“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Golden Arrows may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Squad18 Apr 2033
Sbonelo Cele 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.
Teboho Tlolane was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Golden Arrows know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Siphesihle Msomi trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Kegan Johannes 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.
Squad11 Apr 2033
David Lukhele 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 mood at Golden Arrows 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.
Boardroom4 Apr 2033
The silence upstairs is getting loud at Golden Arrows
Nobody on the board has said anything against the manager, which is the point — they have stopped saying anything for him either.
The board’s statement ran to three sentences and one of them mentioned results. Interim Coach has managed long enough to translate: win soon, or the next statement is shorter.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Golden Arrows this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
“The easiest signature of my career.” Themba Mantshiyane and Golden Arrows agree another 2 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Squad4 Apr 2033
Words at Golden Arrows training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Sbonelo Cele 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.
Every club pays most of what it earns to its players. Paying nearly all of it is a different arrangement, and it has ended the same way every time it has been tried.
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Golden Arrows may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Squad28 Mar 2033
Words at Golden Arrows training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Sbonelo Cele 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.
Sbonelo Cele and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad21 Mar 2033
Words at Golden Arrows training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. David Lukhele 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.
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Golden Arrows know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Luka Ngwei trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Kegan Johannes was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Squad14 Mar 2033
Sbonelo Cele 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 table is being checked before the results are in, which is always the tell. Nobody at Golden Arrows says the word and every senior player in the building is thinking it.
Nothing in writing and nothing in public: a word about playing time, given face to face at Golden Arrows. The team sheets over the next month will show whether it was worth having.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Sani Ibrahim trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
The mood at Golden Arrows 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.
The board’s statement ran to three sentences and one of them mentioned results. Interim Coach has managed long enough to translate: win soon, or the next statement is shorter.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Golden Arrows this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad7 Mar 2033
Sbonelo Cele 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 figure at which a wage bill stops being ambitious and becomes the reason nothing else is possible, and this club has reached it. Nothing is left over for a transfer, a stand or a rainy afternoon.
The last league game has been played and the table has stopped moving: 21 points. The summer begins on Monday, and so does the argument about what it all meant.
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.
7 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.
Sbonelo Cele 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 David Lukhele was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
6 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.
Kegan Johannes 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 Sbonelo Cele 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.” Interim Coach after 0‑1, in the tone of a man who knows the next question and does not intend to answer it.
A player who expected to start watched it instead. The manager will call it a decision for the team; Ismail Zuma will call it something else in private.
There is no complaint available here and everybody involved knows it, which does not make the walk to the bench any shorter. Form is the only currency in football that cannot be borrowed against.
5 matches, no goals, and a training ground that has tried everything. It will end — droughts always do — but nobody at Golden Arrows can tell you which week it ends in.
Kegan Johannes was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Squad14 Feb 2033
Sbonelo Cele 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 dugout14 Feb 2033
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.” Interim Coach chose the glass-half-full version of 0‑0; the supporters left with the other one.
The crowd waited for a goal that never came. University of Pretoria defended in numbers and left with what they came for, and the two sides could be playing still without troubling a scorer.
Every squad has one of these fixtures for somebody every season. This one is Dumisani Msibi’s: the club that knew him first, the supporters who will decide in the first minute whether to applaud, and Golden Arrows needing him to play as if none of it matters.
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.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Golden Arrows will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
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.
Boardroom7 Feb 2033
Deadline passes with 3 signed and 5 gone
That is the business done at Golden Arrows 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.
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Kegan Johannes and Golden Arrows agree another 3 years.
4 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.
Sbonelo Cele was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
0‑1 to Polokwane City, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.
Squad7 Feb 2033
David Lukhele 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 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.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Golden Arrows will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
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 Sbonelo Cele 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.
Successful dribbles: 17. 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 dugout31 Jan 2033
The manager’s verdict
“That is on me. I pick the team and I picked wrong.” Managers say that when they mean it and when they need to be seen to, and after 0‑1 Interim Coach left the room before anybody could ask which.
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Golden Arrows will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
Kegan Johannes 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.
Squad24 Jan 2033
Words at Golden Arrows training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Sbonelo Cele 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.
Successful dribbles: 18. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
The dugout24 Jan 2033
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 Interim Coach to a room that had heard them before.
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.
He used to wear the other shirt. On Saturday he plays against Mamelodi Sundowns in this one, and whatever he says this week about it being just another game will be untrue.
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.
Successful dribbles: 23. 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.
Kegan Johannes 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. Istra 1961 have kept their man, and Golden Arrows 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 David Lukhele was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Mandla Khune is 19, and Golden Arrows 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.
15 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Golden Arrows lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
“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.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Golden Arrows 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. Golden Arrows have done the hard part with Bidvest Wits, and the part that remains is the part supporters actually see.
Successful dribbles: 21. There was always a defender in front of him and there was never a defender in front of him for long.
Squad10 Jan 2033
Sbonelo Cele 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.
Golden Arrows have made the call to Istra 1961. No fee, a share of the wages, and a spare shirt in the position where the squad has been thinnest all season.
In brief
Boardroom89% of the income goes out in wages at Golden Arrows
22 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Golden Arrows lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Free State Stars will want this one forgotten quickly: 3‑0, every duel lost, and a long ride home. Golden Arrows were ruthless in the way good sides are ruthless.
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.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Golden Arrows will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Add another name to the list: Jomo Cosmos have asked the question everybody in the game has been asking about David Lukhele. The answer from Golden Arrows has not changed — yet.
29 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Golden Arrows lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Golden Arrows will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
Kegan Johannes 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.
Platinum Stars left with the points after a 0‑2 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.
Squad27 Dec 2032
David Lukhele 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.” Interim Coach after 0‑2, in the tone of a man who knows the next question and does not intend to answer it.
36 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Golden Arrows 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. 65 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Sbonelo Cele was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Teboho Tlolane 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.
43 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Golden Arrows lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Position 15 and 12 points, and the table gets read bottom-up in this part of town. The calendar has stopped being a schedule and started being a countdown.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Golden Arrows will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Golden Arrows this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad13 Dec 2032
Words at Golden Arrows training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Sbonelo Cele 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 words a physio says slowly. 50 days is what the club will announce and everybody who has heard this diagnosis before knows the number is the least of it: the knee comes back before the player does.
A 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.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and David Lukhele was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Marked 8.01 — 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: 17. 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.
Successful dribbles: 36. He went past people as if he had been told there was a prize for it, and by the end the full-back had stopped pretending to try.
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.
Kegan Johannes was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Squad29 Nov 2032
Words at Golden Arrows training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Sbonelo Cele 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.
Jomo Cosmos held the lead for 1 minutes, which is not long enough to enjoy it. Golden Arrows answered before the celebration had properly finished, and the shape of the afternoon changed with it.
The dugout29 Nov 2032
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 1‑2 defeat, delivered by Interim Coach to a room that had heard them before.
12 without a win now, and the ground has developed the special quiet of a crowd that expects the worst. One scrappy 1-0 would cure most of it; that is the maddening part.
0‑4 to Bloemfontein Celtic, 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.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Sbonelo Cele was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Teboho Tlolane 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.
“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 Nov 2032
Nobody left the Golden Arrows 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 Nov 2032
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 0‑4 defeat, delivered by Interim Coach to a room that had heard them before.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Golden Arrows, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Whether it was the goalkeeper or the ten in front of him is the argument that will fill every conversation in town this week. 3 saves does not settle it either way.
11 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 left with the points after a 0‑1 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.
Squad15 Nov 2032
Words at Golden Arrows training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. David Lukhele 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.
11 points at the turn. The first half of a season is a promise; the second is a bill, and the town is about to find out which of the two this one was.
The dugout15 Nov 2032
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 Interim Coach 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 Golden Arrows can pretend not to have heard.
296 appearances across 11 seasons in one shirt. Nobody builds a career like that on purpose any more; it happens to a certain kind of footballer at a certain kind of club.
“The easiest signature of my career.” Dumisani Msibi and Golden Arrows 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 Golden Arrows this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Sbonelo Cele 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. Ntando Ngwenya had Golden Arrows level again within 4 minutes, and Maritzburg United never got to play with a lead at all.
Kegan Johannes was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Squad1 Nov 2032
Sbonelo Cele 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 chances are being made and something is happening between the making and the finishing. 3 matches now, and the anxiety in the ground arrives a little earlier every week.
It is not much of a headline and it is the reason players believe the next promise. Golden Arrows told Ntando Ngwenya something would happen and then it happened, which in this industry passes for remarkable.
The demotion a club never announces and a dressing room always notices. Siphesihle Msomi is further from the side than he was, and the reason will not be given until he asks.
Kegan Johannes 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.
Squad25 Oct 2032
David Lukhele 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 not the end of the world and it is not good enough. Both of those are true.” The manager, after a 0‑0 draw, said the honest thing and then went to say it again inside.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Teboho Tlolane trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
He used to wear the other shirt. On Saturday he plays against University of Pretoria in this one, and whatever he says this week about it being just another game will be untrue.
In brief
The dugoutThe plan did not have a place for Teboho Tlolane
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.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Sbonelo Cele was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The manager kept them in and said what needed saying. A response is expected on Saturday, and if it does not come the questions move upstairs.
The dugout18 Oct 2032
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 0‑3 Interim Coach left the room before anybody could ask which.
It is not much of a headline and it is the reason players believe the next promise. Golden Arrows told Philani Khumalo something would happen and then it happened, which in this industry passes for remarkable.
In brief
The dugoutBukho Mkalipi has become a man the manager trusts
“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 Golden Arrows, and it is not being withdrawn.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Golden Arrows this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad11 Oct 2032
Sbonelo Cele 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.
Player ratings11 Oct 2032
Ntando Ngwenya was on a different afternoon to everybody else
8.10. 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 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.
“A point is a point and I will take it, but we should have had all three.” Interim Coach after the 1‑1 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 Golden Arrows this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
“The easiest signature of my career.” Siphesihle Msomi and Golden Arrows agree another 2 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 David Lukhele was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
A month is long enough that nobody gets in by accident. Sifiso Lorch is in the division's best eleven for it, which is a quieter compliment than an award and a more reliable one.
“There are things I liked and things we will be doing on Tuesday until they are right.” 0‑0, and a manager who had already decided what Tuesday looked like.
Ninety minutes, no goals, and the argument started before the car park emptied: a point gained, or two thrown away against Bidvest Wits? Both sides of it will still be going on Thursday.
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.
Kegan Johannes 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.
Squad27 Sep 2032
Words at Golden Arrows training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Sbonelo Cele 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.
Behind, and beaten by any honest reading, until minute 91. Ajax Cape Town had the points in their pocket and a corner of the ground still believed, which is generally when it happens.
A 1‑1 draw with Ajax Cape Town leaves the dressing room somewhere between relief and regret.
The dugout27 Sep 2032
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.” Interim Coach chose the glass-half-full version of 1‑1; the supporters left with the other one.
Every signing waits for it and every press conference asks about it until it comes. It has come, Golden Arrows have their man off the mark, and the second one is always easier.
Kegan Johannes and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad20 Sep 2032
Sbonelo Cele 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 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.
Nobody at Golden Arrows 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.
Successful dribbles: 32. He went past people as if he had been told there was a prize for it, and by the end the full-back had stopped pretending to try.
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Ntando Ngwenya and Golden Arrows agree another 4 years.
Sbonelo Cele 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. Mamelodi Sundowns have kept their man, and Golden Arrows go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Golden Arrows ran out of time with Free State Stars. The paperwork was open when the deadline passed, and a transfer that was almost done is now a transfer that never happened.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and David Lukhele was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Player ratings13 Sep 2032
Ntando Ngwenya was on a different afternoon to everybody else
8.06. 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 club looked outside for a month, found nothing it preferred, and handed the job to the man who had been doing it anyway. He knows the building; now he has to prove he knows the rest.
281 appearances across 11 seasons in one shirt. Careers like that are not built on purpose any more, and Golden Arrows know exactly what they have.
Boardroom6 Sep 2032
Deadline passes with 12 signed and 17 gone
That is the business done at Golden Arrows 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.
A medical, a signature, a shirt held up in front of a sponsor’s board. Golden Arrows have done the hard part with HNK Gorica, and the part that remains is the part supporters actually see.
Golden Arrows had done everything except persuade the man himself. He stays at Black Aces, and the manager goes back to the drawing board with the money still in the bank.
Kegan Johannes was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Themba Mantshiyane and Golden Arrows agree another 2 years.
5 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.
Kegan Johannes 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 Sbonelo Cele was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
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.” 0‑2, a manager saying the necessary things, and a dressing room that heard a different version of them.
In brief
Transfer targetsA loan move for Ray Robert is in the works
The clubs have shaken hands with SuperSport United; the player has not yet. Personal terms are next, and personal terms are where more deals die than anybody prints.
Golden Arrows had done everything except persuade the man himself. He stays at Polokwane City, and the manager goes back to the drawing board with the money still in the bank.
4 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.
Beaten 0‑1, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
Squad23 Aug 2032
Words at Golden Arrows training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. David Lukhele 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.
Everything agreed with Polokwane City, everything agreed with the player; a doctor is the only person left to persuade. The photograph is a day or two away.
Free State Stars wanted more than $200.0K and the board would not go there. Walked away, for now, which in a transfer window means until somebody blinks.
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.
Squad16 Aug 2032
Words at Golden Arrows training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Sbonelo Cele 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.
11 days with the chair empty, a list of names that grows and shrinks by the day, and not one signature on anything. Every week that passes takes the best candidates off it.
The chances are being made and something is happening between the making and the finishing. 3 matches now, and the anxiety in the ground arrives a little earlier every week.
Four paragraphs on the club website, none of them about football. The board thanked him, wished him well, and had the search under way before the page went up.
0‑5 against Bloemfontein Celtic, and no complaints that would survive the replay. The manager spoke about character afterwards; the terraces used shorter words.
“I know what people will say. I know what I want, and it is here.” Jomo Cosmos had the fee agreed and the shirt ready; they did not have the player, and now they will not.
Not an interim appointment — an institution with an empty coaching office. Somebody unfamiliar will run the sessions this week, and the question of how a club gets into this state is one the board will be asked and will not answer.
“Somebody has to pick the team on Saturday, and this week that is me.” An interim appointment with no promises attached, which is how most of them start.
A medical, a signature, a shirt held up in front of a sponsor’s board. Golden Arrows have done the hard part with Bidvest Wits, and the part that remains is the part supporters actually see.
$200.0K on the table at Free State Stars. The manager wanted him, the board agreed a number, and the only voices still to be heard are the ones at the other club.
Kegan Johannes 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.
In brief
Boardroom9 academy graduates step up at Golden Arrows
The board’s statement ran to three sentences and one of them mentioned results. Morgan Billiat has managed long enough to translate: win soon, or the next statement is shorter.
The whole football department in one room on a weekday morning. Nothing was announced afterwards, which is what a board announces when it has run out of patience.
The phone has started ringing about David Lukhele again, and this time the name on the line is Jomo Cosmos. Golden Arrows are listening politely and promising nothing.
Kegan Johannes 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.
Squad2 Aug 2032
Words at Golden Arrows training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. David Lukhele 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.
Golden Arrows have made the call to Bidvest Wits. No fee, a share of the wages, and a spare shirt in the position where the squad has been thinnest all season.
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.
Nobody at Golden Arrows will say this on the record and the team sheets have been saying it for weeks. There is a small group in every squad who get picked when the fixture is difficult, and he has joined it.
The dugout2 Aug 2032
Sifiso Lorch loses the manager who believed in him
A change in the dugout is not one story, it is twenty-five of them. This is Sifiso Lorch's: he was somebody's player, and now he has to be somebody else's, starting from nothing.
The clubs have shaken hands with Free State Stars; the player has not yet. Personal terms are next, and personal terms are where more deals die than anybody prints.
Everything agreed with Polokwane City, everything agreed with the player; a doctor is the only person left to persuade. The photograph is a day or two away.
Golden Arrows had done everything except persuade the man himself. He stays at Bidvest Wits, and the manager goes back to the drawing board with the money still in the bank.
Squad26 Jul 2032
Sbonelo Cele 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 was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Golden Arrows this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Nobody at Golden Arrows 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.
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.
53 graduates, from a department now rated 9 out of 20. Nothing about the academy appears in a result, and nothing about the club’s future exists without it.
Nobody upstairs has said anything, which is the loudest thing they could do. Results buy silence in this game; the account at Golden Arrows is running low.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Golden Arrows this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Not a run of form — an actual step up, held for months. At 19 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.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Sbonelo Cele 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. Botev Vratsa have kept their man, and Golden Arrows go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Polokwane City 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.
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 Ismail Zuma is on it.
In brief
SquadQuestions about Sifiso Lorch on the training pitch
Kegan Johannes 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.
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.
At 31 the improving is meant to be over. It is not: 3 points better than the mark taken at the start of the year, which is the sort of thing that happens to players who take the boring parts of the job seriously.
Squad12 Jul 2032
David Lukhele 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.
Bidvest Wits 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.
Botev Vratsa 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.
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 board’s statement ran to three sentences and one of them mentioned results. Morgan Billiat has managed long enough to translate: win soon, or the next statement is shorter.
The whole football department in one room on a weekday morning. Nothing was announced afterwards, which is what a board announces when it has run out of patience.
Golden Arrows and Bloemfontein Celtic have settled on $28.0K. 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.
The deal with Bidvest Wits 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.
Kegan Johannes 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.
Squad5 Jul 2032
Sbonelo Cele 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.
Sifiso Lorch is 19, and Golden Arrows 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.
8 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.
“I listened, I thought about it, and I am staying. That is the whole story.” The clubs had agreed a fee. David Lukhele had not agreed to go, which turned out to be the part that mattered.
Golden Arrows and Free State Stars have settled on $260.0K. 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.
Terms were offered and declined. Whether it was the wages, the role or the town, nobody at Bidvest Wits is saying, and nobody at Golden Arrows is enjoying the guessing.
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.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Sbonelo Cele was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Golden Arrows 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.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Golden Arrows this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Bidvest Wits 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.
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 Sbonelo Cele is on it.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 17 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Nobody upstairs has said anything, which is the loudest thing they could do. Results buy silence in this game; the account at Golden Arrows is running low.
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.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Golden Arrows 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 Golden Arrows this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The most common injury in the game and the most rushed back from. Golden Arrows will quote 16 days and will be careful with it, because the second one is always worse than the first.
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Kwandakwesizwe Madonsela and Golden Arrows agree another 3 years.
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Golden Arrows will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
Kegan Johannes 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 Sbonelo Cele was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The system has changed and his position has not. A footballer can improve his form; he cannot improve the manager’s formation, and that is the whole of the problem.
Golden Arrows have made the call to Polokwane City. No fee, a share of the wages, and a spare shirt in the position where the squad has been thinnest all season.
Nobody at Golden Arrows 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.
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.
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Golden Arrows will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
The board have said in public what they had been saying in private. Results between now and the next meeting decide it, and everybody in the building knows the arithmetic.
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 shirt still fits. Siphesihle Msomi is back at Golden Arrows, and half the ground remembers him in these colours already. Some signings need selling to the town; this one sold itself.
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Teboho Tlolane and Golden Arrows agree another 2 years.
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.
Nobody at Golden Arrows 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.
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Golden Arrows will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
Kegan Johannes and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad31 May 2032
David Lukhele 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 Sbonelo Cele is on it.
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 Ismail Zuma 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. 45 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
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.
Boardroom24 May 2032
The silence upstairs is getting loud at Golden Arrows
Nobody on the board has said anything against the manager, which is the point — they have stopped saying anything for him either.
There are footballers who have a good season and footballers a season is remembered for, and the second kind get their names read out in a hall in the summer. Golden Arrows will be quietly delighted and privately nervous.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Golden Arrows is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
The rules permit it and it stings anyway. Brandon Theron has agreed terms with SuperSport United for the summer, and until then he pulls on this shirt as a player who has already chosen his next one.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Golden Arrows this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The one award on the pitch nobody else can win. 12 games in a season in which nobody scored past him, and a career that will be measured against this one.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 52 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Kegan Johannes was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Squad17 May 2032
Sbonelo Cele 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.
Nobody at Golden Arrows 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.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 59 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Golden Arrows have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
The rules permit it and it stings anyway. Luther Erasmus has agreed terms with Maritzburg United for the summer, and until then he pulls on this shirt as a player who has already chosen his next one.
Squad10 May 2032
Words at Golden Arrows training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Sbonelo Cele 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.
Teboho Tlolane 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. 66 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
The board’s statement ran to three sentences and one of them mentioned results. Morgan Billiat has managed long enough to translate: win soon, or the next statement is shorter.
Kegan Johannes and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad3 May 2032
Sbonelo Cele 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.
Nobody at Golden Arrows 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 is half players the manager chose and half players he inherited. Bukho Mkalipi was chosen, the man who chose him has gone, and he starts again from nothing under the next one.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Luka Ngwei trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Golden Arrows will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
The terraces26 Apr 2032
The mood at Golden Arrows 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.
Nobody upstairs has said anything, which is the loudest thing they could do. Results buy silence in this game; the account at Golden Arrows is running low.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Golden Arrows this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Sbonelo Cele was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 80 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.
Squad19 Apr 2032
Sbonelo Cele 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.
Teboho Tlolane 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 have tried. I have really tried, and every day I wake up in the wrong place.” Nobody at Golden Arrows can coach that out of a man, and nobody there is pretending to.
The words a physio says slowly. 19 days is what the club will announce and everybody who has heard this diagnosis before knows the number is the least of it: the knee comes back before the player does.
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Golden Arrows will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
Kegan Johannes 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.
Squad12 Apr 2032
Words at Golden Arrows training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Sbonelo Cele 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 at Golden Arrows will say this on the record and the team sheets have been saying it for weeks. There is a small group in every squad who get picked when the fixture is difficult, and he has joined it.
The words a physio says slowly. 26 days is what the club will announce and everybody who has heard this diagnosis before knows the number is the least of it: the knee comes back before the player does.
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Golden Arrows 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. Morgan Billiat has managed long enough to translate: win soon, or the next statement is shorter.
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Dumisani Msibi and Golden Arrows agree another 2 years.
Nobody at Golden Arrows 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.
A new partner, a signature and a photograph nobody will remember. It funds a fortnight of wages, which is more than most headlines on this page can say for themselves.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Golden Arrows, and both men came out saying it was fine.
33 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Golden Arrows lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
The terraces29 Mar 2032
The mood at Golden Arrows 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.
Nobody upstairs has said anything, which is the loudest thing they could do. Results buy silence in this game; the account at Golden Arrows is running low.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Golden Arrows this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Sbonelo Cele was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
40 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Golden Arrows lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Sbonelo Cele was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Teboho Tlolane 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 Golden Arrows 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.
47 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Golden Arrows lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
Kegan Johannes and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad15 Mar 2032
Words at Golden Arrows training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Sbonelo Cele 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 at Golden Arrows 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.
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 Philani Khumalo has written the date down.
He trains hard, says the right things and goes home to an empty flat. Nobody at Golden Arrows has done anything wrong, which is exactly what makes it so difficult to fix.
In brief
The dugoutLuka Ngwei asks for a word with the manager
The words a physio says slowly. 54 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. Morgan Billiat has managed long enough to translate: win soon, or the next statement is shorter.
Kegan Johannes 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.
Squad8 Mar 2032
Words at Golden Arrows training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Sbonelo Cele 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.
Four or five weekends of consistency, judged against everybody in the division doing his job. Dumisani Msibi has come out of that comparison in the side, and Golden Arrows have had the benefit of every one of those afternoons.
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.
Every squad has men who were signed by a particular manager and men who were merely inherited. Bukho Mkalipi is in the first group, and the man who wanted him here is no longer in the building.
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Golden Arrows know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
61 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Golden Arrows lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
The terraces1 Mar 2032
The mood at Golden Arrows 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.
Kegan Johannes was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Squad1 Mar 2032
Sbonelo Cele 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.
68 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Golden Arrows 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 Golden Arrows 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 Golden Arrows this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad23 Feb 2032
Sbonelo Cele 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.
Successful dribbles: 19. 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.
A player who expected to start watched it instead. The manager will call it a decision for the team; Ismail Zuma will call it something else in private.
The words a physio says slowly. 75 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.
Kegan Johannes and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad16 Feb 2032
Words at Golden Arrows training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Sbonelo Cele 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 have tried. I have really tried, and every day I wake up in the wrong place.” Nobody at Golden Arrows can coach that out of a man, and nobody there is pretending to.
He found out with everybody else, an hour before kick-off, from a sheet of paper on a wall. Nobody at Golden Arrows pretended it was anything other than a decision about him.
82 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Golden Arrows lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
There is a version of every career where the player ends up somewhere he chose rather than somewhere that chose him. Bukho Mkalipi is living that version at Golden Arrows, and it tends to show in the first month.
Kegan Johannes 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 shirt still fits. Bukho Mkalipi is back at Golden Arrows, and half the ground remembers him in these colours already. Some signings need selling to the town; this one sold itself.
Golden Arrows asked and Black Aces 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 words a physio says slowly. 89 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 terraces2 Feb 2032
The mood at Golden Arrows 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.
10 seasons and 279 appearances, all of them here. Careers like this are not designed; they happen to a certain kind of man at a certain kind of club, and this town has one.
Boardroom2 Feb 2032
Golden Arrows close the window on a squad of their own making
0 in and 6 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.
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Themba Mantshiyane and Golden Arrows agree another 2 years.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Sbonelo Cele was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
96 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Golden Arrows lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
“I listened, I thought about it, and I am staying. That is the whole story.” The clubs had agreed a fee. David Lukhele had not agreed to go, which turned out to be the part that mattered.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Golden Arrows this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad26 Jan 2032
Sbonelo Cele 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.
103 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Golden Arrows lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
At 37 he is supposed to be managing his minutes. Instead he was marked 7.90 and looked, for ninety minutes, exactly like the player everybody remembers.
Golden Arrows had done everything except persuade the man himself. He stays at Bidvest Wits, and the manager goes back to the drawing board with the money still in the bank.
Add another name to the list: Jomo Cosmos have asked the question everybody in the game has been asking about David Lukhele. The answer from Golden Arrows has not changed — yet.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. SuperSport United have kept their man, and Golden Arrows 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 Sbonelo Cele 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: Teboho Tlolane. 1‑0 against Bidvest Wits, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
110 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Golden Arrows lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
The deal with Chippa United is done in every sense but the one that puts him on the pitch. Nothing goes wrong at this stage, except on the occasions when it does.
Kegan Johannes 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.
Squad12 Jan 2032
Sbonelo Cele 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 chances are being made and something is happening between the making and the finishing. 3 matches now, and the anxiety in the ground arrives a little earlier every week.
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.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. CFR Cluj have kept their man, and Golden Arrows go back to a list with one name crossed off 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.
“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 Golden Arrows, and it is not being withdrawn.
Kegan Johannes 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.
Squad5 Jan 2032
Sbonelo Cele 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 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 Billiat to a room that had heard them before.
Golden Arrows have made the call to Chippa United. No fee, a share of the wages, and a spare shirt in the position where the squad has been thinnest all season.
Successful dribbles: 24. He went past people as if he had been told there was a prize for it, and by the end the full-back had stopped pretending to try.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Golden Arrows this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad29 Dec 2031
Words at Golden Arrows training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Sbonelo Cele 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.
Beaten 0‑2, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
The dugout29 Dec 2031
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 Billiat to a room that had heard them before.
Nobody at Golden Arrows 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.
It is not much of a headline and it is the reason players believe the next promise. Golden Arrows told Ntando Ngwenya something would happen and then it happened, which in this industry passes for remarkable.
He used to wear the other shirt. On Saturday he plays against Free State Stars in this one, and whatever he says this week about it being just another game will be untrue.
It had gone 6 games. The players did not celebrate like men who had won a match; they celebrated like men who had been let out of something.
Squad22 Dec 2031
Words at Golden Arrows training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Sbonelo Cele 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 Golden Arrows this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
A 2‑0 win over Chippa United, earned rather than given, and the sort of afternoon that sends everyone home talking about next week instead of this one.
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.
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.
Successful dribbles: 25. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Squad15 Dec 2031
Words at Golden Arrows training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Sbonelo Cele 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 chances are being made and something is happening between the making and the finishing. 3 matches now, and the anxiety in the ground arrives a little earlier every week.
Teboho Tlolane 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 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.
Boardroom15 Dec 2031
85% of the income goes out in wages at Golden Arrows
Every club in football pays most of what it earns to its players. Paying nearly all of it is a different arrangement, and it has ended the same way every time somebody has tried it.
“The manager did not use many words, and he did not need to.” Luka Ngwei has his answer from Golden Arrows; what he does with it is the next window’s story.
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.
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.
Kegan Johannes 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.
Squad8 Dec 2031
Words at Golden Arrows training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Sbonelo Cele 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.
14 seasons and 192 appearances, all of them here. Careers like this are not designed; they happen to a certain kind of man at a certain kind of club, and this town has one.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Golden Arrows this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad1 Dec 2031
Words at Golden Arrows training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Sbonelo Cele 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.
Minute 87, against Jomo Cosmos, 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.
It is not much of a headline and it is the reason players believe the next promise. Golden Arrows told Teboho Tlolane something would happen and then it happened, which in this industry passes for remarkable.
“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.
Words at Golden Arrows training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Sbonelo Cele 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 Golden Arrows this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Velemseni Ndwandwe, and the manager let it.
The dugout24 Nov 2031
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 Billiat chose the glass-half-full version of 0‑0; the supporters left with the other one.
Nobody at Golden Arrows 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.
Jomo Cosmos next, and one man in the Golden Arrows dressing room knows their training ground better than his own. The reception will tell him what they thought of him.
Kegan Johannes 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.
Squad17 Nov 2031
Words at Golden Arrows training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Sbonelo Cele 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.
14 days, the medical staff say, and medical staff are optimists by profession. The team sheet will look wrong without him.
The dugout17 Nov 2031
The manager’s verdict
“That is on me. I pick the team and I picked wrong.” Managers say that when they mean it and when they need to be seen to, and after 0‑1 Morgan Billiat left the room before anybody could ask which.
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 Dumisani Msibi is on 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.
7 without a win is the sort of run that changes how a town talks about its club, and Maritzburg United were the afternoon it stopped. Nothing is fixed by one result and everything feels different by one.
Kegan Johannes was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Squad10 Nov 2031
Sbonelo Cele 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.
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Teboho Tlolane commits to Golden Arrows for another 2 years.
Squad3 Nov 2031
Words at Golden Arrows training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Sbonelo Cele 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.
100 games in the shirt. Nobody sets out to build a record like that; it happens to a certain kind of player at a certain kind of club, and this town knows what it has.
“It is not the end of the world and it is not good enough. Both of those are true.” The manager, after a 0‑0 draw, said the honest thing and then went to say it again inside.
Nobody at Golden Arrows 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.
Position 14 and 8 points, and the table gets read bottom-up in this part of town. The calendar has stopped being a schedule and started being a countdown.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Sbonelo Cele 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 Golden Arrows this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Marked 8.13 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.
“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.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Golden Arrows can pretend not to have heard.
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.
Kegan Johannes 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.
Mamelodi Sundowns left with the points after a 1‑3 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.
Squad20 Oct 2031
Sbonelo Cele 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.” Morgan Billiat after 1‑3, in the tone of a man who knows the next question and does not intend to answer it.
Nobody at Golden Arrows 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.
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.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Golden Arrows have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
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.
Kegan Johannes 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 Sbonelo Cele was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
200 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.
“The easiest signature of my career.” Jerome Karelse and Golden Arrows agree another 4 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Squad6 Oct 2031
Words at Golden Arrows training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Sbonelo Cele 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.
10 combined actions and 7.07. The job he did is the one that shows up as other people looking good, and the only reliable way to notice it is to watch what happens on the afternoons he is missing.
“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.
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.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Golden Arrows, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Sbonelo Cele 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.
Behind, and beaten by any honest reading, until minute 93. Ajax Cape Town had the points in their pocket and a corner of the ground still believed, which is generally when it happens.
Successful dribbles: 16. 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.
1‑1, and both dressing rooms will call it two points lost. A draw that asked plenty of questions and answered none of them.
The dugout29 Sep 2031
The manager’s verdict
“I am frustrated, honestly. We did enough to win and we did not win.” Morgan Billiat was not hiding it after 1‑1, and nobody in the Golden Arrows dressing room was either.
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 Ismail Zuma is on it.
He used to wear the other shirt. On Saturday he plays against Bidvest Wits in this one, and whatever he says this week about it being just another game will be untrue.
Kegan Johannes 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.
Squad22 Sep 2031
Sbonelo Cele 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.
Marked 6.89 on 9 actions at both ends of the pitch. Midfielders like this get described as unspectacular by people who have never tried to play against one.
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Philani Khumalo, and the manager let it.
The dugout22 Sep 2031
The manager’s verdict
“That is on me. I pick the team and I picked wrong.” Managers say that when they mean it and when they need to be seen to, and after 0‑1 Morgan Billiat left the room before anybody could ask which.
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 Dumisani Msibi is on 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.
A 3‑0 win over Maritzburg United, a place in the next round, and the quiet arithmetic every supporter does on the walk home: how many more until a final?
Two goals and a mark of 9.45 to go with them. Strikers are judged on afternoons like this one and remembered for far fewer of them than people imagine.
Successful dribbles: 24. There was always a defender in front of him and there was never a defender in front of him for long.
Squad15 Sep 2031
Words at Golden Arrows training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Sbonelo Cele 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.
Teboho Tlolane and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 19-year-old it feels ownership of. Percy Mokoena 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: Jerome Karelse. 1‑0 against Platinum Stars, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
The deal with Partizani Tirana 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 easiest signature of my career.” Dumisani Msibi and Golden Arrows agree another 2 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 Sbonelo Cele 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.
Golden Arrows asked and OFK Beograd 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 have given this everything, but my family is not here and neither am I, not really.” A footballer can be coached out of bad form. Nobody has ever been coached out of this, and Golden Arrows know it.
6 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Golden Arrows has to find a result from somewhere.
Boardroom1 Sep 2031
Deadline passes with 14 signed and 9 gone
That is the business done at Golden Arrows 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.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Sbonelo Cele was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
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.
100 games in the shirt. Nobody sets out to build a record like that; it happens to a certain kind of player at a certain kind of club, and this town knows what it has.
Golden Arrows have made the call to Partizani Tirana. No fee, a share of the wages, and a spare shirt in the position where the squad has been thinnest all season.
A medical, a signature, a shirt held up in front of a sponsor’s board. Golden Arrows have done the hard part with Banik Ostrava, and the part that remains is the part supporters actually see.
Kegan Johannes 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.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Mamelodi Sundowns have kept their man, and Golden Arrows 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 Sbonelo Cele was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
200 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.
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.
Successful dribbles: 25. 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 clubs had agreed and the player had not. A snub, and a public one: Legia 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 Sbonelo Cele was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Golden Arrows asked and Astra said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
Teboho Tlolane 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.
1‑4 to Bloemfontein Celtic, 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 shaken hands with Mamelodi Sundowns; the player has not yet. Personal terms are next, and personal terms are where more deals die than anybody prints.
13 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 Sbonelo Cele 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 Golden Arrows this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Clubs spend fortunes looking for players and occasionally find one down the corridor. Khama Dala 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. Ronwen Tau 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. Rivaldo Dala 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. Bradley Mokoena 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
SquadLulama Nxumalo has improved at 27, which nobody expected
The board’s statement ran to three sentences and one of them mentioned results. Morgan Billiat has managed long enough to translate: win soon, or the next statement is shorter.
The whole football department in one room on a weekday morning. Nothing was announced afterwards, which is what a board announces when it has run out of patience.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Golden Arrows can pretend not to have heard.
A medical, a signature, a shirt held up in front of a sponsor’s board. Golden Arrows have done the hard part with Tirana, and the part that remains is the part supporters actually see.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Sbonelo Cele was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Nobody at Golden Arrows 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.
In brief
The dugoutAgustín Echaide loses the manager who believed in him
A medical, a signature, a shirt held up in front of a sponsor’s board. Golden Arrows have done the hard part with Radnik Surdulica, and the part that remains is the part supporters actually see.
The clubs had agreed and the player had not. A snub, and a public one: CFR Cluj keep him, and the supporters here are left wondering what he had heard about the place.
At 22 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.
Squad28 Jul 2031
Sbonelo Cele 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.
Golden Arrows asked and Crvena Zvezda said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
Teboho Tlolane 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 at Golden Arrows 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.
SquadQuestions about Luka Ngwei on the training pitch
260Edition
The Golden Arrows Herald
21 Jul 2031
From our football correspondentCrisis
The terraces21 Jul 2031
The mood at Golden Arrows 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.
The offer from Jomo Cosmos for David Lukhele 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.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, and a scan that said otherwise. He goes back to Mamelodi Sundowns; Golden Arrows go back to the market; and both will insist there is no story here.
Sbonelo Cele 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.
Teboho Tlolane 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.
Position 15 and 15 points, and the table gets read bottom-up in this part of town. The calendar has stopped being a schedule and started being a countdown.
The clubs have settled the fee and he has settled his wages. What remains is a medical and a photograph, and around Golden Arrows people have started saying his name in the past tense.
The clubs have shaken hands with Mamelodi Sundowns; the player has not yet. Personal terms are next, and personal terms are where more deals die than anybody prints.
Golden Arrows had done everything except persuade the man himself. He stays at Radnicki Nis, and the manager goes back to the drawing board with the money still in the bank.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Golden Arrows this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad14 Jul 2031
Lulama Nxumalo has improved at 27, which nobody expected
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.
Squad14 Jul 2031
Words at Golden Arrows training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Kwandakwesizwe Madonsela 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 at Golden Arrows 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.
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Keenan Phillips signs something — a contract at Golden Arrows or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
What was said behind closed doors has now been said in front of a microphone. Everybody at Golden Arrows can do the arithmetic, including the man it is aimed at.
The whole football department in one room on a weekday morning. Nothing was announced afterwards, which is what a board announces when it has run out of patience.
“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 Golden Arrows, and it is not being withdrawn.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, and a scan that said otherwise. He goes back to Crvena Zvezda; Golden Arrows go back to the market; and both will insist there is no story here.
The deal with Bloemfontein Celtic 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 easiest signature of my career.” Kegan Johannes and Golden Arrows agree another 3 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Golden Arrows this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad7 Jul 2031
Words at Golden Arrows training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Sbonelo Cele 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 phone has started ringing about Luka Ngwei again, and this time the name on the line is AEL Larisa. Golden Arrows are listening politely and promising nothing.
“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.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Sbonelo Cele was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Golden Arrows asked and Legia said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
Teboho Tlolane and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
It is 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 mood at Golden Arrows 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.
The clubs have shaken hands with Bloemfontein Celtic; the player has not yet. Personal terms are next, and personal terms are where more deals die than anybody prints.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Sbonelo Cele 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. Radnik Surdulica have kept their man, and Golden Arrows go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Sboniso Madonsela 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.
Everyone has stopped pretending: Jomo Cosmos will make the call about David Lukhele this week. Golden Arrows have a number in mind, and the number is not shy.
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.
Mamelodi Sundowns have accepted the money. What Golden Arrows do not yet have is the man, and between here and the photograph is a conversation about wages that both sides are dreading.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Sbonelo Cele was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
A loan enquiry to Radnik Surdulica: cover, or a look at somebody the club cannot afford to buy yet. Either way the answer will come back inside the week.
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 Velemseni Ndwandwe is on it.
“I know what people will say. I know what I want, and it is here.” Jomo Cosmos had the fee agreed and the shirt ready; they did not have the player, and now they will not.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 23 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. Golden Arrows have done the hard part with Orlando Pirates, and the part that remains is the part supporters actually see.
Squad9 Jun 2031
Words at Golden Arrows training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Sbonelo Cele 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.
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 David Lukhele is on it.
Dumisani Msibi has been around long enough to know what the spring feels like when it goes wrong, and he can feel it. A dressing room that is frightened plays like one.
Nothing in writing and nothing in public: a word about playing time, given face to face at Golden Arrows. The team sheets over the next month will show whether it was worth having.
The board have said in public what they had been saying in private. Results between now and the next meeting decide it, and everybody in the building knows the arithmetic.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Golden Arrows will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
The offer from Adelaide United for Philani Khumalo was heard out and sent back the same day. First bids are rarely meant to succeed; they are meant to find out how loudly the door closes.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Golden Arrows can pretend not to have heard.
The name of Kwandakwesizwe Madonsela has come up in conversations Golden Arrows were not part of. Nothing formal, nothing signed — but nothing about it accidental either.
Squad2 Jun 2031
Words at Golden Arrows training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Sbonelo Cele 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. Paksi have kept their man, and Golden Arrows go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Teboho Tlolane and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
It is 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.
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.
Nobody upstairs has said anything, which is the loudest thing they could do. Results buy silence in this game; the account at Golden Arrows is running low.
Kegan Johannes 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.
Sbonelo Cele 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.
Nobody at Golden Arrows 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.