Marked for Patrick Fergani
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Market26 May 2031
“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 The request is on a desk at Cotonsport Garoua, and it is not being withdrawn.
Market26 May 2031
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Cotonsport Garoua they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Squad26 May 2031
Devis Epassy 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.
Squad26 May 2031
Words at Cotonsport Garoua training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Lanroy Machine 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.
Market26 May 2031
“There is a gap, and pretending there is not helps nobody.” Neither side has moved, and the calendar is working for exactly one of them.
The dugout26 May 2031
news_b_old_wounds_reopened
The dugout26 May 2031
Collins Fai gets picked when it counts
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 Collins Fai is on it.
Market26 May 2031
“I was told straight, and I would rather have it straight.” The manager at Cotonsport Garoua has been clear about where Michel Babatunde stands, which is more than many ever get.
Squad26 May 2031
He is doing things on a Saturday afternoon that nobody around him can answer, which is flattering for about one season and a problem after that. Cotonsport Garoua will not keep him by pretending otherwise.
Back issues
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
The dugout19 May 2031
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Cotonsport Garoua may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Market19 May 2031
“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.
Squad19 May 2031
Devis Epassy in a row with a teammate
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Cotonsport Garoua this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Market19 May 2031
The shirt still fits. Patrick Fergani is back at Cotonsport Garoua, and half the ground remembers him in these colours already. Some signings need selling to the town; this one sold itself.
Squad19 May 2031
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Junior Onana was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Boardroom19 May 2031
Canon Yaounde will keep picking him until June and will get nothing for him after it. Gigli Ndefe has pre-agreed a move to Cotonsport Garoua, and the only people who lose in that arrangement are the ones who let the contract run down.
The dugout19 May 2031
news_b_old_wounds_reopened
Squad19 May 2031
“The easiest signature of my career.” Eric Ganago and Cotonsport Garoua agree another 3 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
The dugout19 May 2031
Lanroy Machine asks for a word with the manager
“I would rather say it to his face than read about it.” The meeting was requested by the player, which tells you most of what you need to know.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad12 Aug 2030
26 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Paradou lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
Market12 Aug 2030
The last thing about a transfer that is still about the player is his signature on his own terms, and it is there. Paradou have lost him in all but the paperwork.
Squad12 Aug 2030
Sunday Kalu breaks a bone — 15 days out
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 15 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Transfer targets12 Aug 2030
Fee agreed, terms agreed, and a scan that said otherwise. He goes back to ES Setif; Paradou go back to the market; and both will insist there is no story here.
Market12 Aug 2030
“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 Paradou, and it is not being withdrawn.
Market12 Aug 2030
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Browdon Kuissi Fossi will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Paradou the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Transfer targets12 Aug 2030
The deal with Al Ahly 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.
Boardroom12 Aug 2030
The rules permit it and it stings anyway. Mohamed Samir has agreed terms with USM Alger for the summer, and until then he pulls on this shirt as a player who has already chosen his next one.
Transfer targets12 Aug 2030
The offer went to CS Constantine this week and it is theirs to answer. First bids are rarely meant to succeed; they are meant to find out how loud the door closes.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad5 Aug 2030
A knee injury of the worst kind for Abdelillah Barkat
19 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Paradou lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Squad5 Aug 2030
22 days out for Sunday Kalu after a fracture
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Paradou will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
Transfer targets5 Aug 2030
Fee done, terms next for Riad Benayad
Paradou and ES Setif have settled on $490.0K. 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.
Market5 Aug 2030
Sharqia hands in a written request
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Paradou can pretend not to have heard.
Market5 Aug 2030
Only the photograph left for Mohamed Samir
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Mohamed Samir will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Paradou the goodbyes have quietly begun.
The dugout5 Aug 2030
Youcef Touba: that is not what I was promised
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Paradou have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Squad5 Aug 2030
Words exchanged at Paradou
Adel Bouzida 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.
Squad5 Aug 2030
At 16 he is doing things this season that he could not do last season, and doing them every week. Form comes and goes; this has stayed long enough to be called something else.
Market5 Aug 2030
The name of Patrick Fergani has come up in conversations Paradou were not part of. Nothing formal, nothing signed — but nothing about it accidental either.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad22 Jul 2030
A knee injury of the worst kind for Abdelillah Barkat
34 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Paradou lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Squad22 Jul 2030
Sunday Kalu breaks a bone — 36 days out
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 36 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Market22 Jul 2030
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Paradou can pretend not to have heard.
Market22 Jul 2030
Fee agreed, wages agreed, and JS Saoura waiting with a shirt. Nobody at Paradou is pretending otherwise, and the supporters have stopped asking whether and started asking when.
Transfer targets22 Jul 2030
The clubs have shaken hands with MC Oran; the player has not yet. Personal terms are next, and personal terms are where more deals die than anybody prints.
Market22 Jul 2030
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Patrick Fergani will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Paradou the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Transfer targets22 Jul 2030
No deal for Omar Jobe at that price
Paradou offered $380.0K; CS Constantine 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.
Squad22 Jul 2030
Adel Bouzida in a row with a teammate
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Paradou this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Transfer targets22 Jul 2030
Paradou asked and MC Alger said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad8 Jul 2030
A knee injury of the worst kind for Abdelillah Barkat
48 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Paradou lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Squad8 Jul 2030
Sunday Kalu breaks a bone — 51 days out
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 51 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Market8 Jul 2030
“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.
Squad8 Jul 2030
174 appearances across 11 seasons in these colours. Careers like that are not built any more, and Paradou know what they have.
Transfer targets8 Jul 2030
A medical, a signature, a shirt held up in front of a sponsor’s board. Paradou have done the hard part with ES Setif, and the part that remains is the part supporters actually see.
Squad8 Jul 2030
Hesham Fouad gets the move he always wanted
Footballers are asked about their boyhood club so often that nobody listens to the answer. Hesham Fouad has just signed for Paradou, and for once the answer mattered.
Transfer targets8 Jul 2030
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Al Ahly have kept their man, and Paradou go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Boardroom8 Jul 2030
Intake day at the Paradou academy
10 arrivals, an average age nobody would call a squad, and a set of parents being shown around a building their sons will spend more time in than at home. The scouting has already happened; today is only the paperwork.
The dugout8 Jul 2030
Adel Bouzida gets picked when it counts
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 Adel Bouzida is on it.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad17 Jun 2030
71 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Paradou lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
Squad17 Jun 2030
74 days out for Sunday Kalu after a fracture
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Paradou will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
Market17 Jun 2030
Fee agreed, wages agreed, and USM Alger waiting with a shirt. Nobody at Paradou is pretending otherwise, and the supporters have stopped asking whether and started asking when.
Market17 Jun 2030
“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.
Market17 Jun 2030
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Paradou is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Squad17 Jun 2030
Adel Bouzida 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.
Transfer targets17 Jun 2030
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. JS Kabylie have kept their man, and Paradou go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Squad17 Jun 2030
A row about effort at Paradou
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Ouanisse Bouzahzah was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Transfer targets17 Jun 2030
A loan enquiry to Omonoia: cover, or a look at somebody the club cannot afford to buy yet. Either way the answer will come back inside the week.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad10 Jun 2030
Abdelillah Barkat damages knee ligaments — 78 days out
The words a physio says slowly. 78 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.
Squad10 Jun 2030
82 days out for Sunday Kalu after a fracture
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Paradou will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
The dugout10 Jun 2030
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Paradou may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Market10 Jun 2030
Fee agreed, wages agreed, and JS Saoura waiting with a shirt. Nobody at Paradou is pretending otherwise, and the supporters have stopped asking whether and started asking when.
Transfer targets10 Jun 2030
$490.0K settles it between the clubs for Riad Benayad
ES Setif have accepted the money. What Paradou do not yet have is the man, and between here and the photograph is a conversation about wages that both sides are dreading.
Market10 Jun 2030
“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 Paradou, and it is not being withdrawn.
Transfer targets10 Jun 2030
The deal with JS Kabylie 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.
Squad10 Jun 2030
Words exchanged at Paradou
Adel Bouzida 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.
Squad10 Jun 2030
A row about effort at Paradou
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Ouanisse Bouzahzah was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.