Erick Phiri

Central Midfielder - AS Police
28 Mar 2027
Sunday
Process

Marked for Erick Phiri

11 Edition

The AS Police Sentinel

12 Oct 2026
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Squad

A fracture rules Iván Cetrini out for 67 days

Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason AS Police will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.

Squad

Lebo Mohlala is a better footballer than he was

Not a run of form — an actual step up, held for months. At 22 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.

Squad

Oumar Koné 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 AS Police this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Player ratings

Lyle Chatburn runs at them all day

Successful dribbles: 21. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.

Squad

A late step up for Kwenzakwenkosi Mbatha

At 26 the improving is meant to be over. It is not: 4 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.

Player ratings

Mamadou Sidibé ran the game

Chances created: 14. Not on the scoresheet and not remotely anonymous — a passing performance that pulled a defence apart without leaving a mark on the column that gets read.

In brief

Back issues
9 Edition

The AS Police Sentinel

28 Sep 2026
From our football correspondent Steady

Squad

A fracture rules Iván Cetrini out for 81 days

Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason AS Police will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.

Squad

Daouda Togola is a better footballer than he was

Not a run of form — an actual step up, held for months. At 18 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.

Squad

Mohir Komilov stays put

“The easiest signature of my career.” Mohir Komilov and AS Police agree another 3 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.

In brief

8 Edition

The Free State Stars Chronicle

21 Sep 2026
From our football correspondent Crisis

Player ratings

Nobody could get near Siyabonga Manyama

Successful dribbles: 25. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.

Boardroom

Thamsanqa Dolly has agreed to leave Free State Stars for nothing

He will play here until the summer and then walk out of the door for free, having already signed elsewhere. Supporters will manage the first part of that sentence; it is the second they will struggle with.

Market

Thamsanqa Dolly is on his way

The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Free State Stars is pretending he will be back in the shirt.

Squad

Tempers go at Free State Stars

Erick Billiat 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.

Squad

Basil Mphahlele gets it from the manager

“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.

Match

A bad afternoon for Free State Stars against Golden Arrows

0‑1 to Golden Arrows, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.

In brief

6 Edition

The Free State Stars Chronicle

7 Sep 2026
From our football correspondent Crisis

Match

A hiding for Free State Stars

Beaten 0‑3 by Platinum Stars, and beaten everywhere it matters. The inquest starts on the training pitch on Monday morning.

Market

Erick Phiri hands in a written request

“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Free State Stars can pretend not to have heard.

Match

4 matches without a win for Free State Stars

The run now stands at 4, and the questions being asked around Free State Stars are no longer polite ones.

Match

4 matches without a goal for Free State Stars

The chances are being made and something is happening between the making and the finishing. 4 matches now, and the anxiety in the ground arrives a little earlier every week.

Squad

Tempers go at Free State Stars

Erick Billiat 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.

Squad

Sandile Khumalo gets it from the manager

“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.

Boardroom

Doors closed at Free State Stars

The music was off and the showers ran late. What was said in that dressing room stays there, but Saturday will publish the minutes.

Squad

Themba Phiri named in the team of the month

A month is long enough that nobody gets in by accident. Themba Phiri is in the division's best eleven for it, which is a quieter compliment than an award and a more reliable one.

Squad

Gift Furman handed the armband

The captaincy goes to Gift Furman. It is not a job that wins matches, but a dressing room always notices who is given it.

In brief