Marked for Mohamed Suqrat
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad26 Feb 2029
A knee injury of the worst kind for Mohamed Suqrat
17 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Al Shaab lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Match24 Feb 2029
Beaten 0‑3 by Al Wahda, and beaten everywhere it matters. The inquest starts on the training pitch on Monday morning.
Player ratings26 Feb 2029
Successful dribbles: 26. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Squad26 Feb 2029
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Al Shaab have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Squad26 Feb 2029
Ismail Rashid 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 Feb 2029
Khalid Suqrat 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.
Back issues
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad19 Feb 2029
Mohamed Suqrat damages knee ligaments — 25 days out
The words a physio says slowly. 25 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.
Match17 Feb 2029
Al Fujairah will want this one forgotten quickly: 3‑0, every duel lost, and a long ride home. Al Shaab were ruthless in the way good sides are ruthless.
Player ratings19 Feb 2029
A brace, and Ismail Rashid takes the afternoon — 8.61
There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. Ismail Rashid provided it, and the 8.61 beside his name is if anything generous to everybody else.
Market19 Feb 2029
“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.
Squad19 Feb 2029
Fahad Al Hashmi: 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 Shaab have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Market19 Feb 2029
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Waled Husain Abdulla will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Al Shaab the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Squad19 Feb 2029
Walid Obaid in a row with a teammate
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 Shaab this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad19 Feb 2029
Words at Al Shaab training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Khalid Suqrat 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 terraces19 Feb 2029
The crowd has taken to Amar Yasser
At 23 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.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Player ratings12 Feb 2029
Successful dribbles: 50. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Squad12 Feb 2029
Mohamed Suqrat damages knee ligaments — 32 days out
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.
Squad12 Feb 2029
Santiago Gioria: 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 Shaab have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Market12 Feb 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 Shaab can pretend not to have heard.
Squad12 Feb 2029
Agustín Heredia 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 Feb 2029
Khalid Suqrat 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.
Loan watch12 Feb 2029
“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 Shaab, and 0 appearances in 33 say he has earned the hearing.
Player ratings12 Feb 2029
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.32, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Player ratings12 Feb 2029
Ten men and a goalkeeper behind him, and it still finished in the net. He knew before anybody told him, and nobody at Al Shaab needed to.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad5 Feb 2029
Mohamed Suqrat damages knee ligaments — 39 days out
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.
Player ratings5 Feb 2029
A brace, and Fahad Saeed takes the afternoon — 8.52
There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. Fahad Saeed provided it, and the 8.52 beside his name is if anything generous to everybody else.
Market5 Feb 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 Shaab can pretend not to have heard.
Player ratings5 Feb 2029
Two of the goals had his name somewhere on them, which is the afternoon a manager wants from anybody asked to both create and finish. 7.89, and 3 involvements.
Squad5 Feb 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.
Squad5 Feb 2029
Walid Obaid in a row with a teammate
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 Shaab this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Match3 Feb 2029
It finished 3‑2, and it was Fahad Saeed’s afternoon: on the scoresheet when it mattered, and the reason the points belong to Al Shaab.
Squad5 Feb 2029
Words at Al Shaab training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Khalid Suqrat 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 watch5 Feb 2029
“I watch every Al Shaab game from here. That says everything about where my head is.” The loan at Emirates Club runs its course, but his heart never made the trip.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad29 Jan 2029
A knee injury of the worst kind for Mohamed Suqrat
47 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Al Shaab lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Market29 Jan 2029
“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 Shaab, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad29 Jan 2029
There were 6 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.
Squad29 Jan 2029
Jacob Awoute: 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 Shaab have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Squad29 Jan 2029
Agustín Heredia 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.
Match27 Jan 2029
2‑3 to Al Shabab, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Player ratings22 Jan 2029
Successful dribbles: 43. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Squad22 Jan 2029
A knee injury of the worst kind for Mohamed Suqrat
54 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Al Shaab lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Market22 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 Shaab can pretend not to have heard.
Market22 Jan 2029
Al Shaab say no — this time
The offer from Al-Khaleej for David Odia 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.
Market22 Jan 2029
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Al Shaab they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Boardroom22 Jan 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.
Squad22 Jan 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 Shaab this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad22 Jan 2029
Words at Al Shaab training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Khalid Suqrat 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.
Match20 Jan 2029
Al Nasr left with the points after a 0‑2 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Player ratings15 Jan 2029
Successful dribbles: 36. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Squad15 Jan 2029
A knee injury of the worst kind for Mohamed Suqrat
61 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Al Shaab lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
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 Shaab can pretend not to have heard.
Squad15 Jan 2029
Walid Obaid 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
Khalid Suqrat 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.
Squad15 Jan 2029
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Augusto Solari, and the manager let it.
Market15 Jan 2029
The phone has started ringing about David Odia again, and this time the name on the line is Al-Wehda. Al Shaab are listening politely and promising nothing.
Loan watch15 Jan 2029
“I watch every Al Shaab game from here. That says everything about where my head is.” The loan at Emirates Club runs its course, but his heart never made the trip.
Player ratings15 Jan 2029
Some games turn on a moment; this one turned on a man. 7.50 on the card, and the Al Shaab support went home talking about one name.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad8 Jan 2029
Mohamed Suqrat damages knee ligaments — 69 days out
The words a physio says slowly. 69 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.
Match6 Jan 2029
4‑0, and Walid Hassan took the headlines on an afternoon when everything Al Shaab tried came off. Days like this are retold all winter.
Player ratings8 Jan 2029
A brace, and Ahmed Fawzi takes the afternoon — 8.88
There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. Ahmed Fawzi provided it, and the 8.88 beside his name is if anything generous to everybody else.
Player ratings8 Jan 2029
A brace, and Walid Hassan takes the afternoon — 8.43
There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. Walid Hassan provided it, and the 8.43 beside his name is if anything generous to everybody else.
Market8 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 Shaab can pretend not to have heard.
Squad8 Jan 2029
Agustín Heredia gets the move he always wanted
Footballers are asked about their boyhood club so often that nobody listens to the answer. Agustín Heredia has just signed for Al Shaab, and for once the answer mattered.
Squad8 Jan 2029
Augusto Solari 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.
Squad8 Jan 2029
Words at Al Shaab training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Khalid Suqrat 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 ratings8 Jan 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.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad1 Jan 2029
Mohamed Suqrat damages knee ligaments — 76 days out
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.
Match30 Dec 2028
Nowhere to hide for Al Shaab
0‑3 against Sharjah, and no complaints that would survive the replay. The manager spoke about character afterwards; the terraces used shorter words.
Player ratings1 Jan 2029
Successful dribbles: 30. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Squad1 Jan 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 Shaab this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad1 Jan 2029
Khalid Suqrat 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.
Squad1 Jan 2029
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Alassane Diallo, and the manager let it.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad25 Dec 2028
A knee injury of the worst kind for Mohamed Suqrat
84 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Al Shaab lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Squad25 Dec 2028
Walid Obaid in a row with a teammate
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 Shaab this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad25 Dec 2028
Words at Al Shaab training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Khalid Suqrat 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.