Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Andre Mbeumo will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Aigle Royal de la Menoua the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Ironduka Uzoma was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Successful dribbles: 17. He went past people as if he had been told there was a prize for it, and by the end the full-back had stopped pretending to try.
A defender's mistake gets tidied up by somebody else; a goalkeeper's ends up in the net. He knew before the ball crossed the line, and so did everybody in the ground.
The dugout14 Mar 2033
The view from the dugout
“We will look at it, we will learn from it, and we go again.” The three sentences every manager keeps for a 0‑1 defeat, delivered by Interim Coach to a room that had heard them before.
Nobody will confirm this and nothing else explains the last month of selections. A costly error buys a player a period of being second choice that is always longer than the error was.
In brief
The dugoutSudais Ali Baba has become a man the manager trusts
The hardest thing about being 20 in a senior side is that nobody makes allowances. Andre Mbeumo did not need any: 7.96, and he looked the most comfortable man on the pitch.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Joseph Tientchou will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Aigle Royal de la Menoua the goodbyes have quietly begun.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Aigle Royal de la Menoua 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 Aigle Royal de la Menoua this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 20-year-old it feels ownership of. Andre Mbeumo 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 fee, no unveiling and no agent on the steps. Karl Aboubakar has been at this club since he was a boy and is now, formally, one of the first-team squad — which for a local readership beats any signing of any size.
There is no fee, no unveiling and no agent on the steps. Ambroise Mbarga has been at this club since he was a boy and is now, formally, one of the first-team squad — which for a local readership beats any signing of any size.
A 1‑0 win over Dynamo Douala, earned rather than given, and the sort of afternoon that sends everyone home talking about next week instead of this one.
“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 Aigle Royal de la Menoua, and it is not being withdrawn.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Aigle Royal de la Menoua is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Marked 8.14. Players have careers without a single afternoon like this in them, and he has just had one in front of everybody at Aigle Royal de la Menoua.
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.
Successful dribbles: 16. He went past people as if he had been told there was a prize for it, and by the end the full-back had stopped pretending to try.
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Stephane Aboubakar and Aigle Royal de la Menoua agree another 3 years.
The last thing about a transfer that is still about the player is his signature on his own terms, and it is there. Aigle Royal de la Menoua have lost him in all but the paperwork.
Boardroom7 Feb 2033
Deadline passes with 0 signed and 4 gone
That is the business done at Aigle Royal de la Menoua until the window opens again. Whether it was enough will be answered on Saturdays rather than in a column, and the first Saturday is close.
4 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Aigle Royal de la Menoua has to find a result from somewhere.
“The easiest signature of my career.” Rodrigue Ele and Aigle Royal de la Menoua agree another 2 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Patrick Fergani and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Canon Yaounde have kept their man, and Aigle Royal de la Menoua go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
The clock did what Canon Yaounde would not, and ended it. Supporters who watched the countdown will spend the next window doing it again.
Player ratings7 Feb 2033
Gazhac Ronauld was on a different afternoon to everybody else
8.05. 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.
Fee agreed, wages agreed, and PWD Bamenda waiting with a shirt. Nobody at Aigle Royal de la Menoua is pretending otherwise, and the supporters have stopped asking whether and started asking when.
“I have tried. I have really tried, and every day I wake up in the wrong place.” Nobody at Aigle Royal de la Menoua can coach that out of a man, and nobody there is pretending to.
Patrick Fergani 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.
Aigle Royal de la Menoua asked and PWD Bamenda said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
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.
“We were not good enough today and I am not going to dress it up.” Interim Coach after 0‑2, in the tone of a man who knows the next question and does not intend to answer it.
Nobody at Aigle Royal de la Menoua 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.
Position 12 and 16 points, and the table gets read bottom-up in this part of town. The calendar has stopped being a schedule and started being a countdown.
Everything agreed with Cotonsport Garoua, everything agreed with the player; a doctor is the only person left to persuade. The photograph is a day or two away.
Aigle Royal de la Menoua had done everything except persuade the man himself. He stays at Cotonsport Garoua, and the manager goes back to the drawing board with the money still in the bank.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Aigle Royal de la Menoua this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Fauve Azur Elite have kept their man, and Aigle Royal de la Menoua go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Wisdom Essien 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 settled the fee and he has settled his wages. What remains is a medical and a photograph, and around Aigle Royal de la Menoua people have started saying his name in the past tense.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Aigle Royal de la Menoua can pretend not to have heard.
Player ratings17 Jan 2033
Andre Mbeumo, 20, plays like he has been here for years — 7.65
A mark of 7.65 means one thing beside a twenty-nine-year-old's name and something else entirely beside a 20-year-old's. Nobody at the ground needed telling which this was.
A medical, a signature, a shirt held up in front of a sponsor’s board. Aigle Royal de la Menoua have done the hard part with Cotonsport Garoua, and the part that remains is the part supporters actually see.
Terms were offered and declined. Whether it was the wages, the role or the town, nobody at Cotonsport Garoua is saying, and nobody at Aigle Royal de la Menoua is enjoying the guessing.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Cotonsport Garoua have kept their man, and Aigle Royal de la Menoua go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
The hardest thing about being 20 in a senior side is that nobody makes allowances. Andre Mbeumo did not need any: 8.05, and he looked the most comfortable man on the pitch.
The clubs have shaken hands with Canon Yaounde; the player has not yet. Personal terms are next, and personal terms are where more deals die than anybody prints.
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Aigle Royal de la Menoua may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Patrick Fergani and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Jessimy Domingos was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 20-year-old it feels ownership of. Andre Mbeumo 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.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Aigle Royal de la Menoua can pretend not to have heard.
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.
A 2‑0 win over Colombe du Dja et Lobo, earned rather than given, and the sort of afternoon that sends everyone home talking about next week instead of this one.
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Wisdom Essien 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.
Half the programme played, position 11, 11 on the board. Doubling it is the sum every supporter has done and the only one nobody at the club will do out loud.
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Georges Ngamaleu and Aigle Royal de la Menoua agree another 3 years.
The dugout20 Dec 2032
The manager’s verdict
“I am not going to get carried away and I will not let them either. It was a good day. There will be harder ones.” Interim Coach kept it short after the 2‑0 win, which is what managers do when they are happy.
Patrick Fergani 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.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Jessimy Domingos was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The young player of the month award goes to a 20-year-old at Aigle Royal de la Menoua who has looked like the finished article for four weekends running. The next four are the ones that decide whether he is.
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Jacques Ganago and Aigle Royal de la Menoua agree another 3 years.
Clubs make promises constantly and the page usually only hears about them when they are broken. This one was honoured, and the dressing room noticed that faster than any supporter did.
Nobody at Aigle Royal de la Menoua 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.
27 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Aigle Royal de la Menoua lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
Player ratings8 Nov 2032
Andre Mbeumo, 20, plays like he has been here for years — 7.83
A mark of 7.83 means one thing beside a twenty-nine-year-old's name and something else entirely beside a 20-year-old's. Nobody at the ground needed telling which this was.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Aigle Royal de la Menoua can pretend not to have heard.
At 20 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.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Wisdom Essien was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Joseph Tientchou and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
“The easiest signature of my career.” Jacques Ondoa and Aigle Royal de la Menoua agree another 3 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
In brief
Player ratingsNobody on the pitch touched Eden Creol
Everything agreed with Cotonsport Garoua, everything agreed with the player; a doctor is the only person left to persuade. The photograph is a day or two away.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Aigle Royal de la Menoua they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Patrick Fergani 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.
The most common injury in the game and the most rushed back from. Aigle Royal de la Menoua will quote 15 days and will be careful with it, because the second one is always worse than the first.
Nobody at Aigle Royal de la Menoua 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 clubs have settled the fee and he has settled his wages. What remains is a medical and a photograph, and around Aigle Royal de la Menoua people have started saying his name in the past tense.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Aigle Royal de la Menoua is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Patrick Fergani and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Maurice Beboum 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 loan enquiry to Cotonsport Garoua: cover, or a look at somebody the club cannot afford to buy yet. Either way the answer will come back inside the week.
Cotonsport Garoua have been asked whether they would lend him. Loans are agreed quickly or not at all, and this one will be one or the other by the weekend.
“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 Aigle Royal de la Menoua, and it is not being withdrawn.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Aigle Royal de la Menoua will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Patrick Fergani 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.
Marked 7.56 on an afternoon he ran from the first whistle to the last. Whatever else went wrong, Aigle Royal de la Menoua had the best player on the pitch.
Every manager keeps a short list in his head of the men he wants on the pitch when the stakes rise, and it is never published. The team sheets for the big afternoons say Sudais Ali Baba is on it.
The dugout24 Nov 2031
The view from the dugout
“We did not lose. Some weeks that is all you get, and I would rather have the point than not.” the manager chose the glass-half-full version of 0‑0; the supporters left with the other one.
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Aigle Royal de la Menoua will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about 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 Aigle Royal de la Menoua, and it is not being withdrawn.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Aigle Royal de la Menoua this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
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.
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Franck Aboubakar and Aigle Royal de la Menoua agree another 3 years.
Clubs make promises constantly and the page usually only hears about them when they are broken. This one was honoured, and the dressing room noticed that faster than any supporter did.
Every manager keeps a short list in his head of the men he wants on the pitch when the stakes rise, and it is never published. The team sheets for the big afternoons say Eden Creol is on it.
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Aigle Royal de la Menoua will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about 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 Aigle Royal de la Menoua can pretend not to have heard.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Aigle Royal de la Menoua have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Aigle Royal de la Menoua they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Habdoullah Lifab 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.
Marked 8.11. Players have careers without a single afternoon like this in them, and he has just had one in front of everybody at Aigle Royal de la Menoua.
“The easiest signature of my career.” Nicolas Etame and Aigle Royal de la Menoua agree another 3 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 45 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Unisport Bafang go through and Aigle Royal de la Menoua go home, 1‑2 the scoreline that did it. The dressing room will call the league the priority now, because that is what dressing rooms say.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Aigle Royal de la Menoua can pretend not to have heard.
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: Patrick Fergani. 2‑1 against PWD Bamenda, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 19-year-old it feels ownership of. Andre Mbeumo 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.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Aigle Royal de la Menoua will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Aigle Royal de la Menoua can pretend not to have heard.
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.
Joseph Tientchou 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 decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Stephane Aboubakar and Aigle Royal de la Menoua agree another 3 years.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Aigle Royal de la Menoua can pretend not to have heard.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Aigle Royal de la Menoua is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Aigle Royal de la Menoua asked and Cotonsport Garoua said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Andre Mbeumo and Aigle Royal de la Menoua agree another 3 years.
Nobody at Aigle Royal de la Menoua 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 had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Aigle Royal de la Menoua, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Aigle Royal de la Menoua know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.