Marked for Brandon Mbella
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market29 Mar 2027
Brandon Mbella has one foot out of the door
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Stade Renard de Melong they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Squad29 Mar 2027
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Stade Renard de Melong this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad29 Mar 2027
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Brondon Ndam Tebo was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The dugout29 Mar 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Brondon Ndam Tebo, and the manager let it.
The dugout29 Mar 2027
It is never announced and it is entirely visible: the biggest afternoons of the season keep containing him. A press box works this out long before anybody at the club confirms a word of it.
Squad29 Mar 2027
“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 Stade Renard de Melong will have to give him a reason to stay or an exit.
Back issues
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match1 Mar 2027
Position 4 on 42 points. Every season is a story and this is the last line of it, and now the club has three months to decide what the next one is about.
Market1 Mar 2027
“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.
Squad1 Mar 2027
Yannick Epané and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Match27 Feb 2027
Beaten 1‑2, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
Player ratings1 Mar 2027
Successful dribbles: 19. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Squad1 Mar 2027
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Carlain Manga Mbah was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Player ratings1 Mar 2027
9 combined actions and 6.94. The job he did is the one that shows up as other people looking good, and the only reliable way to notice it is to watch what happens on the afternoons he is missing.
The dugout1 Mar 2027
“The supporters are entitled to be angry. So am I. We will put it right.” 1‑2, a manager saying the necessary things, and a dressing room that heard a different version of them.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Boardroom1 Feb 2027
Deadline passes with 0 signed and 0 gone
That is the business done at Stade Renard de Melong until the window opens again. Whether it was enough will be answered on Saturdays rather than in a column, and the first Saturday is close.
Market1 Feb 2027
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Stade Renard de Melong is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Squad1 Feb 2027
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Stade Renard de Melong this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad1 Feb 2027
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Carlain Manga Mbah was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Market1 Feb 2027
“We keep meeting, and we keep leaving the room with the same numbers we walked in with.” Another round of talks at Stade Renard de Melong, another week without a signature from Precious Ezechukwuma.
Squad1 Feb 2027
The manager has re-ordered his thinking and Willy Namedji has come out of it lower. He will be told it is temporary, and the players who have heard that before will avoid his eye.
The dugout1 Feb 2027
“It is not the end of the world and it is not good enough. Both of those are true.” The manager, after a 0‑0 draw, said the honest thing and then went to say it again inside.
Player ratings1 Feb 2027
Successful dribbles: 13. 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 dugout1 Feb 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Willy Namedji, and the manager let it.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market18 Jan 2027
The last thing about a transfer that is still about the player is his signature on his own terms, and it is there. Stade Renard de Melong have lost him in all but the paperwork.
The dugout18 Jan 2027
Willy Namedji: 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.” Stade Renard de Melong have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Market18 Jan 2027
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Stade Renard de Melong, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad18 Jan 2027
Yannick Epané 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.
Match16 Jan 2027
Dynamo Douala left with the points after a 1‑3 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.
Squad18 Jan 2027
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Carlain Manga Mbah is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
The dugout18 Jan 2027
“The supporters are entitled to be angry. So am I. We will put it right.” 1‑3, a manager saying the necessary things, and a dressing room that heard a different version of them.
Transfer targets18 Jan 2027
Cotonsport Garoua 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.
Player ratings18 Jan 2027
Successful dribbles: 14. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Player ratings11 Jan 2027
2 goals, and the second was the one that settled it. Marked 9.02, and he could have had a third with better luck at the near post.
The dugout11 Jan 2027
Thomas Nkuissi: 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.” Stade Renard de Melong have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Market11 Jan 2027
The offer from Unisport Bafang for Brandon Mbella 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.
Squad11 Jan 2027
Yannick Epané 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 terraces11 Jan 2027
He is 23 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.
Squad11 Jan 2027
Carlain Manga Mbah 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.
Squad11 Jan 2027
Getting past Yannick Epané has become the hardest job in the division
8 clean sheets and counting. Forwards used to back themselves here; now they shoot early, shoot wide, and look for somebody to blame.
The dugout11 Jan 2027
“The players deserve the credit. My job was easy today.” It was not, and everybody in the room knew it; after 2‑0, Jacques Toko-Ekambi could afford to be generous.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad4 Jan 2027
Yannick Epané and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Market4 Jan 2027
The name of Brandon Mbella has come up in conversations Stade Renard de Melong were not part of. Nothing formal, nothing signed — but nothing about it accidental either.
Match2 Jan 2027
A 1‑0 win over Fortuna Mfou, earned rather than given, and the sort of afternoon that sends everyone home talking about next week instead of this one.
Player ratings4 Jan 2027
Ninety minutes of Moustapha Bissene at his very best
Marked 8.00. Players have careers without a single afternoon like this in them, and he has just had one in front of everybody at Stade Renard de Melong.
Player ratings4 Jan 2027
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.
Squad4 Jan 2027
Four or five weekends of consistency, judged against everybody in the division doing his job. Precious Ezechukwuma has come out of that comparison in the side, and Stade Renard de Melong have had the benefit of every one of those afternoons.
The dugout4 Jan 2027
“That is what I want every week. Not the result, the way they went about it.” The manager, after 1‑0, already talking about the next one.
Squad4 Jan 2027
Franck Kombi slips down the pecking order
The demotion a club never announces and a dressing room always notices. Franck Kombi is further from the side than he was, and the reason will not be given until he asks.
Squad4 Jan 2027
Getting past Yannick Epané has become the hardest job in the division
7 clean sheets and counting. Forwards used to back themselves here; now they shoot early, shoot wide, and look for somebody to blame.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad28 Dec 2026
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Stade Renard de Melong this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad28 Dec 2026
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Carlain Manga Mbah 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.
Player ratings28 Dec 2026
Successful dribbles: 16. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
The dugout28 Dec 2026
“It is not the end of the world and it is not good enough. Both of those are true.” The manager, after a 0‑0 draw, said the honest thing and then went to say it again inside.
The dugout28 Dec 2026
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Brandon Mbella, and the manager let it.
Match26 Dec 2026
The crowd waited for a goal that never came. Canon Yaounde defended in numbers and left with what they came for, and the two sides could be playing still without troubling a scorer.
The dugout28 Dec 2026
Houbed Ngoube has become a man the manager trusts
Nobody at Stade Renard de Melong 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.
Match28 Dec 2026
Position 4 on 28 points, and the places that carry a European ticket are close enough to count. Seasons like this are decided by two results in April, and the club knows which two.
Player ratings28 Dec 2026
11 times he got in the way of something. Centre-halves get written about when they make mistakes and ignored when they do not, so an afternoon like this needs saying out loud: he is the reason the scoreline reads as it does.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad14 Dec 2026
Moustapha Bissene 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.
Match12 Dec 2026
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Precious Ezechukwuma. 1‑0 against PWD Bamenda, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
Player ratings14 Dec 2026
Marked 7.87 on an afternoon he ran from the first whistle to the last. Whatever else went wrong, Stade Renard de Melong had the best player on the pitch.
Squad14 Dec 2026
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Brondon Ndam Tebo 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.
Player ratings14 Dec 2026
Successful dribbles: 15. 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 dugout14 Dec 2026
“That is what I want every week. Not the result, the way they went about it.” The manager, after 1‑0, already talking about the next one.
The dugout14 Dec 2026
The manager makes an example of Thomas Nkuissi
“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 ratings14 Dec 2026
Defensive actions: 13, and a clean sheet at the end of it. A centre-half's best afternoons look like nothing happening, which is precisely the point.
The dugout14 Dec 2026
Somebody else is better right now than Franck Kombi
The team sheet says it in public every week until it changes. The only version of being dropped a footballer cannot argue with, and the one he takes hardest.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad19 Oct 2026
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the whole of the defence. 6 saves, several of them the kind nobody expects to see made, and ten outfield players who owe him a drink.
Player ratings19 Oct 2026
Successful dribbles: 24. There was always a defender in front of him and there was never a defender in front of him for long.
Squad19 Oct 2026
Brandon Mbella is a better footballer than he was
Not a run of form — an actual step up, held for months. At 21 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.
Squad19 Oct 2026
Yannick Epané 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.
Match17 Oct 2026
Dynamo Douala left with the points after a 1‑3 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.
Squad19 Oct 2026
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Carlain Manga Mbah is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
The dugout19 Oct 2026
“We were not good enough today and I am not going to dress it up.” Jacques Toko-Ekambi after 1‑3, in the tone of a man who knows the next question and does not intend to answer it.
The dugout19 Oct 2026
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
Looking ahead19 Oct 2026
The team at the top of the table next, and the honest measure of where this side actually is. Anybody can beat the club below them; the question is what happens against Cotonsport Garoua.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market17 Aug 2026
The bid was some way short and Stade Renard de Melong did not need long over it. Nobody in the game reads a first refusal as the end of anything.
Squad17 Aug 2026
Yannick Epané and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Transfer targets17 Aug 2026
Stade Renard de Melong 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.
Transfer targets17 Aug 2026
A loan enquiry to Cotonsport Garoua: cover, or a look at somebody the club cannot afford to buy yet. Either way the answer will come back inside the week.
The dugout17 Aug 2026
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Arnaud Ngamaleu trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Squad17 Aug 2026
Franck Song is not doing himself any favours
A manager forgives a bad Saturday far more readily than a bad Tuesday, because one of them he can explain and the other one he chose. The reports this week have not been good.