Marked for Ibrahim Yahaya
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Match11 Sep 2027
The wait goes on for Barau
8 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.
Market13 Sep 2027
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Barau can pretend not to have heard.
Player ratings13 Sep 2027
Successful dribbles: 27. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Squad13 Sep 2027
“I was told what my role would be, and I signed on that basis. It has not happened.” A grievance with a date attached is the hardest kind to settle.
Squad13 Sep 2027
Tempers go at Barau
Matthew Etim 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.
Squad13 Sep 2027
The manager makes an example of Ibrahim Yahaya
“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.
Squad13 Sep 2027
A player who expected to start watched it instead. The manager will call it a decision for the team; Chisom Chiaha will call it something else in private.
Market13 Sep 2027
He is 17, and nobody at Barau signed him for this season. Deals like this are judged in four years, by people who may not still be in the building.
Match11 Sep 2027
Nil-nil, and few chances worth the name. Warri Wolves came to defend and left with exactly what they came for.
Back issues
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market30 Aug 2027
“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.
Player ratings30 Aug 2027
Successful dribbles: 29. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Match28 Aug 2027
6 matches without a win for Barau
The run now stands at 6, and the questions being asked around Barau are no longer polite ones.
Squad30 Aug 2027
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Barau this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Market30 Aug 2027
Both sides expect a conversation in the coming days. Barau will name a price, and everything after that is arithmetic.
Squad30 Aug 2027
11 clean sheets and counting. Strikers leave this ground muttering his name, which is exactly how a goalkeeper measures a good season.
Squad30 Aug 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Godwin Akpo, and the manager let it.
Squad30 Aug 2027
Hilary Ekawu 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 Barau, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Player ratings30 Aug 2027
Shots: 11, not one of them in. A centre forward is paid for one thing, and on this evidence he has forgotten which thing it is.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market19 Jul 2027
Aliyu Sugau hands in a written request
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Barau can pretend not to have heard.
Market19 Jul 2027
The offer was not close and it was refused without much discussion. Whether the second one is refused as quickly is another matter.
Squad19 Jul 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 Barau this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Market19 Jul 2027
Both sides expect a conversation in the coming days. Barau will name a price, and everything after that is arithmetic.
Player ratings19 Jul 2027
Marked 8.87 — 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.
Match17 Jul 2027
A 1‑0 win over Bendel Insurance, earned rather than given, and the sort of afternoon that sends everyone home talking about next week instead of this one.
Player ratings19 Jul 2027
Defensive actions: 17. He was first to everything and second to nothing, and the goalkeeper had an easy day because of it.
Player ratings19 Jul 2027
Successful dribbles: 16. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Squad19 Jul 2027
9 clean sheets and counting. Strikers leave this ground muttering his name, which is exactly how a goalkeeper measures a good season.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market12 Jul 2027
“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 Barau, and it is not being withdrawn.
Match10 Jul 2027
No end in sight to Barau's wait for a win
7 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Barau has to find a result from somewhere.
Market12 Jul 2027
Barau say no — this time
The offer from Ikorodu City for Henry Ezeonye 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.
Squad12 Jul 2027
Tempers go at Barau
Ibrahim Yahaya 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 ratings12 Jul 2027
Successful dribbles: 19. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Player ratings12 Jul 2027
Marked 8.70 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.
Player ratings12 Jul 2027
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.64, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Market12 Jul 2027
The interest is real enough to have reached print. Barau have said nothing, which in a transfer window is its own kind of answer.
Squad12 Jul 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Usman Maidubuji, and the manager let it.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market21 Jun 2027
“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 Barau, and it is not being withdrawn.
Market21 Jun 2027
The bid was some way short and Barau did not need long over it. Nobody in the game reads a first refusal as the end of anything.
Match19 Jun 2027
4 matches without a win for Barau
The run now stands at 4, and the questions being asked around Barau are no longer polite ones.
Player ratings21 Jun 2027
Successful dribbles: 23. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Squad21 Jun 2027
Tempers go at Barau
Aliyu Sugau 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.
Market21 Jun 2027
Both sides expect a conversation in the coming days. Barau will name a price, and everything after that is arithmetic.
Match19 Jun 2027
A 1‑1 draw with Niger Tornadoes leaves the dressing room somewhere between relief and regret.
Squad21 Jun 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.
Squad21 Jun 2027
Aliyu Sugau 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 Aliyu Sugau trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market14 Jun 2027
“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 Barau, and it is not being withdrawn.
Market14 Jun 2027
The offer was not close and it was refused without much discussion. Whether the second one is refused as quickly is another matter.
Market14 Jun 2027
Add another name to the list: Katsina United have asked the question everybody in the game has been asking about Abdulmajid Aminu. The answer from Barau has not changed — yet.
Squad14 Jun 2027
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Barau may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Squad14 Jun 2027
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Barau this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Match12 Jun 2027
Beaten 1‑3, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
Squad14 Jun 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Chisom Chiaha, and the manager let it.
Player ratings14 Jun 2027
A performance of 8.39 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Squad14 Jun 2027
Aliyu Sugau asks for a word with the manager
“I would rather say it to his face than read about it.” The meeting was requested by the player, which tells you most of what you need to know.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market31 May 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.
Squad31 May 2027
There were 7 saves in it, and at least three that had no business being saves at all. The ten outfield players owe him a drink and they know it.
Player ratings31 May 2027
Successful dribbles: 22. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Squad31 May 2027
Tempers go at Barau
Ibrahim Yahaya 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 ratings31 May 2027
Defensive actions: 21. He was first to everything and second to nothing, and the goalkeeper had an easy day because of it.
Loan watch31 May 2027
“I did not go to Urartu to sit and watch. I want to come back to Barau and fight for my place.” 2 appearances in 17 matches say the rest.
Player ratings31 May 2027
Some games turn on a moment; this one turned on a man. 7.74 on the card, and the Barau support went home talking about one name.
Squad31 May 2027
8 shut-outs and counting. Goalkeepers are only noticed when they fail, and Chisom Chiaha has given nobody the chance.
Squad31 May 2027
The manager makes an example of Godwin Akpo
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad10 May 2027
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 8 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
Market10 May 2027
“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 Barau, and it is not being withdrawn.
Market10 May 2027
Henry Ezeonye has one foot out of the door
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Barau they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Squad10 May 2027
Tempers go at Barau
Aliyu Sugau was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Match8 May 2027
It finished 2‑1, and it was Ibrahim Yahaya’s afternoon: on the scoresheet when it mattered, and the reason the points belong to Barau.
Player ratings10 May 2027
Marked 8.90 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.
Player ratings10 May 2027
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.10, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Player ratings10 May 2027
Successful dribbles: 16. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Loan watch10 May 2027
“I am grateful for the games, but I did not become a footballer to be somebody else's spare part.” He wants to be at Barau, and 6 appearances in 15 say he has earned the hearing.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match24 Apr 2027
The wait goes on for Barau
10 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.
Market26 Apr 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.
Squad26 Apr 2027
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.
Player ratings26 Apr 2027
Successful dribbles: 23. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Squad26 Apr 2027
Tempers go at Barau
Uzochukwu Ezeobi 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.
Match24 Apr 2027
Beaten 0‑2, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
Squad26 Apr 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Bismark Duah, and the manager let it.
Player ratings26 Apr 2027
Shots: 5. Goals: none. The chances were there and they were good ones, and they went into the stand, the goalkeeper's arms and the side netting in roughly that order.
Player ratings26 Apr 2027
Shots: 10, enough of them from close enough that a striker in form scores two. He is not a striker in form.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Match17 Apr 2027
No end in sight to Barau's wait for a win
9 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Barau has to find a result from somewhere.
Market19 Apr 2027
“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 Barau, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad19 Apr 2027
“I was told what my role would be, and I signed on that basis. It has not happened.” A grievance with a date attached is the hardest kind to settle.
Squad19 Apr 2027
Tempers go at Barau
Aliyu Sugau 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.
Match17 Apr 2027
Whatever happens, Barau do not lose
6 games unbeaten now. Some were earned and some were survived, but a habit is forming — and habits are the hardest thing in football to play against.
Player ratings19 Apr 2027
Successful dribbles: 19. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Player ratings19 Apr 2027
A performance of 8.63 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Player ratings19 Apr 2027
A performance of 8.21 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Squad19 Apr 2027
An error at the back is a moment; an error in goal is a goal. Chisom Chiaha knows it, the crowd knew it instantly, and there was nobody behind him to make it anything else.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market12 Apr 2027
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Barau can pretend not to have heard.
Match10 Apr 2027
The wait goes on for Barau
8 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.
Market12 Apr 2027
Henry Ezeonye has one foot out of the door
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Barau they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Player ratings12 Apr 2027
Successful dribbles: 25. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Squad12 Apr 2027
Tempers go at Barau
Ibrahim Yahaya 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.
Squad12 Apr 2027
The manager makes an example of Jimmy Ambrose
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
Player ratings12 Apr 2027
Defensive actions: 14. He was first to everything and second to nothing, and the goalkeeper had an easy day because of it.
Player ratings12 Apr 2027
Defensive actions: 14. He was first to everything and second to nothing, and the goalkeeper had an easy day because of it.
Squad12 Apr 2027
Getting past Chisom Chiaha has become the hardest job in the division
6 clean sheets and counting. Forwards used to back themselves here; now they shoot early, shoot wide, and look for somebody to blame.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market5 Apr 2027
“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 Barau, and it is not being withdrawn.
Player ratings5 Apr 2027
Successful dribbles: 32. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Match3 Apr 2027
7 matches without a win for Barau
The run now stands at 7, and the questions being asked around Barau are no longer polite ones.
Squad5 Apr 2027
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Barau this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad5 Apr 2027
35 days, the medical staff say, and medical staff are optimists by profession. The team sheet will look wrong without him.
Loan watch5 Apr 2027
“I am grateful for the games, but I did not become a footballer to be somebody else's spare part.” He wants to be at Barau, and 0 appearances in 9 say he has earned the hearing.
Squad5 Apr 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Muh’d Muh’d Umar, and the manager let it.
Squad5 Apr 2027
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Barau, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Player ratings5 Apr 2027
Shots: 9. Goals: none. The chances were there and they were good ones, and they went into the stand, the goalkeeper's arms and the side netting in roughly that order.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad29 Mar 2027
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.
Match27 Mar 2027
6 matches without a win for Barau
The run now stands at 6, and the questions being asked around Barau are no longer polite ones.
Squad29 Mar 2027
Aliyu Sugau 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 Barau this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad29 Mar 2027
Aliyu Sugau gets it from the manager
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
Player ratings29 Mar 2027
Marked 8.52 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.
Player ratings29 Mar 2027
Successful dribbles: 18. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Loan watch29 Mar 2027
“I did not go to Urartu to sit and watch. I want to come back to Barau and fight for my place.” 3 appearances in 9 matches say the rest.
Match27 Mar 2027
It needed Ibrahim Yahaya to find the net to bring anything home at all: 1‑1 against Ikorodu City, and half the dressing room will call it a point won.
Squad29 Mar 2027
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Usman Maidubuji trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Player ratings22 Mar 2027
Successful dribbles: 34. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Market22 Mar 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.
Squad22 Mar 2027
There were 7 saves in it, and at least three that had no business being saves at all. The ten outfield players owe him a drink and they know it.
Match20 Mar 2027
No end in sight to Barau's wait for a win
5 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Barau has to find a result from somewhere.
Squad22 Mar 2027
Mpho Khethang: 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.” Barau have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Squad22 Mar 2027
Tempers go at Barau
Uzochukwu Ezeobi was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Player ratings22 Mar 2027
A performance of 8.61 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Squad22 Mar 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Abdulmajid Aminu, and the manager let it.
Match20 Mar 2027
It finished 1‑1, and it somehow always looked like it would. One of those afternoons where the table moves less than the tempers.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Market8 Mar 2027
“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 Barau, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad8 Mar 2027
“I was told what my role would be, and I signed on that basis. It has not happened.” A grievance with a date attached is the hardest kind to settle.
Squad8 Mar 2027
Tempers go at Barau
Aliyu Sugau 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.
Match6 Mar 2027
1‑2 to Bendel Insurance, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.
Player ratings8 Mar 2027
Marked 8.96 — 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.
Squad8 Mar 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Chisom Chiaha, and the manager let it.
Squad8 Mar 2027
An error at the back is a moment; an error in goal is a goal. Chisom Chiaha knows it, the crowd knew it instantly, and there was nobody behind him to make it anything else.
Loan watch8 Mar 2027
“I watch every Barau game from here. That says everything about where my head is.” The loan at Urartu runs its course, but his heart never made the trip.
Player ratings8 Mar 2027
Successful dribbles: 15. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Player ratings22 Feb 2027
Successful dribbles: 27. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Squad22 Feb 2027
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.
Squad22 Feb 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 Barau this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Player ratings22 Feb 2027
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.67, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Squad22 Feb 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Uzochukwu Ezeobi, and the manager let it.
Match20 Feb 2027
It needed Ibrahim Yahaya to find the net to bring anything home at all: 1‑1 against Plateau United, and half the dressing room will call it a point won.
Squad22 Feb 2027
The first one is the one every signing is asked about until it arrives. It has arrived, and he can stop being asked.
Market22 Feb 2027
Every press conference now starts and ends the same way: with Abdulmajid Aminu’s future. The manager has run out of new ways to say nothing.
Player ratings22 Feb 2027
5.63 on the card. Some afternoons a footballer looks like a man who has only just been introduced to the game, and this was one of them.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad15 Feb 2027
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Barau may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Market15 Feb 2027
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Barau is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Squad15 Feb 2027
Tempers go at Barau
Ibrahim Yahaya 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 ratings15 Feb 2027
A performance of 8.86 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Match13 Feb 2027
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Joseph Atule. 1‑0 against Wikki Tourists, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
Player ratings15 Feb 2027
Successful dribbles: 18. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Player ratings15 Feb 2027
Marked 8.21 — 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.
Squad15 Feb 2027
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
Player ratings15 Feb 2027
Defensive actions: 17, and a clean sheet at the end of it. A centre-half's best afternoons look like nothing happening, which is precisely the point.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market11 Jan 2027
Barau say no — this time
The offer from Kun Khalifat for Abdulmajid Aminu 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.
Squad11 Jan 2027
Yusuf Umar: 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.” Barau have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Market11 Jan 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.
Match9 Jan 2027
No end in sight to Barau's wait for a win
4 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Barau has to find a result from somewhere.
Squad11 Jan 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 Barau this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Match9 Jan 2027
Whatever happens, Barau do not lose
6 games unbeaten now. Some were earned and some were survived, but a habit is forming — and habits are the hardest thing in football to play against.
Player ratings11 Jan 2027
Marked 8.70 — 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.
Squad11 Jan 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 ratings11 Jan 2027
Successful dribbles: 18. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market4 Jan 2027
Saidu Salisu hands in a written request
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Barau can pretend not to have heard.
Squad4 Jan 2027
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Barau may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Player ratings4 Jan 2027
Successful dribbles: 23. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Market4 Jan 2027
He left as a boy and has come back still knowing where the away end is. Most signings have to be explained to a town; this one needed a photograph and nothing else.
Market4 Jan 2027
The shirt still fits. Taiwo Onyekuru is back at Barau, and half the ground remembers him in these colours already. Some signings need selling to the town; this one sold itself.
Market4 Jan 2027
The shirt still fits. Anthony Nwankwo is back at Barau, and half the ground remembers him in these colours already. Some signings need selling to the town; this one sold itself.
Squad4 Jan 2027
Tempers go at Barau
Ibrahim Yahaya 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 ratings4 Jan 2027
A performance of 8.87 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Player ratings4 Jan 2027
A performance of 8.63 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market28 Dec 2026
“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 Barau, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad28 Dec 2026
Sunday Dapma: 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.” Barau have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Squad28 Dec 2026
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Barau this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Boardroom28 Dec 2026
149% of the income goes out in wages at Barau
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.
Squad28 Dec 2026
Yusuf Umar 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.
Squad28 Dec 2026
14 days, the scan says, and scans are kinder than reality. The fixtures in that window have just become somebody else’s job.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad14 Dec 2026
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Ibrahim Yahaya commits to Barau for another 4 years.
Squad14 Dec 2026
Tempers go at Barau
Bismark Duah 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 Dec 2026
Joseph Atule 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.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market16 Nov 2026
“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.
Squad16 Nov 2026
“I was told what my role would be, and I signed on that basis. It has not happened.” A grievance with a date attached is the hardest kind to settle.
Squad16 Nov 2026
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Barau this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match19 Aug 2026
Barau out of the cup
Enyimba ended it 0‑1. The season narrows to the league now, and everyone in the ground knew it before the final whistle.
Match22 Aug 2026
No end in sight to Barau's wait for a win
6 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Barau has to find a result from somewhere.
Market24 Aug 2026
Henry Ezeonye hands in a written request
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Barau can pretend not to have heard.
Market24 Aug 2026
The bid was some way short and Barau did not need long over it. Nobody in the game reads a first refusal as the end of anything.
Player ratings24 Aug 2026
Successful dribbles: 23. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Squad24 Aug 2026
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Barau this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Market24 Aug 2026
The phone has started ringing about Jude Mamman again, and this time the name on the line is Rivers United. Barau are listening politely and promising nothing.
Match22 Aug 2026
Beaten 0‑1, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
Squad24 Aug 2026
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Mpho Khethang, and the manager let it.