The words a physio says slowly. 102 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.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Lokeren is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Lokeren can pretend not to have heard.
Thomas Chadli 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 Jun 2038
Words at Lokeren training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Massimo Decoene 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 a run of form — an actual step up, held for months. At 20 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.
110 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Lokeren lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Lokeren this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad21 Jun 2038
Thomas Chadli 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.
Form comes and goes; this has not gone. Dedryck Castagne is 20, and the version of him training now would not have got into the side he was in a year ago.
Mamadou Diakhon 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.
Squad14 Jun 2038
Words at Lokeren training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Thomas Chadli 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 Lokeren this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Add another name to the list: Waasland-Beveren have asked the question everybody in the game has been asking about Patrick Simons. The answer from Lokeren has not changed — yet.
“I want to win things, and I would like to do it here.” Nothing has been demanded and nothing has been threatened — but a boardroom at Lokeren hears a sentence like that exactly as it was built.
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.
In brief
SquadThomas Chadli has become a man the manager trusts
There is a version of every career where the player ends up somewhere he chose rather than somewhere that chose him. Axel Doku is living that version at Lokeren, and it tends to show in the first month.
Ayoub Oufkir 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.
Squad31 May 2038
Words at Lokeren training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Thomas Chadli 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.
Qualification is done, and next season the floodlights come on for something bigger. A stage for the players, oxygen for the accounts and a passport for everybody else.
The words a physio says slowly. 17 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.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Lokeren this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad24 May 2038
Thomas Chadli 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.
KV Mechelen will keep picking him until June and will get nothing for him after it. Loris D'Haene has pre-agreed a move to Lokeren, and the only people who lose in that arrangement are the ones who let the contract run down.
Nobody at Lokeren 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.
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.
25 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Lokeren lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Thomas Chadli 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 May 2038
Words at Lokeren training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Massimo Decoene 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 words a physio says slowly. 33 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.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Lokeren is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Lokeren can pretend not to have heard.
Squad10 May 2038
Thomas Chadli 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.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Lokeren this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Nobody at Lokeren 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.
In brief
Boardroom88% of the income goes out in wages at Lokeren
The words a physio says slowly. 40 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.
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Thomas Chadli commits to Lokeren for another 2 years.
Squad3 May 2038
Words at Lokeren training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Thomas Chadli 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.
14 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Lokeren lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Lokeren 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.
21 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Lokeren lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Lokeren have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Squad19 Apr 2038
Words at Lokeren training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Thomas Chadli 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 words a physio says slowly. 29 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.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Lokeren is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
“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 Lokeren, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad12 Apr 2038
Thomas Chadli 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.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Lokeren this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
In brief
Boardroom98% of the income goes out in wages at Lokeren
37 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Lokeren lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Thomas Chadli was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Squad5 Apr 2038
Words at Lokeren training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Massimo Decoene 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.
44 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Lokeren lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Lokeren have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Squad29 Mar 2038
Thomas Chadli 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 words a physio says slowly. 86 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.
Thomas Chadli 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.
Squad22 Mar 2038
Words at Lokeren training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Massimo Decoene 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 words a physio says slowly. 93 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.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Lokeren is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
“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 Lokeren, and it is not being withdrawn.
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 was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Lokeren this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Luke Mbete and Lokeren agree another 2 years.
Squad8 Mar 2038
Words at Lokeren training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Thomas Chadli 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.
342 appearances across 11 seasons in one shirt. Nobody builds a career like that on purpose any more; it happens to a certain kind of footballer at a certain kind of club.
“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.
Squad1 Mar 2038
Thomas Chadli 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.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Lokeren this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
103 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.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Lokeren have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
It finished 1-4. A cup exit is a disappointment; this was a public dismantling, and the difference between the two is the number of people who will still be talking about it in August.
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 6 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
Ayoub Oufkir 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.
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Thomas Chadli signs something — a contract at Lokeren or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Lokeren have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Patrick Simons will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Lokeren the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 6 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Lokeren can pretend not to have heard.
4 wins in a row changes how opponents warm up: quieter, more glances across. Runs end, everybody knows that — but nobody in this dressing room is planning for 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 Lokeren this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Bram Wesseling. 3‑1 against Charleroi, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
In brief
Player ratingsNinety minutes of Bram Wesseling at his very best
There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. Patrick Simons provided it, and the 9.14 beside his name is if anything generous to everybody else.
At 37 he is supposed to be managing his minutes. Instead he was marked 8.90 and looked, for ninety minutes, exactly like the player everybody remembers.
Ayoub Oufkir 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.
3 wins on the spin now, and the question has changed from whether the run ends to who ends it. Confidence like this cannot be bought; it has to be earned exactly this way.
11 goals. Both benches spent the second half looking at each other rather than at the pitch. Purists will complain about Lokeren and Sint-Truiden in equal measure; everybody else had a wonderful time.
There is an age at which every good afternoon gets described as a throwback, which is unfair and also accurate. 8.36 at 37, and nobody on the pitch was better.
“I have ambitions, and I would like the club to share them.” Nobody has asked to leave and nobody has been shown the door — but a player chooses that sentence carefully, and a boardroom hears it exactly as it was meant.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Lokeren this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Lokeren is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
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.
9 goals. Both benches spent the second half looking at each other rather than at the pitch. Purists will complain about Lokeren and Westerlo in equal measure; everybody else had a wonderful time.
At 37 he is supposed to be managing his minutes. Instead he was marked 8.30 and looked, for ninety minutes, exactly like the player everybody remembers.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Youri Januzaj will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Lokeren the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Squad25 Jan 2038
Words at Lokeren training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Thomas Chadli 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.
8 goals. Both benches spent the second half looking at each other rather than at the pitch. Purists will complain about Lokeren and Waasland-Beveren in equal measure; everybody else had a wonderful time.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Lokeren this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
“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 Lokeren, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad18 Jan 2038
Thomas Chadli 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.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Lokeren this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
He found out with everybody else, an hour before kick-off, from a sheet of paper on a wall. Nobody at Lokeren pretended it was anything other than a decision about him.
There is a figure at which a wage bill stops being ambitious and becomes the reason nothing else is possible, and this club has reached it. Nothing is left over for a transfer, a stand or a rainy afternoon.
19 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Lokeren lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
There is an age at which every good afternoon gets described as a throwback, which is unfair and also accurate. 8.87 at 37, and nobody on the pitch was better.
1 for Patrick Simons, marked 7.80, 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.
Thomas Chadli 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.
Defending was optional and nobody took up the option. 6 goals between Lokeren and KV Mechelen, and not one of the people who paid to be there will ask for the money back.
The words a physio says slowly. 18 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.
The board had gone up, the arguing had started, and then the ball was in the net in the 93th minute. Standard Liege will replay every second of the added time for a week.
At 37 he is supposed to be managing his minutes. Instead he was marked 9.05 and looked, for ninety minutes, exactly like the player everybody remembers.
7.52, 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.
13 goals and a season average of 7.50. Form like that gets noticed well beyond this town.
Squad4 Jan 2038
Thomas Chadli 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.
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Bram Wesseling. 5‑4 against Standard Liege, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
Match2 Jan 2038
Another one collected away from home
4 on the bounce on the road for Lokeren. The coaches leave early, arrive at unlovely grounds in the dark, and keep coming home with three points.
Add another name to the list: Zulte Waregem have asked the question everybody in the game has been asking about Patrick Simons. The answer from Lokeren has not changed — yet.
In brief
Player ratingsBram Wesseling was on a different afternoon to everybody else
26 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Lokeren lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Lokeren have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Allen Sombi Kelo will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Lokeren the goodbyes have quietly begun.
8.12. 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.
33 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Lokeren lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
There is an age at which every good afternoon gets described as a throwback, which is unfair and also accurate. 8.62 at 37, and nobody on the pitch was better.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Lokeren this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
6 goals in one match, Leander De Ketelaere on the scoresheet, and a scoreline that will look like a misprint. Neutrals could not have asked more of Lokeren and KAA Gent.
7 goals and a season average of 7.53 will do that. The space he used to find has gone; he keeps scoring anyway, which is the mark of the real thing.
Squad21 Dec 2037
Words at Lokeren training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Yannick Doku 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.
42 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Lokeren lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
There is an age at which every good afternoon gets described as a throwback, which is unfair and also accurate. 8.91 at 37, and nobody on the pitch was better.
“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.
Squad14 Dec 2037
Words at Lokeren training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Thomas Chadli 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.
Nizar Laroussi 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.
OH Leuven made Lokeren work for it, but the scoreboard read 2‑1 at the end and the table does not ask how.
Match12 Dec 2037
Another one collected away from home
3 on the bounce on the road for Lokeren. The coaches leave early, arrive at unlovely grounds in the dark, and keep coming home with three points.
Player ratings14 Dec 2037
Lukas Cakoni was on a different afternoon to everybody else
8.01. 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 words a physio says slowly. 50 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.
There is an age at which every good afternoon gets described as a throwback, which is unfair and also accurate. 8.34 at 37, and nobody on the pitch was better.
Zulte Waregem held the lead for 2 minutes, which is not long enough to enjoy it. Lokeren answered before the celebration had properly finished, and the shape of the afternoon changed with it.
The words a physio says slowly. 57 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.
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 7 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
At 37 he is supposed to be managing his minutes. Instead he was marked 9.00 and looked, for ninety minutes, exactly like the player everybody remembers.
Thomas Chadli 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 clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Lokeren is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
The words a physio says slowly. 64 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.
There is an age at which every good afternoon gets described as a throwback, which is unfair and also accurate. 8.94 at 37, and nobody on the pitch was better.
Squad23 Nov 2037
Thomas Chadli 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.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Lokeren this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
6 goals. Both benches spent the second half looking at each other rather than at the pitch. Purists will complain about Lokeren and KV Kortrijk in equal measure; everybody else had a wonderful time.
74 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Lokeren lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
1‑4 against KV Oostende, and no complaints that would survive the replay. The manager spoke about character afterwards; the terraces used shorter words.
There is an age at which every good afternoon gets described as a throwback, which is unfair and also accurate. 9.05 at 37, and nobody on the pitch was better.
“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 Lokeren, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad16 Nov 2037
Words at Lokeren training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Thomas Chadli 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 words a physio says slowly. 82 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.
3 wins on the spin now, and the question has changed from whether the run ends to who ends it. Confidence like this cannot be bought; it has to be earned exactly this way.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Lokeren this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Defending was optional and nobody took up the option. 6 goals between Lokeren and Anderlecht, and not one of the people who paid to be there will ask for the money back.
The words a physio says slowly. 89 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.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Lokeren have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
There is an age at which every good afternoon gets described as a throwback, which is unfair and also accurate. 8.43 at 37, and nobody on the pitch was better.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Lokeren they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Match31 Oct 2037
Another one collected away from home
5 on the bounce on the road for Lokeren. The coaches leave early, arrive at unlovely grounds in the dark, and keep coming home with three points.
Squad2 Nov 2037
Words at Lokeren training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Thomas Chadli 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.
Marked 8.94 — 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.
98 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Lokeren lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 9 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
There is an age at which every good afternoon gets described as a throwback, which is unfair and also accurate. 9.19 at 37, and nobody on the pitch was better.
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Lokeren may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Squad26 Oct 2037
Words at Lokeren training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Thomas Chadli 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.
8 goals in one match, Thomas Chadli on the scoresheet, and a scoreline that will look like a misprint. Neutrals could not have asked more of Lokeren and Sint-Truiden.
Marked 9.16 — 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.
105 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Lokeren lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
There is an age at which every good afternoon gets described as a throwback, which is unfair and also accurate. 8.10 at 37, and nobody on the pitch was better.
“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 Lokeren, 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 Lokeren this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad19 Oct 2037
Words at Lokeren training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Yannick Doku 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.
8.11. 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 words a physio says slowly. 113 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.
The board had gone up, the arguing had started, and then the ball was in the net in the 94th minute. Waasland-Beveren will replay every second of the added time for a week.
At 37 he is supposed to be managing his minutes. Instead he was marked 10.00 and looked, for ninety minutes, exactly like the player everybody remembers.
Squad12 Oct 2037
Words at Lokeren training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Thomas Chadli 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.
A 5‑4 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.
Nizar Laroussi 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.
8.46. 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 words a physio says slowly. 120 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 8.90 to go with them. Strikers are judged on afternoons like this one and remembered for far fewer of them than people imagine.
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 6 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.” Lokeren have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Lokeren they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
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.
The words a physio says slowly. 127 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.
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 15 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
Two goals and a mark of 8.54 to go with them. Strikers are judged on afternoons like this one and remembered for far fewer of them than people imagine.
Axel Castagne 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 Sep 2037
Yannick Doku 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.
KV Mechelen held the lead for 4 minutes, which is not long enough to enjoy it. Lokeren answered before the celebration had properly finished, and the shape of the afternoon changed with it.
Shots: 8. Goals: none. The chances were there and they were good ones, and they went into the stand, the goalkeeper's arms and the side netting in roughly that order.
135 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Lokeren lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
“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 Lokeren, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad21 Sep 2037
Thomas Chadli 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.
8.03. 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.
It needed Leander De Ketelaere to find the net to bring anything home at all: 1‑1 against Standard Liege, and half the dressing room will call it a point won.
The words a physio says slowly. 143 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.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 20 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
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.
There is an age at which every good afternoon gets described as a throwback, which is unfair and also accurate. 9.87 at 34, and nobody on the pitch was better.
Two or more conceded in each of the last 5 matches. It is not one mistake repeating itself, which would be the easier thing to fix; it is a different one every week.
Defending was optional and nobody took up the option. 9 goals between Lokeren and Racing Genk, and not one of the people who paid to be there will ask for the money back.
151 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Lokeren lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Lokeren will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
At 34 he is supposed to be managing his minutes. Instead he was marked 7.99 and looked, for ninety minutes, exactly like the player everybody remembers.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Lokeren this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Lokeren is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Defending was optional and nobody took up the option. 7 goals between Lokeren and KAA Gent, and not one of the people who paid to be there will ask for the money back.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Lokeren will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 9 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
Nizar Laroussi had done his part in building a 2-goal cushion. What happened after that was collective, and OH Leuven were allowed back into a match that had been finished with.
Two goals and a mark of 9.20 to go with them. Strikers are judged on afternoons like this one and remembered for far fewer of them than people imagine.
There is an age at which every good afternoon gets described as a throwback, which is unfair and also accurate. 8.93 at 33, and nobody on the pitch was better.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Lokeren can pretend not to have heard.
In brief
SquadWords at Lokeren training over how hard people work
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Lokeren will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 7 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
At 33 he is supposed to be managing his minutes. Instead he was marked 8.69 and looked, for ninety minutes, exactly like the player everybody remembers.
“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.
Squad24 Aug 2037
Thomas Chadli 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.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Lokeren this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Conceding is one thing; the response is what tells you about a dressing room. Simon Mignolet had Lokeren level again within 3 minutes, and Zulte Waregem never got to play with a lead at all.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 52 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 9 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
Thomas Chadli 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 2037
Words at Lokeren training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Massimo Decoene 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 goals. Both benches spent the second half looking at each other rather than at the pitch. Purists will complain about Lokeren and Mouscron in equal measure; everybody else had a wonderful time.
Two or more conceded in each of the last 12 matches. It is not one mistake repeating itself, which would be the easier thing to fix; it is a different one every week.
At 33 he is supposed to be managing his minutes. Instead he was marked 8.23 and looked, for ninety minutes, exactly like the player everybody remembers.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Lokeren they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Squad10 Aug 2037
Thomas Chadli 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.
2‑8 to KV Oostende, 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.
11 games now with at least two against. The back line has been rearranged, the goalkeeper has been backed publicly, and the goals keep going in anyway.
“The easiest signature of my career.” Luke Mbete and Lokeren agree another 2 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Squad3 Aug 2037
Words at Lokeren training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Thomas Chadli 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 a run of form — an actual step up, held for months. At 19 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.
Defending was optional and nobody took up the option. 10 goals between Lokeren and KV Oostende, and not one of the people who paid to be there will ask for the money back.
The paperwork is done long before the player is. Omar Richards has agreed terms to come here when his current deal runs out, which means Lokeren have spent a summer's transfer budget on a phone call.
10 games now with at least two against. The back line has been rearranged, the goalkeeper has been backed publicly, and the goals keep going in anyway.
At 33 he is supposed to be managing his minutes. Instead he was marked 8.57 and looked, for ninety minutes, exactly like the player everybody remembers.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Lokeren 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 Lokeren this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Lokeren moved before anybody else could: a new deal for Jason Openda, agreed quietly and announced loudly. Boards extend managers for many reasons; the good one is the one this looks like.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Lokeren they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Lokeren have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Squad20 Jul 2037
Words at Lokeren training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Thomas Chadli 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.
Nizar Laroussi 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.
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.
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Lokeren know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Allen Sombi Kelo will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Lokeren the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Squad13 Jul 2037
Thomas Chadli 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.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Lokeren this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
In brief
SquadThomas Chadli has become a man the manager trusts
335 appearances across 10 seasons in one shirt. Nobody builds a career like that on purpose any more; it happens to a certain kind of footballer at a certain kind of club.
Thomas Chadli 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.
Squad6 Jul 2037
Words at Lokeren training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Massimo Decoene 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.
“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 Lokeren, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad29 Jun 2037
Thomas Chadli 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.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Lokeren they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Lokeren this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Nobody at Lokeren 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.
Words at Lokeren training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Massimo Decoene 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 Lokeren this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
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.
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Lokeren know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
The offer from Anderlecht for Leander De Ketelaere 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.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Lokeren have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Lokeren is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
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 was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Lokeren this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Nobody at Lokeren 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.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 18 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Squad8 Jun 2037
Words at Lokeren training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Thomas Chadli 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.
Footballers are asked about their boyhood club so often that nobody listens to the answer. David Schopper has just signed for Lokeren, and for once the answer mattered.
In brief
SquadThe manager has not finished forgetting Sebastian Bergmann's mistake
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 25 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
“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 Lokeren, and it is not being withdrawn.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Lokeren have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
He will play here until the summer and then walk out of the door for free, having already signed elsewhere. Supporters will manage the first part of that sentence; it is the second they will struggle with.
Squad1 Jun 2037
Thomas Chadli 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.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Hylke van der Mast will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Lokeren the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Lokeren will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Qualification is secured, and next season the big floodlit nights are continental ones. For the players it is a stage; for the accounts it is a lifeline; for the supporters it is passports.
Thomas Chadli 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.
Squad25 May 2037
Words at Lokeren training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Massimo Decoene 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.
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Lokeren know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Lokeren will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Lokeren they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Squad18 May 2037
Thomas Chadli 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.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Lokeren this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
KV Mechelen will keep picking him until June and will get nothing for him after it. Simon Mertens has pre-agreed a move to Lokeren, and the only people who lose in that arrangement are the ones who let the contract run down.
Nobody at Lokeren 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.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 50 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
The words a physio says slowly. 22 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.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Lokeren have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 59 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
The words a physio says slowly. 29 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.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Lokeren will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
The words a physio says slowly. 36 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.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Lokeren have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Squad27 Apr 2037
Words at Lokeren training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Thomas Chadli 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.
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Lokeren know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Lokeren will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Lokeren is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Squad20 Apr 2037
Thomas Chadli 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.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 82 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Thomas Chadli 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 clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Lokeren is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
In brief
SquadWords at Lokeren training over how hard people work
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Lokeren will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Lokeren have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Squad6 Apr 2037
Thomas Chadli 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.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Lokeren will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Squad30 Mar 2037
Words at Lokeren training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Thomas Chadli 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.
Nizar Laroussi 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.
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Lokeren know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
3 kept out in the shoot-out, and a stadium that will still be describing them in twenty years. A goalkeeper only needs one of these to be remembered forever.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Lokeren will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
4‑4 against Standard Liege, and a performance that will be described to people who were not there for the rest of the season. Nizar Laroussi was at the centre of the description.
Two or more conceded in each of the last 9 matches. It is not one mistake repeating itself, which would be the easier thing to fix; it is a different one every week.
At 36 he is supposed to be managing his minutes. Instead he was marked 9.18 and looked, for ninety minutes, exactly like the player everybody remembers.
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 7.97 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 Lokeren this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Lokeren they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Lokeren will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Lokeren they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Squad16 Mar 2037
Words at Lokeren training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Thomas Chadli 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.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Lokeren will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
The injury that keeps coming back, keeps being rushed back from, and quietly costs more careers than the dramatic ones. 18 days is the estimate; the honest figure depends on whether anybody is patient.
In brief
SquadThomas Chadli falls out with a teammate over standards
2‑5. There is a level at which football is played every single week by clubs that have been doing it for fifty years, and an evening like this is what it feels like to arrive there without having done it.
At 36 he is supposed to be managing his minutes. Instead he was marked 8.67 and looked, for ninety minutes, exactly like the player everybody remembers.
Two or more conceded in each of the last 7 matches. It is not one mistake repeating itself, which would be the easier thing to fix; it is a different one every week.
“The easiest signature of my career.” Thomas Chadli and Lokeren agree another 2 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Squad2 Mar 2037
Words at Lokeren training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Massimo Decoene 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.
7 goals. Both benches spent the second half looking at each other rather than at the pitch. Purists will complain about Lokeren and Standard Liege in equal measure; everybody else had a wonderful time.
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Sebastian Bergmann. 3‑2 against Boavista, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Lokeren have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Lokeren is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Squad23 Feb 2037
Thomas Chadli 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.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Lokeren this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Two goals and a mark of 8.41 to go with them. Strikers are judged on afternoons like this one and remembered for far fewer of them than people imagine.
There is an age at which every good afternoon gets described as a throwback, which is unfair and also accurate. 8.48 at 36, and nobody on the pitch was better.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Lokeren they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Squad16 Feb 2037
Words at Lokeren training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Thomas Chadli 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 goals. Both benches spent the second half looking at each other rather than at the pitch. Purists will complain about Lokeren and Charleroi in equal measure; everybody else had a wonderful time.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Lokeren this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
There is an age at which every good afternoon gets described as a throwback, which is unfair and also accurate. 8.66 at 36, and nobody on the pitch was better.
Thomas Chadli 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.
Defending was optional and nobody took up the option. 7 goals between Lokeren and Sint-Truiden, and not one of the people who paid to be there will ask for the money back.
Marked 9.26 — 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.
132 appearances across 10 seasons in one shirt. Nobody builds a career like that on purpose any more; it happens to a certain kind of footballer at a certain kind of club.
Defending was optional and nobody took up the option. 7 goals between Lokeren and Westerlo, and not one of the people who paid to be there will ask for the money back.
The name of Patrick Simons has come up in conversations Lokeren were not part of. Nothing formal, nothing signed — but nothing about it accidental either.
There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. Rafael Pereira provided it, and the 9.10 beside his name is if anything generous to everybody else.
There is an age at which every good afternoon gets described as a throwback, which is unfair and also accurate. 8.86 at 36, and nobody on the pitch was better.
Centre-halves are allowed forward twice a season and are judged on what they do when they get there. Patrick Simons scored, was marked 7.91, and got back before anybody noticed he had gone.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Allen Sombi Kelo will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Lokeren the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Squad26 Jan 2037
Words at Lokeren training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Thomas Chadli 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.
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Rafael Pereira. 4‑3 against Waasland-Beveren, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
7 goals. Both benches spent the second half looking at each other rather than at the pitch. Purists will complain about Lokeren and Waasland-Beveren in equal measure; everybody else had a wonderful time.
It is a specific kind of quiet, a ground watching a winning position dissolve. Club Brugge kept coming because nothing stopped them, and Lokeren will be asked about the last half hour all week.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Lokeren have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Lokeren they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
He will play here until the summer and then walk out of the door for free, having already signed elsewhere. Supporters will manage the first part of that sentence; it is the second they will struggle with.
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 was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Lokeren this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
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.
There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. Nizar Laroussi provided it, and the 8.97 beside his name is if anything generous to everybody else.
Headers, blocks, tackles, interceptions — 30 of them, and not one goal behind him. The sort of performance that never makes a highlight reel and wins football matches.
Thomas Chadli 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.
3 wins on the spin now, and the question has changed from whether the run ends to who ends it. Confidence like this cannot be bought; it has to be earned exactly this way.
Squad12 Jan 2037
Words at Lokeren training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Massimo Decoene 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 goals and a mark of 9.22 to go with them. Strikers are judged on afternoons like this one and remembered for far fewer of them than people imagine.
There is an age at which every good afternoon gets described as a throwback, which is unfair and also accurate. 8.83 at 40, and nobody on the pitch was better.
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.
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Bram Wesseling. 3‑2 against Standard Liege, 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 Lokeren this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Add another name to the list: Waasland-Beveren have asked the question everybody in the game has been asking about Patrick Simons. The answer from Lokeren has not changed — yet.
There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. Leander De Ketelaere provided it, and the 8.79 beside his name is if anything generous to everybody else.
At 36 he is supposed to be managing his minutes. Instead he was marked 9.03 and looked, for ninety minutes, exactly like the player everybody remembers.
Thomas Chadli 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.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Allen Sombi Kelo will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Lokeren the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Squad29 Dec 2036
Words at Lokeren training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Massimo Decoene 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.
Marked 8.59 — 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.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Lokeren this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Patrick Simons will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Lokeren the goodbyes have quietly begun.
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.
1‑2 against Qarabag. Continental football is unforgiving about the things a domestic league lets a side get away with, and this was a night spent finding out which of those the club still has.
There is an age at which every good afternoon gets described as a throwback, which is unfair and also accurate. 9.06 at 36, and nobody on the pitch was better.
25 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.
Squad15 Dec 2036
Words at Lokeren training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Thomas Chadli 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.
Marked 9.27 — 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.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Lokeren this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
At 33 he is supposed to be managing his minutes. Instead he was marked 8.57 and looked, for ninety minutes, exactly like the player everybody remembers.
8 goals and a season average of 7.63. Form like that gets noticed well beyond this town.
Squad8 Dec 2036
Thomas Chadli 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.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Lokeren this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
6 goals in one match, Lukas Cakoni on the scoresheet, and a scoreline that will look like a misprint. Neutrals could not have asked more of Lokeren and Zulte Waregem.
KAA Gent go through and Lokeren go home, 3‑4 the scoreline that did it. The dressing room will call the league the priority now, because that is what dressing rooms say.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 17 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
There is an age at which every good afternoon gets described as a throwback, which is unfair and also accurate. 9.20 at 36, and nobody on the pitch was better.
Two or more conceded in each of the last 8 matches. It is not one mistake repeating itself, which would be the easier thing to fix; it is a different one every week.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Lokeren have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Lokeren is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 26 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Ninety minutes of very little, and then everything at once. The winner arrived in the 88th, and KV Kortrijk spent what remained of the match appealing to the referee rather than chasing the ball.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Lokeren they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Squad24 Nov 2036
Thomas Chadli 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.
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.
Marked 8.55 — 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.
In brief
Player ratingsNinety minutes of Bram Wesseling at his very best
1‑5 to KV Oostende, 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.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Lokeren will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Lokeren have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Squad17 Nov 2036
Words at Lokeren training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Thomas Chadli 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.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Lokeren they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
6 goals. Both benches spent the second half looking at each other rather than at the pitch. Purists will complain about Lokeren and KV Oostende in equal measure; everybody else had a wonderful time.
4‑2 against IA, and a performance that will be described to people who were not there for the rest of the season. Bram Wesseling was at the centre of the description.
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 9 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Lokeren will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Lokeren this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Lokeren can pretend not to have heard.
Defending was optional and nobody took up the option. 6 goals between Lokeren and IA, and not one of the people who paid to be there will ask for the money back.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 49 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
There is an age at which every good afternoon gets described as a throwback, which is unfair and also accurate. 9.05 at 33, and nobody on the pitch was better.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Allen Sombi Kelo will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Lokeren the goodbyes have quietly begun.
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Sebastian Bergmann commits to Lokeren for another 3 years.
Squad3 Nov 2036
Words at Lokeren training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Thomas Chadli 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 Lokeren this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Player ratings3 Nov 2036
Bram Wesseling was on a different afternoon to everybody else
8.86. 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.
3‑1 against IA, and a performance that will be described to people who were not there for the rest of the season. Leander De Ketelaere was at the centre of the description.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Lokeren will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. Bram Wesseling provided it, and the 9.13 beside his name is if anything generous to everybody else.
There is an age at which every good afternoon gets described as a throwback, which is unfair and also accurate. 8.47 at 36, and nobody on the pitch was better.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Lokeren they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Squad27 Oct 2036
Thomas Chadli 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.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Lokeren this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
8 goals. Both benches spent the second half looking at each other rather than at the pitch. Purists will complain about Lokeren and Sint-Truiden in equal measure; everybody else had a wonderful time.
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.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Lokeren will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Lokeren have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Lokeren they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Squad20 Oct 2036
Words at Lokeren training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Massimo Decoene 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.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Lokeren will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
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.
At 36 he is supposed to be managing his minutes. Instead he was marked 8.90 and looked, for ninety minutes, exactly like the player everybody remembers.
1 for Massimo Decoene, marked 7.51, 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.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Lokeren can pretend not to have heard.
4‑4 against Qarabag, under lights, against people who do not speak the same language as the crowd. These are the evenings a club measures its decade in, and there are never as many of them as anybody expects.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 79 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Two goals and a mark of 8.35 to go with them. Strikers are judged on afternoons like this one and remembered for far fewer of them than people imagine.
Two goals and a mark of 8.32 to go with them. Strikers are judged on afternoons like this one and remembered for far fewer of them than people imagine.
There is an age at which every good afternoon gets described as a throwback, which is unfair and also accurate. 9.24 at 36, and nobody on the pitch was better.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Lokeren they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
“The easiest signature of my career.” Yannick Doku and Lokeren agree another 2 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Squad6 Oct 2036
Words at Lokeren training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Thomas Chadli 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.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 86 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
There is an age at which every good afternoon gets described as a throwback, which is unfair and also accurate. 8.51 at 36, and nobody on the pitch was better.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Lokeren is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
9 goals. Both benches spent the second half looking at each other rather than at the pitch. Purists will complain about Lokeren and KV Mechelen in equal measure; everybody else had a wonderful time.
Player ratings29 Sep 2036
Massimo Decoene was on a different afternoon to everybody else
9.90. 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.
Squad29 Sep 2036
Words at Lokeren training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Yannick Doku 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 Lokeren this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 93 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
1‑2 away to the standard of Hammarby. Nobody will pretend this was a scandal; the gap is real, it is measurable, and closing it is a project rather than a team talk.
Two goals and a mark of 9.01 to go with them. Strikers are judged on afternoons like this one and remembered for far fewer of them than people imagine.
7 goals and a season average of 7.62 will do that. The space he used to find has gone; he keeps scoring anyway, which is the mark of the real thing.
Squad22 Sep 2036
Words at Lokeren training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Thomas Chadli 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.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Lokeren they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
In brief
Player ratingsBram Wesseling was on a different afternoon to everybody else
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 100 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Match13 Sep 2036
Bram Wesseling wins it after the whistle should have gone
95 minutes played. Bram Wesseling found the finish in time that only existed because of earlier delays, and Racing Genk went from a point to nothing inside one movement.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Mika Peters will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Lokeren the goodbyes have quietly begun.
It finished 6‑5, and it was Bram Wesseling’s afternoon: on the scoresheet when it mattered, and the reason the points belong to Lokeren.
Squad15 Sep 2036
Thomas Chadli 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.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Lokeren will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Player ratings8 Sep 2036
A brace, and Luke Mbete takes the afternoon — 8.95
There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. Luke Mbete provided it, and the 8.95 beside his name is if anything generous to everybody else.
There is an age at which every good afternoon gets described as a throwback, which is unfair and also accurate. 8.42 at 36, and nobody on the pitch was better.
Thomas Chadli 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.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Lokeren they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Squad8 Sep 2036
Words at Lokeren training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Massimo Decoene 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.
8 goals in one match, Luke Mbete on the scoresheet, and a scoreline that will look like a misprint. Neutrals could not have asked more of Lokeren and KAA Gent.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Lokeren will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Two goals and a mark of 8.54 to go with them. Strikers are judged on afternoons like this one and remembered for far fewer of them than people imagine.
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 7 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
There is an age at which every good afternoon gets described as a throwback, which is unfair and also accurate. 9.23 at 36, and nobody on the pitch was better.
12 home matches unbeaten. Visiting sides arrive already talking about the atmosphere, which is usually the sign that they have half-lost before kickoff.
4 wins on the spin now, and the question has changed from whether the run ends to who ends it. Confidence like this cannot be bought; it has to be earned exactly this way.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Lokeren will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
At 36 he is supposed to be managing his minutes. Instead he was marked 8.73 and looked, for ninety minutes, exactly like the player everybody remembers.
Squad25 Aug 2036
Words at Lokeren training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Thomas Chadli 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.
A 2‑1 win over Zulte Waregem, earned rather than given, and the sort of afternoon that sends everyone home talking about next week instead of this one.
Marked 8.96 — 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 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.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 132 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Mika Peters will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Lokeren the goodbyes have quietly begun.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Lokeren 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.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Lokeren will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
At 36 he is supposed to be managing his minutes. Instead he was marked 8.91 and looked, for ninety minutes, exactly like the player everybody remembers.
7.57, 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.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Lokeren they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
4‑5 to KV Kortrijk, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.
Squad11 Aug 2036
Words at Lokeren training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Thomas Chadli 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 goals. Both benches spent the second half looking at each other rather than at the pitch. Purists will complain about Lokeren and KV Kortrijk in equal measure; everybody else had a wonderful time.
Nizar Laroussi 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.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 148 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
At 36 he is supposed to be managing his minutes. Instead he was marked 8.52 and looked, for ninety minutes, exactly like the player everybody remembers.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Lokeren they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Thomas Chadli and Lokeren agree another 2 years.
Squad4 Aug 2036
Thomas Chadli 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.
Marked 8.76 — 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.