Marked for Moussa Abakar
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Transfer targets19 Jul 2027
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Stars Jeunes Talents have kept their man, and US Moursal go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Squad19 Jul 2027
Saleh Mbainaissem 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 dugout19 Jul 2027
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Abdoulaye Ngaradoumbe trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
The dugout19 Jul 2027
The manager has not finished forgetting Abdoulaye Mbaiguedem'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.
Market19 Jul 2027
The name of Moussa Abakar keeps appearing in other people's back pages. US Moursal say nothing, which says plenty.
Squad19 Jul 2027
Oumar Abakar: “I am not a substitute”
“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.
Back issues
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market21 Jun 2027
The bid was some way short and US Moursal did not need long over it. Nobody in the game reads a first refusal as the end of anything.
Squad21 Jun 2027
Oumar Abakar is a better footballer than he was
Not a run of form — an actual step up, held for months. At 17 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.
Squad21 Jun 2027
A row about effort at US Moursal
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Youssouf Djimet was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The dugout21 Jun 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.
The dugout21 Jun 2027
Ali Mbaiguedem asks for a word with the manager
“I would rather say it to his face than read about it.” The meeting was requested by the player, which tells you most of what you need to know.
The dugout21 Jun 2027
The manager has not finished forgetting Abdoulaye Mbaiguedem'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.
Market21 Jun 2027
The name of Moussa Abakar keeps appearing in other people's back pages. US Moursal say nothing, which says plenty.
Squad21 Jun 2027
Somebody else’s transfer, somebody else’s headline. What it left at US Moursal is a friend gone and a player who keeps looking at the space.
Squad21 Jun 2027
Questions about Narcisse Ndoram on the training pitch
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.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market14 Jun 2027
“I listened, I thought about it, and I am staying. That is the whole story.” The clubs had agreed a fee. Djibrine Adoum had not agreed to go, which turned out to be the part that mattered.
Market14 Jun 2027
The offer was not close and it was refused without much discussion. Whether the second one is refused as quickly is another matter.
Market14 Jun 2027
“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.
Transfer targets14 Jun 2027
Terms were offered and declined. Whether it was the wages, the role or the town, nobody at Stars Jeunes Talents is saying, and nobody at US Moursal is enjoying the guessing.
The dugout14 Jun 2027
This is not rotation. Narcisse Ndoram has not been in the manager's plans for some time, and nobody at US Moursal is pretending otherwise.
Squad14 Jun 2027
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Moussa Abakar and US Moursal agree another 3 years.
Transfer targets14 Jun 2027
US Moursal asked and AS Algoy said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
Squad14 Jun 2027
Words at US Moursal training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Youssouf Djimet 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 dugout14 Jun 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Djibrine Moustapha, and the manager let it.
From our football correspondent
Steady
The dugout8 Mar 2027
“I was told what my role would be, and I signed on that basis. It has not happened.” A grievance with a date attached is the hardest kind to settle.
Squad8 Mar 2027
Oumar Abakar is a better footballer than he was
Not a run of form — an actual step up, held for months. At 17 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.
Squad8 Mar 2027
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Djibrine Moustapha and US Moursal agree another 3 years.
Squad8 Mar 2027
A row about effort at US Moursal
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Youssouf Djimet was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Squad8 Mar 2027
The young player of the month award goes to a 19-year-old at US Moursal who has looked like the finished article for four weekends running. The next four are the ones that decide whether he is.
Boardroom8 Mar 2027
A clause somebody insisted on years ago, in a negotiation nobody remembers, has just paid US Moursal $2.0K. Youssouf Tokindang left a long time ago; the paperwork stayed.
The dugout8 Mar 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Oumar Abakar, and the manager let it.
Looking ahead8 Mar 2027
Every squad has one of these fixtures for somebody every season. This one is Abdramane Doungous’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.
The dugout8 Mar 2027
“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
Steady
Squad1 Mar 2027
11 saves, and a scoreline the ten men in front of him had no right to. Goalkeepers only get noticed on the bad days; this was one of the other ones.
Market1 Mar 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.
Loan watch1 Mar 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 0 appearances in 29 say he has earned the hearing.
Match27 Feb 2027
0‑2 to Renaissance, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.
Squad1 Mar 2027
Words at US Moursal training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Youssouf Djimet 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.
Squad1 Mar 2027
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Marius Mbainaissem commits to US Moursal for another 3 years.
The dugout1 Mar 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 0‑2 Adam Tokindang left the room before anybody could ask which.
Squad1 Mar 2027
A step back for a squad player at US Moursal
Somebody has moved past him. It is not a dropping and it is worse than one, because a dropping is about a Saturday and this is about where he stands.
Player ratings1 Mar 2027
A mark of 4.03 tells the story without any need for embellishment. He will want the tape of this one quietly lost.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Player ratings15 Feb 2027
Marked 7.63 at 19, in a side that makes no allowances for age. He did not need any, and he looked the least nervous man on the pitch.
Squad15 Feb 2027
Ali Mbaiguedem pulls a muscle — 15 days out
The injury that keeps coming back, keeps being rushed back from, and quietly costs more careers than the dramatic ones. 15 days is the estimate; the honest figure depends on whether anybody is patient.
Squad15 Feb 2027
Idriss Mbainaissem and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad15 Feb 2027
A row about effort at US Moursal
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Abdramane Doungous was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Match13 Feb 2027
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Abdramane Doungous. 2‑0 against AS PSI, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
The dugout15 Feb 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Abdramane Doungous, and the manager let it.
Squad15 Feb 2027
Every shape has positions in it and this one does not have his. US Moursal will either change the shape, change his job, or change his club, and he is waiting to hear which.
The dugout15 Feb 2027
“That is what I want every week. Not the result, the way they went about it.” The manager, after 2‑0, already talking about the next one.
The dugout15 Feb 2027
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.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market14 Dec 2026
“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.
Player ratings14 Dec 2026
Marked 7.18 on 21 actions at both ends of the pitch. Midfielders like this get described as unspectacular by people who have never tried to play against one.
Market14 Dec 2026
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Abdoulaye Djimet will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around US Moursal the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Squad14 Dec 2026
“The easiest signature of my career.” Saleh Mbainaissem and US Moursal agree another 3 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
The terraces14 Dec 2026
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 17-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.
The dugout14 Dec 2026
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.
The dugout14 Dec 2026
“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.
The dugout14 Dec 2026
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.
Player ratings14 Dec 2026
An afternoon Moussa Abakar will want back
Marked 4.39. Nothing he attempted worked and by the hour mark he had stopped attempting much, which is the part a manager notices rather than the mistakes.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad9 Nov 2026
27 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. US Moursal lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
Match4 Nov 2026
The small margins put US Moursal out
Out, 0‑4 to Elect Sport, and the long argument about which of the small moments decided it. The league is all there is now, and everybody knows it.
Player ratings9 Nov 2026
Successful dribbles: 31. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
The terraces9 Nov 2026
0-4. Going out of a cup is one afternoon; going out like that is a week of phone-ins, and the manager will hear every one of them.
Match7 Nov 2026
6 matches without a win for US Moursal
The run now stands at 6, and the questions being asked around US Moursal are no longer polite ones.
The terraces9 Nov 2026
The ground has had enough
“We travel everywhere and we get this.” 6 of the 25 senior players heard it walking off, and the ones who did not hear it were not playing.
Squad9 Nov 2026
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Moussa Abakar and US Moursal agree another 3 years.
Squad9 Nov 2026
Abdoulaye Djimet and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
The dugout9 Nov 2026
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Idriss Mbainaissem, and the manager let it.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market7 Sep 2026
The last thing about a transfer that is still about the player is his signature on his own terms, and it is there. US Moursal have lost him in all but the paperwork.
Market7 Sep 2026
“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 Sep 2026
“I listened, I thought about it, and I am staying. That is the whole story.” The clubs had agreed a fee. Abdoulaye Moustapha had not agreed to go, which turned out to be the part that mattered.
Market7 Sep 2026
Add another name to the list: AS DGSSIE have asked the question everybody in the game has been asking about Djibrine Tokindang. The answer from US Moursal has not changed — yet.
Boardroom7 Sep 2026
Deadline passes with 0 signed and 6 gone
That is the business done at US Moursal 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.
Transfer targets7 Sep 2026
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 dugout7 Sep 2026
“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 Sep 2026
The manager has re-ordered his thinking and Idriss Moustapha has come out of it lower. He will be told it is temporary, and the players who have heard that before will avoid his eye.
Squad7 Sep 2026
He used to be one of the options. He is now one of the men the options are picked around, and the change happened quietly enough that only the dressing room noticed on the day.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market24 Aug 2026
“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.
Market24 Aug 2026
The offer from Elect Sport for Djibrine Tokindang 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.
Squad24 Aug 2026
A row about effort at US Moursal
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Moussa Abakar was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Squad24 Aug 2026
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.
Transfer targets24 Aug 2026
A loan move for Djibrine Haroun is in the works
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.
Market24 Aug 2026
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
Steady
Market17 Aug 2026
“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.
Market17 Aug 2026
The offer from Foullah Edifice for Brahim Ndoram 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.
Squad17 Aug 2026
Oumar Hissein and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Market17 Aug 2026
The name of Youssouf Djimet has come up in conversations US Moursal were not part of. Nothing formal, nothing signed — but nothing about it accidental either.
Squad17 Aug 2026
Words at US Moursal training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Moussa Abakar 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.
Squad17 Aug 2026
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Abdramane Oumar and US Moursal agree another 3 years.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market3 Aug 2026
“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 Aug 2026
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 Aug 2026
Add another name to the list: Galactik have asked the question everybody in the game has been asking about Abdoulaye Moustapha. The answer from US Moursal has not changed — yet.
Squad3 Aug 2026
A row about effort at US Moursal
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Moussa Abakar was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Transfer targets3 Aug 2026
A loan enquiry to Elect Sport: cover, or a look at somebody the club cannot afford to buy yet. Either way the answer will come back inside the week.
The dugout3 Aug 2026
Brahim Ndoram asks for a word with the manager
“I would rather say it to his face than read about it.” The meeting was requested by the player, which tells you most of what you need to know.