Marked for Witse Vandervelpen
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad14 May 2035
Witse Vandervelpen damages knee ligaments — 16 days out
The words a physio says slowly. 16 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.
Market14 May 2035
“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.
Squad14 May 2035
Ryotaro Ito 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.
Back issues
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad7 May 2035
24 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Sint-Truiden lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Market7 May 2035
“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 The request is on a desk at Sint-Truiden, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad7 May 2035
Ryotaro Ito in a row with a teammate
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Sint-Truiden this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad30 Apr 2035
31 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Sint-Truiden lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Market30 Apr 2035
“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 The request is on a desk at Sint-Truiden, and it is not being withdrawn.
Market30 Apr 2035
Jorge Mora has one foot out of the door
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Sint-Truiden they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Squad30 Apr 2035
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Sint-Truiden this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad30 Apr 2035
Ilias Sebaoui 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.
Squad30 Apr 2035
When it matters, Ryotaro Ito plays
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.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad23 Apr 2035
38 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Sint-Truiden lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Market23 Apr 2035
“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 Sint-Truiden, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad23 Apr 2035
Alouis Diriken 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.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad16 Apr 2035
Witse Vandervelpen damages knee ligaments — 46 days out
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.
Squad16 Apr 2035
“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.
Market16 Apr 2035
“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 Sint-Truiden, and it is not being withdrawn.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad9 Apr 2035
54 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Sint-Truiden lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Squad9 Apr 2035
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Sint-Truiden have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Market9 Apr 2035
Lirim Qamili hands in a written request
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Sint-Truiden can pretend not to have heard.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad2 Apr 2035
Witse Vandervelpen damages knee ligaments — 62 days out
The words a physio says slowly. 62 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.
Market2 Apr 2035
“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.
Market2 Apr 2035
Jorge Mora has one foot out of the door
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Sint-Truiden they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad26 Mar 2035
70 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Sint-Truiden lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Market26 Mar 2035
“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 Sint-Truiden, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad26 Mar 2035
Ryotaro Ito in a row with a teammate
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Sint-Truiden this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad19 Mar 2035
79 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Sint-Truiden lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Market19 Mar 2035
Jorge Mora hands in a written request
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Sint-Truiden can pretend not to have heard.
Squad19 Mar 2035
Ryotaro Ito 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.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad12 Mar 2035
86 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Sint-Truiden lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Market12 Mar 2035
“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 Sint-Truiden, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad12 Mar 2035
Alouis Diriken 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.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad5 Mar 2035
95 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Sint-Truiden lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Market5 Mar 2035
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Sint-Truiden is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Squad5 Mar 2035
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Sint-Truiden may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Market5 Mar 2035
“I want to be playing for trophies while my legs still let me.” Nothing in that sentence is a transfer request, and nobody at Sint-Truiden heard it as anything else.
Squad5 Mar 2035
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Sint-Truiden this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad5 Mar 2035
Ilias Sebaoui 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.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad26 Feb 2035
104 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Sint-Truiden lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Squad26 Feb 2035
Ryotaro Ito in a row with a teammate
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Sint-Truiden this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad26 Feb 2035
Words at Sint-Truiden training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Ilias Sebaoui 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.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad19 Feb 2035
Witse Vandervelpen damages knee ligaments — 112 days out
The words a physio says slowly. 112 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.
Squad19 Feb 2035
A one-man rearguard from Leo Kokubo
There were 9 saves in it, and at least three that had no business being saves at all. The ten outfield players owe him a drink and they know it.
Match17 Feb 2035
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.
Market19 Feb 2035
“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 Sint-Truiden, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad19 Feb 2035
Ryotaro Ito 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 Feb 2035
Ilias Sebaoui 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.
Match17 Feb 2035
1‑2 to Racing Genk, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.
Player ratings19 Feb 2035
Successful dribbles: 15. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Market19 Feb 2035
The list is a quiet document with a loud meaning. Abdoulaye Sissako may talk to anybody who asks, and everybody at the club understands what that means.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad12 Feb 2035
120 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Sint-Truiden lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Squad12 Feb 2035
A one-man rearguard from Leo Kokubo
There were 10 saves in it, and at least three that had no business being saves at all. The ten outfield players owe him a drink and they know it.
Market12 Feb 2035
“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 Sint-Truiden, and it is not being withdrawn.
Match10 Feb 2035
No end in sight to Sint-Truiden's wait for a win
5 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Sint-Truiden has to find a result from somewhere.
Squad12 Feb 2035
Ryotaro Ito in a row with a teammate
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Sint-Truiden this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad12 Feb 2035
Words at Sint-Truiden training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Ilias Sebaoui 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.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad5 Feb 2035
127 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Sint-Truiden lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Market5 Feb 2035
“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 Sint-Truiden, and it is not being withdrawn.
Market5 Feb 2035
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Sint-Truiden is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Match3 Feb 2035
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.
Squad5 Feb 2035
Ryotaro Ito 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 Feb 2035
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Kaito Matsuzawa commits to Sint-Truiden for another 2 years.
Squad5 Feb 2035
Ilias Sebaoui 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.
Player ratings5 Feb 2035
Successful dribbles: 17. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Match3 Feb 2035
A 1‑1 draw with OH Leuven leaves the dressing room somewhere between relief and regret.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad29 Jan 2035
Witse Vandervelpen damages knee ligaments — 135 days out
The words a physio says slowly. 135 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.
Market29 Jan 2035
“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 Sint-Truiden, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad29 Jan 2035
Ryotaro Ito in a row with a teammate
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Sint-Truiden this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad29 Jan 2035
Words at Sint-Truiden training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Ilias Sebaoui 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.
Squad29 Jan 2035
The manager makes an example of Leo Kokubo
“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.
Player ratings29 Jan 2035
Successful dribbles: 17. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Match27 Jan 2035
A 2‑2 draw with Zulte Waregem leaves the dressing room somewhere between relief and regret.
Player ratings29 Jan 2035
1 error, one goal, and a night in front of the same three seconds. He will see it tonight, tomorrow and probably in February, and everybody who has played knows exactly which frame he keeps stopping on.
Player ratings29 Jan 2035
5.65. Every footballer has these and most of them happen away from a full ground; his did not, and he will be aware of that all week.