On Tuesday night, Charlton Athletic announced the sacking of Michael Appleton following a torrid run of form.
The 3-2 win in which Northampton Town inflicted on the Addicks proved to be the final nail in the coffin, with Appleton removed from his post as head coach shortly after full time.
It comes as no real surprise given the club’s recent form. With one of the highest budgets in the league and on paper one of the strongest teams, Charlton find themselves only in 16th, 19 points off of the play-off places.
In fact, the Addicks are now seriously in the relegation fight and are only four points ahead of Reading in 21st. Despite having the league’s joint-top goalscorer in the form of Alfie May within their ranks, this season has really not gone Charlton’s way.
With not a single win in any of their last ten games it seemed as if it wasn’t ‘if’ Appleton will be sacked, more so ‘when’. The former Oxford United boss wasn’t even at the Valley at the start of the season, having taken over from Dean Holden in September, a choice which the board probably regret at this point.
With this season looking a write-off, the main target will now be avoiding relegation. Not many people would’ve thought that would be something that was said in January given the clubs lofty ambitions.
Whoever is appointed next at The Valley will want to make a positive start to get the fans on their side straight away. They wouldn’t have a bad squad on their hands, far from it, its just all about getting those underperforming players to play at their best once again.
With that in mind, here are five potential candidates to be Charlton Athletic’s next head coach…
Michael Duff
Duff seems like one of the most obvious choices currently for the club and he is more than proven in the third tier. Having worked as a head coach previously, he should have no problems with the transition to working with a director of football and its an option which makes a lot of sense.
His time with Swansea may not have gone to plan but his previous work with both Barnsley and Cheltenham Town was hugely successful. The former Northern-Ireland international has already worked with talisman Alfie May at Cheltenham and he may even be able to get even more goals out of the striker.
If Charlton want to effectively build for the future, Duff is the man for the job.
John Eustace
Eustace has been out of a job ever since Birmingham City brought in Wayne Rooney despite having the club in the play-off positions. It was an ambitious move by the Blues and one that would backfire massively.
It comes as a huge surprise that the 44-year-old is yet to find a landing spot, and Charlton may just be the club to hand him the opportunity. It is a step down given he was effectively managing a top team in the Championship but given the Addicks have extremely high ambitions, it is by no means out of question.
Nathan Jones
The former-Southampton manager is a name which has already been heavily linked with the job. Although his stint in the Premier League may have been a step too far, no one can knock his achievements within the EFL with Luton Town. Having guided Luton through a huge transition, there is no reason why, given ample time, he can’t take Charlton to the second tier.
There are some risks attached and it is no given that he’ll get plenty of time at Charlton given recent history, but he is another option to consider.
Jason Pearce
Probably the least glamorous option, and no offence to Pearce in that, but the current interim manager might be given the reigns until the end of the season. In his two games as caretaker after Dean Holden was sacked, Pearce won once and lost once, which given Charlton’s recent form, all fans would take.
With the club chopping and changing manager so often in recent years, maybe it isn’t the worst option to give an interim manager some time.
Gareth Ainsworth
Ainsworth seems to be a name linked with every available job in the EFL currently, and the former QPR manager has been rather vocal about how he wants to get back into the game. His time as QPR manager was nothing short of abysmal yet his previous work in League One with Wycombe Wanderers was very impressive.
There’s an argument that he’s the riskiest of the lot, but he’d have no doubt learnt from his experience at QPR. Even if not at Charlton, it wouldn’t be surprising to see Ainsworth in a job come the end of the season.
