Marked for Austine Odongo
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market31 Dec 2029
Ezekiah Omuri 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 Shabana can pretend not to have heard.
Squad31 Dec 2029
Sebastian Wekesa 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 Dec 2029
A row about effort at Shabana
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Erick Otieno was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The dugout31 Dec 2029
Austine Odongo 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 Austine Odongo trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
The dugout31 Dec 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.
Market31 Dec 2029
Every press conference now starts and ends the same way: with Biron Otieno’s future. The manager has run out of new ways to say nothing.
Back issues
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market24 Dec 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 The request is on a desk at Shabana, and it is not being withdrawn.
The dugout24 Dec 2029
news_b_frozen_out_of_the_side
Squad24 Dec 2029
Words exchanged at Shabana
Sebastian Wekesa 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.
Squad24 Dec 2029
Erick Otieno 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 dugout24 Dec 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 George Onyango is on it.
The dugout24 Dec 2029
Austine Odongo 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
Squad26 Nov 2029
Cliff Nyakeya damages knee ligaments — 32 days out
The words a physio says slowly. 32 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 dugout26 Nov 2029
news_b_frozen_out_of_the_side
Squad26 Nov 2029
Words exchanged at Shabana
Sebastian Wekesa 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.
Squad26 Nov 2029
A muscle injury sidelines Victor Omondi for 15 days
Nobody makes a documentary about a hamstring and everybody in the game fears one. Shabana will be careful with the return date, because the second one is always worse than the first.
Squad26 Nov 2029
Kevin Munika 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 dugout26 Nov 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 George Onyango is on it.
The dugout26 Nov 2029
“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.
Market26 Nov 2029
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Shabana know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
The dugout26 Nov 2029
Public backing, and the sort that costs a manager something if it turns out to be wrong. Austine Odongo has been told in front of everybody that the shirt is his.
In brief
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Boardroom
The Shabana production line keeps running
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Match
Nothing left to play for but pride at Shabana
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad12 Nov 2029
Cliff Nyakeya damages knee ligaments — 46 days out
The words a physio says slowly. 46 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.
Market12 Nov 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.
Squad12 Nov 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 Shabana this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad12 Nov 2029
Words at Shabana training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Erick Otieno 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 dugout12 Nov 2029
news_b_frozen_out_of_the_side
The dugout12 Nov 2029
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Austine Odongo, and the manager let it.
Squad12 Nov 2029
“The easiest signature of my career.” Dennis Manyama and Shabana agree another 3 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Market12 Nov 2029
Patrick Odhiambo is 18, and Shabana have signed him for the player he will be rather than the one he is. The first team can wait; the point of a deal like this is the years it buys.
The dugout12 Nov 2029
Ezekiah Omuri 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 Ezekiah Omuri is on it.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad5 Nov 2029
A knee injury of the worst kind for Cliff Nyakeya
53 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Shabana lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Squad5 Nov 2029
Sebastian Wekesa 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 dugout5 Nov 2029
news_b_frozen_out_of_the_side
Squad5 Nov 2029
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Randy Bakari commits to Shabana for another 2 years.
Squad5 Nov 2029
A row about effort at Shabana
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Kevin Munika was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The dugout5 Nov 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 dugout5 Nov 2029
Austine Odongo 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 Shabana, and both men came out saying it was fine.
The dugout5 Nov 2029
Kevin Munika 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 Kevin Munika is on it.
Market5 Nov 2029
Every press conference now starts and ends the same way: with Biron Otieno’s future. The manager has run out of new ways to say nothing.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad15 Oct 2029
74 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Shabana lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
Market15 Oct 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.
The dugout15 Oct 2029
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Shabana may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Squad15 Oct 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 Shabana this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad15 Oct 2029
Kevin Munika 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 dugout15 Oct 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.
Squad15 Oct 2029
A club back home comes in for Austine Odongo
The enquiry everybody at Shabana was hoping would not arrive has arrived. He has never pretended he did not want to go back, and now there is somewhere to go back to.
The dugout15 Oct 2029
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.
Market15 Oct 2029
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until James Mazembe signs something — a contract at Shabana or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad8 Oct 2029
A knee injury of the worst kind for Cliff Nyakeya
81 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Shabana lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Market8 Oct 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.
Squad8 Oct 2029
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” George Onyango commits to Shabana for another 2 years.
Market8 Oct 2029
As if he never left: Austine Odongo returns
Some transfers need a press campaign. This one needed a shirt with the old number on it. Austine Odongo is a Shabana player again, and the town has its story of the summer.
Squad8 Oct 2029
Sebastian Wekesa 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.
Squad8 Oct 2029
A row about effort at Shabana
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Erick Otieno was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The dugout8 Oct 2029
news_b_frozen_out_of_the_side
Boardroom8 Oct 2029
Wages eat 91% of everything Shabana earn
There is a figure at which a wage bill stops being ambitious and becomes the reason nothing else is possible, and this club has reached it. Nothing is left over for a transfer, a stand or a rainy afternoon.
The dugout8 Oct 2029
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Bernard Odhiambo, and the manager let it.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad25 Dec 2028
44 days out for Victor Omondi after a fracture
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Shabana will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
Market25 Dec 2028
David Odoyo 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 Shabana can pretend not to have heard.
The dugout25 Dec 2028
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Shabana may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Squad25 Dec 2028
Words exchanged at Shabana
George Onyango 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 Dec 2028
Erick Otieno 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 Dec 2028
Kevin Munika 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 Kevin Munika is on it.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad4 Dec 2028
65 days out for Victor Omondi after a fracture
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Shabana will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
Market4 Dec 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.
Squad4 Dec 2028
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Cliff Nyakeya commits to Shabana for another 2 years.
Squad4 Dec 2028
George Onyango 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 dugout4 Dec 2028
news_b_frozen_out_of_the_side
Squad4 Dec 2028
A row about effort at Shabana
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Erick Otieno was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The dugout4 Dec 2028
David Odoyo 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 David Odoyo trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
The dugout4 Dec 2028
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 Wycliffe Omondi is on it.
The dugout4 Dec 2028
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Oussama El Kaabi, and the manager let it.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad27 Nov 2028
72 days out for Victor Omondi after a fracture
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Shabana will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
Market27 Nov 2028
“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 Shabana, and it is not being withdrawn.
The dugout27 Nov 2028
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Shabana may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Squad27 Nov 2028
Words exchanged at Shabana
George Onyango 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 dugout27 Nov 2028
Austine Odongo 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
Kevin Munika has become a man the manager trusts
Nobody at Shabana 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.
Squad27 Nov 2028
The formation has left Modibo Kante behind
Every shape has positions in it and this one does not have his. Shabana will either change the shape, change his job, or change his club, and he is waiting to hear which.
The dugout27 Nov 2028
“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.
Market27 Nov 2028
The name of Nyamawi Beja keeps appearing in other people's back pages. Shabana say nothing, which says plenty.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad16 Oct 2028
Victor Omondi breaks a bone — 114 days out
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 114 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Market16 Oct 2028
“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 Shabana, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad16 Oct 2028
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Shabana this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The dugout16 Oct 2028
news_b_frozen_out_of_the_side
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.
Squad16 Oct 2028
A row about effort at Shabana
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Kevin Munika was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The dugout16 Oct 2028
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 dugout16 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.
Market16 Oct 2028
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Brian Junior Olega signs something — a contract at Shabana or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
From our football correspondent
Steady
The dugout9 Oct 2028
Randy Bakari: 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.” Shabana have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Squad9 Oct 2028
George Onyango 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 dugout9 Oct 2028
news_b_frozen_out_of_the_side
Squad9 Oct 2028
A row about effort at Shabana
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Erick Otieno was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Market9 Oct 2028
Dalphine Omuri is free to find somewhere else
“I was told straight, and I would rather have it straight.” The manager at Shabana has been clear about where Dalphine Omuri stands, which is more than many ever get.
The dugout9 Oct 2028
Austine Odongo 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 Shabana, and both men came out saying it was fine.
The dugout9 Oct 2028
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 Wycliffe Omondi is on it.
Market9 Oct 2028
The Biron Otieno story refuses to die
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Biron Otieno signs something — a contract at Shabana or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
Squad9 Oct 2028
He goes off to be somebody else’s player for a fortnight. Shabana lose him for the window and would like him returned in the condition he left.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market2 Oct 2028
“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 Shabana, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad2 Oct 2028
Words exchanged at Shabana
George Onyango 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 dugout2 Oct 2028
news_b_frozen_out_of_the_side
Market2 Oct 2028
Cliff Nyakeya is free to find somewhere else
“I was told straight, and I would rather have it straight.” The manager at Shabana has been clear about where Cliff Nyakeya stands, which is more than many ever get.
Squad2 Oct 2028
Victor Omondi 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.
Market2 Oct 2028
“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.
Squad2 Oct 2028
A place in the month's best eleven for Austine Odongo
Four or five weekends of consistency, judged against everybody in the division doing his job. Austine Odongo has come out of that comparison in the side, and Shabana have had the benefit of every one of those afternoons.
The dugout2 Oct 2028
Erick Otieno gets it from the manager
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
The dugout2 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.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Match9 Sep 2028
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.
Market11 Sep 2028
“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 Shabana, and it is not being withdrawn.
Player ratings11 Sep 2028
No sign of nerves from Austine Odongo at 21 — 7.94
The hardest thing about being 21 in a senior side is that nobody makes allowances. Austine Odongo did not need any: 7.94, and he looked the most comfortable man on the pitch.
The dugout11 Sep 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.
Squad11 Sep 2028
Words exchanged at Shabana
George Onyango 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.
Transfer targets11 Sep 2028
Shabana asked and AFC Leopards 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 terraces11 Sep 2028
He is 21 and the ground already sings his name, which is a thing that happens to local boys and almost never to signings. Everything from here is measured against an affection he did nothing to earn except be from here.
Player ratings11 Sep 2028
Brian Junior Olega was on a different afternoon to everybody else
8.52. 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 dugout11 Sep 2028
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Duncan Onyango, and the manager let it.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market28 Aug 2028
Nyamawi Beja 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 Shabana can pretend not to have heard.
Squad28 Aug 2028
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Shabana this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The dugout28 Aug 2028
news_b_frozen_out_of_the_side
Transfer targets28 Aug 2028
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. AFC Leopards have kept their man, and Shabana go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
The dugout28 Aug 2028
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Austine Odongo, and the manager let it.
Match26 Aug 2028
A point taken on 87 minutes is worth exactly one point and considerably more than that to a dressing room. This side does not stop, which is a reputation worth more than the result.
Player ratings28 Aug 2028
Successful dribbles: 16. There was always a defender in front of him and there was never a defender in front of him for long.
Squad28 Aug 2028
A row about effort at Shabana
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Erick Otieno was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Match26 Aug 2028
1‑1, and both dressing rooms will call it two points lost. A draw that asked plenty of questions and answered none of them.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad21 Aug 2028
A falling-out at Shabana
George Onyango and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Match19 Aug 2028
At last: Shabana win one
5 matches without a win, and then this, against APS Bomet. Relief is a strange noise in a football ground and it was the only noise at the end.
Match19 Aug 2028
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Nyamawi Beja. 1‑0 against APS Bomet, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
Player ratings21 Aug 2028
Ninety minutes of Nyamawi Beja at his very best
Marked 8.36. Players have careers without a single afternoon like this in them, and he has just had one in front of everybody at Shabana.
Squad21 Aug 2028
Victor Omondi 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.
Boardroom21 Aug 2028
Wages eat 100% of everything Shabana earn
There is a figure at which a wage bill stops being ambitious and becomes the reason nothing else is possible, and this club has reached it. Nothing is left over for a transfer, a stand or a rainy afternoon.
The dugout21 Aug 2028
The view from the dugout
“We controlled it. There were spells I did not like and we will look at them, but the group showed me something.” Elvis Omurwa, on a 1‑0 win that he was already picking apart on the walk to the press room.
Market21 Aug 2028
The shop window has Nyamawi Beja in it
Shabana have let the market know Nyamawi Beja can be had. No price in the advert, but everyone in the trade knows roughly what it says.
The dugout21 Aug 2028
Austine Odongo 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 Shabana, and both men came out saying it was fine.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Player ratings14 Aug 2028
Marked 7.83 at 21, in a side that makes no allowances for age. He did not need any, and he looked the least nervous man on the pitch.
Market14 Aug 2028
The offer was not close and it was refused without much discussion. Whether the second one is refused as quickly is another matter.
Match12 Aug 2028
5 matches without a win for Shabana
The run now stands at 5, and the questions being asked around Shabana are no longer polite ones.
The dugout14 Aug 2028
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Shabana have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Squad14 Aug 2028
Words exchanged at Shabana
George Onyango 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.
Match12 Aug 2028
Austine Odongo scored, and precious little else went right: 1‑2 to Sofapaka, and a quiet walk to the dressing room.
The dugout14 Aug 2028
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Duncan Onyango, and the manager let it.
Loan watch14 Aug 2028
“I am grateful for the games, but I did not become a footballer to be somebody else's spare part.” He wants to be at Shabana, and 3 appearances in 29 say he has earned the hearing.
The dugout14 Aug 2028
“The supporters are entitled to be angry. So am I. We will put it right.” 1‑2, a manager saying the necessary things, and a dressing room that heard a different version of them.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market7 Aug 2028
Keith Imbali 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 Shabana can pretend not to have heard.
Match5 Aug 2028
No end in sight to Shabana's wait for a win
4 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Shabana has to find a result from somewhere.
Squad7 Aug 2028
George Onyango 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.
Market7 Aug 2028
“They were honest with me, and I would rather know.” Nyamawi Beja has been informed he is not in the manager's thinking at Shabana.
Player ratings7 Aug 2028
James Mazembe was on a different afternoon to everybody else
8.01. 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.
Squad7 Aug 2028
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.
Match5 Aug 2028
Level with 93 minutes on the clock, after an afternoon Shabana had all but put away. Posta Rangers will call it a point earned; the home dressing room will call it two given away, and both of them are right.
Squad7 Aug 2028
A row about effort at Shabana
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Erick Otieno was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Squad7 Aug 2028
A place in the month's best eleven for Austine Odongo
Four or five weekends of consistency, judged against everybody in the division doing his job. Austine Odongo has come out of that comparison in the side, and Shabana have had the benefit of every one of those afternoons.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad10 Jul 2028
A knee injury of the worst kind for Victor Omondi
37 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Shabana lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Match8 Jul 2028
Shabana out of the cup
Tusker ended it 1‑0. The season narrows to the league now, and everyone in the ground knew it before the final whistle.
Squad10 Jul 2028
1 kept out from twelve yards, and a stadium that will describe each of them for twenty years. A goalkeeper needs one night like this in a career, and this was it.
Market10 Jul 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.
Squad10 Jul 2028
“The easiest signature of my career.” Bryan Michira and Shabana agree another 4 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Player ratings10 Jul 2028
Successful dribbles: 22. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Squad10 Jul 2028
George Onyango 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 terraces10 Jul 2028
At 21 he is being sung about by people twice his age, which is an affection a signing has to earn over years and a local kid gets for turning up. It is also the hardest thing in football to live up to.
Player ratings10 Jul 2028
Twelve yards and the whole ground holding its breath, and it did not go in. He will put his name down for the next one, which is the only thing to do.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad19 Jun 2028
Victor Omondi damages knee ligaments — 58 days out
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.
Market19 Jun 2028
Silas Shihemi 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 Shabana can pretend not to have heard.
The dugout19 Jun 2028
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Shabana may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Squad19 Jun 2028
Words exchanged at Shabana
George Onyango and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Player ratings19 Jun 2028
Successful dribbles: 18. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Loan watch19 Jun 2028
“I am grateful for the games, but I did not become a footballer to be somebody else's spare part.” He wants to be at Shabana, and 1 appearances in 21 say he has earned the hearing.
The dugout19 Jun 2028
“The supporters are entitled to be angry. So am I. We will put it right.” 1‑2, a manager saying the necessary things, and a dressing room that heard a different version of them.
The dugout19 Jun 2028
A promise honoured at Shabana
Something was said to Austine Odongo 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
Upbeat
Match22 Apr 2028
Shabana win it in stoppage time
The board had gone up, the arguing had started, and then the ball was in the net in the 95th minute. APS Bomet will replay every second of the added time for a week.
Player ratings24 Apr 2028
Marked 7.85 at 21, in a side that makes no allowances for age. He did not need any, and he looked the least nervous man on the pitch.
Squad24 Apr 2028
Words exchanged at Shabana
George Onyango 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.
Match22 Apr 2028
A 2‑1 win over APS Bomet, earned rather than given, and the sort of afternoon that sends everyone home talking about next week instead of this one.
Player ratings24 Apr 2028
Successful dribbles: 18. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Player ratings24 Apr 2028
Ninety minutes of Nyamawi Beja at his very best
Marked 8.16. Players have careers without a single afternoon like this in them, and he has just had one in front of everybody at Shabana.
Squad24 Apr 2028
Words at Shabana training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Victor Omondi 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 dugout24 Apr 2028
The manager makes an example of Kevin Munika
“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.
Loan watch24 Apr 2028
“I watch every Shabana game from here. That says everything about where my head is.” The loan at Gor Mahia runs its course, but his heart never made the trip.
From our football correspondent
Steady
The dugout17 Apr 2028
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Squad17 Apr 2028
George Onyango 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 terraces17 Apr 2028
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 21-year-old it feels ownership of. Austine Odongo 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.
Match15 Apr 2028
Sofapaka made Shabana work for it, but the scoreboard read 2‑0 at the end and the table does not ask how.
Player ratings17 Apr 2028
Successful dribbles: 19. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Player ratings17 Apr 2028
Marked 8.05 — 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 dugout17 Apr 2028
A promise honoured at Shabana
Something was said to Nyamawi Beja and then it happened. In this industry that passes for remarkable, and the dressing room noticed faster than any supporter could.
The dugout17 Apr 2028
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.” Elvis Omurwa kept it short after the 2‑0 win, which is what managers do when they are happy.
The dugout17 Apr 2028
Mark Okola gets it from the manager
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad20 Mar 2028
7 saves, and a scoreline the ten men in front of him had no right to. Goalkeepers only get noticed on the bad days; this was one of the other ones.
The dugout20 Mar 2028
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Squad20 Mar 2028
George Onyango 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.
Match18 Mar 2028
0‑1 to AFC Leopards, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.
The dugout20 Mar 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.
Squad20 Mar 2028
Victor Omondi 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 dugout20 Mar 2028
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 Elvis Omurwa to a room that had heard them before.
Looking ahead20 Mar 2028
Every squad has one of these fixtures for somebody every season. This one is Lennox Ogutu’s: the club that knew him first, the supporters who will decide in the first minute whether to applaud, and Shabana needing him to play as if none of it matters.
Squad20 Mar 2028
At 15 years old, Moses Kibwage became the latest name off the academy production line to be handed a senior shirt.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Player ratings6 Mar 2028
2 goals, and the second was the one that settled it. Marked 8.90, and he could have had a third with better luck at the near post.
Squad6 Mar 2028
“The easiest signature of my career.” Biron Otieno and Shabana agree another 4 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Squad6 Mar 2028
A falling-out at Shabana
George Onyango and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Match4 Mar 2028
Ulinzi Stars made Shabana work for it, but the scoreboard read 2‑1 at the end and the table does not ask how.
The dugout6 Mar 2028
The manager makes an example of Randy Bakari
“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.
Squad6 Mar 2028
Ezekiah Omuri makes the team of the month
Four or five weekends of consistency, measured against everybody else in the division. A quieter compliment than an award and a more reliable one.
The dugout6 Mar 2028
“The players deserve the credit. My job was easy today.” It was not, and everybody in the room knew it; after 2‑1, Elvis Omurwa could afford to be generous.
The dugout6 Mar 2028
Bryan Michira 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.
Squad6 Mar 2028
Nothing is announced when this happens and everybody knows. He is a bigger part of the plan at Shabana than he was a month ago, and the training ground worked that out before the team sheet said so.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad28 Feb 2028
Words exchanged at Shabana
George Onyango 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 Feb 2028
Words at Shabana training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Victor Omondi 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.
Player ratings28 Feb 2028
A midfielder is measured on whether the team functions when he is on the pitch, which is nearly impossible to see and completely obvious in retrospect. 9 actions, 7.55, and a manager who will not be substituting him again in a hurry.
Loan watch28 Feb 2028
“I watch every Shabana game from here. That says everything about where my head is.” The loan at Gor Mahia runs its course, but his heart never made the trip.
Match26 Feb 2028
It needed Brian Junior Olega to find the net to bring anything home at all: 1‑1 against Kenya Police, and half the dressing room will call it a point won.
The dugout28 Feb 2028
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Lennox Ogutu, and the manager let it.
The dugout28 Feb 2028
Half-satisfied: Elvis Omurwa on the draw
“There are things I liked and things we will be doing on Tuesday until they are right.” 1‑1, and a manager who had already decided what Tuesday looked like.
The dugout28 Feb 2028
Ezekiah Omuri has become a man the manager trusts
Nobody at Shabana 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.
Looking ahead28 Feb 2028
Ulinzi Stars next, and one man in the Shabana dressing room knows their training ground better than his own. The reception will tell him what they thought of him.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Match19 Feb 2028
Rarely has this fixture seen a display like it: 3‑0 against Muranga Seal, and it could have been more.
The dugout21 Feb 2028
Keith Imbali: 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.” Shabana have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Player ratings21 Feb 2028
Ezekiah Omuri, 21, steals the show — 7.98
Marked 7.98 at 21, in a side that makes no allowances for age. He did not need any, and he looked the least nervous man on the pitch.
Player ratings21 Feb 2028
Cliff Nyakeya, 33, rolls back the years — 8.04
There is an age at which every good afternoon gets described as a throwback, which is unfair and also accurate. 8.04 at 33, and nobody on the pitch was better.
The dugout21 Feb 2028
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Squad21 Feb 2028
George Onyango 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.
Squad21 Feb 2028
Victor Omondi 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 Feb 2028
“We earned that. I asked them for a reaction and I got one, and now I want the same again on Saturday.” Elvis Omurwa on a 3‑0 afternoon that pleased him more than he was prepared to show.
The dugout21 Feb 2028
David Odoyo 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 Shabana, and both men came out saying it was fine.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Match12 Feb 2028
Brian Junior Olega wins it after the whistle should have gone
94 minutes played. Brian Junior Olega found the finish in time that only existed because of earlier delays, and Bidco United went from a point to nothing inside one movement.
Player ratings14 Feb 2028
2 goals, and the second was the one that settled it. Marked 8.87, and he could have had a third with better luck at the near post.
Player ratings14 Feb 2028
Marked 7.76 at 20, in a side that makes no allowances for age. He did not need any, and he looked the least nervous man on the pitch.
Match12 Feb 2028
At last: Shabana win one
7 matches without a win, and then this, against Bidco United. Relief is a strange noise in a football ground and it was the only noise at the end.
Squad14 Feb 2028
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Shabana this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Match12 Feb 2028
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Brian Junior Olega. 3‑2 against Bidco United, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
The terraces14 Feb 2028
He is 21 and the ground already sings his name, which is a thing that happens to local boys and almost never to signings. Everything from here is measured against an affection he did nothing to earn except be from here.
The dugout14 Feb 2028
Keith Imbali gets it from the manager
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
Squad14 Feb 2028
Too much change too quickly at Shabana
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.
In brief
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The dugout
The manager’s verdict
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The dugout
David Odoyo knocks on the manager’s door
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The dugout
Kevin Munika gets picked when it counts