Marked for Christopher Baledrokadroka
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad23 Jun 2031
There were 13 saves in it, and at least three that had no business being saves at all. The ten outfield players owe him a drink and they know it.
Match18 Jun 2031
Cup ties wait for somebody to seize them, and Josaia Goundar obliged against Ba. 3‑2 on the night, and the name in the next round’s hat is Labasa.
Match23 Jun 2031
Labasa sink to position 9
18 points, and a fixture list that is running out. The mathematics are not yet cruel, but they are no longer kind.
Player ratings23 Jun 2031
A brace, and Josaia Goundar takes the afternoon — 8.35
There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. Josaia Goundar provided it, and the 8.35 beside his name is if anything generous to everybody else.
Market23 Jun 2031
“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.
Squad23 Jun 2031
Tempers go at Labasa
Sekove Naivakananumi 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.
Squad23 Jun 2031
Words at Labasa training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Akeimi Ralulu 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 terraces23 Jun 2031
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 18-year-old it feels ownership of. Josaia Goundar has it now, and everything he does for the rest of his time here will be measured against the goodwill he was handed for free.
Player ratings23 Jun 2031
Successful dribbles: 18. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Back issues
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad24 Feb 2031
Tempers go at Labasa
Ashnil Raju 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.
Squad24 Feb 2031
Akeimi Ralulu 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.
Boardroom24 Feb 2031
The Labasa debt reaches $4.5M
Football clubs borrow; that is not the story. Borrowing more than the facility allows is, because from here it is the owner's money or somebody else's decision, and neither of those belongs to the board.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad27 Jan 2031
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Labasa this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad27 Jan 2031
Akeimi Ralulu 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.
Boardroom27 Jan 2031
The Labasa debt reaches $4.5M
Football clubs borrow; that is not the story. Borrowing more than the facility allows is, because from here it is the owner's money or somebody else's decision, and neither of those belongs to the board.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Boardroom13 Jan 2031
The silence upstairs is getting loud at Labasa
Nobody on the board has said anything against the manager, which is the point — they have stopped saying anything for him either.
Squad13 Jan 2031
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Labasa this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad13 Jan 2031
Akeimi Ralulu 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.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad23 Dec 2030
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Labasa may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Squad23 Dec 2030
Ashnil Raju 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 Labasa this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad23 Dec 2030
Words at Labasa training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Akeimi Ralulu 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.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad25 Nov 2030
Tempers go at Labasa
Sekove Naivakananumi 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.
Squad25 Nov 2030
Words at Labasa training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Akeimi Ralulu 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.
Squad25 Nov 2030
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Setareki Drudru, and the manager let it.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad28 Oct 2030
Tempers go at Labasa
Sekove Naivakananumi 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.
Squad28 Oct 2030
Words at Labasa training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Callum Reid 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.
Squad28 Oct 2030
Callum Reid 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.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad30 Sep 2030
Tempers go at Labasa
Ashnil Raju 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.
Squad30 Sep 2030
A muscle injury sidelines Josua Raqamu for 18 days
Nobody makes a documentary about a hamstring and everybody in the game fears one. Labasa will be careful with the return date, because the second one is always worse than the first.
Squad30 Sep 2030
Akeimi Ralulu 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.