“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Inter Allies can pretend not to have heard.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Oko Onyedika was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
New Edubiase United next, and one man in the Inter Allies dressing room knows their training ground better than his own. The reception will tell him what they thought of him.
The clubs have settled the fee and he has settled his wages. What remains is a medical and a photograph, and around Inter Allies 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 The request is on a desk at Inter Allies, and it is not being withdrawn.
Boardroom6 Sep 2027
Deadline passes with 10 signed and 0 gone
That is the business done at Inter Allies 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.
Not a run of form — an actual step up, held for months. At 20 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.
Inter Allies have gone to BA All Stars 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.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Inter Allies this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
5 boys move up, and somewhere in the building the people who coached them at twelve are quietly having the best morning of their working year. Nothing about this shows up in a result and it is why the academy exists.
At 29 the improving is meant to be over. It is not: 3 points better than the mark taken at the start of the year, which is the sort of thing that happens to players who take the boring parts of the job seriously.
There is no fee, no unveiling and no agent on the steps. Harrison Sulemana has been at this club since he was a boy and is now, formally, one of the first-team squad — which for a local readership beats any signing of any size.
“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 Inter Allies, and it is not being withdrawn.
Form comes and goes; this has not gone. Salihu Nasiru is 20, and the version of him training now would not have got into the side he was in a year ago.
The deal with Bechem United 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.
At 29 the improving is meant to be over. It is not: 3 points better than the mark taken at the start of the year, which is the sort of thing that happens to players who take the boring parts of the job seriously.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Oko Onyedika was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The phone has started ringing about Saidu Lawan again, and this time the name on the line is BA All Stars. Inter Allies are listening politely and promising nothing.
“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 Inter Allies, and it is not being withdrawn.
Oshobe Oladele 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.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Bechem United have kept their man, and Inter Allies go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Robert Lartey was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Everything agreed with Asante Kotoko, 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 Berekum Chelsea is saying, and nobody at Inter Allies is enjoying the guessing.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Berekum Chelsea have kept their man, and Inter Allies go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Oko Onyedika was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Abeiku Owusu 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 system has changed and his position has not. A footballer can improve his form; he cannot improve the manager’s formation, and that is the whole of the problem.
Signings arrive with a picture of the club in their head, and this one’s picture was bigger than the building. He will play well and he will be gone, in that order, and everybody knows it.
He is 19, and nobody at Inter Allies signed him for this season. Deals like this are judged in four years, by people who may not still be in the building.
In brief
The dugoutWisdom Magbisa has become a man the manager trusts
The dugoutEnock Afram knocks on the manager's door
“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.
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 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 has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Andrew Kudus signs something — a contract at WAFA or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Francis Afful trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Squad14 Jun 2027
Questions about Baba Schlupp 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.
“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.
Jonathan 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.
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Jonathan Atiemo 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.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Kamaldeen Inusah trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
53 points from position 5. The title is somebody else’s business and the drop is somebody else’s problem; what is left is the argument about passports.
3 goals in 21 games at New Edubiase United — numbers that travel home faster than he does. Somebody at WAFA updates a spreadsheet every Monday, and it makes better reading each week.
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.
30 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Inter Allies lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Haruna Abubakar 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.
Squad17 May 2027
Words at Inter Allies training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Oko Onyedika 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.
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 Wisdom Magbisa is on it.
“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.
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.
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Andrew Kudus signs something — a contract at WAFA or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
“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.
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.
14 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. WAFA lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at WAFA, and it is not being withdrawn.
Joseph Mensah 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.
Position 5 on 53 points, and the places that carry a European ticket are close enough to count. Seasons like this are decided by two results in April, and the club knows which two.
3 goals in 21 games at New Edubiase United — numbers that travel home faster than he does. Somebody at WAFA updates a spreadsheet every Monday, and it makes better reading each week.
49 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. WAFA lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
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.
Position 6, 41 points, and a run-in that decides whether next season has Thursday nights in it. Nobody is calling it a race yet, which is what people say during one.
Next up on the road: Berekum Chelsea, position 9. The supporters who go will talk about it all week and the ones who do not will check their phones at ten to five.
In brief
SquadAndrew Kudus makes the division’s eleven — 7.42
Ebuka Ogbonna 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.
A deal that was a phone call from completion at lunchtime was dead by midnight. Inter Allies will try again when the window opens; Liberty Professionals may not be selling by then.
Successful dribbles: 19. 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.
Marked 8.27 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.
Squad8 Feb 2027
Words at Inter Allies training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Elvis Addo 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.
Something was said to Sadiq Ali and then it happened. In this industry that passes for remarkable, and the dressing room noticed faster than any supporter could.
34 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Inter Allies lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
The 87th minute, half the ground already edging towards the exits, and Ebuka Ogbonna decided nobody was going anywhere. Liberty Professionals had no time left to answer.
The deal with Bechem United 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.
One scored and one made, which is a different afternoon from scoring twice and an easier one to overlook. Marked 7.78, and involved in 2 of his side's goals.
Oshobe Oladele 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.
Squad11 Jan 2027
Oko Onyedika falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
At 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.
84 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Inter Allies lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Oshobe Oladele 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.
Squad23 Nov 2026
Words at Inter Allies training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Oko Onyedika 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.
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 Wisdom Magbisa is on it.
91 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Inter Allies lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
Oshobe Oladele 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 Elvis Addo was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Hearts of Oak next, and one man in the Inter Allies dressing room knows their training ground better than his own. The reception will tell him what they thought of him.
105 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Inter Allies lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
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.
At 19 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.
“We earned that. I asked them for a reaction and I got one, and now I want the same again on Saturday.” Amos Kudus on a 2‑1 afternoon that pleased him more than he was prepared to show.
In brief
SquadKwadwo Baba falls out with a teammate over standards
The dugoutSadiq Ali asks for a word with the manager
135 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Inter Allies lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
7 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.
Player ratings5 Oct 2026
Abeiku Owusu, 19, plays like he has been here for years — 8.11
A mark of 8.11 means one thing beside a twenty-nine-year-old's name and something else entirely beside a 19-year-old's. Nobody at the ground needed telling which this was.
Two of the goals had his name somewhere on them, which is the afternoon a manager wants from anybody asked to both create and finish. 7.94, and 2 involvements.
At 19 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.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Elvis Addo was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
142 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Inter Allies lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
Not a run of form — an actual step up, held for months. At 20 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.
Oshobe Oladele and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Squad28 Sep 2026
Oko Onyedika 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 Bechem United, earned rather than given, and the sort of afternoon that sends everyone home talking about next week instead of this one.
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.21, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Player ratings28 Sep 2026
Wisdom Magbisa was on a different afternoon to everybody else
8.10. 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.
16 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Inter Allies lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Inter Allies 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 Chibueze Ezeifule was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
“There is a gap, and pretending there is not helps nobody.” Neither side has moved, and the calendar is working for exactly one of them.
The dugout14 Sep 2026
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 Amos Kudus left the room before anybody could ask which.
“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 Inter Allies will have to answer with minutes or with a transfer.
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. WAFA will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
“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.
The offer from Victoria United for a squad player 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.
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.
Joseph Mensah 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.
Oshobe Oladele 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.
He is doing his job and he is not settling. Inter Allies were supposed to be a step up in his own reckoning, and his own reckoning has been adjusted since he arrived.
22 signings in three months. Every one of them may be an upgrade and the team can still be worse for a while, which is the part of a rebuild that never appears in the transfer-window verdicts.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason WAFA will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
The offer from Ashanti Gold for Gladson Adjei 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.
The clubs have settled the fee and he has settled his wages. What remains is a medical and a photograph, and around WAFA people have started saying his name in the past tense.
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 Andrew Kudus was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Fee agreed, wages agreed, and BA All Stars waiting with a shirt. Nobody at WAFA is pretending otherwise, and the supporters have stopped asking whether and started asking when.
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 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.