The Free State Stars Chronicle
Market19 Jun 2028
Terms done: Rivaldo Grobler is going
Fee agreed, wages agreed, and Gor Mahia waiting with a shirt. Nobody at Free State Stars is pretending otherwise, and the supporters have stopped asking whether and started asking when.
Squad19 Jun 2028
Tempers go at Free State Stars
Keagan Tau 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.
Transfer targets19 Jun 2028
Free State Stars rebuffed over Gleiker Mendoza
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Shakhtar have kept their man, and Free State Stars go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Squad19 Jun 2028
Thamsanqa Ngcobo stays put
“The easiest signature of my career.” Thamsanqa Ngcobo and Free State Stars agree another 4 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
The dugout19 Jun 2028
No hiding place for Richard Matloga
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Richard Matloga, and the manager let it.
Transfer targets19 Jun 2028
Free State Stars try to borrow Ronnie Hollingshead
Aston Villa 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 dugout19 Jun 2028
When it matters, Antonio Van Wyk plays
It is never announced and it is entirely visible: the biggest afternoons of the season keep containing him. A press box works this out long before anybody at the club confirms a word of it.
Squad19 Jun 2028
A row about effort at Free State Stars
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Ramahlwe Ngcobo was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Market19 Jun 2028
Siyabonga Dala linked with a move away
The name of Siyabonga Dala keeps appearing in other people's back pages. Free State Stars say nothing, which says plenty.
In brief
- Market Still no signature from Khama Kekana
- Boardroom Free State Stars keep producing them
- Squad Setback for Evidence Mphela