Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Albert Schlupp was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Nobody at Hasaacas 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 dugout21 Oct 2030
The manager’s verdict
“I am frustrated, honestly. We did enough to win and we did not win.” Samuel Wakaso was not hiding it after 0‑0, and nobody in the Hasaacas dressing room was either.
The crowd waited for a goal that never came. Liberty Professionals defended in numbers and left with what they came for, and the two sides could be playing still without troubling a scorer.
He used to wear the other shirt. On Saturday he plays against Asante Kotoko in this one, and whatever he says this week about it being just another game will be untrue.
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Osman Gyan signs something — a contract at Hasaacas or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Albert Schlupp will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Hasaacas the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Kwame Schlupp 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 thought about how hard another man trains, and Albert Schlupp was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
“The manager did not use many words, and he did not need to.” Daniel Awuni has his answer from Hasaacas; what he does with it is the next window’s story.
Nobody at Hasaacas 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.
“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 Hasaacas will have to give him a reason to stay or an exit.
Nothing in writing and nothing in public: a word about playing time, given face to face at Hasaacas. The team sheets over the next month will show whether it was worth having.
In brief
The dugoutJeffrey Amoah asks for a word with the manager
BoardroomThe Hasaacas production line keeps running
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Hasaacas have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Successful dribbles: 29. 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.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Albert Schlupp will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Hasaacas the goodbyes have quietly begun.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Hasaacas this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
“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.
Squad16 Sep 2030
Words at Hasaacas training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Samuel Mohammed 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.
Minute 86, against BA All Stars, and a goal that felt like a win to everybody who had stayed. It was a draw. Nobody leaving the ground will describe it as one.
Harrison Appiah 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 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.
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Hasaacas know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
“I did not sign to watch. Nobody does.” The oldest complaint in the game, and Hasaacas will have to answer it with minutes or with a move.
Market9 Sep 2030
The window shut and Albert Schlupp is still in the building
Hasaacas spent a month trying to move him and nobody rang back. He trains with a squad that has told him where he stands, and both sides start counting down to the next one.
The last thing about a transfer that is still about the player is his signature on his own terms, and it is there. Hasaacas have lost him in all but the paperwork.
“It was not right for me. I am not going to explain why to anybody except the people I owe an explanation to.” A deal agreed between two clubs, and a player who declined to be part of it.
Boardroom2 Sep 2030
Deadline passes with 6 signed and 11 gone
That is the business done at Hasaacas until the window opens again. Whether it was enough will be answered on Saturdays rather than in a column, and the first Saturday is close.
A new deal for the man in the dugout, and the clearest thing a board can say without calling a press conference about it. Stability is cheap to promise and expensive to deliver.
The deal with Asante Kotoko is done in every sense but the one that puts him on the pitch. Nothing goes wrong at this stage, except on the occasions when it does.
Boardroom2 Sep 2030
6 academy players handed senior numbers at Hasaacas
The morning the pathway stops being a brochure and becomes a team sheet. Most of them will not be here in three years; all of them have already done the hard part, which was getting to today.
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.
Squad2 Sep 2030
Words at Hasaacas training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Harrison Appiah 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.
There is no fee, no unveiling and no agent on the steps. Jeffrey Ofori has been at this club since he was a boy and is now, formally, one of the first-team squad — which for a local readership beats any signing of any size.
The clubs have settled the fee and he has settled his wages. What remains is a medical and a photograph, and around Hasaacas people have started saying his name in the past tense.
The offer from Berekum Chelsea for Albert Schlupp 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 deal with Bohemians 1905 is done in every sense but the one that puts him on the pitch. Nothing goes wrong at this stage, except on the occasions when it does.
Edmund Schlupp 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.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Harrison Appiah was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Hasaacas have made the call to Asante Kotoko. No fee, a share of the wages, and a spare shirt in the position where the squad has been thinnest all season.
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 clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Hasaacas is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Terms were offered and declined. Whether it was the wages, the role or the town, nobody at Cotonsport Garoua is saying, and nobody at Hasaacas is enjoying the guessing.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Hasaacas this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Cotonsport Garoua have kept their man, and Hasaacas go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
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 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.
Hearts of Oak 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.
In brief
The dugoutEdmund Schlupp has become a man the manager trusts
The last thing about a transfer that is still about the player is his signature on his own terms, and it is there. Hasaacas have lost him in all but the paperwork.
Hasaacas asked and SuperSport United 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 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 demotion a club never announces and a dressing room always notices. Oratile Rantasi is further from the side than he was, and the reason will not be given until he asks.
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.
$15.0K settles it between the clubs for Albert Inusah
Liberty Professionals have accepted the money. What Hasaacas do not yet have is the man, and between here and the photograph is a conversation about wages that both sides are dreading.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Asante Kotoko have kept their man, and Hasaacas go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Harrison Appiah was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Everyone has stopped pretending: Aduana Stars will make the call about Albert Schlupp this week. Hasaacas have a number in mind, and the number is not shy.
Samuel Djiku 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 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.
Position 4 on 48 points, and the places that carry a European ticket are close enough to count. Seasons like this are decided by two results in April, and the club knows which two.
Fee agreed, wages agreed, and Great Olympics waiting with a shirt. Nobody at Hasaacas is pretending otherwise, and the supporters have stopped asking whether and started asking when.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Hasaacas will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Edmund Schlupp will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Hasaacas the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Everything agreed with Remo Stars, everything agreed with the player; a doctor is the only person left to persuade. The photograph is a day or two away.
Kwame Schlupp 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.
Hasaacas asked and Kano Pillars said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Harrison Appiah was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
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 Yaw Djiku is on it.
The last thing about a transfer that is still about the player is his signature on his own terms, and it is there. Hasaacas have lost him in all but the paperwork.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Hasaacas will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
“The easiest signature of my career.” Bokamoso Taukobong and Hasaacas agree another 3 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Edmund Schlupp 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.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Remo Stars have kept their man, and Hasaacas go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Harrison Appiah was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Hasaacas they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Hasaacas 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 Hasaacas 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.
Nobody at Hasaacas 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.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Abraham Boateng trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Position 4 on 48 points, and the places that carry a European ticket are close enough to count. Seasons like this are decided by two results in April, and the club knows which two.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Albert Schlupp will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Hasaacas the goodbyes have quietly begun.
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.
Somebody watched every match in the division at the weekend and decided he was the best thing in any of them. A small honour, and most careers end without one.
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 Samuel Djiku is on it.
48 points from position 4. The title is somebody else’s business and the drop is somebody else’s problem; what is left is the argument about passports.
Nothing in writing and nothing in public: a word about playing time, given face to face at Hasaacas. The team sheets over the next month will show whether it was worth having.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Hasaacas can pretend not to have heard.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Albert Schlupp will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Hasaacas the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Edmund Schlupp 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 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 manager has re-ordered his thinking and Abraham Asante has come out of it lower. He will be told it is temporary, and the players who have heard that before will avoid his eye.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Hasaacas, and both men came out saying it was fine.
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 Samuel Djiku is on it.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Hasaacas have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Harrison Appiah 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 thought about how hard another man trains, and Edmund Schlupp was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
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 Edmund Schlupp is on it.
The dugout25 Mar 2030
The manager’s verdict
“I am frustrated, honestly. We did enough to win and we did not win.” Samuel Wakaso was not hiding it after 1‑1, and nobody in the Hasaacas dressing room was either.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Albert Schlupp will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Hasaacas the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Edmund Schlupp was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Ernest Asante 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.
Four or five weekends of consistency, measured against everybody else in the division. A quieter compliment than an award and a more reliable one.
The dugout4 Mar 2030
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.” Samuel Wakaso chose the glass-half-full version of 0‑0; the supporters left with the other one.
Position 3, 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.
The unbeaten run reaches 6. Some of them were wins and some were escapes, but a side that refuses to lose is a side other dressing rooms talk about.
Squad18 Feb 2030
Words at Hasaacas training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Harrison Appiah 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: Albert Schlupp. 2‑1 against Bechem United, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
The goal that put Bechem United ahead was still being replayed on the concourse when Hasaacas equalised, 3 minutes later. Leads are only worth what you do with them.
100 games in this shirt, through managers and relegations and everything else. Service like it is disappearing from the game and the crowd knows what it is watching.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Albert Schlupp will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Hasaacas the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Boardroom4 Feb 2030
Deadline passes with 0 signed and 0 gone
That is the business done at Hasaacas until the window opens again. Whether it was enough will be answered on Saturdays rather than in a column, and the first Saturday is close.
Hasaacas had done everything except persuade the man himself. He stays at Liberty Professionals, and the manager goes back to the drawing board with the money still in the bank.
Involvement in 2 goals, from a player who spent the ninety minutes doing the thing a manager actually wants: being where the ball was going to end up. 7.97 beside his name.
The clubs have settled the fee and he has settled his wages. What remains is a medical and a photograph, and around Hasaacas people have started saying his name in the past tense.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Hasaacas can pretend not to have heard.
Hasaacas asked and Kaizer Chiefs 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 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.
A point taken on 88 minutes is worth exactly one point and considerably more than that to a dressing room. This side does not stop, which is a reputation worth more than the result.
“I was told straight, and I would rather have it straight.” The manager at Hasaacas has been clear about where Albert Schlupp stands, which is more than many ever get.
Liberty Professionals 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 clubs have settled the fee and he has settled his wages. What remains is a medical and a photograph, and around Hasaacas people have started saying his name in the past tense.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Hasaacas can pretend not to have heard.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Hasaacas have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Anderlecht have kept their man, and Hasaacas go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
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 a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 23-year-old it feels ownership of. Samuel Djiku 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.
Everyone has stopped pretending: Heart of Lions will make the call about Albert Schlupp this week. Hasaacas have a number in mind, and the number is not shy.
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.
7.89, and no serious argument from anybody who was there. Hasaacas had eleven men on the pitch and one of them decided how it went.
The dugout3 Dec 2029
The view from the dugout
“We will look at it, we will learn from it, and we go again.” The three sentences every manager keeps for a 1‑2 defeat, delivered by Samuel Wakaso to a room that had heard them before.
A month is long enough that nobody gets in by accident. Bokamoso Taukobong is in the division's best eleven for it, which is a quieter compliment than an award and a more reliable one.
11 home matches unbeaten. Visiting sides arrive already talking about the atmosphere, which is usually the sign that they have half-lost before kickoff.
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.
Squad26 Nov 2029
Words at Hasaacas training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Bokamoso Taukobong 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.
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 23-year-old it feels ownership of. Samuel Djiku 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.
Marked 8.39 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Hasaacas this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Inter Allies will want this one forgotten quickly: 3‑0, every duel lost, and a long ride home. Hasaacas were ruthless in the way good sides are ruthless.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Hasaacas can pretend not to have heard.
Edmund Schlupp and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad5 Nov 2029
Words at Hasaacas training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Bokamoso Taukobong 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.
A performance of 8.42 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Player ratings5 Nov 2029
David Gyan 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.
The new man at Hasaacas has worked with Daniel Awuni before and it went well. He arrives with a view of the player already formed, which is worth more than any pre-season.
Everything was agreed until it was not, and Albert Schlupp reports back to Hasaacas with a summer to forget. Neither club is saying who walked away from the table.
Hasaacas had done everything except persuade the man himself. He stays at Asante Kotoko, and the manager goes back to the drawing board with the money still in the bank.
Hasaacas asked and WAFA said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
Squad10 Sep 2029
Words at Hasaacas training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Harrison Appiah 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.
Abdul Mumini Salifu 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 new man at Hasaacas has worked with Daniel Awuni before and it went well. He arrives with a view of the player already formed, which is worth more than any pre-season.
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 Bokamoso Taukobong is on it.
“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 Hasaacas, and it is not being withdrawn.
The deadline has passed and the squad is the squad. 13 arrived, 13 left, and everything else printed about this club last month was a rumour that stayed one.
Hasaacas moved before anybody else could: a new deal for Samuel Wakaso, agreed quietly and announced loudly. Boards extend managers for many reasons; the good one is the one this looks like.
The clubs had agreed and the player had not. A snub, and a public one: Cotonsport Garoua keep him, and the supporters here are left wondering what he had heard about the place.
Everything was agreed until it was not, and Bernard Schlupp reports back to Hasaacas with a summer to forget. Neither club is saying who walked away from the table.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Hasaacas this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
6 boys move up, and somewhere in the building the people who coached them at twelve are quietly having the best morning of their working year. Nothing about this shows up in a result and it is why the academy exists.
“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 Hasaacas, and it is not being withdrawn.
Fee agreed, wages agreed, and Inter Allies waiting with a shirt. Nobody at Hasaacas is pretending otherwise, and the supporters have stopped asking whether and started asking when.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Great Olympics have kept their man, and Hasaacas go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Harrison Appiah was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The new man at Hasaacas has worked with Daniel Awuni before and it went well. He arrives with a view of the player already formed, which is worth more than any pre-season.
Wa All Stars 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.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Hasaacas can pretend not to have heard.
A medical, a signature, a shirt held up in front of a sponsor’s board. Hasaacas have done the hard part with New York City, and the part that remains is the part supporters actually see.
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Augustine Agyapong and Hasaacas agree another 4 years.
Harrison Appiah 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.
Every footballer has an answer to the question about his boyhood club, and most of them never get to act on it. Chris Wilunda has, at Hasaacas, and the first month will show what that does to a man.
Hasaacas asked and Austria Salzburg 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 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.
Nobody at Hasaacas 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.
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Hasaacas know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Hasaacas will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
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.
Edmund Schlupp 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.
Conceding is one thing; the response is what tells you about a dressing room. Abdul Partey had Hasaacas level again within 4 minutes, and Heart of Lions never got to play with a lead at all.
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.
“We were not good enough today and I am not going to dress it up.” Samuel Wakaso after 1‑2, in the tone of a man who knows the next question and does not intend to answer it.