Marked for Oche Ogunjobi
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad31 Jul 2034
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 9 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
Match29 Jul 2034
A 0‑3 beating by Remo Stars was the sort of result that empties a stadium long before the final whistle.
The dugout31 Jul 2034
“I was told what my role would be, and I signed on that basis. It has not happened.” A grievance with a date attached is the hardest kind to settle.
Transfer targets31 Jul 2034
An offer of $820.0K for Alex Oyowah
El-Kanemi Warriors have gone to Rivers United with a bid, and the supporters have gone to the internet with an opinion about it. Whether either changes anything is up to the selling club.
Transfer targets31 Jul 2034
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Rivers United have kept their man, and El-Kanemi Warriors go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Squad31 Jul 2034
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Saagui Dzenyagha was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Player ratings31 Jul 2034
Marked 6.88 on 10 actions at both ends of the pitch. Midfielders like this get described as unspectacular by people who have never tried to play against one.
Boardroom31 Jul 2034
The manager kept them in and said what needed saying. A response is expected on Saturday, and if it does not come the questions move upstairs.
The dugout31 Jul 2034
“We were not good enough today and I am not going to dress it up.” Henri Olivier after 0‑3, in the tone of a man who knows the next question and does not intend to answer it.
Back issues
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad17 Jul 2034
There were 8 saves in it, and at least three that had no business being saves at all. The ten outfield players owe him a drink and they know it.
Market17 Jul 2034
Moses Ekong hands in a written request
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what El-Kanemi Warriors can pretend not to have heard.
Squad17 Jul 2034
19 goals and a season average of 7.25. Form like that gets noticed well beyond this town.
Squad17 Jul 2034
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Saagui Dzenyagha was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Match15 Jul 2034
Beaten 0‑1, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
The dugout17 Jul 2034
“I could talk about decisions and I could talk about luck. I will not. We lost.” The manager, 0‑1, and a press conference that lasted four minutes.
The dugout17 Jul 2034
Mohammed Faisal has become a man the manager trusts
Nobody at El-Kanemi Warriors 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 dugout17 Jul 2034
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
Player ratings17 Jul 2034
Successful dribbles: 13. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match24 Jun 2034
0‑3 to Kwara United, and it was every bit as bad as the number suggests. There are defeats you argue about and defeats you apologise for; this was the second kind.
Squad26 Jun 2034
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Saagui Dzenyagha was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Boardroom26 Jun 2034
The music was off and the showers ran late. What was said in that dressing room stays there, but Saturday will publish the minutes.
Squad26 Jun 2034
15 days, the scan says, and scans are kinder than reality. The fixtures in that window have just become somebody else’s job.
The dugout26 Jun 2034
The manager’s verdict
“That is on me. I pick the team and I picked wrong.” Managers say that when they mean it and when they need to be seen to, and after 0‑3 Henri Olivier left the room before anybody could ask which.
Looking ahead26 Jun 2034
Rangers International top the table and they are coming into view. Nothing to lose, which is what every manager says before losing.
Squad26 Jun 2034
One booking too many, and Ibrahim Yahaya sits out. El-Kanemi Warriors lose him for the sort of avoidable reason that makes a manager's week longer.
The dugout26 Jun 2034
Shehu Nwakali is still being punished for one mistake
Nobody will confirm it and the team sheets confirm it every week. One error has bought him a spell as second choice that is already longer than the error deserved.
The dugout26 Jun 2034
The manager makes an example of Ademola Obi
“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.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad19 Jun 2034
6 saves, and a scoreline the ten men in front of him had no right to. Goalkeepers only get noticed on the bad days; this was one of the other ones.
Squad19 Jun 2034
19 goals and a season average of 7.30. Form like that gets noticed well beyond this town.
Market19 Jun 2034
“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.
Squad19 Jun 2034
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Saagui Dzenyagha was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Match17 Jun 2034
A 1‑0 win over Kano Pillars, earned rather than given, and the sort of afternoon that sends everyone home talking about next week instead of this one.
Player ratings19 Jun 2034
A mark of 7.92, and nobody in the ground would argue with it. He was involved in everything that mattered and most of what did not.
The dugout19 Jun 2034
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.” Henri Olivier kept it short after the 1‑0 win, which is what managers do when they are happy.
The dugout19 Jun 2034
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 Mohammed Faisal is on it.
The dugout19 Jun 2034
The manager makes an example of William Obi
“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.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad12 Jun 2034
A season average of 7.28 with 18 goals behind it. Opponents have started planning around him, which is the sincerest compliment football pays.
Market12 Jun 2034
“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 El-Kanemi Warriors, and it is not being withdrawn.
Transfer targets12 Jun 2034
El-Kanemi Warriors asked and Remo Stars said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
Squad12 Jun 2034
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Saagui Dzenyagha was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The dugout12 Jun 2034
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Mohammed Faisal, and the manager let it.
Squad12 Jun 2034
200 games in the shirt. Nobody sets out to build a record like that; it happens to a certain kind of player at a certain kind of club, and this town knows what it has.
Match10 Jun 2034
A goal on 91 minutes turned three points into one and a good afternoon into an argument about game management that will run until Saturday.
Squad12 Jun 2034
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Terem Ejuke commits to El-Kanemi Warriors for another 3 years.
The dugout12 Jun 2034
Mohammed Faisal is still being punished for one mistake
Nobody will confirm it and the team sheets confirm it every week. One error has bought him a spell as second choice that is already longer than the error deserved.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad5 Jun 2034
6 saves, and a scoreline the ten men in front of him had no right to. Goalkeepers only get noticed on the bad days; this was one of the other ones.
Market5 Jun 2034
“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 El-Kanemi Warriors, and it is not being withdrawn.
The dugout5 Jun 2034
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” El-Kanemi Warriors may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Squad5 Jun 2034
“The easiest signature of my career.” Ibrahim Yahaya and El-Kanemi Warriors agree another 2 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Squad5 Jun 2034
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Saagui Dzenyagha was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Match3 Jun 2034
Beaten 0‑2, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
The dugout5 Jun 2034
“I could talk about decisions and I could talk about luck. I will not. We lost.” The manager, 0‑2, and a press conference that lasted four minutes.
Squad5 Jun 2034
A month is long enough that nobody gets in by accident. Stephen Abdullahi is in the division's best eleven for it, which is a quieter compliment than an award and a more reliable one.
The dugout5 Jun 2034
It is not much of a headline and it is the reason players believe the next promise. El-Kanemi Warriors told Simon Ademola something would happen and then it happened, which in this industry passes for remarkable.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Player ratings22 May 2034
No sign of nerves from Simon Ademola at 20 — 7.69
The hardest thing about being 20 in a senior side is that nobody makes allowances. Simon Ademola did not need any: 7.69, and he looked the most comfortable man on the pitch.
Squad22 May 2034
Defences have started doubling up on Risilanu Ismail
16 goals and a season average of 7.27 will do that. The space he used to find has gone; he keeps scoring anyway, which is the mark of the real thing.
Match20 May 2034
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Risilanu Ismail. 2‑1 against Kun Khalifat, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
The terraces22 May 2034
He is 20 and the ground already sings his name, which is a thing that happens to local boys and almost never to signings. Everything from here is measured against an affection he did nothing to earn except be from here.
Player ratings22 May 2034
A performance of 8.23 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Match22 May 2034
Position 5, 33 points, and every result so far reduced to one line. The second half of the season starts with the same squad and a different set of expectations.
The dugout22 May 2034
“We earned that. I asked them for a reaction and I got one, and now I want the same again on Saturday.” Henri Olivier on a 2‑1 afternoon that pleased him more than he was prepared to show.
The dugout22 May 2034
“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.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Player ratings15 May 2034
No sign of nerves from Stephen Abdullahi at 20 — 7.83
The hardest thing about being 20 in a senior side is that nobody makes allowances. Stephen Abdullahi did not need any: 7.83, and he looked the most comfortable man on the pitch.
Squad15 May 2034
A season average of 7.24 with 15 goals behind it. Opponents have started planning around him, which is the sincerest compliment football pays.
Squad15 May 2034
Words at El-Kanemi Warriors training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Saagui Dzenyagha 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 dugout15 May 2034
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
Player ratings15 May 2034
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.25, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
The dugout15 May 2034
“That is what I want every week. Not the result, the way they went about it.” The manager, after 3‑2, already talking about the next one.
The dugout15 May 2034
Shehu Nwakali is still being punished for one mistake
Nobody will confirm it and the team sheets confirm it every week. One error has bought him a spell as second choice that is already longer than the error deserved.
The dugout15 May 2034
Somebody else has been better, the manager has said so with a team sheet, and there is no argument to be had. He will get the shirt back the only way it can be got back.
From our football correspondent
Steady
The dugout8 May 2034
“I was told what my role would be, and I signed on that basis. It has not happened.” A grievance with a date attached is the hardest kind to settle.
Squad8 May 2034
Saagui Dzenyagha 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.
Match6 May 2034
A goal on 91 minutes turned three points into one and a good afternoon into an argument about game management that will run until Saturday.
Squad8 May 2034
Four or five weekends of consistency, judged against everybody in the division doing his job. Godspower Akekoromowei has come out of that comparison in the side, and El-Kanemi Warriors have had the benefit of every one of those afternoons.
Match6 May 2034
A 1‑1 draw with Shooting Stars leaves the dressing room somewhere between relief and regret.
The dugout8 May 2034
“It is not the end of the world and it is not good enough. Both of those are true.” The manager, after a 1‑1 draw, said the honest thing and then went to say it again inside.
The dugout8 May 2034
The manager makes an example of Oche Ogunjobi
“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.
The dugout8 May 2034
Simon Ademola dropped after a run of poor form
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.
Squad8 May 2034
Player of the week, judged against every other man in the division. A small award, and one most careers never collect.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad27 Mar 2034
Saagui Dzenyagha 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.
Squad27 Mar 2034
Somebody watched every match in the division at the weekend and decided he was the best thing in any of them. A small honour, and most careers end without one.
Market27 Mar 2034
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Godspower Akekoromowei signs something — a contract at El-Kanemi Warriors or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Player ratings20 Mar 2034
A brace, and Risilanu Ismail takes the afternoon — 8.71
There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. Risilanu Ismail provided it, and the 8.71 beside his name is if anything generous to everybody else.
The dugout20 Mar 2034
The view from the dugout
“We controlled it. There were spells I did not like and we will look at them, but the group showed me something.” Henri Olivier, on a 2‑1 win that he was already picking apart on the walk to the press room.
The dugout20 Mar 2034
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Thabelo Tshikweta, and the manager let it.
Squad20 Mar 2034
Player of the week, judged against every other man in the division. A small award, and one most careers never collect.
Market20 Mar 2034
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Risilanu Ismail signs something — a contract at El-Kanemi Warriors or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
The dugout20 Mar 2034
The plan did not have a place for Oche Ogunjobi
Nobody at El-Kanemi Warriors is suggesting he is out of form. The manager simply wanted somebody with a different set of qualities for ninety specific minutes, and there is nothing a player can train to fix that.
Squad20 Mar 2034
“Nobody outside is coming to save us.” It was short, it was not comfortable, and by all accounts the El-Kanemi Warriors squad were quieter afterwards than they had been all season.
Squad20 Mar 2034
At 20 he is in the side on merit and somebody else is watching. Places at El-Kanemi Warriors are won quietly and lost loudly, and this one was won.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Player ratings27 Feb 2034
Two goals and a mark of 8.87 to go with them. Strikers are judged on afternoons like this one and remembered for far fewer of them than people imagine.
Squad27 Feb 2034
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Saagui Dzenyagha was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Match25 Feb 2034
Enyimba blown away early
There is a particular helplessness in conceding 2 times before the twentieth minute. Enyimba tried to reorganise, El-Kanemi Warriors did not allow it, and the result was written long before it was confirmed.
The dugout27 Feb 2034
“That is what I want every week. Not the result, the way they went about it.” The manager, after 3‑1, already talking about the next one.
Squad27 Feb 2034
The one goal every signing is asked about until it comes. It has come, and a press-conference question has been retired.
The dugout27 Feb 2034
Oche Ogunjobi dropped after a run of poor form
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.
Looking ahead27 Feb 2034
Every squad has one of these fixtures for somebody every season. This one is Mike Zaruma’s: the club that knew him first, the supporters who will decide in the first minute whether to applaud, and El-Kanemi Warriors needing him to play as if none of it matters.
Market27 Feb 2034
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Godspower Akekoromowei signs something — a contract at El-Kanemi Warriors or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Transfer targets13 Feb 2034
The window shuts on the Oscar Okocha deal
El-Kanemi Warriors ran out of time with Remo Stars. The paperwork was open when the deadline passed, and a transfer that was almost done is now a transfer that never happened.
Squad13 Feb 2034
Saagui Dzenyagha 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.
Squad13 Feb 2034
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Moses Ekong and El-Kanemi Warriors agree another 3 years.
The dugout13 Feb 2034
“I could talk about decisions and I could talk about luck. I will not. We lost.” The manager, 1‑2, and a press conference that lasted four minutes.
The dugout13 Feb 2034
Somebody else has been better, the manager has said so with a team sheet, and there is no argument to be had. He will get the shirt back the only way it can be got back.
The dugout13 Feb 2034
The manager makes an example of Terem Ejuke
“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.
Squad13 Feb 2034
Every debut is a small story about the future: Chukwuma Ihenacho, 17 years old, off the academy pitches and into the first team. The parents in the stand will keep the programme.
Market13 Feb 2034
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Saagui Dzenyagha signs something — a contract at El-Kanemi Warriors or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Player ratings23 Jan 2034
Two goals and a mark of 8.18 to go with them. Strikers are judged on afternoons like this one and remembered for far fewer of them than people imagine.
Transfer targets23 Jan 2034
$990.0K settles it between the clubs for Antonio Galeano
Remo Stars have accepted the money. What El-Kanemi Warriors do not yet have is the man, and between here and the photograph is a conversation about wages that both sides are dreading.
The dugout23 Jan 2034
David Onuachu: that is not what I was promised
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” El-Kanemi Warriors have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Match21 Jan 2034
Bayelsa United left with the points after a 2‑3 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.
Squad23 Jan 2034
Words at El-Kanemi Warriors training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Saagui Dzenyagha 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 dugout23 Jan 2034
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 2‑3 defeat, delivered by Henri Olivier to a room that had heard them before.
The dugout23 Jan 2034
The manager has not finished forgetting Simon Ademola's mistake
Publicly it is behind everybody. It is not behind the man who picks the team, and the only place that shows is a team sheet. He will get another chance; he will get it in a match that matters less.
The dugout23 Jan 2034
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.
Market23 Jan 2034
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Risilanu Ismail signs something — a contract at El-Kanemi Warriors or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
The dugout2 Jan 2034
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” El-Kanemi Warriors may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Market2 Jan 2034
“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.
Boardroom2 Jan 2034
A new deal for the man in the dugout, and the clearest thing a board can say without calling a press conference about it. Stability is cheap to promise and expensive to deliver.
Boardroom2 Jan 2034
5 boys move up, and somewhere in the building the people who coached them at twelve are quietly having the best morning of their working year. Nothing about this shows up in a result and it is why the academy exists.
Squad2 Jan 2034
Words at El-Kanemi Warriors training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Saagui Dzenyagha 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.
Market2 Jan 2034
The academy exists for exactly this morning. Chidozie Lookman has come through every age group the club runs and has now been handed a senior number, and the people who coached him at twelve will be the proudest in the building.
Market2 Jan 2034
Clubs spend fortunes looking for players and occasionally find one down the corridor. Shehu Ihenacho is that, and the reception he gets on his first appearance will be different in kind from the one any signing receives.
Market2 Jan 2034
The academy exists for exactly this morning. William Ogu has come through every age group the club runs and has now been handed a senior number, and the people who coached him at twelve will be the proudest in the building.
The dugout2 Jan 2034
This is not rotation. Henry Osimhen has not been in the manager's plans for some time, and nobody at El-Kanemi Warriors is pretending otherwise.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad19 Dec 2033
Saagui Dzenyagha 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 dugout19 Dec 2033
Simon Ademola is still being punished for one mistake
Nobody will confirm it and the team sheets confirm it every week. One error has bought him a spell as second choice that is already longer than the error deserved.
The dugout19 Dec 2033
Moses Ekong gets it from the manager
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market29 Aug 2033
Only the photograph left for Osayi Osimhen
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Osayi Osimhen will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around El-Kanemi Warriors the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Squad29 Aug 2033
Words at El-Kanemi Warriors training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Oladimeji Dada 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.
Match27 Aug 2033
The goal that put Wikki Tourists ahead was still being replayed on the concourse when El-Kanemi Warriors equalised, 2 minutes later. Leads are only worth what you do with them.
Player ratings29 Aug 2033
Abubakar Maiwada ran the middle of the pitch — 7.11
He won it back and then made something of it, which is two jobs and the reason the scoreline looks the way it does. 9 combined actions and a mark of 7.11, and not one of them will make a highlights package.
Squad29 Aug 2033
The medical room confirms 14 days on the sidelines for Umar Dennis, and a plan built around him now has to be rebuilt.
Match27 Aug 2033
It needed Oladimeji Dada to find the net to bring anything home at all: 1‑1 against Wikki Tourists, and half the dressing room will call it a point won.
The dugout29 Aug 2033
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.” Henri Olivier chose the glass-half-full version of 1‑1; the supporters left with the other one.
The dugout29 Aug 2033
The manager has not finished forgetting Simon Ademola's mistake
Publicly it is behind everybody. It is not behind the man who picks the team, and the only place that shows is a team sheet. He will get another chance; he will get it in a match that matters less.
The dugout29 Aug 2033
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Chukwuma Dennis, and the manager let it.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market15 Aug 2033
Fee agreed, wages agreed, and Kun Khalifat waiting with a shirt. Nobody at El-Kanemi Warriors is pretending otherwise, and the supporters have stopped asking whether and started asking when.
The dugout15 Aug 2033
“I was told what my role would be, and I signed on that basis. It has not happened.” A grievance with a date attached is the hardest kind to settle.
Squad15 Aug 2033
Oladimeji Dada and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad15 Aug 2033
Words at El-Kanemi Warriors training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Saagui Dzenyagha 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.
Match13 Aug 2033
1‑2 to Nasarawa United, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.
Player ratings15 Aug 2033
Successful dribbles: 19. 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.
The dugout15 Aug 2033
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
The dugout15 Aug 2033
“I could talk about decisions and I could talk about luck. I will not. We lost.” The manager, 1‑2, and a press conference that lasted four minutes.
Market15 Aug 2033
Peter Umar is free to find somewhere else
“I was told straight, and I would rather have it straight.” The manager at El-Kanemi Warriors has been clear about where Peter Umar stands, which is more than many ever get.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Market25 Jul 2033
The last thing about a transfer that is still about the player is his signature on his own terms, and it is there. El-Kanemi Warriors have lost him in all but the paperwork.
Squad25 Jul 2033
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.
Market25 Jul 2033
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what El-Kanemi Warriors can pretend not to have heard.
Squad25 Jul 2033
Oladimeji Dada 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.
Match23 Jul 2033
1‑3 to Remo Stars, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.
Squad25 Jul 2033
Saagui Dzenyagha 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 dugout25 Jul 2033
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Godspower Akekoromowei, and the manager let it.
The dugout25 Jul 2033
“The supporters are entitled to be angry. So am I. We will put it right.” 1‑3, a manager saying the necessary things, and a dressing room that heard a different version of them.
The dugout25 Jul 2033
The team sheet said everything about Thabelo Tshikweta
Warm-up bib, ninety minutes of watching, and a handshake at the end that fooled nobody. Big matches tell you who a manager trusts; this one told Thabelo Tshikweta.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad11 Jul 2033
A one-man rearguard from Terem Ejuke
There were 9 saves in it, and at least three that had no business being saves at all. The ten outfield players owe him a drink and they know it.
Market11 Jul 2033
The offer from Bendel Insurance for Oladimeji Dada 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.
Match9 Jul 2033
5 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at El-Kanemi Warriors has to find a result from somewhere.
Market11 Jul 2033
Osayi Osimhen has one foot out of the door
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around El-Kanemi Warriors they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Squad11 Jul 2033
Words at El-Kanemi Warriors training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Oladimeji Dada 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.
Squad11 Jul 2033
Emmanuel Osayi-Samuel and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Match9 Jul 2033
It finished 1‑1, and it somehow always looked like it would. One of those afternoons where the table moves less than the tempers.
The dugout11 Jul 2033
Half-satisfied: Henri Olivier on the draw
“There are things I liked and things we will be doing on Tuesday until they are right.” 1‑1, and a manager who had already decided what Tuesday looked like.
The dugout11 Jul 2033
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad27 Jun 2033
Mohammed Faisal damages knee ligaments — 15 days out
The words a physio says slowly. 15 days is what the club will announce and everybody who has heard this diagnosis before knows the number is the least of it: the knee comes back before the player does.
Market27 Jun 2033
The clubs have settled the fee and he has settled his wages. What remains is a medical and a photograph, and around El-Kanemi Warriors people have started saying his name in the past tense.
Market27 Jun 2033
“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 El-Kanemi Warriors, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad27 Jun 2033
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Oladimeji Dada was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Match25 Jun 2033
Rangers International left with the points after a 0‑1 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.
Squad27 Jun 2033
Peter Umar and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Player ratings27 Jun 2033
Successful dribbles: 16. There was always a defender in front of him and there was never a defender in front of him for long.
The dugout27 Jun 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 Henri Olivier to a room that had heard them before.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match22 Jan 2033
1‑4 to Kano Pillars, and it was every bit as bad as the number suggests. There are defeats you argue about and defeats you apologise for; this was the second kind.
Market24 Jan 2033
“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.
Squad24 Jan 2033
Words at El-Kanemi Warriors training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Oladimeji Dada 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.
Player ratings24 Jan 2033
The game went through Wisdom Magbisa — 7.33
Marked 7.33 on 12 actions at both ends of the pitch. Midfielders like this get described as unspectacular by people who have never tried to play against one.
The dugout24 Jan 2033
Mike Zaruma gets it from the manager
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
Boardroom24 Jan 2033
Nobody left the El-Kanemi Warriors dressing room in a hurry
The door stayed shut a long time after the final whistle. What was said in there is between them; whether it worked is between them and Saturday.
The dugout24 Jan 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 1‑4 defeat, delivered by Henri Olivier to a room that had heard them before.
The dugout24 Jan 2033
The manager has not finished forgetting Mohammed Faisal's mistake
Publicly it is behind everybody. It is not behind the man who picks the team, and the only place that shows is a team sheet. He will get another chance; he will get it in a match that matters less.
Squad24 Jan 2033
Moses Ekong 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.