http://www.cafc.co.uk/news/article/20140603-peeters-first-interview-part-one-1598477.aspxRead part one of the two-part first interview with Charlton's new Head Coach Bob Peeters
Iain Liddle reportsBob Peeters says he did not hesitate for a second when offered the chance to become Charlton’s new Head Coach and is eager for the challenge ahead.
The former Belgium international was appointed at The Valley last week and signed an initial one-year contract to lead the Addicks into their third successive Championship campaign.
Peeters, who will work closely with First-Team Coach Damian Matthew, takes over from José Riga and his Assistant Head Coach, Karel Fraeye, who helped maintain Charlton’s second-tier status and left the club following the expiration of their short-term contracts.
The new Addicks boss also enjoyed an impressive end to last season with his former club, Waasland-Beveren, who he led to survival in the Belgian top flight thanks, in part, to a nine-game unbeaten run throughout February, March and early April.
Having played in England, for Millwall, earlier in his career, Peeters continued to follow the Championship during his fledgling coaching on the continent and is eager to begin work on a permanent basis in South-East London.
“I am very happy,” said Peeters, speaking for the first time with www.cafc.co.uk about the appointment.
“I followed Charlton last season when José Riga and Karel Fraeye, who I worked with at Gent, were at the club.
“At that moment I was with Waasland-Beveren, but I followed the Championship to see how it went. Charlton struggled, but survived in the end with some good games at the end of the season.
“There was interest in me from some teams, but the owner [Roland Duchâtelet] contacted me and asked if I was prepared to take the job? I asked when the next flight was.
“For me to have an offer from a traditional club like Charlton meant I wanted to come straight away. However I still had a contract with Waasland Beveren.
“I ceased my contract with Waasland-Beveren and went to Charlton to negotiate a deal to be Head Coach. I am very, very happy to be at a traditional club with good fans and a good academy.
“I am a coach who likes to work with young guns. In Belgium I was a manager who let a lot of young players make their debut and I like to give people a chance to show they can do a job.”
Although he has developed a reputation as a coach who puts his faith in youth, Peeters admits his current break is barely a holiday at all with the search for more experienced reinforcements to the Charlton squad having already begun.
Already working hard behind the scenes, Peeters will come to England next week to examine his new surroundings in more detail and will continue the process of making all the necessary preparations before pre-season training begins at the end of June.
While there is much to be done, the Head Coach is excited and optimistic about the summer ahead.
“For me it was an easy decision. I know the Championship and I know Charlton and, along with Damian Matthew and the coaching staff, we are going to be a good team,” he said.
“The most important thing for me was that the owner had a lot of respect for the work I had done with Waasland-Beveren and said if I can go to a team like Charlton then not to hesitate. For me it was an easy deal.
“I had to finish my contract at Waasland-Beveren and they weren’t very happy because I managed them last year and we survived, but this was an opportunity to go to a bigger club and see how it goes in England.
“Everybody dreams of a big team in England. If a train passes you by and you can jump on it to a place like Charlton then you are happy. I very much look forward to starting the job.”
Peeters is respectful of the work done by Riga and his coaching staff to keep Charlton in the Championship despite having to tackle an extremely congested fixture list at the end of the season.
However, he is relishing the opportunity of working with the Charlton squad for the first time in a couple of weeks and sharing his own ideas with the group.
The Addicks first team which starts the first game of the 2014/15 season in August may have a different look to the one which finished at Blackpool in May, but Peeters says his aim is to mould a squad which will be looking up the table rather than over their shoulders next term.
“I think [Riga] did a very good job. When he took over it was a peculiar situation and he managed to keep them up, but now we start from zero,” said Peeters.
“I have my own ideas and my own accents in football, but we cannot forget what he did for Charlton. He kept them up and that was the most important thing.
“From now on we may work slightly different, but we are going to build on the team which is already there and try to strengthen. I am hoping for a much easier season than the last one.”
Log on to www.cafc.co.uk on Wednesday evening for part two of Bob Peeters’ first interview as Charlton Head Coach, where he discusses his coaching philosophy along with his knowledge and experience of English football.
Comments
Mention length of contract - check
Mention when due in England - check
Mention notice period at existing club - check
Mention involvement in building the team for next season - check
Praise work of out-going coach - check
Praise Damian Matthew - check
No doubt none of this will be enough and he'll be dismissed as a puppet, clueless etc etc
Saying all the right things, working behind the scenes already and coming to SL/The Valley next week NOT at the end of June.
Call me "easy" but what's not to like ?
Good to hear from you, Bob and look forward to Part 2 of your interview on Wednesday.
“I had to finish my contract at Waasland-Beveren and they weren’t very happy because I managed them last year and we survived, but this was an opportunity to go to a bigger club and see how it goes in England."
See how it goes.
He has a one year contract, he will arrive here next week, start work...and then see how it goes.
Hmmn
I reckon he has to try to force a few issues rather than get blown about by the winds of circumstance and see how it goes.
We don't want to see how it goes, we want to see goals, points, wins, survival, and progress up the league Bob old chap. At a wild guess I think you have to be proactive rather than passively seeing how it goes Mr P, and I trust you do realise that don't you?
I was wrong about Riga however so hope springs eternal.
A week late but better late than never.
See how simple it is to communicate. People really don't want too much but they do at least expect the basics.
Welcome Bob and see you at Bromley Addicks on Sept 5th
However, I feel encouraged, but then I have been on the wine box since half five.
;-)
Article riddled with errors and non-sequiters.... Iain Liddle hang your head in shame...
Peeters " I Jumped at the opportunity to be Charlton Head" missing word in the title Banner ffs - edit, now changed
its either aimed to denigrate or its just woefully
And help him out by editing the few errors from a non native speaker
It should be audio and video
Await 2nd Interview but can some one proof read it and correct the typos?
Change the foto
Edit
Nice - abuse...where is the abuse?
am i caliing out BP? No. You think he is happy that foto has been used? BP needs help in gaining a reputation and we could have made more considered effort with that. You never get a 2nd chance to make a 1st impression
There is no law anywhere that allows written content but disallows identical audio or video content in terms of a notice period, if released on the same platform. A nice foto (seen some where he looks like the kinda manager you would bust a gut for - hard yet stylish - but that one does him no justice. I think we should have at least dressed him up in his Tisdale style and had a foto of him in Greenwich - Given what is said about his Valley visits dont see why he cant be fotographed at the valley....would also provide the substory as we get the pitch.im progress in regional and national press. I was hopeful of interview with dapper bob (he does dapper) in the flesh would help immediately start fostering a Manager which is what domestic players want.
It doesnt matter to us, we want to see the whole stroy. It could be a useful stroke to pull in terms of attracting domestic players, who will go more on the skysports and bbcsport summaries that will follow.
I am highlighting faults in work of paid professionals. But I also state some suggestions, some not bad but most probably pony. What journo finds that offensive
Edit. ..unabused..thank you whoever you were - ill never know lol. Only have to get rid of one more...i think if u post strong opinion the perception of abuse by those reading is crucial
It seems that after a few years of uncertainty, the only way we have achieved a degree of club stability is by undertaking an unstable approach. Short term coaches, players, shared resources etc.
That said, Bob does seem to have his own ideas (he could very well have said about the 'owner's vision' etc but little to give the puppet/yes-man theory a lot of ammunition there.
Starting to think I've got nits the amount of head scratching I seem to be doing where Charlton are concerned
I may be overly sensitive but the article has been written with one man as the hero and it isnt BP.
It also appears to have been subsidised with connectors from a non native speaker. So Liddle probably the fall guy.
But I can be hypercritical because its PR and these things matter.
Need experienced players? Focus on your willingness to work with young guns
Starting to presume RD is no way Hand s off - he micro manages
The Championship is as much about togetherness as it is ability.