Successful dribbles: 24. There was always a defender in front of him and there was never a defender in front of him for long.
Squad31 Dec 2029
Words at Canon Yaounde training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Nathan Doualla 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.
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Hernandez Avouzoua and Canon Yaounde agree another 4 years.
It is not much of a headline and it is the reason players believe the next promise. Canon Yaounde told Ismael Yandal something would happen and then it happened, which in this industry passes for remarkable.
“A point is a point and I will take it, but we should have had all three.” Jacques Onguene after the 0‑0 draw, and the sentence every manager in the country said at some stage this weekend.
Nobody at Canon Yaounde is suggesting he is out of form. The manager simply wanted somebody with a different set of qualities for ninety specific minutes, and there is nothing a player can train to fix that.
There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. Nathan Doualla provided it, and the 8.20 beside his name is if anything generous to everybody else.
Successful dribbles: 24. 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.
Squad24 Dec 2029
Words at Canon Yaounde training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Issa Bangfome 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 Canon Yaounde this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
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.
A 2‑0 win over Stade Renard de Melong, earned rather than given, and the sort of afternoon that sends everyone home talking about next week instead of this one.
“We earned that. I asked them for a reaction and I got one, and now I want the same again on Saturday.” Jacques Onguene on a 2‑0 afternoon that pleased him more than he was prepared to show.
Ismael Yandal 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 Dec 2029
Words at Canon Yaounde training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Nathan Doualla 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: Nathan Doualla. 1‑0 against Aigle Royal de Moungo, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 17 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Canon Yaounde they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the whole of the defence. 7 saves, several of them the kind nobody expects to see made, and ten outfield players who owe him a drink.
Successful dribbles: 21. 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.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Nathan Doualla was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Issa Fadyl Ousmanou 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.
“We were not good enough today and I am not going to dress it up.” Jacques Onguene after 0‑1, in the tone of a man who knows the next question and does not intend to answer it.
In brief
The dugoutThe manager makes an example of Jean Ousama
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Canon Yaounde will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Nathan Doualla 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.
Squad3 Dec 2029
Words at Canon Yaounde training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Issa Bangfome 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.
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.
8.28. 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.
“We earned that. I asked them for a reaction and I got one, and now I want the same again on Saturday.” Jacques Onguene on a 2‑0 afternoon that pleased him more than he was prepared to show.
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Canon Yaounde will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about 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 Canon Yaounde this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad26 Nov 2029
Words at Canon Yaounde training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Nathan Doualla 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.
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 23-year-old it feels ownership of. Célestin Nyemb has it now, and everything he does for the rest of his time here will be measured against the goodwill he was handed for free.
Successful dribbles: 17. 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.
Position 2, 25 points, and every result so far reduced to one line. The second half of the season starts with the same squad and a different set of expectations.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 38 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Nathan Doualla was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Issa Fadyl Ousmanou 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 fixture the rest of the division is looking forward to more than either of the sides in it. Both know a win changes the season and a defeat does not end it, which is what makes it hard to play.
“The supporters are entitled to be angry. So am I. We will put it right.” 0‑1, a manager saying the necessary things, and a dressing room that heard a different version of them.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 45 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Ismael Yandal will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Canon Yaounde 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 Canon Yaounde this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Successful dribbles: 21. 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 Nov 2029
Issa Bangfome 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.
8.12. 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.
A point taken on 87 minutes is worth exactly one point and considerably more than that to a dressing room. This side does not stop, which is a reputation worth more than the result.
It needed Juste Koulou to find the net to bring anything home at all: 2‑2 against Unisport Bafang, and half the dressing room will call it a point won.
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Canon Yaounde will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
Ismael Yandal and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad5 Nov 2029
Words at Canon Yaounde training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Nathan Doualla 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 1‑0 win over Dynamo Douala, earned rather than given, and the sort of afternoon that sends everyone home talking about next week instead of this one.
The fixture the rest of the division is looking forward to more than either of the sides in it. Both know a win changes the season and a defeat does not end it, which is what makes it hard to play.
The demotion a club never announces and a dressing room always notices. Dave Tessa is further from the side than he was, and the reason will not be given until he asks.
The dugout5 Nov 2029
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.” Jacques Onguene kept it short after the 1‑0 win, which is what managers do when they are happy.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 59 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Successful dribbles: 22. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Squad29 Oct 2029
Words at Canon Yaounde training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Nathan Doualla 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 Canon Yaounde this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The fixture the rest of the division is looking forward to more than either of the sides in it. Both know a win changes the season and a defeat does not end it, which is what makes it hard to play.
“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 dugout29 Oct 2029
The manager’s verdict
“I am frustrated, honestly. We did enough to win and we did not win.” Jacques Onguene was not hiding it after 0‑0, and nobody in the Canon Yaounde dressing room was either.
Ninety minutes, no goals, and the argument started before the car park emptied: a point gained, or two thrown away against Victoria United? Both sides of it will still be going on Thursday.
The shape wanted a different profile against this opponent, which is a real football answer and no comfort at all to the man it is about. He did nothing wrong and he did not play.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 66 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Position 3, 17 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.
Nathan Doualla and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad22 Oct 2029
Issa Bangfome 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.
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.11, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
The dugout22 Oct 2029
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.” Jacques Onguene kept it short after the 1‑0 win, which is what managers do when they are happy.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 73 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Canon Yaounde is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Ismael Yandal 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 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 pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Dave Tessa, and the manager let it.
The dugout15 Oct 2029
The view from the dugout
“We will look at it, we will learn from it, and we go again.” The three sentences every manager keeps for a 0‑1 defeat, delivered by Jacques Onguene to a room that had heard them before.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 80 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Successful dribbles: 26. 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.
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 7.70 for the rest of it.
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.
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.
Fortuna Mfou made Canon Yaounde work for it, but the scoreboard read 1‑0 at the end and the table does not ask how.
Squad8 Oct 2029
5 new faces, and Canon Yaounde are still learning each other
A squad rebuilt inside one window pays for it in a currency nobody budgets for. The football is not worse than the sum of the players; it is worse than the sum of the players who have played together before.
19 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Canon Yaounde lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Canon Yaounde will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
The board had gone up, the arguing had started, and then the ball was in the net in the 90th minute. Colombe du Dja et Lobo will replay every second of the added time for a week.
Not a run of form — an actual step up, held for months. At 20 he is doing things at this level he could not do at the start of the season, and the coaching staff will tell you exactly which of them.
Nathan Doualla 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.
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 23-year-old it feels ownership of. Célestin Nyemb has it now, and everything he does for the rest of his time here will be measured against the goodwill he was handed for free.
26 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Canon Yaounde lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 94 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Not a run of form — an actual step up, held for months. At 23 he is doing things at this level he could not do at the start of the season, and the coaching staff will tell you exactly which of them.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Nathan Doualla was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
“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 words a physio says slowly. 33 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.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 101 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Ismael Yandal will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Canon Yaounde the goodbyes have quietly begun.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Canon Yaounde have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Squad17 Sep 2029
Words at Canon Yaounde training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Nathan Doualla 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.
Ismael Yandal 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.
Successful dribbles: 19. 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.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 122 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
The last thing about a transfer that is still about the player is his signature on his own terms, and it is there. Canon Yaounde have lost him in all but the paperwork.
“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 Canon Yaounde, and it is not being withdrawn.
The offer from PWD Bamenda for Franck Assiga Edoa 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.
Ismael Yandal 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.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Nathan Doualla was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Canon Yaounde asked and Heart of Lions said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
Careers are supposed to plateau and then decline, and the players who ignore that are always the ones who were listening on the training ground. 3 points of it, over months, at an age where the direction normally only goes one way.
In brief
The dugoutJean Ousama has become a man the manager trusts
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 129 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
The clubs have settled the fee and he has settled his wages. What remains is a medical and a photograph, and around Canon Yaounde people have started saying his name in the past tense.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Canon Yaounde this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
$3.0K was the most the club would pay and PWD Bamenda 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.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Hasaacas have kept their man, and Canon Yaounde go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Issa Bangfome was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
At 24 the improving is meant to be over. It is not: 3 points better than the mark taken at the start of the year, which is the sort of thing that happens to players who take the boring parts of the job seriously.
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 name of Franck Assiga Edoa has come up in conversations Canon Yaounde were not part of. Nothing formal, nothing signed — but nothing about it accidental either.
Canon Yaounde have made the call to Remo Stars. No fee, a share of the wages, and a spare shirt in the position where the squad has been thinnest all season.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Canon Yaounde, and both men came out saying it was fine.
He is not being dropped. There is simply nowhere in the formation Canon Yaounde are playing to put a man who does what he does, which is a harder thing to be told than any team sheet.
The last thing about a transfer that is still about the player is his signature on his own terms, and it is there. Canon Yaounde have lost him in all but the paperwork.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Canon Yaounde they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Canon Yaounde 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.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Ararat have kept their man, and Canon Yaounde go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Canon Yaounde, and both men came out saying it was fine.
The last thing about a transfer that is still about the player is his signature on his own terms, and it is there. Canon Yaounde have lost him in all but the paperwork.
Not a run of form — an actual step up, held for months. At 20 he is doing things at this level he could not do at the start of the season, and the coaching staff will tell you exactly which of them.
Canon Yaounde asked and Cotonsport Garoua said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
Squad30 Jul 2029
Words at Canon Yaounde training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Issa Bangfome 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.
Canon Yaounde have made the call to Ararat. No fee, a share of the wages, and a spare shirt in the position where the squad has been thinnest all season.
Nobody at Canon Yaounde 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.
A year in and the language has not come, the city has not opened up, and he eats alone more often than anybody at Canon Yaounde would like to admit. It is showing on Saturdays.
The clubs have settled the fee and he has settled his wages. What remains is a medical and a photograph, and around Canon Yaounde people have started saying his name in the past tense.
Every footballer has an answer to the question about his boyhood club, and most of them never get to act on it. Olanrewaju Ayinla has, at Canon Yaounde, and the first month will show what that does to a man.
“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 Canon Yaounde, and it is not being withdrawn.
Ismael Yandal 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.
Canon Yaounde offered $15.0K; Panthere du Nde 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.
Canon Yaounde asked and Cotonsport Garoua said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
The paperwork is done long before the player is. Stanley Nnaemeka has agreed terms to come here when his current deal runs out, which means Canon Yaounde have spent a summer's transfer budget on a phone call.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Nathan Doualla was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Add another name to the list: Panthere du Nde have asked the question everybody in the game has been asking about Franck Assiga Edoa. The answer from Canon Yaounde has not changed — yet.
The clubs have settled the fee and he has settled his wages. What remains is a medical and a photograph, and around Canon Yaounde people have started saying his name in the past tense.
The name of Célestin Nyemb has come up in conversations Canon Yaounde were not part of. Nothing formal, nothing signed — but nothing about it accidental either.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Nathan Doualla was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Hasaacas have kept their man, and Canon Yaounde go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Canon Yaounde have made the call to Victoria United. No fee, a share of the wages, and a spare shirt in the position where the squad has been thinnest all season.
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.
“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 Canon Yaounde, and it is not being withdrawn.
The last thing about a transfer that is still about the player is his signature on his own terms, and it is there. Canon Yaounde have lost him in all but the paperwork.
Everything agreed with Cotonsport Garoua, everything agreed with the player; a doctor is the only person left to persuade. The photograph is a day or two away.
“The easiest signature of my career.” Clinton N'jie and Canon Yaounde agree another 2 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Nathan Doualla 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.
Canon Yaounde asked and Hasaacas said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
Squad9 Jul 2029
Words at Canon Yaounde training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Issa Bangfome 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.
“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 Canon Yaounde, and it is not being withdrawn.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Canon Yaounde they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Clinton N'jie and Canon Yaounde agree another 2 years.
Ismael Yandal 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 Jul 2029
Words at Canon Yaounde training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Nathan Doualla 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.
Canon Yaounde asked and Neftchi said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
7 arrivals, an average age nobody would call a squad, and a set of parents being shown around a building their sons will spend more time in than at home. The scouting has already happened; today is only the paperwork.
The clubs have settled the fee and he has settled his wages. What remains is a medical and a photograph, and around Canon Yaounde people have started saying his name in the past tense.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Canon Yaounde they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Ismael Yandal 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 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.
Add another name to the list: Dynamo Douala have asked the question everybody in the game has been asking about Alain Bikoe Mongo. The answer from Canon Yaounde has not changed — yet.
A loan enquiry to Torpedo Kutaisi: cover, or a look at somebody the club cannot afford to buy yet. Either way the answer will come back inside the week.
The last thing about a transfer that is still about the player is his signature on his own terms, and it is there. Canon Yaounde have lost him in all but the paperwork.
Transfer targets18 Jun 2029
$91.0K settles it between the clubs for Pierre Embolo
Cotonsport Garoua have accepted the money. What Canon Yaounde do not yet have is the man, and between here and the photograph is a conversation about wages that both sides are dreading.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Canon Yaounde can pretend not to have heard.
Canon Yaounde had done everything except persuade the man himself. He stays at Djoliba, and the manager goes back to the drawing board with the money still in the bank.
Nathan Doualla 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 Jun 2029
Words at Canon Yaounde training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Issa Bangfome 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.
“We keep meeting, and we keep leaving the room with the same numbers we walked in with.” Another round of talks at Canon Yaounde, another week without a signature from Wanre Daikreo.
In brief
The dugoutJoël Bakanda has become a man the manager trusts
“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 Canon Yaounde, and it is not being withdrawn.
The clubs have settled the fee and he has settled his wages. What remains is a medical and a photograph, and around Canon Yaounde people have started saying his name in the past tense.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Canon Yaounde they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
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.
Squad11 Jun 2029
Words at Canon Yaounde training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Nathan Doualla 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 Canon Yaounde this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Canon Yaounde have made the call to Cotonsport Garoua. No fee, a share of the wages, and a spare shirt in the position where the squad has been thinnest all season.
A medical, a signature, a shirt held up in front of a sponsor’s board. Canon Yaounde have done the hard part with Fauve Azur Elite, and the part that remains is the part supporters actually see.
Ismael Yandal 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 Jun 2029
Words at Canon Yaounde training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Nathan Doualla 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 name of Alain Bikoe Mongo has come up in conversations Canon Yaounde were not part of. Nothing formal, nothing signed — but nothing about it accidental either.
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 Jean Ousama is on it.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Canon Yaounde, and both men came out saying it was fine.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Canon Yaounde is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Nathan Doualla 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.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Issa Bangfome was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Canon Yaounde, and both men came out saying it was fine.
15 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Canon Yaounde 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 Canon Yaounde can pretend not to have heard.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Canon Yaounde they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Squad21 May 2029
Words at Canon Yaounde training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Nathan Doualla 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.
Célestin Nyemb 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.
22 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Canon Yaounde lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
“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 Canon Yaounde, and it is not being withdrawn.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Canon Yaounde they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Ismael Yandal 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.
Squad14 May 2029
Words at Canon Yaounde training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Nathan Doualla 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.
29 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Canon Yaounde lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Canon Yaounde have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Nathan Doualla 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.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Issa Bangfome was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
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.
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Martin Ako Assomo signs something — a contract at Canon Yaounde or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Canon Yaounde, and both men came out saying it was fine.
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.
36 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Canon Yaounde 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 Canon Yaounde 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.” Canon Yaounde 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 Canon Yaounde is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Squad30 Apr 2029
Words at Canon Yaounde training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Nathan Doualla 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.
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 Ndonwie Filding is on it.
43 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Canon Yaounde lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Joël Bakanda will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Canon Yaounde the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Ismael Yandal 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.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Nathan Doualla was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
57 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Canon Yaounde lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
“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 Canon Yaounde, 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 Canon Yaounde this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Nathan Doualla was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
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 Jean Ousama is on it.
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Martin Ako Assomo signs something — a contract at Canon Yaounde or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
4 months left, and both sides know what that means: every week without a signature, the fee Canon Yaounde could ask drops and the wages Yves Aimé Zoa can ask rise.
The words a physio says slowly. 64 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.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Canon Yaounde they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
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.
Successful dribbles: 19. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
The dugout2 Apr 2029
The view from the dugout
“We will look at it, we will learn from it, and we go again.” The three sentences every manager keeps for a 0‑1 defeat, delivered by Jacques Onguene to a room that had heard them before.
71 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Canon Yaounde lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Joël Bakanda will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Canon Yaounde 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 Canon Yaounde this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad26 Mar 2029
Issa Bangfome 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.
78 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Canon Yaounde lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Canon Yaounde they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Ismael Yandal 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.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Nathan Doualla was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The injury that keeps coming back, keeps being rushed back from, and quietly costs more careers than the dramatic ones. 14 days is the estimate; the honest figure depends on whether anybody is patient.
The words a physio says slowly. 85 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 Canon Yaounde, 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 Canon Yaounde 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.
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 Joël Bakanda is on it.
The words a physio says slowly. 92 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 Canon Yaounde is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Martin Ako Assomo and Canon Yaounde agree another 4 years.
Nathan Doualla 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.
Squad5 Mar 2029
Words at Canon Yaounde training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Issa Bangfome 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.
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.
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.
113 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Canon Yaounde lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Successful dribbles: 23. 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.
Everything was agreed until it was not, and Franck Assiga Edoa reports back to Canon Yaounde with a summer to forget. Neither club is saying who walked away from the table.
Nathan Doualla 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.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Rivers United have kept their man, and Canon Yaounde go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Squad12 Feb 2029
Issa Bangfome 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 phone has started ringing about Karim Bello again, and this time the name on the line is Victoria United. Canon Yaounde are listening politely and promising nothing.
Canon Yaounde ran out of time with Cotonsport Garoua. The paperwork was open when the deadline passed, and a transfer that was almost done is now a transfer that never happened.
Fee agreed, wages agreed, and Dynamo Douala waiting with a shirt. Nobody at Canon Yaounde is pretending otherwise, and the supporters have stopped asking whether and started asking when.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Canon Yaounde 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.” Canon Yaounde have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Boardroom5 Feb 2029
Canon Yaounde close the window on a squad of their own making
2 in and 3 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.
The fee was agreed and the flight was looked at — and then the phone stopped ringing. Victoria United moved on, Karim Bello reports back to Canon Yaounde, and everybody pretends Monday is just Monday.
Canon Yaounde have gone to Cotonsport Garoua with a bid, and the supporters have gone to the internet with an opinion about it. Whether either changes anything is up to the selling club.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Nathan Doualla was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The clubs have settled the fee and he has settled his wages. What remains is a medical and a photograph, and around Canon Yaounde people have started saying his name in the past tense.
“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 Canon Yaounde, and it is not being withdrawn.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Canon Yaounde is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Canon Yaounde can pretend not to have heard.
The clubs have settled the fee and he has settled his wages. What remains is a medical and a photograph, and around Canon Yaounde people have started saying his name in the past tense.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Canon Yaounde is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Nathan Doualla and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad22 Jan 2029
Issa Bangfome 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 last thing about a transfer that is still about the player is his signature on his own terms, and it is there. Canon Yaounde have lost him in all but the paperwork.
Nathan Doualla 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.
Every footballer has an answer to the question about his boyhood club, and most of them never get to act on it. Igor Ngah Essomba has, at Canon Yaounde, and the first month will show what that does to a man.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Issa Bangfome was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The first defeat in 5 matches. The manager will say it had to come; the dressing room will say it did not have to come against Panthere du Nde; the supporters will say both, in that order, all week.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Canon Yaounde is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
3 wins in a row changes how opponents warm up: quieter, more glances across. Runs end, everybody knows that — but nobody in this dressing room is planning for it.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Canon Yaounde this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Issa Bangfome was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Clinton N'jie. 1‑0 against Colombe du Dja et Lobo, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
“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 Canon Yaounde, and it is not being withdrawn.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Canon Yaounde is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Juste Koulou. 3‑1 against Stade Renard de Melong, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
Squad25 Dec 2028
Issa Bangfome 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.
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.
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.
Player ratings25 Dec 2028
Juste Koulou was on a different afternoon to everybody else
8.29. 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.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Junior Dande will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Canon Yaounde 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 7.93 for the rest of it.
Junior Dande 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 Dec 2028
Words at Canon Yaounde training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Nathan Doualla 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 used to wear the other shirt. On Saturday he plays against Stade Renard de Melong in this one, and whatever he says this week about it being just another game will be untrue.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Canon Yaounde they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Clinton N'jie 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: 22. There was always a defender in front of him and there was never a defender in front of him for long.
Squad11 Dec 2028
Words at Canon Yaounde training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Nathan Doualla 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 supporters are entitled to be angry. So am I. We will put it right.” 0‑1, a manager saying the necessary things, and a dressing room that heard a different version of them.
In brief
The dugoutSomebody else is better right now than Yves Aimé Zoa
There is an age at which every good afternoon gets described as a throwback, which is unfair and also accurate. 7.85 at 35, and nobody on the pitch was better.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Canon Yaounde they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
“The easiest signature of my career.” Clinton N'jie and Canon Yaounde agree another 2 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Canon Yaounde this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Successful dribbles: 20. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Squad4 Dec 2028
Words at Canon Yaounde training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Martin Ako Assomo 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 goal that put Gazelle Garoua ahead was still being replayed on the concourse when Canon Yaounde equalised, 4 minutes later. Leads are only worth what you do with them.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Canon Yaounde they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Stephane Oyongo and Canon Yaounde agree another 4 years.
Junior Dande 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.
Squad20 Nov 2028
Words at Canon Yaounde training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Nathan Doualla 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 supporters are entitled to be angry. So am I. We will put it right.” 0‑1, a manager saying the necessary things, and a dressing room that heard a different version of them.
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.
There is no crueller way to lose a football match. Canon Yaounde scored in the 95th minute, the restart barely happened, and the away end was still standing when the whistle went.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Canon Yaounde they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Nathan Doualla 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.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Issa Bangfome was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
A 2‑1 win over Unisport Bafang, earned rather than given, and the sort of afternoon that sends everyone home talking about next week instead of this one.
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.
Every run ends on an afternoon somebody had marked down as routine. This one went 18 matches, which is long enough that a town had stopped counting, and short enough that it will remember exactly who stopped it.
1‑4 against Dynamo Douala, and no complaints that would survive the replay. The manager spoke about character afterwards; the terraces used shorter words.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Canon Yaounde they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
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. Paul Ombolo will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Canon Yaounde the goodbyes have quietly begun.
4 games without scoring. Strikers stop looking up, midfielders take the extra touch, and every shot that clears the bar is followed by a groan that has been building since the last goal.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Canon Yaounde this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Nathan Doualla was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The words a physio says slowly. 14 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.
Successful dribbles: 26. 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.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Karim Bello will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Canon Yaounde the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Junior Dande 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 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.
21 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Canon Yaounde lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
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.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Canon Yaounde is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Nathan Doualla was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
“A point is a point and I will take it, but we should have had all three.” Jacques Onguene after the 0‑0 draw, and the sentence every manager in the country said at some stage this weekend.
The words a physio says slowly. 35 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 Canon Yaounde is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Junior Dande 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.
4 straight away victories. Sides that win away are usually sides that can defend and can counter, and the table has begun to reflect what those journeys have earned.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Nathan Doualla was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The words a physio says slowly. 42 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.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Karim Bello will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Canon Yaounde the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Junior Dande 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 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.
Marked 8.07 — 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.
Squad18 Sep 2028
9 new faces, and Canon Yaounde are still learning each other
A squad rebuilt inside one window pays for it in a currency nobody budgets for. The football is not worse than the sum of the players; it is worse than the sum of the players who have played together before.
49 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Canon Yaounde lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Canon Yaounde they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
3 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.
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.
Squad11 Sep 2028
Words at Canon Yaounde training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Issa Bangfome 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.
Canon Yaounde ran out of time with Cotonsport Garoua. The paperwork was open when the deadline passed, and a transfer that was almost done is now a transfer that never happened.
63 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Canon Yaounde lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
“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 Canon Yaounde, and it is not being withdrawn.
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Canon Yaounde will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Junior Dande will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Canon Yaounde the goodbyes have quietly begun.
At 19 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.
Nathan Doualla 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.
70 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Canon Yaounde lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
53 points, and the rest of the division looking up. Every side that finishes first spends the season pretending it is not thinking about it, and this one has started pretending.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 22 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
The offer from Panthere du Nde for Junior Dande 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.
The clubs have settled the fee and he has settled his wages. What remains is a medical and a photograph, and around Canon Yaounde people have started saying his name in the past tense.
Not a run of form — an actual step up, held for months. At 22 he is doing things at this level he could not do at the start of the season, and the coaching staff will tell you exactly which of them.
The deal with Plateau United 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.
Nathan Doualla 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.
Canon Yaounde asked and Cotonsport Garoua said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
84 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Canon Yaounde lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
Fee agreed, wages agreed, and Panthere du Nde waiting with a shirt. Nobody at Canon Yaounde is pretending otherwise, and the supporters have stopped asking whether and started asking when.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Canon Yaounde will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they 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 Canon Yaounde, and it is not being withdrawn.
A medical, a signature, a shirt held up in front of a sponsor’s board. Canon Yaounde have done the hard part with Cotonsport Garoua, and the part that remains is the part supporters actually see.
Not a run of form — an actual step up, held for months. At 22 he is doing things at this level he could not do at the start of the season, and the coaching staff will tell you exactly which of them.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Karim Bello will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Canon Yaounde 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 Canon Yaounde this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Djoliba have kept their man, and Canon Yaounde go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
The words a physio says slowly. 98 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.
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Canon Yaounde will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Canon Yaounde is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Nathan Doualla 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.
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Célestin Nyemb, and the manager let it.
Squad24 Jul 2028
Hamidou Hamza 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.
Canon Yaounde have made the call to Asante Kotoko. No fee, a share of the wages, and a spare shirt in the position where the squad has been thinnest all season.
105 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Canon Yaounde lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Canon Yaounde will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
The last thing about a transfer that is still about the player is his signature on his own terms, and it is there. Canon Yaounde have lost him in all but the paperwork.
“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 Canon Yaounde, and it is not being withdrawn.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Canon Yaounde they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
A medical, a signature, a shirt held up in front of a sponsor’s board. Canon Yaounde have done the hard part with Rosenborg, and the part that remains is the part supporters actually see.
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.
Squad17 Jul 2028
Issa Bangfome 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 have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Canon Yaounde can pretend not to have heard.
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. Canon Yaounde will be quietly delighted and privately nervous.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Canon Yaounde is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Nathan Doualla 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.
Everyone has stopped pretending: Fortuna Mfou will make the call about Paul Ombolo this week. Canon Yaounde have a number in mind, and the number is not shy.
Squad3 Jul 2028
Words at Canon Yaounde training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Hamidou Hamza 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 have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Canon Yaounde can pretend not to have heard.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Canon Yaounde they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Canon Yaounde asked and Djoliba said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
Squad19 Jun 2028
Issa Bangfome 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.
DAC Dunajska Streda 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.
Canon Yaounde have made the call to Liberty Professionals. No fee, a share of the wages, and a spare shirt in the position where the squad has been thinnest all season.
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.
“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 Canon Yaounde, and it is not being withdrawn.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Canon Yaounde is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Nathan Doualla 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.
Squad5 Jun 2028
Words at Canon Yaounde training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Issa Bangfome 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.
Not a new contract, not a new number: a new place in the manager’s thinking, which is the only promotion in football that actually matters. Nathan Doualla has moved up it.
Two goals and a mark of 9.24 to go with them. Strikers are judged on afternoons like this one and remembered for far fewer of them than people imagine.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Wilfried Bilongo will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Canon Yaounde the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Boardroom7 Feb 2028
Canon Yaounde close the window on a squad of their own making
2 in and 3 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.
Junior Dande 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.
A 3‑1 win over Dynamo Douala, earned rather than given, and the sort of afternoon that sends everyone home talking about next week instead of this one.