Successful dribbles: 24. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Squad22 Feb 2027
Roméo Amané 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 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.
Massimo Bruno and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
“It is not the end of the world and it is not good enough. Both of those are true.” The manager, after a 0‑0 draw, said the honest thing and then went to say it again inside.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Francs Borains have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Squad15 Feb 2027
Roméo Amané 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.
13 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.
Every shape has positions in it and this one does not have his. Francs Borains will either change the shape, change his job, or change his club, and he is waiting to hear which.
“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 dugout15 Feb 2027
The manager’s verdict
“I am frustrated, honestly. We did enough to win and we did not win.” Charles Openda was not hiding it after 0‑0, and nobody in the Francs Borains dressing room was either.
In brief
The dugoutThe manager has not finished forgetting Théo Gécé's mistake
17 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Francs Borains lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
Terms were offered and declined. Whether it was the wages, the role or the town, nobody at Aris Thessaloniki is saying, and nobody at Francs Borains is enjoying the guessing.
Every footballer has an answer to the question about his boyhood club, and most of them never get to act on it. Roberto Portillo has, at Francs Borains, and the first month will show what that does to a man.
Francs Borains asked and Club Brugge said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
“I watch every Francs Borains game from here. That says everything about where my head is.” The loan at RFC Liege runs its course, but his heart never made the trip.
The academy exists for exactly this morning. Eden 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.
There is no fee, no unveiling and no agent on the steps. Axel Vertonghen has been at this club since he was a boy and is now, formally, one of the first-team squad — which for a local readership beats any signing of any size.
The words a physio says slowly. 25 days is what the club will announce and everybody who has heard this diagnosis before knows the number is the least of it: the knee comes back before the player does.
Two goals and a mark of 8.99 to go with them. Strikers are judged on afternoons like this one and remembered for far fewer of them than people imagine.
Fee agreed, wages agreed, and Dender waiting with a shirt. Nobody at Francs Borains is pretending otherwise, and the supporters have stopped asking whether and started asking when.
Mathias Fixelles has gone, the accounts have $2.5M in them, and the supporters have the feeling of having been sold something themselves. Good business and a good decision are not always the same thing.
“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 Francs Borains, and it is not being withdrawn.
“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.
Boardroom1 Feb 2027
Francs Borains close the window on a squad of their own making
7 in and 6 out, and no more changes for months. The manager has what he has, the supporters have their opinion of it, and the table will have the last word.
KAA Gent paid $2.5M and Francs Borains took it, which is the whole story in one sentence. The longer version involves a wage budget and will be told all season.
In brief
SquadRoméo Amané falls out with a teammate over standards
32 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Francs Borains lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
The offer from Anderlecht for Mathias Fixelles 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.
Jordy Soladio has gone, the accounts have $5.2M in them, and the supporters have the feeling of having been sold something themselves. Good business and a good decision are not always the same thing.
Club Brugge paid $5.2M and Francs Borains took it, which is the whole story in one sentence. The longer version involves a wage budget and will be told all season.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Francs Borains can pretend not to have heard.
Massimo Bruno 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 name of Aboubacar Ali has come up in conversations Francs Borains were not part of. Nothing formal, nothing signed — but nothing about it accidental either.
3 games without scoring. Strikers stop looking up, midfielders take the extra touch, and every shot that clears the bar is followed by a groan that has been building since the last goal.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Francs Borains can pretend not to have heard.
The accountants will call it good business and they will be right, which is not the point anybody outside the boardroom is making. Lucas Lima was one of the reasons people came, and $550.0K does not replace that by itself.
A medical, a signature, a shirt held up in front of a sponsor’s board. Francs Borains have done the hard part with Standard Liege, and the part that remains is the part supporters actually see.
Boards get told what they have done wrong for years and hear nothing on the days they get it right. This is one of those days: Gyrano Kerk from Antwerp for $4.3M, and a ticket office having a very good morning.
Squad18 Jan 2027
Words at Francs Borains training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Massimo Bruno 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.
KV Kortrijk will keep picking him until June and will get nothing for him after it. Tristen Alliet has pre-agreed a move to Francs Borains, and the only people who lose in that arrangement are the ones who let the contract run down.
The offer from KAA Gent for Jordy Soladio was heard out and sent back the same day. First bids are rarely meant to succeed; they are meant to find out how loudly the door closes.
The offer went to Antwerp this week and it is theirs to answer. First bids are rarely meant to succeed; they are meant to find out how loud the door closes.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Francs Borains can pretend not to have heard.
A medical, a signature, a shirt held up in front of a sponsor’s board. Francs Borains have done the hard part with KAA Gent, and the part that remains is the part supporters actually see.
Terms were offered and declined. Whether it was the wages, the role or the town, nobody at Racing Genk is saying, and nobody at Francs Borains 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 Francs Borains this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Form comes and goes; this has not gone. Carey Bloedorn is 21, and the version of him training now would not have got into the side he was in a year ago.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Francs Borains can pretend not to have heard.
A medical, a signature, a shirt held up in front of a sponsor’s board. Francs Borains have done the hard part with RAAL La Louviere, and the part that remains is the part supporters actually see.
Massimo Bruno 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.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Racing Genk have kept their man, and Francs Borains go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
The phone has started ringing about Jovan Mituljikić again, and this time the name on the line is Cercle Brugge. Francs Borains are listening politely and promising nothing.
Squad4 Jan 2027
Words at Francs Borains training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Maxime Bastian is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Carlos Gallego and Francs Borains agree another 4 years.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Francs Borains have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Massimo Bruno was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The academy exists for exactly this morning. Eden Alderweireld 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.
The academy exists for exactly this morning. Mousa Chadli 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.
There is no fee, no unveiling and no agent on the steps. Yannick Nainggolan has been at this club since he was a boy and is now, formally, one of the first-team squad — which for a local readership beats any signing of any size.
The academy exists for exactly this morning. Simon 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.
Player ratings28 Dec 2026
Jordy Soladio was on a different afternoon to everybody else
8.02. 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.
Philipp Wydra 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.
In brief
BoardroomWages eat 116% of everything Francs Borains earn
Marked 9.82 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Massimo Bruno 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: Jordy Soladio. 3‑1 against KV Kortrijk, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
5 without a win is the sort of run that changes how a town talks about its club, and KV Kortrijk were the afternoon it stopped. Nothing is fixed by one result and everything feels different by one.
Position 10, 22 points, and every result so far reduced to one line. The second half of the season starts with the same squad and a different set of expectations.
Romain Donnez 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 dugout21 Dec 2026
The manager’s verdict
“I am not going to get carried away and I will not let them either. It was a good day. There will be harder ones.” Charles Openda kept it short after the 3‑1 win, which is what managers do when they are happy.
5 without a win now, and the ground has developed the special quiet of a crowd that expects the worst. One scrappy 1-0 would cure most of it; that is the maddening part.
5 matches, no goals, and a training ground that has tried everything. It will end — droughts always do — but nobody at Francs Borains can tell you which week it ends in.
“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 Francs Borains, and 1 appearances in 18 say he has earned the hearing.
Jason Dalle Molle 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 dugout14 Dec 2026
The manager’s verdict
“That is on me. I pick the team and I picked wrong.” Managers say that when they mean it and when they need to be seen to, and after 0‑2 Charles Openda left the room before anybody could ask which.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Romain Donnez was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The team at the top of the table next, and the honest measure of where this side actually is. Anybody can beat the club below them; the question is what happens against KV Kortrijk.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Francs Borains have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
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.
There is a version of every career where the player ends up somewhere he chose rather than somewhere that chose him. Carey Bloedorn is living that version at Francs Borains, and it tends to show in the first month.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Massimo Bruno was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
“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 Francs Borains, and 4 appearances in 17 say he has earned the hearing.
Philipp Wydra 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.
Successful dribbles: 38. 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.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Massimo Bruno was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
3 games without scoring. Strikers stop looking up, midfielders take the extra touch, and every shot that clears the bar is followed by a groan that has been building since the last goal.
Every club 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 it has been tried.
7.35, and no serious argument from anybody who was there. Francs Borains had eleven men on the pitch and one of them decided how it went.
The dugout30 Nov 2026
The manager’s verdict
“I am frustrated, honestly. We did enough to win and we did not win.” Charles Openda was not hiding it after 0‑0, and nobody in the Francs Borains dressing room was either.
Headers, blocks, tackles, interceptions — 13 of them, and not one goal behind him. The sort of performance that never makes a highlight reel and wins football matches.
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.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Francs Borains have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
0‑1 to Olympic Charleroi, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.
The dugout23 Nov 2026
The manager’s verdict
“That is on me. I pick the team and I picked wrong.” Managers say that when they mean it and when they need to be seen to, and after 0‑1 Charles Openda left the room before anybody could ask which.
“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.
Squad23 Nov 2026
Words at Francs Borains training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Romain Donnez is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
Successful dribbles: 13. He went past people as if he had been told there was a prize for it, and by the end the full-back had stopped pretending to try.
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.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Massimo Bruno was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Francs Borains this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
“I watch every Francs Borains game from here. That says everything about where my head is.” The loan at RFC Liege runs its course, but his heart never made the trip.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Francs Borains, and both men came out saying it was fine.
A conversation in the manager’s office, and a commitment that came out of it. Promises like that are cheap to make and expensive to break, and Jovan Mituljikić has written the date down.
Massimo Bruno 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.
Beaten 0‑2, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
Squad9 Nov 2026
Words at Francs Borains training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Noah Diliberto 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 watch every Francs Borains game from here. That says everything about where my head is.” The loan at Stade Brestois runs its course, but his heart never made the trip.
“We were not good enough today and I am not going to dress it up.” Charles Openda after 0‑2, in the tone of a man who knows the next question and does not intend to answer it.
“I was told straight, and I would rather have it straight.” The manager at Francs Borains has been clear about where Romain Donnez stands, which is more than many ever get.
One weekend, judged against everybody else's. Jordy Soladio has come out on top of it, and for most footballers a weekly award is the only silverware a career ever produces.
There is no complaint available here and everybody involved knows it, which does not make the walk to the bench any shorter. Form is the only currency in football that cannot be borrowed against.
Successful dribbles: 27. 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 ratings2 Nov 2026
Jordy Soladio was on a different afternoon to everybody else
10.00. 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.
7 goals. Both benches spent the second half looking at each other rather than at the pitch. Purists will complain about Francs Borains and Lierse in equal measure; everybody else had a wonderful time.
Marked 8.80 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.
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.
Club NXT left with the points after a 1‑2 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.
Squad26 Oct 2026
Words at Francs Borains training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Massimo Bruno 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.
Chances created: 9. Not on the scoresheet and not remotely anonymous — a passing performance that pulled a defence apart without leaving a mark on the column that gets read.
He wheeled away like a man who had been carrying it for months, because he had. Francs Borains have their signing off the mark and one press-conference question retired.
The manager wanted a different profile for this opponent, which is a real football reason and no consolation. He did nothing wrong and he did not play.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Francs Borains, and both men came out saying it was fine.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Francs Borains have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Successful dribbles: 21. 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.
The unbeaten run reaches 6. Some of them were wins and some were escapes, but a side that refuses to lose is a side other dressing rooms talk about.
Squad19 Oct 2026
Massimo Bruno 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.
Romain Donnez 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 watch every Francs Borains game from here. That says everything about where my head is.” The loan at RFC Liege runs its course, but his heart never made the trip.
The dugout19 Oct 2026
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.” Charles Openda chose the glass-half-full version of 0‑0; the supporters left with the other one.
The crowd waited for a goal that never came. Seraing defended in numbers and left with what they came for, and the two sides could be playing still without troubling a scorer.
“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 Francs Borains, and 1 appearances in 9 say he has earned the hearing.
“I have tried. I have really tried, and every day I wake up in the wrong place.” Nobody at Francs Borains can coach that out of a man, and nobody there is pretending to.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Francs Borains 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 Romain Donnez was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
A conversation in the manager’s office, and a commitment that came out of it. Promises like that are cheap to make and expensive to break, and Levi Malungu has written the date down.
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.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Massimo Bruno was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Philipp Wydra 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.
“There are things I liked and things we will be doing on Tuesday until they are right.” 0‑0, and a manager who had already decided what Tuesday looked like.
The shape wanted a different profile against this opponent, which is a real football answer and no comfort at all to the man it is about. He did nothing wrong and he did not play.
At 33 he is supposed to be managing his minutes. Instead he was marked 8.24 and looked, for ninety minutes, exactly like the player everybody remembers.
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.
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
Player ratings28 Sep 2026
Jordy Soladio was on a different afternoon to everybody else
8.04. 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.
“The players deserve the credit. My job was easy today.” It was not, and everybody in the room knew it; after 2‑1, Charles Openda could afford to be generous.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Francs Borains this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
“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 Francs Borains, and 1 appearances in 6 say he has earned the hearing.
“It is not the end of the world and it is not good enough. Both of those are true.” The manager, after a 0‑0 draw, said the honest thing and then went to say it again inside.
Squad21 Sep 2026
Words at Francs Borains training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Romain Donnez 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 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.
The crowd waited for a goal that never came. Jong Genk defended in numbers and left with what they came for, and the two sides could be playing still without troubling a scorer.
Nobody at Francs Borains is suggesting he is out of form. The manager simply wanted somebody with a different set of qualities for ninety specific minutes, and there is nothing a player can train to fix that.
Successful dribbles: 25. 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.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Club Brugge have kept their man, and Francs Borains go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
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 am grateful for the games, but I did not become a footballer to be somebody else's spare part.” He wants to be at Francs Borains, and 0 appearances in 5 say he has earned the hearing.
“There are things I liked and things we will be doing on Tuesday until they are right.” 0‑0, and a manager who had already decided what Tuesday looked like.
The offer from Almere City for Jordy Soladio was heard out and sent back the same day. First bids are rarely meant to succeed; they are meant to find out how loudly the door closes.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Francs Borains can pretend not to have heard.
The deadline has passed and the squad is the squad. 0 arrived, 4 left, and everything else printed about this club last month was a rumour that stayed one.
Terms were offered and declined. Whether it was the wages, the role or the town, nobody at Le Havre AC is saying, and nobody at Francs Borains is enjoying the guessing.
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.
Squad7 Sep 2026
Words at Francs Borains training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Noah Diliberto 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 has re-ordered his thinking and Yannick Pandor has come out of it lower. He will be told it is temporary, and the players who have heard that before will avoid his eye.
Four or five weekends of consistency, judged against everybody in the division doing his job. Maxime Bastian has come out of that comparison in the side, and Francs Borains have had the benefit of every one of those afternoons.
7.92, 1 on the scoresheet, and the specific comedy of a back-four player celebrating like somebody who does this every week. He does not, and that is exactly why the ground reacted the way it did.
Defending was optional and nobody took up the option. 6 goals between Francs Borains and Charleroi, and not one of the people who paid to be there will ask for the money back.
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Noah Diliberto. 2‑0 against Lokeren-Temse, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
Beaten 6 times, 5 saves, and an afternoon that will go on his record whether it was his fault or the defence’s. It is the quiet unfairness of the position.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Francs Borains can pretend not to have heard.
RWDM wanted more than $1.4M and the board would not go there. Walked away, for now, which in a transfer window means until somebody blinks.
Squad24 Aug 2026
Words at Francs Borains training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Massimo Bruno 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. Kawasaki Frontale have kept their man, and Francs Borains go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
“We were not good enough today and I am not going to dress it up.” Charles Openda after 1‑2, in the tone of a man who knows the next question and does not intend to answer it.
Yannis Kari 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.
Francs Borains have made the call to RWDM. No fee, a share of the wages, and a spare shirt in the position where the squad has been thinnest all season.
Francs Borains asked and 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 offer went to RWDM this week and it is theirs to answer. First bids are rarely meant to succeed; they are meant to find out how loud the door closes.
Massimo Bruno 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.
Squad17 Aug 2026
Words at Francs Borains training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Jovan Mituljikić 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 Francs Borains is suggesting he is out of form. The manager simply wanted somebody with a different set of qualities for ninety specific minutes, and there is nothing a player can train to fix that.
“I am not asking anybody to be better than they are. I am asking everybody to be as good as they are, every week.” Said out loud, in front of everybody, and the room at Francs Borains was different afterwards.
Next up on the road: Lommel, position 5. The supporters who go will talk about it all week and the ones who do not will check their phones at ten to five.
In brief
The dugoutThe manager plants his flag on Jordy Soladio
The offer from Almere City for Jordy Soladio was heard out and sent back the same day. First bids are rarely meant to succeed; they are meant to find out how loudly the door closes.
Francs Borains have gone to Charleroi 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 number the board signed off was not enough. It has been asked again and raised its own offer to $4.1M — a club that wants Aiham Ousou enough to be asked twice.
Francs Borains asked and Racing Genk said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
Minute 91, against Eupen, and a goal that felt like a win to everybody who had stayed. It was a draw. Nobody leaving the ground will describe it as one.
“We keep meeting, and we keep leaving the room with the same numbers we walked in with.” Another round of talks at Francs Borains, another week without a signature from Massimo Bruno.
It finished 1‑1, and it somehow always looked like it would. One of those afternoons where the table moves less than the tempers.
The dugout10 Aug 2026
The manager’s verdict
“I am frustrated, honestly. We did enough to win and we did not win.” Charles Openda was not hiding it after 1‑1, and nobody in the Francs Borains dressing room was either.
In brief
SquadRomain Donnez falls out with a teammate over standards
Two goals and a mark of 8.65 to go with them. Strikers are judged on afternoons like this one and remembered for far fewer of them than people imagine.
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Dorian Dessoleil and Francs Borains agree another 2 years.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Massimo Bruno was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Philipp Wydra 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.
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 19-year-old it feels ownership of. Arsène Wukanya 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.
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Arsène Wukanya. 2‑0 against KV Kortrijk, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
Add another name to the list: Stade Brestois have asked the question everybody in the game has been asking about Hossni Soye Ndime. The answer from Francs Borains has not changed — yet.
Still no offer on the table, and Jordy Soladio’s deal keeps shrinking. In boardroom language, silence this long stops being an oversight and starts being an answer.