34 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. CotonTchad lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
The board’s statement ran to three sentences and one of them mentioned results. Ezechiel Djimet has managed long enough to translate: win soon, or the next statement is shorter.
Fee agreed, wages agreed, and US Moursal waiting with a shirt. Nobody at CotonTchad is pretending otherwise, and the supporters have stopped asking whether and started asking when.
Footballers are asked about their boyhood club so often that nobody listens to the answer. a squad player has just signed for CotonTchad, and for once the answer mattered.
Chouaib El Maftoul 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.
This is money that keeps the lights on rather than money that buys a centre-half, and the difference is the whole story. A club funded by its owner rather than by its football has exactly one conversation left ahead of it.
$19.0K was the most the club would pay and Renaissance 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.
Squad25 Jun 2029
Words at US Moursal training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Hassan Ngaradoumbe 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 new man at US Moursal has worked with Abdoulaye Souleymane before and it went well. He arrives with a view of the player already formed, which is worth more than any pre-season.
US Moursal have made the call to Gazelle. No fee, a share of the wages, and a spare shirt in the position where the squad has been thinnest all season.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at US Moursal, and both men came out saying it was fine.
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 a squad player is on it.
US Moursal offered $7.0K; Renaissance said it was not close. The manager will be told the money is still there for the right player, which is what managers are told.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Elect Sport have kept their man, and US Moursal go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Squad18 Jun 2029
Words at US Moursal training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Hassan Ngaradoumbe 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 new man at US Moursal has worked with Abdoulaye Souleymane before and it went well. He arrives with a view of the player already formed, which is worth more than any pre-season.
a squad player 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.
US Moursal have made the call to Galactik. No fee, a share of the wages, and a spare shirt in the position where the squad has been thinnest all season.
The deal with Gazelle 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.
The offer went to Renaissance 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.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at US Moursal this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Renaissance have kept their man, and US Moursal go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Squad11 Jun 2029
Words at US Moursal training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Saleh Allamine 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 new man at US Moursal has worked with Abdoulaye Souleymane before and it went well. He arrives with a view of the player already formed, which is worth more than any pre-season.
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.
The paperwork is done long before the player is. Idriss Haroun has agreed terms to come here when his current deal runs out, which means US Moursal have spent a summer's transfer budget on a phone call.
“The easiest signature of my career.” a squad player and US Moursal agree another 4 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Squad4 Jun 2029
Words at US Moursal training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Hassan Ngaradoumbe 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 new man at US Moursal has worked with Abdoulaye Souleymane before and it went well. He arrives with a view of the player already formed, which is worth more than any pre-season.
He is doing his job and he is not settling. US Moursal were supposed to be a step up in his own reckoning, and his own reckoning has been adjusted since he arrived.
Foullah Edifice 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.
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.
Words at US Moursal training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Hassan Ngaradoumbe 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 new man at US Moursal has worked with Abdoulaye Souleymane before and it went well. He arrives with a view of the player already formed, which is worth more than any pre-season.
a squad player 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.
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 a squad player is on it.
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Hassan Ngaradoumbe signs something — a contract at US Moursal or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
15 graduates, from a department now rated 3 out of 20. Nothing about the academy appears in a result, and nothing about the club’s future exists without it.
In brief
SquadMarius Oumar is not doing himself any favours
Words at US Moursal training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Hassan Ngaradoumbe 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 new man at US Moursal has worked with Abdoulaye Souleymane before and it went well. He arrives with a view of the player already formed, which is worth more than any pre-season.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at US Moursal this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
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 Narcisse Souleymane is on it.
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Hassan Mahamat signs something — a contract at US Moursal or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
“The easiest signature of my career.” Hassan Mahamat and US Moursal agree another 2 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Squad7 May 2029
Words at US Moursal training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Hassan Ngaradoumbe 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 new man at US Moursal has worked with Abdoulaye Souleymane before and it went well. He arrives with a view of the player already formed, which is worth more than any pre-season.
a squad player 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.
“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 US Moursal know it.
9 months left and silence from upstairs — no offer, no talks, nothing for his people to answer. Clubs that let a calendar do their negotiating usually end up negotiating with the calendar.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Saleh Allamine was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The new man at US Moursal has worked with Abdoulaye Souleymane before and it went well. He arrives with a view of the player already formed, which is worth more than any pre-season.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at US Moursal, and both men came out saying it was fine.
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 a squad player is on it.
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Hassan Ngaradoumbe signs something — a contract at US Moursal 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 US Moursal will have to answer with minutes or with a transfer.
Nobody writes a headline about a tutor. Nobody has to be told, either, what happens to a signing who spends two years being the man nobody can talk to at lunch.
In brief
BoardroomThe US Moursal production line keeps running
MatchNothing left to play for but pride at US Moursal
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at US Moursal 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.
The new man at US Moursal has worked with Abdoulaye Souleymane before and it went well. He arrives with a view of the player already formed, which is worth more than any pre-season.
The dugout9 Apr 2029
The manager’s verdict
“That is on me. I pick the team and I picked wrong.” Managers say that when they mean it and when they need to be seen to, and after 0‑2 Issa Souleymane left the room before anybody could ask which.
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.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Hassan Ngaradoumbe was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The new man at US Moursal has worked with Abdoulaye Souleymane before and it went well. He arrives with a view of the player already formed, which is worth more than any pre-season.
a squad player 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 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.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Saleh Allamine was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The new man at US Moursal has worked with Abdoulaye Souleymane before and it went well. He arrives with a view of the player already formed, which is worth more than any pre-season.
“We were not good enough today and I am not going to dress it up.” Issa Souleymane after 0‑2, in the tone of a man who knows the next question and does not intend to answer it.
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Saleh Allamine signs something — a contract at US Moursal or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
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 new man at US Moursal has worked with Abdoulaye Souleymane before and it went well. He arrives with a view of the player already formed, which is worth more than any pre-season.
a squad player 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 mornings you wake up and you are still a long way from everything you know.” It is not the football and it never was; US Moursal are dealing with a man who wants a different country.
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 had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at US Moursal, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. US Moursal know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
US Moursal asked and CotonTchad said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
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 new man at US Moursal has worked with Abdoulaye Souleymane before and it went well. He arrives with a view of the player already formed, which is worth more than any pre-season.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at US Moursal this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
“I have tried. I have really tried, and every day I wake up in the wrong place.” Nobody at US Moursal can coach that out of a man, and nobody there is pretending to.
Words at US Moursal training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Saleh Allamine 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.
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 20-year-old it feels ownership of. Hassan Moustapha 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.
Marked 6.61 on 10 actions at both ends of the pitch. Midfielders like this get described as unspectacular by people who have never tried to play against one.
The new man at US Moursal has worked with Abdoulaye Souleymane before and it went well. He arrives with a view of the player already formed, which is worth more than any pre-season.
a squad player 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.
Words at US Moursal training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Saleh Allamine 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.
A defender's mistake gets tidied up by somebody else; a goalkeeper's ends up in the net. He knew before the ball crossed the line, and so did everybody in the ground.
“We were not good enough today and I am not going to dress it up.” Issa Souleymane after 1‑2, in the tone of a man who knows the next question and does not intend to answer it.
The dugout29 Jan 2029
The manager has not finished forgetting Moussa Ndoram'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.
“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 US Moursal, and it is not being withdrawn.
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.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. CotonTchad have kept their man, and US Moursal 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 Saleh Allamine was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at US Moursal this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
4 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at US Moursal has to find a result from somewhere.
Squad18 Dec 2028
Words at US Moursal training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Saleh Allamine 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.
a squad player 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.
A goalkeeper’s error has no defender behind it to tidy it away. He knew before the ball crossed the line, the crowd knew a second later, and there is nothing anybody can say tonight.
“The supporters are entitled to be angry. So am I. We will put it right.” 0‑2, a manager saying the necessary things, and a dressing room that heard a different version of them.
The dugout18 Dec 2028
The manager has not finished forgetting Moussa Ndoram'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.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at US Moursal, and both men came out saying it was fine.
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.
Squad11 Dec 2028
Words at US Moursal training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Saleh Allamine 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.
a squad player 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 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.
“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.
The dugout11 Dec 2028
The manager has not finished forgetting Ali Ngaradoumbe'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.
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. US Moursal know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
“We keep meeting, and we keep leaving the room with the same numbers we walked in with.” Another round of talks at US Moursal, another week without a signature from Idriss Djimet.
In brief
The dugoutBrahim Abba knocks on the manager’s door
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Saleh Allamine was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Level with 89 minutes on the clock, after an afternoon US Moursal had all but put away. AS DGSSIE will call it a point earned; the home dressing room will call it two given away, and both of them are right.
It finished 1‑1, and it somehow always looked like it would. One of those afternoons where the table moves less than the tempers.
The dugout27 Nov 2028
The manager’s verdict
“I am frustrated, honestly. We did enough to win and we did not win.” Issa Souleymane was not hiding it after 1‑1, and nobody in the US Moursal dressing room was either.
5 shots, and a count that reads like a good afternoon until you check the other column. Strikers survive weeks like this on the understanding that the chances keep arriving; the day they stop is the day it becomes a problem.
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 a squad player is on it.
“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 US Moursal, and it is not being withdrawn.
Hassan Mahamat 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.
Every squad has one of these fixtures for somebody every season. This one is a squad player’s: the club that knew him first, the supporters who will decide in the first minute whether to applaud, and US Moursal needing him to play as if none of it matters.
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. US Moursal know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
Next up on the road: AS DGSSIE, position 12. The supporters who go will talk about it all week and the ones who do not will check their phones at ten to five.
There is exactly one of these per career and it does not usually go like this. 3 on the scoresheet, 8.02 beside the name, and a crowd that had never seen him before chanting it by the end.
There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. Narcisse Souleymane provided it, and the 8.73 beside his name is if anything generous to everybody else.
9 goals. Both benches spent the second half looking at each other rather than at the pitch. Purists will complain about US Moursal and AS Etat Major in equal measure; everybody else had a wonderful time.
Two goals and a mark of 8.62 to go with them. Strikers are judged on afternoons like this one and remembered for far fewer of them than people imagine.
4 games now with at least two against. The back line has been rearranged, the goalkeeper has been backed publicly, and the goals keep going in anyway.
Squad30 Oct 2028
Words at US Moursal training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Saleh Allamine 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.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at US Moursal this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
“It is not the end of the world and it is not good enough. Both of those are true.” The manager, after a 2‑2 draw, said the honest thing and then went to say it again inside.
Two goals and a mark of 8.25 to go with them. Strikers are judged on afternoons like this one and remembered for far fewer of them than people imagine.
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 US Moursal 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.
“The supporters are entitled to be angry. So am I. We will put it right.” 2‑3, a manager saying the necessary things, and a dressing room that heard a different version of them.
“The easiest signature of my career.” Hassan Tokindang and US Moursal agree another 3 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
He used to wear the other shirt. On Saturday he plays against Stars Jeunes Talents in this one, and whatever he says this week about it being just another game will be untrue.
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.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Saleh Allamine was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
a squad player 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 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.
The shrug has gone, the language is coming, and he now argues in training like somebody who expects to be here next year. Half a signing's value is this and none of it appears on a fee.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Saleh Allamine was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
a squad player 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 Hassan Moustapha is on it.
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.
Squad18 Sep 2028
Words at US Moursal training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Saleh Allamine 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.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at US Moursal this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Nobody at US Moursal 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 trains hard, says the right things and goes home to an empty flat. Nobody at US Moursal has done anything wrong, which is exactly what makes it so difficult to fix.
The deadline has passed and the squad is the squad. 3 arrived, 11 left, and everything else printed about this club last month was a rumour that stayed one.
Some transfers need a press campaign. This one needed a shirt with the old number on it. a squad player is a US Moursal player again, and the town has its story of the summer.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. AS Etat Major have kept their man, and US Moursal go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Squad4 Sep 2028
Words at US Moursal training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Saleh Allamine 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.
A deal that was a phone call from completion at lunchtime was dead by midnight. US Moursal will try again when the window opens; Galactik may not be selling by then.
US Moursal offered $2.0K; AS DGSSIE said it was not close. The manager will be told the money is still there for the right player, which is what managers are told.
US Moursal asked and AS Etat Major said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Saleh Allamine was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Narcisse Djimet 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.
Add another name to the list: Aiglons have asked the question everybody in the game has been asking about a squad player. The answer from US Moursal has not changed — yet.
AS Etat Major 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.
US Moursal have made the call to Stars Jeunes Talents. No fee, a share of the wages, and a spare shirt in the position where the squad has been thinnest all season.
Nobody at US Moursal 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.
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.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what US Moursal can pretend not to have heard.
The offer went to AS DGSSIE 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.
Hassan Mahamat 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 Saleh Allamine was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Nobody at US Moursal 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. US Moursal know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
In brief
SquadThe training reports on Moussa Ndoram are not good
It has stopped being a mood in the stands and started being something organised. Boards can ignore a bad atmosphere for a long time; they cannot ignore this stage of it for very long at all.
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.
Squad24 Jul 2028
Words at US Moursal training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Saleh Allamine 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.
a squad player 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 injury that keeps coming back, keeps being rushed back from, and quietly costs more careers than the dramatic ones. 14 days is the estimate; the honest figure depends on whether anybody is patient.
US Moursal have made the call to Elect Sport. No fee, a share of the wages, and a spare shirt in the position where the squad has been thinnest all season.
AS Etat Major 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.
Nobody at US Moursal 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.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Saleh Allamine was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at US Moursal this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
US Moursal have made the call to Elect Sport. No fee, a share of the wages, and a spare shirt in the position where the squad has been thinnest all season.
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 Narcisse Souleymane is on it.
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Hassan Mahamat signs something — a contract at US Moursal or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
It has stopped being a mood in the stands and started being something organised. Boards can ignore a bad atmosphere for a long time; they cannot ignore this stage of it for very long at all.
US Moursal have gone to AS Etat Major with a bid, and the supporters have gone to the internet with an opinion about it. Whether either changes anything is up to the selling club.
Hassan Mahamat 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.
Squad26 Jun 2028
Words at US Moursal training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Saleh Allamine 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.
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 Ali Mbainaissem trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. US Moursal know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
The last thing about a transfer that is still about the player is his signature on his own terms, and it is there. AS DGSSIE have lost him in all but the paperwork.
AS DGSSIE have gone to Renaissance with a bid, and the supporters have gone to the internet with an opinion about it. Whether either changes anything is up to the selling club.
Foullah Edifice wanted more than $50.0K and the board would not go there. Walked away, for now, which in a transfer window means until somebody blinks.
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 was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at AS DGSSIE this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
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 Karl Tamkio Djomo is on it.
Fee agreed, wages agreed, and AS PSI waiting with a shirt. Nobody at AS DGSSIE is pretending otherwise, and the supporters have stopped asking whether and started asking when.
The clubs have shaken hands with Renaissance; the player has not yet. Personal terms are next, and personal terms are where more deals die than anybody prints.
The deal with AS Algoy 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.
AS DGSSIE have gone to Foullah Edifice with a bid, and the supporters have gone to the internet with an opinion about it. Whether either changes anything is up to the selling club.
Squad12 Jun 2028
Words at AS DGSSIE training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Moubarak Djibrine 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.
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.
Position 11 and 22 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.
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 was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at US Moursal this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
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 had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at US Moursal, and both men came out saying it was fine.
“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 US Moursal will have to answer with minutes or with a transfer.
This is not rotation. Mahamat Ngaradoumbe has not been in the manager's plans for some time, and nobody at AS DGSSIE is pretending otherwise.
Squad8 May 2028
Words at AS DGSSIE training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Moubarak Djibrine 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.
a squad player 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.
Commercial news is the news nobody sings about and everything else is paid for with. The board will call it a partnership; the accountants will call it the difference between this squad and a smaller one.
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. AS DGSSIE know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
The mood at AS DGSSIE 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.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what AS DGSSIE can pretend not to have heard.
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 squad player 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.
“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 AS DGSSIE will have to answer with minutes or with a transfer.
“I was told straight, and I would rather have it straight.” The manager at AS DGSSIE has been clear about where Moussa Allamine stands, which is more than many ever get.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at AS DGSSIE, and both men came out saying it was fine.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at AS DGSSIE this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad24 Apr 2028
Oumar Abakar 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 AS DGSSIE 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.
Karl Tamkio Djomo is 20, and for one weekend he was the best of everybody his age in the division. Nobody should build a career on it and everybody quietly does.
The words a physio says slowly. 40 days is what the club will announce and everybody who has heard this diagnosis before knows the number is the least of it: the knee comes back before the player does.
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.
Position 13 and 14 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.
“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 AS DGSSIE, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad27 Mar 2028
Words at AS DGSSIE training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Moubarak Djibrine 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.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at AS DGSSIE this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
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 Karl Tamkio Djomo is on it.
Renaissance next, and one man in the AS DGSSIE dressing room knows their training ground better than his own. The reception will tell him what they thought of him.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what AS DGSSIE can pretend not to have heard.
7.14, 1 on the scoresheet, and the specific comedy of a back-four player celebrating like somebody who does this every week. He does not, and that is exactly why the ground reacted the way it did.
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 needed Karl Tamkio Djomo to find the net to bring anything home at all: 1‑1 against CotonTchad, and half the dressing room will call it a point won.
Nobody at AS DGSSIE 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.
The chances are being made and something is happening between the making and the finishing. 9 matches now, and the anxiety in the ground arrives a little earlier every week.
“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 AS DGSSIE, and it is not being withdrawn.
Form comes and goes; this has not gone. Saleh Hissein is 22, and the version of him training now would not have got into the side he was in a year ago.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Moubarak Djibrine was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
a squad player 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.
89 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. US Moursal lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Hassan Mahamat 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.
Squad6 Mar 2028
Words at US Moursal training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Saleh Allamine 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.
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.
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. US Moursal know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at US Moursal, and both men came out saying it was fine.
20 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. AS DGSSIE lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
The chances are being made and something is happening between the making and the finishing. 7 matches now, and the anxiety in the ground arrives a little earlier every week.
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 was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at AS DGSSIE this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
“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.
The dugout21 Feb 2028
The manager’s verdict
“That is on me. I pick the team and I picked wrong.” Managers say that when they mean it and when they need to be seen to, and after 0‑2 Ahmat Tokindang left the room before anybody could ask which.
Elect Sport go through and AS DGSSIE go home, 0‑2 the scoreline that did it. The dressing room will call the league the priority now, because that is what dressing rooms say.
The name of Arsene Ulrich Daouda Mangana has come up in conversations AS DGSSIE were not part of. Nothing formal, nothing signed — but nothing about it accidental either.
The deal with Galactik 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.
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.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Moubarak Djibrine was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what AS DGSSIE 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 AS DGSSIE people have started saying his name in the past tense.
The clubs have shaken hands with Stars Jeunes Talents; the player has not yet. Personal terms are next, and personal terms are where more deals die than anybody prints.
AS DGSSIE asked and Galactik said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
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 squad player 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 AS DGSSIE can pretend not to have heard.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Moubarak Djibrine was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Ilyes Mansouri 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.
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 21-year-old it feels ownership of. Bebeto Tsafack 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.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 54 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
6 games without scoring. Strikers stop looking up, midfielders take the extra touch, and every shot that clears the bar is followed by a groan that has been building since the last goal.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at US Moursal 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.
“I watch every US Moursal game from here. That says everything about where my head is.” The loan at AS DGSSIE runs its course, but his heart never made the trip.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Moubarak Djibrine was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at AS DGSSIE this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The dugout13 Dec 2027
The manager’s verdict
“That is on me. I pick the team and I picked wrong.” Managers say that when they mean it and when they need to be seen to, and after 1‑3 Ahmat Tokindang left the room before anybody could ask 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 Moubarak Djibrine is on it.
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Moubarak Djibrine signs something — a contract at AS DGSSIE or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
4 points, and a fixture list that is running out. The mathematics are not yet cruel, but they are no longer kind.
Player ratings6 Dec 2027
Ilyes Mansouri, 18, plays like he has been here for years — 7.64
A mark of 7.64 means one thing beside a twenty-nine-year-old's name and something else entirely beside a 18-year-old's. Nobody at the ground needed telling which this was.
At 21 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.
a squad player 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.
A defender's mistake gets tidied up by somebody else; a goalkeeper's ends up in the net. He knew before the ball crossed the line, and so did everybody in the ground.
The dugout6 Dec 2027
The manager’s verdict
“That is on me. I pick the team and I picked wrong.” Managers say that when they mean it and when they need to be seen to, and after 1‑2 Ahmat Tokindang left the room before anybody could ask which.
“The manager did not use many words, and he did not need to.” Adam Mbainaissem has his answer from AS DGSSIE; what he does with it is the next window’s story.
7.27, 1 on the scoresheet, and the specific comedy of a back-four player celebrating like somebody who does this every week. He does not, and that is exactly why the ground reacted the way it did.
a squad player 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.
Goalkeepers do not get to make mistakes; they get to make goals. He made one, he knew it instantly, and there was nobody behind him to make it anything else.
“We were not good enough today and I am not going to dress it up.” Ahmat Tokindang after 1‑2, in the tone of a man who knows the next question and does not intend to answer it.
Nobody will confirm this and nothing else explains the last month of selections. A costly error buys a player a period of being second choice that is always longer than the error was.
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Lionel Samba signs something — a contract at AS DGSSIE or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what AS DGSSIE can pretend not to have heard.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Moubarak Djibrine was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
At 20 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.
Mahamat Moustapha 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.
Marked 7.77 on an afternoon he ran from the first whistle to the last. Whatever else went wrong, AS DGSSIE had the best player on the pitch.
The dugout22 Nov 2027
The manager’s verdict
“I am not going to get carried away and I will not let them either. It was a good day. There will be harder ones.” Ahmat Tokindang kept it short after the 2‑0 win, which is what managers do when they are happy.
This is not rotation. Mahamat Ngaradoumbe has not been in the manager's plans for some time, and nobody at AS DGSSIE is pretending otherwise.
Squad15 Nov 2027
Words at AS DGSSIE training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Moubarak Djibrine 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.
Mahamat Moustapha 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.
Every squad has one of these fixtures for somebody every season. This one is a squad player’s: the club that knew him first, the supporters who will decide in the first minute whether to applaud, and AS DGSSIE 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 Moubarak Djibrine signs something — a contract at AS DGSSIE or anywhere else — this column belongs to 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 AS DGSSIE would admit. It shows on Saturdays.
A shoot-out is remembered by its ending, and this one ends with Ali Abba: 2 kept out, and a set of supporters who will describe every one of them for the next twenty years.
A defender on the scoresheet, which happens rarely enough that everybody in the ground remembers who took the corner. 1 for him, and a mark of 7.59 for the rest of it.
Gazelle held the lead for 1 minutes, which is not long enough to enjoy it. AS DGSSIE answered before the celebration had properly finished, and the shape of the afternoon changed with it.
Minute 116, against AS Etat Major, and a goal that felt like a win to everybody who had stayed. It was a draw. Nobody leaving the ground will describe it as one.
1‑4 to Elect Sport, and it was every bit as bad as the number suggests. There are defeats you argue about and defeats you apologise for; this was the second kind.
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.
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.
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 squad player 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.
“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 AS DGSSIE, and it is not being withdrawn.
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” AS DGSSIE may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Squad25 Oct 2027
Words at AS DGSSIE training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Moubarak Djibrine 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.
“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.
The dugout25 Oct 2027
The manager’s verdict
“That is on me. I pick the team and I picked wrong.” Managers say that when they mean it and when they need to be seen to, and after 0‑1 Ahmat Tokindang left the room before anybody could ask which.
The shape wanted a different profile against this opponent, which is a real football answer and no comfort at all to the man it is about. He did nothing wrong and he did not play.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason AS DGSSIE will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the whole of the defence. 7 saves, several of them the kind nobody expects to see made, and ten outfield players who owe him a drink.
“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 AS DGSSIE, 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 AS DGSSIE this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
“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.
The dugout18 Oct 2027
The manager’s verdict
“That is on me. I pick the team and I picked wrong.” Managers say that when they mean it and when they need to be seen to, and after 1‑3 Ahmat Tokindang left the room before anybody could ask which.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason AS DGSSIE will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Squad11 Oct 2027
Words at AS DGSSIE training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Moubarak Djibrine 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.
a squad player 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 has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Arsene Ulrich Daouda Mangana signs something — a contract at AS DGSSIE or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Abdoulaye Tokindang trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. AS Etat Major have kept their man, and AS DGSSIE 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 Moubarak Djibrine was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Mahamat Moustapha 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 will confirm this and nothing else explains the last month of selections. A costly error buys a player a period of being second choice that is always longer than the error was.
Position 11 and 21 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.
$1.0K was the most the club would pay and US Moursal 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.
AS DGSSIE asked and Galactik said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
a squad player 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.
Clubs spend fortunes looking for players and occasionally find one down the corridor. Idriss Mbaiguedem is that, and the reception he gets on his first appearance will be different in kind from the one any signing receives.
Clubs spend fortunes looking for players and occasionally find one down the corridor. Adam Mahamat is that, and the reception he gets on his first appearance will be different in kind from the one any signing receives.
Clubs spend fortunes looking for players and occasionally find one down the corridor. Idriss Souleymane is that, and the reception he gets on his first appearance will be different in kind from the one any signing receives.
There is no fee, no unveiling and no agent on the steps. Ali Oumar has been at this club since he was a boy and is now, formally, one of the first-team squad — which for a local readership beats any signing of any size.
6 new signings in one window. Every one may be an upgrade and the side can still be worse for a while, which is the part of a rebuild the verdicts never mention.