A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Polokwane City will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Polokwane City this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
“The easiest signature of my career.” Kgaogelo Ramushu and Polokwane City agree another 3 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
“We were not good enough today and I am not going to dress it up.” Interim Coach after 0‑3, in the tone of a man who knows the next question and does not intend to answer it.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Polokwane City will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Monty Batlhabane was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Themba Ngcobo and Polokwane City agree another 3 years.
“There are things I liked and things we will be doing on Tuesday until they are right.” 0‑0, and a manager who had already decided what Tuesday looked like.
The crowd waited for a goal that never came. Orlando Pirates defended in numbers and left with what they came for, and the two sides could be playing still without troubling a scorer.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Polokwane City will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Polokwane City is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Monty Batlhabane was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Polokwane City will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Polokwane City, and it is not being withdrawn.
Monty Batlhabane and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
At 25 the improving is meant to be over, and it is not: 3 points better than a year ago. It happens to the ones who take the boring parts seriously.
Squad20 Aug 2029
Words at Polokwane City training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Kgaogelo Ramushu is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
“The supporters are entitled to be angry. So am I. We will put it right.” 1‑2, a manager saying the necessary things, and a dressing room that heard a different version of them.
The end came on a Tuesday, as these things usually do: a short meeting, a shorter statement, and Lebogang Phiri clearing his office by noon. Football’s cruellest ritual, performed to schedule.
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Polokwane City will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
Not an interim appointment — an institution with an empty coaching office. Somebody unfamiliar will run the sessions this week, and the question of how a club gets into this state is one the board will be asked and will not answer.
The last thing about a transfer that is still about the player is his signature on his own terms, and it is there. Polokwane City have lost him in all but the paperwork.
“Somebody has to pick the team on Saturday, and this week that is me.” An interim appointment with no promises attached, which is how most of them start.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Polokwane City this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Careers are supposed to plateau and then decline, and the players who ignore that are always the ones who were listening on the training ground. 4 points of it, over months, at an age where the direction normally only goes one way.
6 boys move up, and somewhere in the building the people who coached them at twelve are quietly having the best morning of their working year. Nothing about this shows up in a result and it is why the academy exists.
Squad6 Aug 2029
Brian Bwire falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Polokwane City will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
Careers are supposed to plateau and then decline, and the players who ignore that are always the ones who were listening on the training ground. 4 points of it, over months, at an age where the direction normally only goes one way.
Squad30 Jul 2029
Words at Polokwane City training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Brian Bwire is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
Tlou Nkwe and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
The name of Lindokuhle Mathebula has come up in conversations Polokwane City were not part of. Nothing formal, nothing signed — but nothing about it accidental either.
Sparta Prague have been asked whether they would lend him. Loans are agreed quickly or not at all, and this one will be one or the other by the weekend.
The words a physio says slowly. 16 days is what the club will announce and everybody who has heard this diagnosis before knows the number is the least of it: the knee comes back before the player does.
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Polokwane City will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
The last thing about a transfer that is still about the player is his signature on his own terms, and it is there. Polokwane City have lost him in all but the paperwork.
He will play here until the summer and then walk out of the door for free, having already signed elsewhere. Supporters will manage the first part of that sentence; it is the second they will struggle with.
Monty Batlhabane and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
At 30 the improving is meant to be over. It is not: 4 points better than the mark taken at the start of the year, which is the sort of thing that happens to players who take the boring parts of the job seriously.
Panathinaikos have been asked whether they would lend him. Loans are agreed quickly or not at all, and this one will be one or the other by the weekend.
Every manager keeps a short list in his head of the men he wants on the pitch when the stakes rise, and it is never published. The team sheets for the big afternoons say Thabang Matuludi is on it.
Fee agreed, wages agreed, and Maritzburg United waiting with a shirt. Nobody at Polokwane City is pretending otherwise, and the supporters have stopped asking whether and started asking when.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Polokwane City this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
At 30 the improving is meant to be over, and it is not: 3 points better than a year ago. It happens to the ones who take the boring parts seriously.
Squad9 Jul 2029
Words at Polokwane City training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Brian Bwire is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
Polokwane City asked and Botosani said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
The name of Lindokuhle Mathebula has come up in conversations Polokwane City were not part of. Nothing formal, nothing signed — but nothing about it accidental either.
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Francis Baloyi and Polokwane City agree another 2 years.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 19 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
The clubs have settled the fee and he has settled his wages. What remains is a medical and a photograph, and around Polokwane City people have started saying his name in the past tense.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Polokwane City can pretend not to have heard.
A medical, a signature, a shirt held up in front of a sponsor’s board. Polokwane City have done the hard part with Ajax Cape Town, and the part that remains is the part supporters actually see.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Polokwane City they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Monty Batlhabane and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Squad25 Jun 2029
Words at Polokwane City training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Brian Bwire is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 26 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Fee agreed, wages agreed, and Black Aces waiting with a shirt. Nobody at Polokwane City is pretending otherwise, and the supporters have stopped asking whether and started asking when.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Maritzburg United have kept their man, and Polokwane City go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Brian Bwire was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 40 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Polokwane City, and it is not being withdrawn.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Polokwane City is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Monty Batlhabane was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Squad4 Jun 2029
Brian Bwire falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
Add another name to the list: Bidvest Wits have asked the question everybody in the game has been asking about Meshua Mello. The answer from Polokwane City has not changed — yet.
It is never announced and it is entirely visible: the biggest afternoons of the season keep containing him. A press box works this out long before anybody at the club confirms a word of it.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 47 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Thabelo Tshikweta will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Polokwane City the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Brian Bwire was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
“The easiest signature of my career.” Vuyo Moalosi and Polokwane City agree another 3 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Every manager keeps a short list in his head of the men he wants on the pitch when the stakes rise, and it is never published. The team sheets for the big afternoons say Thabang Matuludi is on it.
A conversation in the manager’s office, and a commitment that came out of it. Promises like that are cheap to make and expensive to break, and Lebohang Mankga has written the date down.
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Polokwane City will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
Monty Batlhabane was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Squad14 May 2029
Brian Bwire falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
It is never announced and it is entirely visible: the biggest afternoons of the season keep containing him. A press box works this out long before anybody at the club confirms a word of it.
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Brian Bwire signs something — a contract at Polokwane City or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Polokwane City, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Polokwane City will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Polokwane City is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Polokwane City this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad7 May 2029
Brian Bwire falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
Nobody at Polokwane City will say this on the record and the team sheets have been saying it for weeks. There is a small group in every squad who get picked when the fixture is difficult, and he has joined it.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 83 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Brian Bwire was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Tlou Nkwe was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Every manager keeps a short list in his head of the men he wants on the pitch when the stakes rise, and it is never published. The team sheets for the big afternoons say Giovanni Philander is on it.
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Polokwane City will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Polokwane City have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Monty Batlhabane was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Brian Bwire was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
It is never announced and it is entirely visible: the biggest afternoons of the season keep containing him. A press box works this out long before anybody at the club confirms a word of it.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Polokwane City, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 104 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Polokwane City they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Squad2 Apr 2029
Brian Bwire falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
Lebohang Mankga was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
“I was told straight, and I would rather have it straight.” The manager at Polokwane City has been clear about where Keagile Malepe stands, which is more than many ever get.
It is never announced and it is entirely visible: the biggest afternoons of the season keep containing him. A press box works this out long before anybody at the club confirms a word of it.
The demotion a club never announces and a dressing room always notices. Themba Zungu is further from the side than he was, and the reason will not be given until he asks.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 111 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Polokwane City can pretend not to have heard.
Monty Batlhabane and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Squad26 Mar 2029
Brian Bwire falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
Every manager keeps a short list in his head of the men he wants on the pitch when the stakes rise, and it is never published. The team sheets for the big afternoons say Giovanni Philander is on it.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 118 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Monty Batlhabane was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
“The easiest signature of my career.” Themba Zungu and Polokwane City agree another 3 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Nobody at Polokwane City will say this on the record and the team sheets have been saying it for weeks. There is a small group in every squad who get picked when the fixture is difficult, and he has joined it.
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Brian Bwire signs something — a contract at Polokwane City or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
A conversation in the manager’s office, and a commitment that came out of it. Promises like that are cheap to make and expensive to break, and Sibusiso Tshabalala has written the date down.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 126 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Polokwane City have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Polokwane City they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Polokwane City this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Brian Bwire was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Nobody at Polokwane City will say this on the record and the team sheets have been saying it for weeks. There is a small group in every squad who get picked when the fixture is difficult, and he has joined it.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Thabelo Tshikweta will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Polokwane City the goodbyes have quietly begun.
“The easiest signature of my career.” Tlou Nkwe and Polokwane City agree another 4 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Squad5 Mar 2029
Words at Polokwane City training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Brian Bwire is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Polokwane City this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Four or five weekends of consistency, judged against everybody in the division doing his job. Sibusiso Tshabalala has come out of that comparison in the side, and Polokwane City have had the benefit of every one of those afternoons.
It is not much of a headline and it is the reason players believe the next promise. Polokwane City told Sibusiso Tshabalala something would happen and then it happened, which in this industry passes for remarkable.
Nobody at Polokwane City will say this on the record and the team sheets have been saying it for weeks. There is a small group in every squad who get picked when the fixture is difficult, and he has joined it.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Polokwane City, and both men came out saying it was fine.
The last league game has been played and the table has stopped moving: 38 points. The summer begins on Monday, and so does the argument about what it all meant.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Polokwane City can pretend not to have heard.
Monty Batlhabane and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
“The supporters are entitled to be angry. So am I. We will put it right.” 1‑3, a manager saying the necessary things, and a dressing room that heard a different version of them.
It is never announced and it is entirely visible: the biggest afternoons of the season keep containing him. A press box works this out long before anybody at the club confirms a word of it.
Something was said to Keagile Malepe and then it happened. In this industry that passes for remarkable, and the dressing room noticed faster than any supporter could.
Monty Batlhabane was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Squad19 Feb 2029
Words at Polokwane City training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Brian Bwire is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Sibusiso Tshabalala. 1‑0 against SuperSport United, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Sabelo Motsa, and the manager let it.
The dugout19 Feb 2029
The manager’s verdict
“I am not going to get carried away and I will not let them either. It was a good day. There will be harder ones.” Lebogang Phiri kept it short after the 1‑0 win, which is what managers do when they are happy.
It is never announced and it is entirely visible: the biggest afternoons of the season keep containing him. A press box works this out long before anybody at the club confirms a word of it.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Polokwane City is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
1‑3 to Bidvest Wits, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.
Squad12 Feb 2029
Words at Polokwane City training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Brian Bwire is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
Lebohang Mankga and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
“The supporters are entitled to be angry. So am I. We will put it right.” 1‑3, a manager saying the necessary things, and a dressing room that heard a different version of them.
Every manager keeps a short list in his head of the men he wants on the pitch when the stakes rise, and it is never published. The team sheets for the big afternoons say Monty Batlhabane is on it.
“I was told straight, and I would rather have it straight.” The manager at Polokwane City has been clear about where Kabelo Sekaledi stands, which is more than many ever get.
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Polokwane City, and it is not being withdrawn.
3 wins on the spin now, and the question has changed from whether the run ends to who ends it. Confidence like this cannot be bought; it has to be earned exactly this way.
Monty Batlhabane and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Squad29 Jan 2029
Words at Polokwane City training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Brian Bwire is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 23-year-old it feels ownership of. Keagile Malepe has it now, and everything he does for the rest of his time here will be measured against the goodwill he was handed for free.
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Sibusiso Tshabalala. 2‑0 against Free State Stars, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
The clubs have settled the fee and he has settled his wages. What remains is a medical and a photograph, and around Polokwane City people have started saying his name in the past tense.
1 for Rodney Maphangule, marked 7.86, and a centre-half's name in the part of the report he normally only reaches by mistake. He will not be allowed to forget it in the dressing room for a month.
Monty Batlhabane was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Squad22 Jan 2029
Brian Bwire falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
At 23 he is being sung about by people twice his age, which is an affection a signing has to earn over years and a local kid gets for turning up. It is also the hardest thing in football to live up to.
A 1‑0 win over Platinum Stars, earned rather than given, and the sort of afternoon that sends everyone home talking about next week instead of this one.
Polokwane City have made the call to Sporting CP. No fee, a share of the wages, and a spare shirt in the position where the squad has been thinnest all season.
7 without a win now, and the ground has developed the special quiet of a crowd that expects the worst. One scrappy 1-0 would cure most of it; that is the maddening part.
Polokwane City had done everything except persuade the man himself. He stays at Nacional, and the manager goes back to the drawing board with the money still in the bank.
Successful dribbles: 21. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Squad8 Jan 2029
Words at Polokwane City training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Brian Bwire is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
A loan enquiry to Maritzburg United: cover, or a look at somebody the club cannot afford to buy yet. Either way the answer will come back inside the week.
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 7 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
Monty Batlhabane and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Beaten 2‑3, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
Squad1 Jan 2029
Brian Bwire falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
The dugout1 Jan 2029
The manager’s verdict
“That is on me. I pick the team and I picked wrong.” Managers say that when they mean it and when they need to be seen to, and after 2‑3 Lebogang Phiri left the room before anybody could ask which.
Every manager keeps a short list in his head of the men he wants on the pitch when the stakes rise, and it is never published. The team sheets for the big afternoons say Monty Batlhabane is on it.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Polokwane City this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
1‑3 to Bloemfontein Celtic, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.
Squad18 Dec 2028
Words at Polokwane City training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Brian Bwire is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
“We were not good enough today and I am not going to dress it up.” Lebogang Phiri after 1‑3, in the tone of a man who knows the next question and does not intend to answer it.
Nobody at Polokwane City will say this on the record and the team sheets have been saying it for weeks. There is a small group in every squad who get picked when the fixture is difficult, and he has joined it.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Sibusiso Tshabalala trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Brian Bwire was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
0‑1 to Black Aces, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.
The dugout11 Dec 2028
The manager’s verdict
“That is on me. I pick the team and I picked wrong.” Managers say that when they mean it and when they need to be seen to, and after 0‑1 Lebogang Phiri left the room before anybody could ask which.
Every manager keeps a short list in his head of the men he wants on the pitch when the stakes rise, and it is never published. The team sheets for the big afternoons say Thabang Matuludi is on it.
Bloemfontein Celtic next, and one man in the Polokwane City dressing room knows their training ground better than his own. The reception will tell him what they thought of him.
University of Pretoria will want this one forgotten quickly: 4‑1, every duel lost, and a long ride home. Polokwane City were ruthless in the way good sides are ruthless.
Two goals and a mark of 8.93 to go with them. Strikers are judged on afternoons like this one and remembered for far fewer of them than people imagine.
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Polokwane City, and it is not being withdrawn.
Centre-halves are allowed forward twice a season and are judged on what they do when they get there. Rodney Maphangule scored, was marked 7.73, and got back before anybody noticed he had gone.
Squad27 Nov 2028
Words at Polokwane City training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Brian Bwire is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
Tlou Nkwe and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Polokwane City this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad20 Nov 2028
Words at Polokwane City training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Brian Bwire is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
A 2‑1 win over Ajax Cape Town, earned rather than given, and the sort of afternoon that sends everyone home talking about next week instead of this one.
He is 23 and the ground already sings his name, which is a thing that happens to local boys and almost never to signings. Everything from here is measured against an affection he did nothing to earn except be from here.
He won it back and then made something of it, which is two jobs and the reason the scoreline looks the way it does. 9 combined actions and a mark of 7.10, and not one of them will make a highlights package.
“The easiest signature of my career.” Warona Medupe and Polokwane City agree another 3 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
0‑4 to Mamelodi Sundowns, and it was every bit as bad as the number suggests. There are defeats you argue about and defeats you apologise for; this was the second kind.
100 games in this shirt, through managers and relegations and everything else. Service like it is disappearing from the game and the crowd knows what it is watching.
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Mosa Ramasobane and Polokwane City agree another 3 years.
The dugout13 Nov 2028
The manager’s verdict
“That is on me. I pick the team and I picked wrong.” Managers say that when they mean it and when they need to be seen to, and after 0‑4 Lebogang Phiri left the room before anybody could ask which.
It is never announced and it is entirely visible: the biggest afternoons of the season keep containing him. A press box works this out long before anybody at the club confirms a word of it.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Brian Bwire was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Polokwane City this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Somebody has moved past him. It is not a dropping and it is worse than one, because a dropping is about a Saturday and this is about where he stands.
The dugout6 Nov 2028
The view from the dugout
“We did not lose. Some weeks that is all you get, and I would rather have the point than not.” Lebogang Phiri chose the glass-half-full version of 0‑0; the supporters left with the other one.
Nobody at Polokwane City will say this on the record and the team sheets have been saying it for weeks. There is a small group in every squad who get picked when the fixture is difficult, and he has joined it.
Monty Batlhabane was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Squad30 Oct 2028
Words at Polokwane City training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Brian Bwire is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Mpho Mvundlela. 2‑1 against Bidvest Wits, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
It is never announced and it is entirely visible: the biggest afternoons of the season keep containing him. A press box works this out long before anybody at the club confirms a word of it.
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Polokwane City will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
9 without a win is the sort of run that changes how a town talks about its club, and Free State Stars were the afternoon it stopped. Nothing is fixed by one result and everything feels different by one.
Monty Batlhabane and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad16 Oct 2028
Words at Polokwane City training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Brian Bwire is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
A 1‑0 win over Free State Stars, earned rather than given, and the sort of afternoon that sends everyone home talking about next week instead of this one.
Successful dribbles: 16. He went past people as if he had been told there was a prize for it, and by the end the full-back had stopped pretending to try.
“The players deserve the credit. My job was easy today.” It was not, and everybody in the room knew it; after 1‑0, Lebogang Phiri could afford to be generous.
Nobody at Polokwane City will say this on the record and the team sheets have been saying it for weeks. There is a small group in every squad who get picked when the fixture is difficult, and he has joined it.
9 without a win now, and the ground has developed the special quiet of a crowd that expects the worst. One scrappy 1-0 would cure most of it; that is the maddening part.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Polokwane City will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Polokwane City have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Successful dribbles: 24. He went past people as if he had been told there was a prize for it, and by the end the full-back had stopped pretending to try.
Squad9 Oct 2028
Brian Bwire falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
Tlou Nkwe was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
“The easiest signature of my career.” Keagile Malepe and Polokwane City agree another 3 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
“I was told straight, and I would rather have it straight.” The manager at Polokwane City has been clear about where Francis Baloyi stands, which is more than many ever get.
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Polokwane City will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Polokwane City this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
1‑3 to Kaizer Chiefs, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.
Squad25 Sep 2028
Words at Polokwane City training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Brian Bwire is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
The dugout25 Sep 2028
The manager’s verdict
“That is on me. I pick the team and I picked wrong.” Managers say that when they mean it and when they need to be seen to, and after 1‑3 Lebogang Phiri left the room before anybody could ask which.
It is never announced and it is entirely visible: the biggest afternoons of the season keep containing him. A press box works this out long before anybody at the club confirms a word of it.
“The manager did not use many words, and he did not need to.” Mashudu Makhavhu has his answer from Polokwane City; what he does with it is the next window’s story.
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Polokwane City will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
Every run ends on an afternoon somebody had marked down as routine. This one went 8 matches, which is long enough that a town had stopped counting, and short enough that it will remember exactly who stopped it.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Brian Bwire was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Nobody at Polokwane City will say this on the record and the team sheets have been saying it for weeks. There is a small group in every squad who get picked when the fixture is difficult, and he has joined it.
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Polokwane City will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Polokwane City, and it is not being withdrawn.
Boardroom4 Sep 2028
Deadline passes with 5 signed and 12 gone
That is the business done at Polokwane City until the window opens again. Whether it was enough will be answered on Saturdays rather than in a column, and the first Saturday is close.
Monty Batlhabane and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
The unbeaten run reaches 6. Some of them were wins and some were escapes, but a side that refuses to lose is a side other dressing rooms talk about.
Squad4 Sep 2028
Brian Bwire falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
The manager has re-ordered his thinking and Francis Baloyi has come out of it lower. He will be told it is temporary, and the players who have heard that before will avoid his eye.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 75 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Brian Bwire was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Polokwane City have made the call to Doncaster Rovers. No fee, a share of the wages, and a spare shirt in the position where the squad has been thinnest all season.
Polokwane City have made the call to Sporting CP. No fee, a share of the wages, and a spare shirt in the position where the squad has been thinnest all season.
Every manager keeps a short list in his head of the men he wants on the pitch when the stakes rise, and it is never published. The team sheets for the big afternoons say Rodney Maphangule is on it.
The dugout28 Aug 2028
The manager’s verdict
“I am frustrated, honestly. We did enough to win and we did not win.” Lebogang Phiri was not hiding it after 0‑0, and nobody in the Polokwane City dressing room was either.
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Polokwane City will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
Not a run of form — an actual step up, held for months. At 23 he is doing things at this level he could not do at the start of the season, and the coaching staff will tell you exactly which of them.
Nobody at Polokwane City will say this on the record and the team sheets have been saying it for weeks. There is a small group in every squad who get picked when the fixture is difficult, and he has joined it.
“It is not the end of the world and it is not good enough. Both of those are true.” The manager, after a 1‑1 draw, said the honest thing and then went to say it again inside.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Polokwane City will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
The deal with Middlesbrough is done in every sense but the one that puts him on the pitch. Nothing goes wrong at this stage, except on the occasions when it does.
Not a run of form — an actual step up, held for months. At 23 he is doing things at this level he could not do at the start of the season, and the coaching staff will tell you exactly which of them.
At 25 the improving is meant to be over. It is not: 4 points better than the mark taken at the start of the year, which is the sort of thing that happens to players who take the boring parts of the job seriously.
Boardroom7 Aug 2028
5 academy players handed senior numbers at Polokwane City
The morning the pathway stops being a brochure and becomes a team sheet. Most of them will not be here in three years; all of them have already done the hard part, which was getting to today.
Clubs spend fortunes looking for players and occasionally find one down the corridor. Morgan Erasmus is that, and the reception he gets on his first appearance will be different in kind from the one any signing receives.
The academy exists for exactly this morning. Percy Lorch has come through every age group the club runs and has now been handed a senior number, and the people who coached him at twelve will be the proudest in the building.
112 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Polokwane City lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Polokwane City will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Terms were offered and declined. Whether it was the wages, the role or the town, nobody at Milton Keynes Dons is saying, and nobody at Polokwane City is enjoying the guessing.
Monty Batlhabane and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Porto have kept their man, and Polokwane City go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
Polokwane City have made the call to Atalanta. No fee, a share of the wages, and a spare shirt in the position where the squad has been thinnest all season.
21 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Polokwane City lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 131 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Vincent Mtsweni will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Polokwane City the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Squad3 Jul 2028
Words at Polokwane City training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Brian Bwire is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Chacarita Juniors have kept their man, and Polokwane City go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Polokwane City this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Polokwane City have made the call to Milton Keynes Dons. No fee, a share of the wages, and a spare shirt in the position where the squad has been thinnest all season.
Polokwane City have made the call to Kaizer Chiefs. No fee, a share of the wages, and a spare shirt in the position where the squad has been thinnest all season.
Signed today, seen by nobody for years, and one of them may one day be the reason the club exists. That is the whole of the argument for an academy, and it is a good one.
28 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Polokwane City lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Polokwane City will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Polokwane City, and it is not being withdrawn.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Polokwane City they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Polokwane City this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad26 Jun 2028
Words at Polokwane City training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Brian Bwire is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
Leiria have been asked whether they would lend him. Loans are agreed quickly or not at all, and this one will be one or the other by the weekend.
The dugout26 Jun 2028
The manager has not finished forgetting Sabelo Motsa's mistake
Publicly it is behind everybody. It is not behind the man who picks the team, and the only place that shows is a team sheet. He will get another chance; he will get it in a match that matters less.
The words a physio says slowly. 42 days is what the club will announce and everybody who has heard this diagnosis before knows the number is the least of it: the knee comes back before the player does.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 32 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Everything agreed with Racing Club, everything agreed with the player; a doctor is the only person left to persuade. The photograph is a day or two away.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Brian Bwire was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Polokwane City this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Every manager keeps a short list in his head of the men he wants on the pitch when the stakes rise, and it is never published. The team sheets for the big afternoons say Thabang Matuludi is on it.
49 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Polokwane City lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 39 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Polokwane City have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Polokwane City had done everything except persuade the man himself. He stays at OH Leuven, and the manager goes back to the drawing board with the money still in the bank.
Every manager keeps a short list in his head of the men he wants on the pitch when the stakes rise, and it is never published. The team sheets for the big afternoons say Rodney Maphangule is on it.
The words a physio says slowly. 71 days is what the club will announce and everybody who has heard this diagnosis before knows the number is the least of it: the knee comes back before the player does.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Polokwane City will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Squad15 May 2028
Brian Bwire falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
Tlou Nkwe was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
It is never announced and it is entirely visible: the biggest afternoons of the season keep containing him. A press box works this out long before anybody at the club confirms a word of it.
The words a physio says slowly. 20 days is what the club will announce and everybody who has heard this diagnosis before knows the number is the least of it: the knee comes back before the player does.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Polokwane City they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Ayabonga Gwangqa commits to Polokwane City for another 4 years.
Squad8 May 2028
Brian Bwire falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
It is never announced and it is entirely visible: the biggest afternoons of the season keep containing him. A press box works this out long before anybody at the club confirms a word of it.
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Polokwane City know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
27 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Polokwane City lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Polokwane City is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Polokwane City this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Sabelo Motsa, and the manager let it.
The dugout1 May 2028
Sabelo Motsa is still being punished for one mistake
Nobody will confirm it and the team sheets confirm it every week. One error has bought him a spell as second choice that is already longer than the error deserved.
Nobody at Polokwane City will say this on the record and the team sheets have been saying it for weeks. There is a small group in every squad who get picked when the fixture is difficult, and he has joined it.
35 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Polokwane City lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Polokwane City may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Squad24 Apr 2028
Brian Bwire falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
The words a physio says slowly. 43 days is what the club will announce and everybody who has heard this diagnosis before knows the number is the least of it: the knee comes back before the player does.
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Polokwane City will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
Monty Batlhabane and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Brian Bwire was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
51 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Polokwane City lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Polokwane City will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Polokwane City is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Every manager keeps a short list in his head of the men he wants on the pitch when the stakes rise, and it is never published. The team sheets for the big afternoons say Rodney Maphangule is on it.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Vincent Mtsweni was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Bonginkosi Dlamini trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Polokwane City know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
58 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Polokwane City lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Polokwane City will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Polokwane City is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Polokwane City this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Brian Bwire was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Ayabonga Gwangqa, and the manager let it.
The dugout3 Apr 2028
Sabelo Motsa is still being punished for one mistake
Nobody will confirm it and the team sheets confirm it every week. One error has bought him a spell as second choice that is already longer than the error deserved.
Nobody at Polokwane City will say this on the record and the team sheets have been saying it for weeks. There is a small group in every squad who get picked when the fixture is difficult, and he has joined it.
65 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Polokwane City lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Polokwane City will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Squad27 Mar 2028
Words at Polokwane City training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Brian Bwire is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
Tlou Nkwe and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Nobody at Polokwane City will say this on the record and the team sheets have been saying it for weeks. There is a small group in every squad who get picked when the fixture is difficult, and he has joined it.
72 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Polokwane City lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Polokwane City have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Monty Batlhabane and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Every manager keeps a short list in his head of the men he wants on the pitch when the stakes rise, and it is never published. The team sheets for the big afternoons say Thabang Matuludi is on it.
The words a physio says slowly. 79 days is what the club will announce and everybody who has heard this diagnosis before knows the number is the least of it: the knee comes back before the player does.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Polokwane City is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
There is no worse way to lose a footballer. Lebohang Nkaki has pre-agreed a move away, which means every appearance between now and June is made by a man the club can no longer sell, and somebody upstairs will be asked why the contract was allowed to get here.
“The easiest signature of my career.” Monty Batlhabane and Polokwane City agree another 4 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Monty Batlhabane and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad13 Mar 2028
Brian Bwire falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
It is never announced and it is entirely visible: the biggest afternoons of the season keep containing him. A press box works this out long before anybody at the club confirms a word of it.
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Polokwane City know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
86 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Polokwane City lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Lebohang Nkaki will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Polokwane City the goodbyes have quietly begun.
He will play here until the summer and then walk out of the door for free, having already signed elsewhere. Supporters will manage the first part of that sentence; it is the second they will struggle with.
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Rodney Maphangule and Polokwane City agree another 3 years.
Squad6 Mar 2028
Brian Bwire falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
The dugout6 Mar 2028
Sabelo Motsa is still being punished for one mistake
Nobody will confirm it and the team sheets confirm it every week. One error has bought him a spell as second choice that is already longer than the error deserved.
Every manager keeps a short list in his head of the men he wants on the pitch when the stakes rise, and it is never published. The team sheets for the big afternoons say Giovanni Philander is on it.
The words a physio says slowly. 93 days is what the club will announce and everybody who has heard this diagnosis before knows the number is the least of it: the knee comes back before the player does.
Out, 0‑0 to Mamelodi Sundowns, and the long argument about which of the small moments decided it. The league is all there is now, and everybody knows it.
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the whole of the defence. 8 saves, several of them the kind nobody expects to see made, and ten outfield players who owe him a drink.
0-8, and long before the end the away end had switched from encouragement to something considerably more pointed. Nobody rings a phone-in about losing narrowly.
17 goals and a season average of 7.20 will do that. The space he used to find has gone; he keeps scoring anyway, which is the mark of the real thing.
Match26 Feb 2028
Nobody could stop scoring
8 goals. Both benches spent the second half looking at each other rather than at the pitch. Purists will complain about Polokwane City and Mamelodi Sundowns in equal measure; everybody else had a wonderful time.
3 games without scoring. Strikers stop looking up, midfielders take the extra touch, and every shot that clears the bar is followed by a groan that has been building since the last goal.
Monty Batlhabane was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
The words a physio says slowly. 100 days is what the club will announce and everybody who has heard this diagnosis before knows the number is the least of it: the knee comes back before the player does.
0‑3 to SuperSport United, and it was every bit as bad as the number suggests. There are defeats you argue about and defeats you apologise for; this was the second kind.
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Polokwane City may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Squad21 Feb 2028
Brian Bwire falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
Tlou Nkwe was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
“The supporters are entitled to be angry. So am I. We will put it right.” 0‑3, a manager saying the necessary things, and a dressing room that heard a different version of them.
The words a physio says slowly. 107 days is what the club will announce and everybody who has heard this diagnosis before knows the number is the least of it: the knee comes back before the player does.
2 behind and going nowhere, until Thabelo Tshikweta decided otherwise. Bidvest Wits had done the hard part and then watched it come apart, and the noise at the final whistle was the sort a ground keeps.
The clubs had agreed and the player had not. A snub, and a public one: Atalanta keep him, and the supporters here are left wondering what he had heard about the place.
Two of the goals had his name somewhere on them, which is the afternoon a manager wants from anybody asked to both create and finish. 7.91, and 2 involvements.
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Thabelo Tshikweta. 3‑2 against Bidvest Wits, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
Squad14 Feb 2028
Words at Polokwane City training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Brian Bwire is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Polokwane City this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
A deal that was a phone call from completion at lunchtime was dead by midnight. Polokwane City will try again when the window opens; Chippa United may not be selling by then.
The words a physio says slowly. 114 days is what the club will announce and everybody who has heard this diagnosis before knows the number is the least of it: the knee comes back before the player does.
The clubs have shaken hands with Chippa United; the player has not yet. Personal terms are next, and personal terms are where more deals die than anybody prints.
The deadline has passed and the squad is the squad. 0 arrived, 5 left, and everything else printed about this club last month was a rumour that stayed one.
Polokwane City asked and Atlético Tucumán said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
Golden Arrows left with the points after a 1‑2 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.
Squad7 Feb 2028
Sabelo Motsa falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
The words a physio says slowly. 121 days is what the club will announce and everybody who has heard this diagnosis before knows the number is the least of it: the knee comes back before the player does.
Ninety minutes of very little, and then everything at once. The winner arrived in the 85th, and Free State Stars spent what remained of the match appealing to the referee rather than chasing the ball.
17 goals and a season average of 7.21 will do that. The space he used to find has gone; he keeps scoring anyway, which is the mark of the real thing.
Squad31 Jan 2028
Brian Bwire falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
Tlou Nkwe and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 22-year-old it feels ownership of. Monty Batlhabane has it now, and everything he does for the rest of his time here will be measured against the goodwill he was handed for free.
A 1‑0 win over Free State Stars, earned rather than given, and the sort of afternoon that sends everyone home talking about next week instead of this one.
The words a physio says slowly. 130 days is what the club will announce and everybody who has heard this diagnosis before knows the number is the least of it: the knee comes back before the player does.
Polokwane City had done everything except persuade the man himself. He stays at Quilmes, and the manager goes back to the drawing board with the money still in the bank.
4 without a win now, and the ground has developed the special quiet of a crowd that expects the worst. One scrappy 1-0 would cure most of it; that is the maddening part.
4 matches, no goals, and a training ground that has tried everything. It will end — droughts always do — but nobody at Polokwane City can tell you which week it ends in.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Brian Bwire was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Francis Baloyi was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Warm-up bib, ninety minutes of watching, and a handshake at the end that fooled nobody. Big matches tell you who a manager trusts; this one told Francis Baloyi.
144 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Polokwane City lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Terms were offered and declined. Whether it was the wages, the role or the town, nobody at OGC Nice is saying, and nobody at Polokwane City is enjoying the guessing.
Squad10 Jan 2028
Brian Bwire falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Polokwane City this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Polokwane City have made the call to Union Brescia. No fee, a share of the wages, and a spare shirt in the position where the squad has been thinnest all season.
151 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Polokwane City lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
0‑4 against Orlando Pirates, and no complaints that would survive the replay. The manager spoke about character afterwards; the terraces used shorter words.
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 6 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
Squad3 Jan 2028
Brian Bwire falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
“The supporters are entitled to be angry. So am I. We will put it right.” 0‑4, a manager saying the necessary things, and a dressing room that heard a different version of them.
Polokwane City have made the call to OGC Nice. No fee, a share of the wages, and a spare shirt in the position where the squad has been thinnest all season.
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 6 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
Successful dribbles: 21. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Squad20 Dec 2027
Brian Bwire falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
Tlou Nkwe was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Minute 87, against Bloemfontein Celtic, and a goal that felt like a win to everybody who had stayed. It was a draw. Nobody leaving the ground will describe it as one.
Every manager keeps a short list in his head of the men he wants on the pitch when the stakes rise, and it is never published. The team sheets for the big afternoons say Rodney Maphangule is on it.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Brian Bwire was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Tlou Nkwe and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
“We earned that. I asked them for a reaction and I got one, and now I want the same again on Saturday.” Lebogang Phiri on a 1‑0 afternoon that pleased him more than he was prepared to show.
A 3‑2 win over Orlando Pirates, a place in the next round, and the quiet arithmetic every supporter does on the walk home: how many more until a final?
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the whole of the defence. 7 saves, several of them the kind nobody expects to see made, and ten outfield players who owe him a drink.
Conceding is one thing; the response is what tells you about a dressing room. Sibusiso Tshabalala had Polokwane City level again within 1 minutes, and Orlando Pirates never got to play with a lead at all.
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Polokwane City, and it is not being withdrawn.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Polokwane City have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Brian Bwire was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
5 without a win now, and the ground has developed the special quiet of a crowd that expects the worst. One scrappy 1-0 would cure most of it; that is the maddening part.
Squad22 Nov 2027
Brian Bwire falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
Monty Batlhabane and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
A point taken on 87 minutes is worth exactly one point and considerably more than that to a dressing room. This side does not stop, which is a reputation worth more than the result.
9 combined actions and 7.11. The job he did is the one that shows up as other people looking good, and the only reliable way to notice it is to watch what happens on the afternoons he is missing.
Nobody at Polokwane City will say this on the record and the team sheets have been saying it for weeks. There is a small group in every squad who get picked when the fixture is difficult, and he has joined it.
“It is not the end of the world and it is not good enough. Both of those are true.” The manager, after a 2‑2 draw, said the honest thing and then went to say it again inside.
Successful dribbles: 30. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Squad8 Nov 2027
Words at Polokwane City training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Brian Bwire is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
There is a figure at which a wage bill stops being ambitious and becomes the reason nothing else is possible, and this club has reached it. Nothing is left over for a transfer, a stand or a rainy afternoon.
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
The dugout8 Nov 2027
The manager’s verdict
“I am frustrated, honestly. We did enough to win and we did not win.” Lebogang Phiri was not hiding it after 0‑0, and nobody in the Polokwane City dressing room was either.
The team sheet says it in public every week until it changes. The only version of being dropped a footballer cannot argue with, and the one he takes hardest.