Karel Fraeye | Chicago Addick

Jan 6

Blog stats from 2018

In early January 2018 my millionth visitor clicked on this Blog. Prior to my move to WordPress in August 2010, I was less popular but still had 350,000 visits when my Blog was hosted by Blogger. In 2018 these pages had 177,649 visits, which means I have passed the 1,500,000 mark. Something to be proud off. And thank you.

Last year’s visit total was up on 2017 by 27%, although not quite as good as my record ever count in 2016.

I was pretty consistent in my output writing on average 17 posts a month. My most active being 20 in January. I did 14 in November. I wrote 207 in total, and still manage to hold down a full-time job!

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May 16

6 Comments

Contract talks

As clubs start to issue their ‘not retained list’ the Addicks have very few players actually out of contract this summer.

Only young Serbian keeper Marko Dmitrovic, World Cup ‘star’ Reza Ghoochnannejhad, Joe Pigott and Zak Ansah are recognizable names that have their contracts ending. From the U21 squad stopper 20-year old Dillon Phillips, who played 37 games for National League champions Cheltenham before injury curtailed his season and Ayo Obileye, who had a spell on loan at Dagenham & Redbridge are two noticeable exits.

Both Callum Harriott and Alou Diarra have their contracts ending but have a one-year extension offer built into their deals. I would suspect that Harriott will feel it’s time to move on after being at The Valley since the age of 9, and Diarra’s salary is now out of range.
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Apr 6

10 Comments

Ipswich Town 0 Charlton Athletic 0

In isolation a decent result, and performance. Tactically we were accomplished, not outplayed in any part of the pitch and we controlled large facets of the game. There were some good performances and we gave it a good go. Yet last night was the game that probably sent us down. Other results went against us and this is all too little too late.

We weren’t relegated last night we were relegated during that 14-game spell under the interim reign of Karel Fraeye. Interim. 3 months. Fraeye, handpicked by Roland Duchatelet. Every decision better than the last and let us not forget Guy Luzon. His bloody hands are all over this disgraceful relegation of our great club.

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Mar 9

3 Comments

Next off the Merry-go-round

Jose Jeunechamps has left the club about a month after he joined. Riga pushed the addition of Jeunechamps, who has little command of English, onto Duchatelet to be his Assistant First Team Coach but he has now departed back to Belgum to join 2nd Division RFC Seraing. Karel Fraeye is at fellow 2nd Division side Lommel. The Charlton Athletic book of “Who” will be a much sought after Christmas present in years to come.
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Feb 23

3 Comments

Solution or more of the same?

Unless Jose Riga can pull a rabbit out of a hat at Preston tonight I would expect him to start to come under increased scrutiny amongst Addicks. Tonight is Jose’s 7th game in charge and I am starting to wonder if he is not the solution but part of the continuation of the problem.

Riga has been appointed and left/sacked/walked *delete as applicable four times under Duchatelet. He may claim to be his own man, but the facts betray a different image.

Riga was only accepted because he was a known quantity, a decent man, and the best of a horrible bunch of sycophantic no-marks. And frankly Nebojša Vignjević walking into The Valley would have been the end for just about everyone.
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Feb 20

4 Comments

Fulham 3 Charlton Athletic 0

I think that is it. 7 points from safety isn’t any different from this morning, but a gutless 2nd half ending in a sixth 3-0 defeat leaves us rooted to the bottom of The Championship and there isn’t a cat in hells chance of us being able to finish above three other teams.

This relegation was totally avoidable but everything points to it being so meticulously planned by Roland Duchatelet and Katrien Meire, with Richard Murray looking on, encouraging the complete dismantling of this once proud football club. Whereas Meire can’t get out of her own way and Duchatelet, he who doesn’t do failure, happy that his experiement is working, Murray should be utterly ashamed of himself.

If Riga, who I am starting to think we gave far too much credit for in keeping Powell’s squad up last time, is banging the nails in the coffin, then it was the clown Karel Fraeye that bought them from Homebase and left them on the side with a hammer.
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Jan 13

12 Comments

Comedy gold

Unlike Karel Fraeye, who took little persuading to take the Interim job at Charlton following the departure of Guy Luzon, mostly because old Karel had his head up Roland’s backside at the time, it appears that Nebojša Vignjević was less than happy with Roly’s suggestion that he should leave 2nd placed Ujpest of the Hungarian League and take charge of the laughing stock that is Charlton Athletic.

A backward career step he presumed added to the fact that he would be forced to work with Katrien Meire, so Vignjević said “ne” and who can blame him.

Jose Riga was ahead of Vignjević in the new old coach queue but apparently made too many demands.
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Jan 12

4 Comments

Huddersfield Town 5 Charlton Athletic 0

This is not like watching a slow death, it is like witnessing a murder.

This madness has to stop. Now.

And as for the gutless coward Fraeye, who refused to speak to press and ran onto the team bus leaving Stephen Henderson to apologise to fans. What sort of person does that? Fraeye, Meire, Duchatelet all refusing to talk to us. It is some kind of sick joke.
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Jan 10

13 Comments

The mark of insanity – Mark 6

Incredulous.

It is widely expected, and we can’t be shocked, that Jose Riga will become Roland Duchaletet’s 6th manager in less than two years by the time Charlton take to the field at Huddersfield on Tuesday night. 6th, 5th, whose counting?

Now if Jose and Karel were the last two managers left in the playground and it was your pick, then there is absolutely no doubt who would be left standing staring at their feet, but REALLY?
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Jan 9

7 Comments

Colchester United 2 Charlton Athletic 1

A new low but believe me under these three executioners lows worse than this are coming. And Richard Murray should not escape either. Honestly Richard show some humility.

Fraeye put out a team to win, on paper it was decent, but you win nothing in life without having any dignity or balls. For all that Fraeye is an half-arsed clown, those representing our great club today should have a good look at themselves in the mirror tonight.

No one came out of the game with any credit. No one except Pope that is, who kept the score down to two in the first half. One of the goals obviously coming just before half-time, this after we get another injury. It’s like Groundhog Day.
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Jan 8

5 Comments

Cup fever. Or will it end in the flu?

When you think about it, it is astonishing that we are only one point from safety. We have won 2 games in 22 matches! That stretch of games over two different managers, Fraeye’s record worse than Luzon’s even though that is hard to believe because it had to be a better decision.

In all seriousness it is incredible that in 25 games we have seen us win just 4 times, yet we are still within a very good fighting chance of staying up, even though the bookies have given up on us. Corals have us at 1/5 to go down.

A long time ago, in fact probably on the eve of the opening weekend, I looked at the teams in The Championship and tried to find 3 other candidates for relegation. Who will be worse than us? And that scheme still very much applies.
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Jan 6

4 Comments

Nathan Jones

Congratulations to Nathan Jones on his first managerial post at Luton Town.

Jones was always destined to make the move into management and his reputation that he had built at Charlton with the U21’s has only magnified following his two and a half years at Brighton, where he once played, and was also caretaker manager for a while. Good luck to him.
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Dec 30

7 Comments

Time to unite and protest before it is too late

It is now time to unify and take our protestations against Roland Duchatelet and his utter mismanagement of OUR football club to a new level.

For many months, and in fact since Duchatelet bought the club nearly two years ago, there has been much division amongst the supporters, more than at any time in at least the previous 50 years, which has only helped Duchatelet and Meire continue their arrogant and systematic destruction of everything Charlton Athletic stands for.

But even now the most ardent Duchatelet apologists or understandably those Addicks who didn’t concern themselves with what goes on off the pitch, must now have no doubt where this ruinous occupation of OUR club is going.
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Dec 28

2 Comments

Charlton Athletic 0 Wolverhampton Wanderers 2

I wrestled with my conscience today but decided that I wanted to spend the day with my family and Roland Duchalelet could stick my £17 and my son’s quid up his a**e.

Rather disconcertingly we spent the afternoon close by at the O2 travelling by Clipper on the Thames and beforehand giving the Emirates Air Line a twirl. As we climbed into the air my other half caught me staring a little bit too long at The Valley down below in the short distance. It was a strange feeling being that close but not going to the game.
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Dec 23

8 Comments

If M. Duchatelet doesn’t do failure….

January is such an important transfer window for the club. At least it is for everyone I talk to. There is not a lot of evidence that Roland Duchatelet and Katrien Meire think this, but the squad gravely needs reinforcements. Effective ones at that, not any old network rubbish.

But who is charge of this essential transfer window? And who can we trust? Let’s look at the candidates.
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