Marked for Nilkash Prasad
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market21 Aug 2028
Milai Perrot 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 Nadi can pretend not to have heard.
Transfer targets21 Aug 2028
Everything was agreed with Rewa and then the doctor spoke. Nadi have walked away from a signing on the advice of somebody who never saw him play, which is how it is supposed to work.
Market21 Aug 2028
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Nadi is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Squad21 Aug 2028
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Nadi this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad21 Aug 2028
Words at Nadi training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Milai Perrot 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 dugout21 Aug 2028
This is not rotation. Nilkash Prasad has not been in the manager's plans for some time, and nobody at Nadi is pretending otherwise.
The dugout21 Aug 2028
Rocky Junior has become a man the manager trusts
Nobody at Nadi 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.
The dugout21 Aug 2028
Vinayak Rao 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 Nadi, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Market21 Aug 2028
Every press conference now starts and ends the same way: with Eneriko Matau’s future. The manager has run out of new ways to say nothing.
Back issues
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market24 Jul 2028
“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 The request is on a desk at Nadi, and it is not being withdrawn.
Market24 Jul 2028
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Nadi is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Squad24 Jul 2028
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Nadi this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad24 Jul 2028
Stanley Skipper 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 dugout24 Jul 2028
This is not rotation. Nilkash Prasad has not been in the manager's plans for some time, and nobody at Nadi is pretending otherwise.
Market24 Jul 2028
“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.
The dugout24 Jul 2028
Leo Lesumai 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 dugout24 Jul 2028
Rocky Junior 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 Rocky Junior is on it.
The dugout24 Jul 2028
Stanley Skipper 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
Squad5 Jun 2028
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 53 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Match5 Jun 2028
Nadi up to position 3
21 points on the board and a place in the leading group. Nobody at the ground is saying the word out loud yet.
Market5 Jun 2028
“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 Nadi, and it is not being withdrawn.
Market5 Jun 2028
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Nadi is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Transfer targets5 Jun 2028
The deal with Ba 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.
Squad5 Jun 2028
A falling-out at Nadi
Sphesihle Hlongwa and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Market5 Jun 2028
The name of Shaheel Valentine has come up in conversations Nadi were not part of. Nothing formal, nothing signed — but nothing about it accidental either.
Squad5 Jun 2028
A row about effort at Nadi
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Milai Perrot was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The dugout5 Jun 2028
This is not rotation. Nilkash Prasad has not been in the manager's plans for some time, and nobody at Nadi is pretending otherwise.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad8 May 2028
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Nadi will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Match8 May 2028
Nadi are in among the leaders
Position 3 and 14 points on the board. Nobody at the ground will say the word out loud yet, and everybody at the ground is thinking it.
Player ratings8 May 2028
Up for the corner, and Shaheel Valentine delivers — 7.66
Centre-halves are allowed forward twice a season and are judged on what they do when they get there. Shaheel Valentine scored, was marked 7.66, and got back before anybody noticed he had gone.
Market8 May 2028
Nikesh Singh has one foot out of the door
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Nadi they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Match6 May 2028
Nobody wants to play Nadi right now
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.
Squad8 May 2028
A falling-out at Nadi
Sphesihle Hlongwa and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Match6 May 2028
It finished 2‑1, and it was Jimson Abana’s afternoon: on the scoresheet when it mattered, and the reason the points belong to Nadi.
Squad8 May 2028
Words at Nadi training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Stanley Skipper 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 terraces8 May 2028
The crowd has taken to Vinayak Rao
At 22 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.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad10 Apr 2028
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Nadi will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
Match8 Apr 2028
The wait goes on for Nadi
7 without a win now, and the ground has developed the special quiet of a crowd that expects the worst. One scrappy 1-0 would cure most of it; that is the maddening part.
Squad10 Apr 2028
A one-man rearguard from Milai Perrot
There were 7 saves in it, and at least three that had no business being saves at all. The ten outfield players owe him a drink and they know it.
Market10 Apr 2028
Nikesh Singh has one foot out of the door
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Nadi they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Squad10 Apr 2028
A falling-out at Nadi
Sphesihle Hlongwa and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad10 Apr 2028
Words at Nadi training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Stanley Skipper 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.
Match8 Apr 2028
Nadi come up short against Rewa
Rewa left with the points after a 0‑2 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.
The dugout10 Apr 2028
This is not rotation. Nilkash Prasad has not been in the manager's plans for some time, and nobody at Nadi is pretending otherwise.
The dugout10 Apr 2028
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Milai Perrot, and the manager let it.
In brief
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Player ratings
Eneriko Matau did the work nobody counts — 6.59
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Market
Still no ink between Nadi and Milai Perrot
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The dugout
The view from the dugout
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market13 Mar 2028
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Nadi is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Match11 Mar 2028
No end in sight to Nadi's wait for a win
4 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Nadi has to find a result from somewhere.
The dugout13 Mar 2028
Jimson Abana faces a manager he fell out with
They have worked together before and it did not end well. Nobody at Nadi expects the new manager to have forgotten, least of all Jimson Abana.
Squad13 Mar 2028
A falling-out at Nadi
Sphesihle Hlongwa and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
The dugout13 Mar 2028
This is not rotation. Nilkash Prasad has not been in the manager's plans for some time, and nobody at Nadi is pretending otherwise.
The dugout13 Mar 2028
The manager makes an example of Jimson Abana
“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.
Squad13 Mar 2028
A row about effort at Nadi
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Will Smith was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Market13 Mar 2028
“We keep meeting, and we keep leaving the room with the same numbers we walked in with.” Another round of talks at Nadi, another week without a signature from Sphesihle Hlongwa.
Player ratings13 Mar 2028
Successful dribbles: 14. There was always a defender in front of him and there was never a defender in front of him for long.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market14 Feb 2028
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Nadi is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
The dugout14 Feb 2028
Jimson Abana faces a manager he fell out with
They have worked together before and it did not end well. Nobody at Nadi expects the new manager to have forgotten, least of all Jimson Abana.
Squad14 Feb 2028
Rocky Junior 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 Nadi this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The dugout14 Feb 2028
This is not rotation. Nilkash Prasad has not been in the manager's plans for some time, and nobody at Nadi is pretending otherwise.
Boardroom14 Feb 2028
The paperwork is done long before the player is. Leon Kofana has agreed terms to come here when his current deal runs out, which means Nadi have spent a summer's transfer budget on a phone call.
Squad14 Feb 2028
Words at Nadi training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Stanley Skipper 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 dugout14 Feb 2028
“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 dugout14 Feb 2028
Clivert Sam has become a man the manager trusts
Nobody at Nadi 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.
Market14 Feb 2028
The name of Tuiba Batiratu keeps appearing in other people's back pages. Nadi say nothing, which says plenty.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market17 Jan 2028
“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 Nadi, and it is not being withdrawn.
The dugout17 Jan 2028
This is not rotation. Nilkash Prasad has not been in the manager's plans for some time, and nobody at Nadi is pretending otherwise.
Transfer targets17 Jan 2028
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Tailevu Naitasiri have kept their man, and Nadi go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Squad17 Jan 2028
Words at Nadi training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Stanley Skipper 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.
Squad17 Jan 2028
Words exchanged at Nadi
Clivert Sam 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.
Squad17 Jan 2028
“The easiest signature of my career.” Apisai Sesewa and Nadi agree another 2 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
The dugout17 Jan 2028
Clivert Sam has become a man the manager trusts
Nobody at Nadi 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.
The dugout17 Jan 2028
Will Smith 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 Nadi, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Market17 Jan 2028
The name of Tuiba Batiratu keeps appearing in other people's back pages. Nadi say nothing, which says plenty.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Match6 Dec 2027
Nobody above Nadi
First, on 33 points. The table is a fact and a fact is allowed to be enjoyed, which is as far as anybody at the club is prepared to go in public.
Market6 Dec 2027
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Nadi is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Squad6 Dec 2027
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Stanley Skipper commits to Nadi for another 4 years.
Squad6 Dec 2027
A falling-out at Nadi
Rocky Junior and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
The dugout6 Dec 2027
This is not rotation. Nilkash Prasad has not been in the manager's plans for some time, and nobody at Nadi is pretending otherwise.
Squad6 Dec 2027
Words at Nadi training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Stanley Skipper 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.
Squad6 Dec 2027
Ratu Halstead slips down the pecking order
The demotion a club never announces and a dressing room always notices. Ratu Halstead is further from the side than he was, and the reason will not be given until he asks.
The dugout6 Dec 2027
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.
The dugout6 Dec 2027
Will Smith 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 Nadi, and both men came out saying it was fine.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Boardroom22 Nov 2027
Silverware for Nadi
They will talk about this season in this town for a long time. The trophy comes home with the squad, and the route is already agreed.
Squad22 Nov 2027
The kind of year that ends with a name being read out in a hall. Nadi had the benefit of it every week and now have the problem of everybody else knowing.
Squad22 Nov 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 Nadi this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad22 Nov 2027
A row about effort at Nadi
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Stanley Skipper was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The dugout22 Nov 2027
When it matters, Clivert Sam plays
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.
The dugout22 Nov 2027
Vinayak Rao 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
Steady
Match8 Nov 2027
33 points and nobody above them. The word is not being said around the ground yet, and it is being thought in every seat.
Market8 Nov 2027
Ratu Halstead has one foot out of the door
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Nadi they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Squad8 Nov 2027
A falling-out at Nadi
Rocky Junior and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
The dugout8 Nov 2027
This is not rotation. Nilkash Prasad has not been in the manager's plans for some time, and nobody at Nadi is pretending otherwise.
Squad8 Nov 2027
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Jonasa Ravukitiliva and Nadi agree another 3 years.
Squad8 Nov 2027
Words at Nadi training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Will Smith 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 dugout8 Nov 2027
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 Pauliasi Tulivou is on it.
The dugout8 Nov 2027
Clivert Sam 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.
Market8 Nov 2027
Every press conference now starts and ends the same way: with Eneriko Matau’s future. The manager has run out of new ways to say nothing.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad11 Oct 2027
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Nadi will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
Match11 Oct 2027
Nobody above Nadi
First, on 33 points. The table is a fact and a fact is allowed to be enjoyed, which is as far as anybody at the club is prepared to go in public.
Market11 Oct 2027
Only the photograph left for Ratu Halstead
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Ratu Halstead will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Nadi the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Squad11 Oct 2027
A row about effort at Nadi
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Stanley Skipper was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Squad11 Oct 2027
Tempers go at Nadi
Sitiveni Cavuilagi 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.
Squad11 Oct 2027
“I have tried. I have really tried, and every day I wake up in the wrong place.” Nobody at Nadi can coach that out of a man, and nobody there is pretending to.
The dugout11 Oct 2027
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.
Market11 Oct 2027
Every press conference now starts and ends the same way: with Eneriko Matau’s future. The manager has run out of new ways to say nothing.
The dugout11 Oct 2027
Nilkash Prasad 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 Nadi, and both men came out saying it was fine.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad4 Oct 2027
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Nadi will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Squad4 Oct 2027
Rocky Junior 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 Nadi this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The dugout4 Oct 2027
This is not rotation. Nilkash Prasad has not been in the manager's plans for some time, and nobody at Nadi is pretending otherwise.
Squad4 Oct 2027
Words at Nadi training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Stanley Skipper 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.
Squad4 Oct 2027
“The easiest signature of my career.” Jakub Kruszynski and Nadi agree another 3 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
The dugout4 Oct 2027
Tuiba Batiratu is still paying for one afternoon at Nadi
Nobody will confirm this and nothing else explains the last month of selections. A costly error buys a player a period of being second choice that is always longer than the error was.
Market4 Oct 2027
Nilkash Prasad is free to find somewhere else
“I was told straight, and I would rather have it straight.” The manager at Nadi has been clear about where Nilkash Prasad stands, which is more than many ever get.
The dugout4 Oct 2027
Rocky Junior 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 Rocky Junior is on it.
The dugout4 Oct 2027
Vinayak Rao 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 Nadi, and both men came out saying it was fine.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad6 Sep 2027
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 61 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Market6 Sep 2027
The last thing about a transfer that is still about the player is his signature on his own terms, and it is there. Nadi have lost him in all but the paperwork.
Market6 Sep 2027
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Nadi can pretend not to have heard.
Boardroom6 Sep 2027
Deadline passes with 9 signed and 6 gone
That is the business done at Nadi until the window opens again. Whether it was enough will be answered on Saturdays rather than in a column, and the first Saturday is close.
Market6 Sep 2027
Add another name to the list: Nasinu have asked the question everybody in the game has been asking about Ratu Halstead. The answer from Nadi has not changed — yet.
Squad6 Sep 2027
Words exchanged at Nadi
Sitiveni Cavuilagi 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 dugout6 Sep 2027
This is not rotation. Nilkash Prasad has not been in the manager's plans for some time, and nobody at Nadi is pretending otherwise.
Squad6 Sep 2027
Words at Nadi training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Aidan Malakai Singh 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 dugout6 Sep 2027
Tuiba Batiratu is still being punished for one mistake
Nobody will confirm it and the team sheets confirm it every week. One error has bought him a spell as second choice that is already longer than the error deserved.