33 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.
A medical, a signature, a shirt held up in front of a sponsor’s board. Mouscron have done the hard part with Barcelona, and the part that remains is the part supporters actually see.
Lois De Bruyne 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 chances are being made and something is happening between the making and the finishing. 4 matches now, and the anxiety in the ground arrives a little earlier every week.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Juan David Martínez was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
32 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.
Position 16 and 5 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.
Everything agreed with KV Oostende, everything agreed with the player; a doctor is the only person left to persuade. The photograph is a day or two away.
Mouscron had done everything except persuade the man himself. He stays at Feyenoord, and the manager goes back to the drawing board with the money still in the bank.
Daniel Keller 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 Juan David Martínez was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
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.
Successful dribbles: 44. There was always a defender in front of him and there was never a defender in front of him for long.
The terraces6 Jan 2031
The mood at Mouscron 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.
Daniel Keller 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 month is long enough that nobody gets in by accident. Gautier Guéguen is in the division's best eleven for it, which is a quieter compliment than an award and a more reliable one.
30 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.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Juan David Martínez was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
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. Mouscron know what is at stake and so does everybody in the away end.
Warm-up bib, ninety minutes of watching, and a handshake at the end that fooled nobody. Big matches tell you who a manager trusts; this one told Dino Arslanagić.
“We were not good enough today and I am not going to dress it up.” Interim Coach after 0‑3, in the tone of a man who knows the next question and does not intend to answer it.
29 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 Mouscron this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Involvement in 2 goals, from a player who spent the ninety minutes doing the thing a manager actually wants: being where the ball was going to end up. 7.79 beside his name.
Beaten 2‑3, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
Squad23 Dec 2030
Words at Mouscron training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Juan David Martínez 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.
Nothing in writing and nothing in public: a word about playing time, given face to face at Mouscron. The team sheets over the next month will show whether it was worth having.
27 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Mouscron has to find a result from somewhere.
The terraces9 Dec 2030
The mood at Mouscron 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.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Mouscron this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad9 Dec 2030
Words at Mouscron training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Juan David Martínez 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.
Two or more conceded in each of the last 4 matches. It is not one mistake repeating itself, which would be the easier thing to fix; it is a different one every week.
26 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 mornings you wake up and you are still a long way from everything you know.” It is not the football and it never was; Mouscron are dealing with a man who wants a different country.
Lois De Bruyne 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.
Squad2 Dec 2030
Words at Mouscron training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Juan David Martínez 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 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 dugout2 Dec 2030
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 Interim Coach left the room before anybody could ask which.
A defender on the scoresheet, which happens rarely enough that everybody in the ground remembers who took the corner. 1 for him, and a mark of 7.84 for the rest of it.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Mouscron this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
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. Mouscron know what is at stake and so does everybody in the away end.
The dugout25 Nov 2030
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 1‑3 Interim Coach left the room before anybody could ask which.
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.
Position 15 and 4 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.
1 for Philipp Sonn, marked 7.60, and a centre-half's name in the part of the report he normally only reaches by mistake. He will not be allowed to forget it in the dressing room for a month.
Daniel Keller 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.
Squad18 Nov 2030
Words at Mouscron training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Juan David Martínez 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 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.
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Mouscron will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
Daniel Keller 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 chances are being made and something is happening between the making and the finishing. 4 matches now, and the anxiety in the ground arrives a little earlier every week.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Juan David Martínez was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Successful dribbles: 20. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
The dugout11 Nov 2030
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.” Interim Coach chose the glass-half-full version of 0‑0; the supporters left with the other one.
In brief
The dugoutThe manager makes an example of Simon Boyata
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Mouscron will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
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.
Successful dribbles: 19. 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.
Half the programme played, position 15, 3 on the board. Doubling it is the sum every supporter has done and the only one nobody at the club will do out loud.
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.
19 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.
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.
1‑4 to Charleroi, 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.
Lois De Bruyne 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.
“The supporters are entitled to be angry. So am I. We will put it right.” 1‑4, a manager saying the necessary things, and a dressing room that heard a different version of them.
Successful dribbles: 23. 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.
Daniel Keller 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.
Beaten 1‑3, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
Squad7 Oct 2030
Words at Mouscron training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Juan David Martínez 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.
“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 dugout7 Oct 2030
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 1‑3 defeat, delivered by Interim Coach to a room that had heard them before.
Daniel Keller 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.
“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; Mouscron 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 Michy Mignolet was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
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.
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Jordan Sebban, and the manager let it.
The dugout30 Sep 2030
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.” Interim Coach chose the glass-half-full version of 0‑0; the supporters left with the other one.
16 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.
Position 15 and 2 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.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Mouscron 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.
“We were not good enough today and I am not going to dress it up.” Interim Coach after 0‑2, in the tone of a man who knows the next question and does not intend to answer it.
Westerlo next, and one man in the Mouscron dressing room knows their training ground better than his own. The reception will tell him what they thought of him.
15 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 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.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Juan David Martínez was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
14 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.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Mouscron have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Mouscron this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Every long career reaches the week the player starts thinking about the last one. He would like it to be at the club that first put him on a pitch, and Mouscron now know that too.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Michy Mignolet was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Mouscron ran out of time with Sint-Truiden. The paperwork was open when the deadline passed, and a transfer that was almost done is now a transfer that never happened.
Behind, and beaten by any honest reading, until minute 92. KV Mechelen had the points in their pocket and a corner of the ground still believed, which is generally when it happens.
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 clubs have shaken hands with Standard Liege; the player has not yet. Personal terms are next, and personal terms are where more deals die than anybody prints.
“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 Mouscron, and it is not being withdrawn.
$890.0K on the table at OH Leuven. The manager wanted him, the board agreed a number, and the only voices still to be heard are the ones at the other club.
Everything agreed with Club Brugge, everything agreed with the player; a doctor is the only person left to persuade. The photograph is a day or two away.
Daniel Keller and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad19 Aug 2030
Words at Mouscron training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Michy Mignolet 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.
Daniel Keller 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 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.
“We were not good enough today and I am not going to dress it up.” Interim Coach after 0‑1, in the tone of a man who knows the next question and does not intend to answer it.
There was one mistake and it ended in the net. Defenders are judged on the worst thing they did rather than on the eighty-nine minutes either side of it, which is unfair and is also the job.
“I was told straight, and I would rather have it straight.” The manager at Mouscron has been clear about where Jordan Sebban stands, which is more than many ever get.
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.
The deal with Sint-Truiden is done in every sense but the one that puts him on the pitch. Nothing goes wrong at this stage, except on the occasions when it does.
Form comes and goes; this has not gone. Gautier Guéguen is 21, and the version of him training now would not have got into the side he was in a year ago.
Daniel Keller 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.
11 days with the chair empty, a list of names that grows and shrinks by the day, and not one signature on anything. Every week that passes takes the best candidates off it.
Four paragraphs on the club website, none of them about football. The board thanked him, wished him well, and had the search under way before the page went up.
0‑3 to KAA Gent, 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.
Not an interim appointment — an institution with an empty coaching office. Somebody unfamiliar will run the sessions this week, and the question of how a club gets into this state is one the board will be asked and will not answer.
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 8 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
“Somebody picks the team on Saturday. This week it is me, and that is as far as I have thought.” No promises were made in either direction, which is how these usually begin.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Mouscron this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
“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 Mouscron know it.
In brief
Boardroom7 academy players handed senior numbers at Mouscron
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Mouscron have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Terms were offered and declined. Whether it was the wages, the role or the town, nobody at Arouca is saying, and nobody at Mouscron is enjoying the guessing.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Mouscron this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Form comes and goes; this has not gone. Thomas Boyata is 18, and the version of him training now would not have got into the side he was in a year ago.
Squad15 Jul 2030
Words at Mouscron training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Juan David Martínez 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.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Manchester United have kept their man, and Mouscron go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Form comes and goes; this has not gone. Gautier Guéguen is 21, and the version of him training now would not have got into the side he was in a year ago.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Michy Mignolet was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Signed today, seen by nobody for years, and one of them may one day be the reason the club exists. That is the whole of the argument for an academy, and it is a good one.
Nobody at Mouscron 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.
Position 15 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.
Mouscron had done everything except persuade the man himself. He stays at Dinamo Zagreb, and the manager goes back to the drawing board with the money still in the bank.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Mouscron 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 Michy Mignolet was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Mouscron asked and RB Leipzig said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
The mood at Mouscron 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.
Everything agreed with Standard Liege, everything agreed with the player; a doctor is the only person left to persuade. The photograph is a day or two away.
Form comes and goes; this has not gone. Dedryck Tielemans is 22, and the version of him training now would not have got into the side he was in a year ago.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Juan David Martínez was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Dinamo Zagreb have been asked whether they would lend him. Loans are agreed quickly or not at all, and this one will be one or the other by the weekend.
Charleroi have accepted the money. What Mouscron do not yet have is the man, and between here and the photograph is a conversation about wages that both sides are dreading.
Daniel Keller 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 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.
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 Jordan Sebban is on it.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Mouscron 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 Juan David Martínez was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Mouscron have made the call to Club Brugge. No fee, a share of the wages, and a spare shirt in the position where the squad has been thinnest all season.
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 was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Mouscron this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad20 May 2030
Words at Mouscron training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Michy Mignolet 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 Simon Hazard trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Daniel Keller 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.
Squad13 May 2030
Words at Mouscron training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Simon Hazard 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.
Nobody at Mouscron 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.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Mouscron, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Position 15 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.
The board have said in public what they had been saying in private. Results between now and the next meeting decide it, and everybody in the building knows the arithmetic.
“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 Mouscron, and it is not being withdrawn.
The official line will be that it was routine. It was not routine, the timing says so, and every person in that room knows what the next bad result costs.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Mouscron 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 Michy Mignolet 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 Michy Mignolet is on it.
The mood at Mouscron 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.
Daniel Keller and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad29 Apr 2030
Words at Mouscron training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Michy Mignolet 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 Mouscron 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 Juan David Martínez was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Nobody at Mouscron 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.
Daniel Keller 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.
Squad15 Apr 2030
Words at Mouscron training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Michy Mignolet 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.
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 Belmin Dizdarević is on it.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Eden Vertonghen trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
He trains hard, says the right things and goes home to an empty flat. Nobody at Mouscron has done anything wrong, which is exactly what makes it so difficult to fix.
Nothing in writing and nothing in public: a word about playing time, given face to face at Mouscron. The team sheets over the next month will show whether it was worth having.
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.
Lois De Bruyne 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.
Squad1 Apr 2030
Words at Mouscron training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Juan David Martínez 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.
He trains hard, says the right things and goes home to an empty flat. Nobody at Mouscron has done anything wrong, which is exactly what makes it so difficult to fix.
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 Malik Diawakana is on it.
Daniel Keller 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.
“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 Mouscron know it.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Michy Mignolet was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Daniel Keller 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.
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Adnan Fellaini and Mouscron agree another 4 years.
Squad18 Mar 2030
Words at Mouscron training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Michy Mignolet 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 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 had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Mouscron, and both men came out saying it was fine.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Mouscron 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 Mouscron 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 Juan David Martínez 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 Michy Mignolet is on it.
Simon Hazard has done the arithmetic and does not like the answer. Nothing corrodes a squad faster, and no club has ever solved it by explaining the wage structure to a footballer.
The table has started to be checked before the results are in, and that is always the tell. Nobody at Mouscron says the word out loud, and everybody in the building is thinking it.
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Mouscron know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
In brief
The dugoutJordan Sebban knocks on the manager's door
The dugoutThe manager makes Simon Boyata a promise
Daniel Keller 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 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 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.
25 graduates from an academy now rated 11 out of 20. A club this size does not survive any other way, and every name on that list is known in the town.
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.
What was said behind closed doors has now been said in front of a microphone. Everybody at Mouscron can do the arithmetic, including the man it is aimed at.
The official line will be that it was routine. It was not routine, the timing says so, and every person in that room knows what the next bad result costs.
That is the business done at Mouscron until the window opens again. Whether it was enough will be answered on Saturdays rather than in a column, and the first Saturday is close.
A medical, a signature, a shirt held up in front of a sponsor’s board. Mouscron have done the hard part with Sint-Truiden, and the part that remains is the part supporters actually see.
A deal that was a phone call from completion at lunchtime was dead by midnight. Mouscron will try again when the window opens; Westerlo may not be selling by then.
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 12 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
Daniel Keller 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.
Mouscron offered $250.0K; Standard Liege 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.
Squad28 Jan 2030
Words at Mouscron training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Juan David Martínez 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 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.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Notts County have kept their man, and Mouscron go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Daniel Keller 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.
“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; Mouscron are dealing with a man who wants a different country.
Squad21 Jan 2030
Words at Mouscron training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Michy Mignolet 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.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Sporting CP have kept their man, and Mouscron 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 Mouscron, 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 Mouscron 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 Juan David Martínez was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Michy Mignolet. 1‑0 against Waasland-Beveren, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Mouscron this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad24 Dec 2029
Words at Mouscron training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Michy Mignolet 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 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.
100 games in this shirt, through managers and relegations and everything else. Service like it is disappearing from the game and the crowd knows what it is watching.
“We were not good enough today and I am not going to dress it up.” Jason Hazard after 0‑2, in the tone of a man who knows the next question and does not intend to answer it.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Mouscron can pretend not to have heard.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Juan David Martínez was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
100 games in this shirt, through managers and relegations and everything else. Service like it is disappearing from the game and the crowd knows what it is watching.
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.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Mouscron 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 Michy Mignolet 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.” Jason Hazard after 0‑2, in the tone of a man who knows the next question and does not intend to answer it.
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 Michy Mignolet is on it.
The 89th minute, half the ground already edging towards the exits, and Michy Mignolet decided nobody was going anywhere. Lokeren had no time left to answer.
Daniel Keller 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 Michy Mignolet was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
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.
Successful dribbles: 19. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Player ratings3 Dec 2029
Michy Mignolet was on a different afternoon to everybody else
8.24. There are performances a supporter describes to somebody who was not there and cannot quite convey; this was one, and the number does not help either.
51 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 tried. I have really tried, and every day I wake up in the wrong place.” Nobody at Mouscron can coach that out of a man, and nobody there is pretending 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.
“The supporters are entitled to be angry. So am I. We will put it right.” 1‑2, a manager saying the necessary things, and a dressing room that heard a different version of them.
50 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 terraces12 Nov 2029
The mood at Mouscron 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.
11 matches, no goals, and a training ground that has tried everything. It will end — droughts always do — but nobody at Mouscron can tell you which week it ends in.
Lois De Bruyne 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 Michy Mignolet was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
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. Mouscron know what is at stake and so does everybody in the away end.
16 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.
10 matches, no goals, and a training ground that has tried everything. It will end — droughts always do — but nobody at Mouscron can tell you which week it ends in.
What was said behind closed doors has now been said in front of a microphone. Everybody at Mouscron can do the arithmetic, including the man it is aimed at.
Nothing has been announced and everybody understands what it means. A board that summons the whole football department on a Tuesday morning is a board that has stopped believing the problem will fix itself.
Lois De Bruyne and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad5 Nov 2029
Words at Mouscron training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Juan David Martínez 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.
9 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.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Mouscron can pretend not to have heard.
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.
Daniel Keller 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 Michy Mignolet was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
0‑5 against Anderlecht, and no complaints that would survive the replay. The manager spoke about character afterwards; the terraces used shorter words.
8 matches, no goals, and a training ground that has tried everything. It will end — droughts always do — but nobody at Mouscron can tell you which week it ends in.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Mouscron have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
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 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.
0‑3 to Charleroi, 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.
The chances are being made and something is happening between the making and the finishing. 7 matches now, and the anxiety in the ground arrives a little earlier every week.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Mouscron this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad15 Oct 2029
Words at Mouscron training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Juan David Martínez 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.
6 matches, no goals, and a training ground that has tried everything. It will end — droughts always do — but nobody at Mouscron can tell you which week it ends in.
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.
100 games in the shirt. Nobody sets out to build a record like that; it happens to a certain kind of player at a certain kind of club, and this town knows what it has.
The one version of being left out a player cannot argue with, and the one he takes worst. Somebody else has been better and the team sheet says so, in public, every week until it changes.
Nobody at Mouscron 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.
5 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.
Daniel Keller 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 Michy Mignolet was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The team sheet says it in public every week until it changes. The only version of being dropped a footballer cannot argue with, and the one he takes hardest.
Nobody at Mouscron 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.
0‑4 against KV Mechelen, and no complaints that would survive the replay. The manager spoke about character afterwards; the terraces used shorter words.
Daniel Keller 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 Michy Mignolet was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
“I have tried. I have really tried, and every day I wake up in the wrong place.” Nobody at Mouscron can coach that out of a man, and nobody there is pretending to.
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.
“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.
Boardroom3 Sep 2029
Deadline passes with 21 signed and 19 gone
That is the business done at Mouscron until the window opens again. Whether it was enough will be answered on Saturdays rather than in a column, and the first Saturday is close.
Daniel Keller 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.
Mouscron have gone to Waasland-Beveren 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.
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 afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 10 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
Daniel Keller and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad27 Aug 2029
Words at Mouscron training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Simon Hazard 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.
100 games in the shirt. Nobody sets out to build a record like that; it happens to a certain kind of player at a certain kind of club, and this town knows what it has.
In brief
The dugoutMichy Mignolet is still being punished for one mistake
Successful dribbles: 28. 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.
Daniel Keller 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.
$96.0K on the table at Waasland-Beveren. 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 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.
Mouscron asked and Sporting CP said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
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.
Not a run of form — an actual step up, held for months. At 22 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 Mouscron this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
At 35 the improving is meant to be over. It is not: 3 points better than the mark taken at the start of the year, which is the sort of thing that happens to players who take the boring parts of the job seriously.
Form comes and goes; this has not gone. Hans Alderweireld is 18, and the version of him training now would not have got into the side he was in a year ago.
Daniel Keller 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.
“I have tried. I have really tried, and every day I wake up in the wrong place.” Nobody at Mouscron can coach that out of a man, and nobody there is pretending to.
Mouscron asked and KV Mechelen said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
Mouscron have made the call to Feyenoord. No fee, a share of the wages, and a spare shirt in the position where the squad has been thinnest all season.
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.
Nobody will confirm it and the team sheets confirm it every week. One error has bought him a spell as second choice that is already longer than the error deserved.
Position 15 and 9 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.
Daniel Keller 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.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Charleroi have kept their man, and Mouscron go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Not a run of form — an actual step up, held for months. At 23 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 Simon Hazard 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 Juan David Martínez trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Nobody at Mouscron 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.
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 Mouscron 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 Mouscron this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Form comes and goes; this has not gone. Kristiyan Yovov is 23, and the version of him training now would not have got into the side he was in a year ago.
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.
Clubs spend fortunes looking for players and occasionally find one down the corridor. Kevin Hazard is that, and the reception he gets on his first appearance will be different in kind from the one any signing receives.
The clubs have shaken hands with Racing Genk; the player has not yet. Personal terms are next, and personal terms are where more deals die than anybody prints.
Everything agreed with Racing Genk, everything agreed with the player; a doctor is the only person left to persuade. The photograph is a day or two away.
Mouscron asked and Westerlo said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Juan David Martínez was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The paperwork is done long before the player is. Maxime Libbenga has agreed terms to come here when his current deal runs out, which means Mouscron have spent a summer's transfer budget on a phone call.
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 Michy Mignolet is on it.
Nobody will confirm this and nothing else explains the last month of selections. A costly error buys a player a period of being second choice that is always longer than the error was.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Mouscron 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.
“The manager did not use many words, and he did not need to.” Simon Hazard has his answer from Mouscron; what he does with it is the next window’s story.
26 games, 4 goals, and a squad option that has arrived without a fee attached. The interesting question at Mouscron now is not whether he plays but who he displaces.
Borussia Dortmund have been asked whether they would lend him. Loans are agreed quickly or not at all, and this one will be one or the other by the 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.
Daniel Keller 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.
Squad28 May 2029
Words at Mouscron training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Michy Mignolet 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 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.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Guillaume De Schryver trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
The dugout28 May 2029
The manager has not finished forgetting Kyanno Silva'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.
“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 Mouscron, 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 Mouscron this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Footballers are asked about their boyhood club so often that nobody listens to the answer. Kristiyan Yovov has just signed for Mouscron, and for once the answer mattered.
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.
The paperwork is done long before the player is. Matías González has agreed terms to come here when his current deal runs out, which means Mouscron have spent a summer's transfer budget on a phone call.
Nobody at Mouscron 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.
The dugout21 May 2029
The manager has not finished forgetting Adnan Fellaini'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.
18 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Mouscron lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
The board’s statement ran to three sentences and one of them mentioned results. Jason Hazard has managed long enough to translate: win soon, or the next statement is shorter.
Daniel Keller 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 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.
Every squad is half players the manager chose and half players he inherited. Guillaume De Schryver was chosen, the man who chose him has gone, and he starts again from nothing under the next one.
The demotion a club never announces and a dressing room always notices. Michy Castagne is further from the side than he was, and the reason will not be given until he asks.
Nobody at Mouscron 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.
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Mouscron know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
33 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Mouscron 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 Mouscron can pretend not to have heard.
Lois De Bruyne 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.
Squad23 Apr 2029
Words at Mouscron training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Michy Mignolet 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 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 Mouscron will have to give him a reason to stay or an exit.
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.
Nobody will confirm this and nothing else explains the last month of selections. A costly error buys a player a period of being second choice that is always longer than the error was.
“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 Mouscron, and it is not being withdrawn.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Michy Mignolet was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Numbers do not stay secret in a dressing room. He is not asking for more than he is worth; he is asking why somebody beside him is worth more, and Mouscron have no good answer.
“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 Mouscron, and it is not being withdrawn.
Daniel Keller 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.
Squad9 Apr 2029
Words at Mouscron training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Michy Mignolet 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 Juan David Martínez trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Nobody at Mouscron 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.
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Mouscron know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
The table has started to be checked before the results are in, and that is always the tell. Nobody at Mouscron says the word out loud, and everybody in the building is thinking it.
The mood at Mouscron 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.
“The easiest signature of my career.” Guillaume De Schryver and Mouscron agree another 2 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Daniel Keller 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 Michy Mignolet was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
5 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.
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.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Mouscron can pretend not to have heard.
Lois De Bruyne 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 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 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 Mouscron know it.
Nobody at Mouscron 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.
The dugout26 Mar 2029
The manager has not finished forgetting Adnan Fellaini'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.
Position 15 and 9 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.
“I have tried. I have really tried, and every day I wake up in the wrong place.” Nobody at Mouscron can coach that out of a man, and nobody there is pretending to.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Michy Mignolet was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.