Marked for Emmanuel Ogunjobi
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market13 Feb 2034
The offer from Kano Pillars for Ehije Ukaki was heard out and sent back the same day. First bids are rarely meant to succeed; they are meant to find out how loudly the door closes.
Market13 Feb 2034
“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.
Market13 Feb 2034
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Remo Stars is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Squad13 Feb 2034
Words at Remo Stars training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Adama Goïta 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.
Match11 Feb 2034
It needed Trezeguet Salah to find the net to bring anything home at all: 1‑1 against Nasarawa United, and half the dressing room will call it a point won.
Squad13 Feb 2034
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Remo Stars this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The dugout13 Feb 2034
The manager’s verdict
“I am frustrated, honestly. We did enough to win and we did not win.” Aminu Balogun was not hiding it after 1‑1, and nobody in the Remo Stars dressing room was either.
The dugout13 Feb 2034
The manager makes an example of Wilfred Ebuehi
“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.
Back issues
From our football correspondent
Steady
Match26 Dec 2033
First, on 90 points. The table is a fact and a fact is allowed to be enjoyed, which is as far as anybody at the club is prepared to go in public.
Market26 Dec 2033
Only the photograph left for Gabriel Okoye
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Gabriel Okoye will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Remo Stars the goodbyes have quietly begun.
The dugout26 Dec 2033
This is not rotation. Nnamdi Osayi-Samuel has not been in the manager's plans for some time, and nobody at Remo Stars is pretending otherwise.
Squad26 Dec 2033
Words at Remo Stars training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Adama Goïta 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.
Squad26 Dec 2033
Emmanuel Ogunjobi and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
The dugout26 Dec 2033
When it matters, Adama Goïta plays
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.
Market26 Dec 2033
Ehije Ukaki linked with a move away
The name of Ehije Ukaki keeps appearing in other people's back pages. Remo Stars say nothing, which says plenty.
The dugout26 Dec 2033
Michael Umar 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.
Market26 Dec 2033
Remo Stars have let the market know Gabriel Okoye can be had. No price in the advert, but everyone in the trade knows roughly what it says.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Match8 Jan 2033
4‑0, and Adama Goïta took the headlines on an afternoon when everything Remo Stars tried came off. Days like this are retold all winter.
Market10 Jan 2033
Fee agreed, wages agreed, and Barau waiting with a shirt. Nobody at Remo Stars is pretending otherwise, and the supporters have stopped asking whether and started asking when.
Squad10 Jan 2033
Adama Goïta takes the match ball home
3 goals in one afternoon from one man. The other players were also present, a witness confirmed.
Market10 Jan 2033
“I know what people will say. I know what I want, and it is here.” Barau had the fee agreed and the shirt ready; they did not have the player, and now they will not.
The dugout10 Jan 2033
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Remo Stars may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Market10 Jan 2033
The offer from Warri Wolves for Samuel Anakwe was heard out and sent back the same day. First bids are rarely meant to succeed; they are meant to find out how loudly the door closes.
Market10 Jan 2033
Add another name to the list: Kano Pillars have asked the question everybody in the game has been asking about Ehije Ukaki. The answer from Remo Stars has not changed — yet.
Player ratings10 Jan 2033
A performance of 9.57 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
The terraces10 Jan 2033
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 19-year-old it feels ownership of. Emmanuel Ogunjobi has it now, and everything he does for the rest of his time here will be measured against the goodwill he was handed for free.