The Platinum Stars Courier
Squad9 Aug 2027
Paulo Balbúrdia: 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.” Platinum Stars have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Match7 Aug 2027
Platinum Stars make home a hard place to visit
12 without defeat on their own grass. The pitch has not changed; the crowd has — louder earlier, and quicker to sense when the opposition would rather be somewhere else.
Squad9 Aug 2027
Ronwen Mokotjo is a better footballer than he was
Not a run of form — an actual step up, held for months. At 23 he is doing things at this level he could not do at the start of the season, and the coaching staff will tell you exactly which of them.
Boardroom9 Aug 2027
5 academy players handed senior numbers at Platinum Stars
The morning the pathway stops being a brochure and becomes a team sheet. Most of them will not be here in three years; all of them have already done the hard part, which was getting to today.
Match7 Aug 2027
Platinum Stars come up short against Orlando Pirates
Orlando Pirates left with the points after a 1‑2 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.
Market9 Aug 2027
Platinum Stars promote Teboho Phiri from within
The academy exists for exactly this morning. Teboho Phiri 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.
Market9 Aug 2027
Ronwen Ngcobo steps up from the Platinum Stars academy
There is no fee, no unveiling and no agent on the steps. Ronwen Ngcobo has been at this club since he was a boy and is now, formally, one of the first-team squad — which for a local readership beats any signing of any size.
Market9 Aug 2027
Erick Mokotjo steps up from the Platinum Stars academy
There is no fee, no unveiling and no agent on the steps. Erick Mokotjo has been at this club since he was a boy and is now, formally, one of the first-team squad — which for a local readership beats any signing of any size.
Market9 Aug 2027
One of our own: Erick Erasmus joins the Platinum Stars first team
Clubs spend fortunes looking for players and occasionally find one down the corridor. Erick Erasmus is that, and the reception he gets on his first appearance will be different in kind from the one any signing receives.
In brief
- Squad The manager makes an example of Evidence Furman
- Squad Words at Platinum Stars training over how hard people work
- Player ratings Matías Esquivel runs at them all day