Marked for William Apenteng
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad1 Feb 2027
A knee injury of the worst kind for William Apenteng
22 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Great Olympics lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Squad1 Feb 2027
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.
The dugout1 Feb 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.
Boardroom1 Feb 2027
Deadline passes with 0 signed and 0 gone
That is the business done at Great Olympics until the window opens again. Whether it was enough will be answered on Saturdays rather than in a column, and the first Saturday is close.
Player ratings1 Feb 2027
Musa Afeez beats them one at a time
Successful dribbles: 24. There was always a defender in front of him and there was never a defender in front of him for long.
Market1 Feb 2027
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Great Olympics is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Match30 Jan 2027
No end in sight to Great Olympics's wait for a win
4 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Great Olympics has to find a result from somewhere.
Squad1 Feb 2027
Defences have started doubling up on Mohammed Yahaya
16 goals and a season average of 7.24 will do that. The space he used to find has gone; he keeps scoring anyway, which is the mark of the real thing.
Squad1 Feb 2027
Ebenezer Assifuah 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.
Back issues
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad25 Jan 2027
19 days out for Abbey Benson after a fracture
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Great Olympics will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
Squad25 Jan 2027
William Apenteng damages knee ligaments — 30 days out
The words a physio says slowly. 30 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.
Market25 Jan 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 Great Olympics, and it is not being withdrawn.
Transfer targets25 Jan 2027
Great Olympics have gone to Bechem United with a bid, and the supporters have gone to the internet with an opinion about it. Whether either changes anything is up to the selling club.
Squad25 Jan 2027
Eric Oteng and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad25 Jan 2027
Defences have started doubling up on Mohammed Yahaya
15 goals and a season average of 7.23 will do that. The space he used to find has gone; he keeps scoring anyway, which is the mark of the real thing.
Match23 Jan 2027
1‑2 to WAFA, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.
The dugout25 Jan 2027
The manager makes an example of Eyong Ofem
“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.
Player ratings25 Jan 2027
Successful dribbles: 16. 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.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad28 Dec 2026
Abbey Benson breaks a bone — 49 days out
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 49 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Squad28 Dec 2026
William Apenteng 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.
Match26 Dec 2026
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.
Squad28 Dec 2026
3 goals in one afternoon from one man. The other players were also present, a witness confirmed.
Player ratings28 Dec 2026
At 34 he is supposed to be managing his minutes. Instead he was marked 9.76 and looked, for ninety minutes, exactly like the player everybody remembers.
Squad28 Dec 2026
Mohammed Fatau and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Player ratings28 Dec 2026
Musa Afeez runs at them all day
Successful dribbles: 19. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
The dugout28 Dec 2026
“The players deserve the credit. My job was easy today.” It was not, and everybody in the room knew it; after 3‑0, Edmund Atiemo could afford to be generous.
The dugout28 Dec 2026
Kehinde Lawal 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
Crisis
Squad21 Dec 2026
Abbey Benson breaks a bone — 56 days out
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 56 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Squad21 Dec 2026
William Apenteng damages knee ligaments — 66 days out
The words a physio says slowly. 66 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.
Player ratings21 Dec 2026
Successful dribbles: 34. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Squad21 Dec 2026
Musa Afeez 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 Great Olympics this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad21 Dec 2026
Eric Oteng 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.
Match19 Dec 2026
1‑2 to New Edubiase United, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.
The dugout21 Dec 2026
Eyong Ofem 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 dugout21 Dec 2026
“I could talk about decisions and I could talk about luck. I will not. We lost.” The manager, 1‑2, and a press conference that lasted four minutes.
The dugout21 Dec 2026
Something was said to Olanrewaju Ayinla 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
Crisis
Squad14 Dec 2026
63 days out for Abbey Benson after a fracture
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Great Olympics will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
Squad14 Dec 2026
73 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Great Olympics lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
The dugout14 Dec 2026
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Great Olympics may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Squad14 Dec 2026
Eric Oteng 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.
Squad14 Dec 2026
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Ebenezer Assifuah was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Match12 Dec 2026
1‑2 to Inter Allies, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.
Match14 Dec 2026
Position 10, 20 points, and every result so far reduced to one line. The second half of the season starts with the same squad and a different set of expectations.
The dugout14 Dec 2026
“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 dugout14 Dec 2026
“I could talk about decisions and I could talk about luck. I will not. We lost.” The manager, 1‑2, and a press conference that lasted four minutes.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad7 Dec 2026
Abbey Benson breaks a bone — 70 days out
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 70 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Squad7 Dec 2026
A knee injury of the worst kind for William Apenteng
81 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Great Olympics lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Player ratings7 Dec 2026
There is an age at which every good afternoon gets described as a throwback, which is unfair and also accurate. 8.67 at 33, and nobody on the pitch was better.
Player ratings7 Dec 2026
Successful dribbles: 26. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Squad7 Dec 2026
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” George Micheal and Great Olympics agree another 2 years.
Squad7 Dec 2026
Ebenezer Assifuah 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.
Match5 Dec 2026
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Mohammed Yahaya. 3‑1 against Bechem United, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
The terraces7 Dec 2026
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 22-year-old it feels ownership of. Manuel Mantey 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 dugout7 Dec 2026
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Abbey Benson, and the manager let it.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad30 Nov 2026
Abbey Benson breaks a bone — 77 days out
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 77 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Squad30 Nov 2026
William Apenteng damages knee ligaments — 89 days out
The words a physio says slowly. 89 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.
Player ratings30 Nov 2026
2 goals, and the second was the one that settled it. Marked 8.64, and he could have had a third with better luck at the near post.
Squad30 Nov 2026
Ebenezer Assifuah 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.
Match28 Nov 2026
6 goals. Both benches spent the second half looking at each other rather than at the pitch. Purists will complain about Great Olympics and Asante Kotoko in equal measure; everybody else had a wonderful time.
Squad30 Nov 2026
Olanrewaju Ayinla 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 ratings30 Nov 2026
Successful dribbles: 17. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
The dugout30 Nov 2026
“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.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad23 Nov 2026
84 days out for Abbey Benson after a fracture
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Great Olympics will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
Squad23 Nov 2026
96 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Great Olympics lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
Player ratings23 Nov 2026
A brace, and Ebenezer Assifuah takes the afternoon — 9.16
There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. Ebenezer Assifuah provided it, and the 9.16 beside his name is if anything generous to everybody else.
Squad23 Nov 2026
Eric Oteng 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.
Match21 Nov 2026
It had gone 6 games. The players did not celebrate like men who had won a match; they celebrated like men who had been let out of something.
Squad23 Nov 2026
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Ebenezer Assifuah was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The terraces23 Nov 2026
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 22-year-old it feels ownership of. Mohammed Yahaya 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 dugout23 Nov 2026
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Eyong Ofem, and the manager let it.
In brief
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The dugout
The manager’s verdict
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Looking ahead
Great Olympics take on the side everybody is chasing
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Player ratings
Mohammed Yahaya could have had three
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad19 Oct 2026
Abbey Benson breaks a bone — 121 days out
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 121 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Squad19 Oct 2026
10 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.
Player ratings19 Oct 2026
No sign of nerves from Mohammed Yahaya at 21 — 7.66
The hardest thing about being 21 in a senior side is that nobody makes allowances. Mohammed Yahaya did not need any: 7.66, and he looked the most comfortable man on the pitch.
Squad19 Oct 2026
Form comes and goes; this has not gone. Elvis Addo is 22, and the version of him training now would not have got into the side he was in a year ago.
Squad19 Oct 2026
Ebenezer Assifuah and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Match17 Oct 2026
Mohammed Yahaya scored, and precious little else went right: 1‑3 to Medeama, and a quiet walk to the dressing room.
The dugout19 Oct 2026
“We were not good enough today and I am not going to dress it up.” Edmund Atiemo after 1‑3, in the tone of a man who knows the next question and does not intend to answer it.
The dugout19 Oct 2026
Elvis Addo 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.
Player ratings19 Oct 2026
Successful dribbles: 13. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.