Emenike flourished when his partner in the Eagles set up was Brown Ideye. The former West Bromwich Albion striker himself could not come up with the goals too and Stephen Keshi expectedly dropped him. All I can say is that Ideye seemed to have left with Emenike's bag of goals.
I think Emenike did not have a bad time with the Eagles. He might not have become the Rashidi Yekini Nigerians expected but he gave a good account of himself, AFCON 2013 victory remaining evergreen in our minds. Having called time on his national team career, I wish him the best. He deserves a beautiul wave from us. I also wish to state that I believe it's a ripple effect of the issues involving Oliseh and Enyeama. I cannot begin to say how, but in the world of sports and football especially, there is an unwritten code of loyalty. In football, traitors are called out daily and loyalists celebrated. Forget what any Super Eagles or NFF official may come out to say, Emenike left because of the ealier stated issues and of course the case of his place in the team being uncertain. Emenike was quoted to have said "I am happy to announce that I have put a full stop to my national team career for the sake of national peace...Super Eagles is a camp not a family house and shouldn't be a threat zone for any individual". Note 'national peace' and 'threat zone'. The above statements reek of underlying issues we may never get to know. However, a critical look at Oliseh's set up will show you that Emenike's place in the team may be up for grabs with Odion Ighalo making a serious case for himself. This is national team career, not club football and is why I believe he should have left the stage a little before now. Ego and arrogance may have come to play, somehow, not sure. Whatever be the case, we wish the Al Ain forward well in his next steps.
What we don't know yet is if this will be the last of the effects of the fall out we will witness.
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Follow Ikenna Enenta on Twitter: @ikenna05
So many issues remain hazy; in my opinion if the players are really passionate about serving the country in the capacity of football then they should pursue other means of airing their grievances even if it means stepping over the coach so far as the objective is to advance the team and the collective lot of the players. Or perhaps they did, who knows? The coach may have handled certain issues poorly however it doesn't bode well for the team if the manager validates some players' perception of themselves as indispensable or vital for the team's existence and success. Anyway, let the ripple effects continue; change is constant, who knows the hitherto under-rated star who'll now shine?
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