“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 The request is on a desk at Inter Allies, and it is not being withdrawn.
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.
Squad11 Aug 2036
Words at Inter Allies training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Kader Diomandé 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.
Inter Allies have made the call to Wa All Stars. No fee, a share of the wages, and a spare shirt in the position where the squad has been thinnest all season.
Heart of Lions 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.
The mood at Inter Allies has turned into something else
Supporters who sing when it goes badly are supporters. Supporters who gather afterwards are a problem, and everybody inside the building knows which of the two this now is.
Position 15 and 23 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.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Inter Allies can pretend not to have heard.
3 months left, and both sides know what that means: every week without a signature, the fee Inter Allies could ask drops and the wages Bright Godwin can ask rise.
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Inter Allies know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Inter Allies, and both men came out saying it was fine.
“I did not come here to warm up in front of people.” He is out of contract eventually, he is old enough to count the weeks, and Inter Allies will have to give him a reason to stay or an exit.
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.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Kader Diomandé was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The mood at Inter Allies has turned into something else
Supporters who sing when it goes badly are supporters. Supporters who gather afterwards are a problem, and everybody inside the building knows which of the two this now is.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Kader Diomandé was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Every squad has one of these fixtures for somebody every season. This one is Osei Prince’s: the club that knew him first, the supporters who will decide in the first minute whether to applaud, and Inter Allies needing him to play as if none of it matters.
BA All Stars left with the points after a 0‑2 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.
The dugout24 Mar 2036
The manager’s verdict
“That is on me. I pick the team and I picked wrong.” Managers say that when they mean it and when they need to be seen to, and after 0‑2 Interim Coach left the room before anybody could ask which.
Ninety specific minutes wanted a different sort of player, and the manager picked one. He is not out of form and he is not in the side, and both are true.
“I did not come here to warm up in front of people.” He is out of contract eventually, he is old enough to count the weeks, and Inter Allies will have to give him a reason to stay or an exit.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Osei Prince will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Inter Allies the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Marked 9.72 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 21-year-old it feels ownership of. Nana Schlupp 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.
“We are a long way apart, and pretending otherwise helps nobody.” Neither side is close, and the calendar is not on the club's side.
The dugout11 Feb 2036
The manager’s verdict
“I am not going to get carried away and I will not let them either. It was a good day. There will be harder ones.” Interim Coach kept it short after the 4‑1 win, which is what managers do when they are happy.
59 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Inter Allies lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
“We were not good enough today and I am not going to dress it up.” Interim Coach after 1‑3, in the tone of a man who knows the next question and does not intend to answer it.
There is no complaint available here and everybody involved knows it, which does not make the walk to the bench any shorter. Form is the only currency in football that cannot be borrowed against.
Ninety specific minutes wanted a different sort of player, and the manager picked one. He is not out of form and he is not in the side, and both are true.
66 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Inter Allies lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
8 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.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Inter Allies can pretend not to have heard.
“It is not the end of the world and it is not good enough. Both of those are true.” The manager, after a 2‑2 draw, said the honest thing and then went to say it again inside.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Edmund Afful was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
80 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Inter Allies lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. Yaw Annor provided it, and the 9.02 beside his name is if anything generous to everybody else.
“A point is a point and I will take it, but we should have had all three.” Interim Coach after the 2‑2 draw, and the sentence every manager in the country said at some stage this weekend.
The one version of being left out a player cannot argue with, and the one he takes worst. Somebody else has been better and the team sheet says so, in public, every week until it changes.
87 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Inter Allies lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
“The easiest signature of my career.” Jonathan Kudus and Inter Allies agree another 3 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
“A point is a point and I will take it, but we should have had all three.” Interim Coach after the 0‑0 draw, and the sentence every manager in the country said at some stage this weekend.
There is no complaint available here and everybody involved knows it, which does not make the walk to the bench any shorter. Form is the only currency in football that cannot be borrowed against.
Every squad has one of these fixtures for somebody every season. This one is Nathaniel Teye’s: the club that knew him first, the supporters who will decide in the first minute whether to applaud, and Inter Allies needing him to play as if none of it matters.
“There are things I liked and things we will be doing on Tuesday until they are right.” 0‑0, and a manager who had already decided what Tuesday looked like.
“We keep meeting, and we keep leaving the room with the same numbers we walked in with.” Another round of talks at Inter Allies, another week without a signature from Kwadwo Baba.
The one version of being left out a player cannot argue with, and the one he takes worst. Somebody else has been better and the team sheet says so, in public, every week until it changes.
The crowd waited for a goal that never came. Hasaacas defended in numbers and left with what they came for, and the two sides could be playing still without troubling a scorer.
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the whole of the defence. 9 saves, several of them the kind nobody expects to see made, and ten outfield players who owe him a drink.
Two or more conceded in each of the last 8 matches. It is not one mistake repeating itself, which would be the easier thing to fix; it is a different one every week.
“The supporters are entitled to be angry. So am I. We will put it right.” 1‑2, a manager saying the necessary things, and a dressing room that heard a different version of them.
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Kamaldeen Ofori and Inter Allies agree another 3 years.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Inter Allies can pretend not to have heard.
Inter Allies offered $2.0K; Liberty Professionals 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.
Day 9 of the vacancy. Candidates have been priced, sounded out and quietly ruled out — and the caretaker’s win ratio is becoming an argument all by itself.
Squad10 Sep 2035
Words at Inter Allies training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Kader Diomandé 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.
Clubs spend fortunes looking for players and occasionally find one down the corridor. Kwadwo Amoah is that, and the reception he gets on his first appearance will be different in kind from the one any signing receives.
The academy exists for exactly this morning. Kwame Schlupp has come through every age group the club runs and has now been handed a senior number, and the people who coached him at twelve will be the proudest in the building.
The academy exists for exactly this morning. David Inusah has come through every age group the club runs and has now been handed a senior number, and the people who coached him at twelve will be the proudest in the building.
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 10 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
Not an interim appointment — an institution with an empty coaching office. Somebody unfamiliar will run the sessions this week, and the question of how a club gets into this state is one the board will be asked and will not answer.
“Somebody has to pick the team on Saturday, and this week that is me.” An interim appointment with no promises attached, which is how most of them start.
The clubs have shaken hands with WAFA; the player has not yet. Personal terms are next, and personal terms are where more deals die than anybody prints.
“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 Inter Allies, and it is not being withdrawn.
Boardroom3 Sep 2035
Inter Allies close the window on a squad of their own making
6 in and 13 out, and no more changes for months. The manager has what he has, the supporters have their opinion of it, and the table will have the last word.
Supporters organise against the Inter Allies board
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.
Fee agreed, wages agreed, and Wa All Stars waiting with a shirt. Nobody at Inter Allies is pretending otherwise, and the supporters have stopped asking whether and started asking when.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Kader Diomandé was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Inter Allies have made the call to Liberty Professionals. No fee, a share of the wages, and a spare shirt in the position where the squad has been thinnest all season.
1 months left, and both sides know what that means: every week without a signature, the fee Inter Allies could ask drops and the wages Osei Prince can ask rise.
In brief
The dugoutKwadwo Baba asks for a word with the manager
Terms were offered and declined. Whether it was the wages, the role or the town, nobody at Medeama is saying, and nobody at Inter Allies is enjoying the guessing.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Hasaacas have kept their man, and Inter Allies go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
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.
Liberty Professionals 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.
Inter Allies have made the call to Medeama. No fee, a share of the wages, and a spare shirt in the position where the squad has been thinnest all season.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and David Baba trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
The mood at Inter Allies has turned into something else
Supporters who sing when it goes badly are supporters. Supporters who gather afterwards are a problem, and everybody inside the building knows which of the two this now is.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Inter Allies, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Inter Allies asked and Hearts of Oak said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Kwadwo Essien and Inter Allies agree another 3 years.
Asante Kotoko 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.
“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.
Squad11 Jun 2035
Words at Inter Allies training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Benjamin Abaidoo 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 deal with Asante Kotoko 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.
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Saturday Erimuya and Inter Allies agree another 2 years.
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.
“We keep meeting, and we keep leaving the room with the same numbers we walked in with.” Another round of talks at Inter Allies, another week without a signature from Kwadwo Baba.
The registration window is open and the phone has started. Between now and the deadline this club will be linked with forty players and sign three, which is the usual ratio.
The mood at Inter Allies has turned into something else
Supporters who sing when it goes badly are supporters. Supporters who gather afterwards are a problem, and everybody inside the building knows which of the two this now is.
The words a physio says slowly. 34 days is what the club will announce and everybody who has heard this diagnosis before knows the number is the least of it: the knee comes back before the player does.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Kader Diomandé was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Edmund Annan 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.
Every squad has one of these fixtures for somebody every season. This one is Osei Prince’s: the club that knew him first, the supporters who will decide in the first minute whether to applaud, and Inter Allies needing him to play as if none of it matters.
The words a physio says slowly. 41 days is what the club will announce and everybody who has heard this diagnosis before knows the number is the least of it: the knee comes back before the player does.
1‑4 against BA All Stars, and no complaints that would survive the replay. The manager spoke about character afterwards; the terraces used shorter words.
4 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Inter Allies has to find a result from somewhere.
Squad26 Mar 2035
Words at Inter Allies training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Kader Diomandé 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 mood at Inter Allies has turned into something else
Supporters who sing when it goes badly are supporters. Supporters who gather afterwards are a problem, and everybody inside the building knows which of the two this now is.
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Mafeng Pam and Inter Allies agree another 2 years.
Squad5 Mar 2035
Words at Inter Allies training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Kader Diomandé 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.
Nana Schlupp 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.
Boardroom5 Mar 2035
Nobody left the Inter Allies dressing room in a hurry
The door stayed shut a long time after the final whistle. What was said in there is between them; whether it worked is between them and Saturday.
“We were not good enough today and I am not going to dress it up.” Interim Coach after 0‑5, in the tone of a man who knows the next question and does not intend to answer it.
Beaten 5 times, 5 saves, and an afternoon that will go on his record whether it was his fault or the defence’s. It is the quiet unfairness of the position.
6 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.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Inter Allies can pretend not to have heard.
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.
Position 8, 21 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.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Inter Allies this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Inter Allies this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Mafeng Pam was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
“The supporters are entitled to be angry. So am I. We will put it right.” 1‑2, a manager saying the necessary things, and a dressing room that heard a different version of them.
The team sheet says it in public every week until it changes. The only version of being dropped a footballer cannot argue with, and the one he takes hardest.
In brief
The dugoutThe plan did not have a place for Thomas Addo
Words at Inter Allies training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Kader Diomandé 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.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Inter Allies, and both men came out saying it was fine.
“I did not come here to warm up in front of people.” He is out of contract eventually, he is old enough to count the weeks, and Inter Allies will have to give him a reason to stay or an exit.
There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. Yaw Annor provided it, and the 9.05 beside his name is if anything generous to everybody else.
Heart of Lions made Inter Allies work for it, but the scoreboard read 2‑1 at the end and the table does not ask how.
Squad30 Oct 2034
Words at Inter Allies training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Kader Diomandé 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.
There is a particular helplessness in conceding 2 times before the twentieth minute. Heart of Lions tried to reorganise, Inter Allies did not allow it, and the result was written long before it was confirmed.
“The players deserve the credit. My job was easy today.” It was not, and everybody in the room knew it; after 2‑1, Interim Coach could afford to be generous.
The team sheet says it in public every week until it changes. The only version of being dropped a footballer cannot argue with, and the one he takes hardest.