Marked for Ezechiel Bechir
From our football correspondent
Crisis
The terraces16 Jul 2029
The mood at US Moursal 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.
Boardroom16 Jul 2029
The silence upstairs is getting loud at US Moursal
Nobody on the board has said anything against the manager, which is the point — they have stopped saying anything for him either.
Market16 Jul 2029
The offer was not close and it was refused without much discussion. Whether the second one is refused as quickly is another matter.
Market16 Jul 2029
“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.
Market16 Jul 2029
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at US Moursal is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Squad16 Jul 2029
Ezechiel Adoum 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.
Back issues
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match4 Jun 2029
11 points, and a fixture list that is running out. The mathematics are not yet cruel, but they are no longer kind.
Market4 Jun 2029
“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.
Squad4 Jun 2029
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” US Moursal may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Squad4 Jun 2029
Ezechiel Mahamat 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.
Squad4 Jun 2029
Ezechiel Oumar 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.
Market4 Jun 2029
Adam Adoum linked with a move away
The name of Adam Adoum keeps appearing in other people's back pages. US Moursal say nothing, which says plenty.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad16 Apr 2029
Ezechiel Mahamat 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.
Squad16 Apr 2029
Saleh Adoum 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.
Squad16 Apr 2029
It is not much of a headline and it is the reason players believe the next promise. US Moursal told Ahmat Doungous something would happen and then it happened, which in this industry passes for remarkable.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
The terraces26 Feb 2029
Anger at US Moursal spills outside the ground
It has stopped being a mood in the stands and started being something organised. Boards can ignore a bad atmosphere for a long time; they cannot ignore this stage of it for very long at all.
Boardroom26 Feb 2029
The scrutiny sharpens at US Moursal
Nobody upstairs has said anything, which is the loudest thing they could do. Results buy silence in this game; the account at US Moursal is running low.
Market26 Feb 2029
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at US Moursal is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Squad26 Feb 2029
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at US Moursal this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad26 Feb 2029
Brahim Hissein 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.
Squad26 Feb 2029
“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
Uneasy
Match27 Jan 2029
No end in sight to US Moursal's wait for a win
14 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at US Moursal has to find a result from somewhere.
The terraces29 Jan 2029
Anger at US Moursal spills outside the ground
It has stopped being a mood in the stands and started being something organised. Boards can ignore a bad atmosphere for a long time; they cannot ignore this stage of it for very long at all.
Market29 Jan 2029
Mahamat Adoum has one foot out of the door
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around US Moursal they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Boardroom29 Jan 2029
The scrutiny sharpens at US Moursal
Nobody upstairs has said anything, which is the loudest thing they could do. Results buy silence in this game; the account at US Moursal is running low.
Squad29 Jan 2029
Ezechiel Bechir: that is not what I was promised
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” US Moursal have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Squad29 Jan 2029
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at US Moursal this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad29 Jan 2029
Brahim Hissein 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.
Player ratings29 Jan 2029
Nobody could get near Adam Adoum
Successful dribbles: 17. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Match27 Jan 2029
Point won or two lost for US Moursal?
Ninety minutes, no goals, and the argument started before the car park emptied: a point gained, or two thrown away against Galactik? Both sides of it will still be going on Thursday.