Where did they go?

Being a bit of an old sentimentalist I try to follow the fortunes of players that have left the club. I did a little research and tracked down the players that left us at the end of last season, just in case you were wondering like.

We all know that Diego Poyet (West Ham), Ben Hamer (Leicester) and Dorian Dervite (Bolton) decided against new contract offers and increased their already not insignificant wages. Dervite came on as a 2nd half sub for Bolton yesterday and was at fault for Watford’s 3rd goal.

For some of the younger players released finding a new job is a little bit more of a necessity. Of the 15 players that departed The Valley in June, the only players I can find that are yet to have a club are Bradley Jordan and Mark Gower.

Jordan, 20, was at Forest Green Rovers on loan at the end of last season and still looks to be without a club. Gower is 35 now and may well decide to hang his boots up, but I have seen nothing official. One man that did retire was Leon Cort. The 34-year old was on trial with one of his old clubs, Southend, but subsequently announced that he will retire from playing.

Cort actually went onto Charlton Life and thanked supporters after he left the club in June and those of us that had the pleasure to meet him saw what a proper fella he was too.

One of my recent favourite players was Danny Hollands, who like Cort played a vital role in our League One title season. Hollands was never quite good enough for The Championship but he grabbed a loan opportunity with Pompey with both hands at the end of last season and was offered a 2-year deal in May by the south-coasters. 

Ceddy Evina was another player I was fond off, and another great character from that League One squad. Ceddy told my mate at the sponsor’s dinner that he would bide his time and hoped to move north to one of the League One promotion hopefuls, and that is exactly what he did signing a 2-year deal at Doncaster. Ceddy starred in yesterday’s 3-0 win at Yeovil.

Talking of popular players, after 3 years in SE7 the former performance analyst Bradley Pritchard joined League One promotion hopefuls Leyton Orient a few weeks ago. No one works harder or deserves to succeed in the game than Bradley and Orient have picked up a gem.

In the first week he was at Brisbane Road he scored a corker of a goal in a friendly and then gave two O’s fans a lift home to Dartford after a storm disrupted their train. Top bloke.

The last of the favourite five is Andy Hughes. At 36 the influential Yorkshireman joined Bolton as their professional development coach of the under-21 and academy sides. The first step on the coaching and managerial ladder, I have a sneaky suspicion we might see Hughes back at The Valley one day.

Danny Green was another member of Chris Powell’s title winning squad, but never did enough to impress in games in The Championship. Green had a number suitors but signed for MK Dons on a 2-year deal. A poor-man’s David Beckham, Green scored three times in pre-season for MKD and assisted with two of their goals in their 4-2 comeback win at home to Gillingham yesterday.

Irishman Kevin Feely ended up back at Newport County, where he also made an impression on loan last season. The centre-half signed a 2-year deal and never played a first team game for the Addicks. Ade Azeez made a solitary substitute’s appearance for Charlton and after 4 different loan spells was signed by AFC Wimbledon at the end of June. Feely started for Newport yesterday whilst Azeez was on the bench for the Dons.

Richard Wood did a decent job when called upon last season for the Addicks and is the only player released to stay in The Championship, although it was thought he could have initiated a one-year extension, but instead moved to promoted Rotherham United where he will join another ex-Addick Frazer Richardson. Wood was on Rotherham’s bench yesterday.

We had a host of loan players by the season’s end, the most popular and easily the most appreciated was Astrit Ajdarevic.

AA was a popular recruit from Standard despite a struggle for the fitness required in The Championship. He went back to Belgium, and was on the bench for Les Rouches first game, but has since been employed as a second striker and scored last week.

Less accepted was French goalkeeper Yohann Thuram-Ulien, who has been on the bench for every one of Standard’s games so far. Anil Koc played just a handful of games for Jason Euell’s Development Squad and has gone back to obscurity at Standard Liege.

Addicks waited pretty much the entire season to see Marvin Sordell at his best, although many wondered if we’d missed it, but not Sean Dyche, who knows him from his most successful days a Watford. Dyche signed him for new Premier League boys Burnley.

Marcus Tudgay came on loan from Nottingham Forest at a difficult time for the club. When he returned to the City Ground, he got a few games under his belt but moved to Coventry in the summer and started in Cov’s opening game yesterday.

Davide Petrucci made a handful of substitute appearances for Jose Riga, but is now back at Man Utd without a squad number and lastly the man with probably the best song for an age, Jonathan Obika is back at Tottenham where he has made just 4 appearances in 5 years as a pro under 4 different managers.