From our football correspondent
Crisis
Market1 Feb 2027
“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 The request is on a desk at Al-Jeel, and it is not being withdrawn.
Match30 Jan 2027
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.
Squad1 Feb 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.
Match30 Jan 2027
No clean sheets in sight for Al-Jeel
4 games now with at least two against. The back line has been rearranged, the goalkeeper has been backed publicly, and the goals keep going in anyway.
Match30 Jan 2027
A bad afternoon for Al-Jeel against Damac
0‑2 to Damac, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.
Squad1 Feb 2027
The manager makes an example of Haythem Ayouni
“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.
Back issues
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Market25 Jan 2027
“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.
Match23 Jan 2027
No end in sight to Al-Jeel's wait for a win
6 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Al-Jeel has to find a result from somewhere.
Squad25 Jan 2027
Faisal Al-Subiani 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.
Match23 Jan 2027
Maxwell Quaye scored, and precious little else went right: 1‑3 to Al-Njoom, and a quiet walk to the dressing room.
Squad25 Jan 2027
Words at Al-Jeel training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Haythem Ayouni 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.
Boardroom25 Jan 2027
Wages eat 112% of everything Al-Jeel earn
There is a figure at which a wage bill stops being ambitious and becomes the reason nothing else is possible, and this club has reached it. Nothing is left over for a transfer, a stand or a rainy afternoon.
Squad25 Jan 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Abdullah Al-Saiari, and the manager let it.
Squad25 Jan 2027
The one version of being left out a player cannot argue with, and the one he takes worst. Somebody else has been better and the team sheet says so, in public, every week until it changes.
Player ratings25 Jan 2027
Successful dribbles: 10. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
In brief
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Player ratings
Off the bench and decisive: Sofiane Dia
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Market
Al-Jeel shop where it costs nothing
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match16 Jan 2027
Chastening afternoon for Al-Jeel
A 0‑4 beating by Al-Riyadh was the sort of result that empties a stadium long before the final whistle.
Squad18 Jan 2027
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Al-Jeel may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Match16 Jan 2027
5 matches without a win for Al-Jeel
The run now stands at 5, and the questions being asked around Al-Jeel are no longer polite ones.
Squad18 Jan 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.
Squad18 Jan 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Abdulellah Al-Ashwan, and the manager let it.
Boardroom18 Jan 2027
The manager kept them in and said what needed saying. A response is expected on Saturday, and if it does not come the questions move upstairs.
Squad18 Jan 2027
Thamer Al-Arjan 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.
Player ratings18 Jan 2027
The cruellest goal, and it is Maxwell Quaye's
A touch he did not want, a bounce he could not have read, and his name in the wrong column. There is no consoling a man after one of these, and Al-Jeel will not try tonight.
Market18 Jan 2027
He is 16, and the scouting reports agree on the only line that matters: the ceiling. Signings like this are lottery tickets written by professionals.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad11 Jan 2027
There were 16 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.
Match9 Jan 2027
Chastening afternoon for Al-Jeel
A 1‑4 beating by Al-Diriyah was the sort of result that empties a stadium long before the final whistle.
Market11 Jan 2027
“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.
Match9 Jan 2027
No end in sight to Al-Jeel's wait for a win
4 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Al-Jeel has to find a result from somewhere.
Squad11 Jan 2027
Yan 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.
Squad11 Jan 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Mohammed Al-Fuhaid, and the manager let it.
Boardroom11 Jan 2027
Nobody left the Al-Jeel dressing room in a hurry
The door stayed shut a long time after the final whistle. What was said in there is between them; whether it worked is between them and Saturday.
Market11 Jan 2027
He is 16, and nobody at Al-Jeel signed him for this season. Deals like this are judged in four years, by people who may not still be in the building.
Squad11 Jan 2027
Radim Šudák finally opens his account
He wheeled away like a man who had been carrying it for months, because he had. Al-Jeel have their signing off the mark and one press-conference question retired.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market4 Jan 2027
“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.
Squad4 Jan 2027
Salman Al-Ghamdi: 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-Jeel have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Player ratings4 Jan 2027
Chuck runs at them all day
Successful dribbles: 25. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Squad4 Jan 2027
Yan 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-Jeel this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad4 Jan 2027
Radim Šudák 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.
Squad4 Jan 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Anaël Bakaki, and the manager let it.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad28 Dec 2026
21 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Al-Jeel lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Squad28 Dec 2026
There were 10 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.
Match26 Dec 2026
1‑6 to Al-Hazem, and it was every bit as bad as the number suggests. There are defeats you argue about and defeats you apologise for; this was the second kind.
Squad28 Dec 2026
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Al-Jeel have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Squad28 Dec 2026
Faisal Al-Subiani 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.
Match26 Dec 2026
Nafea Al-Sumairi among the goals in a wild afternoon
7 goals in one match, Nafea Al-Sumairi on the scoresheet, and a scoreline that will look like a misprint. Neutrals could not have asked more of Al-Jeel and Al-Hazem.
Boardroom28 Dec 2026
Wages eat 204% of everything Al-Jeel earn
There is a figure at which a wage bill stops being ambitious and becomes the reason nothing else is possible, and this club has reached it. Nothing is left over for a transfer, a stand or a rainy afternoon.
Boardroom28 Dec 2026
Nobody left the Al-Jeel dressing room in a hurry
The door stayed shut a long time after the final whistle. What was said in there is between them; whether it worked is between them and Saturday.
Player ratings28 Dec 2026
A mark of 5.74 tells the story without any need for embellishment. He will want the tape of this one quietly lost.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad21 Dec 2026
Abdullah Al-Suwaie damages knee ligaments — 29 days out
The words a physio says slowly. 29 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.
Match19 Dec 2026
Beaten 1‑5 by Al-Fayha, and beaten everywhere it matters. The inquest starts on the training pitch on Monday morning.
Squad21 Dec 2026
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 9 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
Squad21 Dec 2026
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.
Match19 Dec 2026
6 goals. Both benches spent the second half looking at each other rather than at the pitch. Purists will complain about Al-Jeel and Al-Fayha in equal measure; everybody else had a wonderful time.
Boardroom21 Dec 2026
Nobody left the Al-Jeel dressing room in a hurry
The door stayed shut a long time after the final whistle. What was said in there is between them; whether it worked is between them and Saturday.
In brief
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Player ratings
One moment undoes Radim Šudák
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Squad
The manager has not finished forgetting Radim Šudák's mistake
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Player ratings
Nobody could get near Chuck
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad14 Dec 2026
Abdullah Al-Suwaie damages knee ligaments — 36 days out
The words a physio says slowly. 36 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.
Market14 Dec 2026
“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.
Squad14 Dec 2026
Faisal Al-Subiani 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.
Squad14 Dec 2026
“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.
Squad14 Dec 2026
Words at Al-Jeel training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Radim Šudák 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.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market7 Dec 2026
“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.
Player ratings7 Dec 2026
Age has not caught Chuck yet — 7.85
At 38 he is supposed to be managing his minutes. Instead he was marked 7.85 and looked, for ninety minutes, exactly like the player everybody remembers.
Boardroom7 Dec 2026
An order from above at Al-Jeel: somebody has to go
Balance sheets do not care about form or about who the manager was planning to build around. The board have decided a sale is required, and the only question left is which name ends up carrying it.
Squad7 Dec 2026
“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.
Squad7 Dec 2026
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.
The terraces7 Dec 2026
The crowd has taken to Radim Šudák
At 22 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.
Match5 Dec 2026
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Chuck. 1‑0 against Al-Mojzel, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
Squad7 Dec 2026
Radim Šudák 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.
Squad7 Dec 2026
The manager makes an example of Anaël Bakaki
“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.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad30 Nov 2026
A knee injury of the worst kind for Faisal Al-Subiani
18 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Al-Jeel lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Squad30 Nov 2026
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Al-Jeel will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Squad30 Nov 2026
“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.
Match28 Nov 2026
No end in sight to Al-Jeel's wait for a win
5 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Al-Jeel has to find a result from somewhere.
Squad30 Nov 2026
Faisal Al-Subiani 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.
Match28 Nov 2026
Al-Jeel cannot find the net
3 games without scoring. Strikers stop looking up, midfielders take the extra touch, and every shot that clears the bar is followed by a groan that has been building since the last goal.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad23 Nov 2026
Faisal Al-Subiani damages knee ligaments — 26 days out
The words a physio says slowly. 26 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.
Squad23 Nov 2026
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 27 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Match21 Nov 2026
Beaten 0‑5 by Al-Ettifaq, and beaten everywhere it matters. The inquest starts on the training pitch on Monday morning.
Match21 Nov 2026
The wait goes on for Al-Jeel
4 without a win now, and the ground has developed the special quiet of a crowd that expects the worst. One scrappy 1-0 would cure most of it; that is the maddening part.
Squad23 Nov 2026
Yan 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-Jeel this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad23 Nov 2026
Radim Šudák 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.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad16 Nov 2026
Faisal Al-Subiani damages knee ligaments — 33 days out
The words a physio says slowly. 33 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.
Squad16 Nov 2026
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Al-Jeel will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Match16 Nov 2026
Al-Jeel sink to position 14
6 points, and a fixture list that is running out. The mathematics are not yet cruel, but they are no longer kind.
Market16 Nov 2026
“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.
Squad16 Nov 2026
Yan 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.
Match14 Nov 2026
Beaten 0‑1, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
In brief
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Player ratings
Nobody could get near Radim Šudák
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Squad
Words at Al-Jeel training over how hard people work
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad9 Nov 2026
Faisal Al-Subiani damages knee ligaments — 40 days out
The words a physio says slowly. 40 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.
Squad9 Nov 2026
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Al-Jeel will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Market9 Nov 2026
“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.
Squad9 Nov 2026
Ahmed Al-Nadhri: 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-Jeel have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Squad9 Nov 2026
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.
Match7 Nov 2026
Al-Jeel hit back inside 1 minutes
Ohod held the lead for 1 minutes, which is not long enough to enjoy it. Al-Jeel answered before the celebration had properly finished, and the shape of the afternoon changed with it.
Match7 Nov 2026
It needed Hassan Idris to find the net to bring anything home at all: 2‑2 against Ohod, and half the dressing room will call it a point won.
Market9 Nov 2026
Waleed Al-Hassan is 14, and Al-Jeel have signed him for the player he will be rather than the one he is. The first team can wait; the point of a deal like this is the years it buys.
Market9 Nov 2026
He is 14, and nobody at Al-Jeel signed him for this season. Deals like this are judged in four years, by people who may not still be in the building.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad2 Nov 2026
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Al-Jeel will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Squad2 Nov 2026
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 6 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
Squad2 Nov 2026
Faisal Al-Subiani 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.
Boardroom2 Nov 2026
Wages eat 192% of everything Al-Jeel earn
There is a figure at which a wage bill stops being ambitious and becomes the reason nothing else is possible, and this club has reached it. Nothing is left over for a transfer, a stand or a rainy afternoon.
Match31 Oct 2026
0‑1 to Al-Orobah, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.
Player ratings2 Nov 2026
Chuck runs at them all day
Successful dribbles: 18. 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
Uneasy
Squad26 Oct 2026
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Al-Jeel will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Squad26 Oct 2026
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Al-Jeel may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Squad26 Oct 2026
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.
The terraces26 Oct 2026
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 23-year-old it feels ownership of. Omar Abdullah has it now, and everything he does for the rest of his time here will be measured against the goodwill he was handed for free.
Match24 Oct 2026
Three points for Al-Jeel, 2‑0 the final word against Al-Batin in a contest settled by the finer margins.
Squad26 Oct 2026
Radim Šudák 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.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad19 Oct 2026
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 64 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Match17 Oct 2026
11 matches without a win for Al-Jeel
The run now stands at 11, and the questions being asked around Al-Jeel are no longer polite ones.
Match17 Oct 2026
Al-Jeel cannot find the net
5 games without scoring. Strikers stop looking up, midfielders take the extra touch, and every shot that clears the bar is followed by a groan that has been building since the last goal.
Squad19 Oct 2026
Faisal Al-Subiani 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.
Squad19 Oct 2026
“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.
Match17 Oct 2026
Beaten 0‑1, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
In brief
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Squad
Words at Al-Jeel training over how hard people work
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Player ratings
Nobody could get near Chuck
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Player ratings
The referee tires of Faisal Al-Subiani
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad12 Oct 2026
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 71 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Match10 Oct 2026
10 matches without a win for Al-Jeel
The run now stands at 10, and the questions being asked around Al-Jeel are no longer polite ones.
Market12 Oct 2026
“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.
Match12 Oct 2026
Al-Jeel sink to position 14
2 points, and a fixture list that is running out. The mathematics are not yet cruel, but they are no longer kind.
Match10 Oct 2026
Al-Jeel leaking at the back
7 matches, two or more conceded in every one of them. Sides that create as much as this can live with it for a while. Nobody lives with it forever.
Match10 Oct 2026
4 matches without a goal for Al-Jeel
The chances are being made and something is happening between the making and the finishing. 4 matches now, and the anxiety in the ground arrives a little earlier every week.
Squad12 Oct 2026
“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.
Squad12 Oct 2026
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.
Match10 Oct 2026
Al-Njoom left with the points after a 0‑2 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad5 Oct 2026
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Al-Jeel will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Match3 Oct 2026
Chastening afternoon for Al-Jeel
A 0‑5 beating by Al-Riyadh was the sort of result that empties a stadium long before the final whistle.
Match3 Oct 2026
9 matches without a win for Al-Jeel
The run now stands at 9, and the questions being asked around Al-Jeel are no longer polite ones.
Match3 Oct 2026
Al-Jeel leaking at the back
6 matches, two or more conceded in every one of them. Sides that create as much as this can live with it for a while. Nobody lives with it forever.
Squad5 Oct 2026
Yan 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.
Match3 Oct 2026
3 matches without a goal for Al-Jeel
The chances are being made and something is happening between the making and the finishing. 3 matches now, and the anxiety in the ground arrives a little earlier every week.
Boardroom5 Oct 2026
255% of the income goes out in wages at Al-Jeel
Every club in football pays most of what it earns to its players. Paying nearly all of it is a different arrangement, and it has ended the same way every time somebody has tried it.
Squad5 Oct 2026
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Faisal Al-Subiani, and the manager let it.
Boardroom5 Oct 2026
Nobody left the Al-Jeel dressing room in a hurry
The door stayed shut a long time after the final whistle. What was said in there is between them; whether it worked is between them and Saturday.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad28 Sep 2026
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Al-Jeel will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Squad28 Sep 2026
There were 10 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.
Match26 Sep 2026
Chastening afternoon for Al-Jeel
A 0‑3 beating by Al-Diriyah was the sort of result that empties a stadium long before the final whistle.
Match26 Sep 2026
8 matches without a win for Al-Jeel
The run now stands at 8, and the questions being asked around Al-Jeel are no longer polite ones.
Match26 Sep 2026
Al-Jeel are shipping goals every week
Two or more conceded in each of the last 5 matches. It is not one mistake repeating itself, which would be the easier thing to fix; it is a different one every week.
Squad28 Sep 2026
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.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad21 Sep 2026
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Al-Jeel will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Match19 Sep 2026
The wait goes on for Al-Jeel
7 without a win now, and the ground has developed the special quiet of a crowd that expects the worst. One scrappy 1-0 would cure most of it; that is the maddening part.
Squad21 Sep 2026
Faisal Al-Subiani 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.
Match19 Sep 2026
Al-Jeel are shipping goals every week
Two or more conceded in each of the last 4 matches. It is not one mistake repeating itself, which would be the easier thing to fix; it is a different one every week.
Match19 Sep 2026
Beaten 0‑2, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
Squad21 Sep 2026
Words at Al-Jeel training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Radim Šudák 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.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad14 Sep 2026
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Al-Jeel will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Match9 Sep 2026
The small margins put Al-Jeel out
Out, 0‑3 to Al-Ahli, and the long argument about which of the small moments decided it. The league is all there is now, and everybody knows it.
The terraces14 Sep 2026
Al-Jeel are taken apart by Al-Ahli — and the town wants answers
It finished 0-3. A cup exit is a disappointment; this was a public dismantling, and the difference between the two is the number of people who will still be talking about it in August.
Match12 Sep 2026
The wait goes on for Al-Jeel
6 without a win now, and the ground has developed the special quiet of a crowd that expects the worst. One scrappy 1-0 would cure most of it; that is the maddening part.
Squad14 Sep 2026
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.
Match12 Sep 2026
Beaten 1‑3, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
Squad14 Sep 2026
Radim Šudák 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.
Squad14 Sep 2026
“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.
Boardroom14 Sep 2026
Doors closed at Al-Jeel
The music was off and the showers ran late. What was said in that dressing room stays there, but Saturday will publish the minutes.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad7 Sep 2026
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Al-Jeel will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Match5 Sep 2026
Nowhere to hide for Al-Jeel
1‑5 against Al-Fayha, and no complaints that would survive the replay. The manager spoke about character afterwards; the terraces used shorter words.
The terraces7 Sep 2026
The ground has had enough
“We travel everywhere and we get this.” 7 of the 27 senior players heard it walking off, and the ones who did not hear it were not playing.
Squad7 Sep 2026
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 6 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
Boardroom7 Sep 2026
The Al-Jeel board want somebody sold
The instruction has come from upstairs rather than from the dugout, which is the version of this conversation no manager enjoys. Somebody in that squad is now available whether the man who picks the team thinks so or not.
Match5 Sep 2026
4 matches without a win for Al-Jeel
The run now stands at 4, and the questions being asked around Al-Jeel are no longer polite ones.
Squad7 Sep 2026
Faisal Al-Subiani 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.
Squad7 Sep 2026
“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.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad31 Aug 2026
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Al-Jeel will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Player ratings31 Aug 2026
Successful dribbles: 31. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Market31 Aug 2026
“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.
Squad31 Aug 2026
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.
Squad31 Aug 2026
Radim Šudák 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.
Squad31 Aug 2026
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.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad24 Aug 2026
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Al-Jeel will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Market24 Aug 2026
“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-Jeel can pretend not to have heard.
Player ratings24 Aug 2026
Yan, 35, rolls back the years — 7.91
There is an age at which every good afternoon gets described as a throwback, which is unfair and also accurate. 7.91 at 35, and nobody on the pitch was better.
Squad24 Aug 2026
Haythem Ayouni 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.
Player ratings24 Aug 2026
Chuck runs at them all day
Successful dribbles: 21. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Squad24 Aug 2026
Words at Al-Jeel training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Thamer Al-Arjan 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.
Squad24 Aug 2026
The manager makes an example of Adrián Acosta
“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.
Player ratings24 Aug 2026
A performance of 8.05 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Match22 Aug 2026
2‑2, and both dressing rooms will call it two points lost. A draw that asked plenty of questions and answered none of them.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad17 Aug 2026
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Al-Jeel will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Squad17 Aug 2026
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.
Player ratings17 Aug 2026
Successful dribbles: 20. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Match15 Aug 2026
0‑2 to Al-Ta'ee, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.
Squad17 Aug 2026
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Mohammed Al-Fuhaid, and the manager let it.
Squad17 Aug 2026
Radim Šudák has outgrown this division
There is a level at which a footballer stops being tested and starts being contained, and he reached it some time ago. Al-Jeel know it, and so does everybody who watches him.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad10 Aug 2026
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Radim Šudák commits to Al-Jeel for another 4 years.
Squad10 Aug 2026
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.
Squad10 Aug 2026
Radim Šudák 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.
Market10 Aug 2026
“They were honest with me, and I would rather know.” Rakan Al-Qahtani has been informed he is not in the manager's thinking at Al-Jeel.
Squad10 Aug 2026
This league is too small for Yan
He is doing things on a Saturday afternoon that nobody around him can answer, which is flattering for about one season and a problem after that. Al-Jeel will not keep him by pretending otherwise.
Market10 Aug 2026
“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.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad3 Aug 2026
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Haythem Ayouni and Al-Jeel agree another 2 years.
Squad3 Aug 2026
Haythem Ayouni 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.
Market3 Aug 2026
“I was told straight, and I would rather have it straight.” The manager at Al-Jeel has been clear about where Ibrahim Al-Hafith stands, which is more than many ever get.