Marked for Andre Moukoudi
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad22 May 2028
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Fortuna Mfou this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad22 May 2028
Words at Fortuna Mfou training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Williams Yikat 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 dugout22 May 2028
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.
The dugout22 May 2028
“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.
The dugout22 May 2028
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Fortuna Mfou, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Market22 May 2028
Fortuna Mfou have let the market know Jean Simplice Mbang can be had. No price in the advert, but everyone in the trade knows roughly what it says.
Back issues
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad10 May 2027
Williams Yikat 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.
Squad10 May 2027
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Suleiman Badaru was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The dugout10 May 2027
“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.
The dugout10 May 2027
Clubs make promises constantly and the page usually only hears about them when they are broken. This one was honoured, and the dressing room noticed that faster than any supporter did.
The dugout10 May 2027
Michael Fokou has become a man the manager trusts
Nobody at Fortuna Mfou 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.
Loan watch10 May 2027
23 appearances at Victoria United and the goals keep coming. Fortuna Mfou are watching this more closely than the borrowing club would like.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad19 Apr 2027
A knee injury of the worst kind for Andre Moukoudi
20 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Fortuna Mfou lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
The dugout19 Apr 2027
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Fortuna Mfou may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Squad19 Apr 2027
Zaharaddeen Bello 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.
Squad19 Apr 2027
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Williams Yikat was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The dugout19 Apr 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Joseph Zene Zobo, and the manager let it.
The dugout19 Apr 2027
Nobody at Fortuna Mfou 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.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad12 Apr 2027
Andre Moukoudi damages knee ligaments — 27 days out
The words a physio says slowly. 27 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.
Squad12 Apr 2027
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Fortuna Mfou will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
Squad12 Apr 2027
Suleiman Badaru 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.
Squad12 Apr 2027
Words at Fortuna Mfou training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Raphaël Anaba 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 dugout12 Apr 2027
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.
Loan watch12 Apr 2027
23 appearances at Victoria United and the goals keep coming. Fortuna Mfou are watching this more closely than the borrowing club would like.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad5 Apr 2027
34 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Fortuna Mfou lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
Squad5 Apr 2027
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 25 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Squad5 Apr 2027
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Raphaël Anaba was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Squad5 Apr 2027
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Fortuna Mfou this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The dugout5 Apr 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Junior Patrick Akongo Evouna, and the manager let it.
Market5 Apr 2027
The loan was meant to give him football. 1 games and 0 goals later he is back at Fortuna Mfou no further forward, and everybody involved will explain why it was not their doing.
The dugout5 Apr 2027
Joel Obi 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.
The dugout5 Apr 2027
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 Marc Lafleur Essono is on it.
Market5 Apr 2027
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Fortuna Mfou know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad29 Mar 2027
A knee injury of the worst kind for Andre Moukoudi
41 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Fortuna Mfou lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Squad29 Mar 2027
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Fortuna Mfou will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
Squad29 Mar 2027
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Fortuna Mfou this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad29 Mar 2027
Suleiman Badaru 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.
Loan watch29 Mar 2027
“I am grateful for the games, but I did not become a footballer to be somebody else's spare part.” He wants to be at Fortuna Mfou, and 1 appearances in 29 say he has earned the hearing.
The dugout29 Mar 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Sebastian Arnaud, and the manager let it.