The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Stars Jeunes Talents is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
The name of Issa Mbainaissem has come up in conversations Stars Jeunes Talents were not part of. Nothing formal, nothing signed — but nothing about it accidental either.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Moussa Adoum was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
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.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Stars Jeunes Talents, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Public backing, and the sort that costs a manager something if it turns out to be wrong. Alexis Colombet has been told in front of everybody that the shirt is his.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Stars Jeunes Talents they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Alexis Colombet 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. Mahamat Ndoram 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.
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 Ntcham is on it.
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.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Stars Jeunes Talents, and both men came out saying it was fine.
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Stars Jeunes Talents will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Stars Jeunes Talents can pretend not to have heard.
The interest is real enough to have reached print. Stars Jeunes Talents have said nothing, which in a transfer window is its own kind of answer.
Squad24 Jul 2028
Moussa Adoum 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.
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.
14 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Stars Jeunes Talents lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 23 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Stars Jeunes Talents can pretend not to have heard.
The last thing about a transfer that is still about the player is his signature on his own terms, and it is there. Stars Jeunes Talents have lost him in all but the paperwork.
Alexis Colombet and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad17 Jul 2028
Moussa Adoum 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.
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 Abdoulaye Abba is on it.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Ezechiel Mahamat trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
The words a physio says slowly. 28 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.
Fee agreed, wages agreed, and AS Algoy waiting with a shirt. Nobody at Stars Jeunes Talents is pretending otherwise, and the supporters have stopped asking whether and started asking when.
“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 Stars Jeunes Talents, and it is not being withdrawn.
Alexis Colombet 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.
Squad3 Jul 2028
Moussa Adoum 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.
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.
Nobody at Stars Jeunes Talents will say this on the record and the team sheets have been saying it for weeks. There is a small group in every squad who get picked when the fixture is difficult, and he has joined it.
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.
42 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Stars Jeunes Talents lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
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.
“I have done everything asked of me in training and it has not changed a thing on a Saturday.” The most familiar complaint in football, and one Stars Jeunes Talents will have to answer with minutes or with a transfer.
The words a physio says slowly. 56 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 Stars Jeunes Talents, 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 Stars Jeunes Talents this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad5 Jun 2028
Moussa Adoum 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.
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.
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.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Alexis Colombet trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
70 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Stars Jeunes Talents lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Stars Jeunes Talents will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Stars Jeunes Talents can pretend not to have heard.
Alexis Colombet and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad22 May 2028
Moussa Adoum 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.
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.
84 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Stars Jeunes Talents lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 30 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Alexis Colombet 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.
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.
98 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Stars Jeunes Talents lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Stars Jeunes Talents will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
“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 Stars Jeunes Talents, and it is not being withdrawn.
Alexis Colombet and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad24 Apr 2028
Moussa Adoum 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.
Nobody at Stars Jeunes Talents will say this on the record and the team sheets have been saying it for weeks. There is a small group in every squad who get picked when the fixture is difficult, and he has joined it.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Stars Jeunes Talents, and both men came out saying it was fine.
105 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Stars Jeunes Talents lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
“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 Stars Jeunes Talents, and it is not being withdrawn.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Stars Jeunes Talents 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.” Stars Jeunes Talents have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
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.
Samuel Ntcham 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 Mahamat Ndoram was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The dugout17 Apr 2028
Moussa Adoum 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.
112 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Stars Jeunes Talents lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Alexis Colombet 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.
Squad10 Apr 2028
Moussa Adoum 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.
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 23-year-old it feels ownership of. Samuel Ntcham 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.
Successful dribbles: 18. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Player ratings10 Apr 2028
Samuel Ntcham was on a different afternoon to everybody else
8.21. 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.
Alexis Colombet 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.
Squad13 Mar 2028
Moussa Adoum 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.
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.
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.
Every squad has one of these fixtures for somebody every season. This one is Ezechiel Abba’s: the club that knew him first, the supporters who will decide in the first minute whether to applaud, and Stars Jeunes Talents needing him to play as if none of it matters.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Stars Jeunes Talents, and both men came out saying it was fine.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Stars Jeunes Talents can pretend not to have heard.
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.
Alexis Colombet 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 easiest signature of my career.” Ezechiel Tokindang and Stars Jeunes Talents agree another 4 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 23-year-old it feels ownership of. Samuel Ntcham 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 8.31 — 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.
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Mahamat Ndoram 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.
Alexis Colombet and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad28 Feb 2028
Moussa Adoum 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.
He is 19 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.
A player who expected to start watched it instead. The manager will call it a decision for the team; Marius Mbaiguedem will call it something else in private.
Nobody at Stars Jeunes Talents will say this on the record and the team sheets have been saying it for weeks. There is a small group in every squad who get picked when the fixture is difficult, and he has joined it.
“It is not the end of the world and it is not good enough. Both of those are true.” The manager, after a 0‑0 draw, said the honest thing and then went to say it again inside.
Centre-halves are allowed forward twice a season and are judged on what they do when they get there. Ezechiel Tokindang scored, was marked 7.29, and got back before anybody noticed he had gone.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Stars Jeunes Talents they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Samuel Ntcham 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. Moussa Adoum 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 were not good enough today and I am not going to dress it up.” Djibrine Souleymane after 1‑3, in the tone of a man who knows the next question and does not intend to answer it.
Nobody at Stars Jeunes Talents will say this on the record and the team sheets have been saying it for weeks. There is a small group in every squad who get picked when the fixture is difficult, and he has joined it.
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Stars Jeunes Talents will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Stars Jeunes Talents can pretend not to have heard.
Boardroom7 Feb 2028
Deadline passes with 0 signed and 2 gone
That is the business done at Stars Jeunes Talents 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.
Alexis Colombet 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 had been thinking. Moussa Adoum 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 Stars Jeunes Talents game from here. That says everything about where my head is.” The loan at AS Etat Major runs its course, but his heart never made the trip.
US Moursal will want this one forgotten quickly: 6‑1, every duel lost, and a long ride home. Stars Jeunes Talents were ruthless in the way good sides are ruthless.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 33 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
The offer from US Moursal for Ezechiel Abba 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.
7 goals. Both benches spent the second half looking at each other rather than at the pitch. Purists will complain about Stars Jeunes Talents and US Moursal in equal measure; everybody else had a wonderful time.
6 without a win is the sort of run that changes how a town talks about its club, and US Moursal were the afternoon it stopped. Nothing is fixed by one result and everything feels different by one.
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Stars Jeunes Talents will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
The last thing about a transfer that is still about the player is his signature on his own terms, and it is there. Stars Jeunes Talents have lost him in all but the paperwork.
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Stars Jeunes Talents may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
6 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Stars Jeunes Talents has to find a result from somewhere.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Stars Jeunes Talents this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
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.
In brief
The dugoutThe manager makes an example of Moussa Adoum
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the whole of the defence. 12 saves, several of them the kind nobody expects to see made, and ten outfield players who owe him a drink.
“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 Stars Jeunes Talents, and it is not being withdrawn.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Stars Jeunes Talents have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Add another name to the list: US Moursal have asked the question everybody in the game has been asking about Ezechiel Abba. The answer from Stars Jeunes Talents has not changed — yet.
Alexis Colombet 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 Moussa Adoum was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The clubs have settled the fee and he has settled his wages. What remains is a medical and a photograph, and around Stars Jeunes Talents people have started saying his name in the past tense.
Successful dribbles: 21. 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.
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Moussa Adoum 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 Stars Jeunes Talents game from here. That says everything about where my head is.” The loan at Galactik runs its course, but his heart never made the trip.
There is exactly one of these per career and it does not usually go like this. 1 on the scoresheet, 7.00 beside the name, and a crowd that had never seen him before chanting it by the end.
The offer from US Moursal for Ezechiel Abba 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 name of Mahamat Mbaiguedem has come up in conversations Stars Jeunes Talents were not part of. Nothing formal, nothing signed — but nothing about it accidental either.
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Mahamat Ndoram 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 point taken on 87 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.
A midfielder is measured on whether the team functions when he is on the pitch, which is nearly impossible to see and completely obvious in retrospect. 9 actions, 6.71, and a manager who will not be substituting him again in a hurry.
Alexis Colombet 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 Moussa Adoum was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
At 22 he is being sung about by people twice his age, which is an affection a signing has to earn over years and a local kid gets for turning up. It is also the hardest thing in football to live up to.
“It is not the end of the world and it is not good enough. Both of those are true.” The manager, after a 0‑0 draw, said the honest thing and then went to say it again inside.
Nobody at Stars Jeunes Talents will say this on the record and the team sheets have been saying it for weeks. There is a small group in every squad who get picked when the fixture is difficult, and he has joined it.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Stars Jeunes Talents they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Stars Jeunes Talents this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Moussa Adoum 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 makes a documentary about a hamstring and everybody in the game fears one. Stars Jeunes Talents will be careful with the return date, because the second one is always worse than the first.
Some games turn on a moment; this one turned on a man. 7.63 on the card, and the Stars Jeunes Talents support went home talking about one name.
The dugout20 Dec 2027
The view from the dugout
“We controlled it. There were spells I did not like and we will look at them, but the group showed me something.” Djibrine Souleymane, on a 1‑0 win that he was already picking apart on the walk to the press room.
“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 Stars Jeunes Talents, and it is not being withdrawn.
“I am grateful for the games, but I did not become a footballer to be somebody else's spare part.” He wants to be at Stars Jeunes Talents, and 4 appearances in 22 say he has earned the hearing.
Nobody at Stars Jeunes Talents will say this on the record and the team sheets have been saying it for weeks. There is a small group in every squad who get picked when the fixture is difficult, and he has joined it.
Every squad has one of these fixtures for somebody every season. This one is Ezechiel Abba’s: the club that knew him first, the supporters who will decide in the first minute whether to applaud, and Stars Jeunes Talents needing him to play as if none of it matters.
“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.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Stars Jeunes Talents can pretend not to have heard.
Alexis Colombet 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.
Squad6 Dec 2027
Moussa Adoum 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.
Successful dribbles: 19. 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.
“I did not go to AS Etat Major to sit and watch. I want to come back to Stars Jeunes Talents and fight for my place.” 0 appearances in 17 matches say the rest.
“The supporters are entitled to be angry. So am I. We will put it right.” 0‑2, a manager saying the necessary things, and a dressing room that heard a different version of them.
The 88th minute, half the ground already edging towards the exits, and Samuel Ntcham decided nobody was going anywhere. AS DGSSIE had no time left to answer.
Player ratings29 Nov 2027
A brace, and Samuel Ntcham takes the afternoon — 8.18
There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. Samuel Ntcham provided it, and the 8.18 beside his name is if anything generous to everybody else.
Centre-halves are allowed forward twice a season and are judged on what they do when they get there. Brahim Mahamat scored, was marked 7.72, and got back before anybody noticed he had gone.
Alexis Colombet 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.
Moussa Adoum 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.
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.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Mahamat Mbaiguedem will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Stars Jeunes Talents 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 Stars Jeunes Talents this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Mahamat Ndoram 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.
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.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Stars Jeunes Talents, and both men came out saying it was fine.
“The easiest signature of my career.” Brahim Abba and Stars Jeunes Talents agree another 3 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Samuel Ntcham 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.
“I am grateful for the games, but I did not become a footballer to be somebody else's spare part.” He wants to be at Stars Jeunes Talents, and 4 appearances in 18 say he has earned the hearing.
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 Moussa Adoum is on 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.
Clubs make promises constantly and the page usually only hears about them when they are broken. This one was honoured, and the dressing room noticed that faster than any supporter did.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Stars Jeunes Talents can pretend not to have heard.
A mark of 7.80 means one thing beside a twenty-nine-year-old's name and something else entirely beside a 18-year-old's. Nobody at the ground needed telling which this was.
Alexis Colombet 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.
At 18 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.
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Mahamat Ndoram 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 did not go to AS Etat Major to sit and watch. I want to come back to Stars Jeunes Talents and fight for my place.” 0 appearances in 13 matches say the rest.
“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 Stars Jeunes Talents, and it is not being withdrawn.
Alexis Colombet 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 Mahamat Ndoram was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Nobody at Stars Jeunes Talents will say this on the record and the team sheets have been saying it for weeks. There is a small group in every squad who get picked when the fixture is difficult, and he has joined it.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 20 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Stars Jeunes Talents is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Stars Jeunes Talents this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
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 Hassan Bechir is on it.
“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
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.” Djibrine Souleymane chose the glass-half-full version of 0‑0; the supporters left with the other one.
He used to wear the other shirt. On Saturday he plays against CotonTchad in this one, and whatever he says this week about it being just another game will be untrue.
In brief
The dugoutEzechiel Abba knocks on the manager's door
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Stars Jeunes Talents will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Stars Jeunes Talents may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 20-year-old it feels ownership of. Ali Ngaradoumbe 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.
“I watch every Stars Jeunes Talents game from here. That says everything about where my head is.” The loan at Galactik runs its course, but his heart never made the trip.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Stars Jeunes Talents will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
“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 Stars Jeunes Talents, and it is not being withdrawn.
Alexis Colombet 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 had been thinking. Mahamat Ndoram 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 Stars Jeunes Talents, and 0 appearances in 9 say he has earned the hearing.
Nobody at Stars Jeunes Talents will say this on the record and the team sheets have been saying it for weeks. There is a small group in every squad who get picked when the fixture is difficult, and he has joined it.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Stars Jeunes Talents, and both men came out saying it was fine.
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Samuel Ntcham signs something — a contract at Stars Jeunes Talents or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Stars Jeunes Talents will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Stars Jeunes Talents this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Senior shirt numbers handed to boys the coaches have known since they were twelve. Most will not make it and all of them have already done the hard part.
There is no fee, no unveiling and no agent on the steps. Saleh Mahamat 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.
There is no fee, no unveiling and no agent on the steps. Marius Hissein 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.
There is no fee, no unveiling and no agent on the steps. Adam Mbaiguedem 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.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Stars Jeunes Talents will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
“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 Stars Jeunes Talents, and it is not being withdrawn.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Stars Jeunes Talents is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Stars Jeunes Talents this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
8 new signings in one window. Every one may be an upgrade and the side can still be worse for a while, which is the part of a rebuild the verdicts never mention.
Nobody at Stars Jeunes Talents will say this on the record and the team sheets have been saying it for weeks. There is a small group in every squad who get picked when the fixture is difficult, and he has joined it.
In brief
The dugoutSamuel Ntcham knocks on the manager’s door
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Stars Jeunes Talents will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
The last thing about a transfer that is still about the player is his signature on his own terms, and it is there. Stars Jeunes Talents have lost him in all but the paperwork.
Alexis Colombet 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.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. AS Algoy have kept their man, and Stars Jeunes Talents go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
There is no fee, no unveiling and no agent on the steps. Adam Ngaradoumbe 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 academy exists for exactly this morning. Hassan Djimet 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.
Clubs spend fortunes looking for players and occasionally find one down the corridor. Ezechiel Mbainaissem is that, and the reception he gets on his first appearance will be different in kind from the one any signing receives.
“I am grateful for the games, but I did not become a footballer to be somebody else's spare part.” He wants to be at Stars Jeunes Talents, and 0 appearances in 5 say he has earned the hearing.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 69 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Stars Jeunes Talents can pretend not to have heard.
The deadline has passed and the squad is the squad. 2 arrived, 14 left, and everything else printed about this club last month was a rumour that stayed one.
Everything was agreed until it was not, and Abdoulaye Allamine reports back to Stars Jeunes Talents with a summer to forget. Neither club is saying who walked away from the table.
Alexis Colombet 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 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 Moussa Adoum is on it.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 90 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. AS Algoy have kept their man, and Stars Jeunes Talents go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
“I watch every Stars Jeunes Talents game from here. That says everything about where my head is.” The loan at Galactik runs its course, but his heart never made the trip.
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 Ntcham is on it.
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Stars Jeunes Talents know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 97 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Stars Jeunes Talents this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Mahamat Ndoram 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.
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 Moussa Adoum is on it.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Samuel Ntcham trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Stars Jeunes Talents will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
The offer from US Bougouba for Brahim Abba 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.
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Stars Jeunes Talents may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Youssouf Abakar will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Stars Jeunes Talents the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Alexis Colombet 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.
Add another name to the list: Aiglons have asked the question everybody in the game has been asking about Abdoulaye Allamine. The answer from Stars Jeunes Talents has not changed — yet.
Nobody at Stars Jeunes Talents will say this on the record and the team sheets have been saying it for weeks. There is a small group in every squad who get picked when the fixture is difficult, and he has joined it.
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Stars Jeunes Talents will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
The offer from AS DGSSIE for Abdoulaye Allamine 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.
Alexis Colombet 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.
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.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Stars Jeunes Talents, and both men came out saying it was fine.
The last thing about a transfer that is still about the player is his signature on his own terms, and it is there. Stars Jeunes Talents have lost him in all but the paperwork.
Samuel Ntcham 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 Brahim Abba was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
A player who expected to start watched it instead. The manager will call it a decision for the team; Ezechiel Abba will call it something else in private.
The last thing about a transfer that is still about the player is his signature on his own terms, and it is there. Stars Jeunes Talents have lost him in all but the paperwork.
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Brahim Abba 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.
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.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Stars Jeunes Talents, and both men came out saying it was fine.
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Ezechiel Abba signs something — a contract at Stars Jeunes Talents or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
3 goals in 24 games at Aiglons — numbers that travel home faster than he does. Somebody at Stars Jeunes Talents updates a spreadsheet every Monday, and it makes better reading each week.
The language has come, the shrug has gone, and he argues in training like a man who expects to be here next year. None of it shows up on a fee and all of it shows up on the pitch.
The words a physio says slowly. 38 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.
Alexis Colombet 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 Florent Warna was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
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.
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Samuel Ntcham signs something — a contract at Stars Jeunes Talents or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
Samuel Ntcham 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.
Squad10 May 2027
Brahim Abba 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 did not go to AS DGSSIE to sit and watch. I want to come back to Stars Jeunes Talents and fight for my place.” 19 appearances in 36 matches say the rest.
Nobody at Stars Jeunes Talents will say this on the record and the team sheets have been saying it for weeks. There is a small group in every squad who get picked when the fixture is difficult, and he has joined it.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Stars Jeunes Talents, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Samuel Ntcham 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 had been thinking. Moussa Adoum 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 Stars Jeunes Talents, and 6 appearances in 12 say he has earned the hearing.
Four or five weekends of consistency, judged against everybody in the division doing his job. Alexis Colombet has come out of that comparison in the side, and Stars Jeunes Talents have had the benefit of every one of those afternoons.
Nobody at Stars Jeunes Talents will say this on the record and the team sheets have been saying it for weeks. There is a small group in every squad who get picked when the fixture is difficult, and he has joined it.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Stars Jeunes Talents this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Brahim Abba 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 Samuel Ntcham is on it.
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Samuel Ntcham signs something — a contract at Stars Jeunes Talents or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
Alexis Colombet 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 Brahim Abba was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
At 22 he is being sung about by people twice his age, which is an affection a signing has to earn over years and a local kid gets for turning up. It is also the hardest thing in football to live up to.
Marked 8.15 — 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.
Successful dribbles: 17. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
The dugout19 Apr 2027
The manager’s verdict
“I am not going to get carried away and I will not let them either. It was a good day. There will be harder ones.” Djibrine Souleymane kept it short after the 2‑0 win, which is what managers do when they are happy.
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.
Alexis Colombet 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.
Squad29 Mar 2027
Brahim Abba 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.
Nobody at Stars Jeunes Talents will say this on the record and the team sheets have been saying it for weeks. There is a small group in every squad who get picked when the fixture is difficult, and he has joined it.
One weekend, judged against everybody else's. Samuel Ntcham has come out on top of it, and for most footballers a weekly award is the only silverware a career ever produces.
AS Etat Major next, and one man in the Stars Jeunes Talents dressing room knows their training ground better than his own. The reception will tell him what they thought of him.
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Stars Jeunes Talents know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
Samuel Ntcham 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
Moussa Adoum 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.
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 22-year-old it feels ownership of. Samuel Ntcham 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.
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Moussa Adoum. 2‑0 against AS Algoy, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
“I am grateful for the games, but I did not become a footballer to be somebody else's spare part.” He wants to be at Stars Jeunes Talents, and 0 appearances in 7 say he has earned the hearing.
“We earned that. I asked them for a reaction and I got one, and now I want the same again on Saturday.” Djibrine Souleymane on a 2‑0 afternoon that pleased him more than he was prepared to show.
The dugout22 Mar 2027
Somebody else is better right now than Ezechiel Abba
The team sheet says it in public every week until it changes. The only version of being dropped a footballer cannot argue with, and the one he takes hardest.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Florent Warna trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Samuel Ntcham 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.
Squad15 Mar 2027
Brahim Abba 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 am grateful for the games, but I did not become a footballer to be somebody else's spare part.” He wants to be at Stars Jeunes Talents, and 1 appearances in 30 say he has earned the hearing.
Nobody at Stars Jeunes Talents will say this on the record and the team sheets have been saying it for weeks. There is a small group in every squad who get picked when the fixture is difficult, and he has joined it.
AS Algoy next, and one man in the Stars Jeunes Talents dressing room knows their training ground better than his own. The reception will tell him what they thought of him.
Alexis Colombet has been around long enough to know what the spring feels like when it goes wrong, and he can feel it. A dressing room that is frightened plays like one.
2 goals in 20 games at Aiglons — numbers that travel home faster than he does. Somebody at Stars Jeunes Talents updates a spreadsheet every Monday, and it makes better reading each week.
Alexis Colombet 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.
Squad22 Feb 2027
Brahim Abba 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.
10 combined actions and 6.80. The job he did is the one that shows up as other people looking good, and the only reliable way to notice it is to watch what happens on the afternoons he is missing.
Both clubs in the mire, one fixture between them, and a ground that will be louder and more frightened than at any point in the season. Stars Jeunes Talents know what is at stake and so does everybody in the away end.
Successful dribbles: 17. 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.
Level with 94 minutes on the clock, after an afternoon Stars Jeunes Talents had all but put away. AS PSI will call it a point earned; the home dressing room will call it two given away, and both of them are right.
He found out with everybody else, an hour before kick-off, from a sheet of paper on a wall. Nobody at Stars Jeunes Talents pretended it was anything other than a decision about him.
“I know what people will say. I know what I want, and it is here.” AS DGSSIE had the fee agreed and the shirt ready; they did not have the player, and now they will not.
Fee agreed, wages agreed, and AS DGSSIE waiting with a shirt. Nobody at Stars Jeunes Talents is pretending otherwise, and the supporters have stopped asking whether and started asking when.
The hardest thing about being 21 in a senior side is that nobody makes allowances. Samuel Ntcham did not need any: 7.71, and he looked the most comfortable man on the pitch.
1 in and 4 out, and no more changes for months. The manager has what he has, the supporters have their opinion of it, and the table will have the last word.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Stars Jeunes Talents this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Brahim Abba. 3‑1 against US Moursal, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
Squad1 Feb 2027
Brahim Abba 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 am grateful for the games, but I did not become a footballer to be somebody else's spare part.” He wants to be at Stars Jeunes Talents, and 4 appearances in 25 say he has earned the hearing.
In brief
Player ratingsBoth jobs done by Moussa Adoum — 7.34
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the whole of the defence. 9 saves, several of them the kind nobody expects to see made, and ten outfield players who owe him a drink.
Marked 7.34. There is a kind of forward whose value only shows up when you count what he was involved in rather than what he finished, and this is the day that argument makes itself.
0‑3 to Elect Sport, and it was every bit as bad as the number suggests. There are defeats you argue about and defeats you apologise for; this was the second kind.
Florent Warna 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. Moussa Adoum 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 have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Stars Jeunes Talents can pretend not to have heard.
The offer from AS DGSSIE for a squad player 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.
6 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Stars Jeunes Talents has to find a result from somewhere.
5 matches, no goals, and a training ground that has tried everything. It will end — droughts always do — but nobody at Stars Jeunes Talents can tell you which week it ends in.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Stars Jeunes Talents this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The name of Hassan Oumar has come up in conversations Stars Jeunes Talents were not part of. Nothing formal, nothing signed — but nothing about it accidental either.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Stars Jeunes Talents can pretend not to have heard.
5 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Stars Jeunes Talents has to find a result from somewhere.
The chances are being made and something is happening between the making and the finishing. 4 matches now, and the anxiety in the ground arrives a little earlier every week.
Successful dribbles: 20. 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.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Florent Warna was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
“I watch every Stars Jeunes Talents game from here. That says everything about where my head is.” The loan at Gazelle runs its course, but his heart never made the trip.
The dugout28 Dec 2026
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 Djibrine Souleymane left the room before anybody could ask which.
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.
3 matches, no goals, and a training ground that has tried everything. It will end — droughts always do — but nobody at Stars Jeunes Talents can tell you which week it ends in.
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Moussa Adoum 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 did not go to Foullah Edifice to sit and watch. I want to come back to Stars Jeunes Talents and fight for my place.” 0 appearances in 17 matches say the rest.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Florent Warna was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
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.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Florent Warna trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
AS Algoy next, and one man in the Stars Jeunes Talents dressing room knows their training ground better than his own. The reception will tell him what they thought of him.
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Stars Jeunes Talents know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
“I have done everything asked of me in training and it has not changed a thing on a Saturday.” The most familiar complaint in football, and one Stars Jeunes Talents will have to answer with minutes or with a transfer.
0‑3 to Renaissance, and it was every bit as bad as the number suggests. There are defeats you argue about and defeats you apologise for; this was the second kind.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Moussa Adoum was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
“I am grateful for the games, but I did not become a footballer to be somebody else's spare part.” He wants to be at Stars Jeunes Talents, and 8 appearances in 14 say he has earned the hearing.
In brief
The dugoutThe view from the dugout
SquadMoussa Allamine watches a signing take the shirt he was promised
Player ratingsSamuel Ntcham beats them one at a time
“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 Stars Jeunes Talents, 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 Stars Jeunes Talents this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Brahim Abba was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
“I watch every Stars Jeunes Talents game from here. That says everything about where my head is.” The loan at Gazelle runs its course, but his heart never made the trip.
The dugout30 Nov 2026
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 Djibrine Souleymane left the room before anybody could ask which.
Abdoulaye Mahamat scored, and precious little else went right: 1‑2 to AS PSI, and a quiet walk to the dressing room.
Squad23 Nov 2026
Florent Warna 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 manager did not use many words, and he did not need to.” Abdoulaye Mahamat has his answer from Stars Jeunes Talents; what he does with it is the next window’s story.
“I did not go to Foullah Edifice to sit and watch. I want to come back to Stars Jeunes Talents and fight for my place.” 0 appearances in 13 matches say the rest.
“The supporters are entitled to be angry. So am I. We will put it right.” 1‑2, a manager saying the necessary things, and a dressing room that heard a different version of them.
The dugout23 Nov 2026
Samuel Ntcham 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.
Samuel Ntcham 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 Florent Warna was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
“I watch every Stars Jeunes Talents game from here. That says everything about where my head is.” The loan at Aiglons runs its course, but his heart never made the trip.
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 Ntcham is on it.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Stars Jeunes Talents, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Stars Jeunes Talents know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
Two goals and a mark of 8.20 to go with them. Strikers are judged on afternoons like this one and remembered for far fewer of them than people imagine.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Stars Jeunes Talents this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Brahim Abba 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.
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.
The instruction came from the boardroom and the dugout did not agree with it. Somebody will go, the fee will be called good business, and the manager will spend the season rebuilding around the space.
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Florent Warna 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 did not go to Gazelle to sit and watch. I want to come back to Stars Jeunes Talents and fight for my place.” 1 appearances in 11 matches say the rest.
“We were not good enough today and I am not going to dress it up.” Djibrine Souleymane after 0‑1, in the tone of a man who knows the next question and does not intend to answer it.
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Stars Jeunes Talents may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
“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 Stars Jeunes Talents, and it is not being withdrawn.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Florent Warna was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Stars Jeunes Talents this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
“I watch every Stars Jeunes Talents game from here. That says everything about where my head is.” The loan at Foullah Edifice runs its course, but his heart never made the trip.
There was no pressure on him and nowhere he had to be. Stars Jeunes Talents lost a goal to a decision that took half a second and will be discussed all week.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Stars Jeunes Talents can pretend not to have heard.
Form comes and goes; this has not gone. a squad player is 19, and the version of him training now would not have got into the side he was in a year ago.
Moussa 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.
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Florent Warna 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 Stars Jeunes Talents game from here. That says everything about where my head is.” The loan at Galactik runs its course, but his heart never made the trip.
Stars Jeunes Talents have let the market know Abdoulaye Mahamat can be had. No price in the advert, but everyone in the trade knows roughly what it says.
Samuel Ntcham 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.
Squad28 Sep 2026
Brahim Abba 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 did not go to Foullah Edifice to sit and watch. I want to come back to Stars Jeunes Talents and fight for my place.” 0 appearances in 5 matches say the rest.
“The manager did not use many words, and he did not need to.” Issa Ngaradoumbe has his answer from Stars Jeunes Talents; what he does with it is the next window’s story.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Abdoulaye Mahamat trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.