Marked for Alege Mahee
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
The terraces22 Nov 2027
The mood at Kwara United 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.
Market22 Nov 2027
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Kwara United can pretend not to have heard.
Boardroom22 Nov 2027
The scrutiny sharpens at Kwara United
Nobody upstairs has said anything, which is the loudest thing they could do. Results buy silence in this game; the account at Kwara United is running low.
Squad22 Nov 2027
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Uche Jaguar was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Squad22 Nov 2027
Alege Mahee and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
The dugout22 Nov 2027
Suraj Ayeleso 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 Kwara United, and both men came out saying it was fine.
The dugout22 Nov 2027
The manager makes an example of Kazeem Tesleem
“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 dugout22 Nov 2027
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 Suleiman Yusuf is on it.
Market22 Nov 2027
The shop window has Uche Jaguar in it
Kwara United have let the market know Uche Jaguar can be had. No price in the advert, but everyone in the trade knows roughly what it says.
Back issues
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
The terraces25 Oct 2027
Anger at Kwara United spills outside the ground
It has stopped being a mood in the stands and started being something organised. Boards can ignore a bad atmosphere for a long time; they cannot ignore this stage of it for very long at all.
Market25 Oct 2027
“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.
Boardroom25 Oct 2027
The scrutiny sharpens at Kwara United
Nobody upstairs has said anything, which is the loudest thing they could do. Results buy silence in this game; the account at Kwara United is running low.
Squad25 Oct 2027
Akeem Akanni 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 Kwara United this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad25 Oct 2027
Nnamdi Anthony 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 Oct 2027
Jerry Alex 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
Market11 Oct 2027
“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 dugout11 Oct 2027
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Kwara United may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Squad11 Oct 2027
Uche Jaguar 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.
Squad11 Oct 2027
Alege Mahee 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.
Market11 Oct 2027
Every press conference now starts and ends the same way: with Uche Jaguar’s future. The manager has run out of new ways to say nothing.
Market11 Oct 2027
“We keep meeting, and we keep leaving the room with the same numbers we walked in with.” Another round of talks at Kwara United, another week without a signature from Ayodeji Abayomi.
Squad11 Oct 2027
“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 Kwara United will have to answer with minutes or with a transfer.
The dugout11 Oct 2027
Sulyman Baraje 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 Kwara United, and both men came out saying it was fine.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market4 Oct 2027
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Kwara United can pretend not to have heard.
The dugout4 Oct 2027
news_b_frozen_out_of_the_side
Squad4 Oct 2027
Words at Kwara United training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Uche Jaguar 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.
Squad4 Oct 2027
Saka Abdulmajeed and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad4 Oct 2027
Philip Ozor 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 dugout4 Oct 2027
Suraj Ayeleso 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 Suraj Ayeleso trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
The dugout4 Oct 2027
“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.
Market4 Oct 2027
“We keep meeting, and we keep leaving the room with the same numbers we walked in with.” Another round of talks at Kwara United, another week without a signature from Sulyman Baraje.
Squad4 Oct 2027
“I did not come here to warm up in front of people.” He is out of contract eventually, he is old enough to count the weeks, and Kwara United will have to give him a reason to stay or an exit.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
The terraces27 Sep 2027
Anger at Kwara United spills outside the ground
It has stopped being a mood in the stands and started being something organised. Boards can ignore a bad atmosphere for a long time; they cannot ignore this stage of it for very long at all.
Market27 Sep 2027
“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 Kwara United, and it is not being withdrawn.
Boardroom27 Sep 2027
The silence upstairs is getting loud at Kwara United
Nobody on the board has said anything against the manager, which is the point — they have stopped saying anything for him either.
Squad27 Sep 2027
Akeem Akanni 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 Kwara United this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad27 Sep 2027
Words at Kwara United training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Uche Jaguar 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 dugout27 Sep 2027
Suraj Ayeleso 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 Suraj Ayeleso trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
The dugout27 Sep 2027
“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 dugout27 Sep 2027
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 Suleiman Yusuf is on it.
Market27 Sep 2027
The list is a quiet document with a loud meaning. Uche Jaguar may talk to anybody who asks, and everybody at the club understands what that means.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Match26 Jul 2027
Every point is an argument now for Kwara United
Position 19 and 28 points, and the table gets read bottom-up in this part of town. The calendar has stopped being a schedule and started being a countdown.
Market26 Jul 2027
“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 Kwara United, and it is not being withdrawn.
Match24 Jul 2027
Kwara United make home a hard place to visit
14 without defeat on their own grass. The pitch has not changed; the crowd has — louder earlier, and quicker to sense when the opposition would rather be somewhere else.
Match24 Jul 2027
4 without a win now, and the ground has developed the special quiet of a crowd that expects the worst. One scrappy 1-0 would cure most of it; that is the maddening part.
Match24 Jul 2027
3 matches, no goals, and a training ground that has tried everything. It will end — droughts always do — but nobody at Kwara United can tell you which week it ends in.
Squad26 Jul 2027
Uche Jaguar 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.
Squad26 Jul 2027
Akeem Akanni and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Player ratings26 Jul 2027
Nobody could get near Jerry Alex
Successful dribbles: 18. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
The dugout26 Jul 2027
A player who expected to start watched it instead. The manager will call it a decision for the team; Nnamdi Anthony will call it something else in private.
In brief
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Boardroom
The numbers do not look good at Kwara United
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The dugout
The view from the dugout
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The dugout
No hiding place for Alege Mahee
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Market5 Jul 2027
Uche Jaguar 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 Kwara United can pretend not to have heard.
Player ratings5 Jul 2027
Philip Ozor goes up and wins it — 7.84
A defender on the scoresheet, which happens rarely enough that everybody in the ground remembers who took the corner. 1 for him, and a mark of 7.84 for the rest of it.
The dugout5 Jul 2027
“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.
Transfer targets5 Jul 2027
The deal with Barau is done in every sense but the one that puts him on the pitch. Nothing goes wrong at this stage, except on the occasions when it does.
Match3 Jul 2027
Beaten 1‑3, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
Squad5 Jul 2027
Words at Kwara United training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Uche Jaguar 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 dugout5 Jul 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Jimoh Gbadamosi, and the manager let it.
Squad5 Jul 2027
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Abdulwahab Abdulsamad and Kwara United agree another 3 years.
The dugout5 Jul 2027
“We were not good enough today and I am not going to dress it up.” Abraham Collins after 1‑3, in the tone of a man who knows the next question and does not intend to answer it.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market24 May 2027
“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.
Match22 May 2027
No end in sight to Kwara United's wait for a win
7 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Kwara United has to find a result from somewhere.
Squad24 May 2027
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 7 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
Match22 May 2027
The run at home goes on for Kwara United
9 matches unbeaten here. Every visiting manager is asked about it in the week before, which is precisely why it keeps going.
Squad24 May 2027
Uche Jaguar 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.
Squad24 May 2027
Akeem Akanni 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 ratings24 May 2027
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. 11 actions, 7.02, and a manager who will not be substituting him again in a hurry.
Match22 May 2027
The goal that put Niger Tornadoes ahead was still being replayed on the concourse when Kwara United equalised, 3 minutes later. Leads are only worth what you do with them.
Match22 May 2027
1‑1, and both dressing rooms will call it two points lost. A draw that asked plenty of questions and answered none of them.
In brief
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The dugout
No hiding place for Alege Mahee
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The dugout
The view from the dugout
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Squad
Bookings catch up with Uche Jaguar
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Match27 Mar 2027
No end in sight to Kwara United's wait for a win
5 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Kwara United has to find a result from somewhere.
Match27 Mar 2027
Hard to beat is not the same as winning, but 8 matches without defeat is a foundation Kwara United did not have in the autumn.
Squad29 Mar 2027
Uche Jaguar was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Player ratings29 Mar 2027
Successful dribbles: 21. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Match27 Mar 2027
Level with 87 minutes on the clock, after an afternoon Kwara United had all but put away. Rangers International will call it a point earned; the home dressing room will call it two given away, and both of them are right.
Player ratings29 Mar 2027
A mark of 7.99, and nobody in the ground would argue with it. He was involved in everything that mattered and most of what did not.
Squad29 Mar 2027
Words at Kwara United training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Mustapha Salisu 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 dugout29 Mar 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Alege Mahee, and the manager let it.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market1 Mar 2027
Uche Jaguar 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 Kwara United can pretend not to have heard.
Squad1 Mar 2027
Uche Jaguar was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Player ratings1 Mar 2027
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.00, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Player ratings1 Mar 2027
Jerry Alex beats them one at a time
Successful dribbles: 17. There was always a defender in front of him and there was never a defender in front of him for long.
Squad1 Mar 2027
Words at Kwara United training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Nnamdi Anthony 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.
Match27 Feb 2027
It needed Philip Ozor to find the net to bring anything home at all: 1‑1 against Ikorodu City, and half the dressing room will call it a point won.
The dugout1 Mar 2027
Alege Mahee 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.
Boardroom1 Mar 2027
Nobody arrives at Kwara United until somebody leaves
The club is not barred from spending; it simply has nothing to spend that it has not first raised. Every name linked with Kwara United this window arrives with a name leaving in the same sentence.
The dugout1 Mar 2027
“A point is a point and I will take it, but we should have had all three.” Abraham Collins after the 1‑1 draw, and the sentence every manager in the country said at some stage this weekend.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market21 Dec 2026
“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.
Squad21 Dec 2026
Uche Jaguar and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad21 Dec 2026
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 Dec 2026
Junior Aimufua 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.
Market21 Dec 2026
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Adeshina Gata signs something — a contract at Kwara United or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
The dugout21 Dec 2026
Suleiman Yusuf has become a man the manager trusts
Nobody at Kwara United 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
Steady
Squad28 Sep 2026
Uche Jaguar and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad28 Sep 2026
Nnamdi Anthony 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.
Market28 Sep 2026
“I was told straight, and I would rather have it straight.” The manager at Kwara United has been clear about where Somtochuwku Ezenabo stands, which is more than many ever get.
The dugout28 Sep 2026
The manager makes an example of Akeem Akanni
“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.
Market28 Sep 2026
Kwara United have let the market know Jimoh Gbadamosi can be had. No price in the advert, but everyone in the trade knows roughly what it says.
The dugout28 Sep 2026
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 Suleiman Yusuf is on it.
The dugout28 Sep 2026
Nnamdi Anthony 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.
Market28 Sep 2026
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Adeshina Gata signs something — a contract at Kwara United or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
Squad28 Sep 2026
“I did not sign to watch. Nobody does.” The oldest complaint in the game, and Kwara United will have to answer it with minutes or with a move.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad10 Aug 2026
6 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.
Match8 Aug 2026
2‑3 to Rangers International, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.
Transfer targets10 Aug 2026
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.
Squad10 Aug 2026
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Uche Jaguar was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The dugout10 Aug 2026
The manager makes an example of Suraj Ayeleso
“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.
Squad10 Aug 2026
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Somtochuwku Ezenabo and Kwara United agree another 5 years.
Squad10 Aug 2026
Alege Mahee 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 Kwara United this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Market10 Aug 2026
48 months to run and not a word offered. A club that lets the calendar negotiate for it usually ends up losing to the calendar.
The dugout10 Aug 2026
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 2‑3 Abraham Collins left the room before anybody could ask which.
From our football correspondent
Triumph
Market3 Aug 2026
The bid was some way short and Kwara United did not need long over it. Nobody in the game reads a first refusal as the end of anything.
Squad3 Aug 2026
“The easiest signature of my career.” Suraj Ayeleso and Kwara United agree another 2 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Squad3 Aug 2026
Junior Aimufua and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad3 Aug 2026
Uche Jaguar falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
Player ratings3 Aug 2026
Marked 8.00 — 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.
Player ratings3 Aug 2026
Successful dribbles: 16. There was always a defender in front of him and there was never a defender in front of him for long.
Market3 Aug 2026
The clock runs on Suraj Ayeleso's contract
24 months left and silence from upstairs — no offer, no talks, nothing for his people to answer. Clubs that let a calendar do their negotiating usually end up negotiating with the calendar.
The dugout3 Aug 2026
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.” Abraham Collins kept it short after the 2‑0 win, which is what managers do when they are happy.