John Karelse (born 17 May 1970 in Wemeldinge) is a retired Dutch football goalkeeper and unemployed manager after being fired by NAC Breda. He played for AGOVV Apeldoorn in his native country for a few years before moving to NAC Breda. It was here that he caught the attention of then Newcastle United manager Ruud Gullit, who signed him for an undisclosed fee (thought to be in the region of £800,000) in August 1999. His time at Newcastle was largely unsuccessful, as he endured a terrible start to his career at the club, losing 4-2 to Southampton on his debut. He found his first team opportunities very limited after this, not helped by the competition for his position being very high with the reliable Shay Given and Steve Harper also at the club. Tony Caig was also ahead of him as third choi