Marked for Stephen Simon
From our football correspondent
Crisis
The terraces24 Apr 2034
Anger at Barau 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.
Squad24 Apr 2034
29 days out for Victor Sadiq after a fracture
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Barau will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
Player ratings24 Apr 2034
No sign of nerves from Joseph Eze at 21 — 8.04
The hardest thing about being 21 in a senior side is that nobody makes allowances. Joseph Eze did not need any: 8.04, and he looked the most comfortable man on the pitch.
Squad24 Apr 2034
Words exchanged at Barau
Chukwuma Nwakali 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.
Match22 Apr 2034
2‑3 to Kano Pillars, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.
Squad24 Apr 2034
Osayi Osayi-Samuel 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.
The terraces24 Apr 2034
He is 21 and the ground already sings his name, which is a thing that happens to local boys and almost never to signings. Everything from here is measured against an affection he did nothing to earn except be from here.
Squad24 Apr 2034
An error at the back is a moment; an error in goal is a goal. Serge Obassa knows it, the crowd knew it instantly, and there was nobody behind him to make it anything else.
The dugout24 Apr 2034
“I could talk about decisions and I could talk about luck. I will not. We lost.” The manager, 2‑3, and a press conference that lasted four minutes.
Back issues
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad17 Apr 2034
A fracture rules Victor Sadiq out for 36 days
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Barau will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Squad17 Apr 2034
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Joseph Eze and Barau agree another 3 years.
Squad17 Apr 2034
A row about effort at Barau
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Osayi Osayi-Samuel was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Squad17 Apr 2034
A falling-out at Barau
Thabiso Msele and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Match15 Apr 2034
0‑2 to Bayelsa United, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.
The dugout17 Apr 2034
“We were not good enough today and I am not going to dress it up.” Interim Coach after 0‑2, in the tone of a man who knows the next question and does not intend to answer it.
The dugout17 Apr 2034
Loiange Ondoa has become a man the manager trusts
Nobody at Barau 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.
Looking ahead17 Apr 2034
Kano Pillars next, and one man in the Barau dressing room knows their training ground better than his own. The reception will tell him what they thought of him.
Market17 Apr 2034
The Serge Obassa story refuses to die
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Serge Obassa signs something — a contract at Barau or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match14 Jan 2034
Chastening afternoon for Barau
A 0‑4 beating by Remo Stars was the sort of result that empties a stadium long before the final whistle.
Market16 Jan 2034
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Barau is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Market16 Jan 2034
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Barau can pretend not to have heard.
Transfer targets16 Jan 2034
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.
Squad16 Jan 2034
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Barau this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The dugout16 Jan 2034
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Wilfred Obi, and the manager let it.
Boardroom16 Jan 2034
Doors closed at Barau
The music was off and the showers ran late. What was said in that dressing room stays there, but Saturday will publish the minutes.
The dugout16 Jan 2034
The view from the dugout
“We will look at it, we will learn from it, and we go again.” The three sentences every manager keeps for a 0‑4 defeat, delivered by Interim Coach to a room that had heard them before.
Squad16 Jan 2034
Beaten 4 times: a bad day for Stephen Simon
4 saves does not settle the argument about whose fault it was, and the argument will run all week. Goalkeepers carry these scorelines whoever caused them.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad9 Jan 2034
There were 8 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.
The dugout9 Jan 2034
This is not rotation. Jimmy Ambrose has not been in the manager's plans for some time, and nobody at Barau is pretending otherwise.
The dugout9 Jan 2034
“I was told what my role would be, and I signed on that basis. It has not happened.” A grievance with a date attached is the hardest kind to settle.
Market9 Jan 2034
“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.
Transfer targets9 Jan 2034
Everything agreed with Enyimba, everything agreed with the player; a doctor is the only person left to persuade. The photograph is a day or two away.
Transfer targets9 Jan 2034
Barau asked and Rangers International said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
Squad9 Jan 2034
Tempers go at Barau
Thabiso Msele 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.
Squad9 Jan 2034
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Ola Obafemi and Barau agree another 3 years.
In brief
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The dugout
The view from the dugout
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Transfer targets
A loan move for Ifeanyi Nwakali is in the works
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The dugout
When it matters, Loiange Ondoa plays
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match26 Dec 2033
Barau sink to position 20
14 points, and a fixture list that is running out. The mathematics are not yet cruel, but they are no longer kind.
Squad26 Dec 2033
Everybody saw it before anybody said it. At 36 the numbers say 3 points down on what he was, and the question for Barau is how to handle a man they owe a great deal.
Squad26 Dec 2033
A falling-out at Barau
Thabiso Msele and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
The terraces5 Dec 2033
Supporters organise against the Barau 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.
Squad5 Dec 2033
47 days, the scan says, and scans are kinder than reality. The fixtures in that window have just become somebody else’s job.
The dugout5 Dec 2033
This is not rotation. Jamilu Ebuehi has not been in the manager's plans for some time, and nobody at Barau is pretending otherwise.
The dugout5 Dec 2033
Loiange Ondoa has become a man the manager trusts
Nobody at Barau 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.
Market5 Dec 2033
“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 dugout5 Dec 2033
“I would rather say it to his face than read about it.” The meeting was requested by the player, which tells you most of what you need to know.
Market5 Dec 2033
“They were honest with me, and I would rather know.” Jamilu Ebuehi has been informed he is not in the manager's thinking at Barau.
Market5 Dec 2033
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Barau know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
Squad5 Dec 2033
The training reports on Stephen Simon are not good
A bad Saturday is forgiven; a bad Tuesday is chosen. Standards have slipped and in a building where everybody watches everybody, it has been noticed.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Match23 Jul 2033
25 matches without a win for Barau
The run now stands at 25, and the questions being asked around Barau are no longer polite ones.
Market25 Jul 2033
The last thing about a transfer that is still about the player is his signature on his own terms, and it is there. Barau have lost him in all but the paperwork.
Market25 Jul 2033
The offer was not close and it was refused without much discussion. Whether the second one is refused as quickly is another matter.
Market25 Jul 2033
“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.
The dugout25 Jul 2033
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Barau may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Match23 Jul 2033
No clean sheets in sight for Barau
6 games now with at least two against. The back line has been rearranged, the goalkeeper has been backed publicly, and the goals keep going in anyway.
Transfer targets25 Jul 2033
No deal for Sunday Dapma at that price
Barau offered $690.0K; Nasarawa United 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.
Squad25 Jul 2033
“The easiest signature of my career.” Osayi Osayi-Samuel and Barau agree another 4 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Transfer targets25 Jul 2033
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.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad17 Jan 2033
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the whole of the defence. 6 saves, several of them the kind nobody expects to see made, and ten outfield players who owe him a drink.
Transfer targets17 Jan 2033
The deal with Nasarawa 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.
Transfer targets17 Jan 2033
No thanks: Ifeanyi Moffi rejects the move
Barau had done everything except persuade the man himself. He stays at Remo Stars, and the manager goes back to the drawing board with the money still in the bank.
Match15 Jan 2033
4 matches without a win for Barau
The run now stands at 4, and the questions being asked around Barau are no longer polite ones.
Transfer targets17 Jan 2033
Barau have gone to Ikorodu City 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.
Transfer targets17 Jan 2033
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Bendel Insurance have kept their man, and Barau go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Match15 Jan 2033
Beaten 0‑1, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
The dugout17 Jan 2033
“We were not good enough today and I am not going to dress it up.” Interim Coach after 0‑1, in the tone of a man who knows the next question and does not intend to answer it.
Squad17 Jan 2033
“The easiest signature of my career.” Joshua Awaziem and Barau agree another 3 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Boardroom3 Jan 2033
The end came on a Tuesday, as these things usually do: a short meeting, a shorter statement, and Victor Babatunde clearing his office by noon. Football’s cruellest ritual, performed to schedule.
The terraces3 Jan 2033
The mood at Barau 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.
Boardroom3 Jan 2033
An empty coaching office at Barau
There is nobody left to promote and nobody left to run a session. The board have brought in a name the supporters do not know, and the question of how a club gets here will outlast whoever answers it.
Squad3 Jan 2033
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the whole of the defence. 7 saves, several of them the kind nobody expects to see made, and ten outfield players who owe him a drink.
Boardroom3 Jan 2033
“Somebody picks the team on Saturday. This week it is me, and that is as far as I have thought.” No promises were made in either direction, which is how these usually begin.
The dugout3 Jan 2033
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Barau may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Squad3 Jan 2033
18 days, the medical staff say, and medical staff are optimists by profession. The team sheet will look wrong without him.
Squad3 Jan 2033
“The easiest signature of my career.” Jimmy Ambrose and Barau agree another 2 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Boardroom3 Jan 2033
Graduation day at Barau
5 boys move up, and somewhere in the building the people who coached them at twelve are quietly having the best morning of their working year. Nothing about this shows up in a result and it is why the academy exists.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Boardroom20 Dec 2032
The scrutiny sharpens at Barau
Nobody upstairs has said anything, which is the loudest thing they could do. Results buy silence in this game; the account at Barau is running low.
Market20 Dec 2032
“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.
Squad20 Dec 2032
Tempers go at Barau
Chukwuma Nwakali 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.
Squad20 Dec 2032
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Ola Akinola and Barau agree another 3 years.
The dugout20 Dec 2032
Nobody at Barau 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.
Market20 Dec 2032
The Serge Obassa talk will not go away
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Barau know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Match1 Nov 2032
Barau sink to position 19
22 points, and a fixture list that is running out. The mathematics are not yet cruel, but they are no longer kind.
Market1 Nov 2032
Shehu Amoo hands in a written request
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Barau can pretend not to have heard.
The dugout1 Nov 2032
Emmanuel Kalu: 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.” Barau have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Squad1 Nov 2032
Tempers go at Barau
Chukwuma Nwakali 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.
Market1 Nov 2032
“There is a gap, and pretending there is not helps nobody.” Neither side has moved, and the calendar is working for exactly one of them.
The dugout1 Nov 2032
Leon Collins without the man who signed him
Every squad is half players the manager chose and half players he inherited. Leon Collins was chosen, the man who chose him has gone, and he starts again from nothing under the next one.
The dugout1 Nov 2032
The manager makes an example of Stephen Simon
“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.
Squad1 Nov 2032
A year in and the language has not come, the city has not opened up, and he eats alone more often than anybody at Barau would like to admit. It is showing on Saturdays.
Market1 Nov 2032
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Barau know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
In brief
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Squad
Nerves in the Barau squad
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Squad
Dennis Ejuke wants out of the dugout
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Boardroom
The Barau dressing room answers
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad18 Oct 2032
Tempers go at Barau
Jimmy Ambrose 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.
Squad18 Oct 2032
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Stephen Simon and Barau agree another 3 years.
The dugout18 Oct 2032
“I would rather say it to his face than read about it.” The meeting was requested by the player, which tells you most of what you need to know.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
The terraces11 Oct 2032
Supporters organise against the Barau 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.
Squad11 Oct 2032
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Barau this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The dugout11 Oct 2032
Serge Obassa gets picked when it counts
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 Serge Obassa is on it.
The dugout11 Oct 2032
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Dennis Ejuke, and the manager let it.
Squad11 Oct 2032
Words at Barau training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Stephen Simon 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 dugout11 Oct 2032
The manager makes Stephen Simon a promise
Nothing in writing and nothing in public: a word about playing time, given face to face at Barau. The team sheets over the next month will show whether it was worth having.
Market11 Oct 2032
Contract settled, hands shaken, no fee changing hands. Luís Alberto leaves Barau the quiet way, and the wage bill breathes a little easier.
Squad11 Oct 2032
The table has started to be checked before the results are in, and that is always the tell. Nobody at Barau says the word out loud, and everybody in the building is thinking it.
Boardroom11 Oct 2032
The Barau production line keeps running
78 graduates out of an academy now rated 7 out of 20. Clubs this size survive on exactly that, and the town knows every name.