Marked for Abdramane Doungous
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market19 Jun 2028
The clubs have settled the fee and he has settled his wages. What remains is a medical and a photograph, and around AS Algoy people have started saying his name in the past tense.
Market19 Jun 2028
The offer was not close and it was refused without much discussion. Whether the second one is refused as quickly is another matter.
The dugout19 Jun 2028
This is not rotation. Ezechiel Mbainaissem has not been in the manager's plans for some time, and nobody at AS Algoy is pretending otherwise.
Squad19 Jun 2028
A falling-out at AS Algoy
Adam Abakar and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
The dugout19 Jun 2028
The manager makes an example of Nicolas Fai
“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 dugout19 Jun 2028
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Ezechiel Mbainaissem trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
The dugout19 Jun 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.
Squad19 Jun 2028
Adam Abba 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 AS Algoy will have to give him a reason to stay or an exit.
Back issues
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market24 Jan 2028
“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 The request is on a desk at AS Algoy, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad24 Jan 2028
Adam Abakar 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 AS Algoy this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Transfer targets24 Jan 2028
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Galactik have kept their man, and AS Algoy go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
The dugout24 Jan 2028
The manager makes an example of Nicolas Fai
“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 dugout24 Jan 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.
Market24 Jan 2028
“They were honest with me, and I would rather know.” Oumar Tokindang has been informed he is not in the manager's thinking at AS Algoy.
The dugout24 Jan 2028
The manager has not finished forgetting Oumar Tokindang's mistake
Publicly it is behind everybody. It is not behind the man who picks the team, and the only place that shows is a team sheet. He will get another chance; he will get it in a match that matters less.
The dugout24 Jan 2028
Brahim Abakar 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 Brahim Abakar is on it.
From our football correspondent
Steady
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 AS Algoy, and it is not being withdrawn.
The dugout15 Nov 2027
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” AS Algoy may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Squad15 Nov 2027
A row about effort at AS Algoy
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Djibrine Mahamat was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Loan watch15 Nov 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 AS Algoy, and 1 appearances in 17 say he has earned the hearing.
Market15 Nov 2027
“I was told straight, and I would rather have it straight.” The manager at AS Algoy has been clear about where Abdramane Doungous stands, which is more than many ever get.
Squad15 Nov 2027
Words exchanged at AS Algoy
Adam Oumar 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 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 Ezechiel Ngaradoumbe is on it.
The dugout15 Nov 2027
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Issa Mbainaissem trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
The dugout15 Nov 2027
Oumar Tokindang is still being punished for one mistake
Nobody will confirm it and the team sheets confirm it every week. One error has bought him a spell as second choice that is already longer than the error deserved.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match23 Oct 2027
Beaten 0‑3 by CotonTchad, and beaten everywhere it matters. The inquest starts on the training pitch on Monday morning.
Player ratings25 Oct 2027
Adam Haroun beats them one at a time
Successful dribbles: 28. There was always a defender in front of him and there was never a defender in front of him for long.
The dugout25 Oct 2027
This is not rotation. Adam Djimet has not been in the manager's plans for some time, and nobody at AS Algoy is pretending otherwise.
Boardroom25 Oct 2027
The music was off and the showers ran late. What was said in that dressing room stays there, but Saturday will publish the minutes.
Loan watch25 Oct 2027
“I did not go to Aiglons to sit and watch. I want to come back to AS Algoy and fight for my place.” 0 appearances in 13 matches say the rest.
The dugout25 Oct 2027
The manager’s verdict
“That is on me. I pick the team and I picked wrong.” Managers say that when they mean it and when they need to be seen to, and after 0‑3 Adam Mahamat left the room before anybody could ask which.
Squad25 Oct 2027
Hassan Doungous 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 dugout25 Oct 2027
The manager makes an example of Oumar Doungous
“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 dugout25 Oct 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 AS Algoy, and both men came out saying it was fine.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market13 Sep 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 AS Algoy can pretend not to have heard.
The dugout13 Sep 2027
This is not rotation. Ezechiel Mbainaissem has not been in the manager's plans for some time, and nobody at AS Algoy is pretending otherwise.
Squad13 Sep 2027
Words exchanged at AS Algoy
Adam Abakar 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.
Market13 Sep 2027
The academy exists for exactly this morning. Adam Oumar 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.
Market13 Sep 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.
Market13 Sep 2027
Clubs spend fortunes looking for players and occasionally find one down the corridor. Saleh Souleymane is that, and the reception he gets on his first appearance will be different in kind from the one any signing receives.
The dugout13 Sep 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 Ezechiel Ngaradoumbe is on it.
The dugout13 Sep 2027
Brahim Abakar 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.
Squad13 Sep 2027
A new face in his position, and Hassan Doungous suddenly has to win back what he thought he owned. AS Algoy have promised nothing — clubs rarely do at this stage.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market12 Jul 2027
Gazelle come back empty-handed
The bid was some way short and AS Algoy did not need long over it. Nobody in the game reads a first refusal as the end of anything.
The dugout12 Jul 2027
This is not rotation. Brahim Ndoram has not been in the manager's plans for some time, and nobody at AS Algoy is pretending otherwise.
Squad12 Jul 2027
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Adam Djimet commits to AS Algoy for another 3 years.
Squad12 Jul 2027
Adam Abakar 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.
Transfer targets12 Jul 2027
AS Algoy asked and Galactik said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
Market12 Jul 2027
Brahim Ndoram is free to find somewhere else
“I was told straight, and I would rather have it straight.” The manager at AS Algoy has been clear about where Brahim Ndoram stands, which is more than many ever get.
The dugout12 Jul 2027
The manager makes an example of Adam Djimet
“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.
Market12 Jul 2027
The interest is real enough to have reached print. AS Algoy have said nothing, which in a transfer window is its own kind of answer.
The dugout12 Jul 2027
Abdoulaye Abba is still being punished for one mistake
Nobody will confirm it and the team sheets confirm it every week. One error has bought him a spell as second choice that is already longer than the error deserved.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market5 Jul 2027
AS Algoy say no — this time
The offer from Foullah Edifice for Ezechiel Mbainaissem 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.
The dugout5 Jul 2027
This is not rotation. Adam Djimet has not been in the manager's plans for some time, and nobody at AS Algoy is pretending otherwise.
Squad5 Jul 2027
Adam Abakar 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 AS Algoy this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
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
A row about effort at AS Algoy
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Ezechiel Mbainaissem was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Market5 Jul 2027
Adam Djimet is free to find somewhere else
“I was told straight, and I would rather have it straight.” The manager at AS Algoy has been clear about where Adam Djimet stands, which is more than many ever get.
Market5 Jul 2027
Add another name to the list: Aiglons have asked the question everybody in the game has been asking about Idriss Abba. The answer from AS Algoy has not changed — yet.
Squad5 Jul 2027
43 days, the medical staff say, and medical staff are optimists by profession. The team sheet will look wrong without him.
Squad5 Jul 2027
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Hassan Doungous and AS Algoy agree another 2 years.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match28 Jun 2027
18 points, and a fixture list that is running out. The mathematics are not yet cruel, but they are no longer kind.
Market28 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 AS Etat Major can pretend not to have heard.
Market28 Jun 2027
The bid was some way short and AS Etat Major did not need long over it. Nobody in the game reads a first refusal as the end of anything.
Squad28 Jun 2027
At 18 he is doing things this season that he could not do last season, and doing them every week. Form comes and goes; this has stayed long enough to be called something else.
Squad28 Jun 2027
Bicto Tyonga 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 targets28 Jun 2027
CotonTchad wanted more than $20.0K and the board would not go there. Walked away, for now, which in a transfer window means until somebody blinks.
Transfer targets28 Jun 2027
AS Etat Major asked and AS PSI said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
Squad28 Jun 2027
Omar Hakimi 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 dugout28 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.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Boardroom7 Jun 2027
The board’s statement ran to three sentences and one of them mentioned results. Ezechiel Ndoram has managed long enough to translate: win soon, or the next statement is shorter.
Market7 Jun 2027
Galactik come back empty-handed
The bid was some way short and AS Etat Major did not need long over it. Nobody in the game reads a first refusal as the end of anything.
Market7 Jun 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.
Squad7 Jun 2027
Bicto Tyonga 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.
Squad7 Jun 2027
Omar Hakimi 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.
Squad7 Jun 2027
The medical room confirms 17 days on the sidelines for Ali Ndoram, and a plan built around him now has to be rebuilt.
Loan watch7 Jun 2027
“I watch every AS Etat Major 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.
Squad7 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.
The dugout7 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.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad31 May 2027
Abdramane Doungous damages knee ligaments — 18 days out
The words a physio says slowly. 18 days is what the club will announce and everybody who has heard this diagnosis before knows the number is the least of it: the knee comes back before the player does.
Match31 May 2027
Position 11, 18 points, and a fixture list with fewer games left in it than excuses. The arithmetic is not cruel yet, but it has stopped being kind.
Market31 May 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 AS Etat Major, and it is not being withdrawn.
The dugout31 May 2027
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” AS Etat Major may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Squad31 May 2027
Real improvement from a squad player at AS Etat Major
Form comes and goes; this has not gone. a squad player is 18, and the version of him training now would not have got into the side he was in a year ago.
Squad31 May 2027
Bicto Tyonga 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.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
The terraces24 May 2027
Supporters organise against the AS Etat Major board
A bad atmosphere can be waited out. A group of people meeting afterwards to decide what to do about it cannot, and everybody in the building knows which stage this is.
Squad24 May 2027
25 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. AS Etat Major lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
Boardroom24 May 2027
The silence upstairs is getting loud at AS Etat Major
Nobody on the board has said anything against the manager, which is the point — they have stopped saying anything for him either.
Squad24 May 2027
Hassan Allamine and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad24 May 2027
Omar Hakimi 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 dugout24 May 2027
Bicto Tyonga 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.
The dugout24 May 2027
Saleh Adoum 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 AS Etat Major, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Market24 May 2027
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Hassan Allamine signs something — a contract at AS Etat Major or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
Market24 May 2027
The clock does Ali Ndoram’s negotiating for him
2 months left, and both sides know what that means: every week without a signature, the fee AS Etat Major could ask drops and the wages Ali Ndoram can ask rise.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad17 May 2027
32 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. AS Etat Major lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
The dugout17 May 2027
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” AS Etat Major have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Squad17 May 2027
Bicto Tyonga 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 AS Etat Major this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad17 May 2027
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Omar Hakimi was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The dugout17 May 2027
Idriss Oumar 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.
Loan watch17 May 2027
The goals keep arriving from Mahamat Mbaiguedem’s exile
6 goals in 23 games at Gazelle — numbers that travel home faster than he does. Somebody at AS Etat Major updates a spreadsheet every Monday, and it makes better reading each week.
The dugout17 May 2027
Saleh 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.
Market17 May 2027
The Omar Hakimi story refuses to die
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Omar Hakimi signs something — a contract at AS Etat Major or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
Loan watch17 May 2027
22 appearances away from home and 5 goals to show for them. Every one of them makes next summer's conversation a little more expensive.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad10 May 2027
Abdramane Doungous damages knee ligaments — 39 days out
The words a physio says slowly. 39 days is what the club will announce and everybody who has heard this diagnosis before knows the number is the least of it: the knee comes back before the player does.
Squad10 May 2027
Bicto Tyonga 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 dugout10 May 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.
Squad10 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.
The dugout10 May 2027
Adam Moustapha 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 Adam Moustapha trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Market10 May 2027
The name of Ahmat Ndoram keeps appearing in other people's back pages. AS Etat Major say nothing, which says plenty.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad3 May 2027
46 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. AS Etat Major lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
Boardroom3 May 2027
The board’s statement ran to three sentences and one of them mentioned results. Ezechiel Ndoram has managed long enough to translate: win soon, or the next statement is shorter.
Match3 May 2027
18 points, and a fixture list that is running out. The mathematics are not yet cruel, but they are no longer kind.
Market3 May 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 AS Etat Major can pretend not to have heard.
Squad3 May 2027
Bicto Tyonga 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.
Squad3 May 2027
“The easiest signature of my career.” Yassine Mazraoui and AS Etat Major agree another 2 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Squad3 May 2027
Omar Hakimi 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 dugout3 May 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.
The dugout3 May 2027
Bicto Tyonga without the man who signed him
Every squad is half players the manager chose and half players he inherited. Bicto Tyonga was chosen, the man who chose him has gone, and he starts again from nothing under the next one.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
The terraces26 Apr 2027
Supporters organise against the AS Etat Major board
A bad atmosphere can be waited out. A group of people meeting afterwards to decide what to do about it cannot, and everybody in the building knows which stage this is.
Squad26 Apr 2027
53 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. AS Etat Major lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Boardroom26 Apr 2027
Nobody upstairs has said anything, which is the loudest thing they could do. Results buy silence in this game; the account at AS Etat Major is running low.
The dugout26 Apr 2027
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” AS Etat Major may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Squad26 Apr 2027
Bicto Tyonga 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
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Omar Hakimi was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The dugout26 Apr 2027
Ali Tokindang 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 AS Etat Major, 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 Hassan Allamine signs something — a contract at AS Etat Major or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
Loan watch26 Apr 2027
24 starts now, an average of 6.80, and the team sheet at AS PSI has stopped being a question. Exactly what everybody signed up for.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad19 Apr 2027
60 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. AS Etat Major lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
Squad19 Apr 2027
Bicto Tyonga and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Player ratings19 Apr 2027
Successful dribbles: 20. There was always a defender in front of him and there was never a defender in front of him for long.
Player ratings19 Apr 2027
One of those days for Issa Abba
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.04, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Match17 Apr 2027
It finished 1‑1, and it somehow always looked like it would. One of those afternoons where the table moves less than the tempers.
The dugout19 Apr 2027
“It is not the end of the world and it is not good enough. Both of those are true.” The manager, after a 1‑1 draw, said the honest thing and then went to say it again inside.
The dugout19 Apr 2027
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.
The dugout19 Apr 2027
The shape wanted a different profile against this opponent, which is a real football answer and no comfort at all to the man it is about. He did nothing wrong and he did not play.
Loan watch19 Apr 2027
23 appearances away from home and 6 goals to show for them. Every one of them makes next summer's conversation a little more expensive.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad12 Apr 2027
Abdramane Doungous damages knee ligaments — 67 days out
The words a physio says slowly. 67 days is what the club will announce and everybody who has heard this diagnosis before knows the number is the least of it: the knee comes back before the player does.
Player ratings12 Apr 2027
Successful dribbles: 25. He went past people as if he had been told there was a prize for it, and by the end the full-back had stopped pretending to try.
Squad12 Apr 2027
Bicto Tyonga 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.
Squad12 Apr 2027
Omar Hakimi 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.
Match10 Apr 2027
Galactik left with the points after a 0‑1 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.
The dugout12 Apr 2027
Marius Oumar 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.
Loan watch12 Apr 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 AS Etat Major, and 11 appearances in 13 say he has earned the hearing.
The dugout12 Apr 2027
The manager’s verdict
“That is on me. I pick the team and I picked wrong.” Managers say that when they mean it and when they need to be seen to, and after 0‑1 Ezechiel Ndoram left the room before anybody could ask which.
Market12 Apr 2027
The Ahmat Ndoram story refuses to die
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Ahmat Ndoram signs something — a contract at AS Etat Major or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad5 Apr 2027
74 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. AS Etat Major lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
Boardroom5 Apr 2027
The board have said in public what they had been saying in private. Results between now and the next meeting decide it, and everybody in the building knows the arithmetic.
Match5 Apr 2027
Position 11, 17 points, and a fixture list with fewer games left in it than excuses. The arithmetic is not cruel yet, but it has stopped being kind.
Match3 Apr 2027
There is no crueller way to lose a football match. AS Etat Major scored in the 91th minute, the restart barely happened, and the away end was still standing when the whistle went.
Market5 Apr 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 AS Etat Major, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad5 Apr 2027
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 6 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
Squad5 Apr 2027
Hassan Allamine 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.
Squad5 Apr 2027
Omar Hakimi 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 terraces5 Apr 2027
He is 22 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
Crisis
The terraces29 Mar 2027
The mood at AS Etat Major has turned into something else
Supporters who sing when it goes badly are supporters. Supporters who gather afterwards are a problem, and everybody inside the building knows which of the two this now is.
Squad29 Mar 2027
Abdramane Doungous damages knee ligaments — 81 days out
The words a physio says slowly. 81 days is what the club will announce and everybody who has heard this diagnosis before knows the number is the least of it: the knee comes back before the player does.
Boardroom29 Mar 2027
The silence upstairs is getting loud at AS Etat Major
Nobody on the board has said anything against the manager, which is the point — they have stopped saying anything for him either.
Squad29 Mar 2027
Real improvement from a squad player at AS Etat Major
Form comes and goes; this has not gone. a squad player is 18, and the version of him training now would not have got into the side he was in a year ago.
Squad29 Mar 2027
Bicto Tyonga 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 AS Etat Major this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The dugout29 Mar 2027
Saleh Adoum 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 AS Etat Major, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Loan watch29 Mar 2027
The goals keep arriving from Marius Mbaiguedem’s exile
4 goals in 20 games at US Moursal — numbers that travel home faster than he does. Somebody at AS Etat Major updates a spreadsheet every Monday, and it makes better reading each week.
Loan watch29 Mar 2027
Nobody is winning from the Aziz Sabiri loan
21 appearances at Gazelle, an average of 6.17, and two clubs quietly wishing they had not bothered. Loans are supposed to answer questions; this one only added them.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad22 Mar 2027
88 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. AS Etat Major lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Match20 Mar 2027
No end in sight to AS Etat Major's wait for a win
5 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at AS Etat Major has to find a result from somewhere.
Squad22 Mar 2027
Bicto Tyonga and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad22 Mar 2027
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Omar Hakimi was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Player ratings22 Mar 2027
Successful dribbles: 17. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Loan watch22 Mar 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 AS Etat Major, and 0 appearances in 30 say he has earned the hearing.
The dugout22 Mar 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.” Ezechiel Ndoram chose the glass-half-full version of 0‑0; the supporters left with the other one.
Match20 Mar 2027
Point won or two lost for AS Etat Major?
Ninety minutes, no goals, and the argument started before the car park emptied: a point gained, or two thrown away against US Moursal? Both sides of it will still be going on Thursday.
The dugout22 Mar 2027
Adam Moustapha 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 Adam Moustapha trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad15 Mar 2027
95 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. AS Etat Major lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Match13 Mar 2027
4 matches without a win for AS Etat Major
The run now stands at 4, and the questions being asked around AS Etat Major are no longer polite ones.
Squad15 Mar 2027
Bicto Tyonga 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.
Player ratings15 Mar 2027
Issa Abba runs at them all day
Successful dribbles: 20. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Squad15 Mar 2027
Omar Hakimi 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.
Match13 Mar 2027
1‑1, and both dressing rooms will call it two points lost. A draw that asked plenty of questions and answered none of them.
The dugout15 Mar 2027
“It is not the end of the world and it is not good enough. Both of those are true.” The manager, after a 1‑1 draw, said the honest thing and then went to say it again inside.
The dugout15 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.
Looking ahead15 Mar 2027
Every squad has one of these fixtures for somebody every season. This one is Issa Abba’s: the club that knew him first, the supporters who will decide in the first minute whether to applaud, and AS Etat Major needing him to play as if none of it matters.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad8 Mar 2027
102 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. AS Etat Major lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Boardroom8 Mar 2027
Ezechiel Ndoram has until the next board meeting
What was said behind closed doors has now been said in front of a microphone. Everybody at AS Etat Major can do the arithmetic, including the man it is aimed at.
Match8 Mar 2027
Position 11, 12 points, and a fixture list with fewer games left in it than excuses. The arithmetic is not cruel yet, but it has stopped being kind.
Market8 Mar 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.
Player ratings8 Mar 2027
Ali Ndoram scored one and made one — 7.49
Two of the goals had his name somewhere on them, which is the afternoon a manager wants from anybody asked to both create and finish. 7.49, and 2 involvements.
Squad8 Mar 2027
Bicto Tyonga 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.
Match6 Mar 2027
Beaten 2‑3, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
The dugout8 Mar 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Omar Hakimi, and the manager let it.
Player ratings8 Mar 2027
Issa Abba was on a different afternoon to everybody else
8.25. 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.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
The terraces1 Mar 2027
Anger at AS Etat Major spills outside the ground
It has stopped being a mood in the stands and started being something organised. Boards can ignore a bad atmosphere for a long time; they cannot ignore this stage of it for very long at all.
Squad1 Mar 2027
109 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. AS Etat Major lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Boardroom1 Mar 2027
Pressure builds in the AS Etat Major boardroom
The directors have stopped offering the manager public warmth. In football that is usually the stage before the short statement.
Match27 Feb 2027
A 0‑3 beating by Foullah Edifice was the sort of result that empties a stadium long before the final whistle.
Squad1 Mar 2027
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 8 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
Squad1 Mar 2027
Real improvement from a squad player at AS Etat Major
Form comes and goes; this has not gone. a squad player is 18, and the version of him training now would not have got into the side he was in a year ago.
Squad1 Mar 2027
Bicto Tyonga 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 AS Etat Major this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The dugout1 Mar 2027
The manager makes an example of Ali Tokindang
“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.
Boardroom1 Mar 2027
The manager kept them in and said what needed saying. A response is expected on Saturday, and if it does not come the questions move upstairs.
In brief
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The dugout
The manager’s verdict
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Player ratings
Nobody could get near Hassan Allamine
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The dugout
Bicto Tyonga loses the manager who believed in him
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
The terraces1 Feb 2027
The mood at AS Etat Major has turned into something else
Supporters who sing when it goes badly are supporters. Supporters who gather afterwards are a problem, and everybody inside the building knows which of the two this now is.
Boardroom1 Feb 2027
The silence upstairs is getting loud at AS Etat Major
Nobody on the board has said anything against the manager, which is the point — they have stopped saying anything for him either.
Market1 Feb 2027
The offer from Gazelle for Saleh Oumar 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.
Boardroom1 Feb 2027
Window shuts: 1 in, 3 out at AS Etat Major
The deadline has passed and the squad is the squad. 1 arrived, 3 left, and everything else printed about this club last month was a rumour that stayed one.
Squad1 Feb 2027
Bicto Tyonga 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 AS Etat Major this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Transfer targets1 Feb 2027
AS Etat Major asked and CotonTchad said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
Squad1 Feb 2027
Omar Hakimi 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 targets1 Feb 2027
Katsina United have been asked whether they would lend him. Loans are agreed quickly or not at all, and this one will be one or the other by the weekend.
The dugout1 Feb 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.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Match9 Jan 2027
13 matches without a win for AS Etat Major
The run now stands at 13, and the questions being asked around AS Etat Major are no longer polite ones.
Match11 Jan 2027
Every point is an argument now for AS Etat Major
Position 11 and 7 points, and the table gets read bottom-up in this part of town. The calendar has stopped being a schedule and started being a countdown.
Market11 Jan 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 AS Etat Major can pretend not to have heard.
Transfer targets11 Jan 2027
Everything agreed with AS Algoy, everything agreed with the player; a doctor is the only person left to persuade. The photograph is a day or two away.
Market11 Jan 2027
The interest is real enough to have reached print. AS Etat Major have said nothing, which in a transfer window is its own kind of answer.
Transfer targets11 Jan 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.
Squad11 Jan 2027
Omar Hakimi 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.
Squad11 Jan 2027
Saleh Oumar 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 ratings11 Jan 2027
Issa Abba beats them one at a time
Successful dribbles: 19. There was always a defender in front of him and there was never a defender in front of him for long.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad7 Dec 2026
31 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. AS Algoy lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
Market7 Dec 2026
“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 AS Algoy, and it is not being withdrawn.
Player ratings7 Dec 2026
Marked 7.78 at 20, in a side that makes no allowances for age. He did not need any, and he looked the least nervous man on the pitch.
The dugout7 Dec 2026
This is not rotation. Ezechiel Mbainaissem has not been in the manager's plans for some time, and nobody at AS Algoy is pretending otherwise.
Match5 Dec 2026
AS Algoy keep winning on the road
4 away wins in a row. Travelling support is the truest kind, and this season it is being repaid in the only currency that counts.
Squad7 Dec 2026
Words at AS Algoy training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Narcisse Bechir 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 terraces7 Dec 2026
At 20 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.
Match5 Dec 2026
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Ezechiel Ngaradoumbe. 1‑0 against Gazelle, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
Player ratings7 Dec 2026
Successful dribbles: 18. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.