It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Aduana Stars this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
7 goals in one match, Stephen Amankona on the scoresheet, and a scoreline that will look like a misprint. Neutrals could not have asked more of Aduana Stars and Asante Kotoko.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Daniel Awuni was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Ebenezer Shamo and Aduana Stars agree another 3 years.
“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 The request is on a desk at Aduana Stars, and it is not being withdrawn.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Aduana Stars this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad15 Nov 2027
Words at Aduana Stars training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. William Dankyi 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 system has changed and his position has not. A footballer can improve his form; he cannot improve the manager’s formation, and that is the whole of the problem.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Aduana Stars, and both men came out saying it was fine.
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 Charles Gyamfi Kamara is on it.
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Patrick Egeonu 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 manager did not use many words, and he did not need to.” Prince Anane has his answer from Berekum Chelsea; 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 Rahman Abdul is on it.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Berekum Chelsea, and both men came out saying it was fine.
His past walked in ahead of him. Players who have been where he has been get a hearing in a dressing room before they have earned one, and he has it for as long as his form does.
“We keep meeting, and we keep leaving the room with the same numbers we walked in with.” Another round of talks at Berekum Chelsea, another week without a signature from Nehemiah Onchiri.
Everything was agreed until it was not, and Ebenezer Shamo reports back to Berekum Chelsea with a summer to forget. Neither club is saying who walked away from the table.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Berekum Chelsea 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.
Fee agreed, wages agreed, and New Edubiase United waiting with a shirt. Nobody at Berekum Chelsea is pretending otherwise, and the supporters have stopped asking whether and started asking when.
Transfer targets30 Aug 2027
$140.0K settles it between the clubs for Osei Prince
Aduana Stars have accepted the money. What Berekum Chelsea do not yet have is the man, and between here and the photograph is a conversation about wages that both sides are dreading.
A medical, a signature, a shirt held up in front of a sponsor’s board. Berekum Chelsea have done the hard part with Liberty Professionals, and the part that remains is the part supporters actually see.
Kwesi Sorotu Badori 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 Kennedy Mensah trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
He looks like a man who lives here now rather than one who is working here. It took most of a season, and at Berekum Chelsea the difference is visible from the back of the stand.
The last thing about a transfer that is still about the player is his signature on his own terms, and it is there. Berekum Chelsea have lost him in all but the paperwork.
Medeama have accepted the money. What Berekum Chelsea do not yet have is the man, and between here and the photograph is a conversation about wages that both sides are dreading.
Elvis Manu 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.
Berekum Chelsea have made the call to Medeama. No fee, a share of the wages, and a spare shirt in the position where the squad has been thinnest all season.
Berekum Chelsea have made the call to Asante Kotoko. No fee, a share of the wages, and a spare shirt in the position where the squad has been thinnest all season.
The clubs have settled the fee and he has settled his wages. What remains is a medical and a photograph, and around Berekum Chelsea people have started saying his name in the past tense.
The clubs have shaken hands with Liberty Professionals; the player has not yet. Personal terms are next, and personal terms are where more deals die than anybody prints.
Elvis Manu 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.
The clubs have settled the fee and he has settled his wages. What remains is a medical and a photograph, and around Berekum Chelsea people have started saying his name in the past tense.
Vincent Klu Adjeu has gone, the accounts have $69.0K in them, and the supporters have the feeling of having been sold something themselves. Good business and a good decision are not always the same thing.
“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 Berekum Chelsea, and it is not being withdrawn.
Great Olympics paid $69.0K and Berekum Chelsea took it, which is the whole story in one sentence. The longer version involves a wage budget and will be told all season.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Real Bamako have kept their man, and Berekum Chelsea go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Kwesi Sorotu Badori was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Nobody makes a documentary about a hamstring and everybody in the game fears one. Berekum Chelsea will be careful with the return date, because the second one is always worse than the first.
Fee agreed, wages agreed, and Ashanti Gold waiting with a shirt. Nobody at Berekum Chelsea is pretending otherwise, and the supporters have stopped asking whether and started asking when.
“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 Berekum Chelsea, and it is not being withdrawn.
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Kwesi Sorotu Badori and Berekum Chelsea agree another 5 years.
Kwesi Sorotu Badori 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.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Asante Kotoko have kept their man, and Berekum Chelsea go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Patrick Egeonu 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.
Maritzburg United have been asked whether they would lend him. Loans are agreed quickly or not at all, and this one will be one or the other by the weekend.
The last thing about a transfer that is still about the player is his signature on his own terms, and it is there. Berekum Chelsea have lost him in all but the paperwork.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Berekum Chelsea can pretend not to have heard.
At 21 he is doing things this season that he could not do last season, and doing them every week. Form comes and goes; this has stayed long enough to be called something else.
Elvis Manu 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.
Berekum Chelsea asked and NK Maribor said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Johnson Amuzu was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Berekum Chelsea have made the call to Barau. No fee, a share of the wages, and a spare shirt in the position where the squad has been thinnest all season.
A loan enquiry to Liberty Professionals: cover, or a look at somebody the club cannot afford to buy yet. Either way the answer will come back inside the week.
Johnson Amuzu 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.
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 23-year-old it feels ownership of. Samuel Tenedu 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.
A mark of 7.30, and nobody in the ground would argue with it. He was involved in everything that mattered and most of what did not.
The dugout15 Feb 2027
The manager’s verdict
“I am frustrated, honestly. We did enough to win and we did not win.” Edmund Wakaso was not hiding it after 0‑0, and nobody in the Berekum Chelsea dressing room was either.
The crowd waited for a goal that never came. Inter Allies defended in numbers and left with what they came for, and the two sides could be playing still without troubling a scorer.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Berekum Chelsea 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.
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Elvis Manu. 2‑1 against Heart of Lions, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
At 23 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.
Terms were offered and declined. Whether it was the wages, the role or the town, nobody at SuperSport United is saying, and nobody at Berekum Chelsea is enjoying the guessing.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Eric Ofori-Antwi was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
A loan enquiry to El-Kanemi Warriors: cover, or a look at somebody the club cannot afford to buy yet. Either way the answer will come back inside the week.
In brief
Transfer targetsA loan move for Ramahlwe Zwane is in the works
SquadQuestions about Samuel Amofa on the training pitch
Elvis Manu 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.
Berekum Chelsea asked and Hasaacas 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.
The name of Ebenezer Shamo has come up in conversations Berekum Chelsea were not part of. Nothing formal, nothing signed — but nothing about it accidental either.
Berekum Chelsea have made the call to SuperSport United. No fee, a share of the wages, and a spare shirt in the position where the squad has been thinnest all season.