Anare Kumar

Striker - Suva
21 Apr 2031
Monday
Process
246 Edition

The Suva Courier

14 Apr 2031
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Match

4 matches without a win for Suva

The run now stands at 4, and the questions being asked around Suva are no longer polite ones.

Squad

Anare Kumar gets it from the manager

“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.

Match

Suva and Tailevu Naitasiri cancel each other out

Nil-nil, and few chances worth the name. Tailevu Naitasiri came to defend and left with exactly what they came for.

In brief

Back issues
202 Edition

The Suva Courier

10 Jun 2030
From our football correspondent Crisis

Match

Suva come up short against Lautoka

Lautoka left with the points after a 0-1 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.

Squad

Shivam Shandil gets it from the manager

“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.

Squad

Anare Kumar signs a new deal

“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Anare Kumar commits to Suva for another 3 years.

Market

Nadi are about to pick up the phone

A conversation is coming this week. Suva will put a number on him, and from there it stops being football and becomes arithmetic.

Market

Bruce Hughes linked with a move away

The name of Bruce Hughes keeps appearing in other people's back pages. Suva say nothing, which says plenty.

Squad

Joeli Ranitu called up by his country

A window away with the national side, and a shirt at Suva that briefly doubles as an advertisement. A call-up flatters the player and the club that built him in the same breath.

In brief

  • Squad Anare Kumar knocks on the manager's door
  • Boardroom The Suva production line keeps running
201 Edition

The Suva Courier

3 Jun 2030
From our football correspondent Crisis

Boardroom

Pressure builds in the Suva boardroom

The directors have stopped offering the manager public warmth. In football that is usually the stage before the short statement.

Boardroom

Suva put Dave Qaraniqio on notice

The board have said in public what they had been saying in private. Results between now and the next meeting decide it, and everybody in the building knows the arithmetic.

Match

Suva are in real trouble now

Position 8, 15 points, and a fixture list with fewer games left in it than excuses. The arithmetic is not cruel yet, but it has stopped being kind.

Squad

The month belongs to Liberato Fenton

The award is a small thing with a heavy meaning: for four weeks nobody in this division did his job better. Suva have the trophy on a shelf and the player in the side.

Squad

Anare Kumar gets it from the manager

“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.

Market

Talks stall between Suva and Nishal Sharma

“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.

Match

Suva and Navua cancel each other out

Nil-nil, and few chances worth the name. Navua came to defend and left with exactly what they came for.

Market

Simione Nabenu linked with a move away

The name of Simione Nabenu keeps appearing in other people's back pages. Suva say nothing, which says plenty.

Squad

Epeli Qaraniqio knocks on the manager's door

“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Suva, and both men came out saying it was fine.

In brief

198 Edition

The Suva Courier

13 May 2030
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Match

No end in sight to Suva's wait for a win

4 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Suva has to find a result from somewhere.

Market

Anare Kumar has one foot out of the door

Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Suva they have already started talking about him in the past tense.

Squad

Epeli Qaraniqio stays put

“The easiest signature of my career.” Epeli Qaraniqio and Suva agree another 3 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.

Squad

The manager makes an example of Amitesh Krishna

“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.

Match

No goals between Suva and Labasa

Ninety minutes, two goalkeepers with clean gloves, and not one finish worth keeping. Labasa will be the happier side with the point.

Squad

Uzayr Buksh asks for a word with the manager

“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.

In brief

  • Market Bruce Hughes linked with a move away
  • Squad Ramzan Khan wants a proper job in this side
  • Boardroom The Suva production line keeps running
194 Edition

The Suva Courier

15 Apr 2030
From our football correspondent Upbeat

Match

Suva make it 3 in a row

Momentum is a hard thing to buy and an easy thing to lose, and right now Suva have 3 straight wins of it.

Market

Anare Kumar has one foot out of the door

Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Suva they have already started talking about him in the past tense.

Match

Suva see off Tailevu Naitasiri

Three points for Suva, 1-0 the final word against Tailevu Naitasiri in a contest settled by the finer margins.

Squad

The manager makes an example of Raneshwar Goundar

“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.

Market

Bruce Hughes linked with a move away

The name of Bruce Hughes keeps appearing in other people's back pages. Suva say nothing, which says plenty.

Squad

Ramzan Khan wants a proper job in this side

Shifted about, taken off before the hour, asked to do somebody else's running — Ramzan Khan has had enough of being useful and would like to be picked. Suva know, and have known for weeks.

In brief

190 Edition

The Suva Courier

18 Mar 2030
From our football correspondent Crisis

Match

No end in sight to Suva's wait for a win

10 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Suva has to find a result from somewhere.

Squad

Sakaraia Nawalu is the real thing at 16

A season average of 6.67 at an age when most of his year group are still in the youth team. Suva know what they have, and so, by now, does everybody else.

Market

Anare Kumar has one foot out of the door

Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Suva they have already started talking about him in the past tense.

Match

Nadroga take the points off Suva

Beaten 1-2, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.

Squad

Alexandr Mozgovoy gets it from the manager

“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.

Squad

Panapasa Tawakece is off the mark for Suva

The first one is the one every signing is asked about until it arrives. It has arrived, and he can stop being asked.

In brief

186 Edition

The Suva Courier

18 Feb 2030
From our football correspondent Crisis

Market

Anare Kumar has one foot out of the door

Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Suva they have already started talking about him in the past tense.

Market

Bruce Hughes linked with a move away

The name of Bruce Hughes keeps appearing in other people's back pages. Suva say nothing, which says plenty.

Boardroom

Suva keep producing them

15 graduates from an academy now rated 7 out of 20. A club this size does not survive any other way, and every name on that list is known in the town.

In brief

185 Edition

The Suva Courier

11 Feb 2030
From our football correspondent Crisis

Boardroom

The silence upstairs is getting loud at Suva

Nobody on the board has said anything against the manager, which is the point — they have stopped saying anything for him either.

Match

Suva are in real trouble now

Position 10, 12 points, and a fixture list with fewer games left in it than excuses. The arithmetic is not cruel yet, but it has stopped being kind.

Market

Nadroga expected to open talks for Anare Kumar

Both sides expect a conversation in the coming days. Suva will name a price, and everything after that is arithmetic.

In brief

182 Edition

The Suva Courier

21 Jan 2030
From our football correspondent Crisis

Market

Nasinu come back empty-handed

The bid was some way short and Suva did not need long over it. Nobody in the game reads a first refusal as the end of anything.

Market

The Bruce Hughes talk will not go away

Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Suva know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.

Boardroom

The Suva production line keeps running

15 graduates out of an academy now rated 7 out of 20. Clubs this size survive on exactly that, and the town knows every name.

In brief

181 Edition

The Suva Courier

14 Jan 2030
From our football correspondent Crisis

Boardroom

The silence upstairs is getting loud at Suva

Nobody on the board has said anything against the manager, which is the point — they have stopped saying anything for him either.

Match

Suva are in real trouble now

Position 10, 12 points, and a fixture list with fewer games left in it than excuses. The arithmetic is not cruel yet, but it has stopped being kind.

Squad

Alexandr Mozgovoy stays put

“The easiest signature of my career.” Alexandr Mozgovoy and Suva agree another 3 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.

In brief

180 Edition

The Suva Courier

7 Jan 2030
From our football correspondent Crisis

Boardroom

Suva put Dave Qaraniqio on notice

The board have said in public what they had been saying in private. Results between now and the next meeting decide it, and everybody in the building knows the arithmetic.

Boardroom

Suva counting the cost

The accounts make uncomfortable reading. Wages first and ambition second is the order of business at Suva now.

Market

Epeli Qaraniqio has one foot out of the door

Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Suva they have already started talking about him in the past tense.

In brief

178 Edition

The Suva Courier

24 Dec 2029
From our football correspondent Crisis

Squad

Anare Kumar gets it from the manager

“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.

Market

The Bruce Hughes talk will not go away

Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Suva know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.

Boardroom

The Suva production line keeps running

15 graduates out of an academy now rated 7 out of 20. Clubs this size survive on exactly that, and the town knows every name.

In brief

177 Edition

The Suva Courier

17 Dec 2029
From our football correspondent Crisis

Boardroom

The silence upstairs is getting loud at Suva

Nobody on the board has said anything against the manager, which is the point — they have stopped saying anything for him either.

Match

Suva are in real trouble now

Position 10, 12 points, and a fixture list with fewer games left in it than excuses. The arithmetic is not cruel yet, but it has stopped being kind.

Squad

Anare Kumar: 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.” Suva have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.

In brief

173 Edition

The Suva Courier

19 Nov 2029
From our football correspondent Crisis

Boardroom

The silence upstairs is getting loud at Suva

Nobody on the board has said anything against the manager, which is the point — they have stopped saying anything for him either.

Match

Suva are in real trouble now

Position 10, 12 points, and a fixture list with fewer games left in it than excuses. The arithmetic is not cruel yet, but it has stopped being kind.

Market

Anare Kumar has one foot out of the door

Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Suva they have already started talking about him in the past tense.

Squad

Michael De Vries signs a new deal

“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Michael De Vries commits to Suva for another 2 years.

Market

The Simione Nabenu talk will not go away

Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Suva know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.

Squad

Joeli Ranitu called up by his country

A window away with the national side, and a shirt at Suva that briefly doubles as an advertisement. A call-up flatters the player and the club that built him in the same breath.

In brief

170 Edition

The Suva Courier

29 Oct 2029
From our football correspondent Crisis

Squad

Anare Kumar gets it from the manager

“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.

Market

The Bruce Hughes talk will not go away

Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Suva know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.

Squad

Ali Ngaradoumbe asks for a word with the manager

“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.

In brief

169 Edition

The Suva Courier

22 Oct 2029
From our football correspondent Crisis

Boardroom

The silence upstairs is getting loud at Suva

Nobody on the board has said anything against the manager, which is the point — they have stopped saying anything for him either.

Match

Suva are in real trouble now

Position 10, 12 points, and a fixture list with fewer games left in it than excuses. The arithmetic is not cruel yet, but it has stopped being kind.

Market

Anare Kumar has one foot out of the door

Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Suva they have already started talking about him in the past tense.

In brief

165 Edition

The Suva Courier

24 Sep 2029
From our football correspondent Crisis

Boardroom

The silence upstairs is getting loud at Suva

Nobody on the board has said anything against the manager, which is the point — they have stopped saying anything for him either.

Match

Suva are in real trouble now

Position 10, 12 points, and a fixture list with fewer games left in it than excuses. The arithmetic is not cruel yet, but it has stopped being kind.

Market

Anare Kumar has one foot out of the door

Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Suva they have already started talking about him in the past tense.

In brief

162 Edition

The Suva Courier

3 Sep 2029
From our football correspondent Crisis

Boardroom

Suva put Dave Qaraniqio on notice

The board have said in public what they had been saying in private. Results between now and the next meeting decide it, and everybody in the building knows the arithmetic.

Market

Nadroga are about to pick up the phone

A conversation is coming this week. Suva will put a number on him, and from there it stops being football and becomes arithmetic.

Squad

Panapasa Tawakece knocks on the manager's door

“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Suva, and both men came out saying it was fine.

Squad

Anare Kumar gets it from the manager

“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.

Market

The Bruce Hughes talk will not go away

Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Suva know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.

Market

Mohammed Ayman placed on the list

Suva have made Mohammed Ayman available for transfer. A career at this club is over in all but paperwork.

In brief

158 Edition

The Suva Courier

6 Aug 2029
From our football correspondent Crisis

Boardroom

Suva put Dave Qaraniqio on notice

The board have said in public what they had been saying in private. Results between now and the next meeting decide it, and everybody in the building knows the arithmetic.

Squad

Shivam Shandil stays put

“The easiest signature of my career.” Shivam Shandil and Suva agree another 4 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.

Market

A long bet from Suva on Filipe Tiko

He is 19, and nobody at Suva signed him for this season. Deals like this are judged in four years, by people who may not still be in the building.

Squad

Anare Kumar gets it from the manager

“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.

Market

The Bruce Hughes talk will not go away

Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Suva know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.

Squad

Panapasa Tawakece has company in his position

The competition arrived without a word said to him about it. Panapasa Tawakece keeps the shirt for now, at Suva's convenience rather than his own.

In brief

154 Edition

The Suva Courier

9 Jul 2029
From our football correspondent Crisis

Market

Rishal Shankar 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 Suva can pretend not to have heard.

Squad

Teboho Dala: 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.” Suva have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.

Squad

Kavaia Rawaqa signs a new deal

“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Kavaia Rawaqa commits to Suva for another 2 years.

In brief

149 Edition

The Suva Courier

4 Jun 2029
From our football correspondent Crisis

Match

Suva sink to position 10

9 points, and a fixture list that is running out. The mathematics are not yet cruel, but they are no longer kind.

Boardroom

Dave Qaraniqio has until the next board meeting

What was said behind closed doors has now been said in front of a microphone. Everybody at Suva can do the arithmetic, including the man it is aimed at.

Market

Rishal Shankar asks to leave Suva

“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.

Boardroom

Pressure builds in the Suva boardroom

The directors have stopped offering the manager public warmth. In football that is usually the stage before the short statement.

The terraces

The boos come down from three sides

“We pay for this every fortnight. The least we want is somebody who looks like he cares.” 5 of the 23 senior players walked off into it; the rest were not playing.

Match

A bad afternoon for Suva against Navua

0-1 to Navua, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.

Squad

Panapasa Tawakece gets it from the manager

“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.

Squad

The month belongs to Simione Nabenu

The award is a small thing with a heavy meaning: for four weeks nobody in this division did his job better. Suva have the trophy on a shelf and the player in the side.

Squad

Shivam Shandil asks for a word with the manager

“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.

In brief

148 Edition

The Suva Courier

28 May 2029
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Boardroom

The numbers do not look good at Suva

Wages have outrun income and the accountants have started attending meetings they used to send apologies to. Ambition comes second in a season like this.

Market

Epeli Qaraniqio is on his way

The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Suva is pretending he will be back in the shirt.

Squad

The manager makes an example of Kavaia Rawaqa

“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.

In brief

147 Edition

The Suva Courier

21 May 2029
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Match

Suva find a way past Nadroga

Nadroga made Suva work for it, but the scoreboard read 2-1 at the end and the table does not ask how.

Squad

The manager makes an example of Rishal Shankar

“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.

Squad

Anare Kumar stays put

“The easiest signature of my career.” Anare Kumar and Suva agree another 3 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.

Squad

Simione Nabenu is off the mark for Suva

The first one is the one every signing is asked about until it arrives. It has arrived, and he can stop being asked.

Market

Ramzan Khan linked with a move away

The name of Ramzan Khan keeps appearing in other people's back pages. Suva say nothing, which says plenty.

Squad

Bruce Hughes wants a proper job in this side

Shifted about, taken off before the hour, asked to do somebody else's running — Bruce Hughes has had enough of being useful and would like to be picked. Suva know, and have known for weeks.

In brief