THE popular parlour game “name five famous Belgians” is probably a little easier today than it once was. Alongside Rene Magritte and that cyclist bloke from the 1970s, you can now add Eden Hazard and Vincent Kompany – hell, you’re almost there. One name that would not be on your list is Karel Fraeye, the new “interim” manager at Charlton Athletic.
Charlton fans, infuriated by the arrogance and incompetence of the club’s owner — another Belgian, Roland Duchatelet — were left still more aghast this week when Mr Fraeye was named as the replacement for the sacked Guy Luzon. Desperate to find out more about this footballing titan who might reverse Charlton’s plunge down the table (without a win in 10 games), some enquired about his provenance from Standard Liege fans. They drew a blank. “Even football people here in Belgium haven’t heard of him,” one advised. Unsurprising. Karel Fraeye was, until last week, head coach at a club called KFC Vigor Wuitens Hamme, who play in the Belgian third division — a competition roughly on a par with, say, the Wessex League over here. He has guided his club to a magnificent 12th position out of 18. Two wins in 11 games.
Poor Charlton. Once the epitome of the well-run family club, much loved by neutrals, and apt to punch above their weight, they are now a shambles.
When I called Mr Fraeye the “interim” manager, I used quotation marks because, in truth, under Duchatelet, 68, all managers are interim, so the term has no meaning. Since he took over at the Valley, the microchip manufacturer has been through five managers in less than two years. None of them has been much cop, but then none of them was given anywhere near the funds to do the job. They were all forced to depend upon loanees and questionable acquisitions from Duchatelet’s other European footballing playthings — the formerly magnificent Ujpest FC from Hungary (now no more than also-rans), the formerly OK-ish FC Carl Zeiss Jena (now in the German fourth tier) and the never-up-to-much AD Alcorcon from the middle of the Spanish second division. Duchatelet recently flogged off his prize footballing asset, Standard Liege, whose fans accused him of bleeding the club dry of cash.
It’s all very familiar, isn’t it? Blackpool supporters might notice in Mr Duchatelet a touch of the Oystons. Leeds United fans might also wince along in sympathy at the behaviour of an egocentric foreign owner who does not seem to have the club’s interests at heart — and still less the interests of the fans.
Fraeye’s appointment infuriated still further the Charlton faithful (who are, it has to be said, becoming markedly less faithful with each game). He is seen as simply another Duchatelet hired hand with no experience of managing a club at anything even approaching a decent level. Remarkably, given Charlton’s performances in recent seasons, the fans have some sympathy for the defenestrated managers; their ire is directed solely at their Belgian owner. With the same rapidity that Charlton have shed managers, so they have shed the sort of players needed to compete in the Championship. They have a thin squad who, as it stands, would struggle to attain mid-table in League One.
Unless things change quickly, I would bet on them to beat even Rotherham United through the relegation trapdoor. They are beginning to look like this season’s Blackpool.
All of which is immensely cheering if, for example, you’re me, and a Millwall fan. We are habituated to being despised as small-club, cave-dwelling knuckleheads by our south London neighbours, regardless of the fact that we beat them almost every time we play them. For our part, we view them as “trainspotters” or “anoraks” allowed to turn up and watch their team each week only because Operation Yewtree has a lot of work on its hands. The club have even given their name to an adjective — “Charltonification” — describing the transformation of proper football clubs into happy-clappy post-Euro 1996 oases of passionless consensus and absolutely no swearing.
But that’s just local spite. More interestingly, does the Duchatelet template work? This idea that clubs across Europe can benefit from mutual cross-fertilisation of players and staff? I have never known it to work, unless it is one very big club using smaller continental sides as a feeder and pouring money in to keep those smaller clubs afloat. It doesn’t seem to work when all of the clubs are much of a muchness. I suppose you would argue that Ujpest are Duchatelet’s big club — although they are not that big any more and play in front of crowds rather smaller than those who still dutifully turn up at the Valley for the latest hammering. What we have seen at Charlton is dislocated Belgians wandering around the field wondering what on earth they are doing there.
Duchatelet’s egoism knows no bounds. He is a former leftie agitator who has also tried his hand at politics. His party, Vivant — Greenish, liberal — won 2.1 per cent of the vote last time out. The Belgians, then, were no more convinced by the businessman’s rallying cry — “The road to more net domestic happiness!” — than are Charlton supporters today.
"For our part, we view them (Charlton supporters) as “trainspotters” or “anoraks” allowed to turn up and watch their team each week only because Operation Yewtree has a lot of work on its hands"
A very good piece. How many of us, hand on heart, would not gloat if the boot was on the other foot. I suspect we certainly would not resist more than two pars of contextual gloating. It's the most balanced and (for us) revealing piece in the media so far. And he has certainly put RD's flawed and destructive network into perspective.
"For our part, we view them (Charlton supporters) as “trainspotters” or “anoraks” allowed to turn up and watch their team each week only because Operation Yewtree has a lot of work on its hands"
?
I can agree with most of it, however the Yewtree comment is well out of order. Whoever edits his work, should take a long look at themselves.
"For our part, we view them (Charlton supporters) as “trainspotters” or “anoraks” allowed to turn up and watch their team each week only because Operation Yewtree has a lot of work on its hands"
?
I can agree with most of it, however the Yewtree comment is well out of order. Whoever edits his work, should take a long look at themselves.
Really lowers the tone I feel. Anorak/ trainspotter blah blah banter.
Jimmy Saville types is well out of order and makes the whole article crap.
Is he calling us pedo's or am I missing something?
No more than we call Ipswich and Norrwich sheepshaggers. Don't ignore the 99% positive from this article.
Well it's fans that call their close rivals insulting names. Not national newspaper journalists. If he (Liddle) wants to learn to write about sport in an informative, knowledgable and amusing way then he could do a lot worse than dig out some of Kevin Nolans work.
Nolan leaves Liddle so far behind it's embarrassing.
Come on. We have been endlessly moaning the mainstream press have ignored our situation and when a main paper does - and a Millwall fan as well - and writes an overwhelmingly excellent piece, all we can do is concentrate on one throwaway comment. If any one of us had written about Millwall being taken over by a third-rate, senile Belgian who is killing the club, would we be half as objective and manage to resist a dig or two?
Well it's fans that call their close rivals insulting names. Not national newspaper journalists. If he (Liddle) wants to learn to write about sport in an informative, knowledgable and amusing way then he could do a lot worse than dig out some of Kevin Nolans work.
If you read Liddle regularly, on any subject, then you will know this is his style. You and I may not like it, but it makes him one of the better-paid journalists.
Come on. We have been endlessly moaning the mainstream press have ignored our situation and when a main paper does - and a Millwall fan as well - and writes an overwhelmingly excellent piece, all we can do is concentrate on one throwaway comment. If any one of us had written about Millwall being taken over by a third-rate, senile Belgian who is killing the club, would we be half as objective and manage to resist a dig or two?
Come on. We have been endlessly moaning the mainstream press have ignored our situation and when a main paper does - and a Millwall fan as well - and writes an overwhelmingly excellent piece, all we can do is concentrate on one throwaway comment. If any one of us had written about Millwall being taken over by a third-rate, senile Belgian who is killing the club, would we be half as objective and manage to resist a dig or two?
I basically agree with you, but the Yewtree comment is out of order, and makes it less than "overwhelmingly" excllent I didn't even understand it earlier when I read the article. It's so unnecessary, and simply pandering to the Millwall image, which so many middle class Millwall "fans" do.( My mate here in Prague being one, and I've told him so, many times). The danger is the Yewtree comment will be picked up and overshadow the main message of the article. He's a twonk.
Come on. We have been endlessly moaning the mainstream press have ignored our situation and when a main paper does - and a Millwall fan as well - and writes an overwhelmingly excellent piece, all we can do is concentrate on one throwaway comment. If any one of us had written about Millwall being taken over by a third-rate, senile Belgian who is killing the club, would we be half as objective and manage to resist a dig or two?
I'm not sure it's an overwhelmingly excellent piece, it's certainly worse than the other pieces we've seen in other outlets in recent days. The only "excellent" thing about it is that national media are now picking up the story and I'm not sure we should just accept being labels nonces in exchange.
He's also never heard of the Watford/Udinese/Granada network it seems. Seems to be working out okay for the Hornets at the moment Rod it's just that our network is full of crap players/managers!
But on the whole, ridiculous paedo name calling aside, a decent piece.
Comments
THE popular parlour game “name five famous Belgians” is probably a little easier today than it once was. Alongside Rene Magritte and that cyclist bloke from the 1970s, you can now add Eden Hazard and Vincent Kompany – hell, you’re almost there. One name that would not be on your list is Karel Fraeye, the new “interim” manager at Charlton Athletic.
Charlton fans, infuriated by the arrogance and incompetence of the club’s owner — another Belgian, Roland Duchatelet — were left still more aghast this week when Mr Fraeye was named as the replacement for the sacked Guy Luzon. Desperate to find out more about this footballing titan who might reverse Charlton’s plunge down the table (without a win in 10 games), some enquired about his provenance from Standard Liege fans. They drew a blank. “Even football people here in Belgium haven’t heard of him,” one advised. Unsurprising. Karel Fraeye was, until last week, head coach at a club called KFC Vigor Wuitens Hamme, who play in the Belgian third division — a competition roughly on a par with, say, the Wessex League over here. He has guided his club to a magnificent 12th position out of 18. Two wins in 11 games.
Poor Charlton. Once the epitome of the well-run family club, much loved by neutrals, and apt to punch above their weight, they are now a shambles.
When I called Mr Fraeye the “interim” manager, I used quotation marks because, in truth, under Duchatelet, 68, all managers are interim, so the term has no meaning. Since he took over at the Valley, the microchip manufacturer has been through five managers in less than two years. None of them has been much cop, but then none of them was given anywhere near the funds to do the job. They were all forced to depend upon loanees and questionable acquisitions from Duchatelet’s other European footballing playthings — the formerly magnificent Ujpest FC from Hungary (now no more than also-rans), the formerly OK-ish FC Carl Zeiss Jena (now in the German fourth tier) and the never-up-to-much AD Alcorcon from the middle of the Spanish second division. Duchatelet recently flogged off his prize footballing asset, Standard Liege, whose fans accused him of bleeding the club dry of cash.
It’s all very familiar, isn’t it? Blackpool supporters might notice in Mr Duchatelet a touch of the Oystons. Leeds United fans might also wince along in sympathy at the behaviour of an egocentric foreign owner who does not seem to have the club’s interests at heart — and still less the interests of the fans.
Fraeye’s appointment infuriated still further the Charlton faithful (who are, it has to be said, becoming markedly less faithful with each game). He is seen as simply another Duchatelet hired hand with no experience of managing a club at anything even approaching a decent level. Remarkably, given Charlton’s performances in recent seasons, the fans have some sympathy for the defenestrated managers; their ire is directed solely at their Belgian owner. With the same rapidity that Charlton have shed managers, so they have shed the sort of players needed to compete in the Championship. They have a thin squad who, as it stands, would struggle to attain mid-table in League One.
Unless things change quickly, I would bet on them to beat even Rotherham United through the relegation trapdoor. They are beginning to look like this season’s Blackpool.
All of which is immensely cheering if, for example, you’re me, and a Millwall fan. We are habituated to being despised as small-club, cave-dwelling knuckleheads by our south London neighbours, regardless of the fact that we beat them almost every time we play them. For our part, we view them as “trainspotters” or “anoraks” allowed to turn up and watch their team each week only because Operation Yewtree has a lot of work on its hands. The club have even given their name to an adjective — “Charltonification” — describing the transformation of proper football clubs into happy-clappy post-Euro 1996 oases of passionless consensus and absolutely no swearing.
But that’s just local spite. More interestingly, does the Duchatelet template work? This idea that clubs across Europe can benefit from mutual cross-fertilisation of players and staff? I have never known it to work, unless it is one very big club using smaller continental sides as a feeder and pouring money in to keep those smaller clubs afloat. It doesn’t seem to work when all of the clubs are much of a muchness. I suppose you would argue that Ujpest are Duchatelet’s big club — although they are not that big any more and play in front of crowds rather smaller than those who still dutifully turn up at the Valley for the latest hammering. What we have seen at Charlton is dislocated Belgians wandering around the field wondering what on earth they are doing there.
Duchatelet’s egoism knows no bounds. He is a former leftie agitator who has also tried his hand at politics. His party, Vivant — Greenish, liberal — won 2.1 per cent of the vote last time out. The Belgians, then, were no more convinced by the businessman’s rallying cry — “The road to more net domestic happiness!” — than are Charlton supporters today.
Decent for general consumption but he's just been reading the threads on here and couldn't resist adding very insulting Millwall bile.
If nothing else it helps getting our plight out there.
?
Jimmy Saville types is well out of order and makes the whole article crap.
Nolan leaves Liddle so far behind it's embarrassing.
But on the whole, ridiculous paedo name calling aside, a decent piece.