'We are staying up'

That was the chant of the Addickted after a 1-1 draw at Southampton this afternoon.   Charlton are currently 17th in the Championship.

Sonny Carey equalised for Charlton in the second half after the home side went ahead.   They then tried to throw the kitchen sink at Charlton, but the Addicks resisted the pressure.  Carey drilled a shot into the bottom left-hand corner of the net from the edge of the box.

10 minutes was added on to the second half, but although Southampton huffed and puffed, they were unable to take advantage of the referee's timekeeping.

“Carey had told Richard Cawley: 'I think we can use it as motivation,” Carey said when asked about coming up against opposition that inflicted heavy damage last time around. “After what happened in the home game, the gaffer said we need to bury it, forget about it, but at the back of your mind use it as fuel to go and put in a performance.

“We know that day was a very bad day and that we need to put that right at the weekend.”

Southampton went close in the opening moments when Tom Fellows floated a cross to the back post, where Scienza was in space to send a right-footed effort at goal that was cleared off the line by a diving Lloyd Jones.

Ryan Manning also went close for the hosts when he struck the crossbar with a curling effort just before the half-hour mark.

Saints came close again moments later, when a corner was flicked on by defender Amari'i Bell to James Bree at the back post and he failed to keep his header down.

They took the lead early in the second half, when Scienza crossed the ball into the box from the left and his in-swinging pass found the head of Stewart, who glanced the ball into the net.

The Addicks found an equaliser with just over 20 minutes remaining.

Greg Docherty aimed a pass across the top of the box to Carey, who took a touch before shooting low past keeper Daniel Peretz.

Flynn Downes and Conor Coady came face-to-face in the final 10 minutes, with a melee breaking out among players in the moments afterwards.

The Charlton fans wanted Southampton's Downes sent off for what they thought was a headbutt, but referee John Busby only produced a yellow card before both Downes and Coady were substituted immediately after.

Southampton pushed for a winner, pumping balls into the box to try to find a goal, but the Charlton defence held strong.   Richard Cawley reported: 'The Addicks absolutely stood up to heavy late pressure from the home team.Lloyd Jones absolutely superb - 23 defensive contributions. Got his head on so much when it really mattered. Big point and nicely sets up the trip to WBA.'

Fans praised the contribution of debutante Collins Sichenge who put his body in front of everything. Fans chanted: 'We've got a big ****ing Kenyan.'

Nathan Jones told Richard Cawley: “We let ourselves down sometimes but it is our first year at this level - look at what we’re coming up against. Structurally we were good and tactically we had to be good. I would have liked us to be a little braver and shown a bit more quality in the moments we had, right at the end we might’ve even nicked it if Miles (Leaburn) could just play (Charlie) Kelman clean in. But would we have taken a point before the game? Absolutely."

It's the silly season!

That's the verdict of journo Richard Cawley.   He has been obliged to deny rumours that Lloyd Jones is leaving the club.

AI is making things worse: 'As of late January 2026, Kenyan defender Collins Sichenje is set to join English Championship side Charlton Athletic from Serbian club FK Vojvodina for approximately €1.9 million (approx. Sh291-293 million). The 22-year-old Harambee Stars centre-back, known for his physicality and versatility, is expected to become the first Kenyan player at the London club.'

Good clickbait, but there's nothing in it. 

Injury worries grow

Lloyd Jones had to be taken off at half time yesterday as a precaution as he rolled his ankle at the weekend.   He is unlikely to be available for Saturday's derby at Millwall.

Shell shocked supremo Nathan Jones says that the Josh Edwards injury is far worse than feared, news he described as 'catastrophic'.

Harvey Knibbs has not broken anything, but he has damaged his ankle ligaments and will be out for some time.

The latest line by Jones critics is that he does not know his best team, but it is no easy task to pick a best team from a thin squad.

As for those who call for the owners to show 'ambition', I am not spending any of my money on new players and I doubt whether other supporters are.

One piece of good news is that the new football regulator is going to focus on parachute payments as his first target.   They have such a distorting effect on the Championship.

The Addicks' brick wall: the Lloyd Jones story (part 1)

Yesterday's Football League Paper had a feature on the Addicks' 'brick wall' Lloyd Jones.  Here we look at the first part of his varied football journey.

In 2011 he was plucked from Plymouth's academy by Liverpool.  He was widely regarded as one of the most promising English defenders in his age group, but never got near Jurgen Klopp's first team.  (In my view top clubs like Liverpool often sign up talent just to stop their rivals getting hold of it rather than developing the player as happens at Charlton).

There were loans in the lower leagues and then a permanent move to Luton in 2018 led to six appearances in two years. On loan at Northampton, he opted not to take part in their victorious play off campaign. A proposed move fell through and along came Covid.  

Unable to find a club he returned to the family home in Plymouth, wen on bike rides and gradually rediscovered his love of the game.  He rejoined Northampton in 2020, played every single minute thereafter and was handed the captain's armband after four months.

Manager Jon Brady said of him, 'He's mature, he's a leader, he's decisive in his decision-making.  He is everything you want in a captain and an inspirational young guy as well.'

He then played 61 games in two years at Cambridge and cleaned up on the end of season awards in 2022/23.  Charlton saw his potential and signed him on a free in the summer of 2023.

Moore and Jones to battle it out

Nathan Jones is looking forward to the battle between Lloyd Jones and Kieffer Moore tomorrow - and has revealed he ran the rule over the Wrexham striker when he first started on the coaching ladder at Charlton Athletic.

Moore, 33, has been capped 52 times by Wales and scored nine times in 16 matches in all competitions this season, including a hat-trick against Coventry City in his last appearance at Stok Cae Ras.

Charlton vice-captain Jones has won 101 aerial duels in the Championship with only Moore able to better that, moving back into pole position with 105 after Wrexham’s 0-0 draw at Portsmouth on Wednesday evening.

Te manager said: “He is in a wonderful place. Some of the performances he puts in, you won’t see better defensive ones, at times. And he is a linchpin, in terms of our defensive responsibilities. We build a defensive structure around him. It allows the people who play around him to be the best versions of themselves, knowing he is that leader.

The Red Dragons drew 2-2 with the Addicks at The Valley in October last year, although Parkinson's men won the reverse fixture on home soil in April 3-0 - a result that earned the Welsh side promotion into the Championship.

Wrexham supremo and for mer Addicks boss Phil Parkinson admits there is an "edge" between Wrexham and Charlton Athletic as a result of the battles they had in League One last season.

Nathan Jones' men went on to gain promotion via the play-offs, and ahead of the meeting between the sides at Stok Cae Ras on Saturday (15:00 GMT), Parkinson said he is relishing the prospect of another exciting encounter with Charlton.

"It's going to be a really good game," he told BBC Sport Wales.

"I think it's going to be competitive and there's an edge between both teams after our competition last year.

"They're very Wrexham supremo Phil Parkinson admits there is an "edge" between Wrexham and Charlton Athletic as a result of the battles they had in League One last season.much similar to how they played last year, a similar shape and they've made a few improvements and some shrewd signings. They've done really well.

"We know Charlton are going to be very competitive in terms of the way they play, similar to the Portsmouth game in many respects, but we're prepared for that."

CAS Trust reckon Wrexham are something of a bogy team for Charlton: https://www.castrust.org/2025/11/is-another-hollywood-ending-in-store/