Marked for Luther Mothiba
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
The dugout16 Nov 2026
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Platinum Stars may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Squad16 Nov 2026
Nkosi Gumede in a row with a teammate
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Platinum Stars this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad16 Nov 2026
Words at Platinum Stars training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Bongani Mothiba 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.
Squad16 Nov 2026
A muscle injury and 14 days out for Luther Mothiba
The most common injury in the game and the most rushed back from. Platinum Stars will quote 14 days and will be careful with it, because the second one is always worse than the first.
The dugout16 Nov 2026
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.
The dugout16 Nov 2026
Bryn Deeley asks for a word with the manager
“I would rather say it to his face than read about it.” The meeting was requested by the player, which tells you most of what you need to know.
Back issues
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Player ratings14 Sep 2026
Gift Mothiba beats them one at a time
Successful dribbles: 39. There was always a defender in front of him and there was never a defender in front of him for long.
Squad14 Sep 2026
2 kept out from twelve yards, and a stadium that will describe each of them for twenty years. A goalkeeper needs one night like this in a career, and this was it.
Match9 Sep 2026
Out, 1‑1 to Orlando Pirates, and the long argument about which of the small moments decided it. The league is all there is now, and everybody knows it.
Market14 Sep 2026
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Platinum Stars can pretend not to have heard.
Market14 Sep 2026
The offer from Bidvest Wits for Luther Mothiba 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.
Player ratings14 Sep 2026
Bongani Mothiba scored one and made one — 7.68
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. 7.68, and 2 involvements.
Squad14 Sep 2026
Nkosi Gumede 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.
Match12 Sep 2026
Whatever happens, Platinum Stars do not lose
6 games unbeaten now. Some were earned and some were survived, but a habit is forming — and habits are the hardest thing in football to play against.
Squad14 Sep 2026
Bongani Mothiba 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.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Player ratings31 Aug 2026
Gift Mothiba beats them one at a time
Successful dribbles: 26. There was always a defender in front of him and there was never a defender in front of him for long.
Market31 Aug 2026
“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.
Squad31 Aug 2026
Bongani Mothiba and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
The terraces31 Aug 2026
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.
The dugout31 Aug 2026
The manager makes an example of Khama Tau
“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.
Player ratings31 Aug 2026
Marked 7.94. Ask anyone leaving the ground what settled it and you will get one name, which is the only award that has ever really counted.
Transfer targets31 Aug 2026
All Boys 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.
In brief
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Squad
5 new faces, and Platinum Stars are still learning each other
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The dugout
The view from the dugout
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Market
The Teboho Billiat conversation is coming