A resurgent Norwich have sent Charlton down to 19th. Gloom and doom merchants are claiming that Jones has lost the dressing room. What does this contemporary football cliché actually mean?
I doubt that those who make this claim have actually spoken to any players, but I suppose their point is that the performance on the pitch says it all. Yet these players are paid good money to do something they presumably enjoy. It seems a bit childish to go into a collective sulk.
It also reflects the modern obsession with the manager, although in fact his scope has been reduced in modern times, particularly in bigger clubs. The fashion for sacking managers has become so widespread that the Financial Times had to write its lead editorial about it: https://footballeconomyv2.blogspot.com/2026/01/the-football-manager-as-human-sacrifice.html
BTW. the Pink Un's coverage of football is quite sparse (generally one story per issue) but is among the best there is,.
I think that the arrival of electronic football management games led many fans to think that the manager actually controls the players on the pitch.
Charlton's greatest successes have come when we have had managers in place for the long term: Seed; Lawrence; Curbishley. (I would add Chris Powell, but he was undermined by the barmy Belgian).
Even Curbs was not perfect: he tended to make substitutions too late in the game and didn't take competitions like the league cup, where we could have progressed, seriously enough.
The owners are not so daft that they are going to pay Jones a big compensation payment. If we do get relegated, I think he may well then leave by mutual consent.
Jones make mistakes: all managers do. Personally I prefer the cooler style of a Curbishley. But it is very difficult for a League One+ outfit to survive in the Championship.
BTW, the New York Times has just listed what it regards as the three longest suffering fan bases in English football: Preston North End (or Preston Never Ever); Bristol Rovers; and Darlington.
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