Position 2, 37 points, and the result everyone checks first is now theirs. The word is still not being said around the ground, which is how you know everyone is thinking it.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around RC Strasbourg 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 RC Strasbourg this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
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.
Squad28 Dec 2026
Ben Chilwell 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.
A season average of 7.22 at an age when most of his year group are still in the youth team. RC Strasbourg know what they have, and so, by now, does everybody else.
Ben Chilwell was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Not 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.
At 2 goals adrift this was a formality, and the formality lasted right up until it did not. RC Strasbourg found something the first half had given no notice of, and Olympique Lyonnais could not hold what they had.
Player ratings14 Dec 2026
Loan Merrifield, 17, plays like he has been here for years — 8.29
A mark of 8.29 means one thing beside a twenty-nine-year-old's name and something else entirely beside a 17-year-old's. Nobody at the ground needed telling which this was.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at RC Strasbourg 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: Joaquín Panichelli. 3‑2 against Olympique Lyonnais, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 22-year-old it feels ownership of. Julio Enciso has it now, and everything he does for the rest of his time here will be measured against the goodwill he was handed for free.
Squad14 Dec 2026
The manager has not finished forgetting Mike Penders's mistake
Publicly it is behind everybody. It is not behind the man who picks the team, and the only place that shows is a team sheet. He will get another chance; he will get it in a match that matters less.
Valentín Barco 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.
Squad7 Dec 2026
Words at RC Strasbourg training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Ben Chilwell 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.
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 22-year-old it feels ownership of. Diego Moreira has it now, and everything he does for the rest of his time here will be measured against the goodwill he was handed for free.
Marked 8.61 — 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 ratingsThe cruellest goal, and it is Hugo Colella's
Loan watchThe goals keep arriving from Sékou Mara’s exile
Position 2, 30 points, and the result everyone checks first is now theirs. The word is still not being said around the ground, which is how you know everyone is thinking it.
The hardest thing about being 21 in a senior side is that nobody makes allowances. Aarón Anselmino did not need any: 7.77, and he looked the most comfortable man on the pitch.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at RC Strasbourg is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
The general version of this complaint is that a player wants more. The specific version names the thing: he wants to walk out under floodlights against clubs from other countries, and he has stopped pretending otherwise.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at RC Strasbourg 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.
At 22 he is being sung about by people twice his age, which is an affection a signing has to earn over years and a local kid gets for turning up. It is also the hardest thing in football to live up to.
Cup ties wait for somebody to seize them, and Martial Godo obliged against FC Lorient. 2‑0 on the night, and the name in the next round’s hat is RC Strasbourg.
A mark of 9.31 means one thing beside a twenty-nine-year-old's name and something else entirely beside a 21-year-old's. Nobody at the ground needed telling which this was.
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.
He is 21, he is averaging 7.23, and older professionals have started passing to him in the difficult minutes. That last part is the real scouting report.
Ben Chilwell 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.
Marked 9.14 — 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.
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 23-year-old it feels ownership of. Ismaël Doukouré has it now, and everything he does for the rest of his time here will be measured against the goodwill he was handed for free.
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.
5 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.
26 times he got in the way of something. Centre-halves get written about when they make mistakes and ignored when they do not, so an afternoon like this needs saying out loud: he is the reason the scoreline reads as it 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 RC Strasbourg this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
23 times he got in the way of something. Centre-halves get written about when they make mistakes and ignored when they do not, so an afternoon like this needs saying out loud: he is the reason the scoreline reads as it does.
Squad16 Nov 2026
Ben Chilwell 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.
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 22-year-old it feels ownership of. Julio Enciso has it now, and everything he does for the rest of his time here will be measured against the goodwill he was handed for free.
The board had gone up, the arguing had started, and then the ball was in the net in the 92th minute. Stade Brestois will replay every second of the added time for a week.
The hardest thing about being 17 in a senior side is that nobody makes allowances. Loan Merrifield did not need any: 8.35, and he looked the most comfortable man on the pitch.
Ben Chilwell was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
Position 3, 23 points, and the result everyone checks first is now theirs. The word is still not being said around the ground, which is how you know everyone is thinking it.
The hardest thing about being 21 in a senior side is that nobody makes allowances. Aarón Anselmino did not need any: 7.64, and he looked the most comfortable man on the pitch.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Martial Godo will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around RC Strasbourg the goodbyes have quietly begun.
“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 RC Strasbourg hears a sentence like that exactly as it was built.
3 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 RC Strasbourg this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
9.34. 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.
Loan Merrifield, 17, plays like he has been here for years — 8.16
A mark of 8.16 means one thing beside a twenty-nine-year-old's name and something else entirely beside a 17-year-old's. Nobody at the ground needed telling which this was.
A season average of 7.22 at an age when most of his year group are still in the youth team. RC Strasbourg know what they have, and so, by now, does everybody else.
Valentín Barco 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.
Squad26 Oct 2026
Words at RC Strasbourg training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Ben Chilwell 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.
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 17-year-old it feels ownership of. Loan Merrifield has it now, and everything he does for the rest of his time here will be measured against the goodwill he was handed for free.
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 no crueller way to lose a football match. RC Strasbourg scored in the 91th minute, the restart barely happened, and the away end was still standing when the whistle went.
A mark of 8.82 means one thing beside a twenty-nine-year-old's name and something else entirely beside a 21-year-old's. Nobody at the ground needed telling which this was.
Not a run of form — an actual step up, held for months. At 17 he is doing things at this level he could not do at the start of the season, and the coaching staff will tell you exactly which of them.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at RC Strasbourg this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
OGC Nice made RC Strasbourg work for it, but the scoreboard read 3‑2 at the end and the table does not ask how.
Player ratings19 Oct 2026
Julio Enciso was on a different afternoon to everybody else
9.41. 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.
At 24 the improving is meant to be over. It is not: 3 points better than the mark taken at the start of the year, which is the sort of thing that happens to players who take the boring parts of the job seriously.
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 22-year-old it feels ownership of. Julio Enciso has it now, and everything he does for the rest of his time here will be measured against the goodwill he was handed for free.
Ben Chilwell was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Not 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.
“The easiest signature of my career.” Sebastian Nanasi and RC Strasbourg agree another 5 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
At 24 the improving is meant to be over. It is not: 3 points better than the mark taken at the start of the year, which is the sort of thing that happens to players who take the boring parts of the job seriously.
Not a run of form — an actual step up, held for months. At 21 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.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around RC Strasbourg 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 RC Strasbourg this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
“I want to be playing for trophies while my legs still let me.” Nothing in that sentence is a transfer request, and nobody at RC Strasbourg heard it as anything else.
Squad5 Oct 2026
Ben Chilwell 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.
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 21-year-old it feels ownership of. Mike Penders has it now, and everything he does for the rest of his time here will be measured against the goodwill he was handed for free.
Loan watchThe goals keep arriving from Saïdou Sow’s exile
9Edition
The RC Strasbourg Gazette
28 Sep 2026
From our football correspondentUpbeat
Player ratings28 Sep 2026
Loan Merrifield, 17, plays like he has been here for years — 7.92
A mark of 7.92 means one thing beside a twenty-nine-year-old's name and something else entirely beside a 17-year-old's. Nobody at the ground needed telling which this was.
A season average of 7.13 at an age when most of his year group are still in the youth team. RC Strasbourg know what they have, and so, by now, does everybody else.
It is the most legitimate ambition in the sport and the hardest for most clubs to satisfy. Joaquín Panichelli wants continental football; whether RC Strasbourg can provide it is a question about the next two seasons, not about him.
Ben Chilwell was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
“I watch every RC Strasbourg game from here. That says everything about where my head is.” The loan at Valenciennes runs its course, but his heart never made the trip.
There is exactly one of these per career and it does not usually go like this. 1 on the scoresheet, 8.21 beside the name, and a crowd that had never seen him before chanting it by the end.
Player ratings21 Sep 2026
Aarón Anselmino, 21, plays like he has been here for years — 9.56
A mark of 9.56 means one thing beside a twenty-nine-year-old's name and something else entirely beside a 21-year-old's. Nobody at the ground needed telling which this was.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at RC Strasbourg this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Form comes and goes; this has not gone. Loan Merrifield is 17, and the version of him training now would not have got into the side he was in a year ago.
At 20 he is being sung about by people twice his age, which is an affection a signing has to earn over years and a local kid gets for turning up. It is also the hardest thing in football to live up to.
The hardest thing about being 20 in a senior side is that nobody makes allowances. Samir El Mourabet did not need any: 9.13, and he looked the most comfortable man on the pitch.
“The easiest signature of my career.” Lucas Høgsberg and RC Strasbourg agree another 5 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Squad14 Sep 2026
Words at RC Strasbourg training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Ben Chilwell 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.
At 23 he is being sung about by people twice his age, which is an affection a signing has to earn over years and a local kid gets for turning up. It is also the hardest thing in football to live up to.
The name of Stefan Bajić has come up in conversations RC Strasbourg were not part of. Nothing formal, nothing signed — but nothing about it accidental either.
Player ratings14 Sep 2026
Junior Mwanga was on a different afternoon to everybody else
8.55. 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.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around RC Strasbourg 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 RC Strasbourg this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 22-year-old it feels ownership of. Julio Enciso has it now, and everything he does for the rest of his time here will be measured against the goodwill he was handed for free.
A performance of 8.54 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Squad7 Sep 2026
Datro Fofana 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.
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 11 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
5‑2, and the margin flattered nobody — it could have carried another goal or two without complaint. Afternoons like this are why people keep coming.
Player ratings31 Aug 2026
A brace, and Diego Moreira takes the afternoon — 9.37
There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. Diego Moreira provided it, and the 9.37 beside his name is if anything generous to everybody else.
The hardest thing about being 21 in a senior side is that nobody makes allowances. Aarón Anselmino did not need any: 8.70, and he looked the most comfortable man on the pitch.
Ben Chilwell 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.
7 goals in one match, Diego Moreira on the scoresheet, and a scoreline that will look like a misprint. Neutrals could not have asked more of RC Strasbourg and FC Nantes.
At 21 he is being sung about by people twice his age, which is an affection a signing has to earn over years and a local kid gets for turning up. It is also the hardest thing in football to live up to.
8.33. 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.
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 17 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
The hardest thing about being 20 in a senior side is that nobody makes allowances. Samir El Mourabet did not need any: 9.12, and he looked the most comfortable man on the pitch.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at RC Strasbourg this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Successful dribbles: 21. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Squad24 Aug 2026
Ben Chilwell 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.
At 22 he is being sung about by people twice his age, which is an affection a signing has to earn over years and a local kid gets for turning up. It is also the hardest thing in football to live up to.
Marked 8.60 — 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.
Ben Chilwell 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.
Add another name to the list: Bourg-Peronnas have asked the question everybody in the game has been asking about Martial Godo. The answer from RC Strasbourg has not changed — yet.
Work is signed off on a capacity of 27008. It is the sort of decision a club is judged on twenty years later, by people who were not there when it was taken.
A season-long audition: AJ Auxerre still own him, but the shirt and the minutes are RC Strasbourg's to give. A loan is a bet both clubs believe they are winning.
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Julio Enciso and RC Strasbourg agree another 5 years.
Ben Chilwell was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Diego Moreira, and the manager let it.
Squad10 Aug 2026
Words at RC Strasbourg training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Junior Mwanga is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Ben Chilwell and RC Strasbourg agree another 4 years.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at RC Strasbourg this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
“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 RC Strasbourg hears a sentence like that exactly as it was built.
Squad3 Aug 2026
Ben Chilwell 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.