Torrid week still leaves us waiting for Godden

There were always going to be weeks like this.

Well, perhaps not quite like this. When Southampton scored four times in eight minutes last weekend, Charlton looked at serious risk of collapsing to their worst-ever home defeat, surpassing even the 7-1 shellacking by Everton in October 1930.

And conceding two goals at Stoke City in the first five minutes, followed before the interval by a nightmare third for goalkeeper Thomas Kaminski, rendered the second half as meaningful as a training ground knockabout for the second time in four days.

Following that, a 3-1 defeat at runaway leaders Coventry City was no more than a routine setback by comparison, and at least this time the Addicks led through Harvey Knibbs and the scoreline remained competitive until a deflection set up the Sky Blues’ third goal on 76 minutes.

However, it still meant that Charlton had lost four consecutive league matches for the first time since August 2023 and conceded 11 times – scoring twice – in eight days, almost doubling the number of goals they had let in in the previous 15 matches in the process.

Spaced out through the autumn, these defeats would have been less unnerving. The reaction of Addicks fans at Coventry was telling, however, with many staying behind to applaud the team at the final whistle.

Football supporters can often have short memories when thing go wrong, but surely not so brief as to disregard the long years of disappointment and disarray that preceded Nathan Jones’ appointment as manager in 2024.

Jones and his players have plenty of credit in the bank and 23 points from 18 games remains a decent return at this stage for a club returning to the Championship after spending eight of the last nine seasons at the level below. It was always going to take time to rebuild in the second tier and if the Addicks can get even close to 30 points by the halfway mark on Boxing Day they will be in a strong position to consolidate.

Even the 3-0 win at Ipswich in October didn’t shape up so very differently to these recent games initially, except that Ipswich never scored, and the entertaining post-match chant there of “Crystal Palace, we’re coming for you” was surely never more than tongue in cheek. 

Yet there is rightly a determination to embrace the joy of being back on the Championship stage at long last and deep delight in the late goals against Watford, Sheffield United, Hull City and West Bromwich Albion which helped lift the Addicks briefly into the top six.

Win or lose, this is football of a sharply different order to most of the contests of the last five years. There is no humiliation in defeat by any Championship opponent, which was not the case in League One where the Addicks mostly had a significant financial advantage.

The critical difference this season to Charlton’s last promotion in 2019, when they made a similar start, is that the owners have used the additional central income to invest in the squad. Some signings will fall short over time, while other players will fail to make the step up. But the club should still have enough to survive. There is no Lyle Taylor in the squad to step away for selfish reasons or Conor Gallagher to be stolen back in January by his parent club.

Certainly, the loss of Josh Edwards, Reece Burke and Amari’i Bell, whose importance to the team’s shape was only underpinned by his abortive comeback at Coventry, has taken its toll. The unexpected short-term signing last week of 32-year-old Guadeloupe defender Jerome Rousillon feels like a worthwhile excursion into the unknown. 

The patched up defence may have been cracked open by stronger teams in the last eight days, but its previous resilience also shielded the Addicks from their larger problem at the other end of the pitch, where the four designated strikers have still scored just three times this season. Sonny Carey’s five goals have been a crucial mitigation.

The strikers are starting to bear the brunt of fans' frustrations, but they don’t deserve to be scapegoated individually. Each has contributed to the team’s performances and there are questions about the creativity of the midfield and wing-backs, with clear-cut chances often at a premium. Even so, it is very hard to see any of the four scoring double figures, and they may not even do so collectively. It is surely not enough, even if the problem can't be immediately resolved.

Decent opportunities for Tanto Olaofe and Tyreece Campbell at Coventry went begging because their respective efforts lacked conviction, even allowing for their work in the build-up to them.

Daniel Kanu and Micah Mbick are scoring goals for fun on loan in League Two at Walsall and Colchester United, but as with Olaofe and Charlie Kelman in League One last season, that is no guarantee they are ready to make the step up.

Where this leaves Charlton, apparently, is waiting for Godot - sorry, I mean Godden. With Jones characteristically unforthcoming about recovery timelines, the 34-year-old’s appearance remains as uncertain as that of Samuel Beckett’s fictional impending saviour. 

Unlike Campbell, Miles Leaburn, Olaofe and Kelman, Godden has a scoring pedigree in the Championship, with 32 goals in 112 second-tier appearances for Coventry.

Godot, of course, never did turn up. Let’s hope that Godden does, in every sense. It is the team’s firepower, not just any defensive frailty, which will determine its fate. But in the meantime, let us continue to relish being at this level again at last. Despite the last week, it is still so very good to be back.

Rick Everitt