The Emirates Club Chronicle
Squad9 Jun 2031
Isaac Success 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.
Squad9 Jun 2031
A falling-out at Emirates Club
Khamis Saleh and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Market9 Jun 2031
Fabinho is free to find somewhere else
“I was told straight, and I would rather have it straight.” The manager at Emirates Club has been clear about where Fabinho stands, which is more than many ever get.
The dugout9 Jun 2031
Saud Al-Hosani gets it from the manager
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
Market9 Jun 2031
The Isaac Success talk will not go away
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Emirates Club know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
The dugout9 Jun 2031
Sultan Al-Saadi knocks on the manager's door
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Emirates Club, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Squad9 Jun 2031
Khalid Al Menhali still has not settled
A year in and the language has not come, the city has not opened up, and he eats alone more often than anybody at Emirates Club would like to admit. It is showing on Saturdays.
The dugout9 Jun 2031
The manager makes Abdulla Mohamed a promise
Nothing in writing and nothing in public: a word about playing time, given face to face at Emirates Club. The team sheets over the next month will show whether it was worth having.
Market9 Jun 2031
Ali Badr leaves for nothing
Contract settled, hands shaken, no fee changing hands. Ali Badr leaves Emirates Club the quiet way, and the wage bill breathes a little easier.
In brief
- Market Sultan Al Junaibi leaves for nothing
- Boardroom The Emirates Club academy earns its keep
- Squad Sultan Al Menhali is not doing himself any favours