JJ and Euell have shortest odds as next manager

Not surprisingly Johnnie Jackson and Jason Euell are out in front and they may well get the roles they occupy on a caretaker basis, certainly that would please many fans: https://www.bettingodds.com/thesackrace/teams/charlton-athletic

Some names are are either unlikely to join a relegation threatened League One club (Chris Wilder) or leave a club where they are enjoying success (Ryan Lowe - what is more Plymouth have £6m in the bank.  More on Plymouth's finances here: https://footballeconomyv2.blogspot.com/2021/10/argyle-have-sustainable-business-model.html)

For those who like someone with Charlton connections, Mark Bowen who played at the Greatest Game might be a long shot.   Michael Flynn would be an interesting possibility, but surprisingly ex Spanner Neil Harris is at 10-1.

Charlton's recruitment failure

Chris Dunlavy gives his verdict in this week's Football League Paper on the sacking of Nigel Adkins.

'This summer the Addicks released 16 players, all of them on July 1.   Yet it was the end of September by the time the squad was fully rebuilt.'

'Nine of Charlton's 15 signings arrived after the season had begun.   Three - Sam Lavelle, Harry Arter and Jonathan Leko - turned up on deadline day, whilst Papa Souare and Stephen Henderson, both free agents, made their entrance in September.'

'That's nine players - four of whom were in Adkins' final squad for Tuesday's 3-2 defeat to Accrington - who didn't receive any preparation for the season at all.'

'Covid-19. Two years of empty stadiums have emptied cash reserves across the EFL, and Charlton are not the only club to take transfers to the wire in the pursuit of value.'  But 'Plymouth Argyle, a club with a significantly lower budget and a geographical disadvantage, had completed eight of their ten signings by the middle of July.'

'It does suggest that Charlton's technical director, Ged Roddy, and head of recruitment Steve Gallen, are as culpable for the club's current predicament as the man who paid the price.'   Most fans would attach more blame to Roddy than Gallen, although I think that the decision-making structure was overloaded in a way that hampered decisiveness.

I do think that Dunlavey hasn't told the whole story.   For me some of Adkins's formations were both too complex and too rigid while his team selection was also open to criticism, even if it was compromised by a lack of fitness.   Players work better with a formation that is clear but fluid which is what Johnnie Jackson provided on Saturday.

Stockley out for three games?

Shell shocked Sunderland manager Lee Johnson has stated that 'Jayden Stockley won't be available for the next three games because he head butted Tom Flanagan flush in the face. That will have to go to the FA.'

'It's an absolute stonewall red card and then he's gone on to score the goal.  There's eight pairs of eyes who should be able to see that, but for whatever reason, they didn't.'

Fortunately Flanagan did not require any treatment after the vicious assault and was able to play out the game.  Not surprising as it was a shoulder nudge.

It's unusual for the referee to wear a Charlton shirt, but Johnson was unhappy with the overall performance of Drysdale.

Victory at the Stadium of Light

Sunderland lost at home for the first time this season to Johnnie Jackson's Charlton who won 1-0 with a goal claimed by Jayden Stockley.   A performance was called for and Charlton played as a team with some particularly good defensive work. 

Curbs praised Dobson in the middle of the park for doing the job that had to be done.  He said, 'Everyone has played their part.'

Steve Brown said that none of us envisaged a clean sheet at Sunderland.   The game against Doncaster was now even more crucial.  He gave Johnnie credit for getting the two up front which Sunderland didn't expect.

Curbs said there was a lot more aggression about it, we made some blocks when we had to.  Steve Brown said this was a side determined not to leak a goal.   Curbs had been quite right to highlight Dobson, he did the donkey work.   Charlton were tiring towards the end.

Dobson the hero of the day

Curbs said that Dobson made sure he was in the right place at the right time defensively, allowing Lee to go on his runs.   If we could get two home wins, we would be looking at mid-table.

Dobson said: 'The last few weeks have been tough, find yourself out of favour.   I should be keeping my shirt.  For me personally it was unbelievable.  The team gave absolutely everything for each other and there was a lot of quality as well.   We've set a standard and we've got to make sure we're at that level every game.'

'We had a change of formation with three at the back and we decided to go high press, making it five at the back at times.  Next week we can put extra layers on to what we showed today.  We can't get too carried away, it's only one game.   It's a start.'

Curbs said that Purrington was outstanding.  It's hard to pick someone who didn't do his job.  Steve Brown praised Pearce for the way he came off the bench.  He kept the back line nice and solid.

JJ said it was bit of a roller coaster, particularly the five minutes added on.  'We worked as long as we could yesterday.  I've changed the shape.  I had to keep it simple, but I stressed you have to run, you have to work.  What they gave on the pitch was what I asked.   The message got through.   I said at half time "We haven't come here to nick a point, we've come to win the game."'

'We know we've been conceding too many goals, you have to start with a clean sheet.  Against a team that scores many goals, that's brilliant.'

'You need to get that win, you need a statement win and a statement performance.  They needed this win. The mood in the changing room is fantastic.  If it's a one off, its not good enough.  They have shown me what they are capable of.   There's loads of work to be done.  I like two strikers on the pitch.  I try to keep the message simple without overloading them.  It's good we've got a clear week on the training pitch.'

Curbs said that Charlton fans were hoping for this reaction.  He'd made big decisions, made a statement. 'We all needed a lift.'

Steve Brown said the squad was top heavy and it needed to be trimmed down a bit.

Match report

Charlton started with a fluid 4-4-2 formation with three or four at the back.  Sunderland won an early corner after a MacGillivray save, but Matthews headed away.  Charlton briefly switched off defensively, but Sunderland shot wide.

Charlton won four corners in a row.  From one of them Stockley should perhaps have gone for goal after a good ball from Washington.

After another corner won by Srockley, Charlton had a spell of pressure.  Just after the half hour Lavelle went down with a groin injury and was replaced by Pearce

Leko went down after good defensive work in the penalty area to deal with attacking full back Cirkin. A shot was saved by MacGillivray.  A good counter attack led to a Charlton corner.   Dobson took one for the team with a yellow card.

HT: 0-0

Leko put in a great cross but Purrington was unable to connect.

There was a moment of danger when the ball bobbled in front of MacGillivray after a Sunderland corner.  Cirkin hit the crossbar 11 minutes into the half.  Sunderland built up the pressure.   A shot from Leko was blocked.

Sunderland manager Lee Johnson got a yellow card.  On 66 minutes Stockley, making use of a ball from Leko, scored with a header leading to a chorus of 'You're not fit to referee' from the home crowd.

Leko was doing great work as a wing back.  Sunderland made two substitutions.  A Sunderland free kick 10 yards from the area went straight into the wall.

Sunderland called for a penalty for a handball, but Pearce defended with his face.   Leko couldn't get on the end of a Washington touch.  On 79 minutes Sunderland made their third substitution.  Washington made a good run in a counter attack but Hoffman saved.

Purrington got a yellow card for time wasting.  Evans got a yellow card for a late challenge on Famewo.

With five minutes added on DJ replaced Leko and the substitute made a contribution.   Charlton stood firm, as well organised as they had been all match.

The teams around us won, Doncaster beat Cheltenham 3-2 and Shrewsbury who won 4-1 against Cambridge.   Charlton are still third from bottom.

Sandgaard: a shock to the system was needed

Thomas Sandgaard says that it was a difficult decision to get rid of Nigel Adkins as he had enjoyed working with him, but sometimes a shock to the system was necessary: https://londonnewsonline.co.uk/thomas-sandgaard-on-handing-charlton-caretaker-boss-role-to-johnnie-jackson-and-difficult-decision-to-part-company-with-nigel-adkins/

Some Charlton fans have argued that a wider shock to the system was necessary, in particular getting rid of Roddy, given a poor pattern of recruitment over the summer.  I am not saying that they are wrong, simply that I don't know enough about how decisions are made.  However, there may be a case of too many cooks spoiling the broth and it would be good to have a CEO in overall charge.

No rushed decisions will be made about a replacement and Johnnie Jackson will be given time to show what he can do which is only fair.

JJ makes his ambition clear

Johnnie Jackson has made it clear that he wants to be permanent manager at Charlton: https://londonnewsonline.co.uk/ultimate-ambition-johnnie-jackson-wants-charlton-athletic-boss-job-on-permanent-basis/

I admire his ambition and I hope he makes the grade, although I have my doubts.

He admits it will be a tough start at Sunderland on Saturday, but anything better than a 3-0 defeat would be a step forward.   The real test will be against Doncaster.

Ramsgate verdict on Adkins exit

VOTV editor Rick Everitt spells out his views on the departure of Nigel Adkins: http://www.votvonline.com/home/the-2021-22-blogs/21-10-adkins-exit-had-become-inevitable/

Like many of us, the Rickster thinks there may be something deeper that is wrong at the club than the coaching methods used by Adkins being outdated.   

It would be good to have the Ramsgate-based fan's diagnosis of what this might be, beyond the usual complaints about Roddy.  I don't have enough information to decide whether these are well founded or not.