The last thing about a transfer that is still about the player is his signature on his own terms, and it is there. Platinum Stars have lost him in all but the paperwork.
6 without a win now, and the ground has developed the special quiet of a crowd that expects the worst. One scrappy 1-0 would cure most of it; that is the maddening part.
Senior shirt numbers handed to boys the coaches have known since they were twelve. Most will not make it and all of them have already done the hard part.
Squad9 Aug 2027
Words at Platinum Stars training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Thulani Tau is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
3 matches, no goals, and a training ground that has tried everything. It will end — droughts always do — but nobody at Platinum Stars can tell you which week it ends in.
Clubs spend fortunes looking for players and occasionally find one down the corridor. Bongani Lorch is that, and the reception he gets on his first appearance will be different in kind from the one any signing receives.
The academy exists for exactly this morning. Itumeleng Furman has come through every age group the club runs and has now been handed a senior number, and the people who coached him at twelve will be the proudest in the building.
Clubs spend fortunes looking for players and occasionally find one down the corridor. Ronwen Kekana is that, and the reception he gets on his first appearance will be different in kind from the one any signing receives.
It has stopped being a mood in the stands and started being something organised. Boards can ignore a bad atmosphere for a long time; they cannot ignore this stage of it for very long at all.
Fee agreed, wages agreed, and Anorthosis waiting with a shirt. Nobody at Platinum Stars is pretending otherwise, and the supporters have stopped asking whether and started asking when.
What was said behind closed doors has now been said in front of a microphone. Everybody at Platinum Stars can do the arithmetic, including the man it is aimed at.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Platinum Stars this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Golden Arrows have kept their man, and Platinum Stars go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Every squad has men who were signed by a particular manager and men who were merely inherited. Zolani Nkombelo is in the first group, and the man who wanted him here is no longer in the building.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Platinum Stars, and both men came out saying it was fine.
A medical, a signature, a shirt held up in front of a sponsor’s board. Platinum Stars have done the hard part with Golden Arrows, and the part that remains is the part supporters actually see.
Gift Zwane 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.
Squad26 Jul 2027
Thulani Tau falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
A loan enquiry to Maritzburg United: cover, or a look at somebody the club cannot afford to buy yet. Either way the answer will come back inside the week.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Platinum Stars, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Platinum Stars they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Platinum Stars this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Golden Arrows have kept their man, and Platinum Stars go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Squad19 Jul 2027
Words at Platinum Stars training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Thulani Tau is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Morgan Hlatshwayo signs something — a contract at Platinum Stars or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Platinum Stars, and it is not being withdrawn.
Thulani Tau was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Lebogang Jali signs something — a contract at Platinum Stars or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Platinum Stars, and both men came out saying it was fine.
A bad atmosphere can be waited out. A group of people meeting afterwards to decide what to do about it cannot, and everybody in the building knows which stage this is.
The board’s statement ran to three sentences and one of them mentioned results. Bongani Grobler has managed long enough to translate: win soon, or the next statement is shorter.
“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 Platinum Stars, and it is not being withdrawn.
At 28 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.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Thulani Tau was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The name of Lebogang Furman has come up in conversations Platinum Stars were not part of. Nothing formal, nothing signed — but nothing about it accidental either.
Maritzburg United have been asked whether they would lend him. Loans are agreed quickly or not at all, and this one will be one or the other by the weekend.
The last thing about a transfer that is still about the player is his signature on his own terms, and it is there. Platinum Stars have lost him in all but the paperwork.
Nobody on the board has said anything against the manager, which is the point — they have stopped saying anything for him either.
Transfer targets28 Jun 2027
$150.0K settles it between the clubs for Edward Maova
Golden Arrows have accepted the money. What Platinum Stars do not yet have is the man, and between here and the photograph is a conversation about wages that both sides are dreading.
Form comes and goes; this has not gone. Khama Williams is 22, and the version of him training now would not have got into the side he was in a year ago.
Gift Zwane was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
At 28 the improving is meant to be over, and it is not: 3 points better than a year ago. It happens to the ones who take the boring parts seriously.
Squad28 Jun 2027
Thulani Tau 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.
16 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Platinum Stars lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
Fee agreed, wages agreed, and Black Aces waiting with a shirt. Nobody at Platinum Stars is pretending otherwise, and the supporters have stopped asking whether and started asking when.
At 23 he is doing things this season that he could not do last season, and doing them every week. Form comes and goes; this has stayed long enough to be called something else.
Everything agreed with Golden Arrows, everything agreed with the player; a doctor is the only person left to persuade. The photograph is a day or two away.
Thulani Tau and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
24 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Platinum Stars lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
The last thing about a transfer that is still about the player is his signature on his own terms, and it is there. Platinum Stars have lost him in all but the paperwork.
At 20 he is doing things this season that he could not do last season, and doing them every week. Form comes and goes; this has stayed long enough to be called something else.
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Khama Williams and Platinum Stars agree another 4 years.
The words a physio says slowly. 32 days is what the club will announce and everybody who has heard this diagnosis before knows the number is the least of it: the knee comes back before the player does.
The board have said in public what they had been saying in private. Results between now and the next meeting decide it, and everybody in the building knows the arithmetic.
It has stopped being a mood in the stands and started being something organised. Boards can ignore a bad atmosphere for a long time; they cannot ignore this stage of it for very long at all.
The offer from CR Belouizdad for Morgan Hlatshwayo was heard out and sent back the same day. First bids are rarely meant to succeed; they are meant to find out how loudly the door closes.
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Platinum Stars, and it is not being withdrawn.
Gift Zwane and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Thulani Tau was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The phone has started ringing about Lebogang Furman again, and this time the name on the line is Ismaily. Platinum Stars are listening politely and promising nothing.
The words a physio says slowly. 39 days is what the club will announce and everybody who has heard this diagnosis before knows the number is the least of it: the knee comes back before the player does.
Nobody upstairs has said anything, which is the loudest thing they could do. Results buy silence in this game; the account at Platinum Stars is running low.
48 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Platinum Stars lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Platinum Stars this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Thulani Tau was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
55 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Platinum Stars lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Thulani Tau was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Zolani Nkombelo and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
The words a physio says slowly. 62 days is what the club will announce and everybody who has heard this diagnosis before knows the number is the least of it: the knee comes back before the player does.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Platinum Stars they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Platinum Stars this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
69 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Platinum Stars lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
Nobody upstairs has said anything, which is the loudest thing they could do. Results buy silence in this game; the account at Platinum Stars is running low.
Gift Zwane was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Squad3 May 2027
Thulani Tau falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
The words a physio says slowly. 76 days is what the club will announce and everybody who has heard this diagnosis before knows the number is the least of it: the knee comes back before the player does.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Platinum Stars this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad26 Apr 2027
Thulani Tau 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.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Kermit Modiba trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
In brief
SquadQuestions about Luther Dolly on the training pitch
83 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Platinum Stars lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Platinum Stars have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Thulani Tau and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
90 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Platinum Stars lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Platinum Stars they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Gift Zwane 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.
Squad12 Apr 2027
Words at Platinum Stars training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Thulani Tau is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Platinum Stars know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Ramahlwe Zungu trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
97 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Platinum Stars lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
Gift Zwane and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Squad5 Apr 2027
Thulani Tau 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.
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Platinum Stars know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
104 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Platinum Stars lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
“I listened, I thought about it, and I am staying. That is the whole story.” The clubs had agreed a fee. Morgan Hlatshwayo had not agreed to go, which turned out to be the part that mattered.
At 20 he is doing things this season that he could not do last season, and doing them every week. Form comes and goes; this has stayed long enough to be called something else.
Thulani Tau was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Platinum Stars, and both men came out saying it was fine.
The words a physio says slowly. 111 days is what the club will announce and everybody who has heard this diagnosis before knows the number is the least of it: the knee comes back before the player does.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Platinum Stars this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The interest is real enough to have reached print. Platinum Stars have said nothing, which in a transfer window is its own kind of answer.
Squad22 Mar 2027
Words at Platinum Stars training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Thulani Tau 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 easiest signature of my career.” Teboho Erasmus and Platinum Stars agree another 3 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Platinum Stars, and both men came out saying it was fine.
118 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Platinum Stars lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
Gift Zwane was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Squad15 Mar 2027
Thulani Tau 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.
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Platinum Stars know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
He trains hard, says the right things and goes home to an empty flat. Nobody at Platinum Stars has done anything wrong, which is exactly what makes it so difficult to fix.
In brief
The dugoutTeboho Erasmus asks for a word with the manager
The words a physio says slowly. 126 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.
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Thulani Tau and Platinum Stars agree another 2 years.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Platinum Stars this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Hlompho Mahlangu was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Platinum Stars know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
In brief
The dugoutKermit Modiba knocks on the manager's door
134 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Platinum Stars lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
0‑3 against Jomo Cosmos, and no complaints that would survive the replay. The manager spoke about character afterwards; the terraces used shorter words.
Position 12 on 25 points. Every season is a story and this is the last line of it, and now the club has three months to decide what the next one is about.
5 without a win now, and the ground has developed the special quiet of a crowd that expects the worst. One scrappy 1-0 would cure most of it; that is the maddening part.
Thulani Tau was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
0‑4 to Bloemfontein Celtic, and it was every bit as bad as the number suggests. There are defeats you argue about and defeats you apologise for; this was the second kind.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Platinum Stars is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Platinum Stars have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
4 without a win now, and the ground has developed the special quiet of a crowd that expects the worst. One scrappy 1-0 would cure most of it; that is the maddening part.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Platinum Stars this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Thulani Tau was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
“The supporters are entitled to be angry. So am I. We will put it right.” 0‑4, a manager saying the necessary things, and a dressing room that heard a different version of them.
“I know what people will say. I know what I want, and it is here.” Hajer had the fee agreed and the shirt ready; they did not have the player, and now they will not.
Marked 8.21 — 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.
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Platinum Stars know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
The shape wanted a different profile against this opponent, which is a real football answer and no comfort at all to the man it is about. He did nothing wrong and he did not play.
Played out of position, hooked on the hour, asked to be somebody he is not — the details vary and the mood does not. Platinum Stars have a player doing his work under protest.
The clubs had agreed and the player had not. A snub, and a public one: Pandurii keep him, and the supporters here are left wondering what he had heard about the place.
Squad8 Feb 2027
Words at Platinum Stars training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Thulani Tau is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
“Nobody 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 dugout8 Feb 2027
The view from the dugout
“We will look at it, we will learn from it, and we go again.” The three sentences every manager keeps for a 0‑2 defeat, delivered by Bongani Grobler to a room that had heard them before.
The manager wanted a different profile for this opponent, which is a real football reason and no consolation. He did nothing wrong and he did not play.
That is the business done at Platinum Stars until the window opens again. Whether it was enough will be answered on Saturdays rather than in a column, and the first Saturday is close.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Thulani Tau was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The interest is real enough to have reached print. Platinum Stars have said nothing, which in a transfer window is its own kind of answer.
The dugout1 Feb 2027
The view from the dugout
“We did not lose. Some weeks that is all you get, and I would rather have the point than not.” Bongani Grobler chose the glass-half-full version of 0‑0; the supporters left with the other one.
Successful dribbles: 12. He went past people as if he had been told there was a prize for it, and by the end the full-back had stopped pretending to try.
The crowd waited for a goal that never came. University of Pretoria defended in numbers and left with what they came for, and the two sides could be playing still without troubling a scorer.
The shape wanted a different profile against this opponent, which is a real football answer and no comfort at all to the man it is about. He did nothing wrong and he did not play.
He trains hard, says the right things and goes home to an empty flat. Nobody at Platinum Stars has done anything wrong, which is exactly what makes it so difficult to fix.
There is no crueller way to lose a football match. Platinum Stars scored in the 93th minute, the restart barely happened, and the away end was still standing when the whistle went.
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the whole of the defence. 7 saves, several of them the kind nobody expects to see made, and ten outfield players who owe him a drink.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Platinum Stars they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Thulani Tau and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
At 17 he is being sung about by people twice his age, which is an affection a signing has to earn over years and a local kid gets for turning up. It is also the hardest thing in football to live up to.
A 1‑0 win over Polokwane City, earned rather than given, and the sort of afternoon that sends everyone home talking about next week instead of this one.
A loan enquiry to Pandurii: cover, or a look at somebody the club cannot afford to buy yet. Either way the answer will come back inside the week.
The dugout25 Jan 2027
The manager’s verdict
“I am not going to get carried away and I will not let them either. It was a good day. There will be harder ones.” Bongani Grobler kept it short after the 1‑0 win, which is what managers do when they are happy.
4 without a win now, and the ground has developed the special quiet of a crowd that expects the worst. One scrappy 1-0 would cure most of it; that is the maddening part.
Gift Zwane was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Thulani Tau was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
“The supporters are entitled to be angry. So am I. We will put it right.” 0‑2, a manager saying the necessary things, and a dressing room that heard a different version of them.
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.
Warm-up bib, ninety minutes of watching, and a handshake at the end that fooled nobody. Big matches tell you who a manager trusts; this one told Ramahlwe Zungu.
The last thing about a transfer that is still about the player is his signature on his own terms, and it is there. Platinum Stars have lost him in all but the paperwork.
Terms were offered and declined. Whether it was the wages, the role or the town, nobody at Pandurii is saying, and nobody at Platinum Stars is enjoying the guessing.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Platinum Stars this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad11 Jan 2027
Words at Platinum Stars training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Thulani Mkhize is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Dinamo Zagreb have kept their man, and Platinum Stars go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Clubs make promises constantly and the page usually only hears about them when they are broken. This one was honoured, and the dressing room noticed that faster than any supporter did.
7.20, and no serious argument from anybody who was there. Platinum Stars had eleven men on the pitch and one of them decided how it went.
The dugout11 Jan 2027
The manager’s verdict
“I am frustrated, honestly. We did enough to win and we did not win.” Bongani Grobler was not hiding it after 0‑0, and nobody in the Platinum Stars dressing room was either.
A brace, and Lebogang Jali takes the afternoon — 8.95
There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. Lebogang Jali provided it, and the 8.95 beside his name is if anything generous to everybody else.
Thulani Tau was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
The board was up, the win was priced in, and then Bidvest Wits scored. There is no worse minute to concede in and the ground emptied in the silence that follows one.
Platinum Stars have made the call to Dinamo Zagreb. No fee, a share of the wages, and a spare shirt in the position where the squad has been thinnest all season.
Pandurii have been asked whether they would lend him. Loans are agreed quickly or not at all, and this one will be one or the other by the weekend.
The dugout4 Jan 2027
The manager’s verdict
“I am frustrated, honestly. We did enough to win and we did not win.” Bongani Grobler was not hiding it after 2‑2, and nobody in the Platinum Stars dressing room was either.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Morgan Hlatshwayo will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Platinum Stars the goodbyes have quietly begun.
At 20 he is doing things this season that he could not do last season, and doing them every week. Form comes and goes; this has stayed long enough to be called something else.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Platinum Stars this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad28 Dec 2026
Thulani Tau falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
“A point is a point and I will take it, but we should have had all three.” Bongani Grobler after the 0‑0 draw, and the sentence every manager in the country said at some stage this weekend.
Ninety specific minutes wanted a different sort of player, and the manager picked one. He is not out of form and he is not in the side, and both are true.
The 88th minute, half the ground already edging towards the exits, and Thulani Mkhize decided nobody was going anywhere. Free State Stars had no time left to answer.
1 for Thulani Mkhize, marked 7.81, and a centre-half's name in the part of the report he normally only reaches by mistake. He will not be allowed to forget it in the dressing room for a month.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Thulani Mkhize was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
He is 22 and the ground already sings his name, which is a thing that happens to local boys and almost never to signings. Everything from here is measured against an affection he did nothing to earn except be from here.
0‑3 to Ajax Cape Town, and it was every bit as bad as the number suggests. There are defeats you argue about and defeats you apologise for; this was the second kind.
5 matches, no goals, and a training ground that has tried everything. It will end — droughts always do — but nobody at Platinum Stars can tell you which week it ends in.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Platinum Stars this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The music was off and the showers ran late. What was said in that dressing room stays there, but Saturday will publish the minutes.
The dugout14 Dec 2026
The manager’s verdict
“That is on me. I pick the team and I picked wrong.” Managers say that when they mean it and when they need to be seen to, and after 0‑3 Bongani Grobler left the room before anybody could ask which.
Ninety specific minutes wanted a different sort of player, and the manager picked one. He is not out of form and he is not in the side, and both are true.
The chances are being made and something is happening between the making and the finishing. 4 matches now, and the anxiety in the ground arrives a little earlier every week.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Thulani Tau was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
“There are things I liked and things we will be doing on Tuesday until they are right.” 0‑0, and a manager who had already decided what Tuesday looked like.
Ninety minutes, no goals, and the argument started before the car park emptied: a point gained, or two thrown away against Chippa United? Both sides of it will still be going on Thursday.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Platinum Stars they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Thulani Tau and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Squad30 Nov 2026
Words at Platinum Stars training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Thulani Mkhize is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
3 games without scoring. Strikers stop looking up, midfielders take the extra touch, and every shot that clears the bar is followed by a groan that has been building since the last goal.
The dugout30 Nov 2026
The view from the dugout
“We did not lose. Some weeks that is all you get, and I would rather have the point than not.” Bongani Grobler chose the glass-half-full version of 0‑0; the supporters left with the other one.
Ninety specific minutes wanted a different sort of player, and the manager picked one. He is not out of form and he is not in the side, and both are true.
6 without a win now, and the ground has developed the special quiet of a crowd that expects the worst. One scrappy 1-0 would cure most of it; that is the maddening part.
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Luther Dolly commits to Platinum Stars for another 4 years.
The dugout23 Nov 2026
The view from the dugout
“We will look at it, we will learn from it, and we go again.” The three sentences every manager keeps for a 0‑2 defeat, delivered by Bongani Grobler to a room that had heard them before.
He asked about his future and was given an answer with minutes in it. The manager has now made a promise in a building where promises are remembered, and the clock on it has started.
The manager wanted a different profile for this opponent, which is a real football reason and no consolation. He did nothing wrong and he did not play.
Gift Zwane and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Squad16 Nov 2026
Thulani Tau 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.
Half the programme played, position 11, 13 on the board. Doubling it is the sum every supporter has done and the only one nobody at the club will do out loud.
Clubs make promises constantly and the page usually only hears about them when they are broken. This one was honoured, and the dressing room noticed that faster than any supporter did.
“There are things I liked and things we will be doing on Tuesday until they are right.” 0‑0, and a manager who had already decided what Tuesday looked like.
1‑4 to Bloemfontein Celtic, and it was every bit as bad as the number suggests. There are defeats you argue about and defeats you apologise for; this was the second kind.
Thulani Tau 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.
Squad9 Nov 2026
Words at Platinum Stars training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Thulani Mkhize is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
Beaten 4 times, with 2 saves for company. Goalkeepers carry these scorelines on their record whoever actually caused them, which is the quiet injustice of the job.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Morgan Hlatshwayo will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Platinum Stars the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Thulani Tau and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
3 matches, no goals, and a training ground that has tried everything. It will end — droughts always do — but nobody at Platinum Stars can tell you which week it ends in.
0‑1 to Black Aces, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.
The dugout2 Nov 2026
The view from the dugout
“We will look at it, we will learn from it, and we go again.” The three sentences every manager keeps for a 0‑1 defeat, delivered by Bongani Grobler to a room that had heard them before.
Ninety specific minutes wanted a different sort of player, and the manager picked one. He is not out of form and he is not in the side, and both are true.
“I am not asking anybody to be better than they are. I am asking everybody to be as good as they are, every week.” Said out loud, in front of everybody, and the room at Platinum Stars was different afterwards.
Gift Zwane was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Thulani Tau was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Off the academy pitches and onto a senior team sheet at 17. The debut is the easy part; the second appearance is the one every young player has to earn.
Successful dribbles: 10. He went past people as if he had been told there was a prize for it, and by the end the full-back had stopped pretending to try.
The terraces26 Oct 2026
Supporters make their feelings known about Lebogang Jali
The speculation has reached the stands, and the stands have answered. Platinum Stars would like this settled before it becomes the only thing anybody asks about.
The manager wanted a different profile for this opponent, which is a real football reason and no consolation. He did nothing wrong and he did not play.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Platinum Stars this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Thulani Mkhize was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
“The easiest signature of my career.” Ramahlwe Zungu and Platinum Stars agree another 3 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
The dugout19 Oct 2026
The manager’s verdict
“That is on me. I pick the team and I picked wrong.” Managers say that when they mean it and when they need to be seen to, and after 0‑2 Bongani Grobler left the room before anybody could ask which.
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.
Ninety specific minutes wanted a different sort of player, and the manager picked one. He is not out of form and he is not in the side, and both are true.
Not a run of form — an actual step up, held for months. At 19 he is doing things at this level he could not do at the start of the season, and the coaching staff will tell you exactly which of them.
Thulani Tau 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.
“We earned that. I asked them for a reaction and I got one, and now I want the same again on Saturday.” Bongani Grobler on a 2‑0 afternoon that pleased him more than he was prepared to show.
There is no complaint available here and everybody involved knows it, which does not make the walk to the bench any shorter. Form is the only currency in football that cannot be borrowed against.
7 without a win now, and the ground has developed the special quiet of a crowd that expects the worst. One scrappy 1-0 would cure most of it; that is the maddening part.
7 matches, no goals, and a training ground that has tried everything. It will end — droughts always do — but nobody at Platinum Stars can tell you which week it ends in.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Morgan Hlatshwayo will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Platinum Stars the goodbyes have quietly begun.
The most common injury in the game and the most rushed back from. Platinum Stars will quote 14 days and will be careful with it, because the second one is always worse than the first.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Platinum Stars this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad5 Oct 2026
Words at Platinum Stars training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Thulani Tau 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.
0‑1 to Mamelodi Sundowns, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.
The dugout5 Oct 2026
The manager’s verdict
“That is on me. I pick the team and I picked wrong.” Managers say that when they mean it and when they need to be seen to, and after 0‑1 Bongani Grobler left the room before anybody could ask which.
6 without a win now, and the ground has developed the special quiet of a crowd that expects the worst. One scrappy 1-0 would cure most of it; that is the maddening part.
6 matches, no goals, and a training ground that has tried everything. It will end — droughts always do — but nobody at Platinum Stars can tell you which week it ends in.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Thulani Mkhize was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
“There are things I liked and things we will be doing on Tuesday until they are right.” 0‑0, and a manager who had already decided what Tuesday looked like.
The chances are being made and something is happening between the making and the finishing. 5 matches now, and the anxiety in the ground arrives a little earlier every week.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Platinum Stars this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Ninety specific minutes wanted a different sort of player, and the manager picked one. He is not out of form and he is not in the side, and both are true.
Orlando Pirates go through and Platinum Stars go home, 0‑1 the scoreline that did it. The dressing room will call the league the priority now, because that is what dressing rooms say.
The offer from Black Aces for Morgan Hlatshwayo was heard out and sent back the same day. First bids are rarely meant to succeed; they are meant to find out how loudly the door closes.
At 19 he is doing things this season that he could not do last season, and doing them every week. Form comes and goes; this has stayed long enough to be called something else.
The chances are being made and something is happening between the making and the finishing. 4 matches now, and the anxiety in the ground arrives a little earlier every week.
Squad14 Sep 2026
Words at Platinum Stars training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Thulani Tau is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Platinum Stars this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
“We were not good enough today and I am not going to dress it up.” Bongani Grobler after 0‑1, in the tone of a man who knows the next question and does not intend to answer it.
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Platinum Stars, and it is not being withdrawn.
Boardroom7 Sep 2026
Deadline passes with 6 signed and 0 gone
That is the business done at Platinum Stars until the window opens again. Whether it was enough will be answered on Saturdays rather than in a column, and the first Saturday is close.
Thulani Tau and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Squad7 Sep 2026
Words at Platinum Stars training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Thulani Mkhize 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.
Platinum Stars asked and Javor-Matis said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
Successful dribbles: 14. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
The dugout7 Sep 2026
The manager’s verdict
“I am frustrated, honestly. We did enough to win and we did not win.” Bongani Grobler was not hiding it after 0‑0, and nobody in the Platinum Stars dressing room was either.
The manager has re-ordered his thinking and Kermit Modiba has come out of it lower. He will be told it is temporary, and the players who have heard that before will avoid his eye.
Fee agreed, wages agreed, and Jomo Cosmos waiting with a shirt. Nobody at Platinum Stars is pretending otherwise, and the supporters have stopped asking whether and started asking when.
“It was not right for me. I am not going to explain why to anybody except the people I owe an explanation to.” A deal agreed between two clubs, and a player who declined to be part of it.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Javor-Matis have kept their man, and Platinum Stars go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 21-year-old it feels ownership of. Khama Williams has it now, and everything he does for the rest of his time here will be measured against the goodwill he was handed for free.
“It is not the end of the world and it is not good enough. Both of those are true.” The manager, after a 0‑0 draw, said the honest thing and then went to say it again inside.
The team sheet says it in public every week until it changes. The only version of being dropped a footballer cannot argue with, and the one he takes hardest.
The offer from Chippa United for Mandla Mothiba was heard out and sent back the same day. First bids are rarely meant to succeed; they are meant to find out how loudly the door closes.
Player ratings24 Aug 2026
Khama Williams, 21, plays like he has been here for years — 7.74
A mark of 7.74 means one thing beside a twenty-nine-year-old's name and something else entirely beside a 21-year-old's. Nobody at the ground needed telling which this was.
Gift Zwane and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Squad24 Aug 2026
Words at Platinum Stars training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Thulani Tau is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Pandurii have kept their man, and Platinum Stars go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
He is 21 and the ground already sings his name, which is a thing that happens to local boys and almost never to signings. Everything from here is measured against an affection he did nothing to earn except be from here.
Thulani Tau was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Thulani Mkhize was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Lebogang Tau commits to Platinum Stars for another 3 years.
The dugout17 Aug 2026
The view from the dugout
“We controlled it. There were spells I did not like and we will look at them, but the group showed me something.” Bongani Grobler, on a 2‑0 win that he was already picking apart on the walk to the press room.
The hardest thing about being 21 in a senior side is that nobody makes allowances. Morgan Hlatshwayo did not need any: 7.83, and he looked the most comfortable man on the pitch.
The offer from University of Pretoria for Morgan Hlatshwayo was heard out and sent back the same day. First bids are rarely meant to succeed; they are meant to find out how loudly the door closes.
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Thulani Tau and Platinum Stars agree another 2 years.
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.
1‑3 to Orlando Pirates, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.
Squad10 Aug 2026
Words at Platinum Stars training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Hlompho Mahlangu is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. MFK Ruzomberok have kept their man, and Platinum Stars go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Platinum Stars this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad3 Aug 2026
Words at Platinum Stars training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Thulani Tau 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.
MFK Ruzomberok have been asked whether they would lend him. Loans are agreed quickly or not at all, and this one will be one or the other by the weekend.
Platinum Stars have made the call to AEK. No fee, a share of the wages, and a spare shirt in the position where the squad has been thinnest all season.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Platinum Stars, and both men came out saying it was fine.
“The manager did not use many words, and he did not need to.” Ronwen Kekana has his answer from Platinum Stars; what he does with it is the next window’s story.
A decision that decides nothing on the pitch and everything in the room. The manager has said, without saying it, whose voice he wants heard when his own is not there.