Marked for Chris Erambo
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market12 Jun 2028
Terms done: Teddy Dok is going
Fee agreed, wages agreed, and Sofapaka waiting with a shirt. Nobody at Tusker is pretending otherwise, and the supporters have stopped asking whether and started asking when.
Player ratings12 Jun 2028
A brace, and Eric Kapaito takes the afternoon — 8.40
There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. Eric Kapaito provided it, and the 8.40 beside his name is if anything generous to everybody else.
The dugout12 Jun 2028
“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.
Market12 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 The request is on a desk at Tusker, and it is not being withdrawn.
Match10 Jun 2028
Beaten 3‑4, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
Match10 Jun 2028
Eric Kapaito among the goals in a wild afternoon
7 goals in one match, Eric Kapaito on the scoresheet, and a scoreline that will look like a misprint. Neutrals could not have asked more of Tusker and Posta Rangers.
Boardroom12 Jun 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.
Transfer targets12 Jun 2028
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.
Squad12 Jun 2028
A falling-out at Tusker
Kgaogelo Monanyane and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Back issues
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Match3 May 2028
The small margins put Tusker out
Out, 0‑1 to Muranga Seal, and the long argument about which of the small moments decided it. The league is all there is now, and everybody knows it.
Market8 May 2028
“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.
Squad8 May 2028
A falling-out at Tusker
Ian Simiyu Jr. and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
The dugout8 May 2028
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Chris Erambo, and the manager let it.
Match6 May 2028
Beaten 0‑1, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
Squad8 May 2028
A row about effort at Tusker
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Cliff Oruko was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Boardroom8 May 2028
The manager kept them in and said what needed saying. A response is expected on Saturday, and if it does not come the questions move upstairs.
Squad8 May 2028
The award is a small thing with a heavy meaning: for four weeks nobody in this division did his job better. Tusker have the trophy on a shelf and the player in the side.
The dugout8 May 2028
The manager’s verdict
“That is on me. I pick the team and I picked wrong.” Managers say that when they mean it and when they need to be seen to, and after 0‑1 Elvis Karisa left the room before anybody could ask which.
In brief
-
Boardroom
87% of the income goes out in wages at Tusker
-
Squad
A place in the month's best eleven for Humphrey Katasi
-
The dugout
Ian Simiyu Jr. has become a man the manager trusts
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Market1 Nov 2027
Only the photograph left for Cliff Oruko
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Cliff Oruko will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Tusker the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Squad1 Nov 2027
Eric Kapaito 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.
Squad1 Nov 2027
Abud Omar 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 dugout1 Nov 2027
Ian Simiyu Jr. has become a man the manager trusts
Nobody at Tusker 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 dugout1 Nov 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.
Market1 Nov 2027
The name of Chris Erambo keeps appearing in other people's back pages. Tusker say nothing, which says plenty.
Market1 Nov 2027
“We are a long way apart, and pretending otherwise helps nobody.” Neither side is close, and the calendar is not on the club's side.
Squad1 Nov 2027
A year in and the city has not opened up, the language has not come, and lunch is eaten alone more often than anybody at Tusker would admit. It shows on Saturdays.
Squad1 Nov 2027
“I want to stay in the game when I stop, and I am not going to wait until I stop to prepare for it.” At 31 the badges have begun, and every manager in the division remembers doing the same.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Player ratings4 Oct 2027
2 goals, and the second was the one that settled it. Marked 8.11, and he could have had a third with better luck at the near post.
Market4 Oct 2027
Cliff Oruko has one foot out of the door
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.
Match2 Oct 2027
Nobody wins at Tusker
12 home matches unbeaten. Visiting sides arrive already talking about the atmosphere, which is usually the sign that they have half-lost before kickoff.
Match2 Oct 2027
It finished 2‑0, and it was Ian Simiyu Jr.’s afternoon: on the scoresheet when it mattered, and the reason the points belong to Tusker.
The dugout4 Oct 2027
The manager makes an example of Brandon Obiero
“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.
Squad4 Oct 2027
Words at Tusker training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Abud Omar 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.
Squad4 Oct 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.
Squad4 Oct 2027
Telena Ochieng named in the team of the month
A month is long enough that nobody gets in by accident. Telena Ochieng is in the division's best eleven for it, which is a quieter compliment than an award and a more reliable one.
The dugout4 Oct 2027
“The players deserve the credit. My job was easy today.” It was not, and everybody in the room knew it; after 2‑0, Elvis Karisa could afford to be generous.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad30 Aug 2027
Words exchanged at Tusker
Ian Simiyu Jr. 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 targets30 Aug 2027
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Great Olympics have kept their man, and Tusker go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Match28 Aug 2027
Kenya Police left with the points after a 1‑2 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.
Squad30 Aug 2027
50 goals in these colours now, every one of them somebody’s memory. There is a supporter in the stand who can tell you where he was for most of them.
Squad30 Aug 2027
Abud Omar 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.
Boardroom30 Aug 2027
Wages swallow 97% of the Tusker income
Every club 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 it has been tried.
The dugout30 Aug 2027
“I could talk about decisions and I could talk about luck. I will not. We lost.” The manager, 1‑2, and a press conference that lasted four minutes.
The dugout30 Aug 2027
Chris Erambo is still paying for one afternoon at Tusker
Nobody will confirm this and nothing else explains the last month of selections. A costly error buys a player a period of being second choice that is always longer than the error was.
Transfer targets30 Aug 2027
A loan enquiry to Plateau United: cover, or a look at somebody the club cannot afford to buy yet. Either way the answer will come back inside the week.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Match7 Aug 2027
4‑1, and Yakeen Muthelil took the headlines on an afternoon when everything Tusker tried came off. Days like this are retold all winter.
Market9 Aug 2027
Only the photograph left for Cliff Oruko
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Cliff Oruko will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Tusker the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Player ratings9 Aug 2027
A defender's goal wins it for Tusker — 7.94
1 for Thomas Teka, marked 7.94, and a centre-half's name in the part of the report he normally only reaches by mistake. He will not be allowed to forget it in the dressing room for a month.
Transfer targets9 Aug 2027
The deal with KCB 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.
Squad9 Aug 2027
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Chris Erambo commits to Tusker for another 4 years.
Match7 Aug 2027
The run at home goes on for Tusker
9 matches unbeaten here. Every visiting manager is asked about it in the week before, which is precisely why it keeps going.
Transfer targets9 Aug 2027
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.
Squad9 Aug 2027
Words exchanged at Tusker
Dennis Oalo 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 terraces9 Aug 2027
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.
In brief
-
Squad
Words at Tusker training over how hard people work
-
Player ratings
Yakeen Muthelil was on a different afternoon to everybody else
-
Player ratings
Nobody could get near Cliff Oruko
From our football correspondent
Steady
Transfer targets2 Aug 2027
Everything agreed with Shabana, everything agreed with the player; a doctor is the only person left to persuade. The photograph is a day or two away.
Squad2 Aug 2027
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Chris Erambo commits to Tusker for another 4 years.
Squad2 Aug 2027
Words exchanged at Tusker
Ian Simiyu Jr. 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 targets2 Aug 2027
Tusker asked and Golden Arrows said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
Squad2 Aug 2027
Abud Omar 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.
Market2 Aug 2027
Nobody at Tusker has picked up the phone to Chris Erambo
49 months to run and not a word offered. A club that lets the calendar negotiate for it usually ends up losing to the calendar.
Boardroom2 Aug 2027
93% 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.
Transfer targets2 Aug 2027
Golden Arrows 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.
The dugout2 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.
In brief
-
Boardroom
The numbers do not look good at Tusker
-
The dugout
When it matters, Ian Simiyu Jr. plays
-
The dugout
The view from the dugout
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Match29 May 2027
Three points for Tusker, 2‑1 the final word against Nairobi United in a contest settled by the finer margins.
The dugout31 May 2027
This is not rotation. Alex Onchwari has not been in the manager's plans for some time, and nobody at Tusker is pretending otherwise.
Player ratings31 May 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 ratings31 May 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.
Squad31 May 2027
Words exchanged at Tusker
Yakeen Muthelil 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.
Squad31 May 2027
A row about effort at Tusker
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Abud Omar was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Loan watch31 May 2027
“I did not go to KCB to sit and watch. I want to come back to Tusker and fight for my place.” 5 appearances in 19 matches say the rest.
The dugout31 May 2027
The view from the dugout
“We controlled it. There were spells I did not like and we will look at them, but the group showed me something.” Elvis Karisa, on a 2‑1 win that he was already picking apart on the walk to the press room.
Player ratings31 May 2027
The afternoon ran through Cliff Oruko
Chances created: 9. Nothing on the scoresheet and everything in the match: the pass before the pass, over and over, until the defence stopped guessing right.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Transfer targets25 Jan 2027
Fee done, terms next for David Miheso
Tusker and Gor Mahia have settled on $26.0K. The rest belongs to the player and his agent, and a supporter who has watched one of these before knows not to buy the shirt yet.
Market25 Jan 2027
The offer was not close and it was refused without much discussion. Whether the second one is refused as quickly is another matter.
Market25 Jan 2027
Cliff Oruko has one foot out of the door
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.
Transfer targets25 Jan 2027
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Plateau United have kept their man, and Tusker go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Squad25 Jan 2027
The medical room confirms 17 days on the sidelines for James Wanyama, and a plan built around him now has to be rebuilt.
Squad25 Jan 2027
A falling-out at Tusker
Yakeen Muthelil and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad25 Jan 2027
Abud Omar 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 dugout25 Jan 2027
Eric Kapaito has become a man the manager trusts
Nobody at Tusker 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.
Squad25 Jan 2027
Competition arrives for Fidel Origa
A new face in his position and a shirt he thought he owned suddenly up for discussion. Tusker have promised nothing, which is what clubs promise at this stage.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad21 Dec 2026
Dennis Oalo 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.
Squad21 Dec 2026
A row about effort at Tusker
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and George Kaddu was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The dugout21 Dec 2026
Dennis Magio gets it from the manager
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
The dugout21 Dec 2026
Fabien Adikiny has become a man the manager trusts
Nobody at Tusker 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.
Squad21 Dec 2026
“I want to play”: Dennis Magio speaks
“I respect the manager and I am not going to sit here and pretend I am happy.” It is the most common sentence in football and it has never once been the end of a story.
The dugout21 Dec 2026
Edwin Simiyu has been promised minutes
A conversation in the manager’s office, and a commitment that came out of it. Promises like that are cheap to make and expensive to break, and Edwin Simiyu has written the date down.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad23 Nov 2026
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.
Squad23 Nov 2026
A row about effort at Tusker
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Abud Omar was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The dugout23 Nov 2026
Victor Mbaoma 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 Victor Mbaoma trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad26 Oct 2026
Tempers go at Tusker
Abud Omar 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.
Squad26 Oct 2026
Words at Tusker training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. John Otieno 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 dugout26 Oct 2026
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Edwin Simiyu, and the manager let it.
The dugout26 Oct 2026
Fabien Adikiny has become a man the manager trusts
Nobody at Tusker 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.
Market26 Oct 2026
Every press conference now starts and ends the same way: with Chris Erambo’s future. The manager has run out of new ways to say nothing.
The dugout26 Oct 2026
Public backing, and the sort that costs a manager something if it turns out to be wrong. Ian Simiyu Jr. has been told in front of everybody that the shirt is his.