It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at WAFA this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Nana Amoah was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Asante Kotoko have kept their man, and WAFA go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
7 arrivals, an average age nobody would call a squad, and a set of parents being shown around a building their sons will spend more time in than at home. The scouting has already happened; today is only the paperwork.
Nobody will confirm it and the team sheets confirm it every week. One error has bought him a spell as second choice that is already longer than the error deserved.
“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 The request is on a desk at WAFA, and it is not being withdrawn.
Nana 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.
Nobody will confirm it and the team sheets confirm it every week. One error has bought him a spell as second choice that is already longer than the error deserved.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Abraham Mensah trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
The window is open, and with it the only month of the year when a supporter’s hopes are limited by nothing but arithmetic. The board know the arithmetic; the supporters know the hopes.
In brief
The terracesThe stands have heard the Bernard Acquah talk too
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what WAFA can pretend not to have heard.
Thomas Atiemo 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 Nana Amoah was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
A month is long enough that nobody gets in by accident. Emmanuel Afful is in the division's best eleven for it, which is a quieter compliment than an award and a more reliable one.
Nobody will confirm it and the team sheets confirm it every week. One error has bought him a spell as second choice that is already longer than the error deserved.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at WAFA, and both men came out saying it was fine.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at WAFA this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Nana Amoah 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.
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 Francis Paintsil.
“A point is a point and I will take it, but we should have had all three.” Nana Schlupp after the 0‑0 draw, and the sentence every manager in the country said at some stage this weekend.
Successful dribbles: 12. 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.
The crowd waited for a goal that never came. Hasaacas defended in numbers and left with what they came for, and the two sides could be playing still without troubling a scorer.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at WAFA, and both men came out saying it was fine.
“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 WAFA, and it is not being withdrawn.
Thomas Atiemo 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.
Squad9 Apr 2029
Nana Amoah 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.
A 1‑0 win over Heart of Lions, earned rather than given, and the sort of afternoon that sends everyone home talking about next week instead of this one.
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.
“The players deserve the credit. My job was easy today.” It was not, and everybody in the room knew it; after 1‑0, Nana Schlupp could afford to be generous.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what WAFA can pretend not to have heard.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” WAFA have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Osman Nuhu and WAFA agree another 4 years.
Squad26 Mar 2029
Nana Amoah 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.
Berekum Chelsea left with the points after a 0‑1 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.
The dugout26 Mar 2029
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 0‑1 Nana Schlupp left the room before anybody could ask which.
Successful dribbles: 23. 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.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at WAFA this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Nana Amoah was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
“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 dugout19 Mar 2029
The manager has not finished forgetting Abdul Yakubu'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.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at WAFA this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Successful dribbles: 16. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
The dugout12 Mar 2029
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 0‑3 Nana Schlupp 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. WAFA told Abraham Mensah something would happen and then it happened, which in this industry passes for remarkable.
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.
There is an age at which every good afternoon gets described as a throwback, which is unfair and also accurate. 7.99 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 WAFA can pretend not to have heard.
Thomas Atiemo 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.
Squad5 Mar 2029
Nana Amoah 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.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” WAFA have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Nana 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.
The team at the top of the table next, and the honest measure of where this side actually is. Anybody can beat the club below them; the question is what happens against Asante Kotoko.
The shape wanted a different profile against this opponent, which is a real football answer and no comfort at all to the man it is about. He did nothing wrong and he did not play.
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.
Nana 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.
“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 dugout29 Jan 2029
The manager has not finished forgetting Amos Baba'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.
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.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at WAFA this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Nana Amoah was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
“We were not good enough today and I am not going to dress it up.” Nana Schlupp after 0‑2, in the tone of a man who knows the next question and does not intend to answer it.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Samuel Owusu trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
One weekend, judged against everybody else's. Andre Acquah has come out on top of it, and for most footballers a weekly award is the only silverware a career ever produces.
The 2-goal deficit was real and so was the recovery. Andre Acquah was at the centre of it, Medeama were at the end of it, and everybody who left early will hear about this one for years.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what WAFA can pretend not to have heard.
Thomas Atiemo 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.
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Andre Acquah. 3‑2 against Medeama, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Nana Amoah 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.
He is 23 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.
Position 14 and 17 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.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” WAFA have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Andre Acquah. 2‑0 against Ashanti Gold, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
A month is long enough that nobody gets in by accident. Abdul Yakubu is in the division's best eleven for it, which is a quieter compliment than an award and a more reliable one.
“The players deserve the credit. My job was easy today.” It was not, and everybody in the room knew it; after 2‑0, Nana Schlupp could afford to be generous.
“I respect the manager and I am not going to sit here and pretend I am happy.” It is the most common sentence in football and it has never once been the end of a story.
3 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.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at WAFA this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
There is a particular helplessness in conceding 2 times before the twentieth minute. Heart of Lions tried to reorganise, WAFA did not allow it, and the result was written long before it was confirmed.
“We earned that. I asked them for a reaction and I got one, and now I want the same again on Saturday.” Nana Schlupp on a 2‑1 afternoon that pleased him more than he was prepared to show.
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.
In brief
The dugoutWAFA pick somebody else ahead of Amos Baba
13 without a win is the sort of run that changes how a town talks about its club, and New Edubiase United were the afternoon it stopped. Nothing is fixed by one result and everything feels different by one.
“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 WAFA, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad4 Dec 2028
Nana Amoah 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 Acquah had done his part in building a 2-goal cushion. What happened after that was collective, and Inter Allies were allowed back into a match that had been finished with.
Player ratings27 Nov 2028
A brace, and Andre Acquah takes the afternoon — 8.79
There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. Andre Acquah provided it, and the 8.79 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 WAFA, and it is not being withdrawn.
Nana 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.
“There are things I liked and things we will be doing on Tuesday until they are right.” 2‑2, and a manager who had already decided what Tuesday looked like.
One weekend, judged against everybody else's. Andre Acquah has come out on top of it, and for most footballers a weekly award is the only silverware a career ever produces.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Nana Amoah was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Thomas Atiemo 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.
“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 dugout20 Nov 2028
The manager has not finished forgetting Amos Baba'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.
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. WAFA know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
“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 WAFA will have to answer with minutes or with a transfer.
9 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.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” WAFA have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Nana Amoah 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.
Thomas Atiemo 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.
Something was said to Nana Paintsil and then it happened. In this industry that passes for remarkable, and the dressing room noticed faster than any supporter could.
“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.
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.
A manager forgives a bad Saturday far more readily than a bad Tuesday, because one of them he can explain and the other one he chose. The reports this week have not been good.
19 graduates, from a department now rated 9 out of 20. Nothing about the academy appears in a result, and nothing about the club’s future exists without it.
Next up on the road: Great Olympics, position 15. The supporters who go will talk about it all week and the ones who do not will check their phones at ten to five.
The message was aimed at the stands as much as the dressing room: Abraham Kyereh plays, and the argument is closed until the manager decides otherwise.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around WAFA they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Thomas Atiemo 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 Nana Amoah 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.” 0‑1, a manager saying the necessary things, and a dressing room that heard a different version of them.
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.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Abraham Mensah will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around WAFA the goodbyes have quietly begun.
The deal with Liberty Professionals 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.
Thomas Atiemo 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 had been thinking. Nana Amoah 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 will confirm it and the team sheets confirm it every week. One error has bought him a spell as second choice that is already longer than the error deserved.
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. WAFA know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Afriyie Paintsil trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Abraham Mensah will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around WAFA 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 WAFA this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Nobody will confirm it and the team sheets confirm it every week. One error has bought him a spell as second choice that is already longer than the error deserved.
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. WAFA know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Abraham Mensah will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around WAFA the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Thomas Atiemo 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 had been thinking. Nana Amoah 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 will confirm it and the team sheets confirm it every week. One error has bought him a spell as second choice that is already longer than the error deserved.
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. WAFA know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
“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 WAFA will have to give him a reason to stay or an exit.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Afriyie Paintsil trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Thomas Atiemo 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 had been thinking. Nana Amoah 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.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at WAFA, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Nobody will confirm it and the team sheets confirm it every week. One error has bought him a spell as second choice that is already longer than the error deserved.
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. WAFA know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
A manager forgives a bad Saturday far more readily than a bad Tuesday, because one of them he can explain and the other one he chose. The reports this week have not been good.
“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 WAFA, and it is not being withdrawn.
Nana 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.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at WAFA, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Nana Amoah was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
In brief
The dugoutThe manager makes an example of Francis Amoah
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at WAFA this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Nobody will confirm it and the team sheets confirm it every week. One error has bought him a spell as second choice that is already longer than the error deserved.
A year in and the language has not come, the city has not opened up, and he eats alone more often than anybody at WAFA would like to admit. It is showing on Saturdays.
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. WAFA know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
“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 WAFA will have to give him a reason to stay or an exit.
“Judge me on him.” Managers do not say that kind of thing by accident — it moves the pressure from Andre Acquah’s shoulders onto his own, and both of them know it.
Position 11 on 34 points. Every season is a story and this is the last line of it, and now the club has three months to decide what the next one is about.
The unbeaten run reaches 6. Some of them were wins and some were escapes, but a side that refuses to lose is a side other dressing rooms talk about.
Squad24 Apr 2028
Nana Amoah 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 was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at WAFA this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Nana Amoah was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Successful dribbles: 16. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
The dugout17 Apr 2028
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.” Nana Schlupp chose the glass-half-full version of 0‑0; the supporters left with the other one.
The manager wanted a different profile for this opponent, which is a real football reason and no consolation. He did nothing wrong and he did not play.
Headers, blocks, tackles, interceptions — 9 of them, and not one goal behind him. The sort of performance that never makes a highlight reel and wins football matches.
Thomas Atiemo 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 had been thinking. Nana Amoah 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 month is long enough that nobody gets in by accident. Osman Nuhu is in the division's best eleven for it, which is a quieter compliment than an award and a more reliable one.
“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.
There were 89 minutes on the clock and New Edubiase United had all but banked the point. Football rarely reads the room, and WAFA did not stop to explain themselves.
Nana 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.
At 22 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.
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: a squad player. 1‑0 against New Edubiase United, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
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.
Some games turn on a moment; this one turned on a man. 7.97 on the card, and the WAFA support went home talking about one name.
The dugout20 Mar 2028
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.” Nana Schlupp, on a 1‑0 win that he was already picking apart on the walk to the press room.
A player who expected to start watched it instead. The manager will call it a decision for the team; Salim Uzair Baafada will call it something else in private.
Thomas Atiemo 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
Nana Amoah 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.
“There are things I liked and things we will be doing on Tuesday until they are right.” 1‑1, and a manager who had already decided what Tuesday looked like.
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.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Nana Amoah 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.
There was one mistake and it ended in the net. Defenders are judged on the worst thing they did rather than on the eighty-nine minutes either side of it, which is unfair and is also the job.
Andre Afful 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.
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” a squad player and WAFA agree another 3 years.
Squad21 Feb 2028
Nana Amoah 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 supporters are entitled to be angry. So am I. We will put it right.” 1‑2, 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.
Successful dribbles: 10. 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.
In brief
Loan watchThe goals keep arriving from Nana Paintsil’s exile
6 without a win is the sort of run that changes how a town talks about its club, and Great Olympics were the afternoon it stopped. Nothing is fixed by one result and everything feels different by one.
Squad14 Feb 2028
Nana Amoah 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.
A 2‑1 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.
Thomas Atiemo 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.
2 goals before the ground had finished arriving. Great Olympics spent the rest of the afternoon playing a match that had already been decided, and everybody in the stadium knew it.
“We earned that. I asked them for a reaction and I got one, and now I want the same again on Saturday.” Nana Schlupp on a 2‑1 afternoon that pleased him more than he was prepared to show.
6 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at WAFA has to find a result from somewhere.
Boardroom7 Feb 2028
Deadline passes with 0 signed and 2 gone
That is the business done at WAFA 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.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at WAFA this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Conceding is one thing; the response is what tells you about a dressing room. Andre Acquah had WAFA level again within 4 minutes, and Wa All Stars never got to play with a lead at all.
“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 dugout7 Feb 2028
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 1‑3 Nana Schlupp left the room before anybody could ask which.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Bernard Acquah trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Nobody at WAFA is suggesting he is out of form. The manager simply wanted somebody with a different set of qualities for ninety specific minutes, and there is nothing a player can train to fix that.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Nana Amoah 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 WAFA this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
“The supporters are entitled to be angry. So am I. We will put it right.” 1‑2, a manager saying the necessary things, and a dressing room that heard a different version of them.
1 error, one goal, and a night in front of the same three seconds. He will see it tonight, tomorrow and probably in February, and everybody who has played knows exactly which frame he keeps stopping on.
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.
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 22-year-old it feels ownership of. Bernard Acquah 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.
It finished 2‑0, and it was Yaw Boakye’s afternoon: on the scoresheet when it mattered, and the reason the points belong to WAFA.
Player ratings27 Dec 2027
Yaw Boakye was on a different afternoon to everybody else
8.20. 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.
“The players deserve the credit. My job was easy today.” It was not, and everybody in the room knew it; after 2‑0, Nana Schlupp could afford to be generous.
The manager wanted a different profile for this opponent, which is a real football reason and no consolation. He did nothing wrong and he did not play.
“The easiest signature of my career.” Osman Nuhu and WAFA agree another 5 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Squad13 Dec 2027
Nana Amoah 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 was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at WAFA this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
A 1‑0 win over Berekum Chelsea, earned rather than given, and the sort of afternoon that sends everyone home talking about next week instead of this one.
“We earned that. I asked them for a reaction and I got one, and now I want the same again on Saturday.” Nana Schlupp on a 1‑0 afternoon that pleased him more than he was prepared to show.
He used to wear the other shirt. On Saturday he plays against Heart of Lions in this one, and whatever he says this week about it being just another game will be untrue.
0‑3 against New Edubiase United, and no complaints that would survive the replay. The manager spoke about character afterwards; the terraces used shorter words.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at WAFA this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Not a run of form — an actual step up, held for months. At 19 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.
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.
The dugout6 Dec 2027
The view from the dugout
“We will look at it, we will learn from it, and we go again.” The three sentences every manager keeps for a 0‑3 defeat, delivered by Nana Schlupp to a room that had heard them before.
Osman Nuhu is 21, and for one weekend he was the best of everybody his age in the division. Nobody should build a career on it and everybody quietly does.
Nobody at WAFA is suggesting he is out of form. The manager simply wanted somebody with a different set of qualities for ninety specific minutes, and there is nothing a player can train to fix that.
Berekum Chelsea next, and one man in the WAFA dressing room knows their training ground better than his own. The reception will tell him what they thought of him.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Nana Amoah was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Thomas Atiemo 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 Nov 2027
Bernard Acquah is the division's best young player this month
At 21 he has spent a month being better than everybody his age in the league, which is a different and harder thing than one good afternoon. WAFA will try very hard not to make too much of it.
Minute 87, against Asante Kotoko, and a goal that felt like a win to everybody who had stayed. It was a draw. Nobody leaving the ground will describe it as one.
Four or five weekends of consistency, judged against everybody in the division doing his job. Osman Nuhu has come out of that comparison in the side, and WAFA have had the benefit of every one of those afternoons.
1‑1, and both dressing rooms will call it two points lost. A draw that asked plenty of questions and answered none of them.
The dugout8 Nov 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.” Nana Schlupp chose the glass-half-full version of 1‑1; the supporters left with the other one.
Bernard Acquah, 21, plays like he has been here for years — 8.08
A mark of 8.08 means one thing beside a twenty-nine-year-old's name and something else entirely beside a 21-year-old's. Nobody at the ground needed telling which this was.
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the whole of the defence. 6 saves, several of them the kind nobody expects to see made, and ten outfield players who owe him a drink.
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Bernard Acquah. 3‑1 against Liberty Professionals, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Nana Amoah 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.
Thomas Atiemo 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.
He is 20 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.
“The players deserve the credit. My job was easy today.” It was not, and everybody in the room knew it; after 3‑1, Nana Schlupp could afford to be generous.
In brief
The dugoutAbdul Yakubu dropped after a run of poor form
13 without a win is the sort of run that changes how a town talks about its club, and Great Olympics were the afternoon it stopped. Nothing is fixed by one result and everything feels different by one.
Nana 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.
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.
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.
“We earned that. I asked them for a reaction and I got one, and now I want the same again on Saturday.” Nana Schlupp on a 1‑0 afternoon that pleased him more than he was prepared to show.
13 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.
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the whole of the defence. 7 saves, several of them the kind nobody expects to see made, and ten outfield players who owe him a drink.
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” WAFA may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Squad18 Oct 2027
Nana Amoah 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 was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at WAFA this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 6 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
The hardest thing about being 21 in a senior side is that nobody makes allowances. Bernard Acquah did not need any: 7.76, and he looked the most comfortable man on the pitch.
A midfielder is measured on whether the team functions when he is on the pitch, which is nearly impossible to see and completely obvious in retrospect. 11 actions, 7.16, and a manager who will not be substituting him again in a hurry.
4 matches, no goals, and a training ground that has tried everything. It will end — droughts always do — but nobody at WAFA can tell you which week it ends in.
Squad27 Sep 2027
Nana Amoah 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.
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.
The dugout27 Sep 2027
The view from the dugout
“We will look at it, we will learn from it, and we go again.” The three sentences every manager keeps for a 0‑1 defeat, delivered by Nana Schlupp to a room that had heard them before.
In brief
The dugoutYaw Boakye asks for a word with the manager