Marked for Mohammed Seidu
From our football correspondent
Steady
Match27 Jan 2031
KuPS refuse to drop out of the race
Position 2, 48 points, and the result everyone checks first is now theirs. The word is still not being said around the ground, which is how you know everyone is thinking it.
Market27 Jan 2031
“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 dugout27 Jan 2031
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” KuPS may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
The dugout27 Jan 2031
news_b_frozen_out_of_the_side
Squad27 Jan 2031
Tempers go at KuPS
Clinton Antwi 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.
Squad27 Jan 2031
A row about effort at KuPS
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Stanislav Baranov was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Squad27 Jan 2031
“Some mornings you wake up and you are still a long way from everything you know.” It is not the football and it never was; KuPS are dealing with a man who wants a different country.
The dugout27 Jan 2031
Arttu Hoskonen is still paying for one afternoon at KuPS
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.
The dugout27 Jan 2031
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 Johannes Kreidl is on it.
Back issues
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market6 Jan 2031
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around KuPS they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Squad6 Jan 2031
The kind of year that ends with a name being read out in a hall. KuPS had the benefit of it every week and now have the problem of everybody else knowing.
Market6 Jan 2031
“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.
Squad6 Jan 2031
Tempers go at KuPS
Arttu Hoskonen 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.
Squad6 Jan 2031
Words at KuPS training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Joslyn Luyeye-Lutumba 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.
Market6 Jan 2031
“I was told straight, and I would rather have it straight.” The manager at KuPS has been clear about where Modestas Klimavicius stands, which is more than many ever get.
The dugout6 Jan 2031
Jaime Moreno 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 Jaime Moreno is on it.
The dugout6 Jan 2031
It is not much of a headline and it is the reason players believe the next promise. KuPS told Modestas Klimavicius something would happen and then it happened, which in this industry passes for remarkable.
The dugout6 Jan 2031
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market9 Dec 2030
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at KuPS is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Market9 Dec 2030
“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 KuPS, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad9 Dec 2030
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at KuPS this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad9 Dec 2030
Words at KuPS training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Stanislav Baranov 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 dugout9 Dec 2030
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 dugout9 Dec 2030
Bassidy Sanogo 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 Bassidy Sanogo trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
The dugout9 Dec 2030
The manager makes an example of Aleksi Piispa
“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.
Market9 Dec 2030
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Johannes Kreidl signs something — a contract at KuPS or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
Market9 Dec 2030
“They were honest with me, and I would rather know.” Arvid Bergvik has been informed he is not in the manager's thinking at KuPS.
From our football correspondent
Steady
The dugout25 Nov 2030
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” KuPS may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Squad25 Nov 2030
Words exchanged at KuPS
Clinton Antwi 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.
Squad25 Nov 2030
A row about effort at KuPS
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Stanislav Baranov was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Squad25 Nov 2030
“I have given this everything, but my family is not here and neither am I, not really.” A footballer can be coached out of bad form. Nobody has ever been coached out of this, and KuPS know it.
The dugout25 Nov 2030
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 Stanislav Baranov is on it.
The dugout25 Nov 2030
Arttu Hoskonen asks for a word with the manager
“I would rather say it to his face than read about it.” The meeting was requested by the player, which tells you most of what you need to know.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market11 Nov 2030
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at KuPS is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Market11 Nov 2030
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what KuPS can pretend not to have heard.
The dugout11 Nov 2030
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” KuPS have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Squad11 Nov 2030
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at KuPS this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad11 Nov 2030
Words at KuPS training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Stanislav Baranov 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 dugout11 Nov 2030
Jaime Moreno has become a man the manager trusts
Nobody at KuPS 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.
Market11 Nov 2030
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Johannes Kreidl signs something — a contract at KuPS or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
The dugout11 Nov 2030
“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.
Market11 Nov 2030
Miilo Pitkänen is free to find somewhere else
“I was told straight, and I would rather have it straight.” The manager at KuPS has been clear about where Miilo Pitkänen stands, which is more than many ever get.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad14 Oct 2030
Samuel Pasanen damages knee ligaments — 80 days out
The words a physio says slowly. 80 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.
Market14 Oct 2030
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Modestas Klimavicius will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around KuPS the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Market14 Oct 2030
“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.
Squad14 Oct 2030
Words at KuPS training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Stanislav Baranov 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.
Squad14 Oct 2030
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at KuPS this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad14 Oct 2030
Too much change too quickly at KuPS
7 signings in three months. Every one of them may be an upgrade and the team can still be worse for a while, which is the part of a rebuild that never appears in the transfer-window verdicts.
The dugout14 Oct 2030
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 dugout14 Oct 2030
Arttu Hoskonen 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 KuPS, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Market14 Oct 2030
“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.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad23 Sep 2030
101 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. KuPS lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
The dugout23 Sep 2030
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” KuPS may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Market23 Sep 2030
Only the photograph left for Martin Kirilov
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Martin Kirilov will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around KuPS the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Squad23 Sep 2030
Words exchanged at KuPS
Clinton Antwi 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.
Squad23 Sep 2030
A row about effort at KuPS
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Stanislav Baranov was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Squad23 Sep 2030
“Some mornings you wake up and you are still a long way from everything you know.” It is not the football and it never was; KuPS are dealing with a man who wants a different country.
The dugout23 Sep 2030
Clinton Antwi has become a man the manager trusts
Nobody at KuPS 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 dugout23 Sep 2030
“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.
Market23 Sep 2030
Every press conference now starts and ends the same way: with Clinton Antwi’s future. The manager has run out of new ways to say nothing.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad9 Sep 2030
A knee injury of the worst kind for Samuel Pasanen
115 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. KuPS lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Match9 Sep 2030
Full time on the season at KuPS
Position 2 on 48 points. Every season is a story and this is the last line of it, and now the club has three months to decide what the next one is about.
Match9 Sep 2030
KuPS refuse to drop out of the race
Position 2, 48 points, and the result everyone checks first is now theirs. The word is still not being said around the ground, which is how you know everyone is thinking it.
Player ratings9 Sep 2030
2 goals, and the second was the one that settled it. Marked 8.52, and he could have had a third with better luck at the near post.
Market9 Sep 2030
Only the photograph left for Bob Nii Armah
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Bob Nii Armah will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around KuPS the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Market9 Sep 2030
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what KuPS can pretend not to have heard.
Match7 Sep 2030
8 unbeaten for KuPS
Hard to beat is not the same as winning, but 8 matches without defeat is a foundation KuPS did not have in the autumn.
The dugout9 Sep 2030
news_b_frozen_out_of_the_side
Boardroom9 Sep 2030
The rules permit it and it stings anyway. Bob Nii Armah has agreed terms with HJK for the summer, and until then he pulls on this shirt as a player who has already chosen his next one.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad3 Jun 2030
A knee injury of the worst kind for Otto Eloluoto
32 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. KuPS lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Match1 Jun 2030
KuPS run riot against HIFK
3‑0, and the margin flattered nobody — it could have carried another goal or two without complaint. Afternoons like this are why people keep coming.
Player ratings3 Jun 2030
A brace, and Jaime Moreno takes the afternoon — 9.66
There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. Jaime Moreno provided it, and the 9.66 beside his name is if anything generous to everybody else.
Market3 Jun 2030
“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.
Market3 Jun 2030
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Lauri Ala-Myllymäki will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around KuPS the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Match1 Jun 2030
KuPS make it 3 in a row
Momentum is a hard thing to buy and an easy thing to lose, and right now KuPS have 3 straight wins of it.
Squad3 Jun 2030
A move Mohammed Seidu 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. Mohammed Seidu is living that version at KuPS, and it tends to show in the first month.
Squad3 Jun 2030
Words exchanged at KuPS
Clinton Antwi 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.
Squad3 Jun 2030
Words at KuPS training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Stanislav Baranov 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.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Market9 Jul 2029
“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.
Market9 Jul 2029
Fee agreed, wages agreed, and Ashanti Gold waiting with a shirt. Nobody at Berekum Chelsea is pretending otherwise, and the supporters have stopped asking whether and started asking when.
Squad9 Jul 2029
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Edwin Asamoah commits to Berekum Chelsea for another 4 years.
Squad9 Jul 2029
Seidu Abubakar 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.
Market9 Jul 2029
Both sides expect a conversation in the coming days. Berekum Chelsea will name a price, and everything after that is arithmetic.
Transfer targets9 Jul 2029
Berekum Chelsea asked and Aduana Stars said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
Squad9 Jul 2029
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Morrison Anokye was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The dugout9 Jul 2029
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Morrison Anokye, and the manager let it.
The dugout9 Jul 2029
It is never announced and it is entirely visible: the biggest afternoons of the season keep containing him. A press box works this out long before anybody at the club confirms a word of it.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Boardroom2 Jul 2029
Isaac Mensah has until the next board meeting
What was said behind closed doors has now been said in front of a microphone. Everybody at Berekum Chelsea can do the arithmetic, including the man it is aimed at.
Market2 Jul 2029
“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.
Boardroom2 Jul 2029
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.
Market2 Jul 2029
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Berekum Chelsea is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
The dugout2 Jul 2029
“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.
Squad2 Jul 2029
Edwin Asamoah 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.
Market2 Jul 2029
The name of Mohammed Seidu has come up in conversations Berekum Chelsea were not part of. Nothing formal, nothing signed — but nothing about it accidental either.
Transfer targets2 Jul 2029
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Bechem United have kept their man, and Berekum Chelsea go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Squad2 Jul 2029
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Seidu Abubakar was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Boardroom25 Jun 2029
Pressure builds in the Berekum Chelsea boardroom
The directors have stopped offering the manager public warmth. In football that is usually the stage before the short statement.
Market25 Jun 2029
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Berekum Chelsea is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Squad25 Jun 2029
Richmond Lamptey and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Transfer targets25 Jun 2029
Berekum Chelsea asked and New Edubiase 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.
Squad25 Jun 2029
Seidu Abubakar 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 dugout25 Jun 2029
Seidu Abubakar has become a man the manager trusts
Nobody at Berekum Chelsea 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.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Boardroom28 May 2029
Pressure builds in the Berekum Chelsea boardroom
The directors have stopped offering the manager public warmth. In football that is usually the stage before the short statement.
Market28 May 2029
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Berekum Chelsea is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Squad28 May 2029
Seidu Abubakar 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.
Squad28 May 2029
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Kwesi Sorotu Badori was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The dugout28 May 2029
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
The dugout28 May 2029
Seidu Abubakar has become a man the manager trusts
Nobody at Berekum Chelsea 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.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
The terraces21 May 2029
The mood at Berekum Chelsea 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.
Squad21 May 2029
Richmond Lamptey and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad21 May 2029
Seidu Abubakar 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 dugout21 May 2029
Yaw Mohammed 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 Yaw Mohammed is on it.
Market21 May 2029
“There is a gap, and pretending there is not helps nobody.” Neither side has moved, and the calendar is working for exactly one of them.
The dugout21 May 2029
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Michael Mensah Awuah trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Market14 May 2029
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Berekum Chelsea, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad14 May 2029
Kwesi Sorotu Badori 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.
Squad14 May 2029
Seidu Abubakar 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 dugout14 May 2029
The manager makes an example of Anthony Owusu
“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 dugout14 May 2029
Nobody at Berekum Chelsea 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 dugout14 May 2029
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Goodness Gospel-Eze trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Market16 Apr 2029
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Berekum Chelsea, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad16 Apr 2029
Kwesi Sorotu Badori 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.
Squad16 Apr 2029
Mohammed Seidu falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
The dugout16 Apr 2029
Every manager keeps a short list in his head of the men he wants on the pitch when the stakes rise, and it is never published. The team sheets for the big afternoons say Theophilus Collison is on it.
The dugout16 Apr 2029
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
The dugout16 Apr 2029
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Kwesi Sorotu Badori trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Market9 Apr 2029
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Berekum Chelsea, and it is not being withdrawn.
Market9 Apr 2029
Yaw Mohammed has one foot out of the door
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Berekum Chelsea they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Squad9 Apr 2029
Theophilus Collison 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.
Squad9 Apr 2029
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Kwesi Sorotu Badori was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The dugout9 Apr 2029
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
The dugout9 Apr 2029
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Kwesi Sorotu Badori trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
The dugout9 Apr 2029
It is never announced and it is entirely visible: the biggest afternoons of the season keep containing him. A press box works this out long before anybody at the club confirms a word of it.
Squad9 Apr 2029
“I respect the manager and I am not going to sit here and pretend I am happy.” It is the most common sentence in football and it has never once been the end of a story.
Boardroom9 Apr 2029
29 graduates from an academy now rated 7 out of 20. A club this size does not survive any other way, and every name on that list is known in the town.