Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Mpho Chabatsane was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
A loan enquiry to Ajax Cape Town: cover, or a look at somebody the club cannot afford to buy yet. Either way the answer will come back inside the week.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Platinum Stars, and both men came out saying it was fine.
The system has changed and his position has not. A footballer can improve his form; he cannot improve the manager’s formation, and that is the whole of the problem.
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 Luther Khune has written the date down.
A manager forgives a bad Saturday far more readily than a bad Tuesday, because one of them he can explain and the other one he chose. The reports this week have not been good.
41 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Platinum Stars lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
Nobody upstairs has said anything, which is the loudest thing they could do. Results buy silence in this game; the account at Platinum Stars is running low.
“I was told what my role would be, and I signed on that basis. It has not happened.” A grievance with a date attached is the hardest kind to settle.
Squad28 Apr 2031
Words at Platinum Stars training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Mpho Chabatsane 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.
Enock Morrison 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 Platinum Stars 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. 60 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
The offer from Hearts of Oak for Enock Morrison was heard out and sent back the same day. First bids are rarely meant to succeed; they are meant to find out how loudly the door closes.
Fee agreed, wages agreed, and BA All Stars waiting with a shirt. Nobody at Medeama 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 Medeama this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Add another name to the list: Bechem United have asked the question everybody in the game has been asking about Patrick Amoah. The answer from Medeama has not changed — yet.
Squad5 Aug 2030
Words at Medeama training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Timothy Zechariah 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.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Medeama will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Paul Yeboah will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Medeama the goodbyes have quietly begun.
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.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Hearts of Oak have kept their man, and Medeama go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Annan Mensah 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.
Medeama have made the call to Hearts of Oak. No fee, a share of the wages, and a spare shirt in the position where the squad has been thinnest all season.
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. 74 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 Medeama people have started saying his name in the past tense.
The clubs have shaken hands with Hearts of Oak; the player has not yet. Personal terms are next, and personal terms are where more deals die than anybody prints.
Everything was agreed with Aduana Stars and then the doctor spoke. Medeama have walked away from a signing on the advice of somebody who never saw him play, which is how it is supposed to work.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Medeama is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
The rules permit it and it stings anyway. Ossy Martins has agreed terms with Ashanti Gold for the summer, and until then he pulls on this shirt as a player who has already chosen his next one.
Abdullahi Usman 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 most common injury in the game and the most rushed back from. Medeama will quote 14 days and will be careful with it, because the second one is always worse than the first.
In brief
SquadWords at Medeama training over how hard people work
The words a physio says slowly. 18 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. Medeama will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Medeama can pretend not to have heard.
The offer from New Edubiase United for Osei Prince was heard out and sent back the same day. First bids are rarely meant to succeed; they are meant to find out how loudly the door closes.
Medeama had done everything except persuade the man himself. He stays at Berekum Chelsea, and the manager goes back to the drawing board with the money still in the bank.
Medeama have gone to Hearts of Oak with a bid, and the supporters have gone to the internet with an opinion about it. Whether either changes anything is up to the selling club.
Add another name to the list: Heart of Lions have asked the question everybody in the game has been asking about Paul Yeboah. The answer from Medeama has not changed — yet.
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. 25 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 Medeama will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Medeama can pretend not to have heard.
Hearts of Oak have accepted the money. What Medeama do not yet have is the man, and between here and the photograph is a conversation about wages that both sides are dreading.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Paul Yeboah will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Medeama the goodbyes have quietly begun.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Medeama this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
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.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Hearts of Oak have kept their man, and Medeama go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
In brief
The dugoutThe manager makes an example of Isaac Mintah
The words a physio says slowly. 32 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 settled the fee and he has settled his wages. What remains is a medical and a photograph, and around Medeama people have started saying his name in the past tense.
“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 Medeama, and it is not being withdrawn.
The deal with Aduana Stars 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.
Abdullahi Usman 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 approach was made and the answer came back in a sentence. There is no number on the table because there was no number that would have been enough.
Squad24 Jun 2030
Words at Medeama training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Timothy Zechariah 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 at Medeama 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.
In brief
The dugoutThe manager makes an example of Patrick Amoah
The words a physio says slowly. 46 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.
$1.6M on the table at Hearts of Oak. The manager wanted him, the board agreed a number, and the only voices still to be heard are the ones at the other club.
Everything was agreed with Maccabi Tel Aviv and then the doctor spoke. Medeama have walked away from a signing on the advice of somebody who never saw him play, which is how it is supposed to work.
Everything agreed with Asante Kotoko, everything agreed with the player; a doctor is the only person left to persuade. The photograph is a day or two away.
There is no worse way to lose a footballer. Mamudo Moro 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.
Add another name to the list: Hearts of Oak have asked the question everybody in the game has been asking about Paul Yeboah. The answer from Medeama has not changed — yet.
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.
“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 Medeama, and it is not being withdrawn.
Aiman Riahi 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 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 Medeama 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.
2 months left, and both sides know what that means: every week without a signature, the fee Medeama could ask drops and the wages Enock Morrison can ask rise.
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.
Annan Mensah 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.
In brief
MarketThe clock does Enock Morrison’s negotiating for him
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Paul Yeboah will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Medeama the goodbyes have quietly begun.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Medeama can pretend not to have heard.
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 Medeama 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 Annan Mensah trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
He asked about his future and was given an answer with minutes in it. The manager has now made a promise in a building where promises are remembered, and the clock on it has started.
“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 Medeama, and it is not being withdrawn.
Abdullahi Usman 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.
Squad8 Apr 2030
Words at Medeama training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Enock Morrison 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 Victor Oduro is on it.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Emmanuel Anning trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Abdullahi Usman 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.
Squad1 Apr 2030
Words at Medeama training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Timothy Zechariah 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 shape has positions in it and this one does not have his. Medeama will either change the shape, change his job, or change his club, and he is waiting to hear 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.
At 18 he is being measured against the rest of the division's kids and coming out in front. The senior version of this award is where the club would like this to lead.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Paul Yeboah will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Medeama the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Successful dribbles: 21. 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.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Enock Morrison was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
“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 dugout18 Mar 2030
The view from the dugout
“We will look at it, we will learn from it, and we go again.” The three sentences every manager keeps for a 1‑2 defeat, delivered by Emmanuel Inusah to a room that had heard them before.
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 Annan Mensah.
Two goals and a mark of 9.55 to go with them. Strikers are judged on afternoons like this one and remembered for far fewer of them than people imagine.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Medeama can pretend not to have heard.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Medeama this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad25 Feb 2030
Words at Medeama training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Enock Morrison 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.
Player ratings25 Feb 2030
Abdullahi Usman was on a different afternoon to everybody else
8.77. 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.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Medeama can pretend not to have heard.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Medeama is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
A medical, a signature, a shirt held up in front of a sponsor’s board. Medeama have done the hard part with Maccabi Haifa, and the part that remains is the part supporters actually see.
3 wins in a row changes how opponents warm up: quieter, more glances across. Runs end, everybody knows that — but nobody in this dressing room is planning for it.
Enock Morrison 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.
Medeama offered $5.0K; Liberty Professionals said it was not close. The manager will be told the money is still there for the right player, which is what managers are told.
Squad21 Jan 2030
Words at Medeama training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Timothy Zechariah 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.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Medeama can pretend not to have heard.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Paul Yeboah will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Medeama the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Aiman Riahi 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 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.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Medeama will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Medeama can pretend not to have heard.
1‑3 to Berekum Chelsea, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.
Squad26 Nov 2029
Words at Medeama training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Timothy Zechariah 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 Medeama this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 25 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. Abdullahi Usman provided it, and the 8.91 beside his name is if anything generous to everybody else.
Aiman Riahi 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 3‑1 win over New Edubiase United, earned rather than given, and the sort of afternoon that sends everyone home talking about next week instead of this one.
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.
Marked 8.43 — 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.
The dugout19 Nov 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.” Emmanuel Inusah kept it short after the 3‑1 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.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Medeama will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Enock Morrison 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 Oct 2029
Words at Medeama training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Derrick Fordjour 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.” Emmanuel Inusah after 0‑1, in the tone of a man who knows the next question and does not intend to answer it.
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Medeama will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. Timothy Zechariah provided it, and the 9.17 beside his name is if anything generous to everybody else.
Enock Morrison and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad22 Oct 2029
Words at Medeama training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Timothy Zechariah 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 93 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.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Medeama will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Two goals and a mark of 9.48 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 Medeama they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Medeama have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Medeama this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Medeama will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
WAFA go through and Medeama go home, 0‑3 the scoreline that did it. The dressing room will call the league the priority now, because that is what dressing rooms 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 Medeama, and it is not being withdrawn.
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 8 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
The terraces8 Oct 2029
Medeama are taken apart by WAFA — and the town wants answers
It finished 0-3. A cup exit is a disappointment; this was a public dismantling, and the difference between the two is the number of people who will still be talking about it in August.
Enock Morrison 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 Derrick Fordjour 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. 77 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 Medeama, and it is not being withdrawn.
Enock Morrison 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.
6 goals in one match, Bernard Somuah on the scoresheet, and a scoreline that will look like a misprint. Neutrals could not have asked more of Medeama and Aduana Stars.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Timothy Zechariah was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Medeama will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. Bernard Somuah provided it, and the 8.11 beside his name is if anything generous to everybody else.
9 goals in one match, Timothy Zechariah on the scoresheet, and a scoreline that will look like a misprint. Neutrals could not have asked more of Medeama and BA All Stars.
Squad24 Sep 2029
Words at Medeama training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Timothy Zechariah 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.
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.
In brief
The dugoutThe manager makes an example of Felix Kyei
Player ratingsEnock Asubonteng was on a different afternoon to everybody else
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 91 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 Medeama, and it is not being withdrawn.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Paul Yeboah will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Medeama the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Aiman Riahi 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.
Medeama and Asante Kotoko have settled on $790.0K. The rest belongs to the player and his agent, and a supporter who has watched one of these before knows not to buy the shirt yet.
Mamudo Moro 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.
$6.0K on the table at Liberty Professionals. The manager wanted him, the board agreed a number, and the only voices still to be heard are the ones at the other club.
Squad27 Aug 2029
Words at Medeama training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Enock Morrison 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 Derrick Fordjour is on it.
Every shape has positions in it and this one does not have his. Medeama will either change the shape, change his job, or change his club, and he is waiting to hear which.
In brief
The dugoutJacob Mensah knocks on the manager’s door