Marked for Chris Erambo
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Boardroom7 Aug 2028
The board’s statement ran to three sentences and one of them mentioned results. Duncan Omurwa has managed long enough to translate: win soon, or the next statement is shorter.
Match5 Aug 2028
No end in sight to Tusker's wait for a win
4 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Tusker has to find a result from somewhere.
Squad7 Aug 2028
Tempers go at Tusker
Malick Touré 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.
Market7 Aug 2028
The interest is real enough to have reached print. Tusker have said nothing, which in a transfer window is its own kind of answer.
Squad7 Aug 2028
“The easiest signature of my career.” Selasie Bakai and Tusker agree another 4 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Player ratings7 Aug 2028
Successful dribbles: 18. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Squad7 Aug 2028
The manager makes an example of Selasie Bakai
“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.
Market7 Aug 2028
36 months and counting on Chris Erambo
Still no offer on the table, and Chris Erambo’s deal keeps shrinking. In boardroom language, silence this long stops being an oversight and starts being an answer.
Player ratings7 Aug 2028
A mark of 7.47, and nobody in the ground would argue with it. He was involved in everything that mattered and most of what did not.
Back issues
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market24 Jul 2028
Fidel Origa 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 Tusker can pretend not to have heard.
Player ratings24 Jul 2028
Successful dribbles: 26. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Squad24 Jul 2028
Tempers go at Tusker
Makan Samabaly 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.
Squad24 Jul 2028
Malick Touré gets it from the manager
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
Player ratings24 Jul 2028
A performance of 8.45 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Match22 Jul 2028
It needed Eric Kapaito to find the net to bring anything home at all: 2‑2 against Mara Sugar, and half the dressing room will call it a point won.
Squad24 Jul 2028
The team sheet said everything about Servyl Akouala
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 Servyl Akouala.
The terraces24 Jul 2028
Everybody has an opinion about Eric Kapaito
He is the name in every column and on every phone-in, which is a heavy thing to carry at any age. Some footballers thrive on it; others are quietly finished by it.
Market24 Jul 2028
The Chris Erambo story refuses to die
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Chris Erambo signs something — a contract at Tusker or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Match5 Jul 2028
The small margins put Tusker out
Out, 0‑1 to Kakamega Homeboyz, and the long argument about which of the small moments decided it. The league is all there is now, and everybody knows it.
Player ratings10 Jul 2028
Successful dribbles: 22. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Squad10 Jul 2028
Tempers go at Tusker
Makan Samabaly 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.
Match8 Jul 2028
Shabana made Tusker work for it, but the scoreboard read 1‑0 at the end and the table does not ask how.
Player ratings10 Jul 2028
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.08, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Squad10 Jul 2028
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Servyl Akouala, and the manager let it.
Squad10 Jul 2028
Brian Opondo lets one through his hands
A defender's mistake gets tidied up by somebody else; a goalkeeper's ends up in the net. He knew before the ball crossed the line, and so did everybody in the ground.
Player ratings10 Jul 2028
Headers, blocks, tackles, interceptions — 15 of them, and not one goal behind him. The sort of performance that never makes a highlight reel and wins football matches.
Player ratings10 Jul 2028
Defensive actions: 14. He was first to everything and second to nothing, and the goalkeeper had an easy day because of it.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Market26 Jun 2028
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Tusker, and it is not being withdrawn.
Match24 Jun 2028
7 matches without a win for Tusker
The run now stands at 7, and the questions being asked around Tusker are no longer polite ones.
Squad26 Jun 2028
Tempers go at Tusker
Makan Samabaly 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.
Market26 Jun 2028
The phone has started ringing about Yakeen Muthelil again, and this time the name on the line is Mathare United. Tusker are listening politely and promising nothing.
Match24 Jun 2028
A bad afternoon for Tusker against Bandari
0‑1 to Bandari, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.
Squad26 Jun 2028
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Mohammed Siraji, and the manager let it.
Player ratings26 Jun 2028
Successful dribbles: 15. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Player ratings26 Jun 2028
The one thing Selasie Bakai could not do
Shots: 9, enough of them from close enough that a striker in form scores two. He is not a striker in form.
Market26 Jun 2028
The Chris Erambo story refuses to die
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Chris Erambo signs something — a contract at Tusker or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Market29 May 2028
Fidel Origa 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 Tusker can pretend not to have heard.
The terraces29 May 2028
The ground has had enough
“We travel everywhere and we get this.” 6 of the 30 senior players heard it walking off, and the ones who did not hear it were not playing.
Squad29 May 2028
Tempers go at Tusker
Makan Samabaly 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.
Squad29 May 2028
Eric Kapaito gets it from the manager
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
Match27 May 2028
Beaten 0‑1, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
Player ratings29 May 2028
Successful dribbles: 17. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Player ratings29 May 2028
One lapse, one goal, and ninety minutes of honest work counting for nothing. That is the job at Tusker, and it is a cruel one.
Squad29 May 2028
Malick Touré 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 Tusker, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Market29 May 2028
The Chris Erambo story refuses to die
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Chris Erambo signs something — a contract at Tusker or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad24 Apr 2028
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Tusker may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Player ratings24 Apr 2028
Defensive actions: 25, and a clean sheet at the end of it. A centre-half's best afternoons look like nothing happening, which is precisely the point.
Player ratings24 Apr 2028
Defensive actions: 21. He was first to everything and second to nothing, and the goalkeeper had an easy day because of it.
Squad24 Apr 2028
Tempers go at Tusker
Ian Simiyu Jr. 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.
Match22 Apr 2028
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Eric Kapaito. 1‑0 against Kenya Police, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
Player ratings24 Apr 2028
A performance of 8.30 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Player ratings24 Apr 2028
Defensive actions: 18, and a clean sheet at the end of it. A centre-half's best afternoons look like nothing happening, which is precisely the point.
Squad24 Apr 2028
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Joseph Okoth, and the manager let it.
Market24 Apr 2028
Every press conference now starts and ends the same way: with Malick Touré’s future. The manager has run out of new ways to say nothing.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad17 Apr 2028
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Tusker may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Market17 Apr 2028
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Yakeen Muthelil will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Tusker the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Player ratings17 Apr 2028
Defensive actions: 26. He was first to everything and second to nothing, and the goalkeeper had an easy day because of it.
Squad17 Apr 2028
Tempers go at Tusker
Makan Samabaly 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.
Player ratings17 Apr 2028
Headers, blocks, tackles, interceptions — 21 of them, and not one goal behind him. The sort of performance that never makes a highlight reel and wins football matches.
Squad17 Apr 2028
Malick Touré gets it from the manager
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
Player ratings17 Apr 2028
Marked 7.66 on an afternoon he ran from the first whistle to the last. Whatever else went wrong, Tusker had the best player on the pitch.
Player ratings17 Apr 2028
Shots: 9. Goals: none. The chances were there and they were good ones, and they went into the stand, the goalkeeper's arms and the side netting in roughly that order.
Match15 Apr 2028
Nil-nil, and few chances worth the name. Muranga Seal came to defend and left with exactly what they came for.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Match25 Mar 2028
The wait goes on for Tusker
5 without a win now, and the ground has developed the special quiet of a crowd that expects the worst. One scrappy 1-0 would cure most of it; that is the maddening part.
Player ratings27 Mar 2028
Successful dribbles: 24. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Squad27 Mar 2028
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Tusker this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad27 Mar 2028
Dennis Oalo gets it from the manager
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
Player ratings27 Mar 2028
Headers, blocks, tackles, interceptions — 17 of them, and not one goal behind him. The sort of performance that never makes a highlight reel and wins football matches.
Player ratings27 Mar 2028
The one thing Eric Kapaito could not do
Shots: 6, enough of them from close enough that a striker in form scores two. He is not a striker in form.
Match25 Mar 2028
Point won or two lost for Tusker?
Ninety minutes, no goals, and the argument started before the car park emptied: a point gained, or two thrown away against Mara Sugar? Both sides of it will still be going on Thursday.
Market27 Mar 2028
Every press conference now starts and ends the same way: with Malick Touré’s future. The manager has run out of new ways to say nothing.
Player ratings27 Mar 2028
A defender's afternoon for Chris Erambo
Defensive actions: 11. He was first to everything and second to nothing, and the goalkeeper had an easy day because of it.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market20 Mar 2028
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Tusker they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Squad20 Mar 2028
“I was told what my role would be, and I signed on that basis. It has not happened.” A grievance with a date attached is the hardest kind to settle.
Match18 Mar 2028
No end in sight to Tusker's wait for a win
4 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Tusker has to find a result from somewhere.
Squad20 Mar 2028
Tempers go at Tusker
Malick Touré 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.
Player ratings20 Mar 2028
Headers, blocks, tackles, interceptions — 18 of them, and not one goal behind him. The sort of performance that never makes a highlight reel and wins football matches.
Squad20 Mar 2028
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Vincent Owino, and the manager let it.
Player ratings20 Mar 2028
Successful dribbles: 16. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Match18 Mar 2028
Tusker and KCB cancel each other out
Nil-nil, and few chances worth the name. KCB came to defend and left with exactly what they came for.
Market20 Mar 2028
The Chris Erambo talk will not go away
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Tusker know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
In brief
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Squad
International call for Fidel Origa
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Boardroom
The Tusker production line keeps running
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad13 Mar 2028
Malick Touré in a row with a teammate
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Tusker this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Boardroom13 Mar 2028
The numbers do not look good at Tusker
Wages have outrun income and the accountants have started attending meetings they used to send apologies to. Ambition comes second in a season like this.
Squad13 Mar 2028
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Eric Kapaito, and the manager let it.
Player ratings13 Mar 2028
Successful dribbles: 16. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Player ratings13 Mar 2028
Some games turn on a moment; this one turned on a man. 7.63 on the card, and the Tusker support went home talking about one name.
Player ratings13 Mar 2028
Headers, blocks, tackles, interceptions — 14 of them, and not one goal behind him. The sort of performance that never makes a highlight reel and wins football matches.
Match11 Mar 2028
Tusker and Shabana cancel each other out
Nil-nil, and few chances worth the name. Shabana came to defend and left with exactly what they came for.
Market13 Mar 2028
The Fidel Origa talk will not go away
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Tusker know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
Squad13 Mar 2028
Malick Touré unhappy with how he is being used
Asked to play a role that is not his, or taken off before the hour once too often — Malick Touré has let it be known that he does not like the way Tusker are using him. Managers hear this long before the press does.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad21 Feb 2028
Servyl Akouala: 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.” Tusker have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Market21 Feb 2028
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Yakeen Muthelil will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Tusker the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Player ratings21 Feb 2028
Headers, blocks, tackles, interceptions — 24 of them, and not one goal behind him. The sort of performance that never makes a highlight reel and wins football matches.
Squad21 Feb 2028
Tempers go at Tusker
Makan Samabaly 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.
Player ratings21 Feb 2028
A defender's afternoon for Chris Erambo
Defensive actions: 20. He was first to everything and second to nothing, and the goalkeeper had an easy day because of it.
Match19 Feb 2028
It finished 1‑0, and it was Eric Kapaito’s afternoon: on the scoresheet when it mattered, and the reason the points belong to Tusker.
Player ratings21 Feb 2028
A performance of 8.23 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Player ratings21 Feb 2028
Headers, blocks, tackles, interceptions — 17 of them, and not one goal behind him. The sort of performance that never makes a highlight reel and wins football matches.
Squad21 Feb 2028
Eric Kapaito finally opens his account
He wheeled away like a man who had been carrying it for months, because he had. Tusker have their signing off the mark and one press-conference question retired.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad14 Feb 2028
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Tusker this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Boardroom14 Feb 2028
The numbers do not look good at Tusker
Wages have outrun income and the accountants have started attending meetings they used to send apologies to. Ambition comes second in a season like this.
Squad14 Feb 2028
The medical room confirms 33 days on the sidelines for Zidane Afandi, and a plan built around him now has to be rebuilt.
Player ratings14 Feb 2028
Successful dribbles: 17. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Squad14 Feb 2028
The manager makes an example of Dennis Oalo
“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 Feb 2028
Some games turn on a moment; this one turned on a man. 7.53 on the card, and the Tusker support went home talking about one name.
Match12 Feb 2028
Nil-nil, and few chances worth the name. Sofapaka came to defend and left with exactly what they came for.
Market14 Feb 2028
The Fidel Origa talk will not go away
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Tusker know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
Player ratings14 Feb 2028
5.73 on the card. Some afternoons a footballer looks like a man who has only just been introduced to the game, and this was one of them.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market7 Feb 2028
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Tusker, and it is not being withdrawn.
Market7 Feb 2028
As if he never left: John Kahata returns
Some transfers need a press campaign. This one needed a shirt with the old number on it. John Kahata is a Tusker player again, and the town has its story of the summer.
Market7 Feb 2028
The shirt still fits. Victor Mukangula is back at Tusker, and half the ground remembers him in these colours already. Some signings need selling to the town; this one sold itself.
Market7 Feb 2028
He left as a boy and has come back still knowing where the away end is. Most signings have to be explained to a town; this one needed a photograph and nothing else.
Squad7 Feb 2028
Tempers go at Tusker
Makan Samabaly 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.
Player ratings7 Feb 2028
Marked 8.91 — 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.
Player ratings7 Feb 2028
Successful dribbles: 19. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Match5 Feb 2028
It finished 1‑0, and it was Makan Samabaly’s afternoon: on the scoresheet when it mattered, and the reason the points belong to Tusker.
Player ratings7 Feb 2028
Defensive actions: 15, and a clean sheet at the end of it. A centre-half's best afternoons look like nothing happening, which is precisely the point.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market24 Jan 2028
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Tusker is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Market24 Jan 2028
The shirt still fits. Fabien Adikiny is back at Tusker, and half the ground remembers him in these colours already. Some signings need selling to the town; this one sold itself.
Squad24 Jan 2028
Tempers go at Tusker
Simphiwe Mtsweni 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.
Squad24 Jan 2028
The manager makes an example of Vincent Owino
“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.
Squad24 Jan 2028
“I have given this everything, but my family is not here and neither am I, not really.” A footballer can be coached out of bad form. Nobody has ever been coached out of this, and Tusker know it.
Squad24 Jan 2028
Brian Opondo 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
Squad27 Dec 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 Tusker this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Boardroom27 Dec 2027
92% of the income goes out in wages at Tusker
Every club in football pays most of what it earns to its players. Paying nearly all of it is a different arrangement, and it has ended the same way every time somebody has tried it.
Market27 Dec 2027
The name of Chris Erambo keeps appearing in other people's back pages. Tusker say nothing, which says plenty.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad13 Dec 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 Tusker this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad13 Dec 2027
Dane Sutton gets it from the manager
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
Market13 Dec 2027
“We keep meeting, and we keep leaving the room with the same numbers we walked in with.” Another round of talks at Tusker, another week without a signature from Chris Erambo.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad29 Nov 2027
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Tusker may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Squad29 Nov 2027
Tempers go at Tusker
Mohammed Siraji 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.
Boardroom29 Nov 2027
Wages eat 153% of everything Tusker earn
There is a figure at which a wage bill stops being ambitious and becomes the reason nothing else is possible, and this club has reached it. Nothing is left over for a transfer, a stand or a rainy afternoon.
Squad29 Nov 2027
Brian Opondo knocks on the manager’s door
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Brian Opondo trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Squad29 Nov 2027
Somebody is after Brian Opondo’s shirt
A new face in his position, and Brian Opondo suddenly has to win back what he thought he owned. Tusker have promised nothing — clubs rarely do at this stage.
Market29 Nov 2027
The name of Chris Erambo keeps appearing in other people's back pages. Tusker say nothing, which says plenty.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad1 Nov 2027
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Tusker may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Squad1 Nov 2027
35 days, the medical staff say, and medical staff are optimists by profession. The team sheet will look wrong without him.
Squad1 Nov 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 Tusker this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
In brief
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Boardroom
132% of the income goes out in wages at Tusker
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Squad
Malick Touré still has not settled
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Market
Chris Erambo linked with a move away
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Boardroom
The Tusker production line keeps running
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market4 Oct 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.
Squad4 Oct 2027
64 days, the scan says, and scans are kinder than reality. The fixtures in that window have just become somebody else’s job.
Squad4 Oct 2027
“The easiest signature of my career.” Makan Samabaly and Tusker agree another 2 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Squad4 Oct 2027
Tempers go at Tusker
Charles Momanyi 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.
Boardroom4 Oct 2027
Wages eat 147% of everything Tusker earn
There is a figure at which a wage bill stops being ambitious and becomes the reason nothing else is possible, and this club has reached it. Nothing is left over for a transfer, a stand or a rainy afternoon.
Squad4 Oct 2027
The medical room confirms 34 days on the sidelines for Selasie Bakai, and a plan built around him now has to be rebuilt.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market9 Aug 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.
Squad9 Aug 2027
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Tusker may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Squad9 Aug 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 Tusker this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Player ratings9 Aug 2027
Successful dribbles: 18. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Squad9 Aug 2027
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
Boardroom9 Aug 2027
98% of the income goes out in wages at Tusker
Every club in football pays most of what it earns to its players. Paying nearly all of it is a different arrangement, and it has ended the same way every time somebody has tried it.
Player ratings9 Aug 2027
Marked 7.85 on an afternoon he ran from the first whistle to the last. Whatever else went wrong, Tusker had the best player on the pitch.
Player ratings9 Aug 2027
Headers, blocks, tackles, interceptions — 15 of them, and not one goal behind him. The sort of performance that never makes a highlight reel and wins football matches.
Match7 Aug 2027
Ninety minutes, two goalkeepers with clean gloves, and not one finish worth keeping. Bidco United will be the happier side with the point.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Player ratings28 Jun 2027
Successful dribbles: 24. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Squad28 Jun 2027
Malick Touré in a row with a teammate
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Tusker this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Match26 Jun 2027
Whatever happens, Tusker do not lose
6 games unbeaten now. Some were earned and some were survived, but a habit is forming — and habits are the hardest thing in football to play against.
Squad28 Jun 2027
The manager makes an example of Eric Kapaito
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
Player ratings28 Jun 2027
Defensive actions: 19. He was first to everything and second to nothing, and the goalkeeper had an easy day because of it.
Player ratings28 Jun 2027
Marked 7.73 on an afternoon he ran from the first whistle to the last. Whatever else went wrong, Tusker had the best player on the pitch.
Match26 Jun 2027
Ninety minutes, two goalkeepers with clean gloves, and not one finish worth keeping. Bandari will be the happier side with the point.
Squad28 Jun 2027
Vincent Owino knocks on the manager’s door
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Vincent Owino trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Market28 Jun 2027
The Fidel Origa story refuses to die
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Fidel Origa signs something — a contract at Tusker or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad14 Jun 2027
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Tusker this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Player ratings14 Jun 2027
Successful dribbles: 21. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Boardroom14 Jun 2027
Wages eat 133% of everything Tusker earn
There is a figure at which a wage bill stops being ambitious and becomes the reason nothing else is possible, and this club has reached it. Nothing is left over for a transfer, a stand or a rainy afternoon.
Player ratings14 Jun 2027
Defensive actions: 15, and a clean sheet at the end of it. A centre-half's best afternoons look like nothing happening, which is precisely the point.
Squad14 Jun 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Eugene Ikutwa, and the manager let it.
Player ratings14 Jun 2027
Shots: 10. Goals: none. The chances were there and they were good ones, and they went into the stand, the goalkeeper's arms and the side netting in roughly that order.
Match12 Jun 2027
Nil-nil, and few chances worth the name. Sofapaka came to defend and left with exactly what they came for.
Squad14 Jun 2027
Fidel Origa called up by his country
A window away with the national side, and a shirt at Tusker that briefly doubles as an advertisement. A call-up flatters the player and the club that built him in the same breath.
Player ratings14 Jun 2027
Headers, blocks, tackles, interceptions — 11 of them, and not one goal behind him. The sort of performance that never makes a highlight reel and wins football matches.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad7 Jun 2027
Tempers go at Tusker
Makan Samabaly 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.
Player ratings7 Jun 2027
Defensive actions: 18, and a clean sheet at the end of it. A centre-half's best afternoons look like nothing happening, which is precisely the point.
Player ratings7 Jun 2027
Successful dribbles: 16. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Player ratings7 Jun 2027
Some games turn on a moment; this one turned on a man. 7.66 on the card, and the Tusker support went home talking about one name.
Player ratings7 Jun 2027
Headers, blocks, tackles, interceptions — 13 of them, and not one goal behind him. The sort of performance that never makes a highlight reel and wins football matches.
Match5 Jun 2027
Nil-nil, and few chances worth the name. Posta Rangers came to defend and left with exactly what they came for.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad31 May 2027
Zidane Afandi: 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.” Tusker have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Squad31 May 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 Tusker this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Match29 May 2027
It finished 2‑0, and it was Eric Kapaito’s afternoon: on the scoresheet when it mattered, and the reason the points belong to Tusker.
Player ratings31 May 2027
A performance of 8.37 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Squad31 May 2027
27 days, the scan says, and scans are kinder than reality. The fixtures in that window have just become somebody else’s job.
Squad31 May 2027
The manager makes an example of Dennis Oalo
“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
Squad24 May 2027
Tempers go at Tusker
Makan Samabaly 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.
Player ratings24 May 2027
Successful dribbles: 19. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Player ratings24 May 2027
A defender's afternoon for Chris Erambo
Defensive actions: 17. He was first to everything and second to nothing, and the goalkeeper had an easy day because of it.
Player ratings24 May 2027
Headers, blocks, tackles, interceptions — 16 of them, and not one goal behind him. The sort of performance that never makes a highlight reel and wins football matches.
Squad24 May 2027
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
Match22 May 2027
Nil-nil, and few chances worth the name. Nairobi United came to defend and left with exactly what they came for.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Player ratings3 May 2027
Defensive actions: 25. He was first to everything and second to nothing, and the goalkeeper had an easy day because of it.
Squad3 May 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 Tusker this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Player ratings3 May 2027
Successful dribbles: 21. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Squad3 May 2027
The medical room confirms 56 days on the sidelines for Douglas Omanga, and a plan built around him now has to be rebuilt.
Squad3 May 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Dennis Wanjala, and the manager let it.
Player ratings3 May 2027
A defender's afternoon for Chris Erambo
Defensive actions: 14. He was first to everything and second to nothing, and the goalkeeper had an easy day because of it.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad12 Apr 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 Tusker this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Player ratings12 Apr 2027
Successful dribbles: 21. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Match10 Apr 2027
Three points for Tusker, 1‑0 the final word against Bidco United in a contest settled by the finer margins.
Squad12 Apr 2027
16 days, the scan says, and scans are kinder than reality. The fixtures in that window have just become somebody else’s job.
Player ratings12 Apr 2027
A performance of 8.10 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Player ratings12 Apr 2027
A defender's afternoon for Chris Erambo
Defensive actions: 18. He was first to everything and second to nothing, and the goalkeeper had an easy day because of it.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad5 Apr 2027
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Tusker may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Squad5 Apr 2027
Tempers go at Tusker
Malick Touré 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 Apr 2027
86 days, the medical staff say, and medical staff are optimists by profession. The team sheet will look wrong without him.
Player ratings5 Apr 2027
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.01, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Player ratings5 Apr 2027
Successful dribbles: 17. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Match3 Apr 2027
It needed Eric Kapaito to find the net to bring anything home at all: 1‑1 against Kariobangi Sharks, and half the dressing room will call it a point won.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad29 Mar 2027
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Tusker may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Squad29 Mar 2027
Malick Touré in a row with a teammate
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Tusker this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Player ratings29 Mar 2027
Defensive actions: 21. He was first to everything and second to nothing, and the goalkeeper had an easy day because of it.
Player ratings29 Mar 2027
A performance of 8.82 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Match27 Mar 2027
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Selasie Bakai. 2‑0 against Mara Sugar, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
Player ratings29 Mar 2027
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.04, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Player ratings29 Mar 2027
Marked 8.00 — 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.
Squad29 Mar 2027
Cliff Oruko gets it from the manager
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
Market29 Mar 2027
The name of Malick Touré keeps appearing in other people's back pages. Tusker say nothing, which says plenty.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Match13 Mar 2027
Still nobody has beaten Tusker
The unbeaten run reaches 8. Some of them were wins and some were escapes, but a side that refuses to lose is a side other dressing rooms talk about.
Squad15 Mar 2027
Malick Touré in a row with a teammate
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Tusker this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad15 Mar 2027
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
Player ratings15 Mar 2027
Some games turn on a moment; this one turned on a man. 7.59 on the card, and the Tusker support went home talking about one name.
Player ratings15 Mar 2027
Defensive actions: 14, and a clean sheet at the end of it. A centre-half's best afternoons look like nothing happening, which is precisely the point.
Player ratings15 Mar 2027
Successful dribbles: 12. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Match13 Mar 2027
The crowd waited for a goal that never came. Shabana defended in numbers and left with what they came for, and the two sides could be playing still without troubling a scorer.
Player ratings15 Mar 2027
The one thing Eric Kapaito could not do
Shots: 7, enough of them from close enough that a striker in form scores two. He is not a striker in form.
Squad15 Mar 2027
David Owino 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
Squad8 Mar 2027
15 days, the scan says, and scans are kinder than reality. The fixtures in that window have just become somebody else’s job.
Player ratings8 Mar 2027
Successful dribbles: 23. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Squad8 Mar 2027
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Malick Touré commits to Tusker for another 3 years.
Match6 Mar 2027
Whatever happens, Tusker do not lose
7 games unbeaten now. Some were earned and some were survived, but a habit is forming — and habits are the hardest thing in football to play against.
Squad8 Mar 2027
Tempers go at Tusker
Makan Samabaly 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.
Player ratings8 Mar 2027
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.05, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad1 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 Tusker this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Match27 Feb 2027
6 unbeaten for Tusker
Hard to beat is not the same as winning, but 6 matches without defeat is a foundation Tusker did not have in the autumn.
Player ratings1 Mar 2027
Defensive actions: 20, and a clean sheet at the end of it. A centre-half's best afternoons look like nothing happening, which is precisely the point.
Squad1 Mar 2027
Eric Kapaito gets it from the manager
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
Player ratings1 Mar 2027
Headers, blocks, tackles, interceptions — 17 of them, and not one goal behind him. The sort of performance that never makes a highlight reel and wins football matches.
Player ratings1 Mar 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
Uneasy
Player ratings22 Feb 2027
Successful dribbles: 25. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Squad22 Feb 2027
Tempers go at Tusker
Makan Samabaly 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.
Player ratings22 Feb 2027
Defensive actions: 21. He was first to everything and second to nothing, and the goalkeeper had an easy day because of it.
Match20 Feb 2027
APS Bomet made Tusker work for it, but the scoreboard read 1‑0 at the end and the table does not ask how.
Boardroom22 Feb 2027
Wages eat 126% of everything Tusker earn
There is a figure at which a wage bill stops being ambitious and becomes the reason nothing else is possible, and this club has reached it. Nothing is left over for a transfer, a stand or a rainy afternoon.
Squad22 Feb 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Dennis Oalo, and the manager let it.
Player ratings22 Feb 2027
Marked 7.77 on an afternoon he ran from the first whistle to the last. Whatever else went wrong, Tusker had the best player on the pitch.
Squad22 Feb 2027
Brian Opondo 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 Tusker, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Player ratings22 Feb 2027
Off the bench and decisive: Neo Bohloko
The substitution nobody applauded turned out to be the whole story. Tusker were going nowhere until he came on.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad25 Jan 2027
Tempers go at Tusker
Makan Samabaly 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.
Boardroom25 Jan 2027
149% of the income goes out in wages at Tusker
Every club in football pays most of what it earns to its players. Paying nearly all of it is a different arrangement, and it has ended the same way every time somebody has tried it.
Squad25 Jan 2027
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Zidane Afandi commits to Tusker for another 2 years.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Player ratings21 Sep 2026
Successful dribbles: 24. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Squad21 Sep 2026
Tempers go at Tusker
Makan Samabaly 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.
Squad21 Sep 2026
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Dennis Oalo, and the manager let it.
Player ratings21 Sep 2026
Some games turn on a moment; this one turned on a man. 7.68 on the card, and the Tusker support went home talking about one name.
Player ratings21 Sep 2026
Defensive actions: 15, and a clean sheet at the end of it. A centre-half's best afternoons look like nothing happening, which is precisely the point.
Squad21 Sep 2026
Brian Opondo 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 Tusker, and both men came out saying it was fine.