KV Oostende is in deep trouble. The story of living beyond your means. First with Mark Cook as owner, then with the American company PMG. Staff interested in the club became almost depressed in recent years when they saw what was happening.
Many parents have gone through the negative spiral, but the starting point was of course the departure of Mark Cook. He left KVO six years ago after installing an expensive culture there. A new position that still hung around the neck like a millstone, but also the wage bill was irresponsible for a club like Ostend.
Koke had to quickly leave the club
Guys like Zinho Jano, Nicolas Lomperts, Richiro Zivkovic…were weighing like bullets in the budget. Cook also had to leave the club as quickly as possible because he had bought Anderlecht and was not allowed to be the owner of two clubs. Completing such a deal in just over a month is virtually impossible.
And so Peter Callant, one of Cook’s business acquaintances, came up with this idea. A quick look at his finances made it clear to everyone that he did not have the money for that. So a deal was struck with the high rental fees for the stands and a number of transfer funds having to flow back to Coucke.
Calant had to make adjustments, which he did, but in the meantime he also gave his approval to some very expensive transfers. There was also Patrick Orlan as general manager, who cost the club a lot of money and did not immediately keep his finger on the money in terms of financial management. KVO was already in trouble, but was given a lifeline by Frank Dierkens.
Derkins with a lifeline
A Tilt businessman who loves the club – and not for the last time – took out his wallet to keep the ship afloat. He also became president, but it was not an easy financial task for him to bear the burdens of the past.
Enter…BMG. Americans have many beautiful stories. Based on the data, it will attract young talent to sell later at an added value. They claimed that they did not need a lot of money to implement their plan. Paul Conway was dispatched to oversee day-to-day operations under Chief Operating Officer Thorsten Theys and CEO Gauthier Ganaye.
PMG and Conway, many great stories, disastrous management
However, Conway turned out to be a man uninterested in the club and regularly offered himself a trip at the club’s expense. There wasn’t much supervision. Even stranger things happened, with Mikael Perron cited as a hallucinatory example.
Ostend paid five million euros for Nancy, who was in need of money, but was immediately rented to… Nancy. After a first – successful – season under Alexander Pilsen, almost everything of any value was sold. Thiati, Hendry, Bataille, Hjolsager…
For many millions, but this money was never invested back in Ostend. Perron was recovered from Nancy and sold to RWDM for 2.5 million. Then coach Yves Vanderhaij wanted to keep him and knew that KVO would never fail with him. Biron was made champion of the RWDM, and Ostend fell.
bankruptcy
Meanwhile, a lot of wages continued to be spent on mediocre players. Yves Vanderhaeghe and his assistants also had to receive 500,000 euros. Ostend must now prove by mid-December that overdue social security contributions, withholding taxes, suppliers, wages and transfer fees have been paid or there is a risk of points being deducted.
However, in the past there have been clubs with larger debts that made good buyouts. As Belgium’s only coastal team, KVO remains an attractive club for potential investors. But they have to clear the rubble first.
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