showed a coach who is immatured for a national
team job. That this is his first coaching job really means he is
practically learning on the job. Something that is a risk, so some of
his recent comments did not come as a surprise going by his history as
a player. Added to that is the fact that he was hand picked by the NFF
president Amaju Pinnick to be the coach, and he did not fight to get
the job whether in form of a shortlist of names or by applying for the
job. Something which is again reflected in the way in which he has
approached the job.

With his recent outburst he might have lost some allies within the
media who felt progress has been made since his appointment. Yet a
coach is judged by his results, and with that outburst he has only
increased the pressure on himself, because there won't be any soft
landing if the Super Eagles fail to get a positive result in the
double header with Egypt in the upcoming Afcon qualifiers.
At that time, it would be a case of who blinks first.