Marked for Daniel Bukari
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Market27 Aug 2029
“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 The request is on a desk at MC El Bayadh, and it is not being withdrawn.
Market27 Aug 2029
The offer was not close and it was refused without much discussion. Whether the second one is refused as quickly is another matter.
Squad27 Aug 2029
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at MC El Bayadh this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad27 Aug 2029
“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.
Market27 Aug 2029
MC El Bayadh have let the market know Maurice Sunga can be had. No price in the advert, but everyone in the trade knows roughly what it says.
Back issues
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Boardroom2 Jul 2029
The board’s statement ran to three sentences and one of them mentioned results. Nassim Atal has managed long enough to translate: win soon, or the next statement is shorter.
Market2 Jul 2029
“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 The request is on a desk at MC El Bayadh, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad2 Jul 2029
“The easiest signature of my career.” Abdelkadir Salhi and MC El Bayadh agree another 2 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Squad2 Jul 2029
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at MC El Bayadh this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Market2 Jul 2029
Add another name to the list: ES Ben Aknoun have asked the question everybody in the game has been asking about Ibrahim Morsli. The answer from MC El Bayadh has not changed — yet.
Market2 Jul 2029
11 months to run and not a word offered. A club that lets the calendar negotiate for it usually ends up losing to the calendar.
Market2 Jul 2029
He is 19, and the scouting reports agree on the only line that matters: the ceiling. Signings like this are lottery tickets written by professionals.
Squad2 Jul 2029
“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.
Boardroom2 Jul 2029
$1.8M taken back off the MC El Bayadh table
What was available in the summer has quietly gone. Upstairs nobody will call it a change of ambition; downstairs nobody will call it anything else.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Boardroom11 Dec 2028
Pressure builds in the Mara Sugar boardroom
The directors have stopped offering the manager public warmth. In football that is usually the stage before the short statement.
Squad11 Dec 2028
Daniel Wakaso: that is not what I was promised
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Mara Sugar have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Squad11 Dec 2028
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Mara Sugar this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad11 Dec 2028
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Ido Schwartz and Mara Sugar agree another 3 years.
Squad11 Dec 2028
The manager makes an example of Ido Schwartz
“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.
Market11 Dec 2028
Every press conference now starts and ends the same way: with Ronen Gradashov’s future. The manager has run out of new ways to say nothing.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Market23 Oct 2028
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Mara Sugar is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Squad23 Oct 2028
Kelvin Mwavali 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.
Squad23 Oct 2028
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match23 Sep 2028
The wait goes on for Mara Sugar
10 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.
Squad25 Sep 2028
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 8 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
Market25 Sep 2028
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Mara Sugar they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Squad25 Sep 2028
Kelvin Mwavali 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.
Match23 Sep 2028
It needed Nana Afful to find the net to bring anything home at all: 1‑1 against Shabana, and half the dressing room will call it a point won.
Squad25 Sep 2028
The manager makes an example of Lameck Omondi
“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.
Squad25 Sep 2028
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Ibrahim Ochieng trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Player ratings25 Sep 2028
Successful dribbles: 12. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Market25 Sep 2028
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Kelvin Mwavali signs something — a contract at Mara Sugar or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Boardroom18 Sep 2028
The scrutiny sharpens at Mara Sugar
Nobody upstairs has said anything, which is the loudest thing they could do. Results buy silence in this game; the account at Mara Sugar is running low.
Match16 Sep 2028
9 matches without a win for Mara Sugar
The run now stands at 9, and the questions being asked around Mara Sugar are no longer polite ones.
Squad18 Sep 2028
There were 8 saves in it, and at least three that had no business being saves at all. The ten outfield players owe him a drink and they know it.
Market18 Sep 2028
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Mara Sugar can pretend not to have heard.
Squad18 Sep 2028
Michael Wairimu 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.
Match16 Sep 2028
0‑1 to Gor Mahia, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.
Squad18 Sep 2028
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Joseph Onyango, and the manager let it.
Market18 Sep 2028
Every press conference now starts and ends the same way: with Ronen Gradashov’s future. The manager has run out of new ways to say nothing.
Player ratings18 Sep 2028
A mark of 5.72 tells the story without any need for embellishment. He will want the tape of this one quietly lost.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match14 Aug 2028
Every point is an argument now for Mara Sugar
Position 18 and 18 points, and the table gets read bottom-up in this part of town. The calendar has stopped being a schedule and started being a countdown.
Match12 Aug 2028
Chastening afternoon for Mara Sugar
A 1‑4 beating by Kakamega Homeboyz was the sort of result that empties a stadium long before the final whistle.
Market14 Aug 2028
“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.
Match12 Aug 2028
No end in sight to Mara Sugar's wait for a win
4 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Mara Sugar has to find a result from somewhere.
Squad14 Aug 2028
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Mara Sugar this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad14 Aug 2028
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Bernard Odhiambo commits to Mara Sugar for another 1 years.
Squad14 Aug 2028
The manager makes an example of Ibrahim Ochieng
“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.
Boardroom14 Aug 2028
The manager kept them in and said what needed saying. A response is expected on Saturday, and if it does not come the questions move upstairs.
Player ratings14 Aug 2028
Successful dribbles: 16. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Boardroom7 Aug 2028
The board have said in public what they had been saying in private. Results between now and the next meeting decide it, and everybody in the building knows the arithmetic.
Market7 Aug 2028
“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 Mara Sugar, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad7 Aug 2028
Nana Afful: that is not what I was promised
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Mara Sugar have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Squad7 Aug 2028
Kelvin Mwavali 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.
Match5 Aug 2028
Nairobi United left with the points after a 2‑4 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.
Squad7 Aug 2028
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Joseph Ogenda and Mara Sugar agree another 4 years.
Player ratings7 Aug 2028
A performance of 8.85 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Squad7 Aug 2028
The manager makes an example of Kelvin Mwavali
“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.
Boardroom7 Aug 2028
Mara Sugar pull $85.3K back off the table
The money that was there in the summer is not there now. Nobody upstairs calls this a change of ambition, and everybody downstairs reads it as one.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Boardroom24 Jul 2028
The silence upstairs is getting loud at Mara Sugar
Nobody on the board has said anything against the manager, which is the point — they have stopped saying anything for him either.
The terraces24 Jul 2028
The ground has had enough
“We travel everywhere and we get this.” 5 of the 25 senior players heard it walking off, and the ones who did not hear it were not playing.
Squad24 Jul 2028
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Mara Sugar may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Squad24 Jul 2028
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Mara Sugar this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Match22 Jul 2028
Beaten 0‑1, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
Squad24 Jul 2028
He found out with everybody else, an hour before kick-off, from a sheet of paper on a wall. Nobody at Mara Sugar pretended it was anything other than a decision about him.
Player ratings24 Jul 2028
Successful dribbles: 14. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Squad24 Jul 2028
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
Market24 Jul 2028
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Kelvin Mwavali signs something — a contract at Mara Sugar or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match19 Jun 2028
14 points, and a fixture list that is running out. The mathematics are not yet cruel, but they are no longer kind.
Squad19 Jun 2028
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Mara Sugar this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad19 Jun 2028
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Hamoudi Kalaily, and the manager let it.
Match17 Jun 2028
Kariobangi Sharks left with the points after a 0‑1 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.
Player ratings19 Jun 2028
Successful dribbles: 18. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Squad19 Jun 2028
“The easiest signature of my career.” Daniel Wakaso and Mara Sugar agree another 3 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Squad19 Jun 2028
An error at the back is a moment; an error in goal is a goal. Joseph Ogenda knows it, the crowd knew it instantly, and there was nobody behind him to make it anything else.
Player ratings19 Jun 2028
Marked 5.43, and generously at that. Nothing came off, and by the end the crowd had stopped expecting it to.
Market19 Jun 2028
The name of Ronen Gradashov keeps appearing in other people's back pages. Mara Sugar say nothing, which says plenty.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Boardroom29 May 2028
The silence upstairs is getting loud at Mara Sugar
Nobody on the board has said anything against the manager, which is the point — they have stopped saying anything for him either.
Match27 May 2028
The wait goes on for Mara Sugar
7 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.
Squad29 May 2028
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 7 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
Squad29 May 2028
Alex Imbusia 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.
Match27 May 2028
0‑2 to Shabana, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.
Player ratings29 May 2028
Successful dribbles: 16. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Squad29 May 2028
“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.
Market29 May 2028
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Kelvin Mwavali signs something — a contract at Mara Sugar or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
Player ratings29 May 2028
Marked 5.68, and generously at that. Nothing came off, and by the end the crowd had stopped expecting it to.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Boardroom20 Dec 2027
Pressure builds in the Mara Sugar boardroom
The directors have stopped offering the manager public warmth. In football that is usually the stage before the short statement.
Squad20 Dec 2027
Alex Imbusia 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.
Squad20 Dec 2027
Brian Ochieng knocks on the manager’s door
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Brian Ochieng trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Market20 Dec 2027
The Alex Imbusia talk will not go away
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Mara Sugar know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
Market20 Dec 2027
“There is a gap, and pretending there is not helps nobody.” Neither side has moved, and the calendar is working for exactly one of them.
Squad20 Dec 2027
A year in and the language has not come, the city has not opened up, and he eats alone more often than anybody at Mara Sugar would like to admit. It is showing on Saturdays.