Marked for Joseph Ngadena
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad28 Jun 2027
Yvan Mvondo Olama 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.
Squad28 Jun 2027
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Amadou Bamba 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.
Market28 Jun 2027
Both sides expect a conversation in the coming days. Colombe du Dja et Lobo will name a price, and everything after that is arithmetic.
The dugout28 Jun 2027
The manager makes an example of Patrick Fergani
“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.
The dugout28 Jun 2027
“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.
The dugout28 Jun 2027
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.
Squad28 Jun 2027
“I respect the manager and I am not going to sit here and pretend I am happy.” It is the most common sentence in football and it has never once been the end of a story.
Back issues
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Match14 Jun 2027
44 points on the board and a place in the leading group. Nobody at the ground is saying the word out loud yet.
Market14 Jun 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 The request is on a desk at Colombe du Dja et Lobo, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad14 Jun 2027
Jean Hugues Eyango 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.
Squad14 Jun 2027
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Randy Ntume 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.
Market14 Jun 2027
Both sides expect a conversation in the coming days. Colombe du Dja et Lobo will name a price, and everything after that is arithmetic.
The dugout14 Jun 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.
Market14 Jun 2027
“We are a long way apart, and pretending otherwise helps nobody.” Neither side is close, and the calendar is not on the club's side.
Squad14 Jun 2027
David Mbazo'o has had enough of the bench
“I did not come here to warm up in front of people.” He is out of contract eventually, he is old enough to count the weeks, and Colombe du Dja et Lobo will have to give him a reason to stay or an exit.
The dugout14 Jun 2027
Joseph Ngadena 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 Colombe du Dja et Lobo, and both men came out saying it was fine.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Market7 Jun 2027
The offer from Cotonsport Garoua for Jean Hugues Eyango 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.
Market7 Jun 2027
Terms done: Adam Musah is going
Fee agreed, wages agreed, and Panthere du Nde waiting with a shirt. Nobody at Colombe du Dja et Lobo is pretending otherwise, and the supporters have stopped asking whether and started asking when.
Market7 Jun 2027
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Colombe du Dja et Lobo can pretend not to have heard.
Squad7 Jun 2027
Jean Hugues Eyango and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
The dugout7 Jun 2027
news_b_frozen_out_of_the_side
Squad7 Jun 2027
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Cédric Landry Djomo was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The dugout7 Jun 2027
The manager makes an example of Casimis Fokou
“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.
Market7 Jun 2027
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Édouard Sombang signs something — a contract at Colombe du Dja et Lobo or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
Boardroom7 Jun 2027
The registration window is open and the phone has started. Between now and the deadline this club will be linked with forty players and sign three, which is the usual ratio.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Match17 May 2027
Position 3, 44 points, and the result everyone checks first is now theirs. The word is still not being said around the ground, which is how you know everyone is thinking it.
Squad17 May 2027
Yvan Mvondo Olama and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad17 May 2027
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Amadou Bamba 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 dugout17 May 2027
The manager makes an example of Joseph Apam
“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.
The dugout17 May 2027
The manager makes Amadou Bamba a promise
Nothing in writing and nothing in public: a word about playing time, given face to face at Colombe du Dja et Lobo. The team sheets over the next month will show whether it was worth having.
Squad17 May 2027
“I respect the manager and I am not going to sit here and pretend I am happy.” It is the most common sentence in football and it has never once been the end of a story.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad15 Mar 2027
Yvan Mvondo Olama 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 dugout15 Mar 2027
news_b_frozen_out_of_the_side
The dugout15 Mar 2027
Amadou Bamba 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.
Squad15 Mar 2027
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. James Tendoh 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.
Squad15 Mar 2027
“I did not sign to watch. Nobody does.” The oldest complaint in the game, and Colombe du Dja et Lobo will have to answer it with minutes or with a move.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad8 Mar 2027
Jean Hugues Eyango and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad8 Mar 2027
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Randy Ntume was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Squad8 Mar 2027
A place in the month's best eleven for Édouard Sombang
Four or five weekends of consistency, judged against everybody in the division doing his job. Édouard Sombang has come out of that comparison in the side, and Colombe du Dja et Lobo have had the benefit of every one of those afternoons.
The dugout8 Mar 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.
Market8 Mar 2027
“The manager did not use many words, and he did not need to.” Jude Enow Enow has his answer from Colombe du Dja et Lobo; what he does with it is the next window’s story.
The dugout8 Mar 2027
Amadou Bamba 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.
Market8 Mar 2027
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Jean Hugues Eyango signs something — a contract at Colombe du Dja et Lobo or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
The dugout8 Mar 2027
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 Patrick Fergani is on it.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Player ratings22 Feb 2027
Successful dribbles: 36. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Match22 Feb 2027
Position 3 and 41 points on the board. Nobody at the ground will say the word out loud yet, and everybody at the ground is thinking it.
Squad22 Feb 2027
Jean Hugues Eyango 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 ratings22 Feb 2027
Joseph Apam was on a different afternoon to everybody else
8.13. There are performances a supporter describes to somebody who was not there and cannot quite convey; this was one, and the number does not help either.
Squad22 Feb 2027
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and James Tendoh was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The dugout22 Feb 2027
“We earned that. I asked them for a reaction and I got one, and now I want the same again on Saturday.” Edgar Kunde on a 1‑0 afternoon that pleased him more than he was prepared to show.
The dugout22 Feb 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Mario Kouma, and the manager let it.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Player ratings12 Oct 2026
Nobody could get near Adam Musah
Successful dribbles: 27. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Squad12 Oct 2026
Not a run of form — an actual step up, held for months. At 18 he is doing things at this level he could not do at the start of the season, and the coaching staff will tell you exactly which of them.
Squad12 Oct 2026
Jean Hugues Eyango 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 terraces12 Oct 2026
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.
Player ratings12 Oct 2026
Marked 7.40 on an afternoon he ran from the first whistle to the last. Whatever else went wrong, Colombe du Dja et Lobo had the best player on the pitch.
The dugout12 Oct 2026
“A point is a point and I will take it, but we should have had all three.” Edgar Kunde after the 0‑0 draw, and the sentence every manager in the country said at some stage this weekend.
The dugout12 Oct 2026
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Marius Essapa Esseme, and the manager let it.
The dugout12 Oct 2026
The manager wanted a different profile for this opponent, which is a real football reason and no consolation. He did nothing wrong and he did not play.