14 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Tusker lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
Two goals and a mark of 8.55 to go with them. Strikers are judged on afternoons like this one and remembered for far fewer of them than people imagine.
Ian Simiyu Jr. 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.
Squad24 Apr 2028
Abud Omar 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.
22 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Tusker lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
Two goals and a mark of 8.67 to go with them. Strikers are judged on afternoons like this one and remembered for far fewer of them than people imagine.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Tusker have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Tusker is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Abud Omar 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.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Collins Odhiambo was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
In brief
The dugoutThe manager has not finished forgetting Joseph Okoth's mistake
29 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Tusker lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
Footballers are asked about their boyhood club so often that nobody listens to the answer. Lameck Omondi has just signed for Tusker, and for once the answer mattered.
Squad10 Apr 2028
Abud Omar 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.
Dennis Oalo 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.
“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.
The dugout10 Apr 2028
The manager’s verdict
“That is on me. I pick the team and I picked wrong.” Managers say that when they mean it and when they need to be seen to, and after 0‑2 Ibrahim Nyakeya left the room before anybody could ask which.
37 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Tusker lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Tusker this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
This is not rotation. Douglas Omanga has not been in the manager's plans for some time, and nobody at Tusker is pretending otherwise.
Squad3 Apr 2028
Words at Tusker training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Abud Omar 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 manager kept them in and said what needed saying. A response is expected on Saturday, and if it does not come the questions move upstairs.
The dugout3 Apr 2028
The manager’s verdict
“That is on me. I pick the team and I picked wrong.” Managers say that when they mean it and when they need to be seen to, and after 0‑1 Ibrahim Nyakeya left the room before anybody could ask which.
45 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Tusker lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Tusker they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Abud Omar 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.
The accounts make uncomfortable reading. Wages first and ambition second is the order of business at Tusker now.
Squad27 Mar 2028
Words at Tusker training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Collins Odhiambo 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.
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 Abud Omar is on it.
It is not much of a headline and it is the reason players believe the next promise. Tusker told Alex Onchwari something would happen and then it happened, which in this industry passes for remarkable.
52 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Tusker lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Tusker can pretend not to have heard.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Tusker is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Ian Simiyu Jr. 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.
Squad20 Mar 2028
Abud Omar 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.
An error at the back is a moment; an error in goal is a goal. Joseph Okoth knows it, the crowd knew it instantly, and there was nobody behind him to make it anything else.
In brief
The dugoutThe view from the dugout
The dugoutJoseph Okoth is still being punished for one mistake
60 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Tusker lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Abud Omar was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
“We earned that. I asked them for a reaction and I got one, and now I want the same again on Saturday.” Ibrahim Nyakeya on a 1‑0 afternoon that pleased him more than he was prepared to show.
“I was told straight, and I would rather have it straight.” The manager at Tusker has been clear about where Douglas Omanga stands, which is more than many ever get.
67 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Tusker lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Tusker this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
“I was told straight, and I would rather have it straight.” The manager at Tusker has been clear about where Chris Erambo stands, which is more than many ever get.
“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.
Squad6 Mar 2028
Words at Tusker training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Thomas Teka 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 supporters are entitled to be angry. So am I. We will put it right.” 0‑1, a manager saying the necessary things, and a dressing room that heard a different version of them.
74 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Tusker lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Tusker is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Everybody at Tusker saw it before anybody said it, which is how this always goes. At 35 the decline is real and measurable — 3 points — and the only question left is how the club handles somebody it owes a great deal to.
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.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Abud Omar was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The words a physio says slowly. 81 days is what the club will announce and everybody who has heard this diagnosis before knows the number is the least of it: the knee comes back before the player does.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 19 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Two goals and a mark of 8.40 to go with them. Strikers are judged on afternoons like this one and remembered for far fewer of them than people imagine.
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Tusker, and it is not being withdrawn.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Tusker is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Abud Omar was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
88 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Tusker lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Tusker will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Tusker, and it is not being withdrawn.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Black Aces have kept their man, and Tusker go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Squad14 Feb 2028
Words at Tusker training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. John Otieno 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.
95 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Tusker lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Tusker will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Two goals and a mark of 8.45 to go with them. Strikers are judged on afternoons like this one and remembered for far fewer of them than people imagine.
Boardroom7 Feb 2028
Tusker close the window on a squad of their own making
5 in and 1 out, and no more changes for months. The manager has what he has, the supporters have their opinion of it, and the table will have the last word.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Tusker this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Senior shirt numbers handed to boys the coaches have known since they were twelve. Most will not make it and all of them have already done the hard part.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Abud Omar was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.