The words a physio says slowly. 55 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.
Gladson Adjei had done his part in building a 2-goal cushion. What happened after that was collective, and New Edubiase United were allowed back into a match that had been finished with.
6 without a win now, and the ground has developed the special quiet of a crowd that expects the worst. One scrappy 1-0 would cure most of it; that is the maddening part.
Casimis Fokou was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Successful dribbles: 19. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Player ratings13 Sep 2038
David Boakye was on a different afternoon to everybody else
8.52. 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 words a physio says slowly. 62 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.
Two goals and a mark of 8.60 to go with them. Strikers are judged on afternoons like this one and remembered for far fewer of them than people imagine.
207 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.
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.
“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 The request is on a desk at Liberty Professionals, and it is not being withdrawn.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 Liberty Professionals this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The words a physio says slowly. 69 days is what the club will announce and everybody who has heard this diagnosis before knows the number is the least of it: the knee comes back before the player does.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Emmanuel Djiku will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Liberty Professionals the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Gladson Adjei was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Squad30 Aug 2038
Charles Owusu 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 has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Gladson Adjei signs something — a contract at Liberty Professionals or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
The words a physio says slowly. 76 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.
Nobody upstairs has said anything, which is the loudest thing they could do. Results buy silence in this game; the account at Liberty Professionals is running low.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Liberty Professionals 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 Liberty Professionals this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Omar Soliman 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. 83 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 injury that keeps coming back, keeps being rushed back from, and quietly costs more careers than the dramatic ones. 14 days is the estimate; the honest figure depends on whether anybody is patient.
Gladson Adjei 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
SquadKwadwo Kudus falls out with a teammate over standards
The words a physio says slowly. 90 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.
“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 Liberty Professionals, and it is not being withdrawn.
“The easiest signature of my career.” Naledi Hlongwane and Liberty Professionals 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 Liberty Professionals this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Kwadwo Kudus 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. 97 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 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.
Casimis Fokou was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Gladson Adjei signs something — a contract at Liberty Professionals or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
The words a physio says slowly. 104 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.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Liberty Professionals can pretend not to have heard.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Liberty Professionals 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 Liberty Professionals this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The words a physio says slowly. 111 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.
Casimis Fokou 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.
Squad19 Jul 2038
Kwadwo Kudus 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.
Yanis Bentchakal arrives at 40 with nothing left to prove and plenty left to pass on. Legs are a young man's currency; knowing where to stand never ages.
The words a physio says slowly. 118 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.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Liberty Professionals 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 Liberty Professionals this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
“The easiest signature of my career.” Christian Annan and Liberty Professionals agree another 3 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
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.
125 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Liberty Professionals lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
What was said behind closed doors has now been said in front of a microphone. Everybody at Liberty Professionals can do the arithmetic, including the man it is aimed at.
263 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.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Liberty Professionals this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Kwadwo Kudus 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.
Kwame Inusah is 19, and Liberty Professionals 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.
6 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.
132 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Liberty Professionals lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Liberty Professionals they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Gladson Adjei 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.
Squad28 Jun 2038
Amos Bukari 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.
139 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Liberty Professionals lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Amos Bukari 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.
146 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Liberty Professionals lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
The offer from Inter Allies for Abeiku Atiemo was heard out and sent back the same day. First bids are rarely meant to succeed; they are meant to find out how loudly the door closes.
The injury that keeps coming back, keeps being rushed back from, and quietly costs more careers than the dramatic ones. 14 days is the estimate; the honest figure depends on whether anybody is patient.
Squad14 Jun 2038
Amos Bukari 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 Liberty Professionals this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
30 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Liberty Professionals lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
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.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Liberty Professionals this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Amos Bukari 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. 30 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.
Nobody upstairs has said anything, which is the loudest thing they could do. Results buy silence in this game; the account at Liberty Professionals is running low.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Emmanuel Djiku will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Liberty Professionals the goodbyes have quietly begun.
The words a physio says slowly. 37 days is what the club will announce and everybody who has heard this diagnosis before knows the number is the least of it: the knee comes back before the player does.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Liberty Professionals this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.
Squad17 May 2038
Amos Bukari 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 Liberty Professionals this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
In brief
SquadAndrew Nuhu has become a man the manager trusts
Amos Bukari 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 May 2038
Casimis Fokou 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 upstairs has said anything, which is the loudest thing they could do. Results buy silence in this game; the account at Liberty Professionals is running low.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Liberty Professionals have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Liberty Professionals is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Liberty Professionals this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad3 May 2038
Amos Bukari falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
It is never announced and it is entirely visible: the biggest afternoons of the season keep containing him. A press box works this out long before anybody at the club confirms a word of it.
“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 Liberty Professionals, and it is not being withdrawn.
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Amos Bukari is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Liberty Professionals, and it is not being withdrawn.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Liberty Professionals have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Liberty Professionals this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Kwadwo Kudus 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 had been thinking. Amos Bukari is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
It is 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.
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 11 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
1-11, and long before the end the away end had switched from encouragement to something considerably more pointed. Nobody rings a phone-in about losing narrowly.
Nobody upstairs has said anything, which is the loudest thing they could do. Results buy silence in this game; the account at Liberty Professionals is running low.
The terraces5 Apr 2038
The ground has had enough
“We travel everywhere and we get this.” 7 of the 31 senior players heard it walking off, and the ones who did not hear it were not playing.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Liberty Professionals they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
4 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Liberty Professionals has to find a result from somewhere.
Gladson Adjei was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Two goals and a mark of 8.96 to go with them. Strikers are judged on afternoons like this one and remembered for far fewer of them than people imagine.
At 35 he is supposed to be managing his minutes. Instead he was marked 8.34 and looked, for ninety minutes, exactly like the player everybody remembers.
Amos Bukari was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
The unbeaten run reaches 6. Some of them were wins and some were escapes, but a side that refuses to lose is a side other dressing rooms talk about.
Squad29 Mar 2038
Casimis Fokou 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.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Liberty Professionals have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Gladson Adjei 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.
Squad22 Mar 2038
Amos Bukari 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 touch is being weighed now, in print and everywhere else. Some players grow into that and some are quietly ruined by it, and nobody knows which in advance.
2 in front and in complete control, and it finished with Ashanti Gold the happier side. There is no version of this afternoon that Liberty Professionals will enjoy reviewing.
27 goals and a season average of 7.37 will do that. The space he used to find has gone; he keeps scoring anyway, which is the mark of the real thing.
Player ratings15 Mar 2038
A brace, and Amos Bukari takes the afternoon — 8.92
There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. Amos Bukari provided it, and the 8.92 beside his name is if anything generous to everybody else.
There is an age at which every good afternoon gets described as a throwback, which is unfair and also accurate. 8.37 at 35, and nobody on the pitch was better.
Dominik Petrovčín 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 had been thinking. Amos Bukari is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
Marked 8.79 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.
Player ratings15 Mar 2038
Gladson Adjei was on a different afternoon to everybody else
8.56. 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 easiest signature of my career.” Abeiku Atiemo and Liberty Professionals agree another 1 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
5‑1, and the margin flattered nobody — it could have carried another goal or two without complaint. Afternoons like this are why people keep coming.
Player ratings8 Mar 2038
A brace, and Amos Bukari takes the afternoon — 10.00
There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. Amos Bukari provided it, and the 10.00 beside his name is if anything generous to everybody else.
Two goals and a mark of 9.08 to go with them. Strikers are judged on afternoons like this one and remembered for far fewer of them than people imagine.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Emmanuel Djiku will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Liberty Professionals the goodbyes have quietly begun.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Liberty Professionals is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Amos Bukari was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
“I 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 Liberty Professionals know it.
10 goals. Both benches spent the second half looking at each other rather than at the pitch. Purists will complain about Liberty Professionals and Wa All Stars in equal measure; everybody else had a wonderful time.
Squad1 Mar 2038
Casimis Fokou 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.
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 8 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
There is an age at which every good afternoon gets described as a throwback, which is unfair and also accurate. 10.00 at 35, and nobody on the pitch was better.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Liberty Professionals can pretend not to have heard.
Two or more conceded in each of the last 6 matches. It is not one mistake repeating itself, which would be the easier thing to fix; it is a different one every week.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Liberty Professionals this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
9 goals. Both benches spent the second half looking at each other rather than at the pitch. Purists will complain about Liberty Professionals and Aduana Stars in equal measure; everybody else had a wonderful time.
In brief
Player ratingsNaledi Hlongwane was on a different afternoon to everybody else
1‑5 against BA All Stars, and no complaints that would survive the replay. The manager spoke about character afterwards; the terraces used shorter words.
There is an age at which every good afternoon gets described as a throwback, which is unfair and also accurate. 7.93 at 35, and nobody on the pitch was better.
Amos Bukari was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Two or more conceded in each of the last 5 matches. It is not one mistake repeating itself, which would be the easier thing to fix; it is a different one every week.
6 goals. Both benches spent the second half looking at each other rather than at the pitch. Purists will complain about Liberty Professionals and BA All Stars in equal measure; everybody else had a wonderful time.
Squad15 Feb 2038
Casimis Fokou 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.
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 12 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
Player ratings8 Feb 2038
A brace, and Amos Bukari takes the afternoon — 8.44
There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. Amos Bukari provided it, and the 8.44 beside his name is if anything generous to everybody else.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Liberty Professionals is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
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.
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Amos Bukari and Liberty Professionals agree another 2 years.
8 goals in one match, Amos Bukari on the scoresheet, and a scoreline that will look like a misprint. Neutrals could not have asked more of Liberty Professionals and Medeama.
3‑6 to WAFA, 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.
At 35 he is supposed to be managing his minutes. Instead he was marked 8.86 and looked, for ninety minutes, exactly like the player everybody remembers.
281 appearances across 10 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.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Liberty Professionals they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
The injury that keeps coming back, keeps being rushed back from, and quietly costs more careers than the dramatic ones. 14 days is the estimate; the honest figure depends on whether anybody is patient.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Liberty Professionals this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Defending was optional and nobody took up the option. 9 goals between Liberty Professionals and WAFA, and not one of the people who paid to be there will ask for the money back.
Player ratings1 Feb 2038
Andrew Nuhu was on a different afternoon to everybody else
8.78. 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.
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 14 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
2 in front and in complete control, and it finished with Hearts of Oak the happier side. There is no version of this afternoon that Liberty Professionals will enjoy reviewing.
Two goals and a mark of 8.20 to go with them. Strikers are judged on afternoons like this one and remembered for far fewer of them than people imagine.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Liberty Professionals have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Liberty Professionals this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Marked 8.81 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.
Player ratings25 Jan 2038
Abeiku Paintsil was on a different afternoon to everybody else
8.68. 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.
Two goals and a mark of 8.37 to go with them. Strikers are judged on afternoons like this one and remembered for far fewer of them than people imagine.
Defending was optional and nobody took up the option. 8 goals between Liberty Professionals and Hasaacas, and not one of the people who paid to be there will ask for the money back.
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Amos Bukari is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
Marked 8.68. Players have careers without a single afternoon like this in them, and he has just had one in front of everybody at Liberty Professionals.
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 7 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Emmanuel Djiku will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Liberty Professionals the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Gladson Adjei 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.
8 goals and a season average of 7.56 will do that. The space he used to find has gone; he keeps scoring anyway, which is the mark of the real thing.
Squad11 Jan 2038
Amos Bukari 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 version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.84, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Player ratings11 Jan 2038
David Boakye was on a different afternoon to everybody else
8.80. 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.
In brief
Player ratingsAndrew Nuhu was on a different afternoon to everybody else
A shoot-out is remembered by its ending, and this one ends with Osman Acquah: 2 kept out, and a set of supporters who will describe every one of them for the next twenty years.
18 appearances across 10 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.
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Liberty Professionals may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Two or more conceded in each of the last 5 matches. It is not one mistake repeating itself, which would be the easier thing to fix; it is a different one every week.
Player ratings4 Jan 2038
Andrew Nuhu was on a different afternoon to everybody else
9.10. 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 2-goal deficit was real and so was the recovery. Abeiku Paintsil was at the centre of it, New Edubiase United were at the end of it, and everybody who left early will hear about this one for years.
Gladson Adjei 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.
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Abeiku Paintsil. 4‑3 against New Edubiase United, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
Player ratings28 Dec 2037
Abeiku Paintsil was on a different afternoon to everybody else
9.99. 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.
Squad28 Dec 2037
Amos Bukari 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.
1‑5 against Inter Allies, and no complaints that would survive the replay. The manager spoke about character afterwards; the terraces used shorter words.
6 goals. Both benches spent the second half looking at each other rather than at the pitch. Purists will complain about Liberty Professionals and Inter Allies in equal measure; everybody else had a wonderful time.
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Amos Bukari 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.
Mo Waddani 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.
Beaten 5 times, with 5 saves for company. Goalkeepers carry these scorelines on their record whoever actually caused them, which is the quiet injustice of the job.
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Liberty Professionals know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
6 attempts, none of them in. He got into the right places all afternoon, which is the hard part, and did the easy part badly — and that is the version of a bad day a manager can live with.
In brief
Player ratingsThe chances came and went for Amos Bukari
There is an age at which every good afternoon gets described as a throwback, which is unfair and also accurate. 10.00 at 35, and nobody on the pitch was better.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Emmanuel Djiku will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Liberty Professionals the goodbyes have quietly begun.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Liberty Professionals this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
9 goals. Both benches spent the second half looking at each other rather than at the pitch. Purists will complain about Liberty Professionals and Bechem United in equal measure; everybody else had a wonderful time.
“The easiest signature of my career.” Abeiku Paintsil and Liberty Professionals agree another 4 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
In brief
Player ratingsAbeiku Paintsil was on a different afternoon to everybody else
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Abeiku Atiemo will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Liberty Professionals the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Dominik Petrovčín 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 had been thinking. Amos Bukari 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.
Shots: 11. Goals: none. The chances were there and they were good ones, and they went into the stand, the goalkeeper's arms and the side netting in roughly that order.
Two or more conceded in each of the last 27 matches. It is not one mistake repeating itself, which would be the easier thing to fix; it is a different one every week.
Defending was optional and nobody took up the option. 7 goals between Liberty Professionals and Ashanti Gold, and not one of the people who paid to be there will ask for the money back.
Squad30 Nov 2037
Amos Bukari 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.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Liberty Professionals they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Amos Bukari 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.
Casimis Fokou 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 8.94 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.
Player ratings23 Nov 2037
Andrew Nuhu was on a different afternoon to everybody else
8.93. 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.
Two or more conceded in each of the last 25 matches. It is not one mistake repeating itself, which would be the easier thing to fix; it is a different one every week.
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 7 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Liberty Professionals 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 Liberty Professionals this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad16 Nov 2037
Amos Bukari 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.
24 games now with at least two against. The back line has been rearranged, the goalkeeper has been backed publicly, and the goals keep going in anyway.
At 35 he is supposed to be managing his minutes. Instead he was marked 8.38 and looked, for ninety minutes, exactly like the player everybody remembers.
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Liberty Professionals may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Abeiku Atiemo will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Liberty Professionals the goodbyes have quietly begun.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Liberty Professionals this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Two goals and a mark of 9.06 to go with them. Strikers are judged on afternoons like this one and remembered for far fewer of them than people imagine.
6 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Liberty Professionals has to find a result from somewhere.
“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 Liberty Professionals, and it is not being withdrawn.
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Osman Acquah and Liberty Professionals agree another 2 years.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Liberty Professionals this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Casimis Fokou is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 11 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
Two goals and a mark of 10.00 to go with them. Strikers are judged on afternoons like this one and remembered for far fewer of them than people imagine.
At 35 he is supposed to be managing his minutes. Instead he was marked 8.07 and looked, for ninety minutes, exactly like the player everybody remembers.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Abeiku Paintsil will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Liberty Professionals the goodbyes have quietly begun.
5 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Liberty Professionals has to find a result from somewhere.
Gladson Adjei 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.
21 matches, two or more conceded in every one of them. Sides that create as much as this can live with it for a while. Nobody lives with it forever.
Player ratings19 Oct 2037
A brace, and Andrew Nuhu takes the afternoon — 10.00
There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. Andrew Nuhu provided it, and the 10.00 beside his name is if anything generous to everybody else.
At 35 he is supposed to be managing his minutes. Instead he was marked 8.36 and looked, for ninety minutes, exactly like the player everybody remembers.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Emmanuel Djiku will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Liberty Professionals the goodbyes have quietly begun.
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.
Dominik Petrovčín 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.
10 goals in one match, Andrew Nuhu on the scoresheet, and a scoreline that will look like a misprint. Neutrals could not have asked more of Liberty Professionals and WAFA.
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Amos Bukari 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.
3‑6 against Hearts of Oak, and no complaints that would survive the replay. The manager spoke about character afterwards; the terraces used shorter words.
A shoot-out is remembered by its ending, and this one ends with Osman Acquah: 2 kept out, and a set of supporters who will describe every one of them for the next twenty years.
2 in front and in complete control, and it finished with Ashanti Gold the happier side. There is no version of this afternoon that Liberty Professionals will enjoy reviewing.
The hardest thing about being 21 in a senior side is that nobody makes allowances. Isaac Owusu did not need any: 8.71, and he looked the most comfortable man on the pitch.
There is an age at which every good afternoon gets described as a throwback, which is unfair and also accurate. 9.04 at 33, and nobody on the pitch was better.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Abeiku Atiemo will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Liberty Professionals the goodbyes have quietly begun.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Liberty Professionals this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
18 games now with at least two against. The back line has been rearranged, the goalkeeper has been backed publicly, and the goals keep going in anyway.
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 9 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
At 34 he is supposed to be managing his minutes. Instead he was marked 8.27 and looked, for ninety minutes, exactly like the player everybody remembers.
338 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.
“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 Liberty Professionals, 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 Liberty Professionals this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
6 goals in one match, Amos Bukari on the scoresheet, and a scoreline that will look like a misprint. Neutrals could not have asked more of Liberty Professionals and Hasaacas.
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Amos Bukari 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.
Two or more conceded in each of the last 17 matches. It is not one mistake repeating itself, which would be the easier thing to fix; it is a different one every week.
There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. Naledi Hlongwane provided it, and the 8.91 beside his name is if anything generous to everybody else.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Abeiku Paintsil will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Liberty Professionals the goodbyes have quietly begun.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Liberty Professionals 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 Liberty Professionals this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
11 goals. Both benches spent the second half looking at each other rather than at the pitch. Purists will complain about Liberty Professionals and Heart of Lions in equal measure; everybody else had a wonderful time.
In brief
SquadAmos Bukari falls out with a teammate over standards
Player ratingsAbeiku Paintsil was on a different afternoon to everybody else
5‑8 to Berekum Chelsea, 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.
At 34 he is supposed to be managing his minutes. Instead he was marked 8.19 and looked, for ninety minutes, exactly like the player everybody remembers.
Centre-halves are allowed forward twice a season and are judged on what they do when they get there. Dominik Petrovčín scored, was marked 7.84, and got back before anybody noticed he had gone.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Emmanuel Djiku will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Liberty Professionals the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Beaten 8 times, with 2 saves for company. Goalkeepers carry these scorelines on their record whoever actually caused them, which is the quiet injustice of the job.
Amos Bukari 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.
15 games now with at least two against. The back line has been rearranged, the goalkeeper has been backed publicly, and the goals keep going in anyway.
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 10 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Liberty Professionals they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Defending was optional and nobody took up the option. 6 goals between Liberty Professionals and New Edubiase United, and not one of the people who paid to be there will ask for the money back.
Amos Bukari 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 have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Liberty Professionals can pretend not to have heard.
Liberty Professionals moved before anybody else could: a new deal for Edmund Mohammed, agreed quietly and announced loudly. Boards extend managers for many reasons; the good one is the one this looks like.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Liberty Professionals this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
6 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 had been thinking. Amos Bukari is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
Clubs spend fortunes looking for players and occasionally find one down the corridor. Afriyie Essien is that, and the reception he gets on his first appearance will be different in kind from the one any signing receives.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Liberty Professionals is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
“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 Liberty Professionals, 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 Liberty Professionals this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Amos Bukari 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.
Mo Waddani 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 Liberty Professionals 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.
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Liberty Professionals know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Liberty Professionals is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Gladson Adjei 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 Aug 2037
Amos Bukari falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
In brief
SquadAndrew Nuhu has become a man the manager trusts
Amos Bukari 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 Aug 2037
Casimis Fokou 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.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Liberty Professionals they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
176 appearances across 9 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.
Gladson Adjei 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.
Squad3 Aug 2037
Amos Bukari 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.
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Harrison Boakye and Liberty Professionals agree another 3 years.
“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 Liberty Professionals, and it is not being withdrawn.
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Amos Bukari 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.
Mo Waddani 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 Liberty Professionals 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.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Emmanuel Djiku will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Liberty Professionals the goodbyes have quietly begun.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Liberty Professionals this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Casimis Fokou 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 Liberty Professionals will say this on the record and the team sheets have been saying it for weeks. There is a small group in every squad who get picked when the fixture is difficult, and he has joined it.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Liberty Professionals is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Dominik Petrovčín 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 had been thinking. Amos Bukari is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Andrew Boakye and Liberty Professionals agree another 2 years.
It is never announced and it is entirely visible: the biggest afternoons of the season keep containing him. A press box works this out long before anybody at the club confirms a word of it.
328 appearances across 10 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.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Liberty Professionals they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Footballers are asked about their boyhood club so often that nobody listens to the answer. Jonathan Wakaso has just signed for Liberty Professionals, and for once the answer mattered.
In brief
SquadAmos Bukari falls out with a teammate over standards
Amos Bukari 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 Jun 2037
Casimis Fokou falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
“The easiest signature of my career.” David Boakye and Liberty Professionals agree another 2 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Nobody at Liberty Professionals 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.
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Liberty Professionals know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Liberty Professionals this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad22 Jun 2037
Amos Bukari 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 Liberty Professionals this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Amos Bukari is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Liberty Professionals is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Liberty Professionals this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 20 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Amos Bukari 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 Jun 2037
Casimis Fokou falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
In brief
SquadGladson Adjei has become a man the manager trusts
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 27 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Liberty Professionals this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad25 May 2037
Amos Bukari falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
In brief
SquadAndrew Nuhu has become a man the manager trusts
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 34 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Liberty Professionals can pretend not to have heard.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Abeiku Atiemo will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Liberty Professionals the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 41 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Liberty Professionals they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Gladson Adjei 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
SquadAmos Bukari falls out with a teammate over standards
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Liberty Professionals have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Amos Bukari 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.
Pinna Sagbamaowei was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
It is never announced and it is entirely visible: the biggest afternoons of the season keep containing him. A press box works this out long before anybody at the club confirms a word of it.
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Liberty Professionals know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Liberty Professionals may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Gladson Adjei was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Squad27 Apr 2037
Kwadwo Kudus 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 have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Liberty Professionals can pretend not to have heard.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Liberty Professionals they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Liberty Professionals they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Gladson Adjei was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Squad13 Apr 2037
Amos Bukari falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
“The easiest signature of my career.” Osman Acquah and Liberty Professionals agree another 2 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Amos Bukari 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 had been thinking. Kwadwo Kudus 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. Liberty Professionals know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
1 months left, and both sides know what that means: every week without a signature, the fee Liberty Professionals could ask drops and the wages Simon Obonde can ask rise.
Two or more conceded in each of the last 13 matches. It is not one mistake repeating itself, which would be the easier thing to fix; it is a different one every week.
At 34 he is supposed to be managing his minutes. Instead he was marked 8.36 and looked, for ninety minutes, exactly like the player everybody remembers.
Defending was optional and nobody took up the option. 8 goals between Liberty Professionals and Bechem United, and not one of the people who paid to be there will ask for the money back.
Squad30 Mar 2037
Amos Bukari 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 ratings30 Mar 2037
Abeiku Paintsil was on a different afternoon to everybody else
8.14. 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.
Two or more conceded in each of the last 12 matches. It is not one mistake repeating itself, which would be the easier thing to fix; it is a different one every week.
Two goals and a mark of 8.68 to go with them. Strikers are judged on afternoons like this one and remembered for far fewer of them than people imagine.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Liberty Professionals can pretend not to have heard.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Abeiku Atiemo will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Liberty Professionals the goodbyes have quietly begun.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Liberty Professionals this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Two or more conceded in each of the last 11 matches. It is not one mistake repeating itself, which would be the easier thing to fix; it is a different one every week.
Two goals and a mark of 8.93 to go with them. Strikers are judged on afternoons like this one and remembered for far fewer of them than people imagine.
At 34 he is supposed to be managing his minutes. Instead he was marked 9.02 and looked, for ninety minutes, exactly like the player everybody remembers.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Abeiku Paintsil will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Liberty Professionals the goodbyes have quietly begun.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Liberty Professionals this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
6 goals. Both benches spent the second half looking at each other rather than at the pitch. Purists will complain about Liberty Professionals and Ashanti Gold in equal measure; everybody else had a wonderful time.
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Gladson Adjei. 4‑2 against Ashanti Gold, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
Squad16 Mar 2037
Kwadwo Kudus 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 a specific kind of quiet, a ground watching a winning position dissolve. Great Olympics kept coming because nothing stopped them, and Liberty Professionals will be asked about the last half hour all week.
Two or more conceded in each of the last 10 matches. It is not one mistake repeating itself, which would be the easier thing to fix; it is a different one every week.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Liberty Professionals this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
9.83. 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.
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Amos Bukari is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
Marked 8.32 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.
Two or more conceded in each of the last 9 matches. It is not one mistake repeating itself, which would be the easier thing to fix; it is a different one every week.
20 goals and a season average of 7.37. Form like that gets noticed well beyond this town.
Squad2 Mar 2037
Amos Bukari 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.
Shots: 13. Goals: none. The chances were there and they were good ones, and they went into the stand, the goalkeeper's arms and the side netting in roughly that order.
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Christian Paintsil and Liberty Professionals agree another 3 years.
Bilal Bounedjah 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 3 goals adrift this was a formality, and the formality lasted right up until it did not. Liberty Professionals found something the first half had given no notice of, and Aduana Stars could not hold what they had.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Liberty Professionals can pretend not to have heard.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Liberty Professionals they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Amos Bukari was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Marked 10.00. Players have careers without a single afternoon like this in them, and he has just had one in front of everybody at Liberty Professionals.
2 in front and in complete control, and it finished with BA All Stars the happier side. There is no version of this afternoon that Liberty Professionals will enjoy reviewing.
Two or more conceded in each of the last 7 matches. It is not one mistake repeating itself, which would be the easier thing to fix; it is a different one every week.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Abeiku Paintsil will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Liberty Professionals the goodbyes have quietly begun.
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Liberty Professionals may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Liberty Professionals this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
BA All Stars left with the points after a 2‑3 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.
Squad16 Feb 2037
Amos Bukari 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.
Two goals and a mark of 8.44 to go with them. Strikers are judged on afternoons like this one and remembered for far fewer of them than people imagine.
Two or more conceded in each of the last 6 matches. It is not one mistake repeating itself, which would be the easier thing to fix; it is a different one every week.
6 goals. Both benches spent the second half looking at each other rather than at the pitch. Purists will complain about Liberty Professionals and Medeama in equal measure; everybody else had a wonderful time.
15 goals and a season average of 7.21. Form like that gets noticed well beyond this town.
Squad9 Feb 2037
Amos Bukari 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 here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
Player ratings9 Feb 2037
Andrew Nuhu was on a different afternoon to everybody else
8.17. 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.
Two goals and a mark of 8.60 to go with them. Strikers are judged on afternoons like this one and remembered for far fewer of them than people imagine.
There is an age at which every good afternoon gets described as a throwback, which is unfair and also accurate. 8.06 at 34, and nobody on the pitch was better.
Amos Bukari was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Two or more conceded in each of the last 5 matches. It is not one mistake repeating itself, which would be the easier thing to fix; it is a different one every week.
9 goals in one match, Amos Bukari on the scoresheet, and a scoreline that will look like a misprint. Neutrals could not have asked more of Liberty Professionals and WAFA.
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Kwadwo Kudus 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.
Two goals and a mark of 8.97 to go with them. Strikers are judged on afternoons like this one and remembered for far fewer of them than people imagine.
At 34 he is supposed to be managing his minutes. Instead he was marked 9.10 and looked, for ninety minutes, exactly like the player everybody remembers.
“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 Liberty Professionals, 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 Liberty Professionals this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Defending was optional and nobody took up the option. 7 goals between Liberty Professionals and Hearts of Oak, and not one of the people who paid to be there will ask for the money back.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Liberty Professionals this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 8 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
There is an age at which every good afternoon gets described as a throwback, which is unfair and also accurate. 8.77 at 34, and nobody on the pitch was better.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Liberty Professionals have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
10 without defeat on their own grass. The pitch has not changed; the crowd has — louder earlier, and quicker to sense when the opposition would rather be somewhere else.
Casimis Fokou was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
A 3‑2 win over Heart of Lions, earned rather than given, and the sort of afternoon that sends everyone home talking about next week instead of this one.
Marked 8.67 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.
In brief
Player ratingsNaledi Hlongwane was on a different afternoon to everybody else
2‑5 to Berekum Chelsea, 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.
At 34 he is supposed to be managing his minutes. Instead he was marked 8.45 and looked, for ninety minutes, exactly like the player everybody remembers.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Liberty Professionals this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
7 goals. Both benches spent the second half looking at each other rather than at the pitch. Purists will complain about Liberty Professionals and Berekum Chelsea in equal measure; everybody else had a wonderful time.
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Amos Bukari is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
The name of Abeiku Atiemo has come up in conversations Liberty Professionals were not part of. Nothing formal, nothing signed — but nothing about it accidental either.
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 11 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
Player ratings29 Dec 2036
A brace, and Andrew Nuhu takes the afternoon — 9.14
There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. Andrew Nuhu provided it, and the 9.14 beside his name is if anything generous to everybody else.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Liberty Professionals 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 Liberty Professionals this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad29 Dec 2036
Amos Bukari 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.
9 home matches unbeaten. Visiting sides arrive already talking about the atmosphere, which is usually the sign that they have half-lost before kickoff.
Marked 8.67. Players have careers without a single afternoon like this in them, and he has just had one in front of everybody at Liberty Professionals.
In brief
Player ratingsNinety minutes of Gladson Adjei at his very best
Amos Bukari 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 had been thinking. Kwadwo Kudus 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.
9 attempts, none of them in. He got into the right places all afternoon, which is the hard part, and did the easy part badly — and that is the version of a bad day a manager can live with.
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Liberty Professionals know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 7 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
Gladson Adjei was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Squad15 Dec 2036
Amos Bukari 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 9.19. Players have careers without a single afternoon like this in them, and he has just had one in front of everybody at Liberty Professionals.
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Kwadwo Kudus. 2‑1 against Bechem United, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
8 without defeat on their own grass. The pitch has not changed; the crowd has — louder earlier, and quicker to sense when the opposition would rather be somewhere else.
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 9 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Amos Bukari 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.
Pinna Sagbamaowei was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
The board have answered with money instead of encouragement, which is the only answer a manager ever wants. Spending it well is now entirely his problem.
A midfielder is measured on whether the team functions when he is on the pitch, which is nearly impossible to see and completely obvious in retrospect. 28 actions, 7.17, and a manager who will not be substituting him again in a hurry.
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 7 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Liberty Professionals this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad1 Dec 2036
Kwadwo Kudus 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.
Great Olympics will want this one forgotten quickly: 6‑1, every duel lost, and a long ride home. Liberty Professionals were ruthless in the way good sides are ruthless.
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Liberty Professionals may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Defending was optional and nobody took up the option. 7 goals between Liberty Professionals and Great Olympics, and not one of the people who paid to be there will ask for the money back.
Player ratings24 Nov 2036
Gladson Adjei was on a different afternoon to everybody else
9.86. 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.
Every touch is being weighed now, in print and everywhere else. Some players grow into that and some are quietly ruined by it, and nobody knows which in advance.
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 12 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
Gladson Adjei 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 Nov 2036
Amos Bukari 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 touch is being weighed now, in print and everywhere else. Some players grow into that and some are quietly ruined by it, and nobody knows which in advance.
Shots: 8. Goals: none. The chances were there and they were good ones, and they went into the stand, the goalkeeper's arms and the side netting in roughly that order.
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Liberty Professionals know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
Amos Bukari 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 had been thinking. Kwadwo Kudus 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.
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Gladson Adjei. 2‑1 against Aduana Stars, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
Player ratings10 Nov 2036
Andrew Nuhu was on a different afternoon to everybody else
8.90. 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.
Player ratings10 Nov 2036
Gladson Adjei was on a different afternoon to everybody else
8.77. 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.
10 shots, and a count that reads like a good afternoon until you check the other column. Strikers survive weeks like this on the understanding that the chances keep arriving; the day they stop is the day it becomes a problem.
13 shots, and a count that reads like a good afternoon until you check the other column. Strikers survive weeks like this on the understanding that the chances keep arriving; the day they stop is the day it becomes a problem.
The words a physio says slowly. 16 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.
“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 Liberty Professionals, and it is not being withdrawn.
“The easiest signature of my career.” Andrew Nuhu and Liberty Professionals agree another 4 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Defending was optional and nobody took up the option. 9 goals between Liberty Professionals and BA All Stars, and not one of the people who paid to be there will ask for the money back.
Squad3 Nov 2036
Amos Bukari 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.
9 goals and a season average of 7.40 will do that. The space he used to find has gone; he keeps scoring anyway, which is the mark of the real thing.
Player ratings3 Nov 2036
Abeiku Paintsil was on a different afternoon to everybody else
8.91. 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.
In brief
Player ratingsAndrew Nuhu was on a different afternoon to everybody else
Player ratingsNinety minutes of Naledi Hlongwane at his very best
The words a physio says slowly. 23 days is what the club will announce and everybody who has heard this diagnosis before knows the number is the least of it: the knee comes back before the player does.
Two goals and a mark of 9.98 to go with them. Strikers are judged on afternoons like this one and remembered for far fewer of them than people imagine.
Some goals win a match and some take one off somebody else. Amos Bukari scored in the 86th minute, Medeama had already begun thinking about the journey home, and Liberty Professionals took the lot.
Two goals and a mark of 8.69 to go with them. Strikers are judged on afternoons like this one and remembered for far fewer of them than people imagine.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Liberty Professionals 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 Liberty Professionals this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The words a physio says slowly. 30 days is what the club will announce and everybody who has heard this diagnosis before knows the number is the least of it: the knee comes back before the player does.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Liberty Professionals 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 Liberty Professionals this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Defending was optional and nobody took up the option. 8 goals between Liberty Professionals and WAFA, and not one of the people who paid to be there will ask for the money back.
Squad20 Oct 2036
Kwadwo Kudus 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 8.84. Players have careers without a single afternoon like this in them, and he has just had one in front of everybody at Liberty Professionals.