Marked for Sifiso Zungu
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market31 May 2027
Sifiso Zungu 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 Black Aces can pretend not to have heard.
The dugout31 May 2027
This is not rotation. Andile Manyama has not been in the manager's plans for some time, and nobody at Black Aces is pretending otherwise.
Squad31 May 2027
Thulani Zwane and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Boardroom31 May 2027
Nothing happens for months and then he simply arrives, at no cost, having signed a pre-contract while still turning out for somebody else. It is the least dramatic way to sign a footballer and frequently the shrewdest.
Squad31 May 2027
A row about effort at Black Aces
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Andile Manyama was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Squad31 May 2027
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Evidence Zwane and Black Aces agree another 3 years.
The dugout31 May 2027
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Black Aces, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Squad31 May 2027
He is not being dropped. There is simply nowhere in the formation Black Aces are playing to put a man who does what he does, which is a harder thing to be told than any team sheet.
The dugout31 May 2027
The manager makes an example of Williams Kekana
“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.
Back issues
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad17 May 2027
Jayden Adams 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.
Squad17 May 2027
Words at Black Aces training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Thulani Mabaso 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 dugout17 May 2027
The manager makes an example of Kermit Lorch
“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.
Loan watch17 May 2027
“I am grateful for the games, but I did not become a footballer to be somebody else's spare part.” He wants to be at Black Aces, and 5 appearances in 15 say he has earned the hearing.
Market17 May 2027
The Wandile Duba story refuses to die
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Wandile Duba signs something — a contract at Black Aces or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
Market17 May 2027
Black Aces have let the market know Andile Manyama can be had. No price in the advert, but everyone in the trade knows roughly what it says.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad26 Apr 2027
Jayden Adams 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.
Squad26 Apr 2027
A row about effort at Black Aces
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Thulani Mabaso was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The dugout26 Apr 2027
The manager makes an example of Andile Lorch
“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.
Market26 Apr 2027
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Black Aces know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
Loan watch26 Apr 2027
27 starts now, an average of 6.60, and the team sheet at Maritzburg United has stopped being a question. Exactly what everybody signed up for.
The dugout26 Apr 2027
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Gosiame Ngobeni trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market5 Apr 2027
“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 Black Aces, and it is not being withdrawn.
The dugout5 Apr 2027
“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.
Squad5 Apr 2027
Jayden Adams and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad5 Apr 2027
Ronwen Mphela is a better footballer than he was
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.
Squad5 Apr 2027
Thulani Mabaso 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.
Loan watch5 Apr 2027
“I am grateful for the games, but I did not become a footballer to be somebody else's spare part.” He wants to be at Black Aces, and 5 appearances in 9 say he has earned the hearing.
The dugout5 Apr 2027
Lebogang Billiat 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.
Squad5 Apr 2027
Nothing is announced when this happens and everybody knows. He is a bigger part of the plan at Black Aces than he was a month ago, and the training ground worked that out before the team sheet said so.
Market5 Apr 2027
The name of Mandla Billiat keeps appearing in other people's back pages. Black Aces say nothing, which says plenty.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Market8 Mar 2027
“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.
Squad8 Mar 2027
Jayden Adams and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Match6 Mar 2027
Beaten 0‑2, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
The dugout8 Mar 2027
Jayden Adams 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.
Player ratings8 Mar 2027
Successful dribbles: 18. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Squad8 Mar 2027
Words at Black Aces training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Thabo Mokwena 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 dugout8 Mar 2027
“The supporters are entitled to be angry. So am I. We will put it right.” 0‑2, a manager saying the necessary things, and a dressing room that heard a different version of them.
Squad8 Mar 2027
Morgan Tau is the weekend's best young player
At 19 he is being measured against the rest of the division's kids and coming out in front. The senior version of this award is where the club would like this to lead.
Looking ahead8 Mar 2027
Every squad has one of these fixtures for somebody every season. This one is Andile Lorch’s: the club that knew him first, the supporters who will decide in the first minute whether to applaud, and Black Aces needing him to play as if none of it matters.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad21 Dec 2026
Jayden Adams 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 Black Aces this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad21 Dec 2026
Words at Black Aces training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Thulani Mabaso 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.
Match19 Dec 2026
It finished 1‑0, and it was Mandla Billiat’s afternoon: on the scoresheet when it mattered, and the reason the points belong to Black Aces.
The dugout21 Dec 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.” Morgan Kekana kept it short after the 1‑0 win, which is what managers do when they are happy.
The dugout21 Dec 2026
“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.
Looking ahead21 Dec 2026
A test against the best for Black Aces
The team at the top of the table next, and the honest measure of where this side actually is. Anybody can beat the club below them; the question is what happens against Mamelodi Sundowns.
Squad21 Dec 2026
At 19 he was the best of everybody his age in the division for one weekend. Nobody should build a career on it and everybody quietly does.
Looking ahead21 Dec 2026
Every squad has one of these fixtures for somebody every season. This one is Jayden Adams’s: the club that knew him first, the supporters who will decide in the first minute whether to applaud, and Black Aces needing him to play as if none of it matters.
Market21 Dec 2026
The Wandile Duba talk will not go away
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Black Aces know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.