Nathan Jones was at The Valley on Saturday and has already been announced as Charlton Athletic’s manager.
Following Michael Appleton’s dismissal last month, Charlton Athletic have appointed former Southampton and Luton Town manager Nathan Jones on a ‘long-term contract’.
The Addicks have not won in 12 matches as they fall further down the League One table and fear being forced into a relegation battle following a terrible festive period and start to 2024. Jones must put a halt to the rot immediately as he prepares to lead his team for the first time in a six-pointer against fellow strugglers Reading next weekend.
Jones left his position at Luton Town in November 2022 to assume the job, and his accomplishments with the Hatters are the most remarkable in his career thus far. The manager played an important role in the club’s promotion to the Premier League, winning League Two in 2018 and was named League One Manager of the Month four times, as well as Championship Manager of the Season for the 2021/22 season.
These praises point to Jones as a significant coup for Charlton Athletic. It remains to be seen what impact the 50-year-old will have at The Valley, but he has previously expressed his preferences for how his teams should play.
In 2022, following a first-round League Cup defeat to Newport County at Kenilworth Road, Jones stated: “We’re very good out of possession; we’re one of the best sides in the Championship out of possession, and I’ve said that in there.” I believe one or two of them on Tuesday were really foolish in certain elements of their performance, allowing Newport to win the game.
“We’re pretty close in championship games. Burnley had the lowest projected goals in the Championship at the weekend because we are one of the better teams and defend correctly, which we did not do on Tuesday.
“We threw the ball away too readily, cheaply, and foolishly, and then they scored. We don’t do that; it’s not how Luton Town operates. We take pride in that; the group that played tonight must up their game to that level or they will not play. Those players understand that if they want to play for Luton Town, they must improve their out of possession performance, since we are as excellent as anyone.
Jones’ side recovered from the defeat and shortly defeated Swansea City in the league, with the manager complimenting the team’s ‘aggression’ and ‘discipline’. Those adjectives, as well as a zero-tolerance approach to defensive mistakes, will be welcome news for Charlton fans, who saw their side struggle to convert a dominant performance against Derby County into any points on Saturday afternoon, with Daniel Kanu coming close twice in the second half.
Jones reflected on a similar Luton Town performance against Stoke City in November 2022, noting strengths but regretting wasted opportunities. He stated, “I thought we were on the superior side. They had two instances where we didn’t defend our box properly.
doesn’t miss from there since he’s a good player. We didn’t do the basics there, and then they played a good pass that Tom Lockyer sent into his own net, which is possible.
“We had more crosses, more shoots, more possession, and more opportunities, but we just couldn’t find the quality. The performance level was everything; we moved the ball well, were brave and athletic, and had considerably more opportunities. We just needed to score a goal, and if we did, it could have transformed things because the crowd is ready to go at any time.
Changed things because the audience is ready to go at any time.
“That is the story of tonight. We didn’t defend early on, and no matter how much we huffed and puffed, which we did, I look at it and think it’s a wonderful performance without the goals, but it’s all about goals.”
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