Charlton In Freefall Following Second Parachute Failure

Not so long ago Charlton Athletic were seen as the perfect template for smaller clubs to follow, having established themselves among the Premiership elite courtesy of a sensible and prudent board that displayed loyalty to a well regarded manager. However, since Alan Curbishley’s departure the club has gone into a tailspin from which it seems unable to recover, with a succession of managers coming and going, relegation from the top-flight and financial meltdown that has led to the departure of numerous key players. There was some brief hope when it appeared that Charlton were in line to be taken over by the Dubai-based Zabeel Investments, but the indicative offer eventually fell through and the downward spiral has since gathered pace.

Now winless in 14 matches, nine of which have been lost, these are desperate times down at the Valley. Whilst the current squad might not be capable of challenging for promotion, they really shouldn’t be propping up the Championship table alongside Doncaster Rovers given the quality in the ranks compared to many of their peers. The departure of Alan Pardew has had little immediate impact in terms of results, with just a couple of points from Phil Parkinson’s first six games at the helm.

With the January transfer window soon to open for business, the fact that Charlton have already loaned out Darren Ambrose and Luke Varney ahead of proposed permanent deals next month suggests that there could be something of a fire-sale looming at the Valley, with the club desperate to cash-in where possible to help fund the compensation for Pardew and in readiness for the loss of parachute payments at the end of the current campaign.

In addition to Ambrose and Varney, it would also be no great surprise if Zheng Zhi, injury problems notwithstanding, were to move on. Quite how much will be going into the Charlton coffers from the sales of these players is another matter but, given the apparent desperation, those old chestnuts, “nominal” and “undisclosed” fees could well be much in evidence. With the emphasis in getting high earners off the payroll, there could be further departures next month, be it on a temporary or permanent basis – Andy Gray? Izale McLeod? Svetoslav Todorov? Keeping hold of Jonjo Shelvey, very much the great hope as things stand, could prove impossible were any decent offers to come in.

With the potential loss of so many players, it will be crucial that those brought are willing to play for the shirt, rather than simply coming in to make up the numbers. Parkinson has already stated the need for new faces, but until the long-term managerial situation is clarified it’s difficult to see how the club will be able to attract players of the requisite calibre, even before taking into account their league position and financial predicament. If they are again to rely heavily on loan deals, then at the very least the emphasis should be on young players looking to make a name for themselves.

Use of the loan system is now an integral part of business for many clubs outside the top-flight and, as Tony Pulis proved with Stoke City last term, it can be of huge benefit if the right players are brought in. It’s a policy that simply has not worked, either last season or during the current campaign, for Charlton though and Parkinson’s recruitment of veteran has-beens Keith Gillespie and Deon Burton certainly does little to suggest that he is any closer to finding answers than his predecessor.

Other loan deals that smacked of desperation were those that took Linvoy Primus and Martin Cranie to Charlton from Portsmouth. These were (whatever the two clubs say) surely nothing other than sweeteners as part of the deal that saw Jerome Thomas make the move in the other direction for a “nominal fee”, although whether any of the parties involved actually gained from the moves is open to question.

The likes of Paul Ince and the Bristol Rovers duo of Paul Trollope and former Charlton boss Lennie Lawrence have recently been mentioned as potential successors, but it seems that the cash-strapped board are prepared to give Parkinson as long as possible to prove his worth in the hope of securing a cheap in-house successor to Pardew. Unfortunately results to date suggest that he is too closely associated with his predecessor and the malaise that has set in to be deemed a genuine long-term option. The Charlton set-up in terms of management and squad could look very different by the end of January. If the wrong decisions are made again on the recruitment front, the Addicks could have much further to fall both on and off the pitch.