CAST was delighted on Wednesday evening to host a webinar with writers and journalists Daniel Storey (DS), Rich Cawley (RC) and Ben Ransom (BR). CAST board members Heather Alderson, Bob Munro and Alex Whitmore asked the questions put forward by Charlton fans in the audience.
All three journalists were optimistic about Charlton's survival chances in The Championship - placing us 19th (DS); 17th (RC) and 15th after a flirt in the top half (BR). RC noted that Nathan Jones's style of football should work well in disrupting more possession-based teams. DS stressed that the financial gap between clubs with parachute payments and the rest was massive and that there was no shame in losing to a club with parachute payments. He stressed that if Charlton stay up by finishing 19th, they may well lose twenty games, and supporters who have become used to winning games in League One will have to accept those defeats and stay resilient and loyal. Sticking together will be crucial. Nathan Jones loves to prove people wrong and the players will delight in bloodying a few noses. BR said he thinks most pundits have Charlton bottom half but staying up, particularly after the recent transfer activity which has made the squad "closer to being competitive". One challenge will be how well-resourced Wrexham and Birmingham are. BR felt that Charlton's owners would be pragmatic but, with the money that has been spent, they would want to see Nathan Jones begin to realise the club's potential.
RC didn't think that Charlton's transfer activity was necessarily over and that there might be more incomings. The unknown factor at present is whether some of the signings will be able to make the step up to The Championship where the technical ability is higher and the game is played at greater speed. No-one thought the size of the squad would be a problem for Nathan Jones. RC said that with nine substitutes we are looking at a twenty-player match day environment. DS said that tired players make mistakes which will be punished in The Championship and Jones will be aware of the need to refresh. RC thought that Daniel Kanu and Gassan Ahadme were likely to go out on loan but there were unlikely to be incoming loans unless the season starts badly. DS said a worry might be where the goals will come from as Oloafe and Kelman are a gamble at Championship level. RC said the transfer which most surprised him was Sonny Carey because it was kept under wraps so well. DS stressed what a good goal keeper Kaminski is - having played every game in The Premier League in 23/24 and being highly rated by Luton fans. He also said the ex-Luton players were no surprise as Jones "knows what he likes and likes what he knows".
In terms of current players RC said it will be interesting to see whether they can adapt to the demands of the higher level. In answer to a specific question, he reckoned that Greg Docherty will need to fight for his starting place as Joe Rankin-Costello plays in centre midfield. He thought that Tyreece Campbell would get plenty of game time as Nathan Jones is a "massive believer in him". He said that at times last season it looked too easy for Kayne Ramsay in League One as he dealt almost "contemptuously" with opponents. If he does the same in The Championship there might well be interest from other clubs.
Who will provide the most challenging opposition? DS said Ipswich's squad was pretty formidable and frightening. RC thought Sheffield United might win the league and that Leicester might make the play-offs even with points deductions. BR said the expectation on Reuben Seles's shoulders at Sheffield United was very high and that Leicester might be short of a striker. He said he looked forward to the post match interviews with Nathan Jones at Southampton and Stoke.
And Millwall? RC said that Millwall had recruited well in this window and were an example of what could be achieved in The Championship. However, the run against them "has to end sometime" and the Nathan Jones factor at a full Valley will have an impact.
DS visited all 92 grounds last season and was asked what we can look forward to in The Championship. Bramall Lane, Fratton Park and Portman Road were his favourites because they were authentic, earthy places. He thought Ashton Gate had been rebuilt well. He had no time for the new out of town stadia and was particularly scathing about Pride Park. He said that away fans could certainly make a difference in some of the new stadia. When asked why he had placed The Valley 44th out of the 92 he stressed how much he liked the ground but that he had come to a midweek game v Barnsley when perhaps The Valley wasn't at its best. His lowest ranked stadia were Colchester and West Ham.
At this point a poll was conducted among those attending which asked who of the new players was most likely to win player of the year for the 25/26 season. Harvey Knibbs won it with Thomas Kaminski a strong second.
Was Chris Powell every likely to return to Charlton? RC said he had asked him in his recent podcast and Powell had not ruled it out even though he lives in The Midlands now. He said the club had approached him after Dean Holden's departure but that Powell hadn't felt it was the right time. DS said that, after the very difficult recent times at Sheffield Wednesday, Powell might fancy a break for a while but that he was "born to coach and manage" and would never be short of offers. BR thought Powell would be Charlton's next manager. DS thought that appointing people with previous connections to a club could be very effective if it was organic and it was no coincidence that some clubs experienced their greatest successes in this way (e.g. Curbishley, Powell, Bowyer) but that it wasn't useful if former players are just "wheeled in".
The panel was asked what Charlton was like to deal with as journalists. RC said his relationship with the club hadn't changed since starting on Substack. DS said that, unlike some clubs that are becoming ‘content-creating behemoths’, CAFC are "one of the good ones" and were generally welcoming to ideas. He and BR were very complimentary about Tom Rubashow ("a delight"). BR said that most EFL club's media teams see media interest as a positive and are welcoming whereas Premier League club's teams often act as gatekeepers. The Charlton Academy was cited as a very important and unique hook for Charlton Athletic to tell its story
On the subject of social media, RC said it was weird but quite funny when someone set up an X account posing as him. He said that there was so much misinformation out there that it could be quite tiresome. DS admitted to spending too much time scrolling and said most of what he came across was generally friendly. BR said that Sky had a whole team dedicated to transfer speculation and working 24/7. They realise that if they can put out an update the interaction far exceeds anything else and that aggregated accounts mean that things just snowball. He recommended looking at the whole thing as a pantomime.
On the subject of changed kick-off times our panellists recognised the cost and inconvenience for fans but felt that the world had changed and football would never go back to 3pm Saturday. DS said that people had become fans of football generally and wanted to be able to see more games when their club isn't playing so there is some hypocrisy in complaining when their club's game is moved. BR and RC said that 12.30 kick offs meant that they could be home by 4pm which was nice. RC said that he was pleased when a Fulham game was moved to Sunday and he could watch it.
DS stressed that kick off times could be very challenging for fans but that the focus should be on the state of public transport which in his view is a disgrace.
On behalf of all Charlton fans Heather Alderson expressed thanks to the experts for a fascinating evening. We all look forward to enjoying watching our club fulfil their belief that survival in The Championship is achievable.
Addicks can access Daniel’s writing and latest project via iPaper.co.uk. They can subscribe to Rich Cawley’s writing via South London Sport on Substack. They can read Ben’s reflections on 90s football in the award-winning fanzine, MODMag as well as looking out for him on the telly.
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