Marked for Brian Chonjo Otieno
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market2 Jul 2029
Ben Saul puts it in writing
“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 The request is on a desk at Bidco United, and it is not being withdrawn.
Player ratings2 Jul 2029
Age has not caught Simon Munala yet — 7.86
At 33 he is supposed to be managing his minutes. Instead he was marked 7.86 and looked, for ninety minutes, exactly like the player everybody remembers.
Match30 Jun 2029
4 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.
Squad2 Jul 2029
Daniel Kakai and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad2 Jul 2029
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Said Tsuma and Bidco United agree another 2 years.
Squad2 Jul 2029
Words at Bidco United training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Cailin Knock 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.
Squad2 Jul 2029
The medical room confirms 47 days on the sidelines for Callum Burns, and a plan built around him now has to be rebuilt.
Boardroom2 Jul 2029
Wages swallow 98% of the Bidco United 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.
Player ratings2 Jul 2029
7.89, and no serious argument from anybody who was there. Bidco United had eleven men on the pitch and one of them decided how it went.
Back issues
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Market25 Jun 2029
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Bidco United can pretend not to have heard.
The dugout25 Jun 2029
This is not rotation. Daniel Kakai has not been in the manager's plans for some time, and nobody at Bidco United is pretending otherwise.
The dugout25 Jun 2029
Jonetani Buksh: 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.” Bidco United have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Match23 Jun 2029
3 matches, no goals, and a training ground that has tried everything. It will end — droughts always do — but nobody at Bidco United can tell you which week it ends in.
Squad25 Jun 2029
Words at Bidco United training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Simon Munala 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.
Squad25 Jun 2029
Said Tsuma 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.
Match23 Jun 2029
Beaten 0‑1, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
The dugout25 Jun 2029
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 James Onyango left the room before anybody could ask which.
The dugout25 Jun 2029
Something was said to Ben Saul and then it happened. In this industry that passes for remarkable, and the dressing room noticed faster than any supporter could.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Market11 Jun 2029
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Bidco United can pretend not to have heard.
Squad11 Jun 2029
Cailin Knock 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.
Match9 Jun 2029
Beaten 0‑2, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
Squad11 Jun 2029
Words at Bidco United training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Said Tsuma 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.
Squad11 Jun 2029
Appearance number 100 for George Kaddu
100 games in this shirt, through managers and relegations and everything else. Service like it is disappearing from the game and the crowd knows what it is watching.
The dugout11 Jun 2029
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 0‑2 James Onyango left the room before anybody could ask which.
The dugout11 Jun 2029
The manager makes an example of Montassar Toumi
“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.
The dugout11 Jun 2029
Steve Hoffman 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 Steve Hoffman is on it.
Market11 Jun 2029
“There is a gap, and pretending there is not helps nobody.” Neither side has moved, and the calendar is working for exactly one of them.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
The dugout30 Apr 2029
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Bidco United may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
The dugout30 Apr 2029
This is not rotation. Daniel Kakai has not been in the manager's plans for some time, and nobody at Bidco United is pretending otherwise.
Squad30 Apr 2029
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Cailin Knock was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Squad30 Apr 2029
It happens to all of them and it is still the hardest paragraph a local paper has to write. 33 years old, 3 points down on where he was, and a body that has started charging interest on a career.
The dugout30 Apr 2029
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Cailin Knock, and the manager let it.
The dugout30 Apr 2029
“We were not good enough today and I am not going to dress it up.” James Onyango after 1‑3, in the tone of a man who knows the next question and does not intend to answer it.
Squad30 Apr 2029
Victor Egbe 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.
Market30 Apr 2029
“The manager did not use many words, and he did not need to.” Simphiwe Mtsweni has his answer from Bidco United; what he does with it is the next window’s story.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
The terraces23 Apr 2029
Anger at Bidco United spills outside the ground
It has stopped being a mood in the stands and started being something organised. Boards can ignore a bad atmosphere for a long time; they cannot ignore this stage of it for very long at all.
Squad23 Apr 2029
Cailin Knock 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 Bidco United this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Boardroom23 Apr 2029
The accounts are being read more closely than the results. Wages before ambition is the order of business now, and the manager has been told so.
Squad23 Apr 2029
Simon Munala is not the player he was
It happens to all of them and it is still the hardest paragraph a local paper has to write. 33 years old, 3 points down on where he was, and a body that has started charging interest on a career.
Squad23 Apr 2029
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Simon Munala was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Match21 Apr 2029
Beaten 1‑2, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
The dugout23 Apr 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.
The dugout23 Apr 2029
“We were not good enough today and I am not going to dress it up.” James Onyango after 1‑2, in the tone of a man who knows the next question and does not intend to answer it.
The dugout23 Apr 2029
Clubs make promises constantly and the page usually only hears about them when they are broken. This one was honoured, and the dressing room noticed that faster than any supporter did.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Player ratings9 Apr 2029
2 goals, and the second was the one that settled it. Marked 9.06, and he could have had a third with better luck at the near post.
Market9 Apr 2029
“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.
Player ratings9 Apr 2029
A defender on the scoresheet, which happens rarely enough that everybody in the ground remembers who took the corner. 1 for him, and a mark of 7.84 for the rest of it.
Squad9 Apr 2029
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Steve Hoffman and Bidco United agree another 2 years.
Match7 Apr 2029
Defending was optional and nobody took up the option. 6 goals between Bidco United and Ulinzi Stars, and not one of the people who paid to be there will ask for the money back.
Squad9 Apr 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 Bidco United this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad9 Apr 2029
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Cailin Knock was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Squad9 Apr 2029
At 35, 3 points below where he was, and a body that has started charging interest. It happens to all of them and it is still the hardest paragraph on this page.
The dugout9 Apr 2029
“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
Steady
Squad19 Mar 2029
Daniel Kakai and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad19 Mar 2029
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Said Tsuma was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Squad19 Mar 2029
A goalkeeper's career is counted in the games nobody scored in, and Steve Hoffman now has 25 of them across 84 appearances. Nothing about that number was luck.
Player ratings19 Mar 2029
Marked 7.68 on an afternoon he ran from the first whistle to the last. Whatever else went wrong, Bidco United had the best player on the pitch.
The dugout19 Mar 2029
Cailin Knock 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 Cailin Knock is on it.
The dugout19 Mar 2029
“A point is a point and I will take it, but we should have had all three.” James Onyango after the 0‑0 draw, and the sentence every manager in the country said at some stage this weekend.
Match17 Mar 2029
Point won or two lost for Bidco United?
Ninety minutes, no goals, and the argument started before the car park emptied: a point gained, or two thrown away against Muranga Seal? Both sides of it will still be going on Thursday.
Looking ahead19 Mar 2029
Every squad has one of these fixtures for somebody every season. This one is Brian Chonjo Otieno’s: the club that knew him first, the supporters who will decide in the first minute whether to applaud, and Bidco United needing him to play as if none of it matters.
Market19 Mar 2029
The Simon Munala talk will not go away
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Bidco United know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Match10 Mar 2029
Rarely has this fixture seen a display like it: 3‑0 against Mathare United, and it could have been more.
Player ratings12 Mar 2029
2 goals, and the second was the one that settled it. Marked 8.86, and he could have had a third with better luck at the near post.
Squad12 Mar 2029
Cailin Knock 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.
Squad12 Mar 2029
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Simon Munala was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Player ratings12 Mar 2029
Ninety minutes of Ngcebo Nala at his very best
Marked 8.08. Players have careers without a single afternoon like this in them, and he has just had one in front of everybody at Bidco United.
Player ratings12 Mar 2029
A performance of 8.02 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
The dugout12 Mar 2029
No hiding place for Ben Saul
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Ben Saul, and the manager let it.
The dugout12 Mar 2029
“The players deserve the credit. My job was easy today.” It was not, and everybody in the room knew it; after 3‑0, James Onyango could afford to be generous.
The dugout12 Mar 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.
From our football correspondent
Steady
The terraces26 Feb 2029
Supporters organise against the Bidco United board
A bad atmosphere can be waited out. A group of people meeting afterwards to decide what to do about it cannot, and everybody in the building knows which stage this is.
Squad26 Feb 2029
Daniel Kakai 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 Bidco United this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Boardroom26 Feb 2029
The accounts make uncomfortable reading. Wages first and ambition second is the order of business at Bidco United now.
The dugout26 Feb 2029
They have worked together before and it did not end well. Nobody at Bidco United expects the new manager to have forgotten, least of all Brian Chonjo Otieno.
Match24 Feb 2029
It finished 1‑0, and it was Dalphine Omuri’s afternoon: on the scoresheet when it mattered, and the reason the points belong to Bidco United.
Squad26 Feb 2029
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Said Tsuma was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The dugout26 Feb 2029
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Said Tsuma, and the manager let it.
Player ratings26 Feb 2029
A mark of 7.76, and nobody in the ground would argue with it. He was involved in everything that mattered and most of what did not.
The dugout26 Feb 2029
“The players deserve the credit. My job was easy today.” It was not, and everybody in the room knew it; after 1‑0, James Onyango could afford to be generous.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad19 Feb 2029
Dalphine Omuri was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
The dugout19 Feb 2029
They have worked together before and it did not end well. Nobody at Bidco United expects the new manager to have forgotten, least of all Brian Chonjo Otieno.
Squad19 Feb 2029
Simon Munala 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.
Match17 Feb 2029
0‑1 to KCB, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.
The dugout19 Feb 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.
The dugout19 Feb 2029
“The supporters are entitled to be angry. So am I. We will put it right.” 0‑1, a manager saying the necessary things, and a dressing room that heard a different version of them.
The dugout19 Feb 2029
Cailin Knock 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 Cailin Knock is on it.
Looking ahead19 Feb 2029
Every squad has one of these fixtures for somebody every season. This one is Meshack Karani’s: the club that knew him first, the supporters who will decide in the first minute whether to applaud, and Bidco United needing him to play as if none of it matters.
Market19 Feb 2029
The Simon Munala talk will not go away
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Bidco United know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market12 Feb 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 Bidco United, and it is not being withdrawn.
Match10 Feb 2029
7 without a win is the sort of run that changes how a town talks about its club, and Shabana were the afternoon it stopped. Nothing is fixed by one result and everything feels different by one.
Squad12 Feb 2029
Daniel Kakai 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.
Match10 Feb 2029
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Newton Ochieng. 1‑0 against Shabana, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
The dugout12 Feb 2029
Simon Munala 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.
Squad12 Feb 2029
The medical room confirms 14 days on the sidelines for Brian Ochieng, and a plan built around him now has to be rebuilt.
Squad12 Feb 2029
Words at Bidco United training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Said Tsuma 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.
Market12 Feb 2029
He signed expecting a bigger stage than the one he found. It has not taken long, and it has not taken the dressing room long to notice either.
Player ratings12 Feb 2029
Some games turn on a moment; this one turned on a man. 7.72 on the card, and the Bidco United support went home talking about one name.
In brief
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The dugout
The view from the dugout
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The dugout
Steve Hoffman gets picked when it counts
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Squad
No place for Eliud Lokuwam in the new shape
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad15 Jan 2029
Steve Hoffman breaks a bone — 36 days out
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 36 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Market15 Jan 2029
“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.
Squad15 Jan 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 Bidco United this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad15 Jan 2029
Words at Bidco United training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Daniel Kakai 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 dugout15 Jan 2029
Steve Hoffman 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 Steve Hoffman is on it.
The dugout15 Jan 2029
Ngcebo Nala 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 Ngcebo Nala trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Market15 Jan 2029
Every press conference now starts and ends the same way: with Daniel Kakai’s future. The manager has run out of new ways to say nothing.
Market15 Jan 2029
1 months left and the two sides are nowhere near each other. Every week this drags on takes money off what Bidco United could get for him.
Market15 Jan 2029
The list is a quiet document with a loud meaning. Dalphine Omuri may talk to anybody who asks, and everybody at the club understands what that means.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad1 Jan 2029
50 days out for Steve Hoffman after a fracture
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Bidco United will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
Match1 Jan 2029
Every point is an argument now for Bidco United
Position 18 and 26 points, and the table gets read bottom-up in this part of town. The calendar has stopped being a schedule and started being a countdown.
The terraces1 Jan 2029
Anger at Bidco United spills outside the ground
It has stopped being a mood in the stands and started being something organised. Boards can ignore a bad atmosphere for a long time; they cannot ignore this stage of it for very long at all.
Market1 Jan 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 Bidco United, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad1 Jan 2029
Dalphine Omuri 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.
Squad1 Jan 2029
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Simon Munala was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The dugout1 Jan 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.
Squad1 Jan 2029
The manager has re-ordered his thinking and Mmatlou Sepale 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 Jan 2029
Something was said to Simon Munala and then it happened. In this industry that passes for remarkable, and the dressing room noticed faster than any supporter could.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad27 Nov 2028
Steve Hoffman breaks a bone — 86 days out
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 86 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Boardroom27 Nov 2028
Pressure builds in the Bidco United boardroom
The directors have stopped offering the manager public warmth. In football that is usually the stage before the short statement.
Market27 Nov 2028
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Bidco United they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Squad27 Nov 2028
Sifiso Molefe 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.
Squad27 Nov 2028
Words at Bidco United training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Simon Munala 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 dugout27 Nov 2028
Something was said to Daniel Kakai and then it happened. In this industry that passes for remarkable, and the dressing room noticed faster than any supporter could.
The dugout27 Nov 2028
The new man at Bidco United has worked with Brian Chonjo Otieno before and it went well. He arrives with a view of the player already formed, which is worth more than any pre-season.
The dugout27 Nov 2028
Ngcebo Nala 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.
Market27 Nov 2028
The clock does Sbusiso Mtshali’s negotiating for him
1 months left, and both sides know what that means: every week without a signature, the fee Bidco United could ask drops and the wages Sbusiso Mtshali can ask rise.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad20 Nov 2028
95 days out for Steve Hoffman after a fracture
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Bidco United will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
Market20 Nov 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 Bidco United, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad20 Nov 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 Bidco United this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad20 Nov 2028
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Simon Munala was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The dugout20 Nov 2028
The new man at Bidco United has worked with Brian Chonjo Otieno before and it went well. He arrives with a view of the player already formed, which is worth more than any pre-season.
The dugout20 Nov 2028
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 dugout20 Nov 2028
Ngcebo Nala 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 Bidco United, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Market20 Nov 2028
1 months left and the two sides are nowhere near each other. Every week this drags on takes money off what Bidco United could get for him.
Market20 Nov 2028
Every press conference now starts and ends the same way: with Daniel Kakai’s future. The manager has run out of new ways to say nothing.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad13 Nov 2028
Steve Hoffman breaks a bone — 102 days out
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 102 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
The dugout13 Nov 2028
This is not rotation. Daniel Kakai has not been in the manager's plans for some time, and nobody at Bidco United is pretending otherwise.
Squad13 Nov 2028
Sifiso Molefe and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad13 Nov 2028
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Daniel Kakai was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Boardroom13 Nov 2028
Wages swallow 147% of the Bidco United 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 dugout13 Nov 2028
The new man at Bidco United has worked with Brian Chonjo Otieno before and it went well. He arrives with a view of the player already formed, which is worth more than any pre-season.
The dugout13 Nov 2028
Aron Kithae 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 Aron Kithae trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
The dugout13 Nov 2028
Cailin Knock 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 Cailin Knock is on it.
Market13 Nov 2028
The Simon Munala story refuses to die
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Simon Munala signs something — a contract at Bidco United or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad6 Nov 2028
A fracture rules Steve Hoffman out for 109 days
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Bidco United will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Match6 Nov 2028
26 points, and a fixture list that is running out. The mathematics are not yet cruel, but they are no longer kind.
Squad6 Nov 2028
Sifiso Molefe 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.
Squad6 Nov 2028
Simon Munala 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.
Market6 Nov 2028
Clubs spend fortunes looking for players and occasionally find one down the corridor. Brian Ochieng is that, and the reception he gets on his first appearance will be different in kind from the one any signing receives.
Market6 Nov 2028
There is no fee, no unveiling and no agent on the steps. Caleb Wanyama has been at this club since he was a boy and is now, formally, one of the first-team squad — which for a local readership beats any signing of any size.
Market6 Nov 2028
Clubs spend fortunes looking for players and occasionally find one down the corridor. Caleb Juma is that, and the reception he gets on his first appearance will be different in kind from the one any signing receives.
Market6 Nov 2028
The academy exists for exactly this morning. Caleb Kagere has come through every age group the club runs and has now been handed a senior number, and the people who coached him at twelve will be the proudest in the building.
Squad6 Nov 2028
Too much change too quickly at Bidco United
8 signings in three months. Every one of them may be an upgrade and the team can still be worse for a while, which is the part of a rebuild that never appears in the transfer-window verdicts.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad30 Oct 2028
117 days out for Steve Hoffman after a fracture
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Bidco United will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
Boardroom30 Oct 2028
Pressure builds in the Bidco United boardroom
The directors have stopped offering the manager public warmth. In football that is usually the stage before the short statement.
Market30 Oct 2028
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Bidco United they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Squad30 Oct 2028
Sifiso Molefe 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.
Squad30 Oct 2028
Simon Munala 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 dugout30 Oct 2028
The manager makes an example of Cailin Knock
“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.
The dugout30 Oct 2028
It is not much of a headline and it is the reason players believe the next promise. Bidco United told Sifiso Molefe something would happen and then it happened, which in this industry passes for remarkable.
The dugout30 Oct 2028
The new man at Bidco United has worked with Brian Chonjo Otieno before and it went well. He arrives with a view of the player already formed, which is worth more than any pre-season.
Market30 Oct 2028
1 months left and the two sides are nowhere near each other. Every week this drags on takes money off what Bidco United could get for him.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad23 Oct 2028
Steve Hoffman breaks a bone — 124 days out
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 124 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Squad23 Oct 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 Bidco United this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad23 Oct 2028
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Said Tsuma was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The dugout23 Oct 2028
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Ngcebo Nala, and the manager let it.
The dugout23 Oct 2028
The new man at Bidco United has worked with Brian Chonjo Otieno before and it went well. He arrives with a view of the player already formed, which is worth more than any pre-season.
The dugout23 Oct 2028
Steve Hoffman 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 Steve Hoffman is on it.
The dugout23 Oct 2028
Steve Hoffman 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 Steve Hoffman trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Market23 Oct 2028
The clock does Sifiso Molefe’s negotiating for him
1 months left, and both sides know what that means: every week without a signature, the fee Bidco United could ask drops and the wages Sifiso Molefe can ask rise.
Market23 Oct 2028
Every press conference now starts and ends the same way: with Daniel Kakai’s future. The manager has run out of new ways to say nothing.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
The dugout16 Oct 2028
This is not rotation. Daniel Kakai has not been in the manager's plans for some time, and nobody at Bidco United is pretending otherwise.
Squad16 Oct 2028
Sifiso Molefe and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad16 Oct 2028
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Simon Munala was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Boardroom16 Oct 2028
157% of the income goes out in wages at Bidco United
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.
Squad16 Oct 2028
16 days, the scan says, and scans are kinder than reality. The fixtures in that window have just become somebody else’s job.
The dugout16 Oct 2028
The new man at Bidco United has worked with Brian Chonjo Otieno before and it went well. He arrives with a view of the player already formed, which is worth more than any pre-season.
The dugout16 Oct 2028
Steve Hoffman 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.
The dugout16 Oct 2028
Cailin Knock has become a man the manager trusts
Nobody at Bidco United 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.
Market16 Oct 2028
1 months left and the two sides are nowhere near each other. Every week this drags on takes money off what Bidco United could get for him.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match9 Oct 2028
26 points, and a fixture list that is running out. The mathematics are not yet cruel, but they are no longer kind.
Match9 Oct 2028
26 points, and the season has a number on it. Whatever it felt like from the inside, this is what it will look like in a book.
Match7 Oct 2028
6 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.
Squad9 Oct 2028
Sifiso Molefe 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.
Match7 Oct 2028
Beaten 1‑3, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
Squad9 Oct 2028
Words at Bidco United training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Simon Munala 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 dugout9 Oct 2028
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Thomas Wainaina, and the manager let it.
Squad9 Oct 2028
10 new faces, and Bidco United are still learning each other
A squad rebuilt inside one window pays for it in a currency nobody budgets for. The football is not worse than the sum of the players; it is worse than the sum of the players who have played together before.
The dugout9 Oct 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 1‑3 James Onyango left the room before anybody could ask which.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Boardroom2 Oct 2028
The scrutiny sharpens at Bidco United
Nobody upstairs has said anything, which is the loudest thing they could do. Results buy silence in this game; the account at Bidco United is running low.
Market2 Oct 2028
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Bidco United they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Match30 Sep 2028
5 matches without a win for Bidco United
The run now stands at 5, and the questions being asked around Bidco United are no longer polite ones.
Match30 Sep 2028
5 matches without a goal for Bidco United
The chances are being made and something is happening between the making and the finishing. 5 matches now, and the anxiety in the ground arrives a little earlier every week.
Squad2 Oct 2028
Sbusiso Mtshali was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Squad2 Oct 2028
Words at Bidco United training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Said Tsuma 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 dugout2 Oct 2028
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Excel Okam, and the manager let it.
Market2 Oct 2028
“There is a gap, and pretending there is not helps nobody.” Neither side has moved, and the calendar is working for exactly one of them.
The dugout2 Oct 2028
The new man at Bidco United has worked with Brian Chonjo Otieno before and it went well. He arrives with a view of the player already formed, which is worth more than any pre-season.
In brief
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The dugout
Ngcebo Nala left out for the big one
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Player ratings
Nobody could get near Simon Munala
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The dugout
The view from the dugout
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match23 Sep 2028
Chastening afternoon for Bidco United
A 0‑3 beating by Sofapaka was the sort of result that empties a stadium long before the final whistle.
Match23 Sep 2028
No end in sight to Bidco United's wait for a win
4 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Bidco United has to find a result from somewhere.
Match23 Sep 2028
4 games without scoring. Strikers stop looking up, midfielders take the extra touch, and every shot that clears the bar is followed by a groan that has been building since the last goal.
Squad25 Sep 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 Bidco United this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad25 Sep 2028
Words at Bidco United training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Simon Munala 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 dugout25 Sep 2028
“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.
Boardroom25 Sep 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.
The dugout25 Sep 2028
“I could talk about decisions and I could talk about luck. I will not. We lost.” The manager, 0‑3, and a press conference that lasted four minutes.
Squad25 Sep 2028
No place for Ben Saul in the new shape
He is not being dropped. There is simply nowhere in the formation Bidco United are playing to put a man who does what he does, which is a harder thing to be told than any team sheet.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match11 Sep 2028
24 points, and a fixture list that is running out. The mathematics are not yet cruel, but they are no longer kind.
Market11 Sep 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 Bidco United, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad11 Sep 2028
Sifiso Molefe was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
The dugout11 Sep 2028
The manager makes an example of Aron Kithae
“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.
Looking ahead11 Sep 2028
Posta Rangers next, and both sides can do the sum. Win and the table looks different; lose and it looks the way everybody has been fearing.
Squad11 Sep 2028
Bidco United are still strangers to each other
6 new signings in one window. Every one may be an upgrade and the side can still be worse for a while, which is the part of a rebuild the verdicts never mention.
The dugout11 Sep 2028
The new man at Bidco United has worked with Brian Chonjo Otieno before and it went well. He arrives with a view of the player already formed, which is worth more than any pre-season.
Boardroom11 Sep 2028
The accounts make uncomfortable reading. Wages first and ambition second is the order of business at Bidco United now.
The dugout11 Sep 2028
George Kaddu is still being punished for one mistake
Nobody will confirm it and the team sheets confirm it every week. One error has bought him a spell as second choice that is already longer than the error deserved.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Boardroom4 Sep 2028
The board have said in public what they had been saying in private. Results between now and the next meeting decide it, and everybody in the building knows the arithmetic.
Boardroom4 Sep 2028
The silence upstairs is getting loud at Bidco United
Nobody on the board has said anything against the manager, which is the point — they have stopped saying anything for him either.
Market4 Sep 2028
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Bidco United they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Market4 Sep 2028
“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.
Boardroom4 Sep 2028
Window shuts: 14 in, 15 out at Bidco United
The deadline has passed and the squad is the squad. 14 arrived, 15 left, and everything else printed about this club last month was a rumour that stayed one.
Squad4 Sep 2028
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Steve Hoffman commits to Bidco United for another 2 years.
Squad4 Sep 2028
Sifiso Molefe 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.
Market4 Sep 2028
The option has been taken up and the shirt is his outright. A club that has watched somebody every day for a season is not buying a scouting report — it is buying what it already saw.
Transfer targets4 Sep 2028
Bidco United asked and APS Bomet said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Match22 Apr 2028
There is no crueller way to lose a football match. Kenya Police scored in the 90th minute, the restart barely happened, and the away end was still standing when the whistle went.
Player ratings24 Apr 2028
Two goals and a mark of 8.54 to go with them. Strikers are judged on afternoons like this one and remembered for far fewer of them than people imagine.
Match24 Apr 2028
24 points and nobody above them. The word is not being said around the ground yet, and it is being thought in every seat.
Market24 Apr 2028
Only the photograph left for Alvin Mangeni
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Alvin Mangeni will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Kenya Police the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Market24 Apr 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 Kenya Police, and it is not being withdrawn.
Match22 Apr 2028
13 home matches unbeaten. Visiting sides arrive already talking about the atmosphere, which is usually the sign that they have half-lost before kickoff.
Squad24 Apr 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 Kenya Police this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad24 Apr 2028
Words at Kenya Police training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Derrick Otanga 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.
Match22 Apr 2028
It finished 2‑1, and it was Samuel Ayanrinde’s afternoon: on the scoresheet when it mattered, and the reason the points belong to Kenya Police.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Match1 Apr 2028
Hard to beat is not the same as winning, but 16 matches without defeat is a foundation Kenya Police did not have in the autumn.
Match1 Apr 2028
Kenya Police make home a hard place to visit
11 without defeat on their own grass. The pitch has not changed; the crowd has — louder earlier, and quicker to sense when the opposition would rather be somewhere else.
Market3 Apr 2028
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Kusi Nana Asante will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Kenya Police the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Squad3 Apr 2028
Tyshick Mosengo 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.
Squad3 Apr 2028
Words at Kenya Police training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Derrick Otanga 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.
Match1 Apr 2028
A 2‑1 win over Bidco United, earned rather than given, and the sort of afternoon that sends everyone home talking about next week instead of this one.
Player ratings3 Apr 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.
The dugout3 Apr 2028
It is not much of a headline and it is the reason players believe the next promise. Kenya Police told Hernest Malonga something would happen and then it happened, which in this industry passes for remarkable.
Player ratings3 Apr 2028
Nobody on the pitch touched Awesu Awesu
7.65, and no serious argument from anybody who was there. Kenya Police had eleven men on the pitch and one of them decided how it went.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Market27 Mar 2028
Alvin Mangeni has one foot out of the door
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Kenya Police they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
The dugout27 Mar 2028
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Kenya Police have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Market27 Mar 2028
“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.
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 Kenya Police this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad27 Mar 2028
Samuel Ayanrinde 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 dugout27 Mar 2028
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 Marvin Nabwire is on it.
Looking ahead27 Mar 2028
Every squad has one of these fixtures for somebody every season. This one is Brian Chonjo Otieno’s: the club that knew him first, the supporters who will decide in the first minute whether to applaud, and Kenya Police needing him to play as if none of it matters.
Market27 Mar 2028
The name of Marvin Nabwire keeps appearing in other people's back pages. Kenya Police say nothing, which says plenty.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad6 Dec 2027
“The easiest signature of my career.” Joash Onyango and Kenya Police agree another 2 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Squad6 Dec 2027
Marvin Nabwire 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.
Squad6 Dec 2027
Yves Koutiama 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.
Squad6 Dec 2027
Somebody has moved past him. It is not a dropping and it is worse than one, because a dropping is about a Saturday and this is about where he stands.
Boardroom6 Dec 2027
Wages eat 87% of everything Kenya Police 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.
Market6 Dec 2027
“I was told straight, and I would rather have it straight.” The manager at Kenya Police has been clear about where Brian Chonjo Otieno stands, which is more than many ever get.
The dugout6 Dec 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.
The dugout6 Dec 2027
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Hernest Malonga trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Boardroom6 Dec 2027
Kenya Police sign a deal worth $47.9K a year
Commercial news is the news nobody sings about and everything else is paid for with. The board will call it a partnership; the accountants will call it the difference between this squad and a smaller one.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market15 Nov 2027
Reuben Otieno has one foot out of the door
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Kenya Police they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Squad15 Nov 2027
Hernest Malonga 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.
Loan watch15 Nov 2027
The goals keep arriving from Ambrose Sifuna’s exile
16 goals in 34 games at Bidco United — numbers that travel home faster than he does. Somebody at Kenya Police updates a spreadsheet every Monday, and it makes better reading each week.
Squad15 Nov 2027
Yves Koutiama 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 dugout15 Nov 2027
The manager makes an example of Brian Okoth
“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.
The dugout15 Nov 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.
The dugout15 Nov 2027
Tobias Otieno 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 Tobias Otieno trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Market15 Nov 2027
The name of Moise Mbombo keeps appearing in other people's back pages. Kenya Police say nothing, which says plenty.
Squad15 Nov 2027
Job Ochieng: “I am not a substitute”
“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 Kenya Police will have to answer with minutes or with a transfer.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
The dugout11 Oct 2027
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Kenya Police may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Market11 Oct 2027
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Kenya Police is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Squad11 Oct 2027
Marvin Nabwire 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.
Squad11 Oct 2027
Hernest Malonga 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.
Boardroom11 Oct 2027
133% of the income goes out in wages at Kenya Police
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.
The dugout11 Oct 2027
Hernest Malonga 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.
The dugout11 Oct 2027
Baraka Badi 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 Baraka Badi is on it.
The dugout11 Oct 2027
“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.
Market11 Oct 2027
Every press conference now starts and ends the same way: with Tyshick Mosengo’s future. The manager has run out of new ways to say nothing.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Market27 Sep 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.
Squad27 Sep 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 Bidco United this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Match25 Sep 2027
Beaten 0‑1, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
The dugout27 Sep 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Marko Veselinović, and the manager let it.
The dugout27 Sep 2027
“We were not good enough today and I am not going to dress it up.” James Onyango after 0‑1, in the tone of a man who knows the next question and does not intend to answer it.
Squad27 Sep 2027
No place for Stephen Okola in the new shape
He is not being dropped. There is simply nowhere in the formation Bidco United are playing to put a man who does what he does, which is a harder thing to be told than any team sheet.
The dugout27 Sep 2027
A player who expected to start watched it instead. The manager will call it a decision for the team; Stephen Okola will call it something else in private.
The dugout27 Sep 2027
Steve Hoffman 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.
Player ratings27 Sep 2027
Successful dribbles: 12. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad20 Sep 2027
Marko Veselinović and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
The dugout20 Sep 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 ratings20 Sep 2027
Successful dribbles: 15. There was always a defender in front of him and there was never a defender in front of him for long.
Squad20 Sep 2027
Too much change too quickly at Bidco United
5 signings in three months. Every one of them may be an upgrade and the team can still be worse for a while, which is the part of a rebuild that never appears in the transfer-window verdicts.
Squad20 Sep 2027
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” James Omusinde and Bidco United agree another 3 years.
The dugout20 Sep 2027
The team sheet said everything about Said Tsuma
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 Said Tsuma.
Match18 Sep 2027
A 1‑1 draw with Posta Rangers leaves the dressing room somewhere between relief and regret.
The dugout20 Sep 2027
Simon Munala 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 Simon Munala is on it.
The dugout20 Sep 2027
“A point is a point and I will take it, but we should have had all three.” James Onyango after the 1‑1 draw, and the sentence every manager in the country said at some stage this weekend.