Kwesi Pong

Left Midfielder - Heart of Lions
14 Aug 2030
Wednesday
Process

Marked for Kwesi Pong

210 Edition

The Heart of Lions Herald

5 Aug 2030
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Squad

Kwasi Donsu damages knee ligaments — 108 days out

The words a physio says slowly. 108 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.

Boardroom

Heart of Lions put Andrew Addo on notice

The board have said in public what they had been saying in private. Results between now and the next meeting decide it, and everybody in the building knows the arithmetic.

Market

Karl Mbarga asks to leave Heart of Lions

“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.

Transfer targets

Heart of Lions agree $3.0K for Thomas Boakye

The clubs have shaken hands with Wa All Stars; the player has not yet. Personal terms are next, and personal terms are where more deals die than anybody prints.

Transfer targets

Baba Acquah due for a Heart of Lions medical

Everything agreed with WAFA, everything agreed with the player; a doctor is the only person left to persuade. The photograph is a day or two away.

Market

Kamaldeen Sulemana is on his way

The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Heart of Lions is pretending he will be back in the shirt.

Squad

Words exchanged at Heart of Lions

Kwesi Pong 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.

Squad

A move David Asante would have made for nothing

There is a version of every career where the player ends up somewhere he chose rather than somewhere that chose him. David Asante is living that version at Heart of Lions, and it tends to show in the first month.

Transfer targets

Door shut on Paul Yeboah

Heart of Lions asked and Medeama said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.

In brief

Back issues
207 Edition

The Heart of Lions Herald

15 Jul 2030
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Market

Ebenezer Shamo agrees terms with New Edubiase United

The clubs have settled the fee and he has settled his wages. What remains is a medical and a photograph, and around Heart of Lions people have started saying his name in the past tense.

Transfer targets

Heart of Lions agree $150.0K for Joshua Agyemang

The clubs have shaken hands with New Edubiase United; the player has not yet. Personal terms are next, and personal terms are where more deals die than anybody prints.

Squad

Tempers go at Heart of Lions

Kwesi Pong 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.

Transfer targets

Heart of Lions rebuffed over Elvis Addo

Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Great Olympics have kept their man, and Heart of Lions go back to a list with one name crossed off it.

Squad

Words at Heart of Lions training over how hard people work

Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Henry Ansu 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 dugout

The manager makes an example of Kwame Boateng

“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.

The dugout

Godfrey Selchum 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.

Market

Ebenezer Shamo told to find a new club

“They were honest with me, and I would rather know.” Ebenezer Shamo has been informed he is not in the manager's thinking at Heart of Lions.

The dugout

When it matters, Siyabonga Dolly plays

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.

In brief

206 Edition

The Heart of Lions Herald

8 Jul 2030
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Market

Kamaldeen Sulemana has one foot out of the door

Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Heart of Lions they have already started talking about him in the past tense.

Transfer targets

Heart of Lions baulk at the price for Joseph Kemin

Aduana Stars wanted more than $480.0K and the board would not go there. Walked away, for now, which in a transfer window means until somebody blinks.

Squad

Words exchanged at Heart of Lions

Kwesi Pong 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.

Squad

Daniel Essien stays put

“The easiest signature of my career.” Daniel Essien and Heart of Lions agree another 3 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.

Transfer targets

Asante Kotoko tell Heart of Lions: Mohammed Hussein is not for sale

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.

Squad

Words at Heart of Lions training over how hard people work

Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Harrison Ebah 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 dugout

Charles Baah 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.

Market

Talks stall between Heart of Lions and Charles Baah

“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.

Transfer targets

A loan move for Paul Yeboah is in the works

Heart of Lions have made the call to Medeama. No fee, a share of the wages, and a spare shirt in the position where the squad has been thinnest all season.

In brief

205 Edition

The Heart of Lions Herald

1 Jul 2030
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Boardroom

Pressure builds in the Heart of Lions boardroom

The directors have stopped offering the manager public warmth. In football that is usually the stage before the short statement.

Transfer targets

Heart of Lions make their move for Joseph Kemin

$480.0K on the table at Aduana Stars. The manager wanted him, the board agreed a number, and the only voices still to be heard are the ones at the other club.

Squad

A falling-out at Heart of Lions

Kwesi Pong and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.

Squad

Henry Ansu 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 targets

Asante Kotoko tell Heart of Lions: Reuben Otieno is not for sale

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 dugout

Kwasi Donsu 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.

Squad

The formation has left Charles Baah behind

Every shape has positions in it and this one does not have his. Heart of Lions will either change the shape, change his job, or change his club, and he is waiting to hear which.

Market

Nobody at Heart of Lions has picked up the phone to Charles Baah

12 months to run and not a word offered. A club that lets the calendar negotiate for it usually ends up losing to the calendar.

Market

A stepping stone, not a home, for Abeiku Baba

He is doing his job and he is not settling. Heart of Lions were supposed to be a step up in his own reckoning, and his own reckoning has been adjusted since he arrived.

In brief

203 Edition

The Heart of Lions Herald

17 Jun 2030
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Transfer targets

$370.0K settles it between the clubs for Baba Acquah

WAFA have accepted the money. What Heart of Lions do not yet have is the man, and between here and the photograph is a conversation about wages that both sides are dreading.

Transfer targets

Medical ends the Kelvin Obeng deal

Everything was agreed with Asante Kotoko and then the doctor spoke. Heart of Lions have walked away from a signing on the advice of somebody who never saw him play, which is how it is supposed to work.

Market

David Inusah has one foot out of the door

Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Heart of Lions they have already started talking about him in the past tense.

Boardroom

David Inusah signs for New Edubiase United while still at Heart of Lions

The rules permit it and it stings anyway. David Inusah has agreed terms with New Edubiase United for the summer, and until then he pulls on this shirt as a player who has already chosen his next one.

Transfer targets

Heart of Lions make their move for Goodness Gospel-Eze

$200.0K on the table at Berekum Chelsea. The manager wanted him, the board agreed a number, and the only voices still to be heard are the ones at the other club.

Squad

Tempers go at Heart of Lions

Kwesi Pong 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.

Squad

A move Abraham Schlupp would have made for nothing

There is a version of every career where the player ends up somewhere he chose rather than somewhere that chose him. Abraham Schlupp is living that version at Heart of Lions, and it tends to show in the first month.

Squad

A row about effort at Heart of Lions

Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Harrison Ebah was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.

Market

Bechem United join the queue for Kamaldeen Sulemana

Add another name to the list: Bechem United have asked the question everybody in the game has been asking about Kamaldeen Sulemana. The answer from Heart of Lions has not changed — yet.

In brief

200 Edition

The Heart of Lions Herald

27 May 2030
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Market

George Osei asks to leave Heart of Lions

“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.

The dugout

Edmund Paintsil: 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.” Heart of Lions have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.

Squad

Kwesi Pong 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 Heart of Lions this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Squad

Patrick Mensah signs on for more

“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Patrick Mensah and Heart of Lions agree another 3 years.

The dugout

Godfrey Selchum 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 Heart of Lions, and both men came out saying it was fine.

Market

The Godfrey Selchum question follows Heart of Lions around

Every press conference now starts and ends the same way: with Godfrey Selchum’s future. The manager has run out of new ways to say nothing.

In brief

199 Edition

The Heart of Lions Herald

20 May 2030
From our football correspondent Uneasy

The dugout

Siyabonga Dolly says Heart of Lions went back on their word

“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.

Squad

Tempers go at Heart of Lions

Kwesi Pong 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 dugout

news_h_frozen_out_of_the_side

news_b_frozen_out_of_the_side

In brief

195 Edition

The Heart of Lions Herald

22 Apr 2030
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Squad

Tempers go at Heart of Lions

Kwesi Pong 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 dugout

news_h_frozen_out_of_the_side

news_b_frozen_out_of_the_side

Squad

Words at Heart of Lions training over how hard people work

Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Harrison Ebah 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 dugout

The manager makes an example of Harrison Ebah

“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.

The dugout

Emmanuel Schlupp 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 Emmanuel Schlupp trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.

Squad

The penny has dropped for Harrison Ebah

He looks like a man who lives here now rather than one who is working here. It took most of a season, and at Heart of Lions the difference is visible from the back of the stand.

In brief

193 Edition

The Heart of Lions Herald

8 Apr 2030
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Market

Edmund Annan asks to leave Heart of Lions

“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.

Squad

A falling-out at Heart of Lions

Kwesi Pong and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.

Squad

Henry Ansu 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 dugout

news_h_frozen_out_of_the_side

news_b_frozen_out_of_the_side

Market

Still no ink between Heart of Lions and Kwasi Donsu

“We keep meeting, and we keep leaving the room with the same numbers we walked in with.” Another round of talks at Heart of Lions, another week without a signature from Kwasi Donsu.

The dugout

Kwasi Donsu 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 Kwasi Donsu trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.

The dugout

The manager makes an example of Shikabala El Shenawy

“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.

The dugout

Siyabonga Dolly has become a man the manager trusts

Nobody at Heart of Lions 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.

Squad

A season on the outside for Edmund Paintsil

He trains hard, says the right things and goes home to an empty flat. Nobody at Heart of Lions has done anything wrong, which is exactly what makes it so difficult to fix.

In brief

192 Edition

The Heart of Lions Herald

1 Apr 2030
From our football correspondent Uneasy

The dugout

Shikabala El Shenawy: 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.” Heart of Lions have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.

Squad

Kwesi Pong 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 Heart of Lions this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Squad

Words at Heart of Lions training over how hard people work

Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Harrison Ebah 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.

Squad

A step back for Emmanuel Schlupp at Heart of Lions

Somebody has moved past him. It is not a dropping and it is worse than one, because a dropping is about a Saturday and this is about where he stands.

The dugout

Solomon Agbesi 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.

The dugout

The manager makes an example of Siyabonga Dolly

“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.

Market

The Godfrey Selchum question follows Heart of Lions around

Every press conference now starts and ends the same way: with Godfrey Selchum’s future. The manager has run out of new ways to say nothing.

Market

Talks stall between Heart of Lions and Kwame Boateng

“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.

The dugout

Daniel Addo 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 Daniel Addo is on it.

In brief

189 Edition

The Heart of Lions Herald

11 Mar 2030
From our football correspondent Crisis

Squad

A knee injury of the worst kind for Henry Ansu

27 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Heart of Lions lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.

Match

The wait goes on for Heart of Lions

11 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.

Squad

A one-man rearguard from Solomon Agbesi

There were 11 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.

Match

Heart of Lions sink to position 14

20 points, and a fixture list that is running out. The mathematics are not yet cruel, but they are no longer kind.

Market

George Osei puts it in writing

“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 Heart of Lions, and it is not being withdrawn.

Player ratings

No sign of nerves from David Bukari at 20 — 7.81

The hardest thing about being 20 in a senior side is that nobody makes allowances. David Bukari did not need any: 7.81, and he looked the most comfortable man on the pitch.

Player ratings

Seedorf Asante was unplayable

Successful dribbles: 26. He went past people as if he had been told there was a prize for it, and by the end the full-back had stopped pretending to try.

Match

No clean sheets in sight for Heart of Lions

5 games now with at least two against. The back line has been rearranged, the goalkeeper has been backed publicly, and the goals keep going in anyway.

Squad

A falling-out at Heart of Lions

Kwesi Pong and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.

In brief

186 Edition

The Heart of Lions Herald

18 Feb 2030
From our football correspondent Crisis

Squad

Godfrey Selchum stands alone

10 saves, and a scoreline the ten men in front of him had no right to. Goalkeepers only get noticed on the bad days; this was one of the other ones.

Match

8 matches without a win for Heart of Lions

The run now stands at 8, and the questions being asked around Heart of Lions are no longer polite ones.

Player ratings

A brace, and Kwadwo Obeng Junior takes the afternoon — 9.05

There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. Kwadwo Obeng Junior provided it, and the 9.05 beside his name is if anything generous to everybody else.

Squad

Kwadwo Obeng Junior is in the form of his life

A season average of 7.31 with 18 goals behind it. Opponents have started planning around him, which is the sincerest compliment football pays.

Squad

A move Kwame Boateng would have made for nothing

There is a version of every career where the player ends up somewhere he chose rather than somewhere that chose him. Kwame Boateng is living that version at Heart of Lions, and it tends to show in the first month.

The dugout

news_h_frozen_out_of_the_side

news_b_frozen_out_of_the_side

Squad

Words exchanged at Heart of Lions

Kwesi Pong 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.

Match

6 goals as Heart of Lions and Ashanti Gold go for it

Defending was optional and nobody took up the option. 6 goals between Heart of Lions and Ashanti Gold, and not one of the people who paid to be there will ask for the money back.

Match

Heart of Lions come up short against Ashanti Gold

Ashanti Gold left with the points after a 2‑4 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.

In brief

185 Edition

The Heart of Lions Herald

11 Feb 2030
From our football correspondent Crisis

The dugout

Solomon Agbesi keeps the receipts

“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Heart of Lions may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.

Match

No end in sight to Heart of Lions's wait for a win

7 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Heart of Lions has to find a result from somewhere.

Market

Ebenezer Shamo 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 Heart of Lions can pretend not to have heard.

Squad

Kwesi Pong 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 Heart of Lions this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Match

The goals have deserted Heart of Lions

3 matches, no goals, and a training ground that has tried everything. It will end — droughts always do — but nobody at Heart of Lions can tell you which week it ends in.

Squad

Henry Ansu 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 targets

Berekum Chelsea tell Heart of Lions: Goodness Gospel-Eze is not for sale

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.

Match

Heart of Lions come up short against Berekum Chelsea

Berekum Chelsea left with the points after a 0‑2 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.

The dugout

news_h_frozen_out_of_the_side

news_b_frozen_out_of_the_side

In brief

184 Edition

The Heart of Lions Herald

4 Feb 2030
From our football correspondent Crisis

Market

Edmund Annan puts it in writing

“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 Heart of Lions, and it is not being withdrawn.

Player ratings

Nobody could get near George Paaku

Successful dribbles: 28. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.

Match

No end in sight to Heart of Lions's wait for a win

6 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Heart of Lions has to find a result from somewhere.

Boardroom

Window shuts: 1 in, 2 out at Heart of Lions

The deadline has passed and the squad is the squad. 1 arrived, 2 left, and everything else printed about this club last month was a rumour that stayed one.

Squad

Kwesi Pong out for 17 days

The medical room confirms 17 days on the sidelines for Kwesi Pong, and a plan built around him now has to be rebuilt.

Squad

Henry Ansu signs on for more

“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Henry Ansu and Heart of Lions agree another 3 years.

Transfer targets

Door shut on Darlvin Yeboah

Heart of Lions asked and Bechem United said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.

Squad

A falling-out at Heart of Lions

Macaulley Kuma and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.

Squad

Henry Ansu 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.

In brief

183 Edition

The Heart of Lions Herald

28 Jan 2030
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Market

Seedorf Asante 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 Heart of Lions can pretend not to have heard.

Match

No end in sight to Heart of Lions's wait for a win

5 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Heart of Lions has to find a result from somewhere.

Squad

Words exchanged at Heart of Lions

Kwesi Pong and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.

Player ratings

George Paaku was unplayable

Successful dribbles: 21. He went past people as if he had been told there was a prize for it, and by the end the full-back had stopped pretending to try.

Transfer targets

New Edubiase United tell Heart of Lions: Kelvin Appiah is not for sale

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 dugout

news_h_frozen_out_of_the_side

news_b_frozen_out_of_the_side

Squad

A row about effort at Heart of Lions

Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and George Osei was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.

Squad

Patrick Mensah reaches 100 appearances

100 games in the shirt. Nobody sets out to build a record like that; it happens to a certain kind of player at a certain kind of club, and this town knows what it has.

The dugout

No hiding place for George Osei

“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to George Osei, and the manager let it.

In brief

182 Edition

The Heart of Lions Herald

21 Jan 2030
From our football correspondent Crisis

Match

Heart of Lions taken apart

1‑6 to Bechem United, and it was every bit as bad as the number suggests. There are defeats you argue about and defeats you apologise for; this was the second kind.

Squad

6 saves: Godfrey Selchum was the team

Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the whole of the defence. 6 saves, several of them the kind nobody expects to see made, and ten outfield players who owe him a drink.

Transfer targets

An offer of $640.0K for Emmanuel Acquah

Heart of Lions have gone to Bechem United with a bid, and the supporters have gone to the internet with an opinion about it. Whether either changes anything is up to the selling club.

Transfer targets

Thomas Boakye due for a Heart of Lions medical

Everything agreed with Wa All Stars, everything agreed with the player; a doctor is the only person left to persuade. The photograph is a day or two away.

Match

4 matches without a win for Heart of Lions

The run now stands at 4, and the questions being asked around Heart of Lions are no longer polite ones.

Squad

Kwadwo Obeng Junior is carrying Heart of Lions

16 goals and a season average of 7.30. Form like that gets noticed well beyond this town.

Squad

Tempers go at Heart of Lions

Kwesi Pong 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.

Match

Kwadwo Obeng Junior among the goals in a wild afternoon

7 goals in one match, Kwadwo Obeng Junior on the scoresheet, and a scoreline that will look like a misprint. Neutrals could not have asked more of Heart of Lions and Bechem United.

The dugout

news_h_frozen_out_of_the_side

news_b_frozen_out_of_the_side

In brief

181 Edition

The Heart of Lions Herald

14 Jan 2030
From our football correspondent Crisis

Transfer targets

Heart of Lions agree $11.0K for Albert Essien

The clubs have shaken hands with Hearts of Oak; the player has not yet. Personal terms are next, and personal terms are where more deals die than anybody prints.

Squad

Kwesi Pong 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 Heart of Lions this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Squad

Henry Ansu 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 targets

Asante Kotoko tell Heart of Lions: Mohammed Aminu is not for sale

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.

Player ratings

Nobody could get near George Paaku

Successful dribbles: 19. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.

Match

Asante Kotoko take the points off Heart of Lions

Beaten 0‑1, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.

The dugout

news_h_frozen_out_of_the_side

news_b_frozen_out_of_the_side

The dugout

The manager makes an example of Edmund Annan

“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.

Market

Still no ink between Heart of Lions and Solomon Agbesi

“We keep meeting, and we keep leaving the room with the same numbers we walked in with.” Another round of talks at Heart of Lions, another week without a signature from Solomon Agbesi.

In brief

180 Edition

The Heart of Lions Herald

7 Jan 2030
From our football correspondent Crisis

Squad

10 saves: Godfrey Selchum was the team

Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the whole of the defence. 10 saves, several of them the kind nobody expects to see made, and ten outfield players who owe him a drink.

Match

Nowhere to hide for Heart of Lions

1‑4 against Liberty Professionals, and no complaints that would survive the replay. The manager spoke about character afterwards; the terraces used shorter words.

The dugout

Edmund Annan says Heart of Lions went back on their word

“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.

Squad

A move Solomon Agbesi would have made for nothing

There is a version of every career where the player ends up somewhere he chose rather than somewhere that chose him. Solomon Agbesi is living that version at Heart of Lions, and it tends to show in the first month.

Squad

Kwesi Pong out for 45 days

The medical room confirms 45 days on the sidelines for Kwesi Pong, and a plan built around him now has to be rebuilt.

Squad

Kwadwo Obeng Junior is carrying Heart of Lions

15 goals and a season average of 7.31. Form like that gets noticed well beyond this town.

Market

Solomon Agbesi comes home

The shirt still fits. Solomon Agbesi is back at Heart of Lions, and half the ground remembers him in these colours already. Some signings need selling to the town; this one sold itself.

Player ratings

George Paaku runs at them all day

Successful dribbles: 20. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.

Transfer targets

Heart of Lions rebuffed over Lawrence Osei

Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. WAFA have kept their man, and Heart of Lions go back to a list with one name crossed off it.

In brief

179 Edition

The Heart of Lions Herald

31 Dec 2029
From our football correspondent Crisis

Market

Emmanuel Anning puts it in writing

“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 Heart of Lions, and it is not being withdrawn.

Squad

Words exchanged at Heart of Lions

Kwesi Pong 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 dugout

news_h_frozen_out_of_the_side

news_b_frozen_out_of_the_side

Squad

Words at Heart of Lions training over how hard people work

Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Henry Ansu 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.

Match

A bad afternoon for Heart of Lions against Great Olympics

0‑2 to Great Olympics, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.

The dugout

Godfrey Selchum 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.

Market

No place for Edmund Annan in the plan

“The manager did not use many words, and he did not need to.” Edmund Annan has his answer from Heart of Lions; what he does with it is the next window’s story.

The dugout

Andrew Addo answers for it

“The supporters are entitled to be angry. So am I. We will put it right.” 0‑2, a manager saying the necessary things, and a dressing room that heard a different version of them.

The dugout

George Paaku is still being punished for one mistake

Nobody will confirm it and the team sheets confirm it every week. One error has bought him a spell as second choice that is already longer than the error deserved.

In brief

178 Edition

The Heart of Lions Herald

24 Dec 2029
From our football correspondent Steady

Player ratings

A brace, and Kwadwo Obeng Junior takes the afternoon — 9.27

There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. Kwadwo Obeng Junior provided it, and the 9.27 beside his name is if anything generous to everybody else.

Market

Edmund Annan puts it in writing

“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 Heart of Lions, and it is not being withdrawn.

Squad

Kwadwo Obeng Junior is carrying Heart of Lions

14 goals and a season average of 7.30. Form like that gets noticed well beyond this town.

Squad

Tempers go at Heart of Lions

Kwesi Pong 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 ratings

Kwesi Pong was unplayable

Successful dribbles: 20. He went past people as if he had been told there was a prize for it, and by the end the full-back had stopped pretending to try.

Squad

A row about effort at Heart of Lions

Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Henry Ansu was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.

Match

Kwadwo Obeng Junior the difference as Heart of Lions beat Wa All Stars

Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Kwadwo Obeng Junior. 2‑0 against Wa All Stars, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.

The dugout

The view from the dugout

“We controlled it. There were spells I did not like and we will look at them, but the group showed me something.” Andrew Addo, on a 2‑0 win that he was already picking apart on the walk to the press room.

The dugout

Heart of Lions pick somebody else ahead of Edmund Annan

There is no complaint available here and everybody involved knows it, which does not make the walk to the bench any shorter. Form is the only currency in football that cannot be borrowed against.

In brief

177 Edition

The Heart of Lions Herald

17 Dec 2029
From our football correspondent Crisis

Match

Chastening afternoon for Heart of Lions

A 1‑6 beating by Aduana Stars was the sort of result that empties a stadium long before the final whistle.

Squad

A one-man rearguard from Godfrey Selchum

There were 9 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.

Squad

Kwesi Pong 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 Heart of Lions this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Match

Nobody could stop scoring

7 goals. Both benches spent the second half looking at each other rather than at the pitch. Purists will complain about Heart of Lions and Aduana Stars in equal measure; everybody else had a wonderful time.

Squad

Stephen Appiah Asare 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.

Squad

Kwadwo Obeng Junior is carrying Heart of Lions

12 goals and a season average of 7.23. Form like that gets noticed well beyond this town.

The dugout

news_h_frozen_out_of_the_side

news_b_frozen_out_of_the_side

Boardroom

Doors closed at Heart of Lions

The music was off and the showers ran late. What was said in that dressing room stays there, but Saturday will publish the minutes.

The dugout

Andrew Addo answers for it

“The supporters are entitled to be angry. So am I. We will put it right.” 1‑6, a manager saying the necessary things, and a dressing room that heard a different version of them.

In brief

176 Edition

The Heart of Lions Herald

10 Dec 2029
From our football correspondent Steady

Player ratings

Both of them Kwadwo Obeng Junior's — 9.36

2 goals, and the second was the one that settled it. Marked 9.36, and he could have had a third with better luck at the near post.

Player ratings

Nobody could get near Kwesi Pong

Successful dribbles: 30. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.

Market

Emmanuel Anning is on his way

The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Heart of Lions is pretending he will be back in the shirt.

Player ratings

Stephen Appiah Asare, 33, rolls back the years — 8.50

There is an age at which every good afternoon gets described as a throwback, which is unfair and also accurate. 8.50 at 33, and nobody on the pitch was better.

The dugout

news_h_frozen_out_of_the_side

news_b_frozen_out_of_the_side

Squad

A falling-out at Heart of Lions

Kwesi Pong and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.

Match

Kwadwo Obeng Junior the difference as Heart of Lions beat BA All Stars

Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Kwadwo Obeng Junior. 3‑1 against BA All Stars, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.

Squad

Edmund Annan signs on for more

“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Edmund Annan and Heart of Lions agree another 1 years.

Squad

A row about effort at Heart of Lions

Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Henry Ansu was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.

In brief

175 Edition

The Heart of Lions Herald

3 Dec 2029
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Match

4 matches without a win for Heart of Lions

The run now stands at 4, and the questions being asked around Heart of Lions are no longer polite ones.

Squad

Words exchanged at Heart of Lions

Kwesi Pong 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 dugout

news_h_frozen_out_of_the_side

news_b_frozen_out_of_the_side

Squad

Words at Heart of Lions training over how hard people work

Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Henry Ansu 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 terraces

One of their own: George Paaku

He is 23 and the ground already sings his name, which is a thing that happens to local boys and almost never to signings. Everything from here is measured against an affection he did nothing to earn except be from here.

Player ratings

Nobody could get near Seedorf Asante

Successful dribbles: 17. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.

Player ratings

The afternoon belonged to George Paaku

A mark of 7.95, and nobody in the ground would argue with it. He was involved in everything that mattered and most of what did not.

Market

Still no ink between Heart of Lions and Kwasi Donsu

“We keep meeting, and we keep leaving the room with the same numbers we walked in with.” Another round of talks at Heart of Lions, another week without a signature from Kwasi Donsu.

Squad

Daniel Essien named in the team of the month

A month is long enough that nobody gets in by accident. Daniel Essien is in the division's best eleven for it, which is a quieter compliment than an award and a more reliable one.

In brief

174 Edition

The Heart of Lions Herald

26 Nov 2029
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Squad

Godfrey Selchum keeps Heart of Lions in it on his own

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.

Squad

Tempers go at Heart of Lions

Kwesi Pong 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.

Squad

Words at Heart of Lions training over how hard people work

Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Kwasi Donsu 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 terraces

Heart of Lions supporters have found a favourite in Godfrey Selchum

There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 22-year-old it feels ownership of. Godfrey Selchum 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.

Player ratings

Kwesi Pong beats them one at a time

Successful dribbles: 19. There was always a defender in front of him and there was never a defender in front of him for long.

Squad

Heart of Lions count the cost of losing Francis Baba

18 days, the scan says, and scans are kinder than reality. The fixtures in that window have just become somebody else’s job.

The dugout

Andrew Addo on the point

“A point is a point and I will take it, but we should have had all three.” Andrew Addo after the 0‑0 draw, and the sentence every manager in the country said at some stage this weekend.

The dugout

The manager makes an example of Thomas Nuhu

“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.

Market

The clock does Stephen Appiah Asare’s negotiating for him

1 months left, and both sides know what that means: every week without a signature, the fee Heart of Lions could ask drops and the wages Stephen Appiah Asare can ask rise.

In brief

172 Edition

The Heart of Lions Herald

12 Nov 2029
From our football correspondent Crisis

Market

Emmanuel Anning is on his way

The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Heart of Lions is pretending he will be back in the shirt.

Player ratings

Kwesi Pong was unplayable

Successful dribbles: 27. He went past people as if he had been told there was a prize for it, and by the end the full-back had stopped pretending to try.

Squad

Godfrey Selchum keeps Heart of Lions in it on his own

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.

Squad

Tempers go at Heart of Lions

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.

Match

Kwadwo Obeng Junior’s goal not enough for Heart of Lions

Kwadwo Obeng Junior scored, and precious little else went right: 1‑3 to Hasaacas, and a quiet walk to the dressing room.

Squad

Henry Ansu 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.

Market

Emmanuel Anning told to find a new club

“They were honest with me, and I would rather know.” Emmanuel Anning has been informed he is not in the manager's thinking at Heart of Lions.

The dugout

Andrew Addo: “No excuses”

“I could talk about decisions and I could talk about luck. I will not. We lost.” The manager, 1‑3, and a press conference that lasted four minutes.

The dugout

Emmanuel Anning 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.

In brief

171 Edition

The Heart of Lions Herald

5 Nov 2029
From our football correspondent Steady

Market

Ebenezer Shamo puts it in writing

“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 Heart of Lions, and it is not being withdrawn.

Squad

Words exchanged at Heart of Lions

Kwesi Pong 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 dugout

news_h_frozen_out_of_the_side

news_b_frozen_out_of_the_side

Match

Heart of Lions see off Ashanti Gold

Three points for Heart of Lions, 1‑0 the final word against Ashanti Gold in a contest settled by the finer margins.

Player ratings

A masterclass from Kwadwo Obeng Junior

Marked 8.08 — 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.

Squad

A row about effort at Heart of Lions

Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and George Osei was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.

Squad

George Paaku named in the team of the month

A month is long enough that nobody gets in by accident. George Paaku is in the division's best eleven for it, which is a quieter compliment than an award and a more reliable one.

The dugout

Andrew Addo: “That is the standard”

“That is what I want every week. Not the result, the way they went about it.” The manager, after 1‑0, already talking about the next one.

The dugout

Atta Kusi 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.

In brief

170 Edition

The Heart of Lions Herald

29 Oct 2029
From our football correspondent Crisis

Match

Heart of Lions throw away a 2-goal lead

2 in front and in complete control, and it finished with Berekum Chelsea the happier side. There is no version of this afternoon that Heart of Lions will enjoy reviewing.

Player ratings

George Paaku scores twice — 8.20

Two goals and a mark of 8.20 to go with them. Strikers are judged on afternoons like this one and remembered for far fewer of them than people imagine.

The dugout

Baba Mensah: 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.” Heart of Lions have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.

The dugout

news_h_frozen_out_of_the_side

news_b_frozen_out_of_the_side

Squad

Tempers go at Heart of Lions

Kwesi Pong 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.

Match

Heart of Lions come up short against Berekum Chelsea

Berekum Chelsea left with the points after a 2‑3 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.

Squad

Henry Ansu 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 ratings

Nobody could get near Kwesi Pong

Successful dribbles: 19. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.

Squad

Heart of Lions lose Francis Baba

46 days, the medical staff say, and medical staff are optimists by profession. The team sheet will look wrong without him.

In brief

  • The dugout The manager makes an example of Bernard Gyan
  • The dugout The view from the dugout
  • Looking ahead A test against the best for Heart of Lions
169 Edition

The Heart of Lions Herald

22 Oct 2029
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Player ratings

Stephen Appiah Asare, 33, rolls back the years — 8.14

There is an age at which every good afternoon gets described as a throwback, which is unfair and also accurate. 8.14 at 33, and nobody on the pitch was better.

Squad

Kwesi Pong 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 Heart of Lions this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Squad

Henry Ansu 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 dugout

Godfrey Selchum 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.

Match

Kwadwo Obeng Junior at the heart of a fast Heart of Lions start

2 goals inside twenty minutes with Kwadwo Obeng Junior in the middle of it, and New Edubiase United unable to get near the ball long enough to change anything. Some matches are won before the first drink.

Player ratings

Nobody could get near George Paaku

Successful dribbles: 16. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.

Match

Honours even between Heart of Lions and New Edubiase United

2‑2, and both dressing rooms will call it two points lost. A draw that asked plenty of questions and answered none of them.

The dugout

The view from the dugout

“We did not lose. Some weeks that is all you get, and I would rather have the point than not.” Andrew Addo chose the glass-half-full version of 2‑2; the supporters left with the other one.

Squad

The first one for Stephen Appiah Asare

Every signing waits for it and every press conference asks about it until it comes. It has come, Heart of Lions have their man off the mark, and the second one is always easier.

In brief

168 Edition

The Heart of Lions Herald

15 Oct 2029
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Market

Emmanuel Anning has one foot out of the door

Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Heart of Lions they have already started talking about him in the past tense.

Squad

A falling-out at Heart of Lions

Kwesi Pong and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.

Squad

Stephen Appiah Asare 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 dugout

The manager makes an example of George Osei

“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 ratings

Kwadwo Obeng Junior stands above it all

Some games turn on a moment; this one turned on a man. 7.85 on the card, and the Heart of Lions support went home talking about one name.

Match

Honours even between Heart of Lions and Inter Allies

1‑1, and both dressing rooms will call it two points lost. A draw that asked plenty of questions and answered none of them.

Market

Daniel Addo is free to find somewhere else

“I was told straight, and I would rather have it straight.” The manager at Heart of Lions has been clear about where Daniel Addo stands, which is more than many ever get.

The dugout

The manager’s verdict

“I am frustrated, honestly. We did enough to win and we did not win.” Andrew Addo was not hiding it after 1‑1, and nobody in the Heart of Lions dressing room was either.

Squad

Kwadwo Obeng Junior named player of the week

One weekend, judged against everybody else's. Kwadwo Obeng Junior has come out on top of it, and for most footballers a weekly award is the only silverware a career ever produces.

In brief

167 Edition

The Heart of Lions Herald

8 Oct 2029
From our football correspondent Steady

Match

The small margins put Heart of Lions out

Out, 1‑3 to Aduana Stars, and the long argument about which of the small moments decided it. The league is all there is now, and everybody knows it.

Squad

3 goals for Kwadwo Obeng Junior

The match ball belongs to Kwadwo Obeng Junior, whose 3 goals turned a difficult afternoon into a procession.

Player ratings

Kamaldeen Sulemana, 17, steals the show — 7.84

Marked 7.84 at 17, in a side that makes no allowances for age. He did not need any, and he looked the least nervous man on the pitch.

The dugout

Daniel Addo says Heart of Lions went back on their word

“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.

Match

Kwadwo Obeng Junior sends Heart of Lions past Bechem United

It finished 5‑3, and it was Kwadwo Obeng Junior’s afternoon: on the scoresheet when it mattered, and the reason the points belong to Heart of Lions.

Match

Heart of Lions are shipping goals every week

Two or more conceded in each of the last 5 matches. It is not one mistake repeating itself, which would be the easier thing to fix; it is a different one every week.

Player ratings

A masterclass from Kwadwo Obeng Junior

Marked 10.00 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.

Squad

Words exchanged at Heart of Lions

Kwesi Pong 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.

Match

Kwadwo Obeng Junior among the goals in a wild afternoon

8 goals in one match, Kwadwo Obeng Junior on the scoresheet, and a scoreline that will look like a misprint. Neutrals could not have asked more of Heart of Lions and Bechem United.

In brief

166 Edition

The Heart of Lions Herald

1 Oct 2029
From our football correspondent Crisis

Match

A hiding for Heart of Lions

Beaten 0‑4 by Asante Kotoko, and beaten everywhere it matters. The inquest starts on the training pitch on Monday morning.

Squad

A one-man rearguard from Godfrey Selchum

There were 6 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.

Squad

Heart of Lions lose Kwasi Donsu

14 days, the medical staff say, and medical staff are optimists by profession. The team sheet will look wrong without him.

The dugout

news_h_frozen_out_of_the_side

news_b_frozen_out_of_the_side

Squad

Tempers go at Heart of Lions

Kwesi Pong 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.

Match

The goals have deserted Heart of Lions

3 matches, no goals, and a training ground that has tried everything. It will end — droughts always do — but nobody at Heart of Lions can tell you which week it ends in.

Player ratings

George Paaku beats them one at a time

Successful dribbles: 20. There was always a defender in front of him and there was never a defender in front of him for long.

Squad

A row about effort at Heart of Lions

Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Henry Ansu was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.

The dugout

No hiding place for Bernard Gyan

“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Bernard Gyan, and the manager let it.

In brief

  • Boardroom Nobody left the Heart of Lions dressing room in a hurry
  • The dugout The view from the dugout
  • Market No place for David Inusah in the plan
164 Edition

The Heart of Lions Herald

17 Sep 2029
From our football correspondent Upbeat

Market

Emmanuel Anning is on his way

The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Heart of Lions is pretending he will be back in the shirt.

Market

Thomas Nuhu puts it in writing

“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 Heart of Lions, and it is not being withdrawn.

Player ratings

Kwesi Pong was unplayable

Successful dribbles: 24. He went past people as if he had been told there was a prize for it, and by the end the full-back had stopped pretending to try.

Squad

A falling-out at Heart of Lions

Kwesi Pong and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.

Squad

A row about effort at Heart of Lions

Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Henry Ansu was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.

Match

Great Olympics take the points off Heart of Lions

Beaten 0‑2, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.

The dugout

Emmanuel Anning 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 dugout

Andrew Addo answers for it

“The supporters are entitled to be angry. So am I. We will put it right.” 0‑2, a manager saying the necessary things, and a dressing room that heard a different version of them.

Looking ahead

The leaders are next for Heart of Lions

Liberty Professionals top the table and they are coming into view. Nothing to lose, which is what every manager says before losing.

In brief

163 Edition

The Heart of Lions Herald

10 Sep 2029
From our football correspondent Upbeat

Squad

Godfrey Selchum stands alone

11 saves, and a scoreline the ten men in front of him had no right to. Goalkeepers only get noticed on the bad days; this was one of the other ones.

Player ratings

A brace, and Kwadwo Obeng Junior takes the afternoon — 9.12

There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. Kwadwo Obeng Junior provided it, and the 9.12 beside his name is if anything generous to everybody else.

Market

Ibrahim Samed 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 Heart of Lions can pretend not to have heard.

Squad

Kwesi Pong signs a new deal

“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Kwesi Pong commits to Heart of Lions for another 4 years.

Squad

Words exchanged at Heart of Lions

Kwesi Pong 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.

Squad

A row about effort at Heart of Lions

Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Henry Ansu was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.

Match

Kwadwo Obeng Junior the difference as Heart of Lions beat Wa All Stars

Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Kwadwo Obeng Junior. 2‑1 against Wa All Stars, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.

The terraces

The crowd has taken to Godfrey Selchum

At 21 he is being sung about by people twice his age, which is an affection a signing has to earn over years and a local kid gets for turning up. It is also the hardest thing in football to live up to.

Match

Heart of Lions keep winning on the road

3 away wins in a row. Travelling support is the truest kind, and this season it is being repaid in the only currency that counts.

In brief

162 Edition

The Heart of Lions Herald

3 Sep 2029
From our football correspondent Steady

Match

Nowhere to hide for Heart of Lions

1‑4 against Aduana Stars, and no complaints that would survive the replay. The manager spoke about character afterwards; the terraces used shorter words.

Squad

Godfrey Selchum stands alone

9 saves, and a scoreline the ten men in front of him had no right to. Goalkeepers only get noticed on the bad days; this was one of the other ones.

Market

Seedorf Asante puts it in writing

“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 Heart of Lions, and it is not being withdrawn.

Transfer targets

$14.0K settles it between the clubs for Albert Essien

Hearts of Oak have accepted the money. What Heart of Lions do not yet have is the man, and between here and the photograph is a conversation about wages that both sides are dreading.

The dugout

Ibrahim Samed keeps the receipts

“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Heart of Lions may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.

Boardroom

Heart of Lions close the window on a squad of their own making

15 in and 14 out, and no more changes for months. The manager has what he has, the supporters have their opinion of it, and the table will have the last word.

Market

Kwasi Donsu comes home

The shirt still fits. Kwasi Donsu is back at Heart of Lions, and half the ground remembers him in these colours already. Some signings need selling to the town; this one sold itself.

Squad

Tempers go at Heart of Lions

Kwesi Pong 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.

Boardroom

5 academy players handed senior numbers at Heart of Lions

The morning the pathway stops being a brochure and becomes a team sheet. Most of them will not be here in three years; all of them have already done the hard part, which was getting to today.

In brief

137 Edition

The Heart of Lions Herald

12 Mar 2029
From our football correspondent Upbeat

The dugout

Emmanuel Anning keeps the receipts

“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Heart of Lions may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.

Player ratings

A brace, and George Paaku takes the afternoon — 8.29

There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. George Paaku provided it, and the 8.29 beside his name is if anything generous to everybody else.

Squad

A falling-out at Heart of Lions

Yaw Amankwa and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.

Squad

Henry Ansu 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.

Match

Heart of Lions get the job done against WAFA

A 2‑1 win over WAFA, earned rather than given, and the sort of afternoon that sends everyone home talking about next week instead of this one.

The terraces

The crowd has taken to George Paaku

At 23 he is being sung about by people twice his age, which is an affection a signing has to earn over years and a local kid gets for turning up. It is also the hardest thing in football to live up to.

Market

No place for Emmanuel Anning in the plan

“The manager did not use many words, and he did not need to.” Emmanuel Anning has his answer from Heart of Lions; what he does with it is the next window’s story.

Player ratings

One of those days for Kwesi Pong

There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.09, and no argument anywhere in the ground.

The dugout

Andrew Addo has his say

“We earned that. I asked them for a reaction and I got one, and now I want the same again on Saturday.” Andrew Addo on a 2‑1 afternoon that pleased him more than he was prepared to show.

In brief

135 Edition

The Heart of Lions Herald

26 Feb 2029
From our football correspondent Steady

Player ratings

Kwesi Pong was unplayable

Successful dribbles: 26. He went past people as if he had been told there was a prize for it, and by the end the full-back had stopped pretending to try.

The dugout

Ibrahim Samed says Heart of Lions went back on their word

“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.

Squad

Tempers go at Heart of Lions

Johnson Amuzu 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.

Squad

George Osei 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 dugout

Atta Kusi 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 ratings

Johnson Amuzu keeps on missing

Shots: 12, not one of them in. A centre forward is paid for one thing, and on this evidence he has forgotten which thing it is.

The dugout

Half-satisfied: Andrew Addo on the draw

“There are things I liked and things we will be doing on Tuesday until they are right.” 0‑0, and a manager who had already decided what Tuesday looked like.

The dugout

Johnson Amuzu 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 Heart of Lions, and both men came out saying it was fine.

Looking ahead

The leaders are next for Heart of Lions

Hearts of Oak top the table and they are coming into view. Nothing to lose, which is what every manager says before losing.

In brief

131 Edition

The Heart of Lions Herald

29 Jan 2029
From our football correspondent Crisis

Squad

Ernest Adjei breaks a bone — 25 days out

Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 25 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.

Player ratings

Kwesi Pong runs at them all day

Successful dribbles: 25. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.

The dugout

Thomas Nuhu says Heart of Lions went back on their word

“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.

Transfer targets

Yakubu Saeed due for a Heart of Lions medical

Everything agreed with Medeama, everything agreed with the player; a doctor is the only person left to persuade. The photograph is a day or two away.

Squad

Tempers go at Heart of Lions

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.

Boardroom

Heart of Lions agree a free transfer for Philemon Otieno

Nothing happens for months and then he simply arrives, at no cost, having signed a pre-contract while still turning out for somebody else. It is the least dramatic way to sign a footballer and frequently the shrewdest.

Squad

A row about effort at Heart of Lions

Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Henry Ansu was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.

Squad

David Bukari signs on for more

“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” David Bukari and Heart of Lions agree another 3 years.

Transfer targets

Door shut on Sharif Shuaib

Heart of Lions asked and Hearts of Oak said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.

In brief

122 Edition

The Heart of Lions Herald

27 Nov 2028
From our football correspondent Crisis

Player ratings

Nobody could get near Kwesi Pong

Successful dribbles: 33. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.

Squad

Godfrey Selchum stands alone

6 saves, and a scoreline the ten men in front of him had no right to. Goalkeepers only get noticed on the bad days; this was one of the other ones.

Match

No end in sight to Heart of Lions's wait for a win

5 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Heart of Lions has to find a result from somewhere.

Squad

Macaulley Kuma 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 Heart of Lions this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Squad

A row about effort at Heart of Lions

Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Henry Ansu was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.

Match

George Paaku’s goal not enough for Heart of Lions

George Paaku scored, and precious little else went right: 1‑2 to WAFA, and a quiet walk to the dressing room.

The terraces

One of their own: George Paaku

He is 22 and the ground already sings his name, which is a thing that happens to local boys and almost never to signings. Everything from here is measured against an affection he did nothing to earn except be from here.

Player ratings

Ninety minutes of George Paaku at his very best

Marked 8.10. Players have careers without a single afternoon like this in them, and he has just had one in front of everybody at Heart of Lions.

The dugout

Michael Noumon 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.

In brief

  • The dugout The manager’s verdict
  • The dugout Johnson Amuzu asks for a word with the manager
  • The dugout The form table has caught Atta Kusi
120 Edition

The Heart of Lions Herald

13 Nov 2028
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Market

Yaw Amankwa asks to leave Heart of Lions

“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.

Squad

6 saves: Godfrey Selchum was the team

Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the whole of the defence. 6 saves, several of them the kind nobody expects to see made, and ten outfield players who owe him a drink.

Squad

Johnson Amuzu 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 Heart of Lions this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Squad

Yaw Amankwa 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 ratings

Nobody could get near Kwesi Pong

Successful dribbles: 19. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.

Player ratings

Johnson Amuzu in the eights

A performance of 8.06 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.

Match

Honours even between Heart of Lions and Hasaacas

1‑1, and both dressing rooms will call it two points lost. A draw that asked plenty of questions and answered none of them.

The dugout

Andrew Addo: “We have to be better”

“It is not the end of the world and it is not good enough. Both of those are true.” The manager, after a 1‑1 draw, said the honest thing and then went to say it again inside.

Looking ahead

The leaders are next for Heart of Lions

Hearts of Oak top the table and they are coming into view. Nothing to lose, which is what every manager says before losing.

In brief

117 Edition

The Heart of Lions Herald

23 Oct 2028
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Squad

Fawzi Ali damages knee ligaments — 31 days out

The words a physio says slowly. 31 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.

Match

Cruel end for New Edubiase United as Heart of Lions pounce

There is no crueller way to lose a football match. Heart of Lions scored in the 92th minute, the restart barely happened, and the away end was still standing when the whistle went.

Player ratings

Yaw Amankwa scores twice — 8.10

Two goals and a mark of 8.10 to go with them. Strikers are judged on afternoons like this one and remembered for far fewer of them than people imagine.

Match

No clean sheets in sight for Heart of Lions

7 games now with at least two against. The back line has been rearranged, the goalkeeper has been backed publicly, and the goals keep going in anyway.

Market

Kwadwo Boakye has one foot out of the door

Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Heart of Lions they have already started talking about him in the past tense.

Match

Heart of Lions find a way past New Edubiase United

New Edubiase United made Heart of Lions work for it, but the scoreboard read 5‑4 at the end and the table does not ask how.

Squad

A falling-out at Heart of Lions

Johnson Amuzu and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.

Match

The drought breaks for Heart of Lions

6 without a win is the sort of run that changes how a town talks about its club, and New Edubiase United were the afternoon it stopped. Nothing is fixed by one result and everything feels different by one.

Squad

Words at Heart of Lions training over how hard people work

Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Yaw Amankwa is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.

In brief

116 Edition

The Heart of Lions Herald

16 Oct 2028
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Squad

The knee: Fawzi Ali out for 38 days

38 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Heart of Lions lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.

Market

Yaw Amankwa asks to leave Heart of Lions

“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 ratings

Johnson Amuzu scores twice — 9.05

Two goals and a mark of 9.05 to go with them. Strikers are judged on afternoons like this one and remembered for far fewer of them than people imagine.

Match

6 matches without a win for Heart of Lions

The run now stands at 6, and the questions being asked around Heart of Lions are no longer polite ones.

Player ratings

Nobody could get near Kwesi Pong

Successful dribbles: 26. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.

Match

Heart of Lions are shipping goals every week

Two or more conceded in each of the last 6 matches. It is not one mistake repeating itself, which would be the easier thing to fix; it is a different one every week.

Squad

Words exchanged at Heart of Lions

Macaulley Kuma 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.

Squad

Henry Ansu 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 ratings

A masterclass from Kwadwo Obeng Junior

Marked 8.08 — 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.

In brief

115 Edition

The Heart of Lions Herald

9 Oct 2028
From our football correspondent Crisis

Squad

The knee: Fawzi Ali out for 45 days

45 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Heart of Lions lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.

Match

The small margins put Heart of Lions out

Out, 2‑3 to Medeama, and the long argument about which of the small moments decided it. The league is all there is now, and everybody knows it.

Market

Johnson Amuzu puts it in writing

“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 Heart of Lions, and it is not being withdrawn.

Player ratings

Both of them Paul Agyei's — 8.53

2 goals, and the second was the one that settled it. Marked 8.53, and he could have had a third with better luck at the near post.

Player ratings

A debut Siyabonga Dolly will not forget — 7.35

There is exactly one of these per career and it does not usually go like this. 0 on the scoresheet, 7.35 beside the name, and a crowd that had never seen him before chanting it by the end.

Market

Michael Noumon has one foot out of the door

Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Heart of Lions they have already started talking about him in the past tense.

Match

The wait goes on for Heart of Lions

5 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.

Match

Heart of Lions leaking at the back

5 matches, two or more conceded in every one of them. Sides that create as much as this can live with it for a while. Nobody lives with it forever.

Squad

Tempers go at Heart of Lions

Yaw Amankwa 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

114 Edition

The Heart of Lions Herald

2 Oct 2028
From our football correspondent Steady

Squad

A knee injury of the worst kind for Fawzi Ali

52 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Heart of Lions lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.

Squad

Godfrey Selchum stands alone

6 saves, and a scoreline the ten men in front of him had no right to. Goalkeepers only get noticed on the bad days; this was one of the other ones.

The dugout

David Inusah keeps the receipts

“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Heart of Lions may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.

Squad

Macaulley Kuma 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 Heart of Lions this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Squad

Ibrahim Samed stays put

“The easiest signature of my career.” Ibrahim Samed and Heart of Lions agree another 1 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.

Match

Heart of Lions come up short against Asante Kotoko

Asante Kotoko left with the points after a 1‑2 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.

Player ratings

A masterclass from Kwadwo Obeng Junior

Marked 8.16 — 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.

The dugout

Andrew Addo faces the questions

“We were not good enough today and I am not going to dress it up.” Andrew Addo after 1‑2, in the tone of a man who knows the next question and does not intend to answer it.

The dugout

Johnson Amuzu 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 Heart of Lions, and both men came out saying it was fine.

In brief