Marked for Walid El Bouradi
From our football correspondent
Crisis
The terraces18 Jun 2029
Anger at ES Ben Aknoun spills outside the ground
It has stopped being a mood in the stands and started being something organised. Boards can ignore a bad atmosphere for a long time; they cannot ignore this stage of it for very long at all.
Boardroom18 Jun 2029
Pressure builds in the ES Ben Aknoun boardroom
The directors have stopped offering the manager public warmth. In football that is usually the stage before the short statement.
Squad18 Jun 2029
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 Ben Aknoun this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Transfer targets18 Jun 2029
ES Ben Aknoun asked and ES Mostaganem said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
Squad18 Jun 2029
Words at ES Ben Aknoun training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Mostapha Badaoui 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 dugout18 Jun 2029
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at ES Ben Aknoun, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Back issues
From our football correspondent
Crisis
The terraces21 May 2029
Anger at ES Ben Aknoun spills outside the ground
It has stopped being a mood in the stands and started being something organised. Boards can ignore a bad atmosphere for a long time; they cannot ignore this stage of it for very long at all.
Boardroom21 May 2029
Pressure builds in the ES Ben Aknoun boardroom
The directors have stopped offering the manager public warmth. In football that is usually the stage before the short statement.
Squad21 May 2029
A knee injury of the worst kind for Riyad Bellahcene
16 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. ES Ben Aknoun lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
The dugout21 May 2029
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” ES Ben Aknoun may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Market21 May 2029
“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 ES Ben Aknoun, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad21 May 2029
Lahlou Akhrib 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.
Squad21 May 2029
Words at ES Ben Aknoun training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Abdelkader Tamimi 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 May 2029
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at ES Ben Aknoun, and both men came out saying it was fine.
The dugout21 May 2029
“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.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad14 May 2029
23 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. ES Ben Aknoun lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
Market14 May 2029
Only the photograph left for Hossam Hassan
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Hossam Hassan will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around ES Ben Aknoun the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Squad14 May 2029
Lahlou Akhrib 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.
Squad14 May 2029
Words at ES Ben Aknoun training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Abdelkader Tamimi 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 May 2029
Mohamed Sylla 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.
Market14 May 2029
ES Ben Aknoun have let the market know Benaouda Klileche can be had. No price in the advert, but everyone in the trade knows roughly what it says.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market19 Mar 2029
“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 ES Ben Aknoun, and it is not being withdrawn.
The dugout19 Mar 2029
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” ES Ben Aknoun may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Market19 Mar 2029
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at ES Ben Aknoun is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Squad19 Mar 2029
A muscle injury sidelines Fateh Talah for 16 days
Nobody makes a documentary about a hamstring and everybody in the game fears one. ES Ben Aknoun will be careful with the return date, because the second one is always worse than the first.
Squad19 Mar 2029
Words at ES Ben Aknoun training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Abdelkader Tamimi 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.
Squad19 Mar 2029
Fateh Talah 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 ES Ben Aknoun this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The dugout19 Mar 2029
The manager makes an example of Housseyn Selmi
“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.
The dugout19 Mar 2029
The view from the dugout
“We did not lose. Some weeks that is all you get, and I would rather have the point than not.” Riyad Feghouli chose the glass-half-full version of 0‑0; the supporters left with the other one.
Squad19 Mar 2029
One yellow too many, and a match watched from the stand. The most avoidable absence in football, and ES Ben Aknoun will feel it on Saturday.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Boardroom5 Mar 2029
Riyad Feghouli has until the next board meeting
What was said behind closed doors has now been said in front of a microphone. Everybody at ES Ben Aknoun can do the arithmetic, including the man it is aimed at.
Squad5 Mar 2029
There were 6 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.
Match3 Mar 2029
ES Ben Aknoun are shipping goals every week
Two or more conceded in each of the last 5 matches. It is not one mistake repeating itself, which would be the easier thing to fix; it is a different one every week.
Squad5 Mar 2029
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 Ben Aknoun this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The dugout5 Mar 2029
“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.
Market5 Mar 2029
“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 dugout5 Mar 2029
The manager’s verdict
“That is on me. I pick the team and I picked wrong.” Managers say that when they mean it and when they need to be seen to, and after 1‑3 Riyad Feghouli left the room before anybody could ask which.
Squad5 Mar 2029
Mostapha Badaoui 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.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Market11 Dec 2028
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at ES Ben Aknoun is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Squad11 Dec 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 ES Ben Aknoun this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Match9 Dec 2028
JS Saoura left with the points after a 0‑1 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.
Squad11 Dec 2028
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Walid El Bouradi and ES Ben Aknoun agree another 4 years.
The dugout11 Dec 2028
The manager’s verdict
“That is on me. I pick the team and I picked wrong.” Managers say that when they mean it and when they need to be seen to, and after 0‑1 Riyad Feghouli left the room before anybody could ask which.
Squad11 Dec 2028
Words at ES Ben Aknoun training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Mostapha Badaoui 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 dugout11 Dec 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.
Player ratings11 Dec 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.
Looking ahead11 Dec 2028
ASO Chlef next, and one man in the ES Ben Aknoun dressing room knows their training ground better than his own. The reception will tell him what they thought of him.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match23 Sep 2028
1‑5 to MC Oran, and it was every bit as bad as the number suggests. There are defeats you argue about and defeats you apologise for; this was the second kind.
Squad25 Sep 2028
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.
Match23 Sep 2028
6 goals. Both benches spent the second half looking at each other rather than at the pitch. Purists will complain about ES Ben Aknoun and MC Oran in equal measure; everybody else had a wonderful time.
Squad25 Sep 2028
Abdelkader Tamimi 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.
Squad25 Sep 2028
Toufik Addadi 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 dugout25 Sep 2028
Laid Ayad 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.
Boardroom25 Sep 2028
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.
Squad25 Sep 2028
The medical room confirms 28 days on the sidelines for Hicham Benaceur, and a plan built around him now has to be rebuilt.
The dugout25 Sep 2028
“We were not good enough today and I am not going to dress it up.” Bilal Belmadi after 1‑5, in the tone of a man who knows the next question and does not intend to answer it.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Market21 Aug 2028
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at ES Ben Aknoun is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Squad21 Aug 2028
Form comes and goes; this has not gone. Youssef Mabkhout is 21, and the version of him training now would not have got into the side he was in a year ago.
Transfer targets21 Aug 2028
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. CS Constantine have kept their man, and ES Ben Aknoun go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Squad21 Aug 2028
Abdelkader Tamimi 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.
Squad21 Aug 2028
Toufik Addadi 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.
Market21 Aug 2028
Nassim Yattou is free to find somewhere else
“I was told straight, and I would rather have it straight.” The manager at ES Ben Aknoun has been clear about where Nassim Yattou stands, which is more than many ever get.
The dugout21 Aug 2028
The manager has not finished forgetting Housseyn Selmi's mistake
Publicly it is behind everybody. It is not behind the man who picks the team, and the only place that shows is a team sheet. He will get another chance; he will get it in a match that matters less.
The dugout21 Aug 2028
Nassim Yattou 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 ES Ben Aknoun, and both men came out saying it was fine.