Jonathan Jacob

Striker - Victoria United
10 Jun 2030
Monday
Process
195 Edition

The Victoria United Sentinel

22 Apr 2030
From our football correspondent Steady

Squad

The manager makes an example of Dieudonne Alex Essono Omgba

“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.

Market

Fabrice Olinga linked with a move away

The name of Fabrice Olinga keeps appearing in other people's back pages. Victoria United say nothing, which says plenty.

Squad

Jonathan Jacob 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.

In brief

Back issues
193 Edition

The Victoria United Sentinel

8 Apr 2030
From our football correspondent Steady

Squad

Brayann Nana: 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.” Victoria United have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.

Market

Serge Bogam is on his way

The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Victoria United is pretending he will be back in the shirt.

Squad

Jonathan Jacob signs a new deal

“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Jonathan Jacob commits to Victoria United for another 4 years.

In brief

189 Edition

The Victoria United Sentinel

11 Mar 2030
From our football correspondent Steady

Squad

Laurian Nguefack says Victoria United went back on their word

“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.

Market

Serge Bogam is on his way

The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Victoria United is pretending he will be back in the shirt.

Squad

Jonathan Jacob 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.

In brief

187 Edition

The Victoria United Sentinel

25 Feb 2030
From our football correspondent Steady

Match

10 unbeaten for Victoria United

Hard to beat is not the same as winning, but 10 matches without defeat is a foundation Victoria United did not have in the autumn.

Squad

Samuel Handy stays put

“The easiest signature of my career.” Samuel Handy and Victoria United agree another 4 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.

Squad

Jonathan Jacob gets it from the manager

“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.

Squad

Hassan Beja is in the form of his life

A season average of 7.30 with 4 goals behind it. Opponents have started planning around him, which is the sincerest compliment football pays.

Match

Victoria United and Stade Renard de Melong take a point apiece

It finished 1-1, and it somehow always looked like it would. One of those afternoons where the table moves less than the tempers.

Market

Fabrice Olinga linked with a move away

The name of Fabrice Olinga keeps appearing in other people's back pages. Victoria United say nothing, which says plenty.

In brief

181 Edition

The Victoria United Sentinel

14 Jan 2030
From our football correspondent Steady

Market

Aigle Royal de la Menoua come back empty-handed

The bid was some way short and Victoria United did not need long over it. Nobody in the game reads a first refusal as the end of anything.

Market

Aigle Royal de Moungo are about to pick up the phone

A conversation is coming this week. Victoria United will put a number on him, and from there it stops being football and becomes arithmetic.

Market

Alain Bikoe Mongo is free to find somewhere else

“I was told straight, and I would rather have it straight.” The manager at Victoria United has been clear about where Alain Bikoe Mongo stands, which is more than many ever get.

Squad

The manager makes an example of Serge Bogam

“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.

Match

No goals between Victoria United and Colombe du Dja et Lobo

Ninety minutes, two goalkeepers with clean gloves, and not one finish worth keeping. Colombe du Dja et Lobo will be the happier side with the point.

Squad

Jonathan Jacob knocks on the manager's door

“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Victoria United, and both men came out saying it was fine.

In brief

174 Edition

The Victoria United Sentinel

26 Nov 2029
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Match

No end in sight to Victoria United's wait for a win

7 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Victoria United has to find a result from somewhere.

Squad

Karim Ragab: 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.” Victoria United have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.

Squad

Laurian Nguefack gets it from the manager

“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.

In brief

172 Edition

The Victoria United Sentinel

12 Nov 2029
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Match

No end in sight to Victoria United's wait for a win

5 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Victoria United has to find a result from somewhere.

Squad

Thomas Bawak Etta out for 61 days

The medical room confirms 61 days on the sidelines for Thomas Bawak Etta, and a plan built around him now has to be rebuilt.

Market

Gilfranck Peto has one foot out of the door

Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Victoria United they have already started talking about him in the past tense.

Squad

Ghislain Tchinda signs a new deal

“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Ghislain Tchinda commits to Victoria United for another 3 years.

Squad

Jonathan Jacob gets it from the manager

“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.

Match

Victoria United draw a blank against PWD Bamenda

The crowd waited for a goal that never came. PWD Bamenda defended in numbers and left with what they came for, and the two sides could be playing still without troubling a scorer.

In brief

168 Edition

The Victoria United Sentinel

15 Oct 2029
From our football correspondent Steady

Market

Gilfranck Peto has one foot out of the door

Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Victoria United they have already started talking about him in the past tense.

Match

Colombe du Dja et Lobo take the points off Victoria United

Beaten 2-3, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.

Squad

Jonathan Jacob gets it from the manager

“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.

Boardroom

Inquest at Victoria United

The manager kept them in and said what needed saying. A response is expected on Saturday, and if it does not come the questions move upstairs.

Squad

Jean Marie Dongou 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.

Market

The Daouda Amadou talk will not go away

Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Victoria United know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.

In brief

167 Edition

The Victoria United Sentinel

8 Oct 2029
From our football correspondent Upbeat

Match

Cup progress for Victoria United

A 1-0 win over Aigle Royal de la Menoua, a place in the next round, and the quiet arithmetic every supporter does on the walk home: how many more until a final?

Squad

Jonathan Jacob: 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.” Victoria United have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.

Match

Victoria United make it 3 in a row

Momentum is a hard thing to buy and an easy thing to lose, and right now Victoria United have 3 straight wins of it.

Squad

Fabrice Olinga signs a new deal

“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Fabrice Olinga commits to Victoria United for another 3 years.

Match

Victoria United get the job done against Aigle Royal de Moungo

A 1-0 win over Aigle Royal de Moungo, earned rather than given, and the sort of afternoon that sends everyone home talking about next week instead of this one.

Squad

Jason Moulle named player of the month

The award goes to Jason Moulle, and nobody around here is inclined to argue with the choice.

In brief

164 Edition

The Victoria United Sentinel

17 Sep 2029
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Match

6 matches without a win for Victoria United

The run now stands at 6, and the questions being asked around Victoria United are no longer polite ones.

Market

Gilfranck Peto has one foot out of the door

Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Victoria United they have already started talking about him in the past tense.

Squad

Nko Ghangle Rattensi out for 26 days

The medical room confirms 26 days on the sidelines for Nko Ghangle Rattensi, and a plan built around him now has to be rebuilt.

Squad

Jonathan Jacob gets it from the manager

“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.

Match

Honours even between Victoria United and Dynamo Douala

1-1, and both dressing rooms will call it two points lost. A draw that asked plenty of questions and answered none of them.

The terraces

The spotlight tightens on Jean Marie Dongou

Every touch is being weighed now, in print and everywhere else. Some players grow into that and some are quietly ruined by it, and nobody knows which in advance.

In brief

163 Edition

The Victoria United Sentinel

10 Sep 2029
From our football correspondent Crisis

Match

5 matches without a win for Victoria United

The run now stands at 5, and the questions being asked around Victoria United are no longer polite ones.

Squad

The manager makes an example of Jean Marie Dongou

“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.

Match

A bad afternoon for Victoria United against Aigle Royal de la Menoua

0-1 to Aigle Royal de la Menoua, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.

Boardroom

Nobody left the Victoria United dressing room in a hurry

The door stayed shut a long time after the final whistle. What was said in there is between them; whether it worked is between them and Saturday.

Market

Canon Yaounde expected to open talks for Gilfranck Peto

Both sides expect a conversation in the coming days. Victoria United will name a price, and everything after that is arithmetic.

Squad

A first senior shirt for Franck Kunde

Every debut is a small story about the future: Franck Kunde, 17 years old, off the academy pitches and into the first team. The parents in the stand will keep the programme.

Market

The Fabrice Olinga talk will not go away

Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Victoria United know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.

Squad

Bryan Nokoue called up by his country

A window away with the national side, and a shirt at Victoria United that briefly doubles as an advertisement. A call-up flatters the player and the club that built him in the same breath.

Squad

Jean Marie Dongou has company in his position

The competition arrived without a word said to him about it. Jean Marie Dongou keeps the shirt for now, at Victoria United's convenience rather than his own.

In brief