Why Charlton should give Powell a new deal right now
By Barnie Razzell.
In the humble opinion of this fan, Charlton Manager Chris Powell should be handed a contract extension immediately to bring some stability to the club. Our squad is in dire need of some investment, loans alone of the kind we are likely to get will not be enough to prevent disaster.
In order for this to happen the renewal of deals for some key assets to the club needs to be resolved right away in my view, starting with the backroom staff and Chris Powell himself. The uncertainty of not extending our Manager's deal beyond this summer is arguably destabilising and will put question marks in the mind of anyone who is contemplating signing for us, as well as creating a general feeling of uncertainty, and we have had more than enough of that over the past year with takeovers and speculation. Indeed the uncertainty of having a Manager, backroom staff and a number of first teamers able to walk out of the door come June and already be talking to other, may be affecting those players who are here with us right now.
To not extend the Managers contract at this stage would I believe be very risky and could mean another year wasted in what we assume will be our new owners plans to gain promotion to the Premiership, and another year or more in League 1. Fans understand new owners want to run the rule over staff, players, and pretty much everything else, but the precarious position of the club also requires a decisive action to push us in the right direction right away.
The apparent reluctance of our previous owners to invest in new contracts for some of our assets ideally last season (meaning we may now not even get a fee for some of our stars) and bring in new players for whatever reason may cause heated debate among fans but what is clear right now is we are very much the wrong end of the table, and it is my belief that Powell should be given a deal and some resources that he has been so far denied this season.
Chris is highly regarded in the game by those who he works with as a highly professional and able manager, and a of course a legend to fans as a player; and also a very decent bloke we understand. Despite being his first managerial job, he has shown that when resourced properly he can build a team, win things, and get the best out of individuals, e.g. Kermogant, Stephens, Morrison, the results are there in front of us. Our squad is however scarily thin with quality first teamers and needs attention particularly a decent striker - 4 left the club last summer Fuller, Haynes, BWP and loanee Obika, and were replaced with 1 plus another loanee who hasn't worked out.
BR