Marked for Joseph Essien
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Boardroom26 Apr 2027
The scrutiny sharpens at BA All Stars
Nobody upstairs has said anything, which is the loudest thing they could do. Results buy silence in this game; the account at BA All Stars is running low.
Market26 Apr 2027
“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.
Squad26 Apr 2027
Albert 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.
Back issues
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
The terraces29 Mar 2027
The mood at BA All Stars has turned into something else
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.
Match29 Mar 2027
Full time on the season at BA All Stars
Position 12 on 30 points. Every season is a story and this is the last line of it, and now the club has three months to decide what the next one is about.
Player ratings29 Mar 2027
Andrew Kudus, 18, steals the show — 7.86
Marked 7.86 at 18, in a side that makes no allowances for age. He did not need any, and he looked the least nervous man on the pitch.
Boardroom29 Mar 2027
The silence upstairs is getting loud at BA All Stars
Nobody on the board has said anything against the manager, which is the point — they have stopped saying anything for him either.
Market29 Mar 2027
Joseph Essien hands in a written request
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what BA All Stars can pretend not to have heard.
Player ratings29 Mar 2027
Successful dribbles: 22. There was always a defender in front of him and there was never a defender in front of him for long.
Squad29 Mar 2027
Dehinde Ibrahim and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad29 Mar 2027
“The easiest signature of my career.” Abraham Acquah and BA All Stars agree another 4 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Squad29 Mar 2027
Albert Bukari 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.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad1 Mar 2027
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason BA All Stars will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
The terraces1 Mar 2027
Supporters organise against the BA All Stars board
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.
Player ratings1 Mar 2027
Jeffrey Annan, 20, steals the show — 8.64
Marked 8.64 at 20, in a side that makes no allowances for age. He did not need any, and he looked the least nervous man on the pitch.
Squad1 Mar 2027
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.
Boardroom1 Mar 2027
Pressure builds in the BA All Stars boardroom
The directors have stopped offering the manager public warmth. In football that is usually the stage before the short statement.
Market1 Mar 2027
“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 BA All Stars, and it is not being withdrawn.
Match27 Feb 2027
5 matches, two or more conceded in every one of them. Sides that create as much as this can live with it for a while. Nobody lives with it forever.
Squad1 Mar 2027
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at BA All Stars this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Match27 Feb 2027
2‑3 to Bechem United, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad1 Feb 2027
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason BA All Stars will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Squad1 Feb 2027
4 goals in one game. The first was taken well, the second was taken greedily, and by the third the crowd were simply waiting for him to get the ball.
The terraces1 Feb 2027
Supporters organise against the BA All Stars board
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.
Match30 Jan 2027
2 goals to the good, and then a slow surrender of everything that had been earned. Jeffrey Annan will not be the one blamed for it, but nobody at BA All Stars escapes the conversation that follows a collapse like this.
Player ratings1 Feb 2027
No sign of nerves from Jeffrey Annan at 20 — 10.00
The hardest thing about being 20 in a senior side is that nobody makes allowances. Jeffrey Annan did not need any: 10.00, and he looked the most comfortable man on the pitch.
Market1 Feb 2027
The offer from Tondela for Jeffrey Annan 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.
Market1 Feb 2027
“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.
Boardroom1 Feb 2027
Deadline passes with 0 signed and 0 gone
That is the business done at BA All Stars 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.
Squad1 Feb 2027
Dehinde Ibrahim and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Player ratings21 Sep 2026
What a way to start for Jeffrey Annan — 8.90
2 on the scoresheet on his first appearance and a mark of 8.90 beside it. Most debuts are got through; this one was enjoyed, by him and by everybody watching it.
Squad21 Sep 2026
Jeffrey Annan 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.
Squad21 Sep 2026
Albert Bukari 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.
Match19 Sep 2026
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Jeffrey Annan. 2‑1 against WAFA, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
The terraces21 Sep 2026
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 20-year-old it feels ownership of. Jeffrey Annan 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 dugout21 Sep 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.” Baba Adjei, on a 2‑1 win that he was already picking apart on the walk to the press room.
The dugout21 Sep 2026
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at BA All Stars, and both men came out saying it was fine.
The dugout21 Sep 2026
Somebody else has been better, the manager has said so with a team sheet, and there is no argument to be had. He will get the shirt back the only way it can be got back.
The dugout21 Sep 2026
The plan did not have a place for Jeffrey Owusu
Nobody at BA All Stars is suggesting he is out of form. The manager simply wanted somebody with a different set of qualities for ninety specific minutes, and there is nothing a player can train to fix that.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market24 Aug 2026
“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.
Market24 Aug 2026
The offer was not close and it was refused without much discussion. Whether the second one is refused as quickly is another matter.
Squad24 Aug 2026
Jeffrey Annan 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.
Squad24 Aug 2026
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Abdul Afful was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The dugout24 Aug 2026
The manager makes an example of Jeffrey Annan
“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.
Squad24 Aug 2026
“The easiest signature of my career.” Francis Partey and BA All Stars agree another 3 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market17 Aug 2026
The last thing about a transfer that is still about the player is his signature on his own terms, and it is there. BA All Stars have lost him in all but the paperwork.
Market17 Aug 2026
Aiglons come back empty-handed
The bid was some way short and BA All Stars did not need long over it. Nobody in the game reads a first refusal as the end of anything.
Squad17 Aug 2026
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at BA All Stars this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad17 Aug 2026
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Abdul Afful was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Market17 Aug 2026
The phone has started ringing about Francis Appiah again, and this time the name on the line is Hasaacas. BA All Stars are listening politely and promising nothing.
The dugout17 Aug 2026
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Albert Bukari, and the manager let it.
Squad17 Aug 2026
“The easiest signature of my career.” Kamaldeen Kudus and BA All Stars agree another 3 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Market17 Aug 2026
BA All Stars have let the market know Joseph Essien can be had. No price in the advert, but everyone in the trade knows roughly what it says.
The dugout17 Aug 2026
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Kamaldeen Kudus trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market3 Aug 2026
The offer was not close and it was refused without much discussion. Whether the second one is refused as quickly is another matter.
Market3 Aug 2026
“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 BA All Stars, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad3 Aug 2026
Jeffrey Annan and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad3 Aug 2026
“The easiest signature of my career.” a squad player and BA All Stars agree another 2 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Squad3 Aug 2026
Words at BA All Stars training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Abdul Afful 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.
Market3 Aug 2026
The interest is real enough to have reached print. BA All Stars have said nothing, which in a transfer window is its own kind of answer.