Words at Galactik training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Ousmane Biani 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.
Mahamat Djimet 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.
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.
Market5 May 2031
The a squad player question follows Galactik around
Every press conference now starts and ends the same way: with a squad player’s future. The manager has run out of new ways to say nothing.
Position 6, 31 points, and a run-in that decides whether next season has Thursday nights in it. Nobody is calling it a race yet, which is what people say during one.
15 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Galactik lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Galactik can pretend not to have heard.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Galactik this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
In brief
The dugoutThe manager makes an example of Hassan Haroun
22 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Galactik lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Galactik is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Squad21 Apr 2031
Words at Galactik training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Ousmane Biani 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.
Brahim Hissein 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 words a physio says slowly. 29 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.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Galactik they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Hassan Haroun 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.
Squad14 Apr 2031
Ousmane Biani 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.
It is never announced and it is entirely visible: the biggest afternoons of the season keep containing him. A press box works this out long before anybody at the club confirms a word of it.
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.
Market7 Apr 2031
The a squad player question follows Galactik around
Every press conference now starts and ends the same way: with a squad player’s future. The manager has run out of new ways to say nothing.
Position 6, 31 points, and a run-in that decides whether next season has Thursday nights in it. Nobody is calling it a race yet, which is what people say during 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 Galactik can pretend not to have heard.
The hardest thing about being 18 in a senior side is that nobody makes allowances. Brahim Doungous did not need any: 7.83, and he looked the most comfortable man on the pitch.
Words at Galactik training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Ousmane Biani 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 Galactik this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
“A point is a point and I will take it, but we should have had all three.” Moussa Abba after the 1‑1 draw, and the sentence every manager in the country said at some stage this weekend.
0‑3 against AS Etat Major, and no complaints that would survive the replay. The manager spoke about character afterwards; the terraces used shorter words.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Galactik is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Ousmane Biani was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Galactik they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
A season average of 7.50 with 20 goals behind it. Opponents have started planning around him, which is the sincerest compliment football pays.
Player ratings17 Mar 2031
Moussa Bechir, 18, plays like he has been here for years — 7.83
A mark of 7.83 means one thing beside a twenty-nine-year-old's name and something else entirely beside a 18-year-old's. Nobody at the ground needed telling which this was.
A season average of 7.08 at an age when most of his year group are still in the youth team. Galactik know what they have, and so, by now, does everybody else.
Two or more conceded in each of the last 6 matches. It is not one mistake repeating itself, which would be the easier thing to fix; it is a different one every week.
Ousmane Biani 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.
At 18 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.
He is 18, he is averaging 7.01, and older professionals have started passing to him in the difficult minutes. That last part is the real scouting report.
Ousmane Biani 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.
Abdramane Bechir 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 dugout10 Mar 2031
The manager has not finished forgetting Abdramane Bechir'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.
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Ousmane Biani signs something — a contract at Galactik or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Galactik, and it is not being withdrawn.
There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. a squad player provided it, and the 9.35 beside his name is if anything generous to everybody else.
Two or more conceded in each of the last 5 matches. It is not one mistake repeating itself, which would be the easier thing to fix; it is a different one every week.
7 goals in one match, a squad player on the scoresheet, and a scoreline that will look like a misprint. Neutrals could not have asked more of Galactik and Renaissance.
In brief
SquadOusmane Biani falls out with a teammate over standards
The hardest thing about being 18 in a senior side is that nobody makes allowances. Abdoulaye Bechir did not need any: 7.88, and he looked the most comfortable man on the pitch.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Galactik is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Ousmane Biani 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.
Two or more conceded in each of the last 4 matches. It is not one mistake repeating itself, which would be the easier thing to fix; it is a different one every week.
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.
1‑7 to AS PSI, 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.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Galactik is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
He is 19, he is averaging 7.06, and older professionals have started passing to him in the difficult minutes. That last part is the real scouting report.
Defending was optional and nobody took up the option. 8 goals between Galactik and AS PSI, and not one of the people who paid to be there will ask for the money back.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. CotonTchad have kept their man, and Galactik go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Ousmane Biani was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Galactik ran out of time with Stars Jeunes Talents. The paperwork was open when the deadline passed, and a transfer that was almost done is now a transfer that never happened.
The clubs have settled the fee and he has settled his wages. What remains is a medical and a photograph, and around Galactik people have started saying his name in the past tense.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Galactik have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
At 36 he is supposed to be managing his minutes. Instead he was marked 8.00 and looked, for ninety minutes, exactly like the player everybody remembers.
Galactik asked and AS DGSSIE said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
Squad10 Feb 2031
Ousmane Biani 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.
Benjamin Ngakoutou had done his part in building a 2-goal cushion. What happened after that was collective, and Stars Jeunes Talents were allowed back into a match that had been finished with.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Galactik can pretend not to have heard.
A season average of 6.61 at an age when most of his year group are still in the youth team. Galactik know what they have, and so, by now, does everybody else.
At 36 he is supposed to be managing his minutes. Instead he was marked 9.02 and looked, for ninety minutes, exactly like the player everybody remembers.
Boardroom3 Feb 2031
Galactik close the window on a squad of their own making
0 in and 2 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.
A medical, a signature, a shirt held up in front of a sponsor’s board. Galactik have done the hard part with AS PSI, and the part that remains is the part supporters actually see.
Hassan Haroun, 19, plays like he has been here for years — 7.82
A mark of 7.82 means one thing beside a twenty-nine-year-old's name and something else entirely beside a 19-year-old's. Nobody at the ground needed telling which this was.
The approach was made and the answer came back in a sentence. There is no number on the table because there was no number that would have been enough.
Squad27 Jan 2031
Words at Galactik training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Ousmane Biani 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 name of Brahim Doungous has come up in conversations Galactik were not part of. Nothing formal, nothing signed — but nothing about it accidental either.
The last thing about a transfer that is still about the player is his signature on his own terms, and it is there. Galactik have lost him in all but the paperwork.
Two goals and a mark of 8.45 to go with them. Strikers are judged on afternoons like this one and remembered for far fewer of them than people imagine.
Player ratings20 Jan 2031
Hassan Haroun, 19, plays like he has been here for years — 8.04
A mark of 8.04 means one thing beside a twenty-nine-year-old's name and something else entirely beside a 19-year-old's. Nobody at the ground needed telling which this was.
A season average of 7.00 at an age when most of his year group are still in the youth team. Galactik know what they have, and so, by now, does everybody else.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Foullah Edifice have kept their man, and Galactik go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Ousmane Biani was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
At 18 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.
1‑5 to Elect Sport, 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.
The clubs have settled the fee and he has settled his wages. What remains is a medical and a photograph, and around Galactik people have started saying his name in the past tense.
Galactik had done everything except persuade the man himself. He stays at AS PSI, and the manager goes back to the drawing board with the money still in the bank.
6 goals in one match, Benjamin Ngakoutou on the scoresheet, and a scoreline that will look like a misprint. Neutrals could not have asked more of Galactik and Elect Sport.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Galactik can pretend not to have heard.
The deal with Gazelle is done in every sense but the one that puts him on the pitch. Nothing goes wrong at this stage, except on the occasions when it does.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Galactik this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Beaten 2‑3, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
Squad6 Jan 2031
Ousmane Biani 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.
Ousmane Biani had done his part in building a 2-goal cushion. What happened after that was collective, and Aiglons were allowed back into a match that had been finished with.
There is an age at which every good afternoon gets described as a throwback, which is unfair and also accurate. 8.69 at 35, and nobody on the pitch was better.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Galactik is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
2‑3 to Aiglons, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.
Squad30 Dec 2030
Ousmane Biani 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.
100 games in this shirt, through managers and relegations and everything else. Service like it is disappearing from the game and the crowd knows what it is watching.
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 12 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Galactik is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Ousmane Biani and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Successful dribbles: 20. 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.
“The supporters are entitled to be angry. So am I. We will put it right.” 1‑3, a manager saying the necessary things, and a dressing room that heard a different version of them.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Galactik have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Ousmane Biani falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
The board was up, the win was priced in, and then AS Algoy scored. There is no worse minute to concede in and the ground emptied in the silence that follows one.
It finished 1‑1, and it somehow always looked like it would. One of those afternoons where the table moves less than the tempers.
The dugout16 Dec 2030
The manager’s verdict
“I am frustrated, honestly. We did enough to win and we did not win.” Moussa Abba was not hiding it after 1‑1, and nobody in the Galactik dressing room was either.
Words at Galactik training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Ousmane Biani 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.
Mahamat Djimet 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.
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Galactik know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
The list is a quiet document with a loud meaning. Ahmat Ngaradoumbe may talk to anybody who asks, and everybody at the club understands what that means.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Galactik is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Ousmane Biani was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
A month is long enough that nobody gets in by accident. Hassan Ndoram is in the division's best eleven for it, which is a quieter compliment than an award and a more reliable one.
“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.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Galactik they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
AS DGSSIE made Galactik work for it, but the scoreboard read 3‑1 at the end and the table does not ask how.
Squad25 Nov 2030
Ousmane Biani 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.
He is 17 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.
Brahim Hissein was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
“The players deserve the credit. My job was easy today.” It was not, and everybody in the room knew it; after 3‑1, Moussa Abba could afford to be generous.
In brief
SquadA Galactik teenager takes the young player award
The dugoutThe manager makes an example of Ali Oumar
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Ousmane Biani was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
AS PSI left with the points after a 0‑1 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.
The dugout18 Nov 2030
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 Moussa Abba to a room that had heard them before.
“The manager did not use many words, and he did not need to.” Ezechiel Tokindang has his answer from Galactik; what he does with it is the next window’s story.
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Ousmane Biani signs something — a contract at Galactik or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 9 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
The hardest thing about being 20 in a senior side is that nobody makes allowances. Hassan Ndoram did not need any: 7.89, and he looked the most comfortable man on the pitch.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Galactik this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The hardest thing about being 19 in a senior side is that nobody makes allowances. Hassan Haroun did not need any: 7.81, and he looked the most comfortable man on the pitch.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Brahim Doungous will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Galactik the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Ousmane Biani was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
100 games in this shirt, through managers and relegations and everything else. Service like it is disappearing from the game and the crowd knows what it is watching.
Ezechiel Souleymane was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
The board had gone up, the arguing had started, and then the ball was in the net in the 93th minute. US Moursal will replay every second of the added time for a week.
Two goals and a mark of 8.50 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 Galactik is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
US Moursal made Galactik work for it, but the scoreboard read 3‑2 at the end and the table does not ask how.
Squad28 Oct 2030
Ousmane Biani 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 17-year-old it feels ownership of. Moussa Bechir 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.
8.49. There are performances a supporter describes to somebody who was not there and cannot quite convey; this was one, and the number does not help either.
The hardest thing about being 19 in a senior side is that nobody makes allowances. Hassan Haroun did not need any: 7.73, and he looked the most comfortable man on the pitch.
Ousmane Biani 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.
At 19 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.
8.44. There are performances a supporter describes to somebody who was not there and cannot quite convey; this was one, and the number does not help either.
Marked 8.32 — 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.
“We earned that. I asked them for a reaction and I got one, and now I want the same again on Saturday.” Moussa Abba on a 3‑1 afternoon that pleased him more than he was prepared to show.
0‑3 to Elect Sport, 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.
Ousmane Biani falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
“We were not good enough today and I am not going to dress it up.” Moussa Abba after 0‑3, in the tone of a man who knows the next question and does not intend to answer it.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Galactik this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Brahim Doungous will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Galactik the goodbyes have quietly begun.
“The easiest signature of my career.” Marius Mbaiguedem and Galactik agree another 4 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Boardroom7 Oct 2030
5 academy players handed senior numbers at Galactik
The morning the pathway stops being a brochure and becomes a team sheet. Most of them will not be here in three years; all of them have already done the hard part, which was getting to today.
Ousmane Biani falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
Clubs spend fortunes looking for players and occasionally find one down the corridor. Marius Ngaradoumbe is that, and the reception he gets on his first appearance will be different in kind from the one any signing receives.
There is no fee, no unveiling and no agent on the steps. Abdramane Hissein 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 clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Galactik is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Galactik will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
Words at Galactik training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Ousmane Biani 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.
Ali Oumar 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.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Galactik will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Not a run of form — an actual step up, held for months. At 23 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.
Words at Galactik training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Ousmane Biani 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.
Ezechiel Souleymane was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 33 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
“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 Galactik, and it is not being withdrawn.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Galactik 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 Galactik this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Galactik, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Galactik will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Boardroom2 Sep 2030
Deadline passes with 0 signed and 5 gone
That is the business done at Galactik 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.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Abdoulaye Bechir will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Galactik the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Galactik will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Fee agreed, wages agreed, and Stars Jeunes Talents waiting with a shirt. Nobody at Galactik is pretending otherwise, and the supporters have stopped asking whether and started asking when.
The clubs had agreed and the player had not. A snub, and a public one: CotonTchad keep him, and the supporters here are left wondering what he had heard about the place.
Ousmane Biani 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.
Marcellin Biandao 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.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Marcellin Biandao trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Galactik will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
The clubs have settled the fee and he has settled his wages. What remains is a medical and a photograph, and around Galactik people have started saying his name in the past tense.
At 23 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.
Ousmane Biani 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.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. AS DGSSIE have kept their man, and Galactik go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
In brief
Transfer targetsA loan move for Mahamat Ndoram is in the works
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 61 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
“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 Galactik, and it is not being withdrawn.
The clubs had agreed and the player had not. A snub, and a public one: CotonTchad keep him, and the supporters here are left wondering what he had heard about the place.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Galactik 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. Gazelle have kept their man, and Galactik go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Squad12 Aug 2030
Ousmane Biani 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.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Galactik will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Abdoulaye Bechir will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Galactik the goodbyes have quietly begun.
The approach was made and the answer came back in a sentence. There is no number on the table because there was no number that would have been enough.
Squad5 Aug 2030
Ousmane Biani 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.
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Galactik will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
Everything agreed with Foullah Edifice, everything agreed with the player; a doctor is the only person left to persuade. The photograph is a day or two away.
Ousmane Biani and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Galactik, and both men came out saying it was fine.
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Galactik will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Brahim Doungous will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Galactik the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Ousmane Biani 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.
Marcellin Biandao 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.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Galactik will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
A medical, a signature, a shirt held up in front of a sponsor’s board. Galactik have done the hard part with Elect Sport, and the part that remains is the part supporters actually see.
Galactik had done everything except persuade the man himself. He stays at CotonTchad, and the manager goes back to the drawing board with the money still in the bank.
Squad15 Jul 2030
Words at Galactik training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Ousmane Biani 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.
Mahamat Djimet 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.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Galactik will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
The clubs have settled the fee and he has settled his wages. What remains is a medical and a photograph, and around Galactik people have started saying his name in the past tense.
Galactik had done everything except persuade the man himself. He stays at Elect Sport, and the manager goes back to the drawing board with the money still in the bank.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Galactik they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Words at Galactik training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Benjamin Ngakoutou 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.
4 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. Galactik will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
The clubs have shaken hands with CotonTchad; the player has not yet. Personal terms are next, and personal terms are where more deals die than anybody prints.
Ousmane Biani and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
It is never announced and it is entirely visible: the biggest afternoons of the season keep containing him. A press box works this out long before anybody at the club confirms a word of it.
Galactik and Elect Sport have settled on $360.0K. 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.
Words at Galactik training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Ousmane Biani 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.
Hassan Haroun was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Galactik this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Galactik asked and Elect Sport said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Galactik, and both men came out saying it was fine.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Galactik is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Ousmane Biani falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
“The easiest signature of my career.” Moussa Moustapha and Galactik agree another 4 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Squad3 Jun 2030
Ousmane Biani falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
Every manager keeps a short list in his head of the men he wants on the pitch when the stakes rise, and it is never published. The team sheets for the big afternoons say Youssouf Abdraman is on it.
The window is open, and with it the only month of the year when a supporter’s hopes are limited by nothing but arithmetic. The board know the arithmetic; the supporters know the hopes.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Galactik, and both men came out saying it was fine.
A manager forgives a bad Saturday far more readily than a bad Tuesday, because one of them he can explain and the other one he chose. The reports this week have not been good.
Ousmane Biani 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 Ousmane Biani was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
“We keep meeting, and we keep leaving the room with the same numbers we walked in with.” Another round of talks at Galactik, another week without a signature from Brahim Hissein.
14 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Galactik lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Abdoulaye Bechir will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Galactik the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Words at Galactik training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Ousmane Biani 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.
21 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Galactik lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
Ousmane Biani and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Nobody at Galactik will say this on the record and the team sheets have been saying it for weeks. There is a small group in every squad who get picked when the fixture is difficult, and he has joined it.
“I will know when it is time. I am not there yet.” Marcellin Biandao is 37, with 89 appearances behind him, and Galactik will have to plan for whichever answer comes.
“The easiest signature of my career.” Hassan Haroun and Galactik agree another 3 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Squad29 Apr 2030
Words at Galactik training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Ousmane Biani 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.
Marcellin Biandao was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Brahim Hissein trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Words at Galactik training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Ousmane Biani 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 Galactik this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
In brief
The dugoutHassan Haroun knocks on the manager’s door
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Galactik have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Galactik is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Ousmane Biani falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
“The easiest signature of my career.” Abanga Mahamat Youssouf and Galactik agree another 2 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Galactik this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
A month is long enough that nobody gets in by accident. Moussa Moustapha is in the division's best eleven for it, which is a quieter compliment than an award and a more reliable one.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Ousmane Biani was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
At 19 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 keep meeting, and we keep leaving the room with the same numbers we walked in with.” Another round of talks at Galactik, another week without a signature from Brahim Hissein.
2‑8 to AS Etat Major, 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.
A touch he did not want, a bounce he could not have read, and his name in the wrong column. There is no consoling a man after one of these, and Galactik will not try tonight.
Marked 7.99. 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.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Galactik this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
10 goals in one match, Brahim Doungous on the scoresheet, and a scoreline that will look like a misprint. Neutrals could not have asked more of Galactik and AS Etat Major.
90 minutes played. Benjamin Ngakoutou found the finish in time that only existed because of earlier delays, and AS Algoy went from a point to nothing inside one movement.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Galactik they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Ousmane Biani was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Benjamin Ngakoutou. 2‑1 against AS Algoy, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
At 17 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.
Ousmane Biani 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.
Marcellin Biandao 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.
Every manager keeps a short list in his head of the men he wants on the pitch when the stakes rise, and it is never published. The team sheets for the big afternoons say Youssouf Abdraman is on it.
AS Algoy next, and one man in the Galactik dressing room knows their training ground better than his own. The reception will tell him what they thought of him.
At 35 he is supposed to be managing his minutes. Instead he was marked 8.75 and looked, for ninety minutes, exactly like the player everybody remembers.
Ousmane Biani was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Marked 8.59 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.
The one version of being left out a player cannot argue with, and the one he takes worst. Somebody else has been better and the team sheet says so, in public, every week until it changes.
The dugout4 Mar 2030
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.” Moussa Abba chose the glass-half-full version of 2‑2; the supporters left with the other one.
Two goals and a mark of 8.91 to go with them. Strikers are judged on afternoons like this one and remembered for far fewer of them than people imagine.
The hardest thing about being 18 in a senior side is that nobody makes allowances. Hassan Haroun did not need any: 7.62, and he looked the most comfortable man on the pitch.
Successful dribbles: 20. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Squad25 Feb 2030
Words at Galactik training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Ousmane Biani 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.
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.
In brief
Matcha squad player at the heart of a fast Galactik start
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Abdoulaye Bechir will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Galactik the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Ousmane Biani 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.
Mahamat Djimet 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.
Warm-up bib, ninety minutes of watching, and a handshake at the end that fooled nobody. Big matches tell you who a manager trusts; this one told Brahim Hissein.
“We keep meeting, and we keep leaving the room with the same numbers we walked in with.” Another round of talks at Galactik, another week without a signature from Brahim Hissein.
Marcellin Biandao was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
“It is 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.
It is never announced and it is entirely visible: the biggest afternoons of the season keep containing him. A press box works this out long before anybody at the club confirms a word of it.
The clubs have settled the fee and he has settled his wages. What remains is a medical and a photograph, and around Galactik people have started saying his name in the past tense.
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 6 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
The deadline has passed and the squad is the squad. 0 arrived, 2 left, and everything else printed about this club last month was a rumour that stayed one.
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Ousmane Biani commits to Galactik for another 2 years.
Squad4 Feb 2030
Words at Galactik training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Ousmane Biani 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.
“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 Galactik, and it is not being withdrawn.
The clubs had agreed and the player had not. A snub, and a public one: CotonTchad keep him, and the supporters here are left wondering what he had heard about the place.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and a squad player was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Add another name to the list: Aiglons have asked the question everybody in the game has been asking about Abdoulaye Bechir. The answer from Galactik has not changed — yet.
Behind, and beaten by any honest reading, until minute 91. US Moursal had the points in their pocket and a corner of the ground still believed, which is generally when it happens.
Two goals and a mark of 9.73 to go with them. Strikers are judged on afternoons like this one and remembered for far fewer of them than people imagine.
Player ratings21 Jan 2030
A brace, and Ousmane Biani takes the afternoon — 9.66
There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. Ousmane Biani provided it, and the 9.66 beside his name is if anything generous to everybody else.
The offer from Stars Jeunes Talents for Moussa Bechir 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.
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: a squad player. 5‑3 against Gazelle, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
Defending was optional and nobody took up the option. 8 goals between Galactik and Gazelle, and not one of the people who paid to be there will ask for the money back.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Galactik this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 16-year-old it feels ownership of. Moussa Bechir 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 clubs have settled the fee and he has settled his wages. What remains is a medical and a photograph, and around Galactik people have started saying his name in the past tense.
The phone has started ringing about Moussa Bechir again, and this time the name on the line is Stars Jeunes Talents. Galactik are listening politely and promising nothing.
Galactik asked and Renaissance said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
Squad14 Jan 2030
Words at Galactik training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. a squad player 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.
Marked 8.15 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.
Some 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 easiest signature of my career.” Narcisse Moustapha and Galactik agree another 4 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 a squad player was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Marcellin Biandao 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.
15 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Galactik lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
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 dugout31 Dec 2029
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 Moussa Abba to a room that had heard them before.
The words a physio says slowly. 22 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.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Galactik is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
6 goals in one match, Youssouf Abdraman on the scoresheet, and a scoreline that will look like a misprint. Neutrals could not have asked more of Galactik and AS Etat Major.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and a squad player was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Moussa Bechir was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
The dugout24 Dec 2029
The manager’s verdict
“That is on me. I pick the team and I picked wrong.” Managers say that when they mean it and when they need to be seen to, and after 2‑4 Moussa Abba left the room before anybody could ask which.
Words at Galactik training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. a squad player 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.
Hassan Haroun was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Marked 8.19 — 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.
Successful dribbles: 15. He went past people as if he had been told there was a prize for it, and by the end the full-back had stopped pretending to try.
The dugout17 Dec 2029
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.” Moussa Abba kept it short after the 3‑0 win, which is what managers do when they are happy.
Ousmane Biani and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Nobody at Galactik will say this on the record and the team sheets have been saying it for weeks. There is a small group in every squad who get picked when the fixture is difficult, and he has joined it.
Every squad has one of these fixtures for somebody every season. This one is Saleh Bechir’s: the club that knew him first, the supporters who will decide in the first minute whether to applaud, and Galactik needing him to play as if none of it matters.
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Narcisse Moustapha signs something — a contract at Galactik or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
Words at Galactik training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. a squad player 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 music was off and the showers ran late. What was said in that dressing room stays there, but Saturday will publish the minutes.
The dugout3 Dec 2029
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 Moussa Abba to a room that had heard them before.
Two goals and a mark of 9.46 to go with them. Strikers are judged on afternoons like this one and remembered for far fewer of them than people imagine.
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.
Player ratings26 Nov 2029
Moussa Bechir, 16, plays like he has been here for years — 7.81
A mark of 7.81 means one thing beside a twenty-nine-year-old's name and something else entirely beside a 16-year-old's. Nobody at the ground needed telling which this was.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Galactik is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Words at Galactik training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. a squad player 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 19 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 was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Galactik this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Successful dribbles: 24. He went past people as if he had been told there was a prize for it, and by the end the full-back had stopped pretending to try.
Two or more conceded in each of the last 5 matches. It is not one mistake repeating itself, which would be the easier thing to fix; it is a different one every week.
Ousmane Biani was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
“The 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.
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 Benjamin Ngakoutou was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Conceding is one thing; the response is what tells you about a dressing room. Benjamin Ngakoutou had Galactik level again within 4 minutes, and CotonTchad never got to play with a lead at all.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Galactik this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Gazelle go through and Galactik go home, 0‑4 the scoreline that did it. The dressing room will call the league the priority now, because that is what dressing rooms 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 Galactik, and it is not being withdrawn.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Benjamin Ngakoutou was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
8.28. There are performances a supporter describes to somebody who was not there and cannot quite convey; this was one, and the number does not help either.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Galactik is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Galactik this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Ahmat Ngaradoumbe and Galactik agree another 3 years.
It is never announced and it is entirely visible: the biggest afternoons of the season keep containing him. A press box works this out long before anybody at the club confirms a word of it.
There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. a squad player provided it, and the 9.27 beside his name is if anything generous to everybody else.
The hardest thing about being 18 in a senior side is that nobody makes allowances. Hassan Haroun did not need any: 7.61, and he looked the most comfortable man on the pitch.
At 18 he is being sung about by people twice his age, which is an affection a signing has to earn over years and a local kid gets for turning up. It is also the hardest thing in football to live up to.
There is a particular helplessness in conceding 2 times before the twentieth minute. Gazelle tried to reorganise, Galactik did not allow it, and the result was written long before it was confirmed.
Marked 8.35 — 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.
Squad22 Oct 2029
Ousmane Biani 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.
“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 Galactik, and it is not being withdrawn.
Not a run of form — an actual step up, held for months. At 23 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.
1‑2 to Elect Sport, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.
Squad15 Oct 2029
Words at Galactik training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Ousmane Biani 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.” Moussa Abba after 1‑2, in the tone of a man who knows the next question and does not intend to answer it.
Successful dribbles: 15. He went past people as if he had been told there was a prize for it, and by the end the full-back had stopped pretending to try.
Ali Oumar 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 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.
The mood at Galactik has turned into something else
Supporters who sing when it goes badly are supporters. Supporters who gather afterwards are a problem, and everybody inside the building knows which of the two this now is.
5 academy players handed senior numbers at Galactik
The morning the pathway stops being a brochure and becomes a team sheet. Most of them will not be here in three years; all of them have already done the hard part, which was getting to today.
The academy exists for exactly this morning. Djibrine Doungous 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.
Clubs spend fortunes looking for players and occasionally find one down the corridor. Brahim Hissein 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. Ezechiel Hissein 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. Brahim Hissein 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 clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Galactik is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Galactik this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
“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.
Squad1 Oct 2029
Words at Galactik training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. a squad player 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.
He trains hard, says the right things and goes home to an empty flat. Nobody at Galactik has done anything wrong, which is exactly what makes it so difficult to fix.
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Galactik know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Ousmane Biani was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Form comes and goes; this has not gone. Marius Mbaiguedem is 22, and the version of him training now would not have got into the side he was in a year ago.
18 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Galactik lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
It has stopped being a mood in the stands and started being something organised. Boards can ignore a bad atmosphere for a long time; they cannot ignore this stage of it for very long at all.
Ousmane Biani 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.
Abanga Mahamat Youssouf 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.
Marcellin Biandao arrives at 36 with nothing left to prove and plenty left to pass on. Legs are a young man's currency; knowing where to stand never ages.
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 Marcellin Biandao has written the date down.
The words a physio says slowly. 25 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.
The board’s statement ran to three sentences and one of them mentioned results. Moussa Abba has managed long enough to translate: win soon, or the next statement is shorter.
Nothing has been announced and everybody understands what it means. A board that summons the whole football department on a Tuesday morning is a board that has stopped believing the problem will fix itself.
Boardroom3 Sep 2029
Deadline passes with 5 signed and 11 gone
That is the business done at Galactik until the window opens again. Whether it was enough will be answered on Saturdays rather than in a column, and the first Saturday is close.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Galactik is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Ousmane Biani was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
32 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Galactik lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Ousmane Biani was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Galactik, and both men came out saying it was fine.
39 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Galactik lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
The clubs have settled the fee and he has settled his wages. What remains is a medical and a photograph, and around Galactik people have started saying his name in the past tense.
The approach was made and the answer came back in a sentence. There is no number on the table because there was no number that would have been enough.
Squad20 Aug 2029
Words at Galactik training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Ousmane Biani 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.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 16 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
It has stopped being a mood in the stands and started being something organised. Boards can ignore a bad atmosphere for a long time; they cannot ignore this stage of it for very long at all.
Everything agreed with AS Etat Major, everything agreed with the player; a doctor is the only person left to persuade. The photograph is a day or two away.
Careers are supposed to plateau and then decline, and the players who ignore that are always the ones who were listening on the training ground. 3 points of it, over months, at an age where the direction normally only goes one way.
The most common injury in the game and the most rushed back from. Galactik will quote 14 days and will be careful with it, because the second one is always worse than the first.
Squad13 Aug 2029
Words at Galactik training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Ousmane Biani 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 bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Galactik will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
The board’s statement ran to three sentences and one of them mentioned results. Moussa Abba has managed long enough to translate: win soon, or the next statement is shorter.
Nothing has been announced and everybody understands what it means. A board that summons the whole football department on a Tuesday morning is a board that has stopped believing the problem will fix itself.
Everything agreed with AS Etat Major, everything agreed with the player; a doctor is the only person left to persuade. The photograph is a day or two away.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Brahim Hissein will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Galactik the goodbyes have quietly begun.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Galactik this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Galactik will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
Fee agreed, wages agreed, and Gazelle waiting with a shirt. Nobody at Galactik is pretending otherwise, and the supporters have stopped asking whether and started asking when.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Galactik can pretend not to have heard.
Galactik had done everything except persuade the man himself. He stays at US Moursal, and the manager goes back to the drawing board with the money still in the bank.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Aiglons have kept their man, and Galactik go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Ousmane Biani was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Galactik this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Galactik will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
Fee agreed, wages agreed, and US Moursal waiting with a shirt. Nobody at Galactik is pretending otherwise, and the supporters have stopped asking whether and started asking when.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Galactik can pretend not to have heard.
Words at Galactik training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Ousmane Biani 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 Galactik this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Galactik will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
A bad atmosphere can be waited out. A group of people meeting afterwards to decide what to do about it cannot, and everybody in the building knows which stage this is.
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 has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Ousmane Biani signs something — a contract at Galactik or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Galactik 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 Galactik can pretend not to have heard.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Galactik they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Ousmane Biani commits to Galactik for another 2 years.
Squad9 Jul 2029
Words at Galactik training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Ousmane Biani 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.
Galactik have made the call to AS Etat Major. No fee, a share of the wages, and a spare shirt in the position where the squad has been thinnest all season.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Galactik will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
The board’s statement ran to three sentences and one of them mentioned results. Moussa Abba has managed long enough to translate: win soon, or the next statement is shorter.
Everything agreed with Stars Jeunes Talents, everything agreed with the player; a doctor is the only person left to persuade. The photograph is a day or two away.
Ousmane Biani 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.
Galactik offered $22.0K; US Moursal 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.
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.
None of them will be seen by anybody outside the training ground for three years, most of them will never play a senior match, and one of them might change the club. That is the whole proposition, and it is why academies exist.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Galactik will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
The last thing about a transfer that is still about the player is his signature on his own terms, and it is there. Galactik have lost him in all but the paperwork.
A medical, a signature, a shirt held up in front of a sponsor’s board. Galactik have done the hard part with AS Etat Major, and the part that remains is the part supporters actually see.
Galactik have gone to US Moursal 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.
Ousmane Biani and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
It has stopped being a mood in the stands and started being something organised. Boards can ignore a bad atmosphere for a long time; they cannot ignore this stage of it for very long at all.
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Galactik will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
Everything agreed with US Moursal, everything agreed with the player; a doctor is the only person left to persuade. The photograph is a day or two away.
Ousmane Biani 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.
Mahamat Djimet 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.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Galactik will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Galactik asked and US Moursal said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
Squad11 Jun 2029
Ousmane Biani 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.
Moussa Bechir 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.
Stars Jeunes Talents 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.