THREE INTERESTING VISITORS
26-Dec 19:57, by Ketts
An ultimately frustrating afternoon for the Addicks, they drew again when they should have won. There were also a trio of interesting visitors in attendance.
Former striker, Kim Grant, watched Friday afternoon's match against Cardiff from the Valley stands.
New arrival, Tony Watt, also watched his new teammates from the sidelines and avid Charlton fan, Owen Roose, managed to get his photo taken with Watt as he made his way to his seat before the game.
The third visitor was the most interesting of all, but more of that later.
As expected, Bob Peeters, shuffled his pack and introduced, Neil Etheridge, Johnnie Jackson and George Tucudean to the starting line-up.
Surprisingly though, it was Joe Gomez who played on the left hand side of defence, with Chris Solly on the right.
Nick Pope, Nathan Fox and Igor Vetokele were the ones who dropped down to the bench.
Cardiff were much the brighter of the two sides in the opening exchanges and it took a series of contentious decisions from Hertfordshire referee, Mick Russell, to fire up the Valley faithful.
Russell last took charge of a Charlton game at Carrow Road in September, when the Addicks beat Norwich 1-0. He will not be so fondly remembered in South London this time.
Aron Gunnarsson's long throws, once again exposed the fallibility of Charlton's zonal marking system. A throw from the left after 12 minutes was flicked on to the unmarked Tom Adeyemi, who picked his spot with a precise header.
The Bluebirds had chances to increase their but Etheridge impressed in his first start for the club. Tal Ben Haim set the pulses racing with one of his buccaneering runs, but his pass to Tucadean - another to have a good game - was just a little too heavy.
The turning point of the game came after 33 minutes when Callum Harriott was sent off for a late, high challenge on Craig Noone.
As so often happens in these situations, the dismissal galvanised the depleted side and Cardiff barely created a chance for the rest of the game.
Just before the hour mark, Peeters made a double substitution, with Gomez and Jackson being replaced by Oguchi and Onyewu and the rested Igor Vetokele.
Peeters switched to three at the back, and the ten men Addicks began to pin their opponents back.
They had shots kicked off the line, efforts blocked and at least one decent penalty shout turned down.
Just when it seemed it was going to be one of those days, a piece of magic from Johann Gudmundsson rescued a point for Peeters' men.
Sliding in to win the ball in midfield, the Icelander advanced a few yards before unleashing an unstoppable thunderbolt from 28 yards, that flew past David Marshall, to level things up.
Charlton pressed for the winner and should have sealed the win they so richly deserved right at the end of stoppage time.
Vetokele broke clear, leaving a posse of Cardiff defenders trailing in his wake. He entered the penalty area with just Marshall to beat.
It appeared a formality for Vetokele to slide the ball past the keeper to snatch the win.
Unfortunately, the Angolan opted for the Hollywood goal, smashing the ball with all his might. He was unlucky that it took a bobble as he pulled the trigger and the ball went high, wide and not very handsome.
There were plenty of positives for Peeters to take from the game, hopefully the head coach saw that a less cautious approach would help him improve his win ratio. He now has a tough trip to Ipswich on Tuesday to ponder.
Charlton: Etheridge; Solly, Ben Haim, Bikey, Gomez (Onyewu 58);Gudmundsson, Buyens, Jackson (Vetokele 59), Cousins; Harriott, Tucudean.
Subs (not used): Pope, Wilson, Bulot, Ahearne-Grant, Fox.
Goal: Gudmundsson 88.
Booked: Solly 70 (foul on Harris)
Sent off: Harriott 33 (serious foul play).
Cardiff: Marshall; Brayford, Turner, Morrison, John; Gunnarsson, Whittingham, Adeyemi (Ralls 88), Noone; Jones, Le Fondre (Harris 69).
Subs (not used): Moore, Fabio, Manga, Connolly, Macheda.
Goal: Adeyemi 12.
Booked: Marshall 64 (foul).
Referee: Mick Russell (Hertfordshire).
Attn: 17,543 (874 Cardiff).
That third visitor we mentioned was Jose Riga's former assistant, Karel Freye. He is highly thought of and one of his jobs is head of network player recruitment, it was Freye who was largely responsible for getting Vetokele to The Valley for example.
When he departed in May, Freye told some fans that he would return as Charlton manager in the not too distant future.
We exchanged smiles on Saturday, and I welcomed him back. He grinned broadly, and said, "The bell is ringing for me." Make of that what you will.
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Comments
BP is going nowhere IMO
But Morgan Fox was on the bench, not Nathan Fox .
We will be asking for trouble if we move Bob Peeters on given his showing so far this season. I think he has been far too cautious on occasions but he has kept us competitive throughout and the players often respond to his tactical changes and substitutions. We have been short of quality in midfield and up front which has prevented us from pushing on but that could easily be addressed in January. Any change of manager would be a huge risk.
As said on the "Peeters or Riga" thread
"Karel Fraeye - the once and future king"
With the the rumour I heard yesterday about Llera returning to us, I put two and two together and came up with.....
"The bells are ringing for me and Miguel"
I think Peeters was in a bit of trouble. However, a superb second half performance against Cardiff may well have saved him. Bet that hasn't happened before.
not saying I want Peeters out but wouldn't be out of character for RD to move him on in the summer.
Who knows what the Belgian maverick expects but realistically he has to give Bob another year whatever they cost but we know he doesn't hang around
Personally I'm happy with BP. Given how thin the squad is - which is purely down to financial restraints by our owner - he's doing pretty well. Ok its been poor lately, but we've been hit by injuries and a thin squad offers no mitigation for this.
If RD looks to move managers on after a year then could it be because he wants to find one who works well enough with the network system who can stay for longer?
Wonder how long it will take to find one?
Will that put off candidates if they know they have a year and thats it?
Will it piss off supporters with the sense of uncertainty?
How do you know what targets have been set?
Maybe peeters was given his budget and said he could keep up at X place.
A quick look at RDs past shows it could be possible.
I'm not saying I think he should be sacked but unless you sat in on negotiations I'm not sure you can have a clue.
If you want to bet me that Karel Fraeye is in charge here this time next year, name your price.
FWIW if both RD and Fraeye believe that Fraeye is future management material then they would surely first send him to Jena, Ujpest or Alcorcon.
I think this is all about clicks on some blogger's site.
I think RD will make decisions he thinks are for the best of his club, look at Powell getting the boot for an example of this.
None of know what BP promised to deliver so none of can say RD won't be firing him. Being 12th may be very disappointing if the owner was promised top 6.
As oohaah asks, how much did our signings cost and what did RD expect.
That doesn't make it true but it was rumoured then.
One of the few certainties we have with Roland is that he does what he wants when he wants regardless of whether others think it logical or not.
Stu is right. We don't know what RD's expectations are or where.
Personally I think Bob will still be manager at the end of the season.
You too want to bet that Fraeye will be in charge here this time next season?
RD may be a bit trigger happy. But this rumour, if it can even qualify as one, would make Vincent Tan look sober and sensible.
Prague - we are half way through the season, exactly halfway through the Championship, but then there is our possible FA Cup run..........
I am not into betting nor am I interested in who could or could not be our manager next season but I am certain that there may be several takers of such a wager on this forum.
You are correct about making Tan look sober and sensible but RD does have previous doesn't he?
I'm saying it is possible given previous evidence.