Charlton Athletic League One Odds: Addicks 5/1 to secure Championship return

It is six years since Charlton last dragged themselves out of League One and, after years of off-the-field turbulence and underachievement on the pitch, hopes are high that they can turn the corner under former Luton boss Nathan Jones.

Charlton Athletic League One Odds

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Jones enjoyed great success at the Hatters as the Bedfordshire club moved through the leagues, but will feel he has a point to prove after an unsuccessful short stint in the Premier League at Southampton.

Two defeats in his 16 matches at the Addicks helm suggest the south-east London club could be moving in the right direction and hopes will be high of a promotion push despite the fact star striker Alfie May has left to join Birmingham City.

May’s 23 goals which led to him being the third-tier’s leading marksman last season were invaluable to the Addicks, who even found themselves nervously looking over their shoulders last term when possible relegation to League Two became a subject of conversation around The Valley.

After the uninspired stewardship of Michael Appleton, who had taken the helm from Dean Holden after he left early in the campaign, Charlton climbed to 16th, but there is still a great deal of improvement needed as they have still won just four times under Jones’s management.

Obtaining the services of a manager who was so highly regarded before his sorry time at St Mary’s was still considered a bit of a coup for a team two-thirds of the way down League One, and Jones has had a busy summer, bringing in seven players and eyeing more if he could push a few more out of the door before the window closes.

He will definitely think he needs to trim the squad after they used a whopping 42 players in last term’s unsuccessful campaign.

The quality of the players who have been introduced has been encouraging for Charlton followers and experience has been added to a team who seemed to continually concede last goals that hampered their progress.

The seasoned Matt Godden comes in up front having scored eight goals in the Championship for Coventry last term, while big things will also be expected of Moroccan Gassan Ahadme after he was on target 13 times for Cambridge last season, a tally that included a brace in a 2-2 in a league visit to The Valley.

That means they are well stacked up front with big things still expected from Daniel Kanu, who was prolific at the club at youth level and did well on a loan spell at Southend.

Miles Leaburn has proved a real handful for defences, just as his father Carl used to be when he was leading the Addicks’ attack during the club’s Premier League days.

Other notable additions have been Luke Berry, who was playing in the top-flight for Luton last season and Gary Docherty, who will be the new captain after his arrival from Hull and the departure of George Dobson, who has headed to Wrexham.

After finishing 16th last season, it would be seen by some supporters as a huge leap for Charlton to get into the promotion picture, but their fans will feel they have been dwelling in the lower divisions for too long.

At least Jones has made them more difficult to beat, but their last play-off victory over Sunderland in 2019 when Patrick Bauer grabbed a dramatic winner now seems a long time ago.

There have been false dawns before, but there is a feeling a manager, assisted by the experienced Paul Hart, is now in place who can take the club back into the Championship and there has been support for Jones in the transfer window.

A solid start could put them in the promotion picture and it could be a successful season, but anyone who has watched Charlton over the last decade or so will know it’s rarely as simple as that down in SE7.