“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Etoiles du Mande can pretend not to have heard.
Not a run of form — an actual step up, held for months. At 22 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.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Etoiles du Mande this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
At 28 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 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 easiest signature of my career.” Issa Tounkara and Etoiles du Mande agree another 4 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Stephen Appiah Asare 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.
In brief
SquadIssa Tounkara falls out with a teammate over standards
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Stephen Appiah Asare and Etoiles du Mande agree another 2 years.
Issa Tounkara 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.
Stephen Appiah Asare 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 had been thinking. Ubong Williams 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.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Etoiles du Mande can pretend not to have heard.
Stephen Appiah Asare 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.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Etoiles du Mande 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.
Stephen Appiah Asare 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 had been thinking. Ubong Williams 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.
“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 Etoiles du Mande, 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 Etoiles du Mande this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
In brief
SquadWords at Etoiles du Mande training over how hard people work
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Etoiles du Mande can pretend not to have heard.
The terraces10 Apr 2028
The ground has had enough
“We travel everywhere and we get this.” 8 of the 31 senior players heard it walking off, and the ones who did not hear it were not playing.
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.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Etoiles du Mande 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.
“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 Etoiles du Mande, and it is not being withdrawn.
“The easiest signature of my career.” Godfrey Joseph and Etoiles du Mande agree another 4 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Stephen Appiah Asare 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 had been thinking. Ubong Williams 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.
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Etoiles du Mande know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
“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 Etoiles du Mande, 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 Etoiles du Mande this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
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.
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Daniel Mjengu 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.
Squad27 Mar 2028
The manager has not finished forgetting Siaka Keïta's mistake
Publicly it is behind everybody. It is not behind the man who picks the team, and the only place that shows is a team sheet. He will get another chance; he will get it in a match that matters less.
Stephen Appiah Asare 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 had been thinking. Ubong Williams 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. Oratile Rantasi 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.
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Ubong Williams, and the manager let it.
Player ratings20 Mar 2028
Oratile Rantasi was on a different afternoon to everybody else
8.40. 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.
Conceding is one thing; the response is what tells you about a dressing room. Oratile Rantasi had Etoiles du Mande level again within 2 minutes, and Afrique Foot Elite never got to play with a lead at all.
15 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Etoiles du Mande lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Etoiles du Mande this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Etoiles du Mande know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
22 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Etoiles du Mande lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Etoiles du Mande can pretend not to have heard.
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.
Albert Korvah 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.
Defending was optional and nobody took up the option. 10 goals between Etoiles du Mande and Real Bamako, and not one of the people who paid to be there will ask for the money back.
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.
29 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Etoiles du Mande lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. Oratile Rantasi provided it, and the 8.59 beside his name is if anything generous to everybody else.
Two goals and a mark of 8.29 to go with them. Strikers are judged on afternoons like this one and remembered for far fewer of them than people imagine.
Stephen Appiah Asare 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 had been thinking. Ubong Williams 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. Oratile Rantasi 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.
36 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Etoiles du Mande lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
“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 Etoiles du Mande, 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 Etoiles du Mande this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Two or more conceded in each of the last 4 matches. It is not one mistake repeating itself, which would be the easier thing to fix; it is a different one every week.
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Daniel Mjengu 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 goal that put Onze Createurs ahead was still being replayed on the concourse when Etoiles du Mande equalised, 3 minutes later. Leads are only worth what you do with them.
43 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Etoiles du Mande lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
“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 Etoiles du Mande, and it is not being withdrawn.
Stephen Appiah Asare 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 had been thinking. Ubong Williams 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.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Etoiles du Mande can pretend not to have heard.
The terraces31 Jan 2028
The boos come down from three sides
“We pay for this every fortnight. The least we want is somebody who looks like he cares.” 9 of the 31 senior players walked off into it; the rest were not playing.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Etoiles du Mande 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.
Two goals and a mark of 8.63 to go with them. Strikers are judged on afternoons like this one and remembered for far fewer of them than people imagine.
The offer from Stade Malien for Oratile Rantasi 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.
Stephen Appiah Asare 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.
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Ubong Williams, and the manager let it.
Squad3 Jan 2028
Daniel Mjengu 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.
4 shots, and a count that reads like a good afternoon until you check the other column. Strikers survive weeks like this on the understanding that the chances keep arriving; the day they stop is the day it becomes a problem.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Etoiles du Mande 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 one version of being left out a player cannot argue with, and the one he takes worst. Somebody else has been better and the team sheet says so, in public, every week until it changes.
15 defensive actions and a clean sheet at the end of them. A defender's afternoon can only be told by what did not happen, which is why nobody makes a highlights package out of one and every manager in the division would take 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 Etoiles du Mande can pretend not to have heard.
A 4‑3 win over Afrique Foot Elite, earned rather than given, and the sort of afternoon that sends everyone home talking about next week instead of this one.
Stephen Appiah Asare 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.
Defending was optional and nobody took up the option. 7 goals between Etoiles du Mande and Afrique Foot Elite, and not one of the people who paid to be there will ask for the money back.
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Ubong Williams 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. Oratile Rantasi 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.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Etoiles du Mande this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Daniel Mjengu 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.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Oratile Rantasi trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
4 shots, and a count that reads like a good afternoon until you check the other column. Strikers survive weeks like this on the understanding that the chances keep arriving; the day they stop is the day it becomes a problem.
Marked 5.39. Nothing he attempted worked and by the hour mark he had stopped attempting much, which is the part a manager notices rather than the mistakes.
“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 Etoiles du Mande, 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 Etoiles du Mande this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Ubong Williams 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.
“I watch every Etoiles du Mande game from here. That says everything about where my head is.” The loan at AS Bakaridjan runs its course, but his heart never made the trip.
Nobody will confirm this and nothing else explains the last month of selections. A costly error buys a player a period of being second choice that is always longer than the error was.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Etoiles du Mande will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Etoiles du Mande this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 23-year-old it feels ownership of. Oratile Rantasi 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.
“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 ratings22 Nov 2027
Oratile Rantasi was on a different afternoon to everybody else
8.36. 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.
In brief
SquadDaniel Mjengu falls out with a teammate over standards
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Etoiles du Mande can pretend not to have heard.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Etoiles du Mande will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Etoiles du Mande 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.
4 attempts, none of them in. He got into the right places all afternoon, which is the hard part, and did the easy part badly — and that is the version of a bad day a manager can live with.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Etoiles du Mande will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
The hardest thing about being 20 in a senior side is that nobody makes allowances. Adebayo Destiny did not need any: 8.87, and he looked the most comfortable man on the pitch.
Stephen Appiah Asare 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 had been thinking. Ubong Williams 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 20-year-old it feels ownership of. Adebayo Destiny 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.
“I did not go to AS Bakaridjan to sit and watch. I want to come back to Etoiles du Mande and fight for my place.” 4 appearances in 18 matches say the rest.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Etoiles du Mande can pretend not to have heard.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Etoiles du Mande will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
The terraces1 Nov 2027
The ground has had enough
“We travel everywhere and we get this.” 10 of the 31 senior players heard it walking off, and the ones who did not hear it were not playing.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Etoiles du Mande this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Daniel Mjengu 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.
Marked 5.55. Nothing he attempted worked and by the hour mark he had stopped attempting much, which is the part a manager notices rather than the mistakes.
In brief
Player ratingsAn afternoon Godfrey Joseph will want back
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Etoiles du Mande have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Etoiles du Mande will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Stephen Appiah Asare 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 had been thinking. Ubong Williams 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. Oratile Rantasi 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.
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Oratile Rantasi. 2‑0 against US Bougouni, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
16 defensive actions and a clean sheet at the end of them. A defender's afternoon can only be told by what did not happen, which is why nobody makes a highlights package out of one and every manager in the division would take it.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Etoiles du Mande will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Form comes and goes; this has not gone. Adebayo Destiny is 20, and the version of him training now would not have got into the side he was in a year ago.
Stephen Appiah Asare 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.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Etoiles du Mande will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Form comes and goes; this has not gone. Oratile Rantasi is 23, and the version of him training now would not have got into the side he was in a year ago.
At 26 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.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Etoiles du Mande will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Etoiles du Mande have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Etoiles du Mande will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Not a run of form — an actual step up, held for months. At 22 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.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Etoiles du Mande this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad6 Sep 2027
Ubong Williams has improved at 27, 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.
“I did not go to AS Bakaridjan to sit and watch. I want to come back to Etoiles du Mande and fight for my place.” 0 appearances in 9 matches say the rest.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Etoiles du Mande will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Form comes and goes; this has not gone. Oratile Rantasi is 23, and the version of him training now would not have got into the side he was in a year ago.
Albert Korvah 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 26 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.
“We keep meeting, and we keep leaving the room with the same numbers we walked in with.” Another round of talks at Etoiles du Mande, another week without a signature from Stephen Appiah Asare.
The words a physio says slowly. 18 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.
The offer from BA All Stars for Abdul Karim 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.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Hearts of Oak this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
In brief
SquadGabriel Bravo falls out with a teammate over standards
40 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Hearts of Oak lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Two goals and a mark of 8.48 to go with them. Strikers are judged on afternoons like this one and remembered for far fewer of them than people imagine.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Hearts of Oak have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
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.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Hearts of Oak this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
In brief
Player ratingsMohammed Hussein was on a different afternoon to everybody else
MatchYaw Ackah among the goals in a wild afternoon