Lee Bowyer leaving Charlton almost felt inevitable recently. Poor form, rumours of discontent between him and the hierarchy, it all culminated in Bowyer’s resignation. Despite his departure being on the cards for a while, he guided the club through one of their toughest periods and leaves the club in a good position in League One.
Despite being in the top half of the table and always in and around the play-off spots, Bowyer resigned, leaving the club after three years at the helm, initially as caretaker manager in 2018. However, he won his first three games in charge, and was given the role full time. However, after winning his first three games he was given the role which resulted in the club getting promoted the following season to the Championship. Faith was shown in Bowyer – at the club he made his professional debut for – as he was given the chance to take Charlton back up to the Championship after getting relegated in 2020.
‘Enjoyed’
Charlton owner Thomas Sandgaard was thankful for everything Bowyer has done for the club, enjoyed working with him and has wished him all the best in his future career.
Bowyer admitted that the decision to leave was very difficult and emotional as the club had gone through some great and tough times. Bowyer added, “I could have gone before but I felt it was the right thing to do to stay and help the club through the tough times we’ve been through”. Bowyer is also thankful of all the players and staff for the long hours of hard work that they did. Bowyer also thanked the fans by saying, “I also want to thank the supporters. We wouldn’t have had those great memories without them.”
Despite leaving the Addicks, Bowyer is happy with the direction the club is going and added, “The club is now in a place with a good owner that cares and wants to improve the place and I hope the club can continue to grow. It will always hold a special place in my heart.”
Experience
It was announced briefly after his departure that Nigel Adkins was named head-coach of the Addicks, bringing a wealth of experience and knowledge.
Described as ‘the most positive man in football’ by fans of his previous clubs (Southampton, Hull, Reading, Scunthorpe, Sheffield United), Adkins’ positivity is exactly what the Addicks need right now. Despite being in a solid position in League One, with promotion a definite possibility the club is in a period of change and the atmosphere around the club has been negative after a poor couple of months.
His appointment was met with some criticism by Charlton fans, seemingly angered the club didn’t aim higher and go for the Cowley brothers, who are now at Portsmouth.
Despite not being the marquee name Charlton fans were hoping for, Adkins’ CV is littered with promotions, and can take the club to next level, where it deserves to be.
He took Scunthorpe from League One to the Championship, after more than 40 years absence from England’s second tier, sealing the title with three games to spare. Despite their relegation the next season, Scunthorpe bounced back immediately, securing promotion via the play-offs, and they beat the drop to defy the odds.
Charge
After his remarkable tenure at Scunthorpe, Adkins took the Southampton job. Southampton were expected to be ‘in and around’ the play-offs but found themselves way off the pace. Adkins came in, steadied the ship and led the promotion charge. During his only season in League One with the saints, Adkins got them firing, and under him they found their best home spell since 1992. He guided the club to the Championship just seven months after joining the south coast outfit.
The Saints finally secured promotion to the Premier League on the final day of the season, beating Coventry City 4–0 at home in front of a club-record crowd. Adkins was the first Southampton manager to gain back-to-back promotions and kept Southampton in the top two all season.
His credentials speak for themselves, promoted out of League One three times as a manager, and guiding teams to the Premier League, the future looks bright for Charlton.
“Charlton Athletic” by Ewan-M is licensed under CC BY-SA
