Richard Cawley’s big-match verdict: Charlton drop into Championship relegation zone for first time – what are the factors behind their struggles?

CHARLTON 0
MIDDLESBROUGH 1
McNair 17
BY RICHARD CAWLEY AT THE VALLEY

There’s no good time to drop into the relegation zone. But it’s even more the case as the number of matches remaining goes into single digits.

Saturday was the first time all season that Charlton Athletic have been in the Championship bottom three.

The Addicks had recently recorded victories over Luton Town and Barnsley in SE7. Making it a hat-trick of wins over the bottom three going into Saturday’s contest would have seen them move four points clear of trouble – daylight.

Instead, Paddy McNair’s first-half goal – punishing a wayward backpass by Ben Purrington which put Rudy Gestede on the attack – saw Middlesbrough leapfrog the South Londoners. Darkness.

Nine games to go. It’s sink or swim time for Charlton as an instant return to League One becomes a very real possibility.

There are clubs in worse form than Lee Bowyer’s side. And next up is the one whose results have really gone off a cliff in 2020 – Hull City.

Just as with the Boro fixture, the repercussions are huge.

We can talk about Charlton’s lack of substantial business in the January transfer window – let’s get on to that in a moment – but Hull owner Assem Allam’s decision to allow both of his outstanding attackers Kamil Grosicki and Jarred Bowen to leave in January has backfired badly.

City have two points from a possible 20, eight fewer than the Addicks over the same period, and have conceded an eye-watering 28 goals in the last 10 matches. That’s freefall, in anybody’s book.

The question is whether Charlton can stop their own decline and pile more misery on their hosts at the KCOM Stadium this weekend.

It’s three losses in a row for the Addicks and they have not scored in any of those. It’s pretty vital to retain a cutting edge when you’ve only kept two clean sheets in the last 26 matches in all competitions.

These are pressure points that are being played for now. Go back to that 3-0 win over Derby County in the middle of October, and you wouldn’t have believed that  Charlton would have been drawn into the desperate and dirty scrap.

But they are. And, with all these things, there is always multiple reasons for that.

It’s not an excuse to say that the club’s horrendous injury record was a huge factor – up to 14 players out at one stage. And while the selection problems have abated for Bowyer in recent weeks, that doesn’t mean you can just flick a switch and regain the momentum and confidence being shown in the opening months.

Has Bowyer been able to name his strongest side since that result against the Rams? No. Even at the weekend he was missing Tom Lockyer and Naby Sarr, who surely would have been his starting centre-backs.

East Street Investments have come in for criticism from some sections of the fanbase for not injecting the kind of funds needed to make the January transfer window a huge success.

It’s telling that of the four loan signings made, only Andre Green has been a regular in the side.

Of Matt Smith’s 256 Championship minutes this season, only 62 minutes have been in a Charlton shirt.

And despite the fact that Bowyer switched shape at the weekend – starting with a 4-1-4-1 that morphed into 4-4-2 before the break – George Lapslie was preferred ahead of David Davis.

Aiden McGeady has made two starts and one substitute appearance  in the eight matches he has been eligible for.

Let’s be honest, the January window wouldn’t have gone any differently if Roland Duchatelet had still been responsible for sanctioning deals.

Effectively Charlton only replaced  loans that had been cut short. Conor Gallagher’s recall by Chelsea to then be sent to Swansea undoubtedly the most damaging. But Jonathan Leko had also made a decent contribution as well before a knee injury ended his campaign.

Yes, ESI kept Lyle Taylor. But Duchatelet turned down sizeable offers from Brentford at the end of August – the striker’s contractual status meaning that the same kinds of sums weren’t going to be there at the start of this year.

That isn’t meant as praise for the Belgian tycoon. Charlton’s playing wagebill was kept the same as when they were operating in League One. Money talks in this division.

It’s no coincidence that the three clubs with the lowest budgets – Barnsley, Luton and the Addicks – are in the relegation spots.

It was the same in 2018-19. Bolton, beset with financial problems that saw them enter administration, went down. Rotherham and Ipswich Town also made the drop.

When you talk about expectations for a club, it has to be measured by their expenditure.

It’s why Leeds United, West Brom and Fulham should be in the top three.

It’s why people thought that Charlton would face a tough time of it on their return to England’s second tier.

There has been some talk amongst supporters that relegation would actually aid a rebuilding job.

Sorry, I just don’t see that at all.

Charlton have major numbers coming out of contract at the end of June. There exists just the same opportunity for a major restructuring of the squad if they do consolidate Championship status.

And the frugal nature of life under Duchatelet means ESI did not need to worry about Financial Fair Play rules, the Addicks have plenty of flexibility in that respect.

Greater investment since May’s promotion would have given Charlton a better chance of beating the odds.

Instead they are now odds on with bookmakers to be heading back to League One.

The Addicks looked nervy on Saturday – particularly in a first half where their use of the ball was poor.

They’ve got to cope better with the pressure at Hull as well as showing more composure – because they also missed good chances against Boro.

Charlton (4-1-4-1): Phillips 6, Matthews 7, Pearce 6, Oshilaja 6, Purrington 5 (Hemed 83), Pratley 6, Green 6, Lapslie 6 (Bonne 46, 6), Cullen 6, Williams 5 (Doughty 66, 6), Taylor 6. Not used: Amos, McGeady, Smith, Davis.

PICTURES BY PAUL EDWARDS