The board’s statement ran to three sentences and one of them mentioned results. Afriyie Djiku has managed long enough to translate: win soon, or the next statement is shorter.
Nothing has been announced and everybody understands what it means. A board that summons the whole football department on a Tuesday morning is a board that has stopped believing the problem will fix itself.
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Kwesi Pong and Heart of Lions agree another 2 years.
Squad8 Jun 2037
Words at Heart of Lions training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Kwesi Pong 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.
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.
The injury that keeps coming back, keeps being rushed back from, and quietly costs more careers than the dramatic ones. 16 days is the estimate; the honest figure depends on whether anybody is patient.
Squad1 Jun 2037
Kwesi Pong 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.
Thomas Djiku 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
SquadLancine Bamba has become a man the manager trusts
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.
In brief
SquadThe manager has not finished forgetting Etse Dogli's mistake
The mood at Heart of Lions has turned into something else
Supporters who sing when it goes badly are supporters. Supporters who gather afterwards are a problem, and everybody inside the building knows which of the two this now is.
“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 The request is on a desk at Heart of Lions, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad18 May 2037
Kwesi Pong 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.
Kwadwo Partey 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.
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.
“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.
Squad11 May 2037
Words at Heart of Lions training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Kwesi Pong 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.
What was said behind closed doors has now been said in front of a microphone. Everybody at Heart of Lions can do the arithmetic, including the man it is aimed at.
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.
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.
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Kwadwo Obeng Junior signs something — a contract at Heart of Lions or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
Position 16, 16 points, and a fixture list with fewer games left in it than excuses. The arithmetic is not cruel yet, but it has stopped being kind.
Squad27 Apr 2037
Words at Heart of Lions training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Kwesi Pong 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
SquadThe manager has not finished forgetting Etse Dogli's mistake
The mood at Heart of Lions has turned into something else
Supporters who sing when it goes badly are supporters. Supporters who gather afterwards are a problem, and everybody inside the building knows which of the two this now is.
“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.
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.
In brief
SquadThomas Djiku falls out with a teammate over standards
The board’s statement ran to three sentences and one of them mentioned results. Afriyie Djiku has managed long enough to translate: win soon, or the next statement is shorter.
“The easiest signature of my career.” Kwadwo Obeng Junior and Heart of Lions agree another 2 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Squad6 Apr 2037
Kwesi Pong 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.
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.
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Kwadwo Obeng Junior signs something — a contract at Heart of Lions or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
Nobody on the board has said anything against the manager, which is the point — they have stopped saying anything for him either.
Squad30 Mar 2037
Words at Heart of Lions training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Kwesi Pong 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.
Beaten 0‑1, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
Squad30 Mar 2037
The manager has not finished forgetting Etse Dogli'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.
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.
Shots: 12. Goals: none. The chances were there and they were good ones, and they went into the stand, the goalkeeper's arms and the side netting in roughly that order.
The run now stands at 19, and the questions being asked around Heart of Lions are no longer polite ones.
The terraces23 Mar 2037
The mood at Heart of Lions has turned into something else
Supporters who sing when it goes badly are supporters. Supporters who gather afterwards are a problem, and everybody inside the building knows which of the two this now is.
13 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.
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.
There is an age at which every good afternoon gets described as a throwback, which is unfair and also accurate. 7.84 at 33, and nobody on the pitch was better.
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.
12 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.
1‑8 to WAFA, 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.
“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.
Defending was optional and nobody took up the option. 9 goals between Heart of Lions and WAFA, and not one of the people who paid to be there will ask for the money back.
Squad16 Mar 2037
Words at Heart of Lions training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Kwesi Pong 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.
Two or more conceded in each of the last 11 matches. It is not one mistake repeating itself, which would be the easier thing to fix; it is a different one every week.
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.
There is an age at which every good afternoon gets described as a throwback, which is unfair and also accurate. 8.08 at 33, and nobody on the pitch was better.
8 goals in one match, Isa Musa on the scoresheet, and a scoreline that will look like a misprint. Neutrals could not have asked more of Heart of Lions and Hearts of Oak.
A performance of 9.88 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Squad9 Mar 2037
Kwesi Pong 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.
Nobody upstairs has said anything, which is the loudest thing they could do. Results buy silence in this game; the account at Heart of Lions is running low.
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.
10 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.
There is an age at which every good afternoon gets described as a throwback, which is unfair and also accurate. 8.50 at 36, and nobody on the pitch was better.
“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.
15 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.
The terraces23 Feb 2037
The mood at Heart of Lions has turned into something else
Supporters who sing when it goes badly are supporters. Supporters who gather afterwards are a problem, and everybody inside the building knows which of the two this now is.
0‑5 against Ashanti Gold, and no complaints that would survive the replay. The manager spoke about character afterwards; the terraces used shorter words.
Two or more conceded in each of the last 9 matches. It is not one mistake repeating itself, which would be the easier thing to fix; it is a different one every week.
“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.
Squad23 Feb 2037
Kwesi Pong 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.
Whether it was the goalkeeper or the ten in front of him is the argument that will fill every conversation in town this week. 1 saves does not settle it either way.
Two or more conceded in each of the last 8 matches. It is not one mistake repeating itself, which would be the easier thing to fix; it is a different one every week.
“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.
“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.
Squad16 Feb 2037
Words at Heart of Lions training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Kwesi Pong 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.
A player who expected to start watched it instead. The manager will call it a decision for the team; Kwadwo Obeng Junior will call it something else in private.
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.
Player ratings9 Feb 2037
A first appearance Joseph Boakye will want to forget — 4.99
Everybody's debut is one of two stories and this was the other one. 4.99, and the only consolation available is that nobody's career has ever been decided by ninety minutes in a shirt he had just been given.
“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.
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.
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 New Edubiase United in equal measure; everybody else had a wonderful time.
12 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.
The board’s statement ran to three sentences and one of them mentioned results. Afriyie Djiku has managed long enough to translate: win soon, or the next statement is shorter.
2 in front and in complete control, and it finished with Inter Allies the happier side. There is no version of this afternoon that Heart of Lions will enjoy reviewing.
“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.
It has stopped being a mood in the stands and started being something organised. Boards can ignore a bad atmosphere for a long time; they cannot ignore this stage of it for very long at all.
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.
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 11 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
The phone has started ringing about Isa Musa again, and this time the name on the line is Inter Allies. Heart of Lions are listening politely and promising nothing.
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.
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.
Squad26 Jan 2037
Words at Heart of Lions training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Kwesi Pong 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.
Ernest Djiku 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.
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.
“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.
“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.
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.
9 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.
Two goals and a mark of 8.56 to go with them. Strikers are judged on afternoons like this one and remembered for far fewer of them than people imagine.
Squad12 Jan 2037
Words at Heart of Lions training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Kwesi Pong 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.
8 without a win now, and the ground has developed the special quiet of a crowd that expects the worst. One scrappy 1-0 would cure most of it; that is the maddening part.
Nobody upstairs has said anything, which is the loudest thing they could do. Results buy silence in this game; the account at Heart of Lions is running low.
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Gad Mathews commits to Heart of Lions for another 2 years.
Squad5 Jan 2037
Kwesi Pong 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.
It has stopped being a mood in the stands and started being something organised. Boards can ignore a bad atmosphere for a long time; they cannot ignore this stage of it for very long at all.
3‑7 against Wa All Stars, and no complaints that would survive the replay. The manager spoke about character afterwards; the terraces used shorter words.
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.
10 goals. Both benches spent the second half looking at each other rather than at the pitch. Purists will complain about Heart of Lions and Wa All Stars in equal measure; everybody else had a wonderful time.
Player ratings29 Dec 2036
Isa Musa was on a different afternoon to everybody else
8.92. 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.
Marked 8.83 — 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.
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.
0‑1 to Aduana Stars, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.
Squad22 Dec 2036
Isaac Mintah 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.
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.
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.
Squad15 Dec 2036
Words at Heart of Lions training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Kwesi Pong 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.
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.
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.
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” George Osei and Heart of Lions agree another 2 years.
Squad8 Dec 2036
Kwesi Pong 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 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.
Player ratings8 Dec 2036
Isa Musa was on a different afternoon to everybody else
8.26. 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.
It has stopped being a mood in the stands and started being something organised. Boards can ignore a bad atmosphere for a long time; they cannot ignore this stage of it for very long at all.
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.
Defending was optional and nobody took up the option. 8 goals between Heart of Lions and WAFA, and not one of the people who paid to be there will ask for the money back.
It is not much of a headline and it is the reason players believe the next promise. Heart of Lions told Kwesi Pong something would happen and then it happened, which in this industry passes for remarkable.
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.
There was one mistake and it ended in the net. Defenders are judged on the worst thing they did rather than on the eighty-nine minutes either side of it, which is unfair and is also the job.
8 goals in one match, Michael Ephson on the scoresheet, and a scoreline that will look like a misprint. Neutrals could not have asked more of Heart of Lions and Hearts of Oak.
Marked 9.74 — 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.
Squad24 Nov 2036
Kwesi Pong 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.
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Heart of Lions know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
Beaten 11 times, with 3 saves for company. Goalkeepers carry these scorelines on their record whoever actually caused them, which is the quiet injustice of the job.
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Heart of Lions may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Match15 Nov 2036
Nobody could stop scoring
11 goals. Both benches spent the second half looking at each other rather than at the pitch. Purists will complain about Heart of Lions and Hasaacas in equal measure; everybody else had a wonderful time.
Squad17 Nov 2036
Words at Heart of Lions training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Kwesi Pong 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 was one mistake and it ended in the net. Defenders are judged on the worst thing they did rather than on the eighty-nine minutes either side of it, which is unfair and is also the job.
He is the name in every column and on every phone-in, which is a heavy thing to carry at any age. Some footballers thrive on it; others are quietly finished by it.
At 36 he is supposed to be managing his minutes. Instead he was marked 8.36 and looked, for ninety minutes, exactly like the player everybody remembers.
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.
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Isaac Mintah and Heart of Lions agree another 1 years.
Squad10 Nov 2036
Isaac Mintah 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.
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.
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Heart of Lions know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
It has stopped being a mood in the stands and started being something organised. Boards can ignore a bad atmosphere for a long time; they cannot ignore this stage of it for very long at all.
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.
4 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.
Squad3 Nov 2036
Words at Heart of Lions training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Kwesi Pong 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.
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 12 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
2 in front and in complete control, and it finished with New Edubiase United the happier side. There is no version of this afternoon that Heart of Lions will enjoy reviewing.
Squad27 Oct 2036
Kwesi Pong 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.
Thomas Djiku 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.
2‑5 against Inter Allies, and no complaints that would survive the replay. The manager spoke about character afterwards; the terraces used shorter words.
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.
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 Inter Allies in equal measure; everybody else had a wonderful time.
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.
Every touch is being weighed now, in print and everywhere else. Some players grow into that and some are quietly ruined by it, and nobody knows which in advance.
The words a physio says slowly. 14 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.
At 37 he is supposed to be managing his minutes. Instead he was marked 8.46 and looked, for ninety minutes, exactly like the player everybody remembers.
Squad13 Oct 2036
Kwesi Pong 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.
Marked 8.87. 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.
Player ratings13 Oct 2036
Anthony Owusu was on a different afternoon to everybody else
8.68. 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.
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.
It has stopped being a mood in the stands and started being something organised. Boards can ignore a bad atmosphere for a long time; they cannot ignore this stage of it for very long at all.
The words a physio says slowly. 21 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.
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 12 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
Out, 0‑5 to Hasaacas, and the long argument about which of the small moments decided it. The league is all there is now, and everybody knows it.
Player ratings6 Oct 2036
A brace, and Anthony Owusu takes the afternoon — 8.89
There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. Anthony Owusu provided it, and the 8.89 beside his name is if anything generous to everybody else.
It finished 0-5. A cup exit is a disappointment; this was a public dismantling, and the difference between the two is the number of people who will still be talking about it in August.
There is an age at which every good afternoon gets described as a throwback, which is unfair and also accurate. 8.14 at 37, and nobody on the pitch was better.
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.
In brief
SquadWords at Heart of Lions training over how hard people work
29 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.
Going 2 down does something to a side, and what it usually does is finish them. Not here. Heart of Lions rebuilt the afternoon goal by goal, and Liberty Professionals had no answer to any of it.
“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.
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.
25 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.
36 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.
“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.
Squad22 Sep 2036
Words at Heart of Lions training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Kwesi Pong 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.
Baba Ofori 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 words a physio says slowly. 44 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.
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.
Squad15 Sep 2036
Kwesi Pong 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.
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Heart of Lions know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
23 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.
It has stopped being a mood in the stands and started being something organised. Boards can ignore a bad atmosphere for a long time; they cannot ignore this stage of it for very long at all.
The words a physio says slowly. 51 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.
It is a specific kind of quiet, a ground watching a winning position dissolve. Aduana Stars kept coming because nothing stopped them, and Heart of Lions will be asked about the last half hour all week.
“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.
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.
Boardroom8 Sep 2036
8 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.
The words a physio says slowly. 58 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.
Add another name to the list: Inter Allies have asked the question everybody in the game has been asking about Isa Musa. The answer from Heart of Lions has not changed — yet.
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.
The fee was agreed and the flight was looked at — and then the phone stopped ringing. Great Olympics moved on, Nana Ofori reports back to Heart of Lions, and everybody pretends Monday is just Monday.
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.
Squad1 Sep 2036
Words at Heart of Lions training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Jonathan Boateng 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.
20 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.
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.
In brief
SquadWords at Heart of Lions training over how hard people work
29 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.
“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.
The offer from BA All Stars for Nana Ofori 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 Heart of Lions this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
36 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.
It has stopped being a mood in the stands and started being something organised. Boards can ignore a bad atmosphere for a long time; they cannot ignore this stage of it for very long at all.
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 easiest signature of my career.” Thomas Djiku and Heart of Lions agree another 4 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
45 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.
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.
The official line will be that it was routine. It was not routine, the timing says so, and every person in that room knows what the next bad result costs.
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.
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.
Squad4 Aug 2036
Isaac Mintah 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.
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.
The words a physio says slowly. 53 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.
“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.
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 words a physio says slowly. 60 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.
Nobody upstairs has said anything, which is the loudest thing they could do. Results buy silence in this game; the account at Heart of Lions is running low.
“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.
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.
Nobody makes a documentary about a hamstring and everybody in the game fears one. Heart of Lions will be careful with the return date, because the second one is always worse than the first.
In brief
SquadIsaac Mintah falls out with a teammate over standards
68 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.
It has stopped being a mood in the stands and started being something organised. Boards can ignore a bad atmosphere for a long time; they cannot ignore this stage of it for very long at all.
Position 15 and 20 points, and the table gets read bottom-up in this part of town. The calendar has stopped being a schedule and started being a countdown.
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 easiest signature of my career.” Isaac Mintah and Heart of Lions agree another 1 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Squad14 Jul 2036
Words at Heart of Lions training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Isaac Mintah 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.
75 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.
The board’s statement ran to three sentences and one of them mentioned results. Afriyie Djiku has managed long enough to translate: win soon, or the next statement is shorter.
The official line will be that it was routine. It was not routine, the timing says so, and every person in that room knows what the next bad result costs.
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.
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Baba Mohammed and Heart of Lions agree another 3 years.
None of them will be seen by anybody outside the training ground for three years, most of them will never play a senior match, and one of them might change the club. That is the whole proposition, and it is why academies exist.
82 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.
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.
Squad30 Jun 2036
Words at Heart of Lions training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Isaac Mintah 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.
89 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.
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.
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.
Everyone has stopped pretending: BA All Stars will make the call about Isa Musa this week. Heart of Lions have a number in mind, and the number is not shy.
In brief
SquadIsaac Mintah falls out with a teammate over standards
The words a physio says slowly. 97 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.
It has stopped being a mood in the stands and started being something organised. Boards can ignore a bad atmosphere for a long time; they cannot ignore this stage of it for very long at all.
Position 15 and 20 points, and the table gets read bottom-up in this part of town. The calendar has stopped being a schedule and started being a countdown.
“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.
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.
It is never announced and it is entirely visible: the biggest afternoons of the season keep containing him. A press box works this out long before anybody at the club confirms a word of it.
The words a physio says slowly. 104 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.
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.
The words a physio says slowly. 112 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.
What was said behind closed doors has now been said in front of a microphone. Everybody at Heart of Lions can do the arithmetic, including the man it is aimed at.
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Gad Mathews and Heart of Lions agree another 2 years.
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.
Squad2 Jun 2036
Isaac Mintah 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 words a physio says slowly. 119 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.
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.
It is never announced and it is entirely visible: the biggest afternoons of the season keep containing him. A press box works this out long before anybody at the club confirms a word of it.
The 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 words a physio says slowly. 126 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 terraces19 May 2036
The mood at Heart of Lions has turned into something else
Supporters who sing when it goes badly are supporters. Supporters who gather afterwards are a problem, and everybody inside the building knows which of the two this now is.
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.
“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.
Squad19 May 2036
Isaac Mintah 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.
134 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.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 18 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
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.
“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 injury that keeps coming back, keeps being rushed back from, and quietly costs more careers than the dramatic ones. 14 days is the estimate; the honest figure depends on whether anybody is patient.
Squad5 May 2036
Kwesi Pong 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.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Heart of Lions will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
The directors have stopped offering the manager public warmth. In football that is usually the stage before the short statement.
Squad28 Apr 2036
Words at Heart of Lions training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Kwesi Pong 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 mood at Heart of Lions has turned into something else
Supporters who sing when it goes badly are supporters. Supporters who gather afterwards are a problem, and everybody inside the building knows which of the two this now is.
The words a physio says slowly. 17 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.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Heart of Lions will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
The words a physio says slowly. 24 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.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 41 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
“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.
In brief
SquadWords at Heart of Lions training over how hard people work
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.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 48 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
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.
The words a physio says slowly. 38 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.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 55 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Nobody upstairs has said anything, which is the loudest thing they could do. Results buy silence in this game; the account at Heart of Lions is running low.
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.
Squad31 Mar 2036
Words at Heart of Lions training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Isaac Mintah 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.
20 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.
60 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.
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 12 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Heart of Lions will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
At 35 he is supposed to be managing his minutes. Instead he was marked 8.65 and looked, for ninety minutes, exactly like the player everybody remembers.
6 goals. Both benches spent the second half looking at each other rather than at the pitch. Purists will complain about Heart of Lions and WAFA in equal measure; everybody else had a wonderful time.
Marked 8.09 — 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.
19 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.
67 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.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Heart of Lions will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
What was said behind closed doors has now been said in front of a microphone. Everybody at Heart of Lions can do the arithmetic, including the man it is aimed at.
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.
It needed Michael Ephson to find the net to bring anything home at all: 1‑1 against Hearts of Oak, and half the dressing room will call it a point won.
88 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.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 34 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Two goals and a mark of 8.31 to go with them. Strikers are judged on afternoons like this one and remembered for far fewer of them than people imagine.
The phone has started ringing about Isa Musa again, and this time the name on the line is BA All Stars. Heart of Lions are listening politely and promising nothing.
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.
109 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.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 57 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
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.
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.
Shots: 11. Goals: none. The chances were there and they were good ones, and they went into the stand, the goalkeeper's arms and the side netting in roughly that order.
116 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.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 64 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
There is an age at which every good afternoon gets described as a throwback, which is unfair and also accurate. 8.66 at 36, and nobody on the pitch was better.
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.
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.
In brief
Player ratingsNinety minutes of Isa Musa at his very best
132 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.
The terraces31 Dec 2035
The mood at Heart of Lions has turned into something else
Supporters who sing when it goes badly are supporters. Supporters who gather afterwards are a problem, and everybody inside the building knows which of the two this now is.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 78 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
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.
139 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.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 85 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
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.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 92 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
8 without a win now, and the ground has developed the special quiet of a crowd that expects the worst. One scrappy 1-0 would cure most of it; that is the maddening part.
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.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 101 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
“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.
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.
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Jayson Nettey and Heart of Lions agree another 1 years.
11 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.
The mood at Heart of Lions has turned into something else
Supporters who sing when it goes badly are supporters. Supporters who gather afterwards are a problem, and everybody inside the building knows which of the two this now is.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 108 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
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 Heart of Lions this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 115 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
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.
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.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 122 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Two goals and a mark of 8.19 to go with them. Strikers are judged on afternoons like this one and remembered for far fewer of them than people imagine.
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.
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.
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 Hearts of Oak in equal measure; everybody else had a wonderful time.
Player ratings19 Nov 2035
Isa Musa was on a different afternoon to everybody else
8.95. 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.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 129 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
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.
Defending was optional and nobody took up the option. 8 goals between Heart of Lions and Hasaacas, and not one of the people who paid to be there will ask for the money back.
Marked 8.23 — 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 mood at Heart of Lions has turned into something else
Supporters who sing when it goes badly are supporters. Supporters who gather afterwards are a problem, and everybody inside the building knows which of the two this now is.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 136 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
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.
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Heart of Lions know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
In brief
BoardroomThe Heart of Lions production line keeps running
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 143 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
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.
Defending was optional and nobody took up the option. 6 goals between Heart of Lions and Berekum Chelsea, and not one of the people who paid to be there will ask for the money back.
Marked 8.13 — 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.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Heart of Lions will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
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.
There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. Isa Musa provided it, and the 8.97 beside his name is if anything generous to everybody else.
The 89th minute, half the ground already edging towards the exits, and Isa Musa decided nobody was going anywhere. New Edubiase United had no time left to answer.
There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. Michael Ephson provided it, and the 8.84 beside his name is if anything generous to everybody else.
There is an age at which every good afternoon gets described as a throwback, which is unfair and also accurate. 9.18 at 35, and nobody on the pitch was better.
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.
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 9 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
There is an age at which every good afternoon gets described as a throwback, which is unfair and also accurate. 9.07 at 36, and nobody on the pitch was better.
The hardest thing about being 21 in a senior side is that nobody makes allowances. Albert Adjei did not need any: 7.85, and he looked the most comfortable man on the pitch.
Squad15 Oct 2035
Words at Heart of Lions training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Kwesi Pong 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 easiest signature of my career.” Jayson Nettey and Heart of Lions agree another 1 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Jayson Nettey 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.
15 times he got in the way of something. Centre-halves get written about when they make mistakes and ignored when they do not, so an afternoon like this needs saying out loud: he is the reason the scoreline reads as it does.
There were 15 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.
The terraces8 Oct 2035
The mood at Heart of Lions has turned into something else
Supporters who sing when it goes badly are supporters. Supporters who gather afterwards are a problem, and everybody inside the building knows which of the two this now is.
Two goals and a mark of 8.84 to go with them. Strikers are judged on afternoons like this one and remembered for far fewer of them than people imagine.
At 35 he is supposed to be managing his minutes. Instead he was marked 8.81 and looked, for ninety minutes, exactly like the player everybody remembers.
The hardest thing about being 21 in a senior side is that nobody makes allowances. Albert Adjei did not need any: 7.78, and he looked the most comfortable man on the pitch.
Squad8 Oct 2035
Kwesi Pong 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 ratings8 Oct 2035
Anthony Owusu was on a different afternoon to everybody else
9.24. 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.
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.
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 ratings1 Oct 2035
Michael Ephson was on a different afternoon to everybody else
8.11. 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.
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.
It needed Michael Ephson to find the net to bring anything home at all: 1‑1 against Asante Kotoko, and half the dressing room will call it a point won.
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.
Two or more conceded in each of the last 24 matches. It is not one mistake repeating itself, which would be the easier thing to fix; it is a different one every week.
At 35 he is supposed to be managing his minutes. Instead he was marked 9.07 and looked, for ninety minutes, exactly like the player everybody remembers.
Squad24 Sep 2035
Kwesi Pong 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.
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.
13 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.
Two goals and a mark of 8.75 to go with them. Strikers are judged on afternoons like this one and remembered for far fewer of them than people imagine.
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Michael Ephson. 4‑3 against Great Olympics, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
7 goals in one match, Michael Ephson on the scoresheet, and a scoreline that will look like a misprint. Neutrals could not have asked more of Heart of Lions and Great Olympics.
Marked 9.52 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.
Squad17 Sep 2035
Kwesi Pong 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.
Marked 9.12 — 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.
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.
22 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.
It has stopped being a mood in the stands and started being something organised. Boards can ignore a bad atmosphere for a long time; they cannot ignore this stage of it for very long at all.
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.
It is a specific kind of quiet, a ground watching a winning position dissolve. Wa All Stars kept coming because nothing stopped them, and Heart of Lions will be asked about the last half hour all week.
There is an age at which every good afternoon gets described as a throwback, which is unfair and also accurate. 8.75 at 35, and nobody on the pitch was better.
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.
12 boys move up, and somewhere in the building the people who coached them at twelve are quietly having the best morning of their working year. Nothing about this shows up in a result and it is why the academy exists.
Squad3 Sep 2035
Kwesi Pong 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.
Clubs spend fortunes looking for players and occasionally find one down the corridor. Francis Essien is that, and the reception he gets on his first appearance will be different in kind from the one any signing receives.
A conversation is coming this week. Heart of Lions will put a number on him, and from there it stops being football and becomes arithmetic.
Squad27 Aug 2035
Words at Heart of Lions training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Kwesi Pong 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.
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.
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.
Squad20 Aug 2035
Isaac Mintah 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.
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.
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Kwadwo Obeng Junior signs something — a contract at Heart of Lions or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
In brief
BoardroomThe Heart of Lions production line keeps running
It has stopped being a mood in the stands and started being something organised. Boards can ignore a bad atmosphere for a long time; they cannot ignore this stage of it for very long at all.
Nobody upstairs has said anything, which is the loudest thing they could do. Results buy silence in this game; the account at Heart of Lions is running low.
The board’s statement ran to three sentences and one of them mentioned results. Afriyie Djiku has managed long enough to translate: win soon, or the next statement is shorter.
Position 14 and 22 points, and the table gets read bottom-up in this part of town. The calendar has stopped being a schedule and started being a countdown.
The official line will be that it was routine. It was not routine, the timing says so, and every person in that room knows what the next bad result costs.
The offer was not close and it was refused without much discussion. Whether the second one is refused as quickly is another matter.
Squad6 Aug 2035
Kwesi Pong 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.
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.
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 words a physio says slowly. 14 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.
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.
Squad23 Jul 2035
Kwesi Pong 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.
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.
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.
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Kwadwo Obeng Junior signs something — a contract at Heart of Lions or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
In brief
BoardroomThe Heart of Lions production line keeps running
It has stopped being a mood in the stands and started being something organised. Boards can ignore a bad atmosphere for a long time; they cannot ignore this stage of it for very long at all.
The words a physio says slowly. 21 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 directors have stopped offering the manager public warmth. In football that is usually the stage before the short statement.
Squad16 Jul 2035
Words at Heart of Lions training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Kwesi Pong 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 injury that keeps coming back, keeps being rushed back from, and quietly costs more careers than the dramatic ones. 15 days is the estimate; the honest figure depends on whether anybody is patient.
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Isaac Mintah and Heart of Lions agree another 1 years.