The Ba Gazette
Match29 Jun 2030
Whatever happens, Ba do not lose
13 games unbeaten now. Some were earned and some were survived, but a habit is forming — and habits are the hardest thing in football to play against.
Player ratings1 Jul 2030
Nobody could get near Darold Kakasi
Successful dribbles: 28. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Market1 Jul 2030
Ba turn down Suva for Dave Krishna
The offer was not close and it was refused without much discussion. Whether the second one is refused as quickly is another matter.
Squad1 Jul 2030
Tempers go at Ba
Lucas Abarca 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.
Boardroom1 Jul 2030
Ba are $8.4M in the red
The borrowing is past what the bank agreed, which is the line where a debt stops being how football is financed and starts being a problem. Every phone-in in this town will quote the figure for the next five years.
Squad1 Jul 2030
Words at Ba training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Dave Krishna 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.
Squad1 Jul 2030
Darold Kakasi has become a man the manager trusts
Nobody at Ba 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.
Squad1 Jul 2030
Nickel Lal 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.
Match29 Jun 2030
Point won or two lost for Ba?
Ninety minutes, no goals, and the argument started before the car park emptied: a point gained, or two thrown away against Labasa? Both sides of it will still be going on Thursday.
In brief
- Market The Leandro Ruiz story refuses to die
- Market Nobody at Ba has picked up the phone to Misiwani Nairube
- Market Setareki Kaumaitotoya leaves for nothing