17 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Asante Kotoko lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Asante Kotoko can pretend not to have heard.
Edmund Adjei 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.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Saaka Dauda was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
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.
25 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Asante Kotoko lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Saaka Dauda was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
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 Saaka Dauda is on it.
Nothing in writing and nothing in public: a word about playing time, given face to face at Asante Kotoko. The team sheets over the next month will show whether it was worth having.
Asante Kotoko have let the market know Remember Adomako Boateng can be had. No price in the advert, but everyone in the trade knows roughly what it says.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Asante Kotoko can pretend not to have heard.
Edmund Adjei 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.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Saaka Dauda was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Nobody at Asante Kotoko 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 manager has re-ordered his thinking and Barnes Osei 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.
He asked about his future and was given an answer with minutes in it. The manager has now made a promise in a building where promises are remembered, and the clock on it has started.
3 months left, and both sides know what that means: every week without a signature, the fee Asante Kotoko could ask drops and the wages Ali Mohammed can ask rise.
In brief
The dugoutEdmund Addo asks for a word with the manager
BoardroomThe Asante Kotoko production line keeps running
Edmund Adjei 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.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Saaka Dauda was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Asante Kotoko have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
“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 Asante Kotoko, and it is not being withdrawn.
Edmund Adjei and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad19 Apr 2032
Words at Asante Kotoko training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Ishmael Addo 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.
Nobody at Asante Kotoko 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.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Carlos Yougouda trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Asante Kotoko they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Asante Kotoko this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad12 Apr 2032
Words at Asante Kotoko training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Saaka Dauda 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.
Nobody at Asante Kotoko 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.
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 Barnes Osei has written the date down.
Edmund Adjei 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 2032
Words at Asante Kotoko training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Saaka Dauda 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.
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 Edmund Adjei is on it.
“We keep meeting, and we keep leaving the room with the same numbers we walked in with.” Another round of talks at Asante Kotoko, another week without a signature from Ali Mohammed.
“The manager did not use many words, and he did not need to.” Kusi Nana Asante has his answer from Asante Kotoko; what he does with it is the next window’s story.
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 Adams Abdul Jabal has written the date down.
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.
Edmund Adjei 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.
Beaten 1‑2, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
Squad29 Mar 2032
Andrews Ntim 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 dugout29 Mar 2032
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 1‑2 Felix Owusu left the room before anybody could ask which.
Squad29 Mar 2032
6 new faces, and Asante Kotoko 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.
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 6 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
“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 Asante Kotoko, and it is not being withdrawn.
Edmund Adjei and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad22 Mar 2032
Words at Asante Kotoko training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Saaka Dauda 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.
Two sides from the top of the table, one afternoon, and a month of talk decided in ninety minutes. Asante Kotoko will not use the word title this week and will not stop thinking it.
Two goals and a mark of 8.82 to go with them. Strikers are judged on afternoons like this one and remembered for far fewer of them than people imagine.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Asante Kotoko is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Edmund Adjei 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.
Squad15 Mar 2032
Saaka Dauda 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.
Successful dribbles: 18. He went past people as if he had been told there was a prize for it, and by the end the full-back had stopped pretending to try.
“The easiest signature of my career.” Bright Gyamfi and Asante Kotoko agree another 1 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
2‑7 against Wa All Stars, and no complaints that would survive the replay. The manager spoke about character afterwards; the terraces used shorter words.
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the whole of the defence. 10 saves, several of them the kind nobody expects to see made, and ten outfield players who owe him a drink.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Emmanuel Boansi will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Asante Kotoko the goodbyes have quietly begun.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Asante Kotoko this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Defending was optional and nobody took up the option. 9 goals between Asante Kotoko and Wa All Stars, and not one of the people who paid to be there will ask for the money back.
Squad8 Mar 2032
Saaka Dauda 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.
Two goals and a mark of 9.01 to go with them. Strikers are judged on afternoons like this one and remembered for far fewer of them than people imagine.
Player ratings1 Mar 2032
A brace, and Amos Appiah takes the afternoon — 8.15
There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. Amos Appiah provided it, and the 8.15 beside his name is if anything generous to everybody else.
3 wins in a row changes how opponents warm up: quieter, more glances across. Runs end, everybody knows that — but nobody in this dressing room is planning for it.
6 goals. Both benches spent the second half looking at each other rather than at the pitch. Purists will complain about Asante Kotoko and Aduana Stars in equal measure; everybody else had a wonderful time.
Marked 9.39 — 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.
Squad1 Mar 2032
Words at Asante Kotoko training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Saaka Dauda 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.
In brief
Player ratingsNana Kwame was on a different afternoon to everybody else
Two goals and a mark of 8.85 to go with them. Strikers are judged on afternoons like this one and remembered for far fewer of them than people imagine.
Edmund Adjei 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.
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Edmund Adjei. 3‑1 against BA All Stars, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Saaka Dauda was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Emmanuel Ayew and Asante Kotoko agree another 3 years.
“The players deserve the credit. My job was easy today.” It was not, and everybody in the room knew it; after 3‑1, Felix Owusu could afford to be generous.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Asante Kotoko they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Edmund Adjei 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.
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Saaka Dauda. 4‑3 against Medeama, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
7 goals. Both benches spent the second half looking at each other rather than at the pitch. Purists will complain about Asante Kotoko and Medeama in equal measure; everybody else had a wonderful time.
Squad16 Feb 2032
Saaka Dauda 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.
“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 Asante Kotoko, and it is not being withdrawn.
The offer from BA All Stars for Robert Lartey was heard out and sent back the same day. First bids are rarely meant to succeed; they are meant to find out how loudly the door closes.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Asante Kotoko they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
He will play here until the summer and then walk out of the door for free, having already signed elsewhere. Supporters will manage the first part of that sentence; it is the second they will struggle with.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Asante Kotoko this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad9 Feb 2032
Words at Asante Kotoko training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Saaka Dauda 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.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Mamelodi Sundowns have kept their man, and Asante Kotoko go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
The last thing about a transfer that is still about the player is his signature on his own terms, and it is there. Asante Kotoko have lost him in all but the paperwork.
The clubs have shaken hands with Aduana Stars; the player has not yet. Personal terms are next, and personal terms are where more deals die than anybody prints.
4 wins in a row changes how opponents warm up: quieter, more glances across. Runs end, everybody knows that — but nobody in this dressing room is planning for it.
Edmund Adjei 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 shirt still fits. Carlos Yougouda is back at Asante Kotoko, and half the ground remembers him in these colours already. Some signings need selling to the town; this one sold itself.
Defending was optional and nobody took up the option. 6 goals between Asante Kotoko and Hasaacas, and not one of the people who paid to be there will ask for the money back.
“It was not right for me. I am not going to explain why to anybody except the people I owe an explanation to.” A deal agreed between two clubs, and a player who declined to be part of it.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Asante Kotoko can pretend not to have heard.
Everything agreed with Remo Stars, everything agreed with the player; a doctor is the only person left to persuade. The photograph is a day or two away.
3 wins on the spin now, and the question has changed from whether the run ends to who ends it. Confidence like this cannot be bought; it has to be earned exactly this way.
Edmund Adjei 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.
Every footballer has an answer to the question about his boyhood club, and most of them never get to act on it. Jeremiah Julius has, at Asante Kotoko, and the first month will show what that does to a man.
21 goals and a season average of 7.66. Form like that gets noticed well beyond this town.
Player ratings29 Dec 2031
A brace, and Edmund Adjei takes the afternoon — 8.99
There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. Edmund Adjei provided it, and the 8.99 beside his name is if anything generous to everybody else.
Position 3, 41 points, and the result everyone checks first is now theirs. The word is still not being said around the ground, which is how you know everyone is thinking it.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Jeffrey Boateng will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Asante Kotoko the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Edmund Adjei 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.
6 goals in one match, Edmund Adjei on the scoresheet, and a scoreline that will look like a misprint. Neutrals could not have asked more of Asante Kotoko and Inter Allies.
Successful dribbles: 21. There was always a defender in front of him and there was never a defender in front of him for long.
Squad29 Dec 2031
Saaka Dauda 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.
Edmund Adjei 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.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Basil Mphahlele was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
“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 dugout22 Dec 2031
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.” Felix Owusu, on a 3‑2 win that he was already picking apart on the walk to the press room.
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 Saaka Dauda is on it.
1 months left, and both sides know what that means: every week without a signature, the fee Asante Kotoko could ask drops and the wages Basil Mphahlele can ask rise.
In brief
SquadA Asante Kotoko teenager takes the young player award
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Asante Kotoko is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Asante Kotoko this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad15 Dec 2031
Saaka Dauda 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.
Successful dribbles: 16. He went past people as if he had been told there was a prize for it, and by the end the full-back had stopped pretending to try.
The dugout15 Dec 2031
The view from the dugout
“We will look at it, we will learn from it, and we go again.” The three sentences every manager keeps for a 0‑1 defeat, delivered by Felix Owusu to a room that had heard them before.
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.
3 wins on the spin now, and the question has changed from whether the run ends to who ends it. Confidence like this cannot be bought; it has to be earned exactly this way.
Words at Asante Kotoko training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Ishmael Addo 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.
Two sides from the top of the table, one afternoon, and a month of talk decided in ninety minutes. Asante Kotoko will not use the word title this week and will not stop thinking it.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Jeffrey Boateng will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Asante Kotoko the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Edmund Adjei 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.
6 goals. Both benches spent the second half looking at each other rather than at the pitch. Purists will complain about Asante Kotoko and Great Olympics in equal measure; everybody else had a wonderful time.
A 4‑2 win over Great Olympics, earned rather than given, and the sort of afternoon that sends everyone home talking about next week instead of this one.
A brace, and Edmund Adjei takes the afternoon — 9.20
There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. Edmund Adjei provided it, and the 9.20 beside his name is if anything generous to everybody else.
Edmund Adjei 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 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.
Successful dribbles: 15. He went past people as if he had been told there was a prize for it, and by the end the full-back had stopped pretending to try.
“We earned that. I asked them for a reaction and I got one, and now I want the same again on Saturday.” Felix Owusu on a 2‑1 afternoon that pleased him more than he was prepared to show.
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the whole of the defence. 7 saves, several of them the kind nobody expects to see made, and ten outfield players who owe him a drink.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Joseph Kudus will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Asante Kotoko the goodbyes have quietly begun.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Asante Kotoko this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
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 manager did not use many words, and he did not need to.” a squad player has his answer from Asante Kotoko; what he does with it is the next window’s story.
Nobody at Asante Kotoko 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 dugout17 Nov 2031
The manager’s verdict
“I am frustrated, honestly. We did enough to win and we did not win.” Felix Owusu was not hiding it after 0‑0, and nobody in the Asante Kotoko dressing room was either.
3 wins in a row changes how opponents warm up: quieter, more glances across. Runs end, everybody knows that — but nobody in this dressing room is planning for it.
6 goals in one match, Ernest Asamoah on the scoresheet, and a scoreline that will look like a misprint. Neutrals could not have asked more of Asante Kotoko and BA All Stars.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Saaka Dauda was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Position 3, 22 points, and the result everyone checks first is now theirs. The word is still not being said around the ground, which is how you know everyone is thinking it.
“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 Asante Kotoko, and it is not being withdrawn.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Asante Kotoko have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Asante Kotoko is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Edmund Adjei 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.
Defending was optional and nobody took up the option. 6 goals between Asante Kotoko and Medeama, and not one of the people who paid to be there will ask for the money back.
Ali Mohammed wins it after the whistle should have gone
90 minutes played. Ali Mohammed found the finish in time that only existed because of earlier delays, and WAFA went from a point to nothing inside one movement.
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 7 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Asante Kotoko can pretend not to have heard.
Player ratings27 Oct 2031
Up for the corner, and Ali Mohammed delivers — 7.78
Centre-halves are allowed forward twice a season and are judged on what they do when they get there. Ali Mohammed scored, was marked 7.78, and got back before anybody noticed he had gone.
Successful dribbles: 25. He went past people as if he had been told there was a prize for it, and by the end the full-back had stopped pretending to try.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Asante Kotoko is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Edmund Adjei 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.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Basil Mphahlele was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Every run ends on an afternoon somebody had marked down as routine. This one went 15 matches, which is long enough that a town had stopped counting, and short enough that it will remember exactly who stopped it.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Joseph Kudus will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Asante Kotoko the goodbyes have quietly begun.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Asante Kotoko this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Hearts of Oak left with the points after a 1‑3 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.
Squad20 Oct 2031
Words at Asante Kotoko training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Saaka Dauda 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.
“We were not good enough today and I am not going to dress it up.” Felix Owusu after 1‑3, in the tone of a man who knows the next question and does not intend to answer it.
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.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Asante Kotoko can pretend not to have heard.
3 wins on the spin now, and the question has changed from whether the run ends to who ends it. Confidence like this cannot be bought; it has to be earned exactly this way.
Successful dribbles: 21. 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.
Squad13 Oct 2031
Saaka Dauda 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.
Hard to beat is not the same as winning, but 14 matches without defeat is a foundation Asante Kotoko did not have in the autumn.
Player ratings6 Oct 2031
A brace, and Afriyie Djiku takes the afternoon — 9.62
There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. Afriyie Djiku provided it, and the 9.62 beside his name is if anything generous to everybody else.
Two goals and a mark of 8.43 to go with them. Strikers are judged on afternoons like this one and remembered for far fewer of them than people imagine.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Asante Kotoko they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Edmund Adjei 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.
Two goals and a mark of 9.00 to go with them. Strikers are judged on afternoons like this one and remembered for far fewer of them than people imagine.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Asante Kotoko they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Edmund Adjei 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 Sep 2031
Words at Asante Kotoko training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Saaka Dauda 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.
A point taken on 87 minutes is worth exactly one point and considerably more than that to a dressing room. This side does not stop, which is a reputation worth more than the result.
The first defeat in 4 matches. The manager will say it had to come; the dressing room will say it did not have to come against Berekum Chelsea; the supporters will say both, in that order, all week.
4 wins in a row changes how opponents warm up: quieter, more glances across. Runs end, everybody knows that — but nobody in this dressing room is planning for it.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Asante Kotoko they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Asante Kotoko this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Marked 9.60. Players have careers without a single afternoon like this in them, and he has just had one in front of everybody at Asante Kotoko.
Squad22 Sep 2031
Words at Asante Kotoko training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Saaka Dauda 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.
8 home matches unbeaten. Visiting sides arrive already talking about the atmosphere, which is usually the sign that they have half-lost before kickoff.
In brief
Player ratingsSaaka Dauda was on a different afternoon to everybody else
Two goals and a mark of 9.09 to go with them. Strikers are judged on afternoons like this one and remembered for far fewer of them than people imagine.
Asante Kotoko moved before anybody else could: a new deal for Felix Owusu, agreed quietly and announced loudly. Boards extend managers for many reasons; the good one is the one this looks like.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Asante Kotoko they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
“The easiest signature of my career.” a squad player and Asante Kotoko agree another 3 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Edmund Adjei 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.
Boardroom8 Sep 2031
14 academy players handed senior numbers at Asante Kotoko
The morning the pathway stops being a brochure and becomes a team sheet. Most of them will not be here in three years; all of them have already done the hard part, which was getting to today.
Fee agreed, wages agreed, and Aduana Stars waiting with a shirt. Nobody at Asante Kotoko is pretending otherwise, and the supporters have stopped asking whether and started asking when.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Dari Haruna will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Asante Kotoko the goodbyes have quietly begun.
The deadline has passed and the squad is the squad. 15 arrived, 24 left, and everything else printed about this club last month was a rumour that stayed one.
Edmund Adjei 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.
At 24 the improving is meant to be over. It is not: 5 points better than the mark taken at the start of the year, which is the sort of thing that happens to players who take the boring parts of the job seriously.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Saaka Dauda was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Hapoel Beer Sheva have kept their man, and Asante Kotoko go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Asante Kotoko have made the call to Hapoel Beer Sheva. No fee, a share of the wages, and a spare shirt in the position where the squad has been thinnest all season.
The last thing about a transfer that is still about the player is his signature on his own terms, and it is there. Asante Kotoko have lost him in all but the paperwork.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Asante Kotoko this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad25 Aug 2031
Words at Asante Kotoko training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Basil Mphahlele 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.
Asante Kotoko asked and Mamelodi Sundowns said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
“The easiest signature of my career.” Desmond Obeng and Asante Kotoko agree another 3 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Hapoel Beer Sheva 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.
Asante Kotoko have made the call to Aduana Stars. No fee, a share of the wages, and a spare shirt in the position where the squad has been thinnest all season.
Nobody at Asante Kotoko 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.
“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 Asante Kotoko, and it is not being withdrawn.
Position 2, 70 points, and the result everyone checks first is now theirs. The word is still not being said around the ground, which is how you know everyone is thinking it.
A medical, a signature, a shirt held up in front of a sponsor’s board. Asante Kotoko have done the hard part with Hapoel Beer Sheva, and the part that remains is the part supporters actually see.
The name of Don-Pedro Samuel has come up in conversations Asante Kotoko were not part of. Nothing formal, nothing signed — but nothing about it accidental either.
Squad18 Aug 2031
Words at Asante Kotoko training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Saaka Dauda 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.
Asante Kotoko asked and Maccabi Tel Aviv said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
Careers are supposed to plateau and then decline, and the players who ignore that are always the ones who were listening on the training ground. 3 points of it, over months, at an age where the direction normally only goes one way.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Jeffrey Boateng will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Asante Kotoko the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Not a run of form — an actual step up, held for months. At 18 he is doing things at this level he could not do at the start of the season, and the coaching staff will tell you exactly which of them.
Edmund Adjei 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.
$76.0K was the most the club would pay and Inter Allies were asking for more. Deals like this are revived in the last week of a window roughly half the time, and everybody involved knows it.
Careers are supposed to plateau and then decline, and the players who ignore that are always the ones who were listening on the training ground. 3 points of it, over months, at an age where the direction normally only goes one way.
Squad11 Aug 2031
Words at Asante Kotoko training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Saaka Dauda 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.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Al Ahly have kept their man, and Asante Kotoko go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Everyone has stopped pretending: Ashanti Gold will make the call about Dari Haruna this week. Asante Kotoko have a number in mind, and the number is not shy.
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 Edmund Adjei is on it.
The last thing about a transfer that is still about the player is his signature on his own terms, and it is there. Asante Kotoko have lost him in all but the paperwork.
The offer from Paradou for Don-Pedro Samuel was heard out and sent back the same day. First bids are rarely meant to succeed; they are meant to find out how loudly the door closes.
Everything agreed with Mamelodi Sundowns, everything agreed with the player; a doctor is the only person left to persuade. The photograph is a day or two away.
Terms were offered and declined. Whether it was the wages, the role or the town, nobody at Al Ahly is saying, and nobody at Asante Kotoko is enjoying the guessing.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Asante Kotoko this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Saaka Dauda was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
“The manager did not use many words, and he did not need to.” Basil Mphahlele has his answer from Asante Kotoko; what he does with it is the next window’s story.
Asante Kotoko have made the call to Al Ahly. No fee, a share of the wages, and a spare shirt in the position where the squad has been thinnest all season.
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 Saaka Dauda is on it.
The last thing about a transfer that is still about the player is his signature on his own terms, and it is there. Asante Kotoko have lost him in all but the paperwork.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Asante Kotoko they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
The deal with Al Ahly 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.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Saaka Dauda was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
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.
Done, and with games to spare. Next season has floodlit nights against clubs from other countries in it, and the accounts have a line they did not have last year.
The last thing about a transfer that is still about the player is his signature on his own terms, and it is there. Asante Kotoko have lost him in all but the paperwork.
There are footballers who have a good season and footballers a season is remembered for, and the second kind get their names read out in a hall in the summer. Asante Kotoko will be quietly delighted and privately nervous.
Ishmael Addo 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.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Saaka Dauda was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Maccabi Tel Aviv have kept their man, and Asante Kotoko go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
“The easiest signature of my career.” Jeffrey Boateng and Asante Kotoko agree another 3 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
In brief
Transfer targetsA loan move for Alex Opoku Sarfo is in the works
Qualification is secured, and next season the big floodlit nights are continental ones. For the players it is a stage; for the accounts it is a lifeline; for the supporters it is passports.
The last thing about a transfer that is still about the player is his signature on his own terms, and it is there. Asante Kotoko have lost him in all but the paperwork.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Asante Kotoko can pretend not to have heard.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Asante Kotoko they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
A medical, a signature, a shirt held up in front of a sponsor’s board. Asante Kotoko have done the hard part with Mamelodi Sundowns, and the part that remains is the part supporters actually see.
Edmund Adjei and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad30 Jun 2031
Words at Asante Kotoko training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Saaka Dauda 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.
Asante Kotoko asked and Maccabi Tel Aviv said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
In brief
Transfer targetsA loan move for Lawrence Ofori is in the works
The clubs have settled the fee and he has settled his wages. What remains is a medical and a photograph, and around Asante Kotoko people have started saying his name in the past tense.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Asante Kotoko can pretend not to have heard.
Everything agreed with Mamelodi Sundowns, everything agreed with the player; a doctor is the only person left to persuade. The photograph is a day or two away.
Edmund Adjei 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 shirt still fits. Godfred Asiamah is back at Asante Kotoko, and half the ground remembers him in these colours already. Some signings need selling to the town; this one sold itself.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Saaka Dauda was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Asante Kotoko asked and Mamelodi Sundowns said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
“I was told straight, and I would rather have it straight.” The manager at Asante Kotoko has been clear about where Mohammed Hussein stands, which is more than many ever get.
Maccabi Tel Aviv 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.
“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 Asante Kotoko, and it is not being withdrawn.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Dari Haruna will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Asante Kotoko the goodbyes have quietly begun.
The paperwork is done long before the player is. Sandile Khumalo has agreed terms to come here when his current deal runs out, which means Asante Kotoko have spent a summer's transfer budget on a phone call.
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.
Asante Kotoko asked and Al Ahly said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
Asante Kotoko have made the call to Al Ahly. No fee, a share of the wages, and a spare shirt in the position where the squad has been thinnest all season.
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.
Position 2, 70 points, and the result everyone checks first is now theirs. The word is still not being said around the ground, which is how you know everyone is thinking it.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Asante Kotoko they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Asante Kotoko this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Saaka Dauda was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Fathy Marwan and Asante Kotoko agree another 4 years.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Asante Kotoko have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Asante Kotoko they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Ishmael Addo 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.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Saaka Dauda was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Nobody at Asante Kotoko 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.
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 a squad player has written the date down.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Asante Kotoko is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Saaka Dauda was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
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 Saaka Dauda is on it.
The manager has re-ordered his thinking and Adams Abdul Jabal 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.
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Asante Kotoko know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Asante Kotoko they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Asante Kotoko have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
“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 Asante Kotoko, and it is not being withdrawn.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Asante Kotoko this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad28 Apr 2031
Saaka Dauda 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.
Nobody at Asante Kotoko 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.
Barnes Osei is 36 and has run out of things to prove. What he has left is where to stand, when to slow it down and what to say at half-time, and none of that is on a fitness chart.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Asante Kotoko they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Edmund Adjei 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 easiest signature of my career.” Adams Abdul Jabal and Asante Kotoko agree another 3 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Squad14 Apr 2031
Saaka Dauda 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.
6 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.
Nobody at Asante Kotoko 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.
“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 Asante Kotoko, and it is not being withdrawn.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Asante Kotoko is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Edmund Adjei and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad7 Apr 2031
Words at Asante Kotoko training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Saaka Dauda 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.
Four weeks in which nobody in the division did his job better. The award goes on a shelf and the player goes back into the side, which is the order Asante Kotoko prefer.
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.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Mohammed Hussein trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
The last league game has been played and the table has stopped moving: 70 points. The summer begins on Monday, and so does the argument about what it all meant.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Asante Kotoko is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Asante Kotoko have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Asante Kotoko this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Asante Kotoko they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Amos Appiah 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.
There is a version of every career where the player ends up somewhere he chose rather than somewhere that chose him. Sadiq Ali is living that version at Asante Kotoko, and it tends to show in the first month.
Squad24 Mar 2031
Saaka Dauda 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.
Hearts of Oak will keep picking him until June and will get nothing for him after it. George Ayine has pre-agreed a move to Asante Kotoko, and the only people who lose in that arrangement are the ones who let the contract run down.
Great Olympics will want this one forgotten quickly: 3‑0, every duel lost, and a long ride home. Asante Kotoko were ruthless in the way good sides are ruthless.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Asante Kotoko have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Carlos Yougouda will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Asante Kotoko the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Edmund Adjei 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.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and a squad player was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
In brief
Player ratingsSaaka Dauda was on a different afternoon to everybody else
Edmund Adjei had done his part in building a 2-goal cushion. What happened after that was collective, and Wa All Stars were allowed back into a match that had been finished with.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Asante Kotoko they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Edmund Adjei and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad10 Mar 2031
Words at Asante Kotoko training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Yvann Konan 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.
Two goals and a mark of 9.54 to go with them. Strikers are judged on afternoons like this one and remembered for far fewer of them than people imagine.
Position 2, 62 points, and the result everyone checks first is now theirs. The word is still not being said around the ground, which is how you know everyone is thinking it.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Asante Kotoko is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Asante Kotoko this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Marked 9.43. Players have careers without a single afternoon like this in them, and he has just had one in front of everybody at Asante Kotoko.
Squad3 Mar 2031
Words at Asante Kotoko training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Yvann Konan 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.
Two goals and a mark of 9.65 to go with them. Strikers are judged on afternoons like this one and remembered for far fewer of them than people imagine.
“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 Asante Kotoko, and it is not being withdrawn.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Asante Kotoko they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Edmund Adjei 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.
6 goals. Both benches spent the second half looking at each other rather than at the pitch. Purists will complain about Asante Kotoko and BA All Stars in equal measure; everybody else had a wonderful time.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and a squad player was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
In brief
Player ratingsNinety minutes of Saaka Dauda at his very best
Everything was agreed until it was not, and Mohammed Hussein reports back to Asante Kotoko with a summer to forget. Neither club is saying who walked away from the table.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Asante Kotoko is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Saaka Dauda. 3‑2 against WAFA, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
8 goals and a season average of 7.44. Form like that gets noticed well beyond this town.
Squad10 Feb 2031
Yvann Konan 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.
Two goals and a mark of 8.16 to go with them. Strikers are judged on afternoons like this one and remembered for far fewer of them than people imagine.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Abdul Karim will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Asante Kotoko the goodbyes have quietly begun.
4 wins on the spin now, and the question has changed from whether the run ends to who ends it. Confidence like this cannot be bought; it has to be earned exactly this way.
Edmund Adjei 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 ratings30 Dec 2030
Saaka Dauda was on a different afternoon to everybody else
9.26. There are performances a supporter describes to somebody who was not there and cannot quite convey; this was one, and the number does not help either.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Yvann Konan was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Asante Kotoko is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
“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 Asante Kotoko, and it is not being withdrawn.
3 wins in a row changes how opponents warm up: quieter, more glances across. Runs end, everybody knows that — but nobody in this dressing room is planning for it.
Ishmael Addo 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.
Player ratings23 Dec 2030
Edmund Adjei was on a different afternoon to everybody else
9.69. There are performances a supporter describes to somebody who was not there and cannot quite convey; this was one, and the number does not help either.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Ifeagwu Ojukwu will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Asante Kotoko the goodbyes have quietly begun.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Asante Kotoko this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
7 goals. Both benches spent the second half looking at each other rather than at the pitch. Purists will complain about Asante Kotoko and Liberty Professionals in equal measure; everybody else had a wonderful time.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Asante Kotoko is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Edmund Adjei 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.
Squad25 Nov 2030
Yvann Konan 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.
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 23-year-old it feels ownership of. Amos Appiah has it now, and everything he does for the rest of his time here will be measured against the goodwill he was handed for free.
Successful dribbles: 19. 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.
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.
Successful dribbles: 20. There was always a defender in front of him and there was never a defender in front of him for long.
Squad18 Nov 2030
Yvann Konan 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.
Player ratings18 Nov 2030
Adam Boufandar was on a different afternoon to everybody else
8.07. There are performances a supporter describes to somebody who was not there and cannot quite convey; this was one, and the number does not help either.
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Yussif Moro Owusu and Asante Kotoko agree another 3 years.
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.
“It is not the end of the world and it is not good enough. Both of those are true.” The manager, after a 1‑1 draw, said the honest thing and then went to say it again inside.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Ifeagwu Ojukwu will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Asante Kotoko the goodbyes have quietly begun.
3 wins on the spin now, and the question has changed from whether the run ends to who ends it. Confidence like this cannot be bought; it has to be earned exactly this way.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Asante Kotoko this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Defending was optional and nobody took up the option. 8 goals between Asante Kotoko and BA All Stars, and not one of the people who paid to be there will ask for the money back.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and a squad player was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
In brief
Player ratingsPhilip Amoh was on a different afternoon to everybody else
Medeama will want this one forgotten quickly: 6‑3, every duel lost, and a long ride home. Asante Kotoko were ruthless in the way good sides are ruthless.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Asante Kotoko is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Marked 10.00 — 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.
Ishmael Addo 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.
9 goals in one match, Edmund Adjei on the scoresheet, and a scoreline that will look like a misprint. Neutrals could not have asked more of Asante Kotoko and Medeama.
In brief
SquadYvann Konan falls out with a teammate over standards
At 23 he is doing things this season that he could not do last season, and doing them every week. Form comes and goes; this has stayed long enough to be called something else.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Asante Kotoko is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Edmund Adjei 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.
Squad14 Oct 2030
Yvann Konan 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 manager did not use many words, and he did not need to.” Nana Welbeck has his answer from Asante Kotoko; what he does with it is the next window’s story.
Two goals and a mark of 9.44 to go with them. Strikers are judged on afternoons like this one and remembered for far fewer of them than people imagine.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Asante Kotoko they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Edmund Adjei 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.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and a squad player was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Marked 9.14 — 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.
3 goals before the ground had finished arriving. New Edubiase United spent the rest of the afternoon playing a match that had already been decided, and everybody in the stadium knew it.
Inter Allies will want this one forgotten quickly: 3‑0, every duel lost, and a long ride home. Asante Kotoko were ruthless in the way good sides are ruthless.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Asante Kotoko have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Asante Kotoko can pretend not to have heard.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Asante Kotoko is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
At 23 he is doing things this season that he could not do last season, and doing them every week. Form comes and goes; this has stayed long enough to be called something else.
At 30 the improving is meant to be over. It is not: 3 points better than the mark taken at the start of the year, which is the sort of thing that happens to players who take the boring parts of the job seriously.
Squad16 Sep 2030
Words at Asante Kotoko training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Yvann Konan 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.
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 23-year-old it feels ownership of. Ishmael Addo has it now, and everything he does for the rest of his time here will be measured against the goodwill he was handed for free.
Position 3, 64 points, and the result everyone checks first is now theirs. The word is still not being said around the ground, which is how you know everyone is thinking it.
At 23 he is doing things this season that he could not do last season, and doing them every week. Form comes and goes; this has stayed long enough to be called something else.
Edmund Adjei 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 shirt still fits. Nana Welbeck is back at Asante Kotoko, and half the ground remembers him in these colours already. Some signings need selling to the town; this one sold itself.
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.
Asante Kotoko have made the call to DAC Dunajska Streda. No fee, a share of the wages, and a spare shirt in the position where the squad has been thinnest all season.
The last thing about a transfer that is still about the player is his signature on his own terms, and it is there. Asante Kotoko have lost him in all but the paperwork.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Asante Kotoko is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Not a run of form — an actual step up, held for months. At 23 he is doing things at this level he could not do at the start of the season, and the coaching staff will tell you exactly which of them.
The deal with Maccabi Tel Aviv 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.
He will play here until the summer and then walk out of the door for free, having already signed elsewhere. Supporters will manage the first part of that sentence; it is the second they will struggle with.
Edmund Adjei 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.
At 30 the improving is meant to be over. It is not: 3 points better than the mark taken at the start of the year, which is the sort of thing that happens to players who take the boring parts of the job seriously.
The interest is real enough to have reached print. Asante Kotoko have said nothing, which in a transfer window is its own kind of answer.
Squad19 Aug 2030
Words at Asante Kotoko training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. a squad player 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 words a physio says slowly. 15 days is what the club will announce and everybody who has heard this diagnosis before knows the number is the least of it: the knee comes back before the player does.
Fee agreed, wages agreed, and Great Olympics waiting with a shirt. Nobody at Asante Kotoko is pretending otherwise, and the supporters have stopped asking whether and started asking when.
“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 Asante Kotoko, and it is not being withdrawn.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Ifeagwu Ojukwu will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Asante Kotoko the goodbyes have quietly begun.
The clubs had agreed and the player had not. A snub, and a public one: Al Ahly keep him, and the supporters here are left wondering what he had heard about the place.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Amos Appiah was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Ishmael Addo 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.
Nobody at Asante Kotoko 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.