Charlton’s chaotic circus continues
Another League One campaign has come to an end and once again, Charlton Athletic fans have been left disappointed and frustrated by their side’s performances throughout this season.
After having one of the worst campaigns in the club’s history in 2021/22, finishing in 13th place with 21 defeats – the most the Addicks have ever had in a single season – there was a lot of ambiguity heading into 2022/23. Ben Garner was brought in to replace Johnnie Jackson in the summer, having guided Swindon Town to the playoffs in League Two the previous year. Despite not having the biggest of CV’s and on that showed a disastrous spell at this level with Bristol Rovers back in 2020, Garner is still a young and exciting manager at 41 years old and after his impressive stint at Swindon, there was some optimism about his attacking philosophy and what players he would bring in.
What ruined Charlton’s chances of competing for promotion was a lack of investment and another case of poor recruitment. Owner Thomas Sandgaard couldn’t help but come out with more false promises, claiming top two was the aim and that Garner would have the fourth biggest budget in the league to spend over the summer. In reality, the club wouldn’t spend a penny on players in the transfer window, signing six free agents, three of which from Garner’s former club Swindon and the majority coming from League Two, and two Premier League loans.
The lack of investment in the squad showed, with there being gaps in certain positions and Garner was only able to lead his side to victory twice in the opening twelve matches. Three wins in a row looked to have put the Addicks back on track, but this was followed by an eight-game winless run, seeing the club slide to 18th at the halfway point of the season.
Naturally, when you are not getting the results in football, the manager is the first person blamed and that was no different at Charlton as Garner was dismissed in early December, controversially done over the phone and on the day the club celebrated their 30th anniversary of their return to The Valley. Even now, despite there being improvements after his departure, I feel Garner’s sacking was a premature and ridiculous decision. He was sold a dream when he first joined and was promised backing from the owner. He had cried out for players in positions that the recruitment team realised we needed far too late and ultimately didn’t get the proper chance or time to build for the future, as his two-year contract suggested he would.
Dean Holden replaced him and became the fifth different manager to take over at Charlton since Sandgaard bought the club in 2020. It would be fair to say that results did pick up drastically in the second half of the season and Holden was able to lead this average League One team to a 10th place finish. Most of the supporters have taken to Holden quickly and it’s not hard to see why. He understands the fans’ frustration and says all of the right things to keep the spirits high and that goes without talking about what he’s done on the pitch. He’s been able to get the best out of a number of players in the squad, he sees the potential in the academy and has eradicated players with poor attitude.
But it is clear that a serious amount of work is needed. Finishing 10th, 15 points away from the playoffs, is unacceptable. The same mistakes from last season have been repeated – a poor defensive record, ineffective and late recruitment which leads to poor signings that struggle to make an impact and general, painful inconsistency. The latter can be shown through the club’s 6-0 thrashing of Shrewsbury Town at home in April, to a fortnight later being humiliated 6-0 by Ipswich at Portman Road.
13 players are set to leave the club this season, meaning another rebuild of the squad is required and under the current model, it points towards another mediocre season in mid-table. Sandgaard has been trying, and failing, to find a new buyer to take the reins off him for the past few months and supporters will now just be hoping for a takeover to be completed before the start of pre-season so a squad can be adequately put together and prepared.
It seems that Sandgaard is looking to get out before he loses more money by carrying the losses into next season and is looking for the highest bidder. Ultimately, while he was, and still is, clearly passionate about the club, his stubbornness got in the way and severely underestimated the task at hand. Not bringing experienced heads into the club to guide him and instead employing his son as Director of Analysis, when he has no experience in football whatsoever, has proved to be his downfall and the damage has already been done for his legacy. When he does eventually go, which fans will hope will be in the near future, one will thank him for stepping in to save the club from administration. Unlike the owners before him, Sandgaard is not a crook, but a genuinely good person who just got his judgement completely wrong and led the club backwards under the reign – it is sad to say that is how Charlton will remember him as owner.
For the manager, he will be hoping a takeover gets done ASAP. His job will be difficult enough as it is, with top scorer Jesurun Rak-Sakyi returning to Crystal Palace, taking 15 goals out of a mediocre side. Superstar Miles Leaburn will no doubt be attracting interest from other clubs and if he leaves, that’s another 12 goals out of the team. Fans will more interested in which players are released, with the retained list set to come out very shortly and who is shifted on over the summer of the contracted players that have failed the club for two seasons. If Sandgaard remains the owner going into the transfer window, it’s hard to imagine any fees being spent and any quality player joining us to strengthen a squad that badly needs it.
Only time will tell how it will pan out for the Addicks, but it certainly paints a bleak picture for the 2023/24 campaign.
