Nathan Jones simply cannot suffer same disastrous Charlton Athletic fate as Lee Bowyer.

Charlton Athletic have made a strong start to their 2025/26 Championship campaign under Nathan Jones. The Addicks have maintained their promotion-winning momentum from League One into the new season, and they are presently sixth in the Championship table.

Charlton signed a number of new players during the summer transfer window to prepare for their return to the second tier, including Thomas Kaminski, Amari’i Bell, Sonny Carey, and Charlie Kelman, and their additions have sufficiently strengthened the squad to form a highly competitive Championship side.

Charlton has only lost three of their 35 home games since Jones took over as manager in February of last year.

The Addicks were unfortunate to lose their only home game this season against Leicester City in August, despite having the vast majority of shots on goal and only surrendering to a spectacular long-range attempt from Abdul Fatawu.

While their home form will definitely be the foundation for any success this season, Charlton have also caused problems on the road.

Jones’ side has already held clean sheets away from Bristol City, Sheffield United, and Ipswich Town, as well as taking all three points against the Blades and Tractor Boys.

Jones has a team of players who fully support the way he wants to play. Only high-flying Coventry City have preserved more clean sheets than Charlton this season, and no team has won more possession in the final third than the Addicks.

Despite ranking 24th in the league in terms of average possession, Charlton has had the eighth-highest number of touches in the opposition box and the eighth-highest number of shots on goal per match, which Jones will undoubtedly be pleased with as manager of a club that many predicted would be relegated to League One immediately.

Nathan Jones must avoid Lee Bowyer fate at Charlton

While Charlton will be pleased with their start to the season, many of their fans will recall what happened the last time they were in the Championship during the 2019-20 season.

Lee Bowyer had led the Addicks to the Championship via the League One play-offs, and his team had 18 points after the first 11 games of the season, which is exactly the same as Charlton’s record under Jones this season.

During the early months of that season, Charlton defeated Brentford and Leeds United while drawing 2-2 with Fulham at Craven Cottage, resulting in a feel-good factor at The Valley comparable to what is currently being experienced in SE7.

However, despite a strong start to the 2019/20 season, Charlton were relegated on the penultimate day after a 4-0 defeat at Elland Road.

Jones must maintain the momentum at The Valley for the rest of the season, as Charlton cannot afford a repetition of their six-year decline.

Charlton Athletic are in a far better position this season

There is no doubt that Charlton is in a far better situation than they were six years ago, so Jones will be hoping that his team can continue to pick up points on a continuous basis between now and the end of the season.

A multitude of unfavourable reasons contributed to the Addicks’ slide down the standings in 2020.

Firstly, on-loan striker Jonathan Leko sustained a season-ending injury against Queens Park Rangers at Loftus Road in December, despite having scored five goals and assisted four in the league up to that time.

Charlton’s next setback came in January, when midfielder Conor Gallagher was recalled by Chelsea and sent back out to fellow second-tier side Swansea City.

The Addicks’ inability to maintain their level of performance throughout the campaign was mostly due to the loss of perhaps their most significant player midway through the season.

Another major aspect in the Addicks’ relegation that year was top scorer Lyle Taylor’s decision not to play when football resumed following the pandemic break, since his contract had expired by that stage, and he did not want to risk injury before his contract ended in the summer.

Taylor had 11 goals in 22 appearances prior to the break, and Charlton were relegated by one point, therefore if he had played those nine games, they would have likely survived, considering that Charlton drew three times and lost by one goal on three occasions during his absence.

While on-loan Southampton defender James Bree has been vital for Charlton this season, the Addicks are less dependant on loan players this time around, and their much improved ownership status means they should have a more productive January transfer window than they did in 2020.

As long as they don’t have the same kind of injury luck, Charlton should be able to improve on their 18 points after 11 games significantly more than they did the last time they were in this situation.

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