Azubuike Casmir 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 Kabiru Murtala was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Warri Wolves, and both men came out saying it was fine.
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 Sunday Megwo signs something — a contract at Warri Wolves or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
Position 5 on 61 points, and the places that carry a European ticket are close enough to count. Seasons like this are decided by two results in April, and the club knows which two.
A new face in his position, and Ademola Adebambo suddenly has to win back what he thought he owned. Warri Wolves have promised nothing — clubs rarely do at this stage.
The clubs have settled the fee and he has settled his wages. What remains is a medical and a photograph, and around Warri Wolves people have started saying his name in the past tense.
Othuke Egbo 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.
$13.0K on the table at Plateau United. The manager wanted him, the board agreed a number, and the only voices still to be heard are the ones at the other club.
Every footballer has an answer to the question about his boyhood club, and most of them never get to act on it. Etse Dogli has, at Warri Wolves, and the first month will show what that does to a man.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Plateau United have kept their man, and Warri Wolves go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Prince Ebhohon was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
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.” Ebere Ejuke after 0‑2, in the tone of a man who knows the next question and does not intend to answer it.
Othuke Egbo 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.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Prince Ebhohon trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
“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.
Every squad has one of these fixtures for somebody every season. This one is Uche Sabastine’s: the club that knew him first, the supporters who will decide in the first minute whether to applaud, and Warri Wolves needing him to play as if none of it matters.
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Chisom Orji signs something — a contract at Warri Wolves or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
Fee agreed, wages agreed, and Niger Tornadoes waiting with a shirt. Nobody at Warri Wolves is pretending otherwise, and the supporters have stopped asking whether and started asking when.
Everything agreed with Shooting Stars, everything agreed with the player; a doctor is the only person left to persuade. The photograph is a day or two away.
“There are things I liked and things we will be doing on Tuesday until they are right.” 0‑0, and a manager who had already decided what Tuesday looked like.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Stanley Oganbor was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Osahon Osoboh trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Azubuike Casmir 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.
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Chisom Orji signs something — a contract at Warri Wolves or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
“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 Warri Wolves will have to answer with minutes or with a transfer.
Public backing, and the sort that costs a manager something if it turns out to be wrong. Chisom Orji has been told in front of everybody that the shirt is his.
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.
In brief
SquadOthuke Egbo is the talk of the training ground
Gift Isioma 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 Eromosele Zibiri was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
“The manager did not use many words, and he did not need to.” Ken-Gaston Koumous has his answer from Warri Wolves; what he does with it is the next window’s story.
Supporters who sing when it goes badly are supporters. Supporters who gather afterwards are a problem, and everybody inside the building knows which of the two this now is.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Carlos Ohene was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Nobody at Liberty Professionals 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.
Fee agreed, wages agreed, and Great Olympics waiting with a shirt. Nobody at Liberty Professionals is pretending otherwise, and the supporters have stopped asking whether and started asking when.
Transfer targets23 Aug 2027
$110.0K settles it between the clubs for Nana Ayew
Wa All Stars have accepted the money. What Liberty Professionals do not yet have is the man, and between here and the photograph is a conversation about wages that both sides are dreading.
The deal with Medeama is done in every sense but the one that puts him on the pitch. Nothing goes wrong at this stage, except on the occasions when it does.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Heart of Lions have kept their man, and Liberty Professionals go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Deruo Wisdom 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.
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 nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Liberty Professionals can pretend not to have heard.
Andrew Bukari 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 Carlos Ohene was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Liberty Professionals asked and Medeama said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
“I watch every Liberty Professionals game from here. That says everything about where my head is.” The loan at Heart of Lions 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 Kwadwo Ayew is on 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.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Jonathan Mensah trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
A bad atmosphere can be waited out. A group of people meeting afterwards to decide what to do about it cannot, and everybody in the building knows which stage this is.
Liberty Professionals asked and Aduana Stars 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 was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Liberty Professionals 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 Kamaldeen Owusu was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
“We keep meeting, and we keep leaving the room with the same numbers we walked in with.” Another round of talks at Liberty Professionals, another week without a signature from Ubong Williams.
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 Kamaldeen Owusu is on it.
“I did not come here to warm up in front of people.” He is out of contract eventually, he is old enough to count the weeks, and Liberty Professionals will have to give him a reason to stay or an exit.
In brief
The dugoutSteven Nufour knocks on the manager's door
The last thing about a transfer that is still about the player is his signature on his own terms, and it is there. Liberty Professionals have lost him in all but the paperwork.
$210.0K on the table at Heart of Lions. The manager wanted him, the board agreed a number, and the only voices still to be heard are the ones at the other club.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Liberty Professionals this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The most common injury in the game and the most rushed back from. Liberty Professionals will quote 14 days and will be careful with it, because the second one is always worse than the first.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Carlos Ohene was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Heart of Lions have kept their man, and Liberty Professionals go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Liberty Professionals have made the call to Hearts of Oak. No fee, a share of the wages, and a spare shirt in the position where the squad has been thinnest all season.
A medical, a signature, a shirt held up in front of a sponsor’s board. Liberty Professionals have done the hard part with Medeama, and the part that remains is the part supporters actually see.
Andrew Bukari was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Joseph Bukari and Liberty Professionals agree another 4 years.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Carlos Ohene was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Liberty Professionals asked and Hearts of Oak said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
“I listened, I thought about it, and I am staying. That is the whole story.” The clubs had agreed a fee. Jonathan Mensah had not agreed to go, which turned out to be the part that mattered.
“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 Liberty Professionals, and it is not being withdrawn.
Andrew Bukari 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. Hearts of Oak have kept their man, and Liberty Professionals go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Kamaldeen Owusu 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 Andrew Bukari 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 Liberty Professionals, and both men came out saying it was fine.
The clubs have settled the fee and he has settled his wages. What remains is a medical and a photograph, and around Liberty Professionals people have started saying his name in the past tense.
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Carlos Ohene 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.
Steven Nufour 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.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Steven Nufour trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
“I was told straight, and I would rather have it straight.” The manager at Liberty Professionals has been clear about where David Schlupp stands, which is more than many ever get.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Kwadwo Boakye will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Liberty Professionals 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 Liberty Professionals 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.
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 Yaw Sulemana trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.