Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Katsina United will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Nobody upstairs has said anything, which is the loudest thing they could do. Results buy silence in this game; the account at Katsina United is running low.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Katsina United have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Daniel Agara will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Katsina United the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Elmer Arunta 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.
Marked 8.86 — 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.
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Ejike Uzoechi. 1‑0 against Wikki Tourists, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Katsina United will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
A 2‑0 win over Nasarawa United, earned rather than given, and the sort of afternoon that sends everyone home talking about next week instead of this one.
Player ratings22 Apr 2030
Ejike Uzoechi was on a different afternoon to everybody else
8.38. 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.
Squad22 Apr 2030
David Onovo 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.
Micheal Adenodi 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.
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.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Katsina United will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Katsina United have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Katsina United is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Innocent Arigu, and the manager let it.
Squad15 Apr 2030
Words at Katsina United training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. David Onovo 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.
Ninety minutes, no goals, and the argument started before the car park emptied: a point gained, or two thrown away against Abia Warriors? Both sides of it will still be going on Thursday.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Katsina United will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Katsina United can pretend not to have heard.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Daniel Agara will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Katsina United the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Elmer Arunta 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.
Successful dribbles: 18. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Squad8 Apr 2030
Words at Katsina United training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Gozie Umeh 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 easiest signature of my career.” Abdullahi Shehu and Katsina United agree another 1 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Katsina United will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
The terraces1 Apr 2030
The mood at Katsina United has turned into something else
Supporters who sing when it goes badly are supporters. Supporters who gather afterwards are a problem, and everybody inside the building knows which of the two this now is.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Katsina United this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
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.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Katsina United will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Katsina United have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
A performance of 8.40 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Squad25 Mar 2030
Words at Katsina United training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Gozie Umeh 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.
He is the name in every column and on every phone-in, which is a heavy thing to carry at any age. Some footballers thrive on it; others are quietly finished by it.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Katsina United will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Kelechi Eze will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Katsina United the goodbyes have quietly begun.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Katsina United this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Katsina United will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
5 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Katsina United has to find a result from somewhere.
Squad25 Feb 2030
Words at Katsina United training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Gozie Umeh 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.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Katsina United this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The crowd waited for a goal that never came. Kwara United defended in numbers and left with what they came for, and the two sides could be playing still without troubling a scorer.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Katsina United will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Katsina United have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Katsina United they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
4 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.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Katsina United this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Ikorodu City left with the points after a 0‑1 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.
Squad4 Feb 2030
Words at Katsina United training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Gozie Umeh 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.
It is not much of a headline and it is the reason players believe the next promise. Katsina United told Elmer Arunta something would happen and then it happened, which in this industry passes for remarkable.
A month is long enough that nobody gets in by accident. Sadiq Auwal is in the division's best eleven for it, which is a quieter compliment than an award and a more reliable one.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Katsina United this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
A 2‑0 win over Shooting Stars, earned rather than given, and the sort of afternoon that sends everyone home talking about next week instead of this one.
Player ratings28 Jan 2030
Anthony Okachi was on a different afternoon to everybody else
8.30. 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.
Player ratings28 Jan 2030
Sadiq Auwal was on a different afternoon to everybody else
8.24. 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 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.
Nobody makes a documentary about a hamstring and everybody in the game fears one. Katsina United will be careful with the return date, because the second one is always worse than the first.
Everyone has stopped pretending: Shooting Stars will make the call about Daniel Agara this week. Katsina United have a number in mind, and the number is not shy.
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Anthony Okachi. 1‑0 against Kun Khalifat, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Katsina United this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad21 Jan 2030
Jamilu Yusuf 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 one version of being left out a player cannot argue with, and the one he takes worst. Somebody else has been better and the team sheet says so, in public, every week until it changes.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Daniel Agara will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Katsina United the goodbyes have quietly begun.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Katsina United this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
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.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Katsina United this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
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.
Elmer Arunta 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.
In brief
SquadWords at Katsina United training over how hard people work
SquadThe manager has not finished forgetting John Otieno's mistake
MarketThe clock does Elmer Arunta’s negotiating for him
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Katsina United they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Katsina United can pretend not to have heard.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Katsina United have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Zayyad Musa 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.
In brief
SquadGozie Umeh falls out with a teammate over standards
Squad5 new faces, and Katsina United are still learning each other
BoardroomThe Katsina United production line keeps running
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Katsina United can pretend not to have heard.
Everybody's debut is one of two stories and this was the other one. 5.48, and the only consolation available is that nobody's career has ever been decided by ninety minutes in a shirt he had just been given.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Katsina United this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
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.
Nobody at Katsina United 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.
Marked 5.60. Nothing he attempted worked and by the hour mark he had stopped attempting much, which is the part a manager notices rather than the mistakes.
In brief
Player ratingsCalvin Okike could not find anything
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.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Katsina United can pretend not to have heard.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Katsina United this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
An error at the back is a moment; an error in goal is a goal. John Otieno knows it, the crowd knew it instantly, and there was nobody behind him to make it anything else.
Squad17 Sep 2029
The manager has not finished forgetting John Otieno'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.
He is 17, and nobody at Katsina United signed him for this season. Deals like this are judged in four years, by people who may not still be in the building.
What was said behind closed doors has now been said in front of a microphone. Everybody at Katsina United can do the arithmetic, including the man it is aimed at.
Nobody upstairs has said anything, which is the loudest thing they could do. Results buy silence in this game; the account at Katsina United is running low.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Katsina United is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
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.
There is a version of every career where the player ends up somewhere he chose rather than somewhere that chose him. Olanrewaju Molade is living that version at Katsina United, and it tends to show in the first month.
There is no worse way to lose a footballer. Zayyad Musa has pre-agreed a move away, which means every appearance between now and June is made by a man the club can no longer sell, and somebody upstairs will be asked why the contract was allowed to get here.
The chances are being made and something is happening between the making and the finishing. 4 matches now, and the anxiety in the ground arrives a little earlier every week.
The words a physio says slowly. 34 days is what the club will announce and everybody who has heard this diagnosis before knows the number is the least of it: the knee comes back before the player does.
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.
5 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.
The offer from Enyimba for Daniel Agara was heard out and sent back the same day. First bids are rarely meant to succeed; they are meant to find out how loudly the door closes.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Katsina United this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The words a physio says slowly. 41 days is what the club will announce and everybody who has heard this diagnosis before knows the number is the least of it: the knee comes back before the player does.
“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 Katsina United, and it is not being withdrawn.
Ozovehe Adeiza 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 easiest signature of my career.” Sad'eeq Yusuf and Katsina United agree another 2 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
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 words a physio says slowly. 62 days is what the club will announce and everybody who has heard this diagnosis before knows the number is the least of it: the knee comes back before the player does.
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.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Katsina United can pretend not to have heard.
The fee was agreed and the flight was looked at — and then the phone stopped ringing. Shooting Stars moved on, Ozovehe Adeiza reports back to Katsina United, and everybody pretends Monday is just Monday.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Katsina United this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Warri Wolves left with the points after a 0‑1 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.
Squad23 Jul 2029
Words at Katsina United training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Abdullahi Shehu 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 words a physio says slowly. 76 days is what the club will announce and everybody who has heard this diagnosis before knows the number is the least of it: the knee comes back before the player does.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Katsina United is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Katsina United this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
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 words a physio says slowly. 90 days is what the club will announce and everybody who has heard this diagnosis before knows the number is the least of it: the knee comes back before the player does.
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.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Katsina United can pretend not to have heard.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Katsina United this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
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 words a physio says slowly. 97 days is what the club will announce and everybody who has heard this diagnosis before knows the number is the least of it: the knee comes back before the player does.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Katsina United this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
A conversation is coming this week. Katsina United will put a number on him, and from there it stops being football and becomes arithmetic.
Squad18 Jun 2029
Words at Katsina United training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Chinedu Onyinjekwu 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.
He is 17, and nobody at Katsina United signed him for this season. Deals like this are judged in four years, by people who may not still be in the building.
The words a physio says slowly. 111 days is what the club will announce and everybody who has heard this diagnosis before knows the number is the least of it: the knee comes back before the player does.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Katsina United can pretend not to have heard.
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Katsina United may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Squad4 Jun 2029
Words at Katsina United training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Sadiq Auwal 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.
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Chinedu Onyinjekwu. 2‑1 against Kun Khalifat, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
At 23 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.
Add another name to the list: Abia Warriors have asked the question everybody in the game has been asking about Jamilu Yusuf. The answer from Katsina United has not changed — yet.
125 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Katsina United lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Katsina United can pretend not to have heard.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Ozovehe Adeiza will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Katsina United the goodbyes have quietly begun.
A defender on the scoresheet, which happens rarely enough that everybody in the ground remembers who took the corner. 1 for him, and a mark of 7.68 for the rest of it.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Katsina United this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
“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.
Squad21 May 2029
Words at Katsina United training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Abdullahi Shehu 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 mood at Katsina United has turned into something else
Supporters who sing when it goes badly are supporters. Supporters who gather afterwards are a problem, and everybody inside the building knows which of the two this now is.
“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 Katsina United, and it is not being withdrawn.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Katsina United have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Chinedu Onyinjekwu 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 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.
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.
2 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.
Remo Stars go through and Katsina United go home, 1‑1 the scoreline that did it. The dressing room will call the league the priority now, because that is what dressing rooms say.
“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 Katsina United, and it is not being withdrawn.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Ozovehe Adeiza will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Katsina United the goodbyes have quietly begun.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Katsina United this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
2‑3 to Nasarawa United, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.
Squad23 Apr 2029
Sadiq Auwal 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.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Chikamso Amaefula will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Katsina United the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Squad16 Apr 2029
Words at Katsina United training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Sadiq Auwal 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.
It is not much of a headline and it is the reason players believe the next promise. Katsina United told Taiye Murtala something would happen and then it happened, which in this industry passes for remarkable.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Katsina United this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Shots: 6. Goals: none. The chances were there and they were good ones, and they went into the stand, the goalkeeper's arms and the side netting in roughly that order.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Katsina United this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Philip Clement commits to Katsina United for another 3 years.
Squad9 Apr 2029
Sadiq Auwal 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.
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.
Marked 5.38. Nothing he attempted worked and by the hour mark he had stopped attempting much, which is the part a manager notices rather than the mistakes.
The mood at Katsina United has turned into something else
Supporters who sing when it goes badly are supporters. Supporters who gather afterwards are a problem, and everybody inside the building knows which of the two this now is.
“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 Katsina United, and it is not being withdrawn.
Zayyad Musa 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.
Squad2 Apr 2029
Words at Katsina United training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Sadiq Auwal 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.
Four or five weekends of consistency, judged against everybody in the division doing his job. Chinedu Onyinjekwu has come out of that comparison in the side, and Katsina United have had the benefit of every one of those afternoons.
14 times he got in the way of something. Centre-halves get written about when they make mistakes and ignored when they do not, so an afternoon like this needs saying out loud: he is the reason the scoreline reads as it does.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Ozovehe Adeiza will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Katsina United the goodbyes have quietly begun.
“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 Katsina United, and it is not being withdrawn.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Katsina United this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad26 Mar 2029
Sadiq Auwal 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.
“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 ratings26 Mar 2029
Micheal Nelson was on a different afternoon to everybody else
8.35. 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 goal that put Barau ahead was still being replayed on the concourse when Katsina United equalised, 4 minutes later. Leads are only worth what you do with them.
Elmer Arunta 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.
Squad12 Mar 2029
Sadiq Auwal 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.
16 times he got in the way of something. Centre-halves get written about when they make mistakes and ignored when they do not, so an afternoon like this needs saying out loud: he is the reason the scoreline reads as it does.
Nobody at Katsina United 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.
He is the name in every column and on every phone-in, which is a heavy thing to carry at any age. Some footballers thrive on it; others are quietly finished by it.
The mood at Katsina United has turned into something else
Supporters who sing when it goes badly are supporters. Supporters who gather afterwards are a problem, and everybody inside the building knows which of the two this now is.
“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 Katsina United, and it is not being withdrawn.
“The easiest signature of my career.” Innocent Arigu and Katsina United agree another 4 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Zayyad Musa 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.
9 without defeat on their own grass. The pitch has not changed; the crowd has — louder earlier, and quicker to sense when the opposition would rather be somewhere else.
Squad5 Mar 2029
Words at Katsina United training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Sadiq Auwal 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.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Jamilu Yusuf will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Katsina United the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Squad26 Feb 2029
Sadiq Auwal 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.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Katsina United this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Katsina United they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Zayyad Musa 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.
Squad19 Feb 2029
Words at Katsina United training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Sadiq Auwal 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.
It needed Chinedu Onyinjekwu to find the net to bring anything home at all: 2‑2 against Kano Pillars, and half the dressing room will call it a point won.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Sadiq Auwal trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
In brief
Player ratingsElmer Arunta could not find anything
3 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.
The terraces5 Feb 2029
The mood at Katsina United has turned into something else
Supporters who sing when it goes badly are supporters. Supporters who gather afterwards are a problem, and everybody inside the building knows which of the two this now is.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Katsina United can pretend not to have heard.
Zayyad Musa 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.
In brief
SquadWords at Katsina United training over how hard people work
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.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Katsina United have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Katsina United can pretend not to have heard.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Katsina United this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
A conversation is coming this week. Katsina United will put a number on him, and from there it stops being football and becomes arithmetic.
Squad22 Jan 2029
Words at Katsina United training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Sadiq Auwal 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 mood at Katsina United has turned into something else
Supporters who sing when it goes badly are supporters. Supporters who gather afterwards are a problem, and everybody inside the building knows which of the two this now is.
It is a specific kind of quiet, a ground watching a winning position dissolve. El-Kanemi Warriors kept coming because nothing stopped them, and Katsina United will be asked about the last half hour all week.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Katsina United can pretend not to have heard.
6 boys move up, and somewhere in the building the people who coached them at twelve are quietly having the best morning of their working year. Nothing about this shows up in a result and it is why the academy exists.
Squad8 Jan 2029
Words at Katsina United training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Sadiq Auwal 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.
Chinedu Onyinjekwu 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.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Katsina United can pretend not to have heard.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Katsina United is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Katsina United this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad1 Jan 2029
Sadiq Auwal 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.
“I was told straight, and I would rather have it straight.” The manager at Katsina United has been clear about where Ifeanyi Osayi-Samuel stands, which is more than many ever get.
Position 19 and 37 points, and the table gets read bottom-up in this part of town. The calendar has stopped being a schedule and started being a countdown.
What was said behind closed doors has now been said in front of a microphone. Everybody at Katsina United can do the arithmetic, including the man it is aimed at.
Nothing has been announced and everybody understands what it means. A board that summons the whole football department on a Tuesday morning is a board that has stopped believing the problem will fix itself.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Jamilu Yusuf will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Katsina United the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Elmer Arunta 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.
Squad4 Dec 2028
Words at Katsina United training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Abdullahi Shehu 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.
“I watch every Katsina United game from here. That says everything about where my head is.” The loan at Sumgayit runs its course, but his heart never made the trip.
In brief
SquadElijah Akanni loses the manager who believed in him
“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 Katsina United, and it is not being withdrawn.
Zayyad Musa 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 Oct 2028
Words at Katsina United training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Sadiq Auwal 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 mood at Katsina United has turned into something else
Supporters who sing when it goes badly are supporters. Supporters who gather afterwards are a problem, and everybody inside the building knows which of the two this now is.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Katsina United can pretend not to have heard.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Katsina United this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad16 Oct 2028
Words at Katsina United training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Sadiq Auwal 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.
What was said behind closed doors has now been said in front of a microphone. Everybody at Katsina United can do the arithmetic, including the man it is aimed at.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Katsina United can pretend not to have heard.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Katsina United this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Abdullahi Shehu, and the manager let it.
Squad2 Oct 2028
Words at Katsina United training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Chinedu Onyinjekwu 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.
“I am grateful for the games, but I did not become a footballer to be somebody else's spare part.” He wants to be at Katsina United, and 3 appearances in 9 say he has earned the hearing.
Clubs make promises constantly and the page usually only hears about them when they are broken. This one was honoured, and the dressing room noticed that faster than any supporter did.
Market2 Oct 2028
Daniel Agara returns from a loan that gave him nothing
2 appearances and 0 goals is not a season, it is a year somebody has lost. Whether that is his fault, the borrowing club's or the people who arranged it is the argument the next few weeks will have.
The mood at Katsina United has turned into something else
Supporters who sing when it goes badly are supporters. Supporters who gather afterwards are a problem, and everybody inside the building knows which of the two this now is.
Nobody upstairs has said anything, which is the loudest thing they could do. Results buy silence in this game; the account at Katsina United is running low.
“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 Katsina United, and it is not being withdrawn.
Zayyad Musa 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.
Squad18 Sep 2028
Words at Katsina United training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Sadiq Auwal 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.
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.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Katsina United can pretend not to have heard.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Jamilu Yusuf will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Katsina United the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Zayyad Musa 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 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.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Katsina United have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Katsina United this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad28 Aug 2028
Words at Katsina United training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Sadiq Auwal 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.
“I watch every Katsina United game from here. That says everything about where my head is.” The loan at Cotonsport Garoua runs its course, but his heart never made the trip.
“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 Katsina United, and it is not being withdrawn.
Zayyad Musa 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.
Barau left with the points after a 0‑1 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.
Squad31 Jul 2028
Words at Katsina United training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Chinedu Onyinjekwu 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.
“I am grateful for the games, but I did not become a footballer to be somebody else's spare part.” He wants to be at Katsina United, and 2 appearances in 29 say he has earned the hearing.
It is not much of a headline and it is the reason players believe the next promise. Katsina United told Zayyad Musa something would happen and then it happened, which in this industry passes for remarkable.
“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 Katsina United, and it is not being withdrawn.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Katsina United is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Ozovehe Adeiza 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.
Squad17 Jul 2028
Words at Katsina United training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Sadiq Auwal 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.
A player who expected to start watched it instead. The manager will call it a decision for the team; Thompson Jasmine will call it something else in private.
It needed Chinedu Onyinjekwu to find the net to bring anything home at all: 1‑1 against Warri Wolves, and half the dressing room will call it a point won.
In brief
The terracesThe spotlight tightens on Elmer Arunta
Player ratingsElmer Arunta could not find anything
Position 20 and 23 points, and the table gets read bottom-up in this part of town. The calendar has stopped being a schedule and started being a countdown.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Katsina United can pretend not to have heard.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Katsina United is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Elmer Arunta 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.
Footballers are asked about their boyhood club so often that nobody listens to the answer. Nduka Elisha has just signed for Katsina United, and for once the answer mattered.
Nothing happens for months and then he simply arrives, at no cost, having signed a pre-contract while still turning out for somebody else. It is the least dramatic way to sign a footballer and frequently the shrewdest.
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.
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.
“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 Katsina United, and it is not being withdrawn.
Nobody upstairs has said anything, which is the loudest thing they could do. Results buy silence in this game; the account at Katsina United is running low.
4 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.
Elmer Arunta 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.
Squad26 Jun 2028
Words at Katsina United training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Solomon James 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.
Headers, blocks, tackles, interceptions — 17 of them, and not one goal behind him. The sort of performance that never makes a highlight reel and wins football matches.