The words a physio says slowly. 19 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.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Bloemfontein Celtic this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
“I was told straight, and I would rather have it straight.” The manager at Bloemfontein Celtic has been clear about where Sandile Khumalo stands, which is more than many ever get.
The words a physio says slowly. 26 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.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Bloemfontein Celtic have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
14 home matches unbeaten. Visiting sides arrive already talking about the atmosphere, which is usually the sign that they have half-lost before kickoff.
Hlompho Tau 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.
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Divine Lunga 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.
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Hlompho Tau. 2‑1 against Mamelodi Sundowns, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
The words a physio says slowly. 33 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.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Bloemfontein Celtic have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
5 without a win now, and the ground has developed the special quiet of a crowd that expects the worst. One scrappy 1-0 would cure most of it; that is the maddening part.
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.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Bloemfontein Celtic this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The words a physio says slowly. 88 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.
Hlompho Tau 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.
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Itumeleng Mahlangu 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 board have answered with money instead of encouragement, which is the only answer a manager ever wants. Spending it well is now entirely his problem.
None of them will be seen by anybody outside the training ground for three years, most of them will never play a senior match, and one of them might change the club. That is the whole proposition, and it is why academies exist.
Contract settled, hands shaken, no fee changing hands. Ronwen Mothiba leaves Bloemfontein Celtic the quiet way, and the wage bill breathes a little easier.
Contract settled, hands shaken, no fee changing hands. Hlompho Mahlangu leaves Bloemfontein Celtic the quiet way, and the wage bill breathes a little easier.
The words a physio says slowly. 95 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.
“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 Bloemfontein Celtic, and it is not being withdrawn.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Bloemfontein Celtic this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
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.
“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 Bloemfontein Celtic, and it is not being withdrawn.
The injury that keeps coming back, keeps being rushed back from, and quietly costs more careers than the dramatic ones. 15 days is the estimate; the honest figure depends on whether anybody is patient.
Hlompho Tau 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.
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Itumeleng Mahlangu 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.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Bloemfontein Celtic have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Bloemfontein Celtic this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
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.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Bloemfontein Celtic can pretend not to have heard.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Bloemfontein Celtic this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Nobody makes a documentary about a hamstring and everybody in the game fears one. Bloemfontein Celtic will be careful with the return date, because the second one is always worse than the first.
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.
“I watch every Bloemfontein Celtic game from here. That says everything about where my head is.” The loan at Flamengo runs its course, but his heart never made the trip.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Bloemfontein Celtic this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Percy Phiri 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.
Divine Lunga 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.
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Itumeleng Mahlangu 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.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Bloemfontein Celtic have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Bloemfontein Celtic this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
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 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.
Loan watch3 Apr 2028
Erick Mkhize is tired of being somebody else's player
“Another season, another badge, another dressing room to win over. I would like one pre-season at Bloemfontein Celtic where somebody actually looks at me.” He belongs to Chippa United until the spell ends; the argument is with the club that owns him.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Bloemfontein Celtic have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Bloemfontein Celtic this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
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.
Position 3, 56 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.
Hlompho Tau 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.
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Williams Khune and Bloemfontein Celtic agree another 4 years.
Form comes and goes; this has not gone. Lwandiso Radebe is 18, and the version of him training now would not have got into the side he was in a year ago.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Bloemfontein Celtic this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Itumeleng Mahlangu and Bloemfontein Celtic agree another 2 years.
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Percy Phiri 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.
“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 Bloemfontein Celtic, and 0 appearances in 10 say he has earned the hearing.
The loan was meant to give him football. 1 games and 0 goals later he is back at Bloemfontein Celtic no further forward, and everybody involved will explain why it was not their doing.
Golden Arrows are out and Bloemfontein Celtic go through, 2‑1 the final word. The bracket opens up a little, and everyone allows themselves a look at it.
There is no crueller way to lose a football match. Bloemfontein Celtic scored in the 112th minute, the restart barely happened, and the away end was still standing when the whistle went.
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.
A season average of 7.04 at an age when most of his year group are still in the youth team. Bloemfontein Celtic know what they have, and so, by now, does everybody else.
“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 Bloemfontein Celtic, and it is not being withdrawn.
11 without defeat on their own grass. The pitch has not changed; the crowd has — louder earlier, and quicker to sense when the opposition would rather be somewhere else.
Hlompho Tau 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.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Bloemfontein Celtic this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Hlompho Tau. 3‑1 against Platinum Stars, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 23-year-old it feels ownership of. Ntando Nkosi 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.
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.
7.64, 1 on the scoresheet, and the specific comedy of a back-four player celebrating like somebody who does this every week. He does not, and that is exactly why the ground reacted the way it did.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Bloemfontein Celtic this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
9 without defeat on their own grass. The pitch has not changed; the crowd has — louder earlier, and quicker to sense when the opposition would rather be somewhere else.
“I watch every Bloemfontein Celtic game from here. That says everything about where my head is.” The loan at KCB runs its course, but his heart never made the trip.
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.
Player ratings7 Feb 2028
Hlompho Tau was on a different afternoon to everybody else
8.08. 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.
The offer from Palermo for Hlompho Tau 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.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Hlompho Zungu will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Bloemfontein Celtic the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Hlompho Tau 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.
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Hlompho Tau. 2‑1 against Orlando Pirates, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Itumeleng Mahlangu 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.
“I watch every Bloemfontein Celtic game from here. That says everything about where my head is.” The loan at Flamengo runs its course, but his heart never made the trip.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Bloemfontein Celtic this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Itumeleng Mahlangu. 1‑0 against Jomo Cosmos, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
Headers, blocks, tackles, interceptions — 16 of them, and not one goal behind him. The sort of performance that never makes a highlight reel and wins football matches.
There is an age at which every good afternoon gets described as a throwback, which is unfair and also accurate. 7.85 at 33, and nobody on the pitch was better.
Hlompho Tau 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.
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Divine Lunga 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.
“I watch every Bloemfontein Celtic game from here. That says everything about where my head is.” The loan at Flamengo runs its course, but his heart never made the trip.
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.
At 33 he is supposed to be managing his minutes. Instead he was marked 7.80 and looked, for ninety minutes, exactly like the player everybody remembers.
Not a run of form — an actual step up, held for months. At 19 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.
Hlompho Tau 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.
“I watch every Bloemfontein Celtic game from here. That says everything about where my head is.” The loan at KCB runs its course, but his heart never made the trip.
4 without a win now, and the ground has developed the special quiet of a crowd that expects the worst. One scrappy 1-0 would cure most of it; that is the maddening part.
Hlompho Tau 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.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Bloemfontein Celtic this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad25 Oct 2027
Divine Lunga 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.
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Hamdi Akujobi, and the manager let it.
Player ratings25 Oct 2027
Hlompho Tau was on a different afternoon to everybody else
8.12. 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.
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.
He is the name in every column and on every phone-in, which is a heavy thing to carry at any age. Some footballers thrive on it; others are quietly finished by it.
There is an age at which every good afternoon gets described as a throwback, which is unfair and also accurate. 7.89 at 33, and nobody on the pitch was better.
“The easiest signature of my career.” Luther Hlatshwayo and Bloemfontein Celtic agree another 4 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Hlompho Tau 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.
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Divine Lunga 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.
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Ramahlwe Grobler. 3‑1 against Ajax Cape Town, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
“Every summer it is another club, another set of team-mates, another manager to convince. I have done all that. Now I want a pre-season at Bloemfontein Celtic and a proper look at me.” He remains Chippa United’s player until the spell runs out — but the argument is with the club that owns him.
At 33 he is supposed to be managing his minutes. Instead he was marked 8.24 and looked, for ninety minutes, exactly like the player everybody remembers.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Bloemfontein Celtic this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
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.
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Divine Lunga 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.
Nobody's fault and entirely his: a goal that goes into the book with his name against it and nothing about it intended. Bloemfontein Celtic deserved better, and so did he.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 76 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
41 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Bloemfontein Celtic lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Bloemfontein Celtic have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Hlompho Tau 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.
Nothing happens for months and then he simply arrives, at no cost, having signed a pre-contract while still turning out for somebody else. It is the least dramatic way to sign a footballer and frequently the shrewdest.
13 goals in 24 games at Ashanti Gold — numbers that travel home faster than he does. Somebody at Bloemfontein Celtic updates a spreadsheet every Monday, and it makes better reading each week.
“The easiest signature of my career.” Ramahlwe Hlatshwayo and Bloemfontein Celtic agree another 5 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Bloemfontein Celtic this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Thabo Mokwena 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 manager did not use many words, and he did not need to.” Hlompho Zungu has his answer from Bloemfontein Celtic; what he does with it is the next window’s story.
Every touch is being weighed now, in print and everywhere else. Some players grow into that and some are quietly ruined by it, and nobody knows which in advance.
Ninety minutes, no goals, and the argument started before the car park emptied: a point gained, or two thrown away against Black Aces? Both sides of it will still be going on Thursday.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Bloemfontein Celtic this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
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.
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.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Bloemfontein Celtic this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
A 1‑0 win over Polokwane City, earned rather than given, and the sort of afternoon that sends everyone home talking about next week instead of this one.
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Chuck 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.
7 goals in 16 games at Ashanti Gold — numbers that travel home faster than he does. Somebody at Bloemfontein Celtic updates a spreadsheet every Monday, and it makes better reading each week.
Nobody will confirm this and nothing else explains the last month of selections. A costly error buys a player a period of being second choice that is always longer than the error was.
In brief
The terracesThe press have found their man in Ramahlwe Kekana
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Bloemfontein Celtic this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Thabo Mokwena 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 one version of being left out a player cannot argue with, and the one he takes worst. Somebody else has been better and the team sheet says so, in public, every week until it changes.
6 without a win now, and the ground has developed the special quiet of a crowd that expects the worst. One scrappy 1-0 would cure most of it; that is the maddening part.
Hlompho Tau 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.
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Sandile Khumalo 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.
“We pay for this every fortnight. The least we want is somebody who looks like he cares.” 9 of the 26 senior players walked off into it; the rest were not playing.
5 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Bloemfontein Celtic has to find a result from somewhere.
Centre-halves are allowed forward twice a season and are judged on what they do when they get there. Luther Hlatshwayo scored, was marked 7.93, and got back before anybody noticed he had gone.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Bloemfontein Celtic this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
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.
Every touch is being weighed now, in print and everywhere else. Some players grow into that and some are quietly ruined by it, and nobody knows which in advance.