I’d have liked us to try and sign Ryan Hardie from Plymouth. Think he’s a good player .
wonder where we are scouting in Europe these days? I watch a fair bit of Bundesliga 2 and some great players knocking about
He has a decent scoring record/ratio .. has another year on his deal so he'll cost .. IF the Preston rumours are right, PNE seem to be recruiting well both player and coaching staff
Unless we switch to a 4231 and bring in some serious pace I would be surprised to see a formation switch , think NJ likes a strike partnership.
4231 I wouldn't be that convinced that you wouldn't severely weaken what Coventry offers.
If we were to shift to 4231 the make up of the midfield could be similar. You shift TC out wide in a hybrid role and add a winger on the right. Main worry there would be shoehorning Gllisphey into a back 4
Unless we switch to a 4231 and bring in some serious pace I would be surprised to see a formation switch , think NJ likes a strike partnership.
4231 I wouldn't be that convinced that you wouldn't severely weaken what Coventry offers.
If we were to shift to 4231 the make up of the midfield could be similar. You shift TC out wide in a hybrid role and add a winger on the right. Main worry there would be shoehorning Gllisphey into a back 4
Or Jones plays left sided centre back (something he's done before) paired with a player like Offiah or Mbengue with Ramsay and Edwards as the full backs.
I think the more likely formation change would be back to a more standard 3-5-2 with 2 strikers and a normal wing back role on the right
If Leaburn gets back to his best plus we bring in a new striker or 2 I think we might end up with a more traditional front 2, as TC wouldn’t be the automatic selection that he is in league 1
Surprised at the "if we don't strengthen we will go down" comments
Since December we were the 2nd most in form team behind record breaking and big spending Birmingham in our division and we just set a record for the clean sheets in a season. So we clearly aren't shit.
Since then we lost Little Terry to Preston. Exciting talent but very replaceable
Obviously we need to strengthen to be more competitive but there really is no need for all the dramatics just yet. We have a new CEO who is known for excellent transfer dealings. A new head of recruitment who we all know can pull a rabbit from a hat.
In the immortal words of Russel Slade
Patience!
Usually tend to agree with the vast majority of your posts and yes you’re right since December we were the 2nd form team.
Small though was a big part of that going out wide, he and TC complimented each other and worked well as a pair even if TC took the headlines and scored more goals.
Without Small teams doubled up on TC or we had to revert to an alternate setup which while was decent enough, we won’t cut it in The Championship, probably 50/50 to stay up as we are now but I’m confident as you say that patience will pay off and we’ll end up with a squad that can stay up.
Players like Small don’t come around often or easy though and he’ll be hard to replace as an attacking threat unless the club is willing to invest some money in a decent replacement commanding a fee or pay a decent loan wage. Either way a suitable replacement won’t be easy or come cheap. Will be a lot harder to replace Small than some may think.
Wonder if Jones as taken the opportunity to get away for another week holiday … while this window is shut
Ah, the old illogical “the window is shut so we can’t sign anyone”.
Can’t see Jones having a break when we can line up deals to be announced when the window opens next week, more free agents who will officially join on 1st July, or work on deals that might go through at any point while the window is open.
Wonder if Jones as taken the opportunity to get away for another week holiday … while this window is shut
Ah, the old illogical “the window is shut so we can’t sign anyone”.
Can’t see Jones having a break when we can line up deals to be announced when the window opens next week, more free agents who will officially join on 1st July, or work on deals that might go through at any point while the window is open.
Plus you can announce anything you like. You just can’t register them yet, doesn’t make a single bit of difference
Surprised at the "if we don't strengthen we will go down" comments
Since December we were the 2nd most in form team behind record breaking and big spending Birmingham in our division and we just set a record for the clean sheets in a season. So we clearly aren't shit.
Since then we lost Little Terry to Preston. Exciting talent but very replaceable
Obviously we need to strengthen to be more competitive but there really is no need for all the dramatics just yet. We have a new CEO who is known for excellent transfer dealings. A new head of recruitment who we all know can pull a rabbit from a hat.
In the immortal words of Russel Slade
Patience!
Usually tend to agree with the vast majority of your posts and yes you’re right since December we were the 2nd form team.
Small though was a big part of that going out wide, he and TC complimented each other and worked well as a pair even if TC took the headlines and scored more goals.
Without Small teams doubled up on TC or we had to revert to an alternate setup which while was decent enough, we won’t cut it in The Championship, probably 50/50 to stay up as we are now but I’m confident as you say that patience will pay off and we’ll end up with a squad that can stay up.
Players like Small don’t come around often or easy though and he’ll be hard to replace as an attacking threat unless the club is willing to invest some money in a decent replacement commanding a fee or pay a decent loan wage. Either way a suitable replacement won’t be easy or come cheap. Will be a lot harder to replace Small than some may think.
Little Terry can do a lot of stepovers, has pace and power but that's pretty much where it ended. His football brain just wasn't there, his shooting and passing was poor and his heading ability laughable. Obviously his age plays a part in that but he isn't a million miles from CBT n that defenders will suss him out.
We will look to replace him with a similar type of player but hopefully one with a better end product. Maybe not as quick but better on the ball.
I can't understand the confidence of some on here.
Yes, we had a brilliant second half to the season, it coincided with Jones returning to our defence as well as a change of tactics. We were lucky with lack of injuries to key players too.
We only need a couple of injuries to say, Jones and Ramsay and we're toast.
It's vital that we strengthen with good quality players. From the little I saw of Plymouth last season, they looked a much higher standard of football than us, and look what happened to them.
Plymouth were a decent side in the second half of the season, they were only relegated because of the terrible start under Rooney.
Surprised at the "if we don't strengthen we will go down" comments
Since December we were the 2nd most in form team behind record breaking and big spending Birmingham in our division and we just set a record for the clean sheets in a season. So we clearly aren't shit.
Since then we lost Little Terry to Preston. Exciting talent but very replaceable
Obviously we need to strengthen to be more competitive but there really is no need for all the dramatics just yet. We have a new CEO who is known for excellent transfer dealings. A new head of recruitment who we all know can pull a rabbit from a hat.
In the immortal words of Russel Slade
Patience!
Usually tend to agree with the vast majority of your posts and yes you’re right since December we were the 2nd form team.
Small though was a big part of that going out wide, he and TC complimented each other and worked well as a pair even if TC took the headlines and scored more goals.
Without Small teams doubled up on TC or we had to revert to an alternate setup which while was decent enough, we won’t cut it in The Championship, probably 50/50 to stay up as we are now but I’m confident as you say that patience will pay off and we’ll end up with a squad that can stay up.
Players like Small don’t come around often or easy though and he’ll be hard to replace as an attacking threat unless the club is willing to invest some money in a decent replacement commanding a fee or pay a decent loan wage. Either way a suitable replacement won’t be easy or come cheap. Will be a lot harder to replace Small than some may think.
Little Terry can do a lot of stepovers, has pace and power but that's pretty much where it ended. His football brain just wasn't there, his shooting and passing was poor and his heading ability laughable. Obviously his age plays a part in that but he isn't a million miles from CBT n that defenders will suss him out.
We will look to replace him with a similar type of player but hopefully one with a better end product. Maybe not as quick but better on the ball.
That seems a bit dismissive honestly, he might not have provided much in raw numbers but often the fact that no-one knew exactly what Small was going to do next (quite probably including Small himself) was useful in and of itself. Just having him there meant there was always the possibility of him doing something unexpected which meant that you can't just double up on TC even if he's the more "reliable" threat.
I don't think it's insurmountable but Small's loss won't be measured in goals and assists.
Surprised at the "if we don't strengthen we will go down" comments
Since December we were the 2nd most in form team behind record breaking and big spending Birmingham in our division and we just set a record for the clean sheets in a season. So we clearly aren't shit.
Since then we lost Little Terry to Preston. Exciting talent but very replaceable
Obviously we need to strengthen to be more competitive but there really is no need for all the dramatics just yet. We have a new CEO who is known for excellent transfer dealings. A new head of recruitment who we all know can pull a rabbit from a hat.
In the immortal words of Russel Slade
Patience!
Usually tend to agree with the vast majority of your posts and yes you’re right since December we were the 2nd form team.
Small though was a big part of that going out wide, he and TC complimented each other and worked well as a pair even if TC took the headlines and scored more goals.
Without Small teams doubled up on TC or we had to revert to an alternate setup which while was decent enough, we won’t cut it in The Championship, probably 50/50 to stay up as we are now but I’m confident as you say that patience will pay off and we’ll end up with a squad that can stay up.
Players like Small don’t come around often or easy though and he’ll be hard to replace as an attacking threat unless the club is willing to invest some money in a decent replacement commanding a fee or pay a decent loan wage. Either way a suitable replacement won’t be easy or come cheap. Will be a lot harder to replace Small than some may think.
Little Terry can do a lot of stepovers, has pace and power but that's pretty much where it ended. His football brain just wasn't there, his shooting and passing was poor and his heading ability laughable. Obviously his age plays a part in that but he isn't a million miles from CBT n that defenders will suss him out.
We will look to replace him with a similar type of player but hopefully one with a better end product. Maybe not as quick but better on the ball.
I'm a bit shocked you've just written that. Are you being serious or is that born from a place of disappointment with him leaving?
Surprised at the "if we don't strengthen we will go down" comments
Since December we were the 2nd most in form team behind record breaking and big spending Birmingham in our division and we just set a record for the clean sheets in a season. So we clearly aren't shit.
Since then we lost Little Terry to Preston. Exciting talent but very replaceable
Obviously we need to strengthen to be more competitive but there really is no need for all the dramatics just yet. We have a new CEO who is known for excellent transfer dealings. A new head of recruitment who we all know can pull a rabbit from a hat.
In the immortal words of Russel Slade
Patience!
Usually tend to agree with the vast majority of your posts and yes you’re right since December we were the 2nd form team.
Small though was a big part of that going out wide, he and TC complimented each other and worked well as a pair even if TC took the headlines and scored more goals.
Without Small teams doubled up on TC or we had to revert to an alternate setup which while was decent enough, we won’t cut it in The Championship, probably 50/50 to stay up as we are now but I’m confident as you say that patience will pay off and we’ll end up with a squad that can stay up.
Players like Small don’t come around often or easy though and he’ll be hard to replace as an attacking threat unless the club is willing to invest some money in a decent replacement commanding a fee or pay a decent loan wage. Either way a suitable replacement won’t be easy or come cheap. Will be a lot harder to replace Small than some may think.
Little Terry can do a lot of stepovers, has pace and power but that's pretty much where it ended. His football brain just wasn't there, his shooting and passing was poor and his heading ability laughable. Obviously his age plays a part in that but he isn't a million miles from CBT n that defenders will suss him out.
We will look to replace him with a similar type of player but hopefully one with a better end product. Maybe not as quick but better on the ball.
I'm a bit shocked you've just written that. Are you being serious or is that born from a place of disappointment with him leaving?
I wouldn't go as far as @Swisdom and I'd have been happy if he'd stayed but there wasnt much end product. That's why I think he's gone. I bet we could have matched what Preston were offering but NJ didn't think him worth that and thinks we can get better elsewhere for the same as we offered or less. I'd be gutted if we lost L. Jones, Ramsay or Edwards but Small much less so.
Posted this before but if you only consider “end product “ a cross or a killer ball then Thierry still needs to develop but his marauding runs turned full backs inside out and drew central defenders out of position. I’d say the mayhem he created in defences could justifiably be called end product. Exciting to watch and sometimes almost unplayable. I’ll miss him although I think he’s made a career mistake but hey ho.
Surprised at the "if we don't strengthen we will go down" comments
Since December we were the 2nd most in form team behind record breaking and big spending Birmingham in our division and we just set a record for the clean sheets in a season. So we clearly aren't shit.
Since then we lost Little Terry to Preston. Exciting talent but very replaceable
Obviously we need to strengthen to be more competitive but there really is no need for all the dramatics just yet. We have a new CEO who is known for excellent transfer dealings. A new head of recruitment who we all know can pull a rabbit from a hat.
In the immortal words of Russel Slade
Patience!
Usually tend to agree with the vast majority of your posts and yes you’re right since December we were the 2nd form team.
Small though was a big part of that going out wide, he and TC complimented each other and worked well as a pair even if TC took the headlines and scored more goals.
Without Small teams doubled up on TC or we had to revert to an alternate setup which while was decent enough, we won’t cut it in The Championship, probably 50/50 to stay up as we are now but I’m confident as you say that patience will pay off and we’ll end up with a squad that can stay up.
Players like Small don’t come around often or easy though and he’ll be hard to replace as an attacking threat unless the club is willing to invest some money in a decent replacement commanding a fee or pay a decent loan wage. Either way a suitable replacement won’t be easy or come cheap. Will be a lot harder to replace Small than some may think.
Little Terry can do a lot of stepovers, has pace and power but that's pretty much where it ended. His football brain just wasn't there, his shooting and passing was poor and his heading ability laughable. Obviously his age plays a part in that but he isn't a million miles from CBT n that defenders will suss him out.
We will look to replace him with a similar type of player but hopefully one with a better end product. Maybe not as quick but better on the ball.
That seems a bit dismissive honestly, he might not have provided much in raw numbers but often the fact that no-one knew exactly what Small was going to do next (quite probably including Small himself) was useful in and of itself. Just having him there meant there was always the possibility of him doing something unexpected which meant that you can't just double up on TC even if he's the more "reliable" threat.
I don't think it's insurmountable but Small's loss won't be measured in goals and assists.
I think Small was in some senses analogous to when Raheem Sterling was "still" being picked for England despite not seemingly offering much. His pace and potential trickery meant players had to pay attention to him - thus freeing up other players from constant attention. Was Small full of end product? Absolutely not, but you can't leave him unattended.
Surprised at the "if we don't strengthen we will go down" comments
Since December we were the 2nd most in form team behind record breaking and big spending Birmingham in our division and we just set a record for the clean sheets in a season. So we clearly aren't shit.
Since then we lost Little Terry to Preston. Exciting talent but very replaceable
Obviously we need to strengthen to be more competitive but there really is no need for all the dramatics just yet. We have a new CEO who is known for excellent transfer dealings. A new head of recruitment who we all know can pull a rabbit from a hat.
In the immortal words of Russel Slade
Patience!
Usually tend to agree with the vast majority of your posts and yes you’re right since December we were the 2nd form team.
Small though was a big part of that going out wide, he and TC complimented each other and worked well as a pair even if TC took the headlines and scored more goals.
Without Small teams doubled up on TC or we had to revert to an alternate setup which while was decent enough, we won’t cut it in The Championship, probably 50/50 to stay up as we are now but I’m confident as you say that patience will pay off and we’ll end up with a squad that can stay up.
Players like Small don’t come around often or easy though and he’ll be hard to replace as an attacking threat unless the club is willing to invest some money in a decent replacement commanding a fee or pay a decent loan wage. Either way a suitable replacement won’t be easy or come cheap. Will be a lot harder to replace Small than some may think.
Little Terry can do a lot of stepovers, has pace and power but that's pretty much where it ended. His football brain just wasn't there, his shooting and passing was poor and his heading ability laughable. Obviously his age plays a part in that but he isn't a million miles from CBT n that defenders will suss him out.
We will look to replace him with a similar type of player but hopefully one with a better end product. Maybe not as quick but better on the ball.
I'm a bit shocked you've just written that. Are you being serious or is that born from a place of disappointment with him leaving?
I wouldn't go as far as @Swisdom and I'd have been happy if he'd stayed but there wasnt much end product. That's why I think he's gone. I bet we could have matched what Preston were offering but NJ didn't think him worth that and thinks we can get better elsewhere for the same as we offered or less. I'd be gutted if we lost L. Jones, Ramsay or Edwards but Small much less so.
That's a more fair assessment. To be honest, I don't expect that much end product from someone his age (a year younger than TC) especially when they're not actually a winger.
It’s also quite hard to get assists from crosses when your 2 (or 3 if you include Berry) main targets are under 6ft and going up against much bigger CB’s. Godden is great in the air for his height when it comes to long balls but it’s a different beast getting your head on the end of a cross
Surprised at the "if we don't strengthen we will go down" comments
Since December we were the 2nd most in form team behind record breaking and big spending Birmingham in our division and we just set a record for the clean sheets in a season. So we clearly aren't shit.
Since then we lost Little Terry to Preston. Exciting talent but very replaceable
Obviously we need to strengthen to be more competitive but there really is no need for all the dramatics just yet. We have a new CEO who is known for excellent transfer dealings. A new head of recruitment who we all know can pull a rabbit from a hat.
In the immortal words of Russel Slade
Patience!
Usually tend to agree with the vast majority of your posts and yes you’re right since December we were the 2nd form team.
Small though was a big part of that going out wide, he and TC complimented each other and worked well as a pair even if TC took the headlines and scored more goals.
Without Small teams doubled up on TC or we had to revert to an alternate setup which while was decent enough, we won’t cut it in The Championship, probably 50/50 to stay up as we are now but I’m confident as you say that patience will pay off and we’ll end up with a squad that can stay up.
Players like Small don’t come around often or easy though and he’ll be hard to replace as an attacking threat unless the club is willing to invest some money in a decent replacement commanding a fee or pay a decent loan wage. Either way a suitable replacement won’t be easy or come cheap. Will be a lot harder to replace Small than some may think.
Little Terry can do a lot of stepovers, has pace and power but that's pretty much where it ended. His football brain just wasn't there, his shooting and passing was poor and his heading ability laughable. Obviously his age plays a part in that but he isn't a million miles from CBT n that defenders will suss him out.
We will look to replace him with a similar type of player but hopefully one with a better end product. Maybe not as quick but better on the ball.
You sound very bitter. ‘Little Terry’ comment is classless
This fanbase has always preferred the scrappier wide players like Johnny Robinson, JJ, etc.. to the trickier ones. Even JRS was getting accused of having 'no end product' when he was the top-scoring winger in the league. It's kind of lost its meaning.
Surprised at the "if we don't strengthen we will go down" comments
Since December we were the 2nd most in form team behind record breaking and big spending Birmingham in our division and we just set a record for the clean sheets in a season. So we clearly aren't shit.
Since then we lost Little Terry to Preston. Exciting talent but very replaceable
Obviously we need to strengthen to be more competitive but there really is no need for all the dramatics just yet. We have a new CEO who is known for excellent transfer dealings. A new head of recruitment who we all know can pull a rabbit from a hat.
In the immortal words of Russel Slade
Patience!
Usually tend to agree with the vast majority of your posts and yes you’re right since December we were the 2nd form team.
Small though was a big part of that going out wide, he and TC complimented each other and worked well as a pair even if TC took the headlines and scored more goals.
Without Small teams doubled up on TC or we had to revert to an alternate setup which while was decent enough, we won’t cut it in The Championship, probably 50/50 to stay up as we are now but I’m confident as you say that patience will pay off and we’ll end up with a squad that can stay up.
Players like Small don’t come around often or easy though and he’ll be hard to replace as an attacking threat unless the club is willing to invest some money in a decent replacement commanding a fee or pay a decent loan wage. Either way a suitable replacement won’t be easy or come cheap. Will be a lot harder to replace Small than some may think.
Little Terry can do a lot of stepovers, has pace and power but that's pretty much where it ended. His football brain just wasn't there, his shooting and passing was poor and his heading ability laughable. Obviously his age plays a part in that but he isn't a million miles from CBT n that defenders will suss him out.
We will look to replace him with a similar type of player but hopefully one with a better end product. Maybe not as quick but better on the ball.
That seems a bit dismissive honestly, he might not have provided much in raw numbers but often the fact that no-one knew exactly what Small was going to do next (quite probably including Small himself) was useful in and of itself. Just having him there meant there was always the possibility of him doing something unexpected which meant that you can't just double up on TC even if he's the more "reliable" threat.
I don't think it's insurmountable but Small's loss won't be measured in goals and assists.
I think Small was in some senses analogous to when Raheem Sterling was "still" being picked for England despite not seemingly offering much. His pace and potential trickery meant players had to pay attention to him - thus freeing up other players from constant attention. Was Small full of end product? Absolutely not, but you can't leave him unattended.
Charlton posted every Godden goal on insta yesterday. At least 3 were from small crosses.
he was frustrating to watch when he mis controlled a ball out for a throw or when he would cut in on the left and weakly shoot at the keeper
he was also a joy to watch when he beat three men with a flick and a burst of pace and strength
He is not the finished article and Preston will have some player if he develops
he was great on L1 but I’m not sure if he is what we need as a newly promoted club in the championship. I think we need a better defender and someone who doesn’t give possession away as much. Still a loss for us in my opinion
I think it’s a behavioural bias for football fans to downplay or write off players that have left their club. We see it all the time on the other side. Noticed that with Carey and the Blackpool fans - when I asked ChatGPT what they thought of him it was glowing based on historical forum stuff, then when I looked on Twitter they all claimed not to be bothered.
Small is a class player, who at just 20 has a very high ceiling. Finding a position for him was instrumental in us becoming a coherent attacking threat from December onwards. We will be fine of course but it is a big shame he couldn’t be retained.
I can't understand the confidence of some on here.
Yes, we had a brilliant second half to the season, it coincided with Jones returning to our defence as well as a change of tactics. We were lucky with lack of injuries to key players too.
We only need a couple of injuries to say, Jones and Ramsay and we're toast.
It's vital that we strengthen with good quality players. From the little I saw of Plymouth last season, they looked a much higher standard of football than us, and look what happened to them.
I have to disagree with that assessment — it feels overly cautious and dismissive of the genuine progress Charlton made in the second half of the season.
Yes, we benefited from the return of key players like Jones and some tactical shifts, but it wasn’t just luck. The upturn in form was built on structure, belief, and a clear improvement in both discipline and execution. That kind of momentum doesn’t just evaporate overnight. It’s a foundation to build on, not something to be scared might collapse at the first setback.
And while injuries to players like Jones and Ramsay would obviously be a blow, the same is true for every team — depth is a factor across the league. That’s why recruitment is important, yes, but let’s not pretend we’re unique in that regard or doomed if a couple of players miss time. We’re not one-dimensional.
As for Plymouth, they had a nightmare season in the Championship, despite all their quality — they were tactically naive at times and fell apart defensively. It’s not enough to just “look a higher standard.” It’s about adaptability, resilience, and consistency — things Charlton started showing in spades late last season.
There’s every reason to be confident and realistic. Charlton have earned the right to be optimistic.
Surprised at the "if we don't strengthen we will go down" comments
Since December we were the 2nd most in form team behind record breaking and big spending Birmingham in our division and we just set a record for the clean sheets in a season. So we clearly aren't shit.
Since then we lost Little Terry to Preston. Exciting talent but very replaceable
Obviously we need to strengthen to be more competitive but there really is no need for all the dramatics just yet. We have a new CEO who is known for excellent transfer dealings. A new head of recruitment who we all know can pull a rabbit from a hat.
In the immortal words of Russel Slade
Patience!
Usually tend to agree with the vast majority of your posts and yes you’re right since December we were the 2nd form team.
Small though was a big part of that going out wide, he and TC complimented each other and worked well as a pair even if TC took the headlines and scored more goals.
Without Small teams doubled up on TC or we had to revert to an alternate setup which while was decent enough, we won’t cut it in The Championship, probably 50/50 to stay up as we are now but I’m confident as you say that patience will pay off and we’ll end up with a squad that can stay up.
Players like Small don’t come around often or easy though and he’ll be hard to replace as an attacking threat unless the club is willing to invest some money in a decent replacement commanding a fee or pay a decent loan wage. Either way a suitable replacement won’t be easy or come cheap. Will be a lot harder to replace Small than some may think.
Little Terry can do a lot of stepovers, has pace and power but that's pretty much where it ended. His football brain just wasn't there, his shooting and passing was poor and his heading ability laughable. Obviously his age plays a part in that but he isn't a million miles from CBT n that defenders will suss him out.
We will look to replace him with a similar type of player but hopefully one with a better end product. Maybe not as quick but better on the ball.
Bullseye! And that's why he went to Preston, they've been getting lucky for over a decade. Guarantee we finish higher than them by at least 30 points.
Alright he could play a number of positions, ok he had pace, he was only 20 and had loads of potential, yes he was both footed, of course he could defend, he did have a good engine and yeah, he was one of our only attacking outlets, but, we can and will do better. This recruitment group has a plan. If the board didn't think he was worth it, that's that, we won't be held to ransom by players.
Comments
If Leaburn gets back to his best plus we bring in a new striker or 2 I think we might end up with a more traditional front 2, as TC wouldn’t be the automatic selection that he is in league 1
Without Small teams doubled up on TC or we had to revert to an alternate setup which while was decent enough, we won’t cut it in The Championship, probably 50/50 to stay up as we are now but I’m confident as you say that patience will pay off and we’ll end up with a squad that can stay up.
Players like Small don’t come around often or easy though and he’ll be hard to replace as an attacking threat unless the club is willing to invest some money in a decent replacement commanding a fee or pay a decent loan wage. Either way a suitable replacement won’t be easy or come cheap. Will be a lot harder to replace Small than some may think.
Can’t see Jones having a break when we can line up deals to be announced when the window opens next week, more free agents who will officially join on 1st July, or work on deals that might go through at any point while the window is open.
We will look to replace him with a similar type of player but hopefully one with a better end product. Maybe not as quick but better on the ball.
Just having him there meant there was always the possibility of him doing something unexpected which meant that you can't just double up on TC even if he's the more "reliable" threat.
I don't think it's insurmountable but Small's loss won't be measured in goals and assists.
he was frustrating to watch when he mis controlled a ball out for a throw or when he would cut in on the left and weakly shoot at the keeper
he was also a joy to watch when he beat three men with a flick and a burst of pace and strength
He is not the finished article and Preston will have some player if he develops
he was great on L1 but I’m not sure if he is what we need as a newly promoted club in the championship. I think we need a better defender and someone who doesn’t give possession away as much. Still a loss for us in my opinion
Small is a class player, who at just 20 has a very high ceiling. Finding a position for him was instrumental in us becoming a coherent attacking threat from December onwards. We will be fine of course but it is a big shame he couldn’t be retained.
I have to disagree with that assessment — it feels overly cautious and dismissive of the genuine progress Charlton made in the second half of the season.
Yes, we benefited from the return of key players like Jones and some tactical shifts, but it wasn’t just luck. The upturn in form was built on structure, belief, and a clear improvement in both discipline and execution. That kind of momentum doesn’t just evaporate overnight. It’s a foundation to build on, not something to be scared might collapse at the first setback.
And while injuries to players like Jones and Ramsay would obviously be a blow, the same is true for every team — depth is a factor across the league. That’s why recruitment is important, yes, but let’s not pretend we’re unique in that regard or doomed if a couple of players miss time. We’re not one-dimensional.
As for Plymouth, they had a nightmare season in the Championship, despite all their quality — they were tactically naive at times and fell apart defensively. It’s not enough to just “look a higher standard.” It’s about adaptability, resilience, and consistency — things Charlton started showing in spades late last season.
There’s every reason to be confident and realistic. Charlton have earned the right to be optimistic.
Alright he could play a number of positions, ok he had pace, he was only 20 and had loads of potential, yes he was both footed, of course he could defend, he did have a good engine and yeah, he was one of our only attacking outlets, but, we can and will do better. This recruitment group has a plan. If the board didn't think he was worth it, that's that, we won't be held to ransom by players.
Come on Charlton!
Ffs, can we please bring these discussions elsewhere? Ffs.
Source:
https://www.ibroxnews.com/2025/06/12/josh-mulligan-medical-underway-at-rangers-as-english-club-beaten-to-deal/