Charlton smashed through the 100-point barrier on Saturday to complete a season of domination in League One. Over the next few days in three articles, AFKA Bartram looks at the ten key reasons they won the league so convincingly.
1. Board were clear they were backing their man
Twelve months can seem a lifetime in football, but it is so easy to forget just how despondent the atmosphere around The Valley was at this point a year ago. A finishing position of 13th in League One was the lowest the Addicks had finished in 38 years, and from mid-February, just 12 points had been attained out of a possible 57 points. The Club, having finished lower from the season before for seven consecutive seasons, was understandably filled with negativity, particularly on rumours that the budget would need to be cut further for the 11/12 season.
The manager, Chris Powell, was a legend to supporters due to his playing service and personality, but the dire tail off to the season had many questioning whether a rookie manager, albeit widely loved, was really what was needed at this point in time to halt the slide and positively rebuild the club.
The board, however, were adamant.
Powell was their man and he would be given the backing to re-shape the playing side of the club as he saw fit. The backing was public, and quickly scotched any potential talk of yet another managerial change. Stability was being put in place.
2. Summer captures were made early and the signing policy correct
The strategy was clear; this was not going to be a summer of tinkering with the squad looking to make key improvements. The squad was going to be completely dismantled and rebuilt from scratch.
To have a chance of gelling, the bulk of the captures were to be made early, particularly before the squad headed to Spain for their training / bonding session. Hollands, Pritchard and Sullivan were added before the end of May, and a further seven added before pre-season training began on the 1st July. From those that provided the bulk of the squad for the season, only Morrison, Hamer and Kermorgant were to join beyond this point, and Morrison was in place before the team went away to Spain.
The signing policy also had a structured consistency to it; a core of players were sought and successfully acquired who had proven credentials at performing at this level, largely for clubs lower in size than Charlton (Hollands, Hayes, Stephens, Green, Wiggins, Taylor). For virtually every signing, this was a step up, not a step down, and a platform to provide further progression.
That trip to Spain proved key. Making so many changes to a squad is a huge risk, team spirit and collectivity is everything in football, as are understanding team mates strengths and weaknesses. That trip proved the successful foundations of the forming of a unity, and players as a group signing up to their new manager’s methods and approach.
Doing our summer business early gave the opportunity for the above to happen.
3. A successful team was also formed off the pitch
There are many different styles of football management, but it is clear that Chris Powell’s style is positioning himself as the point of the triangle.
Underneath him is a fully-joined up network, with individual responsibilities and trust in their abilities from the manager. Training is very much left to Damien Matthew, Alex Dyer and Ben Roberts, and Powell is the watchful, thoughtful figurehead whose main impact is man-management and forging the right approach as a team together. Finding the right balance is crucial, and Powell clearly has huge a degree of trust in his team, and makes everyone aware it is very much a team effort off the pitch.
Though it made less impact than any player signing, the arrival of Sports Scientist Laurence Bloom from Southend United proved a crucial addition in the summer shake-up.
The work of Bloom and physio Errol Umit was vindicated by just how few time was lost by key squad members to injury, how little dips in energy levels were seen throughout the season, and crucially how comfortably strong Charlton finished games. No side in the division had a better goal difference in the last 15 minutes than Charlton’s +8, and of the seven goals conceded during that period, four of those were consolation goals in games that were only already won.
Whilst the dynamics of the team on the pitch were clearly working, much of that was down to the work done off the pitch. Charlton had a backroom team where the players had faith in their manager and signed-up to his approach, effectively organised team shape from the training ground, and excellent physical conditioning.
Part Two tomorrow
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Comments
I know a lot of you rose tinted brigade like to self-abuse over the slightest decent article but it's still a league 1 article and my non-Charlton friends (whose opinions are the only ones that matter) aren't going to be impressed.
: - )
PS look forward to the next article.
;-)
Bloody right. Not to mention that BWP was nearly always fit enough to play, and that injured players often returned ahead of the initial prognosis. We need to keep hold of those two guys.
He's probably still wondering how to get Racon fit.
Only kidding...
Perhaps reasons 4-7 explain why we were not only promoted but went up as champions and reasons 8-10 explain why we did the ton!
The point about Bloom etc is well made. Every aspect of a clubs performance on and off the pitch being improved can make the difference - indeed it has made the difference.
This is one of the reason why I am so optimistic about the future. Total professionalism and attention to detail is what it says to me.
I was thinking this on Saturday about Hamer when he had the ball. He either threw the ball out gently or quickly, or if a higher breakout was required, he hit a flat channel ball to Haynes or to Yann if he pulled wide. It would have been very easy for him just to punt it up in the direction of Yann, and despite his ability in the air, that would be far too one dimension so for the most part this wasn't done. How often under recent managers have we just gone for the big punt out time and again. Its that attention to detail that has marked things out differently this season.
This attention to detail reminded me of the Curbs era. When walls were lined up by defenders not Deano. When Deano's positioning at free kicks was designed to save more shots. When certain players were organised to stand on the goal line at corners. Its these small things that compounded, can make a big difference.
We have definitely got our Charlton back.