A summer mist rolls in from the Thames

Because my stepdaughter was visiting I was unable to watch Saturday's game against Reading which is probably just as well.  The 0-3 scoreline against the League One side (admittedly on a roll) reflected an evidently dire performance, not least in midfield.

The closed doors recipe was rather stringent and even included the media so Richard Cawley was unable to file an informed report.

Now it appears that the Carabao Cup at Cheltenham is to be used to fine tune the side as they prepare for the opening Ram raid.   This strikes me as a hostage to fortune particularly if GCHQ staff turn up to try out some disruptive equipment.

Shell shocked supremo Nathan Jones admitted “There are masses of disappointment (after the Reading game) because this has been a really disjointed pre-season, in terms of getting everyone up to speed. Today should effectively have been our final pre-season [match] but next week will be, even though it is a cup game.

“We are having to look after so many people and make so many changes.

“We have to make sure we arrive at the Derby game and everyone is ready to go - that we can pick our strongest 11 and have game-changers from the bench. Then we build into it from there."

I know than I resorting to the kind of football cliché I dislike but I am not sure that Jones knows who his best 11 are or indeed who will be available against Derby.

Two narratives are emerging.  One is that this just confirms that Jones is a useless manager whose achievements are limited to getting us promoted and keeping us in the Championship on a limited playing budget.

The alternative is that the owners are starving Jones of necessary funds.   Given the money the club loses every week and the failure to attract new investors, the lack of cash is no surprise.

All things Welsh

Watching the Wales match last night I recalled that Addicks legend Johnnie Robinson was once player of the year for Wales.  He was born in Zimbabwe but had a Welsh grandmother.

Now we have a Welsh manager routinely referred to as 'the Welshman' by Richard Cawley, but referred to by some fans as the 'Welsh Onanist' or the 'Welsh ****.'

My own links with Wales have been reinforced recently when one of my granddaughters discovered her inner Welsh woman and moved to Swansea (Abertawe), although she does not speak a word of Cymraeg.

It's a difficult language to learn as an adult, you need to be immersed in as a child like my great niece. It can sound very melodious.   Some years back Bill Hague and his wife invited me to a summer garden party at their lovely home near Welshpool and they had a choir of local school children singing in Welsh and Ffion gave thanks in her fluent Welsh which sounded just right.

I am ambivalent about Wales.   I like Rob Brydon, but he is a classic example of a vertically challenged Welsh chancer.   When he was a radio disc jockey in Cardiff he pretended to be his own agent so he could boost his fee for personal appearances.

There is also the 'Taffia' issue.  Such a close knit society, especially in South Wales, can suffer outbreaks of corruption.

My granddaughter has just had accepted a bid on a three bedroom property near Swansea which needs a bit of TLC but the asking price is not far into six figures (and she gets the conveyancing free as she works for a firm of solicitors).   Her cousin who is looking for a property in or around Oxford and looks like having to pay £350k for a two bedder.

Mind you, they have both been eclipsed by another granddaughter who took out a mortgage at 19 and now owns a three bedroom apartment outright.

The reaction to Jones because he comes from another nationality in the UK is a bit concerning as I think if we are going to progress as a club we will need a good foreign manager (not Karel Fraeye)

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.

Yet again one is enough

It was a difficult day for pessimists as Charlton moved nine points clear of the relegation zone with a 1-0 victory over Birmingham City at The Valley this afternoon.   Louis Mendez points out that on 44 points Charlton are on the average to stay in the Championship over the last 12 years.

Charlie Kelman's winner was enough to give Charlton their victory and an important three points in their bid to move further clear of the relegation zone in the Championship.  The forward's fifth goal of the campaign came moments after coming off the bench, and settled a game of few clear-cut chances.

Prior to the winner, Tyrese Campbell had the best opening for the Addicks, denied only by a spectacular last-ditch block from Christoph Klarer to prevent the hosts taking the lead.  It is the first time Blues boss Chris Davies has lost three consecutive league games since taking charge at St Andrew's.

Only one of the previous 14 games between these two had produced more than two goals, so it came as no surprise that this was another tight encounter of few opportunities.  There was little to speak of in the opening exchanges before the hosts had numerous sights of goal in quick succession midway through the first half.

Strong work from Greg Docherty in midfield teed up Lyndon Dykes, but the striker's effort from 30 yards was off target.  Moments later, Harry Clarke found Kai Wagner in the way of his goalbound effort, and from the resulting corner Blues keeper Ryan Allsopp did enough to divert the ball away from Connor Coventry.

It was the same story after the break, and Blues' backline was called into action again when Campbell found himself clean through on goal, and it took a perfectly-timed challenge from Klarer to keep the score goalless.

The breakthrough came with just under 20 minutes remaining from Kelman's first touch after coming off the bench.   The striker brought down a long throw-in that had been flicked on, and fired home beyond Allsopp.

Birmingham – who had made five changes from the 3-1 defeat at home by Boro - threatened late on via a counter attack that saw Ibrahim Osman fire just wide, but ultimately slipped to a third straight league defeat.  Miles Leaburn almost added some gloss to the scoreline for Charlton in injury time but could not direct his effort on target.

Supremo Nathan Jones took the opportunity to make a few subtle digs at his many critics: "Every win is massive in this league and this stage of the season. I felt it was thoroughly deserved.

"Others had won or picked up points, so we knew we had to do that as well. It's all about us getting to a points total we're comfortable with and building from there.

"I don't think we're close [to safety]. You won't feel that way until it is mathematical. That wasn't our goal after the first 15 games. We didn't expect to be in this position.

"We picked up injuries at the wrong time but now we're coming through that. The performance levels have been good lately, we haven't lost many. Could we have won a few more? Yeah. Have we let ourselves down with one or two performances? Yeah. But we are fighting and competing at this level, it's only our first year back."

Apologies for late coverage but I was helping my youngest to clear out the house that the family has lived in for nearly 50 years.

I left early to catch what I could of the match, leaving her alone.  In a 150 year house we have had some issues with ghosts over the years and unfortunately her activities in the attic led to her being chased out of the house!

Saints alive

Mercurial manager Nathan Jones faces his nemesis at Southampton tomorrow for the first time since his departure from the club.   Visits to the south coast have not worked out well for the Addicks this season and the pasting at home by the Saints was a humiliation.

A son-in-law who is a Saints season ticket holder remarked that 'the Nathan Jones effect didn't last long' but given that Charlton's budget is either the lowest in the league or the third lowest, depending on your source, anything above the relegation positions is a plus.

Jones told Richard Cawley about Sr. Mary's: “I’m looking forward to going back there. It’s a wonderful stadium. One thing is that I should take the pressure off the players - because I think all the comments and things will be on me. So my players should be free to play. Absolutely (he prefers that scenario). I’m not sure I’m taking my daughter to the game, but that is probably the only thing.”

Charlton produced a disastrous first-half showing in the reverse fixture against Southampton.They trailed 5-1 at the interval and conceded four goals in the space of eight minutes.

The Addicks now get the chance to make amends but face opposition that are one of the division’s form teams and still firmly in the mix to reach the play-offs.

Jones, talking about the heavy reverse at The Valley, said: “It hurt. It hurt us as a football club. It was on Sky. To lose in that manner hurt us as a team. It hurt me, individually, for every reason. I don’t need to explain those."

Jones admits supporter row

Talking to Richard Cawley, shell shocked supremo Nathan Jones was asked about the mention after the match of Jones exchanging words with a supporter in the Covered End before he left the pitch.

“Nothing, just a disagreement,” said the Welshman. “Just a fan who wants to vent. He pays his money, so he can do exactly what he wants. I disagree with what he said but that’s fine. It wasn’t anything structural, it was personal."

I'm not quite sure what 'structural' means in this context.   The mercurial manager would be best advised not to exchange views with fans after a home defeat.

There have been some unconfirmed social media reports of tensions between fans after the match, e.g., aggression towards fans wanting to applaud the team.

It's possible to take a sense of entitlement too far and a sense of perspective is needed.  With the third lowest budget in a highly competitive league (see the article in today's Times) anything above third from bottom is a satisfactory outcome.

I am still waiting for the 'Jones out now crowd' to come up with the name of a better available manager other than retreads Bowyer and Powell who know a poisoned chalice when they see one.   We don't have a pile of spare cash to compensate Jones.

To the Londoners 1-0

Tyreece Campbell came off the bench to grab an 81st-minute winner for Charlton Athletic as the Addicks edged out Stoke at The Valley to pull away from the Championship relegation zone.

Campbell's winner moved Nathan Jones' side seven points clear of danger as Stoke's winless run was extended to six games.

The visitors had their chances but it was Campbell's cool finish after Ashley Phillips was left flat-footed by Lyndon Dykes' flick-on which settled the contest.

It was a sweet victory for Nathan Jones who had ten months in charge at Stoke in 2019, and he milked the moment with his energetic celebrations leading to an on-field confrontation with Potters coach Ryan Shawcross.

Charlton made the early running, almost taking the lead in the sixth minute when defender Harry Clarke hit the crossbar with a powerful header from a corner.

Stoke defender Phillips was then forced to clear desperately with his head from Dykes' lob and Lloyd Jones missed another good chance.

However Stoke came into the game more as the half wore on with the dangerous Jesurun Rak-Sakyi striking the bar against his former club after being put in by Lamine Cisse.

Charlton were also fortunate not to concede a penalty in the 29th minute when Sorba Thomas' cross from the left struck the arm of Liverpool loanee Luke Chambers but referee Anthony Backhouse remained unmoved.

Thomas was a constant thorn in Charlton's side down the left but Stoke's frontline failed to get on the end of a series of inviting crosses, much to the frustration of the Wales international.

Instead it was the home side who grasped the moment with a route-one winner.  Campbell, on for Matty Godden who was withdrawn after an hour, raced through to score after Dykes had nodded on Thomas Kaminski's goal kick to score the decisive goal.

Charlton remain 18th on goal difference behind Sheffield United and Norwich also on 39 points.

Avatar Desmond from Deal commented: 'I was hoping that Jones would be the second manager in London to get his P45 today, but once again he has got lucky.'

Nathan Jones said: "I thought we deserved it. I had a feeling about TC (Tyreece Campbell) tonight after last Friday night's game where I didn't feel he was at it. I gave him a little bit of a chat and I just had a feeling about him tonight.

"If he realises how good he is and gets his mental side of everything right, then the kid can go all the way.

"He moves like a Premier League player. How he controls things, how he shifts, how he runs - he has all the physical attributes to be that. It's just up to us to bring that together."

Two years of 'the Welshman'

Nathan Jones has completed two years as Charlton manager and has talked to Richard Cawley.

Asked if there was one part of the job that had given him most satisfaction during his Addicks reign, he replied: “There isn’t one particular aspect. When you come in as a manager and not as a head coach, what we wanted to do was drive the club forward. Not one man can do that - maybe they needed a catalyst and maybe I was the catalyst for that.

“We’ve got a lot of good people. We’ve got owners that are sane and make sane decisions - not kneejerk and back you to a relative level that we’re all comfortable with.”

There is more on Cawley’s Substack page.   For some fans the fact that Jones is still in the job will be a matter for regret, others think it is the sensible decision in the circumstances.

What intrigues me is that Cawley always refers to Jones as ‘the Welshman’.   My nephew’s partner always refers to him as ‘the Welshman’, ‘when I met the Welshman’ etc.

Of course when Curbs was manager some fans were suspicious of the fact that he came from ‘north of the river’.  In fact when my father was born in Lord Street, North Woolwich in 1908 it was part of Kent and the borough of Woolwich.

Are Welshmen that exotic?   One of my granddaughters recently applied for a backroom job with Swansea City, having never previously experienced any interest in sport of any kind.   In fact she had discovered her inner Welsh woman and soon landed a position as financial controller with an Abertawe firm of solicitors.

This was all in spite of her not speaking a word of Cymraeg.   It is a difficult language and one you have to learn while you are young.  My soon to be three great-grand daughter is taught in Valencios (Catalan) in school; speaks passable Dutch acquired from the local expat community, but reverts to English with a Spanish sentence structure at home.

Meanwhile my granddaughter is bidding on a modernised detached double fronted cottage with garden at £170k while her cousin is faced with paying £360k for a shoebox in Oxfordshire.  Actually their Spanish-based cousin has outpaced them as she got her first mortgage in England at 19 and has bought a three bedroom apartment for 125,000 euros.

But to return to my main theme, how useful is a knowledge of Welsh?   A couple of years back I did some consultancy for a client in Swansea.  They were happy with what I did and wanted me to do more, but no money was forthcoming.   I then had the idea of getting one of my nephews whose first language is Welsh to write an email and I got paid in 24 hours.

I have been summoned to give evidence to Senedd committees on a couple of occasions and the first time there was a great deal of tut tutting when it was discovered that I didn’t speak Welsh and an urgent call was put out for a translator.   In fact on both occasions all the questions I was asked were in English, but my fellow witness, a rural solicitor, insisted on speaking Welsh.

To revert to our manager, his mercurial qualities are a marked contrast with the cooler style of Cutbs.   Some fans like the manager to be passionate; others prefer a more analytical approach. How much it has to do with nationality is a moot point.

Moaners confounded as Leicester are outfoxed

Andy King made a losing start as Leicester City interim boss after Charlton capitalised on Caleb Okoli's red card to ease their Championship relegation fears.    It was a difficult afternoon for the club’s many moaners,

Okoli was dismissed after just 15 minutes for pulling back Miles Leaburn, and Charlton took full advantage through Sonny Carey and Lyndon Dykes goals to climb further away from the drop zone.

The 2-0 defeat added to the sense of misery at Leicester after Marti Cifuentes was sacked on Sunday following their shock home loss to Oxford.

Jordan Ayew hit the post from a second-half penalty to compound the Foxes' woes when they threatened a comeback.

Conor Coady, written off as useless by  armchair managers, impressed on his Charlton debut as a holding midfielder against his former side following his loan move from Wrexham, and Nathan Jones will be delighted with his side's response after he accused them of treating last weekend's defaat by Millwall "as a day in the sun".

The game's decisive moment came when Okoli was rightly shown a straight red card for pulling back Leaburn when the Foxes defender was the last man.

And after Harry Clarke had a header controversially disallowed for a foul by Leaburn, Charlton's top scorer Carey gave them the lead in the 36th minute with his seventh goal of the season.

Clarke swung in a cross from the right and Carey lifted the ball over Ricardo Pereira with his first touch before volleying home left-footed with his second.

Leicester were a mess, and in the fourth minute of first-half stoppage time, 'last ditch' Dykes steered home Luke Chambers' cross right-footed to register his first Addicks goal since joining from Birmingham just over two weeks ago.

Leicester rallied in the second half, but spurned a glorious chance to haul themselves back into the game on 56 minutes when Ayew hit the post from a penalty after Abdul Fatawu was pulled back by Amari'i Bell.

Thomas Kaminski saved a 20-yard drive from Pereira, and many unhappy Leicester fans left the King Power Stadium before full-time.

Avatar Desmond from Deal said: ‘I was looking forward to Charlton getting thumped and Jones getting the sack.   In my view he still hasn’t a clue, but he always manages to get lucky results when he needs them.;

Relieved supremo Nathan Jones told BBC Radio London: '“That's a massive win, the result was everything today.  Last week [losing 4-0 to Millwall] was damning, it was really hurtful to the football club. One, because of who we played, two, because of the manner of it, and three, because we care.

"I'm immersed in this football club, so it hurts me because I live and breathe this club, so I wanted to have a reaction today.

"Miles [Leaburn] was clean in and got pulled back, a definite red. That kind of changed the complexion of the game, but I'm really pleased because we wanted to be aggressive against them and put it on them."

“That's a massive win, the result was everything today.  Last week [losing 4-0 to Millwall] was damning, it was really hurtful to the football club. One, because of who we played, two, because of the manner of it, and three, because we care.

"I'm immersed in this football club, so it hurts me because I live and breathe this club, so I wanted to have a reaction today.

"Miles [Leaburn] was clean in and got pulled back, a definite red. That kind of changed the complexion of the game, but I'm really pleased because we wanted to be aggressive against them and put it on them."

Has Jones lost the dressing room?

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.

Charlton remain 18th

Charlton remain 18th in the Championship after yesterday's results.   This is not a relegation position, although to listen to some Charlton fans you would think it is.   However, the teams around us are not necesarily invincible.

The 'Jones out' crowd have not come up with a single name as a replacement other than retread Lee Bowyer and there is no reason to suppose that he is available or would want the job if he was.

Perhaps we should advertise on the following lines: 'Relegation threatened club seesk quality manager.  Squad is thin and kow quality and funds available are insufficient.   Fans are hyper critical, negative and prone to pessimism.  Club does not own stadium or training ground.'

Millwall have benefitted from consistent and sensible ownership.   We have had the barmy Belgium and two sets of 'investors' who might be described in the immediate post-war period as 'spivs'.

I still think it's 50/50 whether we are relegated but we are a League One outfit competing in Premier Division 2.

Jones sets out his stall ahead of top flight encounter

'I want The Valley rocking and for us to give a performance where they can get behind it. We want a proper cup atmosphere. We want to make it a cup tie - a proper cup tie. I don’t want it to be like a Premier League game where the inevitable happens.

There is always a realistic opportunity (of an upset) but we can’t be disrespectful of the level Chelsea play at. Chelsea are a top six Premier League side. The gulf between the Championship and Premier League is big. The gulf between the Championship and League One is big.

This time last year we were two leagues apart and world’s apart in so much. We’ve managed to slightly bridge that gap but we know it will be a meteoric task. It is 11 v 11 and at home, we’re pleased it is at home. I’m not sure the finance director is, but we are pleased.

It is one we will be bold and brave in. I don’t want us to be passive in anything that we do. Let’s look forward to it.

There are certain details we have to get uber right because they have quality, technique and world-class players that can hurt you - but that is brilliant. The nerves…these are the games you want to be involved in.

Jones was asked about whether Chelsea had a lack of emotional discipline after a fifth red card in the top-flight this season.

I’m not sure you should be asking me about the emotional side of the game,” he laughed. “It is the heat of the battle. The chance they got which led to the red, I don’t think it was an emotional decision. It’s not that Cucurella lashed out - someone got the wrong side of him.

I don’t want to comment on Chelsea’s disciplinary problems, I’ve only just come back from a ban myself. My emotional side is probably not in the dictionary.

Hopefully they come and are an emotional side but I have no idea of their emotional state in any given game.'

It will be a great atmosphere tomorrow tonight, but CAS Trust reminds us that next Saturday's game against Sheffield United is more important: https://www.castrust.org/2026/01/the-cup-tie-all-london-is-waiting-for/

Chelsea fans don't seem too happy with the way their club is being run.  

A snap survey by Chelsea Supporters’ Trust has revealed that over 90 per cent of fans do not have confidence in “the ownership group’s football-related decision-making”, while more than 80 per cent are not confident that the club is being run in a way that will deliver “sustained success over the next three to five years”.

The survey, which garnered nearly 4,000 responses in 48 hours, also found that more than 40 per cent of respondents felt the club’s current sporting structure is “not fit for purpose”, with a further 42.69 per cent believing it has “significant weaknesses”.

The most damning response was surely in relation to satisfaction with the owners’ football decisions, with 53.7 per cent of respondents having “no confidence at all” and 36.9 per cent “not very much confidence”.

Chelsea are owned by BlueCo, the Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital consortium that also owns Ligue 1 side Strasbourg. On Tuesday, the French club’s supporters also expressed displeasure at the way their club is run, calling for their club president’s exit after the “humiliating” departure of Rosenior.

That was the year that was

Another roller coaster year with Charlton!    I didn't anticipate us getting promoted yet again through the play offs, but Nathan Jones deserves credit for persistence and conviction after armchair managers demanded his dismissal following the home defeat to Crawley.

Personally I prefer Alan Curbishley's cool style of management, but then I knew Curbs well as one of his kit sponsors.  Each Christmas I would send him a case of champagne so he could celebrate after victories.

But I know some fans prefer the more passionate style of Nathan Jones.  Of course, now the armchair critics are after him again.

Many years ago Murray Mints said that the Championship had in effect became a Premier League Division 2.  That is even more the case today.  We are up against clubs receiving substantial parachute payments and others funded by people with deep pockets. Our owners have done the best they can to fund us within their means.

Fans are now turning their focus to the January transfer window, but don't expect too many quality players to want to join in a relegation battle.   It's always difficult to get value in this window.  We can't pay over the odds and all too often we end up with injury prone players.

I do not accept that we are now effectively relegated.  I think it's about 50-50,  I think that at the start of the season some teams saw us as relegation fodder so that they just had to turn up to claim three points.  Now they have worked out how to play against us, plus injuries have devastated a thin squad.

One big disappointment for me was my summer expedition to Deal, although we enjoyed the pier and some great fish meals.

I was hoping to track down Desmond from Deal, the leading spokesman of the Kent coast moaners.  The first disappointment was when we changed trains at Ramsgate and instead of being greeted by Rick Everitt in full municipal regalia there was an empty platform.

I thought I might be on the right track when Graham at the King's Head said that some older Charlton fans did come in from time to time to moan about the club and Nathan Jones in particular.  To cut a long story short, it turns out that Desmond is an avatar created by AI.

The pessimism and negativity of so many Charlton fans depresses me more than shortcomings on the pitch.  Try and keep the faith, let us at least have a Fortress Valley.

Best wishes to all Addicks for 2026 from C(h)arlton House in the Royal Spa: we have the only Travellodge visited by Queen Victoria!

Jones has a short list for Santa

Charlton Athletic manager Nathan Jones says that they are aiming to make their winter recruitment moves as quickly as possible in the January transfer window.

And the Welshman has confirmed to South London Sport: Charlton Athletic Edition that a left wing-back is a priority on their winter shopping list with Josh Edwards (ankle) and Amari’i Bell (hamstring) injured.

Charlton are missing six first-teamers with Onel Hernandez the latest to join the list that includes Matty Godden, Charlie Kelman, Reece Burke, Edwards and Bell.

“We need a left wing-back to add competition, because that is the one position we were light in anyway, but if I just get my squad back then I’ve got zero problems. It is not a big wish list for Santa - it’s literally ‘can I get my squad back?’ Then we will be in a far better place.”

The absences of Kelman and Godden have been keenly felt. Jones’ options have been reduced to Miles Leaburn or Isaac Olaofe as the main striker with Tyreece Campbell playing slightly deeper.

Quick off the mark or not, getting value in the January transfer window is more difficult than many are prepared to accept.

Black Friday acquisition 'a calculated gamble' admits supremo

Nathan Jones has told South London Sport: Charlton Athletic Edition that the club’s move for free agent Jerome Roussillon is a “calculated gamble”.  He would be allowed to play at today's game.

Roussillon, 32, has been a free agent since leaving Union Berlin in the summer.  He has also played for VfL Wolfsburg in the Bundesliga. Before that the Guadeloupe international, capped at U18 and U20 level by France, represented Sochaux and Montpellier.

Roussillon is closing in on 350 first-team matches and that includes 10 appearances in both the Champions League and Europa League.

He played for Guadeloupe in Gold Cup Group C matches against Panama and Jamaica in June.

Roussillon has been training with Charlton for a few weeks before signing. It was the same scenario with Hernandez. Both players are only on deals until the January transfer window.

“We had to have a look at him physically, in terms of things,” said Jones. “There are not many left-siders around in the free agent market, so you have to be very clever.

“He (Roussillon) is a left-back or more of an attacking full-back. He has got wonderful quality in the final third. So he will add that and he is very composed - he’s played several seasons in the Bundesliga.”

“He comes with a good pedigree. What we have to do is get him up to speed because pedigree-wise it is not a problem. He will provide good competition and he’s an excellent character.

“It’s a mini gamble but it’s a calculated one. It’s one we needed to take.”

Jones has praised head of recruitment Phil Chapple, appointed in May, for finding solutions to Charlton’s defensive deficiencies.  “I’m not sure there are not many players on the planet that Phil doesn’t know about,” said the Welshman.   Clearly he is no Chapple of Rest.

 

It's a really, really tough test admits shell shocked supremo

The Coventry Evening Telegraph looks at how Frank Lampard has transformed his career prospects and those of Coventry City: https://www.coventrytelegraph.net/sport/football/football-news/frank-lampard-coventry-city-chelsea-32961942

The Sky Blues may be a promotion juggernaut, but Charlton fans have sold out the away end at the CBS Arena.

At home the Sky Blues have won eight and drawn too, scoring 22 and conceding six.   The Sky Blues have lost just one of their last fifteen league games at home against Charlton.   The stats do not make good reading for the Addicks: https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/articles/c3w788v340xo

I do remember winning at Highfield Road, but that was in the FA Cup.  This was in January 2000 when we came back from 2-0 down to win 3-2.

Coventry fans contemplate a shock Cup defeat by Charlton

Some Charlton fans have already identified T Campbell and Leaburn as scapegoat players, but football journos have been giving them relatively high ratings.

Nathan Jones gave Richard Cawley his excuses first on the journo's Substack page: 'We started this season well, lost players and stopped doing the basics a little bit. That is why we’ve got hurt. We have to reset and start doing what we do best - then results will come.'

'Coventry have been an outstanding attacking team and Frank has done a wonderful job. They were a really established Championship side anyway - they got to the play-off final and lose narrowly on penalties to Luton. They added again in the window under Mark Robins and when Frank came in he has probably taken them considerably further than where they were at..'

“They have invested wisely and got an excellent squad. They’ve got pace, quality and score goals so, of course, it is a really, really tough test. But it is 11 v 11 and we have to make sure that we are the best versions of ourselves. If we do all the basics right then it gives you a platform to win a football game.'

'That is what we haven’t done in the last couple of games.'

CAS Trust have difficiulty in finding words to discuss the prospects for the game: https://www.castrust.org/2025/11/nothing-to-lose-at-coventry/

Jones loves his Charlton journey

Tomorrow's game against Southampton is attracting a lot of media attention and here are some extracts from a Times interview with Nathan Jones.

If you saw the way that Nathan Jones celebrated Sonny Carey’s 95th-minute winner against West Bromwich Albion this month — haring down the touchline, leaping on to the advertising hoardings and pumping his fists towards the sky like a man possessed — just think how a win for the Charlton Athletic manager against Southampton might be greeted on Saturday.

It’s three years this month since Southampton handed Jones a crack at the Premier League, an appointment that unravelled painfully quickly, ended with caustic chants inside St Mary’s and one young fan trying to hand the former Luton Town manager a giant, homemade P45, shortly before the real thing arrived.

Jones’s 95-day tenure is the eighth-shortest by a permanent manager in Premier League history, yet when he meets his previous employers for the first time in Saturday’s lunchtime kick-off he does so with a spring in his step once again, five points and eight places better off than managerless Southampton.

Since Charlton appointed Jones in February 2024, his work at the Valley has been nothing short of remarkable. Jones inherited a side who had not won for 14 games and sat three points above the League One relegation zone. After steering them to safety, last season Jones returned the club to the Championship via the play-offs.

Only Stockport County and Birmingham City have collected more points in England’s top four tiers since the start of the year. A 1-0 defeat against Wrexham before the international break was only a second loss since August. Charlton, the least fancied of the three promoted clubs, are two points outside the play-offs, above big-spending Birmingham and Wrexham. Southampton, meanwhile, are searching for a fifth manager since Jones’s departure in February 2023.

Jones has lost none of the zeal and intensity that, over two spells, dragged Luton from the depths of League Two to the brink of the Premier League and made him one of the most coveted coaches in the EFL. Charlton — like Luton, but not Stoke or Southampton — were ready to buy into the Welshman’s idiosyncratic ways after painful ownership fiascos and eight of the past nine seasons spent in the third tier.

Like him or loathe him, those frenzied touchline celebrations are box-office viewing and there is no denying that, with total buy-in, the 52-year-old will make his club a force to be reckoned with. “I’m a passionate person,” says Jones, whose side are drawing in the largest crowds seen at The Valley since relegation from the Premier League 17 years ago.

“As a player, I tried to glean everything out of my playing career. I was energetic, I was front-footed, I was super fit and my teams, I think, are a reflection of that.

“I’m animated in those 90 minutes, and I have a certain persona, a bit Batman and Bruce Wayne. Sometimes I get carried away. Sometimes I do stuff that I look back on and think, ‘Ooh, that was touch and go there,’ or, ‘That was very close to the wire.’ But they’re authentic, they’re not fabricated.

Jones, a devout Christian, has a strong relationship with Charlton’s club chaplain, Matt Baker, who leads a dozen-strong prayer group before each game at the Valley. “We’re very proud of our faith at this football club and I’m convinced that’s why we’re in a good place,” Jones says.

While his Luton team romped League Two and League One playing a diamond midfield and expansive football, and by scoring a bucketload of goals, Jones has been on something of a tactical journey. Charlton’s approach this season rather captures the zeitgeist: they average the league’s second-lowest share of possession (43 per cent), have its second-meanest defence, have won 100 more aerial duels than any other team and have scored more goals from set plays (eight) than anyone but league leaders Coventry City.

“Now I’m at a club I love. I love the journey we’re on. I love the people I work with. I love my group. And yes, there are more talented groups. There are bigger budgets. There are shinier training grounds. But this is a proper football club. And we are nowhere near our ceiling yet. That’s the exciting thing.

“I feel at home in the fact that the people here have embraced me, the fans have embraced me, and in the work and the autonomy I get to do my job.

“God willing, that takes us back to the Premier League. Not me, us. Then I’ll be in a different starting point to where I was at Southampton.”

Jones more saint than devil

Nathan Jones was viewed with contempt when he left Southampton, but the local paper admits that he has many qualities, not least finding value in under appreciated players: https://www.dailyecho.co.uk/sport/25626886.southampton-set-jones-reunion-championship-returns/

Jones admits: 'We are disappointed with points gained'

Supremo Nathan Jones responded in his press conference yesterday to fans like Desmond from Deal who have demanded more from the team in the final third.

The Welshman said: ‘We have to build from a solid foundation, like we did then. Once again we are building a solid foundation but come January, February, March and April, I have no doubt if I’m doing my job then we will be a better side than we are now - more fluent and much more potent in the final third. But that’s an evolution process.

We have come up a level and you have to remember we need to adjust to certain stuff. We are coming up against sides with huge budgets - regular Championship sides that have spent money on quality. That is what we have to get to. But, I’ve got to be honest with you, we’re sitting where we are and we are disappointed, realistically so, with our points gained. We feel we should have more.

We’ve got a squad now where we have got two in pretty much every position. If I play Amari’i Bell or Macaulay Gillesphey, is anyone going to raise their eyebrows? If I play Rob Apter or James Bree? If I play Kayne Ramsay or Reece Burke? If I play Charlie Kelman, Miles, Tanto (Isaac Olaofe) or (Matty) Godden in that position?

There are some tough decisions, sometimes, to make. Some people are a little bit unlucky. Macaulay Gillesphey, for example, can feel very unlucky and hard done by, because of what he did last season. But he will play lots of games for us.  Burkey had to be patient.’

Kayne Ramsay is back from suspension and Jones has also confirmed that Luke Berry is in full training.

The comments above reproduced from Richard Cawley's Substack platform where there is a lot more to read.

Blackburn Rovers arrive fresh from their washout against Ipswich Town which the EFL in its wisdom has ruled has to be played in full.

Nathan Jones believes Blackburn Rovers will pose a tough threat when they visit The Valley this weekend.  Valerien Ismael's side would be on the back of successive wins, and three in four games, had their Ipswich Town result stood. As it is, Rovers still carry good momentum as they search for a third away triumph in a row.

“There won't be a Championship team that comes here where it's a small game or insignificant, they're all massive," the supremo said.

"Blackburn have had a decent start with an experienced manager, narrowly missing out on the play-offs last year following a good second half to the season.   They've started quite well this time out and it’s another tough game, and one where we have to concentrate on us. We want to be the best version of ourselves at home.

"We love playing back at The Valley. The crowd is fantastic and so is the atmosphere. Matchdays are real occasions now and something we always look forward to."

Spirits are said to be high in the Blackburn camp as they prepare for their trip to the capital.

CAS Trust reckons the mood is more upbeat at Charlton than at Blacburn: https://www.castrust.org/2025/09/game-set-match-or-second-serve/

International break may help injured to recover

Under pressure manager Nathan Jones said at this afternoon's press conference about two key injured players: 

“We’ve had to manage Matty [Godden]. He played through the pain barrier last year, so we had to rectify that over the summer (he underwent surgery. It was so important that we got him to the end of last season - he was one of the best strikers in the league and he was our top goal scorer.

“He was important to us and Miles (Leaburn) was injured. We felt we needed to get him through (the games) and as a result of that he’s had a shortened pre-season. He is now back on the grass and we just have to build him up.

“What we don’t want to do is bring him back too quickly, he then pulls a hamstring and is out for another month.

“Luke Berry is exactly the same. He played through stuff last year."

“Those two are the only two now that we have as absentees. Hopefully they will be back soon. The international break gives us a two-week window, without missing games, to put a bit of work into them. They will be in a better place coming out of that.”