Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Ahmed Ali Amin will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Smouha the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Hesham Balaha 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 Apr 2027
Amr El Sisi 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.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Smouha they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Smouha this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
In brief
SquadHesham Balaha falls out with a teammate over standards
SquadThe manager has not finished forgetting Ahmed Gaber's mistake
9 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.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Smouha they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Hesham Balaha 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.
Squad5 Apr 2027
Amr El Sisi 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.
There is an age at which every good afternoon gets described as a throwback, which is unfair and also accurate. 8.59 at 33, and nobody on the pitch was better.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Smouha is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Mohamed Dabash 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.
Form comes and goes; this has not gone. Hesham Fouad is 22, and the version of him training now would not have got into the side he was in a year ago.
Squad29 Mar 2027
Words at Smouha training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Amr El Sisi 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.
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.
There is an age at which every good afternoon gets described as a throwback, which is unfair and also accurate. 7.87 at 33, and nobody on the pitch was better.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Smouha they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Franck Boli 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.
Form comes and goes; this has not gone. Ahmed Gaber is 21, and the version of him training now would not have got into the side he was in a year ago.
Squad22 Mar 2027
Words at Smouha training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Hesham Balaha 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 everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.
The terraces15 Mar 2027
The boos come down from three sides
“We pay for this every fortnight. The least we want is somebody who looks like he cares.” 10 of the 38 senior players walked off into it; the rest were not playing.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Smouha is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Smouha this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad15 Mar 2027
Hesham Balaha 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.
The hardest thing about being 21 in a senior side is that nobody makes allowances. Amoory did not need any: 7.79, and he looked the most comfortable man on the pitch.
5 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.
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.
He will play here until the summer and then walk out of the door for free, having already signed elsewhere. Supporters will manage the first part of that sentence; it is the second they will struggle with.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Smouha they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Franck Boli 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 Mar 2027
Amr El Sisi 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.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Smouha is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Smouha this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad1 Mar 2027
Hesham Balaha 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.
Successful dribbles: 16. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Squad1 Mar 2027
The manager has not finished forgetting Franck Boli's mistake
Publicly it is behind everybody. It is not behind the man who picks the team, and the only place that shows is a team sheet. He will get another chance; he will get it in a match that matters less.
Franck Boli 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 particular warmth a ground reserves for a 23-year-old it feels ownership of. Samuel Amadi 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.
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.44, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Squad22 Feb 2027
Samuel Amadi 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.
Nobody will confirm this and nothing else explains the last month of selections. A costly error buys a player a period of being second choice that is always longer than the error was.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Ahmed Ali Amin will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Smouha the goodbyes have quietly begun.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Smouha this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad15 Feb 2027
Words at Smouha training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Amr El Sisi 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 touch is being weighed now, in print and everywhere else. Some players grow into that and some are quietly ruined by it, and nobody knows which in advance.
In brief
Player ratingsThe one thing Franck Boli could not do
“We pay for this every fortnight. The least we want is somebody who looks like he cares.” 9 of the 38 senior players walked off into it; the rest were not playing.
There is no worse way to lose a footballer. Ahmed Khaled 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.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Smouha they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Smouha this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad8 Feb 2027
Words at Smouha training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Hesham Balaha 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.
An error at the back is a moment; an error in goal is a goal. El Hany Soliman knows it, the crowd knew it instantly, and there was nobody behind him to make it anything else.
27 times he got in the way of something. Centre-halves get written about when they make mistakes and ignored when they do not, so an afternoon like this needs saying out loud: he is the reason the scoreline reads as it does.
There is an age at which every good afternoon gets described as a throwback, which is unfair and also accurate. 7.96 at 33, and nobody on the pitch was better.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Samir Fekri will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Smouha the goodbyes have quietly begun.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Smouha this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad1 Feb 2027
Hesham Balaha 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 1‑0 win over Arab Contractors, earned rather than given, and the sort of afternoon that sends everyone home talking about next week instead of this one.
Franck Boli 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 Jan 2027
Amr El Sisi 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 2‑1 win over Ghazl El Mahalla, earned rather than given, and the sort of afternoon that sends everyone home talking about next week instead of this one.
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 23-year-old it feels ownership of. Samuel Amadi 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.
Marked 8.72 — 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.
Shots: 7. Goals: none. The chances were there and they were good ones, and they went into the stand, the goalkeeper's arms and the side netting in roughly that order.
The offer from MC Alger for Ahmed Gaber 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.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Smouha this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Successful dribbles: 22. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Squad18 Jan 2027
Hesham Balaha 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.
Nothing happens for months and then he simply arrives, at no cost, having signed a pre-contract while still turning out for somebody else. It is the least dramatic way to sign a footballer and frequently the shrewdest.
“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.
Squad18 Jan 2027
The manager has not finished forgetting Ahmed Gaber's mistake
Publicly it is behind everybody. It is not behind the man who picks the team, and the only place that shows is a team sheet. He will get another chance; he will get it in a match that matters less.
Ninety minutes, no goals, and the argument started before the car park emptied: a point gained, or two thrown away against ENPPI? Both sides of it will still be going on Thursday.
In brief
Player ratingsThe chances came and went for Franck Boli
At 33 he is supposed to be managing his minutes. Instead he was marked 8.00 and looked, for ninety minutes, exactly like the player everybody remembers.
Hesham Balaha 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
Samuel Amadi 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.
Marked 5.56. 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.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Smouha 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.
The rules permit it and it stings anyway. Samir Fekri has agreed terms with Wadi Degla for the summer, and until then he pulls on this shirt as a player who has already chosen his next one.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Smouha they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Smouha this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Not a run of form — an actual step up, held for months. At 21 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.
Footballers are asked about their boyhood club so often that nobody listens to the answer. Hesham Fouad has just signed for Smouha, and for once the answer mattered.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Smouha this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad28 Dec 2026
Words at Smouha training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Hesham Balaha 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.
An error at the back is a moment; an error in goal is a goal. Ahmed Gaber knows it, the crowd knew it instantly, and there was nobody behind him to make it anything else.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 18 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.” Smouha have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Mohamed Dabash 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 Dec 2026
Hesham Balaha 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.
In brief
BoardroomNobody left the Smouha dressing room in a hurry
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Smouha will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Franck Boli 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 particular warmth a ground reserves for a 23-year-old it feels ownership of. Samuel Amadi 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.
The goal that put Ismaily ahead was still being replayed on the concourse when Smouha equalised, 2 minutes later. Leads are only worth what you do with them.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 34 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
At 33 he is supposed to be managing his minutes. Instead he was marked 8.25 and looked, for ninety minutes, exactly like the player everybody remembers.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Smouha this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad7 Dec 2026
Hesham Balaha 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.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Smouha will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
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.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Smouha have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Franck Boli 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.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Smouha will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
17 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Smouha lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
0‑1 against Wadi Degla, and the road stops here. Cup exits are quick deaths — no second leg, no next week, just the league from now until May.
The terraces23 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.” 9 of the 35 senior players walked off into it; the rest were not playing.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Smouha they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Smouha 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 Smouha will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
The words a physio says slowly. 25 days is what the club will announce and everybody who has heard this diagnosis before knows the number is the least of it: the knee comes back before the player does.
Player ratings16 Nov 2026
A brace, and Abdo Yehia takes the afternoon — 8.84
There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. Abdo Yehia provided it, and the 8.84 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 Smouha this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad16 Nov 2026
Words at Smouha training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Hesham Balaha 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 23-year-old it feels ownership of. Samuel Amadi 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.
8 shots, and a count that reads like a good afternoon until you check the other column. Strikers survive weeks like this on the understanding that the chances keep arriving; the day they stop is the day it becomes a problem.
In brief
The terracesThe press have found their man in Abdo Yehia
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.
The words a physio says slowly. 32 days is what the club will announce and everybody who has heard this diagnosis before knows the number is the least of it: the knee comes back before the player does.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Smouha this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
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.
The words a physio says slowly. 39 days is what the club will announce and everybody who has heard this diagnosis before knows the number is the least of it: the knee comes back before the player does.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Smouha this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
A performance of 8.20 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Squad2 Nov 2026
Ahmed Gaber is the division's best young player this month
At 21 he has spent a month being better than everybody his age in the league, which is a different and harder thing than one good afternoon. Smouha will try very hard not to make too much of it.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 78 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
The words a physio says slowly. 46 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.
Successful dribbles: 28. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
The terraces26 Oct 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 35 senior players walked off into it; the rest were not playing.
A defender on the scoresheet, which happens rarely enough that everybody in the ground remembers who took the corner. 1 for him, and a mark of 7.79 for the rest of it.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Smouha is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Smouha this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
In brief
SquadHesham Balaha falls out with a teammate over standards
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 85 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 11 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
The words a physio says slowly. 55 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.
10 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.
Franck Boli 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.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Smouha will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
63 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Smouha lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
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 Smouha this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Marked 8.91 — 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.
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.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Smouha will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
70 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Smouha lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Smouha will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
77 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Smouha lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Smouha they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Smouha this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 115 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
The words a physio says slowly. 85 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.
Hesham Balaha 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 21 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.
8.17. 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.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Smouha will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
93 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Smouha lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Mohamed Dabash 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.
Marked 8.04 — 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.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Smouha will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
100 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Smouha lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
“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 Smouha, and it is not being withdrawn.
Franck Boli 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
Words at Smouha training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Hesham Balaha 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.
Successful dribbles: 19. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Player ratings7 Sep 2026
Franck Boli was on a different afternoon to everybody else
8.06. 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.
Still no offer on the table, and Franck Boli’s deal keeps shrinking. In boardroom language, silence this long stops being an oversight and starts being an answer.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 138 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
The words a physio says slowly. 108 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.
The terraces31 Aug 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 35 senior players walked off into it; the rest were not playing.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Smouha they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Smouha 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 Smouha will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
The words a physio says slowly. 115 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.
There comes a point where a club either backs its own ambition or admits it does not have any. Smouha have paid $550.0K for Franck Boli, which is the loudest way there is of saying which one it chose.
El Hany Soliman 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.
Boards get told what they have done wrong for years and hear nothing on the days they get it right. This is one of those days: Franck Boli from Wadi Degla for $550.0K, and a ticket office having a very good morning.
Squad24 Aug 2026
Words at Smouha training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Hesham Balaha 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.
8.60. 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.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 154 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
The words a physio says slowly. 124 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.
The hardest thing about being 21 in a senior side is that nobody makes allowances. Amoory did not need any: 8.04, 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 Smouha this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The morning the pathway stops being a brochure and becomes a team sheet. Most of them will not be here in three years; all of them have already done the hard part, which was getting to today.
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.
There is no fee, no unveiling and no agent on the steps. Shikabala El Shenawy 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 words a physio says slowly. 132 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.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Smouha this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Smouha this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad3 Aug 2026
Words at Smouha training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Hesham Balaha 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.