Marked for Luyanda Makhathini
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad7 May 2029
The knee: Prince Ibara out for 97 days
97 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.
Boardroom7 May 2029
The board’s statement ran to three sentences and one of them mentioned results. Interim Coach has managed long enough to translate: win soon, or the next statement is shorter.
The dugout7 May 2029
Rasoul Barichi: 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.” Al-Njoom have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Squad7 May 2029
A falling-out at Al-Njoom
Anas Al-Zahrani and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad7 May 2029
Zakaria Sami 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 dugout7 May 2029
The manager makes an example of Rayan 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.
Market7 May 2029
“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 dugout7 May 2029
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.
The dugout7 May 2029
The manager's exit leaves Thabiso Msane exposed
Every squad has men who were signed by a particular manager and men who were merely inherited. Thabiso Msane is in the first group, and the man who wanted him here is no longer in the building.
Back issues
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad23 Apr 2029
The knee: Prince Ibara out for 111 days
111 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.
Boardroom23 Apr 2029
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.
Market23 Apr 2029
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Luyanda Makhathini will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Al-Njoom the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Squad23 Apr 2029
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.
Squad23 Apr 2029
Time is catching up with Zakaria Sami
Everybody at Al-Njoom saw it before anybody said it, which is how this always goes. At 37 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.
Squad23 Apr 2029
Zakaria Sami 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.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad16 Apr 2029
The knee: Prince Ibara out for 118 days
118 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 dugout16 Apr 2029
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Al-Njoom may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Squad16 Apr 2029
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.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad9 Apr 2029
The knee: Prince Ibara out for 125 days
125 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.
Squad9 Apr 2029
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.
Squad9 Apr 2029
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 dugout9 Apr 2029
The manager makes an example of Khalid Hazazi
“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.
Market9 Apr 2029
“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 dugout9 Apr 2029
Mohammed Al-Saedi 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.
Market9 Apr 2029
The name of Eyad Al-Nasser keeps appearing in other people's back pages. Al-Njoom say nothing, which says plenty.
Market9 Apr 2029
1 months left and the two sides are nowhere near each other. Every week this drags on takes money off what Al-Njoom could get for him.
Market9 Apr 2029
Al-Njoom have let the market know Eyad Al-Nasser can be had. No price in the advert, but everyone in the trade knows roughly what it says.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Boardroom26 Mar 2029
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.
Match26 Mar 2029
The season ends: position 11 for Al-Njoom
The last league game has been played and the table has stopped moving: 34 points. The summer begins on Monday, and so does the argument about what it all meant.
Market26 Mar 2029
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Al-Njoom they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Squad26 Mar 2029
6 saves, and a scoreline the ten men in front of him had no right to. Goalkeepers only get noticed on the bad days; this was one of the other ones.
The dugout26 Mar 2029
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Al-Njoom may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Squad26 Mar 2029
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.
Squad26 Mar 2029
A row about effort at Al-Njoom
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Zakaria Sami was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Match24 Mar 2029
Al-Shoulla left with the points after a 1‑2 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.
The dugout26 Mar 2029
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Musaed Al-Johani, and the manager let it.
In brief
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Boardroom
Wages swallow 109% of the Al-Njoom income
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The dugout
The view from the dugout
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Player ratings
Mohammed Al-Saedi could not find anything
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
The dugout19 Mar 2029
“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.
Player ratings19 Mar 2029
A midfielder is measured on whether the team functions when he is on the pitch, which is nearly impossible to see and completely obvious in retrospect. 18 actions, 6.45, and a manager who will not be substituting him again in a hurry.
Squad19 Mar 2029
Words exchanged at Al-Njoom
Anas Al-Zahrani 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.
Squad19 Mar 2029
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.
Player ratings19 Mar 2029
Some games turn on a moment; this one turned on a man. 7.49 on the card, and the Al-Njoom support went home talking about one name.
Market19 Mar 2029
The name of Naser Al-Ghamdi keeps appearing in other people's back pages. Al-Njoom say nothing, which says plenty.
The dugout19 Mar 2029
A player who expected to start watched it instead. The manager will call it a decision for the team; Gosiame Ngobeni will call it something else in private.
The dugout19 Mar 2029
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Rasoul Barichi, and the manager let it.
The dugout19 Mar 2029
“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.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Player ratings12 Mar 2029
Mohammed Al-Mahwari, 20, plays like he has been here for years — 8.07
A mark of 8.07 means one thing beside a twenty-nine-year-old's name and something else entirely beside a 20-year-old's. Nobody at the ground needed telling which this was.
Squad12 Mar 2029
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.
Squad12 Mar 2029
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.
Match10 Mar 2029
It finished 2‑1, and it was Ukeme Williams’s afternoon: on the scoresheet when it mattered, and the reason the points belong to Al-Njoom.
The terraces12 Mar 2029
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 23-year-old it feels ownership of. Musaed Al-Johani 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.
The dugout12 Mar 2029
The manager makes an example of Khalid Hazazi
“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 ratings12 Mar 2029
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.
The dugout12 Mar 2029
“That is what I want every week. Not the result, the way they went about it.” The manager, after 2‑1, already talking about the next one.
The dugout12 Mar 2029
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.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Boardroom26 Feb 2029
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.
Market26 Feb 2029
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Luyanda Makhathini will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Al-Njoom the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Boardroom26 Feb 2029
He will play here until the summer and then walk out of the door for free, having already signed elsewhere. Supporters will manage the first part of that sentence; it is the second they will struggle with.
Squad26 Feb 2029
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.
Squad26 Feb 2029
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.
Player ratings26 Feb 2029
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.
Boardroom26 Feb 2029
Wages swallow 115% of the Al-Njoom income
Every club pays most of what it earns to its players. Paying nearly all of it is a different arrangement, and it has ended the same way every time it has been tried.
The dugout26 Feb 2029
“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 dugout26 Feb 2029
The view from the dugout
“We did not lose. Some weeks that is all you get, and I would rather have the point than not.” Interim Coach chose the glass-half-full version of 0‑0; the supporters left with the other one.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad15 Jan 2029
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the whole of the defence. 10 saves, several of them the kind nobody expects to see made, and ten outfield players who owe him a drink.
Market15 Jan 2029
“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.
The dugout15 Jan 2029
“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.
Transfer targets15 Jan 2029
The clubs had agreed and the player had not. A snub, and a public one: Al-Diriyah keep him, and the supporters here are left wondering what he had heard about the place.
Transfer targets15 Jan 2029
Al-Njoom have gone to Al-Ahli with a bid, and the supporters have gone to the internet with an opinion about it. Whether either changes anything is up to the selling club.
Squad15 Jan 2029
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.
Squad15 Jan 2029
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.
Match13 Jan 2029
Beaten 0‑1, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
The dugout15 Jan 2029
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Luyanda Makhathini, and the manager let it.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match2 Dec 2028
Chastening afternoon for Al-Njoom
A 0‑3 beating by Al-Nahda was the sort of result that empties a stadium long before the final whistle.
Squad4 Dec 2028
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.
Squad4 Dec 2028
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.
Squad4 Dec 2028
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.
Player ratings4 Dec 2028
Marked 6.78 on 11 actions at both ends of the pitch. Midfielders like this get described as unspectacular by people who have never tried to play against one.
Boardroom4 Dec 2028
Wages eat 117% of everything Al-Njoom earn
There is a figure at which a wage bill stops being ambitious and becomes the reason nothing else is possible, and this club has reached it. Nothing is left over for a transfer, a stand or a rainy afternoon.
Boardroom4 Dec 2028
Nobody left the Al-Njoom dressing room in a hurry
The door stayed shut a long time after the final whistle. What was said in there is between them; whether it worked is between them and Saturday.
The dugout4 Dec 2028
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 0‑3 defeat, delivered by Interim Coach to a room that had heard them before.
The dugout4 Dec 2028
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.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad20 Nov 2028
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Al-Njoom will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
Squad20 Nov 2028
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.
Squad20 Nov 2028
Words at Al-Njoom training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Zakaria Sami 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.
Squad20 Nov 2028
At 35, 3 points below where he was, and a body that has started charging interest. It happens to all of them and it is still the hardest paragraph on this page.
The dugout20 Nov 2028
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Abdulilah Al-Ghamdi, and the manager let it.
The dugout20 Nov 2028
Abdulilah Al-Ghamdi 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.
The dugout20 Nov 2028
“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.
Market20 Nov 2028
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.
Market20 Nov 2028
6 months remain and no agreement is close. Every week without a signature costs Al-Njoom money.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad18 Sep 2028
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 49 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Match13 Sep 2028
The cup run ends for Al-Njoom
0‑4 against Al-Ahli, and the road stops here. Cup exits are quick deaths — no second leg, no next week, just the league from now until May.
The terraces18 Sep 2028
Al-Njoom are taken apart by Al-Ahli — and the town wants answers
It finished 0-4. A cup exit is a disappointment; this was a public dismantling, and the difference between the two is the number of people who will still be talking about it in August.
Squad18 Sep 2028
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.
Transfer targets18 Sep 2028
No deal for Awad Aman at that price
Al-Njoom offered $87.0K; Al-Nahda 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.
Squad18 Sep 2028
Zakaria Sami 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.
Match16 Sep 2028
Beaten 0‑1, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
The dugout18 Sep 2028
“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.
Boardroom18 Sep 2028
The music was off and the showers ran late. What was said in that dressing room stays there, but Saturday will publish the minutes.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match11 Mar 2028
Nowhere to hide for Al-Njoom
0‑3 against Al-Orobah, and no complaints that would survive the replay. The manager spoke about character afterwards; the terraces used shorter words.
Match11 Mar 2028
The wait goes on for Al-Njoom
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.
Player ratings13 Mar 2028
Thari Saeed beats them one at a time
Successful dribbles: 23. There was always a defender in front of him and there was never a defender in front of him for long.
The dugout13 Mar 2028
This is not rotation. Ayman Al-Sahli has not been in the manager's plans for some time, and nobody at Al-Njoom is pretending otherwise.
Squad13 Mar 2028
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.
Squad13 Mar 2028
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.
The dugout13 Mar 2028
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Ukeme Williams, and the manager let it.
Boardroom13 Mar 2028
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 dugout13 Mar 2028
“The supporters are entitled to be angry. So am I. We will put it right.” 0‑3, a manager saying the necessary things, and a dressing room that heard a different version of them.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad6 Dec 2027
A knee injury of the worst kind for Montassar Toumi
78 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.
Squad6 Dec 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.
Squad6 Dec 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.
Match4 Dec 2027
Al-Njoom are shipping goals every week
Two or more conceded in each of the last 4 matches. It is not one mistake repeating itself, which would be the easier thing to fix; it is a different one every week.
The dugout6 Dec 2027
The manager makes an example of Zakaria Sami
“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.
Match4 Dec 2027
Al-Njoom rescue it on 86 minutes
Behind, and beaten by any honest reading, until minute 86. Ohod had the points in their pocket and a corner of the ground still believed, which is generally when it happens.
Player ratings6 Dec 2027
Successful dribbles: 17. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Match4 Dec 2027
It needed Prince Ibara to find the net to bring anything home at all: 2‑2 against Ohod, and half the dressing room will call it a point won.
Squad6 Dec 2027
Saad Al-Enezi slips down the pecking order
The demotion a club never announces and a dressing room always notices. Saad Al-Enezi is further from the side than he was, and the reason will not be given until he asks.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad29 Nov 2027
A knee injury of the worst kind for Montassar Toumi
85 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.
Squad29 Nov 2027
A falling-out at Al-Njoom
Faris Al-Ghamdi and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad29 Nov 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.
Match27 Nov 2027
Al-Orobah left with the points after a 1‑2 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.
Boardroom29 Nov 2027
Wages swallow 113% of the Al-Njoom income
Every club pays most of what it earns to its players. Paying nearly all of it is a different arrangement, and it has ended the same way every time it has been tried.
The dugout29 Nov 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.
The dugout29 Nov 2027
“I could talk about decisions and I could talk about luck. I will not. We lost.” The manager, 1‑2, and a press conference that lasted four minutes.
The dugout29 Nov 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 dugout29 Nov 2027
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.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad22 Nov 2027
A knee injury of the worst kind for Montassar Toumi
93 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.
Market22 Nov 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.
The dugout22 Nov 2027
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Al-Njoom may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Squad22 Nov 2027
Words exchanged at Al-Njoom
Faris Al-Ghamdi 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.
Match20 Nov 2027
1‑2 to Al-Fayha, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.
The dugout22 Nov 2027
The manager makes an example of Eyad Al-Nasser
“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 ratings22 Nov 2027
Successful dribbles: 18. 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 dugout22 Nov 2027
“We were not good enough today and I am not going to dress it up.” Waleed Al-Sultan after 1‑2, in the tone of a man who knows the next question and does not intend to answer it.
Squad22 Nov 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.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad13 Sep 2027
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.
Market13 Sep 2027
Al-Njoom say no — this time
The offer from Al-Mojzel for Safi Al-Zaqarty 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.
Squad13 Sep 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.
Squad13 Sep 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.
The dugout13 Sep 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.
The dugout13 Sep 2027
“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 dugout13 Sep 2027
Mehdi Al-Aboud 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.
Squad13 Sep 2027
“I respect the manager and I am not going to sit here and pretend I am happy.” It is the most common sentence in football and it has never once been the end of a story.
Match11 Sep 2027
Ninety minutes, two goalkeepers with clean gloves, and not one finish worth keeping. Al-Batin will be the happier side with the point.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
The dugout6 Sep 2027
Mehdi Al-Aboud: 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.” Al-Njoom have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Boardroom6 Sep 2027
Al-Njoom close the window on a squad of their own making
21 in and 5 out, and no more changes for months. The manager has what he has, the supporters have their opinion of it, and the table will have the last word.
Squad6 Sep 2027
A falling-out at Al-Njoom
Faris Al-Ghamdi and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad6 Sep 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.
Market6 Sep 2027
The phone has started ringing about Safi Al-Zaqarty again, and this time the name on the line is Al-Mojzel. Al-Njoom are listening politely and promising nothing.
The dugout6 Sep 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.
Boardroom6 Sep 2027
Wages eat 91% of everything Al-Njoom earn
There is a figure at which a wage bill stops being ambitious and becomes the reason nothing else is possible, and this club has reached it. Nothing is left over for a transfer, a stand or a rainy afternoon.
Squad6 Sep 2027
The manager has re-ordered his thinking and Naser Al-Ghamdi 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.
Squad6 Sep 2027
A place in the month's best eleven for Mehdi Al-Aboud
Four or five weekends of consistency, judged against everybody in the division doing his job. Mehdi Al-Aboud has come out of that comparison in the side, and Al-Njoom have had the benefit of every one of those afternoons.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Market26 Jul 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.
Transfer targets26 Jul 2027
Terms were offered and declined. Whether it was the wages, the role or the town, nobody at Hajer is saying, and nobody at Al-Njoom is enjoying the guessing.
The dugout26 Jul 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.
Squad26 Jul 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.
Squad26 Jul 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.
Squad26 Jul 2027
Al-Njoom are still strangers to each other
12 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.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Market12 Jul 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.
Transfer targets12 Jul 2027
Terms were offered and declined. Whether it was the wages, the role or the town, nobody at Al-Qadisiyah is saying, and nobody at Al-Njoom is enjoying the guessing.
Squad12 Jul 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.
Transfer targets12 Jul 2027
Al-Njoom offered $70.0K; Al-Wehda 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.
Squad12 Jul 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 dugout12 Jul 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.
Market12 Jul 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 dugout12 Jul 2027
Naser Al-Ghamdi 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.
Market12 Jul 2027
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Al-Njoom know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.