“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Bayelsa United can pretend not to have heard.
“I know what people will say. I know what I want, and it is here.” USM Khenchela had the fee agreed and the shirt ready; they did not have the player, and now they will not.
The hardest thing about being 20 in a senior side is that nobody makes allowances. Nupe Godstime did not need any: 8.05, and he looked the most comfortable man on the pitch.
He is 21, he is averaging 7.31, and older professionals have started passing to him in the difficult minutes. That last part is the real scouting report.
The deal with Abia Warriors is done in every sense but the one that puts him on the pitch. Nothing goes wrong at this stage, except on the occasions when it does.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Bayelsa United this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
6 goals in one match, Nupe Godstime on the scoresheet, and a scoreline that will look like a misprint. Neutrals could not have asked more of Bayelsa United and Remo Stars.
Bayelsa United asked and El-Kanemi Warriors said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
The hardest thing about being 21 in a senior side is that nobody makes allowances. Stanley Amon did not need any: 7.88, and he looked the most comfortable man on the pitch.
The deal with Kano Pillars is done in every sense but the one that puts him on the pitch. Nothing goes wrong at this stage, except on the occasions when it does.
Kenneth Sheddy was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
He is 21 and the ground already sings his name, which is a thing that happens to local boys and almost never to signings. Everything from here is measured against an affection he did nothing to earn except be from here.
The offer from Katsina United for Chinedu Onyinjekwu 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.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Bayelsa United can pretend not to have heard.
Successful dribbles: 24. He went past people as if he had been told there was a prize for it, and by the end the full-back had stopped pretending to try.
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Kenneth Sheddy and Bayelsa United agree another 3 years.
Bayelsa United have gone to Kano Pillars with a bid, and the supporters have gone to the internet with an opinion about it. Whether either changes anything is up to the selling club.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Bayelsa United this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Bayelsa United can pretend not to have heard.
3 wins in a row changes how opponents warm up: quieter, more glances across. Runs end, everybody knows that — but nobody in this dressing room is planning for it.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Otutu Young will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Bayelsa United the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Gabriel Biriduba was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
“The easiest signature of my career.” Hassan Oladimeji and Bayelsa United agree another 2 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Bayelsa United, and it is not being withdrawn.
The last thing about a transfer that is still about the player is his signature on his own terms, and it is there. Bayelsa United have lost him in all but the paperwork.
A season average of 7.29 at an age when most of his year group are still in the youth team. Bayelsa United know what they have, and so, by now, does everybody else.
A medical, a signature, a shirt held up in front of a sponsor’s board. Bayelsa United have done the hard part with Warri Wolves, and the part that remains is the part supporters actually see.
Gabriel Biriduba and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Stanley Amon. 4‑3 against Rangers International, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
7 goals. Both benches spent the second half looking at each other rather than at the pitch. Purists will complain about Bayelsa United and Rangers International in equal measure; everybody else had a wonderful time.
Two goals and a mark of 8.89 to go with them. Strikers are judged on afternoons like this one and remembered for far fewer of them than people imagine.
“I listened, I thought about it, and I am staying. That is the whole story.” The clubs had agreed a fee. Don-Pedro Samuel had not agreed to go, which turned out to be the part that mattered.
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 21-year-old it feels ownership of. Stanley Amon has it now, and everything he does for the rest of his time here will be measured against the goodwill he was handed for free.
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
The dugout19 Jul 2027
The manager’s verdict
“I am not going to get carried away and I will not let them either. It was a good day. There will be harder ones.” David Okocha kept it short after the 2‑0 win, which is what managers do when they are happy.
“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 Bayelsa United, and it is not being withdrawn.
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.
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.
Kenneth Sheddy and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
“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 Bayelsa United, and it is not being withdrawn.
The last thing about a transfer that is still about the player is his signature on his own terms, and it is there. Bayelsa United have lost him in all but the paperwork.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Bayelsa United they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
He is 22 and the ground already sings his name, which is a thing that happens to local boys and almost never to signings. Everything from here is measured against an affection he did nothing to earn except be from here.
Squad5 Jul 2027
Words at Bayelsa United training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Emmanuel Solomon is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
The board was up, the win was priced in, and then Shooting Stars scored. There is no worse minute to concede in and the ground emptied in the silence that follows one.
“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 Bayelsa United, and it is not being withdrawn.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Niger Tornadoes have kept their man, and Bayelsa United go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Bayelsa United this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
“The supporters are entitled to be angry. So am I. We will put it right.” 2‑3, a manager saying the necessary things, and a dressing room that heard a different version of them.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Bayelsa United will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
The clubs have settled the fee and he has settled his wages. What remains is a medical and a photograph, and around Bayelsa United people have started saying his name in the past tense.
Bayelsa United and Plateau United have settled on $150.0K. The rest belongs to the player and his agent, and a supporter who has watched one of these before knows not to buy the shirt yet.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Bayelsa United can pretend not to have heard.
“We were not good enough today and I am not going to dress it up.” David Okocha after 0‑2, in the tone of a man who knows the next question and does not intend to answer it.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 24 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
The hardest thing about being 21 in a senior side is that nobody makes allowances. Stanley Amon did not need any: 8.07, and he looked the most comfortable man on the pitch.
The deal with Kun Khalifat is done in every sense but the one that puts him on the pitch. Nothing goes wrong at this stage, except on the occasions when it does.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Bayelsa United this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Going 2 down does something to a side, and what it usually does is finish them. Not here. Bayelsa United rebuilt the afternoon goal by goal, and Bendel Insurance had no answer to any of it.
Two goals and a mark of 9.14 to go with them. Strikers are judged on afternoons like this one and remembered for far fewer of them than people imagine.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Bayelsa United will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Fee agreed, wages agreed, and Ikorodu City waiting with a shirt. Nobody at Bayelsa United is pretending otherwise, and the supporters have stopped asking whether and started asking when.
The hardest thing about being 21 in a senior side is that nobody makes allowances. Stanley Amon did not need any: 8.90, and he looked the most comfortable man on the pitch.
The deal with Plateau United is done in every sense but the one that puts him on the pitch. Nothing goes wrong at this stage, except on the occasions when it does.
Gabriel Biriduba 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.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 38 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Bayelsa United can pretend not to have heard.
A season average of 7.21 at an age when most of his year group are still in the youth team. Bayelsa United know what they have, and so, by now, does everybody else.
Gabriel Biriduba and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 22-year-old it feels ownership of. Chinedu Onyinjekwu has it now, and everything he does for the rest of his time here will be measured against the goodwill he was handed for free.
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Chinedu Onyinjekwu. 1‑0 against El-Kanemi Warriors, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Bayelsa United will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Bayelsa United they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Kenneth Sheddy 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.
0‑1 to Plateau United, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.
The dugout24 May 2027
The manager’s verdict
“That is on me. I pick the team and I picked wrong.” Managers say that when they mean it and when they need to be seen to, and after 0‑1 David Okocha left the room before anybody could ask which.
Squad24 May 2027
Solomon Wegba falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
Every manager keeps a short list in his head of the men he wants on the pitch when the stakes rise, and it is never published. The team sheets for the big afternoons say Chinedu Onyinjekwu is on it.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Bayelsa United will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
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.
Kenneth Sheddy and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Bayelsa United will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
“The supporters are entitled to be angry. So am I. We will put it right.” 0‑4, a manager saying the necessary things, and a dressing room that heard a different version of them.
In brief
The dugoutSaro Loveday knocks on the manager's door
SquadPrecious Abidoe falls out with a teammate over standards
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Bayelsa United can pretend not to have heard.
The hardest thing about being 21 in a senior side is that nobody makes allowances. Stanley Amon did not need any: 8.75, and he looked the most comfortable man on the pitch.
There is an age at which every good afternoon gets described as a throwback, which is unfair and also accurate. 8.45 at 33, and nobody on the pitch was better.
He is 21, he is averaging 7.26, and older professionals have started passing to him in the difficult minutes. That last part is the real scouting report.
Two or more conceded in each of the last 5 matches. It is not one mistake repeating itself, which would be the easier thing to fix; it is a different one every week.
Gabriel Biriduba and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. Don-Pedro Samuel provided it, and the 9.29 beside his name is if anything generous to everybody else.
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.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Don-Pedro Samuel will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Bayelsa United the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Defending was optional and nobody took up the option. 7 goals between Bayelsa United and Enyimba, and not one of the people who paid to be there will ask for the money back.
There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. Chinedu Onyinjekwu provided it, and the 8.72 beside his name is if anything generous to everybody else.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Bayelsa United can pretend not to have heard.
6 goals. Both benches spent the second half looking at each other rather than at the pitch. Purists will complain about Bayelsa United and Rivers United in equal measure; everybody else had a wonderful time.
Rivers United left with the points after a 2‑4 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.
The dugout19 Apr 2027
The manager’s verdict
“That is on me. I pick the team and I picked wrong.” Managers say that when they mean it and when they need to be seen to, and after 2‑4 David Okocha left the room before anybody could ask which.
“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 Apr 2027
Words at Bayelsa United training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Paebi Yungerc is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
2‑7 to Remo Stars, and it was every bit as bad as the number suggests. There are defeats you argue about and defeats you apologise for; this was the second kind.
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the whole of the defence. 10 saves, several of them the kind nobody expects to see made, and ten outfield players who owe him a drink.
Two goals and a mark of 8.88 to go with them. Strikers are judged on afternoons like this one and remembered for far fewer of them than people imagine.
Gabriel Biriduba and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
9 goals in one match, Stanley Amon on the scoresheet, and a scoreline that will look like a misprint. Neutrals could not have asked more of Bayelsa United and Remo Stars.
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 12 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
Rarely has this fixture seen a display like it: 4‑1 against Barau, and it could have been more.
Player ratings5 Apr 2027
A brace, and Stanley Amon takes the afternoon — 9.33
There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. Stanley Amon provided it, and the 9.33 beside his name is if anything generous to everybody else.
Squad5 Apr 2027
At 21, Stanley Amon is already the best thing here
An average of 7.07 in a first team he is several years too young for. Bayelsa United have something, and by now the whole division has noticed.
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 22-year-old it feels ownership of. Okardi Inikurogha has it now, and everything he does for the rest of his time here will be measured against the goodwill he was handed for free.
The phone has started ringing about Don-Pedro Samuel again, and this time the name on the line is VPS. Bayelsa United are listening politely and promising nothing.
Marked 8.17 — 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.
15 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Bayelsa United lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
There is an age at which every good afternoon gets described as a throwback, which is unfair and also accurate. 7.94 at 33, and nobody on the pitch was better.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Bayelsa United is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Paebi Yungerc was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Kenneth Sheddy and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
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.
The dugout29 Mar 2027
The manager’s verdict
“I am not going to get carried away and I will not let them either. It was a good day. There will be harder ones.” David Okocha kept it short after the 1‑0 win, which is what managers do when they are happy.
There is no complaint available here and everybody involved knows it, which does not make the walk to the bench any shorter. Form is the only currency in football that cannot be borrowed against.
22 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Bayelsa United lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
Successful dribbles: 30. He went past people as if he had been told there was a prize for it, and by the end the full-back had stopped pretending to try.
Player ratings22 Mar 2027
Stanley Amon, 21, plays like he has been here for years — 7.96
A mark of 7.96 means one thing beside a twenty-nine-year-old's name and something else entirely beside a 21-year-old's. Nobody at the ground needed telling which this was.
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.
Paebi Yungerc and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
“It is not the end of the world and it is not good enough. Both of those are true.” The manager, after a 1‑1 draw, said the honest thing and then went to say it again inside.
9 attempts, none of them in. He got into the right places all afternoon, which is the hard part, and did the easy part badly — and that is the version of a bad day a manager can live with.
Gabriel Biriduba and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Squad15 Mar 2027
Paebi Yungerc falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
“We were not good enough today and I am not going to dress it up.” David Okocha after 0‑1, in the tone of a man who knows the next question and does not intend to answer it.
It is never announced and it is entirely visible: the biggest afternoons of the season keep containing him. A press box works this out long before anybody at the club confirms a word of it.
Rarely has this fixture seen a display like it: 3‑0 against Kwara United, and it could have been more.
Player ratings8 Mar 2027
A brace, and Stanley Amon takes the afternoon — 8.96
There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. Stanley Amon provided it, and the 8.96 beside his name is if anything generous to everybody else.
Gabriel Biriduba 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.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Paebi Yungerc was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
At 22 he is being sung about by people twice his age, which is an affection a signing has to earn over years and a local kid gets for turning up. It is also the hardest thing in football to live up to.
There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. Chinedu Onyinjekwu provided it, and the 9.40 beside his name is if anything generous to everybody else.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Bayelsa United this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Add another name to the list: VPS have asked the question everybody in the game has been asking about Don-Pedro Samuel. The answer from Bayelsa United has not changed — yet.
Level with 91 minutes on the clock, after an afternoon Bayelsa United had all but put away. Kano Pillars will call it a point earned; the home dressing room will call it two given away, and both of them are right.
3‑3, and both dressing rooms will call it two points lost. A draw that asked plenty of questions and answered none of them.
The dugout1 Mar 2027
The manager’s verdict
“I am frustrated, honestly. We did enough to win and we did not win.” David Okocha was not hiding it after 3‑3, and nobody in the Bayelsa United dressing room was either.
Squad1 Mar 2027
Solomon Wegba falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
In brief
The dugoutSaro Loveday knocks on the manager's door
13 without a win is the sort of run that changes how a town talks about its club, and Shooting Stars were the afternoon it stopped. Nothing is fixed by one result and everything feels different by one.
The hardest thing about being 19 in a senior side is that nobody makes allowances. Nupe Godstime did not need any: 8.21, and he looked the most comfortable man on the pitch.
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Nupe Godstime. 2‑1 against Shooting Stars, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
At 22 he is being sung about by people twice his age, which is an affection a signing has to earn over years and a local kid gets for turning up. It is also the hardest thing in football to live up to.
Successful dribbles: 15. He went past people as if he had been told there was a prize for it, and by the end the full-back had stopped pretending to try.
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Peter Ebimobowei, and the manager let it.
Squad22 Feb 2027
Words at Bayelsa United training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Willams Victor is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
In brief
SquadA Bayelsa United teenager takes the young player award
The hardest thing about being 20 in a senior side is that nobody makes allowances. Stanley Amon did not need any: 7.92, and he looked the most comfortable man on the pitch.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Bayelsa United they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Bayelsa United this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
“The supporters are entitled to be angry. So am I. We will put it right.” 1‑3, a manager saying the necessary things, and a dressing room that heard a different version of them.
Every manager keeps a short list in his head of the men he wants on the pitch when the stakes rise, and it is never published. The team sheets for the big afternoons say Nupe Godstime is on it.
At 20 he is being measured against the rest of the division's kids and coming out in front. The senior version of this award is where the club would like this to lead.
2 kept out from twelve yards, and a stadium that will describe each of them for twenty years. A goalkeeper needs one night like this in a career, and this was it.
Successful dribbles: 31. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Player ratings8 Feb 2027
Stanley Amon, 20, plays like he has been here for years — 8.20
A mark of 8.20 means one thing beside a twenty-nine-year-old's name and something else entirely beside a 20-year-old's. Nobody at the ground needed telling which this was.
There is an age at which every good afternoon gets described as a throwback, which is unfair and also accurate. 8.64 at 33, and nobody on the pitch was better.
He is 20 and the ground already sings his name, which is a thing that happens to local boys and almost never to signings. Everything from here is measured against an affection he did nothing to earn except be from here.
A point taken on 120 minutes is worth exactly one point and considerably more than that to a dressing room. This side does not stop, which is a reputation worth more than the result.
Successful dribbles: 36. He went past people as if he had been told there was a prize for it, and by the end the full-back had stopped pretending to try.
Fee agreed, wages agreed, and Kwara United waiting with a shirt. Nobody at Bayelsa United is pretending otherwise, and the supporters have stopped asking whether and started asking when.
Boardroom1 Feb 2027
Bayelsa United close the window on a squad of their own making
4 in and 0 out, and no more changes for months. The manager has what he has, the supporters have their opinion of it, and the table will have the last word.
Kenneth Sheddy and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
“We were not good enough today and I am not going to dress it up.” David Okocha after 0‑1, in the tone of a man who knows the next question and does not intend to answer it.
“The manager did not use many words, and he did not need to.” Kenneth Sheddy has his answer from Bayelsa United; what he does with it is the next window’s story.
In brief
SquadWillams Victor falls out with a teammate over standards
“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 Bayelsa United, and it is not being withdrawn.
Terms were offered and declined. Whether it was the wages, the role or the town, nobody at Plateau United is saying, and nobody at Bayelsa United is enjoying the guessing.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Bendel Insurance have kept their man, and Bayelsa United go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
“It is not the end of the world and it is not good enough. Both of those are true.” The manager, after a 1‑1 draw, said the honest thing and then went to say it again inside.
8 without a win now, and the ground has developed the special quiet of a crowd that expects the worst. One scrappy 1-0 would cure most of it; that is the maddening part.
The fee was agreed and the flight was looked at — and then the phone stopped ringing. Police Union moved on, Don-Pedro Samuel reports back to Bayelsa United, and everybody pretends Monday is just Monday.
The deal with Plateau United is done in every sense but the one that puts him on the pitch. Nothing goes wrong at this stage, except on the occasions when it does.
Gabriel Biriduba and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
“The supporters are entitled to be angry. So am I. We will put it right.” 1‑3, a manager saying the necessary things, and a dressing room that heard a different version of them.
The last thing about a transfer that is still about the player is his signature on his own terms, and it is there. Bayelsa United have lost him in all but the paperwork.
The run now stands at 7, and the questions being asked around Bayelsa United are no longer polite ones.
Player ratings11 Jan 2027
Nupe Godstime, 19, plays like he has been here for years — 7.86
A mark of 7.86 means one thing beside a twenty-nine-year-old's name and something else entirely beside a 19-year-old's. Nobody at the ground needed telling which this was.
Everything agreed with Warri Wolves, everything agreed with the player; a doctor is the only person left to persuade. The photograph is a day or two away.
Gabriel Biriduba was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Nupe Godstime and Bayelsa United agree another 5 years.
Marked 8.50 — 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.
Behind, and beaten by any honest reading, until minute 93. Plateau United had the points in their pocket and a corner of the ground still believed, which is generally when it happens.
Successful dribbles: 24. He went past people as if he had been told there was a prize for it, and by the end the full-back had stopped pretending to try.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Bayelsa United this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
4 boys move up, and somewhere in the building the people who coached them at twelve are quietly having the best morning of their working year. Nothing about this shows up in a result and it is why the academy exists.
Add another name to the list: Katsina United have asked the question everybody in the game has been asking about Don-Pedro Samuel. The answer from Bayelsa United has not changed — yet.
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 22-year-old it feels ownership of. Chinedu Onyinjekwu has it now, and everything he does for the rest of his time here will be measured against the goodwill he was handed for free.
The academy exists for exactly this morning. Umar Eguavoen has come through every age group the club runs and has now been handed a senior number, and the people who coached him at twelve will be the proudest in the building.
The academy exists for exactly this morning. Ademola Sadiq has come through every age group the club runs and has now been handed a senior number, and the people who coached him at twelve will be the proudest in the building.
There is no fee, no unveiling and no agent on the steps. Simon Iheanacho has been at this club since he was a boy and is now, formally, one of the first-team squad — which for a local readership beats any signing of any size.
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Gabriel Biriduba and Bayelsa United agree another 3 years.
Kenneth Sheddy 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.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Solomon Wegba was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Every manager keeps a short list in his head of the men he wants on the pitch when the stakes rise, and it is never published. The team sheets for the big afternoons say Stanley Amon is on it.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Okardi Inikurogha trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Bayelsa United have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Godswill Kenu 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.
Squad21 Dec 2026
Words at Bayelsa United training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Willams Victor is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Bayelsa United is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Boloutari Naamah was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Bayelsa United can pretend not to have heard.
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Owugha Tonyemiete and Bayelsa United agree another 3 years.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Solomon Wegba was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Bayelsa United, and both men came out saying it was fine.
It is never announced and it is entirely visible: the biggest afternoons of the season keep containing him. A press box works this out long before anybody at the club confirms a word of it.
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Nupe Godstime trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
It is never announced and it is entirely visible: the biggest afternoons of the season keep containing him. A press box works this out long before anybody at the club confirms a word of it.
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Bayelsa United know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
A manager forgives a bad Saturday far more readily than a bad Tuesday, because one of them he can explain and the other one he chose. The reports this week have not been good.
In brief
The dugoutThe manager plants his flag on Saro Loveday
Gabriel Biriduba and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Nobody at Bayelsa United will say this on the record and the team sheets have been saying it for weeks. There is a small group in every squad who get picked when the fixture is difficult, and he has joined it.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Bayelsa United is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Gabriel Biriduba was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Chinedu Onyinjekwu commits to Bayelsa United for another 4 years.
Squad16 Nov 2026
Solomon Wegba falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
The words a physio says slowly. 20 days is what the club will announce and everybody who has heard this diagnosis before knows the number is the least of it: the knee comes back before the player does.
Kenneth Sheddy and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
27 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Bayelsa United lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
Kenneth Sheddy was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
It is never announced and it is entirely visible: the biggest afternoons of the season keep containing him. A press box works this out long before anybody at the club confirms a word of it.
“I will know when it is time. I am not there yet.” Hassan Oladimeji is 34, with 38 appearances behind him, and Bayelsa United will have to plan for whichever answer comes.
34 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Bayelsa United lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Bayelsa United this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad26 Oct 2026
Words at Bayelsa United training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Solomon Wegba is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
In brief
The dugoutNupe Godstime has become a man the manager trusts
The words a physio says slowly. 42 days is what the club will announce and everybody who has heard this diagnosis before knows the number is the least of it: the knee comes back before the player does.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Don-Pedro Samuel will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Bayelsa United the goodbyes have quietly begun.
49 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Bayelsa United lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Bayelsa United this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Every manager keeps a short list in his head of the men he wants on the pitch when the stakes rise, and it is never published. The team sheets for the big afternoons say Owugha Tonyemiete is on it.
56 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Bayelsa United lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
“The easiest signature of my career.” Bina Tombiri and Bayelsa United agree another 1 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Squad5 Oct 2026
Solomon Wegba falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
Clubs make promises constantly and the page usually only hears about them when they are broken. This one was honoured, and the dressing room noticed that faster than any supporter did.
The words a physio says slowly. 64 days is what the club will announce and everybody who has heard this diagnosis before knows the number is the least of it: the knee comes back before the player does.
Gabriel Biriduba and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Boloutari Naamah was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Nobody at Bayelsa United will say this on the record and the team sheets have been saying it for weeks. There is a small group in every squad who get picked when the fixture is difficult, and he has joined it.
The words a physio says slowly. 71 days is what the club will announce and everybody who has heard this diagnosis before knows the number is the least of it: the knee comes back before the player does.
A defender on the scoresheet, which happens rarely enough that everybody in the ground remembers who took the corner. 1 for him, and a mark of 7.97 for the rest of it.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Bayelsa United is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Marked 8.02 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.
A point taken on 93 minutes is worth exactly one point and considerably more than that to a dressing room. This side does not stop, which is a reputation worth more than the result.
Ebiabowei Baker 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.
79 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Bayelsa United lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Boloutari Naamah and Bayelsa United agree another 3 years.
Beaten 2‑3, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
Squad14 Sep 2026
Words at Bayelsa United training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Boloutari Naamah is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
Kenneth Sheddy and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
The dugout14 Sep 2026
The manager’s verdict
“That is on me. I pick the team and I picked wrong.” Managers say that when they mean it and when they need to be seen to, and after 2‑3 David Okocha left the room before anybody could ask which.
87 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Bayelsa United lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
The bid was some way short and Bayelsa United did not need long over it. Nobody in the game reads a first refusal as the end of anything.
Boardroom7 Sep 2026
Deadline passes with 0 signed and 17 gone
That is the business done at Bayelsa United until the window opens again. Whether it was enough will be answered on Saturdays rather than in a column, and the first Saturday is close.
“The easiest signature of my career.” Chinedu Onyinjekwu and Bayelsa United agree another 3 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Kenneth Sheddy 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.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Willams Victor was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
94 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Bayelsa United lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
The hardest thing about being 20 in a senior side is that nobody makes allowances. Stanley Amon did not need any: 7.65, and he looked the most comfortable man on the pitch.
Everything agreed with Niger Tornadoes, everything agreed with the player; a doctor is the only person left to persuade. The photograph is a day or two away.
There is no worse way to lose a footballer. Fabby Clark has pre-agreed a move away, which means every appearance between now and June is made by a man the club can no longer sell, and somebody upstairs will be asked why the contract was allowed to get here.
“The easiest signature of my career.” Chinedu Onyinjekwu and Bayelsa United agree another 3 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Bayelsa United this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The dugout31 Aug 2026
The manager’s verdict
“That is on me. I pick the team and I picked wrong.” Managers say that when they mean it and when they need to be seen to, and after 2‑3 David Okocha left the room before anybody could ask which.
101 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Bayelsa United lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the whole of the defence. 8 saves, several of them the kind nobody expects to see made, and ten outfield players who owe him a drink.
The clubs have settled the fee and he has settled his wages. What remains is a medical and a photograph, and around Bayelsa United people have started saying his name in the past tense.
There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. Don-Pedro Samuel provided it, and the 8.77 beside his name is if anything generous to everybody else.
Successful dribbles: 27. He went past people as if he had been told there was a prize for it, and by the end the full-back had stopped pretending to try.
“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 Bayelsa United, and it is not being withdrawn.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Chinedu Onyinjekwu will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Bayelsa United the goodbyes have quietly begun.
A medical, a signature, a shirt held up in front of a sponsor’s board. Bayelsa United have done the hard part with Plateau United, and the part that remains is the part supporters actually see.
The rules permit it and it stings anyway. Chinedu Onyinjekwu has agreed terms with Rivers United for the summer, and until then he pulls on this shirt as a player who has already chosen his next one.
Successful dribbles: 46. He went past people as if he had been told there was a prize for it, and by the end the full-back had stopped pretending to try.
Squad17 Aug 2026
Bina Tombiri damages knee ligaments — 110 days out
The words a physio says slowly. 110 days is what the club will announce and everybody who has heard this diagnosis before knows the number is the least of it: the knee comes back before the player does.
“It was not right for me. I am not going to explain why to anybody except the people I owe an explanation to.” A deal agreed between two clubs, and a player who declined to be part of it.
0 on the scoresheet on his first appearance and a mark of 7.98 beside it. Most debuts are got through; this one was enjoyed, by him and by everybody watching it.
A mark of 7.86 means one thing beside a twenty-nine-year-old's name and something else entirely beside a 21-year-old's. Nobody at the ground needed telling which this was.
The offer from AS Korofina for Okardi Inikurogha 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.
Everything agreed with Nasarawa United, everything agreed with the player; a doctor is the only person left to persuade. The photograph is a day or two away.
The hardest thing about being 21 in a senior side is that nobody makes allowances. Chinedu Onyinjekwu did not need any: 7.61, and he looked the most comfortable man on the pitch.
The offer from Nairobi United for Don-Pedro Samuel 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.
“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 Bayelsa United, and it is not being withdrawn.
A medical, a signature, a shirt held up in front of a sponsor’s board. Bayelsa United have done the hard part with Bendel Insurance, and the part that remains is the part supporters actually see.
Gabriel Biriduba and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
The name of Akpos Godbless has come up in conversations Bayelsa United were not part of. Nothing formal, nothing signed — but nothing about it accidental either.
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Solomon Wegba and Bayelsa United agree another 3 years.
Squad10 Aug 2026
Nupe Godstime falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
“The easiest signature of my career.” Gabriel Biriduba and Bayelsa United agree another 4 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Squad3 Aug 2026
Words at Bayelsa United training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Gabriel Biriduba is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Bayelsa United this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
A point taken on 93 minutes is worth exactly one point and considerably more than that to a dressing room. This side does not stop, which is a reputation worth more than the result.
Bayelsa United have made the call to Niger Tornadoes. No fee, a share of the wages, and a spare shirt in the position where the squad has been thinnest all season.
“A point is a point and I will take it, but we should have had all three.” David Okocha after the 1‑1 draw, and the sentence every manager in the country said at some stage this weekend.