Marked for Ibrahim Bakayoko
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market20 Nov 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 Panthere du Nde can pretend not to have heard.
Market20 Nov 2028
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Panthere du Nde is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Squad20 Nov 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 Panthere du Nde this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The dugout20 Nov 2028
This is not rotation. Ryan Pharel Kouam has not been in the manager's plans for some time, and nobody at Panthere du Nde is pretending otherwise.
Squad20 Nov 2028
28 days, the scan says, and scans are kinder than reality. The fixtures in that window have just become somebody else’s job.
The dugout20 Nov 2028
“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.
Squad20 Nov 2028
Emmanuel Ibekwe 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 dugout20 Nov 2028
“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.
Back issues
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Market23 Oct 2028
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Panthere du Nde is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Squad23 Oct 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 Panthere du Nde this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The dugout23 Oct 2028
This is not rotation. Ryan Pharel Kouam has not been in the manager's plans for some time, and nobody at Panthere du Nde is pretending otherwise.
Match21 Oct 2028
8 matches unbeaten here. Every visiting manager is asked about it in the week before, which is precisely why it keeps going.
Squad23 Oct 2028
The medical room confirms 57 days on the sidelines for Ibrahim Bakayoko, and a plan built around him now has to be rebuilt.
Player ratings23 Oct 2028
7.96, and no serious argument from anybody who was there. Panthere du Nde had eleven men on the pitch and one of them decided how it went.
Squad23 Oct 2028
Kenny Kima Beyissa 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 dugout23 Oct 2028
“The players deserve the credit. My job was easy today.” It was not, and everybody in the room knew it; after 2‑1, Christian Bekale could afford to be generous.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
The dugout14 Aug 2028
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Panthere du Nde may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Market14 Aug 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 Panthere du Nde can pretend not to have heard.
Transfer targets14 Aug 2028
Panthere du Nde and Fortuna Mfou have settled on $100.0K. The rest belongs to the player and his agent, and a supporter who has watched one of these before knows not to buy the shirt yet.
Squad14 Aug 2028
Mohamed Moluh Mounta 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 Aug 2028
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Kenny Kima Beyissa was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The dugout14 Aug 2028
It is never announced and it is entirely visible: the biggest afternoons of the season keep containing him. A press box works this out long before anybody at the club confirms a word of it.
Market14 Aug 2028
The Moses Chima story refuses to die
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Moses Chima signs something — a contract at Panthere du Nde or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
Match14 Aug 2028
Continental football is in reach for Panthere du Nde
42 points from position 4. The title is somebody else’s business and the drop is somebody else’s problem; what is left is the argument about passports.
Market14 Aug 2028
The list is a quiet document with a loud meaning. Joseph Elie Tiba may talk to anybody who asks, and everybody at the club understands what that means.