Real improvement from a squad player at BA All Stars
Form comes and goes; this has not gone. a squad player is 21, and the version of him training now would not have got into the side he was in a year ago.
Words at BA All Stars training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Emmanuel Boateng 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 standards have slipped, and in a building where everybody watches everybody it has not gone unremarked. This is how a player loses a place before he loses one.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Kwadwo Inusah 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 BA All Stars this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Something was said to Bernard Mensah and then it happened. In this industry that passes for remarkable, and the dressing room noticed faster than any supporter could.
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. BA All Stars know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
In brief
The dugoutThe manager makes Ernest Waris a promise
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what BA All Stars can pretend not to have heard.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at BA All Stars this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Both sides expect a conversation in the coming days. BA All Stars will name a price, and everything after that is arithmetic.
Squad14 Jun 2027
Words at BA All Stars training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Emmanuel Boateng 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.
“Judge me on him.” Managers do not say that kind of thing by accident — it moves the pressure from David Wakaso’s shoulders onto his own, and both of them know it.
Kwadwo Inusah 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.” Christian Bukari and BA All Stars agree another 4 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
“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.
Squad7 Jun 2027
Words at BA All Stars training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Jonathan Djiku 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.
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. BA All Stars know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
The registration window is open and the phone has started. Between now and the deadline this club will be linked with forty players and sign three, which is the usual ratio.
Words at BA All Stars training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Kwadwo Inusah 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.
Samuel Appiah 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.
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. BA All Stars know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
In brief
Loan watchThe goals keep arriving from Edmund Kudus’s exile
Squada squad player is finding his feet at BA All Stars
Words at BA All Stars training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Kwadwo Inusah 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.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” BA All Stars have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Kwadwo Inusah 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.
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” a squad player and BA All Stars agree another 3 years.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at BA All Stars, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Squad12 Apr 2027
Words at BA All Stars training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Samuel Appiah 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.
“I was told straight, and I would rather have it straight.” The manager at BA All Stars has been clear about where Bernard Mensah stands, which is more than many ever get.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Emmanuel Boateng was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
17 defensive actions and a clean sheet at the end of them. A defender's afternoon can only be told by what did not happen, which is why nobody makes a highlights package out of one and every manager in the division would take it.
Successful dribbles: 16. 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.
“There are things I liked and things we will be doing on Tuesday until they are right.” 0‑0, and a manager who had already decided what Tuesday looked like.
Somebody else has been better, the manager has said so with a team sheet, and there is no argument to be had. He will get the shirt back the only way it can be got back.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” BA All Stars have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at BA All Stars this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Successful dribbles: 16. 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.
Squad1 Mar 2027
Words at BA All Stars training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Francis Annan 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 player who expected to start watched it instead. The manager will call it a decision for the team; a squad player will call it something else in private.
“It is not the end of the world and it is not good enough. Both of those are true.” The manager, after a 0‑0 draw, said the honest thing and then went to say it again inside.
Andre Amoah and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad22 Feb 2027
Kwadwo Inusah 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.
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Ernest Waris, and the manager let it.
The dugout22 Feb 2027
The view from the dugout
“We did not lose. Some weeks that is all you get, and I would rather have the point than not.” Bernard Afful chose the glass-half-full version of 0‑0; the supporters left with the other one.
Somebody else has been better, the manager has said so with a team sheet, and there is no argument to be had. He will get the shirt back the only way it can be got back.
“The manager did not use many words, and he did not need to.” Felix Mensah has his answer from BA All Stars; what he does with it is the next window’s story.
The crowd waited for a goal that never came. Asante Kotoko defended in numbers and left with what they came for, and the two sides could be playing still without troubling a scorer.
Kwadwo Inusah 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.
A 2‑0 win over Liberty Professionals, earned rather than given, and the sort of afternoon that sends everyone home talking about next week instead of this one.
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.
Marked 7.96. Ask anyone leaving the ground what settled it and you will get one name, which is the only award that has ever really counted.
The dugout15 Feb 2027
The view from the dugout
“We controlled it. There were spells I did not like and we will look at them, but the group showed me something.” Bernard Afful, on a 2‑0 win that he was already picking apart on the walk to the press room.
Ninety specific minutes wanted a different sort of player, and the manager picked one. He is not out of form and he is not in the side, and both are true.
A year in and the language has not come, the city has not opened up, and he eats alone more often than anybody at BA All Stars would like to admit. It is showing on Saturdays.
“If we are going to be beaten, let it not be because somebody in here could not be bothered.” He stood up and said it in front of everybody, which is a thing a squad remembers about a man for years.
In brief
The dugoutKwadwo Addo knocks on the manager's door
There is an age at which every good afternoon gets described as a throwback, which is unfair and also accurate. 8.29 at 33, and nobody on the pitch was better.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what BA All Stars can pretend not to have heard.
Andre Amoah 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.
2‑3 to Medeama, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.
Squad11 Jan 2027
Words at BA All Stars training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Kwadwo Inusah 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.
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Abdul Appiah and BA All Stars agree another 3 years.
The dugout11 Jan 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 2‑3 Bernard Afful left the room before anybody could ask which.
“I did not come here to warm up in front of people.” He is out of contract eventually, he is old enough to count the weeks, and BA All Stars will have to give him a reason to stay or an exit.
There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. Jeffrey Boateng provided it, and the 8.29 beside his name is if anything generous to everybody else.
The offer from Heart of Lions for Gladson Addo 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 BA All Stars 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.
Somebody else has been better, the manager has said so with a team sheet, and there is no argument to be had. He will get the shirt back the only way it can be got back.
The demotion a club never announces and a dressing room always notices. Samuel Atiemo is further from the side than he was, and the reason will not be given until he asks.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Kwadwo Inusah was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
“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 team sheet says it in public every week until it changes. The only version of being dropped a footballer cannot argue with, and the one he takes hardest.
Ninety specific minutes wanted a different sort of player, and the manager picked one. He is not out of form and he is not in the side, and both are true.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Kwadwo Inusah was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Half the programme played, position 7, 22 on the board. Doubling it is the sum every supporter has done and the only one nobody at the club will do out loud.
Samuel Appiah 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.
“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 dugout14 Dec 2026
The view from the dugout
“We did not lose. Some weeks that is all you get, and I would rather have the point than not.” Bernard Afful chose the glass-half-full version of 0‑0; the supporters left with the other one.
The one version of being left out a player cannot argue with, and the one he takes worst. Somebody else has been better and the team sheet says so, in public, every week until it changes.
Two goals and a mark of 8.56 to go with them. Strikers are judged on afternoons like this one and remembered for far fewer of them than people imagine.
Squad30 Nov 2026
Words at BA All Stars training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Kwadwo Inusah 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.
“We earned that. I asked them for a reaction and I got one, and now I want the same again on Saturday.” Bernard Afful on a 3‑0 afternoon that pleased him more than he was prepared to show.
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.
He wheeled away like a man who had been carrying it for months, because he had. BA All Stars have their signing off the mark and one press-conference question retired.
Successful dribbles: 34. 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.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Emmanuel Boateng was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
“A point is a point and I will take it, but we should have had all three.” Bernard Afful after the 1‑1 draw, and the sentence every manager in the country said at some stage this weekend.
Somebody else has been better, the manager has said so with a team sheet, and there is no argument to be had. He will get the shirt back the only way it can be got back.
Ninety specific minutes wanted a different sort of player, and the manager picked one. He is not out of form and he is not in the side, and both are true.
Two goals and a mark of 8.60 to go with them. Strikers are judged on afternoons like this one and remembered for far fewer of them than people imagine.
At 23 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.
Kwadwo Inusah 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 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.
There is no complaint available here and everybody involved knows it, which does not make the walk to the bench any shorter. Form is the only currency in football that cannot be borrowed against.
In brief
SquadWords at BA All Stars training over how hard people work
“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 dugout5 Oct 2026
The manager’s verdict
“I am frustrated, honestly. We did enough to win and we did not win.” Bernard Afful was not hiding it after 0‑0, and nobody in the BA All Stars dressing room was either.
Somebody else has been better, the manager has said so with a team sheet, and there is no argument to be had. He will get the shirt back the only way it can be got back.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Thomas Asante trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Squad5 Oct 2026
Samuel Appiah 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.
Andre Amoah 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.
Squad28 Sep 2026
Kwadwo Inusah 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.
At 23 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.
Marked 7.35. Ask anyone leaving the ground what settled it and you will get one name, which is the only award that has ever really counted.
The dugout28 Sep 2026
The manager’s verdict
“I am frustrated, honestly. We did enough to win and we did not win.” Bernard Afful was not hiding it after 0‑0, and nobody in the BA All Stars dressing room was either.
The team sheet says it in public every week until it changes. The only version of being dropped a footballer cannot argue with, and the one he takes hardest.
Kwadwo Inusah 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.
Squad21 Sep 2026
Words at BA All Stars training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Thomas Asante 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 board was up, the win was priced in, and then WAFA scored. There is no worse minute to concede in and the ground emptied in the silence that follows one.
A 1‑1 draw with WAFA leaves the dressing room somewhere between relief and regret.
The dugout21 Sep 2026
The view from the dugout
“We did not lose. Some weeks that is all you get, and I would rather have the point than not.” Bernard Afful chose the glass-half-full version of 1‑1; the supporters left with the other one.
The one version of being left out a player cannot argue with, and the one he takes worst. Somebody else has been better and the team sheet says so, in public, every week until it changes.
Ninety specific minutes wanted a different sort of player, and the manager picked one. He is not out of form and he is not in the side, and both are true.
The words a physio says slowly. 14 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.
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.
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Gladson Addo. 1‑0 against Hearts of Oak, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
Squad14 Sep 2026
Words at BA All Stars training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Emmanuel Boateng 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.
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Joseph Schlupp and BA All Stars agree another 3 years.
“That is what I want every week. Not the result, the way they went about it.” The manager, after 1‑0, already talking about the next one.
The dugout14 Sep 2026
BA All Stars pick somebody else ahead of a squad player
There is no complaint available here and everybody involved knows it, which does not make the walk to the bench any shorter. Form is the only currency in football that cannot be borrowed against.
Headers, blocks, tackles, interceptions — 14 of them, and not one goal behind him. The sort of performance that never makes a highlight reel and wins football matches.
21 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. BA All Stars lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at BA All Stars, and it is not being withdrawn.
Boardroom7 Sep 2026
Deadline passes with 8 signed and 4 gone
That is the business done at BA 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.
Senior shirt numbers handed to boys the coaches have known since they were twelve. Most will not make it and all of them have already done the hard part.
Christian Bukari scored, and precious little else went right: 1‑3 to Hasaacas, and a quiet walk to the dressing room.
Squad7 Sep 2026
Kwadwo Inusah 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 academy exists for exactly this morning. Joseph Schlupp has come through every age group the club runs and has now been handed a senior number, and the people who coached him at twelve will be the proudest in the building.
There is no fee, no unveiling and no agent on the steps. Samuel Paintsil 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.