Marked for Michael Mortume
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Market8 Feb 2027
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at ES Mostaganem is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Squad8 Feb 2027
Ahmed Aït-Abdesslem and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad8 Feb 2027
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Noa Cervantes was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Squad8 Feb 2027
“Some mornings you wake up and you are still a long way from everything you know.” It is not the football and it never was; ES Mostaganem are dealing with a man who wants a different country.
Transfer targets8 Feb 2027
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.
Match6 Feb 2027
1‑2 to Paradou, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.
The dugout8 Feb 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Cyril Boukhit, and the manager let it.
Player ratings8 Feb 2027
Noa Cervantes was on a different afternoon to everybody else
8.14. 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 dugout8 Feb 2027
“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.
Back issues
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market1 Feb 2027
“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.
Player ratings1 Feb 2027
Successful dribbles: 29. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Boardroom1 Feb 2027
ES Mostaganem close the window on a squad of their own making
3 in and 0 out, and no more changes for months. The manager has what he has, the supporters have their opinion of it, and the table will have the last word.
Market1 Feb 2027
Only the photograph left for Adem Aichouche
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Adem Aichouche will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around ES Mostaganem the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Transfer targets1 Feb 2027
Terms were offered and declined. Whether it was the wages, the role or the town, nobody at Free State Stars is saying, and nobody at ES Mostaganem is enjoying the guessing.
Squad1 Feb 2027
Ahmed Aït-Abdesslem 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.
Squad1 Feb 2027
Noa Cervantes 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.
Transfer targets1 Feb 2027
ES Mostaganem asked and Platinum Stars 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
Steady
Player ratings21 Dec 2026
Successful dribbles: 22. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Squad21 Dec 2026
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at ES Mostaganem this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad21 Dec 2026
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Michael Mortume commits to ES Mostaganem for another 3 years.
Squad21 Dec 2026
Noa Cervantes 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 dugout21 Dec 2026
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Josué Balamandji, and the manager let it.
Player ratings21 Dec 2026
Nobody on the pitch touched Noa Cervantes
7.31, and no serious argument from anybody who was there. ES Mostaganem had eleven men on the pitch and one of them decided how it went.
The dugout21 Dec 2026
“It is not the end of the world and it is not good enough. Both of those are true.” The manager, after a 0‑0 draw, said the honest thing and then went to say it again inside.
Looking ahead21 Dec 2026
A test against the best for ES Mostaganem
The team at the top of the table next, and the honest measure of where this side actually is. Anybody can beat the club below them; the question is what happens against USM Alger.
Squad21 Dec 2026
“I did not sign to watch. Nobody does.” The oldest complaint in the game, and ES Mostaganem will have to answer it with minutes or with a move.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad14 Dec 2026
6 saves, and a scoreline the ten men in front of him had no right to. Goalkeepers only get noticed on the bad days; this was one of the other ones.
Player ratings14 Dec 2026
Successful dribbles: 22. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Squad14 Dec 2026
Ahmed Aït-Abdesslem and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad14 Dec 2026
Noa Cervantes 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.
Squad14 Dec 2026
“I have given this everything, but my family is not here and neither am I, not really.” A footballer can be coached out of bad form. Nobody has ever been coached out of this, and ES Mostaganem know it.
Match12 Dec 2026
Three points for ES Mostaganem, 2‑0 the final word against JS Saoura in a contest settled by the finer margins.
Player ratings14 Dec 2026
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.25, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
The dugout14 Dec 2026
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Abdelhafid Benamara, and the manager let it.
Match14 Dec 2026
Position 11, 15 points, and every result so far reduced to one line. The second half of the season starts with the same squad and a different set of expectations.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Player ratings7 Dec 2026
A brace, and Abdelhak Askar takes the afternoon — 8.51
There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. Abdelhak Askar provided it, and the 8.51 beside his name is if anything generous to everybody else.
Player ratings7 Dec 2026
Successful dribbles: 26. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Squad7 Dec 2026
Ahmed Aït-Abdesslem 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.
Squad7 Dec 2026
Words at ES Mostaganem training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Noa Cervantes 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 terraces7 Dec 2026
He is 21 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.
Match5 Dec 2026
MB Rouissat held the lead for 2 minutes, which is not long enough to enjoy it. ES Mostaganem answered before the celebration had properly finished, and the shape of the afternoon changed with it.
The dugout7 Dec 2026
The manager makes an example of Sid Ali Lamri
“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.
Squad7 Dec 2026
“The easiest signature of my career.” Boualem Sryer and ES Mostaganem agree another 3 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Player ratings30 Nov 2026
Successful dribbles: 23. 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.
Squad30 Nov 2026
Ahmed Aït-Abdesslem 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 Nov 2026
Words at ES Mostaganem training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Noa Cervantes 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.
Match28 Nov 2026
MC El Bayadh left with the points after a 1‑2 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.
The terraces30 Nov 2026
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.
The dugout30 Nov 2026
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Cyril Boukhit, and the manager let it.
Player ratings30 Nov 2026
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.26, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
The dugout30 Nov 2026
“I could talk about decisions and I could talk about luck. I will not. We lost.” The manager, 1‑2, and a press conference that lasted four minutes.
Market30 Nov 2026
“We are a long way apart, and pretending otherwise helps nobody.” Neither side is close, and the calendar is not on the club's side.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad19 Oct 2026
53 days out for Djamel Benlamri after a fracture
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. ES Mostaganem will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
Player ratings19 Oct 2026
Successful dribbles: 30. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Match17 Oct 2026
4 matches without a win for ES Mostaganem
The run now stands at 4, and the questions being asked around ES Mostaganem are no longer polite ones.
Squad19 Oct 2026
Ahmed Aït-Abdesslem and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad19 Oct 2026
Noa Cervantes 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.
Match17 Oct 2026
0‑1 to USM Khenchela, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.
The dugout19 Oct 2026
“I could talk about decisions and I could talk about luck. I will not. We lost.” The manager, 0‑1, and a press conference that lasted four minutes.
Squad19 Oct 2026
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Michael Mortume commits to ES Mostaganem for another 3 years.
The dugout19 Oct 2026
Cyril Boukhit has become a man the manager trusts
Nobody at ES Mostaganem 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.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad12 Oct 2026
62 days out for Djamel Benlamri after a fracture
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. ES Mostaganem will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
Match7 Oct 2026
Out, 1‑1 to CS Constantine, and the long argument about which of the small moments decided it. The league is all there is now, and everybody knows it.
Player ratings12 Oct 2026
Successful dribbles: 33. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Squad12 Oct 2026
Cyril Boukhit decides it from twelve yards
1 kept out in the shoot-out, and a stadium that will still be describing them in twenty years. A goalkeeper only needs one of these to be remembered forever.
Squad12 Oct 2026
Ahmed Aït-Abdesslem 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.
Squad12 Oct 2026
Michael Mortume arrives at the club he grew up with
Every footballer has an answer to the question about his boyhood club, and most of them never get to act on it. Michael Mortume has, at ES Mostaganem, and the first month will show what that does to a man.
Match10 Oct 2026
Beaten 0‑1, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
Match7 Oct 2026
Behind, and beaten by any honest reading, until minute 117. CS Constantine had the points in their pocket and a corner of the ground still believed, which is generally when it happens.
Player ratings12 Oct 2026
A penalty is the one moment in football with nowhere to hide, and he did not score it. The walk back was long and the week will be longer.