MATCH THREAD : Charlton Athletic V Middlesborough : Tuesday 09th December 2025 : KO 19:45
Hi everyone, difficult match thread tonight where we entertain Middlesborough in an important match, but at the same time a somber occasion after last Saturday, when we were all affected on several levels, and reminded us all how fragile life is…
Members of Norman’s family will be in attendance tonight, and will be pitchside ahead of kick-off for a period of applause in celebration of his life, Norm never missed a game home and away if he could, and will be with us all again in our hearts tonight…❤️
Middlesborough come to The Valley tonight in a great position of second in the table, after trouncing Hull City away 1-4 last Friday, so tonight will be another toughie, but I will, as always, hope that we can come out of tonight with some good news and three points in the bag.
Nathan said on fitness ,"The Bell injury isn’t as bad as we first thought, also Kelman and Burke are close [to returning], "The visitors will be without the injured Dieng, Ayling, Lenihan and Kante…
We've met on 106 previous occasions, winning 36, Boro 45, and the remaining 25 encounters ending in draws, our last meeting ended in a 1-0 win for Boro at The Valley back in March 2020.
Team…
Harvey Knibbs, Luke Berry and Miles Leaburn will start this evening’s game.
The trio replace Onel Hernández, Karoy Anderson and Tanto Olaofe as Nathan Jones makes three changes from the side that started Saturday’s abandoned game against Portsmouth.
Given the versatility in the line-up selected, Kayne Ramsay, captain Lloyd Jones, Macaulay Gillesphey and James Bree could start in a back four in front of Thomas Kaminski.
Midfielders Conor Coventry, Knibbs, Berry and Sonny Carey could make up a box midfield with Tyreece Campbell joining Leaburn up front.
Anderson and Olaofe have been named on the substitutes bench alongside Will Mannion, Keenan Gough, Jérôme Roussillon, Joe Rankin-Costello, Greg Docherty, Ibrahim Fullah and Rob Apter.
Hernández misses out with a hamstring injury.
Charlton: Kaminski; Ramsay, Jones (c), Gillesphey; Bree, Coventry, Knibbs, Berry, Carey, Campbell; Leaburn
Subs: Mannion, Gough, Roussillon, Anderson, Rankin-Costello, Docherty, Fullah, Apter, Olaofe
Comments
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Will be thinking of you all tonight.
First responder training means I’ll miss tuning in.
Let Normans family be in no doubt we loved him, we’ll miss him but he’ll always be there and never forgotten.
♥️🎧15 -
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COYR0
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Norman has been given Squad No. 12 on the Programme tonight84
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My Bruv sent me this on WhatsApp 😢💔Briston_Addick said:2 -
The perfect reason to be missing the game under the circumstancesKBslittlesis said:Will be thinking of you all tonight.
First responder training means I’ll miss tuning in.
Let Normans family be in no doubt we loved him, we’ll miss him but he’ll always be there and never forgotten.
♥️🎧8 -
I hope he holds it together this evening, I'll be watching at home but with CATV commentary synced up to the pics.KBslittlesis said:
My Bruv sent me this on WhatsApp 😢💔Briston_Addick said:1 -
Thanks from all the people you will help in the future 👍👏KBslittlesis said:Will be thinking of you all tonight.
First responder training means I’ll miss tuning in.
Let Normans family be in no doubt we loved him, we’ll miss him but he’ll always be there and never forgotten.
♥️🎧10 -
Ed Warwick Paying tribute to Norman, lovely to see...9 -
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Gilbert starts for the visitors0
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5
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That's a very attacking Midfield... Have we gone four at the back (with Ramsay on the Left), or is Campbell Left Wing-Back with Knibbs supporting Leaburn?1
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Berry, Knibbs and Leaburn come in for Hernandez, Anderson and Olaofe. That could be TC at LWB or it could be a 4 at the back0
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Reads like a back 4 diamond midfield to me, Berry in the 10, Ramsay RB, Bree LB, could be wrong3
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Campbell at LWB? Urghh.0
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That lineup looks very weak defensively. Not that NJ could do much about it but we could be in for another trouncing.3
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Hernandez had 12 minutes to rightly convince NJ to never pick him again6
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Lets hope our non-goal scoring front line fires tonight ''cos there ain't much on the bench to dig us out if we are behind.0
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They have a Jones playing at no.5 too !!! Will make things interesting for the ref.0
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Back 4 by the looks? Box midfield? Or 4231?0
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Think we have to go for it tonight, and that line up sounds like it, no point fannying around hanging on to a 0-0, and getting caught cold...2
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Karoy dropped after an entire 13 minute chance.1
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I think it'll be Campbell at WB and Berry playing very high. He is good at pressing beyond the striker so he'll be tasked with doing that instead of Leaburn who is not great at it. Expecting a Gilbert masterclass tonight1
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He was always just playing to give others a rest I thinkThe Red Robin said:Karoy dropped after an entire 13 minute chance.0 -
I know that I've said it before, but I would have started Anderson, he's a better ball winner than Knibbs and would be a better support for the defence IMO. I didn't see him doing too bad a job in the 13 minutes he had.
I fear another tonking tonight.
We will struggle until we get some of our injuries sorted, so NJ has his hands tied somewhat TBF. Given the demands on our players due to the way we play, although we get good results when it works, it's not really surprising that we have lost so many to injury.2 -
Different players for different opponents. Jones may think that karoy is the right choice for a game against Portsmouth but not MiddlesbroughThe Red Robin said:Karoy dropped after an entire 13 minute chance.6
