160 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.
The last thing about a transfer that is still about the player is his signature on his own terms, and it is there. BA All Stars have lost him in all but the paperwork.
BA All Stars and Bechem United have settled on $36.0K. The rest belongs to the player and his agent, and a supporter who has watched one of these before knows not to buy the shirt yet.
A medical, a signature, a shirt held up in front of a sponsor’s board. BA All Stars have done the hard part with Asante Kotoko, and the part that remains is the part supporters actually see.
Edmund Sulemana 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.
Squad28 Aug 2028
Words at BA All Stars training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Samba Sissoko 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.
BA All Stars asked and Asante Kotoko said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Clinton N'jie was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Nobody at BA All Stars will say this on the record and the team sheets have been saying it for weeks. There is a small group in every squad who get picked when the fixture is difficult, and he has joined it.
Nothing in writing and nothing in public: a word about playing time, given face to face at BA All Stars. The team sheets over the next month will show whether it was worth having.
“He needs to be playing at a level that matches him, and we are open to conversations.” Nobody says that by accident, and nobody at BA All Stars misheard it.
The clubs have settled the fee and he has settled his wages. What remains is a medical and a photograph, and around BA All Stars people have started saying his name in the past tense.
“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 The request is on a desk at BA All Stars, and it is not being withdrawn.
The deal with Asante Kotoko 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.
Hearts of Oak wanted more than $9.0K and the board would not go there. Walked away, for now, which in a transfer window means until somebody blinks.
Squad31 Jul 2028
Clinton N'jie 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.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Medeama have kept their man, and BA All Stars go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Isaac Frimpong 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.
Great Olympics have been asked whether they would lend him. Loans are agreed quickly or not at all, and this one will be one or the other by the weekend.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Ernest Mensah will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around BA 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 BA All Stars this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
BA All Stars have gone to Hearts of Oak with a bid, and the supporters have gone to the internet with an opinion about it. Whether either changes anything is up to the selling club.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Samba Sissoko was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
BA All Stars asked and New Edubiase United said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
Nobody at BA All Stars will say this on the record and the team sheets have been saying it for weeks. There is a small group in every squad who get picked when the fixture is difficult, and he has joined it.
60 points, and the rest of the division looking up. Every side that finishes first spends the season pretending it is not thinking about it, and this one has started pretending.
The last thing about a transfer that is still about the player is his signature on his own terms, and it is there. BA All Stars have lost him in all but the paperwork.
There are footballers who have a good season and footballers a season is remembered for, and the second kind get their names read out in a hall in the summer. BA All Stars will be quietly delighted and privately nervous.
Chinedu Chukwu and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad3 Jul 2028
Words at BA All Stars training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Clinton N'jie 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.
BA All Stars have made the call to Inter Allies. No fee, a share of the wages, and a spare shirt in the position where the squad has been thinnest all season.
Signed today, seen by nobody for years, and one of them may one day be the reason the club exists. That is the whole of the argument for an academy, and it is a good one.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around BA All Stars they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Abbey Benson 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.
Squad26 Jun 2028
Samba Sissoko 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.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Hearts of Oak have kept their man, and BA All Stars go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
BA All Stars have made the call to Inter Allies. No fee, a share of the wages, and a spare shirt in the position where the squad has been thinnest all season.
“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.
Nobody at BA All Stars will say this on the record and the team sheets have been saying it for weeks. There is a small group in every squad who get picked when the fixture is difficult, and he has joined it.
The last thing about a transfer that is still about the player is his signature on his own terms, and it is there. BA All Stars have lost him in all but the paperwork.
Chinedu Chukwu 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 Clinton N'jie was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
BA All Stars asked and Great Olympics said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
BA All Stars have made the call to Ashanti Gold. No fee, a share of the wages, and a spare shirt in the position where the squad has been thinnest all season.
60 points, and the rest of the division looking up. Every side that finishes first spends the season pretending it is not thinking about it, and this one has started pretending.
“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.
Abbey Benson 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 Samba Sissoko was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
“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 BA All Stars, and 7 appearances in 21 say he has earned the hearing.
A loan enquiry to Great Olympics: cover, or a look at somebody the club cannot afford to buy yet. Either way the answer will come back inside the week.
Fee agreed, wages agreed, and Inter Allies waiting with a shirt. Nobody at Great Olympics is pretending otherwise, and the supporters have stopped asking whether and started asking when.
“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 Great Olympics, and it is not being withdrawn.
A medical, a signature, a shirt held up in front of a sponsor’s board. Great Olympics have done the hard part with BA All Stars, and the part that remains is the part supporters actually see.
“The easiest signature of my career.” Kamogelo Mogotlane and Great Olympics agree another 3 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 Eric Oteng was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Add another name to the list: BA All Stars have asked the question everybody in the game has been asking about Michael Acquaye. The answer from Great Olympics has not changed — yet.
Great Olympics have made the call to Ashanti Gold. No fee, a share of the wages, and a spare shirt in the position where the squad has been thinnest all season.
The words a physio says slowly. 66 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.
Abbey Benson 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.
Squad13 Mar 2028
Words at BA All Stars training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Samba Sissoko 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.
8 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.
Bechem United next, and the two sides the division is watching meet each other. Whoever wins will be told nothing is decided in the same breath as being congratulated.
94 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. BA All Stars lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
44 points, and the rest of the division looking up. Every side that finishes first spends the season pretending it is not thinking about it, and this one has started pretending.
The fee was agreed and the flight was looked at — and then the phone stopped ringing. Heart of Lions moved on, Ernest Mensah reports back to BA All Stars, and everybody pretends Monday is just Monday.
Abbey Benson 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.
Bechem United wanted more than $37.0K and the board would not go there. Walked away, for now, which in a transfer window means until somebody blinks.
Squad14 Feb 2028
Words at BA All Stars training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Clinton N'jie 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.
111 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. BA All Stars lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
The clubs have settled the fee and he has settled his wages. What remains is a medical and a photograph, and around BA All Stars people have started saying his name in the past tense.
6 wins on the spin now, and the question has changed from whether the run ends to who ends it. Confidence like this cannot be bought; it has to be earned exactly this way.
“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.
BA All Stars and Asante Kotoko have settled on $100.0K. The rest belongs to the player and his agent, and a supporter who has watched one of these before knows not to buy the shirt yet.
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 board had gone up, the arguing had started, and then the ball was in the net in the 92th minute. Hasaacas will replay every second of the added time for a week.
Player ratings10 Jan 2028
A brace, and Kwame Acquah takes the afternoon — 8.47
There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. Kwame Acquah provided it, and the 8.47 beside his name is if anything generous to everybody else.
“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.
The deal with Aduana Stars 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.
3 wins in a row changes how opponents warm up: quieter, more glances across. Runs end, everybody knows that — but nobody in this dressing room is planning for it.
$37.0K on the table at Bechem United. The manager wanted him, the board agreed a number, and the only voices still to be heard are the ones at the other club.
Abbey Benson 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.
Successful dribbles: 21. 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.
Squad10 Jan 2028
Samba Sissoko 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.
Two goals and a mark of 9.03 to go with them. Strikers are judged on afternoons like this one and remembered for far fewer of them than people imagine.
7.77, 1 on the scoresheet, and the specific comedy of a back-four player celebrating like somebody who does this every week. He does not, and that is exactly why the ground reacted the way it did.
Abbey Benson 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.
Squad1 Nov 2027
Clinton N'jie 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.
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Clinton N'jie. 3‑1 against Wa All Stars, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 22-year-old it feels ownership of. Thomas Afful 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.
17 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. BA All Stars lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
“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.
Boardroom6 Sep 2027
BA All Stars close the window on a squad of their own making
10 in and 9 out, and no more changes for months. The manager has what he has, the supporters have their opinion of it, and the table will have the last word.
The board have signed the man in the dugout to a longer contract, which says more than any statement of support. Stability is easy to promise and costly to keep.
Abbey Benson 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.
Bechem United wanted more than $37.0K and the board would not go there. Walked away, for now, which in a transfer window means until somebody blinks.
Boardroom6 Sep 2027
4 academy players handed senior numbers at BA All Stars
The morning the pathway stops being a brochure and becomes a team sheet. Most of them will not be here in three years; all of them have already done the hard part, which was getting to today.
BA All Stars asked and Asante Kotoko 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.
25 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.
A medical, a signature, a shirt held up in front of a sponsor’s board. BA All Stars have done the hard part with Aduana Stars, and the part that remains is the part supporters actually see.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Clinton N'jie was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
BA All Stars asked and Hearts of Oak said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
It is never announced and it is entirely visible: the biggest afternoons of the season keep containing him. A press box works this out long before anybody at the club confirms a word of it.
He asked about his future and was given an answer with minutes in it. The manager has now made a promise in a building where promises are remembered, and the clock on it has started.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Ernest Mensah trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Chinedu Chukwu 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.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Berekum Chelsea have kept their man, and BA All Stars go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Squad23 Aug 2027
Words at BA All Stars training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Clinton N'jie 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.
Nobody at BA All Stars will say this on the record and the team sheets have been saying it for weeks. There is a small group in every squad who get picked when the fixture is difficult, and he has joined it.
24 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. BA All Stars lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
“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.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Clinton N'jie was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Isaac Frimpong 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.
Every manager keeps a short list in his head of the men he wants on the pitch when the stakes rise, and it is never published. The team sheets for the big afternoons say Kwadwo Adjei is on it.
38 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. BA All Stars lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
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.
Squad28 Jun 2027
Clinton N'jie 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 am grateful for the games, but I did not become a footballer to be somebody else's spare part.” He wants to be at BA All Stars, and 14 appearances in 46 say he has earned the hearing.
BA All Stars have made the call to Hearts of Oak. No fee, a share of the wages, and a spare shirt in the position where the squad has been thinnest all season.
It is never announced and it is entirely visible: the biggest afternoons of the season keep containing him. A press box works this out long before anybody at the club confirms a word of it.
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Edmund Sulemana signs something — a contract at BA All Stars or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
66 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. BA All Stars lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
Chinedu Chukwu 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.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Clinton N'jie was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
“I did not go to Great Olympics to sit and watch. I want to come back to BA All Stars and fight for my place.” 14 appearances in 42 matches say the rest.
Nobody at BA All Stars will say this on the record and the team sheets have been saying it for weeks. There is a small group in every squad who get picked when the fixture is difficult, and he has joined it.
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Edmund Sulemana signs something — a contract at BA All Stars or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
A conversation in the manager’s office, and a commitment that came out of it. Promises like that are cheap to make and expensive to break, and Ahmed Adams has written the date down.
81 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.
Position 2, 55 points, and the result everyone checks first is now theirs. The word is still not being said around the ground, which is how you know everyone is thinking it.
Abbey Benson 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.
Squad17 May 2027
Words at BA All Stars training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Clinton N'jie 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.” Great Olympics have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Elvis Manu 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 Eric Oteng was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Great Olympics 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 Great Olympics this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad3 May 2027
Eric Oteng 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.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Great Olympics, and both men came out saying it was fine.
23 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.
1 for Salim Adams, marked 7.84, and a centre-half's name in the part of the report he normally only reaches by mistake. He will not be allowed to forget it in the dressing room for a month.
9 home matches unbeaten. Visiting sides arrive already talking about the atmosphere, which is usually the sign that they have half-lost before kickoff.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Salim Adams was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Behind, and beaten by any honest reading, until minute 95. Great Olympics had the points in their pocket and a corner of the ground still believed, which is generally when it happens.
Warm-up bib, ninety minutes of watching, and a handshake at the end that fooled nobody. Big matches tell you who a manager trusts; this one told Clinton N'jie.
Position 14 and 21 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.
At 34 he is supposed to be managing his minutes. Instead he was marked 8.08 and looked, for ninety minutes, exactly like the player everybody remembers.
Elvis Manu 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 Feb 2027
Eric Oteng 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.
“It is not the end of the world and it is not good enough. Both of those are true.” The manager, after a 1‑1 draw, said the honest thing and then went to say it again inside.
In brief
The dugoutThe plan did not have a place for Elvis Manu
Great Olympics close the window on a squad of their own making
1 in and 0 out, and no more changes for months. The manager has what he has, the supporters have their opinion of it, and the table will have the last word.
Everything agreed with Wa All Stars, everything agreed with the player; a doctor is the only person left to persuade. The photograph is a day or two away.
Terms were offered and declined. Whether it was the wages, the role or the town, nobody at Aduana Stars is saying, and nobody at Great Olympics is enjoying the guessing.
Elvis Manu 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 dugout1 Feb 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 Edmund Ayew left the room before anybody could ask which.
It is not much of a headline and it is the reason players believe the next promise. Great Olympics told Manuel Mantey something would happen and then it happened, which in this industry passes for remarkable.
The demotion a club never announces and a dressing room always notices. Ernest Mensah is further from the side than he was, and the reason will not be given until he asks.
The chances are being made and something is happening between the making and the finishing. 6 matches now, and the anxiety in the ground arrives a little earlier every week.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Great Olympics this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Jonathan Mairiga and Great Olympics agree another 3 years.
“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.
In brief
The dugoutMusa Afeez asks for a word with the manager
Salim Adams 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.
Footballers are asked about their boyhood club so often that nobody listens to the answer. Jai Semenyo has just signed for BA All Stars, and for once the answer mattered.
A 1‑0 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.
“The easiest signature of my career.” Kamaldeen Gyan and BA All Stars agree another 4 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
“I did not go to Great Olympics to sit and watch. I want to come back to BA All Stars and fight for my place.” 5 appearances in 13 matches say the rest.
“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.
Chinedu Chukwu and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad12 Oct 2026
Salim Adams 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 am grateful for the games, but I did not become a footballer to be somebody else's spare part.” He wants to be at BA All Stars, and 3 appearances in 9 say he has earned the hearing.
Squad12 Oct 2026
5 new faces, and BA All Stars are still learning each other
A squad rebuilt inside one window pays for it in a currency nobody budgets for. The football is not worse than the sum of the players; it is worse than the sum of the players who have played together before.
Elvis Manu 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.
Squad12 Oct 2026
19 new faces, and Great Olympics are still learning each other
A squad rebuilt inside one window pays for it in a currency nobody budgets for. The football is not worse than the sum of the players; it is worse than the sum of the players who have played together before.
Squad12 Oct 2026
Words at Great Olympics training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Godfred Asiamah 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 Great Olympics has been clear about where Seidu Ismaila stands, which is more than many ever get.
Every squad has one of these fixtures for somebody every season. This one is Ramzy Yussif’s: the club that knew him first, the supporters who will decide in the first minute whether to applaud, and Great Olympics needing him to play as if none of it matters.
Nothing in writing and nothing in public: a word about playing time, given face to face at Great Olympics. The team sheets over the next month will show whether it was worth having.
“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 Great Olympics will have to answer with minutes or with a transfer.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Great Olympics, and both men came out saying it was fine.