Charlton Athletic review of the week: Opta Analyst's very low percentage on Championship relegation should calm jitters, Jones expected Kanu to be big success in League Two and Tanto loses at Wembley
Addicks swoop for National League South winger, Lookman could be back at The Valley this summer and McGrandles celebrates promotion
It’s the latest review of the week. Any major (or remotely notable) news should be in this round-up.
Joe Rankin-Costello scored his second goal since joining from Blackburn Rovers in Saturday’s 2-1 reverse against Preston/Picture: Paul Edwards
DEFICIENT OFFENSIVELY BUT DROP RATING IS STILL LOW
Charlton Athletic lost 2-1 to Preston North End on Saturday. Our post-match pod can be found here with pretty much the full transcript of what Nathan Jones had to say about the loss in SE7 also just a click away.
The Addicks’ inability to convert chances in the Championship has been a problem this season. They have scored once in 28 matches and blanked in nine of them. That is 37 matches in the 2025-26 campaign in which they have netted one goal or none.
There have been two 3-0 victories - at Ipswich Town and against Blackburn Rovers in SE7.
Three times they have scored twice. The 2-1 win over Sheffield Wednesday, a 2-2 draw at Blackburn at the start of January - a match they led 2-0 by the 34-minute mark - and a 2-0 victory over Leicester City, both goals coming after Caleb Okoli was sent off in the 15th minute for pulling back Miles Leaburn.
Emotions are always high after a defeat and also the sense of foreboding. But how much trouble are Charlton in as they get ready to head to already-relegated Wednesday this weekend?
The gap to the bottom three has been trimmed to five points but Opta Analyst puts the chances of an Addicks relegation at just 3.16 per cent. Contrast that with Leicester City (86.44), Oxford United (52.52) and Portsmouth (28.92). Those latter two won at the weekend. West Brom (18.38) and Blackburn (10.58) are also below Charlton in the table.
The Addicks have averaged a point per game when you look at the form guide for the last six, eight or 10-game periods. If they are able to repeat that over the final four fixtures it means they will finish on 53 points.
But equally Charlton are on a five-match winless spell - a barren run only surpassed this season between early November and December 20 (six matches in which they drew once and were beaten five times.)
Sheffield Wednesday have gone 37 games without a win, the longest run in Football League history (starting in 1888).
Just circling back to Opta Analyst, it predicts Charlton to reach 54 points and finish 18th in the table.
TANTO FEATURES BUT NO TROPHY WIN
Isaac Olaofe featured for Stockport County as they lost 3-1 to Luton Town in the EFL Trophy final at Wembley on Sunday.
The on-loan Charlton forward did not start the match but came on in the 66th minute. At that stage the Hatters were trailing 2-1 after initially taking an early lead through Adama Sidibeh.
It is the second time that Olaofe, 26, has finished a runner-up in the competition. He was part of the Sutton United team beaten 4-2 by Rotherham United in April 2022.
Walsall tweeted Dan Kanu’s award nomination (above)
JONES KNEW KANU WOULD BE A LOAN HIT
Nathan Jones says he always expected Daniel Kanu to make a huge success of his loan move to Walsall after the Charlton striker was shortlisted for the League Two Young Player of the Season award.
The 21-year-old Sierra Leone international has scored 18 goals for the Saddlers. He is joint third in the divisional league goal charts with 15.
Kanu is up against Matty Young (Salford City), Sam Gale (Gillingham) and Tom Iorpenda (Notts County) for the EFL accolade.
Jones told South London Sport: Charlton Athletic Edition: “Both Dan and Micah (Mbick) will come back into the building with their reputation enhanced. They have been exposed to first-team football and that’s what we wanted. So they are closer to us, just from doing those loans.
“We are really, really proud of Dan. It doesn’t surprise me with Dan because he is one of the most intelligent people you can meet, definitely one of the most intelligent footballers and I’m being respectful with that.
“He thinks about his game and what he wants to do. He wanted a life experience away from London, because he could’ve gone to London clubs. He has done fantastically well.
“He is one of the top goalscorers in the division and still emerging but, if I’m honest, I kind of knew he would do that because he has scored goals for us at League One level. But he wanted to go to a team where he was going to play 20, 30 or 40 games. It’s proved exactly what he wanted to do.”
Ademola Lookman in action for Charlton against Derby in April 2016/Picture: Keith Gillard
LOOKMAN BACK AT THE VALLEY?
Ademola Lookman could be one of a number of former Charlton players in action at the 20206 Unity Cup, which is being held at The Valley.
Nigeria, Jamaica, Zimbabwe and India will be competing in the mini-tournament which will have two semi-finals before the winners face each other on May 30.
Lookman, who cut his teeth in the Addicks youth team before bursting on to the first-team scene in 2015, plays for Nigeria and they face Zimbabwe on May 26 (7.30pm). Joe Aribo has also played for the Super Eagles.
Jamaica play India the following evening, with the same kick-off time. Tyreece Campbell, Amari’i Bell, Karoy Anderson and Kaheim Dixon have all been part of the Reggae Boyz set-up.
Josh Hebert has earned a move up the football pyramid/Picture: Charlton Athletic FC
DORKING WINGER MAKES CHARLTON MOVE
Charlton Athletic completed the signing of winger Josh Hebert from Dorking Wanderers on Thursday.
The 18-year-old had impressed since arriving on trial in mid-February. Hebert has also been attracting the interest of Reading.
Hebert’s grandfather Keith Hayward became the youngest goalkeeper to play for the Addicks, aged 17, during the 1968-69 season.
The teenager featured five times for Chris Lock’s U21 side and scored four goals as well as contributing two assists.
“The reality is, playing first team football for Dorking Wanderers, a good step two club, is probably better than playing for the majority of Football League academy set-ups,” Dorking owner and boss Marc White told Surrey Live in March.
The National League South side revealed last month that Hebert’s spell with Charlton had sparked other interest from EFL clubs.
Dorking academy director Jordan Clark told the same website: “We will be sad to lose Josh, who has been part of the first-team set up at Meadowbank since the summer, but we would never stop a player making a move to the EFL.
“At this point, we just want to make sure whatever move Josh makes is the right one for him and so we will be helping him explore the options available to him in the coming days and weeks.”
Charlton academy advisor Steve Avory told the club’s website: “It’s not easy for any trialist coming in, but what Josh was able to do and prove is that he can impact every game. Alistair Clarke, our head of emerging talent, had been monitoring him for quite a while to get him in and he’s done a good job.”
Conor McGrandles in action against Lincoln City in November 2023/Picture: Keith Gillard
MCGRANDLES CELEBRATES PROMOTION
It never really worked out for Conor McGrandles at Charlton Athletic.
The midfielder was not helped by injuries, including a fractured hand in a 5-1 win over Plymouth in August 2022, just his fourth appearance after arriving for a fee from the Imps in the summer.
McGrandles made four league starts for the Addicks and rejoined Lincoln on a permanent basis in June 2024.
But now the 30-year-old is celebrating promotion to the Championship and has been a first-team mainstay for the Imps as they sealed a top-two finish over the Easter weekend.
“It’s something that I’ve never felt before in my life,” McGrandles told The Athletic. “When the game finishes and you just get to stand here and look at what it means to thousands and thousands of people, it’s absolutely amazing how you can make people feel like that. Just over the moon.”
PAYNE WANTS COLCHESTER STAY
Former Charlton attacking midfielder Jack Payne wants to sign a new deal with Colchester United.
The 31-year-old joined the League Two club after being released by the Addicks in 2024.
Payne’s two-year deal is up at the end of June.
He told BBC Essex: “I’ve loved my time here. The fans have been amazing to me, really took to me well, supported me massively last season and this season.
“I love the relationship I have with them, so long may it continue. I’m not going to shy away and be one of them who say, ‘Oh, I don’t know.’ Hopefully, I am here [next season].”
Sonny Carey is not camera shy after scoring at Portman Road/Picture: Kyle Andrews
IPSWICH TELEVISED
Sky Sports have picked up Charlton’s home game against Ipswich Town on Wednesday, April 22 for live coverage.
The kick-off time will remain the same (7.45pm).
The Tractor Boys moved into second place in the Championship table after a 2-0 derby win over Norwich City on Saturday. They are two points clear of third-placed Millwall and have two matches in hand, putting Kieran McKenna’s side in a very strong position to seal an instant Premier League return.
Middlesbrough have dropped to fourth with their impressive form ended by the Addicks on March 11, Conor Coady’s goal earning a memorable 1-0 victory at The Riverside. Since then Boro have drawn three times and lost twice.
Charlton were 3-0 victors in the reverse fixture against Ipswich on October 21. The goals by Sonny Carey, Macaulay Gillesphey and Miles Leaburn came in a 12-minute spell in the second half. It is the only league match Town have lost at home this season, winning 13 and drawing seven.
SMALL HIGHLIGHTS ABUSE
Thierry Small was the subject of racist abuse after his own goal in Preston North End’s 1-1 draw at QPR last Monday.
The former Charlton Athletic wing-back, who was an unused sub at the weekend, shared the comments which were on his Instagram.
Preston boss Paul Heckingbottom said: “It’s the ugly side of football. The police are involved and it’s someone with their own personal account who’s not connected to us, lives out of this country and is known to the police to have done it before - targeted other players at other clubs as well.
“So yeah, it looks like he’s a professional idiot rather than just a one-off idiot. We’ll never see this guy. They’re not going to get hold of him, they’re not going to know him. They hide behind that anonymity of an online profile and things. Thierry knows we’ve got his back. Our fans will show Thierry the love for him at the next game and the upcoming games.”
Hugely frustrating result on Saturday, we could have been 3 up before they even had a real sniff. I genuinely think a draw would have been enough to keep us out those certain conversations. But a win on Saturday and we are safe, just typical of us to make hard work of it.
We must keep the faith people🫰🙏