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.
BA All Stars ran out of time with WAFA. The paperwork was open when the deadline passed, and a transfer that was almost done is now a transfer that never happened.
The clubs have settled the fee and he has settled his wages. What remains is a medical and a photograph, and around BA All Stars people have started saying his name in the past tense.
“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.
BA All Stars have received the call every well-run club eventually receives — somebody bigger has noticed Samuel Bukari. Saying no is easy; keeping him convinced is the actual work.
The offer from New Edubiase United for Daniel Waris 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.
BA All Stars asked and Asante Kotoko said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
Everybody at BA All Stars 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.
“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 The request is on a desk at BA All Stars, and it is not being withdrawn.
Add another name to the list: Ashanti Gold have asked the question everybody in the game has been asking about Emmanuel Wakaso. The answer from BA All Stars has not changed — yet.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Hamari Maiga will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around BA All Stars 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 BA All Stars this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
$28.0K was the most the club would pay and WAFA were asking for more. Deals like this are revived in the last week of a window roughly half the time, and everybody involved knows it.
BA All Stars have made the call to Asante Kotoko. No fee, a share of the wages, and a spare shirt in the position where the squad has been thinnest all season.
“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.
The clubs have settled the fee and he has settled his wages. What remains is a medical and a photograph, and around BA All Stars people have started saying his name in the past tense.
Add another name to the list: New Edubiase United have asked the question everybody in the game has been asking about Daniel Waris. The answer from BA All Stars has not changed — yet.
It happens to all of them and it is still the hardest paragraph a local paper has to write. 36 years old, 3 points down on where he was, and a body that has started charging interest on a career.
14 days, the medical staff say, and medical staff are optimists by profession. The team sheet will look wrong without him.
Squad7 Aug 2028
Lucky Letwaba 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.” Daniel Itodo has his answer from BA All Stars; what he does with it is the next window’s story.
The clubs have settled the fee and he has settled his wages. What remains is a medical and a photograph, and around BA All Stars people have started saying his name in the past tense.
The offer from New Edubiase United for Emmanuel Wakaso 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 clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at BA All Stars 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 BA All Stars 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 Salim Uzair Baafada was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Fee agreed, wages agreed, and New Edubiase United waiting with a shirt. Nobody at BA All Stars 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 BA All Stars, and it is not being withdrawn.
BA All Stars and WAFA have settled on $27.0K. The rest belongs to the player and his agent, and a supporter who has watched one of these before knows not to buy the shirt yet.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Stephen Osayi-Samuel will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around BA All Stars the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Rami Bouaouiche 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 Richard Afriyie is on it.
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.
“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.
Everything agreed with Asante Kotoko, everything agreed with the player; a doctor is the only person left to persuade. The photograph is a day or two away.
The most common injury in the game and the most rushed back from. BA All Stars will quote 14 days and will be careful with it, because the second one is always worse than the first.
“We are a long way apart, and pretending otherwise helps nobody.” Neither side is close, and the calendar is not on the club's side.
Squad10 Jul 2028
Words at BA All Stars training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Lucky Letwaba 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. BA All Stars 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 BA All Stars can pretend not to have heard.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around BA All Stars they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
The deal with Asante Kotoko 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.
Harrison Gyan 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 offer went to WAFA this week and it is theirs to answer. First bids are rarely meant to succeed; they are meant to find out how loud the door closes.
BA All Stars asked and Asante Kotoko said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
Emmanuel Wakaso 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.
32 days, the scan says, and scans are kinder than reality. The fixtures in that window have just become somebody else’s job.
Squad15 May 2028
Lucky Letwaba 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 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.
Nobody at BA All Stars 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.
Emmanuel Wakaso 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.
Squad27 Mar 2028
Lucky Letwaba 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.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Emmanuel Wakaso trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
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 Richard Afriyie is on it.
Numbers do not stay secret in a dressing room. He is not asking for more than he is worth; he is asking why somebody beside him is worth more, and BA All Stars have no good answer.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around BA All Stars they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Everything was agreed until it was not, and Daniel Waris reports back to BA All Stars with a summer to forget. Neither club is saying who walked away from the table.
Isaac Mintah 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 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.
Squad14 Feb 2028
Lucky Letwaba 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 clubs have settled the fee and he has settled his wages. What remains is a medical and a photograph, and around BA All Stars people have started saying his name 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 BA All Stars this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The board was up, the win was priced in, and then Medeama scored. There is no worse minute to concede in and the ground emptied in the silence that follows one.
Some games turn on a moment; this one turned on a man. 7.74 on the card, and the BA All Stars support went home talking about one name.
Squad31 Jan 2028
Lucky Letwaba 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.
A loan enquiry to Berekum Chelsea: cover, or a look at somebody the club cannot afford to buy yet. Either way the answer will come back inside the week.
“The manager did not use many words, and he did not need to.” Derrick Bonsu has his answer from BA All Stars; what he does with it is the next window’s story.
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.
“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.
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.
Marked 6.95 on 14 actions at both ends of the pitch. Midfielders like this get described as unspectacular by people who have never tried to play against one.
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Harrison Gyan. 1‑0 against Hearts of Oak, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
Squad17 Jan 2028
Ernest Acquah 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.
BA All Stars have made the call to Berekum Chelsea. No fee, a share of the wages, and a spare shirt in the position where the squad has been thinnest all season.
“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.
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.
Ernest Acquah 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.
“We were not good enough today and I am not going to dress it up.” Samuel Bukari after 0‑2, in the tone of a man who knows the next question and does not intend to answer it.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Lucky Letwaba was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
BA All Stars have made the call to Asante Kotoko. No fee, a share of the wages, and a spare shirt in the position where the squad has been thinnest all season.
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.
“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.
The fee was agreed and the flight was looked at — and then the phone stopped ringing. Heart of Lions moved on, Daniel Waris reports back to BA All Stars, and everybody pretends Monday is just Monday.
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. BA All Stars will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
The name of Baba Amoah has come up in conversations BA All Stars were not part of. Nothing formal, nothing signed — but nothing about it accidental either.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at BA All Stars is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Emmanuel Wakaso 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.
Everyone has stopped pretending: Medeama will make the call about Emmanuel Wakaso this week. BA All Stars have a number in mind, and the number is not shy.
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, wages agreed, and Hasaacas waiting with a shirt. Nobody at BA All Stars is pretending otherwise, and the supporters have stopped asking whether and started asking when.
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.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Emmanuel Wakaso was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Everybody saw it before anybody said it. At 33 the numbers say 3 points down on what he was, and the question for BA All Stars is how to handle a man they owe a great deal.
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Albert Kyereh signs something — a contract at BA All Stars or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
Fee agreed, wages agreed, and Heart of Lions waiting with a shirt. Nobody at BA All Stars 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 BA All Stars, and it is not being withdrawn.
Harrison Gyan 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 Stephen Osayi-Samuel is on it.
A conversation in the manager’s office, and a commitment that came out of it. Promises like that are cheap to make and expensive to break, and Derrick Bonsu has written the date down.
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.
Emmanuel Wakaso 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.
Nobody at BA All Stars 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.
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.