Former Charlton Athletic defender Harry Lennon opens up on retirement – and explains why quitting had been contemplated two years earlier

BY EDMUND BRACK
edmund@slpmedia.co.uk

Former Charlton Athletic defender Harry Lennon has revealed that he first seriously contemplated hanging up his boots two years before his recent retirement.

Addicks academy graduate Lennon, 28, made just two appearances for Phil Parkinson’s Wrexham side in the season just completed, with the former Gillingham and Cambridge loanee calling time on his playing career at the end of the campaign.

While it was a surprise to those who knew Lennon, it was a decision which had been in the making since 2021.

“I came to the end of my time at Southend, where I had broken my foot, both my legs and had two knee operations, so by the end of my three years there, I was actually thinking about packing it in,” Lennon explained to the South London Press.

“I was 26 when I left Southend, and mentally it was tough. I was flying in the pre-season and in my first league game for them, I broke my foot. Then in my first game back from that, I broke my leg.

“I had plenty of screws and plates in my legs. It was from then that I never felt right with my legs.

“I have ended up getting issues with my knees which have been the biggest issue since. It’s tough watching the lads going out to training every day and you’re stuck in the gym.

“I got used to going into football and not even training in the end, just going in to do rehab. That’s when you have to start looking at it and saying: ‘Is it worth it?’

“I have only just put it out there that I am retiring, but mentally, I have gotten my head around it for the last two or three years.

“I have had loads of messages with people being shocked, but it’s something I have mentally prepared for. I’m as happy as I have been in my personal life, so it’s no issue. I’m settled in north Wales with my girlfriend. It just wasn’t going right for me on the pitch.”

Lennon came through Charlton’s academy after joining  in 2003. He made his professional debut in an FA Cup clash under Chris Powell in a fourth-round clash at Huddersfield in 2014.

“I was on the bench a few times travelling up and down the country with the squad,” Lennon recalled of waiting to make his Addicks bow.

“My mum and dad were coming up and down, hoping that I was going to my debut and they didn’t want to miss it.

“Cedric Evina went down injured, so Chris Powell turned to me and told me to get ready – it all happened very quickly. It was a massive surprise, so I didn’t have time to think about it or get nervous – it was the best way to do it as a youngster.

“To make my Charlton debut was unbelievable. Chris Powell was great for me. He always seemed to give me a lot of confidence – he made me feel like the best centre-back around.”

The defender stayed in and around the first team for the rest of the campaign – making his league debut at Doncaster.

But at the start of the 2015-16 season, the then 20-year-old decided to head out on loan to Gillingham in League One.

“I had a really good loan,” said Lennon, who featured eight times and scored twice during his time at the Kent club.

“We were top of League One at the time and I had a good two months of playing – it was my first real stint in first-team football.

“It got to November and there were a lot of injuries to defenders at Charlton. I remember being called back – I didn’t want to leave at the time. We were flying and I just assumed I was going to go back to Charlton and sit on the bench again.”

Then Charlton boss Karel Fraeye threw Lennon into the first-team fold, he featured in 15 successive matches as the Addicks battled to avoid the drop from the Championship.

“The club wasn’t in the best position when I went back, especially with the stuff going on at home games and protests with the owners,” said Lennon.

“It was crazy. I was only 20, so to go into that was a big thing at that age. Even though we weren’t getting the results, I felt that I was playing well and I got a couple of goals. It was great for me. My family are Charlton fans. My dad grew up in Eltham – it was a massive thing for me to play in the first team.”

Although Fraeye was replaced by Riga for his second stint and The Valley, Lennon lost his place in the side after he was sent off in a 2-1 defeat at Preston and the Addicks were relegated to League One. An issue with his pubic bone sidelined Lennon for almost the entirety of 2017, with his time at the club coming to an end in the summer of 2018.

“After that season where I played quite a few games, I had an injury which was creeping in, and I was out for 14 months after that,” said Lennon.

“I was coming off the back of my best season, in terms of playing I was playing really well, but I couldn’t build on that.

“Karl Robinson was in charge, then it was Lee Bowyer, and when you’re out for that long, it takes a while to get back up to speed.

“Once I got the call about the Southend interest, at the time, I was happy to leave. I had another year on my contract, but I didn’t want to be the fifth-choice centre-back.

“Southend at the time looked a more stable club. Chris Powell was in charge too, which was the biggest reason I signed. I went to Southend feeling the fittest I have ever felt.

“I was at Charlton for 15 years – it was massive for me.

“The biggest achievement in my career was representing the club and the first team.

“When I look back at my career, playing in the Championship for Charlton and scoring at The Valley were the proudest moments I have had.

“Even though it didn’t work out the way I would have liked, I had some unbelievable memories there.”

Lennon’s last appearance in football came in a 2-2 draw at Woking in February. So what is next for the former professional footballer?

“I can’t see myself going into coaching,” he admitted.

“I have a few things in mind – nothing set in stone. But I’m a hard worker, so I know whatever I do, I will be okay.

“I’ll take the summer to have some real time off to think about things and see what’s out there.”

PICTURES: KEITH GILLARD