Marked for Joseph Ameh
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad10 Sep 2029
8 saves, and a scoreline the ten men in front of him had no right to. Goalkeepers only get noticed on the bad days; this was one of the other ones.
Market10 Sep 2029
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Walsall is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Player ratings10 Sep 2029
Age has not caught Will Hughes yet — 8.01
At 34 he is supposed to be managing his minutes. Instead he was marked 8.01 and looked, for ninety minutes, exactly like the player everybody remembers.
Market10 Sep 2029
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Walsall can pretend not to have heard.
Match8 Sep 2029
Walsall cannot stop winning
4 wins on the spin now, and the question has changed from whether the run ends to who ends it. Confidence like this cannot be bought; it has to be earned exactly this way.
Squad10 Sep 2029
Words exchanged at Walsall
Joe Gauci 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.
Squad10 Sep 2029
Joseph Ameh gets the move he always wanted
Footballers are asked about their boyhood club so often that nobody listens to the answer. Joseph Ameh has just signed for Walsall, and for once the answer mattered.
Squad10 Sep 2029
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
Transfer targets10 Sep 2029
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Napoli have kept their man, and Walsall go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Back issues
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad1 Jan 2029
91 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Kun Khalifat lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
The terraces1 Jan 2029
The mood at Kun Khalifat 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.
Market1 Jan 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.
Squad1 Jan 2029
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Kun Khalifat this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad1 Jan 2029
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Stanley Okorom was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Market1 Jan 2029
“They were honest with me, and I would rather know.” Abdulrazaq Shuaibu has been informed he is not in the manager's thinking at Kun Khalifat.
The dugout1 Jan 2029
Joseph Ameh 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 Joseph Ameh trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Looking ahead1 Jan 2029
He used to wear the other shirt. On Saturday he plays against Bendel Insurance in this one, and whatever he says this week about it being just another game will be untrue.
Market1 Jan 2029
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Alex Amaefula signs something — a contract at Kun Khalifat or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad25 Dec 2028
A knee injury of the worst kind for Kazeem Yekini
99 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Kun Khalifat lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Squad25 Dec 2028
Joseph Ameh and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad25 Dec 2028
Words at Kun Khalifat training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Alex Amaefula is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
The dugout25 Dec 2028
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Bright Sunday, and the manager let it.
The dugout25 Dec 2028
Joseph Ameh asks for a word with the manager
“I would rather say it to his face than read about it.” The meeting was requested by the player, which tells you most of what you need to know.
The dugout25 Dec 2028
Something was said to Rafik Feghouli and then it happened. In this industry that passes for remarkable, and the dressing room noticed faster than any supporter could.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad18 Dec 2028
The knee: Kazeem Yekini out for 107 days
107 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Kun Khalifat lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
The dugout18 Dec 2028
news_b_frozen_out_of_the_side
Squad18 Dec 2028
Abdulrazaq Shuaibu 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.
Squad18 Dec 2028
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Stanley Okorom was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The dugout18 Dec 2028
The manager makes an example of Bina Tombiri
“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 dugout18 Dec 2028
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Chukwudi Ekeocha trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
The dugout18 Dec 2028
It is never announced and it is entirely visible: the biggest afternoons of the season keep containing him. A press box works this out long before anybody at the club confirms a word of it.
Market18 Dec 2028
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Chineme Chinonso signs something — a contract at Kun Khalifat or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
Market18 Dec 2028
The shop window has Joseph Ameh in it
Kun Khalifat have let the market know Joseph Ameh can be had. No price in the advert, but everyone in the trade knows roughly what it says.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market27 Nov 2028
“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.
Squad27 Nov 2028
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Calvin Obi and Kun Khalifat agree another 3 years.
Squad27 Nov 2028
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Stanley Okorom was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Market27 Nov 2028
There is no fee, no unveiling and no agent on the steps. Akinkunmi Bassey has been at this club since he was a boy and is now, formally, one of the first-team squad — which for a local readership beats any signing of any size.
Market27 Nov 2028
There is no fee, no unveiling and no agent on the steps. Anthony Akpan has been at this club since he was a boy and is now, formally, one of the first-team squad — which for a local readership beats any signing of any size.
Market27 Nov 2028
The academy exists for exactly this morning. Nnamdi Onuachu has come through every age group the club runs and has now been handed a senior number, and the people who coached him at twelve will be the proudest in the building.
The dugout27 Nov 2028
Clubs make promises constantly and the page usually only hears about them when they are broken. This one was honoured, and the dressing room noticed that faster than any supporter did.
The dugout27 Nov 2028
Chineme Chinonso asks for a word with the manager
“I would rather say it to his face than read about it.” The meeting was requested by the player, which tells you most of what you need to know.
The dugout27 Nov 2028
It is never announced and it is entirely visible: the biggest afternoons of the season keep containing him. A press box works this out long before anybody at the club confirms a word of it.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market13 Nov 2028
“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 dugout13 Nov 2028
“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.
The dugout13 Nov 2028
news_b_frozen_out_of_the_side
Squad13 Nov 2028
Abdulrazaq Shuaibu 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.
Squad13 Nov 2028
Alex Amaefula 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 dugout13 Nov 2028
Joseph Ameh 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 Kun Khalifat, and both men came out saying it was fine.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
The terraces6 Nov 2028
Supporters organise against the Kun Khalifat board
A bad atmosphere can be waited out. A group of people meeting afterwards to decide what to do about it cannot, and everybody in the building knows which stage this is.
Market6 Nov 2028
“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.
Boardroom6 Nov 2028
The scrutiny sharpens at Kun Khalifat
Nobody upstairs has said anything, which is the loudest thing they could do. Results buy silence in this game; the account at Kun Khalifat is running low.
Squad6 Nov 2028
Joseph Ameh in a row with a teammate
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Kun Khalifat this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad6 Nov 2028
Words at Kun Khalifat training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Stanley Okorom 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 dugout6 Nov 2028
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Omolabi Owolabi, and the manager let it.
Squad6 Nov 2028
Somebody has moved past him. It is not a dropping and it is worse than one, because a dropping is about a Saturday and this is about where he stands.
Market6 Nov 2028
Peter Ikechukwu returns from a loan that gave him nothing
4 appearances and 0 goals is not a season, it is a year somebody has lost. Whether that is his fault, the borrowing club's or the people who arranged it is the argument the next few weeks will have.
The dugout6 Nov 2028
Joseph Ameh 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
Uneasy
Market30 Oct 2028
“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.
Squad30 Oct 2028
Abdulrazaq Shuaibu and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
The dugout30 Oct 2028
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Bina Tombiri, and the manager let it.
Squad30 Oct 2028
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Stanley Nnanna was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The dugout30 Oct 2028
It is never announced and it is entirely visible: the biggest afternoons of the season keep containing him. A press box works this out long before anybody at the club confirms a word of it.
The dugout30 Oct 2028
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Omolabi Owolabi trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market16 Oct 2028
Victor Okocha hands in a written request
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Kun Khalifat can pretend not to have heard.
The dugout16 Oct 2028
news_b_frozen_out_of_the_side
Squad16 Oct 2028
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Odion Babatunde and Kun Khalifat agree another 3 years.
Squad16 Oct 2028
Abdulrazaq Shuaibu was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Squad16 Oct 2028
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Alex Amaefula was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The dugout16 Oct 2028
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market2 Oct 2028
“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 dugout2 Oct 2028
Ebere Adebayor: that is not what I was promised
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Kun Khalifat have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Squad2 Oct 2028
Abdulrazaq Shuaibu and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad2 Oct 2028
Alex Amaefula 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 dugout2 Oct 2028
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
Squad2 Oct 2028
The manager has re-ordered his thinking and Victor Okocha has come out of it lower. He will be told it is temporary, and the players who have heard that before will avoid his eye.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market25 Sep 2028
“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 dugout25 Sep 2028
news_b_frozen_out_of_the_side
Squad25 Sep 2028
Abdulrazaq Shuaibu 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 Sep 2028
Words at Kun Khalifat training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Alex Amaefula is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
The dugout25 Sep 2028
“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.
Squad25 Sep 2028
7 new faces, and Kun Khalifat are still learning each other
A squad rebuilt inside one window pays for it in a currency nobody budgets for. The football is not worse than the sum of the players; it is worse than the sum of the players who have played together before.
The dugout25 Sep 2028
Joseph Ameh asks for a word with the manager
“I would rather say it to his face than read about it.” The meeting was requested by the player, which tells you most of what you need to know.
The dugout25 Sep 2028
It is never announced and it is entirely visible: the biggest afternoons of the season keep containing him. A press box works this out long before anybody at the club confirms a word of it.
Market25 Sep 2028
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Chineme Chinonso signs something — a contract at Kun Khalifat or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad18 Sep 2028
Defences have started doubling up on Chineme Chinonso
36 goals and a season average of 7.49 will do that. The space he used to find has gone; he keeps scoring anyway, which is the mark of the real thing.
Match18 Sep 2028
The season ends: position 14 for Kun Khalifat
The last league game has been played and the table has stopped moving: 39 points. The summer begins on Monday, and so does the argument about what it all meant.
Player ratings18 Sep 2028
Two goals and a mark of 9.17 to go with them. Strikers are judged on afternoons like this one and remembered for far fewer of them than people imagine.
Market18 Sep 2028
“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 dugout18 Sep 2028
news_b_frozen_out_of_the_side
Squad18 Sep 2028
Joseph Ameh was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Transfer targets18 Sep 2028
The approach was made and the answer came back in a sentence. There is no number on the table because there was no number that would have been enough.
Squad18 Sep 2028
Alex Amaefula 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 terraces18 Sep 2028
At 22 he is being sung about by people twice his age, which is an affection a signing has to earn over years and a local kid gets for turning up. It is also the hardest thing in football to live up to.