Marked for Patrick Etame
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match21 Nov 2026
0‑5 against Aiglons, and no complaints that would survive the replay. The manager spoke about character afterwards; the terraces used shorter words.
Squad23 Nov 2026
Marius Doungous 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.
Match21 Nov 2026
3 matches, no goals, and a training ground that has tried everything. It will end — droughts always do — but nobody at AS Etat Major can tell you which week it ends in.
The dugout23 Nov 2026
“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.
Boardroom23 Nov 2026
Nobody left the AS Etat Major dressing room in a hurry
The door stayed shut a long time after the final whistle. What was said in there is between them; whether it worked is between them and Saturday.
Loan watch23 Nov 2026
“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 1 appearances in 13 say he has earned the hearing.
The dugout23 Nov 2026
“The supporters are entitled to be angry. So am I. We will put it right.” 0‑5, a manager saying the necessary things, and a dressing room that heard a different version of them.
Squad23 Nov 2026
Beaten 5 times, 5 saves, and an afternoon that will go on his record whether it was his fault or the defence’s. It is the quiet unfairness of the position.
The dugout23 Nov 2026
The manager wanted a different profile for this opponent, which is a real football reason and no consolation. He did nothing wrong and he did not play.
Back issues
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Market2 Nov 2026
“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.
Player ratings2 Nov 2026
The hardest thing about being 19 in a senior side is that nobody makes allowances. Noussair Hamdallah did not need any: 7.89, and he looked the most comfortable man on the pitch.
Squad2 Nov 2026
The most common injury in the game and the most rushed back from. AS Etat Major will quote 14 days and will be careful with it, because the second one is always worse than the first.
Boardroom2 Nov 2026
The accounts make uncomfortable reading. Wages first and ambition second is the order of business at AS Etat Major now.
The terraces2 Nov 2026
At 19 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.
Squad2 Nov 2026
Marius Mbainaissem and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Match31 Oct 2026
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Noussair Hamdallah. 1‑0 against AS Algoy, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
Squad2 Nov 2026
Noussair Hamdallah is the division's best young player this month
At 19 he has spent a month being better than everybody his age in the league, which is a different and harder thing than one good afternoon. AS Etat Major will try very hard not to make too much of it.
Loan watch2 Nov 2026
“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 4 appearances in 11 say he has earned the hearing.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad26 Oct 2026
Marius Doungous 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.
Loan watch26 Oct 2026
“I did not go to Galactik to sit and watch. I want to come back to AS Etat Major and fight for my place.” 0 appearances in 9 matches say the rest.
The dugout26 Oct 2026
“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.
Market26 Oct 2026
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Moussa Haroun signs something — a contract at AS Etat Major or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
Squad26 Oct 2026
The training reports on Djibrine Mahamat are not good
A bad Saturday is forgiven; a bad Tuesday is chosen. Standards have slipped and in a building where everybody watches everybody, it has been noticed.
Looking ahead26 Oct 2026
Looking ahead: AS Algoy at home
A side in position 12 visits next. The result will not make anybody’s season and it could quietly break the shape of one, which is why the manager has been watching the video since Sunday.