From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match24 Aug 2030
11 matches without a win for Barau
The run now stands at 11, and the questions being asked around Barau are no longer polite ones.
Match26 Aug 2030
Barau sink to position 19
25 points, and a fixture list that is running out. The mathematics are not yet cruel, but they are no longer kind.
Boardroom26 Aug 2030
Pressure builds in the Barau boardroom
The directors have stopped offering the manager public warmth. In football that is usually the stage before the short statement.
Market26 Aug 2030
“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.
Squad26 Aug 2030
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Abiodun Adegoke, and the manager let it.
Player ratings26 Aug 2030
Marked 7.60 on an afternoon he ran from the first whistle to the last. Whatever else went wrong, Barau had the best player on the pitch.
Player ratings26 Aug 2030
Successful dribbles: 14. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Squad26 Aug 2030
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Barau, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Squad26 Aug 2030
A season average of 7.20 with 4 goals behind it. Opponents have started planning around him, which is the sincerest compliment football pays.
Back issues
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match17 Aug 2030
10 matches without a win for Barau
The run now stands at 10, and the questions being asked around Barau are no longer polite ones.
Market19 Aug 2030
“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 The request is on a desk at Barau, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad19 Aug 2030
Peace Dewan 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 Barau this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Market19 Aug 2030
Both sides expect a conversation in the coming days. Barau will name a price, and everything after that is arithmetic.
Match17 Aug 2030
0‑2 to Bayelsa United, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.
Player ratings19 Aug 2030
Successful dribbles: 18. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Squad19 Aug 2030
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Suleiman Abubakar and Barau agree another 2 years.
Squad19 Aug 2030
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.
Squad19 Aug 2030
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Xavier Jodamus, and the manager let it.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match10 Aug 2030
No end in sight to Barau's wait for a win
9 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Barau has to find a result from somewhere.
Market12 Aug 2030
“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 Barau, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad12 Aug 2030
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Barau may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
The terraces12 Aug 2030
The ground has had enough
“We travel everywhere and we get this.” 7 of the 25 senior players heard it walking off, and the ones who did not hear it were not playing.
Squad12 Aug 2030
Tempers go at Barau
Peace Dewan 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.
Match10 Aug 2030
Beaten 1‑3, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
Player ratings12 Aug 2030
Successful dribbles: 20. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Player ratings12 Aug 2030
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.83, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Squad12 Aug 2030
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Sunday Anthony, and the manager let it.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Boardroom5 Aug 2030
The board’s statement ran to three sentences and one of them mentioned results. Ifeanyi Obi has managed long enough to translate: win soon, or the next statement is shorter.
Match3 Aug 2030
The wait goes on for Barau
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.
Market5 Aug 2030
Barau say no — this time
The offer from Bendel Insurance for Abiodun Adegoke 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.
Squad5 Aug 2030
“The easiest signature of my career.” Hilary Ekawu and Barau agree another 4 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Squad5 Aug 2030
Tempers go at Barau
Ibrahim Yahaya 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.
Player ratings5 Aug 2030
Successful dribbles: 21. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Player ratings5 Aug 2030
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.69, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Squad5 Aug 2030
Bismark Duah 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.
Match3 Aug 2030
2‑2, and both dressing rooms will call it two points lost. A draw that asked plenty of questions and answered none of them.
In brief
-
Market
Experience through the door at Barau
-
Squad
Mohammed Barisa finally opens his account
-
Boardroom
$2.3M taken back off the Barau table
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Match29 Jul 2030
Barau sink to position 18
23 points, and a fixture list that is running out. The mathematics are not yet cruel, but they are no longer kind.
Market29 Jul 2030
Yusuf Umar 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 Barau can pretend not to have heard.
Match27 Jul 2030
7 matches without a win for Barau
The run now stands at 7, and the questions being asked around Barau are no longer polite ones.
Squad29 Jul 2030
There were 6 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.
Boardroom29 Jul 2030
Pressure builds in the Barau boardroom
The directors have stopped offering the manager public warmth. In football that is usually the stage before the short statement.
Market29 Jul 2030
The name of Abiodun Adegoke has come up in conversations Barau were not part of. Nothing formal, nothing signed — but nothing about it accidental either.
Squad29 Jul 2030
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Barau this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Player ratings29 Jul 2030
Marked 8.75 — 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.
Squad29 Jul 2030
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Mohammed Hussaini, and the manager let it.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market22 Jul 2030
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Barau they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Match20 Jul 2030
The wait goes on for Barau
6 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.
Market22 Jul 2030
“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.
Squad22 Jul 2030
Tempers go at Barau
Abdulaziz Dalhatu 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.
Player ratings22 Jul 2030
Successful dribbles: 21. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Squad22 Jul 2030
“The easiest signature of my career.” Anyanechi Chimezie and Barau agree another 3 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Squad22 Jul 2030
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Yusuf Umar, and the manager let it.
Squad22 Jul 2030
He found out with everybody else, an hour before kick-off, from a sheet of paper on a wall. Nobody at Barau pretended it was anything other than a decision about him.
Match20 Jul 2030
It finished 1‑1, and it somehow always looked like it would. One of those afternoons where the table moves less than the tempers.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Market15 Jul 2030
“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 Barau, and it is not being withdrawn.
Match13 Jul 2030
No end in sight to Barau's wait for a win
5 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Barau has to find a result from somewhere.
Squad15 Jul 2030
41 days, the medical staff say, and medical staff are optimists by profession. The team sheet will look wrong without him.
Market15 Jul 2030
Abia Warriors are about to pick up the phone
A conversation is coming this week. Barau will put a number on him, and from there it stops being football and becomes arithmetic.
Match13 Jul 2030
0‑2 to El-Kanemi Warriors, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.
Player ratings15 Jul 2030
Successful dribbles: 18. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Squad15 Jul 2030
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Mohammed Hussaini trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Squad15 Jul 2030
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Frank Osimhen, and the manager let it.
Market15 Jul 2030
2 months left and the two sides are nowhere near each other. Every week this drags on takes money off what Barau could get for him.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Market8 Jul 2030
“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 Barau, and it is not being withdrawn.
Market8 Jul 2030
The interest is real enough to have reached print. Barau have said nothing, which in a transfer window is its own kind of answer.
Squad8 Jul 2030
Divane Tchameni: 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.” Barau have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Match6 Jul 2030
No end in sight to Barau's wait for a win
4 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Barau has to find a result from somewhere.
Squad8 Jul 2030
Tempers go at Barau
Abdulaziz Dalhatu 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.
Player ratings8 Jul 2030
Successful dribbles: 19. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Player ratings8 Jul 2030
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.69, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Squad8 Jul 2030
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Sunday Anthony, and the manager let it.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match1 Jul 2030
Barau are in real trouble now
Position 18, 21 points, and a fixture list with fewer games left in it than excuses. The arithmetic is not cruel yet, but it has stopped being kind.
Player ratings1 Jul 2030
Successful dribbles: 28. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Boardroom1 Jul 2030
The silence upstairs is getting loud at Barau
Nobody on the board has said anything against the manager, which is the point — they have stopped saying anything for him either.
Squad1 Jul 2030
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Barau this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad1 Jul 2030
“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.
Match29 Jun 2030
0‑1 to Wikki Tourists, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.
Squad1 Jul 2030
Abiodun Adegoke 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.
Squad1 Jul 2030
“I will know when it is time. I am not there yet.” Mohammed Hussaini is 37, with 72 appearances behind him, and Barau will have to plan for whichever answer comes.
Player ratings1 Jul 2030
The one thing Hilary Ekawu could not do
Shots: 6, enough of them from close enough that a striker in form scores two. He is not a striker in form.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Market24 Jun 2030
Barau say no — this time
The offer from Abia Warriors for Abiodun Adegoke 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.
Market24 Jun 2030
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Abdulaziz Dalhatu will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Barau the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Squad24 Jun 2030
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.
Squad24 Jun 2030
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Barau this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Match22 Jun 2030
Beaten 1‑2, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
Player ratings24 Jun 2030
Successful dribbles: 19. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Squad24 Jun 2030
Bismark Duah 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.
Player ratings24 Jun 2030
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.48, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Player ratings24 Jun 2030
One lapse, one goal, and ninety minutes of honest work counting for nothing. That is the job at Barau, and it is a cruel one.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market17 Jun 2030
“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.
Squad17 Jun 2030
There were 6 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.
Player ratings17 Jun 2030
Successful dribbles: 22. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Squad17 Jun 2030
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Barau this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Player ratings17 Jun 2030
Defensive actions: 19. He was first to everything and second to nothing, and the goalkeeper had an easy day because of it.
Player ratings17 Jun 2030
A defender's afternoon for Mpho Khethang
Defensive actions: 17. He was first to everything and second to nothing, and the goalkeeper had an easy day because of it.
Squad17 Jun 2030
The manager makes an example of Xavier Jodamus
“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.
Squad17 Jun 2030
Getting past Chisom Chiaha has become the hardest job in the division
7 clean sheets and counting. Forwards used to back themselves here; now they shoot early, shoot wide, and look for somebody to blame.
Match15 Jun 2030
Point won or two lost for Barau?
Ninety minutes, no goals, and the argument started before the car park emptied: a point gained, or two thrown away against Nasarawa United? Both sides of it will still be going on Thursday.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market10 Jun 2030
Mathew Samuel 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 Barau can pretend not to have heard.
Squad10 Jun 2030
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Barau may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Squad10 Jun 2030
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.
Player ratings10 Jun 2030
Headers, blocks, tackles, interceptions — 24 of them, and not one goal behind him. The sort of performance that never makes a highlight reel and wins football matches.
Squad10 Jun 2030
Tempers go at Barau
Abdulaziz Dalhatu 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.
Market10 Jun 2030
Abia Warriors are about to pick up the phone
A conversation is coming this week. Barau will put a number on him, and from there it stops being football and becomes arithmetic.
Player ratings10 Jun 2030
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 9.42, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Match8 Jun 2030
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Mpho Khethang. 1‑0 against Abia Warriors, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
Player ratings10 Jun 2030
Marked 8.48 — 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.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Match1 Jun 2030
The wait goes on for Barau
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.
Squad3 Jun 2030
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.
Boardroom3 Jun 2030
The scrutiny sharpens at Barau
Nobody upstairs has said anything, which is the loudest thing they could do. Results buy silence in this game; the account at Barau is running low.
Squad3 Jun 2030
“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.
Squad3 Jun 2030
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Barau this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Player ratings3 Jun 2030
Defensive actions: 22. He was first to everything and second to nothing, and the goalkeeper had an easy day because of it.
Squad3 Jun 2030
“The easiest signature of my career.” Sunday Anthony and Barau agree another 3 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Player ratings3 Jun 2030
Successful dribbles: 19. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Player ratings3 Jun 2030
A defender's afternoon for Mathew Samuel
Defensive actions: 16. He was first to everything and second to nothing, and the goalkeeper had an easy day because of it.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Match25 May 2030
7 matches without a win for Barau
The run now stands at 7, and the questions being asked around Barau are no longer polite ones.
Squad27 May 2030
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Barau may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Player ratings27 May 2030
Successful dribbles: 23. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Player ratings27 May 2030
Headers, blocks, tackles, interceptions — 20 of them, and not one goal behind him. The sort of performance that never makes a highlight reel and wins football matches.
Player ratings27 May 2030
Defensive actions: 20, and a clean sheet at the end of it. A centre-half's best afternoons look like nothing happening, which is precisely the point.
Squad27 May 2030
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Sunday Anthony, and the manager let it.
Player ratings27 May 2030
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.
Market27 May 2030
The clock does Abdulaziz Dalhatu’s negotiating for him
2 months left, and both sides know what that means: every week without a signature, the fee Barau could ask drops and the wages Abdulaziz Dalhatu can ask rise.
Match25 May 2030
Point won or two lost for Barau?
Ninety minutes, no goals, and the argument started before the car park emptied: a point gained, or two thrown away against Remo Stars? Both sides of it will still be going on Thursday.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market20 May 2030
“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 Barau, and it is not being withdrawn.
Match18 May 2030
6 matches without a win for Barau
The run now stands at 6, and the questions being asked around Barau are no longer polite ones.
Squad20 May 2030
“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.
Player ratings20 May 2030
Successful dribbles: 24. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Squad20 May 2030
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Barau this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Player ratings20 May 2030
A performance of 8.97 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Squad20 May 2030
The manager makes an example of Abiodun Adegoke
“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.
Match18 May 2030
It finished 1‑1, and it somehow always looked like it would. One of those afternoons where the table moves less than the tempers.
Market20 May 2030
4 months remain and no agreement is close. Every week without a signature costs Barau money.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Market13 May 2030
“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 Barau, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad13 May 2030
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.
Match11 May 2030
No end in sight to Barau's wait for a win
5 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Barau has to find a result from somewhere.
Squad13 May 2030
Tempers go at Barau
Ibrahim Yahaya 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.
Squad13 May 2030
“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.
Match11 May 2030
Enyimba left with the points after a 0‑1 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.
Player ratings13 May 2030
Successful dribbles: 17. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Squad13 May 2030
Mpho Khethang 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 Mpho Khethang trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Market13 May 2030
The clock does Mathew Samuel’s negotiating for him
3 months left, and both sides know what that means: every week without a signature, the fee Barau could ask drops and the wages Mathew Samuel can ask rise.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Match6 May 2030
Barau are in real trouble now
Position 18, 14 points, and a fixture list with fewer games left in it than excuses. The arithmetic is not cruel yet, but it has stopped being kind.
Player ratings6 May 2030
Successful dribbles: 27. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Boardroom6 May 2030
The silence upstairs is getting loud at Barau
Nobody on the board has said anything against the manager, which is the point — they have stopped saying anything for him either.
Match4 May 2030
The wait goes on for Barau
4 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.
Squad6 May 2030
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Chukwudi Nwaodu and Barau agree another 2 years.
Player ratings6 May 2030
A performance of 8.49 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Player ratings6 May 2030
Marked 8.05 — 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.
Match4 May 2030
It needed Abiodun Adegoke to find the net to bring anything home at all: 2‑2 against Warri Wolves, and half the dressing room will call it a point won.
Market6 May 2030
He is 20, and nobody at Barau signed him for this season. Deals like this are judged in four years, by people who may not still be in the building.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match27 Apr 2030
Barau bow out of the cup
Rangers International go through and Barau go home, 0‑1 the scoreline that did it. The dressing room will call the league the priority now, because that is what dressing rooms say.
Squad29 Apr 2030
“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.
The terraces29 Apr 2030
The boos come down from three sides
“We pay for this every fortnight. The least we want is somebody who looks like he cares.” 5 of the 25 senior players walked off into it; the rest were not playing.
Squad29 Apr 2030
Tempers go at Barau
Abdulaziz Dalhatu 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.
Squad29 Apr 2030
16 days, the scan says, and scans are kinder than reality. The fixtures in that window have just become somebody else’s job.
Squad29 Apr 2030
“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 ratings29 Apr 2030
Successful dribbles: 18. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Market29 Apr 2030
The clock does Abdulaziz Dalhatu’s negotiating for him
3 months left, and both sides know what that means: every week without a signature, the fee Barau could ask drops and the wages Abdulaziz Dalhatu can ask rise.
Player ratings29 Apr 2030
A mark of 5.58 tells the story without any need for embellishment. He will want the tape of this one quietly lost.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Market22 Apr 2030
“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 Barau, and it is not being withdrawn.
Player ratings22 Apr 2030
Successful dribbles: 23. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Squad22 Apr 2030
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Barau this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Match20 Apr 2030
Beaten 2‑4, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
Player ratings22 Apr 2030
A performance of 8.73 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Squad22 Apr 2030
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Bismark Duah, and the manager let it.
Squad22 Apr 2030
An error at the back is a moment; an error in goal is a goal. Chisom Chiaha knows it, the crowd knew it instantly, and there was nobody behind him to make it anything else.
Squad22 Apr 2030
The first one is the one every signing is asked about until it arrives. It has arrived, and he can stop being asked.
Player ratings22 Apr 2030
Shots: 6. 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.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Player ratings15 Apr 2030
Headers, blocks, tackles, interceptions — 35 of them, and not one goal behind him. The sort of performance that never makes a highlight reel and wins football matches.
Market15 Apr 2030
Mathew Samuel 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 Barau can pretend not to have heard.
Squad15 Apr 2030
Tempers go at Barau
Abdulaziz Dalhatu 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.
Squad15 Apr 2030
14 days, the scan says, and scans are kinder than reality. The fixtures in that window have just become somebody else’s job.
Player ratings15 Apr 2030
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.65, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Match13 Apr 2030
Three points for Barau, 1‑0 the final word against Kano Pillars in a contest settled by the finer margins.
Squad15 Apr 2030
The manager makes an example of Frank Osimhen
“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.
Player ratings15 Apr 2030
Successful dribbles: 12. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Market15 Apr 2030
The name of Bismark Duah keeps appearing in other people's back pages. Barau say nothing, which says plenty.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Match6 Apr 2030
The wait goes on for Barau
9 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.
Market8 Apr 2030
“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.
Squad8 Apr 2030
Tempers go at Barau
Mathew Samuel 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.
Player ratings8 Apr 2030
Successful dribbles: 20. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Player ratings8 Apr 2030
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.18, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Match6 Apr 2030
1‑1, and both dressing rooms will call it two points lost. A draw that asked plenty of questions and answered none of them.
Squad8 Apr 2030
“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.
Squad8 Apr 2030
Xavier Jodamus 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 Xavier Jodamus trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Market8 Apr 2030
Still no signature from Yusuf Umar
4 months left and the two sides are nowhere near each other. Every week this drags on takes money off what Barau could get for him.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad1 Apr 2030
There were 10 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.
Match30 Mar 2030
No end in sight to Barau's wait for a win
8 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Barau has to find a result from somewhere.
Squad1 Apr 2030
44 days, the scan says, and scans are kinder than reality. The fixtures in that window have just become somebody else’s job.
Squad1 Apr 2030
Tempers go at Barau
Abdulaziz Dalhatu 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.
Squad1 Apr 2030
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Mathew Samuel, and the manager let it.
Player ratings1 Apr 2030
Marked 8.55 — 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.
Player ratings1 Apr 2030
Successful dribbles: 16. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Match30 Mar 2030
1‑1, and both dressing rooms will call it two points lost. A draw that asked plenty of questions and answered none of them.
The terraces1 Apr 2030
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.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market25 Mar 2030
“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.
Match25 Mar 2030
Barau sink to position 18
8 points, and a fixture list that is running out. The mathematics are not yet cruel, but they are no longer kind.
Match23 Mar 2030
The wait goes on for Barau
7 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.
Squad25 Mar 2030
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Barau this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Player ratings25 Mar 2030
Successful dribbles: 22. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Squad25 Mar 2030
“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.
Match23 Mar 2030
It needed Abiodun Adegoke to find the net to bring anything home at all: 1‑1 against Katsina United, and half the dressing room will call it a point won.
Squad25 Mar 2030
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Abiodun Adegoke trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Squad25 Mar 2030
He wheeled away like a man who had been carrying it for months, because he had. Barau have their signing off the mark and one press-conference question retired.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market18 Mar 2030
“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.
Match16 Mar 2030
6 matches without a win for Barau
The run now stands at 6, and the questions being asked around Barau are no longer polite ones.
Squad18 Mar 2030
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Barau this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Player ratings18 Mar 2030
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.45, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Player ratings18 Mar 2030
Marked 8.08 — 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.
Squad18 Mar 2030
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Yusuf Umar, and the manager let it.
Match16 Mar 2030
It finished 2‑2, and it somehow always looked like it would. One of those afternoons where the table moves less than the tempers.
Player ratings18 Mar 2030
Successful dribbles: 15. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Squad18 Mar 2030
Abiodun Adegoke 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
Crisis
Market11 Mar 2030
“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 Barau, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad11 Mar 2030
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.
Match9 Mar 2030
No end in sight to Barau's wait for a win
5 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Barau has to find a result from somewhere.
Squad11 Mar 2030
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Barau this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad11 Mar 2030
Bismark Duah 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.
Match9 Mar 2030
Beaten 0‑1, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
Player ratings11 Mar 2030
Successful dribbles: 18. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Player ratings11 Mar 2030
A mark of 3.90 tells the story without any need for embellishment. He will want the tape of this one quietly lost.
Market11 Mar 2030
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Barau know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad4 Mar 2030
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Barau may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Market4 Mar 2030
Moses Balogun 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 Barau can pretend not to have heard.
Match2 Mar 2030
4 matches without a win for Barau
The run now stands at 4, and the questions being asked around Barau are no longer polite ones.
Squad4 Mar 2030
72 days, the scan says, and scans are kinder than reality. The fixtures in that window have just become somebody else’s job.
Squad4 Mar 2030
Tempers go at Barau
Abdulaziz Dalhatu 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.
Player ratings4 Mar 2030
Successful dribbles: 20. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Match2 Mar 2030
Beaten 1‑2, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
Squad4 Mar 2030
The manager makes an example of Chisom Chiaha
“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.
Player ratings4 Mar 2030
Shots: 4, enough of them from close enough that a striker in form scores two. He is not a striker in form.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad25 Feb 2030
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.
Market25 Feb 2030
“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 terraces25 Feb 2030
The ground has had enough
“We travel everywhere and we get this.” 5 of the 25 senior players heard it walking off, and the ones who did not hear it were not playing.
Squad25 Feb 2030
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Barau this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Match23 Feb 2030
Beaten 1‑2, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
Player ratings25 Feb 2030
Successful dribbles: 19. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Squad25 Feb 2030
The manager makes an example of Abiodun Adegoke
“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.
Player ratings25 Feb 2030
A performance of 8.43 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Squad25 Feb 2030
Mathew Samuel 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
Uneasy
Market18 Feb 2030
Mathew Samuel 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 Barau can pretend not to have heard.
Squad18 Feb 2030
Tempers go at Barau
Abdulaziz Dalhatu 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.
Player ratings18 Feb 2030
Successful dribbles: 19. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Player ratings18 Feb 2030
Marked 8.65 — 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.
Squad18 Feb 2030
“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 ratings18 Feb 2030
There was no pressure on him and nowhere he had to be. Barau lost a goal to a decision that took half a second and will be discussed all week.
Match16 Feb 2030
It needed Hilary Ekawu 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.
Market18 Feb 2030
The name of Bismark Duah keeps appearing in other people's back pages. Barau say nothing, which says plenty.
Player ratings18 Feb 2030
A mark of 5.47 tells the story without any need for embellishment. He will want the tape of this one quietly lost.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad11 Feb 2030
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.
Match6 Feb 2030
Cup progress for Barau
A 1‑0 win over El-Kanemi Warriors, a place in the next round, and the quiet arithmetic every supporter does on the walk home: how many more until a final?
Market11 Feb 2030
“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.
Market11 Feb 2030
The fee was agreed and the flight was looked at — and then the phone stopped ringing. Katsina United moved on, Abiodun Adegoke reports back to Barau, and everybody pretends Monday is just Monday.
Squad11 Feb 2030
Tempers go at Barau
Abdulaziz Dalhatu 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.
Player ratings11 Feb 2030
A defender's afternoon for Mpho Khethang
Defensive actions: 21. He was first to everything and second to nothing, and the goalkeeper had an easy day because of it.
Player ratings11 Feb 2030
A performance of 8.93 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Squad11 Feb 2030
“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.
Player ratings11 Feb 2030
Marked 8.56 — 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.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad4 Feb 2030
There were 6 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.
Market4 Feb 2030
“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.
Match2 Feb 2030
No end in sight to Barau's wait for a win
4 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Barau has to find a result from somewhere.
Squad4 Feb 2030
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Barau this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Market4 Feb 2030
Katsina United are about to pick up the phone
A conversation is coming this week. Barau will put a number on him, and from there it stops being football and becomes arithmetic.
Match2 Feb 2030
Beaten 1‑2, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
Player ratings4 Feb 2030
A performance of 8.61 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Squad4 Feb 2030
Yusuf Umar 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.
Player ratings4 Feb 2030
Successful dribbles: 15. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match26 Jan 2030
Nowhere to hide for Barau
1‑4 against Abia Warriors, and no complaints that would survive the replay. The manager spoke about character afterwards; the terraces used shorter words.
Market28 Jan 2030
The bid was some way short and Barau did not need long over it. Nobody in the game reads a first refusal as the end of anything.
Market28 Jan 2030
“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.
Squad28 Jan 2030
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.
Squad28 Jan 2030
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Barau this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad28 Jan 2030
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Bismark Duah, and the manager let it.
Player ratings28 Jan 2030
A performance of 8.17 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Player ratings28 Jan 2030
Successful dribbles: 17. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Boardroom28 Jan 2030
Inquest at Barau
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.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Market21 Jan 2030
“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 Barau, and it is not being withdrawn.
Market21 Jan 2030
The bid was some way short and Barau did not need long over it. Nobody in the game reads a first refusal as the end of anything.
Market21 Jan 2030
The name of Mathew Samuel has come up in conversations Barau were not part of. Nothing formal, nothing signed — but nothing about it accidental either.
Squad21 Jan 2030
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Barau this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad21 Jan 2030
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Ibrahim Yahaya, and the manager let it.
Match19 Jan 2030
Rivers United left with the points after a 0‑1 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.
Squad21 Jan 2030
The medical room confirms 18 days on the sidelines for Odion Iheanacho, and a plan built around him now has to be rebuilt.
Player ratings21 Jan 2030
Successful dribbles: 13. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Player ratings21 Jan 2030
Marked 5.51, and generously at that. Nothing came off, and by the end the crowd had stopped expecting it to.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market14 Jan 2030
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Barau can pretend not to have heard.
Squad14 Jan 2030
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.
Squad14 Jan 2030
Kwame Annan: 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.” Barau have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Squad14 Jan 2030
Tempers go at Barau
Abdulaziz Dalhatu 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.
Squad14 Jan 2030
The medical room confirms 51 days on the sidelines for Divane Tchameni, and a plan built around him now has to be rebuilt.
Player ratings14 Jan 2030
Successful dribbles: 17. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Player ratings14 Jan 2030
Defensive actions: 15, and a clean sheet at the end of it. A centre-half's best afternoons look like nothing happening, which is precisely the point.
Market14 Jan 2030
Both sides expect a conversation in the coming days. Barau will name a price, and everything after that is arithmetic.
Match12 Jan 2030
Point won or two lost for Barau?
Ninety minutes, no goals, and the argument started before the car park emptied: a point gained, or two thrown away against Remo Stars? Both sides of it will still be going on Thursday.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market7 Jan 2030
“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.
Market7 Jan 2030
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.
Market7 Jan 2030
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.
Market7 Jan 2030
As if he never left: Dennis Nwakali returns
Some transfers need a press campaign. This one needed a shirt with the old number on it. Dennis Nwakali is a Barau player again, and the town has its story of the summer.
Squad7 Jan 2030
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Barau this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Match5 Jan 2030
A 3‑1 win over Shooting Stars, earned rather than given, and the sort of afternoon that sends everyone home talking about next week instead of this one.
Squad7 Jan 2030
The manager makes an example of Chisom Chiaha
“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.
Player ratings7 Jan 2030
A performance of 8.74 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Player ratings7 Jan 2030
A performance of 8.45 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
In brief
-
Boardroom
The ground is getting bigger
-
Squad
Chisom Chiaha lets one through his hands
-
Squad
Mathew Samuel knocks on the manager’s door
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market31 Dec 2029
“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 Barau, and it is not being withdrawn.
Boardroom31 Dec 2029
The silence upstairs is getting loud at Barau
Nobody on the board has said anything against the manager, which is the point — they have stopped saying anything for him either.
Squad31 Dec 2029
14 days, the scan says, and scans are kinder than reality. The fixtures in that window have just become somebody else’s job.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market24 Dec 2029
Mathew Samuel 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 Barau can pretend not to have heard.
Squad24 Dec 2029
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Barau this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad24 Dec 2029
46 days, the medical staff say, and medical staff are optimists by profession. The team sheet will look wrong without him.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market17 Dec 2029
“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.
Squad17 Dec 2029
36 days, the scan says, and scans are kinder than reality. The fixtures in that window have just become somebody else’s job.
Squad17 Dec 2029
Tempers go at Barau
Ibrahim Yahaya 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.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market10 Dec 2029
“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.
Market10 Dec 2029
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Barau they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Squad10 Dec 2029
Tempers go at Barau
Chisom Chiaha 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.
Market10 Dec 2029
Barau have let the market know Mathew Samuel can be had. No price in the advert, but everyone in the trade knows roughly what it says.
Squad10 Dec 2029
Mpho Khethang 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.
Boardroom10 Dec 2029
The Barau production line keeps running
15 graduates out of an academy now rated 7 out of 20. Clubs this size survive on exactly that, and the town knows every name.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Boardroom3 Dec 2029
The silence upstairs is getting loud at Barau
Nobody on the board has said anything against the manager, which is the point — they have stopped saying anything for him either.
Market3 Dec 2029
Ali Al-Otaibi 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 Barau can pretend not to have heard.
Squad3 Dec 2029
39 days, the medical staff say, and medical staff are optimists by profession. The team sheet will look wrong without him.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market26 Nov 2029
“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 Barau, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad26 Nov 2029
Tempers go at Barau
Chisom Chiaha 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.
Squad26 Nov 2029
Mathew Samuel 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 Mathew Samuel trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market19 Nov 2029
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Barau can pretend not to have heard.
Squad19 Nov 2029
The medical room confirms 64 days on the sidelines for Mohammed Hussaini, and a plan built around him now has to be rebuilt.
Squad19 Nov 2029
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Barau this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market12 Nov 2029
Yusuf Umar 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 Barau can pretend not to have heard.
Market12 Nov 2029
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Barau is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Squad12 Nov 2029
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Barau may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market5 Nov 2029
“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.
Boardroom5 Nov 2029
Pressure builds in the Barau boardroom
The directors have stopped offering the manager public warmth. In football that is usually the stage before the short statement.
Squad5 Nov 2029
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Barau may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market29 Oct 2029
“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.
Squad29 Oct 2029
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Barau this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad29 Oct 2029
The medical room confirms 17 days on the sidelines for Anthony Nwankwo, and a plan built around him now has to be rebuilt.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market22 Oct 2029
“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 Barau, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad22 Oct 2029
92 days, the scan says, and scans are kinder than reality. The fixtures in that window have just become somebody else’s job.
Squad22 Oct 2029
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Barau this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market15 Oct 2029
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Kabiru Abdullahi will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Barau the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Squad15 Oct 2029
“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 Oct 2029
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Barau this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market8 Oct 2029
“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.
Squad8 Oct 2029
95 days, the medical staff say, and medical staff are optimists by profession. The team sheet will look wrong without him.
Squad8 Oct 2029
Divane Tchameni: 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.” Barau have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market1 Oct 2029
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Barau can pretend not to have heard.
Squad1 Oct 2029
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Barau this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad1 Oct 2029
45 days, the scan says, and scans are kinder than reality. The fixtures in that window have just become somebody else’s job.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Market24 Sep 2029
“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 Barau, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad24 Sep 2029
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.
Match22 Sep 2029
The wait goes on for Barau
7 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.
Squad24 Sep 2029
120 days, the scan says, and scans are kinder than reality. The fixtures in that window have just become somebody else’s job.
Squad24 Sep 2029
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Barau this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Match22 Sep 2029
Mpho Khethang scored, and precious little else went right: 2‑3 to Enyimba, and a quiet walk to the dressing room.
Player ratings24 Sep 2029
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.92, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Squad24 Sep 2029
The manager makes an example of Bismark Duah
“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.
Player ratings24 Sep 2029
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.14, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market17 Sep 2029
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Barau is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Match15 Sep 2029
The wait goes on for Barau
6 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.
Player ratings17 Sep 2029
Defensive actions: 25. He was first to everything and second to nothing, and the goalkeeper had an easy day because of it.
Player ratings17 Sep 2029
Successful dribbles: 23. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Squad17 Sep 2029
Tempers go at Barau
Chisom Chiaha 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.
Squad17 Sep 2029
The manager makes an example of Ibrahim Yahaya
“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.
Match15 Sep 2029
The crowd waited for a goal that never came. Warri Wolves defended in numbers and left with what they came for, and the two sides could be playing still without troubling a scorer.
Squad17 Sep 2029
Kabiru Abdullahi 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.
Market17 Sep 2029
Contract settled, hands shaken, no fee changing hands. Adamu Ibrahim leaves Barau the quiet way, and the wage bill breathes a little easier.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Market10 Sep 2029
“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 Barau, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad10 Sep 2029
123 days, the medical staff say, and medical staff are optimists by profession. The team sheet will look wrong without him.
Match8 Sep 2029
The wait goes on for Barau
5 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.
Player ratings10 Sep 2029
Successful dribbles: 25. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Market10 Sep 2029
Add another name to the list: Abia Warriors have asked the question everybody in the game has been asking about Kabiru Abdullahi. The answer from Barau has not changed — yet.
Market10 Sep 2029
So close: Kwame Annan’s move dies late
The fee was agreed and the flight was looked at — and then the phone stopped ringing. Katsina United moved on, Kwame Annan reports back to Barau, and everybody pretends Monday is just Monday.
Squad10 Sep 2029
Tempers go at Barau
Ibrahim Yahaya 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 Sep 2029
“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.
Match8 Sep 2029
Rangers International left with the points after a 0‑1 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Player ratings3 Sep 2029
Successful dribbles: 30. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Market3 Sep 2029
“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.
Market3 Sep 2029
The deal that would have taken Adamu Ibrahim to Warri Wolves has collapsed at the last stage, and he reports back to Barau with a summer to forget and a season still to play. Nobody is saying which side walked away.
Squad3 Sep 2029
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.
Match1 Sep 2029
4 matches without a win for Barau
The run now stands at 4, and the questions being asked around Barau are no longer polite ones.
Squad3 Sep 2029
Tempers go at Barau
Chisom Chiaha 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.
Match1 Sep 2029
1‑2 to Kwara United, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.
Player ratings3 Sep 2029
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.
Squad3 Sep 2029
73 days, the scan says, and scans are kinder than reality. The fixtures in that window have just become somebody else’s job.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Market27 Aug 2029
Mathew Samuel 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 Barau can pretend not to have heard.
Squad27 Aug 2029
148 days, the scan says, and scans are kinder than reality. The fixtures in that window have just become somebody else’s job.
Player ratings27 Aug 2029
Successful dribbles: 24. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Squad27 Aug 2029
Tempers go at Barau
Ibrahim Yahaya 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.
Match25 Aug 2029
Beaten 1‑2, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
Squad27 Aug 2029
“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.
Player ratings27 Aug 2029
Marked 8.36 — 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.
The terraces27 Aug 2029
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.
Squad27 Aug 2029
Every debut is a small story about the future: Odion Iheanacho, 17 years old, off the academy pitches and into the first team. The parents in the stand will keep the programme.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Market20 Aug 2029
“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.
Market20 Aug 2029
Barau say no — this time
The offer from Abia Warriors for Kabiru Abdullahi 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.
Player ratings20 Aug 2029
Successful dribbles: 24. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Squad20 Aug 2029
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Barau this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Match18 Aug 2029
Beaten 1‑2, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
Squad20 Aug 2029
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Usman Maidubuji, and the manager let it.
Player ratings20 Aug 2029
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.20, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Squad20 Aug 2029
Mathew Samuel 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.
Player ratings20 Aug 2029
A mark of 5.52 tells the story without any need for embellishment. He will want the tape of this one quietly lost.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Market13 Aug 2029
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Barau can pretend not to have heard.
Market13 Aug 2029
The bid was some way short and Barau did not need long over it. Nobody in the game reads a first refusal as the end of anything.
Market13 Aug 2029
Add another name to the list: Abia Warriors have asked the question everybody in the game has been asking about Kabiru Abdullahi. The answer from Barau has not changed — yet.
Squad13 Aug 2029
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Barau this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Match11 Aug 2029
1‑3 to Ikorodu City, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.
Player ratings13 Aug 2029
Successful dribbles: 20. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Squad13 Aug 2029
The manager makes an example of Bismark Duah
“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.
Player ratings13 Aug 2029
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.51, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Squad13 Aug 2029
Defences have started doubling up on Hilary Ekawu
8 goals and a season average of 7.20 will do that. The space he used to find has gone; he keeps scoring anyway, which is the mark of the real thing.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad6 Aug 2029
A one-man rearguard from Kwame Annan
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.
Squad6 Aug 2029
Tempers go at Barau
Chisom Chiaha 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.
Market6 Aug 2029
Warri Wolves are about to pick up the phone
A conversation is coming this week. Barau will put a number on him, and from there it stops being football and becomes arithmetic.
Match4 Aug 2029
A 2‑1 win over Katsina United, earned rather than given, and the sort of afternoon that sends everyone home talking about next week instead of this one.
Player ratings6 Aug 2029
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.80, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Player ratings6 Aug 2029
A performance of 8.71 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Squad6 Aug 2029
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Abiodun Adegoke, and the manager let it.
Squad6 Aug 2029
The medical room confirms 101 days on the sidelines for Anthony Nwankwo, and a plan built around him now has to be rebuilt.
Player ratings6 Aug 2029
A mark of 5.70 tells the story without any need for embellishment. He will want the tape of this one quietly lost.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market30 Jul 2029
Mathew Samuel 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 Barau can pretend not to have heard.
Market30 Jul 2029
Barau say no — this time
The offer from Bendel Insurance for Nana Kwame 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.
Squad30 Jul 2029
Tempers go at Barau
Abdulaziz Dalhatu 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.
Player ratings30 Jul 2029
Successful dribbles: 19. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Player ratings30 Jul 2029
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.51, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Squad30 Jul 2029
“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 ratings30 Jul 2029
Marked 8.03 — 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.
Match28 Jul 2029
It finished 2‑2, and it somehow always looked like it would. One of those afternoons where the table moves less than the tempers.
Squad30 Jul 2029
Chisom Chiaha 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 Barau, and both men came out saying it was fine.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Market23 Jul 2029
“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 Barau, and it is not being withdrawn.
Market23 Jul 2029
The bid was some way short and Barau did not need long over it. Nobody in the game reads a first refusal as the end of anything.
Squad23 Jul 2029
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Barau this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad23 Jul 2029
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Chisom Chiaha, and the manager let it.
Player ratings23 Jul 2029
Successful dribbles: 19. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Player ratings23 Jul 2029
Marked 8.47 — 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.
Squad23 Jul 2029
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Abiodun Adegoke trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Market23 Jul 2029
Barau have let the market know Adamu Ibrahim can be had. No price in the advert, but everyone in the trade knows roughly what it says.
In brief
-
Squad
Hilary Ekawu wants a proper job in this side
-
Market
Still no signature from Nana Kwame
-
Boardroom
The Barau production line keeps running
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad16 Jul 2029
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.
Market16 Jul 2029
Adamu Ibrahim 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 Barau can pretend not to have heard.
Market16 Jul 2029
The bid was some way short and Barau did not need long over it. Nobody in the game reads a first refusal as the end of anything.
Player ratings16 Jul 2029
Successful dribbles: 30. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Player ratings16 Jul 2029
Defensive actions: 23, and a clean sheet at the end of it. A centre-half's best afternoons look like nothing happening, which is precisely the point.
Squad16 Jul 2029
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Barau this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Player ratings16 Jul 2029
Marked 8.95 — 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.
Squad16 Jul 2029
The manager makes an example of Adamu Ibrahim
“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.
Match14 Jul 2029
El-Kanemi Warriors made Barau work for it, but the scoreboard read 1‑0 at the end and the table does not ask how.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match7 Jul 2029
Chastening afternoon for Barau
A 1‑4 beating by Plateau United was the sort of result that empties a stadium long before the final whistle.
Match7 Jul 2029
No end in sight to Barau's wait for a win
7 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Barau has to find a result from somewhere.
Market9 Jul 2029
Nana Kwame 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 Barau can pretend not to have heard.
Market9 Jul 2029
Nana Kwame has one foot out of the door
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Barau they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Market9 Jul 2029
The interest is real enough to have reached print. Barau have said nothing, which in a transfer window is its own kind of answer.
Squad9 Jul 2029
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Barau this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Market9 Jul 2029
Warri Wolves are about to pick up the phone
A conversation is coming this week. Barau will put a number on him, and from there it stops being football and becomes arithmetic.
Player ratings9 Jul 2029
Successful dribbles: 20. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Squad9 Jul 2029
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Bismark Duah, and the manager let it.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Market2 Jul 2029
“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.
Market2 Jul 2029
Only the photograph left for Adamu Ibrahim
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Adamu Ibrahim will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Barau the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Match30 Jun 2029
6 matches without a win for Barau
The run now stands at 6, and the questions being asked around Barau are no longer polite ones.
Player ratings2 Jul 2029
Successful dribbles: 24. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Squad2 Jul 2029
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Barau this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Match30 Jun 2029
Wikki Tourists left with the points after a 0‑2 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.
Squad2 Jul 2029
“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.
Squad2 Jul 2029
Chisom Chiaha lets one through his hands
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.
Squad2 Jul 2029
Barau will explain it as a decision about the team, and it may well be one. A dressing room has never once read it that way.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Market25 Jun 2029
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Barau can pretend not to have heard.
Match23 Jun 2029
5 matches without a win for Barau
The run now stands at 5, and the questions being asked around Barau are no longer polite ones.
Player ratings25 Jun 2029
Successful dribbles: 23. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Squad25 Jun 2029
Tempers go at Barau
Chisom Chiaha 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.
Squad25 Jun 2029
“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.
Match23 Jun 2029
Niger Tornadoes left with the points after a 0‑1 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.
Squad25 Jun 2029
Mathew Samuel 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 Barau, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Player ratings25 Jun 2029
A mark of 5.43 tells the story without any need for embellishment. He will want the tape of this one quietly lost.
The terraces25 Jun 2029
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
-
Market
The clock does Nana Kwame’s negotiating for him
-
Squad
Mpho Khethang unhappy with how he is being used
-
Boardroom
The Barau production line keeps running
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market18 Jun 2029
Adamu Ibrahim 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 Barau can pretend not to have heard.
Market18 Jun 2029
The offer was not close and it was refused without much discussion. Whether the second one is refused as quickly is another matter.
Player ratings18 Jun 2029
Successful dribbles: 26. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Match16 Jun 2029
4 matches without a win for Barau
The run now stands at 4, and the questions being asked around Barau are no longer polite ones.
Squad18 Jun 2029
Tempers go at Barau
Abdulaziz Dalhatu 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.
Squad18 Jun 2029
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Abiodun Adegoke, and the manager let it.
Match16 Jun 2029
Nil-nil, and few chances worth the name. Nasarawa United came to defend and left with exactly what they came for.
Squad18 Jun 2029
5 shut-outs and counting. Goalkeepers are only noticed when they fail, and Chisom Chiaha has given nobody the chance.
Player ratings18 Jun 2029
Marked 5.75, and generously at that. Nothing came off, and by the end the crowd had stopped expecting it to.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market11 Jun 2029
“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 Barau, and it is not being withdrawn.
Market11 Jun 2029
The offer was not close and it was refused without much discussion. Whether the second one is refused as quickly is another matter.
Player ratings11 Jun 2029
Successful dribbles: 25. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Squad11 Jun 2029
Tempers go at Barau
Chisom Chiaha 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.
Player ratings11 Jun 2029
A performance of 8.48 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Match9 Jun 2029
A 1‑1 draw with Abia Warriors leaves the dressing room somewhere between relief and regret.
Squad11 Jun 2029
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Abiodun Adegoke trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Squad11 Jun 2029
“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
Crisis
Market4 Jun 2029
“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.
Squad4 Jun 2029
There were 6 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.
Market4 Jun 2029
Only the photograph left for Nana Kwame
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Nana Kwame will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Barau the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Squad4 Jun 2029
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Ibrahim Yahaya and Barau agree another 4 years.
Squad4 Jun 2029
Tempers go at Barau
Ibrahim Yahaya 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.
Player ratings4 Jun 2029
Successful dribbles: 21. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Match2 Jun 2029
1‑3 to Rivers United, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.
Squad4 Jun 2029
Bismark Duah 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.
Player ratings4 Jun 2029
A performance of 8.42 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market28 May 2029
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Barau is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Player ratings28 May 2029
Successful dribbles: 22. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Squad28 May 2029
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Barau this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Match26 May 2029
Beaten 1‑2, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
Player ratings28 May 2029
A performance of 8.35 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Squad28 May 2029
The manager makes an example of Abdullahi Shehu
“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.
Market28 May 2029
The list is a quiet document with a loud meaning. Abiodun Adegoke may talk to anybody who asks, and everybody at the club understands what that means.
Squad28 May 2029
Sunday Anthony 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 Barau, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Squad28 May 2029
Kabiru Abdullahi unhappy with how he is being used
Asked to play a role that is not his, or taken off before the hour once too often — Kabiru Abdullahi has let it be known that he does not like the way Barau are using him. Managers hear this long before the press does.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Market21 May 2029
“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 Barau, and it is not being withdrawn.
Player ratings21 May 2029
Successful dribbles: 25. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Squad21 May 2029
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Barau this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Match19 May 2029
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Kabiru Abdullahi. 2‑1 against Shooting Stars, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
Player ratings21 May 2029
A performance of 8.92 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Squad21 May 2029
The manager makes an example of Divane Tchameni
“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.
Squad21 May 2029
“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.
Player ratings21 May 2029
He was not in the side at half past three and he had settled it before five. Half an hour, and Barau had a different afternoon.
Squad21 May 2029
Shifted about, taken off before the hour, asked to do somebody else's running — Abdulaziz Dalhatu has had enough of being useful and would like to be picked. Barau know, and have known for weeks.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Market14 May 2029
Ali Al-Otaibi 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 Barau can pretend not to have heard.
Player ratings14 May 2029
Successful dribbles: 22. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Squad14 May 2029
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Barau this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Match12 May 2029
Enyimba left with the points after a 1‑2 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.
Player ratings14 May 2029
A performance of 8.82 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Squad14 May 2029
“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.
Squad14 May 2029
Adamu Ibrahim 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.
Player ratings14 May 2029
The one thing Adamu Ibrahim could not do
Shots: 6, enough of them from close enough that a striker in form scores two. He is not a striker in form.
Player ratings14 May 2029
Marked 5.65, and generously at that. Nothing came off, and by the end the crowd had stopped expecting it to.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market7 May 2029
Mathew Samuel 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 Barau can pretend not to have heard.
Squad7 May 2029
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.
Market7 May 2029
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Barau is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Squad7 May 2029
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Barau this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Match5 May 2029
A 2‑1 win over Warri Wolves, earned rather than given, and the sort of afternoon that sends everyone home talking about next week instead of this one.
Player ratings7 May 2029
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.77, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Player ratings7 May 2029
A performance of 8.33 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Player ratings7 May 2029
Successful dribbles: 15. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Squad7 May 2029
“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
Crisis
Market30 Apr 2029
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Barau is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Market30 Apr 2029
Nana Kwame 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 Barau can pretend not to have heard.
Squad30 Apr 2029
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Barau this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Match28 Apr 2029
Beaten 0‑1, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
Player ratings30 Apr 2029
Successful dribbles: 18. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Squad30 Apr 2029
“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 ratings30 Apr 2029
Ten men and a goalkeeper behind him, and it still finished in the net. He knew before anybody told him, and nobody at Barau needed to.
Squad30 Apr 2029
Kabiru Abdullahi 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.
Market30 Apr 2029
The list is a quiet document with a loud meaning. Abiodun Adegoke may talk to anybody who asks, and everybody at the club understands what that means.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Match18 Apr 2029
The small margins put Barau out
Out, 0‑0 to Rangers International, and the long argument about which of the small moments decided it. The league is all there is now, and everybody knows it.
Market23 Apr 2029
Adamu Ibrahim 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 Barau can pretend not to have heard.
Squad23 Apr 2029
1 kept out in the shoot-out, and a stadium that will still be describing them in twenty years. A goalkeeper only needs one of these to be remembered forever.
Squad23 Apr 2029
There were 6 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.
Player ratings23 Apr 2029
Defensive actions: 24. He was first to everything and second to nothing, and the goalkeeper had an easy day because of it.
Player ratings23 Apr 2029
Successful dribbles: 23. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Squad23 Apr 2029
Tempers go at Barau
Chisom Chiaha 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.
Player ratings23 Apr 2029
Headers, blocks, tackles, interceptions — 21 of them, and not one goal behind him. The sort of performance that never makes a highlight reel and wins football matches.
Player ratings23 Apr 2029
A defender's afternoon for Mathew Samuel
Defensive actions: 20. He was first to everything and second to nothing, and the goalkeeper had an easy day because of it.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market16 Apr 2029
Ali Al-Otaibi 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 Barau can pretend not to have heard.
Player ratings16 Apr 2029
Successful dribbles: 22. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Squad16 Apr 2029
Tempers go at Barau
Ibrahim Yahaya 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.
Squad16 Apr 2029
“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.
Squad16 Apr 2029
Abiodun Adegoke 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.
Player ratings16 Apr 2029
Headers, blocks, tackles, interceptions — 13 of them, and not one goal behind him. The sort of performance that never makes a highlight reel and wins football matches.
Match14 Apr 2029
Ninety minutes, two goalkeepers with clean gloves, and not one finish worth keeping. Kano Pillars will be the happier side with the point.
Player ratings16 Apr 2029
Marked 5.69, and generously at that. Nothing came off, and by the end the crowd had stopped expecting it to.
Player ratings16 Apr 2029
A mark of 5.70 tells the story without any need for embellishment. He will want the tape of this one quietly lost.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market9 Apr 2029
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Barau can pretend not to have heard.
Market9 Apr 2029
Nana Kwame has one foot out of the door
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Barau they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Squad9 Apr 2029
Tempers go at Barau
Chisom Chiaha 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.
Squad9 Apr 2029
“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 ratings9 Apr 2029
Successful dribbles: 18. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Player ratings9 Apr 2029
Shots: 5, enough of them from close enough that a striker in form scores two. He is not a striker in form.
Squad9 Apr 2029
The first one is the one every signing is asked about until it arrives. It has arrived, and he can stop being asked.
Market9 Apr 2029
The Bismark Duah story refuses to die
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Bismark Duah signs something — a contract at Barau or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market2 Apr 2029
Mathew Samuel 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 Barau can pretend not to have heard.
Market2 Apr 2029
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Barau is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Squad2 Apr 2029
There were 6 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.
Player ratings2 Apr 2029
Successful dribbles: 23. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Squad2 Apr 2029
Tempers go at Barau
Ibrahim Yahaya 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.
Squad2 Apr 2029
“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.
Match31 Mar 2029
0‑1 to Ikorodu City, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.
Squad2 Apr 2029
“The easiest signature of my career.” Odion Iheanacho and Barau agree another 3 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Player ratings2 Apr 2029
Marked 5.54, and generously at that. Nothing came off, and by the end the crowd had stopped expecting it to.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad26 Mar 2029
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.
Market26 Mar 2029
Adamu Ibrahim 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 Barau can pretend not to have heard.
Squad26 Mar 2029
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Barau this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Match24 Mar 2029
A 2‑0 win over Katsina United, earned rather than given, and the sort of afternoon that sends everyone home talking about next week instead of this one.
Player ratings26 Mar 2029
Marked 8.70 — 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.
Player ratings26 Mar 2029
A defender's afternoon for Mathew Samuel
Defensive actions: 19. He was first to everything and second to nothing, and the goalkeeper had an easy day because of it.
Player ratings26 Mar 2029
A performance of 8.20 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Player ratings26 Mar 2029
A performance of 8.09 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Squad26 Mar 2029
Mathew Samuel 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
Upbeat
Market19 Mar 2029
“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 Mar 2029
14 days, the medical staff say, and medical staff are optimists by profession. The team sheet will look wrong without him.
Player ratings19 Mar 2029
Successful dribbles: 22. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Squad19 Mar 2029
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Barau this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Match17 Mar 2029
A 3‑1 win over Kun Khalifat, earned rather than given, and the sort of afternoon that sends everyone home talking about next week instead of this one.
Player ratings19 Mar 2029
Marked 9.11 — 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.
Player ratings19 Mar 2029
Marked 8.67 — 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.
Squad19 Mar 2029
The manager makes an example of Divane Tchameni
“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.
Squad19 Mar 2029
Mathew Samuel 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 Barau, and both men came out saying it was fine.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market12 Mar 2029
“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.
Market12 Mar 2029
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Barau is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Squad12 Mar 2029
Tempers go at Barau
Chisom Chiaha 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.
Squad12 Mar 2029
Bismark Duah 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.
Player ratings12 Mar 2029
Successful dribbles: 17. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Squad12 Mar 2029
He wheeled away like a man who had been carrying it for months, because he had. Barau have their signing off the mark and one press-conference question retired.
Squad12 Mar 2029
Kabiru Abdullahi 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.
Market12 Mar 2029
The Bismark Duah story refuses to die
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Bismark Duah signs something — a contract at Barau or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad5 Mar 2029
There were 12 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.
Market5 Mar 2029
“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.
Market5 Mar 2029
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Barau is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Squad5 Mar 2029
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Bismark Duah commits to Barau for another 4 years.
Squad5 Mar 2029
Tempers go at Barau
Abdulaziz Dalhatu 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.
Match3 Mar 2029
A 2‑1 win over El-Kanemi Warriors, earned rather than given, and the sort of afternoon that sends everyone home talking about next week instead of this one.
Player ratings5 Mar 2029
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.27, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Player ratings5 Mar 2029
Successful dribbles: 18. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Squad5 Mar 2029
Matthew Etim 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
Crisis
Market26 Feb 2029
“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 Barau, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad26 Feb 2029
“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.
Squad26 Feb 2029
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Barau this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Match24 Feb 2029
Plateau United left with the points after a 0‑1 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.
Squad26 Feb 2029
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Abiodun Adegoke, and the manager let it.
Player ratings26 Feb 2029
Successful dribbles: 18. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Squad26 Feb 2029
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Luther Erasmus and Barau agree another 3 years.
The terraces26 Feb 2029
Everybody has an opinion about Chisom Chiaha
He is the name in every column and on every phone-in, which is a heavy thing to carry at any age. Some footballers thrive on it; others are quietly finished by it.
Player ratings26 Feb 2029
Marked 5.20, and generously at that. Nothing came off, and by the end the crowd had stopped expecting it to.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market19 Feb 2029
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Barau can pretend not to have heard.
Player ratings19 Feb 2029
Successful dribbles: 27. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Squad19 Feb 2029
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Usman Maidubuji and Barau agree another 3 years.
Squad19 Feb 2029
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Barau this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Match17 Feb 2029
Three points for Barau, 3‑2 the final word against Wikki Tourists in a contest settled by the finer margins.
Player ratings19 Feb 2029
A performance of 9.02 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Squad19 Feb 2029
The manager makes an example of Mathew Samuel
“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.
Squad19 Feb 2029
Chisom Chiaha lets one through his hands
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.
Player ratings19 Feb 2029
Marked 5.50, and generously at that. Nothing came off, and by the end the crowd had stopped expecting it to.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market12 Feb 2029
“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.
Market12 Feb 2029
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Barau is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Squad12 Feb 2029
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Barau may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Market12 Feb 2029
The name of Adamu Ibrahim has come up in conversations Barau were not part of. Nothing formal, nothing signed — but nothing about it accidental either.
Squad12 Feb 2029
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Barau this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Match10 Feb 2029
Niger Tornadoes made Barau work for it, but the scoreboard read 2‑1 at the end and the table does not ask how.
Player ratings12 Feb 2029
Marked 8.96 — 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.
Player ratings12 Feb 2029
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.75, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Player ratings12 Feb 2029
Successful dribbles: 18. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Match3 Feb 2029
16 matches without a win for Barau
The run now stands at 16, and the questions being asked around Barau are no longer polite ones.
Squad5 Feb 2029
2 kept out in the shoot-out, and a stadium that will still be describing them in twenty years. A goalkeeper only needs one of these to be remembered forever.
Market5 Feb 2029
Mathew Samuel 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 Barau can pretend not to have heard.
Market5 Feb 2029
Barau say no — this time
The offer from Warri Wolves for Adamu Ibrahim 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.
Market5 Feb 2029
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Barau they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Squad5 Feb 2029
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Barau this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Player ratings5 Feb 2029
Successful dribbles: 19. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Squad5 Feb 2029
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Chisom Chiaha, and the manager let it.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Match27 Jan 2029
No end in sight to Barau's wait for a win
14 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Barau has to find a result from somewhere.
Market29 Jan 2029
“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 Barau, and it is not being withdrawn.
Market29 Jan 2029
Enyimba come back empty-handed
The bid was some way short and Barau did not need long over it. Nobody in the game reads a first refusal as the end of anything.
Squad29 Jan 2029
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.
Squad29 Jan 2029
Tempers go at Barau
Chisom Chiaha 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.
Squad29 Jan 2029
“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.
Market29 Jan 2029
Abia Warriors are about to pick up the phone
A conversation is coming this week. Barau will put a number on him, and from there it stops being football and becomes arithmetic.
Player ratings29 Jan 2029
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.15, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Player ratings29 Jan 2029
Successful dribbles: 16. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Match20 Jan 2029
No end in sight to Barau's wait for a win
13 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Barau has to find a result from somewhere.
Market22 Jan 2029
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Barau can pretend not to have heard.
Squad22 Jan 2029
Tempers go at Barau
Abdulaziz Dalhatu 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.
Player ratings22 Jan 2029
Successful dribbles: 21. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Squad22 Jan 2029
The manager makes an example of Divane Tchameni
“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.
Squad22 Jan 2029
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Abraham Madu and Barau agree another 3 years.
Match20 Jan 2029
Ninety minutes, two goalkeepers with clean gloves, and not one finish worth keeping. Rivers United will be the happier side with the point.
Squad22 Jan 2029
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Barau, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Player ratings22 Jan 2029
5.55 on the card. Some afternoons a footballer looks like a man who has only just been introduced to the game, and this was one of them.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match13 Jan 2029
The wait goes on for Barau
12 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.
Squad15 Jan 2029
There were 10 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.
Market15 Jan 2029
Barau say no — this time
The offer from Abia Warriors for Kabiru Abdullahi 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.
Market15 Jan 2029
“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.
Squad15 Jan 2029
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Hilary Ekawu and Barau agree another 3 years.
Squad15 Jan 2029
Tempers go at Barau
Chisom Chiaha 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.
Match13 Jan 2029
1‑2 to Remo Stars, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.
Squad15 Jan 2029
Joseph Kemin 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.
Player ratings15 Jan 2029
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.46, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Match6 Jan 2029
No end in sight to Barau's wait for a win
11 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Barau has to find a result from somewhere.
Market8 Jan 2029
“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.
Squad8 Jan 2029
Abiodun Adegoke: 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.” Barau have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Market8 Jan 2029
The offer was not close and it was refused without much discussion. Whether the second one is refused as quickly is another matter.
Market8 Jan 2029
Only the photograph left for Nana Kwame
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Nana Kwame will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Barau the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Squad8 Jan 2029
Tempers go at Barau
Ibrahim Yahaya 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.
Market8 Jan 2029
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.
Player ratings8 Jan 2029
Successful dribbles: 20. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Player ratings8 Jan 2029
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.77, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market1 Jan 2029
“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 Barau, and it is not being withdrawn.
Market1 Jan 2029
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Barau is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Squad1 Jan 2029
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Barau this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Market25 Dec 2028
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Barau can pretend not to have heard.
Squad25 Dec 2028
Tempers go at Barau
Ibrahim Yahaya 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.
Market25 Dec 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.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad18 Dec 2028
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Barau this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad18 Dec 2028
Mathew Samuel 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.
Market18 Dec 2028
The Bismark Duah story refuses to die
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Bismark Duah signs something — a contract at Barau or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
Market18 Dec 2028
Barau have let the market know Adamu Ibrahim can be had. No price in the advert, but everyone in the trade knows roughly what it says.
Market18 Dec 2028
Contract settled, hands shaken, no fee changing hands. Maro Edirin leaves Barau the quiet way, and the wage bill breathes a little easier.
Squad18 Dec 2028
Questions about Kabiru Abdullahi on the training pitch
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.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Market11 Dec 2028
“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 Barau, and it is not being withdrawn.
Market11 Dec 2028
Only the photograph left for Nana Kwame
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Nana Kwame will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Barau the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Squad11 Dec 2028
Tempers go at Barau
Abdulaziz Dalhatu 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.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match4 Dec 2028
Every point is an argument now for Barau
Position 18 and 34 points, and the table gets read bottom-up in this part of town. The calendar has stopped being a schedule and started being a countdown.
Boardroom4 Dec 2028
Pressure builds in the Barau boardroom
The directors have stopped offering the manager public warmth. In football that is usually the stage before the short statement.
Market4 Dec 2028
“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 Barau, and it is not being withdrawn.
Market4 Dec 2028
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Kabiru Abdullahi will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Barau the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Squad4 Dec 2028
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Barau this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad4 Dec 2028
“The easiest signature of my career.” Matthew Etim and Barau agree another 1 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Market27 Nov 2028
“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.
Squad27 Nov 2028
Tempers go at Barau
Abdulaziz Dalhatu 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.
Squad27 Nov 2028
30 days, the medical staff say, and medical staff are optimists by profession. The team sheet will look wrong without him.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Market20 Nov 2028
Joseph Kemin 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 Barau can pretend not to have heard.
Squad20 Nov 2028
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Barau this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Market20 Nov 2028
The Bismark Duah story refuses to die
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Bismark Duah signs something — a contract at Barau or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
Market20 Nov 2028
Barau have let the market know Mohammed Hussaini can be had. No price in the advert, but everyone in the trade knows roughly what it says.
Squad20 Nov 2028
Nana Kwame 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.
Squad20 Nov 2028
A year in and the language has not come, the city has not opened up, and he eats alone more often than anybody at Barau would like to admit. It is showing on Saturdays.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Market13 Nov 2028
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Barau is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Squad13 Nov 2028
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Barau this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad13 Nov 2028
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Sunday Anthony commits to Barau for another 3 years.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Boardroom6 Nov 2028
The board’s statement ran to three sentences and one of them mentioned results. Ifeanyi Obi has managed long enough to translate: win soon, or the next statement is shorter.
Match6 Nov 2028
Every point is an argument now for Barau
Position 18 and 34 points, and the table gets read bottom-up in this part of town. The calendar has stopped being a schedule and started being a countdown.
Boardroom6 Nov 2028
Pressure builds in the Barau boardroom
The directors have stopped offering the manager public warmth. In football that is usually the stage before the short statement.
Market6 Nov 2028
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Barau can pretend not to have heard.
Market6 Nov 2028
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Barau they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Squad6 Nov 2028
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Barau this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad6 Nov 2028
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Stanley Oganbor, and the manager let it.
Boardroom6 Nov 2028
Barau pull $2.2M back off the table
The money that was there in the summer is not there now. Nobody upstairs calls this a change of ambition, and everybody downstairs reads it as one.
Squad6 Nov 2028
The table has started to be checked before the results are in, and that is always the tell. Nobody at Barau says the word out loud, and everybody in the building is thinking it.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market30 Oct 2028
“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.
Squad30 Oct 2028
Tempers go at Barau
Abdulaziz Dalhatu 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.
Squad30 Oct 2028
Mathew Samuel 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 Barau, and both men came out saying it was fine.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market23 Oct 2028
“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 Barau, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad23 Oct 2028
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Barau this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Market23 Oct 2028
Luther Erasmus is 17, and Barau 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.
Squad23 Oct 2028
Mathew Samuel 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 Mathew Samuel trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Market23 Oct 2028
The Bismark Duah story refuses to die
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Bismark Duah signs something — a contract at Barau or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
Market23 Oct 2028
Barau have let the market know Mohammed Hussaini can be had. No price in the advert, but everyone in the trade knows roughly what it says.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market16 Oct 2028
Mathew Samuel 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 Barau can pretend not to have heard.
Market16 Oct 2028
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Barau is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Squad16 Oct 2028
Tempers go at Barau
Abdulaziz Dalhatu 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.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Match9 Oct 2028
Barau sink to position 18
34 points, and a fixture list that is running out. The mathematics are not yet cruel, but they are no longer kind.
Market9 Oct 2028
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Barau they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Squad9 Oct 2028
The medical room confirms 14 days on the sidelines for Mohammed Hussaini, and a plan built around him now has to be rebuilt.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market2 Oct 2028
“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.
Squad2 Oct 2028
Tempers go at Barau
Ibrahim Yahaya 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.
Squad2 Oct 2028
The medical room confirms 14 days on the sidelines for Yusuf Umar, and a plan built around him now has to be rebuilt.