The canary in the ground test

Charlton face another tough test at The Valley tomorrow afternoon when they play resurgent Norwich City. At the beginning of the season I had this down as a 1-3 win for the Canaries.

Norwich did lose against another resurgent club, Southampton, midweek but just by 1-0.   The Saints had to work hard for the win as the Canaries dominated the second half.

Norwich have been rejuvenated after changing their manager, picking up 42 points from 23 games.  Former Rangers gaffer Phillipe Clement replaced Liam Manning when Norfolk's finest were in the bottom three before Christmas.   They've collected more points than any other team in 2026.   They have averaged nearly two goals a game.  They are top of the Championship form table.

At St, Mary's Norwich were the better side for much of the second half with Southampton keeper Daniel Perhetz pulling off fine saves to deny Kellen Fisher from close range and then keep out Ruairi McConville's goalbound header at the death.

Writing in The Football League Paper, Adam Virgo stated: 'Under Liam Manning, they'd win possession, go sideways and backwards, and then build up again.   It was very regimented, with no room for individual expression, and it didn't suit a squad of very talented players.'

'With Clement, you still have to work hard and be disciplined out of possession.  But the attitude is very much" Can we play that ball forward first?"

'Their January window was arguably the best in the Championship.  Ahmed came in from Vancouver Whitecaps and has hit the ground running.   Best of the lot is midfielder Paris Maghoma, whose £800,000 move from Brentford looks an absolute bargain.  He's exciting, he's inventive.  He makes things happen.  He's got a deceptive pace about him and he's just a very intelligent footballer.'

BTW, congratulations to my Saints supporting friend Joe the Saint on his forthcoming civil partnership with Cheryl.  Saints supporters who tie the knot are required to wear a Portsmouth shirt at the nearest home game.

Budget decisions for next season start soon

Richard Cawley has been talking to CAFC chairman Gavin Carter.   The chairman more or less confirmed that this season the Addicks had had one of the lowest budgets in the Championship, simply noting that crisis club Sheffield Wednesday's playing budget was lower.   

He also pointed out that the metrics were not straightforward.   Confidential discussions did  take place with other clubs when visiting them for matches.   He realised that fans were not keen on key performance indicators, but they were a key decision-making tool.

One of the reasons the board liked Nathan Jones was that he had shown at Luton that he could manage a constrained budget.

Discussions about next year's budget will begin towards the end of March,  It was evident that the board was waiting to see what the finishing position would be.

The owners are open to the injection of fresh capital, but are more focused on the quality rather than the amount

Congratulations, Lyndon Dykes

Lyndon Dykes has been called up for Scotland's international friendlies.  This means that he may have a chance of joining their World Cup squad

He has proved to be a good signing at Charlton despite initial scepticism.

Welshman hits centenary

Richard Cawley reminds us that Nathan Jones chalked up 100 league games in charge of Charlton at the Kassam Stadium on Saturday.

The last manager to achieve this feat was Lee Bowyer in 2020.

Under Jones the Addicks have won 41, drawn 32 and lost 27,   His win rate is 41 per cent.  Arguably too many draws.

I wouldn't rate Jones as anywhere near Jimmy Seed, Alan Curbishley and Lennie Lawrence (or Chris Powell who suffered from the barmy Belgian).

But he is doing a job for us, getting us out of League One and probably keeping us in the Championship.  I don't think we're quite safe yet and Saturday's fixture against Norwich is tricky.

One thing most fans would agree on is that some of the players are not good enough for the Championship and we need them to find their level in League One or Two.   No names, no pack drill as there is understandably disagreement about some names.

But with a second season in the Championship, a good stadium and training ground and a London location, we should be well placed to attract some quality players next season.

Penalty pain then joy for Charlton

After holding Oxford to 0-0 in a low quality first half, Kayne Ramsay bundled over Oxford starlet Will Lankshear in the box.  (Lankshear was being watched by England Under 21 supremo Lee Carsley).  Mannion dived the right way for the penalty kick, but Brannagan put the ball in the bottom corner.on 57 minutes.

Richard Cawley put out an appeal for video of the penalty incident.   Some Addicks there doubted that it was a penalty.   (Referee Matt Donohue is often VAR at top flight matches).

Shortly afterwards it was almost 2-0 to the hosts.   Will Lankshear gets through and plays a lovely chip over Addicks keeper Will Mannion.  Mannion just gets enough on it to slow it down and give Lloyd Jones enough time to get there and clear the ball off the line.   Good goalkeeping there from Mannion.  (Most Addicks supported his selection).

Coventry was replaced by Jayden Fevrier.

Stanley Mills, son of Danny Mills, was booked for a foul on Luke Chambers.   Danny Mills and Steve Brown were seen in conversation before the game,

Into the last 10 minutes of normal time and Charlton are really going to step this up to get anything from this game, they haven't created anywhere near enough.

The Addicks have had just two shots in the entire match so far and have not tested Jamie Donley in the Oxford goal   Both Leaburn and Campbell have disappointed (although many would say that Campbell never looks interested).   Losing Dykes in the warm up was a real blow.

Ibrahim Fullah and Joe Rankin-Costello were introduced in place of captain Greg Docherty and Luke Chambers.

The Addicks were awarded a late penalty and Kelman scored on 90+3 minutes.   He shot low into the bottom left-hand corner with the keeper diving the right way but unable to connect.

Dumbo Ciaron Brown grabbed hold of the shirt of Lloyd Jones and pulled him to the fkoor after Fullah had put in a decent cross.

Two points off Oxford, one for Charkton.

Mercurial supremo Nathan Jones told Richard Cawley that he blamed his players for the disappointing result: They didn’t stick to the game plan and they didn’t do a single thing I said at half-time. That is why we came unstuck and conceded.'

Oxford dream or nightmare?

It would be very Charlton to do the unpredictable at Boro and then fail to claim any points at Oxford United on Saturday, although I am hopeful of at least a point which means two points off Oxford.

This is not, of course, the Oxford of dreaming spires but more that of Blackbird Leys.   I must say that I find a three sided ground a bit of a joke with people perched on the tops of vehicles to see the action.  However, they now have plans for a new stadium to the north of the city.

The dreaming spires are represented by non-league and former amateur team Oxford City.   They were once headed up by Norman Chester, the warden of Nuffield College who wrote a prescient but now forgotten official report on the state of football.  Actually finding their ground is a real challenge.

Of course, I remember when Oxford played at Headington, recalling their origins as Headington United. It might be said to be a ground with 'character' with a series of individual stands.   We bought some of the seats and the turnstiles at Leamington.

Enough history.  Oxford have made a bit of a recovery recently, beating Blackburn 1-0 at home during the week.   At home they have won just five matches, drawn six and lost seven.

Oxford are unbeaten in seven home fixtures with Charlton (won four, draw three).  The Addicks last won there in 1998.   This was also the last time we did the double over them.

I'm not sure whether this matters, but Oxford have only won one of the last twelve home games that have kicked off at 12.30.

I was interested to see that Charlton are now above QPR in the table.  Each season there is usually a team that gets dragged into it late on and I wonder if it could be the Super Hoops this year.   It would be just repayment for QPR super fan Lord Young of Acton using his Spectator column to attack Charlton fanzine editor Rick Everitt.

In their preview, CAS Trust emphasise the extent to which Oxford rely on set piece goals.   Our defending at corners still concerns me.

They also note that the two clubs are close together in the form table which suggests a tight contest.

Dykes was taken ill during the warm up and replaced by Miles Leaburn.  Zach Mitchell joined the bench,

In the opening 25 minutes, the Addicks had 60 per cent possession but neither side had any shots.  After Harry Clarke put in some excellent defensive work, there were chants of 'Sign him up' from the Addickted.

A late tackle by charm merchant Helik caught Leaburn on the shin.  The Charlton man was in some pain and the home player received a yellow card.

The home side applied more pressure after 30 minutes and Luke Chambers was booked for a needless foul, but the free kick from a dangerous position went over.

0-0 at half time.  As Louis Mendez commented, 'Not a great spectacle'  Charlton had more possession, but failed to create chances.

To the Londoners 1-0

Charlton's unexpected win at Middlesbrough tonight eased their relegation fears.   The winning goal came from Conor Coady, viewed by many pessimists as a useless signing.

Kim Hellberg's home side dominated possession throughout the game but not for the first time of late lacked a clinical touch in attack and were frustrated by the well organised visitors.

Wing-backs Matt Targett and Callum Brittain were wasteful in good positions early on, while Aidan Morris thumped the crossbar during a strong first-half spell.

The Addicks had their moments on the break, though, and Charlie Kelman should have done better when his shot was saved by Sol Brynn at his near post.

The pattern of play continued in the second half until Coady, on his 400th career league start, got ahead of his marker to touch in a mammoth throw from Harry Clarke.

The goal, his first for the club, all but silenced the home fans.

Boro kept up the pressure, ending the night with 34 shots on goal, but Will Mannion in the Charlton goal was largely untroubled until he saved well from Hayden Hackney late on.

Charlton, who had won just one of their previous 12 on the road, now look comfortable in 17th place with a nine-point cushion to the relegation zone. 

Negativists struggled for a narrative with avatar Desmond from Deal saying in despair: 'Just when Jones looks like getting his P45, he pulls a rabbit out of the hat.'

One leading moaner said before the game, 'Jones has lost the plot.'   

But as the coach explained to Richard Cawley: '“It was a gamble because I’m sure social media would have been going ‘oh, they’ve taken this game lightly’, ‘they don’t think they can win it’ or ‘they are preparing for Oxford’. I imagine that is the case - I don’t read social media. So you’ll have to tell me if that is true or not,” said the Welshman.

“But we have to utilise the squad. It demonstrates the trust we’ve put into them.We’ve had to use the squad because we’ve got seven first-team players out at the moment. Josh Edwards, Collins (Sichenje) and (Reece) Burke. Three defenders - you can’t take too many risks in that area. (Luke) Berry, Harvey Knibbs, (Matty) Godden, Thomas Kaminski.  All huge players.'