Marked for Keagan Kekana
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Match12 Sep 2029
Bloemfontein Celtic ended it 0‑2. The season narrows to the league now, and everyone in the ground knew it before the final whistle.
Squad17 Sep 2029
Thulani Phiri 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 dugout17 Sep 2029
This is not rotation. Keagan Kekana has not been in the manager's plans for some time, and nobody at Platinum Stars is pretending otherwise.
Match15 Sep 2029
3 games without scoring. Strikers stop looking up, midfielders take the extra touch, and every shot that clears the bar is followed by a groan that has been building since the last goal.
The dugout17 Sep 2029
“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 dugout17 Sep 2029
“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 dugout17 Sep 2029
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.
Player ratings17 Sep 2029
Successful dribbles: 12. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Market17 Sep 2029
“They were honest with me, and I would rather know.” Evidence Grobler has been informed he is not in the manager's thinking at Platinum Stars.
Back issues
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market3 Sep 2029
“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 The request is on a desk at Platinum Stars, and it is not being withdrawn.
Boardroom3 Sep 2029
Deadline passes with 17 signed and 16 gone
That is the business done at Platinum Stars 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.
The dugout3 Sep 2029
This is not rotation. Thulani Dolly has not been in the manager's plans for some time, and nobody at Platinum Stars is pretending otherwise.
Transfer targets3 Sep 2029
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Levski have kept their man, and Platinum Stars go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Squad3 Sep 2029
Andile Dala 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.
Match1 Sep 2029
Beaten 0‑1, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
The dugout3 Sep 2029
The manager makes an example of Erick Zwane
“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 dugout3 Sep 2029
“I could talk about decisions and I could talk about luck. I will not. We lost.” The manager, 0‑1, and a press conference that lasted four minutes.
Squad3 Sep 2029
Keagan Kekana makes the team of the month
Four or five weekends of consistency, measured against everybody else in the division. A quieter compliment than an award and a more reliable one.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Transfer targets27 Aug 2029
Everything agreed with Mamelodi Sundowns, everything agreed with the player; a doctor is the only person left to persuade. The photograph is a day or two away.
Squad27 Aug 2029
Thulani Phiri 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.
Transfer targets27 Aug 2029
The approach was made and the answer came back in a sentence. There is no number on the table because there was no number that would have been enough.
Match25 Aug 2029
A 1‑0 win over Chippa United, earned rather than given, and the sort of afternoon that sends everyone home talking about next week instead of this one.
Squad27 Aug 2029
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Keagan Kekana and Platinum Stars agree another 3 years.
Player ratings27 Aug 2029
Some games turn on a moment; this one turned on a man. 7.89 on the card, and the Platinum Stars support went home talking about one name.
Player ratings27 Aug 2029
Successful dribbles: 15. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Transfer targets27 Aug 2029
Mamelodi Sundowns 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.
The dugout27 Aug 2029
“We earned that. I asked them for a reaction and I got one, and now I want the same again on Saturday.” Siyabonga Vilakazi on a 1‑0 afternoon that pleased him more than he was prepared to show.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad20 Aug 2029
6 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.
Squad20 Aug 2029
Khama Phiri and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Transfer targets20 Aug 2029
Platinum Stars asked and ZTE said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
Match18 Aug 2029
0‑1 to Kaizer Chiefs, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.
The dugout20 Aug 2029
This is not rotation. Keagan Kekana has not been in the manager's plans for some time, and nobody at Platinum Stars is pretending otherwise.
The dugout20 Aug 2029
“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 Aug 2029
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 Siyabonga Vilakazi to a room that had heard them before.
The dugout20 Aug 2029
Thulani Phiri 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.
Squad20 Aug 2029
Off the academy pitches and into a senior shirt, at 15. The parents in the stand will keep the programme, and so will he.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Match11 Aug 2029
0‑3 against Orlando Pirates, and no complaints that would survive the replay. The manager spoke about character afterwards; the terraces used shorter words.
The dugout13 Aug 2029
Siyabonga Dolly: that is not what I was promised
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Platinum Stars have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Transfer targets13 Aug 2029
Terms were offered and declined. Whether it was the wages, the role or the town, nobody at Mamelodi Sundowns is saying, and nobody at Platinum Stars is enjoying the guessing.
Squad13 Aug 2029
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.
Transfer targets13 Aug 2029
The approach was made and the answer came back in a sentence. There is no number on the table because there was no number that would have been enough.
The dugout13 Aug 2029
This is not rotation. Evidence Lorch has not been in the manager's plans for some time, and nobody at Platinum Stars is pretending otherwise.
Squad13 Aug 2029
“The easiest signature of my career.” Dean Tau and Platinum Stars agree another 3 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
The dugout13 Aug 2029
The manager makes an example of Tloto Leepile
“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.
Boardroom13 Aug 2029
The music was off and the showers ran late. What was said in that dressing room stays there, but Saturday will publish the minutes.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad9 Jul 2029
Thulani Phiri and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Transfer targets9 Jul 2029
The approach was made and the answer came back in a sentence. There is no number on the table because there was no number that would have been enough.
The dugout9 Jul 2029
This is not rotation. Evidence Lorch has not been in the manager's plans for some time, and nobody at Platinum Stars is pretending otherwise.
Squad9 Jul 2029
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Evidence Grobler and Platinum Stars agree another 3 years.
Transfer targets9 Jul 2029
Platinum Stars have made the call to Mamelodi Sundowns. No fee, a share of the wages, and a spare shirt in the position where the squad has been thinnest all season.
Transfer targets9 Jul 2029
A loan enquiry to Hertha BSC: cover, or a look at somebody the club cannot afford to buy yet. Either way the answer will come back inside the week.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad4 Jun 2029
Khama Phiri 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.
Squad4 Jun 2029
Cebisa Ndlovu 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 dugout4 Jun 2029
“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.
Squad4 Jun 2029
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Keagan Kekana commits to Platinum Stars for another 3 years.
Transfer targets4 Jun 2029
Exeter City 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.
Transfer targets4 Jun 2029
Mamelodi Sundowns 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.
The dugout4 Jun 2029
Something was said to Evidence Lorch and then it happened. In this industry that passes for remarkable, and the dressing room noticed faster than any supporter could.
Market4 Jun 2029
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Platinum Stars know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market20 Nov 2028
“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.
Squad20 Nov 2028
Khama Phiri 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.
Looking ahead20 Nov 2028
Every squad has one of these fixtures for somebody every season. This one is Andile Dala’s: the club that knew him first, the supporters who will decide in the first minute whether to applaud, and Platinum Stars needing him to play as if none of it matters.
The dugout20 Nov 2028
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Lebogang Billiat trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Squad20 Nov 2028
“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 Platinum Stars will have to answer with minutes or with a transfer.