Marked for Abdramane Allamine
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market4 Oct 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 Stars Jeunes Talents can pretend not to have heard.
The dugout4 Oct 2027
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Stars Jeunes Talents may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Boardroom4 Oct 2027
The instruction came from the boardroom and the dugout did not agree with it. Somebody will go, the fee will be called good business, and the manager will spend the season rebuilding around the space.
Squad4 Oct 2027
Yannick Masra and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Boardroom4 Oct 2027
Senior shirt numbers handed to boys the coaches have known since they were twelve. Most will not make it and all of them have already done the hard part.
Match2 Oct 2027
Beaten 0‑2, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
Market4 Oct 2027
The academy exists for exactly this morning. Moussa Bechir has come through every age group the club runs and has now been handed a senior number, and the people who coached him at twelve will be the proudest in the building.
Market4 Oct 2027
The academy exists for exactly this morning. Brahim Doungous has come through every age group the club runs and has now been handed a senior number, and the people who coached him at twelve will be the proudest in the building.
Market4 Oct 2027
Clubs spend fortunes looking for players and occasionally find one down the corridor. Saleh Abakar is that, and the reception he gets on his first appearance will be different in kind from the one any signing receives.
Back issues
From our football correspondent
Steady
Match20 Sep 2027
Position 2 and 46 points on the board. Nobody at the ground will say the word out loud yet, and everybody at the ground is thinking it.
Squad20 Sep 2027
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Stars Jeunes Talents will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
Squad20 Sep 2027
Idriss Hissein 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.
Squad20 Sep 2027
Oumar Abba 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 dugout20 Sep 2027
The manager makes an example of Oumar Abba
“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.
Loan watch20 Sep 2027
“I watch every Stars Jeunes Talents game from here. That says everything about where my head is.” The loan at CotonTchad runs its course, but his heart never made the trip.
The dugout20 Sep 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.
Squad20 Sep 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 dugout20 Sep 2027
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Stars Jeunes Talents, and both men came out saying it was fine.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad6 Sep 2027
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Stars Jeunes Talents will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
Market6 Sep 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.
Market6 Sep 2027
The offer was not close and it was refused without much discussion. Whether the second one is refused as quickly is another matter.
Boardroom6 Sep 2027
The deadline has passed and the squad is the squad. 4 arrived, 12 left, and everything else printed about this club last month was a rumour that stayed one.
Squad6 Sep 2027
Yannick Masra and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Transfer targets6 Sep 2027
Stars Jeunes Talents asked and Foullah Edifice said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
Squad6 Sep 2027
Idriss Hissein 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.
Market6 Sep 2027
The interest is real enough to have reached print. Stars Jeunes Talents have said nothing, which in a transfer window is its own kind of answer.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad30 Aug 2027
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 42 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Squad30 Aug 2027
Yannick Masra 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 targets30 Aug 2027
Stars Jeunes Talents asked and US Moursal said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
Squad30 Aug 2027
Idriss Hissein 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.
Market30 Aug 2027
He is 20, and nobody at Stars Jeunes Talents signed him for this season. Deals like this are judged in four years, by people who may not still be in the building.
The dugout30 Aug 2027
Brahim Ndoram has become a man the manager trusts
Nobody at Stars Jeunes Talents will say this on the record and the team sheets have been saying it for weeks. There is a small group in every squad who get picked when the fixture is difficult, and he has joined it.
The dugout30 Aug 2027
Brahim Ndoram 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.
Squad30 Aug 2027
He goes off to be somebody else’s player for a fortnight. Stars Jeunes Talents lose him for the window and would like him returned in the condition he left.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad9 Aug 2027
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Stars Jeunes Talents will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Transfer targets9 Aug 2027
$68.0K on the table at US Moursal. The manager wanted him, the board agreed a number, and the only voices still to be heard are the ones at the other club.
Transfer targets9 Aug 2027
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Foullah Edifice have kept their man, and Stars Jeunes Talents go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Squad9 Aug 2027
Idriss Hissein 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.
Loan watch9 Aug 2027
“I am grateful for the games, but I did not become a footballer to be somebody else's spare part.” He wants to be at Stars Jeunes Talents, and 0 appearances in 5 say he has earned the hearing.
The dugout9 Aug 2027
“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
Steady
Squad2 Aug 2027
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Stars Jeunes Talents will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
Transfer targets2 Aug 2027
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Unisport Bafang have kept their man, and Stars Jeunes Talents go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
The dugout2 Aug 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.
Boardroom2 Aug 2027
The board have put money on the table rather than an encouraging word. What happens to it now is somebody else's problem, and somebody else's job.
Squad2 Aug 2027
Djibrine Mahamat 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 dugout2 Aug 2027
Brahim Ndoram has become a man the manager trusts
Nobody at Stars Jeunes Talents will say this on the record and the team sheets have been saying it for weeks. There is a small group in every squad who get picked when the fixture is difficult, and he has joined it.
Squad2 Aug 2027
Not a new contract, not a new number: a new place in the manager’s thinking, which is the only promotion in football that actually matters. Adam Hissein has moved up it.
The dugout2 Aug 2027
Oumar Abba 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
Steady
Squad19 Jul 2027
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 84 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Transfer targets19 Jul 2027
Stars Jeunes Talents have gone to US Moursal with a bid, and the supporters have gone to the internet with an opinion about it. Whether either changes anything is up to the selling club.
Squad19 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 Stars Jeunes Talents this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Transfer targets19 Jul 2027
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. US Moursal have kept their man, and Stars Jeunes Talents go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Squad19 Jul 2027
Idriss Hissein 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 dugout19 Jul 2027
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Abdoulaye Mbaiguedem trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
The dugout19 Jul 2027
Oumar Abba gets picked when it counts
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 Oumar Abba is on it.
Market19 Jul 2027
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Stars Jeunes Talents know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad12 Jul 2027
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Stars Jeunes Talents will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
Market12 Jul 2027
The offer from AS Korofina for Ezechiel Doungous 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.
Market12 Jul 2027
Fee agreed, wages agreed, and AS Etat Major waiting with a shirt. Nobody at Stars Jeunes Talents is pretending otherwise, and the supporters have stopped asking whether and started asking when.
Squad12 Jul 2027
Yannick Masra and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Transfer targets12 Jul 2027
Stars Jeunes Talents asked and Foullah Edifice said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
The dugout12 Jul 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Abdramane Youssouf, and the manager let it.
The dugout12 Jul 2027
Brahim Ndoram 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 Brahim Ndoram trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
The dugout12 Jul 2027
Nobody at Stars Jeunes Talents will say this on the record and the team sheets have been saying it for weeks. There is a small group in every squad who get picked when the fixture is difficult, and he has joined it.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market14 Jun 2027
The bid was some way short and Stars Jeunes Talents did not need long over it. Nobody in the game reads a first refusal as the end of anything.
Transfer targets14 Jun 2027
The paperwork begins on Ali Ndoram
A medical, a signature, a shirt held up in front of a sponsor’s board. Stars Jeunes Talents have done the hard part with AS Etat Major, and the part that remains is the part supporters actually see.
Transfer targets14 Jun 2027
Stars Jeunes Talents have gone to AS Etat Major with a bid, and the supporters have gone to the internet with an opinion about it. Whether either changes anything is up to the selling club.
Squad14 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 Stars Jeunes Talents this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Market14 Jun 2027
Narcisse Hissein has left for Gazelle in a $32.0K deal. The accountants are pleased; the supporters are less certain.
Squad14 Jun 2027
Words at Stars Jeunes Talents training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Idriss Hissein 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 dugout14 Jun 2027
“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.
Squad14 Jun 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.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Match31 May 2027
Position 2 and 46 points on the board. Nobody at the ground will say the word out loud yet, and everybody at the ground is thinking it.
The dugout31 May 2027
Moussa Allamine: 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.” Stars Jeunes Talents have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Squad31 May 2027
Yannick Masra 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 dugout31 May 2027
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Stars Jeunes Talents, and both men came out saying it was fine.
The dugout31 May 2027
Adam Hissein has become a man the manager trusts
Nobody at Stars Jeunes Talents will say this on the record and the team sheets have been saying it for weeks. There is a small group in every squad who get picked when the fixture is difficult, and he has joined it.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market17 May 2027
Only the photograph left for Ahmat Oumar
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Ahmat Oumar will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Stars Jeunes Talents the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Squad17 May 2027
Yannick Masra 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
Words at Stars Jeunes Talents training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Idriss Hissein 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
Brahim Ndoram 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 Brahim Ndoram trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
The dugout17 May 2027
Nobody at Stars Jeunes Talents will say this on the record and the team sheets have been saying it for weeks. There is a small group in every squad who get picked when the fixture is difficult, and he has joined it.
Loan watch17 May 2027
23 appearances at AS DGSSIE and the goals keep coming. Stars Jeunes Talents are watching this more closely than the borrowing club would like.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad26 Apr 2027
Abdoulaye Mbaiguedem and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad26 Apr 2027
Idriss Hissein 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 dugout26 Apr 2027
“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 dugout26 Apr 2027
When it matters, Oumar Abba plays
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.
The dugout26 Apr 2027
Oumar Abba 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 Stars Jeunes Talents, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Market26 Apr 2027
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Mahamat Mbainaissem signs something — a contract at Stars Jeunes Talents or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
Squad26 Apr 2027
“I did not sign to watch. Nobody does.” The oldest complaint in the game, and Stars Jeunes Talents will have to answer it with minutes or with a move.
Loan watch26 Apr 2027
12 starts and an average of 6.54. He went there to play and he is playing, which is the only thing a loan was ever for.
Loan watch26 Apr 2027
11 starts and a season average of 6.73. The loan is doing exactly what it was arranged to do.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Player ratings19 Apr 2027
2 goals, and the second was the one that settled it. Marked 9.19, and he could have had a third with better luck at the near post.
Squad19 Apr 2027
Yannick Masra is in the form of his life
A season average of 7.46 with 15 goals behind it. Opponents have started planning around him, which is the sincerest compliment football pays.
Player ratings19 Apr 2027
Successful dribbles: 25. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Market19 Apr 2027
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Stars Jeunes Talents is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Squad19 Apr 2027
Abdoulaye Mbaiguedem and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
The dugout19 Apr 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Adam Hissein, and the manager let it.
The dugout19 Apr 2027
“The players deserve the credit. My job was easy today.” It was not, and everybody in the room knew it; after 3‑1, Abdoulaye Haroun could afford to be generous.
The dugout19 Apr 2027
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Abdoulaye Mbaiguedem trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad12 Apr 2027
Defences have started doubling up on Yannick Masra
13 goals and a season average of 7.38 will do that. The space he used to find has gone; he keeps scoring anyway, which is the mark of the real thing.
Squad12 Apr 2027
Yannick Masra 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.
Squad12 Apr 2027
Words at Stars Jeunes Talents training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Idriss Hissein 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.
Player ratings12 Apr 2027
Successful dribbles: 18. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Player ratings12 Apr 2027
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.05, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
The dugout12 Apr 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Abdramane Youssouf, and the manager let it.
Match10 Apr 2027
A 1‑1 draw with Aiglons leaves the dressing room somewhere between relief and regret.
The dugout12 Apr 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.
The dugout12 Apr 2027
The view from the dugout
“We did not lose. Some weeks that is all you get, and I would rather have the point than not.” Abdoulaye Haroun chose the glass-half-full version of 1‑1; the supporters left with the other one.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad29 Mar 2027
Yannick Masra and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
The dugout29 Mar 2027
Abdramane Adoum 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.
The dugout29 Mar 2027
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.
The dugout29 Mar 2027
Oumar Abba gets picked when it counts
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 Oumar Abba is on it.
Squad29 Mar 2027
Player of the week, judged against every other man in the division. A small award, and one most careers never collect.
The dugout29 Mar 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Hassan Mbaiguedem, and the manager let it.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Match20 Mar 2027
Rarely has this fixture seen a display like it: 4‑1 against AS Algoy, and it could have been more.
Player ratings22 Mar 2027
2 goals, and the second was the one that settled it. Marked 9.39, and he could have had a third with better luck at the near post.
Player ratings22 Mar 2027
Abdoulaye Mbaiguedem, 20, plays like he has been here for years — 7.70
A mark of 7.70 means one thing beside a twenty-nine-year-old's name and something else entirely beside a 20-year-old's. Nobody at the ground needed telling which this was.
Player ratings22 Mar 2027
Successful dribbles: 25. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Market22 Mar 2027
Only the photograph left for Ahmat Oumar
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Ahmat Oumar will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Stars Jeunes Talents the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Squad22 Mar 2027
12 goals and a season average of 7.37. Form like that gets noticed well beyond this town.
Squad22 Mar 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 Stars Jeunes Talents this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad22 Mar 2027
Words at Stars Jeunes Talents training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Idriss Hissein 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 terraces22 Mar 2027
He is 20 and the ground already sings his name, which is a thing that happens to local boys and almost never to signings. Everything from here is measured against an affection he did nothing to earn except be from here.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Match6 Mar 2027
Renaissance will want this one forgotten quickly: 3‑0, every duel lost, and a long ride home. Stars Jeunes Talents were ruthless in the way good sides are ruthless.
Player ratings8 Mar 2027
Successful dribbles: 33. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Match8 Mar 2027
Position 2, 39 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.
Squad8 Mar 2027
3 goals in one game. The first was taken well, the second was taken greedily, and by the third the crowd were simply waiting for him to get the ball.
Squad8 Mar 2027
21 days, the scan says, and scans are kinder than reality. The fixtures in that window have just become somebody else’s job.
Squad8 Mar 2027
Abdoulaye Mbaiguedem 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 ratings8 Mar 2027
A performance of 9.74 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
The terraces8 Mar 2027
At 22 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.
From our football correspondent
Triumph
Squad9 Nov 2026
A fracture rules Abdramane Abba out for 45 days
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Stars Jeunes Talents will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Match4 Nov 2026
A 3‑0 win over AS DGSSIE, and the draw for the next round can be watched with some interest for once.
Player ratings9 Nov 2026
Two goals and a mark of 9.18 to go with them. Strikers are judged on afternoons like this one and remembered for far fewer of them than people imagine.
Player ratings9 Nov 2026
Brahim Ndoram, 21, plays like he has been here for years — 7.72
A mark of 7.72 means one thing beside a twenty-nine-year-old's name and something else entirely beside a 21-year-old's. Nobody at the ground needed telling which this was.
Player ratings9 Nov 2026
Successful dribbles: 25. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Match7 Nov 2026
3 wins on the spin now, and the question has changed from whether the run ends to who ends it. Confidence like this cannot be bought; it has to be earned exactly this way.
Squad9 Nov 2026
Abdramane Abba 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.
Squad9 Nov 2026
Words at Stars Jeunes Talents training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Idriss Hissein 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 terraces9 Nov 2026
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 21-year-old it feels ownership of. Brahim Ndoram has it now, and everything he does for the rest of his time here will be measured against the goodwill he was handed for free.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad12 Oct 2026
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 73 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Market12 Oct 2026
“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.
Squad12 Oct 2026
Abdramane Abba 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.
Squad12 Oct 2026
The medical room confirms 15 days on the sidelines for Abdramane Youssouf, and a plan built around him now has to be rebuilt.
Market12 Oct 2026
“We keep meeting, and we keep leaving the room with the same numbers we walked in with.” Another round of talks at Stars Jeunes Talents, another week without a signature from Abdramane Abba.
Loan watch12 Oct 2026
“I watch every Stars Jeunes Talents game from here. That says everything about where my head is.” The loan at Renaissance runs its course, but his heart never made the trip.
The dugout12 Oct 2026
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Abdramane Youssouf, and the manager let it.
The dugout12 Oct 2026
“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.
Market12 Oct 2026
Every press conference now starts and ends the same way: with Adam Mahamat’s future. The manager has run out of new ways to say nothing.