Marked for Isaiah David
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Market8 Jan 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.
Market8 Jan 2029
AS Police say no — this time
The offer from FC Diarra for Makan Samabaly was heard out and sent back the same day. First bids are rarely meant to succeed; they are meant to find out how loudly the door closes.
Squad8 Jan 2029
There were 7 saves in it, and at least three that had no business being saves at all. The ten outfield players owe him a drink and they know it.
Match6 Jan 2029
No end in sight to AS Police's wait for a win
4 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at AS Police has to find a result from somewhere.
Squad8 Jan 2029
Oumar Koné 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 AS Police this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad8 Jan 2029
The manager makes an example of Seydou Diallo
“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 ratings8 Jan 2029
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.47, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Market8 Jan 2029
Binga are about to pick up the phone
A conversation is coming this week. AS Police will put a number on him, and from there it stops being football and becomes arithmetic.
Back issues
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market18 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.
Market18 Dec 2028
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around AS Police they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Squad18 Dec 2028
The medical room confirms 52 days on the sidelines for Shae Cahill, and a plan built around him now has to be rebuilt.
Squad18 Dec 2028
Oumar Koné 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.
Squad18 Dec 2028
The medical room confirms 51 days on the sidelines for Moussa Kante, and a plan built around him now has to be rebuilt.
Player ratings18 Dec 2028
Marked 8.02 — 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 ratings18 Dec 2028
Successful dribbles: 15. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Match16 Dec 2028
A 1‑1 draw with Etoiles du Mande leaves the dressing room somewhere between relief and regret.
Squad18 Dec 2028
Malick Berthé 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 Malick Berthé trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad30 Oct 2028
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 8 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
Market30 Oct 2028
Only the photograph left for Yaya Konaté
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Yaya Konaté will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around AS Police the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Market30 Oct 2028
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what AS Police can pretend not to have heard.
Squad30 Oct 2028
Oumar Koné 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 AS Police this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Match28 Oct 2028
It finished 3‑2, and it was Mamadou Sidibé’s afternoon: on the scoresheet when it mattered, and the reason the points belong to AS Police.
Player ratings30 Oct 2028
Marked 8.86 — 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 ratings30 Oct 2028
Marked 8.79 — 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.
Squad30 Oct 2028
The manager makes an example of Malick Berthé
“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 ratings30 Oct 2028
Marked 8.25 — 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.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match21 Oct 2028
The wait goes on for AS Police
6 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.
Market23 Oct 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.
Squad23 Oct 2028
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 6 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
Market23 Oct 2028
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at AS Police is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Squad23 Oct 2028
Oumar Koné 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.
Squad23 Oct 2028
Oumar Koné 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 ratings23 Oct 2028
Successful dribbles: 17. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Squad23 Oct 2028
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at AS Police, and both men came out saying it was fine.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Boardroom25 Sep 2028
The scrutiny sharpens at AS Police
Nobody upstairs has said anything, which is the loudest thing they could do. Results buy silence in this game; the account at AS Police is running low.
Market25 Sep 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.
Market25 Sep 2028
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around AS Police they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Squad25 Sep 2028
He is 21, he is averaging 7.08, and older professionals have started passing to him in the difficult minutes. That last part is the real scouting report.
Squad25 Sep 2028
Makan Samabaly 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.
Squad25 Sep 2028
Makan Samabaly 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 Makan Samabaly trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Market11 Sep 2028
Aphile Ngobese has one foot out of the door
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around AS Police they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
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 AS Police, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad11 Sep 2028
Oumar Koné 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 AS Police this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Market11 Sep 2028
Djoliba are about to pick up the phone
A conversation is coming this week. AS Police will put a number on him, and from there it stops being football and becomes arithmetic.
Squad11 Sep 2028
Isaiah David 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.
Market11 Sep 2028
The Shae Cahill story refuses to die
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Shae Cahill signs something — a contract at AS Police or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Boardroom4 Sep 2028
The board’s statement ran to three sentences and one of them mentioned results. Daley Timber has managed long enough to translate: win soon, or the next statement is shorter.
Market4 Sep 2028
Lucan Louw 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 AS Police can pretend not to have heard.
Market4 Sep 2028
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at AS Police is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Market4 Sep 2028
The bid was some way short and AS Police did not need long over it. Nobody in the game reads a first refusal as the end of anything.
Squad4 Sep 2028
Oumar Koné 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.
Market4 Sep 2028
FC Diarra are about to pick up the phone
A conversation is coming this week. AS Police will put a number on him, and from there it stops being football and becomes arithmetic.
Squad4 Sep 2028
Isaiah David 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 Isaiah David trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Boardroom4 Sep 2028
AS Police pull $879.6K back off the table
The money that was there in the summer is not there now. Nobody upstairs calls this a change of ambition, and everybody downstairs reads it as one.
Boardroom4 Sep 2028
The AS Police dressing room answers
Whatever was said behind that door, it worked: the pressing is back, the arguing has stopped, and the manager’s job is being defended in the only language that counts.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Boardroom28 Aug 2028
Pressure builds in the AS Police boardroom
The directors have stopped offering the manager public warmth. In football that is usually the stage before the short statement.
Market28 Aug 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.
Market28 Aug 2028
The bid was some way short and AS Police did not need long over it. Nobody in the game reads a first refusal as the end of anything.
Squad28 Aug 2028
A season average of 7.08 at an age when most of his year group are still in the youth team. AS Police know what they have, and so, by now, does everybody else.
Squad28 Aug 2028
Oumar Koné 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 AS Police this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Market28 Aug 2028
Binga are about to pick up the phone
A conversation is coming this week. AS Police will put a number on him, and from there it stops being football and becomes arithmetic.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market31 Jul 2028
Isaiah David 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 AS Police can pretend not to have heard.
Boardroom31 Jul 2028
The scrutiny sharpens at AS Police
Nobody upstairs has said anything, which is the loudest thing they could do. Results buy silence in this game; the account at AS Police is running low.
Market31 Jul 2028
The phone has started ringing about Aphile Ngobese again, and this time the name on the line is AS Korofina. AS Police are listening politely and promising nothing.
Squad31 Jul 2028
He is 21, he is averaging 7.08, and older professionals have started passing to him in the difficult minutes. That last part is the real scouting report.
Squad31 Jul 2028
Oumar Koné 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 AS Police this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Market31 Jul 2028
Both sides expect a conversation in the coming days. AS Police will name a price, and everything after that is arithmetic.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market3 Jul 2028
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what AS Police can pretend not to have heard.
Boardroom3 Jul 2028
The scrutiny sharpens at AS Police
Nobody upstairs has said anything, which is the loudest thing they could do. Results buy silence in this game; the account at AS Police is running low.
Market3 Jul 2028
The phone has started ringing about Aphile Ngobese again, and this time the name on the line is AS Korofina. AS Police are listening politely and promising nothing.
Squad3 Jul 2028
At 20, Isaiah David is already the best thing here
An average of 7.08 in a first team he is several years too young for. AS Police have something, and by now the whole division has noticed.
Squad3 Jul 2028
Oumar Koné 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 AS Police this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad3 Jul 2028
Aphile Ngobese 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 AS Police, and both men came out saying it was fine.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market5 Jun 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.
Boardroom5 Jun 2028
The scrutiny sharpens at AS Police
Nobody upstairs has said anything, which is the loudest thing they could do. Results buy silence in this game; the account at AS Police is running low.
Squad5 Jun 2028
He is 20, he is averaging 7.08, and older professionals have started passing to him in the difficult minutes. That last part is the real scouting report.
Squad5 Jun 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 AS Police this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Market5 Jun 2028
The name of Zulfiqor Akbarov has come up in conversations AS Police were not part of. Nothing formal, nothing signed — but nothing about it accidental either.
Squad5 Jun 2028
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Kabir Muhammed Kabir commits to AS Police for another 5 years.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market8 May 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.
Squad8 May 2028
A season average of 7.08 at an age when most of his year group are still in the youth team. AS Police know what they have, and so, by now, does everybody else.
Squad8 May 2028
“The easiest signature of my career.” Oumar Koné and AS Police agree another 2 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market24 Apr 2028
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what AS Police can pretend not to have heard.
Squad24 Apr 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 AS Police this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad24 Apr 2028
The manager makes an example of Bohlale Thaba
“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
Market10 Apr 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 Apr 2028
The medical room confirms 33 days on the sidelines for Seydou Diallo, and a plan built around him now has to be rebuilt.
Squad10 Apr 2028
He is 20, he is averaging 7.08, and older professionals have started passing to him in the difficult minutes. That last part is the real scouting report.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market13 Mar 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.
Squad13 Mar 2028
63 days, the medical staff say, and medical staff are optimists by profession. The team sheet will look wrong without him.
Squad13 Mar 2028
At 20, Isaiah David is already the best thing here
An average of 7.08 in a first team he is several years too young for. AS Police have something, and by now the whole division has noticed.
Squad13 Mar 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 AS Police this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad13 Mar 2028
“The easiest signature of my career.” Lucan Louw and AS Police agree another 4 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Player ratings13 Mar 2028
Headers, blocks, tackles, interceptions — 16 of them, and not one goal behind him. The sort of performance that never makes a highlight reel and wins football matches.
Player ratings13 Mar 2028
Successful dribbles: 15. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Match11 Mar 2028
Point won or two lost for AS Police?
Ninety minutes, no goals, and the argument started before the car park emptied: a point gained, or two thrown away against Etoiles du Mande? Both sides of it will still be going on Thursday.
Market13 Mar 2028
The name of Malick Berthé keeps appearing in other people's back pages. AS Police say nothing, which says plenty.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market14 Feb 2028
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what AS Police can pretend not to have heard.
Squad14 Feb 2028
There were 6 saves in it, and at least three that had no business being saves at all. The ten outfield players owe him a drink and they know it.
Squad14 Feb 2028
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” AS Police may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Squad14 Feb 2028
A season average of 7.02 at an age when most of his year group are still in the youth team. AS Police know what they have, and so, by now, does everybody else.
Squad14 Feb 2028
Oumar Koné 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 AS Police this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Player ratings14 Feb 2028
Marked 9.54 — 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.
Match12 Feb 2028
A 3‑1 win over US Forces Armees, earned rather than given, and the sort of afternoon that sends everyone home talking about next week instead of this one.
Market14 Feb 2028
Khama Dala is 18, and AS Police 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.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Market7 Feb 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.
Market7 Feb 2028
The deal that would have taken Lucan Louw to Puskas Akademia has collapsed at the last stage, and he reports back to AS Police with a summer to forget and a season still to play. Nobody is saying which side walked away.
Squad7 Feb 2028
There were 6 saves in it, and at least three that had no business being saves at all. The ten outfield players owe him a drink and they know it.
Squad7 Feb 2028
Oumar Koné 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.
Match5 Feb 2028
AS Korofina left with the points after a 1‑2 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.
Squad7 Feb 2028
The manager makes an example of Malick Berthé
“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 ratings7 Feb 2028
Successful dribbles: 15. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Player ratings7 Feb 2028
There was no pressure on him and nowhere he had to be. AS Police lost a goal to a decision that took half a second and will be discussed all week.
Squad7 Feb 2028
Denis Chigozie 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 AS Police, and both men came out saying it was fine.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad31 Jan 2028
There were 13 saves in it, and at least three that had no business being saves at all. The ten outfield players owe him a drink and they know it.
Market31 Jan 2028
Yaya Konaté 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 AS Police can pretend not to have heard.
Market31 Jan 2028
The bid was some way short and AS Police did not need long over it. Nobody in the game reads a first refusal as the end of anything.
Squad31 Jan 2028
Samuel Chijioke: 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.” AS Police have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Market31 Jan 2028
Only the photograph left for Manraj Singh
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Manraj Singh will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around AS Police the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Squad31 Jan 2028
Oumar Koné 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 AS Police this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad31 Jan 2028
41 days, the medical staff say, and medical staff are optimists by profession. The team sheet will look wrong without him.
Player ratings31 Jan 2028
Marked 8.43 — 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.
Match29 Jan 2028
A 2‑2 draw with Binga leaves the dressing room somewhere between relief and regret.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market10 Jan 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 Jan 2028
Makan Samabaly 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 ratings10 Jan 2028
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.
Player ratings10 Jan 2028
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.43, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Squad10 Jan 2028
“I have given this everything, but my family is not here and neither am I, not really.” A footballer can be coached out of bad form. Nobody has ever been coached out of this, and AS Police know it.
Squad10 Jan 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.
Match8 Jan 2028
It finished 1‑1, and it somehow always looked like it would. One of those afternoons where the table moves less than the tempers.
The terraces10 Jan 2028
Every touch is being weighed now, in print and everywhere else. Some players grow into that and some are quietly ruined by it, and nobody knows which in advance.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market27 Dec 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.
Squad27 Dec 2027
There were 7 saves in it, and at least three that had no business being saves at all. The ten outfield players owe him a drink and they know it.
Squad27 Dec 2027
Oumar Koné 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 AS Police this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Match25 Dec 2027
A 3‑2 win over AS Bakaridjan, earned rather than given, and the sort of afternoon that sends everyone home talking about next week instead of this one.
Player ratings27 Dec 2027
Marked 9.30 — 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 ratings27 Dec 2027
Marked 8.99 — 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 ratings27 Dec 2027
A performance of 8.03 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Squad27 Dec 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.
Squad27 Dec 2027
Isaiah David finally opens his account
He wheeled away like a man who had been carrying it for months, because he had. AS Police have their signing off the mark and one press-conference question retired.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market20 Dec 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 AS Police, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad20 Dec 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.
Squad20 Dec 2027
Oumar Koné 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 ratings20 Dec 2027
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.
Player ratings20 Dec 2027
Marked 8.57 — 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.
Squad20 Dec 2027
Lucan Louw 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.
Squad20 Dec 2027
“The easiest signature of my career.” Amiru Maidawa and AS Police agree another 3 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Player ratings20 Dec 2027
Defensive actions: 14. He was first to everything and second to nothing, and the goalkeeper had an easy day because of it.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Market13 Dec 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 AS Police, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad13 Dec 2027
There were 6 saves in it, and at least three that had no business being saves at all. The ten outfield players owe him a drink and they know it.
Match11 Dec 2027
4 matches without a win for AS Police
The run now stands at 4, and the questions being asked around AS Police are no longer polite ones.
Squad13 Dec 2027
Oumar Koné 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 AS Police this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad13 Dec 2027
The manager makes an example of Oumar Koné
“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.
Match11 Dec 2027
0‑1 to Etoiles du Mande, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.
Player ratings13 Dec 2027
Successful dribbles: 15. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
The terraces13 Dec 2027
Every touch is being weighed now, in print and everywhere else. Some players grow into that and some are quietly ruined by it, and nobody knows which in advance.
Player ratings13 Dec 2027
Shots: 9. Goals: none. The chances were there and they were good ones, and they went into the stand, the goalkeeper's arms and the side netting in roughly that order.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Market6 Dec 2027
Manraj Singh has one foot out of the door
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around AS Police they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Squad6 Dec 2027
Makan Samabaly 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.
Match4 Dec 2027
2‑3 to US Bougouba, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.
Player ratings6 Dec 2027
A performance of 8.80 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Squad6 Dec 2027
The manager makes an example of Mamadou Sidibé
“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 ratings6 Dec 2027
Successful dribbles: 15. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Player ratings6 Dec 2027
Shots: 11, not one of them in. A centre forward is paid for one thing, and on this evidence he has forgotten which thing it is.
Squad6 Dec 2027
The first one is the one every signing is asked about until it arrives. It has arrived, and he can stop being asked.
Squad6 Dec 2027
Aphile Ngobese 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
Squad15 Nov 2027
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” AS Police may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Squad15 Nov 2027
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at AS Police this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Player ratings15 Nov 2027
Marked 9.13 — 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.
Squad15 Nov 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Makan Samabaly, and the manager let it.
Player ratings15 Nov 2027
Marked 8.62 — 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.
Squad15 Nov 2027
“Some mornings you wake up and you are still a long way from everything you know.” It is not the football and it never was; AS Police are dealing with a man who wants a different country.
Player ratings15 Nov 2027
Shots: 6, enough of them from close enough that a striker in form scores two. He is not a striker in form.
Player ratings15 Nov 2027
Successful dribbles: 10. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market13 Sep 2027
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at AS Police is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Squad13 Sep 2027
Oumar Koné 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.
Squad13 Sep 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.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market12 Jul 2027
Thulani Zungu has one foot out of the door
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around AS Police they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Squad12 Jul 2027
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at AS Police this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad12 Jul 2027
The manager makes an example of Lucan Louw
“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.