Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 75 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
The board’s statement ran to three sentences and one of them mentioned results. Yasser Al-Subaie has managed long enough to translate: win soon, or the next statement is shorter.
There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. Ukeme Williams provided it, and the 8.35 beside his name is if anything generous to everybody else.
“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 The request is on a desk at Al-Njoom, and it is not being withdrawn.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Al-Njoom is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Christos Kryparakos and Al-Njoom agree another 4 years.
Nawaf Al-Zaaqi 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.
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.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 82 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Jarek Elías will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Al-Njoom the goodbyes have quietly begun.
“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-Njoom can pretend not to have heard.
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-Njoom this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad28 Feb 2028
Words at Al-Njoom training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Ukeme Williams 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.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 89 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
“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-Njoom can pretend not to have heard.
Nawaf Al-Zaaqi 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.
Squad21 Feb 2028
Words at Al-Njoom training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Montassar Toumi 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.
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.
Al-Orobah made Al-Njoom work for it, but the scoreboard read 2‑0 at the end and the table does not ask how.
Player ratings21 Feb 2028
Jared Ulloa was on a different afternoon to everybody else
8.08. There are performances a supporter describes to somebody who was not there and cannot quite convey; this was one, and the number does not help either.
“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-Njoom are dealing with a man who wants a different country.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 96 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 7 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
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-Njoom this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad14 Feb 2028
Words at Al-Njoom training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Ukeme Williams 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.
18 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Al-Njoom lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 103 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
“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-Njoom, and it is not being withdrawn.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Al-Njoom is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
“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-Njoom are dealing with a man who wants a different country.
Sandino Sosa 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.
It needed Prince Ibara to find the net to bring anything home at all: 1‑1 against Al-Saudi Al-Watani, and half the dressing room will call it a point won.
25 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Al-Njoom lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 105 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Jarek Elías will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Al-Njoom the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Two goals and a mark of 8.32 to go with them. Strikers are judged on afternoons like this one and remembered for far fewer of them than people imagine.
“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-Njoom can pretend not to have heard.
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-Njoom this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
6 goals. Both benches spent the second half looking at each other rather than at the pitch. Purists will complain about Al-Njoom and Al-Mojzel in equal measure; everybody else had a wonderful time.
32 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Al-Njoom lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 112 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
“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-Njoom, and it is not being withdrawn.
Sandino Sosa 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.
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.
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.
39 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Al-Njoom lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
0‑4 to Al-Ettifaq, 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.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 119 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
46 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Al-Njoom lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 126 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
“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-Njoom, and it is not being withdrawn.
Nawaf Al-Zaaqi 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.
“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-Njoom know it.
The words a physio says slowly. 53 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.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 15 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Al-Njoom have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
“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-Njoom know it.
Marked 8.33 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 22 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
“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-Njoom can pretend not to have heard.
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-Njoom this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
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.
Squad27 Dec 2027
Words at Al-Njoom training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Ukeme Williams 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.
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.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 29 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Sandino Sosa 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.
Squad20 Dec 2027
Omer Korsia 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.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 36 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
0‑3 to Damac, 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.
“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-Njoom can pretend not to have heard.
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-Njoom this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
“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-Njoom are dealing with a man who wants a different country.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 43 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
“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-Njoom are dealing with a man who wants a different country.
Sandino Sosa 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.
Squad6 Dec 2027
Words at Al-Njoom training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Christos Kryparakos 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.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 50 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
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-Njoom this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
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.
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.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 57 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
“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-Njoom, and it is not being withdrawn.
Nawaf Al-Zaaqi 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.
Squad22 Nov 2027
Words at Al-Njoom training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Christos Kryparakos 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.
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.
“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-Njoom can pretend not to have heard.
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-Njoom this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
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.
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.
Nawaf Al-Zaaqi 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.
“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-Njoom know it.
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.
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Prince Ibara. 1‑0 against Al-Orobah, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
“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-Njoom can pretend not to have heard.
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-Njoom this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad1 Nov 2027
Words at Al-Njoom training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Ukeme Williams 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.
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.
“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-Njoom can pretend not to have heard.
Sandino Sosa 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.
Squad25 Oct 2027
Words at Al-Njoom training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Christos Kryparakos 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.
Squad25 Oct 2027
The division's best last weekend was a Al-Njoom man
It is a small honour and it is not nothing: somebody watched every match in the division and decided that Prince Ibara was the best thing in any of them.
The crowd waited for a goal that never came. Al-Saudi Al-Watani defended in numbers and left with what they came for, and the two sides could be playing still without troubling a scorer.
“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-Njoom, and it is not being withdrawn.
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-Njoom this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
6 goals. Both benches spent the second half looking at each other rather than at the pitch. Purists will complain about Al-Njoom and Al-Mojzel in equal measure; everybody else had a wonderful time.
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Prince Ibara. 4‑2 against Al-Mojzel, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
A performance of 9.72 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Squad18 Oct 2027
Words at Al-Njoom training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Ukeme Williams 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.
Marked 8.15 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.
“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-Njoom can pretend not to have heard.
Nawaf Al-Zaaqi 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.
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.
Clubs make promises constantly and the page usually only hears about them when they are broken. This one was honoured, and the dressing room noticed that faster than any supporter did.
“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-Njoom know it.
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-Njoom this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Two goals and a mark of 8.28 to go with them. Strikers are judged on afternoons like this one and remembered for far fewer of them than people imagine.
Nawaf Al-Zaaqi 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.
Squad27 Sep 2027
Words at Al-Njoom training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Montassar Toumi 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.
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 22-year-old it feels ownership of. Tiago Barrionuevo 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.
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Tiago Barrionuevo. 2‑0 against Hajer, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 10 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
It finished 0-11. 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.
The terraces20 Sep 2027
The ground has had enough
“We travel everywhere and we get this.” 7 of the 30 senior players heard it walking off, and the ones who did not hear it were not playing.
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-Njoom this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Not a run of form — an actual step up, held for months. At 23 he is doing things at this level he could not do at the start of the season, and the coaching staff will tell you exactly which of them.
Defending was optional and nobody took up the option. 11 goals between Al-Njoom and Al-Ittihad, and not one of the people who paid to be there will ask for the money back.
Careers are supposed to plateau and then decline, and the players who ignore that are always the ones who were listening on the training ground. 3 points of it, over months, at an age where the direction normally only goes one way.
Sandino Sosa 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.
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.
“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-Njoom can pretend not to have heard.
Form comes and goes; this has not gone. Ziyad Al-Ghamdi is 22, and the version of him training now would not have got into the side he was in a year ago.
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-Njoom this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
“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-Njoom are dealing with a man who wants a different country.
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.
“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-Njoom, and it is not being withdrawn.
Not a run of form — an actual step up, held for months. At 22 he is doing things at this level he could not do at the start of the season, and the coaching staff will tell you exactly which of them.
Sandino Sosa 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.
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.
Squad30 Aug 2027
Words at Al-Njoom training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Christos Kryparakos 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.
“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-Njoom can pretend not to have heard.
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-Njoom this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad23 Aug 2027
Jared Ulloa has improved at 25, which nobody expected
Careers are supposed to plateau and then decline, and the players who ignore that are always the ones who were listening on the training ground. 3 points of it, over months, at an age where the direction normally only goes one way.
Squad23 Aug 2027
Words at Al-Njoom training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Ukeme Williams 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.
Ninety minutes, no goals, and the argument started before the car park emptied: a point gained, or two thrown away against Al-Ta'ee? Both sides of it will still be going on Thursday.
“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-Njoom can pretend not to have heard.
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.
Nawaf Al-Zaaqi 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.
5 boys move up, and somewhere in the building the people who coached them at twelve are quietly having the best morning of their working year. Nothing about this shows up in a result and it is why the academy exists.
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.
The academy exists for exactly this morning. Rashid Al-Otaibi has come through every age group the club runs and has now been handed a senior number, and the people who coached him at twelve will be the proudest in the building.
Clubs spend fortunes looking for players and occasionally find one down the corridor. Omar Al-Sultan is that, and the reception he gets on his first appearance will be different in kind from the one any signing receives.
There is no fee, no unveiling and no agent on the steps. Ali Al-Subaie has been at this club since he was a boy and is now, formally, one of the first-team squad — which for a local readership beats any signing of any size.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Al-Njoom is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
There is no worse way to lose a footballer. Kazuaki Suganuma has pre-agreed a move away, which means every appearance between now and June is made by a man the club can no longer sell, and somebody upstairs will be asked why the contract was allowed to get here.
Form comes and goes; this has not gone. Ziyad Al-Ghamdi is 22, and the version of him training now would not have got into the side he was in a year ago.
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-Njoom this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
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.
“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-Njoom are dealing with a man who wants a different country.
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.
The board’s statement ran to three sentences and one of them mentioned results. Yasser Al-Subaie has managed long enough to translate: win soon, or the next statement is shorter.
Nothing has been announced and everybody understands what it means. A board that summons the whole football department on a Tuesday morning is a board that has stopped believing the problem will fix itself.
“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-Njoom, and it is not being withdrawn.
“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-Njoom are dealing with a man who wants a different country.
Nawaf Al-Zaaqi 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.
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.
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-Njoom this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad26 Jul 2027
Words at Al-Njoom training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Ukeme Williams 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.
“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-Njoom, and it is not being withdrawn.
The offer from Najran for Christos Kryparakos 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.
Sandino Sosa 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 Jul 2027
Words at Al-Njoom training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Christos Kryparakos 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.
“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-Njoom, and both men came out saying it was fine.
The offer from Najran for Ukeme Williams 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.
“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-Njoom, and it is not being withdrawn.
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-Njoom this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad12 Jul 2027
Words at Al-Njoom training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Ukeme Williams 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.
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.
The board have said in public what they had been saying in private. Results between now and the next meeting decide it, and everybody in the building knows the arithmetic.
Nothing has been announced and everybody understands what it means. A board that summons the whole football department on a Tuesday morning is a board that has stopped believing the problem will fix itself.
“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-Njoom can pretend not to have heard.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Ahmed Al-Badah will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Al-Njoom the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Nawaf Al-Zaaqi 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.
At 26 the improving is meant to be over. It is not: 3 points better than the mark taken at the start of the year, which is the sort of thing that happens to players who take the boring parts of the job seriously.
“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-Njoom know it.
Still no offer on the table, and Kazuaki Suganuma’s deal keeps shrinking. In boardroom language, silence this long stops being an oversight and starts being an answer.
Not a run of form — an actual step up, held for months. At 23 he is doing things at this level he could not do at the start of the season, and the coaching staff will tell you exactly which of them.
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-Njoom this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
In brief
SquadSergio Sardinha has improved at 24, which nobody expected
“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-Njoom, and it is not being withdrawn.
Not a run of form — an actual step up, held for months. At 22 he is doing things at this level he could not do at the start of the season, and the coaching staff will tell you exactly which of them.
Form comes and goes; this has not gone. Abdulmalik Al-Marwani is 22, and the version of him training now would not have got into the side he was in a year ago.
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-Njoom this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad14 Jun 2027
Words at Al-Njoom training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Ukeme Williams 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.
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.
“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-Njoom are dealing with a man who wants a different country.
The board’s statement ran to three sentences and one of them mentioned results. Yasser Al-Subaie has managed long enough to translate: win soon, or the next statement is shorter.
There is a version of every career where the player ends up somewhere he chose rather than somewhere that chose him. Firman Ramadhan is living that version at Al-Njoom, and it tends to show in the first month.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Al-Njoom they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Sandino Sosa 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 Jun 2027
Words at Al-Njoom training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Christos Kryparakos 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.
“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-Njoom know it.
“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-Njoom can pretend not to have heard.
“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-Njoom know it.
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-Njoom this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
In brief
SquadWords at Al-Njoom training over how hard people work
“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-Njoom, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad24 May 2027
Words at Al-Njoom training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Montassar Toumi 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.
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-Njoom this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
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.
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.
Clubs make promises constantly and the page usually only hears about them when they are broken. This one was honoured, and the dressing room noticed that faster than any supporter did.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Ahmed Al-Badah will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Al-Njoom the goodbyes have quietly begun.
The board have said in public what they had been saying in private. Results between now and the next meeting decide it, and everybody in the building knows the arithmetic.
“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-Njoom, and it is not being withdrawn.
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-Njoom this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
“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-Njoom know it.
Squad3 May 2027
Words at Al-Njoom training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Ukeme Williams 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.
Still no offer on the table, and Kazuaki Suganuma’s deal keeps shrinking. In boardroom language, silence this long stops being an oversight and starts being an answer.
“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-Njoom, and it is not being withdrawn.
Sandino Sosa 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.
In brief
SquadWords at Al-Njoom training over how hard people work
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Al-Njoom will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Sandino Sosa 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.
In brief
SquadUkeme Williams falls out with a teammate over standards
BoardroomWages eat 154% of everything Al-Njoom earn
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Al-Njoom will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
“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-Njoom can pretend not to have heard.
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-Njoom this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Al-Njoom will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
The board have said in public what they had been saying in private. Results between now and the next meeting decide it, and everybody in the building knows the arithmetic.
“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.
Squad5 Apr 2027
Words at Al-Njoom training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Christos Kryparakos 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.
“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-Njoom know it.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Al-Njoom will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
“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-Njoom, and it is not being withdrawn.
“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-Njoom, and it is not being withdrawn.
Sandino Sosa 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.
Squad22 Mar 2027
Words at Al-Njoom training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Montassar Toumi 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
BoardroomWages eat 168% of everything Al-Njoom earn
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-Njoom this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
“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-Njoom know it.
Squad15 Mar 2027
Words at Al-Njoom training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Ukeme Williams 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.
“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-Njoom, and it is not being withdrawn.
“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-Njoom know it.
Sandino Sosa 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.
“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-Njoom are dealing with a man who wants a different country.
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-Njoom this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
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.
“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-Njoom, and it is not being withdrawn.
Sandino Sosa 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.
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.
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.
4 wins on the spin now, and the question has changed from whether the run ends to who ends it. Confidence like this cannot be bought; it has to be earned exactly this way.
Squad15 Feb 2027
Words at Al-Njoom training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Ukeme Williams 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.
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.
3 straight away victories. Sides that win away are usually sides that can defend and can counter, and the table has begun to reflect what those journeys have earned.
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Ukeme Williams. 1‑0 against Al-Fayha, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
“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-Njoom are dealing with a man who wants a different country.
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-Njoom this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
“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-Njoom, and it is not being withdrawn.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Al-Njoom have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Sandino Sosa 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 Feb 2027
Words at Al-Njoom training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Montassar Toumi 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.
“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-Njoom, and it is not being withdrawn.
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-Njoom this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
7 goals in one match, Prince Ibara on the scoresheet, and a scoreline that will look like a misprint. Neutrals could not have asked more of Al-Njoom and Al-Mojzel.
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.
A mark of 7.64 means one thing beside a twenty-nine-year-old's name and something else entirely beside a 21-year-old's. Nobody at the ground needed telling which this was.
“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-Njoom know it.
Sandino Sosa 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.
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Prince Ibara. 3‑1 against Al-Jeel, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
Squad25 Jan 2027
Words at Al-Njoom training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Christos Kryparakos 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.
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.
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 7 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Al-Njoom have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
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-Njoom this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
In brief
SquadMontassar Toumi falls out with a teammate over standards
The fee is $95.0K, the contract is signed, and the argument about whether he is worth it can begin. Al-Ettifaq drove a hard bargain; time will say who won it.
Sandino Sosa 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.
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.
Squad11 Jan 2027
Words at Al-Njoom training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Christos Kryparakos 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.
Nobody's fault and entirely his: a goal that goes into the book with his name against it and nothing about it intended. Al-Njoom deserved better, and so did he.
Yasser Al-Nemer is 14, and Al-Njoom 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.
“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-Njoom, and it is not being withdrawn.
There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. Ukeme Williams provided it, and the 8.29 beside his name is if anything generous to everybody else.
Player ratings4 Jan 2027
Ziyad Al-Ghamdi, 21, plays like he has been here for years — 7.74
A mark of 7.74 means one thing beside a twenty-nine-year-old's name and something else entirely beside a 21-year-old's. Nobody at the ground needed telling which this was.
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-Njoom this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
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.
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 21-year-old it feels ownership of. Tiago Barrionuevo 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.
A month is long enough that nobody gets in by accident. Abdulmalik Al-Marwani is in the division's best eleven for it, which is a quieter compliment than an award and a more reliable one.
“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-Njoom, and it is not being withdrawn.
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.
3 matches, no goals, and a training ground that has tried everything. It will end — droughts always do — but nobody at Al-Njoom can tell you which week it ends in.
Squad28 Dec 2026
Words at Al-Njoom training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Montassar Toumi 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.
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.
Ninety minutes, no goals, and the argument started before the car park emptied: a point gained, or two thrown away against Al-Orobah? Both sides of it will still be going on Thursday.
“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-Njoom, and it is not being withdrawn.
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-Njoom this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
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.
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.
Sandino Sosa 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
Words at Al-Njoom training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Christos Kryparakos 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.
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-Njoom this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
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.
“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-Njoom know it.
“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-Njoom can pretend not to have heard.
The terraces30 Nov 2026
The boos come down from three sides
“We pay for this every fortnight. The least we want is somebody who looks like he cares.” 6 of the 29 senior players walked off into it; the rest were not playing.
“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-Njoom know it.
Sandino Sosa 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.
6 goals. Both benches spent the second half looking at each other rather than at the pitch. Purists will complain about Al-Njoom and Al-Riyadh in equal measure; everybody else had a wonderful time.
Al-Riyadh left with the points after a 2‑4 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.
Squad30 Nov 2026
Words at Al-Njoom training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Christos Kryparakos 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.
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.
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.
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-Njoom this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Defending was optional and nobody took up the option. 8 goals between Al-Njoom and Al-Diriyah, and not one of the people who paid to be there will ask for the money back.
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.
Marked 5.67. Nothing he attempted worked and by the hour mark he had stopped attempting much, which is the part a manager notices rather than the mistakes.
A brace, and Prince Ibara takes the afternoon — 8.87
There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. Prince Ibara provided it, and the 8.87 beside his name is if anything generous to everybody else.
Sandino Sosa 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.
A 3‑1 win over Al-Nahda, earned rather than given, and the sort of afternoon that sends everyone home talking about next week instead of this one.
Squad16 Nov 2026
Words at Al-Njoom training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Montassar Toumi 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.
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.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Al-Njoom have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Squad9 Nov 2026
Words at Al-Njoom training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Ukeme Williams 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.
Mohammed Attiyah 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.
1‑4 to Al-Fayha, 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.
The terraces2 Nov 2026
The boos come down from three sides
“We pay for this every fortnight. The least we want is somebody who looks like he cares.” 6 of the 29 senior players walked off into it; the rest were not playing.
Sandino Sosa 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.
Squad2 Nov 2026
Words at Al-Njoom training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Christos Kryparakos 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.
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.
Four or five weekends of consistency, judged against everybody in the division doing his job. Abdulmalik Al-Marwani has come out of that comparison in the side, and Al-Njoom have had the benefit of every one of those afternoons.
“We keep meeting, and we keep leaving the room with the same numbers we walked in with.” Another round of talks at Al-Njoom, another week without a signature from Vladimir Tolmachev.
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-Njoom this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
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.
Marked 7.85. Ask anyone leaving the ground what settled it and you will get one name, which is the only award that has ever really counted.
Squad26 Oct 2026
19 new faces, and Al-Njoom are still learning each other
A squad rebuilt inside one window pays for it in a currency nobody budgets for. The football is not worse than the sum of the players; it is worse than the sum of the players who have played together before.
There is a version of every career where the player ends up somewhere he chose rather than somewhere that chose him. Dilan López is living that version at Al-Njoom, and it tends to show in the first month.
Sandino Sosa 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.
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Prince Ibara. 3‑2 against Al-Mojzel, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
Squad19 Oct 2026
Words at Al-Njoom training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Christos Kryparakos 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.
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.
“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.
Player ratings19 Oct 2026
Jared Ulloa was on a different afternoon to everybody else
8.36. There are performances a supporter describes to somebody who was not there and cannot quite convey; this was one, and the number does not help either.
Some transfers need a press campaign. This one needed a shirt with the old number on it. Essa Al-Saeed is a Al-Njoom player again, and the town has its story of the summer.
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-Njoom this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad12 Oct 2026
Words at Al-Njoom training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Omer Korsia 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.
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Prince Ibara. 2‑0 against Al-Jeel, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
“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-Njoom know it.
Omar Al-Shammari is 15, and Al-Njoom 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.
1‑4 against Al-Ettifaq, and no complaints that would survive the replay. The manager spoke about character afterwards; the terraces used shorter words.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Al-Njoom have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Sandino Sosa 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.
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.
“We keep meeting, and we keep leaving the room with the same numbers we walked in with.” Another round of talks at Al-Njoom, another week without a signature from Kazuaki Suganuma.
Nobody sells a season ticket on a signing like this. Every manager who has been through a bad October wants one anyway, and Al-Njoom have gone and got theirs early.
The hardest thing about being 21 in a senior side is that nobody makes allowances. Ziyad Al-Ghamdi did not need any: 7.62, and he looked the most comfortable man on the pitch.
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-Njoom this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad28 Sep 2026
Words at Al-Njoom training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Omer Korsia 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.
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 21-year-old it feels ownership of. Ziyad Al-Ghamdi 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.
Nobody sells a season ticket on a signing like this. Every manager who has been through a bad October wants one anyway, and Al-Njoom have gone and got theirs early.
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.
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.
Defending was optional and nobody took up the option. 6 goals between Al-Njoom and Ohod, and not one of the people who paid to be there will ask for the money back.
Squad21 Sep 2026
Omer Korsia 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.
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.
Marked 8.21 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.
Marked 8.23 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.
Ziyad Al-Ghamdi 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.
Out, 1‑4 to Al-Nassr, 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-Njoom are taken apart by Al-Nassr — and the town wants answers
It finished 1-4. 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.
The terraces14 Sep 2026
The boos come down from three sides
“We pay for this every fortnight. The least we want is somebody who looks like he cares.” 7 of the 23 senior players walked off into it; the rest were not playing.
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.
1‑3 to Al-Orobah, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.
Squad14 Sep 2026
Words at Al-Njoom training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Mohamed Ehab 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.
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.
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-Njoom this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Sandino Sosa 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.
Successful dribbles: 20. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Squad7 Sep 2026
Omer Korsia 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.
A brace, and Jared Ulloa takes the afternoon — 8.00
There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. Jared Ulloa provided it, and the 8.00 beside his name is if anything generous to everybody else.
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-Njoom this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Beaten 2‑3, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
Squad31 Aug 2026
Words at Al-Njoom training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Omer Korsia 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.
Sandino Sosa 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.
Successful dribbles: 20. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Squad24 Aug 2026
Mohamed Ehab 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.
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.
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-Njoom this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad17 Aug 2026
Words at Al-Njoom training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Omer Korsia 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.
Sandino Sosa is 35 and has run out of things to prove. What he has left is where to stand, when to slow it down and what to say at half-time, and none of that is on a fitness chart.
“I was told straight, and I would rather have it straight.” The manager at Al-Njoom has been clear about where Sultan Al-Subaie stands, which is more than many ever get.
There is a version of every career where the player ends up somewhere he chose rather than somewhere that chose him. Sergio Sardinha is living that version at Al-Njoom, and it tends to show in the first month.
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Christos Kryparakos and Al-Njoom agree another 3 years.
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-Njoom this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad10 Aug 2026
Words at Al-Njoom training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Omer Korsia 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 manager did not use many words, and he did not need to.” Mohammed Asiri has his answer from Al-Njoom; what he does with it is the next window’s story.
Mohammed Asiri 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.
“I was told straight, and I would rather have it straight.” The manager at Al-Njoom has been clear about where Mohammed Al-Buladi stands, which is more than many ever get.