30 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Kenya Police lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Bandari will want this one forgotten quickly: 3‑0, every duel lost, and a long ride home. Kenya Police were ruthless in the way good sides are ruthless.
Fee agreed, wages agreed, and Shabana waiting with a shirt. Nobody at Kenya Police is pretending otherwise, and the supporters have stopped asking whether and started asking when.
Kenya Police asked and Bandari said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
Squad10 Jun 2030
Words at Kenya Police training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Ibrahim Kamau 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.
Claude Kayibanda 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.
7 goals. Both benches spent the second half looking at each other rather than at the pitch. Purists will complain about Kenya Police and Sofapaka in equal measure; everybody else had a wonderful time.
He is 18 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.
Marked 8.68 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.
Kevin Ouru 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.
Two goals and a mark of 8.82 to go with them. Strikers are judged on afternoons like this one and remembered for far fewer of them than people imagine.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Kenya Police is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Tom Renshaw 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.
A month is long enough that nobody gets in by accident. Geoffrey Onyango is in the division's best eleven for it, which is a quieter compliment than an award and a more reliable one.
The dugout6 May 2030
The view from the dugout
“We controlled it. There were spells I did not like and we will look at them, but the group showed me something.” Caleb Mbugua, on a 2‑1 win that he was already picking apart on the walk to the press room.
It is not much of a headline and it is the reason players believe the next promise. Kenya Police told Joash Onyango something would happen and then it happened, which in this industry passes for remarkable.
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.
“The supporters are entitled to be angry. So am I. We will put it right.” 0‑1, a manager saying the necessary things, and a dressing room that heard a different version of them.
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Kenya Police know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
The manager wanted a different profile for this opponent, which is a real football reason and no consolation. He did nothing wrong and he did not play.
Francis Masika, 18, plays like he has been here for years — 8.16
A mark of 8.16 means one thing beside a twenty-nine-year-old's name and something else entirely beside a 18-year-old's. Nobody at the ground needed telling which this was.
He is 18 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.
It finished 2‑0, and it was Francis Masika’s afternoon: on the scoresheet when it mattered, and the reason the points belong to Kenya Police.
Player ratings1 Apr 2030
Samuel Kapen was on a different afternoon to everybody else
8.23. There are performances a supporter describes to somebody who was not there and cannot quite convey; this was one, and the number does not help either.
“The manager did not use many words, and he did not need to.” Joash Onyango has his answer from Kenya Police; what he does with it is the next window’s story.
Kevin Ouru 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.
Francis Masika, 18, plays like he has been here for years — 9.90
A mark of 9.90 means one thing beside a twenty-nine-year-old's name and something else entirely beside a 18-year-old's. Nobody at the ground needed telling which this was.
Defending was optional and nobody took up the option. 6 goals between Kenya Police and KCB, and not one of the people who paid to be there will ask for the money back.
He is 18 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.
The manager has re-ordered his thinking and Lamine Fofana 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.
Successful dribbles: 37. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Player ratings4 Feb 2030
A brace, and Samuel Kapen takes the afternoon — 9.20
There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. Samuel Kapen provided it, and the 9.20 beside his name is if anything generous to everybody else.
The last thing about a transfer that is still about the player is his signature on his own terms, and it is there. Kenya Police have lost him in all but the paperwork.
The deadline has passed and the squad is the squad. 9 arrived, 3 left, and everything else printed about this club last month was a rumour that stayed one.
Senior shirt numbers handed to boys the coaches have known since they were twelve. Most will not make it and all of them have already done the hard part.
He is 17 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.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Kenya Police can pretend not to have heard.
Squad24 Dec 2029
Words at Kenya Police training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Moise Mbombo 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 Kenya Police this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Nobody has barred the club from spending; it simply has nothing to spend that it has not first raised. Every incoming name comes with an outgoing one attached.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Kenya Police, and both men came out saying it was fine.
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Yves Koutiama signs something — a contract at Kenya Police or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
In brief
The dugoutThe manager makes Moise Mbombo a promise
Moise Mbombo 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 Kenya Police this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
“We keep meeting, and we keep leaving the room with the same numbers we walked in with.” Another round of talks at Kenya Police, another week without a signature from Stephen Otieno.
Position 6 on 53 points, and the places that carry a European ticket are close enough to count. Seasons like this are decided by two results in April, and the club knows which two.
Kevin Ouru 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.
21 days, the medical staff say, and medical staff are optimists by profession. The team sheet will look wrong without him.
Squad12 Nov 2029
Words at Kenya Police training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Yusuf Mainge 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.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Kusi Nana Asante trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
“We keep meeting, and we keep leaving the room with the same numbers we walked in with.” Another round of talks at Kenya Police, another week without a signature from Francis Masika.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Yusuf Mainge 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 Kenya Police this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Kenya Police, and both men came out saying it was fine.
A window away with the national side, and a shirt at Kenya Police that briefly doubles as an advertisement. A call-up flatters the player and the club that built him in the same breath.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Ochieng Amuka will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Kenya Police the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Squad8 Oct 2029
Yusuf Mainge 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.
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Kenya Police know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
Nobody at Kenya Police 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.
Position 6, 53 points, and a run-in that decides whether next season has Thursday nights in it. Nobody is calling it a race yet, which is what people say during one.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Kenya Police can pretend not to have heard.
Kevin Ouru 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.
Squad17 Sep 2029
Yusuf Mainge 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.
Two goals and a mark of 9.15 to go with them. Strikers are judged on afternoons like this one and remembered for far fewer of them than people imagine.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Ochieng Amuka will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Kenya Police the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Squad10 Sep 2029
Words at Kenya Police training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Yusuf Mainge 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 point taken on 96 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.
Tyshick Mosengo 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 have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Kenya Police can pretend not to have heard.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Kenya Police they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Squad27 Aug 2029
Words at Kenya Police training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Yusuf Mainge 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.
He found out with everybody else, an hour before kick-off, from a sheet of paper on a wall. Nobody at Kenya Police pretended it was anything other than a decision about him.
Two goals and a mark of 9.00 to go with them. Strikers are judged on afternoons like this one and remembered for far fewer of them than people imagine.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Kenya Police they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Yusuf Mainge was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Erick Zakayo 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 pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Tyshick Mosengo, and the manager let it.
The dugout13 Aug 2029
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.” Caleb Mbugua chose the glass-half-full version of 2‑2; the supporters left with the other one.
In brief
The dugoutSomebody else is better right now than David Owino
“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 Kenya Police, and it is not being withdrawn.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Kenya Police is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Mathare United left with the points after a 2‑3 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.
Squad6 Aug 2029
Yusuf Mainge 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.
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.
In brief
SquadA place in the month's best eleven for Awesu Awesu
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Caleb Olilo will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Kenya Police the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Everything agreed with AFC Leopards, 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 Yusuf Mainge 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 Kenya Police this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Kenya Police they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Squad16 Jul 2029
Yusuf Mainge 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 Kenya Police this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
“A point is a point and I will take it, but we should have had all three.” Caleb Mbugua after the 0‑0 draw, and the sentence every manager in the country said at some stage this weekend.
The dugout16 Jul 2029
Somebody else is better right now than David Owino
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.
“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 Kenya Police, and it is not being withdrawn.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Kenya Police this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad18 Jun 2029
Words at Kenya Police training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Yusuf Mainge 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: Tyshick Mosengo. 1‑0 against Gor Mahia, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
“The players deserve the credit. My job was easy today.” It was not, and everybody in the room knew it; after 1‑0, Caleb Mbugua could afford to be generous.
“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 Kenya Police, and it is not being withdrawn.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Kenya Police is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
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.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Yusuf Mainge was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Caleb Olilo 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.
3 straight away victories. Sides that win away are usually sides that can defend and can counter, and the table has begun to reflect what those journeys have earned.
Clubs spend fortunes looking for players and occasionally find one down the corridor. Francis Masika is that, and the reception he gets on his first appearance will be different in kind from the one any signing receives.
“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 Kenya Police, and it is not being withdrawn.
There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. Samuel Ayanrinde provided it, and the 8.88 beside his name is if anything generous to everybody else.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Kenya Police they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Samuel Ayanrinde 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 finished 3‑1, and it was Samuel Ayanrinde’s afternoon: on the scoresheet when it mattered, and the reason the points belong to Kenya Police.
Squad7 May 2029
Yusuf Mainge 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.
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.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Kenya Police can pretend not to have heard.
Successful dribbles: 20. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Squad23 Apr 2029
Words at Kenya Police training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Yusuf Mainge 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 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.
Ninety minutes, no goals, and the argument started before the car park emptied: a point gained, or two thrown away against Tusker? Both sides of it will still be going on Thursday.
Shots: 9. Goals: none. The chances were there and they were good ones, and they went into the stand, the goalkeeper's arms and the side netting in roughly that order.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Kenya Police they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Samuel Ayanrinde 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 Yusuf Mainge was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
“The supporters are entitled to be angry. So am I. We will put it right.” 0‑1, a manager saying the necessary things, and a dressing room that heard a different version of them.
The manager has a list and the board has a condition attached to it. That is not a crisis — half of football works this way — but it decides which of the two of them gets his way in August.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Kenya Police can pretend not to have heard.
Footballers are asked about their boyhood club so often that nobody listens to the answer. Kevin Ouru has just signed for Kenya Police, and for once the answer mattered.
Samuel Ayanrinde 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.
He is doing things every Saturday that nobody around him can answer. It is flattering for a season and a problem after that, and Kenya Police know which stage they are at.
“The manager did not use many words, and he did not need to.” Moise Mbombo has his answer from Kenya Police; what he does with it is the next window’s story.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Geordy Ndecket trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Nobody at Kenya Police 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.
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Kenya Police know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
Samuel Ayanrinde and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad1 Jan 2029
Words at Kenya Police training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Awesu Awesu 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 manager did not use many words, and he did not need to.” Kusi Nana Asante has his answer from Kenya Police; what he does with it is the next window’s story.
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 Samuel Kapen is on it.
Boardroom1 Jan 2029
Nobody arrives at Kenya Police until somebody leaves
The club is not barred from spending; it simply has nothing to spend that it has not first raised. Every name linked with Kenya Police this window arrives with a name leaving in the same sentence.
Samuel Ayanrinde 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.
Squad18 Dec 2028
Yusuf Mainge 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 had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Kenya Police, and both men came out saying it was fine.
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.
Nobody will confirm this and nothing else explains the last month of selections. A costly error buys a player a period of being second choice that is always longer than the error was.
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Kenya Police know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
Position 5, 55 points, and a run-in that decides whether next season has Thursday nights in it. Nobody is calling it a race yet, which is what people say during one.
Samuel Ayanrinde 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.
Squad20 Nov 2028
Awesu Awesu 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 had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Kenya Police, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Nobody at Kenya Police 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.
Nobody will confirm this and nothing else explains the last month of selections. A costly error buys a player a period of being second choice that is always longer than the error was.
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Kenya Police know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
Position 5, 55 points, and a run-in that decides whether next season has Thursday nights in it. Nobody is calling it a race yet, which is what people say during one.
Awesu Awesu 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 Kenya Police this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Nobody at Kenya Police 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.
The dugout23 Oct 2028
The manager has not finished forgetting Gédéon Muyadi'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.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Kenya Police can pretend not to have heard.
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Joash Onyango commits to Kenya Police for another 2 years.
Squad9 Oct 2028
Words at Kenya Police training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Yves Koutiama 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.
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 Samuel Kapen is on it.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Geordy Ndecket trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Kenya Police can pretend not to have heard.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Kenya Police have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Kenya Police 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 Kenya Police this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
“The easiest signature of my career.” Joash Onyango and Kenya Police agree another 2 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Squad2 Oct 2028
Yves Koutiama 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.
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.
A month is long enough that nobody gets in by accident. Awesu Awesu is in the division's best eleven for it, which is a quieter compliment than an award and a more reliable one.