The spectre of Kelman (and Jones) – Oppo Profile Thursday, 28th Aug 2025 19:56 by Clive Whittingham The last thing QPR need right now is Charlie Kelman and Nathan Jones turning up at Loftus Road and having a lovely time – so how afraid should we be of the 1-1-1 Addicks? We spoke to Louis Mendez (@LouisMend @CharltonLive). It's been a long road back, how did Charlton finally crack it last season? Nathan Jones worked his magic. It took a while for everything to gel but Charlton were almost unbeatable in the second half of the season and flew into the play-offs in excellent form. He worked tirelessly on addressing Charlton’s issues at the back from the previous year and used that as a base to start from. They were well organised – albeit lacking a little pizazz at times. But once they’d ridden a difficult spell in the autumn, there was no looking back. Nathan Jones, the man QPR fans love to hate, what did you think of his appointment to start with and how has it gone? Every time I do one of these previews for an opposition publication I am told that their supporters love to hate Nathan Jones. I think 90 of the 92 clubs take umbrage with him. If you go back nine months you’d find plenty of Charlton fans in the same boat. His appointment in February 2024 was well received and he ensured survival for a side that was teetering just above the League One drop zone when he arrived. Last season then started well but tailed off alarmingly as we approached December. A win over Birmingham City in the midst of that run saw the Addicks boss threaten to leave the club if fans wanted to continue to tell him who to pick. And plenty were calling for his head after a home loss against lowly Crawley Town made it just two wins in 11 with the Addicks seemingly adrift of the play-off places. The turnaround that followed was remarkable. Jones certainly won the trust of the support again – although he always seems keen to remind them that he did have to win them over. Charlton in the league so far… Thoughts on your opening games? How's it gone so far? Charlton’s three Championship outings have been promising. A last-minute win over Watford at The Valley on opening day followed up by a respectable goalless draw at Bristol City and then the narrow loss against Leicester. The Addicks should have won all three. They had sufficient chances at Ashton Gate to have done so and created enough moments against the Foxes to have beaten them twice over, only to be undone by a moment of real quality by Abdul Fatawu early in the second half. They’ll need to sharpen up in front of goal – the impressive right wing-back Rob Apter has admitted that himself – but my hope is that the number of opportunities they are carving out so far means they’ll have the space to do so. An eye-catching summer of transfer business, what do you make of it? It’s almost unnerving to see Charlton spend so much money – it’s just not what we’ve become used to over the last decade - but it’s exciting and reassuring to see that the Addicks relatively new ownership group are having a go. Global Football Partners came in two years ago and after an unsuccessful first year, rang some changes amongst the club management that saw the likes of CEO Charlie Methven and technical director Andy Scott shipped out. Coupled with the appointment of Jones, things are much more settled now and geared for success. The transfer window has seen a decent blend of experienced Championship heads and players with points to prove at the level – no more so than former Super Hoops man Charlie Kelman. He, along with the likes of fellow forward Tanto Olaofe and wideman Rob Apter have all done the business in League One. Now it’s time to see who can up their game for the second tier. Harvey Knibbs arrived on the same day we last spoke and nobody has come in since. But following the League Cup defeat at Cambridge on Tuesday evening, Nathan Jones made it clear that he still wants defensive reinforcements before the window closes. There is still room for back-ups in the wing-back roles on both flanks – and with Reece Burke’s fitness issues, another centre-half wouldn’t hurt. It was a youthful back-line against the Amber Army and it showed – which would concern you if Charlton suffered any fitness problems in the defence. Ins >>> Charlie Kelman, 23, CF, QPR, £3m >>> Rob Apter, 22, RW, Blackpool, £2m >>> Harvey Knibbs, 26, AM, Reading, £2m >>> Tanto Olaofe, 25, CF, Stockport, £1.5m >>> Thomas Kaminski, 32, GK, Luton, £1m >>> Joe Rankin-Costello, 25, RB, Blackburn, £800k >>> Amari’I Bell, 31, LB, Luton, Free >>> Sonny Carey, 24, CM, Blackpool, Free >>> Reece Burke, 28, CB, Luton, Undisclosed Outs >>> Thierry Small, 20, LB, Preston, Free >>> Dean Bouzanis, 34, GK, Brisbane Roar, Free >>> Aaron Henry, 21, DM, Boreham Wood, Free >>> Nathan Asiimwe, 20, RV, Wimbledon, Loan >>> Tennai Watson, 28, RB, Barnsley, Free >>> Chuks Aneke, 31, CF, Released >>> Danny Hylton, 36, CF, Retired >>> Gassan Ahadme, 24, CF, Stevenage, Loan >>> Alex Mitchell, 23, CB, Plymouth, Loan >>> Terry Taylor, 24, DM, Northampton, Loan >>> Daniel Kanu, 20, CF, Walsall, Loan >>> Nathan Asiimwe, 20, RB, Wimbledon, Loan >>> Kaheim Dixon, 20, RW, Crawley, Loan How’s Kelman started? Extremely quietly. He started our first two league games before dropping to the bench for Leicester but has struggled to make a real impact so far. Jones has said he will need time to get fully up to speed following a disrupted pre-season and it is still very early days, but it feels like he’s barely touched the ball in the league games. He had one glimpse against Watford where he flicked a low ball into the area at goal, but it was stopped by the keeper. He then had three half-chances at Cambridge, and they all seemed to be heading on target before being blocked by defenders. I’m hoping the fact that he’s managed to get all those opportunities on target is a good sign at least but he needs a goal sooner rather than later. Where is the team strong and weak? Last season’s success was built on clean sheets. The side kept a club-record 26 in all competitions – including three from three in the play-off campaign. Jones drills his structure into the team and they are so difficult to break down, especially once taking the lead. How that structure fares against Championship attacks remains to be seen but it gives the Addicks a real base to build upon. They aren’t always particularly fluent going forward. It’s something Jones has referenced and clearly he has looked to address that with the attacking recruits brought in over the summer. He wanted to add another link between the midfield and forward line still. Hopefully Harvey Knibbs is that man. Early thoughts on where you are in this league/revised expectations for the season? My early assessment is that we’ll be fine. Structurally Charlton were so sound last season and that has continued following the step up. We just don’t give up many chances. That gives us the base from which we have competed well in every game and really should have got more from the three played so far. They will need to start taking some of those chances but I’m hopeful that we’ll have enough to get a solid mid-table finish which will be more than enough for me this season. Links >>> Charlton official website >>> South London Press — Local press >>> Charlton Live — Podcast >>> Into The Valley — Message Board >>> Forever Charlton — Blog Pictures - Reuters Connect Please report offensive, libellous or inappropriate posts by using the links provided.
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