Bernard Sulemana 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 Abeiku Schlupp was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Wa All Stars, and both men came out saying it was fine.
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 Wa All Stars have no good answer.
1‑4 against New Edubiase United, and no complaints that would survive the replay. The manager spoke about character afterwards; the terraces used shorter words.
Position 12 on 35 points. Every season is a story and this is the last line of it, and now the club has three months to decide what the next one is about.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Wa All Stars they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
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.
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
Squad24 Apr 2028
Words at Wa All Stars training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Abeiku Schlupp 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.
Boardroom24 Apr 2028
Nobody left the Wa All Stars dressing room in a hurry
The door stayed shut a long time after the final whistle. What was said in there is between them; whether it worked is between them and Saturday.
“We were not good enough today and I am not going to dress it up.” Osman Djiku after 1‑4, 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 Bernard Sulemana signs something — a contract at Wa All Stars or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
Abraham Asante 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.
Successful dribbles: 20. He went past people as if he had been told there was a prize for it, and by the end the full-back had stopped pretending to try.
“The supporters are entitled to be angry. So am I. We will put it right.” 0‑1, a manager saying the necessary things, and a dressing room that heard a different version of them.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Patrick Paintsil trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Wa All Stars they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Abraham Asante 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.
He is 22 and the ground already sings his name, which is a thing that happens to local boys and almost never to signings. Everything from here is measured against an affection he did nothing to earn except be from here.
Add another name to the list: Great Olympics have asked the question everybody in the game has been asking about Felix Mensah. The answer from Wa All Stars has not changed — yet.
Something was said to Baba Kyereh and then it happened. In this industry that passes for remarkable, and the dressing room noticed faster than any supporter could.
5 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.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. a squad player will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Wa 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 Wa All Stars this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
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.
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.
“The supporters are entitled to be angry. So am I. We will put it right.” 0‑1, a manager saying the necessary things, and a dressing room that heard a different version of them.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Wa All Stars, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. a squad player will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Wa 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 Wa All Stars this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
“The easiest signature of my career.” Jonathan Ofori and Wa All Stars agree another 4 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Abeiku Schlupp was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Abeiku Schlupp, and the manager let it.
The dugout15 Nov 2027
The manager has not finished forgetting Amos Amoah'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.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Patrick Paintsil trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Ashanti Gold next, and one man in the Wa All Stars dressing room knows their training ground better than his own. The reception will tell him what they thought of him.
Liberty Professionals go through and Wa All Stars 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.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Wa All Stars they have already started talking about him 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 Wa All Stars this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
3 matches, no goals, and a training ground that has tried everything. It will end — droughts always do — but nobody at Wa All Stars can tell you which week it ends in.
“The supporters are entitled to be angry. So am I. We will put it right.” 0‑1, a manager saying the necessary things, and a dressing room that heard a different version of them.
11 home matches unbeaten. Visiting sides arrive already talking about the atmosphere, which is usually the sign that they have half-lost before kickoff.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Wa 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 Wa All Stars this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
A 2‑0 win over Heart of Lions, earned rather than given, and the sort of afternoon that sends everyone home talking about next week instead of this one.
A mark of 7.66, and nobody in the ground would argue with it. He was involved in everything that mattered and most of what did not.
The dugout20 Sep 2027
The manager has not finished forgetting Amos Amoah'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.
“The easiest signature of my career.” Kamaldeen Boateng and Wa All Stars agree another 3 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
“The players deserve the credit. My job was easy today.” It was not, and everybody in the room knew it; after 2‑0, Osman Djiku could afford to be generous.
The offer from Heart of Lions for Felix Mensah 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 Wa All Stars is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Abdul 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.
“The easiest signature of my career.” Abdul Nuhu and Wa All Stars agree another 3 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Market23 Aug 2027
Wa All Stars and a squad player are talking past each other
“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.
Squad23 Aug 2027
Words at Wa All Stars training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. a squad player 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 had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Wa All Stars, and both men came out saying it was fine.
“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 Wa All Stars, and it is not being withdrawn.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Wa 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 Wa All Stars this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Wa All Stars asked and Heart of Lions 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 season-long audition: Ashanti Gold still own him, but the shirt and the minutes are Wa All Stars's to give. A loan is a bet both clubs believe they are winning.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Harrison Sulemana trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
36 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Wa All Stars lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
The clubs have settled the fee and he has settled his wages. What remains is a medical and a photograph, and around Wa All Stars people have started saying his name in the past tense.
The offer from Great Olympics for Kwadwo Schlupp 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.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. a squad player will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Wa 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 Wa All Stars this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The clubs have settled the fee and he has settled his wages. What remains is a medical and a photograph, and around Wa All Stars people have started saying his name in the past tense.
The phone has started ringing about Abeiku Afful again, and this time the name on the line is Bechem United. Wa All Stars are listening politely and promising nothing.
In brief
The dugoutThe manager makes an example of Abeiku Schlupp
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Wa All Stars is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. a squad player provided it, and the 8.54 beside his name is if anything generous to everybody else.
Marked 7.86 at 17, in a side that makes no allowances for age. He did not need any, and he looked the least nervous man on the pitch.
Player ratings19 Apr 2027
Up for the corner, and Baba Kyereh delivers — 7.92
Centre-halves are allowed forward twice a season and are judged on what they do when they get there. Baba Kyereh scored, was marked 7.92, and got back before anybody noticed he had gone.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Kwadwo Schlupp will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Wa All Stars the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Abraham Asante 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.
6 goals. Both benches spent the second half looking at each other rather than at the pitch. Purists will complain about Wa All Stars and Inter Allies in equal measure; everybody else had a wonderful time.
9 without defeat on their own grass. The pitch has not changed; the crowd has — louder earlier, and quicker to sense when the opposition would rather be somewhere else.
At 22 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.
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 7.68 for the rest of it.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Abeiku Afful will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Wa 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 Wa All Stars this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Every run ends on an afternoon somebody had marked down as routine. This one went 6 matches, which is long enough that a town had stopped counting, and short enough that it will remember exactly who stopped it.
He found out with everybody else, an hour before kick-off, from a sheet of paper on a wall. Nobody at Wa All Stars pretended it was anything other than a decision about him.
24 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Wa All Stars lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
The last thing about a transfer that is still about the player is his signature on his own terms, and it is there. Wa All Stars have lost him in all but the paperwork.
Boardroom1 Feb 2027
Deadline passes with 0 signed and 0 gone
That is the business done at Wa All Stars until the window opens again. Whether it was enough will be answered on Saturdays rather than in a column, and the first Saturday is close.
The offer from BA All Stars for a squad player 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.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Wa All Stars this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
“I did not go to IFK Mariehamn to sit and watch. I want to come back to Wa All Stars and fight for my place.” 4 appearances in 24 matches say the rest.
“We were not good enough today and I am not going to dress it up.” Osman Djiku after 0‑2, in the tone of a man who knows the next question and does not intend to answer it.
31 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Wa All Stars lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a 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 Wa All Stars can pretend not to have heard.
Fee agreed, wages agreed, and Great Olympics waiting with a shirt. Nobody at Wa All Stars is pretending otherwise, and the supporters have stopped asking whether and started asking when.
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 6 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
The name of a squad player has come up in conversations Wa All Stars were not part of. Nothing formal, nothing signed — but nothing about it accidental either.
The deal that would have taken Kwadwo Schlupp to Great Olympics has collapsed at the last stage, and he reports back to Wa All Stars with a summer to forget and a season still to play. Nobody is saying which side walked away.
“We were not good enough today and I am not going to dress it up.” Osman Djiku after 1‑2, in the tone of a man who knows the next question and does not intend to answer it.
Every signing waits for it and every press conference asks about it until it comes. It has come, Wa All Stars have their man off the mark, and the second one is always easier.
Successful dribbles: 12. He went past people as if he had been told there was a prize for it, and by the end the full-back had stopped pretending to try.