“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Jong Gent can pretend not to have heard.
“I know what people will say. I know what I want, and it is here.” Ventspils had the fee agreed and the shirt ready; they did not have the player, and now they will not.
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.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Briek Van Hoorick was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Ali Donny Sylla 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 bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Racing Genk will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
“It was not right for me. I am not going to explain why to anybody except the people I owe an explanation to.” A deal agreed between two clubs, and a player who declined to be part of it.
$6.6M on the table at Cercle Brugge. The manager wanted him, the board agreed a number, and the only voices still to be heard are the ones at the other club.
Racing Genk have gone to KV Mechelen with a bid, and the supporters have gone to the internet with an opinion about it. Whether either changes anything is up to the selling club.
This is not cover and nobody is pretending it is. $2.9M has been paid because Predrag Rajković is straightforwardly better than what was already here, and the club has decided to stop waiting.
The clubs have shaken hands with KAA Gent; the player has not yet. Personal terms are next, and personal terms are where more deals die than anybody prints.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Westerlo have kept their man, and Racing Genk go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
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.
“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 The request is on a desk at Jong Gent, and it is not being withdrawn.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Jong Gent they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Add another name to the list: Almere City have asked the question everybody in the game has been asking about Simon Buggea. The answer from Jong Gent has not changed — yet.
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 clubs have shaken hands with Al-Ittihad; the player has not yet. Personal terms are next, and personal terms are where more deals die than anybody prints.
The phone has started ringing about Bas Evers again, and this time the name on the line is Racing Genk. Jong Gent are listening politely and promising nothing.
Simon Buggea 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 Briek Van Hoorick was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
“I was told straight, and I would rather have it straight.” The manager at Jong Gent has been clear about where Hyllarion Goore stands, which is more than many ever get.
“I have done everything asked of me in training and it has not changed a thing on a Saturday.” The most familiar complaint in football, and one Jong Gent will have to answer with minutes or with a transfer.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Racing Genk will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
$21.7M was the most the club would pay and OH Leuven were asking for more. Deals like this are revived in the last week of a window roughly half the time, and everybody involved knows it.
Fee agreed, wages agreed, and Shooting Stars waiting with a shirt. Nobody at Racing Genk is pretending otherwise, and the supporters have stopped asking whether and started asking when.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. CSKA Sofia have kept their man, and Racing Genk go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
$2.7M on the table at Al-Ittihad. The manager wanted him, the board agreed a number, and the only voices still to be heard are the ones at the other club.
The fee is $2.4M, the contract is signed, and the argument about whether he is worth it can begin. RFC Liege drove a hard bargain; time will say who won it.
The offer from Excelsior for Jordy Soladio 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.
$430.0K on the table at KAA Gent. The manager wanted him, the board agreed a number, and the only voices still to be heard are the ones at the other club.
At 18 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.
Bas Evers 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.
Squad7 Jun 2027
Words at Jong Gent training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Briek Van Hoorick 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.
Bas Evers 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 Viktor Viðarsson was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Jong Gent, and both men came out saying it was fine.
A bad atmosphere can be waited out. A group of people meeting afterwards to decide what to do about it cannot, and everybody in the building knows which stage this is.
“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 Jong Gent, 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 Jong Gent 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.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Ali Donny Sylla trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
A bad atmosphere can be waited out. A group of people meeting afterwards to decide what to do about it cannot, and everybody in the building knows which stage this is.
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 Jong Gent 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 Jong Gent this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Viktor Viðarsson was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Position 16 and 25 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.
The hardest thing about being 19 in a senior side is that nobody makes allowances. Ali Donny Sylla did not need any: 7.78, and he looked the most comfortable man on the pitch.
Bas Evers 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.
“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.
The dugout12 Apr 2027
The view from the dugout
“We did not lose. Some weeks that is all you get, and I would rather have the point than not.” Hans Carrasco chose the glass-half-full version of 1‑1; the supporters left with the other one.
“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 Jong Gent will have to give him a reason to stay or an exit.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Jong Gent, and both men came out saying it was fine.
At 19 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.
Bas Evers 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.
Squad5 Apr 2027
Words at Jong Gent training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Briek Van Hoorick 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 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.
A month is long enough that nobody gets in by accident. Bas Evers is in the division's best eleven for it, which is a quieter compliment than an award and a more reliable one.
The mood at Jong Gent has turned into something else
Supporters who sing when it goes badly are supporters. Supporters who gather afterwards are a problem, and everybody inside the building knows which of the two this now is.
“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 Jong Gent, and it is not being withdrawn.
At 18 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.
Squad29 Mar 2027
Words at Jong Gent training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Viktor Viðarsson 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 has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Bas Evers signs something — a contract at Jong Gent or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
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 Jong Gent that is a harder question to answer.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Jong Gent can pretend not to have heard.
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.
Form comes and goes; this has not gone. Michiel Cauwel is 20, and the version of him training now would not have got into the side he was in a year ago.
4 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.
Bas Evers 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.
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.
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the whole of the defence. 9 saves, several of them the kind nobody expects to see made, and ten outfield players who owe him a drink.
“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 Jong Gent, and it is not being withdrawn.
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 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.
0‑1 to RFC Liege, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.
Squad1 Mar 2027
Words at Jong Gent training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Mamadou Diallo 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 dugout1 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 0‑1 defeat, delivered by Hans Carrasco to a room that had heard them before.
In brief
The dugoutThe team sheet said everything about Michiel Cauwel
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.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Jong Gent this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Beaten 0‑2, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
Squad22 Feb 2027
Words at Jong Gent training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Briek Van Hoorick 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.
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Viktor Viðarsson and Jong Gent agree another 4 years.
The dugout22 Feb 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 0‑2 defeat, delivered by Hans Carrasco to a room that had heard them before.
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.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Jong Gent have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Bas Evers 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.
“We were not good enough today and I am not going to dress it up.” Hans Carrasco after 0‑1, in the tone of a man who knows the next question and does not intend to answer it.
“I have done everything asked of me in training and it has not changed a thing on a Saturday.” The most familiar complaint in football, and one Jong Gent will have to answer with minutes or with a transfer.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Jong Gent can pretend not to have heard.
Everything was agreed until it was not, and Bas Evers reports back to Jong Gent with a summer to forget. Neither club is saying who walked away from the table.
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 18 he was better than everybody his age in the division for four weeks running, which is harder than one good afternoon. Jong Gent will try not to make too much of it.
The mood at Jong Gent has turned into something else
Supporters who sing when it goes badly are supporters. Supporters who gather afterwards are a problem, and everybody inside the building knows which of the two this now is.
Everyone has stopped pretending: Standard Liege will make the call about Bas Evers this week. Jong Gent have a number in mind, and the number is not shy.
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.
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.
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. Jong Gent know what is at stake and so does everybody in the away end.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Jong Gent this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Jong Gent can pretend not to have heard.
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the whole of the defence. 7 saves, several of them the kind nobody expects to see made, and ten outfield players who owe him a drink.
11 without a win is the sort of run that changes how a town talks about its club, and Francs Borains were the afternoon it stopped. Nothing is fixed by one result and everything feels different by one.
Player ratings25 Jan 2027
Ruslan Vydysh, 20, plays like he has been here for years — 8.06
A mark of 8.06 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 20 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.
A 1‑0 win over Francs Borains, earned rather than given, and the sort of afternoon that sends everyone home talking about next week instead of this one.
“The players deserve the credit. My job was easy today.” It was not, and everybody in the room knew it; after 1‑0, Hans Carrasco could afford to be generous.
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.
Position 16 and 14 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 Jong Gent, and it is not being withdrawn.
4 matches, no goals, and a training ground that has tried everything. It will end — droughts always do — but nobody at Jong Gent can tell you which week it ends in.
Bas Evers 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.
22 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 Briek Van Hoorick was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The dugout18 Jan 2027
The view from the dugout
“We did not lose. Some weeks that is all you get, and I would rather have the point than not.” Hans Carrasco chose the glass-half-full version of 0‑0; the supporters left with the other one.
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.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Jong Gent can pretend not to have heard.
At 22 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.
Bas Evers 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.
3 matches, no goals, and a training ground that has tried everything. It will end — droughts always do — but nobody at Jong Gent can tell you which week it ends in.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Mamadou Diallo was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
“A point is a point and I will take it, but we should have had all three.” Hans Carrasco after the 0‑0 draw, and the sentence every manager in the country said at some stage this weekend.
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.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Jong Gent can pretend not to have heard.
The offer from Espanyol for Bas Evers 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.
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.
At 19 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.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Jong Gent this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Lokeren-Temse next, and both sides can do the sum. Win and the table looks different; lose and it looks the way everybody has been fearing.
The dugout4 Jan 2027
The view from the dugout
“We did not lose. Some weeks that is all you get, and I would rather have the point than not.” Hans Carrasco chose the glass-half-full version of 0‑0; the supporters left with the other one.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Jong Gent can pretend not to have heard.
Form comes and goes; this has not gone. Michiel Cauwel is 19, 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 Jong Gent this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
He is 18 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.
Squad28 Dec 2026
Words at Jong Gent training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Briek Van Hoorick 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: 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.
“A point is a point and I will take it, but we should have had all three.” Hans Carrasco after the 0‑0 draw, and the sentence every manager in the country said at some stage this weekend.
In brief
Looking aheadJong Gent take on the side everybody is chasing
1‑4 to Lierse, 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.
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.
At 18 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.
Squad21 Dec 2026
Words at Jong Gent training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Briek Van Hoorick 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: 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.
Position 17, 10 points, and every result so far reduced to one line. The second half of the season starts with the same squad and a different set of expectations.
Boardroom21 Dec 2026
Nobody left the Jong Gent 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.
“We were not good enough today and I am not going to dress it up.” Hans Carrasco after 1‑4, in the tone of a man who knows the next question and does not intend to answer it.
“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 Jong Gent, and it is not being withdrawn.
Form comes and goes; this has not gone. Hannes Vernemmen is 21, and the version of him training now would not have got into the side he was in a year ago.
“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.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Jong Gent, and both men came out saying it was fine.
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.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Jong Gent can pretend not to have heard.
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.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and El Hadji Seck was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
0‑3 to Eupen, 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 Jong Gent 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 Jong Gent this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The music was off and the showers ran late. What was said in that dressing room stays there, but Saturday will publish the minutes.
Squad30 Nov 2026
Words at Jong Gent training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Mamadou Diallo 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 dugout30 Nov 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 0‑3 Hans Carrasco left the room before anybody could ask which.
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.
Bas Evers 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 19-year-old it feels ownership of. El Hadji Seck 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 point taken on 92 minutes is worth exactly one point and considerably more than that to a dressing room. This side does not stop, which is a reputation worth more than the result.
“There are things I liked and things we will be doing on Tuesday until they are right.” 1‑1, and a manager who had already decided what Tuesday looked like.
In brief
SquadEl Hadji Seck, 19, is the weekend’s best young player
Bas Evers 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 El Hadji Seck was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Gilles De Meyer trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and El Hadji Seck was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The dugout9 Nov 2026
The manager’s verdict
“I am frustrated, honestly. We did enough to win and we did not win.” Hans Carrasco was not hiding it after 0‑0, and nobody in the Jong Gent dressing room was either.
Successful dribbles: 13. 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.
0‑3 against Patro Eisden, and no complaints that would survive the replay. The manager spoke about character afterwards; the terraces used shorter words.
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the whole of the defence. 8 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 Jong Gent can pretend not to have heard.
Boardroom2 Nov 2026
Nobody left the Jong Gent 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.
The dugout2 Nov 2026
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 0‑3 defeat, delivered by Hans Carrasco to a room that had heard them before.
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.
The hardest thing about being 20 in a senior side is that nobody makes allowances. Ruslan Vydysh did not need any: 8.19, and he looked the most comfortable man on the pitch.
9 without a win is the sort of run that changes how a town talks about its club, and RSCA Futures were the afternoon it stopped. Nothing is fixed by one result and everything feels different by one.
At 19 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.
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: El Hadji Seck. 3‑1 against RSCA Futures, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
Briek Van Hoorick 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 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.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Mamadou Diallo was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
At 21 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.
Gyano Vanderdonck 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 Briek Van Hoorick was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
“We were not good enough today and I am not going to dress it up.” Hans Carrasco after 0‑1, in the tone of a man who knows the next question and does not intend to answer it.
“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.
The hardest thing about being 20 in a senior side is that nobody makes allowances. Ruslan Vydysh did not need any: 7.79, and he looked the most comfortable man on the pitch.
Not a run of form — an actual step up, held for months. At 19 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 Jong Gent this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Defending was optional and nobody took up the option. 6 goals between Jong Gent and Jong Genk, and not one of the people who paid to be there will ask for the money back.
It is a specific kind of quiet, a ground watching a winning position dissolve. Beerschot kept coming because nothing stopped them, and Jong Gent will be asked about the last half hour all week.
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.
Form comes and goes; this has not gone. Michiel Cauwel is 19, and the version of him training now would not have got into the side he was in a year ago.
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.
“The supporters are entitled to be angry. So am I. We will put it right.” 2‑4, a manager saying the necessary things, and a dressing room that heard a different version of them.
One lapse, one goal, and ninety minutes of honest work counting for nothing. That is the job at Jong Gent, and it is a cruel one.
The dugout21 Sep 2026
The manager has not finished forgetting Gilles De Meyer'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.
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the whole of the defence. 7 saves, several of them the kind nobody expects to see made, and ten outfield players who owe him a drink.
The offer from Groningen for Ruslan Vydysh 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.
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.
Oleksandr Soroka and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Boardroom17 Aug 2026
Nobody left the Jong Gent 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.
The dugout17 Aug 2026
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 0‑3 defeat, delivered by Hans Carrasco to a room that had heard them before.
Squad17 Aug 2026
Words at Jong Gent training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Mamadou Diallo 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.