59 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Black Aces lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
$290.0K on the table at Kaizer Chiefs. The manager wanted him, the board agreed a number, and the only voices still to be heard are the ones at the other club.
Teboho Williams 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.
Squad3 Jul 2028
Words at Black Aces training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Andile Manyama 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.
A loan enquiry to Mamelodi Sundowns: cover, or a look at somebody the club cannot afford to buy yet. Either way the answer will come back inside the week.
Signed today, seen by nobody for years, and one of them may one day be the reason the club exists. That is the whole of the argument for an academy, and it is a good one.
67 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Black Aces lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
“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 The request is on a desk at Black Aces, and it is not being withdrawn.
The offer from Chippa United for Rivaldo Mabunda 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.
Black Aces have gone to Mamelodi Sundowns 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.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Teboho Williams trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Numbers do not stay secret in a dressing room. He is not asking for more than he is worth; he is asking why somebody beside him is worth more, and Black Aces have no good answer.
74 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Black Aces lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
A medical, a signature, a shirt held up in front of a sponsor’s board. Black Aces have done the hard part with Mamelodi Sundowns, and the part that remains is the part supporters actually see.
At 19 he is doing things this season that he could not do last season, and doing them every week. Form comes and goes; this has stayed long enough to be called something else.
Mamelodi Sundowns wanted more than $190.0K and the board would not go there. Walked away, for now, which in a transfer window means until somebody blinks.
Squad19 Jun 2028
Words at Black Aces training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Andile Manyama 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.
Black Aces have made the call to Mamelodi Sundowns. No fee, a share of the wages, and a spare shirt in the position where the squad has been thinnest all season.
81 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Black Aces lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Black Aces they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
The phone has started ringing about Erick Ngcobo again, and this time the name on the line is Huddersfield Town. Black Aces are listening politely and promising nothing.
$190.0K on the table at Mamelodi Sundowns. The manager wanted him, the board agreed a number, and the only voices still to be heard are the ones at the other club.
Squad12 Jun 2028
Words at Black Aces training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Andile Manyama 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.
“I was told straight, and I would rather have it straight.” The manager at Black Aces has been clear about where Mandla Mabunda stands, which is more than many ever get.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Black Aces this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
In brief
The dugoutEvidence Mothiba is still being punished for one mistake
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Black Aces can pretend not to have heard.
The deal with Mamelodi Sundowns 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.
“The manager did not use many words, and he did not need to.” Dean Modiba has his answer from Black Aces; what he does with it is the next window’s story.
Not a new contract, not a new number: a new place in the manager’s thinking, which is the only promotion in football that actually matters. Andile Manyama has moved up it.
It happens to all of them and it is still the hardest paragraph a local paper has to write. 34 years old, 3 points down on where he was, and a body that has started charging interest on a career.
29 games, 7 goals, and a squad option that has arrived without a fee attached. The interesting question at Black Aces now is not whether he plays but who he displaces.
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.
Nothing in writing and nothing in public: a word about playing time, given face to face at Black Aces. The team sheets over the next month will show whether it was worth having.
Black Aces have a 21-year-old the division has just voted its finest young footballer. The club's next problem is that everybody else now knows it too.
He is 21, he is averaging 7.12, and older professionals have started passing to him in the difficult minutes. That last part is the real scouting report.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Andile Manyama was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Ronwen Mphela signs something — a contract at Black Aces or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Teboho Khune trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Black Aces 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 Black Aces this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad15 May 2028
Words at Black Aces training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Riyaaz Ismail 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 medical room confirms 22 days on the sidelines for Siyabonga Ngcobo, and a plan built around him now has to be rebuilt.
The dugout15 May 2028
The manager has not finished forgetting Evidence Mothiba's mistake
Publicly it is behind everybody. It is not behind the man who picks the team, and the only place that shows is a team sheet. He will get another chance; he will get it in a match that matters less.
18 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Black Aces lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Black Aces this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
“The easiest signature of my career.” Simphiwe Mtsweni and Black Aces agree another 2 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
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.
“I am grateful for the games, but I did not become a footballer to be somebody else's spare part.” He wants to be at Black Aces, and 3 appearances in 13 say he has earned the hearing.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Teboho Williams trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Nothing in writing and nothing in public: a word about playing time, given face to face at Black Aces. The team sheets over the next month will show whether it was worth having.
“We keep meeting, and we keep leaving the room with the same numbers we walked in with.” Another round of talks at Black Aces, another week without a signature from Ian Campbell.
25 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Black Aces lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 20 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 Black Aces can pretend not to have heard.
At 40, 3 points below where he was, and a body that has started charging interest. It happens to all of them and it is still the hardest paragraph on this page.
32 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Black Aces lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Black Aces will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
A season average of 7.12 at an age when most of his year group are still in the youth team. Black Aces know what they have, and so, by now, does everybody else.
Squad24 Apr 2028
Words at Black Aces training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Riyaaz Ismail 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.
6 goals in 28 games at Bloemfontein Celtic — numbers that travel home faster than he does. Somebody at Black Aces updates a spreadsheet every Monday, and it makes better reading each week.
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Ronwen Mphela signs something — a contract at Black Aces or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Black Aces will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Black Aces they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Squad17 Apr 2028
Words at Black Aces training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Riyaaz Ismail 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.
Nobody will confirm it and the team sheets confirm it every week. One error has bought him a spell as second choice that is already longer than the error deserved.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 42 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Jayden Adams 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.
Squad10 Apr 2028
Words at Black Aces training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Andile Manyama 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.
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Bradley Manyama and Black Aces agree another 3 years.
“I am grateful for the games, but I did not become a footballer to be somebody else's spare part.” He wants to be at Black Aces, and 3 appearances in 9 say he has earned the hearing.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Black Aces will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Riyaaz Ismail was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
At 21 he has spent a month being better than everybody his age in the league, which is a different and harder thing than one good afternoon. Black Aces will try very hard not to make too much of it.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Black Aces will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
A season average of 7.12 at an age when most of his year group are still in the youth team. Black Aces know what they have, and so, by now, does everybody else.
Form comes and goes; this has not gone. Themba Mphela is 19, and the version of him training now would not have got into the side he was in a year ago.
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Ronwen Mphela signs something — a contract at Black Aces or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
The last league game has been played and the table has stopped moving: 31 points. The summer begins on Monday, and so does the argument about what it all meant.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Rivaldo Mabunda will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Black Aces the goodbyes have quietly begun.
The hardest thing about being 21 in a senior side is that nobody makes allowances. Siyabonga Mabena did not need any: 8.83, and he looked the most comfortable man on the pitch.
Riyaaz Ismail 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 won it back and then made something of it, which is two jobs and the reason the scoreline looks the way it does. 12 combined actions and a mark of 7.02, and not one of them will make a highlights package.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Andile Manyama was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Nobody will confirm this and nothing else explains the last month of selections. A costly error buys a player a period of being second choice that is always longer than the error was.
7 saves, and a scoreline the ten men in front of him had no right to. Goalkeepers only get noticed on the bad days; this was one of the other ones.
Squad13 Mar 2028
Words at Black Aces training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Riyaaz Ismail 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 supporters are entitled to be angry. So am I. We will put it right.” 0‑1, a manager saying the necessary things, and a dressing room that heard a different version of them.
Ian Campbell 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.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Black Aces have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
“The easiest signature of my career.” Ronwen Mothiba and Black Aces agree another 4 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Squad6 Mar 2028
Words at Black Aces training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Riyaaz Ismail 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.
Clubs spend fortunes looking for players and occasionally find one down the corridor. Itumeleng Modiba is that, and the reception he gets on his first appearance will be different in kind from the one any signing receives.
The academy exists for exactly this morning. Percy Mothiba 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. Ramahlwe Phiri 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.
Clubs spend fortunes looking for players and occasionally find one down the corridor. Rivaldo Modiba is that, and the reception he gets on his first appearance will be different in kind from the one any signing receives.
Percy Jali 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.
He found out with everybody else, an hour before kick-off, from a sheet of paper on a wall. Nobody at Black Aces pretended it was anything other than a decision about him.
Two goals and a mark of 9.01 to go with them. Strikers are judged on afternoons like this one and remembered for far fewer of them than people imagine.
A season average of 7.09 at an age when most of his year group are still in the youth team. Black Aces know what they have, and so, by now, does everybody else.
Everybody saw it before anybody said it. At 40 the numbers say 3 points down on what he was, and the question for Black Aces is how to handle a man they owe a great deal.
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 21-year-old it feels ownership of. Siyabonga Mabena 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: Siyabonga Mabena. 2‑0 against Chippa United, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
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 dugout28 Feb 2028
The view from the dugout
“We controlled it. There were spells I did not like and we will look at them, but the group showed me something.” Morgan Ngcobo, on a 2‑0 win that he was already picking apart on the walk to the press room.
In brief
Loan watchThe goals keep arriving from Erick Ngcobo’s exile
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 8 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Black Aces is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Jayden Adams and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad21 Feb 2028
Riyaaz Ismail 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.
Black Aces ran out of time with Ajax Cape Town. The paperwork was open when the deadline passed, and a transfer that was almost done is now a transfer that never happened.
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.
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the whole of the defence. 6 saves, several of them the kind nobody expects to see made, and ten outfield players who owe him a drink.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Riyaaz Ismail was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Black Aces ran out of time with Polokwane City. The paperwork was open when the deadline passed, and a transfer that was almost done is now a transfer that never happened.
“We were not good enough today and I am not going to dress it up.” Morgan Ngcobo after 0‑1, in the tone of a man who knows the next question and does not intend to answer it.
The offer from Ajax Cape Town for Rivaldo Mabunda 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.
The deadline has passed and the squad is the squad. 4 arrived, 2 left, and everything else printed about this club last month was a rumour that stayed one.
Siyabonga Mabena 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.
Black Aces ran out of time with Mamelodi Sundowns. The paperwork was open when the deadline passed, and a transfer that was almost done is now a transfer that never happened.
Black Aces asked and Kaizer Chiefs said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Andile Manyama was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the whole of the defence. 6 saves, several of them the kind nobody expects to see made, and ten outfield players who owe him a drink.
Black Aces and Polokwane City have settled on $56.0K. 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.
“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 Black Aces, and it is not being withdrawn.
A medical, a signature, a shirt held up in front of a sponsor’s board. Black Aces have done the hard part with Mamelodi Sundowns, and the part that remains is the part supporters actually see.
He is 20, he is averaging 7.08, and older professionals have started passing to him in the difficult minutes. That last part is the real scouting report.
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.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Riyaaz Ismail was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Two goals and a mark of 8.60 to go with them. Strikers are judged on afternoons like this one and remembered for far fewer of them than people imagine.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Black Aces is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Black Aces have gone to Kaizer Chiefs 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.
Black Aces offered $190.0K; Mamelodi Sundowns said it was not close. The manager will be told the money is still there for the right player, which is what managers are told.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Riyaaz Ismail was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
There is no fee, no unveiling and no agent on the steps. Sifiso Mphela 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.
The academy exists for exactly this morning. Erick Phiri 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.
In brief
The dugoutThe manager makes an example of Thami Mkhize
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.
A medical, a signature, a shirt held up in front of a sponsor’s board. Black Aces have done the hard part with Chippa United, and the part that remains is the part supporters actually see.
The offer went to Mamelodi Sundowns this week and it is theirs to answer. First bids are rarely meant to succeed; they are meant to find out how loud the door closes.
Black Aces offered $290.0K; Kaizer Chiefs said it was not close. The manager will be told the money is still there for the right player, which is what managers are told.
Black Aces asked and Portimonense 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 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.
Fee agreed, wages agreed, and Bidvest Wits waiting with a shirt. Nobody at Black Aces is pretending otherwise, and the supporters have stopped asking whether and started asking when.
A medical, a signature, a shirt held up in front of a sponsor’s board. Black Aces have done the hard part with Polokwane City, and the part that remains is the part supporters actually see.
The offer went to Kaizer Chiefs this week and it is theirs to answer. First bids are rarely meant to succeed; they are meant to find out how loud the door closes.
Hard to beat is not the same as winning, but 6 matches without defeat is a foundation Black Aces did not have in the autumn.
Squad10 Jan 2028
Riyaaz Ismail 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.
Black Aces asked and Kaizer Chiefs said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
“I was told straight, and I would rather have it straight.” The manager at Black Aces has been clear about where Rivaldo Mabunda stands, which is more than many ever get.
Ian Campbell 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 dugoutThami Mkhize dropped after a run of poor form
75Edition
The Black Aces Herald
3 Jan 2028
From our football correspondentSteady
Player ratings3 Jan 2028
Siyabonga Mabena, 20, plays like he has been here for years — 7.92
A mark of 7.92 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.
He is 20, he is averaging 7.02, and older professionals have started passing to him in the difficult minutes. That last part is the real scouting report.
Not a run of form — an actual step up, held for months. At 18 he is doing things at this level he could not do at the start of the season, and the coaching staff will tell you exactly which of them.
Jayden Adams 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 Riyaaz Ismail was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Bloemfontein Celtic have kept their man, and Black Aces go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
“I watch every Black Aces game from here. That says everything about where my head is.” The loan at Maritzburg United runs its course, but his heart never made the trip.
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.
Two of the goals had his name somewhere on them, which is the afternoon a manager wants from anybody asked to both create and finish. 7.93, and 2 involvements.
Squad27 Dec 2027
Words at Black Aces training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Andile Manyama 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.
Mamelodi Sundowns held the lead for 2 minutes, which is not long enough to enjoy it. Black Aces answered before the celebration had properly finished, and the shape of the afternoon changed with it.
Ian Campbell 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 else has been better, the manager has said so with a team sheet, and there is no argument to be had. He will get the shirt back the only way it can be got back.
“A point is a point and I will take it, but we should have had all three.” Morgan Ngcobo after the 2‑2 draw, and the sentence every manager in the country said at some stage this weekend.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Black Aces this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad20 Dec 2027
Words at Black Aces training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Riyaaz Ismail 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 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.
Somebody else has been better, the manager has said so with a team sheet, and there is no argument to be had. He will get the shirt back the only way it can be got back.
Marked 7.06 on 15 actions at both ends of the pitch. Midfielders like this get described as unspectacular by people who have never tried to play against one.
Riyaaz Ismail 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.
Everybody saw it before anybody said it. At 39 the numbers say 4 points down on what he was, and the question for Black Aces is how to handle a man they owe a great deal.
Marked 6.93 on 12 actions at both ends of the pitch. Midfielders like this get described as unspectacular by people who have never tried to play against one.
Squad13 Dec 2027
Words at Black Aces training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Andile Manyama 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 is not much of a headline and it is the reason players believe the next promise. Black Aces told Morgan Jali something would happen and then it happened, which in this industry passes for remarkable.
A 2‑1 win over Golden Arrows, earned rather than given, and the sort of afternoon that sends everyone home talking about next week instead of this one.
5 without a win is the sort of run that changes how a town talks about its club, and Golden Arrows were the afternoon it stopped. Nothing is fixed by one result and everything feels different by one.
Marked 8.40 — 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.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Andile Manyama was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Ian Campbell 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 Riyaaz Ismail was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
The dugout29 Nov 2027
The view from the dugout
“We will look at it, we will learn from it, and we go again.” The three sentences every manager keeps for a 0‑1 defeat, delivered by Morgan Ngcobo to a room that had heard them before.
Ian Campbell 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.
Successful dribbles: 15. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
The dugout29 Nov 2027
Somebody else is better right now than Thami Mkhize
The team sheet says it in public every week until it changes. The only version of being dropped a footballer cannot argue with, and the one he takes hardest.
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.
Squad22 Nov 2027
Words at Black Aces training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Riyaaz Ismail 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 dugout22 Nov 2027
The manager’s verdict
“I am frustrated, honestly. We did enough to win and we did not win.” Morgan Ngcobo was not hiding it after 0‑0, and nobody in the Black Aces dressing room was either.
Somebody else has been better, the manager has said so with a team sheet, and there is no argument to be had. He will get the shirt back the only way it can be got back.
Ninety minutes, no goals, and the argument started before the car park emptied: a point gained, or two thrown away against Platinum Stars? Both sides of it will still be going on Thursday.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Black Aces this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Everybody at Black Aces saw it before anybody said it, which is how this always goes. At 39 the decline is real and measurable — 3 points — and the only question left is how the club handles somebody it owes a great deal to.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Andile Manyama was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
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.
A year in and the city has not opened up, the language has not come, and lunch is eaten alone more often than anybody at Black Aces would admit. It shows on Saturdays.
In brief
The dugoutIan Campbell knocks on the manager’s door
Beaten 1‑3, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
Squad8 Nov 2027
Riyaaz Ismail 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.
At 20 he has spent a month being better than everybody his age in the league, which is a different and harder thing than one good afternoon. Black Aces will try very hard not to make too much of it.
“We were not good enough today and I am not going to dress it up.” Morgan Ngcobo after 1‑3, in the tone of a man who knows the next question and does not intend to answer it.
Siyabonga Mabena 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 Riyaaz Ismail was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
“I watch every Black Aces game from here. That says everything about where my head is.” The loan at Maritzburg United runs its course, but his heart never made the trip.
“There are things I liked and things we will be doing on Tuesday until they are right.” 1‑1, and a manager who had already decided what Tuesday looked like.
The dugout1 Nov 2027
Somebody else is better right now than Thami Mkhize
The team sheet says it in public every week until it changes. The only version of being dropped a footballer cannot argue with, and the one he takes hardest.
He used to be one of the options. He is now one of the men the options are picked around, and the change happened quietly enough that only the dressing room noticed on the day.
In brief
Player ratingsJayden Adams beats them one at a time
The words a physio says slowly. 18 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.
0‑4 to Orlando Pirates, 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.
Riyaaz Ismail 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 Oct 2027
Words at Black Aces training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Andile Manyama 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.
“We were not good enough today and I am not going to dress it up.” Morgan Ngcobo after 0‑4, in the tone of a man who knows the next question and does not intend to answer it.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Black Aces, and both men came out saying it was fine.
25 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Black Aces lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
The hardest thing about being 20 in a senior side is that nobody makes allowances. Siyabonga Mabena did not need any: 8.41, and he looked the most comfortable man on the pitch.
6 goals. Both benches spent the second half looking at each other rather than at the pitch. Purists will complain about Black Aces and Jomo Cosmos in equal measure; everybody else had a wonderful time.
A 4‑2 win over Jomo Cosmos, earned rather than given, and the sort of afternoon that sends everyone home talking about next week instead of this one.
Squad18 Oct 2027
Riyaaz Ismail 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.
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 23-year-old it feels ownership of. Rivaldo Mabunda 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 words a physio says slowly. 23 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.
At 18 he is doing things this season that he could not do last season, and doing them every week. Form comes and goes; this has stayed long enough to be called something else.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Riyaaz Ismail was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
30 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Black Aces lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Match2 Oct 2027
Ronwen Mphela wins it after the whistle should have gone
92 minutes played. Ronwen Mphela found the finish in time that only existed because of earlier delays, and Bloemfontein Celtic went from a point to nothing inside one movement.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Black Aces have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Andile Manyama was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Ian Campbell 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.
37 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Black Aces lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
“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 Black Aces, and it is not being withdrawn.
Player ratings27 Sep 2027
Siyabonga Mabena, 20, plays like he has been here for years — 7.94
A mark of 7.94 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.
Jayden Adams and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad27 Sep 2027
Words at Black Aces training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Riyaaz Ismail 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.
At 20 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.
It is not much of a headline and it is the reason players believe the next promise. Black Aces told Siyabonga Mabena something would happen and then it happened, which in this industry passes for remarkable.
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 7 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Morgan Jali and Black Aces agree another 3 years.
Squad20 Sep 2027
Riyaaz Ismail 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.
0‑1 to Maritzburg United, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.
The dugout20 Sep 2027
The view from the dugout
“We will look at it, we will learn from it, and we go again.” The three sentences every manager keeps for a 0‑1 defeat, delivered by Morgan Ngcobo to a room that had heard them before.
It is not much of a headline and it is the reason players believe the next promise. Black Aces told Teboho Williams something would happen and then it happened, which in this industry passes for remarkable.
Percy Jali 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.
Mamelodi Sundowns go through and Black Aces go home, 0‑3 the scoreline that did it. The dressing room will call the league the priority now, because that is what dressing rooms say.
It finished 0-3. A cup exit is a disappointment; this was a public dismantling, and the difference between the two is the number of people who will still be talking about it in August.
Black Aces offered $1.2M; Mamelodi Sundowns said it was not close. The manager will be told the money is still there for the right player, which is what managers are told.
At 18 he is doing things this season that he could not do last season, and doing them every week. Form comes and goes; this has stayed long enough to be called something else.
Siyabonga Mabena 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.
6 without a win is the sort of run that changes how a town talks about its club, and University of Pretoria were the afternoon it stopped. Nothing is fixed by one result and everything feels different by one.
Black Aces asked and Bloemfontein Celtic said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
Footballers are asked about their boyhood club so often that nobody listens to the answer. Riyaaz Ismail has just signed for Black Aces, and for once the answer mattered.
“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.
Boardroom6 Sep 2027
Deadline passes with 13 signed and 15 gone
That is the business done at Black Aces 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.
$1.2M on the table at Mamelodi Sundowns. The manager wanted him, the board agreed a number, and the only voices still to be heard are the ones at the other club.
Squad6 Sep 2027
Riyaaz Ismail 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.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Ludogorets have kept their man, and Black Aces go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
At 39, 3 points below where he was, and a body that has started charging interest. It happens to all of them and it is still the hardest paragraph on this page.
“I watch every Black Aces game from here. That says everything about where my head is.” The loan at Maritzburg United runs its course, but his heart never made the trip.
He is not being dropped. There is simply nowhere in the formation Black Aces are playing to put a man who does what he does, which is a harder thing to be told than any team sheet.
In brief
The dugoutThe manager makes an example of Mandla Mabunda
The dugoutJayden Adams knocks on the manager’s door
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Morgan Mokoena will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Black Aces the goodbyes have quietly begun.
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.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Andile Manyama was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
3 games without scoring. Strikers stop looking up, midfielders take the extra touch, and every shot that clears the bar is followed by a groan that has been building since the last goal.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Club Brugge have kept their man, and Black Aces go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Black Aces will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
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.
Black Aces asked and Mamelodi Sundowns 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 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 supporters are entitled to be angry. So am I. We will put it right.” 0‑2, a manager saying the necessary things, and a dressing room that heard a different version of them.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 26 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
“We were not good enough today and I am not going to dress it up.” Morgan Ngcobo after 0‑1, in the tone of a man who knows the next question and does not intend to answer it.
Ian Campbell 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.
Black Aces have made the call to Portsmouth. No fee, a share of the wages, and a spare shirt in the position where the squad has been thinnest all season.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 33 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
A medical, a signature, a shirt held up in front of a sponsor’s board. Black Aces have done the hard part with Stevenage, and the part that remains is the part supporters actually see.
Black Aces had done everything except persuade the man himself. He stays at Ludogorets, and the manager goes back to the drawing board with the money still in the bank.
Jayden Adams 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.
Senior shirt numbers handed to boys the coaches have known since they were twelve. Most will not make it and all of them have already done the hard part.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Andile Manyama was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The offer from Dender for Rivaldo Mabunda 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.
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Black Aces will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Morgan Mokoena will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Black Aces the goodbyes have quietly begun.
“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 Black Aces, and it is not being withdrawn.
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.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Bloemfontein Celtic have kept their man, and Black Aces go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
The manager has re-ordered his thinking and Teboho Williams has come out of it lower. He will be told it is temporary, and the players who have heard that before will avoid his eye.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Black Aces this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 47 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Black Aces this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Rapid Wien have kept their man, and Black Aces go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Black Aces have made the call to University of Pretoria. No fee, a share of the wages, and a spare shirt in the position where the squad has been thinnest all season.
Black Aces have made the call to Golden Arrows. No fee, a share of the wages, and a spare shirt in the position where the squad has been thinnest all season.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Ronwen Mothiba trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
He is doing things every Saturday that nobody around him can answer. It is flattering for a season and a problem after that, and Black Aces know which stage they are at.
A new face in his position, and Jayden Adams suddenly has to win back what he thought he owned. Black Aces have promised nothing — clubs rarely do at this stage.
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Black Aces will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Black Aces, and it is not being withdrawn.
Black Aces had done everything except persuade the man himself. He stays at Club Brugge, and the manager goes back to the drawing board with the money still in the bank.
Add another name to the list: University of Pretoria have asked the question everybody in the game has been asking about Erick Ngcobo. The answer from Black Aces has not changed — yet.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Andile Manyama was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Rubin have kept their man, and Black Aces go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
A loan enquiry to Mamelodi Sundowns: cover, or a look at somebody the club cannot afford to buy yet. Either way the answer will come back inside the week.
5 new signings in one window. Every one may be an upgrade and the side can still be worse for a while, which is the part of a rebuild the verdicts never mention.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Black Aces will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
“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 Black Aces, and it is not being withdrawn.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Slavia Prague have kept their man, and Black Aces go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
“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.
Squad12 Jul 2027
Words at Black Aces training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Mnqobi Mzize 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.
Black Aces have made the call to Club Brugge. No fee, a share of the wages, and a spare shirt in the position where the squad has been thinnest all season.
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Black Aces know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
His past walked in ahead of him. Players who have been where he has been get a hearing in a dressing room before they have earned one, and he has it for as long as his form does.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Martino Esposito trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Black Aces will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Morgan Mokoena will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Black Aces the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Terms were offered and declined. Whether it was the wages, the role or the town, nobody at Kaizer Chiefs is saying, and nobody at Black Aces is enjoying the guessing.
7 arrivals, an average age nobody would call a squad, and a set of parents being shown around a building their sons will spend more time in than at home. The scouting has already happened; today is only the paperwork.
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Black Aces will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Mnqobi Mzize was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Black Aces have made the call to Pianese. No fee, a share of the wages, and a spare shirt in the position where the squad has been thinnest all season.
He asked about his future and was given an answer with minutes in it. The manager has now made a promise in a building where promises are remembered, and the clock on it has started.
He is doing things every Saturday that nobody around him can answer. It is flattering for a season and a problem after that, and Black Aces know which stage they are at.
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Erick Ngcobo signs something — a contract at Black Aces or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Black Aces will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Black Aces can pretend not to have heard.
A medical, a signature, a shirt held up in front of a sponsor’s board. Black Aces have done the hard part with Golden Arrows, and the part that remains is the part supporters actually see.
Boards get told what they have done wrong for years and hear nothing on the days they get it right. This is one of those days: Andile Manyama from Ajax Cape Town for $3.5M, and a ticket office having a very good morning.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Vitoria Guimaraes have kept their man, and Black Aces go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Jayden Adams 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 Mnqobi Mzize was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Squad21 Jun 2027
5 new faces, and Black Aces are still learning each other
A squad rebuilt inside one window pays for it in a currency nobody budgets for. The football is not worse than the sum of the players; it is worse than the sum of the players who have played together before.
The offer from Maritzburg United for Ronwen Mothiba 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 Black Aces, and it is not being withdrawn.
$3.5M on the table at Ajax Cape Town. The manager wanted him, the board agreed a number, and the only voices still to be heard are the ones at the other club.
Black Aces asked and Mamelodi Sundowns 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 name of Percy Jali has come up in conversations Black Aces were not part of. Nothing formal, nothing signed — but nothing about it accidental either.
Ian Campbell 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.
Golden Arrows have been asked whether they would lend him. Loans are agreed quickly or not at all, and this one will be one or the other by the weekend.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Ronwen Mothiba trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Black Aces can pretend not to have heard.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Morgan Mokoena will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Black Aces the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Dean Modiba 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.
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Rivaldo Mabunda commits to Black Aces for another 4 years.
Squad7 Jun 2027
Mnqobi Mzize 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.
Mamelodi Sundowns have been asked whether they would lend him. Loans are agreed quickly or not at all, and this one will be one or the other by the weekend.
The manager has re-ordered his thinking and Rivaldo Mabunda has come out of it lower. He will be told it is temporary, and the players who have heard that before will avoid his eye.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Black Aces will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
There is a version of every career where the player ends up somewhere he chose rather than somewhere that chose him. Kylan Chasseport is living that version at Black Aces, and it tends to show in the first month.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Morgan Mokoena was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
15 games, 10 goals, and a squad option that has arrived without a fee attached. The interesting question at Black Aces now is not whether he plays but who he displaces.
Kylan Chasseport is 19, and Black Aces 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.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Black Aces, and both men came out saying it was fine.
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Black Aces will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about 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 Morgan Jali trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
A conversation in the manager’s office, and a commitment that came out of it. Promises like that are cheap to make and expensive to break, and Mnqobi Mzize has written the date down.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 29 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Black Aces, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Black Aces know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 37 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 Black Aces can pretend not to have heard.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Black Aces is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
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.
9 goals in 13 games at Gor Mahia — numbers that travel home faster than he does. Somebody at Black Aces updates a spreadsheet every Monday, and it makes better reading each week.
Nothing in writing and nothing in public: a word about playing time, given face to face at Black Aces. The team sheets over the next month will show whether it was worth having.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Morgan Mokoena was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
“I respect the manager and I am not going to sit here and pretend I am happy.” It is the most common sentence in football and it has never once been the end of a story.
A conversation in the manager’s office, and a commitment that came out of it. Promises like that are cheap to make and expensive to break, and Mnqobi Mzize has written the date down.
Individual work, away from the group, aimed at one specific thing the coaches think is holding him back. It rarely makes the news and it is how most improvement actually happens.
Public backing, and the sort that costs a manager something if it turns out to be wrong. Morgan Jali has been told in front of everybody that the shirt is his.
“I watch every Black Aces game from here. That says everything about where my head is.” The loan at Gor Mahia runs its course, but his heart never made the trip.
8 goals in 11 games at Gor Mahia — numbers that travel home faster than he does. Somebody at Black Aces updates a spreadsheet every Monday, and it makes better reading each week.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Morgan Mokoena was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Morgan Mokoena will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Black Aces the goodbyes have quietly begun.
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Teboho Williams and Black Aces agree another 4 years.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Morgan Mokoena was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
“I was told straight, and I would rather have it straight.” The manager at Black Aces has been clear about where Evidence Grobler stands, which is more than many ever get.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Black Aces have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Not a new contract, not a new number: a new place in the manager’s thinking, which is the only promotion in football that actually matters. Dean Vilakazi has moved up 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.
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.
A conversation in the manager’s office, and a commitment that came out of it. Promises like that are cheap to make and expensive to break, and Kwenzakwenkosi Mbatha has written the date down.
0‑3 against Golden Arrows, and no complaints that would survive the replay. The manager spoke about character afterwards; the terraces used shorter words.
The last league game has been played and the table has stopped moving: 32 points. The summer begins on Monday, and so does the argument about what it all meant.
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.
It happens to all of them and it is still the hardest paragraph a local paper has to write. 39 years old, 3 points down on where he was, and a body that has started charging interest on a career.
“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.
Boardroom22 Mar 2027
Nobody left the Black Aces dressing room in a hurry
The door stayed shut a long time after the final whistle. What was said in there is between them; whether it worked is between them and Saturday.
The dugout22 Mar 2027
The view from the dugout
“We will look at it, we will learn from it, and we go again.” The three sentences every manager keeps for a 0‑3 defeat, delivered by Morgan Ngcobo to a room that had heard them before.
The manager wanted a different profile for this opponent, which is a real football reason and no consolation. He did nothing wrong and he did not play.
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.
Ninety minutes of very little, and then everything at once. The winner arrived in the 87th, and Free State Stars spent what remained of the match appealing to the referee rather than chasing the ball.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Black Aces they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
At 20 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.
“We earned that. I asked them for a reaction and I got one, and now I want the same again on Saturday.” Morgan Ngcobo on a 1‑0 afternoon that pleased him more than he was prepared to show.
He used to wear the other shirt. On Saturday he plays against Golden Arrows in this one, and whatever he says this week about it being just another game will be untrue.
“The easiest signature of my career.” Ricardo Williams and Black Aces agree another 3 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Morgan Mokoena was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
The dugout8 Mar 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 0‑2 Morgan Ngcobo left the room before anybody could ask which.
Something was said to Justine Mthwane and then it happened. In this industry that passes for remarkable, and the dressing room noticed faster than any supporter could.
Successful dribbles: 11. 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.
Ninety specific minutes wanted a different sort of player, and the manager picked one. He is not out of form and he is not in the side, and both are true.
1 for Dean Vilakazi, marked 7.97, and a centre-half's name in the part of the report he normally only reaches by mistake. He will not be allowed to forget it in the dressing room for a month.
Squad1 Mar 2027
Words at Black Aces training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Morgan Mokoena 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 manager has re-ordered his thinking and Teboho Williams has come out of it lower. He will be told it is temporary, and the players who have heard that before will avoid his eye.
“I am grateful for the games, but I did not become a footballer to be somebody else's spare part.” He wants to be at Black Aces, and 4 appearances in 26 say he has earned the hearing.
The dugout1 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.” Morgan Ngcobo kept it short after the 2‑1 win, which is what managers do when they are happy.
“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.
Nobody at Black Aces is suggesting he is out of form. The manager simply wanted somebody with a different set of qualities for ninety specific minutes, and there is nothing a player can train to fix that.
3 goals in 3 games at Gor Mahia — numbers that travel home faster than he does. Somebody at Black Aces updates a spreadsheet every Monday, and it makes better reading each week.
A conversation in the manager’s office, and a commitment that came out of it. Promises like that are cheap to make and expensive to break, and Kwenzakwenkosi Mbatha has written the date down.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Morgan Mokoena will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Black Aces the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Morgan Mokoena was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
“We were not good enough today and I am not going to dress it up.” Morgan Ngcobo after 0‑1, in the tone of a man who knows the next question and does not intend to answer it.
It is not much of a headline and it is the reason players believe the next promise. Black Aces told Morgan Jali something would happen and then it happened, which in this industry passes for remarkable.
Successful dribbles: 14. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Squad15 Feb 2027
A Black Aces teenager takes the young player award
Erick Ngcobo is 18, and for one weekend he was the best of everybody his age in the division. Nobody should build a career on it and everybody quietly does.
In brief
The dugoutMorgan Jali knocks on the manager's door
The hardest thing about being 18 in a senior side is that nobody makes allowances. Erick Ngcobo did not need any: 7.73, and he looked the most comfortable man on the pitch.
The deal with Mamelodi Sundowns 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.
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.
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 22-year-old it feels ownership of. Kabelo Moagi 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.
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.
Boardroom1 Feb 2027
Deadline passes with 1 signed and 1 gone
That is the business done at Black Aces 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.
Black Aces ran out of time with Kaizer Chiefs. The paperwork was open when the deadline passed, and a transfer that was almost done is now a transfer that never happened.
Black Aces asked and Cukaricki said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
Minute 86, against Bloemfontein Celtic, and a goal that felt like a win to everybody who had stayed. It was a draw. Nobody leaving the ground will describe it as one.
“I watch every Black Aces game from here. That says everything about where my head is.” The loan at Gor Mahia runs its course, but his heart never made the trip.
The last thing about a transfer that is still about the player is his signature on his own terms, and it is there. Black Aces have lost him in all but the paperwork.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Morgan Mokoena was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Black Aces asked and Mamelodi Sundowns said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
“A point is a point and I will take it, but we should have had all three.” Morgan Ngcobo after the 1‑1 draw, and the sentence every manager in the country said at some stage this weekend.
Nobody at Black Aces is suggesting he is out of form. The manager simply wanted somebody with a different set of qualities for ninety specific minutes, and there is nothing a player can train to fix that.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, and a scan that said otherwise. He goes back to Kaizer Chiefs; Black Aces go back to the market; and both will insist there is no story here.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Black Aces can pretend not to have heard.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Kaizer Chiefs have kept their man, and Black Aces go back to a list with one name crossed off 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.
Black Aces have made the call to Mamelodi Sundowns. No fee, a share of the wages, and a spare shirt in the position where the squad has been thinnest all season.
Black Aces have made the call to Mamelodi Sundowns. No fee, a share of the wages, and a spare shirt in the position where the squad has been thinnest all season.
Kaizer Chiefs have accepted the money. What Black Aces do not yet have is the man, and between here and the photograph is a conversation about wages that both sides are dreading.
“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 Black Aces, and it is not being withdrawn.
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the whole of the defence. 6 saves, several of them the kind nobody expects to see made, and ten outfield players who owe him a drink.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Black Aces have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
The offer from Ashanti Gold for Morgan Jali 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.
A medical, a signature, a shirt held up in front of a sponsor’s board. Black Aces have done the hard part with Krasnodar, and the part that remains is the part supporters actually see.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Mamelodi Sundowns have kept their man, and Black Aces go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
20 times he got in the way of something. Centre-halves get written about when they make mistakes and ignored when they do not, so an afternoon like this needs saying out loud: he is the reason the scoreline reads as it does.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Black Aces can pretend not to have heard.
9 without a win is the sort of run that changes how a town talks about its club, and Polokwane City were the afternoon it stopped. Nothing is fixed by one result and everything feels different by one.
The interest is real enough to have reached print. Black Aces have said nothing, which in a transfer window is its own kind of answer.
Squad4 Jan 2027
Words at Black Aces training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Morgan Mokoena 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.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Levski have kept their man, and Black Aces go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
A 1‑0 win over Polokwane City, earned rather than given, and the sort of afternoon that sends everyone home talking about next week instead of this one.
“I watch every Black Aces game from here. That says everything about where my head is.” The loan at Gor Mahia runs its course, but his heart never made the trip.
A midfielder is measured on whether the team functions when he is on the pitch, which is nearly impossible to see and completely obvious in retrospect. 14 actions, 6.73, and a manager who will not be substituting him again in a hurry.
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.” Morgan Ngcobo after 0‑2, in the tone of a man who knows the next question and does not intend to answer it.
Polokwane City next, and one man in the Black Aces dressing room knows their training ground better than his own. The reception will tell him what they thought of him.
Nobody at Black Aces is suggesting he is out of form. The manager simply wanted somebody with a different set of qualities for ninety specific minutes, and there is nothing a player can train to fix that.
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.
It happens to all of them and it is still the hardest paragraph a local paper has to write. 38 years old, 3 points down on where he was, and a body that has started charging interest on a career.
The dugout21 Dec 2026
The manager’s verdict
“I am frustrated, honestly. We did enough to win and we did not win.” Morgan Ngcobo was not hiding it after 0‑0, and nobody in the Black Aces dressing room was either.
The team at the top of the table next, and the honest measure of where this side actually is. Anybody can beat the club below them; the question is what happens against Mamelodi Sundowns.
Squad21 Dec 2026
A Black Aces teenager takes the young player award
Erick Ngcobo is 18, and for one weekend he was the best of everybody his age in the division. Nobody should build a career on it and everybody quietly does.
Successful dribbles: 12. 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.
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.
Two goals and a mark of 8.07 to go with them. Strikers are judged on afternoons like this one and remembered for far fewer of them than people imagine.
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.
He is 18 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.
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
The dugout14 Dec 2026
The view from the dugout
“We did not lose. Some weeks that is all you get, and I would rather have the point than not.” Morgan Ngcobo chose the glass-half-full version of 2‑2; the supporters left with the other one.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Morgan Mokoena was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Half the programme played, position 12, 14 on the board. Doubling it is the sum every supporter has done and the only one nobody at the club will do out loud.
A goalkeeper’s error has no defender behind it to tidy it away. He knew before the ball crossed the line, the crowd knew a second later, and there is nothing anybody can say tonight.
“We were not good enough today and I am not going to dress it up.” Morgan Ngcobo after 0‑2, in the tone of a man who knows the next question and does not intend to answer it.
Nobody will confirm this and nothing else explains the last month of selections. A costly error buys a player a period of being second choice that is always longer than the error was.
A month is long enough that nobody gets in by accident. Erick Ngcobo is in the division's best eleven for it, which is a quieter compliment than an award and a more reliable one.
Marked 9.73 — 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 95 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.
A 3‑3 draw with Free State Stars leaves the dressing room somewhere between relief and regret.
The dugout30 Nov 2026
The manager’s verdict
“I am frustrated, honestly. We did enough to win and we did not win.” Morgan Ngcobo was not hiding it after 3‑3, and nobody in the Black Aces dressing room was either.
Somebody watched every match in the division at the weekend and decided he was the best thing in any of them. A small honour, and most careers end without one.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Black Aces can pretend not to have heard.
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.
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.
Some games turn on a moment; this one turned on a man. 7.69 on the card, and the Black Aces support went home talking about one name.
The dugout23 Nov 2026
The manager’s verdict
“I am frustrated, honestly. We did enough to win and we did not win.” Morgan Ngcobo was not hiding it after 0‑0, and nobody in the Black Aces dressing room was either.
The shape wanted a different profile against this opponent, which is a real football answer and no comfort at all to the man it is about. He did nothing wrong and he did not play.
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.
It is not much of a headline and it is the reason players believe the next promise. Black Aces told Kabelo Moagi something would happen and then it happened, which in this industry passes for remarkable.
He asked about his future and was given an answer with minutes in it. The manager has now made a promise in a building where promises are remembered, and the clock on it has started.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Martino Esposito trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
“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.
Squad9 Nov 2026
Sabelo Motsa 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.
Boardroom9 Nov 2026
Nobody left the Black Aces dressing room in a hurry
The door stayed shut a long time after the final whistle. What was said in there is between them; whether it worked is between them and Saturday.
The dugout9 Nov 2026
The view from the dugout
“We will look at it, we will learn from it, and we go again.” The three sentences every manager keeps for a 1‑4 defeat, delivered by Morgan Ngcobo to a room that had heard them before.
“The easiest signature of my career.” Kwenzakwenkosi Mbatha and Black Aces agree another 3 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
3 saves does not settle the argument about whose fault it was, and the argument will run all week. Goalkeepers carry these scorelines whoever caused them.
The manager wanted a different profile for this opponent, which is a real football reason and no consolation. He did nothing wrong and he did not play.
Marked 7.92. There is a kind of forward whose value only shows up when you count what he was involved in rather than what he finished, and this is the day that argument makes itself.
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.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Black Aces this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The demotion a club never announces and a dressing room always notices. Mandla Mabunda is further from the side than he was, and the reason will not be given until he asks.
“There are things I liked and things we will be doing on Tuesday until they are right.” 2‑2, and a manager who had already decided what Tuesday looked like.
It will be explained as a change for the team and it may even be one. Nobody who has worn one believes that, and neither does the man who has just had it taken away.
Successful dribbles: 12. 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 have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Black Aces can pretend not to have heard.
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.” Morgan Ngcobo after 0‑4, in the tone of a man who knows the next question and does not intend to answer it.
One lapse, one goal, and ninety minutes of honest work counting for nothing. That is the job at Black Aces, and it is a cruel one.
The dugout26 Oct 2026
The manager has not finished forgetting Ricardo Williams's mistake
Publicly it is behind everybody. It is not behind the man who picks the team, and the only place that shows is a team sheet. He will get another chance; he will get it in a match that matters less.
There is no crueller way to lose a football match. Black Aces scored in the 92th minute, the restart barely happened, and the away end was still standing when the whistle went.
Not a run of form — an actual step up, held for months. At 20 he is doing things at this level he could not do at the start of the season, and the coaching staff will tell you exactly which of them.
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Ronwen Mphela. 1‑0 against Jomo Cosmos, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Sabelo Motsa was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
“The players deserve the credit. My job was easy today.” It was not, and everybody in the room knew it; after 1‑0, Morgan Ngcobo could afford to be generous.
The team at the top of the table next, and the honest measure of where this side actually is. Anybody can beat the club below them; the question is what happens against Orlando Pirates.
Words at Black Aces training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Morgan Mokoena 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.
Everybody saw it before anybody said it. At 38 the numbers say 3 points down on what he was, and the question for Black Aces is how to handle a man they owe a great deal.
It is not much of a headline and it is the reason players believe the next promise. Black Aces told Divine Lunga something would happen and then it happened, which in this industry passes for remarkable.
7 new signings in one window. Every one may be an upgrade and the side can still be worse for a while, which is the part of a rebuild the verdicts never mention.
Nobody will confirm this and nothing else explains the last month of selections. A costly error buys a player a period of being second choice that is always longer than the error was.
A conversation in the manager’s office, and a commitment that came out of it. Promises like that are cheap to make and expensive to break, and Simphiwe Mtsweni has written the date down.
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 8 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Morgan Mokoena was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The goal that put Bloemfontein Celtic ahead was still being replayed on the concourse when Black Aces equalised, 4 minutes later. Leads are only worth what you do with them.
Form comes and goes; this has not gone. Bongani Khune is 19, and the version of him training now would not have got into the side he was in a year ago.
“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.
Squad28 Sep 2026
Words at Black Aces training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Sabelo Motsa 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 Black Aces this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
“The manager did not use many words, and he did not need to.” Gift Ngcobo has his answer from Black Aces; what he does with it is the next window’s story.
Dean Modiba 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.
Squad21 Sep 2026
Words at Black Aces training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Morgan Mokoena 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.
A 1‑0 win over Maritzburg United, earned rather than given, and the sort of afternoon that sends everyone home talking about next week instead of this one.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Black Aces, and both men came out saying it was fine.
“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 Black Aces, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad14 Sep 2026
Words at Black Aces training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Morgan Mokoena 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.
7 new signings in one window. Every one may be an upgrade and the side can still be worse for a while, which is the part of a rebuild the verdicts never mention.
The dugout14 Sep 2026
The view from the dugout
“We will look at it, we will learn from it, and we go again.” The three sentences every manager keeps for a 0‑2 defeat, delivered by Morgan Ngcobo to a room that had heard them before.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Black Aces can pretend not to have heard.
Boardroom7 Sep 2026
Black Aces close the window on a squad of their own making
11 in and 1 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.
The demotion a club never announces and a dressing room always notices. Dean Vilakazi is further from the side than he was, and the reason will not be given until he asks.
Four or five weekends of consistency, judged against everybody in the division doing his job. Mandla Mabunda has come out of that comparison in the side, and Black Aces have had the benefit of every one of those afternoons.
Two goals and a mark of 8.60 to go with them. Strikers are judged on afternoons like this one and remembered for far fewer of them than people imagine.
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.
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 19-year-old it feels ownership of. Teboho Williams 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.
Successful dribbles: 18. 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.
“We earned that. I asked them for a reaction and I got one, and now I want the same again on Saturday.” Morgan Ngcobo on a 2‑0 afternoon that pleased him more than he was prepared to show.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Black Aces can pretend not to have heard.
The last thing about a transfer that is still about the player is his signature on his own terms, and it is there. Black Aces have lost him in all but the paperwork.
The offer was not close and it was refused without much discussion. Whether the second one is refused as quickly is another matter.
Squad24 Aug 2026
Words at Black Aces training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Morgan Mokoena 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.
Black Aces asked and Mamelodi Sundowns 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 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 dugoutGift Ngcobo dropped after a run of poor form
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 21-year-old it feels ownership of. Mandla Mabunda 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.
Minute 92, against SuperSport United, and a goal that felt like a win to everybody who had stayed. It was a draw. Nobody leaving the ground will describe it as one.
A loan enquiry to Mamelodi Sundowns: cover, or a look at somebody the club cannot afford to buy yet. Either way the answer will come back inside the week.
Black Aces have made the call to Golden Arrows. No fee, a share of the wages, and a spare shirt in the position where the squad has been thinnest all season.
In brief
Squad5 new faces, and Black Aces are still learning each other
“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.
Marked 7.81. There is a kind of forward whose value only shows up when you count what he was involved in rather than what he finished, and this is the day that argument makes itself.
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.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Morgan Mokoena was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
There is no fee, no unveiling and no agent on the steps. Luther Mphela 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.
There is no fee, no unveiling and no agent on the steps. Percy Jali 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.