A brace, and Patrick Afful takes the afternoon — 8.35
There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. Patrick Afful provided it, and the 8.35 beside his name is if anything generous to everybody else.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at New Edubiase United this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
9 goals in one match, Amos Paintsil on the scoresheet, and a scoreline that will look like a misprint. Neutrals could not have asked more of New Edubiase United and Wa All Stars.
“The easiest signature of my career.” Isaac Wakaso and New Edubiase United agree another 2 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Yacouba Ouattara 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.
Conceding is one thing; the response is what tells you about a dressing room. Patrick Afful had New Edubiase United level again within 2 minutes, and Aduana Stars never got to play with a lead at all.
A month is long enough that nobody gets in by accident. Kamaldeen Mensah is in the division's best eleven for it, which is a quieter compliment than an award and a more reliable one.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at New Edubiase United this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Yacouba Ouattara 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.
Nobody at New Edubiase United 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.
Yacouba Ouattara 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.
“I was told straight, and I would rather have it straight.” The manager at New Edubiase United has been clear about where Afriyie Djiku stands, which is more than many ever get.
A new partner, a signature and a photograph nobody will remember. It funds a fortnight of wages, which is more than most headlines on this page can say for themselves.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at New Edubiase United this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
There is an age at which every good afternoon gets described as a throwback, which is unfair and also accurate. 7.91 at 34, and nobody on the pitch was better.
Yacouba Ouattara 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.
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 8 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at New Edubiase United this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Marked 8.06 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Christian Addo, and the manager let it.
Squad15 Oct 2040
The manager has not finished forgetting Daniel Bukari's mistake
Publicly it is behind everybody. It is not behind the man who picks the team, and the only place that shows is a team sheet. He will get another chance; he will get it in a match that matters less.
Two goals and a mark of 8.48 to go with them. Strikers are judged on afternoons like this one and remembered for far fewer of them than people imagine.
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 7 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
52 appearances across 13 seasons in one shirt. Nobody builds a career like that on purpose any more; it happens to a certain kind of footballer at a certain kind of club.
Involvement in 2 goals, from a player who spent the ninety minutes doing the thing a manager actually wants: being where the ball was going to end up. 7.94 beside his name.
Yacouba Ouattara 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.
8 goals. Both benches spent the second half looking at each other rather than at the pitch. Purists will complain about New Edubiase United and Ashanti Gold in equal measure; everybody else had a wonderful time.
There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. Gladson Asamoah provided it, and the 8.73 beside his name is if anything generous to everybody else.
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.
There is an age at which every good afternoon gets described as a throwback, which is unfair and also accurate. 7.98 at 34, and nobody on the pitch was better.
Two of the goals had his name somewhere on them, which is the afternoon a manager wants from anybody asked to both create and finish. 7.97, and 2 involvements.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at New Edubiase United this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Defending was optional and nobody took up the option. 8 goals between New Edubiase United and Inter Allies, and not one of the people who paid to be there will ask for the money back.
At 34 he is supposed to be managing his minutes. Instead he was marked 8.00 and looked, for ninety minutes, exactly like the player everybody remembers.
Yacouba Ouattara 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.
There is a particular helplessness in conceding 2 times before the twentieth minute. Bechem United tried to reorganise, New Edubiase United did not allow it, and the result was written long before it was confirmed.
Player ratings24 Sep 2040
Gladson Asamoah was on a different afternoon to everybody else
8.30. There are performances a supporter describes to somebody who was not there and cannot quite convey; this was one, and the number does not help either.
Nobody makes a documentary about a hamstring and everybody in the game fears one. New Edubiase United will be careful with the return date, because the second one is always worse than the first.
There is no complaint available here and everybody involved knows it, which does not make the walk to the bench any shorter. Form is the only currency in football that cannot be borrowed against.
Nobody at New Edubiase United 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.
A defender on the scoresheet, which happens rarely enough that everybody in the ground remembers who took the corner. 1 for him, and a mark of 7.54 for the rest of it.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at New Edubiase United this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
6 goals. Both benches spent the second half looking at each other rather than at the pitch. Purists will complain about New Edubiase United and Asante Kotoko in equal measure; everybody else had a wonderful time.
There are footballers who have a good season and footballers a season is remembered for, and the second kind get their names read out in a hall in the summer. New Edubiase United will be quietly delighted and privately nervous.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at New Edubiase United this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
None of them will be seen by anybody outside the training ground for three years, most of them will never play a senior match, and one of them might change the club. That is the whole proposition, and it is why academies exist.
It has stopped being a mood in the stands and started being something organised. Boards can ignore a bad atmosphere for a long time; they cannot ignore this stage of it for very long at all.
Eric Oteng 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.
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.
At 34 he is supposed to be managing his minutes. Instead he was marked 7.83 and looked, for ninety minutes, exactly like the player everybody remembers.
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Yacouba Ouattara and New Edubiase United agree another 2 years.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at New Edubiase United this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
There is no complaint available here and everybody involved knows it, which does not make the walk to the bench any shorter. Form is the only currency in football that cannot be borrowed against.
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 7 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
6 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at New Edubiase United has to find a result from somewhere.
There is an age at which every good afternoon gets described as a throwback, which is unfair and also accurate. 8.07 at 34, and nobody on the pitch was better.
Eric Oteng 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.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at New Edubiase United this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Harrison Wakaso and New Edubiase United agree another 3 years.
It has stopped being a mood in the stands and started being something organised. Boards can ignore a bad atmosphere for a long time; they cannot ignore this stage of it for very long at all.
Player ratings13 Feb 2040
A brace, and Amos Wakaso takes the afternoon — 8.31
There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. Amos Wakaso provided it, and the 8.31 beside his name is if anything generous to everybody else.
There is an age at which every good afternoon gets described as a throwback, which is unfair and also accurate. 8.11 at 34, and nobody on the pitch was better.
7.76, 1 on the scoresheet, and the specific comedy of a back-four player celebrating like somebody who does this every week. He does not, and that is exactly why the ground reacted the way it did.
4 without a win now, and the ground has developed the special quiet of a crowd that expects the worst. One scrappy 1-0 would cure most of it; that is the maddening part.
Eric Oteng 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.
Defending was optional and nobody took up the option. 11 goals between New Edubiase United and Hasaacas, and not one of the people who paid to be there will ask for the money back.
350 appearances across 13 seasons in one shirt. Nobody builds a career like that on purpose any more; it happens to a certain kind of footballer at a certain kind of club.
“The easiest signature of my career.” Gladson Asamoah and New Edubiase United agree another 4 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at New Edubiase United this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 7 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
Eric Oteng 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.
In brief
SquadA muscle injury sidelines Emmanuel Amoah for 14 days
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 7 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
At 34 he is supposed to be managing his minutes. Instead he was marked 8.17 and looked, for ninety minutes, exactly like the player everybody remembers.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at New Edubiase United this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
It has stopped being a mood in the stands and started being something organised. Boards can ignore a bad atmosphere for a long time; they cannot ignore this stage of it for very long at all.
Eric Oteng 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 goal that put Inter Allies ahead was still being replayed on the concourse when New Edubiase United equalised, 3 minutes later. Leads are only worth what you do with them.
There is an age at which every good afternoon gets described as a throwback, which is unfair and also accurate. 7.96 at 33, and nobody on the pitch was better.
There are footballers who have a good season and footballers a season is remembered for, and the second kind get their names read out in a hall in the summer. New Edubiase United will be quietly delighted and privately nervous.
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Jonathan Boakye and New Edubiase United agree another 2 years.
Eric Oteng 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.
Defending was optional and nobody took up the option. 6 goals between New Edubiase United and Asante Kotoko, and not one of the people who paid to be there will ask for the money back.
It is a specific kind of quiet, a ground watching a winning position dissolve. Liberty Professionals kept coming because nothing stopped them, and New Edubiase United will be asked about the last half hour all week.
Two goals and a mark of 9.07 to go with them. Strikers are judged on afternoons like this one and remembered for far fewer of them than people imagine.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at New Edubiase United this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
He won it back and then made something of it, which is two jobs and the reason the scoreline looks the way it does. 12 combined actions and a mark of 7.73, and not one of them will make a highlights package.
Marked 8.20 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.
Beaten 5 times, with 5 saves for company. Goalkeepers carry these scorelines on their record whoever actually caused them, which is the quiet injustice of the job.
Nobody at New Edubiase United 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.
It has stopped being a mood in the stands and started being something organised. Boards can ignore a bad atmosphere for a long time; they cannot ignore this stage of it for very long at all.
3 wins in a row changes how opponents warm up: quieter, more glances across. Runs end, everybody knows that — but nobody in this dressing room is planning for it.
A 5‑3 win over Great Olympics, earned rather than given, and the sort of afternoon that sends everyone home talking about next week instead of this one.
Eric Oteng 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.
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 one version of being left out a player cannot argue with, and the one he takes worst. Somebody else has been better and the team sheet says so, in public, every week until it changes.
103 appearances across 12 seasons in one shirt. Nobody builds a career like that on purpose any more; it happens to a certain kind of footballer at a certain kind of club.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at New Edubiase United this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Headers, blocks, tackles, interceptions — 17 of them, and not one goal behind him. The sort of performance that never makes a highlight reel and wins football matches.
“The easiest signature of my career.” Harrison Adjei and New Edubiase United agree another 2 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Supporters who sing when it goes badly are supporters. Supporters who gather afterwards are a problem, and everybody inside the building knows which of the two this now is.
2 in front and in complete control, and it finished with Medeama the happier side. There is no version of this afternoon that New Edubiase United will enjoy reviewing.
5 without a win now, and the ground has developed the special quiet of a crowd that expects the worst. One scrappy 1-0 would cure most of it; that is the maddening part.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at New Edubiase United this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
“The easiest signature of my career.” Jeffrey Owusu and New Edubiase United agree another 2 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason New Edubiase United will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Patrick Afful and New Edubiase United agree another 4 years.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at New Edubiase United this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
A month is long enough that nobody gets in by accident. Patrick Afful is in the division's best eleven for it, which is a quieter compliment than an award and a more reliable one.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason New Edubiase United will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Eric Oteng 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.
Defending was optional and nobody took up the option. 6 goals between New Edubiase United and Hasaacas, and not one of the people who paid to be there will ask for the money back.
8 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.
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Emmanuel Inusah and New Edubiase United agree another 3 years.
Supporters who sing when it goes badly are supporters. Supporters who gather afterwards are a problem, and everybody inside the building knows which of the two this now is.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at New Edubiase United this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
7 goals. Both benches spent the second half looking at each other rather than at the pitch. Purists will complain about New Edubiase United and Heart of Lions in equal measure; everybody else had a wonderful time.
Beaten 4 times, with 2 saves for company. Goalkeepers carry these scorelines on their record whoever actually caused them, which is the quiet injustice of the job.
Eric Oteng 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 words a physio says slowly. 18 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.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at New Edubiase United this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Patrick Afful. 3‑2 against Ashanti Gold, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
Nobody at New Edubiase United 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.
The words a physio says slowly. 25 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.
There is an age at which every good afternoon gets described as a throwback, which is unfair and also accurate. 7.82 at 33, and nobody on the pitch was better.
“The easiest signature of my career.” Eric Oteng and New Edubiase United agree another 2 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Eric Oteng 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 words a physio says slowly. 32 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.
Supporters who sing when it goes badly are supporters. Supporters who gather afterwards are a problem, and everybody inside the building knows which of the two this now is.
There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. Yacouba Ouattara provided it, and the 8.23 beside his name is if anything generous to everybody else.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at New Edubiase United this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Two or more conceded in each of the last 4 matches. It is not one mistake repeating itself, which would be the easier thing to fix; it is a different one every week.
It needed Yacouba Ouattara to find the net to bring anything home at all: 2‑2 against Bechem United, and half the dressing room will call it a point won.
There is no complaint available here and everybody involved knows it, which does not make the walk to the bench any shorter. Form is the only currency in football that cannot be borrowed against.
The words a physio says slowly. 39 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.
Eric Oteng 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.
6 goals. Both benches spent the second half looking at each other rather than at the pitch. Purists will complain about New Edubiase United and Asante Kotoko in equal measure; everybody else had a wonderful time.
The words a physio says slowly. 46 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.
A 6‑4 win over Liberty Professionals, earned rather than given, and the sort of afternoon that sends everyone home talking about next week instead of this one.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at New Edubiase United this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Patrick Afful was on a different afternoon to everybody else
8.44. There are performances a supporter describes to somebody who was not there and cannot quite convey; this was one, and the number does not help either.
Marked 8.31 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Bernard Baba and New Edubiase United agree another 2 years.
Nobody at New Edubiase United 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.
The words a physio says slowly. 53 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.
392 appearances across 13 seasons in one shirt. Nobody builds a career like that on purpose any more; it happens to a certain kind of footballer at a certain kind of club.
4 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at New Edubiase United has to find a result from somewhere.
Eric Oteng 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 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.
Clubs spend fortunes looking for players and occasionally find one down the corridor. Francis Paintsil is that, and the reception he gets on his first appearance will be different in kind from the one any signing receives.
Clubs spend fortunes looking for players and occasionally find one down the corridor. Nana Afful is that, and the reception he gets on his first appearance will be different in kind from the one any signing receives.
The words a physio says slowly. 127 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.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at New Edubiase United this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
134 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. New Edubiase United lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at New Edubiase United this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Nobody at New Edubiase United 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.
141 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. New Edubiase United lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
It has stopped being a mood in the stands and started being something organised. Boards can ignore a bad atmosphere for a long time; they cannot ignore this stage of it for very long at all.
Yacouba Ouattara had done his part in building a 2-goal cushion. What happened after that was collective, and BA All Stars were allowed back into a match that had been finished with.
At 33 he is supposed to be managing his minutes. Instead he was marked 8.33 and looked, for ninety minutes, exactly like the player everybody remembers.
One scored and one made, which is a different afternoon from scoring twice and an easier one to overlook. Marked 7.72, and involved in 2 of his side's goals.
Two of the goals had his name somewhere on them, which is the afternoon a manager wants from anybody asked to both create and finish. 7.94, and 2 involvements.
20 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. New Edubiase United lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Medeama will want this one forgotten quickly: 5‑1, every duel lost, and a long ride home. New Edubiase United were ruthless in the way good sides are ruthless.
The board’s statement ran to three sentences and one of them mentioned results. Baba Essien has managed long enough to translate: win soon, or the next statement is shorter.
“The easiest signature of my career.” Eric Oteng and New Edubiase United agree another 2 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at New Edubiase United this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
6 goals. Both benches spent the second half looking at each other rather than at the pitch. Purists will complain about New Edubiase United and Medeama in equal measure; everybody else had a wonderful time.
27 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. New Edubiase United lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Nobody upstairs has said anything, which is the loudest thing they could do. Results buy silence in this game; the account at New Edubiase United is running low.
6 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at New Edubiase United has to find a result from somewhere.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” New Edubiase United have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Eric Oteng 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.
6 goals in one match, Amos Wakaso on the scoresheet, and a scoreline that will look like a misprint. Neutrals could not have asked more of New Edubiase United and WAFA.
34 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. New Edubiase United lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
5 without a win now, and the ground has developed the special quiet of a crowd that expects the worst. One scrappy 1-0 would cure most of it; that is the maddening part.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at New Edubiase United this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
It has stopped being a mood in the stands and started being something organised. Boards can ignore a bad atmosphere for a long time; they cannot ignore this stage of it for very long at all.
41 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. New Edubiase United lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Two or more conceded in each of the last 6 matches. It is not one mistake repeating itself, which would be the easier thing to fix; it is a different one every week.
Eric Oteng 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.
There is no complaint available here and everybody involved knows it, which does not make the walk to the bench any shorter. Form is the only currency in football that cannot be borrowed against.
48 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. New Edubiase United lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
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.
Amos Wakaso had done his part in building a 2-goal cushion. What happened after that was collective, and Heart of Lions were allowed back into a match that had been finished with.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” New Edubiase United have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
There is an age at which every good afternoon gets described as a throwback, which is unfair and also accurate. 8.13 at 33, and nobody on the pitch was better.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at New Edubiase United this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
55 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. New Edubiase United lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Eric Oteng 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.
62 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. New Edubiase United lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Yacouba Ouattara had done his part in building a 2-goal cushion. What happened after that was collective, and Ashanti Gold were allowed back into a match that had been finished with.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at New Edubiase United this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
2‑3 to Ashanti Gold, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.
Squad24 Jan 2039
Patrick Afful 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.
It has stopped being a mood in the stands and started being something organised. Boards can ignore a bad atmosphere for a long time; they cannot ignore this stage of it for very long at all.
69 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. New Edubiase United lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Eric Oteng 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.