A season average of 7.08 at an age when most of his year group are still in the youth team. AS Police know what they have, and so, by now, does everybody else.
Oumar Koné 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.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at AS Police, and both men came out saying it was fine.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what AS Police 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 AS Police this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around AS Police they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Oumar Koné 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.
He is 20, he is averaging 7.08, and older professionals have started passing to him in the difficult minutes. That last part is the real scouting report.
Oumar Koné 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 afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 8 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at AS Police this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Aphile Ngobese trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Aphile Ngobese will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around AS Police the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Oumar Koné 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.
“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 AS Police know it.
An error at the back is a moment; an error in goal is a goal. Thabang Molefe knows it, the crowd knew it instantly, and there was nobody behind him to make it anything else.
“I watch every AS Police game from here. That says everything about where my head is.” The loan at Djoliba runs its course, but his heart never made the trip.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at AS Police this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
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.
Ninety minutes, no goals, and the argument started before the car park emptied: a point gained, or two thrown away against Etoiles du Mande? Both sides of it will still be going on Thursday.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what AS Police can pretend not to have heard.
Oumar Koné 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.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at AS Police this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Marked 8.38 — 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.
He found out with everybody else, an hour before kick-off, from a sheet of paper on a wall. Nobody at AS Police pretended it was anything other than a decision about him.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at AS Police 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 AS Police, and it is not being withdrawn.
Makan Samabaly 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.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what AS Police can pretend not to have heard.
A season average of 7.02 at an age when most of his year group are still in the youth team. AS Police know what they have, and so, by now, does everybody else.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at AS Police this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Marked 9.54 — 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.
Everyone has stopped pretending: AS Bakaridjan will make the call about Aphile Ngobese this week. AS Police have a number in mind, and the number is not shy.
A 3‑1 win over US Forces Armees, earned rather than given, and the sort of afternoon that sends everyone home talking about next week instead of this one.
Khama Dala is 18, and AS Police have signed him for the player he will be rather than the one he is. The first team can wait; the point of a deal like this is the years it buys.
In brief
Player ratingsThe one thing Yakubu Abbas could not do
The deal that would have taken Lucan Louw to Puskas Akademia has collapsed at the last stage, and he reports back to AS Police with a summer to forget and a season still to play. Nobody is saying which side walked away.
Oumar Koné 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.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at AS Police, and both men came out saying it was fine.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what AS Police 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.” AS Police have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Manraj Singh will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around AS Police 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 AS Police this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Marked 8.43 — 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.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what AS Police can pretend not to have heard.
Oumar Koné 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.
Marked 8.16 — 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.
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.
0‑4 against Stade Malien, and no complaints that would survive the replay. The manager spoke about character afterwards; the terraces used shorter words.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at AS Police this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Denis Chigozie is 34 and has run out of things to prove. What he has left is where to stand, when to slow it down and what to say at half-time, and none of that is on a fitness chart.
Makan Samabaly 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.
“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 AS Police know it.
Every touch is being weighed now, in print and everywhere else. Some players grow into that and some are quietly ruined by it, and nobody knows which in advance.
In brief
Player ratingsThe one thing Yakubu Abbas could not do
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” AS Police have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
“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 AS Police, and it is not being withdrawn.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at AS Police is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Makan Samabaly 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 name of Joseph Tientchou has come up in conversations AS Police were not part of. Nothing formal, nothing signed — but nothing about it accidental either.
An error at the back is a moment; an error in goal is a goal. Aphile Ngobese knows it, the crowd knew it instantly, and there was nobody behind him to make it anything else.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at AS Police this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
A 3‑2 win over AS Bakaridjan, earned rather than given, and the sort of afternoon that sends everyone home talking about next week instead of this one.
Marked 9.30 — 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.
Marked 8.99 — 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.
He wheeled away like a man who had been carrying it for months, because he had. AS Police have their signing off the mark and one press-conference question retired.
“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 AS Police, and it is not being withdrawn.
Oumar Koné 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.
Marked 8.57 — 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.
“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 AS Police, 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 AS Police this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Every touch is being weighed now, in print and everywhere else. Some players grow into that and some are quietly ruined by it, and nobody knows which in advance.
Shots: 9. Goals: none. The chances were there and they were good ones, and they went into the stand, the goalkeeper's arms and the side netting in roughly that order.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around AS Police they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Makan Samabaly 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.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what AS Police 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 AS Police this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
He wheeled away like a man who had been carrying it for months, because he had. AS Police have their signing off the mark and one press-conference question retired.
There were 7 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.
The terraces22 Nov 2027
The boos come down from three sides
“We pay for this every fortnight. The least we want is somebody who looks like he cares.” 6 of the 29 senior players walked off into it; the rest were not playing.
Makan Samabaly 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.
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. AS Police know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at AS Police this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Marked 9.13 — 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.
Marked 8.62 — 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.
“Some mornings you wake up and you are still a long way from everything you know.” It is not the football and it never was; AS Police are dealing with a man who wants a different country.
A shoot-out is remembered by its ending, and this one ends with Aphile Ngobese: 1 kept out, and a set of supporters who will describe every one of them for the next twenty years.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Manraj Singh will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around AS Police the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Oumar Koné 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.
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.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at AS Police 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 AS Police this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Oumar Koné 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.
It needed Makan Samabaly to find the net to bring anything home at all: 1‑1 against Afrique Foot Elite, and half the dressing room will call it a point won.
He wheeled away like a man who had been carrying it for months, because he had. AS Police have their signing off the mark and one press-conference question retired.
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. AS Police know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 10 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at AS Police this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Headers, blocks, tackles, interceptions — 15 of them, and not one goal behind him. The sort of performance that never makes a highlight reel and wins football matches.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Manraj Singh will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around AS Police the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Makan Samabaly 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 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.
“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 AS Police, and it is not being withdrawn.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at AS Police is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
The shirt still fits. Falaye Doumbia is back at AS Police, and half the ground remembers him in these colours already. Some signings need selling to the town; this one sold itself.
He left as a boy and has come back still knowing where the away end is. Most signings have to be explained to a town; this one needed a photograph and nothing else.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at AS Police this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Makan Samabaly 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.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Makan Samabaly trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at AS Police this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Makan Samabaly trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at AS Police is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Oumar Koné 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 AS Police 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 AS Police this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
“Some mornings you wake up and you are still a long way from everything you know.” It is not the football and it never was; AS Police are dealing with a man who wants a different country.
Makan Samabaly 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.
“I respect the manager and I am not going to sit here and pretend I am happy.” It is the most common sentence in football and it has never once been the end of a story.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at AS Police this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Lucan Louw trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Makan Samabaly 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.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Adama Traoré trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
3 months left, and both sides know what that means: every week without a signature, the fee AS Police could ask drops and the wages Thulani Zungu can ask rise.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Thulani Zungu will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around AS Police 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 AS Police this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Oumar Koné 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.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at AS Police, and both men came out saying it was fine.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at AS Police this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Makan Samabaly arrives at 33 with nothing left to prove and plenty left to pass on. Legs are a young man's currency; knowing where to stand never ages.
Oumar Koné 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 AS Police 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 AS Police this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Kabir Muhammed Kabir 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.
“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 AS Police know it.
“I respect the manager and I am not going to sit here and pretend I am happy.” It is the most common sentence in football and it has never once been the end of a story.
“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 AS Police, 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 AS Police this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Malick Berthé 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 clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at AS Police 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 AS Police this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Oumar Koné 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.
“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 AS Police, 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 AS Police this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Mamady Condé 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.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at AS Police, and both men came out saying it was fine.
6 months left, and both sides know what that means: every week without a signature, the fee AS Police could ask drops and the wages Thulani Zungu can ask rise.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what AS Police 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 AS Police this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Mamady Condé 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.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at AS Police, and both men came out saying it was fine.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at AS Police this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” AS Police have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Oumar Koné 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 season average of 7.15 at an age when most of his year group are still in the youth team. AS Police know what they have, and so, by now, does everybody else.
Oumar Koné 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.
“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 AS Police, 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 AS Police this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
“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 AS Police know 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 AS Police, and it is not being withdrawn.
Mamady Condé 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.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at AS Police this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
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.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what AS Police can pretend not to have heard.
Mamady Condé 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.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at AS Police this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Marked 8.78 — 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.
“Some mornings you wake up and you are still a long way from everything you know.” It is not the football and it never was; AS Police are dealing with a man who wants a different country.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” AS Police have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
A season average of 7.11 at an age when most of his year group are still in the youth team. AS Police know what they have, and so, by now, does everybody else.
Oumar Koné 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.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at AS Police this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
A season average of 7.10 at an age when most of his year group are still in the youth team. AS Police know what they have, and so, by now, does everybody else.
Oumar Koné 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.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what AS Police 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 AS Police this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Shots: 4. Goals: none. The chances were there and they were good ones, and they went into the stand, the goalkeeper's arms and the side netting in roughly that order.
Shots: 7. Goals: none. The chances were there and they were good ones, and they went into the stand, the goalkeeper's arms and the side netting in roughly that order.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what AS Police 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.” AS Police have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Malick Berthé 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 mornings you wake up and you are still a long way from everything you know.” It is not the football and it never was; AS Police are dealing with a man who wants a different country.
“I have supported clubs like this one. I know what a bad Saturday feels like here.” The new man starts with nothing behind him and everything in front of him.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what AS Police 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.” AS Police 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 AS Police this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Kabir Muhammed Kabir 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.
He is 21, he is averaging 7.00, and older professionals have started passing to him in the difficult minutes. That last part is the real scouting report.
A 2‑1 win over Afrique Foot Elite, earned rather than given, and the sort of afternoon that sends everyone home talking about next week instead of this one.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” AS Police have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
“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 AS Police, 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 AS Police this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
12 days with the chair empty, a list of names that grows and shrinks by the day, and not one signature on anything. Every week that passes takes the best candidates off it.
Marked 8.06 — 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.
Compensation agreed, contract signed, and a manager gone who was never for sale. AS Police begin the search from behind, which is the only place a club in this position ever begins.
“Somebody has to pick the team on Saturday, and this week that is me.” An interim appointment with no promises attached, which is how most of them start.
A season average of 7.08 at an age when most of his year group are still in the youth team. AS Police know what they have, and so, by now, does everybody else.
Oumar Koné 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.
Marked 9.22 — 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.
AS Police did not want this conversation and are having it anyway. A manager wanted elsewhere is a manager whose next contract talk just became more expensive.
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. AS Police will be quietly delighted and privately nervous.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at AS Police this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 11 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what AS Police 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.” AS Police have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Malick Berthé 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 figure at which a wage bill stops being ambitious and becomes the reason nothing else is possible, and this club has reached it. Nothing is left over for a transfer, a stand or a rainy afternoon.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at AS Police this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Kabir Muhammed Kabir 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.
He is 21, he is averaging 7.02, and older professionals have started passing to him in the difficult minutes. That last part is the real scouting report.
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Mamadou Sidibé. 1‑0 against Etoiles du Mande, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
Marked 8.07 — 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 was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at AS Police this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Oumar Koné 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 figure at which a wage bill stops being ambitious and becomes the reason nothing else is possible, and this club has reached it. Nothing is left over for a transfer, a stand or a rainy afternoon.
He is 19, and nobody at AS Police signed him for this season. Deals like this are judged in four years, by people who may not still be in the building.
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.
Position 3, 15 points, and the result everyone checks first is now theirs. The word is still not being said around the ground, which is how you know everyone is thinking it.
Yakubu Abbas 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.
Thulani Zungu is 35 and has run out of things to prove. What he has left is where to stand, when to slow it down and what to say at half-time, and none of that is on a fitness chart.
He wheeled away like a man who had been carrying it for months, because he had. AS Police have their signing off the mark and one press-conference question retired.
“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 AS Police, and it is not being withdrawn.
Oumar Koné 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.
Marked 8.78 — 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 needed Yakubu Abbas to find the net to bring anything home at all: 3‑3 against US Forces Armees, and half the dressing room will call it a point won.
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.
Marked 9.24 — 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.
Adama Traoré 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 figure at which a wage bill stops being ambitious and becomes the reason nothing else is possible, and this club has reached it. Nothing is left over for a transfer, a stand or a rainy afternoon.
Marked 8.44 — 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.
Headers, blocks, tackles, interceptions — 19 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 AS Police this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Sbusiso Mtshali 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.
“I did not come here to warm up in front of people.” He is out of contract eventually, he is old enough to count the weeks, and AS Police will have to give him a reason to stay or an exit.
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.
“Some mornings you wake up and you are still a long way from everything you know.” It is not the football and it never was; AS Police are dealing with a man who wants a different country.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at AS Police this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
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.
Marked 9.99 — 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.
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Sbusiso Mtshali. 4‑2 against FC Diarra, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
Sbusiso Mtshali 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.
He wheeled away like a man who had been carrying it for months, because he had. AS Police have their signing off the mark and one press-conference question retired.
Shots: 10. Goals: none. The chances were there and they were good ones, and they went into the stand, the goalkeeper's arms and the side netting in roughly that order.
In brief
The terracesThe crowd stays with them
The terracesThe press cannot get enough of Yakubu Abbas
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at AS Police this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
“Some mornings you wake up and you are still a long way from everything you know.” It is not the football and it never was; AS Police are dealing with a man who wants a different country.
Every club in football pays most of what it earns to its players. Paying nearly all of it is a different arrangement, and it has ended the same way every time somebody has tried it.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at AS Police this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The standards have slipped, and in a building where everybody watches everybody it has not gone unremarked. This is how a player loses a place before he loses one.
He came through the session, took part in everything and finished it smiling. AS Police will not rush him, and he will spend the next fortnight trying to rush them.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at AS Police this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
A manager forgives a bad Saturday far more readily than a bad Tuesday, because one of them he can explain and the other one he chose. The reports this week have not been good.
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Thabang Molefe signs something — a contract at AS Police or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
Adama Traoré 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 chase for Adama Traoré ended with $54.0K changing hands and Real Bamako out of reasons to say no. The supporters will judge the fee the only way that matters: on Saturdays.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at AS Police this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Sbusiso Mtshali 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 year in and the language has not come, the city has not opened up, and he eats alone more often than anybody at AS Police would like to admit. It is showing on Saturdays.
A new face in his position, and Oumar Koné suddenly has to win back what he thought he owned. AS Police have promised nothing — clubs rarely do at this stage.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at AS Police this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
He trains hard, says the right things and goes home to an empty flat. Nobody at AS Police has done anything wrong, which is exactly what makes it so difficult to fix.
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Thabang Molefe signs something — a contract at AS Police or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
Yakubu Abbas 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 level at which a footballer stops being tested and starts being contained, and he reached it some time ago. AS Police know it, and so does everybody who watches him.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at AS Police this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
There is a level at which a footballer stops being tested and starts being contained, and he reached it some time ago. AS Police know it, and so does everybody who watches him.
He is 20, and nobody at AS Police signed him for this season. Deals like this are judged in four years, by people who may not still be in the building.
It is a strip of cloth and it decides nothing on a Saturday. It still tells the dressing room exactly whose opinion the manager values, which is the whole point of it.