Position 2, 67 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.
“I have ambitions, and I would like the club to share them.” Nobody has asked to leave and nobody has been shown the door — but a player chooses that sentence carefully, and a boardroom hears it exactly as it was meant.
“The easiest signature of my career.” Bruno Galván and SuperSport United agree another 2 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Thamsanqa Manyama 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. Themba Mphela 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 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.
Position 2, 67 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.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at SuperSport United this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Thamsanqa Manyama 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 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.
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 Mpho Mathebula has written the date down.
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Teboho Grobler signs something — a contract at SuperSport United or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
Everything was agreed until it was not, and Teboho Grobler reports back to SuperSport United with a summer to forget. Neither club is saying who walked away from the table.
“I was told what my role would be, and I signed on that basis. It has not happened.” A grievance with a date attached is the hardest kind to settle.
Boardroom7 Feb 2028
Deadline passes with 2 signed and 6 gone
That is the business done at SuperSport United 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.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Thamsanqa Manyama 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. Kaizer Chiefs have kept their man, and SuperSport United go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
The clubs have settled the fee and he has settled his wages. What remains is a medical and a photograph, and around SuperSport United people have started saying his name in the past tense.
There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. Thamsanqa Manyama provided it, and the 8.28 beside his name is if anything generous to everybody else.
The offer from Jomo Cosmos for Teboho Grobler 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.
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Thamsanqa Manyama 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.
The phone has started ringing about Kermit Williams again, and this time the name on the line is Tusker. SuperSport United are listening politely and promising nothing.
The hardest thing about being 20 in a senior side is that nobody makes allowances. Teboho Grobler did not need any: 7.62, and he looked the most comfortable man on the pitch.
The offer from Western Sydney Wanderers for Risen Albert 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.
A defender on the scoresheet, which happens rarely enough that everybody in the ground remembers who took the corner. 1 for him, and a mark of 7.81 for the rest of 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 SuperSport United 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 SuperSport United 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.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Kaizer Chiefs have kept their man, and SuperSport United go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. SuperSport United will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
The fee was agreed and the flight was looked at — and then the phone stopped ringing. Jomo Cosmos moved on, Teboho Grobler reports back to SuperSport United, and everybody pretends Monday is just Monday.
The deadline has passed and the squad is the squad. 12 arrived, 11 left, and everything else printed about this club last month was a rumour that stayed one.
“I want to be playing for trophies while my legs still let me.” Nothing in that sentence is a transfer request, and nobody at SuperSport United heard it as anything else.
Thamsanqa Manyama 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.
Form comes and goes; this has not gone. Lucan Louw is 21, and the version of him training now would not have got into the side he was in a year ago.
Squad6 Sep 2027
Themba Mphela 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.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason SuperSport United will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
The name of Teboho Grobler has come up in conversations SuperSport United were not part of. Nothing formal, nothing signed — but nothing about it accidental either.
The number the board signed off was not enough. It has been asked again and raised its own offer to $901.1K — a club that wants Rushwin Dortley enough to be asked twice.
SuperSport United have gone to Golden Arrows 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 SuperSport United this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. SuperSport United will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
“I listened, I thought about it, and I am staying. That is the whole story.” The clubs had agreed a fee. Risen Albert had not agreed to go, which turned out to be the part that mattered.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what SuperSport United 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 SuperSport United this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Add another name to the list: Orlando Pirates have asked the question everybody in the game has been asking about Kermit Lorch. The answer from SuperSport United has not changed — yet.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Themba Mphela was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
He is 22 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 phone has started ringing about Teboho Grobler again, and this time the name on the line is ADO Den Haag. SuperSport United are listening politely and promising nothing.
Thamsanqa Manyama and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad26 Jul 2027
Themba Mphela 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.
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Teboho Tau and SuperSport United agree another 4 years.
10 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.
Nobody at SuperSport United 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.
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.
“I know what people will say. I know what I want, and it is here.” Melgar had the fee agreed and the shirt ready; they did not have the player, and now they will not.
The offer from Hearts of Oak for Kermit Lorch 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.
At 20 he is doing things this season that he could not do last season, and doing them every week. Form comes and goes; this has stayed long enough to be called something else.
It is the rarest sequence in football: supporters ask for something, and the club goes and does it. $840.0K for Risen Albert, and for one week nobody is complaining about anything.
Everybody at SuperSport United saw it before anybody said it, which is how this always goes. At 36 the decline is real and measurable — 3 points — and the only question left is how the club handles somebody it owes a great deal to.
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Lucan Louw and SuperSport United agree another 4 years.
A medical, a signature, a shirt held up in front of a sponsor’s board. SuperSport United have done the hard part with Kaizer Chiefs, and the part that remains is the part supporters actually see.
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Khama Dolly and SuperSport United agree another 5 years.
Thamsanqa Manyama 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.
Keagan Mphela was the name on every phone-in, and the club has gone and signed him for $3.5M. For one week the board can do no wrong, which is a week most boards never get.
Squad14 Jun 2027
Themba Mphela 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.
Thamsanqa Manyama 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 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.
Squad24 May 2027
Themba Mphela 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.
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 Thamsanqa Manyama is on it.
50 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.
Thamsanqa Manyama 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.
Squad26 Apr 2027
Themba Mphela 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 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.
50 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 24 games at Black Aces — numbers that travel home faster than he does. Somebody at SuperSport United updates a spreadsheet every Monday, and it makes better reading each week.
Nothing in writing and nothing in public: a word about playing time, given face to face at SuperSport United. The team sheets over the next month will show whether it was worth having.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Samkelo Mzolo trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
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.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at SuperSport United this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Something was said to Philani Khumalo and then it happened. In this industry that passes for remarkable, and the dressing room noticed faster than any supporter could.
Nobody at SuperSport United 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.
Position 5 on 50 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.
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Teboho Grobler signs something — a contract at SuperSport United or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
“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 SuperSport United will have to give him a reason to stay or an exit.
In brief
Loan watchThe goals keep arriving from Kermit Lorch’s exile
“It was not right for me. I am not going to explain why to anybody except the people I owe an explanation to.” A deal agreed between two clubs, and a player who declined to be part of it.
Bruno Galván 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 Feb 2027
Themba Mphela 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.
Nobody at SuperSport United 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 clubs have settled the fee and he has settled his wages. What remains is a medical and a photograph, and around SuperSport United 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 SuperSport United, and it is not being withdrawn.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, and a scan that said otherwise. He goes back to Chippa United; SuperSport United go back to the market; and both will insist there is no story here.
At 19 he is doing things this season that he could not do last season, and doing them every week. Form comes and goes; this has stayed long enough to be called something else.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at SuperSport United 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 Tsiki Ntsabeleng was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
“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 SuperSport United, and it is not being withdrawn.
The deal with Chippa 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.
Thamsanqa Manyama 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.
Two sides from the top of the table, one afternoon, and a month of talk decided in ninety minutes. SuperSport United will not use the word title this week and will not stop thinking it.
Thamsanqa Manyama 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. Themba Mphela 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.
Everybody at SuperSport United saw it before anybody said it, which is how this always goes. At 36 the decline is real and measurable — 3 points — and the only question left is how the club handles somebody it owes a great deal to.
“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.
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 was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at SuperSport United this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Mamelodi Sundowns 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.
Squad16 Nov 2026
Themba Mphela 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.
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 Thamsanqa Manyama is on it.
He used to wear the other shirt. On Saturday he plays against Mamelodi Sundowns in this one, and whatever he says this week about it being just another game will be untrue.
3 goals in 9 games at Black Aces — numbers that travel home faster than he does. Somebody at SuperSport United updates a spreadsheet every Monday, and it makes better reading each week.
“Some mornings you wake up and you are still a long way from everything you know.” It is not the football and it never was; SuperSport United are dealing with a man who wants a different country.
The board have answered with money instead of encouragement, which is the only answer a manager ever wants. Spending it well is now entirely his problem.
“I watch every SuperSport United game from here. That says everything about where my head is.” The loan at Black Aces runs its course, but his heart never made the trip.
Four or five weekends of consistency, measured against everybody else in the division. A quieter compliment than an award and a more reliable one.
The dugout2 Nov 2026
The manager’s verdict
“I am not going to get carried away and I will not let them either. It was a good day. There will be harder ones.” Itumeleng Mothiba kept it short after the 1‑0 win, which is what managers do when they are happy.
Nobody at SuperSport United 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.
In brief
SquadThamsanqa Manyama watches a signing take the shirt he was promised
The dugoutSomebody else is better right now than Khama Zungu
Thamsanqa Manyama 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.
Everybody at SuperSport United saw it before anybody said it, which is how this always goes. At 35 the decline is real and measurable — 3 points — and the only question left is how the club handles somebody it owes a great deal to.
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Teboho Tau and SuperSport United agree another 4 years.
“We keep meeting, and we keep leaving the room with the same numbers we walked in with.” Another round of talks at SuperSport United, another week without a signature from Haji Mnoga.
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.
3 goals in 5 games at Black Aces — numbers that travel home faster than he does. Somebody at SuperSport United updates a spreadsheet every Monday, and it makes better reading each week.
$3.9M is a serious amount of money and it does not play centre-forward. Everybody in the dressing room knows who used to be looked at when it went wrong.
“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 SuperSport United, and it is not being withdrawn.
The last thing about a transfer that is still about the player is his signature on his own terms, and it is there. SuperSport United have lost him in all but the paperwork.
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. SuperSport United will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
He is going to Zamalek, the club has $3.9M it did not have on Friday, and the phone-ins have already decided how they feel about that. Selling well and selling somebody they loved are not the same skill.
The offer went to Golden Arrows this week and it is theirs to answer. First bids are rarely meant to succeed; they are meant to find out how loud the door closes.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Kairat have kept their man, and SuperSport United go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
The number the board signed off was not enough. It has been asked again and raised its own offer to $1.0M — a club that wants Sazi Gumbi enough to be asked twice.