Marked for Mohammed Al-Juhani
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad16 Jul 2029
A knee injury of the worst kind for Ahmed Al-Khaibari
79 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Al-Fayha lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Boardroom16 Jul 2029
The silence upstairs is getting loud at Al-Fayha
Nobody on the board has said anything against the manager, which is the point — they have stopped saying anything for him either.
Market16 Jul 2029
The last thing about a transfer that is still about the player is his signature on his own terms, and it is there. Al-Fayha have lost him in all but the paperwork.
Market16 Jul 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.
Transfer targets16 Jul 2029
The paperwork begins on Essam Bahri
A medical, a signature, a shirt held up in front of a sponsor’s board. Al-Fayha have done the hard part with Al-Njoom, and the part that remains is the part supporters actually see.
Squad16 Jul 2029
Words exchanged at Al-Fayha
Paulo Oliveira 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.
Squad16 Jul 2029
Footballers are asked about their boyhood club so often that nobody listens to the answer. Faisal Al-Mansour has just signed for Al-Fayha, and for once the answer mattered.
Transfer targets16 Jul 2029
Al-Fayha 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.
Squad16 Jul 2029
Words at Al-Fayha training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Muath Al-Habib 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.
In brief
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The dugout
The manager makes an example of Muath Al-Habib
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Boardroom
121% of the income goes out in wages at Al-Fayha
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Boardroom
The Al-Fayha debt reaches $16.0M
Back issues
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad11 Jun 2029
A knee injury of the worst kind for Ahmed Al-Khaibari
114 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Al-Fayha lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Squad11 Jun 2029
Paulo Oliveira 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.
Market11 Jun 2029
Nawaf Al-Bishri has left for Hajer in a $170.0K deal. The accountants are pleased; the supporters are less certain.
Boardroom11 Jun 2029
No fees may be paid for anybody, whatever the squad needs. Every rumour about this club until it lifts is a rumour about a deal that cannot be done.
Market11 Jun 2029
He is 17, and nobody at Al-Fayha signed him for this season. Deals like this are judged in four years, by people who may not still be in the building.
The dugout11 Jun 2029
“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 dugout11 Jun 2029
“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-Fayha, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Squad11 Jun 2029
Words at Al-Fayha training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Yasser Al-Rashid 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.
Market11 Jun 2029
“They were honest with me, and I would rather know.” Ahmed Al-Khaibari has been informed he is not in the manager's thinking at Al-Fayha.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad1 May 2028
56 days out for Hamed Al-Maghati after a fracture
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Al-Orobah will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
Loan watch1 May 2028
30 appearances at Ohod and the goals keep coming. Al-Orobah are watching this more closely than the borrowing club would like.
Squad1 May 2028
Words exchanged at Al-Orobah
Hamed Al-Maghati 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.
Squad1 May 2028
Words at Al-Orobah training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Simy 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 dugout1 May 2028
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Sultan Harun, and the manager let it.
Market1 May 2028
The name of Ahmed Al-Juwaid keeps appearing in other people's back pages. Al-Orobah say nothing, which says plenty.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad13 Mar 2028
A fracture rules Hamed Al-Maghati out for 107 days
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Al-Orobah will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
The dugout13 Mar 2028
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Al-Orobah may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Market13 Mar 2028
“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-Orobah can pretend not to have heard.
Squad13 Mar 2028
20 days, the medical staff say, and medical staff are optimists by profession. The team sheet will look wrong without him.
Squad13 Mar 2028
Hamed Al-Maghati 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 Mar 2028
Words at Al-Orobah training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Simy 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.
Market13 Mar 2028
Clubs spend fortunes looking for players and occasionally find one down the corridor. Yasser Al-Rashid is that, and the reception he gets on his first appearance will be different in kind from the one any signing receives.
Market13 Mar 2028
“They were honest with me, and I would rather know.” Humoyun Abdualimov has been informed he is not in the manager's thinking at Al-Orobah.
The dugout13 Mar 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.