Panthere du Nde U18

Cameroonian Elite One U18
17 Mar 2030
Sunday
Process
189 Edition

The Panthere du Nde Herald

11 Mar 2030
From our football correspondent Upbeat

Squad

Tempers go at Panthere du Nde

Thabang Molaoa 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.

Squad

Marc Onguene 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.

Squad

The manager makes an example of Carlitos Djapa

“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.

In brief

Back issues
188 Edition

The Panthere du Nde Herald

4 Mar 2030
From our football correspondent Upbeat

Squad

Cedric in a row with a teammate

It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Panthere du Nde this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Squad

Words at Panthere du Nde training over how hard people work

Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Paulinho 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.

Squad

A place in the month's best eleven for Paulinho

Four or five weekends of consistency, judged against everybody in the division doing his job. Paulinho has come out of that comparison in the side, and Panthere du Nde have had the benefit of every one of those afternoons.

In brief

187 Edition

The Panthere du Nde Herald

25 Feb 2030
From our football correspondent Upbeat

Squad

Moses Chima takes the match ball home

3 goals in one afternoon from one man. The other players were also present, a witness confirmed.

Match

Panthere du Nde are in among the leaders

Position 3 and 46 points on the board. Nobody at the ground will say the word out loud yet, and everybody at the ground is thinking it.

Squad

Tempers go at Panthere du Nde

Thabang Molaoa 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.

Match

6 goals as Panthere du Nde and Fortuna Mfou go for it

Defending was optional and nobody took up the option. 6 goals between Panthere du Nde and Fortuna Mfou, and not one of the people who paid to be there will ask for the money back.

Match

Moses Chima sends Panthere du Nde past Fortuna Mfou

It finished 4‑2, and it was Moses Chima’s afternoon: on the scoresheet when it mattered, and the reason the points belong to Panthere du Nde.

Player ratings

Moses Chima was on a different afternoon to everybody else

9.63. 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.

Squad

Marc Onguene 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.

Match

Panthere du Nde keep winning on the road

3 away wins in a row. Travelling support is the truest kind, and this season it is being repaid in the only currency that counts.

Player ratings

One of those days for Moussa Benzaid

There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.49, and no argument anywhere in the ground.

In brief

186 Edition

The Panthere du Nde Herald

18 Feb 2030
From our football correspondent Steady

Squad

Thabang Molaoa in a row with a teammate

It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Panthere du Nde this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Squad

Words at Panthere du Nde training over how hard people work

Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Marc Onguene 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.

Squad

Moses Chima gets it from the manager

“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.

Match

A bad afternoon for Panthere du Nde against Stade Renard de Melong

0‑1 to Stade Renard de Melong, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.

Squad

This league is too small for Cedric

He is doing things on a Saturday afternoon that nobody around him can answer, which is flattering for about one season and a problem after that. Panthere du Nde will not keep him by pretending otherwise.

Player ratings

Nobody could get near Robert Luthuli

Successful dribbles: 16. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.

In brief

185 Edition

The Panthere du Nde Herald

11 Feb 2030
From our football correspondent Upbeat

Player ratings

Paulinho scores twice — 8.92

Two goals and a mark of 8.92 to go with them. Strikers are judged on afternoons like this one and remembered for far fewer of them than people imagine.

Squad

Tempers go at Panthere du Nde

Mohamed Moluh Mounta 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.

Squad

Ryan Pharel Kouam signs a new deal

“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Ryan Pharel Kouam commits to Panthere du Nde for another 3 years.

Squad

Words at Panthere du Nde training over how hard people work

Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Paulinho 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.

Match

Panthere du Nde get the job done against Fauve Azur Elite

A 2‑0 win over Fauve Azur Elite, earned rather than given, and the sort of afternoon that sends everyone home talking about next week instead of this one.

Match

Paulinho at the heart of a fast Panthere du Nde start

2 goals inside twenty minutes with Paulinho in the middle of it, and Fauve Azur Elite unable to get near the ball long enough to change anything. Some matches are won before the first drink.

Squad

Carlitos Djapa gets it from the manager

“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 ratings

Nothing got past Mohamed Moluh Mounta

18 defensive actions and a clean sheet at the end of them. A defender's afternoon can only be told by what did not happen, which is why nobody makes a highlights package out of one and every manager in the division would take it.

Player ratings

Nothing got past Moussa Benzaid

Headers, blocks, tackles, interceptions — 14 of them, and not one goal behind him. The sort of performance that never makes a highlight reel and wins football matches.

In brief

184 Edition

The Panthere du Nde Herald

4 Feb 2030
From our football correspondent Steady

Squad

Paulinho stays put

“The easiest signature of my career.” Paulinho and Panthere du Nde agree another 4 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.

Squad

Mohamed Moluh Mounta in a row with a teammate

It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Panthere du Nde this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Squad

Marc Onguene 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.

Squad

Junior Nkouam Polla gets it from the manager

“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.

Match

Junior Nkouam Polla rescues a point for Panthere du Nde

It needed Junior Nkouam Polla to find the net to bring anything home at all: 1‑1 against PWD Bamenda, and half the dressing room will call it a point won.

The terraces

The spotlight tightens on Moses Chima

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.

In brief

183 Edition

The Panthere du Nde Herald

28 Jan 2030
From our football correspondent Upbeat

Market

Dennis Cheruiyot has one foot out of the door

Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Panthere du Nde they have already started talking about him in the past tense.

Squad

Thabang Molaoa in a row with a teammate

It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Panthere du Nde this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Squad

Words at Panthere du Nde training over how hard people work

Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Marc Onguene 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.

Player ratings

One of those days for Brandon Fopa Ngoula

There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.90, and no argument anywhere in the ground.

Match

Brandon Fopa Ngoula the difference as Panthere du Nde beat Unisport Bafang

Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Brandon Fopa Ngoula. 1‑0 against Unisport Bafang, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.

Squad

Brandon Fopa Ngoula is in the form of his life

A season average of 7.21 with 8 goals behind it. Opponents have started planning around him, which is the sincerest compliment football pays.

Player ratings

Thabang Molaoa shuts the door

Defensive actions: 15, and a clean sheet at the end of it. A centre-half's best afternoons look like nothing happening, which is precisely the point.

Squad

Franck Ntsague gets it from the manager

“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 ratings

Nothing got past Mohamed Moluh Mounta

14 defensive actions and a clean sheet at the end of them. A defender's afternoon can only be told by what did not happen, which is why nobody makes a highlights package out of one and every manager in the division would take it.

In brief

182 Edition

The Panthere du Nde Herald

21 Jan 2030
From our football correspondent Steady

Squad

David Ogbe Apeh says Panthere du Nde went back on their word

“I was told what my role would be, and I signed on that basis. It has not happened.” A grievance with a date attached is the hardest kind to settle.

Market

Dennis Cheruiyot hands in a written request

“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Panthere du Nde can pretend not to have heard.

Squad

Tempers go at Panthere du Nde

Thabang Molaoa 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.

Match

Panthere du Nde get the job done against Victoria United

A 3‑1 win over Victoria United, earned rather than given, and the sort of afternoon that sends everyone home talking about next week instead of this one.

Squad

Paulinho 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 ratings

One of those days for Moussa Benzaid

There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.72, and no argument anywhere in the ground.

Player ratings

Ninety minutes of Brandon Fopa Ngoula at his very best

Marked 8.53. Players have careers without a single afternoon like this in them, and he has just had one in front of everybody at Panthere du Nde.

Squad

Alieson Kamara gets it from the manager

“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 ratings

Robert Luthuli runs at them all day

Successful dribbles: 14. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.

In brief

181 Edition

The Panthere du Nde Herald

14 Jan 2030
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Squad

Tempers go at Panthere du Nde

Mohamed Moluh Mounta 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.

Squad

Words at Panthere du Nde training over how hard people work

Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Marc Onguene 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.

Player ratings

Brandon Fopa Ngoula in the eights

A performance of 8.23 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.

Squad

Souleman Souleman gets it from the manager

“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.

Match

Brandon Fopa Ngoula rescues a point for Panthere du Nde

It needed Brandon Fopa Ngoula to find the net to bring anything home at all: 1‑1 against Canon Yaounde, and half the dressing room will call it a point won.

Market

Stade Renard de Melong are about to pick up the phone

A conversation is coming this week. Panthere du Nde will put a number on him, and from there it stops being football and becomes arithmetic.

Squad

When it matters, Moses Chima plays

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.

Market

Theo Williams Jr. is free to find somewhere else

“I was told straight, and I would rather have it straight.” The manager at Panthere du Nde has been clear about where Theo Williams Jr. stands, which is more than many ever get.

Market

The Moses Chima story refuses to die

It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Moses Chima signs something — a contract at Panthere du Nde or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.

In brief

180 Edition

The Panthere du Nde Herald

7 Jan 2030
From our football correspondent Crisis

Match

Panthere du Nde bow out of the cup

Canon Yaounde go through and Panthere du Nde go home, 1‑2 the scoreline that did it. The dressing room will call the league the priority now, because that is what dressing rooms say.

The terraces

The ground has had enough

“We travel everywhere and we get this.” 10 of the 30 senior players heard it walking off, and the ones who did not hear it were not playing.

Player ratings

Up for the corner, and Moussa Benzaid delivers — 7.92

Centre-halves are allowed forward twice a season and are judged on what they do when they get there. Moussa Benzaid scored, was marked 7.92, and got back before anybody noticed he had gone.

Squad

Tempers go at Panthere du Nde

Thabang Molaoa 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.

Squad

Marc Onguene 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.

Match

Moussa Benzaid’s goal not enough for Panthere du Nde

Moussa Benzaid scored, and precious little else went right: 1‑2 to Colombe du Dja et Lobo, and a quiet walk to the dressing room.

Squad

Moses Chima gets it from the manager

“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.

Boardroom

Panthere du Nde release $2.4M for the manager

The board have put money on the table rather than an encouraging word. What happens to it now is somebody else's problem, and somebody else's job.

Player ratings

The afternoon belonged to Moses Chima

7.89, and no serious argument from anybody who was there. Panthere du Nde had eleven men on the pitch and one of them decided how it went.

In brief

179 Edition

The Panthere du Nde Herald

31 Dec 2029
From our football correspondent Steady

Squad

François Fegue Omgba: that is not what I was promised

“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Panthere du Nde have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.

Squad

Thabang Molaoa in a row with a teammate

It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Panthere du Nde this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Player ratings

Nobody could get near Brandon Fopa Ngoula

Successful dribbles: 20. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.

Squad

Words at Panthere du Nde training over how hard people work

Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Paulinho 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.

Match

Tega Ebetomane sends Panthere du Nde past Aigle Royal de Moungo

It finished 2‑1, and it was Tega Ebetomane’s afternoon: on the scoresheet when it mattered, and the reason the points belong to Panthere du Nde.

Squad

The manager makes an example of Joel Obi

“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.

Player ratings

Tega Ebetomane in the eights

A performance of 8.52 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.

The terraces

The spotlight tightens on Robert Luthuli

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.

Player ratings

Maxime Nzeusseu Bassogog could not find anything

5.67. Every footballer has these and most of them happen away from a full ground; his did not, and he will be aware of that all week.

In brief

178 Edition

The Panthere du Nde Herald

24 Dec 2029
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Market

Dennis Cheruiyot puts it in writing

“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 Panthere du Nde, and it is not being withdrawn.

Match

No end in sight to Panthere du Nde's wait for a win

4 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Panthere du Nde has to find a result from somewhere.

Squad

Joel Obi in a row with a teammate

It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Panthere du Nde this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Squad

Marc Onguene 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.

Squad

No hiding place for Thabang Molaoa

“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Thabang Molaoa, and the manager let it.

Player ratings

A masterclass from Paulinho

Marked 8.15 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.

In brief

177 Edition

The Panthere du Nde Herald

17 Dec 2029
From our football correspondent Crisis

Match

Panthere du Nde are in among the leaders

Position 3 and 28 points on the board. Nobody at the ground will say the word out loud yet, and everybody at the ground is thinking it.

Squad

Theo Williams Jr. keeps the receipts

“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Panthere du Nde may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.

Market

Dennis Cheruiyot has one foot out of the door

Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Panthere du Nde they have already started talking about him in the past tense.

Squad

Tempers go at Panthere du Nde

Joel Obi 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.

Match

3 matches without a goal for Panthere du Nde

The chances are being made and something is happening between the making and the finishing. 3 matches now, and the anxiety in the ground arrives a little earlier every week.

Squad

Words at Panthere du Nde training over how hard people work

Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Marc Onguene 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.

Match

Cotonsport Garoua take the points off Panthere du Nde

Beaten 0‑2, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.

Squad

Robert Luthuli gets it from the manager

“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.

The terraces

Everybody has an opinion about Moses Chima

He is the name in every column and on every phone-in, which is a heavy thing to carry at any age. Some footballers thrive on it; others are quietly finished by it.

In brief

176 Edition

The Panthere du Nde Herald

10 Dec 2029
From our football correspondent Crisis

Squad

Tempers go at Panthere du Nde

Thabang Molaoa 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.

Player ratings

Nobody could get near Robert Luthuli

Successful dribbles: 20. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.

Squad

Paulinho 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.

Squad

Mohamed Moluh Mounta gets it from the manager

“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.

Match

A bad afternoon for Panthere du Nde against Dynamo Douala

0‑1 to Dynamo Douala, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.

Squad

Herval Joel Ndedi Kingue stays put

“The easiest signature of my career.” Herval Joel Ndedi Kingue and Panthere du Nde agree another 2 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.

Market

Moses Chima linked with a move away

The name of Moses Chima keeps appearing in other people's back pages. Panthere du Nde say nothing, which says plenty.

Player ratings

Off the pace: Moses Chima

A mark of 5.55 tells the story without any need for embellishment. He will want the tape of this one quietly lost.

Player ratings

A day to forget for Konrad Nfanseu

Marked 5.62, and generously at that. Nothing came off, and by the end the crowd had stopped expecting it to.

In brief

175 Edition

The Panthere du Nde Herald

3 Dec 2029
From our football correspondent Steady

Squad

Thabang Molaoa in a row with a teammate

It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Panthere du Nde this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Squad

Words at Panthere du Nde training over how hard people work

Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Marc Onguene 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.

Squad

Moses Chima gets it from the manager

“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 ratings

Brandon Fopa Ngoula runs at them all day

Successful dribbles: 17. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.

Squad

Herval Joel Ndedi Kingue stays put

“The easiest signature of my career.” Herval Joel Ndedi Kingue and Panthere du Nde agree another 2 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.

Player ratings

Moussa Benzaid shuts the door

Defensive actions: 14, and a clean sheet at the end of it. A centre-half's best afternoons look like nothing happening, which is precisely the point.

In brief

174 Edition

The Panthere du Nde Herald

26 Nov 2029
From our football correspondent Upbeat

Squad

Marc Onguene keeps Panthere du Nde in it on his own

Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 6 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.

Market

Dennis Cheruiyot asks to leave Panthere du Nde

“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.

Squad

Mohamed Moluh Mounta in a row with a teammate

It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Panthere du Nde this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Player ratings

Mohamed Moluh Mounta was immovable

21 times he got in the way of something. Centre-halves get written about when they make mistakes and ignored when they do not, so an afternoon like this needs saying out loud: he is the reason the scoreline reads as it does.

Squad

Marc Onguene 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.

Match

Brandon Fopa Ngoula the difference as Panthere du Nde beat Fortuna Mfou

Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Brandon Fopa Ngoula. 1‑0 against Fortuna Mfou, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.

Player ratings

Ninety minutes of Brandon Fopa Ngoula at his very best

Marked 8.49. Players have careers without a single afternoon like this in them, and he has just had one in front of everybody at Panthere du Nde.

Squad

The manager makes an example of Souleman Souleman

“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.

Player ratings

Tega Ebetomane runs at them all day

Successful dribbles: 15. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.

In brief

173 Edition

The Panthere du Nde Herald

19 Nov 2029
From our football correspondent Steady

Match

Panthere du Nde refuse to drop out of the race

Position 2, 24 points, and the result everyone checks first is now theirs. The word is still not being said around the ground, which is how you know everyone is thinking it.

Market

Dennis Cheruiyot has one foot out of the door

Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Panthere du Nde they have already started talking about him in the past tense.

Squad

Thabang Molaoa in a row with a teammate

It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Panthere du Nde this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Squad

Words at Panthere du Nde training over how hard people work

Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Paulinho 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.

Squad

The manager makes an example of Moussa Benzaid

“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.

Player ratings

One of those days for Paulinho

There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.20, and no argument anywhere in the ground.

Player ratings

Nobody could get near Brandon Fopa Ngoula

Successful dribbles: 16. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.

Squad

The manager has not finished forgetting Moussa Benzaid's mistake

Publicly it is behind everybody. It is not behind the man who picks the team, and the only place that shows is a team sheet. He will get another chance; he will get it in a match that matters less.

Player ratings

One moment undoes Moussa Benzaid

There was one mistake and it ended in the net. Defenders are judged on the worst thing they did rather than on the eighty-nine minutes either side of it, which is unfair and is also the job.

In brief

172 Edition

The Panthere du Nde Herald

12 Nov 2029
From our football correspondent Upbeat

Squad

Tempers go at Panthere du Nde

Thabang Molaoa 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.

Match

Panthere du Nde see off Fauve Azur Elite

Three points for Panthere du Nde, 3‑1 the final word against Fauve Azur Elite in a contest settled by the finer margins.

Squad

Marc Onguene 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 ratings

Brandon Fopa Ngoula in the eights

A performance of 8.48 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.

Player ratings

Junior Nkouam Polla was on a different afternoon to everybody else

8.32. 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.

Squad

No hiding place for François Fegue Omgba

“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to François Fegue Omgba, and the manager let it.

Squad

Joel Obi knocks on the manager's door

“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Panthere du Nde, and both men came out saying it was fine.

Player ratings

Tega Ebetomane runs at them all day

Successful dribbles: 12. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.

Market

Moses Chima linked with a move away

The name of Moses Chima keeps appearing in other people's back pages. Panthere du Nde say nothing, which says plenty.

In brief

171 Edition

The Panthere du Nde Herald

5 Nov 2029
From our football correspondent Steady

Squad

Maxime Nzeusseu Bassogog says Panthere du Nde went back on their word

“I was told what my role would be, and I signed on that basis. It has not happened.” A grievance with a date attached is the hardest kind to settle.

Market

Only the photograph left for Theo Williams Jr.

Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Theo Williams Jr. will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Panthere du Nde the goodbyes have quietly begun.

Squad

Tempers go at Panthere du Nde

Joel Obi 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.

Squad

Words at Panthere du Nde training over how hard people work

Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Marc Onguene 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.

Match

A bad afternoon for Panthere du Nde against PWD Bamenda

0‑2 to PWD Bamenda, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.

Squad

The manager makes an example of Alieson Kamara

“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.

In brief

170 Edition

The Panthere du Nde Herald

29 Oct 2029
From our football correspondent Upbeat

Market

Dennis Cheruiyot asks to leave Panthere du Nde

“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.

Squad

Panthere du Nde count the cost of losing Robert Luthuli

20 days, the scan says, and scans are kinder than reality. The fixtures in that window have just become somebody else’s job.

Squad

Joel Obi in a row with a teammate

It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Panthere du Nde this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Match

Whatever happens, Panthere du Nde do not lose

6 games unbeaten now. Some were earned and some were survived, but a habit is forming — and habits are the hardest thing in football to play against.

Squad

Paulinho 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 ratings

One of those days for Brandon Fopa Ngoula

There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.95, and no argument anywhere in the ground.

Match

Panthere du Nde get the job done against Unisport Bafang

A 2‑0 win over Unisport Bafang, earned rather than given, and the sort of afternoon that sends everyone home talking about next week instead of this one.

Player ratings

Tega Ebetomane runs at them all day

Successful dribbles: 17. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.

Squad

The manager makes an example of Souleman Souleman

“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.

In brief

169 Edition

The Panthere du Nde Herald

22 Oct 2029
From our football correspondent Upbeat

Match

Panthere du Nde up to position 2

17 points on the board and a place in the leading group. Nobody at the ground is saying the word out loud yet.

Squad

Souleman Souleman keeps the receipts

“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Panthere du Nde may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.

Market

Only the photograph left for Dennis Cheruiyot

Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Dennis Cheruiyot will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Panthere du Nde the goodbyes have quietly begun.

Squad

Thabang Molaoa in a row with a teammate

It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Panthere du Nde this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Player ratings

A defender's afternoon for Mohamed Moluh Mounta

Defensive actions: 22. He was first to everything and second to nothing, and the goalkeeper had an easy day because of it.

Squad

Words at Panthere du Nde training over how hard people work

Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Marc Onguene 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.

Squad

Joel Obi gets it from the manager

“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.

Match

Moses Chima sends Panthere du Nde past Victoria United

It finished 1‑0, and it was Moses Chima’s afternoon: on the scoresheet when it mattered, and the reason the points belong to Panthere du Nde.

Player ratings

Nothing got past Moussa Benzaid

15 defensive actions and a clean sheet at the end of them. A defender's afternoon can only be told by what did not happen, which is why nobody makes a highlights package out of one and every manager in the division would take it.

In brief

168 Edition

The Panthere du Nde Herald

15 Oct 2029
From our football correspondent Steady

Squad

Tempers go at Panthere du Nde

Thabang Molaoa 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.

Squad

Marc Onguene 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.

Squad

Junior Nkouam Polla gets it from the manager

“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.

Match

Panthere du Nde and Canon Yaounde cancel each other out

Nil-nil, and few chances worth the name. Canon Yaounde came to defend and left with exactly what they came for.

Squad

When it matters, Godfred Asiamah plays

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.

Market

Moses Chima linked with a move away

The name of Moses Chima keeps appearing in other people's back pages. Panthere du Nde say nothing, which says plenty.

In brief

167 Edition

The Panthere du Nde Herald

8 Oct 2029
From our football correspondent Upbeat

Match

Cup progress for Panthere du Nde

A 3‑1 win over Colombe du Dja et Lobo, a place in the next round, and the quiet arithmetic every supporter does on the walk home: how many more until a final?

Match

Panthere du Nde through in the cup

A 1‑1 win over Colombe du Dja et Lobo, and the draw for the next round can be watched with some interest for once.

Player ratings

Both of them Moses Chima's — 8.58

2 goals, and the second was the one that settled it. Marked 8.58, and he could have had a third with better luck at the near post.

Squad

Souleman Souleman decides it from twelve yards

1 kept out in the shoot-out, and a stadium that will still be describing them in twenty years. A goalkeeper only needs one of these to be remembered forever.

Market

Only the photograph left for Theo Williams Jr.

Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Theo Williams Jr. will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Panthere du Nde the goodbyes have quietly begun.

Squad

Moses Chima signs a new deal

“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Moses Chima commits to Panthere du Nde for another 2 years.

Squad

Tempers go at Panthere du Nde

Mohamed Moluh Mounta 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.

Squad

Words at Panthere du Nde training over how hard people work

Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Paulinho 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.

Player ratings

A masterclass from Brandon Fopa Ngoula

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.

In brief

166 Edition

The Panthere du Nde Herald

1 Oct 2029
From our football correspondent Upbeat

Player ratings

A brace, and Brandon Fopa Ngoula takes the afternoon — 8.91

There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. Brandon Fopa Ngoula provided it, and the 8.91 beside his name is if anything generous to everybody else.

Squad

Tega Ebetomane: that is not what I was promised

“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Panthere du Nde have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.

Market

Dennis Cheruiyot puts it in writing

“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 Panthere du Nde, and it is not being withdrawn.

Squad

Robert Luthuli out for 48 days

The medical room confirms 48 days on the sidelines for Robert Luthuli, and a plan built around him now has to be rebuilt.

Match

Panthere du Nde are at home on the road

5 straight away victories. Sides that win away are usually sides that can defend and can counter, and the table has begun to reflect what those journeys have earned.

Squad

Tempers go at Panthere du Nde

Thabang Molaoa 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.

Squad

Marc Onguene 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.

Match

Panthere du Nde get the job done against Aigle Royal de Moungo

A 2‑0 win over Aigle Royal de Moungo, earned rather than given, and the sort of afternoon that sends everyone home talking about next week instead of this one.

Player ratings

Nothing got past Thabang Molaoa

Headers, blocks, tackles, interceptions — 17 of them, and not one goal behind him. The sort of performance that never makes a highlight reel and wins football matches.

In brief

165 Edition

The Panthere du Nde Herald

24 Sep 2029
From our football correspondent Upbeat

Market

Dennis Cheruiyot is on his way

The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Panthere du Nde is pretending he will be back in the shirt.

Squad

Thabang Molaoa in a row with a teammate

It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Panthere du Nde this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Squad

Words at Panthere du Nde training over how hard people work

Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Marc Onguene 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.

Match

Gazelle Garoua take the points off Panthere du Nde

Beaten 0‑1, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.

Squad

The manager makes an example of Marc Onguene

“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.

Squad

Gaetan Doko Bello signs a new deal

“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Gaetan Doko Bello commits to Panthere du Nde for another 3 years.

Player ratings

Nobody could get near Brandon Fopa Ngoula

Successful dribbles: 15. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.

Market

The Thabang Molaoa question follows Panthere du Nde around

Every press conference now starts and ends the same way: with Thabang Molaoa’s future. The manager has run out of new ways to say nothing.

Player ratings

An afternoon David Ogbe Apeh will want back

Marked 5.44. Nothing he attempted worked and by the hour mark he had stopped attempting much, which is the part a manager notices rather than the mistakes.

In brief

164 Edition

The Panthere du Nde Herald

17 Sep 2029
From our football correspondent Triumph

Match

7 unbeaten for Panthere du Nde

Hard to beat is not the same as winning, but 7 matches without defeat is a foundation Panthere du Nde did not have in the autumn.

Squad

Joel Obi in a row with a teammate

It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Panthere du Nde this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Match

Panthere du Nde keep winning on the road

4 away wins in a row. Travelling support is the truest kind, and this season it is being repaid in the only currency that counts.

Squad

Paulinho 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.

Match

Panthere du Nde find a way past Cotonsport Garoua

Cotonsport Garoua made Panthere du Nde work for it, but the scoreboard read 2‑1 at the end and the table does not ask how.

Squad

The manager makes an example of Joel Obi

“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.

Squad

Junior Nkouam Polla is still paying for one afternoon at Panthere du Nde

Nobody will confirm this and nothing else explains the last month of selections. A costly error buys a player a period of being second choice that is always longer than the error was.

Player ratings

One moment undoes Junior Nkouam Polla

There was one mistake and it ended in the net. Defenders are judged on the worst thing they did rather than on the eighty-nine minutes either side of it, which is unfair and is also the job.

Player ratings

Paulinho runs at them all day

Successful dribbles: 8. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.

In brief

163 Edition

The Panthere du Nde Herald

10 Sep 2029
From our football correspondent Upbeat

Player ratings

Both of them Robert Luthuli's — 8.65

2 goals, and the second was the one that settled it. Marked 8.65, and he could have had a third with better luck at the near post.

Market

Theo Williams Jr. has one foot out of the door

Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Panthere du Nde they have already started talking about him in the past tense.

Squad

Tempers go at Panthere du Nde

Joel Obi 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.

Match

6 unbeaten for Panthere du Nde

Hard to beat is not the same as winning, but 6 matches without defeat is a foundation Panthere du Nde did not have in the autumn.

Squad

Words at Panthere du Nde training over how hard people work

Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Marc Onguene 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.

Squad

The manager makes an example of Moses Chima

“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.

Match

Honours even between Panthere du Nde and Dynamo Douala

2‑2, and both dressing rooms will call it two points lost. A draw that asked plenty of questions and answered none of them.

Squad

Robert Luthuli is off the mark for Panthere du Nde

The first one is the one every signing is asked about until it arrives. It has arrived, and he can stop being asked.

Market

The Moses Chima talk will not go away

Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Panthere du Nde know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.

In brief

162 Edition

The Panthere du Nde Herald

3 Sep 2029
From our football correspondent Upbeat

Market

Dennis Cheruiyot puts it in writing

“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 Panthere du Nde, and it is not being withdrawn.

Match

Panthere du Nde make it 4 in a row

Momentum is a hard thing to buy and an easy thing to lose, and right now Panthere du Nde have 4 straight wins of it.

Boardroom

Panthere du Nde tie Fabrice Onguene down

A new deal for the man in the dugout, and the clearest thing a board can say without calling a press conference about it. Stability is cheap to promise and expensive to deliver.

Squad

Tempers go at Panthere du Nde

Thabang Molaoa 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.

Squad

A late step up for Joel Obi

At 38 the improving is meant to be over. It is not: 3 points better than the mark taken at the start of the year, which is the sort of thing that happens to players who take the boring parts of the job seriously.

Boardroom

Graduation day at Panthere du Nde

5 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.

Squad

Landry Yotchou signs on for more

“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Landry Yotchou and Panthere du Nde agree another 3 years.

Squad

Marc Onguene 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.

Match

Robert Luthuli the difference as Panthere du Nde beat Aigle Royal de la Menoua

Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Robert Luthuli. 2‑1 against Aigle Royal de la Menoua, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.

In brief

161 Edition

The Panthere du Nde Herald

27 Aug 2029
From our football correspondent Steady

Market

Dennis Cheruiyot is on his way

The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Panthere du Nde is pretending he will be back in the shirt.

Squad

Thabang Molaoa in a row with a teammate

It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Panthere du Nde this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Squad

Words at Panthere du Nde training over how hard people work

Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Paulinho is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.

In brief

160 Edition

The Panthere du Nde Herald

20 Aug 2029
From our football correspondent Steady

Squad

Mohamed Moluh Mounta in a row with a teammate

It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Panthere du Nde this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Squad

Marc Onguene 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.

Squad

No hiding place for Souleman Souleman

“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Souleman Souleman, and the manager let it.

In brief

159 Edition

The Panthere du Nde Herald

13 Aug 2029
From our football correspondent Steady

Market

Only the photograph left for Theo Williams Jr.

Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Theo Williams Jr. will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Panthere du Nde the goodbyes have quietly begun.

Squad

Thabang Molaoa in a row with a teammate

It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Panthere du Nde this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Squad

Words at Panthere du Nde training over how hard people work

Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Marc Onguene is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.

In brief

158 Edition

The Panthere du Nde Herald

6 Aug 2029
From our football correspondent Steady

Market

Dennis Cheruiyot puts it in writing

“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 Panthere du Nde, and it is not being withdrawn.

Squad

Tempers go at Panthere du Nde

Thabang Molaoa 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.

Squad

Paulinho 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.

Squad

François Fegue Omgba stays put

“The easiest signature of my career.” François Fegue Omgba and Panthere du Nde agree another 3 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.

Squad

Tega Ebetomane gets it from the manager

“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.

Market

The Moses Chima question follows Panthere du Nde around

Every press conference now starts and ends the same way: with Moses Chima’s future. The manager has run out of new ways to say nothing.

In brief

157 Edition

The Panthere du Nde Herald

30 Jul 2029
From our football correspondent Steady

Market

Dennis Cheruiyot has one foot out of the door

Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Panthere du Nde they have already started talking about him in the past tense.

Squad

Tempers go at Panthere du Nde

Joel Obi 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.

Squad

Words at Panthere du Nde training over how hard people work

Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Marc Onguene is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.

In brief

156 Edition

The Panthere du Nde Herald

23 Jul 2029
From our football correspondent Steady

Squad

Joel Obi in a row with a teammate

It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Panthere du Nde this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Squad

Marc Onguene 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.

Squad

No hiding place for Souleman Souleman

“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Souleman Souleman, and the manager let it.

In brief

155 Edition

The Panthere du Nde Herald

16 Jul 2029
From our football correspondent Steady

Squad

Souleman Souleman says Panthere du Nde went back on their word

“I was told what my role would be, and I signed on that basis. It has not happened.” A grievance with a date attached is the hardest kind to settle.

Market

Theo Williams Jr. is on his way

The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Panthere du Nde is pretending he will be back in the shirt.

Squad

Thabang Molaoa in a row with a teammate

It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Panthere du Nde this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

In brief

154 Edition

The Panthere du Nde Herald

9 Jul 2029
From our football correspondent Steady

Market

Dennis Cheruiyot hands in a written request

“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Panthere du Nde can pretend not to have heard.

Squad

Tempers go at Panthere du Nde

Thabang Molaoa 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.

Squad

Marc Onguene 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

153 Edition

The Panthere du Nde Herald

2 Jul 2029
From our football correspondent Steady

Squad

Moses Chima is named among the best

There are footballers who have a good season and footballers a season is remembered for, and the second kind get their names read out in a hall in the summer. Panthere du Nde will be quietly delighted and privately nervous.

Squad

Tempers go at Panthere du Nde

Mohamed Moluh Mounta 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.

Squad

Words at Panthere du Nde training over how hard people work

Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Marc Onguene is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.

In brief

152 Edition

The Panthere du Nde Herald

25 Jun 2029
From our football correspondent Steady

Market

Junior Nkouam Polla puts it in writing

“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 Panthere du Nde, and it is not being withdrawn.

Squad

Tempers go at Panthere du Nde

Thabang Molaoa 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.

Squad

Paulinho 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

151 Edition

The Panthere du Nde Herald

18 Jun 2029
From our football correspondent Steady

Squad

A knee injury of the worst kind for Joel Obi

16 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Panthere du Nde lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.

Market

Theo Williams Jr. has one foot out of the door

Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Panthere du Nde they have already started talking about him in the past tense.

Squad

Thabang Molaoa in a row with a teammate

It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Panthere du Nde this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

In brief

150 Edition

The Panthere du Nde Herald

11 Jun 2029
From our football correspondent Steady

Squad

A knee injury of the worst kind for Joel Obi

23 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Panthere du Nde lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.

Market

Dennis Cheruiyot asks to leave Panthere du Nde

“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.

Squad

Joel Obi in a row with a teammate

It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Panthere du Nde this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

In brief

149 Edition

The Panthere du Nde Herald

4 Jun 2029
From our football correspondent Steady

Squad

A knee injury of the worst kind for Joel Obi

30 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Panthere du Nde lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.

Market

Tega Ebetomane puts it in writing

“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 Panthere du Nde, and it is not being withdrawn.

Squad

Tempers go at Panthere du Nde

Joel Obi 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

148 Edition

The Panthere du Nde Herald

28 May 2029
From our football correspondent Steady

Squad

Joel Obi damages knee ligaments — 37 days out

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.

Squad

Thabang Molaoa in a row with a teammate

It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Panthere du Nde this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Squad

Words at Panthere du Nde training over how hard people work

Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Marc Onguene is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.

In brief

147 Edition

The Panthere du Nde Herald

21 May 2029
From our football correspondent Steady

Squad

Joel Obi damages knee ligaments — 44 days out

The words a physio says slowly. 44 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.

Market

Theo Williams Jr. is on his way

The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Panthere du Nde is pretending he will be back in the shirt.

Squad

Tempers go at Panthere du Nde

Thabang Molaoa 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

146 Edition

The Panthere du Nde Herald

14 May 2029
From our football correspondent Steady

Squad

Joel Obi damages knee ligaments — 51 days out

The words a physio says slowly. 51 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.

Squad

Tempers go at Panthere du Nde

Mohamed Moluh Mounta 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.

Squad

Words at Panthere du Nde training over how hard people work

Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Marc Onguene is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.

In brief

145 Edition

The Panthere du Nde Herald

7 May 2029
From our football correspondent Steady

Squad

Joel Obi damages knee ligaments — 58 days out

The words a physio says slowly. 58 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.

Squad

Tempers go at Panthere du Nde

Thabang Molaoa 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.

Squad

Marc Onguene 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

144 Edition

The Panthere du Nde Herald

30 Apr 2029
From our football correspondent Steady

Squad

Thabang Molaoa in a row with a teammate

It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Panthere du Nde this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Squad

Words at Panthere du Nde training over how hard people work

Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Paulinho 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.

Squad

The manager makes an example of Tega Ebetomane

“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.

In brief

143 Edition

The Panthere du Nde Herald

23 Apr 2029
From our football correspondent Steady

Market

Theo Williams Jr. has one foot out of the door

Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Panthere du Nde they have already started talking about him in the past tense.

Squad

Joel Obi in a row with a teammate

It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Panthere du Nde this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Squad

Marc Onguene 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

142 Edition

The Panthere du Nde Herald

16 Apr 2029
From our football correspondent Steady

Squad

Tempers go at Panthere du Nde

Joel Obi 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.

Squad

Words at Panthere du Nde training over how hard people work

Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Marc Onguene 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.

Squad

Eric Ntcham stays put

“The easiest signature of my career.” Eric Ntcham and Panthere du Nde agree another 3 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.

In brief

141 Edition

The Panthere du Nde Herald

9 Apr 2029
From our football correspondent Steady

Squad

Tempers go at Panthere du Nde

Thabang Molaoa 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.

Squad

Paulinho 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.

Squad

Souleman Souleman gets it from the manager

“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.

In brief

140 Edition

The Panthere du Nde Herald

2 Apr 2029
From our football correspondent Steady

Squad

Dennis Cheruiyot keeps the receipts

“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Panthere du Nde may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.

Squad

Thabang Molaoa in a row with a teammate

It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Panthere du Nde this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Squad

Words at Panthere du Nde training over how hard people work

Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Marc Onguene is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.

In brief

139 Edition

The Panthere du Nde Herald

26 Mar 2029
From our football correspondent Steady

Squad

David Ogbe Apeh says Panthere du Nde went back on their word

“I was told what my role would be, and I signed on that basis. It has not happened.” A grievance with a date attached is the hardest kind to settle.

Market

Theo Williams Jr. is on his way

The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Panthere du Nde is pretending he will be back in the shirt.

Squad

Mohamed Moluh Mounta in a row with a teammate

It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Panthere du Nde this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

In brief

138 Edition

The Panthere du Nde Herald

19 Mar 2029
From our football correspondent Steady

Squad

Thabang Molaoa in a row with a teammate

It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Panthere du Nde this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Squad

Words at Panthere du Nde training over how hard people work

Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Paulinho 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.

Squad

Godfred Asiamah has become a man the manager trusts

Nobody at Panthere du Nde will say this on the record and the team sheets have been saying it for weeks. There is a small group in every squad who get picked when the fixture is difficult, and he has joined it.

In brief

137 Edition

The Panthere du Nde Herald

12 Mar 2029
From our football correspondent Steady

Squad

Tempers go at Panthere du Nde

Thabang Molaoa 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.

Squad

Marc Onguene 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.

Squad

Gaetan Doko Bello stays put

“The easiest signature of my career.” Gaetan Doko Bello and Panthere du Nde agree another 3 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.

In brief

136 Edition

The Panthere du Nde Herald

5 Mar 2029
From our football correspondent Steady

Squad

Brandon Fopa Ngoula signs on for more

“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Brandon Fopa Ngoula and Panthere du Nde agree another 4 years.

Squad

Tempers go at Panthere du Nde

Joel Obi 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.

Squad

Words at Panthere du Nde training over how hard people work

Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Marc Onguene is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.

In brief

135 Edition

The Panthere du Nde Herald

26 Feb 2029
From our football correspondent Upbeat

Squad

François Fegue Omgba: that is not what I was promised

“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Panthere du Nde have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.

Player ratings

Mohamed Moluh Mounta shuts the door

Defensive actions: 25, and a clean sheet at the end of it. A centre-half's best afternoons look like nothing happening, which is precisely the point.

Market

Theo Williams Jr. is on his way

The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Panthere du Nde is pretending he will be back in the shirt.

Match

Nobody wants to play Panthere du Nde right now

3 wins in a row changes how opponents warm up: quieter, more glances across. Runs end, everybody knows that — but nobody in this dressing room is planning for it.

Squad

Joel Obi in a row with a teammate

It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Panthere du Nde this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Player ratings

Moussa Benzaid was immovable

21 times he got in the way of something. Centre-halves get written about when they make mistakes and ignored when they do not, so an afternoon like this needs saying out loud: he is the reason the scoreline reads as it does.

Squad

Paulinho 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.

Match

Junior Nkouam Polla sends Panthere du Nde past Fortuna Mfou

It finished 1‑0, and it was Junior Nkouam Polla’s afternoon: on the scoresheet when it mattered, and the reason the points belong to Panthere du Nde.

Player ratings

Junior Nkouam Polla in the eights

A performance of 8.46 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.

In brief

134 Edition

The Panthere du Nde Herald

19 Feb 2029
From our football correspondent Steady

Squad

Gaetan Doko Bello keeps the receipts

“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Panthere du Nde may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.

Squad

Thabang Molaoa in a row with a teammate

It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Panthere du Nde this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Match

Panthere du Nde get the job done against Stade Renard de Melong

A 3‑1 win over Stade Renard de Melong, earned rather than given, and the sort of afternoon that sends everyone home talking about next week instead of this one.

Squad

Words at Panthere du Nde training over how hard people work

Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Marc Onguene 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.

Squad

No hiding place for Paulinho

“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Paulinho, and the manager let it.

Player ratings

Moussa Benzaid in the eights

A performance of 8.43 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.

Player ratings

Ninety minutes of Brandon Fopa Ngoula at his very best

Marked 8.21. Players have careers without a single afternoon like this in them, and he has just had one in front of everybody at Panthere du Nde.

Player ratings

Junior Nkouam Polla in the eights

A performance of 8.07 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.

Market

The Moses Chima story refuses to die

It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Moses Chima signs something — a contract at Panthere du Nde or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.

In brief

133 Edition

The Panthere du Nde Herald

12 Feb 2029
From our football correspondent Steady

Squad

Gildas Wamaka: that is not what I was promised

“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Panthere du Nde have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.

Squad

Marc Onguene signs a new deal

“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Marc Onguene commits to Panthere du Nde for another 3 years.

Squad

Tempers go at Panthere du Nde

Thabang Molaoa 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.

Squad

Alieson Kamara 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.

Match

Moses Chima sends Panthere du Nde past Fauve Azur Elite

It finished 1‑0, and it was Moses Chima’s afternoon: on the scoresheet when it mattered, and the reason the points belong to Panthere du Nde.

Player ratings

Paulinho runs at them all day

Successful dribbles: 16. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.

Player ratings

Moses Chima stands above it all

Some games turn on a moment; this one turned on a man. 7.88 on the card, and the Panthere du Nde support went home talking about one name.

Player ratings

Nothing got past Mohamed Moluh Mounta

15 defensive actions and a clean sheet at the end of them. A defender's afternoon can only be told by what did not happen, which is why nobody makes a highlights package out of one and every manager in the division would take it.

Market

The Thabang Molaoa story refuses to die

It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Thabang Molaoa signs something — a contract at Panthere du Nde or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.

In brief

132 Edition

The Panthere du Nde Herald

5 Feb 2029
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Market

Junior Nkouam Polla puts it in writing

“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 Panthere du Nde, and it is not being withdrawn.

Match

No end in sight to Panthere du Nde's wait for a win

4 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Panthere du Nde has to find a result from somewhere.

Squad

Tempers go at Panthere du Nde

Mohamed Moluh Mounta 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.

Squad

Words at Panthere du Nde training over how hard people work

Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Paulinho 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.

Squad

Joel Obi gets it from the manager

“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.

Match

No time for PWD Bamenda to settle

The goal that put PWD Bamenda ahead was still being replayed on the concourse when Panthere du Nde equalised, 3 minutes later. Leads are only worth what you do with them.

In brief

131 Edition

The Panthere du Nde Herald

29 Jan 2029
From our football correspondent Crisis

Market

Dennis Cheruiyot puts it in writing

“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 Panthere du Nde, and it is not being withdrawn.

Market

Theo Williams Jr. is on his way

The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Panthere du Nde is pretending he will be back in the shirt.

Squad

Tempers go at Panthere du Nde

Thabang Molaoa 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.

Squad

Paulinho 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.

Squad

Moses Chima gets it from the manager

“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.

Match

Unisport Bafang take the points off Panthere du Nde

Beaten 0‑1, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.

Player ratings

Nobody could get near Paulinho

Successful dribbles: 15. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.

Squad

When it matters, Maxime Nzeusseu Bassogog plays

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.

Player ratings

A day to forget for Joel Obi

Marked 5.67, and generously at that. Nothing came off, and by the end the crowd had stopped expecting it to.

In brief

130 Edition

The Panthere du Nde Herald

22 Jan 2029
From our football correspondent Steady

Market

Joel Obi puts it in writing

“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 Panthere du Nde, and it is not being withdrawn.

Market

Only the photograph left for Herman Talla

Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Herman Talla will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Panthere du Nde the goodbyes have quietly begun.

Squad

Thabang Molaoa in a row with a teammate

It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Panthere du Nde this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Player ratings

Nobody could get near Brandon Fopa Ngoula

Successful dribbles: 21. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.

Squad

Words at Panthere du Nde training over how hard people work

Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Souleman Souleman 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.

Squad

The manager makes an example of Konrad Nfanseu

“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.

Match

Panthere du Nde and Victoria United take a point apiece

It finished 1‑1, and it somehow always looked like it would. One of those afternoons where the table moves less than the tempers.

Squad

Godfred Asiamah has become a man the manager trusts

Nobody at Panthere du Nde 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.

Market

The Moses Chima story refuses to die

It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Moses Chima signs something — a contract at Panthere du Nde or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.

In brief

129 Edition

The Panthere du Nde Herald

15 Jan 2029
From our football correspondent Steady

The terraces

The ground has had enough

“We travel everywhere and we get this.” 6 of the 30 senior players heard it walking off, and the ones who did not hear it were not playing.

Squad

Godfred Asiamah says Panthere du Nde went back on their word

“I was told what my role would be, and I signed on that basis. It has not happened.” A grievance with a date attached is the hardest kind to settle.

Player ratings

Robert Luthuli runs at them all day

Successful dribbles: 23. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.

Squad

Joel Obi in a row with a teammate

It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Panthere du Nde this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Squad

Paulinho 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.

Match

Tega Ebetomane’s goal not enough for Panthere du Nde

Tega Ebetomane scored, and precious little else went right: 1‑2 to Canon Yaounde, and a quiet walk to the dressing room.

Squad

The manager makes an example of Thabang Molaoa

“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.

Market

Fortuna Mfou are about to pick up the phone

A conversation is coming this week. Panthere du Nde will put a number on him, and from there it stops being football and becomes arithmetic.

Market

The Thabang Molaoa story refuses to die

It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Thabang Molaoa signs something — a contract at Panthere du Nde or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.

In brief

128 Edition

The Panthere du Nde Herald

8 Jan 2029
From our football correspondent Upbeat

Player ratings

Both of them Moses Chima's — 9.23

2 goals, and the second was the one that settled it. Marked 9.23, and he could have had a third with better luck at the near post.

Squad

Tempers go at Panthere du Nde

Joel Obi 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.

Match

Moses Chima among the goals in a wild afternoon

6 goals in one match, Moses Chima on the scoresheet, and a scoreline that will look like a misprint. Neutrals could not have asked more of Panthere du Nde and Colombe du Dja et Lobo.

Match

Moses Chima sends Panthere du Nde past Colombe du Dja et Lobo

It finished 4‑2, and it was Moses Chima’s afternoon: on the scoresheet when it mattered, and the reason the points belong to Panthere du Nde.

Match

Panthere du Nde are at home on the road

4 straight away victories. Sides that win away are usually sides that can defend and can counter, and the table has begun to reflect what those journeys have earned.

Squad

Words at Panthere du Nde training over how hard people work

Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Paulinho 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 terraces

The crowd has taken to Paulinho

At 23 he is being sung about by people twice his age, which is an affection a signing has to earn over years and a local kid gets for turning up. It is also the hardest thing in football to live up to.

Player ratings

Paulinho in the eights

A performance of 8.27 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.

Squad

The manager makes an example of Souleman Souleman

“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.

In brief

127 Edition

The Panthere du Nde Herald

1 Jan 2029
From our football correspondent Steady

Market

Herman Talla puts it in writing

“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 Panthere du Nde, and it is not being withdrawn.

Squad

Franck Ntsague keeps the receipts

“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Panthere du Nde may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.

Squad

Tempers go at Panthere du Nde

Thabang Molaoa 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.

Player ratings

Robert Luthuli runs at them all day

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.

Market

Joel Obi is free to find somewhere else

“I was told straight, and I would rather have it straight.” The manager at Panthere du Nde has been clear about where Joel Obi stands, which is more than many ever get.

Squad

The manager makes an example of Moses Chima

“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.

Squad

Souleman Souleman 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 ratings

Nothing got past Moussa Benzaid

Headers, blocks, tackles, interceptions — 17 of them, and not one goal behind him. The sort of performance that never makes a highlight reel and wins football matches.

Player ratings

Mohamed Moluh Mounta was the difference for Panthere du Nde

Marked 7.54. Ask anyone leaving the ground what settled it and you will get one name, which is the only award that has ever really counted.

In brief

126 Edition

The Panthere du Nde Herald

25 Dec 2028
From our football correspondent Upbeat

Market

Dennis Cheruiyot asks to leave Panthere du Nde

“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.

Squad

Thabang Molaoa in a row with a teammate

It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Panthere du Nde this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Squad

Words at Panthere du Nde training over how hard people work

Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Paulinho 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.

Match

Robert Luthuli sends Panthere du Nde past Gazelle Garoua

It finished 2‑1, and it was Robert Luthuli’s afternoon: on the scoresheet when it mattered, and the reason the points belong to Panthere du Nde.

Player ratings

One of those days for Robert Luthuli

There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.79, and no argument anywhere in the ground.

Match

Panthere du Nde are at home on the road

3 straight away victories. Sides that win away are usually sides that can defend and can counter, and the table has begun to reflect what those journeys have earned.

Squad

No hiding place for Hassan Adamu

“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Hassan Adamu, and the manager let it.

Player ratings

Brandon Fopa Ngoula in the eights

A performance of 8.19 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.

Squad

The plan did not have a place for Paulinho

Nobody at Panthere du Nde is suggesting he is out of form. The manager simply wanted somebody with a different set of qualities for ninety specific minutes, and there is nothing a player can train to fix that.

In brief

125 Edition

The Panthere du Nde Herald

18 Dec 2028
From our football correspondent Upbeat

Market

Joel Obi hands in a written request

“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Panthere du Nde can pretend not to have heard.

Squad

Dennis Cheruiyot keeps the receipts

“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Panthere du Nde may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.

Squad

Tempers go at Panthere du Nde

Thabang Molaoa 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.

Squad

Souleman Souleman 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.

Squad

The manager makes an example of Joel Obi

“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.

Match

Panthere du Nde come up short against Cotonsport Garoua

Cotonsport Garoua left with the points after a 0‑1 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.

In brief

124 Edition

The Panthere du Nde Herald

11 Dec 2028
From our football correspondent Upbeat

Market

Souleman Souleman hands in a written request

“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Panthere du Nde can pretend not to have heard.

Player ratings

A brace, and Moses Chima takes the afternoon — 8.59

There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. Moses Chima provided it, and the 8.59 beside his name is if anything generous to everybody else.

Squad

Thabang Molaoa in a row with a teammate

It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Panthere du Nde this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Squad

Words at Panthere du Nde training over how hard people work

Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Souleman Souleman 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.

Match

Moses Chima sends Panthere du Nde past Dynamo Douala

It finished 2‑1, and it was Moses Chima’s afternoon: on the scoresheet when it mattered, and the reason the points belong to Panthere du Nde.

Squad

David Ogbe Apeh signs a new deal

“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” David Ogbe Apeh commits to Panthere du Nde for another 3 years.

In brief

123 Edition

The Panthere du Nde Herald

4 Dec 2028
From our football correspondent Upbeat

Squad

Maxime Nzeusseu Bassogog: that is not what I was promised

“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Panthere du Nde have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.

Squad

Tempers go at Panthere du Nde

Thabang Molaoa 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.

Match

Robert Luthuli sends Panthere du Nde past Aigle Royal de la Menoua

It finished 3‑1, and it was Robert Luthuli’s afternoon: on the scoresheet when it mattered, and the reason the points belong to Panthere du Nde.

Squad

Paulinho 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 ratings

Ninety minutes of Robert Luthuli at his very best

Marked 8.87. Players have careers without a single afternoon like this in them, and he has just had one in front of everybody at Panthere du Nde.

Player ratings

One of those days for Brandon Fopa Ngoula

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.

Squad

Thabang Molaoa gets it from the manager

“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 ratings

Moses Chima in the eights

A performance of 8.43 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.

Market

The clock does Hassan Adamu’s negotiating for him

1 months left, and both sides know what that means: every week without a signature, the fee Panthere du Nde could ask drops and the wages Hassan Adamu can ask rise.

In brief

122 Edition

The Panthere du Nde Herald

27 Nov 2028
From our football correspondent Crisis

Squad

Gaetan Doko Bello keeps the receipts

“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Panthere du Nde may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.

Squad

Tempers go at Panthere du Nde

Joel Obi 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.

Squad

Words at Panthere du Nde training over how hard people work

Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Souleman Souleman 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.

Match

Brandon Fopa Ngoula’s goal not enough for Panthere du Nde

Brandon Fopa Ngoula scored, and precious little else went right: 1‑2 to Fortuna Mfou, and a quiet walk to the dressing room.

Squad

The manager makes an example of Moses Chima

“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.

Player ratings

Brandon Fopa Ngoula in the eights

A performance of 8.25 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.

In brief

121 Edition

The Panthere du Nde Herald

20 Nov 2028
From our football correspondent Steady

Player ratings

Both of them Moses Chima's — 8.54

2 goals, and the second was the one that settled it. Marked 8.54, and he could have had a third with better luck at the near post.

Market

Dennis Cheruiyot hands in a written request

“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Panthere du Nde can pretend not to have heard.

Squad

Joel Obi in a row with a teammate

It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Panthere du Nde this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Squad

Souleman Souleman 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.

Match

Panthere du Nde get the job done against Stade Renard de Melong

A 2‑1 win over Stade Renard de Melong, earned rather than given, and the sort of afternoon that sends everyone home talking about next week instead of this one.

Squad

Souleman Souleman gets it from the manager

“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.

Squad

Hassan Adamu dropped after a run of poor form

The one version of being left out a player cannot argue with, and the one he takes worst. Somebody else has been better and the team sheet says so, in public, every week until it changes.

Player ratings

Brandon Fopa Ngoula runs at them all day

Successful dribbles: 13. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.

Player ratings

Franck Ntsague never got going

5.60 on the card. Some afternoons a footballer looks like a man who has only just been introduced to the game, and this was one of them.

In brief

  • The terraces The press have found their man in Moses Chima
  • The terraces The stand has a song for Moses Chima
120 Edition

The Panthere du Nde Herald

13 Nov 2028
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Squad

Herman Talla keeps the receipts

“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Panthere du Nde may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.

Squad

Thabang Molaoa in a row with a teammate

It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Panthere du Nde this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Squad

Words at Panthere du Nde training over how hard people work

Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Paulinho 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.

Player ratings

Ninety minutes of Robert Luthuli at his very best

Marked 8.77. Players have careers without a single afternoon like this in them, and he has just had one in front of everybody at Panthere du Nde.

Squad

The manager makes an example of Hassan Adamu

“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.

Match

Robert Luthuli the difference as Panthere du Nde beat Fauve Azur Elite

Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Robert Luthuli. 1‑0 against Fauve Azur Elite, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.

Player ratings

Ninety minutes of Brandon Fopa Ngoula at his very best

Marked 8.03. Players have careers without a single afternoon like this in them, and he has just had one in front of everybody at Panthere du Nde.

Player ratings

Nothing got past Moussa Benzaid

12 defensive actions and a clean sheet at the end of them. A defender's afternoon can only be told by what did not happen, which is why nobody makes a highlights package out of one and every manager in the division would take it.

Market

The Moses Chima talk will not go away

Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Panthere du Nde know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.

In brief

119 Edition

The Panthere du Nde Herald

6 Nov 2028
From our football correspondent Crisis

Match

No end in sight to Panthere du Nde's wait for a win

6 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Panthere du Nde has to find a result from somewhere.

Squad

Franck Ntsague stays put

“The easiest signature of my career.” Franck Ntsague and Panthere du Nde agree another 3 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.

Squad

Tempers go at Panthere du Nde

Thabang Molaoa 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.

Squad

Souleman Souleman 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.

Squad

No hiding place for Brandon Fopa Ngoula

“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Brandon Fopa Ngoula, and the manager let it.

Match

A bad afternoon for Panthere du Nde against PWD Bamenda

0‑1 to PWD Bamenda, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.

Player ratings

Nobody could get near Junior Nkouam Polla

Successful dribbles: 13. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.

Market

The clock does Hassan Adamu’s negotiating for him

2 months left, and both sides know what that means: every week without a signature, the fee Panthere du Nde could ask drops and the wages Hassan Adamu can ask rise.

Market

The Thabang Molaoa talk will not go away

Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Panthere du Nde know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.

In brief

118 Edition

The Panthere du Nde Herald

30 Oct 2028
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Match

No end in sight to Panthere du Nde's wait for a win

5 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Panthere du Nde has to find a result from somewhere.

Squad

Thabang Molaoa in a row with a teammate

It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Panthere du Nde this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Squad

Words at Panthere du Nde training over how hard people work

Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Souleman Souleman 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.

Player ratings

Robert Luthuli runs at them all day

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.

Squad

No hiding place for Franck Ntsague

“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Franck Ntsague, and the manager let it.

Squad

Ambroise Mbarga out for 23 days

The medical room confirms 23 days on the sidelines for Ambroise Mbarga, and a plan built around him now has to be rebuilt.

In brief

117 Edition

The Panthere du Nde Herald

23 Oct 2028
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Match

4 matches without a win for Panthere du Nde

The run now stands at 4, and the questions being asked around Panthere du Nde are no longer polite ones.

Squad

Tempers go at Panthere du Nde

Thabang Molaoa 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.

Squad

Paulinho 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.

Squad

Souleman Souleman gets it from the manager

“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 ratings

Nobody could get near Robert Luthuli

Successful dribbles: 16. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.

Player ratings

The afternoon belonged to Godfred Asiamah

A mark of 7.38, and nobody in the ground would argue with it. He was involved in everything that mattered and most of what did not.

In brief

116 Edition

The Panthere du Nde Herald

16 Oct 2028
From our football correspondent Crisis

Squad

Thabang Molaoa in a row with a teammate

It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Panthere du Nde this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Squad

Words at Panthere du Nde training over how hard people work

Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Souleman Souleman 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.

Match

Canon Yaounde take the points off Panthere du Nde

Beaten 1‑2, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.

Squad

The manager makes an example of Joel Obi

“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.

Player ratings

Brandon Fopa Ngoula in the eights

A performance of 8.40 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.

Player ratings

Nobody could get near Robert Luthuli

Successful dribbles: 14. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.

Squad

Brandon Fopa Ngoula finally opens his account

He wheeled away like a man who had been carrying it for months, because he had. Panthere du Nde have their signing off the mark and one press-conference question retired.

Market

The Moses Chima talk will not go away

Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Panthere du Nde know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.

Player ratings

Hassan Adamu never got going

5.51 on the card. Some afternoons a footballer looks like a man who has only just been introduced to the game, and this was one of them.

In brief

115 Edition

The Panthere du Nde Herald

9 Oct 2028
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Match

The cup run ends for Panthere du Nde

2‑2 against Gazelle Garoua, and the road stops here. Cup exits are quick deaths — no second leg, no next week, just the league from now until May.

Player ratings

A brace, and Dennis Cheruiyot takes the afternoon — 7.69

There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. Dennis Cheruiyot provided it, and the 7.69 beside his name is if anything generous to everybody else.

Squad

Mohamed Moluh Mounta pulls a muscle — 14 days out

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.

Squad

Joel Obi in a row with a teammate

It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Panthere du Nde this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Squad

Souleman Souleman 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 ratings

One of those days for Robert Luthuli

There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.62, and no argument anywhere in the ground.

Squad

The manager makes an example of Moses Chima

“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.

Player ratings

Brandon Fopa Ngoula runs at them all day

Successful dribbles: 18. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.

Player ratings

The kick that got away from Mohamed Moluh Mounta

Twelve yards, a goalkeeper guessing, and it still did not go in. He will take the next one, and every soul in the ground will hold their breath.

In brief

114 Edition

The Panthere du Nde Herald

2 Oct 2028
From our football correspondent Steady

Player ratings

Both of them Moses Chima's — 8.75

2 goals, and the second was the one that settled it. Marked 8.75, and he could have had a third with better luck at the near post.

Squad

Tempers go at Panthere du Nde

Souleman Souleman 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.

Squad

Words at Panthere du Nde training over how hard people work

Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Paulinho 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.

Match

Moses Chima the difference as Panthere du Nde beat Aigle Royal de Moungo

Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Moses Chima. 2‑1 against Aigle Royal de Moungo, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.

Squad

Panthere du Nde count the cost of losing Ambroise Mbarga

51 days, the scan says, and scans are kinder than reality. The fixtures in that window have just become somebody else’s job.

Squad

No hiding place for Franck Ntsague

“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Franck Ntsague, and the manager let it.

Market

Still no ink between Panthere du Nde and Franck Ntsague

“We keep meeting, and we keep leaving the room with the same numbers we walked in with.” Another round of talks at Panthere du Nde, another week without a signature from Franck Ntsague.

Player ratings

Robert Luthuli runs at them all day

Successful dribbles: 15. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.

Market

No place for François Fegue Omgba in the plan

“The manager did not use many words, and he did not need to.” François Fegue Omgba has his answer from Panthere du Nde; what he does with it is the next window’s story.

In brief

113 Edition

The Panthere du Nde Herald

25 Sep 2028
From our football correspondent Crisis

Match

No end in sight to Panthere du Nde's wait for a win

4 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Panthere du Nde has to find a result from somewhere.

Squad

Tempers go at Panthere du Nde

Thabang Molaoa 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.

Squad

Souleman Souleman 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.

Squad

No hiding place for Souleman Souleman

“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Souleman Souleman, and the manager let it.

Match

Panthere du Nde come up short against Gazelle Garoua

Gazelle Garoua left with the points after a 0‑1 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.

Player ratings

Brandon Fopa Ngoula runs at them all day

Successful dribbles: 16. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.

In brief

112 Edition

The Panthere du Nde Herald

18 Sep 2028
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Squad

Ryan Pharel Kouam: that is not what I was promised

“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Panthere du Nde have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.

Squad

Home is on Paulinho's mind

“Some mornings you wake up and you are still a long way from everything you know.” It is not the football and it never was; Panthere du Nde are dealing with a man who wants a different country.

Squad

Thabang Molaoa in a row with a teammate

It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Panthere du Nde this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Squad

Words at Panthere du Nde training over how hard people work

Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Souleman Souleman 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.

Player ratings

Brandon Fopa Ngoula runs at them all day

Successful dribbles: 15. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.

Match

Panthere du Nde share the spoils with Cotonsport Garoua

A 1‑1 draw with Cotonsport Garoua leaves the dressing room somewhere between relief and regret.

In brief

111 Edition

The Panthere du Nde Herald

11 Sep 2028
From our football correspondent Crisis

Squad

Franck Ntsague says Panthere du Nde went back on their word

“I was told what my role would be, and I signed on that basis. It has not happened.” A grievance with a date attached is the hardest kind to settle.

Market

Only the photograph left for Herman Talla

Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Herman Talla will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Panthere du Nde the goodbyes have quietly begun.

Squad

Souleman Souleman signs on for more

“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Souleman Souleman and Panthere du Nde agree another 4 years.

Squad

Thabang Molaoa in a row with a teammate

It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Panthere du Nde this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Squad

Words at Panthere du Nde training over how hard people work

Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Tega Ebetomane 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.

Player ratings

Nobody could get near Brandon Fopa Ngoula

Successful dribbles: 19. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.

Match

Panthere du Nde come up short against Dynamo Douala

Dynamo Douala left with the points after a 0‑1 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.

Player ratings

Moses Chima leaves them behind him

Shots: 12. 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.

Market

The Thabang Molaoa question follows Panthere du Nde around

Every press conference now starts and ends the same way: with Thabang Molaoa’s future. The manager has run out of new ways to say nothing.

In brief

110 Edition

The Panthere du Nde Herald

4 Sep 2028
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Squad

Tega Ebetomane signs a new deal

“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Tega Ebetomane commits to Panthere du Nde for another 4 years.

Squad

Tempers go at Panthere du Nde

Thabang Molaoa 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.

Boardroom

Graduation day at Panthere du Nde

5 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.

Squad

Tega Ebetomane 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.

Market

One of our own: Achille Njie joins the Panthere du Nde first team

Clubs spend fortunes looking for players and occasionally find one down the corridor. Achille Njie is that, and the reception he gets on his first appearance will be different in kind from the one any signing receives.

Market

Panthere du Nde promote Collins Ondoa from within

The academy exists for exactly this morning. Collins Ondoa has come through every age group the club runs and has now been handed a senior number, and the people who coached him at twelve will be the proudest in the building.

Market

Landry Anguissa steps up from the Panthere du Nde academy

There is no fee, no unveiling and no agent on the steps. Landry Anguissa has been at this club since he was a boy and is now, formally, one of the first-team squad — which for a local readership beats any signing of any size.

Market

Jean Mbia steps up from the Panthere du Nde academy

There is no fee, no unveiling and no agent on the steps. Jean Mbia has been at this club since he was a boy and is now, formally, one of the first-team squad — which for a local readership beats any signing of any size.

Squad

The manager makes an example of Moussa Benzaid

“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.

In brief

109 Edition

The Panthere du Nde Herald

28 Aug 2028
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Squad

Theo Williams Jr. is a better footballer than he was

Not a run of form — an actual step up, held for months. At 22 he is doing things at this level he could not do at the start of the season, and the coaching staff will tell you exactly which of them.

Squad

Thabang Molaoa in a row with a teammate

It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Panthere du Nde this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Squad

A late step up for Hassan Adamu

At 35 the improving is meant to be over. It is not: 3 points better than the mark taken at the start of the year, which is the sort of thing that happens to players who take the boring parts of the job seriously.

In brief

108 Edition

The Panthere du Nde Herald

21 Aug 2028
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Market

Hassan Adamu asks to leave Panthere du Nde

“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.

Squad

Real improvement from Paulinho at Panthere du Nde

Form comes and goes; this has not gone. Paulinho is 22, and the version of him training now would not have got into the side he was in a year ago.

Squad

Joel Obi in a row with a teammate

It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Panthere du Nde this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Squad

Brandon Fopa Ngoula has improved at 25, which nobody expected

Careers are supposed to plateau and then decline, and the players who ignore that are always the ones who were listening on the training ground. 3 points of it, over months, at an age where the direction normally only goes one way.

Squad

Souleman Souleman 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.

Market

The Dan Tchonlafi conversation is coming

Everyone has stopped pretending: Aigle Royal de la Menoua will make the call about Dan Tchonlafi this week. Panthere du Nde have a number in mind, and the number is not shy.

In brief

107 Edition

The Panthere du Nde Herald

14 Aug 2028
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Squad

Tempers go at Panthere du Nde

Joel Obi 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.

Squad

A late step up for Mohamed Moluh Mounta

At 27 the improving is meant to be over. It is not: 3 points better than the mark taken at the start of the year, which is the sort of thing that happens to players who take the boring parts of the job seriously.

Squad

Words at Panthere du Nde training over how hard people work

Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Souleman Souleman is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.

In brief

106 Edition

The Panthere du Nde Herald

7 Aug 2028
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Squad

Godfred Asiamah stays put

“The easiest signature of my career.” Godfred Asiamah and Panthere du Nde agree another 4 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.

Squad

Tempers go at Panthere du Nde

Thabang Molaoa 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.

Squad

A late step up for Robert Luthuli

At 27 the improving is meant to be over. It is not: 3 points better than the mark taken at the start of the year, which is the sort of thing that happens to players who take the boring parts of the job seriously.

In brief

105 Edition

The Panthere du Nde Herald

31 Jul 2028
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Squad

Thabang Molaoa in a row with a teammate

It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Panthere du Nde this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Squad

Words at Panthere du Nde training over how hard people work

Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Tega Ebetomane 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.

Market

Hassan Adamu told to find a new club

“They were honest with me, and I would rather know.” Hassan Adamu has been informed he is not in the manager's thinking at Panthere du Nde.

In brief

104 Edition

The Panthere du Nde Herald

24 Jul 2028
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Squad

Paulinho gets the move he always wanted

Footballers are asked about their boyhood club so often that nobody listens to the answer. Paulinho has just signed for Panthere du Nde, and for once the answer mattered.

Market

Stade Renard de Melong come back empty-handed

The bid was some way short and Panthere du Nde did not need long over it. Nobody in the game reads a first refusal as the end of anything.

Market

Dan Tchonlafi is on his way

The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Panthere du Nde is pretending he will be back in the shirt.

Squad

Tempers go at Panthere du Nde

Thabang Molaoa 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.

Squad

Tega Ebetomane 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.

Squad

Junior Nkouam Polla gets it from the manager

“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.

In brief

103 Edition

The Panthere du Nde Herald

17 Jul 2028
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Market

Only the photograph left for Herman Talla

Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Herman Talla will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Panthere du Nde the goodbyes have quietly begun.

Boardroom

Herman Talla signs for Canon Yaounde while still at Panthere du Nde

The rules permit it and it stings anyway. Herman Talla has agreed terms with Canon Yaounde for the summer, and until then he pulls on this shirt as a player who has already chosen his next one.

Squad

Thabang Molaoa in a row with a teammate

It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Panthere du Nde this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Squad

Moussa Benzaid 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.

Squad

The manager makes an example of Tega Ebetomane

“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.

Squad

Junior Nkouam Polla asks for a word with the manager

“I would rather say it to his face than read about it.” The meeting was requested by the player, which tells you most of what you need to know.

In brief

102 Edition

The Panthere du Nde Herald

10 Jul 2028
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Squad

Tempers go at Panthere du Nde

Thabang Molaoa 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.

Squad

Konrad Nfanseu signs a new deal

“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Konrad Nfanseu commits to Panthere du Nde for another 4 years.

Squad

Words at Panthere du Nde training over how hard people work

Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Moussa Benzaid is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.

In brief

101 Edition

The Panthere du Nde Herald

3 Jul 2028
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Squad

The season belongs to Moussa Benzaid

An individual honour is a strange thing in a team game, and the best of them are never argued with. He has had the sort of year that ends with his name being read out, and Panthere du Nde have had the benefit of it.

Squad

Thabang Molaoa in a row with a teammate

It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Panthere du Nde this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Squad

Words at Panthere du Nde training over how hard people work

Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Souleman Souleman 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.

Squad

Godfred Asiamah gets it from the manager

“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.

Boardroom

$2.4M on the table at Panthere du Nde

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.

Boardroom

Intake day at the Panthere du Nde academy

4 arrivals, an average age nobody would call a squad, and a set of parents being shown around a building their sons will spend more time in than at home. The scouting has already happened; today is only the paperwork.

In brief

100 Edition

The Panthere du Nde Herald

26 Jun 2028
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Market

Dan Tchonlafi asks to leave Panthere du Nde

“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.

Market

Dan Tchonlafi is on his way

The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Panthere du Nde is pretending he will be back in the shirt.

Squad

Tempers go at Panthere du Nde

Raúl Quiroga 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

99 Edition

The Panthere du Nde Herald

19 Jun 2028
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Squad

Raúl Quiroga in a row with a teammate

It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Panthere du Nde this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Squad

Moussa Benzaid 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.

Squad

Souleman Souleman gets it from the manager

“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.

Squad

A season on the outside for Joel Obi

He trains hard, says the right things and goes home to an empty flat. Nobody at Panthere du Nde has done anything wrong, which is exactly what makes it so difficult to fix.

Market

The Thabang Molaoa question follows Panthere du Nde around

Every press conference now starts and ends the same way: with Thabang Molaoa’s future. The manager has run out of new ways to say nothing.

Market

Still no signature from Hassan Adamu

7 months left and the two sides are nowhere near each other. Every week this drags on takes money off what Panthere du Nde could get for him.

In brief

98 Edition

The Panthere du Nde Herald

12 Jun 2028
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Squad

Franck Ntsague gets the move he always wanted

Footballers are asked about their boyhood club so often that nobody listens to the answer. Franck Ntsague has just signed for Panthere du Nde, and for once the answer mattered.

Squad

Tempers go at Panthere du Nde

Raúl Quiroga 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.

Squad

Souleman Souleman 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.

Squad

Panthere du Nde lose Fabrice Moukandjo

27 days, the medical staff say, and medical staff are optimists by profession. The team sheet will look wrong without him.

Market

Panthere du Nde and Franck Ntsague are talking past each other

“There is a gap, and pretending there is not helps nobody.” Neither side has moved, and the calendar is working for exactly one of them.

Market

Stade Renard de Melong expected to open talks for Dan Tchonlafi

Both sides expect a conversation in the coming days. Panthere du Nde will name a price, and everything after that is arithmetic.

In brief

97 Edition

The Panthere du Nde Herald

5 Jun 2028
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Squad

A fracture rules Raúl Quiroga out for 19 days

Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Panthere du Nde will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.

Squad

Raúl Quiroga in a row with a teammate

It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Panthere du Nde this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Squad

Moussa Benzaid 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

96 Edition

The Panthere du Nde Herald

29 May 2028
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Squad

A fracture rules Raúl Quiroga out for 26 days

Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Panthere du Nde will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.

Squad

Junior Nkouam Polla keeps the receipts

“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Panthere du Nde may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.

Squad

Tempers go at Panthere du Nde

Raúl Quiroga 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

95 Edition

The Panthere du Nde Herald

22 May 2028
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Squad

A fracture rules Raúl Quiroga out for 33 days

Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Panthere du Nde will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.

Squad

Thabang Molaoa in a row with a teammate

It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Panthere du Nde this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Squad

Words at Panthere du Nde training over how hard people work

Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Tega Ebetomane is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.

In brief

94 Edition

The Panthere du Nde Herald

15 May 2028
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Squad

A fracture rules Raúl Quiroga out for 40 days

Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Panthere du Nde will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.

Squad

Tempers go at Panthere du Nde

Thabang Molaoa 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.

Squad

Words at Panthere du Nde training over how hard people work

Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Moussa Benzaid is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.

In brief

93 Edition

The Panthere du Nde Herald

8 May 2028
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Squad

A fracture rules Raúl Quiroga out for 47 days

Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Panthere du Nde will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.

Squad

A muscle injury sidelines Moses Chima for 14 days

Nobody makes a documentary about a hamstring and everybody in the game fears one. Panthere du Nde will be careful with the return date, because the second one is always worse than the first.

Squad

Raúl Quiroga signs a new deal

“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Raúl Quiroga commits to Panthere du Nde for another 2 years.

In brief

92 Edition

The Panthere du Nde Herald

1 May 2028
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Squad

A fracture rules Raúl Quiroga out for 54 days

Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Panthere du Nde will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.

Squad

Tempers go at Panthere du Nde

Raúl Quiroga 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.

Squad

Souleman Souleman 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

91 Edition

The Panthere du Nde Herald

24 Apr 2028
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Squad

A fracture rules Raúl Quiroga out for 61 days

Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Panthere du Nde will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.

Squad

Joseph Elie Tiba says Panthere du Nde went back on their word

“I was told what my role would be, and I signed on that basis. It has not happened.” A grievance with a date attached is the hardest kind to settle.

Squad

Raúl Quiroga in a row with a teammate

It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Panthere du Nde this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

In brief

90 Edition

The Panthere du Nde Herald

17 Apr 2028
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Squad

A fracture rules Raúl Quiroga out for 68 days

Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Panthere du Nde will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.

Squad

Tempers go at Panthere du Nde

Raúl Quiroga 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.

Squad

Words at Panthere du Nde training over how hard people work

Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Moussa Benzaid is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.

In brief