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.
Odunsi Sunday 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
SquadWords at Remo Stars training over how hard people work
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.
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.
In brief
SquadWords at Remo Stars training over how hard people work
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Abraham Madu will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Remo Stars the goodbyes have quietly begun.
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.
Squad1 Oct 2040
Alex Oyowah 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.
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.
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.
Squad17 Sep 2040
Alex Oyowah 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 needed Calvin Ejuke to find the net to bring anything home at all: 1‑1 against Rangers International, and half the dressing room will call it a point won.
Nobody at Remo Stars 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.
Everyone has stopped pretending: Abia Warriors will make the call about Chukwuma Umar this week. Remo Stars have a number in mind, and the number is not shy.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Nnamdi Ajayi will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Remo Stars the goodbyes have quietly begun.
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.
Squad10 Sep 2040
Words at Remo Stars training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Alex Oyowah 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.
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Sunday Eze. 1‑0 against Kwara United, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
Everyone has stopped pretending: Plateau United will make the call about Calvin Ejuke this week. Remo Stars have a number in mind, and the number is not shy.
There were 88 minutes on the clock and Bayelsa United had all but banked the point. Football rarely reads the room, and Remo Stars did not stop to explain themselves.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Chukwuma Umar will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Remo Stars the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Biola Sabitu 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.
Squad27 Aug 2040
Words at Remo Stars training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Alex Oyowah 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 name of Abraham Madu has come up in conversations Remo Stars were not part of. Nothing formal, nothing signed — but nothing about it accidental either.
A 2‑1 win over Bayelsa United, earned rather than given, and the sort of afternoon that sends everyone home talking about next week instead of this one.
At 23 he is being sung about by people twice his age, which is an affection a signing has to earn over years and a local kid gets for turning up. It is also the hardest thing in football to live up to.
Ahmed Akinyele 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.
Squad20 Aug 2040
Alex Oyowah 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.
The phone has started ringing about Chukwuma Umar again, and this time the name on the line is Niger Tornadoes. Remo Stars are listening politely and promising nothing.
“I have given this everything, but my family is not here and neither am I, not really.” A footballer can be coached out of bad form. Nobody has ever been coached out of this, and Remo Stars know it.
Nobody at Remo Stars 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.
“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 Remo Stars, and it is not being withdrawn.
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.
Ahmed Akinyele 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.
Squad13 Aug 2040
Biola Sabitu 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.
“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 Remo Stars, and it is not being withdrawn.
Nobody makes a documentary about a hamstring and everybody in the game fears one. Remo Stars will be careful with the return date, because the second one is always worse than the first.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Frank Bassey will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Remo Stars the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Biola Sabitu 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 phone has started ringing about Nnamdi Ajayi again, and this time the name on the line is Warri Wolves. Remo Stars are listening politely and promising nothing.
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.
The offer from Plateau United for Calvin Ejuke 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.
Odunsi Sunday 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.
Squad30 Jul 2040
Alex Oyowah 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.
The name of Ola Ekong has come up in conversations Remo Stars were not part of. Nothing formal, nothing signed — but nothing about it accidental either.
Nobody at Remo Stars 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.
He found out with everybody else, an hour before kick-off, from a sheet of paper on a wall. Nobody at Remo Stars pretended it was anything other than a decision about him.
The name of Aminu Lookman has come up in conversations Remo Stars were not part of. Nothing formal, nothing signed — but nothing about it accidental either.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Emmanuel Ihenacho will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Remo Stars the goodbyes have quietly begun.
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.
Squad23 Jul 2040
Odunsi Sunday 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.
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.
Sunday Eze wins it after the whistle should have gone
97 minutes played. Sunday Eze found the finish in time that only existed because of earlier delays, and El-Kanemi Warriors went from a point to nothing inside one movement.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Remo Stars have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
The phone has started ringing about Calvin Ejuke again, and this time the name on the line is El-Kanemi Warriors. Remo Stars are listening politely and promising nothing.
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.
Squad16 Jul 2040
Alex Oyowah 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.
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 23-year-old it feels ownership of. Sunday Eze 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.
Everyone has stopped pretending: Katsina United will make the call about Aminu Lookman this week. Remo Stars have a number in mind, and the number is not shy.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Remo Stars will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
198 appearances across 14 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.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Remo Stars can pretend not to have heard.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Remo Stars they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Ahmed Akinyele 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.
3 games without scoring. Strikers stop looking up, midfielders take the extra touch, and every shot that clears the bar is followed by a groan that has been building since the last goal.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Remo Stars will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Remo Stars 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 Remo Stars is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Biola Sabitu 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.
Squad25 Jun 2040
Words at Remo Stars training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Alex Oyowah 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.
Add another name to the list: Shooting Stars have asked the question everybody in the game has been asking about Chukwuma Umar. The answer from Remo Stars has not changed — yet.
Everyone has stopped pretending: Nasarawa United will make the call about Calvin Ejuke this week. Remo Stars have a number in mind, and the number is not shy.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Remo Stars 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 Remo Stars, and it is not being withdrawn.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Remo Stars have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
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.
Squad18 Jun 2040
Alex Oyowah 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.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Remo Stars will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
The offer from Rivers United for Ola Ekong 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.
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.
Squad11 Jun 2040
Odunsi Sunday 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.
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Alex Osimhen. 2‑1 against Rivers United, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
Everyone has stopped pretending: Ikorodu City will make the call about Nnamdi Ajayi this week. Remo Stars have a number in mind, and the number is not shy.
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.
“I was told straight, and I would rather have it straight.” The manager at Remo Stars has been clear about where Aminu Lookman stands, which is more than many ever get.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 20 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
472 appearances across 17 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.
7.77, 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.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Remo Stars they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
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.
Add another name to the list: Ikorodu City have asked the question everybody in the game has been asking about Nnamdi Ajayi. The answer from Remo Stars has not changed — yet.
Squad4 Jun 2040
Alex Oyowah 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.
In brief
Player ratingsNinety minutes of Calvin Ejuke at his very best
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 27 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Aminu Lookman will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Remo Stars the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Biola Sabitu 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.
Squad28 May 2040
Words at Remo Stars training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Alex Oyowah 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.
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Calvin Ejuke. 2‑1 against Barau, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
At 18 he is being sung about by people twice his age, which is an affection a signing has to earn over years and a local kid gets for turning up. It is also the hardest thing in football to live up to.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 34 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Remo Stars they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Ahmed Akinyele 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.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 41 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Two goals and a mark of 8.76 to go with them. Strikers are judged on afternoons like this one and remembered for far fewer of them than people imagine.
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.
Biola Sabitu 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.
Squad14 May 2040
Words at Remo Stars training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Alex Oyowah 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.
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.
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Remo Stars know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
“We keep meeting, and we keep leaving the room with the same numbers we walked in with.” Another round of talks at Remo Stars, another week without a signature from Aminu Amoo.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 48 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
There is no crueller way to lose a football match. Remo Stars scored in the 93th minute, the restart barely happened, and the away end was still standing when the whistle went.
514 appearances across 16 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 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.
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.
9 matches unbeaten here. Every visiting manager is asked about it in the week before, which is precisely why it keeps going.
Squad7 May 2040
Alex Oyowah 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.
A 1‑0 win over Rangers International, earned rather than given, and the sort of afternoon that sends everyone home talking about next week instead of this one.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 55 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Ordabasy Baizhanov will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Remo Stars the goodbyes have quietly begun.
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.
Squad30 Apr 2040
Odunsi Sunday 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.
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.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 62 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Cup ties wait for somebody to seize them, and Nnamdi Ajayi obliged against Ikorodu City. 2‑1 on the night, and the name in the next round’s hat is Remo Stars.
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 6 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
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.
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.
Squad23 Apr 2040
Alex Oyowah 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.
At 21 he is being sung about by people twice his age, which is an affection a signing has to earn over years and a local kid gets for turning up. It is also the hardest thing in football to live up to.
20 defensive actions and a clean sheet at the end of them. A defender's afternoon can only be told by what did not happen, which is why nobody makes a highlights package out of one and every manager in the division would take it.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 69 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Remo Stars they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Biola Sabitu 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.
Squad16 Apr 2040
Words at Remo Stars training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Alex Oyowah 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.
“I have given this everything, but my family is not here and neither am I, not really.” A footballer can be coached out of bad form. Nobody has ever been coached out of this, and Remo Stars know it.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 76 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Calvin Ejuke will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Remo Stars the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Ahmed Akinyele 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.
Squad9 Apr 2040
Words at Remo Stars training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Odunsi Sunday 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.
19 defensive actions and a clean sheet at the end of them. A defender's afternoon can only be told by what did not happen, which is why nobody makes a highlights package out of one and every manager in the division would take it.
17 times he got in the way of something. Centre-halves get written about when they make mistakes and ignored when they do not, so an afternoon like this needs saying out loud: he is the reason the scoreline reads as it does.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 90 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
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.
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.
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.
Squad26 Mar 2040
Alex Oyowah 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.
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.
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.
6 games unbeaten now. Some were earned and some were survived, but a habit is forming — and habits are the hardest thing in football to play against.
Squad12 Mar 2040
Alex Oyowah 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 needed Alex Oyowah to find the net to bring anything home at all: 1‑1 against El-Kanemi Warriors, and half the dressing room will call it a point won.
Nobody at Remo Stars 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.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Remo Stars they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
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.
Squad5 Mar 2040
Words at Remo Stars training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Alex Oyowah 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.
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Mark Gibson. 2‑1 against Plateau United, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
Player ratings5 Mar 2040
Alex Osimhen was on a different afternoon to everybody else
8.25. 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.
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.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Remo Stars they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Ahmed Akinyele 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.
Squad27 Feb 2040
Biola Sabitu 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.
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.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Nnamdi Ajayi will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Remo Stars the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Biola Sabitu 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.
Squad20 Feb 2040
Words at Remo Stars training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Alex Oyowah 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.
19 times he got in the way of something. Centre-halves get written about when they make mistakes and ignored when they do not, so an afternoon like this needs saying out loud: he is the reason the scoreline reads as it does.
“I have given this everything, but my family is not here and neither am I, not really.” A footballer can be coached out of bad form. Nobody has ever been coached out of this, and Remo Stars know it.
11 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.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Remo Stars they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Odunsi Sunday 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.
Squad13 Feb 2040
Words at Remo Stars training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Ahmed Akinyele 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.
“I was told straight, and I would rather have it straight.” The manager at Remo Stars has been clear about where Olamilekan Adedayo stands, which is more than many ever get.
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.
Calvin Ejuke had done his part in building a 2-goal cushion. What happened after that was collective, and Abia Warriors were allowed back into a match that had been finished with.
532 appearances across 18 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.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Remo Stars can pretend not to have heard.
Everything was agreed until it was not, and Daniel Afful reports back to Remo Stars with a summer to forget. Neither club is saying who walked away from the table.
8 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.
“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 Remo Stars, and it is not being withdrawn.
Headers, blocks, tackles, interceptions — 23 of them, and not one goal behind him. The sort of performance that never makes a highlight reel and wins football matches.
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 phone has started ringing about Nnamdi Ajayi again, and this time the name on the line is Ikorodu City. Remo Stars are listening politely and promising nothing.
Squad23 Jan 2040
Words at Remo Stars training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Alex Oyowah 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 deal that would have taken Daniel Afful to Bayelsa United has collapsed at the last stage, and he reports back to Remo Stars with a summer to forget and a season still to play. Nobody is saying which side walked away.
Biola Sabitu 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.
Squad9 Jan 2040
Words at Remo Stars training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Alex Oyowah 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.
“I was told straight, and I would rather have it straight.” The manager at Remo Stars has been clear about where Yaw Amankwa stands, which is more than many ever get.
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.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 15 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Remo Stars can pretend not to have heard.
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. Remo Stars will be quietly delighted and privately nervous.
The offer from Niger Tornadoes for Chukwuma Umar 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.
Remo Stars moved before anybody else could: a new deal for John Adebayor, agreed quietly and announced loudly. Boards extend managers for many reasons; the good one is the one this looks like.
Add another name to the list: Shooting Stars have asked the question everybody in the game has been asking about Calvin Ejuke. The answer from Remo Stars has not changed — yet.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Remo Stars they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 29 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
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. Remo Stars will be quietly delighted and privately nervous.
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.
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.
Squad19 Dec 2039
Alex Oyowah 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.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Remo Stars will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Remo Stars they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Mohamed Shehata and Remo Stars agree another 2 years.
Biola Sabitu 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.
Squad5 Dec 2039
Odunsi Sunday 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.
The board have answered with money instead of encouragement, which is the only answer a manager ever wants. Spending it well is now entirely his problem.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Remo Stars will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
34 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Remo Stars lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
448 appearances across 16 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.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Remo Stars will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
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.
Biola Sabitu 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
SquadWords at Remo Stars training over how hard people work
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Remo Stars they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
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.
Squad3 Oct 2039
Words at Remo Stars training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Odunsi Sunday 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 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.
The deal that would have taken Daniel Afful to Kwara United has collapsed at the last stage, and he reports back to Remo Stars with a summer to forget and a season still to play. Nobody is saying which side walked away.
The chances are being made and something is happening between the making and the finishing. 4 matches now, and the anxiety in the ground arrives a little earlier every week.
Biola Sabitu 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 version of every career where the player ends up somewhere he chose rather than somewhere that chose him. Chinedu Godspower is living that version at Remo Stars, and it tends to show in the first month.
Squad12 Sep 2039
Odunsi Sunday 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.
The name of Abraham Okoye has come up in conversations Remo Stars were not part of. Nothing formal, nothing signed — but nothing about it accidental either.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Remo Stars have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Nnamdi Ajayi will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Remo Stars the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Mark Gibson 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 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.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Remo Stars can pretend not to have heard.
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.
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.
Both sides expect a conversation in the coming days. Remo Stars will name a price, and everything after that is arithmetic.
Squad22 Aug 2039
Words at Remo Stars training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Odunsi Sunday 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.
He won it back and then made something of it, which is two jobs and the reason the scoreline looks the way it does. 11 combined actions and a mark of 6.64, and not one of them will make a highlights package.
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.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Remo Stars have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Frank Bassey will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Remo Stars the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Mark Gibson 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.
A performance of 9.95 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Squad15 Aug 2039
Words at Remo Stars training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Alex Oyowah 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.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Remo Stars 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 Remo Stars is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
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.
Squad8 Aug 2039
Words at Remo Stars training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Mohamed Shehata 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.
A 2‑1 win over Katsina United, earned rather than given, and the sort of afternoon that sends everyone home talking about next week instead of this one.
Add another name to the list: Kun Khalifat have asked the question everybody in the game has been asking about Chukwuma Umar. The answer from Remo Stars has not changed — yet.
It is a specific kind of quiet, a ground watching a winning position dissolve. Kun Khalifat kept coming because nothing stopped them, and Remo Stars will be asked about the last half hour all week.
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.
“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 Remo Stars, and it is not being withdrawn.
The phone has started ringing about Calvin Ejuke again, and this time the name on the line is Shooting Stars. Remo Stars are listening politely and promising nothing.
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.
Biola Sabitu 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 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.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Remo Stars can pretend not to have heard.
At 35 he is supposed to be managing his minutes. Instead he was marked 7.96 and looked, for ninety minutes, exactly like the player everybody remembers.
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 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.
19 defensive actions and a clean sheet at the end of them. A defender's afternoon can only be told by what did not happen, which is why nobody makes a highlights package out of one and every manager in the division would take it.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Remo Stars can pretend not to have heard.
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.
Calvin Ejuke scored, and precious little else went right: 2‑3 to Plateau United, and a quiet walk to the dressing room.
Squad11 Jul 2039
Words at Remo Stars training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Mohamed Shehata 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.
Everyone has stopped pretending: Kwara United will make the call about Daniel Afful this week. Remo Stars have a number in mind, and the number is not shy.
In brief
SquadAlex Oyowah has become a man the manager trusts
There is an age at which every good afternoon gets described as a throwback, which is unfair and also accurate. 8.01 at 37, and nobody on the pitch was better.
Biola Sabitu 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.
Squad20 Jun 2039
Odunsi Sunday 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.
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 23-year-old it feels ownership of. Calvin Ejuke 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.
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Yaw Amankwa. 2‑0 against Nasarawa United, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
Everyone has stopped pretending: Ikorodu City will make the call about David Oduya this week. Remo Stars have a number in mind, and the number is not shy.
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.
Squad13 Jun 2039
Alex Oyowah 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.
The phone has started ringing about John Onyekuru again, and this time the name on the line is Wikki Tourists. Remo Stars are listening politely and promising nothing.
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.
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.
There is an age at which every good afternoon gets described as a throwback, which is unfair and also accurate. 8.07 at 35, and nobody on the pitch was better.
“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 Remo Stars, and it is not being withdrawn.
Mark Gibson 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.
Squad6 Jun 2039
Words at Remo Stars training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Alex Oyowah 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.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Remo Stars they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Biola Sabitu 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 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.
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 23-year-old it feels ownership of. Calvin Ejuke 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.
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 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.
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.
Squad18 Apr 2039
Words at Remo Stars training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Mohamed Shehata 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.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Chukwueze Obafemi will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Remo Stars the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Biola Sabitu 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 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.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Ordabasy Baizhanov will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Remo Stars the goodbyes have quietly begun.
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.
Squad4 Apr 2039
Alex Oyowah 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.
Headers, blocks, tackles, interceptions — 16 of them, and not one goal behind him. The sort of performance that never makes a highlight reel and wins football matches.
The crowd waited for a goal that never came. Ikorodu City defended in numbers and left with what they came for, and the two sides could be playing still without troubling a scorer.
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.
Biola Sabitu 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 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.
Conceding is one thing; the response is what tells you about a dressing room. Calvin Ejuke had Remo Stars level again within 4 minutes, and Kun Khalifat never got to play with a lead at all.
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.
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.
There is an age at which every good afternoon gets described as a throwback, which is unfair and also accurate. 8.16 at 35, and nobody on the pitch was better.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Chukwueze Obafemi will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Remo Stars the goodbyes have quietly begun.
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.
Squad14 Mar 2039
Alex Oyowah 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.
At 23 he is being sung about by people twice his age, which is an affection a signing has to earn over years and a local kid gets for turning up. It is also the hardest thing in football to live up to.
17 times he got in the way of something. Centre-halves get written about when they make mistakes and ignored when they do not, so an afternoon like this needs saying out loud: he is the reason the scoreline reads as it does.
In brief
Player ratingsA defender's afternoon for Abraham Okoye
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Calvin Ejuke will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Remo Stars the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Successful dribbles: 22. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Squad21 Feb 2039
Words at Remo Stars training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Alex Oyowah 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.
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.
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.
13 times he got in the way of something. Centre-halves get written about when they make mistakes and ignored when they do not, so an afternoon like this needs saying out loud: he is the reason the scoreline reads as it does.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Chukwueze Obafemi will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Remo Stars the goodbyes have quietly begun.
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.
Squad14 Feb 2039
Words at Remo Stars training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Mohamed Shehata 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.
At 23 he is being sung about by people twice his age, which is an affection a signing has to earn over years and a local kid gets for turning up. It is also the hardest thing in football to live up to.
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Calvin Ejuke. 1‑0 against Niger Tornadoes, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
17 defensive actions and a clean sheet at the end of them. A defender's afternoon can only be told by what did not happen, which is why nobody makes a highlights package out of one and every manager in the division would take it.
2 in front and in complete control, and it finished with Nasarawa United the happier side. There is no version of this afternoon that Remo Stars will enjoy reviewing.
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 7.67 for the rest of it.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Remo Stars they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
The deal that would have taken Benjamin Jack to Niger Tornadoes has collapsed at the last stage, and he reports back to Remo Stars with a summer to forget and a season still to play. Nobody is saying which side walked away.
Biola Sabitu 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.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Remo Stars they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
The phone has started ringing about Abraham Okoye again, and this time the name on the line is Plateau United. Remo Stars are listening politely and promising nothing.
The offer from Shooting Stars for Chukwueze Obafemi 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.
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 fee was agreed and the flight was looked at — and then the phone stopped ringing. Kwara United moved on, Emmanuel Ihenacho reports back to Remo Stars, and everybody pretends Monday is just Monday.
Squad31 Jan 2039
Alex Oyowah 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.
There is exactly one of these per career and it does not usually go like this. 1 on the scoresheet, 7.28 beside the name, and a crowd that had never seen him before chanting it by the end.
The 88th minute, half the ground already edging towards the exits, and Calvin Ejuke decided nobody was going anywhere. Rivers United had no time left to answer.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Chukwuma Umar will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Remo Stars the goodbyes have quietly begun.
3 wins on the spin now, and the question has changed from whether the run ends to who ends it. Confidence like this cannot be bought; it has to be earned exactly this way.
Mark Gibson 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 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.
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Calvin Ejuke. 2‑1 against Rivers United, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 20-year-old it feels ownership of. Ahmed Onuachu 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.
The phone has started ringing about Musa Umar again, and this time the name on the line is Bendel Insurance. Remo Stars are listening politely and promising nothing.
The offer from Warri Wolves for Abraham Okoye 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.
Mark Gibson 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.
A conversation is coming this week. Remo Stars will put a number on him, and from there it stops being football and becomes arithmetic.
Squad10 Jan 2039
Words at Remo Stars training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Biola Sabitu 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.
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 23-year-old it feels ownership of. Calvin Ejuke 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.
Marked 8.37 — 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.
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.