Conor Washington will play in the Championship next season – but final season in a Charlton shirt still stings

Conor Washington ended up with a promotion this summer, but the fact the same could not be said for Charlton Athletic is something that rankles the Northern Ireland international.

The Addicks announced on May 10 that the 30-year-old striker would not be offered a contract extension.

But Washington will not be facing his former employer next season in League One after signing a two-year deal with Championship new boys Rotherham United.

The former QPR and Peterborough United forward scored 22 goals in 76 outings for the Addicks – not all of those appearances being in his favoured central attacking role.

Washington netted 11 in 35 League One matches last season, 28 of those starts, with only striker partner Jayden Stockley – 20 in all competitions – surpassing his total.

Charlton trailed 31 points behind Rotherham, who took the second automatic promotion spot, and were 24 points shy of sixth-placed Wycombe Wanderers.

The Addicks were also 15 points inferior on their 2020-21 total when they missed out on the play-offs on goal difference to Oxford United.

Washington describes his time at Charlton as “a mixed bag”.

“From a personal perspective, I really enjoyed it,” he said. “The stadium, the fans and the size of the club were great. A lot of the time I played in a system that suited me and I was effective. but there were obviously periods I didn’t do that.

“Ultimately as a team, it was a disappointing couple of seasons. You look at the player turnover and it has been really high.

“There have been loads of lads I played with who have been gone a long time. I guess it is always the same in League One, but a lot of the teams who are really successful and always get in the mix – the likes of Rotherham and Wycombe – get a core of players who stick together for at least a couple of seasons.

“I enjoyed living back down here with my family, it was great. For the most part I enjoyed it. The rapport I had with the fans, I think they appreciated what I did on the pitch as well, which helps.”

That last campaign stings for Washington.

Nigel Adkins was sacked in October with Charlton in the relegation zone and having won just two of their opening 13 league fixtures. Successor Johnnie Jackson instantly started to pick up victories to pull them clear of trouble but they still finished 13th, their lowest position in English football since the 1973-74 season.

“We got off to such a bad start and there was no real recovering from that,” said Washington. “As hard as we tried, and as well as we did under Jacko apart from a six or seven-game spell, we couldn’t gain the points.

“We were chasing our tail for the next 30 games, or however many it was after Nigel got sacked.

“It was just a tough one. The squad had changed a hell of a lot again and then you get a managerial change in the middle of the season – it’s always going to be tough.

“You get that initial bounce, like you always do, but then you’re trying to implement new tactics and strategies in the middle of the season when a lot of teams have already hit their groove.

“It was bitterly disappointing. As a group of players, we just couldn’t believe what happened in those first 15 games.”

Washington played under three different Charlton managers during his stint in SE7, with Lee Bowyer quitting for Birmingham City in March 2021.

Charlton lost just one of their final 15 league games under Adkins, who signed a two-and-a-half-year contract.

“Bows hadn’t been in the job very long but tactically he was good,” said Washington.

“A lot of the stuff we were doing was based around a game plan of how to hurt the opposition. I played in loads of different roles and positions to get the best out of me and to effect the other team.

“We were all a bit disappointed to see him go. I don’t think we got off to a particularly great start then either. First of all it was really strange to play that whole season behind closed doors [due to Covid]. I genuinely do believe that made a big difference.

“We had a couple of thousand fans for the Doncaster game [a 3-1 loss on September 19 which was supposed to be a pilot scheme for grounds to open back up] and then the Sunderland game was after that – we just had no players.

“We’d lost Macauley Bonne [sold to QPR after the club lost their Championship status], and I think I was the only fit, recognised striker at the time. I was playing up front on my own against Sunderland, at home, against a back five – I just don’t think we got the recruitment right early enough in that period which was so difficult because of Thomas [Sandgaard] coming in when he did [acquiring the club on September 25].

“Even mine and Alex Gilbey’s transfers were all over the place for a good week before it could all get signed off on [Washington’s deal was confirmed on August 13].”

Washington believes it was only when Jackson stepped up from assistant boss to replace Adkins that he was utilised in a position and system that allowed him to play through the middle and make runs in behind centre-backs.

The Addicks’ former captain settled on 3-5-2 with Washington paired with Stockley.

“I was disappointed not to score more after coming back from the injury I had,” said Washington. “But if I hadn’t got a grade one hamstring injury at Bolton then I think I’d have gone on to score five or six more in those last few games.

“There was evident ring rust in those last few matches. I missed chances I wouldn’t usually have missed if I was fully fit.

“The injury kept me out for nearly a month, which was disappointing because I felt I was on a good run of form up until that point.

“Johnnie did a great job. I always liken it to, say for example, Mason Burstow coming in. He was still raw. You could see the talent was there but he’s going to make plenty of mistakes because he is only 18 years old.

“This was Jacko’s first job. Jacko was brought in under a high-pressure situation – to get results instantly – and with the tools he had at his disposal he decided on this style of play and this formation. He did tweak it, it’s not like he didn’t.

“Ultimately you look at his success rate and win rate when everyone was fit, I think it’s more than good when you compare it to the last five or six managers the club has had.

“You don’t really want to talk about luck in football but to lose me, Jayden and Chuks [Aneke] at the same time for five or six games was an absolute killer really. It also coincided with probably the toughest fixture schedule of the season – we basically played everyone in the top 10.

“It’s evident how good a job he did because otherwise you don’t walk straight into a job like AFC Wimbledon. He’s obviously still really highly thought of.”

Washington dismisses any notion that Charlton’s succession of dead rubbers after safety was secured had an impact on performances down the final stretch.

“I can only speak for myself and it’s quite easy to stay motivated as a striker because you’re always chasing goals, no matter where you are in the table or whether you’ve got three years left or no years left [on your contract],” he said.

“I’ve always looked at teams in that position and thought ‘defenders might give you a chance, because they might not quite be at the races’. But my motivation in those situations never wavers. I don’t know if that is down to myself or the position I play in. I feel like most strikers will be the same.”