Review of the week: Conor Coady expecting summer conversation with Nathan Jones, Charlton Athletic women miss out on automatic promotion and Knibbs targets quality pre-season work
Mitchell wins POTY award at Plymouth Argyle - U18s head into play-off semi-final
Charlton Athletic’s season is over but this website will continue to roll on and on and on….you get the idea.
Before I get into a review of the last week, I just wanted to spell out that there will be plenty of content over the summer - including podcasts, in-depth interviews and reaction to player moves (both ins and outs).
There are plenty of pieces already lined up for this summer, including some ex-player chats which will go out as longer reads.
Conor Coady breaks forward during Saturday’s match/Picture: Kyle Andrews
Conor Coady
Conor Coady said that he will be staying in touch with Nathan Jones over the summer - even if the Charlton Athletic manager decides not to try and bring him back to SE7 next season.
The Wrexham defender arrived on loan in the January transfer window and made 12 Championship appearances for the Addicks. That included his milestone 500th first-team game of his career, suffering concussion in the 1-1 draw at Watford over Easter.
Coady was handed the armband for Saturday’s 3-1 loss to Swansea in what could turn out to be his farewell appearance. Charlton finished 19th in the final table.
The England international has talked previously about needing to break the news to his wife that he was temporarily moving away from his family to breathe new life into his career in south-east London.
So does Coady - whose career has previously seen him play all his football no lower than the Midlands region of the country - expect there be another discussion about how she feels about him having another spell in the capital?
“I’m going to have to have a conversation with her, that’s the God’s honest truth, but she understands what football brings,” Coady told this website. “She is amazing. I don’t want to get all soppy about it but she has been there my whole career - I’ve been with my wife since I was 17.
“At the moment my missus and kids can’t wait for me to get home. So I’m going to get home today and spend a little bit of time with them. The most important thing is the manager wanting me, first and foremost, the club wanting me and then I’m sure the conversation will follow.
“I’ve loved battling for points, being part of that dressing room and working for the manager. His energy is unbelievable. He was a huge part in why I wanted to come here. There were a couple of things in January which meant I was close to staying at Wrexham and seeing out the season.
“He rang me and completely swayed me. I wanted to be a part of what he wanted to do. It’s been a little bit of a mad ride.
Picture: Paul Edwards
“I’ve had a good conversation with the manager today and we’ll see what the summer brings. I’ll be in contact with him over the summer - not just from a football point of view - but because I think he is a really, really good person. I love working and speaking to good people. It is completely up to him what he wants to do. I’m sure that conversation will happen when the time is right for him and Charlton.”
Coady was asked by a BBC Wales reporter in Swansea’s media room whether he would be ready to stay at Wrexham, who he is still contracted to for another year.
“It is a fantastic club. Sometimes people look at footballers and think something has happened. Nothing is ever personal. Sometimes a manager just doesn’t take to you and I think that is what it was. I’m not going to lie about the situation. I’ve got a really good relationship with Phil Parkinson and nothing has ever happened between us and they were brilliant in January, when it came to wanting to leave.
“I can’t rule anything out because I don’t know what is going to happen. The most important thing is that this football club (Charlton) is safe. I’ll have a few weeks speaking to Amy (his wife) and going on holiday.
“I had a tough first half of the season. A lot of people were writing me off and saying my legs had gone. I think I’ve shown they are not. I’ve come here and played central midfield. I think in every game that I’ve started I’ve run between 11-12k.”
Listen to our final post-match pod of the season - Swansea City 3 Charlton Athletic 1.
Addicks boss Nathan Jones: I will make ruthless decisions on this squad to make us better.
Lee Geum-Min of Birmingham City leads the celebrations as they win the WSL 1 title/Picture: Keith Gillard
Charlton Athletic Women falter on final straight
Charlton Athletic’s poor finish to the WSL 2 season has come at a heavy price as they slipped out of the automatic promotion spots on the final day of the regulation season.
The Addicks knew a point would be enough to secure a place in WSL 1.
But Karen Hills’ side lost 2-0 at home to Birmingham City in front of a bumper 3,615 crowd at The Valley on Saturday. That result crowned the Blues as champions with Crystal Palace, who thrashed rock bottom Portsmouth 6-1, clinching second place with a fourth successive victory.
Charlton, by contrast, took one point from a possible 12 in the run-in. They will face Leicester City, bottom of WSL 1, in a play-off tie on May 23, at The Valley, with the victor playing top-flight football in the 2026-27 campaign.
Wilma Leidhammar scored both goals for Birmingham.
Sophie Whitehouse also tipped a Leidhammar free-kick onto the crossbar when the visitors led 1-0.
Harvey Knibbs/Picture: Kyle Andrews
Knibbs: I’ve felt like I’m always playing catch up
Harvey Knibbs has described his first season as a Charlton Athletic player as “quite frustrating”.
The 27-year-old attacking midfielder signed from Reading on August 1. Bone bruising in his ankle, suffered towards the end of the previous campaign, meant Knibbs only felt he got up to full training levels after the first international break in September.
Knibbs suffered ankle ligament damage against Sheffield United in January - Sheffield United’s El Hadji Djibril Soumare receiving a straight red card for his late challenge.
The former Cambridge United player made 27 appearances for the Addicks, with one of his three goals coming in the opening day win over Watford in SE7, but just seven starts.
“It’s been important for me to get these minutes at the end of the season and then I hope for an injury-free pre-season,” Knibbs told South London Sport: Charlton Athletic Edition.
“It’s been quite frustrating. The injury is one I couldn’t do anything about, it was one of those contact ones that made me miss such a big part. The pre-season was a frustrating one, really. It’s felt like I’ve been catching up during the whole season.
“Initially we thought there was a fracture (in the Sheffield United match). That would have been surgery and ruled me out for the season. Luckily we found out that wasn’t the case but there was really strong ligament damage that could still require a surgery. We had to treat the injury while the swelling went down before seeing a specialist. It was his verdict whether we went with surgery, if we did then I wouldn’t have made it back in time.
“As soon as we went down the non-surgical route the team was really good here and we pushed in any way we could. We made what could have been a 12-week timeline into a 10-week one. We attacked it full on. Most days I got up at 6.30am and I got back at 6.30pm. It was hectic but definitely worth it.
“I’m a faith believer. I’m always staying positive. I focus on the things that I can control. I leave the quantity and quality to God. Those things keep me rooted.
“Any footballer will tell you how important it is to get those early minutes in pre-season and build up your momentum. It’s really hard if you miss that. Otherwise you’re trying to get those minutes in the cup fixtures. It’s so difficult to gain it during the rhythm of a season. To have that baseline from the start of next season is something I’m looking forward to.”
Harvey Knibbs celebrates his goal against Watford/Picture: Paul Edwards
Knibbs started in the 2-1 win over Hull City that sealed Charlton’s place in the Championship next season.
He says that is close to his best moment in an Addicks shirt.
“That is up there but my debut, you can’t write it any better than that,” said Knibbs. “Charlton’s first game back in the Championship, my debut - for it to end like that (he scored the winner in stoppage time) was dream stuff, really.
“We’ve been frustrated with ourselves (in terms of achieving safety) because we had set it up weeks ago to survive and we’ve almost been stumbling and stalling. There was no real concern. It was a matter of when and not if. It was nice to get it done in front of the home fans.”
Play-off semi-final for U18s
Charlton U18s play Hull City in a Professional Development League play-off semi-final at The Valley on Saturday (3pm).
There is free entry for season ticket holders (in the season just completed or 2026-27) and Valley Gold members.
Tickets are priced £3 for adults and £1 concessions.
The U18s are bossed by former Addicks captain Jason Pearce.
Pilgrimage pays off
There have been a number of Charlton Athletic players that have gone out on loan this season and failed to capitalise on their opportunity. Alex Mitchell is definitely not one of them.
The centre-back won Plymouth Argyle’s Player of the Year award with the 24-year-old a constant fixture in the League One club’s side since arriving in early August.
It looks pretty likely that the Addicks will listen to offers for the 24-year-old ex-Millwall defender, who will have 12 months to run on his contract in the summer.
Mitchell’s desire to play is also likely to facilitate a smooth exit.
“I’ve been on loan quite a few times and my approach to it is I’m going to act as a permanent player, proper dive into it and live the Plymouth life a bit,” he told BBC Radio Devon.
“That’s what I’ve been doing and I’ve done it every loan where I’ve been at - when I was at Lincoln, when I was in Scotland and it’s been really good over my career.
“Every loan’s different. Every loan I feel like you’re trying to learn something. But I feel like this loan I’ve tried to be a bit of a leader, a bit of a mainstay and I think this loan for my career will probably be the best one.”
Scott Parker makes his point during a Burnley match at The Den last season/Picture: Keith Gillard
Parker sacked by Burnley
Scott Parker’s record of being sacked by Premier League clubs continued on Thursday.
The former Charlton midfielder has also been axed by Fulham and Bournemouth. He won the 2020 Championship play-off final with the former but paid the price for them failing to retain their top-flight status.
So with Burnley already relegated this season, mathematically down after a 1-0 loss to Manchester City on April 22, Parker probably knew the P45 was coming.
The 45-year-old, who came through the Addicks academy to excel in the Premier League before pushing for a move to Chelsea, is unlikely to be out of work for long.
He has won automatic Championship promotion with Bournemouth and Burnley. With the latter they collected 100 points but were pipped to the title on goal difference by Leeds in 2025.
The issue for Parker, who also had a short-lived spell at Club Brugge, is that he has failed to keep any of those clubs in England’s elite division. Parker was sacked by Bournemouth in August 2022 after a 9-0 drubbing at Liverpool.
Parker said the side were “ill-equipped at this level” after their Anfield nightmare but Gary O’Neil, his successor, led the Cherries to a 15th-placed finish.
Ezri Konsa during a match in 2017/Picture: Keith Gillard
Konsa Europa League
Ezri Konsa’s hopes of joining the list of former Charlton Athletic players to win a European trophy is in the balance after Aston Villa’s 1-0 loss to Nottingham Forest in Thursday’s first leg of their Europa League semi-final.
The tie is far from over with Villa at home on Thursday.
Konsa, who featured 86 times for the Addicks before being sold to Brentford in 2018, played the full 90 minutes at the City Ground.
Other players who went on to lift a European trophy after turning out for the south-east Londoners are Ademola Lookman (won the Europa League with Atalanta in 2024) and Joe Gomez (won the Champions League and UEFA Super Cup with Liverpool).
Francis Coquelin was on loan at Charlton from Arsenal in 2014 and went on to win the Europa League with Villarreal in 2021.
Ryan Inniss is looking for a new club/Picture: Keith Gillard
Inns and outs
Forest Green Rovers wasted no time publishing their released list after their failure to win the National League play-offs - and Ryan Inniss was one of the names on it.
The Gloucestershire club finished seventh in the table and lost 1-0 to Boreham Wood in their play-off quarter-final on Wednesday.
Inniss, 30, was signed by Forest Green in the summer of 2023 after he was let go by the Addicks. He made 86 league appearances for the non-league club.
Rovers are still in talks with goalkeeper Harry Isted about extending his terms. Isted featured 23 times for Charlton before signing for Burton Albion in July 2024.
Jonny Williams, who made his 400th career appearance in Gillingham’s 1-0 win over Shrewsbury Town on Saturday, has been released.
Really interesting in depth articles. Well done Richard- keep it up
Look forward to summer content cheers for the great coverage this season