Marked for Gabkala Daba
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Match17 Dec 2029
AS PSI are in among the leaders
Position 3 and 25 points on the board. Nobody at the ground will say the word out loud yet, and everybody at the ground is thinking it.
Market17 Dec 2029
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at AS PSI is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Squad17 Dec 2029
Tempers go at AS PSI
Gabkala Daba 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.
Squad17 Dec 2029
Brahim Goudja 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 dugout17 Dec 2029
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The dugout17 Dec 2029
Brahim Goudja has become a man the manager trusts
Nobody at AS PSI 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.
Squad17 Dec 2029
Saleh Haroun is the weekend's best young player
At 17 he is being measured against the rest of the division's kids and coming out in front. The senior version of this award is where the club would like this to lead.
The dugout17 Dec 2029
Noël Allaramadji 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.
Market17 Dec 2029
Every press conference now starts and ends the same way: with Brahim Goudja’s future. The manager has run out of new ways to say nothing.
Back issues
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Match8 Dec 2029
AS PSI throw away a 2-goal lead
2 in front and in complete control, and it finished with Renaissance the happier side. There is no version of this afternoon that AS PSI will enjoy reviewing.
Player ratings10 Dec 2029
Two goals and a mark of 8.72 to go with them. Strikers are judged on afternoons like this one and remembered for far fewer of them than people imagine.
Market10 Dec 2029
Only the photograph left for Narcisse Abba
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Narcisse Abba will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around AS PSI the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Squad10 Dec 2029
Words exchanged at AS PSI
Gabkala Daba 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.
Match8 Dec 2029
Whatever happens, AS PSI 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.
Squad10 Dec 2029
Brahim Goudja 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 ratings10 Dec 2029
A performance of 8.54 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Match8 Dec 2029
Every run ends on an afternoon somebody had marked down as routine. This one went 5 matches, which is long enough that a town had stopped counting, and short enough that it will remember exactly who stopped it.
The dugout10 Dec 2029
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From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Player ratings29 Oct 2029
Successful dribbles: 37. There was always a defender in front of him and there was never a defender in front of him for long.
Squad29 Oct 2029
18 days out for Idriss Haroun after a fracture
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. AS PSI will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
Player ratings29 Oct 2029
No sign of nerves from Ali Djimet at 18 — 7.74
The hardest thing about being 18 in a senior side is that nobody makes allowances. Ali Djimet did not need any: 7.74, and he looked the most comfortable man on the pitch.
Market29 Oct 2029
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at AS PSI is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Squad29 Oct 2029
Gabkala Daba 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 AS PSI this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad29 Oct 2029
Brahim Goudja 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.
Match27 Oct 2029
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Mahamat Adam Ali. 1‑0 against Gazelle, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
The dugout29 Oct 2029
Cleo Ssetuba gets it from the manager
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
The dugout29 Oct 2029
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From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad22 Oct 2029
25 days out for Idriss Haroun after a fracture
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. AS PSI will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
Player ratings22 Oct 2029
No sign of nerves from Ali Djimet at 18 — 7.72
The hardest thing about being 18 in a senior side is that nobody makes allowances. Ali Djimet did not need any: 7.72, and he looked the most comfortable man on the pitch.
Match20 Oct 2029
AS PSI keep winning on the road
6 away wins in a row. Travelling support is the truest kind, and this season it is being repaid in the only currency that counts.
Market22 Oct 2029
Issa Allamine has one foot out of the door
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around AS PSI they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Squad22 Oct 2029
Tempers go at AS PSI
Gabkala Daba 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.
Squad22 Oct 2029
Words at AS PSI training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Brahim Goudja 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.
Player ratings22 Oct 2029
Brahim Goudja was on a different afternoon to everybody else
8.66. 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.
Match20 Oct 2029
Three points for AS PSI, 1‑0 the final word against Elect Sport in a contest settled by the finer margins.
The dugout22 Oct 2029
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From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Market17 Sep 2029
Only the photograph left for Narcisse Abba
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Narcisse Abba will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around AS PSI the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Squad17 Sep 2029
Tempers go at AS PSI
Cleo Ssetuba 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.
Squad17 Sep 2029
At 26 the improving is meant to be over, and it is not: 3 points better than a year ago. It happens to the ones who take the boring parts seriously.
Squad17 Sep 2029
Brahim Goudja 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 dugout17 Sep 2029
news_b_frozen_out_of_the_side
The dugout17 Sep 2029
It is never announced and it is entirely visible: the biggest afternoons of the season keep containing him. A press box works this out long before anybody at the club confirms a word of it.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Market10 Sep 2029
Only the photograph left for Brahim Djimet
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Brahim Djimet will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around AS PSI the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Squad10 Sep 2029
A falling-out at AS PSI
Gabkala Daba and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
The dugout10 Sep 2029
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Squad10 Sep 2029
Words at AS PSI training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Brahim Goudja 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 dugout10 Sep 2029
Cleo Ssetuba 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.
Squad10 Sep 2029
International break empties AS PSI
5 call-ups is a compliment to the squad and a headache for the man running it. He will get them back in a fortnight, tired, in various states of repair.
The dugout10 Sep 2029
It is never announced and it is entirely visible: the biggest afternoons of the season keep containing him. A press box works this out long before anybody at the club confirms a word of it.
Market10 Sep 2029
The name of Brahim Goudja keeps appearing in other people's back pages. AS PSI say nothing, which says plenty.
Match10 Sep 2029
Continental football is in reach for AS PSI
52 points from position 4. The title is somebody else’s business and the drop is somebody else’s problem; what is left is the argument about passports.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Market20 Aug 2029
“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.
Market20 Aug 2029
The last thing about a transfer that is still about the player is his signature on his own terms, and it is there. AS PSI have lost him in all but the paperwork.
Transfer targets20 Aug 2029
A medical, a signature, a shirt held up in front of a sponsor’s board. AS PSI have done the hard part with AS DGSSIE, and the part that remains is the part supporters actually see.
Squad20 Aug 2029
Words exchanged at AS PSI
Joël Djingar 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.
Squad20 Aug 2029
A row about effort at AS PSI
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Brahim Goudja was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The dugout20 Aug 2029
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The dugout20 Aug 2029
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 Ali Issa Blagué is on it.
The dugout20 Aug 2029
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
Market20 Aug 2029
Every press conference now starts and ends the same way: with Gabkala Daba’s future. The manager has run out of new ways to say nothing.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Market16 Jul 2029
The clubs have settled the fee and he has settled his wages. What remains is a medical and a photograph, and around AS PSI people have started saying his name in the past tense.
Market16 Jul 2029
Issa Allamine has one foot out of the door
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around AS PSI they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Squad16 Jul 2029
A falling-out at AS PSI
Gabkala Daba and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
The dugout16 Jul 2029
news_b_frozen_out_of_the_side
Squad16 Jul 2029
Brahim Goudja 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 dugout16 Jul 2029
It is never announced and it is entirely visible: the biggest afternoons of the season keep containing him. A press box works this out long before anybody at the club confirms a word of it.
The dugout16 Jul 2029
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at AS PSI, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Squad16 Jul 2029
A year in and the city has not opened up, the language has not come, and lunch is eaten alone more often than anybody at AS PSI would admit. It shows on Saturdays.
Market16 Jul 2029
The Gabkala Daba story refuses to die
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Gabkala Daba signs something — a contract at AS PSI or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Transfer targets18 Jun 2029
AS PSI and US Moursal have settled on $14.0K. The rest belongs to the player and his agent, and a supporter who has watched one of these before knows not to buy the shirt yet.
Market18 Jun 2029
Issa Allamine has one foot out of the door
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around AS PSI they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Squad18 Jun 2029
Cleo Ssetuba 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 AS PSI this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The dugout18 Jun 2029
news_b_frozen_out_of_the_side
Squad18 Jun 2029
A row about effort at AS PSI
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Brahim Goudja was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Squad18 Jun 2029
The medical room confirms 16 days on the sidelines for Ezechiel Haroun, and a plan built around him now has to be rebuilt.
The dugout18 Jun 2029
Joël Djingar gets picked when it counts
Every manager keeps a short list in his head of the men he wants on the pitch when the stakes rise, and it is never published. The team sheets for the big afternoons say Joël Djingar is on it.
The dugout18 Jun 2029
Félix Noubara 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 AS PSI, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Squad18 Jun 2029
A season on the outside for Cleo Ssetuba
He trains hard, says the right things and goes home to an empty flat. Nobody at AS PSI has done anything wrong, which is exactly what makes it so difficult to fix.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad11 Jun 2029
Brahim Djimet breaks a bone — 14 days out
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 14 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Market11 Jun 2029
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around AS PSI they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Squad11 Jun 2029
A falling-out at AS PSI
Brahim Goudja and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
The dugout11 Jun 2029
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Market11 Jun 2029
“We are a long way apart, and pretending otherwise helps nobody.” Neither side is close, and the calendar is not on the club's side.
Squad11 Jun 2029
A quiet fortnight at AS PSI
With 4 players away on international duty the sessions are small and the manager can actually hear himself. It is the one break in the season, and it never quite feels like one.
The dugout11 Jun 2029
Mahamat Adam Ali has become a man the manager trusts
Nobody at AS PSI 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.
Squad11 Jun 2029
A row about effort at AS PSI
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Oumar Abakar was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Market11 Jun 2029
2 months remain and no agreement is close. Every week without a signature costs AS PSI money.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad4 Jun 2029
A fracture rules Brahim Djimet out for 21 days
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason AS PSI will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Squad4 Jun 2029
Tempers go at AS PSI
Gabkala Daba 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.
Squad4 Jun 2029
Words at AS PSI training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Brahim Goudja is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
Squad4 Jun 2029
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Saleh Haroun commits to AS PSI for another 4 years.
Transfer targets4 Jun 2029
The approach was made and the answer came back in a sentence. There is no number on the table because there was no number that would have been enough.
The dugout4 Jun 2029
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Transfer targets4 Jun 2029
AS PSI have made the call to CotonTchad. No fee, a share of the wages, and a spare shirt in the position where the squad has been thinnest all season.
Transfer targets4 Jun 2029
A loan enquiry to Foullah Edifice: cover, or a look at somebody the club cannot afford to buy yet. Either way the answer will come back inside the week.
The dugout4 Jun 2029
It is never announced and it is entirely visible: the biggest afternoons of the season keep containing him. A press box works this out long before anybody at the club confirms a word of it.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Market28 May 2029
“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.
Squad28 May 2029
Brahim Djimet breaks a bone — 28 days out
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 28 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Squad28 May 2029
A falling-out at AS PSI
Gabkala Daba and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad28 May 2029
Brahim Goudja 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 dugout28 May 2029
news_b_frozen_out_of_the_side
The dugout28 May 2029
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Noël Allaramadji, and the manager let it.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad21 May 2029
Brahim Djimet breaks a bone — 35 days out
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 35 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Market21 May 2029
Issa Allamine has one foot out of the door
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around AS PSI they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Squad21 May 2029
Tempers go at AS PSI
Brahim Goudja 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 dugout21 May 2029
news_b_frozen_out_of_the_side
The dugout21 May 2029
It is never announced and it is entirely visible: the biggest afternoons of the season keep containing him. A press box works this out long before anybody at the club confirms a word of it.
The dugout21 May 2029
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Market23 Apr 2029
Only the photograph left for Issa Allamine
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Issa Allamine will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around AS PSI the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Squad23 Apr 2029
Words exchanged at AS PSI
Joël Djingar 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 dugout23 Apr 2029
news_b_frozen_out_of_the_side
Squad23 Apr 2029
A row about effort at AS PSI
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Brahim Goudja was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The dugout23 Apr 2029
Joël Djingar has become a man the manager trusts
Nobody at AS PSI 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.
Market23 Apr 2029
Every press conference now starts and ends the same way: with Gabkala Daba’s future. The manager has run out of new ways to say nothing.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Market16 Apr 2029
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Ezechiel Moustapha will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around AS PSI the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Squad16 Apr 2029
Tempers go at AS PSI
Gabkala Daba 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.
Squad16 Apr 2029
A row about effort at AS PSI
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Brahim Goudja was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The dugout16 Apr 2029
news_b_frozen_out_of_the_side
The dugout16 Apr 2029
Mahamat Adam Ali has become a man the manager trusts
Nobody at AS PSI will say this on the record and the team sheets have been saying it for weeks. There is a small group in every squad who get picked when the fixture is difficult, and he has joined it.
Market16 Apr 2029
Every press conference now starts and ends the same way: with Brahim Goudja’s future. The manager has run out of new ways to say nothing.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Player ratings19 Feb 2029
2 goals, and the second was the one that settled it. Marked 9.28, and he could have had a third with better luck at the near post.
Squad19 Feb 2029
20 goals and a season average of 7.60. Form like that gets noticed well beyond this town.
Squad19 Feb 2029
A fracture rules Moussa Djimet out for 30 days
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason AS PSI will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Match17 Feb 2029
Nobody wants to play AS PSI right now
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.
Market19 Feb 2029
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Ezechiel Moustapha will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around AS PSI the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Match17 Feb 2029
AS PSI make home a hard place to visit
10 without defeat on their own grass. The pitch has not changed; the crowd has — louder earlier, and quicker to sense when the opposition would rather be somewhere else.
Squad19 Feb 2029
Tempers go at AS PSI
Gabkala Daba 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.
Squad19 Feb 2029
A row about effort at AS PSI
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Brahim Goudja was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Match17 Feb 2029
Three points for AS PSI, 2‑0 the final word against Galactik in a contest settled by the finer margins.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Match3 Feb 2029
No mercy from AS PSI
US Moursal will want this one forgotten quickly: 3‑0, every duel lost, and a long ride home. AS PSI were ruthless in the way good sides are ruthless.
Squad5 Feb 2029
A fracture rules Moussa Djimet out for 44 days
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason AS PSI will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Market5 Feb 2029
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what AS PSI can pretend not to have heard.
Squad5 Feb 2029
A season average of 7.51 with 17 goals behind it. Opponents have started planning around him, which is the sincerest compliment football pays.
Boardroom5 Feb 2029
Deadline passes with 0 signed and 3 gone
That is the business done at AS PSI until the window opens again. Whether it was enough will be answered on Saturdays rather than in a column, and the first Saturday is close.
Squad5 Feb 2029
“The easiest signature of my career.” Gabkala Daba and AS PSI agree another 4 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Squad5 Feb 2029
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at AS PSI this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Match3 Feb 2029
Nobody wins at AS PSI
9 home matches unbeaten. Visiting sides arrive already talking about the atmosphere, which is usually the sign that they have half-lost before kickoff.
Player ratings5 Feb 2029
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 9.13, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Match6 Jan 2029
Still nobody has beaten AS PSI
The unbeaten run reaches 13. Some of them were wins and some were escapes, but a side that refuses to lose is a side other dressing rooms talk about.
Squad8 Jan 2029
72 days out for Moussa Djimet after a fracture
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. AS PSI will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
Market8 Jan 2029
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at AS PSI, and it is not being withdrawn.
Player ratings8 Jan 2029
Successful dribbles: 25. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Squad8 Jan 2029
A falling-out at AS PSI
Gabkala Daba and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad8 Jan 2029
12 goals and a season average of 7.32. Form like that gets noticed well beyond this town.
Squad8 Jan 2029
Brahim Goudja 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.
Transfer targets8 Jan 2029
The approach was made and the answer came back in a sentence. There is no number on the table because there was no number that would have been enough.
The terraces8 Jan 2029
AS PSI supporters have found a favourite in Saleh Haroun
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 16-year-old it feels ownership of. Saleh Haroun 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.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Match30 Dec 2028
Whatever happens, AS PSI do not lose
12 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.
Squad1 Jan 2029
An individual honour is a strange thing in a team game, and the best of them are never argued with. He has had the sort of year that ends with his name being read out, and AS PSI have had the benefit of it.
Market1 Jan 2029
Only the photograph left for Issa Allamine
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Issa Allamine will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around AS PSI the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Squad1 Jan 2029
Words exchanged at AS PSI
Gabkala Daba 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 dugout1 Jan 2029
news_b_frozen_out_of_the_side
Squad1 Jan 2029
Words at AS PSI training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Félix Noubara 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.
Match30 Dec 2028
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Brahim Goudja. 2‑0 against AS Etat Major, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
Player ratings1 Jan 2029
Ali Djimet runs at them all day
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.
Squad1 Jan 2029
11 goals and a season average of 7.25. Form like that gets noticed well beyond this town.
In brief
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Player ratings
A masterclass from Brahim Goudja
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Player ratings
Ninety minutes of Mahamat Adam Ali at his very best
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The dugout
The view from the dugout
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Market18 Dec 2028
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at AS PSI, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad18 Dec 2028
Joël Djingar 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 AS PSI this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad18 Dec 2028
Brahim Goudja 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 dugout18 Dec 2028
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Squad18 Dec 2028
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Brahim Djimet and AS PSI agree another 3 years.
The dugout18 Dec 2028
Brahim Goudja has become a man the manager trusts
Nobody at AS PSI 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.
Market18 Dec 2028
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Brahim Goudja signs something — a contract at AS PSI or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
Market18 Dec 2028
“We keep meeting, and we keep leaving the room with the same numbers we walked in with.” Another round of talks at AS PSI, another week without a signature from Narcisse Souleymane.
The dugout18 Dec 2028
Moussa Djimet 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 AS PSI, and both men came out saying it was fine.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market25 Sep 2028
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what AS PSI can pretend not to have heard.
Market25 Sep 2028
Only the photograph left for Brahim Djimet
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Brahim Djimet will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around AS PSI the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Squad25 Sep 2028
Joël Djingar 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 AS PSI this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad25 Sep 2028
Words at AS PSI training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Brahim Goudja is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
The dugout25 Sep 2028
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The dugout25 Sep 2028
It is never announced and it is entirely visible: the biggest afternoons of the season keep containing him. A press box works this out long before anybody at the club confirms a word of it.
Market25 Sep 2028
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Mahamat Adam Ali signs something — a contract at AS PSI or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
Match25 Sep 2028
AS PSI have something to play for
Position 4 on 47 points, and the places that carry a European ticket are close enough to count. Seasons like this are decided by two results in April, and the club knows which two.
The dugout25 Sep 2028
The manager plants his flag on Gabkala Daba
“Judge me on him.” Managers do not say that kind of thing by accident — it moves the pressure from Gabkala Daba’s shoulders onto his own, and both of them know it.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market14 Aug 2028
The last thing about a transfer that is still about the player is his signature on his own terms, and it is there. AS PSI have lost him in all but the paperwork.
Market14 Aug 2028
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at AS PSI, and it is not being withdrawn.
Market14 Aug 2028
Narcisse Abba has one foot out of the door
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around AS PSI they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Squad14 Aug 2028
Tempers go at AS PSI
Joël Djingar 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 Aug 2028
Gabkala Daba has improved at 24, which nobody expected
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.
The dugout14 Aug 2028
news_b_frozen_out_of_the_side
Squad14 Aug 2028
Brahim Goudja 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.
Market14 Aug 2028
“The manager did not use many words, and he did not need to.” Moussa Djimet has his answer from AS PSI; what he does with it is the next window’s story.
The dugout14 Aug 2028
Haroun Abakar gets picked when it counts
Every manager keeps a short list in his head of the men he wants on the pitch when the stakes rise, and it is never published. The team sheets for the big afternoons say Haroun Abakar is on it.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market31 Jul 2028
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at AS PSI is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Squad31 Jul 2028
Form comes and goes; this has not gone. Bark Abdramane is 21, and the version of him training now would not have got into the side he was in a year ago.
Squad31 Jul 2028
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at AS PSI this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad31 Jul 2028
Félix Noubara 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 dugout31 Jul 2028
news_b_frozen_out_of_the_side
The dugout31 Jul 2028
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
Market31 Jul 2028
The name of Ezechiel Moustapha has come up in conversations AS PSI were not part of. Nothing formal, nothing signed — but nothing about it accidental either.
The dugout31 Jul 2028
Every manager keeps a short list in his head of the men he wants on the pitch when the stakes rise, and it is never published. The team sheets for the big afternoons say Ali Issa Blagué is on it.
Market31 Jul 2028
The Brahim Djimet conversation is coming
Everyone has stopped pretending: AS Algoy will make the call about Brahim Djimet this week. AS PSI have a number in mind, and the number is not shy.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market26 Jun 2028
Fee agreed, wages agreed, and US Moursal waiting with a shirt. Nobody at AS PSI is pretending otherwise, and the supporters have stopped asking whether and started asking when.
Market26 Jun 2028
Brahim Hissein has one foot out of the door
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around AS PSI they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Squad26 Jun 2028
Joël Djingar 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 AS PSI this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad26 Jun 2028
Words at AS PSI training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Brahim Goudja is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
The dugout26 Jun 2028
news_b_frozen_out_of_the_side
Market26 Jun 2028
The phone has started ringing about Issa Allamine again, and this time the name on the line is US Moursal. AS PSI are listening politely and promising nothing.
The dugout26 Jun 2028
It is never announced and it is entirely visible: the biggest afternoons of the season keep containing him. A press box works this out long before anybody at the club confirms a word of it.
Market26 Jun 2028
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Brahim Goudja signs something — a contract at AS PSI or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
The dugout26 Jun 2028
Oumar Tokindang 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
Market19 Jun 2028
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at AS PSI is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Squad19 Jun 2028
Words exchanged at AS PSI
Brahim Goudja 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 dugout19 Jun 2028
news_b_frozen_out_of_the_side
Squad19 Jun 2028
Félix Noubara 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.
Market19 Jun 2028
The phone has started ringing about Narcisse Abba again, and this time the name on the line is US Moursal. AS PSI are listening politely and promising nothing.
Squad19 Jun 2028
The medical room confirms 44 days on the sidelines for Ahmat Djimet, and a plan built around him now has to be rebuilt.