Nassar Koulelengar 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 thought about how hard another man trains, and Youssouf Mbainaissem was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
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.
Not a run of form — an actual step up, held for months. At 23 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.
Nassar Koulelengar 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.
Careers are supposed to plateau and then decline, and the players who ignore that are always the ones who were listening on the training ground. 3 points of it, over months, at an age where the direction normally only goes one way.
AS PSI asked and AS Algoy said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
7 new signings in one window. Every one may be an upgrade and the side can still be worse for a while, which is the part of a rebuild the verdicts never mention.
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 Haroun Abakar is on it.
A bad atmosphere can be waited out. A group of people meeting afterwards to decide what to do about it cannot, and everybody in the building knows which stage this is.
Boardroom23 Aug 2027
The silence upstairs is getting loud at US Moursal
Nobody on the board has said anything against the manager, which is the point — they have stopped saying anything for him either.
“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 The request is on a desk at US Moursal, and it is not being withdrawn.
Fee agreed, wages agreed, and AS PSI waiting with a shirt. Nobody at US Moursal is pretending otherwise, and the supporters have stopped asking whether and started asking when.
A medical, a signature, a shirt held up in front of a sponsor’s board. US Moursal have done the hard part with AS Algoy, and the part that remains is the part supporters actually see.
At 30 the improving is meant to be over. It is not: 3 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.
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.
Careers are supposed to plateau and then decline, and the players who ignore that are always the ones who were listening on the training ground. 3 points of it, over months, at an age where the direction normally only goes one way.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Youssouf Mbainaissem was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
“I watch every AS PSI game from here. That says everything about where my head is.” The loan at Aiglons runs its course, but his heart never made the trip.
Nobody at AS PSI 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 12 and 9 points, and the table gets read bottom-up in this part of town. The calendar has stopped being a schedule and started being a countdown.
“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 US Moursal, and it is not being withdrawn.
US Moursal asked and Elect Sport said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
At 24 the improving is meant to be over. It is not: 3 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.
“I watch every US Moursal game from here. That says everything about where my head is.” The loan at Elect Sport runs its course, but his heart never made the trip.
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 PSI this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
AS PSI asked and US Moursal said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Adam Bechir was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Nobody at AS PSI 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.
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Gabkala Daba signs something — a contract at AS PSI or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Galactik will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
Everything was agreed with US Moursal and then the doctor spoke. Galactik have walked away from a signing on the advice of somebody who never saw him play, which is how it is supposed to work.
Ousmane Biani 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.
6 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.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Galactik, and both men came out saying it was fine.
The board’s statement ran to three sentences and one of them mentioned results. Abdoulaye Moustapha has managed long enough to translate: win soon, or the next statement is shorter.
The deal that would have taken Mahamat Mbaiguedem to Galactik has collapsed at the last stage, and he reports back to US Moursal with a summer to forget and a season still to play. Nobody is saying which side walked away.
“I was told straight, and I would rather have it straight.” The manager at US Moursal has been clear about where Moussa Oumar stands, which is more than many ever get.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Galactik will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
A medical, a signature, a shirt held up in front of a sponsor’s board. Galactik have done the hard part with US Moursal, and the part that remains is the part supporters actually see.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. AS Algoy have kept their man, and Galactik go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
A bad atmosphere can be waited out. A group of people meeting afterwards to decide what to do about it cannot, and everybody in the building knows which stage this is.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what US Moursal can pretend not to have heard.
AS PSI paid $19.0K and US Moursal took it, which is the whole story in one sentence. The longer version involves a wage budget and will be told all season.
Idriss Oumar 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.
US Moursal have made the call to AS Algoy. No fee, a share of the wages, and a spare shirt in the position where the squad has been thinnest all season.
“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.
The phone has started ringing about Saleh Hissein again, and this time the name on the line is AS PSI. US Moursal are listening politely and promising nothing.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Gazelle have kept their man, and US Moursal go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
US Moursal have made the call to Gazelle. No fee, a share of the wages, and a spare shirt in the position where the squad has been thinnest all season.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at US Moursal, and both men came out saying it was fine.
In brief
SquadWords at US Moursal training over how hard people work
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 14 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
The last thing about a transfer that is still about the player is his signature on his own terms, and it is there. US Moursal have lost him in all but the paperwork.
“I listened, I thought about it, and I am staying. That is the whole story.” The clubs had agreed a fee. Adam Mbaiguedem had not agreed to go, which turned out to be the part that mattered.
Add another name to the list: Aiglons have asked the question everybody in the game has been asking about Narcisse Adoum. The answer from US Moursal has not changed — yet.
Everything agreed with AS Etat Major, everything agreed with the player; a doctor is the only person left to persuade. The photograph is a day or two away.
Yannick Ndilabaye 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.
US Moursal 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.
Squad5 Jul 2027
6 new faces, and Galactik are still learning each other
A squad rebuilt inside one window pays for it in a currency nobody budgets for. The football is not worse than the sum of the players; it is worse than the sum of the players who have played together before.
None of them will be seen by anybody outside the training ground for three years, most of them will never play a senior match, and one of them might change the club. That is the whole proposition, and it is why academies exist.
A new face in his position, and Yannick Ndilabaye suddenly has to win back what he thought he owned. Galactik have promised nothing — clubs rarely do at this stage.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 21 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what US Moursal can pretend not to have heard.
Everything agreed with AS Etat Major, everything agreed with the player; a doctor is the only person left to persuade. The photograph is a day or two away.
US Moursal asked and Foullah Edifice said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
Youssouf Doungous 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.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Galactik 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 Galactik this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Galactik have made the call to US Moursal. No fee, a share of the wages, and a spare shirt in the position where the squad has been thinnest all season.
A manager forgives a bad Saturday far more readily than a bad Tuesday, because one of them he can explain and the other one he chose. The reports this week have not been good.
In brief
The dugoutThe manager plants his flag on Mouctar Kodji
There is no fee, no unveiling and no agent on the steps. Idriss Ndoram has been at this club since he was a boy and is now, formally, one of the first-team squad — which for a local readership beats any signing of any size.
AS Etat Major 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.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what US Moursal can pretend not to have heard.
The clubs have settled the fee and he has settled his wages. What remains is a medical and a photograph, and around US Moursal people have started saying his name in the past tense.
“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 US Moursal, and 10 appearances in 42 say he has earned the hearing.
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 table has started to be checked before the results are in, and that is always the tell. Nobody at US Moursal says the word out loud, and everybody in the building is thinking it.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at US Moursal is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
“I watch every US Moursal game from here. That says everything about where my head is.” The loan at AS DGSSIE runs its course, but his heart never made the trip.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Youssouf Doungous was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. US Moursal know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Hassan Tokindang trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Galactik, and both men came out saying it was fine.
AS Algoy next, and one man in the Galactik dressing room knows their training ground better than his own. The reception will tell him what they thought of him.
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Ousmane Biani signs something — a contract at Galactik or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
Next up on the road: AS Algoy, position 13. The supporters who go will talk about it all week and the ones who do not will check their phones at ten to five.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Youssouf Doungous will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around US Moursal the goodbyes have quietly begun.
“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 US Moursal, and 0 appearances in 9 say he has earned the hearing.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Youssouf Doungous was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Moussa Oumar signs something — a contract at US Moursal or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
11 without a win now, and the ground has developed the special quiet of a crowd that expects the worst. One scrappy 1-0 would cure most of it; that is the maddening part.
11 matches, no goals, and a training ground that has tried everything. It will end — droughts always do — but nobody at US Moursal can tell you which week it ends in.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Youssouf Doungous will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around US Moursal the goodbyes have quietly begun.
“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 US Moursal, and 0 appearances in 5 say he has earned the hearing.
A medical, a signature, a shirt held up in front of a sponsor’s board. Galactik have done the hard part with US Moursal, and the part that remains is the part supporters actually see.
Galactik offered $200.00; AS Algoy said it was not close. The manager will be told the money is still there for the right player, which is what managers are told.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. El Masry have kept their man, and Galactik go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Narcisse Allamine 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.