Iwobi to City, Iheanacho to Arsenal would work

It was said in jest, and is a highly unlikely move, but the Nigerian wonderkids would benefit from swapping clubs

In the time-worn tradition of tantalizing what-ifs, the prospect of Alex Iwobi and Kelechi Iheanacho swapping clubs was born of a bit of kidding around. Yet, the more you think about it, the more it makes sense. As a matter of fact, it would not be a huge stretch to state it would be perhaps the best move for both players.

The rise of Iwobi at Arsenal is well-documented.

He flowered in the carefree expressionism that has come to define and frequently undermine the Gunners last season, but has found the going a little less rosy this term.

The prospect of dropping out of England’s Champions League places for the first time in Arsene Wenger’s reign is a very real one, and the volatile, toxic environment swirling around the Emirates these days have seen even established stalwarts like Mesut Ozil and Petr Cech struggle to perform at expected levels.

Iheanacho, feted as the Crown Prince of the Etihad, and the sole shining light of a damp squib of a season last time out, has seen his relevance at Manchester City nosedive alarmingly. The appointment of Pep Guardiola was supposed to be the catalyst for the next phase of his development. It has instead precipitated a great freeze, as the former Barcelona manager has increasingly given him the cold shoulder.

The arrival of Brazil international Gabriel Jesus has further complicated an already intractable situation.

And yet, in the case of both players, we are clearly dealing with highly talented individuals. Iheanacho’s shot conversion numbers remain freakishly good, while Iwobi has lost none of his twinkle-toed precocity. It is instead the details of their station that have altered amidst the chaos of the current Premier League season.

It is, as Iwobi himself admitted, virtually impossible, but you could envision the Arsenal man as one of Guardiola’s “free 8s”, playing in the same fashion and role as the duo of David Silva and Kevin De Bruyne have this season. His technical security, allied to his calm decision-making in tight spaces make him a perfect fit for Guardiola’s City project, and a more central role redresses his lack of defensive awareness in wide areas where he is expected to track an advancing full-back.

Music Producer, K-Solo Celebrates Son’s First Birthday With Adorable Family Photos

K-solo is undoubtedly one of the music producers who have been instrumental to the success of notable Nigerian artistes like Timaya.
The music producer celebrates his son’s first birthday today. Little Alexander Oyeniyi was born on Saturday, April 2, 2016 in Lagos by K-Solo’s babymama, Matop Nyenty.

See  photos:

Bisola & Debbie Rise Fight Over Big Brother Naija Game

Big Brother Naija reality TV show, Bisola and Debie-Rise on Friday, March 31 engaged in a heated argument, resulting to Derby-rise calling Bisola “senseless.”

Biggie gave the housemates a task to create a game tournament and after setting it all up, Debie-Rise pushed for a change in the rules and Bisola immediately opposed.

Both housemates got into a disagreement.

Debie-Rise walked past Bisola and told her to “keep shut!”.

Bisola would not take that as she retorted and rounded up by telling Debie-Rise to “close her fears and be bloody deaf.

Forget the goals - Neymar has been brilliant and can shine in Messi's absence

The Brazilian can reach a century of strikes for the Catalans on Sunday - but it is his all-round form that has made this his best season for the club

Stats do not tell the whole story. When Neymar netted 39 times for Barcelona in his second season, it looked like he would go on to match the numbers notched by his team-mates Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez in front of goal. Perhaps surprisingly, that has not happened - but it does not really matter much.

After his move from Santos in 2013, Neymar scored 15 goals in 48 appearances for the Catalan club in his debut season. He then hit 39 in 51 games as the Blaugrana claimed the treble in 2014-15. In his third campaign, he added another 31 in 49 - but finished behind Messi (41) and Suarez (59).

This term, he has a somewhat modest total of 14 from his 35 games - easily his poorest return since that first season at Camp Nou. However, it should not matter - because there is much more to football than goals and this is comfortably Neymar's finest campaign at the Catalan club.

Indeed, when Barcelona thrashed Paris Saint-Germain 6-1 last month in the Champions League to seal the greatest comeback in their history, it was Neymar - and not Messi - who was the biggest inspiration behind the win.

It was the Brazilian who won the penalty that Messi netted to give Barca a 3-0 lead, it was he who gave the Blaugrana hope with a fantastic free-kick to make it 4-1 with time running out, he who netted the spot-pick for the fifth and he who curled in a delightful ball for Sergi Roberto to complete the comeback.

It was Neymar's night and he had deserved it. More than any other Barca player, he had been instrumental in the remuntada and despite the relative lack of goals this season, that kind of performance was nothing new. He has been doing it all season.

Barca signed Neymar as an eventual heir to Messi and on Sunday against Granada, the Blaugrana will look to the on-form forward for inspiration as the Argentine attacker misses out through suspension.

And recent performances suggest he will be up to the task. Apart from goals, Neymar's numbers have improved in every way this season, with a greater amount of assists and successful dribbles, a far-superior defensive contribution and more key passes.

Mourinho's blame game only serves to distract from his own attacking failings

The 'Special One' has always been able to set a team up to defend but largely leaves attacking plans in the hands of his own players

How many home draws are too many? Eight, if Jose Mourinho’s reaction to Saturday’s 1-1 against West Bromwich Albion is anything to go by.

It felt like the day the Manchester United manager’s patience finally snapped. The Red Devils may be on a 19-game unbeaten run but they’ve only won eight and drawn the other 11, eight of which have come at Old Trafford. The frustration – with not being able to put teams away, with not being able to get into the top four – is beginning to tell.

“It’s disappointing because it’s one more draw,” he said. “It’s an amazing unbeaten run - 19 matches in the modern Premier League is fantastic.

“But it is too many draws at home. Because some draws away from home are acceptable, positive, you can deal with it. But too many draws at home.”

The reliable players in the back were the guys “pulling the train” against West Brom - Mourinho said - while the front four went missing. There was no mistaking that Henrikh Mkhitaryan, Jesse Lingard, Anthony Martial and Marcus Rashford were the culprits for this bad result in his eyes.

“Today for 90 minutes Valencia was consistent, Ashley Young was consistent, Marcos Rojo was consistent, Bailly was consistent, Fellaini was consistent, Carrick was consistent, and the other ones were not consistent,” he said.

“The other ones were a flash of talent, a glimpse of talent, one good action, almost a goal. And we need to kill opponents. This is déjà vu all season.”

If it had been the case that United were peppering West Brom’s goal with shots, he might have had a point about the culpability of the attackers he was forced to choose from for this game due to a combination of injuries and suspensions.

But they only had three shots on target against West Brom. The problem was less in the taking of the chances – for which Mourinho can blame his attackers at a stroke – and more in the creation of them.

It’s extraordinary that a manager in Mourinho’s position would elect to blame Mkhitaryan (16 Premier League appearances), Lingard (41), Martial (48) and Rashford (34). There is often a message behind Mourinho’s contacts with the media but it’s difficult to ascertain what he was trying to achieve by singling out four so relatively inexperienced at this level.

“When you score a goal against these teams you don’t win 1-0,” he said. “You win three or 4-0 because the game is open and they have to play a different way.”

What Mourinho sought to mask with the blame game is this: when that first goal doesn’t come easily, the manager has no solutions. With no out-and-out striker on the bench, Mourinho turned to Marouane Fellaini to supplement Rashford in the second half. By doing so he played right into the hands of Gareth McAuley and Jonny Evans. West Brom’s centre-backs made 26 clearances between them on the day.

Mourinho was criticised throughout his time at Real Madrid for failing to implement a coherent attacking strategy. Whatever the likes of Mesut Ozil, Karim Benzema or Cristiano Ronaldo could muster in front of goal was largely their own work. It was the only part of the game plan that allowed for improvisation and only because Mourinho was so utterly dependent on skills he couldn’t impart.

He has never been a coach to improve attackers or help them develop innovation in front of goal. He’s the type of coach who can drill a defence but when it comes to forwards he’s helpless.

“I Don’t Know What Advice To Give Married People Because I Am Not Walking In Their Shoes” – Joke Silva

Veteran Nollywood actress, Joke Silva  who has been happily married to Olu Jacobs for about 32 years spoke with The Sun about her new project centered on domestic violence in a recent interview.

Read excerpts below:

What is the secret of your ageless looks?

(Laughter) I think it is always keeping busy. And talking about being busy, I am working on a production called ‘Heartbeat The Musical’ which is part of the Lagos @ 50 celebrations. It is happening on the 25th, 26th and 27th of May at Terra Culture. I am always working, whether it is putting together a show or getting Lufodo Academy of Performing Arts on track. I think it helps you not to be focused on those things that may not be too right with your life.  Maybe your account could be in the red but because  you don’t have time to start thinking about that, so I think when you are not thinking too much about things that are not so important but focusing on the things that are right, it helps the wrinkles not appearing. But for us as black people, we don’t wrinkle easily.

How does Heartbeat The Musical fit into Lagos @ 50?

Heartbeat The Musical is a story about Lagos. And it tells the story of how everybody comes from everywhere to Lagos. For most people, Lagos is the London, the New York; the Mecca of their dreams, the land that flows with milk and honey and the streets paved with gold. So, everybody comes to Lagos for their own share of the Lagos dream and then some of them fall through the cracks in this incredible and bustling sea of humanity, and then you find a young person who says ‘wait a minute, these politicians should do this and that but they are not doing it, come on let us put them right’.  And then, they get violent but violence is not the answer to such things. But in going through that method, people never remember that there will always be collateral damage and your loved ones could be the ones that will be the collateral damage. It is in experiencing such, that the young man realises there has to be another way to effect the change; there must be another way to get the leaders have a paradigm shift and think about the populace, there must be another way to get the populace to have a paradigm shift and think about the nation. That is what Heartbeat The Musical is all about. It is a story of hope and we are talking about the heartbeat of Nigeria, which is Lagos. Lagos is Nigeria in microcosm. It was written by Tosin Osundeko. When we showed it in November and December, one of the constant comments we kept getting was that ‘is there hope?’ And for me that is key. Once we have hope, once we believe that it is possible, there is nothing we can’t achieve.

Let’s talk about Light in The Dark. Why did you take up the script?

Wow! That was because of the depth of the script. I like when we celebrate the human spirit; I am talking about the resilience of the human spirit, the ability to conquer situations. That is what Light in The Dark does.

A while ago, you and your husband celebrated 32 years of marriage. What advice do you have for couples regarding break-ups?

People say marriages are breaking here and there, fine. But the reason marriages are breaking up in Nollywood is because we are out there in the public domain. There are so many marriages breaking up among lawyers, bankers and doctors, and when you compare that to the number of marriages breaking up in Nollywood, you find that it is a very small percentage. The fact is that social media is now our reality and it is having a lot of effect on the industry. So, when people say to me, ‘what advise are you giving younger people?’ My dear, that is what Light in The Dark is also about. The issue is that if someone is experiencing violence, male or female, leave the marriage. Leave it because when you die the other person continues living. For me, whether the abuse is emotional or physical, please leave; and let each party get counseling, then you can come back together if counseling works, but if not, don’t come back.

So, when people talk about ‘advice’ I don’t know what advice to give because I am not walking with their shoes, honestly. You tell somebody ‘have patience.’ What if that person has been having patience, patience and patience? Did I have patience in mine? Yes. Did I lose my temper? Actually, I think my son will say that I have a very short fuse. So, I think what is key to any marriage is grace. Pray for the Lord to be the third person in your marriage. Pray for his grace to have wisdom, staying power, grace to have listening anointing. It is not just listening to what is being said but to everything, the body language, the way things are said. The grace to have respect for each other is key. The grace to want to have what is best for your partner is important. If you want your partner to succeed, if that is your focus, then you too will succeed. And it is a two-way traffic. It is not the woman continuously wanting the husband to succeed or the husband wanting the  wife to succeed alone; it has to be simultaneous. If the two of you are working together, the sky is the limit.

Twitter reacts as Wilfred Ndidi scores first English Premier League goal

The Nigerian scored his first English topflight goal versus Stoke City, with fans and pundits all sharing their thoughts on social media

Twitter went into a frenzy after Wilfred Ndidi netted his first English Premier League goal as Leicester City defeated Stoke City 2-0 at the King Power Stadium on Saturday.

Ndidi's superb strike, came after 25 minutes and Jamie Vardy added a second shortly after the interval with a brilliant volley.

We've taken a look at some of the best ones here...