Marked for Stephane Ntcham
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad1 Aug 2033
Stephane Ntcham damages knee ligaments — 19 days out
The words a physio says slowly. 19 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.
Transfer targets1 Aug 2033
No thanks: Mbaye N'Diaye rejects the move
Fortuna Mfou 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.
Transfer targets1 Aug 2033
Fortuna Mfou 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.
The dugout1 Aug 2033
This is not rotation. Olivier Ngamaleu has not been in the manager's plans for some time, and nobody at Fortuna Mfou is pretending otherwise.
The dugout1 Aug 2033
The manager has not finished forgetting Georges Onguene'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.
Squad1 Aug 2033
A season on the outside for Nabil Mahrez
He trains hard, says the right things and goes home to an empty flat. Nobody at Fortuna Mfou has done anything wrong, which is exactly what makes it so difficult to fix.
Back issues
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
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. Fortuna Mfou have lost him in all but the paperwork.
Squad25 Jul 2033
A knee injury of the worst kind for Stephane Ntcham
26 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Fortuna Mfou lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
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 Fortuna Mfou can pretend not to have heard.
Transfer targets25 Jul 2033
The deal with Cotonsport Garoua is done in every sense but the one that puts him on the pitch. Nothing goes wrong at this stage, except on the occasions when it does.
Market25 Jul 2033
“I was told straight, and I would rather have it straight.” The manager at Fortuna Mfou has been clear about where Aliou Souleyman Hendji stands, which is more than many ever get.
Squad25 Jul 2033
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Franck Moukoudi and Fortuna Mfou agree another 3 years.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad18 Jul 2033
33 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Fortuna Mfou lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
Market18 Jul 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.
The dugout18 Jul 2033
The manager makes an example of Emmanuel Ntcham
“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.
Market18 Jul 2033
The Joseph Mbock story refuses to die
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Joseph Mbock signs something — a contract at Fortuna Mfou or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
The dugout18 Jul 2033
Franck Moukoudi asks for a word with the manager
“I would rather say it to his face than read about it.” The meeting was requested by the player, which tells you most of what you need to know.
Boardroom18 Jul 2033
The Fortuna Mfou academy earns its keep
69 graduates, from a department now rated 7 out of 20. Nothing about the academy appears in a result, and nothing about the club’s future exists without it.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad11 Jul 2033
40 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Fortuna Mfou lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
Market11 Jul 2033
The offer from Victoria United for Aliou Souleyman Hendji 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.
Market11 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. Fortuna Mfou have lost him in all but the paperwork.
Market11 Jul 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.
Transfer targets11 Jul 2033
The approach was made and the answer came back in a sentence. There is no number on the table because there was no number that would have been enough.
The dugout11 Jul 2033
Joseph Mbock 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.
The dugout11 Jul 2033
Nurudeen Araromi 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.
Transfer targets11 Jul 2033
Fortuna Mfou have made the call to Cotonsport Garoua. No fee, a share of the wages, and a spare shirt in the position where the squad has been thinnest all season.
Transfer targets11 Jul 2033
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.