Fans in the dugout on match days

Charlton are going to be the first club to have fans in the dugout at matches.  A fans’ panel is to be assembled with one representative selected at random from each of the stands and a chair elected by Valley Gold subscribers.

The manager will coach the team during the week and then report to the fans’ panel on Friday afternoon on performances and injuries.

In the meantime the fans will have been visiting the social media sites of Saturday’s opposition to see what their fans think of their players, which are any good and which are judged to be a waste of space (usually most of them).   With all this information they will then select the team and the formation.

On match day the manager will be in the technical area and give tactical instructions to the team.  However, the fans’ panel will vote on the timing and selection of substitutions, but the manager will be allowed a vote.

Under Roland the club had considered complementing the fans’ sofa with a fan’s consultant in the dugout, but the idea fell through when it was revealed that Jonathan Acworth was the preferred choice.

A club spokesman said: ‘It is clear from their comments on social media that fans know a lot about how the team should be selected and the game played, so we thought we would harness that knowledge and enthusiasm.’

Asked whether many fans had coaching badges, the spokesman said that kind of technical knowledge could be deployed in training during the week.   The fans had an instinctive understanding of the game as shown by the success that many of them had enjoyed on Fifa, Football Manager etc.   Indeed, some had direct playing experience of Sunday league football.

Charlton continue to emphasise winning

Even the most pessimistic Charlton supporters have abandoned their 'we'll be playing in League Two next season' narrative.  The remaining matches are something of a balance between trying out new ideas and ensuring that we finish as high up the table as possible: https://londonnewsonline.co.uk/outside-factors-wont-impact-on-charlton-athletic-team-selection/

Richard Cawley notes that Charlton had the seventh highest spend on intermediary (largely agents) fees in League 1 between Feb 21 and Jan 22 - £198k. Most was the Massives at £796k, closely followed by Ipswich £779k.

Cawley will have something to say in the SLP tomorrow about reports on a clickbait site that Tottenham Hotspur are 'furious' about Charlton's failure to use Nile John.  It's hardly worth responding to.

Greatest game hero takes charge of Wombles

Mark Bowen is possibly one of the least remembered members of our Greatest Game side, but he did score one of the crucial penalties.   He was on Charlton Live recently.   He was keen on the Charlton job when it became available.

Now he has taken charge of relegation threatened AFC Wimbledon until the end of the season.   After playing away to the Massives on Saturday, next Tuesday the Wombles are at home to Charlton.

No doubt this twice rearranged match will be portrayed as a 'South London derby'.   Many fans were critical of it being postponed again, but we are looking stronger and we want as many points as possible to get a respectable finish.   So no favours for Mark.

Charlton play Lincoln at home on Saturday.   Imps supporters said that when we played up there we were the worst team they had seen all season.   They may have had a point, but hopefully we have improved.

Johnnie Jackson has reiterated his view that it was the right decision to rearrange the match: https://londonnewsonline.co.uk/charlton-athletic-boss-johnnie-jackson-gives-his-reaction-to-dons-appointing-mark-bowen/

Sandgaard explains signing problems

Charlton owner Thomas Sandgaard explains why recruitment was slow to get under way last summer and why it may not be plain sailing this time: https://londonnewsonline.co.uk/charlton-athletic-owner-sandgaard-on-reason-they-cant-always-be-in-control-of-transfer-signings/

His many critics may see this as getting his excuses in early, but fans are often very impatient, although it is important to involve new signings in as much of the pre-season as possible.   Last year one problem was that we targeted players who could get into the Championship or sign for a clear promotion prospect like Wigan.

As I have said before, without going all Acworth, sometimes there is hidden talent lower down the leagues, including the non-league system.  It can be relatively cheap and Accrington have done well with Colby Bishop.

Jacko: 'I've seen it all at Charlton'

Johnnie Jackson was interviewed on Talk Sport today.   Here are a few key quotes, some of them courtesy of VOTV columnist Natasha Everitt.

Jacko said: “I've seen it all [at Charlton], I’ve been through some real ups and downs. There was a period there under Chris Powell where we had success and I was really hoping that that would be the catalyst for the club to kick on, and that never happened..."

“Then we got momentum again under Lee Bowyer and myself when we managed to get promoted again to the Championship, but history repeated itself really and we didn’t get the help we needed that season to make a real go of it. We found ourselves falling backwards again.  It’s been disillusioning..."

“But this time round with the owner we’ve got now, Thomas Sandgaard, there’s some real positivity around the place and he’s got some real ambitions for the football club... hopefully those couple of decades are behind us.  The club is in a much better place, much better hands.”

The Orange One recalled the hostile reception he got at The Valley, but spoke positively about JJ: ‘He sounds like a very grown up manager.  I want him to do well.’  Jim White, Roland's mate, reminded listeners that we were going to miss out on the play offs again.

Jacko said we’ve got to try and finish the season strong, win every game.   We need a feel good factor around the place, ending the season with some optimism, some positivity.    It was his 12^th season at the club in different roles. ‘I’ve got a real feeling for what the club’s about.   Although I am a young manager I bring a lot of club experience to the table.’

Jacko admitted that it had been more challenging than he had expected.  ‘We were at our most depleted when we faced the toughest run of fixtures.  We’ve come through it now.  It makes you stronger in the long run.’

‘It’s a really important summer for us, recruitment is going to be key.  I have a clear idea of the type of squad I want to build, keeping the right ones from this year that we’ve got a nucleus of.  We’ll need the owner’s help with that.’

More here: https://talksport.com/football/efl/1074825/charlton-athletic-news-johnnie-jackson-thomas-sandgaard-efl/

Was Jonatan Johansson a one season wonder?

The latest Four Four Two has a supplement on the invention of football, or rather 30 years of the Premier League.   One feature is on 'One-Season Wonders' and among those included is Jonatan Johansson.

This magazine has a bit of form with Charlton, having predicted a dire fate in the year we won the League One championship with Chris Powell.   The club bought the framed copy of the cover.

I liked JJ as a player and I think his contribution went beyond the goals he scored.   I remember the warm reception he received as a Finnish international (106 caps) when we played a friendly against Oulu in northern Finland.

Four Four Two points out that he scored his 13th goal of the season on New Year's Day 2001.   'Newly promoted Charlton were eighth in the table and the £3.5m attacker's noggin had just delivered league goal No.10 of a stellar six months.'

'The former Rangers man managed a mere 17 over the next five years, however, before a six month loan at Championship Norwich in January 2006 finished his spell in English football.'

He did some coaching in Scotland and married a Scottish television presenter.  Returning to Finland, he has been manager of TPS Turku (where he played) since 2020.

Could do better but CBT our main man

Jaded journo Richard Cawley was a bit sarky about  junior journo Louis Mendez and his four match takeaways on Twitter today.  It is true that he does tend to reflect conventional wisdom, but you can read loads of stuff in left field on social media: https://londonnewsonline.co.uk/four-takeaways-from-charltons-1-0-triumph-at-doncaster-rovers-that-could-have-been-a-lot-more-comfortable/