Don-Pedro Samuel

Striker - Bayelsa United
1 Jan 2027
Friday
Process

Marked for Don-Pedro Samuel

21 Edition

The Bayelsa United Courier

21 Dec 2026
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Squad

James Emo 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 Bayelsa United this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Squad

The manager makes an example of Gabriel Biriduba

“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.

Squad

Okardi Inikurogha 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.

In brief

Back issues
17 Edition

The Bayelsa United Courier

23 Nov 2026
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Squad

Chinedu Chukwu says Bayelsa United went back on their word

“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.

Squad

James Emo 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 Bayelsa United this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Squad

Kelvin Ihunwo signs a new deal

“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Kelvin Ihunwo commits to Bayelsa United for another 4 years.

In brief

13 Edition

The Bayelsa United Courier

26 Oct 2026
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Squad

Ikenna Benjamin: 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.” Bayelsa United have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.

Squad

James Emo 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 Bayelsa United this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Squad

Words at Bayelsa United training over how hard people work

Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Mustapha Jawad 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.

In brief

7 Edition

The Barau Courier

14 Sep 2026
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Player ratings

Nobody could get near Joseph Atule

Successful dribbles: 32. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.

Squad

Uzochukwu Ezeobi 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.

Squad

Hilary Ekawu 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.

Market

Barau and Patrick Egeonu are talking past each other

“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.

Squad

Barau keep their word to Joseph Atule

Clubs make promises constantly and the page usually only hears about them when they are broken. This one was honoured, and the dressing room noticed that faster than any supporter did.

Player ratings

The afternoon belonged to Stanley Oganbor

6.98, and no serious argument from anybody who was there. Barau had eleven men on the pitch and one of them decided how it went.

Squad

Barau pick somebody else ahead of Jimmy Ambrose

There is no complaint available here and everybody involved knows it, which does not make the walk to the bench any shorter. Form is the only currency in football that cannot be borrowed against.

Match

Point won or two lost for Barau?

Ninety minutes, no goals, and the argument started before the car park emptied: a point gained, or two thrown away against Warri Wolves? Both sides of it will still be going on Thursday.

Market

Barau bring in Don-Pedro Samuel on loan

A season-long audition: Bayelsa United still own him, but the shirt and the minutes are Barau's to give. A loan is a bet both clubs believe they are winning.

In brief

6 Edition

The Bayelsa United Courier

7 Sep 2026
From our football correspondent Crisis

Market

Akpos Godbless puts it in writing

“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 Bayelsa United, and it is not being withdrawn.

Match

4 matches without a win for Bayelsa United

The run now stands at 4, and the questions being asked around Bayelsa United are no longer polite ones.

Market

So close: Akpos Godbless’s move dies late

The fee was agreed and the flight was looked at — and then the phone stopped ringing. Warri Wolves moved on, Akpos Godbless reports back to Bayelsa United, and everybody pretends Monday is just Monday.

Squad

Tempers go at Bayelsa United

James Emo 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.

Match

Bayelsa United come up short against Abia Warriors

Abia Warriors left with the points after a 1‑2 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.

Squad

Mustapha Jawad 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.

Squad

Words at Bayelsa United training over how hard people work

Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Hassan Oladimeji 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.

Squad

Ebiabowei Baker stays put

“The easiest signature of my career.” Ebiabowei Baker and Bayelsa United agree another 2 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.

Market

Barau expected to open talks for Don-Pedro Samuel

Both sides expect a conversation in the coming days. Bayelsa United will name a price, and everything after that is arithmetic.

In brief

4 Edition

The Bayelsa United Courier

24 Aug 2026
From our football correspondent Crisis

Match

Bayelsa United out of the cup

Enyimba ended it 0‑1. The season narrows to the league now, and everyone in the ground knew it before the final whistle.

Player ratings

Nobody could get near Nupe Godstime

Successful dribbles: 26. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.

Market

Fabby Clark puts it in writing

“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 Bayelsa United, and it is not being withdrawn.

Market

Bayelsa United say no — this time

The offer from Charlton Athletic for Don-Pedro Samuel 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.

Squad

Tempers go at Bayelsa United

James Emo 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.

Squad

Mustapha Jawad 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.

Squad

No hiding place for Arise Ogundare

“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Arise Ogundare, and the manager let it.

Match

A bad afternoon for Bayelsa United against Remo Stars

0‑1 to Remo Stars, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.

Squad

Bayelsa United pick somebody else ahead of Ikenna Benjamin

There is no complaint available here and everybody involved knows it, which does not make the walk to the bench any shorter. Form is the only currency in football that cannot be borrowed against.

In brief

3 Edition

The Bayelsa United Courier

17 Aug 2026
From our football correspondent Upbeat

Player ratings

Kelvin Ihunwo runs at them all day

Successful dribbles: 47. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.

Match

Bayelsa United through in the cup

A 2‑0 win over Wikki Tourists, and the draw for the next round can be watched with some interest for once.

Player ratings

Pinna Sagbamaowei could not have asked for more on his first appearance — 7.40

Debuts are survived rather than enjoyed. This one was enjoyed: 7.40, 0 goals, and a manager already being asked whether he starts again next week.

Player ratings

No sign of nerves from Nupe Godstime at 19 — 8.20

The hardest thing about being 19 in a senior side is that nobody makes allowances. Nupe Godstime did not need any: 8.20, and he looked the most comfortable man on the pitch.

Squad

A move Simphiwe Dumisa would have made for nothing

There is a version of every career where the player ends up somewhere he chose rather than somewhere that chose him. Simphiwe Dumisa is living that version at Bayelsa United, and it tends to show in the first month.

Squad

Bayelsa United lose Gabriel Biriduba

14 days, the medical staff say, and medical staff are optimists by profession. The team sheet will look wrong without him.

Squad

James Emo 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 Bayelsa United this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Market

Charlton Athletic join the queue for Don-Pedro Samuel

Add another name to the list: Charlton Athletic have asked the question everybody in the game has been asking about Don-Pedro Samuel. The answer from Bayelsa United has not changed — yet.

The terraces

The crowd has taken to Dehinde Ibrahim

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.

In brief