Position 16 and 21 points, and the table gets read bottom-up in this part of town. The calendar has stopped being a schedule and started being a countdown.
“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 The request is on a desk at KV Kortrijk, and it is not being withdrawn.
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; KV Kortrijk are dealing with a man who wants a different country.
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.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what KV Kortrijk can pretend not to have heard.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Mihajlo Cvetković was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
“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 KV Kortrijk know it.
Mohamed Fofana 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.
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.
“We were not good enough today and I am not going to dress it up.” Youri Mertens after 0‑1, in the tone of a man who knows the next question and does not intend to answer it.
Matthew Anderson 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.
This is not rotation. Ilan Hurtevent has not been in the manager's plans for some time, and nobody at KV Kortrijk is pretending otherwise.
Squad13 Nov 2028
Words at KV Kortrijk training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Thibault Vlietinck 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 supporters are entitled to be angry. So am I. We will put it right.” 0‑2, a manager saying the necessary things, and a dressing room that heard a different version of them.
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 Suf Podgoreanu is on it.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Mihajlo Cvetković was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
“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 KV Kortrijk know it.
Brecht Dejaegere 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.
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.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Nayel Mehssatou trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
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 Suf Podgoreanu is on it.
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Marko Ilić signs something — a contract at KV Kortrijk or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
KAA Gent next, and one man in the KV Kortrijk dressing room knows their training ground better than his own. The reception will tell him what they thought of him.
The hardest thing about being 21 in a senior side is that nobody makes allowances. Mihajlo Cvetković did not need any: 7.70, and he looked the most comfortable man on the pitch.
The number the board signed off was not enough. It has been asked again and raised its own offer to $1.4M — a club that wants Ewoud Pletinckx enough to be asked twice.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. OH Leuven have kept their man, and KV Kortrijk go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Matthew Anderson 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.
Three points for KV Kortrijk, 2‑1 the final word against Dender in a contest settled by the finer margins.
Squad21 Aug 2028
Words at KV Kortrijk training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Thibault Vlietinck 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 KV Kortrijk know it.
The system has changed and his position has not. A footballer can improve his form; he cannot improve the manager’s formation, and that is the whole of the problem.
The chase for Reda Laalaoui ended with $1.2M changing hands and Westerlo out of reasons to say no. The supporters will judge the fee the only way that matters: on Saturdays.
The fee is $720.0K, the contract is signed, and the argument about whether he is worth it can begin. RAAL La Louviere drove a hard bargain; time will say who won 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.
KV Kortrijk have made the call to LOSC Lille. No fee, a share of the wages, and a spare shirt in the position where the squad has been thinnest all season.
6 signings in three months. Every one of them may be an upgrade and the team can still be worse for a while, which is the part of a rebuild that never appears in the transfer-window verdicts.
The system has changed and his position has not. A footballer can improve his form; he cannot improve the manager’s formation, and that is the whole of the problem.
In brief
The dugoutSerxho Ujka asks for a word with the manager
It has stopped being a mood in the stands and started being something organised. Boards can ignore a bad atmosphere for a long time; they cannot ignore this stage of it for very long at all.
Union SG have accepted the money. What Westerlo do not yet have is the man, and between here and the photograph is a conversation about wages that both sides are dreading.
Westerlo offered $9.2M; Seraing said it was not close. The manager will be told the money is still there for the right player, which is what managers are told.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Westerlo can pretend not to have heard.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Sint-Truiden have kept their man, and Westerlo go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
The number the board signed off was not enough. It has been asked again and raised its own offer to $10.2M — a club that wants Anouar Ait El Hadj enough to be asked twice.
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: Besfort Zeneli from Union SG for $4.4M, and a ticket office having a very good morning.
In brief
SquadWords at Westerlo training over how hard people work
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Westerlo will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
Hugo Vetlesen 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 easiest signature of my career.” Serhiy Sydorchuk and Westerlo agree another 2 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Squad8 May 2028
Words at Westerlo training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Botond Balogh 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.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Cisse Sandra trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Westerlo know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
“I was told what my role would be, and I signed on that basis. It has not happened.” A grievance with a date attached is the hardest kind to settle.
Squad17 Apr 2028
A muscle injury sidelines Raul Florucz for 14 days
Nobody makes a documentary about a hamstring and everybody in the game fears one. Westerlo will be careful with the return date, because the second one is always worse than the first.
Squad17 Apr 2028
Botond Balogh 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.
Thom van Bergen 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 had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Westerlo, and both men came out saying it was fine.
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Botond Balogh signs something — a contract at Westerlo or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
Nothing in writing and nothing in public: a word about playing time, given face to face at Westerlo. The team sheets over the next month will show whether it was worth having.
Numbers do not stay secret in a dressing room and never have. He is not asking for more than he is worth; he is asking why somebody beside him is worth more, and at Westerlo that is a harder question to answer.
Words at Westerlo training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Botond Balogh 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 Westerlo this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
“I watch every Westerlo game from here. That says everything about where my head is.” The loan at Charleroi runs its course, but his heart never made the trip.
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Westerlo know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
Numbers do not stay secret in a dressing room and never have. He is not asking for more than he is worth; he is asking why somebody beside him is worth more, and at Westerlo that is a harder question to answer.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Charleroi 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.
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Jakob Napoleon Romsaas signs something — a contract at Charleroi or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
“I respect the manager and I am not going to sit here and pretend I am happy.” It is the most common sentence in football and it has never once been the end of a story.
Cheick Keita 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.
Squad31 Jan 2028
Words at Charleroi training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Antoine Colassin 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.
Minute 87, against Waasland-Beveren, and a goal that felt like a win to everybody who had stayed. It was a draw. Nobody leaving the ground will describe it as one.
It is not much of a headline and it is the reason players believe the next promise. Charleroi told Jason Denayer something would happen and then it happened, which in this industry passes for remarkable.
5 signings in three months. Every one of them may be an upgrade and the team can still be worse for a while, which is the part of a rebuild that never appears in the transfer-window verdicts.
9 goals in 23 games at ADO Den Haag — numbers that travel home faster than he does. Somebody at Charleroi updates a spreadsheet every Monday, and it makes better reading each week.
$160.0K on the table at Eupen. The manager wanted him, the board agreed a number, and the only voices still to be heard are the ones at the other club.
“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; Westerlo are dealing with a man who wants a different country.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Dylan Ourega was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 21-year-old it feels ownership of. Felix Tsimba 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 name of Reda Laalaoui has come up in conversations Westerlo were not part of. Nothing formal, nothing signed — but nothing about it accidental either.
“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 Westerlo, and it is not being withdrawn.
$1.6M on the table at Anderlecht. The manager wanted him, the board agreed a number, and the only voices still to be heard are the ones at the other club.
$1.0M on the table at Patro Eisden. The manager wanted him, the board agreed a number, and the only voices still to be heard are the ones at the other club.
8 new signings in one window. Every one may be an upgrade and the side can still be worse for a while, which is the part of a rebuild the verdicts never mention.