Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Bendel Insurance will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Bendel Insurance can pretend not to have heard.
Emmanuel Nwokeji 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.
Squad1 Oct 2029
Chinedu Nwosu 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.
It is not much of a headline and it is the reason players believe the next promise. Bendel Insurance told Oke Kayode something would happen and then it happened, which in this industry passes for remarkable.
A year in and the language has not come, the city has not opened up, and he eats alone more often than anybody at Bendel Insurance would like to admit. It is showing on Saturdays.
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 Victor Ikechukwu is on it.
6 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Bendel Insurance has to find a result from somewhere.
Rivers United have accepted the money. What Bendel Insurance do not yet have is the man, and between here and the photograph is a conversation about wages that both sides are dreading.
That is the business done at Bendel Insurance until the window opens again. Whether it was enough will be answered on Saturdays rather than in a column, and the first Saturday is close.
Emmanuel Nwokeji 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.
Nasarawa United wanted more than $44.0K and the board would not go there. Walked away, for now, which in a transfer window means until somebody blinks.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Bendel Insurance this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad30 Jul 2029
Chinedu Nwosu 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.
Everyone has stopped pretending: Kun Khalifat will make the call about Isaac Omijie this week. Bendel Insurance have a number in mind, and the number is not shy.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Bendel Insurance this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Tobi Ige 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.
7 arrivals, an average age nobody would call a squad, and a set of parents being shown around a building their sons will spend more time in than at home. The scouting has already happened; today is only the paperwork.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Bendel Insurance this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
A loan enquiry to Plateau United: cover, or a look at somebody the club cannot afford to buy yet. Either way the answer will come back inside the week.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 35 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the whole of the defence. 8 saves, several of them the kind nobody expects to see made, and ten outfield players who owe him a drink.
Emmanuel Nwokeji 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.
“The easiest signature of my career.” Nathaniel Asibe and Bendel Insurance agree another 2 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 22-year-old it feels ownership of. Chinedu Nwosu 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.
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Kelvin Akinmola. 1‑0 against El-Kanemi Warriors, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
Successful dribbles: 18. There was always a defender in front of him and there was never a defender in front of him for long.
The dugout7 May 2029
The view from the dugout
“We controlled it. There were spells I did not like and we will look at them, but the group showed me something.” Akinkunmi Ndidi, on a 1‑0 win that he was already picking apart on the walk to the press room.
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Bendel Insurance will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Bendel Insurance can pretend not to have heard.
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Uche Collins and Bendel Insurance agree another 4 years.
Emmanuel Nwokeji 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 Chinedu Nwosu was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
At 23 he is being sung about by people twice his age, which is an affection a signing has to earn over years and a local kid gets for turning up. It is also the hardest thing in football to live up to.
In brief
Player ratingsUche Collins was on a different afternoon to everybody else
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 93 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Emmanuel Nwokeji 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.
“The supporters are entitled to be angry. So am I. We will put it right.” 1‑3, a manager saying the necessary things, and a dressing room that heard a different version of them.
The fee was agreed and the flight was looked at — and then the phone stopped ringing. Kun Khalifat moved on, Ebuka Okoro reports back to Bendel Insurance, and everybody pretends Monday is just Monday.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Bendel Insurance have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Bendel Insurance had done everything except persuade the man himself. He stays at Plateau United, and the manager goes back to the drawing board with the money still in the bank.
Emmanuel Nwokeji 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 had been thinking. Chinedu Nwosu 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 clubs have settled the fee and he has settled his wages. What remains is a medical and a photograph, and around Bendel Insurance people have started saying his name in the past tense.
Bendel Insurance and Rangers International have settled on $70.0K. The rest belongs to the player and his agent, and a supporter who has watched one of these before knows not to buy the shirt yet.
The deal with Plateau United is done in every sense but the one that puts him on the pitch. Nothing goes wrong at this stage, except on the occasions when it does.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Bendel Insurance this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Jacob John commits to Bendel Insurance for another 3 years.
Squad22 Jan 2029
Chinedu Nwosu 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.
Fee agreed, wages agreed, and Ikorodu City waiting with a shirt. Nobody at Bendel Insurance is pretending otherwise, and the supporters have stopped asking whether and started asking when.
“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 Bendel Insurance, and it is not being withdrawn.
Emmanuel Nwokeji 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 Chinedu Nwosu was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
“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 Bendel Insurance, and it is not being withdrawn.
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Shafin Murtala 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.
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 Ebuka Okoro is on it.
“I will play as long as the body lets me and stop the day it does not.” He is 35, with 66 appearances behind him, and the club has to plan for a decision that is not yet made.
A year in and the city has not opened up, the language has not come, and lunch is eaten alone more often than anybody at Bendel Insurance would admit. It shows on Saturdays.
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Oke Kayode signs something — a contract at Bendel Insurance or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
21 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Bendel Insurance lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
Emmanuel Nwokeji 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.
Squad11 Dec 2028
Chinedu Nwosu 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.
Emmanuel Nwokeji 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 Nov 2028
Chinedu Nwosu 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.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Shafin Murtala trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Nobody at Bendel Insurance 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.
In brief
SquadQuestions about Jerry Isaac on the training pitch
SquadElmer Arunta is the talk of the training ground
Emmanuel Nwokeji 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.
Squad16 Oct 2028
Elmer Arunta 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.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Bendel Insurance this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Christian Molokwu and Bendel Insurance agree another 2 years.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Elmer Arunta was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Peter Abdullahi is the division's best young player this month
At 16 he has spent a month being better than everybody his age in the league, which is a different and harder thing than one good afternoon. Bendel Insurance will try very hard not to make too much of it.
The last league game has been played and the table has stopped moving: 39 points. The summer begins on Monday, and so does the argument about what it all meant.
There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. Peter Abdullahi provided it, and the 8.57 beside his name is if anything generous to everybody else.
Two goals and a mark of 7.94 to go with them. Strikers are judged on afternoons like this one and remembered for far fewer of them than people imagine.
Emmanuel Nwokeji 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.
A 4‑2 win over Shooting Stars, earned rather than given, and the sort of afternoon that sends everyone home talking about next week instead of this one.
Squad18 Sep 2028
Chinedu Nwosu 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.
Bendel Insurance have gone to Kun Khalifat with a bid, and the supporters have gone to the internet with an opinion about it. Whether either changes anything is up to the selling club.
Emmanuel Nwokeji 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 Denis Chigozie was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
“The manager did not use many words, and he did not need to.” Denis Chigozie has his answer from Bendel Insurance; what he does with it is the next window’s story.
Successful dribbles: 18. He went past people as if he had been told there was a prize for it, and by the end the full-back had stopped pretending to try.
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the whole of the defence. 8 saves, several of them the kind nobody expects to see made, and ten outfield players who owe him a drink.
Fee agreed, wages agreed, and Kun Khalifat waiting with a shirt. Nobody at Bendel Insurance is pretending otherwise, and the supporters have stopped asking whether and started asking when.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Bendel Insurance can pretend not to have heard.
5 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.
Everything agreed with Wikki Tourists, everything agreed with the player; a doctor is the only person left to persuade. The photograph is a day or two away.
Emmanuel Nwokeji 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.
Bendel Insurance offered $88.0K; Wikki Tourists 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.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Elmer Arunta was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
“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 Bendel Insurance, and it is not being withdrawn.
Wikki Tourists have accepted the money. What Bendel Insurance do not yet have is the man, and between here and the photograph is a conversation about wages that both sides are dreading.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Bendel Insurance they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Emmanuel Nwokeji 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.
The name of Kelvin Akinmola has come up in conversations Bendel Insurance were not part of. Nothing formal, nothing signed — but nothing about it accidental either.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Elmer Arunta was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Marked 6.64 on 12 actions at both ends of the pitch. Midfielders like this get described as unspectacular by people who have never tried to play against one.
A brace, and Uche Collins takes the afternoon — 8.76
There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. Uche Collins provided it, and the 8.76 beside his name is if anything generous to everybody else.
“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 Bendel Insurance, and it is not being withdrawn.
The hardest thing about being 21 in a senior side is that nobody makes allowances. Chinedu Nwosu did not need any: 7.73, and he looked the most comfortable man on the pitch.
Emmanuel Nwokeji 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.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Denis Chigozie was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
At 21 he was better than everybody his age in the division for four weeks running, which is harder than one good afternoon. Bendel Insurance will try not to make too much of it.
Position 12, 22 points, and every result so far reduced to one line. The second half of the season starts with the same squad and a different set of expectations.
“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 Bendel Insurance, and it is not being withdrawn.
Emmanuel Nwokeji 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.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Elmer Arunta was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
A 2‑1 win over Niger Tornadoes, earned rather than given, and the sort of afternoon that sends everyone home talking about next week instead of this one.
At 23 he is being sung about by people twice his age, which is an affection a signing has to earn over years and a local kid gets for turning up. It is also the hardest thing in football to live up to.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Bendel Insurance can pretend not to have heard.
6 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Bendel Insurance has to find a result from somewhere.
“The easiest signature of my career.” Chinedu Nwosu and Bendel Insurance agree another 5 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Emmanuel Nwokeji 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 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 deal that would have taken Victor Torisheju to Ikorodu City has collapsed at the last stage, and he reports back to Bendel Insurance with a summer to forget and a season still to play. Nobody is saying which side walked away.
The offer from Warri Wolves for Kelvin Akinmola was heard out and sent back the same day. First bids are rarely meant to succeed; they are meant to find out how loudly the door closes.
Emmanuel Nwokeji 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 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.
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Isaac Omijie and Bendel Insurance agree another 4 years.
The last thing about a transfer that is still about the player is his signature on his own terms, and it is there. Bendel Insurance have lost him in all but the paperwork.
“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 Bendel Insurance, and it is not being withdrawn.
Emmanuel Nwokeji 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.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Denis Chigozie was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
“We will look at it, we will learn from it, and we go again.” The three sentences every manager keeps for a 2‑3 defeat, delivered by Akinkunmi Ndidi to a room that had heard them before.
In brief
The dugoutDenis Chigozie dropped after a run of poor form