Marked for Biola Sabitu
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Market3 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 The request is on a desk at Remo Stars, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad3 Jul 2028
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the whole of the defence. 6 saves, several of them the kind nobody expects to see made, and ten outfield players who owe him a drink.
Transfer targets3 Jul 2028
The deal with Asante Kotoko 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.
Market3 Jul 2028
Wikki Tourists are about to pick up the phone
A conversation is coming this week. Remo Stars will put a number on him, and from there it stops being football and becomes arithmetic.
Match1 Jul 2028
Hard to beat is not the same as winning, but 6 matches without defeat is a foundation Remo Stars did not have in the autumn.
The dugout3 Jul 2028
This is not rotation. Hosea Michael has not been in the manager's plans for some time, and nobody at Remo Stars is pretending otherwise.
Transfer targets3 Jul 2028
The approach was made and the answer came back in a sentence. There is no number on the table because there was no number that would have been enough.
Squad3 Jul 2028
Hadi Haruna 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 terraces3 Jul 2028
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.
Back issues
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Market1 May 2028
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Remo Stars they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
The dugout1 May 2028
This is not rotation. Joseph Abah has not been in the manager's plans for some time, and nobody at Remo Stars is pretending otherwise.
Match29 Apr 2028
A 2‑1 win over Kwara United, earned rather than given, and the sort of afternoon that sends everyone home talking about next week instead of this one.
Squad1 May 2028
Hadi Haruna 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.
Squad1 May 2028
Jabu Mokone 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 dugout1 May 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 ratings1 May 2028
Marked 7.79. Ask anyone leaving the ground what settled it and you will get one name, which is the only award that has ever really counted.
The dugout1 May 2028
The manager’s verdict
“I am not going to get carried away and I will not let them either. It was a good day. There will be harder ones.” Adebayo Balogun kept it short after the 2‑1 win, which is what managers do when they are happy.
The dugout1 May 2028
Biola Sabitu 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 Remo Stars, and both men came out saying it was fine.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Match19 Apr 2028
The small margins put Remo Stars out
Out, 0‑1 to Warri Wolves, and the long argument about which of the small moments decided it. The league is all there is now, and everybody knows it.
Player ratings24 Apr 2028
2 goals, and the second was the one that settled it. Marked 8.56, and he could have had a third with better luck at the near post.
Squad24 Apr 2028
Words at Remo Stars training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Antonio Galeano 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.
Squad24 Apr 2028
Hadi Haruna 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 Remo Stars this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The terraces24 Apr 2028
He is 22 and the ground already sings his name, which is a thing that happens to local boys and almost never to signings. Everything from here is measured against an affection he did nothing to earn except be from here.
Match22 Apr 2028
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Adama Goïta. 2‑0 against Kano Pillars, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
The dugout24 Apr 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 ratings24 Apr 2028
Successful dribbles: 18. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Boardroom24 Apr 2028
Nobody left the Remo Stars dressing room in a hurry
The door stayed shut a long time after the final whistle. What was said in there is between them; whether it worked is between them and Saturday.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market10 Apr 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 Remo Stars, and it is not being withdrawn.
Boardroom10 Apr 2028
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.
Squad10 Apr 2028
Hadi Haruna 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 dugout10 Apr 2028
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Biola Sabitu, and the manager let it.
Match8 Apr 2028
Beaten 0‑1, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
Squad10 Apr 2028
A row about effort at Remo Stars
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Jabu Mokone was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Boardroom10 Apr 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.
Player ratings10 Apr 2028
Successful dribbles: 16. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
The dugout10 Apr 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 Adebayo Balogun left the room before anybody could ask which.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market27 Mar 2028
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Olalekan Adeleye will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Remo Stars the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Squad27 Mar 2028
Antonio Galeano 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.
Squad27 Mar 2028
Hadi Haruna 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 Remo Stars this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The dugout27 Mar 2028
“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.
Looking ahead27 Mar 2028
Katsina United next, and one man in the Remo Stars dressing room knows their training ground better than his own. The reception will tell him what they thought of him.
Market27 Mar 2028
The Biola Sabitu story refuses to die
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Biola Sabitu signs something — a contract at Remo Stars or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
The dugout27 Mar 2028
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.
Market27 Mar 2028
Remo Stars have let the market know Olamilekan Adedayo can be had. No price in the advert, but everyone in the trade knows roughly what it says.
The dugout27 Mar 2028
Jabu Mokone 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
Crisis
Market13 Mar 2028
Azeez Agboola 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 Remo Stars can pretend not to have heard.
Squad13 Mar 2028
A row about effort at Remo Stars
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Antonio Galeano was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Squad13 Mar 2028
Hadi Haruna 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.
Match11 Mar 2028
Bendel Insurance left with the points after a 0‑2 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.
The dugout13 Mar 2028
Biola Sabitu 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 dugout13 Mar 2028
“We were not good enough today and I am not going to dress it up.” Adebayo Balogun after 0‑2, in the tone of a man who knows the next question and does not intend to answer it.
The dugout13 Mar 2028
Ibrahim Obansa 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.
Squad13 Mar 2028
Too much change too quickly at Remo Stars
6 signings in three months. Every one of them may be an upgrade and the team can still be worse for a while, which is the part of a rebuild that never appears in the transfer-window verdicts.
Player ratings13 Mar 2028
4.36. Every footballer has these and most of them happen away from a full ground; his did not, and he will be aware of that all week.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad6 Mar 2028
A one-man rearguard from Biola Sabitu
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.
Market6 Mar 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 Remo Stars, and it is not being withdrawn.
Market6 Mar 2028
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Remo Stars is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
The dugout6 Mar 2028
This is not rotation. Joseph Abah has not been in the manager's plans for some time, and nobody at Remo Stars is pretending otherwise.
Squad6 Mar 2028
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Antonio Galeano and Remo Stars agree another 5 years.
Match4 Mar 2028
Still nobody has beaten Remo Stars
The unbeaten run reaches 6. Some of them were wins and some were escapes, but a side that refuses to lose is a side other dressing rooms talk about.
Squad6 Mar 2028
Words at Remo Stars training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Antonio Galeano 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 Mar 2028
Hadi Haruna 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 dugout6 Mar 2028
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Ibrahim Obansa, and the manager let it.
From our football correspondent
Steady
The dugout21 Feb 2028
This is not rotation. Olamilekan Adedayo has not been in the manager's plans for some time, and nobody at Remo Stars is pretending otherwise.
Squad21 Feb 2028
A row about effort at Remo Stars
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Antonio Galeano was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Squad21 Feb 2028
Hadi Haruna and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Player ratings21 Feb 2028
Some games turn on a moment; this one turned on a man. 7.66 on the card, and the Remo Stars support went home talking about one name.
The dugout21 Feb 2028
It is not much of a headline and it is the reason players believe the next promise. Remo Stars told Stanley Joseph something would happen and then it happened, which in this industry passes for remarkable.
Match19 Feb 2028
A 1‑1 draw with Wikki Tourists leaves the dressing room somewhere between relief and regret.
The dugout21 Feb 2028
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Segun Owoade, and the manager let it.
The dugout21 Feb 2028
“It is not the end of the world and it is not good enough. Both of those are true.” The manager, after a 1‑1 draw, said the honest thing and then went to say it again inside.
Player ratings21 Feb 2028
Successful dribbles: 12. He went past people as if he had been told there was a prize for it, and by the end the full-back had stopped pretending to try.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market14 Feb 2028
The offer from Kwara United for Olamilekan Adedayo 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.
Market14 Feb 2028
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Remo Stars is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Transfer targets14 Feb 2028
Remo Stars offered $39.0K; Shooting Stars said it was not close. The manager will be told the money is still there for the right player, which is what managers are told.
Squad14 Feb 2028
Antonio Galeano 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.
Squad14 Feb 2028
Hadi Haruna 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 Feb 2028
A goalkeeper's career is counted in the games nobody scored in, and Biola Sabitu now has 25 of them across 74 appearances. Nothing about that number was luck.
Squad14 Feb 2028
Too much change too quickly at Remo Stars
7 signings in three months. Every one of them may be an upgrade and the team can still be worse for a while, which is the part of a rebuild that never appears in the transfer-window verdicts.
Player ratings14 Feb 2028
A mark of 7.52, and nobody in the ground would argue with it. He was involved in everything that mattered and most of what did not.
The dugout14 Feb 2028
Mark Gibson 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.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Market24 Jan 2028
“It was not right for me. I am not going to explain why to anybody except the people I owe an explanation to.” A deal agreed between two clubs, and a player who declined to be part of it.
Market24 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 Remo Stars, and it is not being withdrawn.
The dugout24 Jan 2028
“I was told what my role would be, and I signed on that basis. It has not happened.” A grievance with a date attached is the hardest kind to settle.
The dugout24 Jan 2028
This is not rotation. Olamilekan Adedayo has not been in the manager's plans for some time, and nobody at Remo Stars is pretending otherwise.
Squad24 Jan 2028
Words at Remo Stars training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Antonio Galeano 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.
Transfer targets24 Jan 2028
Remo Stars asked and Bandirmaspor said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
Squad24 Jan 2028
Hadi Haruna and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Market24 Jan 2028
The name of Mark Gibson has come up in conversations Remo Stars were not part of. Nothing formal, nothing signed — but nothing about it accidental either.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market27 Dec 2027
Only the photograph left for Mark Gibson
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Mark Gibson will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Remo Stars the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Squad27 Dec 2027
Hadi Haruna 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.
Squad27 Dec 2027
Jabu Mokone 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 dugout27 Dec 2027
Biola Sabitu 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 Remo Stars, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Market27 Dec 2027
Adama Goïta linked with a move away
The name of Adama Goïta keeps appearing in other people's back pages. Remo Stars say nothing, which says plenty.
Squad27 Dec 2027
Biola Sabitu has done the arithmetic and does not like the answer. Nothing corrodes a squad faster, and no club has ever solved it by explaining the wage structure to a footballer.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market6 Dec 2027
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Remo Stars they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Squad6 Dec 2027
Hadi Haruna 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.
Squad6 Dec 2027
Words at Remo Stars training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Jabu Mokone 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
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Ospina Egbe and Remo Stars agree another 1 years.
Loan watch6 Dec 2027
“I did not go to El-Kanemi Warriors to sit and watch. I want to come back to Remo Stars and fight for my place.” 1 appearances in 13 matches say the rest.
Loan watch6 Dec 2027
28 appearances away from home and 10 goals to show for them. Every one of them makes next summer's conversation a little more expensive.
Market6 Dec 2027
“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 dugout6 Dec 2027
The manager makes an example of Calvin Olayinka
“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.
Market6 Dec 2027
Every press conference now starts and ends the same way: with Biola Sabitu’s future. The manager has run out of new ways to say nothing.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad22 Nov 2027
Words at Remo Stars training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Antonio Galeano 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.
Squad22 Nov 2027
Sunday Aniebet and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
The dugout22 Nov 2027
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.
Market22 Nov 2027
The name of Antonio Galeano keeps appearing in other people's back pages. Remo Stars say nothing, which says plenty.
Market22 Nov 2027
The list is a quiet document with a loud meaning. Antonio Galeano may talk to anybody who asks, and everybody at the club understands what that means.
The dugout22 Nov 2027
Odunsi Sunday knocks on the manager’s door
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Odunsi Sunday trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market15 Nov 2027
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Abdulrazaq Shuaibu will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Remo Stars the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Squad15 Nov 2027
Hadi Haruna 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 Remo Stars this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad15 Nov 2027
Jabu Mokone 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 dugout15 Nov 2027
It is not much of a headline and it is the reason players believe the next promise. Remo Stars told Ibrahim Obansa something would happen and then it happened, which in this industry passes for remarkable.
The dugout15 Nov 2027
Biola Sabitu 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.
The dugout15 Nov 2027
Jabbar Malik has become a man the manager trusts
Nobody at Remo Stars 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.
Market15 Nov 2027
Remo Stars have let the market know Olamilekan Adedayo can be had. No price in the advert, but everyone in the trade knows roughly what it says.
Match15 Nov 2027
Remo Stars in the hunt for Europe
Position 6, 58 points, and a run-in that decides whether next season has Thursday nights in it. Nobody is calling it a race yet, which is what people say during one.
Market15 Nov 2027
“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.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market8 Nov 2027
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Remo Stars is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Squad8 Nov 2027
Words at Remo Stars training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Antonio Galeano 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.
Squad8 Nov 2027
Hadi Haruna 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.
Loan watch8 Nov 2027
“I watch every Remo Stars game from here. That says everything about where my head is.” The loan at El-Kanemi Warriors runs its course, but his heart never made the trip.
Loan watch8 Nov 2027
The goals keep arriving from Chaka Coulibaly’s exile
10 goals in 28 games at Rangers International — numbers that travel home faster than he does. Somebody at Remo Stars updates a spreadsheet every Monday, and it makes better reading each week.
The dugout8 Nov 2027
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.
The dugout8 Nov 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Hosea Michael, and the manager let it.
The dugout8 Nov 2027
Biola Sabitu 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 Remo Stars, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Squad8 Nov 2027
A year in and the language has not come, the city has not opened up, and he eats alone more often than anybody at Remo Stars would like to admit. It is showing on Saturdays.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market11 Oct 2027
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Remo Stars they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Squad11 Oct 2027
Words at Remo Stars training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Antonio Galeano 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.
Squad11 Oct 2027
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Segun Owoade commits to Remo Stars for another 3 years.
Loan watch11 Oct 2027
“I did not go to El-Kanemi Warriors to sit and watch. I want to come back to Remo Stars and fight for my place.” 1 appearances in 5 matches say the rest.
Loan watch11 Oct 2027
28 appearances away from home and 10 goals to show for them. Every one of them makes next summer's conversation a little more expensive.
Squad11 Oct 2027
Harrison Mohammed 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.
Market11 Oct 2027
Every press conference now starts and ends the same way: with Biola Sabitu’s future. The manager has run out of new ways to say nothing.
Market11 Oct 2027
“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 dugout11 Oct 2027
Qudus Akanni 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 Qudus Akanni is on it.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad27 Sep 2027
Words at Remo Stars training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Antonio Galeano 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.
Squad27 Sep 2027
Hadi Haruna and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
The dugout27 Sep 2027
The manager makes an example of Ibrahim Obansa
“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 dugout27 Sep 2027
“There are things I liked and things we will be doing on Tuesday until they are right.” 0‑0, and a manager who had already decided what Tuesday looked like.
The dugout27 Sep 2027
Biola Sabitu 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 Remo Stars, and both men came out saying it was fine.
The dugout27 Sep 2027
The manager wanted a different profile for this opponent, which is a real football reason and no consolation. He did nothing wrong and he did not play.
Match25 Sep 2027
Nil-nil, and few chances worth the name. Rangers International came to defend and left with exactly what they came for.
Looking ahead27 Sep 2027
Every squad has one of these fixtures for somebody every season. This one is Ibrahim Obansa’s: the club that knew him first, the supporters who will decide in the first minute whether to applaud, and Remo Stars needing him to play as if none of it matters.
Squad27 Sep 2027
Every debut is a small story about the future: Odion Adebayor, 15 years old, off the academy pitches and into the first team. The parents in the stand will keep the programme.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market6 Sep 2027
Joseph Abah 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 Remo Stars can pretend not to have heard.
Boardroom6 Sep 2027
Remo Stars close the window on a squad of their own making
13 in and 8 out, and no more changes for months. The manager has what he has, the supporters have their opinion of it, and the table will have the last word.
Market6 Sep 2027
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Remo Stars is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Transfer targets6 Sep 2027
$38.0K on the table at Shooting Stars. The manager wanted him, the board agreed a number, and the only voices still to be heard are the ones at the other club.
Transfer targets6 Sep 2027
$38.0K was the most the club would pay and Shooting Stars were asking for more. Deals like this are revived in the last week of a window roughly half the time, and everybody involved knows it.
Squad6 Sep 2027
A row about effort at Remo Stars
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Antonio Galeano was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Squad6 Sep 2027
Hadi Haruna 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.
Squad6 Sep 2027
A month that belonged to Adama Goïta
The young player of the month award goes to a 21-year-old at Remo Stars who has looked like the finished article for four weekends running. The next four are the ones that decide whether he is.
Squad6 Sep 2027
Adama Goïta makes the team of the month
Four or five weekends of consistency, measured against everybody else in the division. A quieter compliment than an award and a more reliable one.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market30 Aug 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 Remo Stars can pretend not to have heard.
Player ratings30 Aug 2027
2 goals, and the second was the one that settled it. Marked 8.49, and he could have had a third with better luck at the near post.
Market30 Aug 2027
The last thing about a transfer that is still about the player is his signature on his own terms, and it is there. Remo Stars have lost him in all but the paperwork.
Market30 Aug 2027
Spartaks come back empty-handed
The bid was some way short and Remo Stars did not need long over it. Nobody in the game reads a first refusal as the end of anything.
Squad30 Aug 2027
Antonio Galeano 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.
Squad30 Aug 2027
Hadi Haruna and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
The dugout30 Aug 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Biola Sabitu, and the manager let it.
The dugout30 Aug 2027
“The players deserve the credit. My job was easy today.” It was not, and everybody in the room knew it; after 2‑1, Adebayo Balogun could afford to be generous.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Market2 Aug 2027
The clubs have settled the fee and he has settled his wages. What remains is a medical and a photograph, and around Remo Stars people have started saying his name in the past tense.
Match31 Jul 2027
4 matches without a win for Remo Stars
The run now stands at 4, and the questions being asked around Remo Stars are no longer polite ones.
Transfer targets2 Aug 2027
Shooting Stars wanted more than $26.0K and the board would not go there. Walked away, for now, which in a transfer window means until somebody blinks.
Market2 Aug 2027
The phone has started ringing about Sodiq Oshidero again, and this time the name on the line is Spartaks. Remo Stars are listening politely and promising nothing.
Squad2 Aug 2027
Hadi Haruna and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Match31 Jul 2027
0‑1 to Bendel Insurance, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.
Squad2 Aug 2027
Jabu Mokone 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.
Squad2 Aug 2027
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Ibrahim Obansa commits to Remo Stars for another 3 years.
Market2 Aug 2027
“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.
In brief
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The dugout
The view from the dugout
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Squad
Sodiq Oshidero is no longer first choice
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Market
Kun Khalifat are about to pick up the phone
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market19 Jul 2027
The last thing about a transfer that is still about the player is his signature on his own terms, and it is there. Remo Stars have lost him in all but the paperwork.
Player ratings19 Jul 2027
Successful dribbles: 20. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Squad19 Jul 2027
Ahmed Akinyele 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.
Squad19 Jul 2027
Hadi Haruna 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.
Match17 Jul 2027
It finished 1‑1, and it somehow always looked like it would. One of those afternoons where the table moves less than the tempers.
The dugout19 Jul 2027
The manager makes an example of Jérôme Bonou
“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 Jul 2027
“There are things I liked and things we will be doing on Tuesday until they are right.” 1‑1, and a manager who had already decided what Tuesday looked like.
Looking ahead19 Jul 2027
He used to wear the other shirt. On Saturday he plays against El-Kanemi Warriors in this one, and whatever he says this week about it being just another game will be untrue.
The dugout19 Jul 2027
The manager wanted a different profile for this opponent, which is a real football reason and no consolation. He did nothing wrong and he did not play.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market28 Jun 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 Remo Stars can pretend not to have heard.
Boardroom28 Jun 2027
The number the board signed off was not enough. It has been asked again and raised its own offer to $27.8K — a club that wants Daniel Monday enough to be asked twice.
Transfer targets28 Jun 2027
$25.0K was the most the club would pay and Rangers International were asking for more. Deals like this are revived in the last week of a window roughly half the time, and everybody involved knows it.
Squad28 Jun 2027
Words at Remo Stars training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Ahmed Akinyele 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 dugout28 Jun 2027
Biola Sabitu 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.
Match26 Jun 2027
A 2‑2 draw with Nasarawa United leaves the dressing room somewhere between relief and regret.
Squad28 Jun 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 Remo Stars this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Transfer targets28 Jun 2027
Flamengo have been asked whether they would lend him. Loans are agreed quickly or not at all, and this one will be one or the other by the weekend.
Market28 Jun 2027
Bayelsa United are about to pick up the phone
A conversation is coming this week. Remo Stars will put a number on him, and from there it stops being football and becomes arithmetic.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Player ratings24 May 2027
2 goals, and the second was the one that settled it. Marked 8.60, and he could have had a third with better luck at the near post.
Market24 May 2027
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Remo Stars, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad24 May 2027
A one-man rearguard from Biola Sabitu
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.
Squad24 May 2027
Ahmed Akinyele 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.
Match22 May 2027
It finished 2‑1, and it was Samuel Anakwe’s afternoon: on the scoresheet when it mattered, and the reason the points belong to Remo Stars.
Squad24 May 2027
Hadi Haruna 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 terraces24 May 2027
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.
The dugout24 May 2027
The manager’s verdict
“I am not going to get carried away and I will not let them either. It was a good day. There will be harder ones.” Adebayo Balogun kept it short after the 2‑1 win, which is what managers do when they are happy.
The dugout24 May 2027
The manager makes an example of Ibrahim Obansa
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Match21 Apr 2027
The small margins put Remo Stars out
Out, 1‑3 to Barau, and the long argument about which of the small moments decided it. The league is all there is now, and everybody knows it.
Player ratings26 Apr 2027
Abubacarr Sedi Kinteh, 20, plays like he has been here for years — 8.08
A mark of 8.08 means one thing beside a twenty-nine-year-old's name and something else entirely beside a 20-year-old's. Nobody at the ground needed telling which this was.
The dugout26 Apr 2027
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Remo Stars may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Squad26 Apr 2027
Ahmed Akinyele 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.
Squad26 Apr 2027
Hadi Haruna 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 terraces26 Apr 2027
He is 21 and the ground already sings his name, which is a thing that happens to local boys and almost never to signings. Everything from here is measured against an affection he did nothing to earn except be from here.
Match24 Apr 2027
The drought breaks for Remo Stars
5 without a win is the sort of run that changes how a town talks about its club, and Kano Pillars were the afternoon it stopped. Nothing is fixed by one result and everything feels different by one.
Match24 Apr 2027
2 goals inside twenty minutes with Abubacarr Sedi Kinteh in the middle of it, and Kano Pillars unable to get near the ball long enough to change anything. Some matches are won before the first drink.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad29 Mar 2027
39 days out for Emmanuel Olisa after a fracture
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Remo Stars will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
Squad29 Mar 2027
Hadi Haruna 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 dugout29 Mar 2027
It is not much of a headline and it is the reason players believe the next promise. Remo Stars told Abubacarr Sedi Kinteh something would happen and then it happened, which in this industry passes for remarkable.
Squad29 Mar 2027
A row about effort at Remo Stars
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Jérôme Bonou was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Looking ahead29 Mar 2027
He used to wear the other shirt. On Saturday he plays against Katsina United in this one, and whatever he says this week about it being just another game will be untrue.
The dugout29 Mar 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.
Loan watch29 Mar 2027
7 appearances away from home and 5 goals to show for them. Every one of them makes next summer's conversation a little more expensive.
Squad29 Mar 2027
He goes off to be somebody else’s player for a fortnight. Remo Stars lose him for the window and would like him returned in the condition he left.
The dugout29 Mar 2027
Hosea Michael 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
Uneasy
Market25 Jan 2027
Fee agreed, wages agreed, and Aduana Stars waiting with a shirt. Nobody at Remo Stars is pretending otherwise, and the supporters have stopped asking whether and started asking when.
Squad25 Jan 2027
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 7 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
Market25 Jan 2027
Ebuka Anthony 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 Remo Stars can pretend not to have heard.
Transfer targets25 Jan 2027
Everything agreed with Plateau United, everything agreed with the player; a doctor is the only person left to persuade. The photograph is a day or two away.
Match23 Jan 2027
4 matches without a win for Remo Stars
The run now stands at 4, and the questions being asked around Remo Stars are no longer polite ones.
Transfer targets25 Jan 2027
Remo Stars asked and LOSC Lille said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
Squad25 Jan 2027
Jabu Mokone and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
The dugout25 Jan 2027
“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.
Match23 Jan 2027
A goal on 90 minutes turned three points into one and a good afternoon into an argument about game management that will run until Saturday.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad14 Dec 2026
25 days, the scan says, and scans are kinder than reality. The fixtures in that window have just become somebody else’s job.
Squad14 Dec 2026
Words at Remo Stars training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Azeez Agboola is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
The dugout14 Dec 2026
Odunsi Sunday 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 Dec 2026
The name of Biola Sabitu keeps appearing in other people's back pages. Remo Stars say nothing, which says plenty.
The dugout14 Dec 2026
“Judge me on him.” Managers do not say that kind of thing by accident — it moves the pressure from Olamilekan Adedayo’s shoulders onto his own, and both of them know it.
Boardroom14 Dec 2026
The Remo Stars academy earns its keep
14 graduates, from a department now rated 15 out of 20. Nothing about the academy appears in a result, and nothing about the club’s future exists without it.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad7 Dec 2026
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 16 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Market7 Dec 2026
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Abdulrazaq Shuaibu will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Remo Stars the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Squad7 Dec 2026
A row about effort at Remo Stars
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Ahmed Akinyele was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Squad7 Dec 2026
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Biola Sabitu commits to Remo Stars for another 5 years.
Loan watch7 Dec 2026
“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 Remo Stars, and 0 appearances in 17 say he has earned the hearing.
The dugout7 Dec 2026
Sodiq Oshidero 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
Squad16 Nov 2026
A fracture rules Sodiq Oshidero out for 37 days
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Remo Stars will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Squad16 Nov 2026
55 days, the medical staff say, and medical staff are optimists by profession. The team sheet will look wrong without him.
Squad16 Nov 2026
Hadi Haruna and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad16 Nov 2026
Ahmed Akinyele 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 dugout16 Nov 2026
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Olamilekan Adedayo trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Market16 Nov 2026
The name of Biola Sabitu keeps appearing in other people's back pages. Remo Stars say nothing, which says plenty.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad2 Nov 2026
51 days out for Sodiq Oshidero after a fracture
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Remo Stars will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
The dugout2 Nov 2026
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Remo Stars may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Squad2 Nov 2026
Form comes and goes; this has not gone. Sodiq Oshidero is 22, and the version of him training now would not have got into the side he was in a year ago.
Squad2 Nov 2026
Hadi Haruna 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.
Loan watch2 Nov 2026
“I did not go to Warri Wolves to sit and watch. I want to come back to Remo Stars and fight for my place.” 7 appearances in 11 matches say the rest.
Squad2 Nov 2026
Words at Remo Stars training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Azeez Agboola is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad26 Oct 2026
58 days out for Sodiq Oshidero after a fracture
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Remo Stars will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
Squad26 Oct 2026
17 days, the scan says, and scans are kinder than reality. The fixtures in that window have just become somebody else’s job.
Squad26 Oct 2026
Ahmed Akinyele 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.
Squad26 Oct 2026
Remo Stars are still strangers to each other
5 new signings in one window. Every one may be an upgrade and the side can still be worse for a while, which is the part of a rebuild the verdicts never mention.
The dugout26 Oct 2026
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
Market26 Oct 2026
“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.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad19 Oct 2026
At 20 he is doing things this season that he could not do last season, and doing them every week. Form comes and goes; this has stayed long enough to be called something else.
Squad19 Oct 2026
Words at Remo Stars training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Ahmed Akinyele is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
The dugout19 Oct 2026
The manager makes an example of Sodiq Oshidero
“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.
Squad19 Oct 2026
Azeez Agboola 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 dugout19 Oct 2026
Hadi Haruna 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 Remo Stars, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Market19 Oct 2026
The name of Biola Sabitu keeps appearing in other people's back pages. Remo Stars say nothing, which says plenty.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Market7 Sep 2026
The clubs have settled the fee and he has settled his wages. What remains is a medical and a photograph, and around Remo Stars people have started saying his name in the past tense.
Boardroom7 Sep 2026
Window shuts: 14 in, 2 out at Remo Stars
The deadline has passed and the squad is the squad. 14 arrived, 2 left, and everything else printed about this club last month was a rumour that stayed one.
Transfer targets7 Sep 2026
Remo Stars asked and Real Bamako said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
Squad7 Sep 2026
A row about effort at Remo Stars
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Ahmed Akinyele was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Squad7 Sep 2026
Adama Goïta is the month’s best young player
At 20 he was better than everybody his age in the division for four weeks running, which is harder than one good afternoon. Remo Stars will try not to make too much of it.
Squad7 Sep 2026
Four weeks in which nobody in the division did his job better. The award goes on a shelf and the player goes back into the side, which is the order Remo Stars prefer.
Squad7 Sep 2026
Adama Goïta makes the team of the month
Four or five weekends of consistency, measured against everybody else in the division. A quieter compliment than an award and a more reliable one.
The dugout7 Sep 2026
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Olamilekan Adedayo trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
The dugout7 Sep 2026
Qudus Akanni has become a man the manager trusts
Nobody at Remo Stars 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.