“I was told straight, and I would rather have it straight.” The manager at Westerlo has been clear about where Koen Van Langendonck stands, which is more than many ever get.
A new face in his position, and Benoît Costil suddenly has to win back what he thought he owned. Westerlo have promised nothing — clubs rarely do at this stage.
Sint-Truiden pay $570.0K, and the deal is done. The number reads well on a balance sheet; whether it reads well on the pitch is next season's question.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Westerlo can pretend not to have heard.
“I am grateful for the games, but I did not become a footballer to be somebody else's spare part.” He wants to be at Westerlo, and 0 appearances in 25 say he has earned the hearing.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Westerlo, and both men came out saying it was fine.
“I am grateful for the games, but I did not become a footballer to be somebody else's spare part.” He wants to be at Westerlo, and 3 appearances in 25 say he has earned the hearing.
A player who expected to start watched it instead. The manager will call it a decision for the team; Benoît Costil will call it something else in private.
0-3 to Mouscron, and it was every bit as bad as the number suggests. There are defeats you argue about and defeats you apologise for; this was the second kind.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Westerlo can pretend not to have heard.
The fee is $250.0K, the contract is signed, and the argument about whether he is worth it can begin. Lokeren drove a hard bargain; time will say who won it.
An error at the back is a moment; an error in goal is a goal. Andreas Jungdal knows it, the crowd knew it instantly, and there was nobody behind him to make it anything else.
He found out with everybody else, an hour before kick-off, from a sheet of paper on a wall. Nobody at Westerlo pretended it was anything other than a decision about him.
He found out with everybody else, an hour before kick-off, from a sheet of paper on a wall. Nobody at Westerlo pretended it was anything other than a decision about him.
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Westerlo know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
A 2-1 win over Waasland-Beveren, earned rather than given, and the sort of afternoon that sends everyone home talking about next week instead of this one.
He wheeled away like a man who had been carrying it for months, because he had. Westerlo have their signing off the mark and one press-conference question retired.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Westerlo, and both men came out saying it was fine.
“I am grateful for the games, but I did not become a footballer to be somebody else's spare part.” He wants to be at Westerlo, and 2 appearances in 6 say he has earned the hearing.
Whether it was the goalkeeper or the ten in front of him is the argument that will fill every conversation in town this week. 4 saves does not settle it either way.
A window away with the national side, and a shirt at Westerlo that briefly doubles as an advertisement. A call-up flatters the player and the club that built him in the same breath.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Westerlo can pretend not to have heard.
He is the name in every column and on every phone-in, which is a heavy thing to carry at any age. Some footballers thrive on it; others are quietly finished by 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 Westerlo, 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 Westerlo can pretend not to have heard.
Every club in football pays most of what it earns to its players. Paying nearly all of it is a different arrangement, and it has ended the same way every time somebody has tried it.
“I will know when it is time. I am not there yet.” Benoît Costil is 39, with 0 appearances behind him, and Westerlo will have to plan for whichever answer comes.
The best deals are the ones the accountants never notice. Ben Thys arrives at Westerlo with his wages the only cost and something to prove the only clause.
The name of Afonso Patrão has come up in conversations Westerlo were not part of. Nothing formal, nothing signed — but nothing about it accidental either.
He wheeled away like a man who had been carrying it for months, because he had. Westerlo have their signing off the mark and one press-conference question retired.
Every debut is a small story about the future: Fatihan Kâhya, 18 years old, off the academy pitches and into the first team. The parents in the stand will keep the programme.
A new face in his position, and Benoît Costil suddenly has to win back what he thought he owned. Westerlo have promised nothing — clubs rarely do at this stage.