A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Kaizer Chiefs will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Rushwin Dortley will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Kaizer Chiefs the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Erick Phiri 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 academy exists for exactly this morning. Teboho Jali 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.
The academy exists for exactly this morning. Morgan Grobler 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. Teboho Lorch is that, and the reception he gets on his first appearance will be different in kind from the one any signing receives.
Something was said to Erick Phiri and then it happened. In this industry that passes for remarkable, and the dressing room noticed faster than any supporter could.
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Luther Mphela and Ajax Cape Town agree another 5 years.
Thokozani Khumalo and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad26 Apr 2027
Musa Drammeh 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 Ajax Cape Town 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.
5 goals in 9 games at Kaizer Chiefs — numbers that travel home faster than he does. Somebody at Ajax Cape Town updates a spreadsheet every Monday, and it makes better reading each week.
In brief
SquadMusa Drammeh has seen what the next man earns
The dugoutRamahlwe Dala asks for a word with the manager
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Kaizer Chiefs can pretend not to have heard.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Kaizer Chiefs 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 Kaizer Chiefs 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.
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Lebohang Dhlamini and Kaizer Chiefs agree another 3 years.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Kaizer Chiefs, and both men came out saying it was fine.
2 months left, and both sides know what that means: every week without a signature, the fee Kaizer Chiefs could ask drops and the wages Rushwin Dortley can ask rise.
He asked about his future and was given an answer with minutes in it. The manager has now made a promise in a building where promises are remembered, and the clock on it has started.
Bradley Zwane 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.
Squad12 Apr 2027
Words at Ajax Cape Town training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Musa Drammeh 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 tried. I have really tried, and every day I wake up in the wrong place.” Nobody at Ajax Cape Town can coach that out of a man, and nobody there is pretending to.
Squad12 Apr 2027
6 new faces, and Ajax Cape Town are still learning each other
A squad rebuilt inside one window pays for it in a currency nobody budgets for. The football is not worse than the sum of the players; it is worse than the sum of the players who have played together before.
“We keep meeting, and we keep leaving the room with the same numbers we walked in with.” Another round of talks at Ajax Cape Town, another week without a signature from Dokou Dodo.
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.
He asked about his future and was given an answer with minutes in it. The manager has now made a promise in a building where promises are remembered, and the clock on it has started.
Not a run of form — an actual step up, held for months. At 21 he is doing things at this level he could not do at the start of the season, and the coaching staff will tell you exactly which of them.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Ajax Cape Town this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad29 Mar 2027
Words at Ajax Cape Town training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Phila Dlamini 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 at Ajax Cape Town 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. Ajax Cape Town know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Kaizer Chiefs can pretend not to have heard.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Kaizer Chiefs they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
At 19 he is doing things this season that he could not do last season, and doing them every week. Form comes and goes; this has stayed long enough to be called something else.
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.
Nothing in writing and nothing in public: a word about playing time, given face to face at Kaizer Chiefs. The team sheets over the next month will show whether it was worth having.
The last league game has been played and the table has stopped moving: 42 points. The summer begins on Monday, and so does the argument about what it all meant.
5 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.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Kaizer Chiefs 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 Kaizer Chiefs 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 Thapelo Maseko was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Erick Phiri. 1‑0 against Ajax Cape Town, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
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.
In brief
Squad5 new faces, and Kaizer Chiefs are still learning each other
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Mduduzi Shabalala will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Kaizer Chiefs the goodbyes have quietly begun.
“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 Kaizer Chiefs, and it is not being withdrawn.
Erick Phiri 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.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Rushwin Dortley will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Kaizer Chiefs the goodbyes have quietly begun.
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.
There is no worse way to lose a footballer. Rushwin Dortley has pre-agreed a move away, which means every appearance between now and June is made by a man the club can no longer sell, and somebody upstairs will be asked why the contract was allowed to get here.
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Brandon Petersen and Kaizer Chiefs agree another 2 years.
Erick Phiri 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 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.
Three points for Kaizer Chiefs, 2‑0 the final word against Jomo Cosmos in a contest settled by the finer margins.
Player ratings8 Mar 2027
Thapelo Maseko 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.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Kaizer Chiefs can pretend not to have heard.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Mfundo Vilakazi will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Kaizer Chiefs the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Successful dribbles: 27. 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 have given this everything, but my family is not here and neither am I, not really.” A footballer can be coached out of bad form. Nobody has ever been coached out of this, and Kaizer Chiefs know it.
Every long career reaches the week the player starts thinking about the last one. He would like it to be at the club that first put him on a pitch, and Kaizer Chiefs now know that too.
Sibongiseni Mthethwa 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.
Hard to beat is not the same as winning, but 6 matches without defeat is a foundation Kaizer Chiefs did not have in the autumn.
Squad1 Mar 2027
Words at Kaizer Chiefs training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Thapelo Maseko 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.
He is 23 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.
Successful dribbles: 31. 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.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Kaizer Chiefs have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Kaizer Chiefs they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Asanele Velebayi 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 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.
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Erick Phiri. 1‑0 against Black Aces, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Mduduzi Shabalala will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Kaizer Chiefs the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Erick Phiri was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Rushwin Dortley 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 have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Kaizer Chiefs can pretend not to have heard.
The clubs have settled the fee and he has settled his wages. What remains is a medical and a photograph, and around Kaizer Chiefs people have started saying his name in the past tense.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Kaizer Chiefs they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
The clubs had agreed and the player had not. A snub, and a public one: River Plate keep him, and the supporters here are left wondering what he had heard about the place.
Erick Phiri 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.
Squad8 Feb 2027
Words at Kaizer Chiefs training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Thapelo Maseko is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
The chances are being made and something is happening between the making and the finishing. 3 matches now, and the anxiety in the ground arrives a little earlier every week.
Fee agreed, wages agreed, and Jomo Cosmos waiting with a shirt. Nobody at Kaizer Chiefs 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 Kaizer Chiefs, and it is not being withdrawn.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Mfundo Vilakazi will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Kaizer Chiefs the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Boardroom1 Feb 2027
Deadline passes with 2 signed and 3 gone
That is the business done at Kaizer Chiefs 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.
The clubs had agreed and the player had not. A snub, and a public one: Krasnodar keep him, and the supporters here are left wondering what he had heard about the place.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Lebohang Maboe was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
15 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.
“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 Kaizer Chiefs, and it is not being withdrawn.
Fee agreed, wages agreed, and Jomo Cosmos waiting with a shirt. Nobody at Kaizer Chiefs is pretending otherwise, and the supporters have stopped asking whether and started asking when.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Kaizer Chiefs is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Everything agreed with Krasnodar, everything agreed with the player; a doctor is the only person left to persuade. The photograph is a day or two away.
Sibongiseni Mthethwa 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. Defensa y Justicia have kept their man, and Kaizer Chiefs go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Squad25 Jan 2027
Words at Kaizer Chiefs training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Erick Phiri is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
The last thing about a transfer that is still about the player is his signature on his own terms, and it is there. Ajax Cape Town have lost him in all but the paperwork.
“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 Ajax Cape Town, and it is not being withdrawn.
Terms were offered and declined. Whether it was the wages, the role or the town, nobody at Kaizer Chiefs is saying, and nobody at Ajax Cape Town is enjoying the guessing.
Not a run of form — an actual step up, held for months. At 17 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.
Erick Phiri 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.
Free State Stars left with the points after a 1‑2 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.
Squad18 Jan 2027
Words at Ajax Cape Town training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Musa Drammeh 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 know what people will say. I know what I want, and it is here.” Ajax Cape Town had the fee agreed and the shirt ready; they did not have the player, and now they will not.
The clubs have settled the fee and he has settled his wages. What remains is a medical and a photograph, and around Kaizer Chiefs people have started saying his name in the past tense.
SuperSport United wanted more than $4.9M and the board would not go there. Walked away, for now, which in a transfer window means until somebody blinks.
“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 Kaizer Chiefs, and it is not being withdrawn.
Everything agreed with Ajax Cape Town, everything agreed with the player; a doctor is the only person left to persuade. The photograph is a day or two away.
Every run ends on an afternoon somebody had marked down as routine. This one went 8 matches, which is long enough that a town had stopped counting, and short enough that it will remember exactly who stopped 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 Ajax Cape Town 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. Ajax Cape Town have lost him in all but the paperwork.
Form comes and goes; this has not gone. Bradley Zwane is 20, and the version of him training now would not have got into the side he was in a year ago.
Erick Phiri 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.
Ajax Cape Town asked and Astana said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
It happens to all of them and it is still the hardest paragraph a local paper has to write. 34 years old, 3 points down on where he was, and a body that has started charging interest on a career.
Squad11 Jan 2027
Words at Ajax Cape Town training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Musa Drammeh 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 was told straight, and I would rather have it straight.” The manager at Ajax Cape Town has been clear about where Luther Mphela stands, which is more than many ever get.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Ajax Cape Town can pretend not to have heard.
The offer from Kaizer Chiefs for Erick Phiri 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.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Krasnodar have kept their man, and Ajax Cape Town go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
The name of Teboho Mothiba has come up in conversations Ajax Cape Town 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 Phila Dlamini was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
“I was told straight, and I would rather have it straight.” The manager at Ajax Cape Town has been clear about where Dean Dala stands, which is more than many ever get.
The hardest thing about being 21 in a senior side is that nobody makes allowances. Luther Mphela did not need any: 7.90, and he looked the most comfortable man on the pitch.
Not a run of form — an actual step up, held for months. At 23 he is doing things at this level he could not do at the start of the season, and the coaching staff will tell you exactly which of them.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Ajax Cape Town this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
At 21 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.
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Luther Mphela. 2‑0 against University of Pretoria, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
Squad28 Dec 2026
Words at Ajax Cape Town training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Musa Drammeh 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.
Successful dribbles: 15. There was always a defender in front of him and there was never a defender in front of him for long.
The dugout28 Dec 2026
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.” Dean Furman, on a 2‑0 win that he was already picking apart on the walk to the press room.
Nobody at Ajax Cape Town 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.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Ajax Cape Town 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.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Ajax Cape Town this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The board was up, the win was priced in, and then Chippa United scored. There is no worse minute to concede in and the ground emptied in the silence that follows one.
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 footballer has an answer to the question about his boyhood club, and most of them never get to act on it. Lucan Louw has, at Ajax Cape Town, and the first month will show what that does to a man.
Erick Phiri 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.
A performance of 8.15 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Squad14 Dec 2026
Phila Dlamini 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.
“We were not good enough today and I am not going to dress it up.” Dean Furman after 2‑3, in the tone of a man who knows the next question and does not intend to answer it.
Lucan Louw is 20, and Ajax Cape Town have signed him for the player he will be rather than the one he is. The first team can wait; the point of a deal like this is the years it buys.
In brief
The dugoutLuther Mphela has become a man the manager trusts
Successful dribbles: 41. 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.
2 kept out from twelve yards, and a stadium that will describe each of them for twenty years. A goalkeeper needs one night like this in a career, and this was it.
Erick Phiri and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad7 Dec 2026
Words at Ajax Cape Town training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Musa Drammeh 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.
Position 9, 18 points, and every result so far reduced to one line. The second half of the season starts with the same squad and a different set of expectations.
Marks Munyai 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 Musa Drammeh was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.00, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
The dugout30 Nov 2026
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.” Dean Furman, on a 1‑0 win that he was already picking apart on the walk to the press room.
Something was said to Musa Drammeh and then it happened. In this industry that passes for remarkable, and the dressing room noticed faster than any supporter could.
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 Williams Erasmus is on it.
The system has changed and his position has not. A footballer can improve his form; he cannot improve the manager’s formation, and that is the whole of the problem.
Squad23 Nov 2026
6 new faces, and Ajax Cape Town are still learning each other
A squad rebuilt inside one window pays for it in a currency nobody budgets for. The football is not worse than the sum of the players; it is worse than the sum of the players who have played together before.
The dugout23 Nov 2026
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.” Dean Furman, on a 1‑0 win that he was already picking apart on the walk to the press room.
Nobody at Ajax Cape Town 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.
Dokou Dodo 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.
Squad16 Nov 2026
Words at Ajax Cape Town training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Musa Drammeh 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 shape has positions in it and this one does not have his. Ajax Cape Town will either change the shape, change his job, or change his club, and he is waiting to hear which.
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 Luther Mphela is on it.
Orlando Pirates next, and one man in the Ajax Cape Town dressing room knows their training ground better than his own. The reception will tell him what they thought of him.
A year in and the city has not opened up, the language has not come, and lunch is eaten alone more often than anybody at Ajax Cape Town would admit. It shows on Saturdays.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Ajax Cape Town, and both men came out saying it was fine.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Ajax Cape Town have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Marked 8.03 — 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.
Donay Jansen 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.
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.
6 without a win now, and the ground has developed the special quiet of a crowd that expects the worst. One scrappy 1-0 would cure most of it; that is the maddening part.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Ajax Cape Town this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad26 Oct 2026
Words at Ajax Cape Town training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Musa Drammeh 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.
Squad26 Oct 2026
7 new faces, and Ajax Cape Town are still learning each other
A squad rebuilt inside one window pays for it in a currency nobody budgets for. The football is not worse than the sum of the players; it is worse than the sum of the players who have played together before.
The dugout26 Oct 2026
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.” Dean Furman chose the glass-half-full version of 0‑0; the supporters left with the other 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 Erick Phiri is on it.
The manager wanted a different profile for this opponent, which is a real football reason and no consolation. He did nothing wrong and he did not play.
In brief
The dugoutPhila Dlamini is not enjoying his job description
Not a run of form — an actual step up, held for months. At 21 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.
Zolani Nkombelo 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.
Everybody at Ajax Cape Town saw it before anybody said it, which is how this always goes. At 35 the decline is real and measurable — 3 points — and the only question left is how the club handles somebody it owes a great deal to.
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Hlompho Zungu and Ajax Cape Town agree another 3 years.
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 Luther Mphela 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 Ajax Cape Town, and both men came out saying it was fine.
“We keep meeting, and we keep leaving the room with the same numbers we walked in with.” Another round of talks at Ajax Cape Town, another week without a signature from Zeke May.
Erick Phiri 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.
“We were not good enough today and I am not going to dress it up.” Dean Furman after 0‑2, in the tone of a man who knows the next question and does not intend to answer it.
A mark of 4.67 tells the story without any need for embellishment. He will want the tape of this one quietly lost.
The dugout21 Sep 2026
The manager has not finished forgetting Bradley Zwane's mistake
Publicly it is behind everybody. It is not behind the man who picks the team, and the only place that shows is a team sheet. He will get another chance; he will get it in a match that matters less.
The fee was agreed and the flight was looked at — and then the phone stopped ringing. Asante Kotoko moved on, Luther Mphela reports back to Ajax Cape Town, and everybody pretends Monday is just Monday.
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.
Squad14 Sep 2026
Words at Ajax Cape Town training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Musa Drammeh 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.
Donay Jansen 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 have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Ajax Cape Town can pretend not to have heard.
The deadline has passed and the squad is the squad. 10 arrived, 0 left, and everything else printed about this club last month was a rumour that stayed one.
Zolani Nkombelo 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 Musa Drammeh was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Squad7 Sep 2026
A place in the month's best eleven for Bradley Zwane
Four or five weekends of consistency, judged against everybody in the division doing his job. Bradley Zwane has come out of that comparison in the side, and Ajax Cape Town have had the benefit of every one of those afternoons.
The demotion a club never announces and a dressing room always notices. Erick Phiri is further from the side than he was, and the reason will not be given until he asks.
Nothing in writing and nothing in public: a word about playing time, given face to face at Ajax Cape Town. The team sheets over the next month will show whether it was worth having.
The last thing about a transfer that is still about the player is his signature on his own terms, and it is there. Ajax Cape Town have lost him in all but the paperwork.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Ajax Cape Town can pretend not to have heard.
The name of Luther Mphela has come up in conversations Ajax Cape Town were not part of. Nothing formal, nothing signed — but nothing about it accidental either.
Erick Phiri 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 chances are being made and something is happening between the making and the finishing. 3 matches now, and the anxiety in the ground arrives a little earlier every week.
“We were not good enough today and I am not going to dress it up.” Dean Furman after 0‑2, in the tone of a man who knows the next question and does not intend to answer it.
“I know what people will say. I know what I want, and it is here.” Hearts of Oak had the fee agreed and the shirt ready; they did not have the player, and now they will not.
Erick Phiri 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 terraces24 Aug 2026
Ajax Cape Town spend $2.7M on the signing the town wanted
It is the rarest sequence in football: supporters ask for something, and the club goes and does it. $2.7M for Musa Drammeh, and for one week nobody is complaining about anything.
Ajax Cape Town 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.
Squad24 Aug 2026
Musa Drammeh 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 know what people will say. I know what I want, and it is here.” ENPPI had the fee agreed and the shirt ready; they did not have the player, and now they will not.
$2.7M on the table at Torreense. The manager wanted him, the board agreed a number, and the only voices still to be heard are the ones at the other club.
Successful dribbles: 18. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Squad17 Aug 2026
Words at Ajax Cape Town training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Keagan Ngcobo 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.
Ajax Cape Town asked and OB said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
Erick Phiri 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.
Successful dribbles: 22. 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.
5 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.
Squad10 Aug 2026
Words at Ajax Cape Town training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Dean Dala 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.
He is 21 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.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Ajax Cape Town this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad3 Aug 2026
Words at Ajax Cape Town training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Dean Dala 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.
Add another name to the list: Hearts of Oak have asked the question everybody in the game has been asking about Hlompho Dala. The answer from Ajax Cape Town has not changed — yet.
The system has changed and his position has not. A footballer can improve his form; he cannot improve the manager’s formation, and that is the whole of the problem.
Kaizer Chiefs 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.
Ajax Cape Town have made the call to Colón. No fee, a share of the wages, and a spare shirt in the position where the squad has been thinnest all season.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Erick Phiri trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.