The Niger Tornadoes Sentinel
The dugout23 Dec 2030
The manager makes an example of Aliyu Hussaini
“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.
Squad23 Dec 2030
Chibueze Glamour Eziefula 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.
Squad23 Dec 2030
Prosper Ibekwe in a row with a teammate
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Niger Tornadoes this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The dugout23 Dec 2030
When it matters, Salomon Chigoziem 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.
Market23 Dec 2030
The Salomon Chigoziem story refuses to die
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Salomon Chigoziem signs something — a contract at Niger Tornadoes or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
The dugout23 Dec 2030
Prosper Ibekwe knocks on the manager's door
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Niger Tornadoes, and both men came out saying it was fine.
The dugout23 Dec 2030
The manager makes Daniel Asante a promise
Nothing in writing and nothing in public: a word about playing time, given face to face at Niger Tornadoes. The team sheets over the next month will show whether it was worth having.
Boardroom23 Dec 2030
The Niger Tornadoes academy earns its keep
31 graduates, from a department now rated 7 out of 20. Nothing about the academy appears in a result, and nothing about the club’s future exists without it.
Squad23 Dec 2030
Umar Ndidi is not doing himself any favours
A manager forgives a bad Saturday far more readily than a bad Tuesday, because one of them he can explain and the other one he chose. The reports this week have not been good.
In brief
- Squad Word from the training ground: Ismail Sarki
- Boardroom The Niger Tornadoes board choose calm