Marked for Marks Munyai
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market15 May 2028
Only the photograph left for Marks Munyai
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Marks Munyai will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around SuperSport United the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Squad15 May 2028
Luther Dolly and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad15 May 2028
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Nuno Santos was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Squad15 May 2028
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Thokozani Khumalo and SuperSport United agree another 2 years.
The dugout15 May 2028
Thamsanqa Furman 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.
The dugout15 May 2028
Keagan Zwane gets picked when it counts
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 Keagan Zwane is on it.
Squad15 May 2028
Thamsanqa Furman has seen what the next man earns
Numbers do not stay secret in a dressing room and never have. He is not asking for more than he is worth; he is asking why somebody beside him is worth more, and at SuperSport United that is a harder question to answer.
The dugout15 May 2028
He asked about his future and was given an answer with minutes in it. The manager has now made a promise in a building where promises are remembered, and the clock on it has started.
Back issues
From our football correspondent
Steady
Loan watch24 Apr 2028
The goals keep arriving from Themba Grobler’s exile
19 goals in 28 games at CS Constantine — numbers that travel home faster than he does. Somebody at SuperSport United updates a spreadsheet every Monday, and it makes better reading each week.
Squad24 Apr 2028
Luther Dolly in a row with a teammate
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at SuperSport United this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad24 Apr 2028
Nuno Santos 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 dugout24 Apr 2028
Lungelo Dube 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.
Loan watch24 Apr 2028
“I did not go to Ajax Cape Town to sit and watch. I want to come back to SuperSport United and fight for my place.” 5 appearances in 15 matches say the rest.
The dugout24 Apr 2028
Luther Dolly 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.
The dugout24 Apr 2028
Gift Mahlangu gets picked when it counts
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 Gift Mahlangu is on it.
The dugout24 Apr 2028
The manager makes Marks Munyai a promise
Nothing in writing and nothing in public: a word about playing time, given face to face at SuperSport United. The team sheets over the next month will show whether it was worth having.
From our football correspondent
Steady
The dugout17 Apr 2028
Luther Dolly: 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.” SuperSport United have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Market17 Apr 2028
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at SuperSport United is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Squad17 Apr 2028
Njabulo Blom in a row with a teammate
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at SuperSport United this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad17 Apr 2028
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Nuno Santos was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The dugout17 Apr 2028
Keagan Zwane has become a man the manager trusts
Nobody at SuperSport United 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.
Squad17 Apr 2028
The system has changed and his position has not. A footballer can improve his form; he cannot improve the manager’s formation, and that is the whole of the problem.
The dugout17 Apr 2028
Thabo Mokwena knocks on the manager's door
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at SuperSport United, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Match17 Apr 2028
Position 6 on 49 points, and the places that carry a European ticket are close enough to count. Seasons like this are decided by two results in April, and the club knows which two.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market10 Apr 2028
Only the photograph left for Hlompho Furman
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Hlompho Furman will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around SuperSport United the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Squad10 Apr 2028
Kutlwano Letlhaku 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.
Squad10 Apr 2028
A move Marouane Bentaleb would have made for nothing
There is a version of every career where the player ends up somewhere he chose rather than somewhere that chose him. Marouane Bentaleb is living that version at SuperSport United, and it tends to show in the first month.
Squad10 Apr 2028
Luther Dolly 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.
Market10 Apr 2028
He is 18, and the scouting reports agree on the only line that matters: the ceiling. Signings like this are lottery tickets written by professionals.
Squad10 Apr 2028
“The easiest signature of my career.” Marouane Bentaleb and SuperSport United agree another 4 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Market10 Apr 2028
“We are a long way apart, and pretending otherwise helps nobody.” Neither side is close, and the calendar is not on the club's side.
The dugout10 Apr 2028
When it matters, Dean Zwane plays
It is never announced and it is entirely visible: the biggest afternoons of the season keep containing him. A press box works this out long before anybody at the club confirms a word of it.
The dugout10 Apr 2028
Marks Munyai 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.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad3 Apr 2028
Luther Dolly 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.
Squad3 Apr 2028
Words at SuperSport United training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Nuno Santos 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 dugout3 Apr 2028
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Thokozani Khumalo, and the manager let it.
The dugout3 Apr 2028
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.
Market3 Apr 2028
“We are a long way apart, and pretending otherwise helps nobody.” Neither side is close, and the calendar is not on the club's side.
The dugout3 Apr 2028
Lungelo Dube knocks on the manager’s door
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Lungelo Dube trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Market3 Apr 2028
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Jeong Sang-Bin signs something — a contract at SuperSport United or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
Squad3 Apr 2028
Luther Dolly has company in his position
The competition arrived without a word said to him about it. Luther Dolly keeps the shirt for now, at SuperSport United's convenience rather than his own.
Market3 Apr 2028
Contract settled, hands shaken, no fee changing hands. Mandla Furman leaves SuperSport United the quiet way, and the wage bill breathes a little easier.
From our football correspondent
Steady
The dugout20 Mar 2028
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” SuperSport United may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Market20 Mar 2028
Marks Munyai has one foot out of the door
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around SuperSport United they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Squad20 Mar 2028
Luther Dolly and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad20 Mar 2028
Words at SuperSport United training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Njabulo Blom 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.
Squad20 Mar 2028
6 signings in three months. Every one of them may be an upgrade and the team can still be worse for a while, which is the part of a rebuild that never appears in the transfer-window verdicts.
The dugout20 Mar 2028
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Thamsanqa Furman trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
The dugout20 Mar 2028
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.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market13 Mar 2028
Hlompho Furman has one foot out of the door
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around SuperSport United they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Squad13 Mar 2028
Luther Dolly 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.
Squad13 Mar 2028
Nuno Santos 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.
Market13 Mar 2028
“We keep meeting, and we keep leaving the room with the same numbers we walked in with.” Another round of talks at SuperSport United, another week without a signature from Roscoe Pietersen.
The dugout13 Mar 2028
Dean Zwane gets picked when it counts
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 Dean Zwane is on it.
The dugout13 Mar 2028
S'fiso Hlanti knocks on the manager's door
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at SuperSport United, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Market13 Mar 2028
The Njabulo Blom talk will not go away
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. SuperSport United know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
The dugout13 Mar 2028
He asked about his future and was given an answer with minutes in it. The manager has now made a promise in a building where promises are remembered, and the clock on it has started.
Loan watch13 Mar 2028
27 appearances at MC Alger and the goals keep coming. SuperSport United are watching this more closely than the borrowing club would like.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Loan watch6 Mar 2028
25 appearances away from home and 17 goals to show for them. Every one of them makes next summer's conversation a little more expensive.
Squad6 Mar 2028
He is 21, he is averaging 7.10, and older professionals have started passing to him in the difficult minutes. That last part is the real scouting report.
Squad6 Mar 2028
Luther Dolly 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 Mar 2028
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Nuno Santos was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Boardroom6 Mar 2028
Bloemfontein Celtic will keep picking him until June and will get nothing for him after it. Richard Matloga has pre-agreed a move to SuperSport United, and the only people who lose in that arrangement are the ones who let the contract run down.
Market6 Mar 2028
He is 20, and the scouting reports agree on the only line that matters: the ceiling. Signings like this are lottery tickets written by professionals.
Squad6 Mar 2028
Nuno Santos makes the team of the month
Four or five weekends of consistency, measured against everybody else in the division. A quieter compliment than an award and a more reliable one.
The dugout6 Mar 2028
The manager makes an example of Tashreeq Morris
“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 dugout6 Mar 2028
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.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Match19 Feb 2028
Polokwane City will want this one forgotten quickly: 3‑0, every duel lost, and a long ride home. SuperSport United were ruthless in the way good sides are ruthless.
Player ratings21 Feb 2028
Two goals and a mark of 8.49 to go with them. Strikers are judged on afternoons like this one and remembered for far fewer of them than people imagine.
Market21 Feb 2028
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at SuperSport United is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Player ratings21 Feb 2028
Mandla Furman, 19, steals the show — 7.93
Marked 7.93 at 19, in a side that makes no allowances for age. He did not need any, and he looked the least nervous man on the pitch.
Boardroom21 Feb 2028
He will play here until the summer and then walk out of the door for free, having already signed elsewhere. Supporters will manage the first part of that sentence; it is the second they will struggle with.
Squad21 Feb 2028
Thamsanqa Furman and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad21 Feb 2028
Nuno Santos 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.
Loan watch21 Feb 2028
23 appearances at CS Constantine and the goals keep coming. SuperSport United are watching this more closely than the borrowing club would like.
The terraces21 Feb 2028
He is 21 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.