We need to spend money on a new keeper, not sacking the manager

Jonathan Acworth hasn't been heard of for some time, but he was always recommending non-league players when we were in the Premier League.

However, the gap between League 1 and the non-league is not that great.  The top two tiers of the non-league system contains many talented players who were let go by top division academies.

Charlton could have had Colby Bishop for a song when he went to Accrington.  Now he is a leading player at Portsmouth.

Having grown up with Sam Bartram, I always believed in building from the back.   In my view neither of our current keepers meets the standards required.

I wasn't able to go to my non-league cup game last night as I was listening to the dross from The Valley. However,, our excellent keeper Callum 'The Hawk' Hawkins (signed from Burton Albion) was substituted just before the penalty shoot out.  The Academy keeper then won the shoot out.   Bring on Rochdale on Saturday.

Jas Singh at Tamworth is another non-league keeper I rate, but he has a good day job in insurance.

Rather than spending money on compensating Nathan Jones, I would splash out on a quality keeper.

Kevin Nolan

One time Mercury sports editor Rick Everitt has written a sincere tribute to Kevin Nolan: https://londonnewsonline.co.uk/sport/he-knew-the-game-and-had-a-great-gift-for-story-telling-a-tribute-to-charlton-athletic-reporting-stalwart-kevin-nolan/

Why are the Chairboys topping League One?

I have to admit that I never thought Wycombe Wanderers would be top of League One, albeit there is a long way to go.  But what have they got right?   Our sister site discusses them: https://footballeconomyv2.blogspot.com/2024/12/why-wycombe-are-chairing-league-one-for.html

Managers: 'our doubts are our traitors'

 First a Christmas reading recommendation.   Neil Carter's book The Football Manager: a History is currently available on Abe Books for just over £6.  Not only does it trace the evolution of the role over time, it  has also has a lot of Charlton content as he drew substantially on the Jimmy Seed archive (and provided me with copies of parts of it).

I was hoping to set up a poll on the future of Nathan Jones, but the online survey tools are now a lot more expensive if one wants a decent response rate.   Apologies for that.

One fan actually made a sensible suggestion of a plausible successor yesterday: Mark Robins.   Quite why Stratford upon Avon businessman Doug King sacked the popular manager is unclear.  His explanation was that he had fallen out with his No.2, but that lacks all credibility.   If it was the league position, why didn't he say so?  'Our doubts are our traitors' as the Bard of Avon said.

In any event it appears that Robins is going to stay in the Championship with Hull City while the Sky Blues have appointed Frank Lumphard who is 'seeking redemption' as a manager.   Good players are not necessarily good managers and average players are often the best managers.

Anyway on to Walsall.  The current over emphasis on managers in football has a lot to do with the rise of electronic games in my view so that fans come to believe that the manager is really pushing buttons to move the players around the pitch.

The Chicago Addick has called for 'width, more width' and he may well be right.  At least we should use the FA Cup game to give some of our younger promising players a chance to show what they can do even if it means giving up on the £75,000 prize money.

The Saddlers are currently second in League Two, having won five, lost one and drawn one at the Bescot which is, of course, alongside the M6. (Be warned that the junction for  it coming from the south is a rather dangerous 'scissors' merge).

Walsall see Charlton as a scalp waiting to be taken but Jones is strangely confident: https://www.expressandstar.com/sport/football/2024/11/29/charlton-athletic-eager-to-build-on-recent-win-ahead-of-walsall-fa-cup-tie/

I forecast that Charlton will be unsaddled 2-1.

In happier times we beat Walsall there 4-2 to record twelve wins in a row: https://addicksdiary3.blogspot.com/2017/09/remembering-key-victory-at-walsall.html

Is League One 'a rich man's playground'?

Charlton fans sometimes assert that League One is a pub or crap league, so it was interesting to read in yesterday's Football League Paper what two newly promoted managers think.

Gareth Ainsworth forged Wycombe Wanderers into a League One force and indeed, somewhat to my surprise, they are currently chairing the division.

Ainsworth has now taken on the unenviable task of reviving Shropshire's finest and he made a first rate start against moneybags club Birmingham City on Saturday.

Ainsworth says: 'Over the years, this division has probably run away from the smaller clubs. League One has got stronger and stronger over the years.   Some of the money that's in League One now .... [it] has really gone crazy with its finances.'

Mansfield's Nigel Clough is approaching 1,500 games as a manager.  He has noticed the jump in standard from League Two.  'It's exactly as we thought it would be - a step up from last season without a doubt.  There are some very good teams.  It's the quality of the players, especially the forwards, it's the quality of everything.'

So is the third tier now a 'rich man's playground' as the FLP claims?   And what does that mean for clubs like Charlton?

Why they call me 'Whine'

The training facilities - admittedly a long time ago

Many years ago the EU asked me at short notice to go on an official mission to China, officially to address an environmental conference in Kunming.   They must have been short staffed, but they allocated me a minder from the EU office in Beijing.

The Communist Party attached me to a young woman with excellent English from the Department of Party History [sic] who took me on the subway (then reserved for cadres), showed me round the Forbidden City and organised a trip to the Great Wall as well as to other sights.

I did manage to escape on my own from time to time by using the half mad taxi drivers and making sure I had written down my destination beforehand in Mandarin.

It quickly became apparent that the authorities had their own agenda and took me to see the training pitch being used by their national team.   I told them that fourth division clubs had better facilities which didn't go down well.

This was when Charlton were in the Premier League and I was shown an item from national television about how Curbs and Keith Peacock worked together which was actually quite well done.   It became clear that they wanted Charlton to play in China and thought I had an 'in'.

I did talk to Curbs when I got back but he seem to be confused between China and Japan, but didn't want to tour either, although at that stage of the emergence of soccer in Japan it might have paid off.

By the time I got to Kunming in the south-west I think they were pretty disappointed with me.  Indeed, my minder agreed I could be interviewed by local television about air pollution.   However, the interviewer blind sided me, noting that I was born in Greenwich and then asking about high levels of pollution there.

On a second visit to China, I attended a seminar organised by individuals somewhat distanced from the regime.

The upshot is that Chinese National Radio now calls me 'Whine' Grant, but I suppose it fits a Charlton supporter well.

Lawrence back in the dugout

From a Hartlepool paper:

'Lawrence, who turns 77 in December, is one of a select few managers to have been in the dugout for more than 1,000 games during his long and distinguished career.

He became a legend at Charlton, spending almost a decade at the helm and leading the Addicks back to the First Division after a 29 year absence, helped Middlesbrough win promotion to the inaugural Premier League, was in the dugout when Grimsby beat Liverpool in the League Cup and steered Cardiff to promotion to Division One.

Following a brief spell as caretaker manager at Crystal Palace in 2012, he worked in a variety of consultancy roles before returning to the dugout with Pools in January following the sacking of John Askey.

Of his eight games in charge across two interim spells, Lawrence has led Pools to a creditable three wins and three draws.

And up until Saturday, when Pools produced their best performance of the season to secure a dominant victory over Aldershot Town, the expectation was that Lawrence would likely return to his advisory role, with the club tipped to make the most of almost two weeks without a game to secure Sarll's successor.

All of a sudden, it's starting to look possible, even probable, that the veteran, who also holds a position on the board, might have a hand in appointing himself as the new manager.

Right now, few would begrudge him a belated return to permanent management. After all, he has a remarkable record, an almost endless list of contacts, an encyclopedic knowledge of the beautiful game and has managed to transform Pools from a side who rarely even looked like winning into a team who are all of a sudden being talked up as play-off contenders again.

Lawrence, who is one of the country's most experienced manager's and who clearly commands the respect of both the players and fans, might just be their man, for now at least.#

Jones bigs up Charlton

In an interview in yesterday's Football League Paper, presumably undertaken before the Blackpool game, Nathan Jones denies that Charlton are punching above their weight in League One.  It is noted that Charlton's resources are more limited than those of Birmingham orc Wrexham, 'but Jones won't tolerate anyone calling Charlton a poor relation.'

'There are clubs in the division spending more than us, yes.  But let's not forget this is a big football club, a really big football club.' 

I am never sure how one judges that, but Jones insists, 'We've got a wonderful fanbase. A fabulous stadium.   A proud history.  This is as big a club as there is in the division.  Financially - okay, we might be underdogs.  To go and do stuff against the odds or overcome certain limitations when things are not in your favour - that's something we thrive on.'

'When we came in the club was in a perilous position.  So we tried to lay foundations for this season.'

'There's still plenty more to come from this group.   We've won games without being really fluent, but you can't build a roof without laying the foundations.'

Arrival of Wasps could sting Charlton

An egg chasers blog is reporting that Wasps have secured a ground share arrangement with Charlton to compete in the Championship for 25/26 season.

Charlton fan Ben Hayes comments: ‘Talk a few months back of this Wasps actually exist as a team, which isn't by any means guaranteed. Council and local residents would have issues.’

‘Apart from fixture clashes with Charlton and Charlton Women fixtures and damage to the new Valley pitch, Was[s have also left a trail of chaos and debt everywhere they have been so maybe not the best tenants for Charlton.’

Decades ago we did ground share with rugby league outfit London Bronco and their different markings could be seen all over the pitch.

Blues spending exceptional for League One

Fans keep droning on about Alfie May on the lines of one Twitter comment: 'I can’t believe that they got rid of May and brought in Ahadme. We have zero flair. If we go a goal down like Saturday we don’t have the wit or nous to score.'

Peter Varney commented: 'If you look at the wages Birmingham City are paying Alfie (more than 2.5 times what Charlton were paying him) that tells you everything as to why this transfer happened. Alfie also said his family were desperate to go back north and he was being substituted a bit or left out towards the end of last season. Footballers are not like the rest of us as they have short careers and in Alfie's case he came into the professional game late so has not earnt big bucks before.'

Fuelled by Tom Wagner’s investment, the Blues had the six highest transfers in League One this summer. In fact, they now have the three highest ever deals in England’s third tier, led by the staggering £15m paid to Fulham for young forward Jay Stansfield.

I would add that an unhappy Alfie kept at Charlton might not have scored as many goals.

Takeover rumours sqiashed

There has been a bit of takeover speculation of late with Charlton, reports Richard Cawley - but no chance of any of it becoming fact.  The current ownership, many of whom were at the game on Saturday, are resolutely determined to be at the helm of the club for the long term.

Dishing it out to Charlton Liddle and often

One expects Millwall fan Rod Liddle to be regularly disobliging about Charlton in his Sunday Times column.   Apart from anything else, his stock in trade (he also writes for the Spectator) is starting an argument in an empty room. 

Liddle starts by reasonably questioning Birmingham City's expectations of an immediate return to the second tier and hits the nail amusingly on the head about Peterborough by describing them as 'Peterborough United (who exist as a club solely to compete between the top six of tier three and the bottom six of tier two).'

However, Liddle is soon back to the Millwall of the Midlands, noting that 'The eye-catching, if wholly predictable, capture, however, was Alfie May, sprung from Charlton Athletic for about £900,000 and arguably cheap at the price, despite his advancing age. May, 31 last month, scored 23 goals from 43 games for Charlton last time out and won the League One Golden Boot — a remarkable achievement considering that one or another of Charlton’s procession of inept managers, I forget which one, played him out on the wing half the time.

Poor Charlton is the second question on the agenda, seeing as they are installed as one of the favourites for promotion and are the second-biggest spenders. Charlton dragged themselves away from what looked like probable relegation with some panache last season and the fans have rather taken to the manager, Nathan Jones. But May and the talented Corey Blackett-Taylor scored about half of their goals last season and both have gone, Blackett-Taylor to the newly promoted Derby County.

The new owners have spent a little, bringing in Matty Godden, from Coventry City, for an undisclosed fee, and the Moroccan Gassan Ahadme from Ipswich Town, for about a million quid. Godden has been reliable enough for Coventry, averaging about a goal every three games, while Ahadme — properly a second striker — banged in 11 while on loan at Cambridge United last season.

This will be Charlton’s fifth consecutive season in League One and their 11th out of the past 16. Much as I hate to say it as a Millwall fan, obviously, they are beginning to look like a tier three club and the attendances have gradually fallen away.'  (Transfermarkt says they up marginally from 13,436 to 13,481).

Personally, I have some faith in Jones and the new owners, although I accept that not everyone does.

Play off place forecast for Charlton

Four Four Two magazine reckons Charlton will finish 6th in League One this season.  'Alfie May has gone, but Nathan Jones has his new strike duo in Matt Godden and  Gassan Ahadme.  With Luke Berry, Alan Mitchell and John Edwards also joining a tree of teenage talents in Daniel Kanu, Thierry Small and Karoy Anderson, Jones' Addicks are shaping up well.'

Natasha Everitt also forecasts a 6th place finish in her fan file.  She says that Jones' signings are promising and a fit again Miles Leaburn will feel like a new signing.  Karoy Anderson is our most underrated player, look up his goal against Derby.  

The player she would happily drive to another club is Scott Fraser, on a large wage and hasn't lived up to expectations.  The fans; opinion of the gaffer is that he is charismatic, well-liked and not afraid to make bold decisions.   She concludes that Charlton have pulled below their weight for too long, but are now ready to push on.

A 'very competitive league'

I will be taking a break from blogging for a couple of weeks.   Working for a political publishers in a general election year means that my day job is busier than usual with commissioning, editing, meetings and book launches in London.     I also want to find time to see the three generations of my family now settled in Spain.

One last word.   Fans often dismiss League One as a 'poxy' league, but as the authoritative Swiss Ramble has recently said it is a 'very competitive' league.'  Birmingham City, Wrexham and Stockport County are all going to pose problems.   Even Rotherham may be in yo yo form under charm merchant Steve Evans and Peterborough will want to overcome their disappointment.   Hopefully, Bolton will go up.

I'm certainly not banking on promotion.   And I'm not happy about the 12.30 and Friday night kick offs under the new Sky regime which make life difficult for supporters like me who have a return travel time of five hours.

It also looks as if we are going to lose Charlton Live which was the daft Dane's aqueducts moment.  I enjoyed the chats about the Curbishley era and Steve Brown's barbed comments.

Two American owned clubs relegated

Birmingham City and Huddersfield Town have been relegated to League One next season, both clubs with American owners.

Blues were sixth in thr Championship earlier in the season when they sacked John Eustace as he was apparently not trendy enough for the owners.

Living up to their reputation as the Millwall of the Midlands, Blues fans invaded the pitch and fought with stewards after today's match.

The American owners have bought a site for a new stadium at Bordesley alongside the railway line to New Street so they won't want to stay in League One.

Huddersfield are a team we have played in three different divisions in living memory and are likely to challenge for promotion.

Rotherham have put their faith in Steve Evans, the most charming manager in the EFL, to restore their flagging fortunes and burnish their reputation as a yo-yo club.

Wrexham with their £20m revenue also have American owners and have global appeal, ranking as the second most poopular team in the United States: https://footballeconomyv2.blogspot.com/2024/05/can-wrexham-sustain-its-success.html

To those who say League One is a poxy league, it's going to be even more competitive next season.

Clearout under way

Tyreece Campbell has agreed a new deal with Charlton, reports Richard Cawley.   The winger had been due to be out of contract this summer - although age would have meant he was liable for compensation. Terell Thomas and Michael Hector both released along with Richard Chin, Jack Payne, Lewis Ward and Diallang Jaiyesimi (who he? Ed).

The retained list statement also seems to indicate no late U-turn on George Dobson's move to Fehervar. "The club would like to thank George Dobson, who has played 144 games for Charlton since joining in 2021. He's given his all for the club in every training session and every game and everyone at the club wishes him all the best in Hungary."

Lualua and Wickham have not been offered contrxcts, all loan players are returning to their clubs.

Unconfirmed reports suggest that Chuks Aneke is leaving by mutual consent.

Nathan Jones discusses his philosophy and plans here: https://londonnewsonline.co.uk/sport/nathan-jones-built-a-luton-legacy-now-summer-of-transfer-and-squad-construction-awaits-at-charlton-athletic/

Arrivals and depatures: how about a winter away trip to Mansfield?

We say goodbye to Derby County who have been a troublesome side for us ever since that FA Cup defeat.  Our sister site looks at their road from near extinction to promotion: https://footballeconomyv2.blogspot.com/2024/04/drebys-humble-recovery.html

We welcome Mansfield Town and Nigel Clough, a manager I rate   It's been a long road to promotion back to the third tier, but the Nottinghamshire club are now looking to expand capacity.

Charlton's away fans are a hardy and dedicated lot, but how many will fancy a midweek away game in February in Mansfield?   I don't think they will be easy to beat.

Season ends with a whimper

Charlton couldn't even manage one of their customary draws against the Chairboys this afternoon, losing 1-0.   The Addicks finished 16th, just ahead of points deducted Reading on goal difference.

Charlton went 1-0 behind to Wycombe Wanderers in beechy Bucks,, conceding a first half penalty in front of 1,781 Addicks in the away end.

A fan commented: 'Just about sums our season up 1st half poor penalty to give away from a poor defence all season, midfield not creating enough chances and not enough shoots or goals throughout the team in general, need about five new starting players of quality for a promotion push next season.'   [Probably mote, given that the league looks more not less competitive].

Fiorini, LuaLua and Campbell came on for Anderson, Ness and May at half time, leaving May with 23 league goals.   Former Leamington ace Colby Bishop would need to score two in 45 minutes to catch upm but hw was subbed off for Pompey so May has the Golden Boot.  We now owe Cheltenham a five figure sum.

Dobbo was booked for a strong challenge.  Isted made a really impressive stop - gets down to block a free-kick then somehow keeps the rebound out from close-range too.

A big chance - Campbell's cross was palmed out by Ravizzoli and Dobson can't convert the rebound from inside the six-yard box on the stretch.

Aneke replaced Kanu on 58 minutes, probably a swan song for the injury prone big man.

Fiorni rattled the crossbar but, apart from a flurry of yellow cards, that was that.

Let's hope that Nathan is able to do the business over the summer.

Nathan Jones makes it clear how dissatisfied he was with today's performance and that big personnel changes are needed: https://londonnewsonline.co.uk/sport/nathan-jones-as-charlton-finish-16th-in-league-one-final-day-defeat-at-wycombe-highlights-how-much-personnel-change-is-required/

New pitch for The Valley

A new state of the art pitch is to be installed at The Valley next season funded by a £750,000 grant from th Premier League and £650,000 by the owners: https://londonnewsonline.co.uk/sport/charlton-confirm-new-state-of-the-art-pitch-to-be-installed-at-the-valley-ahead-of-2024-25-season/

Now we just need the players to make good use of it.

All women's matches will in future be played at The Valley.  

Nathan Jones set to meet with Charlton's out of contract players next week to discuss their futures, reports Richard Cawley. The likes of Michael Hector and Terell Thomas both free agents at end of June.

Stockport could be a bigger challenge than Pompey

Congratulations to Portsmouth on their promotion to the Championship, that's one less worry for pitch announcer Brian Cole.

Inevitably former Leamington Colby Bishop scored for Pompey last night.   We could have had him for £50k but he was snapped up by Accrington and then by Portsmouth.

Portsmouth's departure is not altogether good news for us as we were a bit of a bogey team for them, unbeaten against them this year.

I think I am right in saying that we have played more games against Pompey than any other club.  More on their resurgence here:  https://footballeconomyv2.blogspot.com/2024/04/pompey-did-play-up.html

Stockport are the only club whose ground I have visited both for Charlton and for my non-league club Leamington.   Their fans were a lot of trouble when they came to Harbury Lane and one got on the pich and poured a pint of beer over our then goal keeper. the Barmy Binman.

Stockport see League One as a way station to their rightful place in the Championship so they will be in confident mood.   Confidence is important in football, but it is also possible to be over confident.

Wrexham will be a real threat

Wrexham will be joining League One next season and there is no doubt that they pose a real threat.  They show that even a club in an obscure location, albeit now a city, can be globalised with the right backers and a third Disney+ series.  Under former Addicks manager Phil Parkinson they will benefit from momentum.  Football finance guru Kieran Maguire thinks they will be competitive: https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/68819844

Millers could be a thorn in our side next season

As one of the longer lasting League One clubs, one of our tasks is to ‘welcome’ the seven new opponents who will be joining us next season.   Rotherham United have already been relegated from the Championship.   In the season so far they have won just four matches (none away) and have conceded 85 goals.

It wouldn’t be unfair to say that Rotherham has had its economic and social challenges since the decline of the steel industry.   It is very much in the shadow of a more vibrant Sheffield.

When I was an undergraduate (nearly sixty years ago) one of my flat mates had a girl friend who came from Rotherham.   Not only that, her family owned the leading (probably the only) department store in Rotherham.  When he went up there he was given a tour of the department store with every member of staff bowing and scraping to Miss X.  

I can’t give her name because she is still alive and I had a bit of a run in with her which looks bizarrely amusing in retrospect, but annoyed me at the time.   What was evident was that the family were not short of money including a big house in an even then expensive Cornish resort.  The point here is that Rotherham was once a prosperous working class community.

Now, ‘Rotherham has been ranked the unhappiest place to live in England according to a survey. Rightmove asked 21,000 people to complete a study based on their overall happiness with their area and what makes a place feel like home. Out of 221 cities, towns and villages surveyed, Rotherham came bottom of the list.’

Many years back after seeing Charlton play an early kick off at Huddersfield, some of us went over to see Brighton play at Millmoor, Rotherham United’s then ground.   I thought it was a typical old style Third Division North ground, atmospheric but not 21^st century.

Now the Millers have a smart new stadium, the New York Stadium (actually named after a local area), but they keep yo yoing between the Championship and League One, although the training ground is a swamp and apparently frequently under water. They have been relegated in four of the last eight seasons, owner Tony Stewart refusing to splash the cash and put the club into debt.

Stewart owns a local lighting manufacturing firm.

Former supremo Matt Taylor missed all his summer transfer targets and ended up signing players who were too old or injury prone to attract interest elsewhere.

They might be better off trying to consolidate in League One, taking advantage of not paying Championship wages to improve the infrastructure.  A decent training ground is a key to success.

Match day attendances are a constraint: the record at the new stadium was 11,758 against local rivals Sheffield United in 2013.

However, the owner and the fans will expect them to compete so they could well be in the running for promotion.   In other words, they are a potential thorn in our side as we seek to escape from League One.

Three managers can't be that inept at coaching defenders

Charlton are now mathematically safe after yesterday's draw at Cambridge.  But as the draw specialists prepare ro claim both the EFL and League One draw specialists trophies, Nathan Jones says that three managers cannot be responsible for the defensive blunders, it's the personnel: https://londonnewsonline.co.uk/sport/three-managers-cant-be-that-inept-at-coaching-defensive-responsibilities-nathan-jones-on-the-tough-decisions-to-make-after-charltons-draw-at-cambridge/

However, Charlton cannot beat the all time third tier draws record which is 23.

The Addicks scored first after 23 minutes when George Dobson's pass was taken down on the edge of the box by Connor Wickham, who then fired low beyond Will Mannion to mark his full debut with a goal.

In added time Mannion made an excellent save to deny Tyreece Campbell, and soon after the break he also pushed Tyreeq Bakinson's shot wide.

Instead Cambridge hit back after 50 minutes through Macauley Bonne (yes, him), who struck a powerful shot on the turn from the edge of the box and celebrated his first U's goal against one of his former clubs. His fellow players stopped him from going to the away end as the big lump cupped his ears.

Charlton missed a huge chance to go back ahead 13 minutes from the end when Dobson played sub Alfie May through on goal, but the division's top scorer saw his shot come back off the far post.

In the final seconds of the game Mannion again came out on top, denying May at his near post.

Grim financial picture at Charlton

A grim financial picture at Charlton is revealed by the club's latest accounts as analysed by football finance guru Kieran Maguire.   I will review them myself given a few days.

Charlton have now submitted their 22/23 accounts.  Revenue at £9.8m no change.   Wages £10.3m up 8%.    Operating loss for year was £9.9m up 2%.  Player purchases £113k.   Player sales £565k. Club was sold after end of season

Charlton are losing about £190k a week as no money left after paying wages for the day to day costs of the club.

Charlton total losses from all the seasons it has been in existence now exceed £57 million. No cash at end of 22/23 in the bank.  Charlton borrowed £8.5m in 22/23 to provide working capital to pay the bills.

Over half of Charlton’s income comes from ticket sales. Payoffs (to manager?) were £148k in the year.

Charlton paying £678k rent in 22/23 (to Roland). Wage bill down but still £105 for every £100 of income.

Charlton squad by end of season cost £2.4m. Player write downs were over £100k.

Loans from owner in year took total Charlton borrowings to nearly £28m.  Charlton could still have to pay money to Roland’ DuShatalay’ if promoted to Premier League.

Old owner of Charlton controlled club via a company in that bastion of transparency, the Cayman Islands.

Charlton upper mid table for agents' fees

According to the Football Association, Charlton paid out £229k in agents' fees over the past twelve months, putting them upper mid table in League One.

Derby topped the table with £434k, but Fleetwood managed £386k.  Whether their owner played any part from his prison cell is unknown.

Cheltenham and Carlisle spent the least at £63k.

Charlton are gowned up for Varsity visit

The main moaner narrative now is that there is nothing left to play for.  But as Curbs has pointed out, the more we have a good finish to the season, the easier it will be to recruit the players we want to recruit to challenge for promotion.

Nathan Jones is certainly taking tomorrow's trip to Cambridge tomorrow seriously.  

Jones told the SLP''s Richard Cawley that he will continue to field his strongest starting line-up: Jones: "If George Dobson is in my best 11 - regardless of whether he is coming out of contract or not - that is fine. "I've been critical before, or in my mind, of teams who are mid-table and want to experiment. Trying to do things differently causes problems when a team is trying to stay in the Football League."

 "For example when I was at Luton there was a team in the Championship which wanted to experiment but we were still trying to stay in there. That won't be Charlton Athletic. We will be trying to be the best version of us - with integrity, with credibility and try to pick our best 11 to win every game. That's what we do."

Not only are Charlton certain to get the League One draw specialists trophy, they also in line for the trophy for the whole EFL.   I have not had a good season with predictions in the Badger League, but 2-2 tomorrow may not be far off the likely result.

I haven't analysed all the draws, but I think that defensive shortcomings account for lot of them not being wins.  Also, most games now go on for over 100+ minutes, indeed Charlton's games are very often the last to finish.   Fitness may be a factor.

Cambridge have a far better home than away record and are fighting for League One survival.  However, they are five points clear of Burton Albion and Port Fail.   I think that Fleetwood and Cheltenham are destined for the drop and the final position will go either to the Brewers or the Valiants.

Charlton not for sale to former Leeds owner

Charlton owners Global Football Partner state that they are absolutely committed to their running of the football club.There have been reports in Italian media that former Leeds owner Massimo Cellino has been weighing up a move if he sells Brescia.

Charlie Methven, on behalf of GFP , told the South London Press: "Charlton Athletic is a fantastic club and will always attract interest from players, managers and even people who ultimately might want to own the club.”

 "Our ownership group, Global Football Partners, are intensely proud and happy to be the owners of the club and any thoughts of selling it couldn't be any further from our minds. As such, we note the speculation with a wry smile and - whilst being respectful of any interest which is either lodged with us, or speculated about - we are simply 100 per cent happy and proud to be the custodians of Charlton Athletic for the medium to long term."

Brentford show where a better run Charlton could be

In today's Financial Times football (and many other things) guru Simon Kuper reviews Alex Duff's book Smart Money: the Rise and Fall of Brentford FC published by Constable at £22.

Here are some excepts from his review:

'One day in 2005, when little Brentford Football Club were threatened with administration, a man named Matthew Benham phoned the club offices asking how he could help. He ended up making an anonymous loan. Benham, an unflamboyant professional gambler who grew up supporting Brentford, went on to use statistical insights to lift the west London club up the divisions to the Premier League.

Founded in 1889, Brentford were for almost all their history a suburban neighbourhood club. They drew their support from the white working-class streets around Griffin Park, their ground until 2020, which had a pub on each corner. They had a brief heyday in the then first division either side of the second world war, marked by an ill-judged tour of Nazi Germany in 1937. After relegation in 1947, they went through a 70-year lean patch. In the 1960s they nearly merged with Queens Park Rangers.

To this day, Brentford lease a training ground from the 700-year-old Mercers’ Company, which channels the proceeds — in a very British story — to the expensive private school St Paul’s. The club’s seemingly permanent lack of potential was nicely summed up in a chant by QPR fans in 2018: “You’re just a bus stop in Hounslow.”

But by then, Benham was already working his quiet magic. Benham was raised near Eton school, where his parents were teachers. He began watching Brentford because it was the nearest professional football club, only 17 miles away. He studied physics at Oxford, then “became a star derivatives trader” in the City, before going into sports gambling. 

There was money to be made here, because bookmakers were miscalculating the odds of football matches. Quants (data analysts) had developed more sophisticated methods to assess the true form of clubs. They looked beyond results, which were skewed by chance — a ball that rolled in off the post, or didn’t.

Once his loan to Brentford morphed into a full-blown takeover of the club, he set his quant employees a new task: as well as predicting the results of matches, they would try to win them, for Brentford. They identified undervalued players, and developed new tactics.

One of many inefficiencies they spotted in football was a neglect of the set pieces — principally corners and free-kicks — that produce about 30 per cent of all goals. Many clubs barely practised them. To Benham, this was as if a student didn’t bother preparing 30 per cent of an exam, so Brentford hired an Italian set-piece coach. Through superior intelligence, they routinely beat richer opponents. 

[Of course, other clubs have now woken up to this and Liverpool are using AI to analyse and advise on corners as I discussed recently].

They also managed to make a profit from transfers while getting promoted to the Premier League. Today Benham, whose wealth is estimated at $300mn, is the Premier League’s second-poorest owner, yet his club are likely to survive again this season.'

Another Charlton starlet in the top flight

My partner laughs when we are watching a Premier League game, which she thinks is the only place football is played (apart from La Liga) and I say, 'former Charlton player'.

When Alfie Doughty was 18 he was sent on loan from the Addicksto Kingstonian in the Isthmian League. He spent around 10 weeks playing in the seventh tier of English football before returning to his boyhood club.

Five and a half years on, and Doughty has played in the fifth tier in the National League with Bromley, experienced relegation from the Championship with Charlton and struggled to get into the team at Stoke City.

Now he is 24 and has not only helped Luton Town get promoted to the Premier League but has become one of their standout players in England’s top flight.

Doughty spent 15 years at Charlton’s academy, coming through with Liverpool defender Joe Gomez and Aston Villa centre-back Ezri Konsa. His aim has always been to play in the top division and he is doing it with aplomb.

His versatility and trustworthiness have meant he has been relied on both sides of the pitch at wing-back, and heading into their match with Burnley, no Luton player had created more chances than Doughty.  A high number of those chances have arrived from set pieces, with Doughty in charge of free kicks and corners. Only West Ham United midfielder James Ward-Prowse has created more chances from set pieces in the Premier League than the Luton player this season.

Doughty’s drive and deliveries are among the top reasons Luton remain in a fight to stay in the Premier League. As for Doughty, this level looks more and more like one he belongs at.

Unbeaten run continues

Charlton are 17th in League One after a 1-1 draw at Fleetwood Town, ten points clear of relegation zone leaders Cheltenham, although they have two games in hand.

Alfie May's 25th goal of the season was not enough for Charlton as Fleetwood hit back late to earn a 1-1 draw .

May scored from the penalty spot but substitute Ryan Graydon rescued a point for the hosts with six minutes left, rounding keeper Harry Isted before tucking home from a tight angle.

The Cod Army started strongly with Xavier Simons denied by a super save from Isted. Former Addick Jayden Stockley also headed inches wide, still with less than 10 minutes played.

The hosts continued to press, Brendan Wiredu and Gavin Kilkenny also going close.

The Addicks' first decent chance came after 36 minutes when Macaulay Gillesphey drilled narrowly over the top.

The visitors went ahead in first-half added time when May tucked home a penalty after he had been felled by charm merchant Shaun Rooney.

Fleetwood went close soon after the restart when Bosun Lawal saw a well-struck shot saved by Isted. Wiredu also headed wide from Phoenix Patterson's cross.

At the other end Thierry Small's effort was saved by Jay Lynch, before Graydon went on to salvage a point for the hosts with time running out.

Top role for former Charlton manager?

 

Alan Pardew, 62, is among those standing in the election to succeed Howard Wilkinson as the chairman of the League Managers Association (LMA).

Now 80, Wilkinson is standing down at the end of the season after 34 years leading the organisation he helped to establish. Eight people, including both male and female candidates, have been nominated for the position and the LMA’s 680 members will send ballot papers next week and have four weeks to vote.

Pardew’s pitch includes that he has played and managed at every level, and that he wants to promote more inclusion of ethnic minority coaches.

No doubt he will not mention that he screwed up big time at Charlton.

How can Palace match Haaland?

John Textor called for the Premier League spending rules to be relaxed — or ditched altogether — so that rich owners can pump their own money into clubs and cut the gap with the top teams.  He was speaking at the Financial Times Business and Sport summit.  He also wants a World Super League.  The facilities at Selhurst Park may be a surprise to participants.

Textor’s Eagle Football Group owns Olympique Lyonnais, RWD Molenbeek, Botafogo and is the largest shareholder in Crystal Palace. Textor said spending limits stopped ambitious clubs from upgrading their squads in the transfer market and amounted to “anti-competitive behaviour”. He cited the example of Nottingham Forest’s billionaire owner Evangelos Marinakis. Forest were charged by the Premier League earlier this year for breaching spending rules.

“Has this really been a problem, that everyone is going bankrupt? The sustainability issue is a fraudulent issue. Somebody shows up and tells Marinakis, an incredible guy in terms of resources and assets . . . and says we know you have [the money], but we’re worried about you Mr Marinakis. Don’t spend it.”

He went on to say that linking spending to revenue would merely make the Premier League less and less competitive and people would lose interest.

“I’ve got to somehow find a way to put Crystal Palace against Erling Haaland [of Manchester City]”, he said. “If you get an injury you don’t get to pull a £15mn player off the bench you’ve got to take somebody from your academy because you can’t afford to have that player on your bench. That’s not sport. Is anyone really having fun with this?”

He added: “Don’t tell me if Leicester City can do it, anybody can do it. It’s broken.”

Let's hit the Curbs myth on the head once and for all

The myth that Alan Curbishley was pushed out by impatient fans at Charlton is one of the most persistent in football and it needs debunking: https://talksport.com/football/1759338/debunking-myths-charlton-alan-curbishley-sacked/ 

The board did not handle his departure well, and particularly his replacement by Dowie, but that is another matter altogether. 

'Jones must act fast to save Charlton'

 A young fan complained the other week that supporting Charlton involved endless suffering.   It was ever thus.  Indeed, a sports historian once told me that suffering was what football was all about.   Just read the reference in Alan Sillitoe's novels and short stories to Notts County.

I have had three periods of joy with Charlton.   The first was in the 1950s with Jimmy Seed as manager.  The second was the return to The Valley, the build up to the Premier League, the Greatest Game and Curbs as manager in the top flight.   Finally, I would add Chris Powell getting us out of League One as champions.

70 years of suffering does give you some perspective.   I don't want us to play in the fourth division for the first time, but if we have to, we will.   I still think the chances of relegation are 50/50.   There are 15 matches to go, we are not actually in a relegation position, we have a better goal difference than teams around us and we often play better in tough matches.  Having said that, as The Times put it in their headline yesterday, 'Jones must act fast to save Charlton.'

This goes beyond changing the formation.   If the players are not good enough or motivated enough, no formation will work even 1-9-1 as used by San Marino.

I know that Charlton fans like the worst case scenario so here is what a friend who went to Reading:' it is impossible to find the words to indicate realistically how awful we were against Reading.  I genuinely believe an average pub team would have beat us, we were that clueless, no movement, no skill and no ideas.  We genuinely cannot get any worse, NJ looks like he has an impossible task. I am afraid Div 2 is looking nailed on after last Saturday.'

It will be ironic if I get well enough to return to The Valley only to see us relegated.

Peter Varney has said we need to start looking at recruitment strategy now, but that is difficult when it is not certain which division we will be playing in.   Relegation would mean selling Alfie May.

I think that the club's problems are deeply rooted and structural and go beyond the failings of any one individual.   I argued this in a series of posts earlier in the season and I will consolidate them as one essay on Charlton Retro.  

What happens tonight will be crucial.

Turning the oil tanker round

It's difficult to judge the way in which Charlton fans have reacted to the appointment of Nathan Jones from comments on social media.  The loudest are not necessarily representative and even if one did a poll, it would not be based on a proper sampling frame.

Nevertheless, there seems to be more scepticism and grudging acceptance than I expected.   The fan consensus was that Appleton had to go.   At the end of the day, results matter.

Nathan Jones was well regarded by Luton fans, as the Chicago Addick has shown.  Peter Varney, who knew him, has paid him a warm tribute.   He states: 'I have worked with Nathan Jones and pleased to see he is referenced as the manager. He has a tremendous work ethic and fans should get ready for a ball of energy on the touchline. A very positive move and he will need time to impose his standards with the players he wants.'

Then we have Charlton fans grumbling because he is not a Londoner.   It doesn't matter where he comes from, it's whether he can energise the squad and getting them scoring goals and avoiding defensive howlers.   It's a big challenge.

It's a tough and vital test at Reading on Saturday, but turning the oil tanker round may not happen that quickly.   What is important is that fans, not least the devoted away fans, give him and the team unstinting support.

Ramsgate fan speaks out

There has been a long and surprising silence on the part of VOTV former editor Rick Everitt, but at last he has broken cover with an penetrating and in depth analysis of tonight's opportunity to ask questions of the three Charlton directors: https://www.votvonline.com/home/the-2023-24-blogs/9-1-24-questions-to-be-asked-about-charlton-s-future/

Whilst I recognise that the Rickster is not everyone's cup of tea, few people have as much understanding of the history of Charlton.  He asks some important questions about the plight of the club and asks fans not to be distracted by second order questions such as the price of food and drink or even new signings.

You need to read the article for yourself but here are some key points:

'The lack of any clarity about who is steering the ship and how they intend to get it to its destination, whether that is the Championship or above. Nobody in their right mind could imagine that the club can ever be financially sustainable in League One.

Now we can probably agree that competence has been in very short supply at The Valley for many years, but the idea the club can limit its operating losses in this way short of a revolution in wider football funding is pure fantasy.

One of the key drivers in Charlton’s extraordinary rise in the 1990s and 2000s was the connection between the fans and the club, up to and including the board. This was possible because supporters knew the club was open, honest and engaged with them.  That has not been true for at least a decade.'