Marked for Ezechiel Bechir
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Player ratings2 Apr 2029
Nobody could get near Adam Adoum
Successful dribbles: 32. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Market2 Apr 2029
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at US Moursal, and it is not being withdrawn.
Market2 Apr 2029
Ahmat Doungous has one foot out of the door
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around US Moursal they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Squad2 Apr 2029
Ezechiel Adoum 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.
Match31 Mar 2029
Beaten 1‑3, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
Squad2 Apr 2029
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Ezechiel Bechir, and the manager let it.
Back issues
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match9 Dec 2028
US Moursal throw away a 2-goal lead
2 in front and in complete control, and it finished with AS Etat Major the happier side. There is no version of this afternoon that US Moursal will enjoy reviewing.
Match9 Dec 2028
No end in sight to US Moursal's wait for a win
7 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.
Market11 Dec 2028
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what US Moursal can pretend not to have heard.
Market11 Dec 2028
Issa Abba has one foot out of the door
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around US Moursal they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Squad11 Dec 2028
Djibrine Youssouf 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.
Match9 Dec 2028
AS Etat Major left with the points after a 2‑3 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.
Squad11 Dec 2028
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Abdoulaye Oumar, and the manager let it.
Player ratings11 Dec 2028
Nobody could get near Adam Adoum
Successful dribbles: 16. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Squad11 Dec 2028
Words at US Moursal training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Ezechiel Bechir 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.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
The terraces4 Dec 2028
Anger at US Moursal spills outside the ground
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.
Boardroom4 Dec 2028
Pressure builds in the US Moursal boardroom
The directors have stopped offering the manager public warmth. In football that is usually the stage before the short statement.
Match2 Dec 2028
No end in sight to US Moursal's wait for a win
6 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.
Market4 Dec 2028
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around US Moursal they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Player ratings4 Dec 2028
Nobody could get near Adam Adoum
Successful dribbles: 23. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Squad4 Dec 2028
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Ezechiel Bechir and US Moursal agree another 2 years.
Squad4 Dec 2028
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at US Moursal this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad4 Dec 2028
Brahim Hissein 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 terraces4 Dec 2028
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 18-year-old it feels ownership of. Issa Mbainaissem 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.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Boardroom7 Aug 2028
The scrutiny sharpens at US Moursal
Nobody upstairs has said anything, which is the loudest thing they could do. Results buy silence in this game; the account at US Moursal is running low.
Match7 Aug 2028
Every point is an argument now for US Moursal
Position 12 and 9 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.
Boardroom7 Aug 2028
Mahamat Hissein has until the next board meeting
What was said behind closed doors has now been said in front of a microphone. Everybody at US Moursal can do the arithmetic, including the man it is aimed at.
Squad7 Aug 2028
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason US Moursal will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Market7 Aug 2028
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at US Moursal, and it is not being withdrawn.
Market7 Aug 2028
Only the photograph left for Ahmat Doungous
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Ahmat Doungous will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around US Moursal the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Squad7 Aug 2028
18 days, the medical staff say, and medical staff are optimists by profession. The team sheet will look wrong without him.
Squad7 Aug 2028
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Ezechiel Bechir and US Moursal agree another 1 years.
Squad7 Aug 2028
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at US Moursal this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad24 Jul 2028
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason US Moursal will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Market24 Jul 2028
Only the photograph left for Moussa Haroun
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Moussa Haroun will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around US Moursal the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Market24 Jul 2028
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what US Moursal can pretend not to have heard.
Squad24 Jul 2028
A muscle injury sidelines Hassan Doungous for 18 days
Nobody makes a documentary about a hamstring and everybody in the game fears one. US Moursal will be careful with the return date, because the second one is always worse than the first.
Squad24 Jul 2028
Brahim Hissein 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.
Squad24 Jul 2028
Ezechiel Oumar 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.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Boardroom10 Jul 2028
The silence upstairs is getting loud at US Moursal
Nobody on the board has said anything against the manager, which is the point — they have stopped saying anything for him either.
Match10 Jul 2028
Every point is an argument now for US Moursal
Position 12 and 9 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.
Squad10 Jul 2028
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason US Moursal will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Market10 Jul 2028
“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.
Squad10 Jul 2028
15 days, the medical staff say, and medical staff are optimists by profession. The team sheet will look wrong without him.
Market10 Jul 2028
Only the photograph left for Ahmat Doungous
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Ahmat Doungous will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around US Moursal the goodbyes have quietly begun.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad3 Jul 2028
A knee injury of the worst kind for Oumar Mbaiguedem
19 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.
Squad3 Jul 2028
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason US Moursal will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Market3 Jul 2028
The offer from AS PSI for Ezechiel Bechir 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.
Market3 Jul 2028
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what US Moursal can pretend not to have heard.
Market3 Jul 2028
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around US Moursal they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Squad3 Jul 2028
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Abdoulaye Oumar commits to US Moursal for another 2 years.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Boardroom12 Jun 2028
Pressure builds in the US Moursal boardroom
The directors have stopped offering the manager public warmth. In football that is usually the stage before the short statement.
Match12 Jun 2028
US Moursal are in real trouble now
Position 12, 9 points, and a fixture list with fewer games left in it than excuses. The arithmetic is not cruel yet, but it has stopped being kind.
Squad12 Jun 2028
43 days, the medical staff say, and medical staff are optimists by profession. The team sheet will look wrong without him.
Squad12 Jun 2028
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at US Moursal this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad12 Jun 2028
Moussa Haroun falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Market5 Jun 2028
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what US Moursal can pretend not to have heard.
Squad5 Jun 2028
Words at US Moursal training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Brahim Hissein 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.
Market5 Jun 2028
The phone has started ringing about Ahmat Doungous again, and this time the name on the line is Renaissance. US Moursal are listening politely and promising nothing.
Market5 Jun 2028
“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.
Squad5 Jun 2028
Idriss Haroun 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.
Market5 Jun 2028
Both sides expect a conversation in the coming days. US Moursal will name a price, and everything after that is arithmetic.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
The terraces22 May 2028
The mood at US Moursal 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.
Market22 May 2028
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what US Moursal can pretend not to have heard.
Squad22 May 2028
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” US Moursal have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Squad22 May 2028
Djibrine Youssouf 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.
Squad22 May 2028
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
Squad22 May 2028
Hassan Doungous falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Boardroom8 May 2028
The board’s statement ran to three sentences and one of them mentioned results. Mahamat Hissein has managed long enough to translate: win soon, or the next statement is shorter.
Squad8 May 2028
A fracture rules Brahim Doungous out for 23 days
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason US Moursal will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Market8 May 2028
“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.
Market8 May 2028
Narcisse Oumar has one foot out of the door
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around US Moursal they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Squad8 May 2028
Ezechiel Mahamat 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.
Squad8 May 2028
Words at US Moursal training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Brahim Hissein 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.
Squad8 May 2028
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Djibrine Djimet, and the manager let it.
Boardroom8 May 2028
$5.2K taken back off the US Moursal table
What was available in the summer has quietly gone. Upstairs nobody will call it a change of ambition; downstairs nobody will call it anything else.
Market8 May 2028
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Ezechiel Mahamat signs something — a contract at US Moursal or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Market3 Apr 2028
“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.
Squad3 Apr 2028
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at US Moursal this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Market3 Apr 2028
“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.
Squad3 Apr 2028
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
Squad3 Apr 2028
Words at US Moursal training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Saleh Adoum is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
Market3 Apr 2028
The Adam Adoum talk will not go away
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.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Player ratings6 Mar 2028
A brace, and Ezechiel Mahamat takes the afternoon — 9.11
There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. Ezechiel Mahamat provided it, and the 9.11 beside his name is if anything generous to everybody else.
Squad6 Mar 2028
A muscle injury sidelines Ezechiel Bechir for 14 days
Nobody makes a documentary about a hamstring and everybody in the game fears one. US Moursal will be careful with the return date, because the second one is always worse than the first.
Squad6 Mar 2028
“The easiest signature of my career.” Brahim Hissein and US Moursal agree another 3 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Squad6 Mar 2028
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at US Moursal this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The terraces6 Mar 2028
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 18-year-old it feels ownership of. Abdoulaye Djimet 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.
Player ratings6 Mar 2028
Mahamat Adoum was on a different afternoon to everybody else
8.48. There are performances a supporter describes to somebody who was not there and cannot quite convey; this was one, and the number does not help either.
Match4 Mar 2028
There is a particular helplessness in conceding 2 times before the twentieth minute. AS Etat Major tried to reorganise, US Moursal did not allow it, and the result was written long before it was confirmed.
Squad6 Mar 2028
Moussa Haroun falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
The terraces28 Feb 2028
The mood at US Moursal 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.
Match26 Feb 2028
No end in sight to US Moursal's wait for a win
7 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.
Player ratings28 Feb 2028
Nobody could get near Adam Adoum
Successful dribbles: 23. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Match26 Feb 2028
No clean sheets in sight for US Moursal
5 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.
Squad28 Feb 2028
Words at US Moursal training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Brahim Hissein 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.
Match26 Feb 2028
Beaten 0‑2, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Boardroom21 Feb 2028
The silence upstairs is getting loud at US Moursal
Nobody on the board has said anything against the manager, which is the point — they have stopped saying anything for him either.
Match21 Feb 2028
6 points, and a fixture list that is running out. The mathematics are not yet cruel, but they are no longer kind.
Market21 Feb 2028
Ahmat Doungous has one foot out of the door
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around US Moursal they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Squad21 Feb 2028
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at US Moursal this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad21 Feb 2028
Brahim Hissein 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.
Squad21 Feb 2028
“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.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad7 Feb 2028
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 14 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Boardroom7 Feb 2028
The board’s statement ran to three sentences and one of them mentioned results. Mahamat Hissein has managed long enough to translate: win soon, or the next statement is shorter.
Match5 Feb 2028
No end in sight to US Moursal's wait for a win
5 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.
Squad7 Feb 2028
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at US Moursal this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad7 Feb 2028
Brahim Hissein 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.
Match5 Feb 2028
Beaten 1‑2, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
Squad7 Feb 2028
The manager makes an example of Ezechiel Adoum
“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.
Player ratings7 Feb 2028
Successful dribbles: 18. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Market7 Feb 2028
“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 Ezechiel Bechir.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad22 Nov 2027
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason US Moursal will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Market22 Nov 2027
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at US Moursal is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Market22 Nov 2027
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at US Moursal, and it is not being withdrawn.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match13 Nov 2027
The wait goes on for US Moursal
14 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.
Squad15 Nov 2027
Ezechiel Oumar damages knee ligaments — 18 days out
The words a physio says slowly. 18 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.
Squad15 Nov 2027
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason US Moursal will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Market15 Nov 2027
Ahmat Doungous has one foot out of the door
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around US Moursal they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Squad15 Nov 2027
Djibrine Youssouf 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.
Match13 Nov 2027
Renaissance left with the points after a 0‑1 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.
Squad15 Nov 2027
Words at US Moursal training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Moussa Haroun 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.
Loan watch15 Nov 2027
“I am grateful for the games, but I did not become a footballer to be somebody else's spare part.” He wants to be at US Moursal, and 5 appearances in 17 say he has earned the hearing.
Player ratings15 Nov 2027
Nobody could get near Adam Adoum
Successful dribbles: 13. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad1 Nov 2027
Ezechiel Oumar damages knee ligaments — 32 days out
The words a physio says slowly. 32 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.
Squad1 Nov 2027
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason US Moursal will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Match30 Oct 2027
The wait goes on for US Moursal
11 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.
Match30 Oct 2027
Chastening afternoon for US Moursal
A 0‑3 beating by AS PSI was the sort of result that empties a stadium long before the final whistle.
Boardroom1 Nov 2027
The scrutiny sharpens at US Moursal
Nobody upstairs has said anything, which is the loudest thing they could do. Results buy silence in this game; the account at US Moursal is running low.
Market1 Nov 2027
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Adam Ngaradoumbe will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around US Moursal the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Squad1 Nov 2027
Ezechiel Mahamat 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.
Squad1 Nov 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Abdoulaye Oumar, and the manager let it.
Boardroom1 Nov 2027
The manager kept them in and said what needed saying. A response is expected on Saturday, and if it does not come the questions move upstairs.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad25 Oct 2027
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason US Moursal will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Match23 Oct 2027
10 matches without a win for US Moursal
The run now stands at 10, and the questions being asked around US Moursal are no longer polite ones.
Player ratings25 Oct 2027
2 goals, and the second was the one that settled it. Marked 8.54, and he could have had a third with better luck at the near post.
Market25 Oct 2027
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around US Moursal they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Squad25 Oct 2027
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at US Moursal this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Match23 Oct 2027
Beaten 2‑3, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
Squad25 Oct 2027
“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.
Squad25 Oct 2027
Moussa Haroun 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.
Player ratings25 Oct 2027
Successful dribbles: 11. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
The terraces11 Oct 2027
Anger at US Moursal spills outside the ground
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.
Match9 Oct 2027
0‑4 against CotonTchad, and no complaints that would survive the replay. The manager spoke about character afterwards; the terraces used shorter words.
Match9 Oct 2027
The wait goes on for US Moursal
8 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.
Squad11 Oct 2027
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at US Moursal this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad11 Oct 2027
Brahim Hissein 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.
Match9 Oct 2027
US Moursal are shipping goals every week
Two or more conceded in each of the last 4 matches. It is not one mistake repeating itself, which would be the easier thing to fix; it is a different one every week.
Boardroom11 Oct 2027
The music was off and the showers ran late. What was said in that dressing room stays there, but Saturday will publish the minutes.
Squad11 Oct 2027
The manager makes an example of Djibrine Djimet
“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.
Squad11 Oct 2027
Whether it was the goalkeeper or the ten in front of him is the argument that will fill every conversation in town this week. 2 saves does not settle it either way.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Market27 Sep 2027
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around US Moursal they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Squad27 Sep 2027
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at US Moursal this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad27 Sep 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Ahmat Doungous, and the manager let it.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
The terraces13 Sep 2027
Anger at US Moursal spills outside the ground
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.
Squad13 Sep 2027
Ezechiel Adoum is a better footballer than he was
Not a run of form — an actual step up, held for months. At 23 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.
Squad13 Sep 2027
At 29 the improving is meant to be over. It is not: 4 points better than the mark taken at the start of the year, which is the sort of thing that happens to players who take the boring parts of the job seriously.
Squad13 Sep 2027
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at US Moursal this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad13 Sep 2027
Brahim Hissein 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.
Market13 Sep 2027
The Adam Adoum talk will not go away
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.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match6 Sep 2027
Every point is an argument now for US Moursal
Position 12 and 10 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.
Market6 Sep 2027
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around US Moursal they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Market6 Sep 2027
The deal that would have taken Idriss Bechir to AS DGSSIE has collapsed at the last stage, and he reports back to US Moursal with a summer to forget and a season still to play. Nobody is saying which side walked away.
Squad6 Sep 2027
At 24 the improving is meant to be over. It is not: 4 points better than the mark taken at the start of the year, which is the sort of thing that happens to players who take the boring parts of the job seriously.
Squad6 Sep 2027
Ezechiel Mahamat 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.
Squad6 Sep 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Moussa Haroun, and the manager let it.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Market30 Aug 2027
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at US Moursal is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Market30 Aug 2027
“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.
Boardroom30 Aug 2027
The rules permit it and it stings anyway. Ezechiel Bechir has agreed terms with Stars Jeunes Talents for the summer, and until then he pulls on this shirt as a player who has already chosen his next one.
Squad30 Aug 2027
Adam Abakar is a better footballer than he was
Not a run of form — an actual step up, held for months. At 18 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.
Squad30 Aug 2027
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at US Moursal this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad30 Aug 2027
Abdoulaye Oumar has improved at 32, which nobody expected
Careers are supposed to plateau and then decline, and the players who ignore that are always the ones who were listening on the training ground. 3 points of it, over months, at an age where the direction normally only goes one way.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match9 Aug 2027
10 points, and a fixture list that is running out. The mathematics are not yet cruel, but they are no longer kind.
Market9 Aug 2027
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at US Moursal, and it is not being withdrawn.
Market9 Aug 2027
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at US Moursal is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Squad9 Aug 2027
Mahamat Adoum has improved at 24, which nobody expected
Careers are supposed to plateau and then decline, and the players who ignore that are always the ones who were listening on the training ground. 3 points of it, over months, at an age where the direction normally only goes one way.
Squad9 Aug 2027
Words at US Moursal training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Djibrine Youssouf 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.
Squad9 Aug 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Ezechiel Bechir, and the manager let it.