Latest news with #Kortrijk
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Belgian Pro League Season Review: Kortrijk
Finish position: 15th Overview: Kortrijk had been flirting with relegation for two seasons now, and it was unlucky number three as they finally succumbed to the inevitable fall into the Challenger Pro League. The side went through three managers this season, with Bernd Storck almost managing the impossible and keeping them in the league. However, he was unable to sustain their top flight status and after many years they are back in the Belgian second tier. Player of the Season: Abdelkahar Kadri The third Algerian in the Pro League to win one of the player of the season awards from us, Kadri will certainly leave the club this summer. The 24-year-old scored six goals and provided eight assists in 31 games, bettering his numbers from last season. Another of the Paradou AC production line, Kadri should have plenty of suitors this summer. Young Player of the Season: Nayel Mehssatou Chilean international midfielder Mehssatou turned 22 this season and looks destined to avoid playing in the Challenger Pro League next season. Once a full-back, Mehssatou has developed into a central midfielder and grabbed four goals and two assists in 37 games. His versatility should attract a number of sides from aboard and within Belgium. Summer needs: Putting together a side capable of coming straight back up. Promotion to the Pro League is set to get harder in the future, and next season could be the best chance sides will have to do so. They have already made positive steps with bringing in Michiel Jonckheere as the head coach for next season. Now, he just needs a capable playing squad. Grade: D GBeNeFN | Ben Jackson
BBC News
5 days ago
- Business
- BBC News
Robinson 'would love' to bring Alebiosu back to St Mirren
Stephen Robinson is eager to bring full-back Ryan Alebiosu back to St Mirren for next season but admits "bigger offers" could scupper his 23-year-old Arsenal youth product joined during the winter transfer window on loan from Belgian side Kortrijk and played a big role as the Buddies secured a third successive top-six finish."I would love to bring him back," manager Robinson told BBC Scotland."He changed our whole dynamic in terms of the way we play and he was more like a winger, and it was the same with [Declan John], they gave us something different."Alebiosu and John arrived after a three-month period where Robinson was shorn of three first-team players as Shaun Rooney, Jaden Brown and Kevin van Veen all cut ties with the club amid off-field issues early in the season."The problem with that was we weren't able to replace them," the Northern Irishman added. "It was outside the transfer window so we had to wait until Christmas."Obviously it was circumstances no manager wants to deal with anyway, but not being able to replace them and enhance the squad was tough. But we got there."We thought Declan was a fantastic player, but he hadn't played for months so we knew that was going to take a long time to get him up to speed."Nobody wanted Ryan, nobody wanted to take a chance on him. He'd been at Kilmarnock and done okay. We tried to sign him when he was at Arsenal, but we didn't have the funds."I believe he's got bigger offers and bigger football clubs interested now unfortunately."
Yahoo
28-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Vincent Tan confirms manager decision ahead of huge Cardiff City announcement
Vincent Tan is preparing to install two new managers in the space of a week, with KV Kortrijk having announced the appointment of Michiel Jonckheere. Tan has suffered the ignominy of seeing his two football clubs — Cardiff City and KVK — both relegated from their respective divisions, with both teams being left managerless as we head into the summer. However, Kortrijk, whose managing director is also Cardiff CEO Ken Choo, have moved swiftly in recent weeks to make radical changes to the hierarchy ahead of the club's campaign in the Belgian second division. A fortnight ago, KVK appointed Jelle Schelstraete as operational director of football. READ MORE: Cardiff City next manager runners and riders and their suitability as decision imminent READ MORE: Ex-Premier League ace eats his words on live TV as Wrexham star makes Ryan Reynolds vow Meanwhile, Nils Vanneste has been tasked with the role of sporting director as the club attempt to bolster its football leadership structure. Join the Cardiff City breaking news and top stories WhatsApp community The above is just what Cardiff fans have been hoping for in the Welsh capital. Now, Kortrijk have announced the appointment of Konckheere as manager. He takes over from Bernd Storck, who couldn't avoid the drop after taking over earlier this year. Konckheere turned out for Kortrijk during his playing days before taking his first steps into coaching with the club's academy. He then moved to KV Oostende's academy before becoming first-team assistant manager there. The former midfielder, 35, has experience at Club Brugge, too, both in the youth setup and as part of the senior staff. "We are happy that we can appoint an ambitious coach with Michiel," said Vanneste. "He knows the club and the competition. The red-white identity suits him like a glove. "Michiel knows what is expected at KVK and will ensure the necessary cohesion between players and fans." It's set to be a busy week for Tan, Cardiff fans will hope. The Bluebirds owner has been handed the board's recommendation and it is hoped a decision will be communicated this week with regards to appointing Omer Riza's permanent successor. Sign up to our daily Cardiff City newsletter here.
Wales Online
28-05-2025
- Sport
- Wales Online
Vincent Tan confirms manager decision ahead of huge Cardiff City announcement
Vincent Tan confirms manager decision ahead of huge Cardiff City announcement The Bluebirds owner has had to make a similar call with his sister club, KV Kortrijk Michiel Jonckheere during his time as assistant coach of Club Brugge (Image: Getty Images ) Vincent Tan is preparing to install two new managers in the space of a week, with KV Kortrijk having announced the appointment of Michiel Jonckheere. Tan has suffered the ignominy of seeing his two football clubs — Cardiff City and KVK — both relegated from their respective divisions, with both teams being left managerless as we head into the summer. However, Kortrijk, whose managing director is also Cardiff CEO Ken Choo, have moved swiftly in recent weeks to make radical changes to the hierarchy ahead of the club's campaign in the Belgian second division. A fortnight ago, KVK appointed Jelle Schelstraete as operational director of football. Meanwhile, Nils Vanneste has been tasked with the role of sporting director as the club attempt to bolster its football leadership structure. Join the Cardiff City breaking news and top stories WhatsApp community The above is just what Cardiff fans have been hoping for in the Welsh capital. Now, Kortrijk have announced the appointment of Konckheere as manager. Article continues below He takes over from Bernd Storck, who couldn't avoid the drop after taking over earlier this year. Konckheere turned out for Kortrijk during his playing days before taking his first steps into coaching with the club's academy. He then moved to KV Oostende's academy before becoming first-team assistant manager there. The former midfielder, 35, has experience at Club Brugge, too, both in the youth setup and as part of the senior staff. "We are happy that we can appoint an ambitious coach with Michiel," said Vanneste. "He knows the club and the competition. The red-white identity suits him like a glove. Article continues below "Michiel knows what is expected at KVK and will ensure the necessary cohesion between players and fans." It's set to be a busy week for Tan, Cardiff fans will hope. The Bluebirds owner has been handed the board's recommendation and it is hoped a decision will be communicated this week with regards to appointing Omer Riza's permanent successor. Sign up to our daily Cardiff City newsletter here.
Wales Online
15-05-2025
- Business
- Wales Online
Ken Choo delivers everything Cardiff City fans want – for his other club
Ken Choo delivers everything Cardiff City fans want – for his other club The Bluebirds chief is also managing director of Vincent Tan's other club, KV Kortrijk Cardiff City CEO and KV Kortrijk managing director Ken Choo (Image: YouTube/KV Kortrijk ) Cardiff City CEO Ken Choo has overseen the appointment of a new sporting director and operational director, citing his desire for more football knowledge and a nailed-down philosophy. The problem for Bluebirds fans is, he's done it at KV Kortrijk, the other club Vincent Tan owns in Belgium. Choo, and Cardiff chairman Mehmet Dalman, is open to the idea of having that sort of infrastructure in place at Cardiff City Stadium, however getting Tan to see the merits appears a little trickier. Some might wonder why Tan has green-lit two astute appointments in Kortrijk, but not at his blue-ribband club in the Welsh capital. Well, it perhaps proves these appointments are not exactly a silver bullet. KVK had a sporting director and a CEO sports last season, however the club suffered relegation from the Jupiler Pro League and will now play in the second tier. But Choo, Tan and the KVK hierarchy have moved quickly to restructure the top end of the club ahead of what will be a crucial summer if they are to achieve promotion back to the top flight next term. Join the Cardiff City breaking news and top stories WhatsApp community A similar task awaits Cardiff, of course, however they have a weaker footballing structure at the top. Dalman is a non-executive chairman, while owner Tan lives thousands of miles away and Choo, of course, holds important positions at two European clubs. Article continues below The Bluebirds CEO, however, has perhaps offered Cardiff fans a whiff of hope after speaking cogently about Kortrijk's latest appointments, with many points made hitting the nail on the head of what supporters in south Wales have been calling for. Jelle Schelstraete has been named as operational director of football at Kortrijk, while Nils Vanneste takes on the role of sporting director as the club attempt to bolster its football leadership structure. Schelstraete returns to KVK following a distinguished career that saw him rise through the ranks of Belgian football. He previously led the KVK academy before moving to the Royal Belgian Football Association (KBVB), where he served as assistant technical director under then-national team coach Roberto Martinez. He later took on the role of operational director of football at the KBVB. Back at Kortrijk, Schelstraete will be responsible for optimising the operational structure of the club's sports department. Joining him is Nils Vanneste, who began his coaching career in the KVK academy before taking on senior roles as sporting director at KV Oostende and Beerschot. In his new role at Kortrijk, he will be tasked with setting the club's sporting vision and strategy for the coming seasons. "We could see that the club needs more people who have football knowledge, so we have appointed two people. Nils, who is our sporting director, who has a lot of pedigree and knowledge. "And we have Jelle, who was from the FA, who is helping me to look at the long-term vision of football. So we have basically the best of both worlds. Two people who work very close together. "The most important thing now is to get the philosophy right, get the manager in, then those players who are on the fence, not sure if they are coming or going, will settle down, once they understand the plan of where we are going. "We don't want to have a situation where we hire a manager and they play with full-backs, then the next manager we hire plays with wing-backs and the club has to spend an enormous amount of money restructuring the whole team. So we have to understand the whole philosophy of the club. "That's what they are doing now. That's what the discussion has been the last few weeks." Just this week it was revealed that Cardiff have set up a sub-committee comprising head of academy Gavin Chesterfield, an external appointment from sporting agency Wasserman and former Swansea and Rangers sporting director Mark Allen to oversaw the shortlist process for the appointment of a new manager. Many Cardiff fans believe someone from this one-off task force could hold a full-time role for continuity purposes — as Choo alluded to with his full-backs/wing-backs example — and for the club to have boots on the ground on a daily basis to direct the football operation. Article continues below While that is not the plan at this stage, a positive experience with the selection of a new manager might help to change Tan's mind. Sign up to our daily Cardiff City newsletter here.
