Marked for Bryan Soumaré
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market31 Jan 2028
“I listened, I thought about it, and I am staying. That is the whole story.” The clubs had agreed a fee. Aiham Ousou had not agreed to go, which turned out to be the part that mattered.
Match29 Jan 2028
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.
Squad31 Jan 2028
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at RAAL La Louviere this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad31 Jan 2028
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Eric Bile was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Player ratings31 Jan 2028
Ninety minutes of Anthony Valencia at his very best
Marked 8.20. Players have careers without a single afternoon like this in them, and he has just had one in front of everybody at RAAL La Louviere.
The dugout31 Jan 2028
No hiding place for Owen Maës
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Owen Maës, and the manager let it.
The dugout31 Jan 2028
He found out with everybody else, an hour before kick-off, from a sheet of paper on a wall. Nobody at RAAL La Louviere pretended it was anything other than a decision about him.
Match29 Jan 2028
It needed Anthony Valencia to find the net to bring anything home at all: 2‑2 against Union SG, and half the dressing room will call it a point won.
Squad31 Jan 2028
Every shape has positions in it and this one does not have his. RAAL La Louviere will either change the shape, change his job, or change his club, and he is waiting to hear which.
Back issues
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Player ratings22 Nov 2027
Successful dribbles: 35. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Squad22 Nov 2027
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.
The dugout22 Nov 2027
Youte: that is not what I was promised
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” RAAL La Louviere have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Player ratings22 Nov 2027
28 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.
Squad22 Nov 2027
Toby Alderweireld and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad22 Nov 2027
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Eric Bile was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The terraces22 Nov 2027
At 23 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.
Squad22 Nov 2027
“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 RAAL La Louviere know it.
The dugout22 Nov 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Bryan Soumaré, and the manager let it.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Match3 Nov 2027
1‑2 against Charleroi, and the road stops here. Cup exits are quick deaths — no second leg, no next week, just the league from now until May.
Player ratings8 Nov 2027
A brace, and Eric Bile takes the afternoon — 9.30
There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. Eric Bile provided it, and the 9.30 beside his name is if anything generous to everybody else.
Squad8 Nov 2027
Toby Alderweireld 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.
Squad8 Nov 2027
Eric Bile 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.
The terraces8 Nov 2027
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.
Match7 Nov 2027
A 2‑0 win over KV Mechelen, earned rather than given, and the sort of afternoon that sends everyone home talking about next week instead of this one.
The dugout8 Nov 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Anthony Valencia, and the manager let it.
Squad8 Nov 2027
5 new faces, and RAAL La Louviere are still learning each other
A squad rebuilt inside one window pays for it in a currency nobody budgets for. The football is not worse than the sum of the players; it is worse than the sum of the players who have played together before.
The dugout8 Nov 2027
“The players deserve the credit. My job was easy today.” It was not, and everybody in the room knew it; after 2‑0, Thomas Vanaken could afford to be generous.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market27 Sep 2027
“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 RAAL La Louviere, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad27 Sep 2027
Toby Alderweireld and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad27 Sep 2027
Words at RAAL La Louviere training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Eric Bile 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.
Squad27 Sep 2027
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.
The dugout27 Sep 2027
The manager makes an example of Bryan Soumaré
“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.
The dugout27 Sep 2027
The manager has not finished forgetting Toby Alderweireld'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.
Player ratings27 Sep 2027
Successful dribbles: 15. 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.
Player ratings27 Sep 2027
Some games turn on a moment; this one turned on a man. 7.23 on the card, and the RAAL La Louviere support went home talking about one name.
Squad27 Sep 2027
Every shape has positions in it and this one does not have his. RAAL La Louviere will either change the shape, change his job, or change his club, and he is waiting to hear which.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad9 Aug 2027
A fracture rules Bryan Soumaré out for 15 days
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason RAAL La Louviere will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Transfer targets9 Aug 2027
$1.6M settles it between the clubs for Denys Marchenko
Karpaty have accepted the money. What RAAL La Louviere do not yet have is the man, and between here and the photograph is a conversation about wages that both sides are dreading.
Match7 Aug 2027
The run now stands at 4, and the questions being asked around RAAL La Louviere are no longer polite ones.
Squad9 Aug 2027
Toby Alderweireld 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 Aug 2027
Words at RAAL La Louviere training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Eric Bile 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.
Transfer targets9 Aug 2027
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Club Brugge have kept their man, and RAAL La Louviere go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Match7 Aug 2027
Beaten 1‑2, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
Player ratings9 Aug 2027
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.
In brief
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Squad
Luka Hoedaert signs a new deal
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The dugout
The view from the dugout
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Market
Joël Ito is free to find somewhere else
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad2 Aug 2027
23 days out for Bryan Soumaré after a fracture
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. RAAL La Louviere will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
Market2 Aug 2027
The fee is $6.5M, the contract is signed, and the argument about whether he is worth it can begin. OH Leuven drove a hard bargain; time will say who won it.
Market2 Aug 2027
The offer was not close and it was refused without much discussion. Whether the second one is refused as quickly is another matter.
Transfer targets2 Aug 2027
The clubs have shaken hands with Olympic Charleroi; the player has not yet. Personal terms are next, and personal terms are where more deals die than anybody prints.
The dugout2 Aug 2027
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” RAAL La Louviere may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Transfer targets2 Aug 2027
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.
Squad2 Aug 2027
Toby Alderweireld and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
The terraces2 Aug 2027
Thibaud Verlinden was the name on every phone-in, and the club has gone and signed him for $6.5M. For one week the board can do no wrong, which is a week most boards never get.
Squad2 Aug 2027
Words at RAAL La Louviere training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Eric Bile 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
Squad26 Jul 2027
31 days out for Bryan Soumaré after a fracture
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. RAAL La Louviere will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
Transfer targets26 Jul 2027
Everything agreed with OH Leuven, everything agreed with the player; a doctor is the only person left to persuade. The photograph is a day or two away.
Market26 Jul 2027
“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.
Market26 Jul 2027
The offer was not close and it was refused without much discussion. Whether the second one is refused as quickly is another matter.
Boardroom26 Jul 2027
RAAL La Louviere moved before anybody else could: a new deal for Thomas Vanaken, agreed quietly and announced loudly. Boards extend managers for many reasons; the good one is the one this looks like.
Squad26 Jul 2027
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at RAAL La Louviere this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Transfer targets26 Jul 2027
Olympic Charleroi wanted more than $68.0K and the board would not go there. Walked away, for now, which in a transfer window means until somebody blinks.
Boardroom26 Jul 2027
5 academy players handed senior numbers at RAAL La Louviere
The morning the pathway stops being a brochure and becomes a team sheet. Most of them will not be here in three years; all of them have already done the hard part, which was getting to today.
Squad26 Jul 2027
Eric Bile 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
Squad19 Jul 2027
40 days out for Bryan Soumaré after a fracture
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. RAAL La Louviere will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
Squad19 Jul 2027
Toby Alderweireld 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.
Market19 Jul 2027
Mouhamed Belkheir has left for Lommel in a $380.0K deal. The accountants are pleased; the supporters are less certain.
Transfer targets19 Jul 2027
RAAL La Louviere asked and Ajax said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
Squad19 Jul 2027
Jordi Liongola 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.
Squad19 Jul 2027
The medical room confirms 15 days on the sidelines for Rayan Cheriat, and a plan built around him now has to be rebuilt.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad12 Jul 2027
A fracture rules Bryan Soumaré out for 47 days
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason RAAL La Louviere will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Squad12 Jul 2027
Toby Alderweireld 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.
Squad12 Jul 2027
Words at RAAL La Louviere training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Eric Bile 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.
Transfer targets12 Jul 2027
The approach was made and the answer came back in a sentence. There is no number on the table because there was no number that would have been enough.
The dugout12 Jul 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Mohammed Guindo, and the manager let it.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad5 Jul 2027
A fracture rules Bryan Soumaré out for 56 days
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason RAAL La Louviere will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Squad5 Jul 2027
Toby Alderweireld and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad5 Jul 2027
Eric Bile 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.
Transfer targets5 Jul 2027
The approach was made and the answer came back in a sentence. There is no number on the table because there was no number that would have been enough.
Market5 Jul 2027
31 games, 14 goals, and a squad option that has arrived without a fee attached. The interesting question at RAAL La Louviere now is not whether he plays but who he displaces.
The dugout5 Jul 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Jordy Peffer, and the manager let it.
Transfer targets5 Jul 2027
A loan enquiry to Cremonese: cover, or a look at somebody the club cannot afford to buy yet. Either way the answer will come back inside the week.
Boardroom5 Jul 2027
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.
Squad5 Jul 2027
The demotion a club never announces and a dressing room always notices. Alex Kouto Horio Pisano is further from the side than he was, and the reason will not be given until he asks.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad28 Jun 2027
65 days out for Bryan Soumaré after a fracture
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. RAAL La Louviere will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
Market28 Jun 2027
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what RAAL La Louviere can pretend not to have heard.
Squad28 Jun 2027
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at RAAL La Louviere this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad28 Jun 2027
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.
Squad28 Jun 2027
Everybody at RAAL La Louviere saw it before anybody said it, which is how this always goes. At 38 the decline is real and measurable — 3 points — and the only question left is how the club handles somebody it owes a great deal to.
Transfer targets28 Jun 2027
The approach was made and the answer came back in a sentence. There is no number on the table because there was no number that would have been enough.
The dugout28 Jun 2027
The manager makes an example of Matthis Riou
“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.
Market28 Jun 2027
Every press conference now starts and ends the same way: with Eric Bile’s future. The manager has run out of new ways to say nothing.
The dugout28 Jun 2027
A door opens for Youte
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.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad21 Jun 2027
Bryan Soumaré breaks a bone — 72 days out
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 72 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Market21 Jun 2027
“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 RAAL La Louviere, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad21 Jun 2027
Youte 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.
Squad21 Jun 2027
The step up is real for Ilan Wumba
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 Jun 2027
Words at RAAL La Louviere training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Eric Bile 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.
Transfer targets21 Jun 2027
RAAL La Louviere asked and Ajax said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
Transfer targets21 Jun 2027
RAAL La Louviere have made the call to Stade Brestois. No fee, a share of the wages, and a spare shirt in the position where the squad has been thinnest all season.
The dugout21 Jun 2027
No hiding place for Joël Ito
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Joël Ito, and the manager let it.
The dugout21 Jun 2027
The manager makes Jordy Peffer a promise
Nothing in writing and nothing in public: a word about playing time, given face to face at RAAL La Louviere. The team sheets over the next month will show whether it was worth having.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad14 Jun 2027
A fracture rules Bryan Soumaré out for 80 days
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason RAAL La Louviere will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Market14 Jun 2027
The offer from Montana for Eric Bile 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.
Market14 Jun 2027
“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 RAAL La Louviere, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad14 Jun 2027
Toby Alderweireld 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.
Squad14 Jun 2027
Eric Bile 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.
Transfer targets14 Jun 2027
The approach was made and the answer came back in a sentence. There is no number on the table because there was no number that would have been enough.
Transfer targets14 Jun 2027
A loan move for Ewen Jaouen is in the works
RAAL La Louviere have made the call to Stade de Reims. No fee, a share of the wages, and a spare shirt in the position where the squad has been thinnest all season.
The dugout14 Jun 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Adama Soumaoro, and the manager let it.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad7 Jun 2027
A fracture rules Bryan Soumaré out for 89 days
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason RAAL La Louviere will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Market7 Jun 2027
“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.
Market7 Jun 2027
“I want to be playing for trophies while my legs still let me.” Nothing in that sentence is a transfer request, and nobody at RAAL La Louviere heard it as anything else.
Squad7 Jun 2027
Toby Alderweireld and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Transfer targets7 Jun 2027
The approach was made and the answer came back in a sentence. There is no number on the table because there was no number that would have been enough.
Loan watch7 Jun 2027
31 appearances at Clermont Foot and the goals keep coming. RAAL La Louviere are watching this more closely than the borrowing club would like.
Market7 Jun 2027
The academy exists for exactly this morning. Christian Mignolet has come through every age group the club runs and has now been handed a senior number, and the people who coached him at twelve will be the proudest in the building.
Market7 Jun 2027
The academy exists for exactly this morning. Michy De Bruyne has come through every age group the club runs and has now been handed a senior number, and the people who coached him at twelve will be the proudest in the building.
Squad7 Jun 2027
Words at RAAL La Louviere training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Jordi Liongola 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
Squad31 May 2027
Bryan Soumaré breaks a bone — 98 days out
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 98 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Squad31 May 2027
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at RAAL La Louviere this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad31 May 2027
Eric Bile 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
Squad24 May 2027
106 days out for Bryan Soumaré after a fracture
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. RAAL La Louviere will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
Squad24 May 2027
An individual honour is a strange thing in a team game, and the best of them are never argued with. He has had the sort of year that ends with his name being read out, and RAAL La Louviere have had the benefit of it.
Squad24 May 2027
Toby Alderweireld 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.
Squad24 May 2027
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Eric Bile was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The dugout24 May 2027
No hiding place for Joël Ito
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Joël Ito, and the manager let it.
The dugout24 May 2027
Jordy Peffer knocks on the manager’s door
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Jordy Peffer trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad17 May 2027
114 days out for Bryan Soumaré after a fracture
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. RAAL La Louviere will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
Squad17 May 2027
Toby Alderweireld 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.
Squad17 May 2027
Words at RAAL La Louviere training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Jordi Liongola 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 dugout17 May 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Samuel Gueulette, and the manager let it.
The dugout17 May 2027
The manager makes Youte a promise
Nothing in writing and nothing in public: a word about playing time, given face to face at RAAL La Louviere. The team sheets over the next month will show whether it was worth having.
The dugout17 May 2027
Sami Lahssaini knocks on the manager's door
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at RAAL La Louviere, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Market17 May 2027
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Thierry Lutonda signs something — a contract at RAAL La Louviere or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
Squad17 May 2027
The language has come, the shrug has gone, and he argues in training like a man who expects to be here next year. None of it shows up on a fee and all of it shows up on the pitch.
Match17 May 2027
Position 7 on 41 points, with the season drifting toward the summer. It is the safest place in football and the hardest one to sell a season ticket from.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad10 May 2027
121 days out for Bryan Soumaré after a fracture
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. RAAL La Louviere will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
Squad10 May 2027
Anouar Ait El Hadj 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.
Squad10 May 2027
Words at RAAL La Louviere training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Eric Bile 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.
Loan watch10 May 2027
31 appearances away from home and 14 goals to show for them. Every one of them makes next summer's conversation a little more expensive.
The dugout10 May 2027
The manager makes an example of Sami Lahssaini
“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.
Market10 May 2027
The Eric Bile talk will not go away
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. RAAL La Louviere know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
The dugout10 May 2027
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.
Squad10 May 2027
“I did not sign to watch. Nobody does.” The oldest complaint in the game, and RAAL La Louviere will have to answer it with minutes or with a move.
The dugout10 May 2027
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Darío Benavides trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad3 May 2027
A fracture rules Bryan Soumaré out for 130 days
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason RAAL La Louviere will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Squad3 May 2027
Anouar Ait El Hadj 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.
Squad3 May 2027
Eric Bile 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
Crisis
Match13 Feb 2027
A 1‑4 beating by Anderlecht was the sort of result that empties a stadium long before the final whistle.
Squad15 Feb 2027
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.
Player ratings15 Feb 2027
Successful dribbles: 24. 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.
Squad15 Feb 2027
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at RAAL La Louviere this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad15 Feb 2027
Words at RAAL La Louviere training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Eric Bile 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.
Transfer targets15 Feb 2027
RAAL La Louviere asked and Olympic Charleroi 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 dugout15 Feb 2027
Youte gets it from the manager
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
Boardroom15 Feb 2027
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 dugout15 Feb 2027
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 1‑4 Thomas Vanaken left the room before anybody could ask which.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Player ratings7 Dec 2026
Successful dribbles: 31. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Player ratings7 Dec 2026
2 goals, and the second was the one that settled it. Marked 8.85, and he could have had a third with better luck at the near post.
Match7 Dec 2026
Position 3 and 24 points on the board. Nobody at the ground will say the word out loud yet, and everybody at the ground is thinking it.
The dugout7 Dec 2026
“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.
Squad7 Dec 2026
Aiham Ousou 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 RAAL La Louviere this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad7 Dec 2026
Words at RAAL La Louviere training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Eric Bile 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.
Squad7 Dec 2026
It is the quietest kind of dressing-room problem and the one that lasts longest, because nobody has done anything anyone can be disciplined for. 3 players sit outside all 4 groups entirely, which is the detail that tends to matter.
The terraces7 Dec 2026
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 20-year-old it feels ownership of. Yoël van den Ban has it now, and everything he does for the rest of his time here will be measured against the goodwill he was handed for free.
The dugout7 Dec 2026
The manager makes an example of Youte
“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.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad23 Nov 2026
19 days out for David Pollet after a fracture
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. RAAL La Louviere will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
Player ratings23 Nov 2026
Eric Bile, 21, plays like he has been here for years — 7.80
A mark of 7.80 means one thing beside a twenty-nine-year-old's name and something else entirely beside a 21-year-old's. Nobody at the ground needed telling which this was.
Squad23 Nov 2026
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at RAAL La Louviere this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Match21 Nov 2026
6 matches without a win, and then this, against KAA Gent. Relief is a strange noise in a football ground and it was the only noise at the end.
Squad23 Nov 2026
Words at RAAL La Louviere training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Eric Bile 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.
Match21 Nov 2026
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Eric Bile. 2‑1 against KAA Gent, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
The terraces23 Nov 2026
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 22-year-old it feels ownership of. Pape Moussa Fall 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.
Player ratings23 Nov 2026
Ninety minutes of Pape Moussa Fall at his very best
Marked 8.35. Players have careers without a single afternoon like this in them, and he has just had one in front of everybody at RAAL La Louviere.
Player ratings23 Nov 2026
Successful dribbles: 18. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad16 Nov 2026
A fracture rules David Pollet out for 27 days
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason RAAL La Louviere will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Squad16 Nov 2026
Toby Alderweireld and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad16 Nov 2026
Words at RAAL La Louviere training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Eric Bile 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 dugout16 Nov 2026
The manager makes an example of Bryan Soumaré
“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.
Looking ahead16 Nov 2026
Every squad has one of these fixtures for somebody every season. This one is Samuel Gueulette’s: the club that knew him first, the supporters who will decide in the first minute whether to applaud, and RAAL La Louviere needing him to play as if none of it matters.
Squad16 Nov 2026
Bryan Soumaré 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.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad19 Oct 2026
A fracture rules David Pollet out for 56 days
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason RAAL La Louviere will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Match17 Oct 2026
2 in front and in complete control, and it finished with Antwerp the happier side. There is no version of this afternoon that RAAL La Louviere will enjoy reviewing.
The dugout19 Oct 2026
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” RAAL La Louviere may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Player ratings19 Oct 2026
Up for the corner, and Sondre Auklend delivers — 7.86
Centre-halves are allowed forward twice a season and are judged on what they do when they get there. Sondre Auklend scored, was marked 7.86, and got back before anybody noticed he had gone.
Player ratings19 Oct 2026
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 7.87 for the rest of it.
Player ratings19 Oct 2026
Successful dribbles: 23. There was always a defender in front of him and there was never a defender in front of him for long.
Squad19 Oct 2026
Aiham Ousou 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 Oct 2026
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.
Squad19 Oct 2026
Words at RAAL La Louviere training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Sondre Auklend 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
Steady
Squad28 Sep 2026
A fracture rules David Pollet out for 79 days
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason RAAL La Louviere will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Match26 Sep 2026
Beaten 0‑4 by Union SG, and beaten everywhere it matters. The inquest starts on the training pitch on Monday morning.
Squad28 Sep 2026
Form comes and goes; this has not gone. Noah Makembo-Ntemo is 19, and the version of him training now would not have got into the side he was in a year ago.
Squad28 Sep 2026
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Sondre Auklend was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Player ratings28 Sep 2026
Successful dribbles: 18. There was always a defender in front of him and there was never a defender in front of him for long.
Boardroom28 Sep 2026
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.
Squad28 Sep 2026
“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; RAAL La Louviere are dealing with a man who wants a different country.
The dugout28 Sep 2026
Youte is still being punished for one mistake
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.
The dugout28 Sep 2026
“We were not good enough today and I am not going to dress it up.” Thomas Vanaken after 0‑4, in the tone of a man who knows the next question and does not intend to answer it.