Marked for Mohammed Asiri
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad11 Oct 2027
Montassar Toumi damages knee ligaments — 135 days out
The words a physio says slowly. 135 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.
Squad11 Oct 2027
A fracture rules Salman Al-Rashid out for 31 days
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Al-Njoom will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Squad11 Oct 2027
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Al-Njoom this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad11 Oct 2027
“I have tried. I have really tried, and every day I wake up in the wrong place.” Nobody at Al-Njoom can coach that out of a man, and nobody there is pretending to.
The dugout11 Oct 2027
A promise honoured at Al-Njoom
Something was said to Faris Al-Ghamdi and then it happened. In this industry that passes for remarkable, and the dressing room noticed faster than any supporter could.
The dugout11 Oct 2027
“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.
Looking ahead11 Oct 2027
He used to wear the other shirt. On Saturday he plays against Al-Shoulla in this one, and whatever he says this week about it being just another game will be untrue.
The dugout11 Oct 2027
Thabiso Msane knocks on the manager’s door
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Thabiso Msane trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Market11 Oct 2027
Every press conference now starts and ends the same way: with Rayan Al-Ghamdi’s future. The manager has run out of new ways to say nothing.
Back issues
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Boardroom2 Aug 2027
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.
Boardroom2 Aug 2027
The Al-Njoom board call everybody in
Nothing has been announced and everybody understands what it means. A board that summons the whole football department on a Tuesday morning is a board that has stopped believing the problem will fix itself.
Squad2 Aug 2027
Words exchanged at Al-Njoom
Mehdi Al-Aboud and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Squad2 Aug 2027
Prince Ibara 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.
Squad2 Aug 2027
The manager has re-ordered his thinking and Ayman Al-Sahli 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.
Market2 Aug 2027
“We are a long way apart, and pretending otherwise helps nobody.” Neither side is close, and the calendar is not on the club's side.
The dugout2 Aug 2027
The manager has not finished forgetting Eyad Al-Nasser'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.
The dugout2 Aug 2027
Zakaria Sami loses the manager who believed in him
A change in the dugout is not one story, it is twenty-five of them. This is Zakaria Sami's: he was somebody's player, and now he has to be somebody else's, starting from nothing.
The dugout2 Aug 2027
Eyad Al-Nasser 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.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Boardroom21 Jun 2027
The scrutiny sharpens at Al-Njoom
Nobody upstairs has said anything, which is the loudest thing they could do. Results buy silence in this game; the account at Al-Njoom is running low.
Squad21 Jun 2027
A knee injury of the worst kind for Mohammed Asiri
17 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Al-Njoom lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Transfer targets21 Jun 2027
$20.0K settles it between the clubs for Osamah Al-Mubaireek
Hajer have accepted the money. What Al-Njoom do not yet have is the man, and between here and the photograph is a conversation about wages that both sides are dreading.
Squad21 Jun 2027
Naser Al-Ghamdi 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.
Transfer targets21 Jun 2027
Al-Njoom offered $190.0K; Al-Qadisiyah said it was not close. The manager will be told the money is still there for the right player, which is what managers are told.
Squad21 Jun 2027
A row about effort at Al-Njoom
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Prince Ibara was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Squad21 Jun 2027
Everybody at Al-Njoom saw it before anybody said it, which is how this always goes. At 33 the decline is real and measurable — 3 points — and the only question left is how the club handles somebody it owes a great deal to.
Market21 Jun 2027
He is 20, and nobody at Al-Njoom signed him for this season. Deals like this are judged in four years, by people who may not still be in the building.
Transfer targets21 Jun 2027
A loan enquiry to Al-Hilal: cover, or a look at somebody the club cannot afford to buy yet. Either way the answer will come back inside the week.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad14 Jun 2027
24 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Al-Njoom lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
Market14 Jun 2027
Al Wasl come back empty-handed
The bid was some way short and Al-Njoom did not need long over it. Nobody in the game reads a first refusal as the end of anything.
Transfer targets14 Jun 2027
$190.0K on the table at Al-Qadisiyah. The manager wanted him, the board agreed a number, and the only voices still to be heard are the ones at the other club.
Transfer targets14 Jun 2027
$85.0K on the table at Al-Khaleej. The manager wanted him, the board agreed a number, and the only voices still to be heard are the ones at the other club.
Market14 Jun 2027
The chase for Ayman Al-Sahli ended with $80.0K changing hands and Al-Faisaly out of reasons to say no. The supporters will judge the fee the only way that matters: on Saturdays.
Squad14 Jun 2027
Words exchanged at Al-Njoom
Tebogo Mohlamonyane and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Squad14 Jun 2027
Words at Al-Njoom training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Prince Ibara 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.
Transfer targets14 Jun 2027
Al-Njoom asked and Al-Fateh said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
Market14 Jun 2027
The name of Mohammed Al-Buladi has come up in conversations Al-Njoom were not part of. Nothing formal, nothing signed — but nothing about it accidental either.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad7 Jun 2027
A knee injury of the worst kind for Mohammed Asiri
31 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Al-Njoom lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Boardroom7 Jun 2027
Waleed Al-Sultan has until the next board meeting
What was said behind closed doors has now been said in front of a microphone. Everybody at Al-Njoom can do the arithmetic, including the man it is aimed at.
Market7 Jun 2027
Lu Yiming 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 Al-Njoom can pretend not to have heard.
Boardroom7 Jun 2027
There is no worse way to lose a footballer. Hassan Al-Musallam has pre-agreed a move away, which means every appearance between now and June is made by a man the club can no longer sell, and somebody upstairs will be asked why the contract was allowed to get here.
Squad7 Jun 2027
“The easiest signature of my career.” Zakaria Sami and Al-Njoom agree another 2 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Squad7 Jun 2027
A falling-out at Al-Njoom
Tebogo Mohlamonyane and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Market7 Jun 2027
The name of Maid Ahmed has come up in conversations Al-Njoom were not part of. Nothing formal, nothing signed — but nothing about it accidental either.
Squad7 Jun 2027
“I have tried. I have really tried, and every day I wake up in the wrong place.” Nobody at Al-Njoom can coach that out of a man, and nobody there is pretending to.
The dugout7 Jun 2027
The manager makes an example of Naser Al-Ghamdi
“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.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad31 May 2027
Mohammed Asiri damages knee ligaments — 38 days out
The words a physio says slowly. 38 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.
Market31 May 2027
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Al-Njoom can pretend not to have heard.
Market31 May 2027
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Hassan Al-Musallam will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Al-Njoom the goodbyes have quietly begun.
The dugout31 May 2027
This is not rotation. Thabiso Msane has not been in the manager's plans for some time, and nobody at Al-Njoom is pretending otherwise.
Squad31 May 2027
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Al-Njoom this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad31 May 2027
Prince Ibara 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 dugout31 May 2027
“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.
The dugout31 May 2027
Ukeme Williams knocks on the manager’s door
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Ukeme Williams trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Market31 May 2027
Al-Njoom have made Safi Al-Zaqarty available for transfer. A career at this club is over in all but paperwork.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad24 May 2027
Mohammed Asiri damages knee ligaments — 45 days out
The words a physio says slowly. 45 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.
Boardroom24 May 2027
The scrutiny sharpens at Al-Njoom
Nobody upstairs has said anything, which is the loudest thing they could do. Results buy silence in this game; the account at Al-Njoom is running low.
Market24 May 2027
“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.
Squad24 May 2027
Words exchanged at Al-Njoom
Luyanda Makhathini 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 May 2027
He is not being dropped. There is simply nowhere in the formation Al-Njoom are playing to put a man who does what he does, which is a harder thing to be told than any team sheet.
Squad24 May 2027
Al-Njoom are still strangers to each other
5 new signings in one window. Every one may be an upgrade and the side can still be worse for a while, which is the part of a rebuild the verdicts never mention.
The dugout24 May 2027
Ukeme Williams 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.
Market24 May 2027
The clock does Hassan Al-Musallam’s negotiating for him
2 months left, and both sides know what that means: every week without a signature, the fee Al-Njoom could ask drops and the wages Hassan Al-Musallam can ask rise.
Market24 May 2027
The list is a quiet document with a loud meaning. Prince Ibara may talk to anybody who asks, and everybody at the club understands what that means.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad17 May 2027
A knee injury of the worst kind for Mohammed Asiri
52 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Al-Njoom lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
The dugout17 May 2027
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Al-Njoom have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Squad17 May 2027
Words exchanged at Al-Njoom
Tebogo Mohlamonyane and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Squad17 May 2027
Lu Yiming gets the move he always wanted
Footballers are asked about their boyhood club so often that nobody listens to the answer. Lu Yiming has just signed for Al-Njoom, and for once the answer mattered.
Squad17 May 2027
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Luyanda Makhathini and Al-Njoom agree another 2 years.
The dugout17 May 2027
“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.
Boardroom17 May 2027
94% of the income goes out in wages at Al-Njoom
Every club in football pays most of what it earns to its players. Paying nearly all of it is a different arrangement, and it has ended the same way every time somebody has tried it.
Market17 May 2027
“We keep meeting, and we keep leaving the room with the same numbers we walked in with.” Another round of talks at Al-Njoom, another week without a signature from Luyanda Makhathini.
The dugout17 May 2027
“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.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad10 May 2027
59 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Al-Njoom lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
The dugout10 May 2027
“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.
Squad10 May 2027
A falling-out at Al-Njoom
Naser Al-Ghamdi and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad10 May 2027
Words at Al-Njoom training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Tebogo Mohlamonyane 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 dugout10 May 2027
Prince Ibara gets picked when it counts
Every manager keeps a short list in his head of the men he wants on the pitch when the stakes rise, and it is never published. The team sheets for the big afternoons say Prince Ibara is on it.
Squad10 May 2027
He is not being dropped. There is simply nowhere in the formation Al-Njoom are playing to put a man who does what he does, which is a harder thing to be told than any team sheet.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad3 May 2027
Mohammed Asiri damages knee ligaments — 66 days out
The words a physio says slowly. 66 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.
Boardroom3 May 2027
The board have said in public what they had been saying in private. Results between now and the next meeting decide it, and everybody in the building knows the arithmetic.
The dugout3 May 2027
This is not rotation. Thabiso Msane has not been in the manager's plans for some time, and nobody at Al-Njoom is pretending otherwise.
Squad3 May 2027
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Al-Njoom this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad3 May 2027
Words at Al-Njoom training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Tebogo Mohlamonyane 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.
Market3 May 2027
“They were honest with me, and I would rather know.” Thabiso Msane has been informed he is not in the manager's thinking at Al-Njoom.
The dugout3 May 2027
“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.
Squad3 May 2027
It will be explained as a change for the team and it may even be one. Nobody who has worn one believes that, and neither does the man who has just had it taken away.
Market3 May 2027
At 36, he has seen every situation this season can produce, twice. The legs will be managed; the head is the purchase.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad26 Apr 2027
A knee injury of the worst kind for Mohammed Asiri
73 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Al-Njoom lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Market26 Apr 2027
Prince Ibara 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 Al-Njoom can pretend not to have heard.
Boardroom26 Apr 2027
Pressure builds in the Al-Njoom boardroom
The directors have stopped offering the manager public warmth. In football that is usually the stage before the short statement.
Squad26 Apr 2027
Tebogo Mohlamonyane 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 Apr 2027
A row about effort at Al-Njoom
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Rayan Al-Ghamdi was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The dugout26 Apr 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Rayan Al-Ghamdi, and the manager let it.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad19 Apr 2027
A knee injury of the worst kind for Mohammed Asiri
80 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Al-Njoom lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Market19 Apr 2027
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Al-Njoom can pretend not to have heard.
Squad19 Apr 2027
Naser Al-Ghamdi was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Squad19 Apr 2027
A row about effort at Al-Njoom
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Tebogo Mohlamonyane was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The dugout19 Apr 2027
“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.
Boardroom19 Apr 2027
98% of the income goes out in wages at Al-Njoom
Every club in football pays most of what it earns to its players. Paying nearly all of it is a different arrangement, and it has ended the same way every time somebody has tried it.
The dugout19 Apr 2027
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Al-Njoom, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Squad19 Apr 2027
The shrug has gone, the language is coming, and he now argues in training like somebody who expects to be here next year. Half a signing's value is this and none of it appears on a fee.
The dugout19 Apr 2027
“Judge me on him.” Managers do not say that kind of thing by accident — it moves the pressure from Tebogo Mohlamonyane’s shoulders onto his own, and both of them know it.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad12 Apr 2027
A knee injury of the worst kind for Mohammed Asiri
87 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Al-Njoom lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Squad12 Apr 2027
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Al-Njoom this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Boardroom12 Apr 2027
The paperwork is done long before the player is. Abdullah Aman has agreed terms to come here when his current deal runs out, which means Al-Njoom have spent a summer's transfer budget on a phone call.
Squad12 Apr 2027
Saif Rashad 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 dugout12 Apr 2027
“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.
Market12 Apr 2027
“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.
The dugout12 Apr 2027
Prince Ibara has become a man the manager trusts
Nobody at Al-Njoom will say this on the record and the team sheets have been saying it for weeks. There is a small group in every squad who get picked when the fixture is difficult, and he has joined it.
The dugout12 Apr 2027
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Al-Njoom, and both men came out saying it was fine.
The dugout12 Apr 2027
Eyad Al-Nasser is still being punished for one mistake
Nobody will confirm it and the team sheets confirm it every week. One error has bought him a spell as second choice that is already longer than the error deserved.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad5 Apr 2027
Mohammed Asiri damages knee ligaments — 94 days out
The words a physio says slowly. 94 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.
Boardroom5 Apr 2027
Waleed Al-Sultan has until the next board meeting
What was said behind closed doors has now been said in front of a microphone. Everybody at Al-Njoom can do the arithmetic, including the man it is aimed at.
Match5 Apr 2027
Al-Njoom finish in position 11
28 points, and the season has a number on it. Whatever it felt like from the inside, this is what it will look like in a book.
Match3 Apr 2027
4 matches without a win for Al-Njoom
The run now stands at 4, and the questions being asked around Al-Njoom are no longer polite ones.
The dugout5 Apr 2027
This is not rotation. Thabiso Msane has not been in the manager's plans for some time, and nobody at Al-Njoom is pretending otherwise.
Squad5 Apr 2027
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.
Boardroom5 Apr 2027
The paperwork is done long before the player is. Farraj Al-Rashid has agreed terms to come here when his current deal runs out, which means Al-Njoom have spent a summer's transfer budget on a phone call.
Squad5 Apr 2027
“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; Al-Njoom are dealing with a man who wants a different country.
Squad5 Apr 2027
Words at Al-Njoom training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Rayan Al-Ghamdi 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.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad29 Mar 2027
A knee injury of the worst kind for Mohammed Asiri
101 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Al-Njoom lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Boardroom29 Mar 2027
The silence upstairs is getting loud at Al-Njoom
Nobody on the board has said anything against the manager, which is the point — they have stopped saying anything for him either.
Squad29 Mar 2027
Words exchanged at Al-Njoom
Tebogo Mohlamonyane 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 dugout29 Mar 2027
“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.
Squad29 Mar 2027
It happens to all of them and it is still the hardest paragraph a local paper has to write. 39 years old, 3 points down on where he was, and a body that has started charging interest on a career.
Squad29 Mar 2027
Abdullah Al-Saiari 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.
Looking ahead29 Mar 2027
Al-Njoom take on the side everybody is chasing
Al-Diriyah arrive as leaders. A side at the top is beaten roughly once a month, and the club that does it gets a week it remembers for a year.
Looking ahead29 Mar 2027
He used to wear the other shirt. On Saturday he plays against Al-Diriyah in this one, and whatever he says this week about it being just another game will be untrue.
The dugout29 Mar 2027
Thabiso Msane knocks on the manager’s door
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Thabiso Msane trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.