Marked for Ayomide Cole
From our football correspondent
Steady
Player ratings15 Mar 2027
Marked 7.72 at 20, in a side that makes no allowances for age. He did not need any, and he looked the least nervous man on the pitch.
Market15 Mar 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.
Market15 Mar 2027
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Ikorodu City is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Player ratings15 Mar 2027
Successful dribbles: 24. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Squad15 Mar 2027
Tosin Oyedokun 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 terraces15 Mar 2027
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.
Player ratings15 Mar 2027
Marked 8.02 — 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 dugout15 Mar 2027
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.” Ebere Nwankwo kept it short after the 2‑0 win, which is what managers do when they are happy.
Back issues
From our football correspondent
Steady
Player ratings1 Mar 2027
Successful dribbles: 27. 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.
Market1 Mar 2027
Moses Ali 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 Ikorodu City can pretend not to have heard.
Squad1 Mar 2027
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Ikorodu City this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Player ratings1 Mar 2027
Marked 7.91. Ask anyone leaving the ground what settled it and you will get one name, which is the only award that has ever really counted.
Squad1 Mar 2027
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Seun Agboola was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Match27 Feb 2027
It finished 1‑1, and it somehow always looked like it would. One of those afternoons where the table moves less than the tempers.
The dugout1 Mar 2027
Half-satisfied: Ebere Nwankwo on the draw
“There are things I liked and things we will be doing on Tuesday until they are right.” 1‑1, and a manager who had already decided what Tuesday looked like.
The dugout1 Mar 2027
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Aliu Salawudeen trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Squad1 Mar 2027
He is 24, he is from here, and the shirt he was raised to wear has gone to somebody bought for it. The academy staff have noticed, and so has the town.
From our football correspondent
Steady
The dugout22 Feb 2027
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Ikorodu City may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Market22 Feb 2027
“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 Ikorodu City, and it is not being withdrawn.
Market22 Feb 2027
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Ikorodu City is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Player ratings22 Feb 2027
Successful dribbles: 23. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Squad22 Feb 2027
Tosin Oyedokun and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
The dugout22 Feb 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Aliu Salawudeen, and the manager let it.
Match20 Feb 2027
Beaten 0‑1, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
The dugout22 Feb 2027
“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.
Squad22 Feb 2027
Words at Ikorodu City training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Ayomide Cole 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.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad28 Dec 2026
Tosin Oyedokun and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Market28 Dec 2026
14 games, 6 goals, and a squad option that has arrived without a fee attached. The interesting question at Ikorodu City now is not whether he plays but who he displaces.
Squad28 Dec 2026
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Gift Udoh commits to Ikorodu City for another 4 years.
Squad28 Dec 2026
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Seun Agboola was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The dugout28 Dec 2026
Gift Udoh 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.
The dugout28 Dec 2026
Tosin Oyedokun 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 Ikorodu City, and both men came out saying it was fine.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad21 Dec 2026
Aliu Salawudeen 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.
Squad21 Dec 2026
Shodeinde Moses 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 Ayomide Cole, and the manager let it.
Loan watch21 Dec 2026
The goals keep arriving from Uzoma Chinonso’s exile
5 goals in 13 games at Medeama — numbers that travel home faster than he does. Somebody at Ikorodu City updates a spreadsheet every Monday, and it makes better reading each week.
The dugout21 Dec 2026
Gift Udoh 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 Ikorodu City, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Squad21 Dec 2026
“I did not come here to warm up in front of people.” He is out of contract eventually, he is old enough to count the weeks, and Ikorodu City will have to give him a reason to stay or an exit.
From our football correspondent
Steady
The dugout2 Nov 2026
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Ikorodu City may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Squad2 Nov 2026
Aliu Salawudeen and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
The dugout2 Nov 2026
The manager makes an example of Kelechi Onwe
“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.
Squad2 Nov 2026
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Seun Agboola was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The dugout2 Nov 2026
Samuel Ezekiel 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 Ikorodu City, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Squad2 Nov 2026
“I did not sign to watch. Nobody does.” The oldest complaint in the game, and Ikorodu City will have to answer it with minutes or with a move.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad26 Oct 2026
Aliu Salawudeen 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.
Squad26 Oct 2026
Words at Ikorodu City training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Seun Agboola 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 dugout26 Oct 2026
Ayomide Cole 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.
Market26 Oct 2026
Yomi Ayodeji is free to find somewhere else
“I was told straight, and I would rather have it straight.” The manager at Ikorodu City has been clear about where Yomi Ayodeji stands, which is more than many ever get.
Squad26 Oct 2026
“I want to play”: Ayomide Cole speaks
“I respect the manager and I am not going to sit here and pretend I am happy.” It is the most common sentence in football and it has never once been the end of a story.
The dugout26 Oct 2026
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 Shodeinde Moses has written the date down.
From our football correspondent
Steady
The dugout19 Oct 2026
Kelechi Onwe: 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.” Ikorodu City have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Market19 Oct 2026
“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 Ikorodu City, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad19 Oct 2026
Tosin Oyedokun 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.
Market19 Oct 2026
Kelechi Onwe is free to find somewhere else
“I was told straight, and I would rather have it straight.” The manager at Ikorodu City has been clear about where Kelechi Onwe stands, which is more than many ever get.
Squad19 Oct 2026
Words at Ikorodu City training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Ayomide Cole 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 dugout19 Oct 2026
“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.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad28 Sep 2026
Tosin Oyedokun 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.
Player ratings28 Sep 2026
Successful dribbles: 20. There was always a defender in front of him and there was never a defender in front of him for long.
Squad28 Sep 2026
23 days, the scan says, and scans are kinder than reality. The fixtures in that window have just become somebody else’s job.
Match26 Sep 2026
It finished 1‑1, and it somehow always looked like it would. One of those afternoons where the table moves less than the tempers.
The dugout28 Sep 2026
“It is not the end of the world and it is not good enough. Both of those are true.” The manager, after a 1‑1 draw, said the honest thing and then went to say it again inside.
Squad28 Sep 2026
Ayomide Cole 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 dugout28 Sep 2026
“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 dugout28 Sep 2026
The plan did not have a place for Daniel Idoko
Nobody at Ikorodu City is suggesting he is out of form. The manager simply wanted somebody with a different set of qualities for ninety specific minutes, and there is nothing a player can train to fix that.
Squad28 Sep 2026
At 24 he is in the side on merit and somebody else is watching. Places at Ikorodu City are won quietly and lost loudly, and this one was won.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market21 Sep 2026
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Ikorodu City can pretend not to have heard.
Squad21 Sep 2026
Tosin Oyedokun 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 terraces21 Sep 2026
At 20 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.
Player ratings21 Sep 2026
Successful dribbles: 18. 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.
Squad21 Sep 2026
Words at Ikorodu City training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Seun Agboola 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 ratings21 Sep 2026
Marked 7.21 on an afternoon he ran from the first whistle to the last. Whatever else went wrong, Ikorodu City had the best player on the pitch.
The dugout21 Sep 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.
The dugout21 Sep 2026
The manager makes an example of Ayomide Cole
“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.
Match19 Sep 2026
Ninety minutes, two goalkeepers with clean gloves, and not one finish worth keeping. Nasarawa United will be the happier side with the point.