Marked for Bader Fallatah
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad20 Nov 2028
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Al-Jeel will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
The dugout20 Nov 2028
This is not rotation. Jathob Al-Dhafieri has not been in the manager's plans for some time, and nobody at Al-Jeel is pretending otherwise.
Squad20 Nov 2028
Words exchanged at Al-Jeel
Nafea Al-Sumairi 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.
Squad20 Nov 2028
Words at Al-Jeel training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Azzam Al-Bishi 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.
Loan watch20 Nov 2028
“I am grateful for the games, but I did not become a footballer to be somebody else's spare part.” He wants to be at Al-Jeel, and 3 appearances in 21 say he has earned the hearing.
The dugout20 Nov 2028
The manager makes an example of Sofiane Dia
“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 dugout20 Nov 2028
Akintunde Azeez 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.
Looking ahead20 Nov 2028
He used to wear the other shirt. On Saturday he plays against Ohod in this one, and whatever he says this week about it being just another game will be untrue.
Back issues
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad17 Jul 2028
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 103 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Transfer targets17 Jul 2028
The deal with Al-Ettifaq is done in every sense but the one that puts him on the pitch. Nothing goes wrong at this stage, except on the occasions when it does.
Transfer targets17 Jul 2028
Al-Jeel asked and Al-Shoulla said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
Squad17 Jul 2028
A row about effort at Al-Jeel
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Azzam Al-Bishi was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The dugout17 Jul 2028
The manager makes an example of Thamer Al-Arjan
“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 dugout17 Jul 2028
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Sidney Mtshweni trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Transfer targets19 Jun 2028
The offer went to Al-Qadisiyah this week and it is theirs to answer. First bids are rarely meant to succeed; they are meant to find out how loud the door closes.
Squad19 Jun 2028
“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-Jeel are dealing with a man who wants a different country.
Squad19 Jun 2028
A falling-out at Al-Jeel
Nafea Al-Sumairi and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Transfer targets19 Jun 2028
Al-Jeel offered $14.0K; Ohod 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.
Transfer targets19 Jun 2028
Al-Jeel asked and Al-Ahli said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
Market19 Jun 2028
Add another name to the list: Al-Nahda have asked the question everybody in the game has been asking about Victor Uduebo. The answer from Al-Jeel has not changed — yet.
Squad19 Jun 2028
Sofiane Dia 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.
Transfer targets19 Jun 2028
Al-Jeel have made the call to Al-Ra'ed. No fee, a share of the wages, and a spare shirt in the position where the squad has been thinnest all season.
Market19 Jun 2028
Both sides expect a conversation in the coming days. Al-Jeel will name a price, and everything after that is arithmetic.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match5 Feb 2028
7 matches without a win for Al-Jeel
The run now stands at 7, and the questions being asked around Al-Jeel are no longer polite ones.
Squad7 Feb 2028
There were 7 saves in it, and at least three that had no business being saves at all. The ten outfield players owe him a drink and they know it.
Market7 Feb 2028
“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 Al-Jeel, and it is not being withdrawn.
Boardroom7 Feb 2028
Deadline passes with 0 signed and 1 gone
That is the business done at Al-Jeel 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.
Transfer targets7 Feb 2028
The offer went to Damac this week and it is theirs to answer. First bids are rarely meant to succeed; they are meant to find out how loud the door closes.
The dugout7 Feb 2028
This is not rotation. Osama Al-Johar has not been in the manager's plans for some time, and nobody at Al-Jeel is pretending otherwise.
Squad7 Feb 2028
Words exchanged at Al-Jeel
Nafea Al-Sumairi 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 Feb 2028
“The easiest signature of my career.” Mohammed Al-Fuhaid and Al-Jeel agree another 2 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Transfer targets7 Feb 2028
The approach was made and the answer came back in a sentence. There is no number on the table because there was no number that would have been enough.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad11 Oct 2027
“I have given this everything, but my family is not here and neither am I, not really.” A footballer can be coached out of bad form. Nobody has ever been coached out of this, and Al-Jeel know it.
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-Jeel this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad11 Oct 2027
Nawaf Al-Osaimi 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 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.
Market11 Oct 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.
Looking ahead11 Oct 2027
The leaders are next for Al-Jeel
Al-Ettifaq top the table and they are coming into view. Nothing to lose, which is what every manager says before losing.
Looking ahead11 Oct 2027
Every squad has one of these fixtures for somebody every season. This one is Meshal Sibyani’s: the club that knew him first, the supporters who will decide in the first minute whether to applaud, and Al-Jeel needing him to play as if none of it matters.
The dugout11 Oct 2027
Nawaf Al-Osaimi 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.
Market11 Oct 2027
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Al-Jeel know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Match2 Aug 2027
Al-Jeel sink to position 14
21 points, and a fixture list that is running out. The mathematics are not yet cruel, but they are no longer kind.
Boardroom2 Aug 2027
The scrutiny sharpens at Al-Jeel
Nobody upstairs has said anything, which is the loudest thing they could do. Results buy silence in this game; the account at Al-Jeel is running low.
Squad2 Aug 2027
Words exchanged at Al-Jeel
Sidney Mtshweni 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
Bader Fallatah arrives at the club he grew up with
Every footballer has an answer to the question about his boyhood club, and most of them never get to act on it. Bader Fallatah has, at Al-Jeel, and the first month will show what that does to a man.
Transfer targets2 Aug 2027
The approach was made and the answer came back in a sentence. There is no number on the table because there was no number that would have been enough.
The dugout2 Aug 2027
Belal Al-Dawaa back under a manager who knows him
The new man at Al-Jeel has worked with Belal Al-Dawaa before and it went well. He arrives with a view of the player already formed, which is worth more than any pre-season.
The dugout2 Aug 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.
Squad2 Aug 2027
“The easiest signature of my career.” Nafea Al-Sumairi and Al-Jeel agree another 3 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Squad2 Aug 2027
Jathob Al-Dhafieri 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.