Ninety minutes of very little, and then everything at once. The winner arrived in the 86th, and Katsina United spent what remained of the match appealing to the referee rather than chasing the ball.
“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 The request is on a desk at Ikorodu City, and it is not being withdrawn.
Tosin Oyedokun 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.
Ikorodu City asked and Shooting 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.
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 22-year-old it feels ownership of. Joseph Arumala has it now, and everything he does for the rest of his time here will be measured against the goodwill he was handed for free.
Add another name to the list: Bayelsa United have asked the question everybody in the game has been asking about Daniel Dennis. The answer from Ikorodu City has not changed — yet.
Tosin Oyedokun was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Michael Atata trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Nobody at Ikorodu City 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.
Numbers do not stay secret in a dressing room. He is not asking for more than he is worth; he is asking why somebody beside him is worth more, and Ikorodu City have no good answer.
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Uche Onyemaechi signs something — a contract at Ikorodu City or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Seun Agboola was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Somebody has moved past him. It is not a dropping and it is worse than one, because a dropping is about a Saturday and this is about where he stands.
The dugout6 Dec 2027
The manager has not finished forgetting Victor Ejukah'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.
5 goals in 29 games at Rivers United — numbers that travel home faster than he does. Somebody at Ikorodu City updates a spreadsheet every Monday, and it makes better reading each week.
Alfred Odinaka 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 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.
Squad29 Nov 2027
Words at Ikorodu City training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Naheem Odugbemi is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
“I was told straight, and I would rather have it straight.” The manager at Ikorodu City has been clear about where Abass Lawal stands, which is more than many ever get.
“I have done everything asked of me in training and it has not changed a thing on a Saturday.” The most familiar complaint in football, and one Ikorodu City will have to answer with minutes or with a transfer.
Tosin Oyedokun was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
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 Oluwatomisin Adebayo is on it.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Goodluck Anuba trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
“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.
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Goodluck Anuba signs something — a contract at Ikorodu City or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
The shrug has gone, the language is coming, and he now argues in training like somebody who expects to be here next year. Half a signing's value is this and none of it appears on a fee.
Position 13 on 49 points, with the season drifting toward the summer. It is the safest place in football and the hardest one to sell a season ticket from.
In brief
The dugoutThe manager plants his flag on Seun Agboola
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Naheem Odugbemi was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
“We keep meeting, and we keep leaving the room with the same numbers we walked in with.” Another round of talks at Ikorodu City, another week without a signature from Uche Onyemaechi.
“The manager did not use many words, and he did not need to.” Ayomide Cole has his answer from Ikorodu City; what he does with it is the next window’s story.
The dugout8 Nov 2027
Victor Ejukah is still being punished for one mistake
Nobody will confirm it and the team sheets confirm it every week. One error has bought him a spell as second choice that is already longer than the error deserved.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Uche Onyemaechi trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Ikorodu City this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Victor Ejukah and Ikorodu City agree another 4 years.
“We keep meeting, and we keep leaving the room with the same numbers we walked in with.” Another round of talks at Ikorodu City, another week without a signature from Michael Atata.
The demotion a club never announces and a dressing room always notices. Gift Udoh is further from the side than he was, and the reason will not be given until he asks.
“The manager did not use many words, and he did not need to.” Oladimeji Dada has his answer from Ikorodu City; what he does with it is the next window’s story.
Nothing in writing and nothing in public: a word about playing time, given face to face at Ikorodu City. The team sheets over the next month will show whether it was worth having.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Oladimeji Dada trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
There is no worse way to lose a footballer. Tomiwa Awojob has pre-agreed a move away, which means every appearance between now and June is made by a man the club can no longer sell, and somebody upstairs will be asked why the contract was allowed to get here.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Tomiwa Awojob will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Ikorodu City the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Tosin Oyedokun 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 Oct 2027
Words at Ikorodu City training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Naheem Odugbemi is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Chidera Oparaocha trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
“The manager did not use many words, and he did not need to.” Rasheed Owolabi has his answer from Ikorodu City; what he does with it is the next window’s story.
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 Oluwatomisin Adebayo is on it.
“The easiest signature of my career.” Naheem Odugbemi and Ikorodu City agree another 3 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
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.
“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 dugout11 Oct 2027
Victor Ejukah is still being punished for one mistake
Nobody will confirm it and the team sheets confirm it every week. One error has bought him a spell as second choice that is already longer than the error deserved.
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 Oladimeji Dada is on 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 Ikorodu City can pretend not to have heard.
Ikorodu City and Shooting Stars have settled on $180.0K. The rest belongs to the player and his agent, and a supporter who has watched one of these before knows not to buy the shirt yet.
Tosin Oyedokun 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.
Beaten 0‑1, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
Squad30 Aug 2027
Words at Ikorodu City training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Naheem Odugbemi 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.
100 games in the shirt. Nobody sets out to build a record like that; it happens to a certain kind of player at a certain kind of club, and this town knows what it has.
“The easiest signature of my career.” Seun Agboola and Ikorodu City agree another 4 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
The dugout30 Aug 2027
The view from the dugout
“We will look at it, we will learn from it, and we go again.” The three sentences every manager keeps for a 0‑1 defeat, delivered by William Madu to a room that had heard them before.
$100.0K on the table at Warri Wolves. The manager wanted him, the board agreed a number, and the only voices still to be heard are the ones at the other club.
Tosin Oyedokun and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
The 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.
Tosin Oyedokun 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.
Ikorodu City asked and El-Kanemi Warriors said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
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.
100 times in these colours, in all weathers and under four or five different managers. That kind of service is quietly disappearing from the game.
The dugout28 Jun 2027
The manager’s verdict
“That is on me. I pick the team and I picked wrong.” Managers say that when they mean it and when they need to be seen to, and after 0‑1 William Madu left the room before anybody could ask which.
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 is not the end of the world and it is not good enough. Both of those are true.” The manager, after a 0‑0 draw, said the honest thing and then went to say it again inside.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Chidera Oparaocha trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Squad24 May 2027
A Ikorodu City teenager takes the young player award
Goodluck Anuba is 20, and for one weekend he was the best of everybody his age in the division. Nobody should build a career on it and everybody quietly does.
In brief
The dugoutVictor Ejukah is still being punished for one mistake
Player ratingsThe chances came and went for Tosin Oyedokun
0‑3 against Rivers United, and no complaints that would survive the replay. The manager spoke about character afterwards; the terraces used shorter words.
The music was off and the showers ran late. What was said in that dressing room stays there, but Saturday will publish the minutes.
The dugout19 Apr 2027
The view from the dugout
“We will look at it, we will learn from it, and we go again.” The three sentences every manager keeps for a 0‑3 defeat, delivered by William Madu to a room that had heard them before.
Successful dribbles: 15. He went past people as if he had been told there was a prize for it, and by the end the full-back had stopped pretending to try.
Squad19 Apr 2027
Seun Agboola 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 dugout19 Apr 2027
Victor Ejukah is still being punished for one mistake
Nobody will confirm it and the team sheets confirm it every week. One error has bought him a spell as second choice that is already longer than the error deserved.
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 7.69 on an afternoon he ran from the first whistle to the last. Whatever else went wrong, Ikorodu City had the best player on the pitch.
The dugout22 Mar 2027
The manager’s verdict
“I am not going to get carried away and I will not let them either. It was a good day. There will be harder ones.” William Madu kept it short after the 1‑0 win, which is what managers do when they are happy.
He wheeled away like a man who had been carrying it for months, because he had. Ikorodu City have their signing off the mark and one press-conference question retired.
The dugout22 Mar 2027
Victor Ejukah is still being punished for one mistake
Nobody will confirm it and the team sheets confirm it every week. One error has bought him a spell as second choice that is already longer than the error deserved.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Naheem Odugbemi was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
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.
Kwara United next, and one man in the Ikorodu City dressing room knows their training ground better than his own. The reception will tell him what they thought of him.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Ikorodu City will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. Oladimeji Dada provided it, and the 8.44 beside his name is if anything generous to everybody else.
Tosin Oyedokun 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.
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 22-year-old it feels ownership of. Oladimeji Dada has it now, and everything he does for the rest of his time here will be measured against the goodwill he was handed for free.
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.
A month is long enough that nobody gets in by accident. Kelechi Onwe is in the division's best eleven for it, which is a quieter compliment than an award and a more reliable one.
“A point is a point and I will take it, but we should have had all three.” William Madu after the 0‑0 draw, and the sentence every manager in the country said at some stage this weekend.
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Ikorodu City will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Naheem Odugbemi was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.