The Dender Gazette
Match22 Feb 2027
Dender sink to position 16
18 points, and a fixture list that is running out. The mathematics are not yet cruel, but they are no longer kind.
The dugout22 Feb 2027
Lucca Brughmans keeps the receipts
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Dender may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Player ratings22 Feb 2027
David Hrnčár beats them one at a time
Successful dribbles: 23. There was always a defender in front of him and there was never a defender in front of him for long.
Squad22 Feb 2027
Tempers go at Dender
Fedde Leysen 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 dugout22 Feb 2027
Benjamin Jeannot gets it from the manager
“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.
Match20 Feb 2027
Dender come up short against Cercle Brugge
Cercle Brugge left with the points after a 0‑1 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.
Squad22 Feb 2027
A row about effort at Dender
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Malcolm Viltard was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Looking ahead22 Feb 2027
Everything rides on Zulte Waregem
Both clubs in the mire, one fixture between them, and a ground that will be louder and more frightened than at any point in the season. Dender know what is at stake and so does everybody in the away end.
The dugout22 Feb 2027
No place for Wissam Ben Yedder on the big day
He found out with everybody else, an hour before kick-off, from a sheet of paper on a wall. Nobody at Dender pretended it was anything other than a decision about him.
In brief
- The dugout The manager’s verdict
- Market No place for Nathan Rôdes in the plan
- Looking ahead Jonathan Kouto goes back to face Zulte Waregem