The 2023-24 Run-In: How will Charlton fare towards the end of the season?
The Valley, Charlton. Nov 2023 (Author)
It is quite obvious that the 2023-24 season is not going to plan in SE7. Manager Dean Holden was sacked in the first month of the season and, for more than a month, many fans inflicted heavy calls on the board to sack manager Michael Appleton — who was sacked almost immediately after the home defeat to Northampton Town on 23rd January. Additionally, the club has recently added several brilliant signings from the January transfer window. But, with the club sat 19th in League One and having only just brought in a new manager in Nathan Jones, how might it end up in May?
Firstly, anything could happen with Alfie May leading the Addicks’ attack — a man in fine form who topped the 2023 professional English football scoring charts and is also currently leading the way for League One goals in 2023-24 with 16 goals.
Furthermore, the squad has found valuable quality from the experience of Macauley Gillesphey - who arrived from Plymouth Argyle - to the talent of West Ham’s Conor Coventry — an excellent permanent signing for £1m. In amongst that is: Swindon Town keeper Lewis Ward, 25-year-old centre back Rarmani Edmonds-Green from Huddersfield and the loan signings of Man City’s Lewis Fiorini, Tyreeq Bakinson and Ipswich Town’s Freddie Ladapo — all three deals which excite many Charlton fans right now. Towards the end of the window, the club were able to permanently sign young Southampton left wing-back Thierry Small until the end of the season and ex-Southampton right back Kayne Ramsay from Harrogate Town.
On the other hand, the January transfer window has seen a few exits. A £300,000 loan for Corey Blackett-Taylor to go to Derby County, which will become permanent in the summer as a result of the club’s infamous current financial situation, has seen a divide in the opinions of the fanbase. The rapid Birmingham-born Aston Villa academy graduate departs after 3 years of impressive work on the Charlton left wing and as a left wing-back too. His trickery and blistering pace was a common spark of attack in the team and many fans have expressed that the middle of the season is not ideal timing for him to go — especially if you look at the league table.
The winter window also saw opportunities for loan deals — with Scott Fraser heading back to Scotland (albeit 60 miles from home in Dundee) to join Hearts until the end of the season and the likes of Aaron Henry, Tolu Ladapo and Seydil Toure getting some experience in the top 3 steps of the Non-League system with Wealdstone, Hungerford Town and Oxford City respectively. Conor McGrandles finds himself back at Lincoln City, joining the team placed 7 spots above Charlton in League One until the end of the season.
On February 4th, Charlton Athletic appointed Welshman Nathan Jones as manager. The 50-year-old most recently managed Southampton, having previously saved Luton Town from relegation to League One from 23rd place with 6 matches remaining. He managed to stabilise that Luton Town side and even get them as high as 6th place two seasons later in the Championship, before leaving for Premier League Southampton in November 2022 with Luton sat 10th (from which Rob Edwards took them to the Premier League that season with ex-Charlton centre back Tom Lockyer as captain).
Charlton fans would like the minimum expectation of Championship football but it seems so difficult right now. However, there is hope that Nathan Jones could be the man to transform this very capable squad into a side that will fight for next season’s promotion. He has, unlike recent managers, been appointed as a ‘manager’ and not just a ‘head coach’ — and he revealed in an interview that it is the commitment of the owners and the prospect of a project to bring Charlton to a steady Championship football-playing side that they were in the 90s and for a few years about a decade ago. From there, the progress towards the top flight can be thought about.
The ex-Charlton youth development coach said that, because of his stint here before, he knows a few people and a bit about the club. He also admitted that now is the time to ‘lay foundations’, going back to basics like Manchester United have done in order to move up and away from the relegation zone in the League One table, in order for this squad to ‘act as a real platform now and a springboard moving forward’. This suggests that, similarly to his Luton Town side that were placed 23rd in the Championship in 2020, Charlton can stay safe this season and progress towards the middle of the table and start playing good football — before moving to compete for promotion in the next few seasons.
Nathan Jones’ first training session (Charlton Athletic)
I think that it is safe to say that Nathan Jones has the right approach to stabilising the weekly 80+ minute capitulations on the pitch. The recent record is unbelievably poor from Charlton but he has the mindset that the team needs to focus on doing the basics well first, before doing anything that puts the team at risk of relegation.
Following the aforementioned example of Manchester United, the Red Devils were torn apart by Bournemouth, defended through 90 minutes against Liverpool, then beaten by West Ham in their last few outings before Christmas. Of course, the only point they picked up in those three games was against Liverpool, where their commitment to defending paid off with that one point. On Boxing Day, they found themselves 2-0 down to Aston Villa at half time but battled out a 3-2 victory in the second half after reverting to the simple tactics, skills and passages of play that these professionals have mastered. They went on to lose one before going 5 unbeaten in all competitions, something they had not achieved since an 11 game unbeaten run ended in February 2023 — despite a few streaks of 4 games without loss in that period.
Sometimes, it is just best to take it down a notch. Focus on doing the basics right, drill it into the players and then build from there. This is exactly what Nathan Jones wants and, as a result, I can see Charlton staying well safe of the league’s drop zone. Despite 14 games without a win, Jones still believes that the squad that he has taken over is of good quality and consists of talent, and he hopes to bring it together, get it playing the good football that it is capable of and then take it to the next level. The positive news for all Addicks is that this also means that this squad and the club can start moving forwards with the project that Jones has committed to.