Marked for Cédric Minlo
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad17 Sep 2029
39 days out for Jefter Arrey after a fracture
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Panthere du Nde will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
Match15 Sep 2029
A 0‑6 beating by Cotonsport Garoua was the sort of result that empties a stadium long before the final whistle.
Market17 Sep 2029
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. David Ogbe Apeh will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Panthere du Nde the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Squad17 Sep 2029
Warren Fozing 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.
Match15 Sep 2029
Defending was optional and nobody took up the option. 6 goals between Panthere du Nde and Cotonsport Garoua, and not one of the people who paid to be there will ask for the money back.
Squad17 Sep 2029
François Fegue Omgba 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 dugout17 Sep 2029
“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.
Squad17 Sep 2029
Beaten 6 times, 4 saves, and an afternoon that will go on his record whether it was his fault or the defence’s. It is the quiet unfairness of the position.
Boardroom17 Sep 2029
The music was off and the showers ran late. What was said in that dressing room stays there, but Saturday will publish the minutes.
In brief
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The dugout
The manager’s verdict
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The dugout
When it matters, Precious Agwu plays
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Market
Cédric Minlo is free to find somewhere else
Back issues
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market27 Aug 2029
“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 The request is on a desk at Panthere du Nde, and it is not being withdrawn.
Market27 Aug 2029
Fee agreed, wages agreed, and Victoria United waiting with a shirt. Nobody at Panthere du Nde is pretending otherwise, and the supporters have stopped asking whether and started asking when.
Transfer targets27 Aug 2029
$37.0K settles it between the clubs for Jean Simplice Mbang
Victoria United have accepted the money. What Panthere du Nde do not yet have is the man, and between here and the photograph is a conversation about wages that both sides are dreading.
Squad27 Aug 2029
Warren Fozing 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.
Transfer targets27 Aug 2029
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.
Squad27 Aug 2029
François Fegue Omgba falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
Squad27 Aug 2029
“The easiest signature of my career.” Saleh Bechir and Panthere du Nde agree another 3 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
The dugout27 Aug 2029
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 Mohamed Moluh Mounta is on it.
The dugout27 Aug 2029
The manager makes an example of Stephane Noah
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market23 Jul 2029
Warren Fozing hands in a written request
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Panthere du Nde can pretend not to have heard.
Transfer targets23 Jul 2029
The deal with Unisport Bafang 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.
Transfer targets23 Jul 2029
Terms were offered and declined. Whether it was the wages, the role or the town, nobody at Cotonsport Garoua is saying, and nobody at Panthere du Nde is enjoying the guessing.
Squad23 Jul 2029
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Mohamed Moluh Mounta and Panthere du Nde agree another 3 years.
Squad23 Jul 2029
Warren Fozing 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.
Transfer targets23 Jul 2029
Panthere du Nde 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.
Squad23 Jul 2029
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Jefter Arrey was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The dugout23 Jul 2029
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Charles Tambe, and the manager let it.
The dugout23 Jul 2029
Precious Agwu gets picked when it counts
Every manager keeps a short list in his head of the men he wants on the pitch when the stakes rise, and it is never published. The team sheets for the big afternoons say Precious Agwu is on it.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market16 Jul 2029
“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 Panthere du Nde, and it is not being withdrawn.
Transfer targets16 Jul 2029
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.
Squad16 Jul 2029
François Fegue Omgba and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Transfer targets16 Jul 2029
Panthere du Nde 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.
Squad16 Jul 2029
Words at Panthere du Nde training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Precious Agwu 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 dugout16 Jul 2029
The manager makes an example of Jefter Arrey
“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.
Transfer targets16 Jul 2029
A loan move for Abdel Razack is in the works
Panthere du Nde 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.
The dugout16 Jul 2029
Warren Fozing gets picked when it counts
Every manager keeps a short list in his head of the men he wants on the pitch when the stakes rise, and it is never published. The team sheets for the big afternoons say Warren Fozing is on it.
The dugout16 Jul 2029
Cédric Minlo asks for a word with the manager
“I would rather say it to his face than read about it.” The meeting was requested by the player, which tells you most of what you need to know.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market9 Jul 2029
Cédric Minlo hands in a written request
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Panthere du Nde can pretend not to have heard.
Squad9 Jul 2029
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Panthere du Nde this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Transfer targets9 Jul 2029
Panthere du Nde 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.
Squad9 Jul 2029
Words at Panthere du Nde training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Mohamadou Ahidjo is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
Transfer targets9 Jul 2029
A loan move for Madiodio Dia is in the works
Panthere du Nde 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.
The dugout9 Jul 2029
Nobody at Panthere du Nde 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.
The dugout9 Jul 2029
“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.
Market9 Jul 2029
The clock does Charles Tambe’s negotiating for him
6 months left, and both sides know what that means: every week without a signature, the fee Panthere du Nde could ask drops and the wages Charles Tambe can ask rise.
The dugout9 Jul 2029
Franck Kombi knocks on the manager's door
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Panthere du Nde, and both men came out saying it was fine.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
The dugout4 Jun 2029
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Panthere du Nde may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Squad4 Jun 2029
Warren Fozing 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
Jefter Arrey 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.
Market4 Jun 2029
The name of Patrick Moukoudi has come up in conversations Panthere du Nde were not part of. Nothing formal, nothing signed — but nothing about it accidental either.
The dugout4 Jun 2029
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.
Boardroom4 Jun 2029
The window is open, and with it the only month of the year when a supporter’s hopes are limited by nothing but arithmetic. The board know the arithmetic; the supporters know the hopes.
Squad4 Jun 2029
Stephane Noah has had enough of the bench
“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 Panthere du Nde will have to give him a reason to stay or an exit.
Market4 Jun 2029
The list is a quiet document with a loud meaning. Warren Fozing may talk to anybody who asks, and everybody at the club understands what that means.
Market4 Jun 2029
“We keep meeting, and we keep leaving the room with the same numbers we walked in with.” Another round of talks at Panthere du Nde, another week without a signature from Patrick Moukoudi.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market28 May 2029
“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 Panthere du Nde, and it is not being withdrawn.
The dugout28 May 2029
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Panthere du Nde may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Squad28 May 2029
15 days, the medical staff say, and medical staff are optimists by profession. The team sheet will look wrong without him.
Market28 May 2029
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Patrick Moukoudi will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Panthere du Nde the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Squad28 May 2029
François Fegue Omgba and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad28 May 2029
Precious Agwu falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
The dugout28 May 2029
Precious Agwu has become a man the manager trusts
Nobody at Panthere du Nde 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.
Market28 May 2029
The Marc Onguene talk will not go away
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Panthere du Nde know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
The dugout28 May 2029
He asked about his future and was given an answer with minutes in it. The manager has now made a promise in a building where promises are remembered, and the clock on it has started.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad16 Apr 2029
Warren Fozing 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.
Squad16 Apr 2029
Words at Panthere du Nde training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Precious Agwu 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 dugout16 Apr 2029
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.
The dugout16 Apr 2029
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Jacques Ekolowa, and the manager let it.
Squad16 Apr 2029
“I have done everything asked of me in training and it has not changed a thing on a Saturday.” The most familiar complaint in football, and one Panthere du Nde will have to answer with minutes or with a transfer.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Match26 Feb 2029
The season ends: position 8 for Panthere du Nde
The last league game has been played and the table has stopped moving: 39 points. The summer begins on Monday, and so does the argument about what it all meant.
Match24 Feb 2029
The run now stands at 5, and the questions being asked around Panthere du Nde are no longer polite ones.
Player ratings26 Feb 2029
Successful dribbles: 24. There was always a defender in front of him and there was never a defender in front of him for long.
Match24 Feb 2029
The chances are being made and something is happening between the making and the finishing. 4 matches now, and the anxiety in the ground arrives a little earlier every week.
Squad26 Feb 2029
Warren Fozing 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.
Squad26 Feb 2029
Precious Agwu 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 dugout26 Feb 2029
The team sheet said everything about Charles Tambe
Warm-up bib, ninety minutes of watching, and a handshake at the end that fooled nobody. Big matches tell you who a manager trusts; this one told Charles Tambe.
The dugout26 Feb 2029
The manager makes an example of Ogino Zeukang
“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 ratings26 Feb 2029
Some games turn on a moment; this one turned on a man. 7.79 on the card, and the Panthere du Nde support went home talking about one name.