The Al Shabab Post
Squad12 Apr 2027
A falling-out at Al Shabab
Khalfan Mabkhout and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
The dugout12 Apr 2027
The manager makes an example of Hamad Ismail
“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.
Squad12 Apr 2027
Elisson wants one last season at home
Every long career reaches the week the last one is thought about. He would like it to be where he started, and Al Shabab know now that the thought has arrived.
The dugout12 Apr 2027
A promise honoured for Emmanuel Iroanya
It is not much of a headline and it is the reason players believe the next promise. Al Shabab told Emmanuel Iroanya something would happen and then it happened, which in this industry passes for remarkable.
The dugout12 Apr 2027
Khalfan Obaid has become a man the manager trusts
Nobody at Al Shabab 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 Apr 2027
The Salem Nader story refuses to die
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Salem Nader signs something — a contract at Al Shabab or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
In brief
- The dugout The manager makes Musa Afeez a promise
- Squad Salem Khalfan wants out of the dugout
- Squad The penny has dropped for Ismail Al Menhali