The run now stands at 5, and the questions being asked around RSCA Futures are no longer polite ones.
Squad4 Oct 2027
Words at RSCA Futures training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Lucas Hey 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.
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.
“We were not good enough today and I am not going to dress it up.” Axel Courtois after 0‑2, in the tone of a man who knows the next question and does not intend to answer it.
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.
25 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. RSCA Futures lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at RSCA Futures this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad6 Sep 2027
Lucas Hey 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.
“I did not come here to warm up in front of people.” He is out of contract eventually, he is old enough to count the weeks, and RSCA Futures will have to give him a reason to stay or an exit.
33 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. RSCA Futures lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
The hardest thing about being 21 in a senior side is that nobody makes allowances. Devon De Corte did not need any: 8.14, and he looked the most comfortable man on the pitch.
6 goals in one match, Anas Tajaouart on the scoresheet, and a scoreline that will look like a misprint. Neutrals could not have asked more of RSCA Futures and Eupen.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Cedric Hatenboer was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at RSCA Futures this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Successful dribbles: 18. He went past people as if he had been told there was a prize for it, and by the end the full-back had stopped pretending to try.
40 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. RSCA Futures lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what RSCA Futures can pretend not to have heard.
The offer from Olympic Charleroi for Mattis Seghers 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.
Ibrahim Kanaté and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Lucas Hey was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
“The supporters are entitled to be angry. So am I. We will put it right.” 0‑1, a manager saying the necessary things, and a dressing room that heard a different version of them.
Devon De Corte, 21, plays like he has been here for years — 9.25
A mark of 9.25 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.
Successful dribbles: 29. He went past people as if he had been told there was a prize for it, and by the end the full-back had stopped pretending to try.
8 matches without a win, and then this, against RFC Liege. Relief is a strange noise in a football ground and it was the only noise at the end.
Squad16 Aug 2027
Lucas Hey 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.
He is 22 and the ground already sings his name, which is a thing that happens to local boys and almost never to signings. Everything from here is measured against an affection he did nothing to earn except be from here.
Add another name to the list: Olympic Charleroi have asked the question everybody in the game has been asking about Mattis Seghers. The answer from RSCA Futures has not changed — yet.
Marked 8.26 — 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.
The dugout16 Aug 2027
The manager’s verdict
“I am not going to get carried away and I will not let them either. It was a good day. There will be harder ones.” Axel Courtois kept it short after the 3‑1 win, which is what managers do when they are happy.
8 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.
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the whole of the defence. 6 saves, several of them the kind nobody expects to see made, and ten outfield players who owe him a drink.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what RSCA Futures can pretend not to have heard.
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 is not the end of the world and it is not good enough. Both of those are true.” The manager, after a 0‑0 draw, said the honest thing and then went to say it again inside.
Lucas Hey 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.
Squad26 Jul 2027
Words at RSCA Futures training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Cedric Hatenboer 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 RSCA Futures, and both men came out saying it was fine.
It is never announced and it is entirely visible: the biggest afternoons of the season keep containing him. A press box works this out long before anybody at the club confirms a word of it.
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Devon De Corte signs something — a contract at RSCA Futures or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
He looks like a man who lives here now rather than one who is working here. It took most of a season, and at RSCA Futures the difference is visible from the back of the stand.
A season average of 7.05 at an age when most of his year group are still in the youth team. RSCA Futures know what they have, and so, by now, does everybody else.
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 at RSCA Futures will say this on the record and the team sheets have been saying it for weeks. There is a small group in every squad who get picked when the fixture is difficult, and he has joined it.
He asked about his future and was given an answer with minutes in it. The manager has now made a promise in a building where promises are remembered, and the clock on it has started.
In brief
SquadQuestions about Devon De Corte on the training pitch
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what RSCA Futures can pretend not to have heard.
Squad14 Jun 2027
Lucas Hey 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.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at RSCA Futures this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
“I did not come here to warm up in front of people.” He is out of contract eventually, he is old enough to count the weeks, and RSCA Futures will have to give him a reason to stay or an exit.
“I was told straight, and I would rather have it straight.” The manager at RSCA Futures has been clear about where Mats Rits stands, which is more than many ever get.
In brief
The dugoutDevon De Corte asks for a word with the manager
Ibrahim Kanaté and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
He is 21, he is averaging 7.05, and older professionals have started passing to him in the difficult minutes. That last part is the real scouting report.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Lucas Hey was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Every manager keeps a short list in his head of the men he wants on the pitch when the stakes rise, and it is never published. The team sheets for the big afternoons say Cedric Hatenboer is on it.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Lucas Hey trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
A season average of 7.05 at an age when most of his year group are still in the youth team. RSCA Futures know what they have, and so, by now, does everybody else.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Cedric Hatenboer was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Thomas Foket and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Every manager keeps a short list in his head of the men he wants on the pitch when the stakes rise, and it is never published. The team sheets for the big afternoons say Cedric Hatenboer is on it.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at RSCA Futures, and both men came out saying it was fine.
The hardest thing about being 21 in a senior side is that nobody makes allowances. Zoumana Keita did not need any: 7.86, 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.
Form comes and goes; this has not gone. Alexander De Ridder is 18, and the version of him training now would not have got into the side he was in a year ago.
He is 20, he is averaging 7.06, and older professionals have started passing to him in the difficult minutes. That last part is the real scouting report.
Squad5 Apr 2027
Words at RSCA Futures training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Cedric Hatenboer 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: 20. He went past people as if he had been told there was a prize for it, and by the end the full-back had stopped pretending to try.
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.
The hardest thing about being 19 in a senior side is that nobody makes allowances. Enzo Sternal did not need any: 7.80, and he looked the most comfortable man on the pitch.
Not a run of form — an actual step up, held for months. At 18 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.
Squad15 Mar 2027
Words at RSCA Futures training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Enzo Sternal 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.
Thomas Foket and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
The manager kept them in and said what needed saying. A response is expected on Saturday, and if it does not come the questions move upstairs.
The dugout15 Mar 2027
The view from the dugout
“We will look at it, we will learn from it, and we go again.” The three sentences every manager keeps for a 1‑2 defeat, delivered by Axel Courtois to a room that had heard them before.
It is never announced and it is entirely visible: the biggest afternoons of the season keep containing him. A press box works this out long before anybody at the club confirms a word of it.
A season average of 7.06 at an age when most of his year group are still in the youth team. RSCA Futures know what they have, and so, by now, does everybody else.
At 17 he is doing things this season that he could not do last season, and doing them every week. Form comes and goes; this has stayed long enough to be called something else.
Thomas Foket 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.
Nothing about the week ahead is ordinary. Club NXT on Saturday, a town that has already started talking about it, and a dressing room that does not need telling what it means.
“The supporters are entitled to be angry. So am I. We will put it right.” 0‑1, a manager saying the necessary things, and a dressing room that heard a different version of them.
The hardest thing about being 20 in a senior side is that nobody makes allowances. Devon De Corte did not need any: 8.38, and he looked the most comfortable man on the pitch.
At 20 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.
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 penalty is the one moment in football with nowhere to hide, and he did not score it. The walk back was long and the week will be longer.
The dugout22 Feb 2027
The view from the dugout
“We controlled it. There were spells I did not like and we will look at them, but the group showed me something.” Axel Courtois, on a 1‑0 win that he was already picking apart on the walk to the press room.
Nunzio Engwanda and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
“A point is a point and I will take it, but we should have had all three.” Axel Courtois after the 0‑0 draw, and the sentence every manager in the country said at some stage this weekend.
He trains hard, says the right things and goes home to an empty flat. Nobody at RSCA Futures has done anything wrong, which is exactly what makes it so difficult to fix.
In brief
The dugoutThe plan did not have a place for Mats Rits
He is 23 and the ground already sings his name, which is a thing that happens to local boys and almost never to signings. Everything from here is measured against an affection he did nothing to earn except be from here.
19 defensive actions and a clean sheet at the end of them. A defender's afternoon can only be told by what did not happen, which is why nobody makes a highlights package out of one and every manager in the division would take it.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Cedric Hatenboer was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Squad8 Feb 2027
A place in the month's best eleven for Zoumana Keita
Four or five weekends of consistency, judged against everybody in the division doing his job. Zoumana Keita has come out of that comparison in the side, and RSCA Futures have had the benefit of every one of those afternoons.
“It is not the end of the world and it is not good enough. Both of those are true.” The manager, after a 0‑0 draw, said the honest thing and then went to say it again inside.
Every manager keeps a short list in his head of the men he wants on the pitch when the stakes rise, and it is never published. The team sheets for the big afternoons say Cedric Hatenboer is on it.
“I did not come here to warm up in front of people.” He is out of contract eventually, he is old enough to count the weeks, and RSCA Futures will have to give him a reason to stay or an exit.
Devon De Corte, 20, plays like he has been here for years — 8.27
A mark of 8.27 means one thing beside a twenty-nine-year-old's name and something else entirely beside a 20-year-old's. Nobody at the ground needed telling which this was.
He is 18, he is averaging 7.00, and older professionals have started passing to him in the difficult minutes. That last part is the real scouting report.
“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 RSCA Futures, and it is not being withdrawn.
A 2‑1 win over Lokeren-Temse, earned rather than given, and the sort of afternoon that sends everyone home talking about next week instead of this one.
At 20 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.
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.
0‑1 to Beerschot, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.
The dugout14 Dec 2026
The manager’s verdict
“That is on me. I pick the team and I picked wrong.” Managers say that when they mean it and when they need to be seen to, and after 0‑1 Axel Courtois left the room before anybody could ask which.
“I did not come here to warm up in front of people.” He is out of contract eventually, he is old enough to count the weeks, and RSCA Futures will have to give him a reason to stay or an exit.
Ninety specific minutes wanted a different sort of player, and the manager picked one. He is not out of form and he is not in the side, and both are true.
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. RSCA Futures know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
“If we are going to be beaten, let it not be because somebody in here could not be bothered.” He stood up and said it in front of everybody, which is a thing a squad remembers about a man for years.
Form comes and goes; this has not gone. Basile Vroninks is 19, and the version of him training now would not have got into the side he was in a year ago.
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 20-year-old it feels ownership of. Ibrahim Kanaté 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: Devon De Corte. 1‑0 against Jong Gent, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
Thomas Foket 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.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Ibrahim Kanaté was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
11 defensive actions and a clean sheet at the end of them. A defender's afternoon can only be told by what did not happen, which is why nobody makes a highlights package out of one and every manager in the division would take it.
Two goals and a mark of 9.05 to go with them. Strikers are judged on afternoons like this one and remembered for far fewer of them than people imagine.
Not a run of form — an actual step up, held for months. At 20 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.
At 19 he was better than everybody his age in the division for four weeks running, which is harder than one good afternoon. RSCA Futures will try not to make too much of it.
Boardroom5 Oct 2026
Nobody left the RSCA Futures dressing room in a hurry
The door stayed shut a long time after the final whistle. What was said in there is between them; whether it worked is between them and Saturday.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Cedric Hatenboer was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The dugout5 Oct 2026
The manager’s verdict
“I am not going to get carried away and I will not let them either. It was a good day. There will be harder ones.” Axel Courtois kept it short after the 3‑2 win, which is what managers do when they are happy.
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.
At 33 he is supposed to be managing his minutes. Instead he was marked 8.01 and looked, for ninety minutes, exactly like the player everybody remembers.
At 19 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.
Successful dribbles: 17. He went past people as if he had been told there was a prize for it, and by the end the full-back had stopped pretending to try.