Marked for Kelechi Onwe
From our football correspondent
Triumph
Squad16 Feb 2032
3 goals in one afternoon from one man. The other players were also present, a witness confirmed.
Squad16 Feb 2032
Oladimeji Dada and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Player ratings16 Feb 2032
Ninety minutes of Chineme Chinonso at his very best
Marked 9.68. Players have careers without a single afternoon like this in them, and he has just had one in front of everybody at Ikorodu City.
Match14 Feb 2032
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Chineme Chinonso. 3‑2 against Bayelsa United, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
Match14 Feb 2032
Whatever happens, Ikorodu City do not lose
6 games unbeaten now. Some were earned and some were survived, but a habit is forming — and habits are the hardest thing in football to play against.
Player ratings16 Feb 2032
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.
Player ratings16 Feb 2032
There was no pressure on him and nowhere he had to be. Ikorodu City lost a goal to a decision that took half a second and will be discussed all week.
The dugout16 Feb 2032
The view from the dugout
“We controlled it. There were spells I did not like and we will look at them, but the group showed me something.” Moses Aribo, on a 3‑2 win that he was already picking apart on the walk to the press room.
Player ratings16 Feb 2032
Assists: 3, and a hand in more besides. The scorers will get the back pages; he will get the drinks bought for him.
Back issues
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad12 Jan 2032
46 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Ikorodu City lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
Player ratings12 Jan 2032
Successful dribbles: 31. 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.
Squad12 Jan 2032
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Godfrey Selchum commits to Ikorodu City for another 3 years.
Squad12 Jan 2032
Oladimeji Dada and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Match10 Jan 2032
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Oladimeji Dada. 2‑1 against El-Kanemi Warriors, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
The dugout12 Jan 2032
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.” Moses Aribo kept it short after the 2‑1 win, which is what managers do when they are happy.
The dugout12 Jan 2032
The manager makes an example of Kelechi Onwe
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
The dugout12 Jan 2032
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.
Squad12 Jan 2032
Isaac Enoghama falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad22 Dec 2031
A knee injury of the worst kind for Afeez Bankole
67 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Ikorodu City lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Boardroom22 Dec 2031
Continental nights are coming to Ikorodu City
Qualification is secured, and next season the big floodlit nights are continental ones. For the players it is a stage; for the accounts it is a lifeline; for the supporters it is passports.
Match22 Dec 2031
Ikorodu City are in among the leaders
Position 2 and 87 points on the board. Nobody at the ground will say the word out loud yet, and everybody at the ground is thinking it.
Squad22 Dec 2031
There are footballers who have a good season and footballers a season is remembered for, and the second kind get their names read out in a hall in the summer. Ikorodu City will be quietly delighted and privately nervous.
Market22 Dec 2031
Only the photograph left for Isaac Enoghama
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Isaac Enoghama will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Ikorodu City the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Squad22 Dec 2031
Oladimeji Dada 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.
Squad22 Dec 2031
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Michael Lookman and Ikorodu City agree another 3 years.
The dugout22 Dec 2031
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 Oladimeji Dada is on it.
Market22 Dec 2031
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Ikorodu City know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad15 Dec 2031
A knee injury of the worst kind for Afeez Bankole
74 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Ikorodu City lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Boardroom15 Dec 2031
Qualification is done, and next season the floodlights come on for something bigger. A stage for the players, oxygen for the accounts and a passport for everybody else.
Squad15 Dec 2031
Oladimeji Dada and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad15 Dec 2031
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Afeez Bankole and Ikorodu City agree another 4 years.
The dugout15 Dec 2031
Kelechi Onwe 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 dugout15 Dec 2031
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.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad1 Dec 2031
A knee injury of the worst kind for Afeez Bankole
88 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Ikorodu City lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
The dugout1 Dec 2031
“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 dugout1 Dec 2031
news_b_frozen_out_of_the_side
Squad1 Dec 2031
Oladimeji Dada 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 dugout1 Dec 2031
Michael Atata has become a man the manager trusts
Nobody at Ikorodu City 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.
Squad1 Dec 2031
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Isaac Enoghama was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The dugout1 Dec 2031
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Marvelous Freedom, and the manager let it.
Market1 Dec 2031
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Ikorodu City know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
Squad1 Dec 2031
A year in and the city has not opened up, the language has not come, and lunch is eaten alone more often than anybody at Ikorodu City would admit. It shows on Saturdays.
From our football correspondent
Steady
The dugout10 Nov 2031
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Ikorodu City may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Market10 Nov 2031
Only the photograph left for Oscar Adebayor
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Oscar Adebayor will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Ikorodu City the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Squad10 Nov 2031
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Ikorodu City this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The dugout10 Nov 2031
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 Emmanuel Mathias is on it.
The dugout10 Nov 2031
He asked about his future and was given an answer with minutes in it. The manager has now made a promise in a building where promises are remembered, and the clock on it has started.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Player ratings28 Apr 2031
Musa Malik runs at them all day
Successful dribbles: 37. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Squad28 Apr 2031
Oghenekaro Madu damages knee ligaments — 34 days out
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.
Match23 Apr 2031
A 3‑1 win over Enyimba, a place in the next round, and the quiet arithmetic every supporter does on the walk home: how many more until a final?
Market28 Apr 2031
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Ikorodu City, and it is not being withdrawn.
Player ratings28 Apr 2031
Kelechi Onwe pops up at the right end — 7.79
7.79, 1 on the scoresheet, and the specific comedy of a back-four player celebrating like somebody who does this every week. He does not, and that is exactly why the ground reacted the way it did.
Squad28 Apr 2031
Oladimeji Dada and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad28 Apr 2031
Shodeinde Moses falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
The dugout28 Apr 2031
“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.
Player ratings28 Apr 2031
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.55, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Player ratings21 Apr 2031
Successful dribbles: 33. He went past people as if he had been told there was a prize for it, and by the end the full-back had stopped pretending to try.
Squad21 Apr 2031
19 goals and a season average of 7.61. Form like that gets noticed well beyond this town.
The dugout21 Apr 2031
news_b_frozen_out_of_the_side
Squad21 Apr 2031
Shodeinde Moses 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.
Match19 Apr 2031
It finished 1‑0, and it was Chineme Chinonso’s afternoon: on the scoresheet when it mattered, and the reason the points belong to Ikorodu City.
Player ratings21 Apr 2031
Ninety minutes of Chineme Chinonso at his very best
Marked 8.13. Players have careers without a single afternoon like this in them, and he has just had one in front of everybody at Ikorodu City.
The dugout21 Apr 2031
“We earned that. I asked them for a reaction and I got one, and now I want the same again on Saturday.” Moses Aribo on a 1‑0 afternoon that pleased him more than he was prepared to show.
The dugout21 Apr 2031
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Kelechi Onwe, and the manager let it.
The dugout21 Apr 2031
Alfred Odinaka has become a man the manager trusts
Nobody at Ikorodu City 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.
From our football correspondent
Triumph
Player ratings10 Feb 2031
Successful dribbles: 39. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Match5 Feb 2031
A 4‑0 win over Kun Khalifat, and the draw for the next round can be watched with some interest for once.
Match8 Feb 2031
3‑0, and the margin flattered nobody — it could have carried another goal or two without complaint. Afternoons like this are why people keep coming.
Player ratings10 Feb 2031
A brace, and Oladimeji Dada takes the afternoon — 8.92
There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. Oladimeji Dada provided it, and the 8.92 beside his name is if anything generous to everybody else.
Market10 Feb 2031
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Shodeinde Moses will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Ikorodu City the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Player ratings10 Feb 2031
Marked 9.17 at 18, in a side that makes no allowances for age. He did not need any, and he looked the least nervous man on the pitch.
Match8 Feb 2031
6 wins on the spin now, and the question has changed from whether the run ends to who ends it. Confidence like this cannot be bought; it has to be earned exactly this way.
Market10 Feb 2031
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Ikorodu City, and it is not being withdrawn.
The dugout10 Feb 2031
Kelechi Onwe: that is not what I was promised
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Ikorodu City have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Match23 Dec 2030
89 points on the board and a place in the leading group. Nobody at the ground is saying the word out loud yet.
Squad23 Dec 2030
Tosin Oyedokun was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Squad23 Dec 2030
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Shodeinde Moses was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Squad23 Dec 2030
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Kelechi Onwe commits to Ikorodu City for another 4 years.
The dugout23 Dec 2030
“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 dugout23 Dec 2030
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 Gideon Manaseh is on it.
Market23 Dec 2030
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Ikorodu City know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
The dugout23 Dec 2030
The manager makes Kelechi Onwe a promise
Nothing in writing and nothing in public: a word about playing time, given face to face at Ikorodu City. The team sheets over the next month will show whether it was worth having.
Boardroom23 Dec 2030
The Ikorodu City production line keeps running
33 graduates out of an academy now rated 7 out of 20. Clubs this size survive on exactly that, and the town knows every name.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Match25 Nov 2030
Ikorodu City refuse to drop out of the race
Position 2, 89 points, and the result everyone checks first is now theirs. The word is still not being said around the ground, which is how you know everyone is thinking it.
Squad25 Nov 2030
Oladimeji Dada was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
The dugout25 Nov 2030
The manager makes an example of Gideon Manaseh
“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 dugout25 Nov 2030
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.
Market25 Nov 2030
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Ikorodu City know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
The dugout25 Nov 2030
Kelechi Onwe 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.
Market25 Nov 2030
Ikorodu City have made Isaac Enoghama available for transfer. A career at this club is over in all but paperwork.
Boardroom25 Nov 2030
33 graduates from an academy now rated 7 out of 20. A club this size does not survive any other way, and every name on that list is known in the town.
Squad25 Nov 2030
Questions about Isaac Enoghama on the training pitch
The standards have slipped, and in a building where everybody watches everybody it has not gone unremarked. This is how a player loses a place before he loses one.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
The dugout11 Nov 2030
Afeez Bankole: that is not what I was promised
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Ikorodu City have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Squad11 Nov 2030
Oladimeji Dada and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad11 Nov 2030
Words at Ikorodu City training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Shodeinde Moses 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
Market7 Oct 2030
Joseph Arumala has one foot out of the door
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Ikorodu City they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
The dugout7 Oct 2030
news_b_frozen_out_of_the_side
Squad7 Oct 2030
Oladimeji Dada and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad7 Oct 2030
Words at Ikorodu City training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Shodeinde Moses 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.
Squad7 Oct 2030
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Uzoma Chinonso and Ikorodu City agree another 3 years.
Squad7 Oct 2030
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 Oct 2030
Emmanuel Mathias has become a man the manager trusts
Nobody at Ikorodu City 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.
Market7 Oct 2030
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Oladimeji Dada signs something — a contract at Ikorodu City or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
The dugout7 Oct 2030
Kelechi Onwe 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
Match30 Sep 2030
89 points on the board and a place in the leading group. Nobody at the ground is saying the word out loud yet.
Market30 Sep 2030
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Ikorodu City can pretend not to have heard.
Squad30 Sep 2030
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Ikorodu City this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad30 Sep 2030
Shodeinde Moses falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
The dugout30 Sep 2030
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Musa Malik, and the manager let it.
Squad30 Sep 2030
“I did not come here to warm up in front of people.” He is out of contract eventually, he is old enough to count the weeks, and Ikorodu City will have to give him a reason to stay or an exit.
The dugout30 Sep 2030
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 Gideon Manaseh is on it.
The dugout30 Sep 2030
Shodeinde Moses 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.