Marked for Benjamin Tsivanyo
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Market15 Nov 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 The request is on a desk at Aduana Stars, and it is not being withdrawn.
The dugout15 Nov 2027
This is not rotation. Daouda Sidibé has not been in the manager's plans for some time, and nobody at Aduana Stars is pretending otherwise.
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 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 dugout15 Nov 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.
Squad15 Nov 2027
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.
The dugout15 Nov 2027
Alex Boakye 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 Aduana Stars, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Squad15 Nov 2027
Player of the week, judged against every other man in the division. A small award, and one most careers never collect.
The dugout15 Nov 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 Charles Gyamfi Kamara is on it.
Back issues
From our football correspondent
Steady
Match13 Oct 2027
The small margins put Aduana Stars out
Out, 0‑1 to Bechem United, and the long argument about which of the small moments decided it. The league is all there is now, and everybody knows it.
The dugout18 Oct 2027
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Aduana Stars may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
The dugout18 Oct 2027
This is not rotation. Daouda Sidibé has not been in the manager's plans for some time, and nobody at Aduana Stars is pretending otherwise.
Squad18 Oct 2027
Stephen Badu 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 ratings18 Oct 2027
Successful dribbles: 20. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Squad18 Oct 2027
Samuel Kuffour 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.
Match16 Oct 2027
It finished 1‑0, and it was Stephen Amankona’s afternoon: on the scoresheet when it mattered, and the reason the points belong to Aduana Stars.
The dugout18 Oct 2027
Stephen Badu 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 ratings18 Oct 2027
A mark of 7.76, and nobody in the ground would argue with it. He was involved in everything that mattered and most of what did not.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market23 Aug 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 Aduana Stars, and it is not being withdrawn.
Transfer targets23 Aug 2027
The deal with Chippa United is done in every sense but the one that puts him on the pitch. Nothing goes wrong at this stage, except on the occasions when it does.
The dugout23 Aug 2027
This is not rotation. Daouda Sidibé has not been in the manager's plans for some time, and nobody at Aduana Stars is pretending otherwise.
Squad23 Aug 2027
At 21, Daniel Awuni is already the best thing here
An average of 7.11 in a first team he is several years too young for. Aduana Stars have something, and by now the whole division has noticed.
Squad23 Aug 2027
Stephen Badu 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 Aug 2027
Stephen Kwakye 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.
Squad23 Aug 2027
The medical room confirms 26 days on the sidelines for Andrew Bukari, and a plan built around him now has to be rebuilt.
The dugout23 Aug 2027
Something was said to Samuel Owusu Ansah and then it happened. In this industry that passes for remarkable, and the dressing room noticed faster than any supporter could.
The dugout23 Aug 2027
Bright Adjei 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 Aduana Stars, and both men came out saying it was fine.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad5 Jul 2027
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Aduana Stars will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Market5 Jul 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 Aduana Stars can pretend not to have heard.
The dugout5 Jul 2027
This is not rotation. Daniel Awuni has not been in the manager's plans for some time, and nobody at Aduana Stars is pretending otherwise.
The dugout5 Jul 2027
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Aduana Stars may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Market5 Jul 2027
Only the photograph left for Boa-At Regain
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Boa-At Regain will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Aduana Stars the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Squad5 Jul 2027
Stephen Badu 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.
Transfer targets5 Jul 2027
The approach was made and the answer came back in a sentence. There is no number on the table because there was no number that would have been enough.
Squad5 Jul 2027
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.
Squad5 Jul 2027
“The easiest signature of my career.” Benjamin Tsivanyo and Aduana Stars agree another 5 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad21 Jun 2027
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Aduana Stars will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
Market21 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 Aduana Stars, and it is not being withdrawn.
Transfer targets21 Jun 2027
The clubs had agreed and the player had not. A snub, and a public one: Platinum Stars keep him, and the supporters here are left wondering what he had heard about the place.
Transfer targets21 Jun 2027
Aduana Stars asked and Ashanti Gold said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
Squad21 Jun 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 Aduana Stars this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad21 Jun 2027
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Samuel Kuffour was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Transfer targets21 Jun 2027
A loan move for Ashley Du Preez is in the works
Aduana Stars have made the call to Kaizer Chiefs. No fee, a share of the wages, and a spare shirt in the position where the squad has been thinnest all season.
Transfer targets21 Jun 2027
A loan move for Suraju Lawal is in the works
Aduana Stars have made the call to Abia Warriors. No fee, a share of the wages, and a spare shirt in the position where the squad has been thinnest all season.
The dugout21 Jun 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 Gregory Sekyere is on it.
From our football correspondent
Steady
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 Aduana Stars can pretend not to have heard.
The dugout7 Jun 2027
This is not rotation. Daniel Awuni has not been in the manager's plans for some time, and nobody at Aduana Stars is pretending otherwise.
Market7 Jun 2027
Only the photograph left for Boa-At Regain
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Boa-At Regain will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Aduana Stars the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Transfer targets7 Jun 2027
The deal with Abia Warriors is done in every sense but the one that puts him on the pitch. Nothing goes wrong at this stage, except on the occasions when it does.
Squad7 Jun 2027
Stephen Badu 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.
Squad7 Jun 2027
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Abubakar Adams and Aduana Stars agree another 4 years.
Transfer targets7 Jun 2027
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Borussia Mönchengladbach have kept their man, and Aduana Stars go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Squad7 Jun 2027
Daniel Awuni 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.
Transfer targets7 Jun 2027
A loan enquiry to Mamelodi Sundowns: cover, or a look at somebody the club cannot afford to buy yet. Either way the answer will come back inside the week.