Charlton back in the Championship...

Charlton Athletic have started the new campaign with the same team spirit, togetherness and grit which saw them succeed in the 2018/19 season.

Off the pitch concerns persist, however, and Charlton fans find themselves in the tricky situation of wanting manager Lee Bowyer and striker Lyle Taylor to continue their heroics - even if success may quicken their departures from the Valley.  

Two from two

Let's kick off with a quick review of the Addicks' first two Championship games - both wins! - this season. 

The game at Blackburn was a bit edgy to start with, and from being in the stands, it was clear that we had gone up a division. Players in the Championship appear less focused on taking chunks out of your players, but instead the opposition let you win the first ball, without allowing you many options in terms of successfully creating a second ball. Against Blackburn, Charlton were patient and calculated, defending and waiting for them to make a mistake, which is what happened and ultimately led to both our goals, with Charlton taking three points back to London.

Our second game was against Stoke City, who were heading to The Valley with former Charlton U23s coach, Nathan Jones, and a side, still receiving parachute payments who are expected to challenge for the Premier League this season. Before the game Charlton hadn’t lost at The Valley since October 6th 2018, and Bowyer set the team up to go and win the game and maintain the Addicks’ fantastic home record. We set up 4-2-3-1 in the first-half to try and exploit Stoke’s narrow setup, but at half-time Bowyer and Jackson made a decision to match Stoke City’s 4-4-2 (diamond) formation which was (and still is) Bowyer’s preferred formation in the 18/19 season. 

That tactical change proved to be an excellent decision as Charlton dominated Stoke at their own game, breaking the deadlock of 1-1 at the break, for the game to finish 3-1 to the South London reds. The Addicks are currently sitting second in the Sky Bet Championship, scoring five goals and taking all six points from their first two games. 

The only other side to have a better start than Charlton are Sheffield Wednesday who have conceded one goal rather than Charlton’s two. The last time Charlton Athletic won their first two games in the second tier was in the 1999/2000 season, and the Addicks ended up winning the league with Manchester City finishing behind them in second. 

It is still early in the season, but I think most Charlton fans are beginning to think we could do better than just avoiding the relegation zone. Charlton travel to Barnsley next to try and end Daniel Stendel’s unbeaten league run at Oakwell since being appointed manager of the Tykes at the start of the 2018/19 season. Fulham travelled to Barnsley for the opening weekend and lost 1-0. Barnsley will be Charlton’s greatest challenge yet.

Bowyer and Gallen cut their cloth

Despite success on the pitch, Charlton’s ability to compete in the transfer market and invest for the future seems to remain very much the same. According to Transfermarkt, Lee Bowyer’s squad is rock bottom in terms of financial value, sitting at a modest £5.67m, with Fulham sitting at the top, with a squad estimated at £142.43m. There is a £136.7m difference between Charlton’s and Fulham’s squads from a financial perspective. Lee Bowyer has had to heavily rely on his lieutenant Steve Gallen, who is Head of Recruitment in SE7.

Together Bowyer and Gallen have been able to leverage their networks, contacts and sell their vision of Charlton despite the ownership issues to persuade players to join the Addicks. The coaching team are continuing to rely on an unsustainable make-shift strategy, where they rely heavily on free agents and loan signings due to a lack of investment from the owner. However, thanks to Gallen and Bowyer, despite them being limited in the market, all the players they have brought in have added significant value to the side, and the team shows a clear improvement from last season. Over the last three windows, Gallen has become highly respected by the Charlton faithful.

Charlton departures: Igor Vetokele (released), Josh Parker (released), Ben Reeves (released), Mark Marshall (released), Nicky Ajose (released), Krystian Bielik (returned to Arsenal), Chris Maxwell (returned to Preston North End), Joe Aribo (Rangers), Patrick Bauer (Preston North End) and Anfernee Dijksteel (Middlesbrough)

Charlton incomings: Ben Purrington (Rotherham), Jonny Williams (Free), Josh Cullen (Loan from West Ham), Chuks Aneke (Free), Tom Lockyer (Free), Deji Oshilaja (Free), Ben Amos (Free), Conor Gallagher
(Loan from Chelsea), Sam Field (Loan from West Brom), Jonathan Leko (Loan from West Brom), Beram Kayal (Loan from Brighton), Macauley Bonne (Leyton Orient), and Erhun Oztumer (Free)

In terms of departures, I was most disappointed to see Joe Aribo leave. I think he is an excellent talent, and over the 2018/19 season where he played week-in and week-out under Bowyer he added goals to his game, something evidenced by three goals already for Rangers in six games. I think there was still a lot for him to learn under Bowyer, especially in the second tier of English football which is far more competitive than the Scottish Premiership.

Other than Aribo, many Charlton fans were praying that we would somehow be able to pull off a masterclass and see Krystian Bielik return, as he refused to return to U23s football at Arsenal. However, rightfully so, a club competing to be promoted to the Premier League realised the value of him, with Derby offering Arsenal approximately £10m which the Gunners accepted. 

From watching Charlton against Blackburn Rovers and Stoke, Chuks Aneke, Conor Gallagher and Jonathan Leko look like very new exciting players. Aneke’s physical build and eye to always get in the box adds another threat similar to what Taylor possesses when it comes to being a handful for defenders. Chelsea’s player of the year for the 2018/19 season, Gallagher, is starting to remind Charlton fans of Fulham manager, and former Charlton academy product, Scott Parker, a committed and disciplined box-to-box midfielder who scored his first senior goal against Stoke. 

Lee Bowyer described Jonathan Leko as the type of player to get “bums off seats”, hinting that he is an unpredictable and threatening player. Gallen was interested in getting hold of Leko as he always looks to take on the opposition and has a lot of pace, something Charlton’s squad has lacked since Karlan Grant departed for Huddersfield in Jan 2019. Against Stoke, Leko made it extremely difficult for players to get the ball off him, every time you thought he was about to lose it, he found a way to keep hold of it, and run past his man. However, Bowyer and his coaching staff will be hoping to improve his final ball, which will help Leko become a more rounded player. 

At the back Tom Lockyer has slotted in very nicely alongside Jason Pearce and Naby Sarr, filling the Patrick Bauer shaped hole, after the German left to join Preston North End. Lockyer contains similar attributes to Pearce, in terms of not being worried to get stuck into a tackle or put his body on the line. However, for Tom Ince’s strike last weekend, you could argue that Lockyer could have done better to stop Ince having the space to take his shot, but that’s just me being a bit picky.

Deadline day drama

Charlton fans often describe transfer deadline day as just another day, but on the 8th August, it was far from just another day. The Addicks saw three deadline day signings, with a fourth, Tomer Hemed, expected to be a one-year permanent deal from Brighton, is currently under review and will be discussed by the EFL Board of Directors at their next meeting. However, there was a level of fear on transfer deadline day. Lee Bowyer stated that Brentford had made approximately 6 to 7 bids for Lyle Taylor, with their final bid expected to be £4m in cash, two minutes before the transfer window closed. Charlton fans are familiar with Duchatelet selling off their key players and cashing in where he can, but Bowyer made clear to the owner that losing Taylor would make his job significantly harder, and surprisingly the Belgian listened, rejecting all of the Bees offers. 

It is expected that Brentford were offering Taylor a contract which is superior to the one he is currently on with the Addicks, in particular his weekly wage would have potentially doubled, which is a massive temptation for the forward. On transfer deadline day it was reported that Charlton made a £4m bid for former Newcastle player and Peterborough forward, Ivan Toney. Some are saying that Toney was going to be surplus to requirements and if the offer were accepted by Peterborough, Toney would have played alongside Taylor upfront. Nevertheless, I am sceptical that was the case, I personally believe that the transfer deadline day bids for Toney, which was understood to be an offer of £4m, which is the exact same valuation Brentford put on Taylor, is too much of a coincidence. I think it was a case of Gallen and Bowyer trying to get another striker, so if Taylor did leave, Charlton had someone to replace him.

Overall, I think Charlton have had a good transfer window, especially if Tomer Hemed is approved by the EFL’s Board of Directors. I would label it one of, if not the best transfer window since Roland Duchatelet took over the club in January 2014. However, the bar is pretty low in terms of expectations, and I do not attribute the success of the transfer window to the owner himself (other than declining the Brentford offers), but instead to Bowyer and Gallen.

Did Taylor handle the Transfer window drama correctly?

As soon as Sky Sports started reporting that Brentford were lining up bids for Taylor, utilising their funds from the sale of Neal Maupay to Brighton, I and many other Charlton fans began to panic. The first bid for Taylor came in two to three days before the closure of the transfer window. The 48 to 72 hour wait for Addicks’ fans to know whether or not Taylor would still be wearing Charlton’s number 9 was close to unbearable, and in these sort of scenarios and situations you begin to hear a lot of noise about the player has done this, or the player has done that, and some of that noise started to create doubts and concerns in the minds of some Charlton fans. 

The noise I am referring to in particular is the alleged rumour from some fans that on Thursday 8th August, Taylor showed up to training at Sparrows Lane, spoke to Lee Bowyer and then left promptly.

This added with Taylor’s cryptic social media posts which did not give much away in terms of what he planned to do, started to rile and frustrate fans, with a number of them stating explicitly and expletively that if the striker did not want to be here he should move on. When the transfer window shut, and it was confirmed that Taylor would remain in SE7, Taylor tweeted: “Is now a good time to announce my impending loan deal to League 2?” followed by a second tweet which said “On the level… I will be taking time away from Twitter especially because the last few days has been unacceptable. I wish you all well and you’ll see me in due course.”

Taylor’s response was in reaction to some Charlton fans social media posts based on some of the noise and the alleged training ground rumour. When looking back on this situation now, I still firmly sit on the fence. On the one hand, I think Charlton fans believing noise and a rumour which originated from someone within the fan base, not even a journalist, is misguided and foolish. On the other hand, I think Taylor’s cryptic social media posts in the build up to the window closing, as well as his reputation to be a bit of a wind-up merchant both on and off the pitch, followed by the two tweets after the window closed, was a miscalculated play. I think Taylor should have spoke out after the transfer window drama making really clear why he was aggravated and annoyed, what he thought about the situation and then quickly moved on to say he was looking forward to the game against Stoke and getting back to The Valley.

Therefore, I think both parties so to speak, made errors.

Taylor has got off to a perfect start in the second tier, scoring two goals in two games, not allowing any off the field drama to negatively impact his work on the pitch. If the Addicks’ frontman keeps up this prolific start and can get close to mimicking the sort of performance he showed in the 2018/19 season in the third tier, then clubs will definitely be swarming in the January window.

📈 Most involved in league goals (2019; top 4 tiers):
20⚽: 💥@lyletaylor90 (14G, 6A)💥, Pukki (15G, 5A)
18⚽: Benrahma (9G, 9A)
17⚽: Grosicki (8G, 9A)
16⚽: Aguero (13G, 3A), Collins (16G), M Maddison (7G, 9A), Maynard (13G, 3A)#cafc @CAFCofficial pic.twitter.com/IHxLpz6ELi

— playmakerstats (@playmaker_EN) August 12, 2019

The rise of Bowyer

When Lee Bowyer retired from the professional game, he headed to France, and spent a lot of his post-football life fishing and relaxing, with no intention of returning in any capacity to football, with "Bows" accepting that his time in the beautiful game had come to an end. However, some people cannot get away from the game no matter how much they try, they love the challenge of winning and the thrill of teams battling it out for all three points, surrounded by passionate fans. Bowyer seems to be very much one of those people.

Bowyer’s journey into management, even though he did not know it at the time, started when Bowyer’s former Leeds United teammate, Harry Kewell, was Watford’s U21 manager. Kewell asked Bowyer if he would be willing to spend a month as a guest coach, helping to train his players but in particular his midfielders which was Bowyer’s position as a player. After the month long coaching stint, Bowyer returned to France, with nothing more coming of the coaching opportunity nor did Bowyer expect or at the time want anything more to happen, but the current Charlton manager got his first taste of a potential life back in football from a coaching perspective.

Fast forward a year or so later, Karl Robinson the former MK Dons manager, and current Oxford United manager, was holding the managerial reigns in SE7. Robinson went into management at a very young age, taking full control of MK Dons back in 2010 when he was just 29 years old, and as a result Robinson often leaned on former experienced players to help run his training sessions, hoping the former experienced player could transfer some of their tacit knowledge and share their wisdom. Robinson brought this practice to Charlton, and invited Bowyer to come in and run a few sessions over several weeks. Robinson hoped that Bowyer’s connection to the Southeast London outfit as an academy graduate and east Londoner, as well as his topflight experience, would help his players progress significantly. It was at this point that Bowyer started to consider a career in coaching.

When Bowyer joined the coaching setup, Richie Barker was Robinson’s assistant, and had followed him from MK Dons, but when Paul Warne took over the Millers, and offered Barker a position as his assistant, which was Barker’s former club as a player, it was an offer Barker could not refuse. Barker taking the position with Rotherham United opened the way for Bowyer to become a significant member of Robinson’s coaching setup. On the 1 July 2017, Bowyer was announced as Charlton’s assistant manager and his journey with Charlton was about to begin.

In March 2018, Robinson decided to leave Charlton by mutual consent, making the head coach and management position vacant. With Duchatelet attempting (and still attempting) to sell Charlton, the owner was not willing to look extensively for a replacement, so offered the caretaker position to Bowyer, and as the good old saying goes, the rest is history.

Since Bowyer fell into managing the club where his football career started, he has led Charlton to two back-to-back top six finishes in League One, with the second seeing the Addicks visit Wembley for the first time since 1998, where Charlton experienced a momentous day beating Sunderland 2-1 in the play-off final. During the process, Bowyer has taken Johnnie Jackson under his wing, making the former Charlton skipper his assistant, and has remarkably rekindled the love, affection, positivity and optimism with the fans and the club despite ongoing ownership issues. Bowyer has described his experience at Charlton as a manager to date as somewhat of a fairytale, and I all Addicks would agree.

Could Bielsa failing this season lure Bowyer to Leeds?

Despite the deep connection Lee Bowyer evidently has with Charlton, I do think there is a risk the Addicks could lose him in the summer. His successes have led to his stock rising significantly, especially when you consider the environment he has operated in with Duchatelet’s ownership, no board of directors at the club and a lack of funding and investment. The cliché ‘shoestring budget’ comes to mind.

In fact, If Marcelo Bielsa fails to inspire Leeds United to promotion this season, I believe Leeds United could pose a real threat to Bowyer’s future in SE7.

Leeds United are a side that no matter how much money they spend, or how good of a start to the season they have, or their position in the table at Christmas, they always find a way to bottle their chances to make a return to the Premier League. The Whites are another club close to Bowyer’s heart, it’s where he played his best football as a player. He was a key figure in David O’Leary’s Leeds side that qualified for the Champions League in 1999- 2000, and subsequently reached the semi finals of the UEFA Cup in 2000 and the Champions League in 2001. In the Champions League run Bowyer scored crucial goals against AC Milan, Barcelona and Anderlecht, and was voted Player of the Year by fans in both the 1998-1999 and 2000-2001 seasons.

Every Charlton fan should be wishing Leeds United every success this season with Bielsa, because if Leeds fail to return to the Premier League, and the Argentinian is fired or walks away, then surely Leeds have to seriously consider making a move for their former Champions League stalwart, especially as Bowyer’s Charlton contract runs out at the end of the 2019/20 season.