The season (as a whole) hasn't gone completely as we'd probably like it too (those purgatory months of tedious, percentage football were incredibly dull) but overall we're much better off this season than we were at the same stage last year.
We also have a squad that while far from perfect we are going into the last few days looking for players who could improve us but crucially we aren't in the position of having one single left back and a utility guy who is adequate in three different positions and good at none.
Promotion/play offs are very much possible albeit will require both hard work and a bit of luck to get there.
It's not perfect but it can be, and has been, a whole lot worse.
I think it's a case of it all coming together, whether by luck or design. With Leaburn out, and Ahadme not performing as expected, the lack of a decent attacking midfielder was really exposed. The return of Leaburn and solidity of Jones has bought confidence and belief to the whole team, such that Berry has started to look decent in that role due to the form and options that surround him, with TC, Small and Leaburn/Godden, all in good form. We can now throw into the mix the return of Ramsay at a great time. Full credit to Jones for battling through the bad times, maybe he earned himself some good fortune due to his determination and hard work.
I'll openly admit, in November, I was convinced that we'd made the wrong appointment (again) and he was destined to failure. I wasn't calling for his head, but I was hoping Luton would hurry up & sack their manager and ask him to return. I'm now eating my hat, my shoes and even my underwear at the turnaround over the last couple of months. Sure, there's been the odd bump in the road since then (Rotherham), but I don't think even the NJ die-hards would have seen this upturn coming. I saw us as a bit like a L1 Man Utd: should be a top 6 team, but languishing in mid table, playing well against the big boys, but then struggling against the smaller fish, due to their counter attack style. It's hard to counter a team that's happy to sit back and let you come at them. We were pretty much the same. Jones was constantly going on about being "front-footed" and high pressing, but we simply wasn't seeing that at the time. Thankfully, we are now and it's reflecting on the results. Long may it continue.
I was genuinely 1000% positive he was the right manager for us when we got him, and I said he was the best appointment since Curbs.
That run of 13 made me doubt him though and I thought he had to go. There was too many signs pointing towards him not turning it around, mainly the playstyle and stubbornness.
Turns out a good work man can blame poor tools, as it looks like it was literally just not having the right players available.
The board should have showed him the respect he deserved after the turnaround, and bank rolled him to really push for it. If I was a betting man, I suspect he feels the same way.
I doubt Nathan Jones reads Charlton Life, but I'm genuinely sorry/I feel guilty that I called for him to go.
The SMT have mostly been shit, but at least they didn’t panic and listen to the calls from some fans to sack him. We’d most likely be in a much worse position than we are in now
Jones is the main thing giving me confidence we might be going in the right direction
We are a frustrated fanbase and I understand everyone wants success now. But -
NJ signed a long term deal and spoke of a project & journey when he came in and that hasn’t changed. We have been failing in all departments for a long time which takes time to address and turnaround. In the time he has been here we have put in some early hard yards on and off the pitch both last season and this to move away from the defensive frailty and start to build some patterns of play which is getting us some results… it’s a slow build.
I want a run at the play offs and the hope of getting back into the Championship this season, but let’s be honest - we are heavily under equipped to compete and survive at that level right now. But by building over a couple of seasons with considered signings and allowing NJ to assess and remodel his squad we set ourselves up for longer term success. If we use the headroom created on the wage bill this month to reinvest in the summer then happy days.
I don’t like the personality of some of the SMT, but I don’t much care. They have demonstrated support for the manager and are improving the club behind the scenes by all accounts. Never expect us to throw big money around - we aren’t there as a club at the moment
Hoping for a strong end to the season and the rebuild continuing.
The improvements we have made compared to last year are there to be seen. I truly believe he will get us promoted whether that be this season or the next.
He needs to be supported and backed by us and the SMT. Once we are all onboard together it'll be a hell of a ride but I think we will get to the Championship.
I can't say enough how nice it is for us not to be going into the 2nd half of the season and either be fighting to stay up or just at a standstill in mid table. The fact that we actually have a decent chance at the play offs means I am completely behind this man to get us there.
We are a frustrated fanbase and I understand everyone wants success now. But -
NJ signed a long term deal and spoke of a project & journey when he came in and that hasn’t changed. We have been failing in all departments for a long time which takes time to address and turnaround. In the time he has been here we have put in some early hard yards on and off the pitch both last season and this to move away from the defensive frailty and start to build some patterns of play which is getting us some results… it’s a slow build.
I want a run at the play offs and the hope of getting back into the Championship this season, but let’s be honest - we are heavily under equipped to compete and survive at that level right now. But by building over a couple of seasons with considered signings and allowing NJ to assess and remodel his squad we set ourselves up for longer term success. If we use the headroom created on the wage bill this month to reinvest in the summer then happy days.
I don’t like the personality of some of the SMT, but I don’t much care. They have demonstrated supportfor the manager and are improving the club behind the scenes by all accounts. Never expect us to throw big money around - we aren’t there as a club at the moment
Hoping for a strong end to the season and the rebuild continuing.
I cannot agree with that, Jones will possibly say the same.
I believe he is the right man for the job. He has certainly turned it around over the past few weeks! He has a way of doing things and he’s had success in the past doing it that way. It’s all about giving him time to get where he wants to get to. Rome wasn’t built in a day and all that.
I feel we’re seeing he’s building something and making progress, but it’s not as fast as we’d like.
He made the mistake of setting us up to be overly cautious and too direct. Fortunately he’s moved away from that and we’ve seen the benefits.
We’ve not improved the squad as much as I hoped we would in the window.
I’m expecting similar transfer activity in the summer as we’ve seen in the last two windows - relatively small fees vs the bigger spenders at this level, frees and the odd loan.
We’re very reliant on keeping players fit and injury free - we’re currently in a good place in that we’ve scored late goals and don’t have an injury crisis.
We also need academy players to continue to add something to the first team. We’ve got a smaller u21 squad than in previous years, an individual development coach, so we’re working towards that, but it might be a while before we see if that’s had the impact we need it to.
I get the impression as a club we’re aiming to make big profits on a few players in the next couple of seasons, with the plan that that will help us build up a bigger budget. That’s not easy and it’s not a new idea, but it’s a good sign we didn’t sell any of our better players in the window as selling too early has been an issue in the past. Given TCs improvement this season, we shouldn’t write off others potentially doing the same in time.
We are a frustrated fanbase and I understand everyone wants success now. But -
NJ signed a long term deal and spoke of a project & journey when he came in and that hasn’t changed. We have been failing in all departments for a long time which takes time to address and turnaround. In the time he has been here we have put in some early hard yards on and off the pitch both last season and this to move away from the defensive frailty and start to build some patterns of play which is getting us some results… it’s a slow build.
I want a run at the play offs and the hope of getting back into the Championship this season, but let’s be honest - we are heavily under equipped to compete and survive at that level right now. But by building over a couple of seasons with considered signings and allowing NJ to assess and remodel his squad we set ourselves up for longer term success. If we use the headroom created on the wage bill this month to reinvest in the summer then happy days.
I don’t like the personality of some of the SMT, but I don’t much care. They have demonstrated supportfor the manager and are improving the club behind the scenes by all accounts. Never expect us to throw big money around - we aren’t there as a club at the moment
Hoping for a strong end to the season and the rebuild continuing.
I cannot agree with that, Jones will possibly say the same.
Oh no, they absolutely have demonstrated support for the manager. He has been able to use his "buddy system" of player-coaches instead of "proper" assistants, he's clearly had at least a bit of influence in the players that came in, they backed him all the way through a bad patch of form in the face of fan unrest.
You could argue he could have been given MORE support financially but to say he's not been backed at all is objectively incorrect.
We are a frustrated fanbase and I understand everyone wants success now. But -
NJ signed a long term deal and spoke of a project & journey when he came in and that hasn’t changed. We have been failing in all departments for a long time which takes time to address and turnaround. In the time he has been here we have put in some early hard yards on and off the pitch both last season and this to move away from the defensive frailty and start to build some patterns of play which is getting us some results… it’s a slow build.
I want a run at the play offs and the hope of getting back into the Championship this season, but let’s be honest - we are heavily under equipped to compete and survive at that level right now. But by building over a couple of seasons with considered signings and allowing NJ to assess and remodel his squad we set ourselves up for longer term success. If we use the headroom created on the wage bill this month to reinvest in the summer then happy days.
I don’t like the personality of some of the SMT, but I don’t much care. They have demonstrated supportfor the manager and are improving the club behind the scenes by all accounts. Never expect us to throw big money around - we aren’t there as a club at the moment
Hoping for a strong end to the season and the rebuild continuing.
I cannot agree with that, Jones will possibly say the same.
Well they didn’t sack him when a lot of ‘experts’ on here were calling for it so that’s some level of support. They’ve also clearly let him bring in his own players
We are a frustrated fanbase and I understand everyone wants success now. But -
NJ signed a long term deal and spoke of a project & journey when he came in and that hasn’t changed. We have been failing in all departments for a long time which takes time to address and turnaround. In the time he has been here we have put in some early hard yards on and off the pitch both last season and this to move away from the defensive frailty and start to build some patterns of play which is getting us some results… it’s a slow build.
I want a run at the play offs and the hope of getting back into the Championship this season, but let’s be honest - we are heavily under equipped to compete and survive at that level right now. But by building over a couple of seasons with considered signings and allowing NJ to assess and remodel his squad we set ourselves up for longer term success. If we use the headroom created on the wage bill this month to reinvest in the summer then happy days.
I don’t like the personality of some of the SMT, but I don’t much care. They have demonstrated supportfor the manager and are improving the club behind the scenes by all accounts. Never expect us to throw big money around - we aren’t there as a club at the moment
Hoping for a strong end to the season and the rebuild continuing.
I cannot agree with that, Jones will possibly say the same.
Oh no, they absolutely have demonstrated support for the manager. He has been able to use his "buddy system" of player-coaches instead of "proper" assistants, he's clearly had at least a bit of influence in the players that came in, they backed him all the way through a bad patch of form in the face of fan unrest.
You could argue he could have been given MORE support financially but to say he's not been backed at all is objectively incorrect.
The fans were not calling for his head at The Valley, and besides, sacking Jones would have looked seriously bad for Charlie and gang.
We are a frustrated fanbase and I understand everyone wants success now. But -
NJ signed a long term deal and spoke of a project & journey when he came in and that hasn’t changed. We have been failing in all departments for a long time which takes time to address and turnaround. In the time he has been here we have put in some early hard yards on and off the pitch both last season and this to move away from the defensive frailty and start to build some patterns of play which is getting us some results… it’s a slow build.
I want a run at the play offs and the hope of getting back into the Championship this season, but let’s be honest - we are heavily under equipped to compete and survive at that level right now. But by building over a couple of seasons with considered signings and allowing NJ to assess and remodel his squad we set ourselves up for longer term success. If we use the headroom created on the wage bill this month to reinvest in the summer then happy days.
I don’t like the personality of some of the SMT, but I don’t much care. They have demonstrated supportfor the manager and are improving the club behind the scenes by all accounts. Never expect us to throw big money around - we aren’t there as a club at the moment
Hoping for a strong end to the season and the rebuild continuing.
I cannot agree with that, Jones will possibly say the same.
Well they didn’t sack him when a lot of ‘experts’ on here were calling for it so that’s some level of support. They’ve also clearly let him bring in his own players
We are a frustrated fanbase and I understand everyone wants success now. But -
NJ signed a long term deal and spoke of a project & journey when he came in and that hasn’t changed. We have been failing in all departments for a long time which takes time to address and turnaround. In the time he has been here we have put in some early hard yards on and off the pitch both last season and this to move away from the defensive frailty and start to build some patterns of play which is getting us some results… it’s a slow build.
I want a run at the play offs and the hope of getting back into the Championship this season, but let’s be honest - we are heavily under equipped to compete and survive at that level right now. But by building over a couple of seasons with considered signings and allowing NJ to assess and remodel his squad we set ourselves up for longer term success. If we use the headroom created on the wage bill this month to reinvest in the summer then happy days.
I don’t like the personality of some of the SMT, but I don’t much care. They have demonstrated supportfor the manager and are improving the club behind the scenes by all accounts. Never expect us to throw big money around - we aren’t there as a club at the moment
Hoping for a strong end to the season and the rebuild continuing.
I cannot agree with that, Jones will possibly say the same.
Well they didn’t sack him when a lot of ‘experts’ on here were calling for it so that’s some level of support. They’ve also clearly let him bring in his own players
Like yesterday you mean?!
Literally yes, he brought in two players that he wanted you muppet. He said he would streamline the squad and only bring in 1 or two and that was done
We are a frustrated fanbase and I understand everyone wants success now. But -
NJ signed a long term deal and spoke of a project & journey when he came in and that hasn’t changed. We have been failing in all departments for a long time which takes time to address and turnaround. In the time he has been here we have put in some early hard yards on and off the pitch both last season and this to move away from the defensive frailty and start to build some patterns of play which is getting us some results… it’s a slow build.
I want a run at the play offs and the hope of getting back into the Championship this season, but let’s be honest - we are heavily under equipped to compete and survive at that level right now. But by building over a couple of seasons with considered signings and allowing NJ to assess and remodel his squad we set ourselves up for longer term success. If we use the headroom created on the wage bill this month to reinvest in the summer then happy days.
I don’t like the personality of some of the SMT, but I don’t much care. They have demonstrated supportfor the manager and are improving the club behind the scenes by all accounts. Never expect us to throw big money around - we aren’t there as a club at the moment
Hoping for a strong end to the season and the rebuild continuing.
I cannot agree with that, Jones will possibly say the same.
Well they didn’t sack him when a lot of ‘experts’ on here were calling for it so that’s some level of support. They’ve also clearly let him bring in his own players
Like yesterday you mean?!
Literally yes, he brought in two players that he wanted you muppet. He said he would streamline the squad and only bring in 1 or two and that was done
We are a frustrated fanbase and I understand everyone wants success now. But -
NJ signed a long term deal and spoke of a project & journey when he came in and that hasn’t changed. We have been failing in all departments for a long time which takes time to address and turnaround. In the time he has been here we have put in some early hard yards on and off the pitch both last season and this to move away from the defensive frailty and start to build some patterns of play which is getting us some results… it’s a slow build.
I want a run at the play offs and the hope of getting back into the Championship this season, but let’s be honest - we are heavily under equipped to compete and survive at that level right now. But by building over a couple of seasons with considered signings and allowing NJ to assess and remodel his squad we set ourselves up for longer term success. If we use the headroom created on the wage bill this month to reinvest in the summer then happy days.
I don’t like the personality of some of the SMT, but I don’t much care. They have demonstrated supportfor the manager and are improving the club behind the scenes by all accounts. Never expect us to throw big money around - we aren’t there as a club at the moment
Hoping for a strong end to the season and the rebuild continuing.
I cannot agree with that, Jones will possibly say the same.
Well they didn’t sack him when a lot of ‘experts’ on here were calling for it so that’s some level of support. They’ve also clearly let him bring in his own players
Like yesterday you mean?!
Literally yes, he brought in two players that he wanted you muppet. He said he would streamline the squad and only bring in 1 or two and that was done
Less of the muppet thank you very much.
I reckon yesterday was the bottom of Jones' barrell, putting it mildly.
We are a frustrated fanbase and I understand everyone wants success now. But -
NJ signed a long term deal and spoke of a project & journey when he came in and that hasn’t changed. We have been failing in all departments for a long time which takes time to address and turnaround. In the time he has been here we have put in some early hard yards on and off the pitch both last season and this to move away from the defensive frailty and start to build some patterns of play which is getting us some results… it’s a slow build.
I want a run at the play offs and the hope of getting back into the Championship this season, but let’s be honest - we are heavily under equipped to compete and survive at that level right now. But by building over a couple of seasons with considered signings and allowing NJ to assess and remodel his squad we set ourselves up for longer term success. If we use the headroom created on the wage bill this month to reinvest in the summer then happy days.
I don’t like the personality of some of the SMT, but I don’t much care. They have demonstrated supportfor the manager and are improving the club behind the scenes by all accounts. Never expect us to throw big money around - we aren’t there as a club at the moment
Hoping for a strong end to the season and the rebuild continuing.
I cannot agree with that, Jones will possibly say the same.
Well they didn’t sack him when a lot of ‘experts’ on here were calling for it so that’s some level of support. They’ve also clearly let him bring in his own players
Like yesterday you mean?!
Literally yes, he brought in two players that he wanted you muppet. He said he would streamline the squad and only bring in 1 or two and that was done
We are a frustrated fanbase and I understand everyone wants success now. But -
NJ signed a long term deal and spoke of a project & journey when he came in and that hasn’t changed. We have been failing in all departments for a long time which takes time to address and turnaround. In the time he has been here we have put in some early hard yards on and off the pitch both last season and this to move away from the defensive frailty and start to build some patterns of play which is getting us some results… it’s a slow build.
I want a run at the play offs and the hope of getting back into the Championship this season, but let’s be honest - we are heavily under equipped to compete and survive at that level right now. But by building over a couple of seasons with considered signings and allowing NJ to assess and remodel his squad we set ourselves up for longer term success. If we use the headroom created on the wage bill this month to reinvest in the summer then happy days.
I don’t like the personality of some of the SMT, but I don’t much care. They have demonstrated supportfor the manager and are improving the club behind the scenes by all accounts. Never expect us to throw big money around - we aren’t there as a club at the moment
Hoping for a strong end to the season and the rebuild continuing.
I cannot agree with that, Jones will possibly say the same.
Well they didn’t sack him when a lot of ‘experts’ on here were calling for it so that’s some level of support. They’ve also clearly let him bring in his own players
Like yesterday you mean?!
Literally yes, he brought in two players that he wanted you muppet. He said he would streamline the squad and only bring in 1 or two and that was done
How do you know Jones wanted the two loanees?
How do you know he didn’t? Jones has said himself that he is in charge of transfers. So it’s pretty obvious which is more likely
We are a frustrated fanbase and I understand everyone wants success now. But -
NJ signed a long term deal and spoke of a project & journey when he came in and that hasn’t changed. We have been failing in all departments for a long time which takes time to address and turnaround. In the time he has been here we have put in some early hard yards on and off the pitch both last season and this to move away from the defensive frailty and start to build some patterns of play which is getting us some results… it’s a slow build.
I want a run at the play offs and the hope of getting back into the Championship this season, but let’s be honest - we are heavily under equipped to compete and survive at that level right now. But by building over a couple of seasons with considered signings and allowing NJ to assess and remodel his squad we set ourselves up for longer term success. If we use the headroom created on the wage bill this month to reinvest in the summer then happy days.
I don’t like the personality of some of the SMT, but I don’t much care. They have demonstrated supportfor the manager and are improving the club behind the scenes by all accounts. Never expect us to throw big money around - we aren’t there as a club at the moment
Hoping for a strong end to the season and the rebuild continuing.
I cannot agree with that, Jones will possibly say the same.
Well they didn’t sack him when a lot of ‘experts’ on here were calling for it so that’s some level of support. They’ve also clearly let him bring in his own players
Like yesterday you mean?!
Literally yes, he brought in two players that he wanted you muppet. He said he would streamline the squad and only bring in 1 or two and that was done
As recently as the 17th Dec on this thread, I thought NJ should have been sacked and I had a fear that he had lost the dressing room. After the two bore draws following the Crawley loss, I thought the season was all but mathematically dead and we did not have the squad/capacity/anything-about-us to go on the run we needed to go on. There was a lot of historical apathy there that's built up over time - it wasn't hate for NJ from me, but just despair that we were set for what felt like another guaranteed end of season with nothing to play for. I don't justify the bile of hate some people feel the need to spew on unpleasant social media platforms, but I do understand the performances at the time that led many people to ask the question about NJ, as expectation for playoffs minimum are what we should be aiming for (but perhaps don't deserve).
I don't mind saying I was wrong, given where we are now. The Northampton game was a big surprise and kicked on the form that followed - barring the unsavoury blip at Rotherham, we've done really well. The squad have galvanised through a more settled team, an adjustment of tactics and performances more worthy of the squad value/experience comparative to the rest of the league. Results have improved (which, at the end of the day, is all that really matters) and this is in no small part down to the decisions and player management of NJ and his team. Certain players have been individual revelations, signings have started to bed in and younger players continued to develop.
We've had a lot of turgid football served up since we were relegated. Plenty of times we've felt the need to pull the trigger. NJ has been up and down this season, and I think that many Charlton fans thought that when the form dipped, it was history repeating once again. We didn't know what version of NJ we were going to get, but we're on another upturn now.
All I wanted this season was to be contesting for the playoff places, and in December, I thought that wasn't going to happen and that did fall at NJ to fix. He has fixed it and gone on a run that is almost as good as the one Orient have gone on (who were even lower than we were). I'm absolutely here for this - not bitter he is still here and glad I was wrong.
I firmly believe we can get promoted with NJ. This year might be a bit too soon with the budget he seems to have, but I would love a playoff win. If not next year is a must. If the owners don't back him then it is a bloody waste and I will know who to blame.
We are a frustrated fanbase and I understand everyone wants success now. But -
NJ signed a long term deal and spoke of a project & journey when he came in and that hasn’t changed. We have been failing in all departments for a long time which takes time to address and turnaround. In the time he has been here we have put in some early hard yards on and off the pitch both last season and this to move away from the defensive frailty and start to build some patterns of play which is getting us some results… it’s a slow build.
I want a run at the play offs and the hope of getting back into the Championship this season, but let’s be honest - we are heavily under equipped to compete and survive at that level right now. But by building over a couple of seasons with considered signings and allowing NJ to assess and remodel his squad we set ourselves up for longer term success. If we use the headroom created on the wage bill this month to reinvest in the summer then happy days.
I don’t like the personality of some of the SMT, but I don’t much care. They have demonstrated supportfor the manager and are improving the club behind the scenes by all accounts. Never expect us to throw big money around - we aren’t there as a club at the moment
Hoping for a strong end to the season and the rebuild continuing.
I cannot agree with that, Jones will possibly say the same.
Well they didn’t sack him when a lot of ‘experts’ on here were calling for it so that’s some level of support. They’ve also clearly let him bring in his own players
Talk of the town btw that discussions were had and after the loss to Crawley he was being given until Mansfield.
There was a lot of people at the Crawley game and Lincoln who thought he may be off as well.
Hindsight is a wonderful thing, but had he not changed strategy and the winds changed slightly, there was probably a chance he was going to go. As the football being played up until Northampton was genuinely unacceptable.
Another stumbling block may have been the length of his contract and how expensive it was.
Either way, it's not happened and it's worked out for both parties. Not sure if the petty squabbles are necessary.
We are a frustrated fanbase and I understand everyone wants success now. But -
NJ signed a long term deal and spoke of a project & journey when he came in and that hasn’t changed. We have been failing in all departments for a long time which takes time to address and turnaround. In the time he has been here we have put in some early hard yards on and off the pitch both last season and this to move away from the defensive frailty and start to build some patterns of play which is getting us some results… it’s a slow build.
I want a run at the play offs and the hope of getting back into the Championship this season, but let’s be honest - we are heavily under equipped to compete and survive at that level right now. But by building over a couple of seasons with considered signings and allowing NJ to assess and remodel his squad we set ourselves up for longer term success. If we use the headroom created on the wage bill this month to reinvest in the summer then happy days.
I don’t like the personality of some of the SMT, but I don’t much care. They have demonstrated supportfor the manager and are improving the club behind the scenes by all accounts. Never expect us to throw big money around - we aren’t there as a club at the moment
Hoping for a strong end to the season and the rebuild continuing.
I cannot agree with that, Jones will possibly say the same.
Well they didn’t sack him when a lot of ‘experts’ on here were calling for it so that’s some level of support. They’ve also clearly let him bring in his own players
Like yesterday you mean?!
Literally yes, he brought in two players that he wanted you muppet. He said he would streamline the squad and only bring in 1 or two and that was done
How do you know Jones wanted the two loanees?
How do you know he didn't?
I don’t, but I am not the one stating on a public forum that he got the “two players he wanted”
We are a frustrated fanbase and I understand everyone wants success now. But -
NJ signed a long term deal and spoke of a project & journey when he came in and that hasn’t changed. We have been failing in all departments for a long time which takes time to address and turnaround. In the time he has been here we have put in some early hard yards on and off the pitch both last season and this to move away from the defensive frailty and start to build some patterns of play which is getting us some results… it’s a slow build.
I want a run at the play offs and the hope of getting back into the Championship this season, but let’s be honest - we are heavily under equipped to compete and survive at that level right now. But by building over a couple of seasons with considered signings and allowing NJ to assess and remodel his squad we set ourselves up for longer term success. If we use the headroom created on the wage bill this month to reinvest in the summer then happy days.
I don’t like the personality of some of the SMT, but I don’t much care. They have demonstrated supportfor the manager and are improving the club behind the scenes by all accounts. Never expect us to throw big money around - we aren’t there as a club at the moment
Hoping for a strong end to the season and the rebuild continuing.
I cannot agree with that, Jones will possibly say the same.
Well they didn’t sack him when a lot of ‘experts’ on here were calling for it so that’s some level of support. They’ve also clearly let him bring in his own players
Like yesterday you mean?!
Literally yes, he brought in two players that he wanted you muppet. He said he would streamline the squad and only bring in 1 or two and that was done
How do you know Jones wanted the two loanees?
How do you know he didn’t? Jones has said himself that he is in charge of transfers. So it’s pretty obvious which is more likely
Comments
We also have a squad that while far from perfect we are going into the last few days looking for players who could improve us but crucially we aren't in the position of having one single left back and a utility guy who is adequate in three different positions and good at none.
Promotion/play offs are very much possible albeit will require both hard work and a bit of luck to get there.
It's not perfect but it can be, and has been, a whole lot worse.
With Leaburn out, and Ahadme not performing as expected, the lack of a decent attacking midfielder was really exposed.
The return of Leaburn and solidity of Jones has bought confidence and belief to the whole team, such that Berry has started to look decent in that role due to the form and options that surround him, with TC, Small and Leaburn/Godden, all in good form.
We can now throw into the mix the return of Ramsay at a great time.
Full credit to Jones for battling through the bad times, maybe he earned himself some good fortune due to his determination and hard work.
That run of 13 made me doubt him though and I thought he had to go. There was too many signs pointing towards him not turning it around, mainly the playstyle and stubbornness.
Turns out a good work man can blame poor tools, as it looks like it was literally just not having the right players available.
The board should have showed him the respect he deserved after the turnaround, and bank rolled him to really push for it. If I was a betting man, I suspect he feels the same way.
I doubt Nathan Jones reads Charlton Life, but I'm genuinely sorry/I feel guilty that I called for him to go.
Jones is the main thing giving me confidence we might be going in the right direction
NJ signed a long term deal and spoke of a project & journey when he came in and that hasn’t changed. We have been failing in all departments for a long time which takes time to address and turnaround. In the time he has been here we have put in some early hard yards on and off the pitch both last season and this to move away from the defensive frailty and start to build some patterns of play which is getting us some results… it’s a slow build.
I want a run at the play offs and the hope of getting back into the Championship this season, but let’s be honest - we are heavily under equipped to compete and survive at that level right now. But by building over a couple of seasons with considered signings and allowing NJ to assess and remodel his squad we set ourselves up for longer term success. If we use the headroom created on the wage bill this month to reinvest in the summer then happy days.
I don’t like the personality of some of the SMT, but I don’t much care. They have demonstrated support for the manager and are improving the club behind the scenes by all accounts. Never expect us to throw big money around - we aren’t there as a club at the moment
He needs to be supported and backed by us and the SMT. Once we are all onboard together it'll be a hell of a ride but I think we will get to the Championship.
I can't say enough how nice it is for us not to be going into the 2nd half of the season and either be fighting to stay up or just at a standstill in mid table. The fact that we actually have a decent chance at the play offs means I am completely behind this man to get us there.
Up the Addicks
I cannot agree with that, Jones will possibly say the same.
He made the mistake of setting us up to be overly cautious and too direct. Fortunately he’s moved away from that and we’ve seen the benefits.
We’ve not improved the squad as much as I hoped we would in the window.
I’m expecting similar transfer activity in the summer as we’ve seen in the last two windows - relatively small fees vs the bigger spenders at this level, frees and the odd loan.
We’re very reliant on keeping players fit and injury free - we’re currently in a good place in that we’ve scored late goals and don’t have an injury crisis.
We also need academy players to continue to add something to the first team. We’ve got a smaller u21 squad than in previous years, an individual development coach, so we’re working towards that, but it might be a while before we see if that’s had the impact we need it to.
I get the impression as a club we’re aiming to make big profits on a few players in the next couple of seasons, with the plan that that will help us build up a bigger budget. That’s not easy and it’s not a new idea, but it’s a good sign we didn’t sell any of our better players in the window as selling too early has been an issue in the past. Given TCs improvement this season, we shouldn’t write off others potentially doing the same in time.
You could argue he could have been given MORE support financially but to say he's not been backed at all is objectively incorrect.
The fans were not calling for his head at The Valley, and besides, sacking Jones would have looked seriously bad for Charlie and gang.
I reckon yesterday was the bottom of Jones' barrell, putting it mildly.
I'd not be surprised if he'd not seen them play.
Jones 23/24: PL16 W4 (25% win rate, 1.38 ppg)
Rest of 23/24: PL30 W7 (23.3% win rate, 1.03 ppg)
There was a lot of people at the Crawley game and Lincoln who thought he may be off as well.
Hindsight is a wonderful thing, but had he not changed strategy and the winds changed slightly, there was probably a chance he was going to go. As the football being played up until Northampton was genuinely unacceptable.
Another stumbling block may have been the length of his contract and how expensive it was.
Either way, it's not happened and it's worked out for both parties. Not sure if the petty squabbles are necessary.