Marked for Daniel Schlupp
From our football correspondent
Crisis
The dugout10 Apr 2028
This is not rotation. Patrick Paintsil has not been in the manager's plans for some time, and nobody at Wa All Stars is pretending otherwise.
Squad10 Apr 2028
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.
Player ratings10 Apr 2028
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.
Match8 Apr 2028
0‑1 to Bechem United, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.
The dugout10 Apr 2028
The manager makes an example of Edmund Partey
“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.
Squad10 Apr 2028
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” a squad player commits to Wa All Stars for another 3 years.
The dugout10 Apr 2028
“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.
The dugout10 Apr 2028
“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.
Market10 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.
Back issues
From our football correspondent
Steady
The dugout11 Oct 2027
This is not rotation. Abraham Asante has not been in the manager's plans for some time, and nobody at Wa All Stars is pretending otherwise.
Market11 Oct 2027
Only the photograph left for Felix Mensah
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Felix Mensah will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Wa All Stars the goodbyes have quietly begun.
The dugout11 Oct 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Jeffrey Ayew, and the manager let it.
Loan watch11 Oct 2027
“I watch every Wa All Stars game from here. That says everything about where my head is.” The loan at Berekum Chelsea runs its course, but his heart never made the trip.
Squad11 Oct 2027
Abdul Wakaso in a row with a teammate
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 dugout11 Oct 2027
Kwame Mensah 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.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Match13 Mar 2027
Momentum is a hard thing to buy and an easy thing to lose, and right now Wa All Stars have 4 straight wins of it.
The dugout15 Mar 2027
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Wa All Stars may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Market15 Mar 2027
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.
Squad15 Mar 2027
Christian Acquah 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.
Player ratings15 Mar 2027
Successful dribbles: 20. There was always a defender in front of him and there was never a defender in front of him for long.
Match13 Mar 2027
A 2‑0 win over Great Olympics, earned rather than given, and the sort of afternoon that sends everyone home talking about next week instead of this one.
Squad15 Mar 2027
14 days, the medical staff say, and medical staff are optimists by profession. The team sheet will look wrong without him.
Player ratings15 Mar 2027
A performance of 8.06 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
The dugout15 Mar 2027
“We earned that. I asked them for a reaction and I got one, and now I want the same again on Saturday.” Osman Djiku on a 2‑0 afternoon that pleased him more than he was prepared to show.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Market15 Feb 2027
Only the photograph left for Abeiku Afful
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.
Match13 Feb 2027
No end in sight to Wa All Stars's wait for a win
4 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Wa All Stars has to find a result from somewhere.
Squad15 Feb 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 Wa All Stars this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Match13 Feb 2027
Beaten 0‑1, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
Squad15 Feb 2027
44 days, the scan says, and scans are kinder than reality. The fixtures in that window have just become somebody else’s job.
The dugout15 Feb 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to a squad player, and the manager let it.
The dugout15 Feb 2027
“We were not good enough today and I am not going to dress it up.” Osman Djiku after 0‑1, in the tone of a man who knows the next question and does not intend to answer it.
Squad15 Feb 2027
One booking too many, and a game watched from the stand. Wa All Stars lose him for the most avoidable reason in the sport.
The dugout15 Feb 2027
Abraham Asante knocks on the manager's door
“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.