Not entirely surprised. 21 and hasn’t had any opportunities to be on the fringes of the squad. Usually clubs make some of these decisions when a kid is 21/22. It is a competitive business. Hopefully he lands somewhere in the upper range of non league football to get a chance to work his way up.
I think it is a real shame and pretty poor form that the club has not made any announcement of the U21s. The likes of Toure will have been with us through some of their formative years and he won the Pierre Bolangi trophy iirc so clearly a very good egg and hard worker. Bizarre the club does not feel it necessary to thank these lads publicly and wish them well.
I hope he fixes himself up with something and bounces back strongly.
Every previous year they’ve announced which u21s and u18s have been released and which have been offered new contracts, with confirmation of those contracts later if not signed by that point.
They also announce the new u18 first years and the website gets updated, which it wasn’t for the u18s last season.
It looks a deliberate decision to me, but I’m not sure why. The players put it out there on social media, match reports on our OS and opposition sites have names, sites like YouthHawk track appearances and goals.
I assume they still put the u21 and u18 squads in the handbook or has/will that stop too?
It’s a shame it does not mention who has moved on since the end of last season
Agree, not to thank them for their service and hard work is poor. They might not have made the grade here but they helped in the development of Karoy, TC, Mbick, Dixon etc and so have provided a valuable service to the club. Not to mention the time given up by parents etc
I think the communication about the U18s and U21s has been poor for a number of years. I regularly go to see the U21s and a few times they have switched the venue and not informed the Supporters. Better communication and news about the Yoof should be on the agenda.
In recent seasons clubs have been permitted to play up to three over-age players plus one over-age keeper in u21 league matches. (Not sure if that applied to cups as well).
Does anyone know if that still applies?
Given our enlarged senior squad and reduced u21 squad, that seems like a useful option now we no longer have the Vertu trophy in which to give fringe players an outing.
Next Tuesday, 12th, as well as playing Stevenage Borough at the Valley in the evening we are due to play Sheffield Wednesday U21's (somewhere 'at home') at 1pm.
From the update on the OS today and refreshed first team and u21 squad lists that's confirmation that Seydil Toure and Ryan Huke were released, along with Harvey Kedwell who announced his news on Instagram. In the u18s, Sadler, Cann and Ogunnowo are the 2nd years who weren't offered pro deals.
Toure turned 21 earlier this year, so he was at the point he needed to be part of the first team squad if his time here was going to be extended.
Huke was a good attacking midfielder at u21 level and I liked his knack of getting the box to score goals, but at 20 years old and with Fullah ahead of him there probably wasn't a pathway to the first team for him.
I saw Cann in an u18 stream at the end of the 23/24 season, he looked like he was probably solid enough CB at that level, but I assume it was case of the CBs at u21 level being seen as better prospects.
I don't know much about Sadler (a GK) and Ogunnowo (a defender). Hopefully they can all have decent careers in football and maybe some will work their way back up to the EFL in time.
On those staying, great news on Reuben Reid signing up long term, I had been a bit concerned we weren't going to keep him. Tom Pell is right to say he'll excite the fans, he's one I can see knocking on the first team door in the next few years as long as he continues his progress at u21 level. We might even see the odd cup sub appearance from him or Sol-Loza this season.
Reid mainly appeared in cameos off the bench on the u21 streams I saw last season, but played the full 90 minutes in the u17 cup game vs Spurs, and 45 minutes in the last u21 game of the season. He's a winger who can also play up front, has pace and height, takes players on and likes a trick in the way Thierry Small did. With that combination I can see him becoming a real handful for defenders to deal with as he grows and develops. One to look out for on the u21 streams next season as I'm sure he'll score and create goals at that level, and be exciting to watch in general.
Wales is another who started getting more regular cameos at u21 level. I've said before he reminds me of typical small Spanish midfielders, comfortable on the ball and carries the ball forward in midfield with quick feet rather than pace and power. He also scored a couple of good goals in that u17 cup final. One to be patient with to see how he deals with more physical players, and how he develops physically himself.
Not seen much of Safa but from what I have he looks like he's probably most comfortable as a tidy holding midfielder, and one who's a passer rather than a dribbler or someone who bombs forward. Like Wales he's not the biggest, but young enough that he could still be growing and getting stronger.
Brown is a RB/RWB, another I saw mainly in u21 cameos so will be interesting how he progresses at that level. I get the impression he's a solid all rounder who gets up and down the pitch well, rather than being a pure defender or an out and out attacking wing back. Nothing wrong with that, Josh Edwards is exactly that for us.
Interesting that Bower and Hobden got new deals, it wouldn't have surprised me if they had been released. Good players at u21 level though, so maybe the club feel they can help them take their games up another level this season and push them closer to the first team. Bower as many have said before has a great left foot, and Jones will surely like Hobden's energy and aggression.
Looks like we've entered the Kent Senior Cup this year. I've started a separate thread like we were doing for the London Senior Cup in previous years. So far all we know is we are away at the winner of Ramsgate v Margate, date to be agreed as the Kent FA's suggested date clashes with an under-21 league fixture. There's just the one round of fixtures before the quarter finals.
Glad to see Hobden retained - I really like him. Decent wing back with pace to burn. Definitely a NJ type of player
Bower has the skills and talent but his stature will, I think, ultimately hold him back. A real shame because his left peg is literally a wand
Reid is VERY exciting and he will get people off their seats. Tall and slender but has a real ability to beat his man. Very unusual for a Charlton player and I hope we get a few cameos in the next year or so
I want to agree about Bower. His left foot precision is fantastic, but his stature is not really a defenders one. Maybe he will become a midfield player in the long run. Hobden is not especially eye catching, but he can have many a flawless game at his level, but Ruben Reid (our young one, not the other one!) is certainly an eye catching player, not somebody defenders find straightforward to deal with. Manu Wales is another one to watch out for, very good close control once in receipt of the ball.
Comments
https://www.charltonafc.com/fixture/list/1043
I hope he fixes himself up with something and bounces back strongly.
Those being released were told before the penultimate game last season. Contracts would have run out at the end of June.
There ia absolutely no excuse for the club communications team to have ignored them and failed to update the team photos on the website.
Agree that the lack of any statement on the players leaving or a squad update is poor from the club.
They also announce the new u18 first years and the website gets updated, which it wasn’t for the u18s last season.
It looks a deliberate decision to me, but I’m not sure why. The players put it out there on social media, match reports on our OS and opposition sites have names, sites like YouthHawk track appearances and goals.
I assume they still put the u21 and u18 squads in the handbook or has/will that stop too?
https://www.charltonafc.com/news/u21s-squad-update-ahead-202526-campaign
Jude Sadler (GK). He played some games for Colchester Utd towards the end of last season.
Defenders, Ethan Cann and Josh Ogunnowo are the others.
https://www.charltonafc.com/squad/1043
I’ll share some thoughts on u21s we’ve kept on when I get a chance.
Does anyone know if that still applies?
Given our enlarged senior squad and reduced u21 squad, that seems like a useful option now we no longer have the Vertu trophy in which to give fringe players an outing.
The under 18s page has been deleted.
Toure turned 21 earlier this year, so he was at the point he needed to be part of the first team squad if his time here was going to be extended.
Huke was a good attacking midfielder at u21 level and I liked his knack of getting the box to score goals, but at 20 years old and with Fullah ahead of him there probably wasn't a pathway to the first team for him.
I saw Cann in an u18 stream at the end of the 23/24 season, he looked like he was probably solid enough CB at that level, but I assume it was case of the CBs at u21 level being seen as better prospects.
I don't know much about Sadler (a GK) and Ogunnowo (a defender). Hopefully they can all have decent careers in football and maybe some will work their way back up to the EFL in time.
On those staying, great news on Reuben Reid signing up long term, I had been a bit concerned we weren't going to keep him. Tom Pell is right to say he'll excite the fans, he's one I can see knocking on the first team door in the next few years as long as he continues his progress at u21 level. We might even see the odd cup sub appearance from him or Sol-Loza this season.
Reid mainly appeared in cameos off the bench on the u21 streams I saw last season, but played the full 90 minutes in the u17 cup game vs Spurs, and 45 minutes in the last u21 game of the season. He's a winger who can also play up front, has pace and height, takes players on and likes a trick in the way Thierry Small did. With that combination I can see him becoming a real handful for defenders to deal with as he grows and develops. One to look out for on the u21 streams next season as I'm sure he'll score and create goals at that level, and be exciting to watch in general.
Wales is another who started getting more regular cameos at u21 level. I've said before he reminds me of typical small Spanish midfielders, comfortable on the ball and carries the ball forward in midfield with quick feet rather than pace and power. He also scored a couple of good goals in that u17 cup final. One to be patient with to see how he deals with more physical players, and how he develops physically himself.
Not seen much of Safa but from what I have he looks like he's probably most comfortable as a tidy holding midfielder, and one who's a passer rather than a dribbler or someone who bombs forward. Like Wales he's not the biggest, but young enough that he could still be growing and getting stronger.
Brown is a RB/RWB, another I saw mainly in u21 cameos so will be interesting how he progresses at that level. I get the impression he's a solid all rounder who gets up and down the pitch well, rather than being a pure defender or an out and out attacking wing back. Nothing wrong with that, Josh Edwards is exactly that for us.
Interesting that Bower and Hobden got new deals, it wouldn't have surprised me if they had been released. Good players at u21 level though, so maybe the club feel they can help them take their games up another level this season and push them closer to the first team. Bower as many have said before has a great left foot, and Jones will surely like Hobden's energy and aggression.
Bower has the skills and talent but his stature will, I think, ultimately hold him back. A real shame because his left peg is literally a wand
Reid is VERY exciting and he will get people off their seats. Tall and slender but has a real ability to beat his man. Very unusual for a Charlton player and I hope we get a few cameos in the next year or so
His left foot precision is fantastic, but his stature is not really a defenders one.
Maybe he will become a midfield player in the long run.
Hobden is not especially eye catching, but he can have many a flawless game at his level, but Ruben Reid (our young one, not the other one!) is certainly an eye catching player, not somebody defenders find straightforward to deal with.
Manu Wales is another one to watch out for, very good close control once in receipt of the ball.
https://farnboroughfc.co.uk/2025/08/bower-loaned-to-boro/
Given that we said we don't like loaning below the National League because the players dont keep up the fitness.