Marked for Dave Goundar
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market13 Dec 2027
Ali Mekawir 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 Navua can pretend not to have heard.
Market13 Dec 2027
Dave Goundar has one foot out of the door
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Navua they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Squad13 Dec 2027
Words exchanged at Navua
Jovilisi Borisi 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.
Squad13 Dec 2027
“The easiest signature of my career.” Mohammed Ledua and Navua agree another 3 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Squad13 Dec 2027
The system has changed and his position has not. A footballer can improve his form; he cannot improve the manager’s formation, and that is the whole of the problem.
Market13 Dec 2027
Every press conference now starts and ends the same way: with Ali Mekawir’s future. The manager has run out of new ways to say nothing.
Back issues
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad29 Nov 2027
A knee injury of the worst kind for Laisenia Verevou
15 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Navua lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Boardroom29 Nov 2027
Pressure builds in the Navua boardroom
The directors have stopped offering the manager public warmth. In football that is usually the stage before the short statement.
Squad29 Nov 2027
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Navua this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market15 Nov 2027
Ali Mekawir 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 Navua can pretend not to have heard.
Market15 Nov 2027
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Navua is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Squad15 Nov 2027
Words exchanged at Navua
Jovilisi Borisi 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.
Market15 Nov 2027
Every press conference now starts and ends the same way: with Ali Mekawir’s future. The manager has run out of new ways to say nothing.
Squad15 Nov 2027
A call-up flatters the player and the club that produced him in the same breath. Navua would like him back in one piece and know they will not be consulted.
The dugout15 Nov 2027
Mohammed Ledua 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.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Boardroom1 Nov 2027
The silence upstairs is getting loud at Navua
Nobody on the board has said anything against the manager, which is the point — they have stopped saying anything for him either.
Squad1 Nov 2027
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Navua this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad1 Nov 2027
A row about effort at Navua
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and France Catarogo was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The dugout1 Nov 2027
“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 dugout1 Nov 2027
Kolinio Sivoki loses the manager who believed in him
A change in the dugout is not one story, it is twenty-five of them. This is Kolinio Sivoki's: he was somebody's player, and now he has to be somebody else's, starting from nothing.
Market1 Nov 2027
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Filipe Baravilala signs something — a contract at Navua or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
Squad1 Nov 2027
A year in and the language has not come, the city has not opened up, and he eats alone more often than anybody at Navua would like to admit. It is showing on Saturdays.
The dugout1 Nov 2027
Jale Nawalu knocks on the manager's door
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Navua, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Boardroom1 Nov 2027
Navua answer back
A squad written off a fortnight ago has closed ranks. Whatever was said behind that door, it has held so far.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market18 Oct 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.
The dugout18 Oct 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.
Market18 Oct 2027
Only the photograph left for Dave Goundar
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Dave Goundar will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Navua the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Squad18 Oct 2027
Words exchanged at Navua
Jovilisi Borisi 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.
Squad18 Oct 2027
A muscle injury and 18 days out for Zainal Ali
The most common injury in the game and the most rushed back from. Navua will quote 18 days and will be careful with it, because the second one is always worse than the first.
Market18 Oct 2027
Every press conference now starts and ends the same way: with Ali Mekawir’s future. The manager has run out of new ways to say nothing.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad20 Sep 2027
42 days out for France Catarogo after a fracture
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Navua will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
Market20 Sep 2027
Ali Mekawir 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 Navua can pretend not to have heard.
Market20 Sep 2027
Only the photograph left for Dave Goundar
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Dave Goundar will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Navua the goodbyes have quietly begun.
The dugout20 Sep 2027
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Navua may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Squad20 Sep 2027
Words exchanged at Navua
Jovilisi Borisi 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.
Market20 Sep 2027
Every press conference now starts and ends the same way: with Ali Mekawir’s future. The manager has run out of new ways to say nothing.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad23 Aug 2027
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 70 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Market23 Aug 2027
Ali Mekawir 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 Navua can pretend not to have heard.
Market23 Aug 2027
Only the photograph left for Dave Goundar
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Dave Goundar will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Navua the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Transfer targets23 Aug 2027
The clubs had agreed and the player had not. A snub, and a public one: Labasa keep him, and the supporters here are left wondering what he had heard about the place.
Squad23 Aug 2027
Words exchanged at Navua
Jovilisi Borisi 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.
The dugout23 Aug 2027
The manager makes an example of Simione Damuni
“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.
Market23 Aug 2027
Every press conference now starts and ends the same way: with Ali Mekawir’s future. The manager has run out of new ways to say nothing.
The dugout23 Aug 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 Navua, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Squad23 Aug 2027
The training reports on Arami Manumanubhai are not good
A bad Saturday is forgiven; a bad Tuesday is chosen. Standards have slipped and in a building where everybody watches everybody, it has been noticed.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad2 Aug 2027
92 days out for France Catarogo after a fracture
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Navua will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
Market2 Aug 2027
The last thing about a transfer that is still about the player is his signature on his own terms, and it is there. Navua have lost him in all but the paperwork.
Squad2 Aug 2027
Tempers go at Navua
Jovilisi Borisi 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.
Transfer targets2 Aug 2027
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.
Squad2 Aug 2027
Rahul Krishna slips down the pecking order
The demotion a club never announces and a dressing room always notices. Rahul Krishna is further from the side than he was, and the reason will not be given until he asks.
Squad2 Aug 2027
Matthew Charitar watches a signing take the shirt he was promised
At 29 the pathway was supposed to be open. Instead Navua went to the market, and a local readership is asking the question the academy staff are too diplomatic to ask out loud.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad19 Jul 2027
A fracture rules France Catarogo out for 107 days
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Navua will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Market19 Jul 2027
Only the photograph left for Dave Goundar
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Dave Goundar will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Navua the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Squad19 Jul 2027
A falling-out at Navua
Jovilisi Borisi and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Boardroom19 Jul 2027
The numbers do not look good at Navua
Wages have outrun income and the accountants have started attending meetings they used to send apologies to. Ambition comes second in a season like this.
The dugout19 Jul 2027
Clubs make promises constantly and the page usually only hears about them when they are broken. This one was honoured, and the dressing room noticed that faster than any supporter did.
The dugout19 Jul 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Arami Manumanubhai, and the manager let it.
The dugout19 Jul 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 Navua, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Market19 Jul 2027
The Jack Wale question follows Navua around
Every press conference now starts and ends the same way: with Jack Wale’s future. The manager has run out of new ways to say nothing.
Squad19 Jul 2027
The penny has dropped for Lauren Bali
He looks like a man who lives here now rather than one who is working here. It took most of a season, and at Navua the difference is visible from the back of the stand.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad5 Jul 2027
122 days out for France Catarogo after a fracture
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Navua will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
Market5 Jul 2027
Ali Mekawir 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 Navua can pretend not to have heard.
Match5 Jul 2027
Full time on the season at Navua
Position 7 on 19 points. Every season is a story and this is the last line of it, and now the club has three months to decide what the next one is about.
Market5 Jul 2027
The clubs have settled the fee and he has settled his wages. What remains is a medical and a photograph, and around Navua people have started saying his name in the past tense.
Player ratings5 Jul 2027
Ali Mekawir beats them one at a time
Successful dribbles: 29. There was always a defender in front of him and there was never a defender in front of him for long.
The dugout5 Jul 2027
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Navua may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Transfer targets5 Jul 2027
Terms were offered and declined. Whether it was the wages, the role or the town, nobody at Labasa is saying, and nobody at Navua is enjoying the guessing.
Squad5 Jul 2027
Tempers go at Navua
Jovilisi Borisi 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.
Match3 Jul 2027
Rewa take the points off Navua
Beaten 0‑1, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.