Marked for Khalid Muhammed
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad31 Aug 2026
Yannick Epané 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.
Squad31 Aug 2026
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Khalid Muhammed 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.
Back issues
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad24 Aug 2026
Yannick Epané and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Transfer targets24 Aug 2026
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Cotonsport Garoua have kept their man, and Stade Renard de Melong go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Squad24 Aug 2026
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Khalid Muhammed was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Transfer targets24 Aug 2026
Colombe du Dja et Lobo 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.
Squad24 Aug 2026
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Fabrice Song and Stade Renard de Melong agree another 3 years.
The dugout24 Aug 2026
Fabrice Song 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 Fabrice Song trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad17 Aug 2026
Yannick Epané and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Transfer targets17 Aug 2026
Stade Renard de Melong asked and Djoliba said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
Squad17 Aug 2026
Carlain Manga Mbah 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.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad10 Aug 2026
Yannick Epané 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.
Squad10 Aug 2026
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Khalid Muhammed was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Market10 Aug 2026
Clubs spend fortunes looking for players and occasionally find one down the corridor. Fabrice Mabouka is that, and the reception he gets on his first appearance will be different in kind from the one any signing receives.
Market10 Aug 2026
Clubs spend fortunes looking for players and occasionally find one down the corridor. Christian Mbeumo is that, and the reception he gets on his first appearance will be different in kind from the one any signing receives.
Market10 Aug 2026
Clubs spend fortunes looking for players and occasionally find one down the corridor. Desire Mani is that, and the reception he gets on his first appearance will be different in kind from the one any signing receives.
Market10 Aug 2026
There is no fee, no unveiling and no agent on the steps. Emmanuel Hongla has been at this club since he was a boy and is now, formally, one of the first-team squad — which for a local readership beats any signing of any size.