Next Charlton Manager Odds: Six names in the frame to replace Ben Garner
Ben Garner has been dismissed as Charlton head coach, EFL pundit Gab Sutton has picked out six possible candidates to become the next Charlton manager…
Dean Holden
Why he should get the job
DeanHolden has vast experience as an assistant, including in the Championship with Bristol City and Stoke.
The Mancunian took charge of City for a spell and was dismissed, perhaps harshly, midway through 2020-21, at a time when he had a 49% win ratio despite a horrific injury crisis, in which at least eight players were missing from match-day squads and sometimes, that number was as high as 17.
With that in mind, Holden will fancy his chances of becoming a Championship manager again but may get overlooked for immediate jobs at that level, so moving to an ambitious League One club may appeal.
Not only that, the 43-year-old has worked with George Dobson, Steven Sessegnon, Eoghan O’Connell, Jojo Wollacott and Craig MacGillivray at previous clubs.
Dobson’s tenacity and O’Connell’s ball-playing qualities makes those two, in particular, crucial players for the Addicks, in their bid to secure a top half finish this season then push on the year after.
Holden’s belief is in creating a positive environment which empowers players and staff to flourish, and perform at their best every day: he’ll feel he can bring that to the Valley.
Why he might not
For a lot of clubs, the initial thought-process can be either “who from the youth scene has an elite coaching reputation?”, or “who’s won promotion as a manager numerous times before?”.
It would be no insult to Dean to suggest he doesn’t quite fit either description to the letter, with his only permanent number one gig coming at Bristol City.
As such, the risk for Holden would be finding himself getting into a lot of different search criteria without necessarily being sorted right at the summit of any of them.
Verdict
Holden represents a middle-ground option.
He can offer eight years of coaching and assisting experience, higher league nous as well as League One knowhow, potential to grow as still a reasonably young manager at 43, whilst being able to offer more insight on structural and operational processes than most, especially having worked with Michael O’Neill at Stoke.
The managerial candidate equivalent of James Milner, one might say…
Leam Richardson
Why he should get the job
Charlton owner Thomas Sandgaard wants promotion, and Leam Richardson knows how to get it.
The former Wigan boss led his side to the League One title in 2021-22, after firefighting admirably the year before, keeping the club up in challenging circumstances.
Not only that, Richardson has assisted Paul Cook to EFL titles with Chesterfield, Portsmouth and Wigan, leading the latter to two seasons in the Championship which would have been three or more but for the financial issues that plagued the club, and led to a points deduction.
One of the reasons Richardson succeeded at Wigan was his ability to establish a reliable core of strong characters, who are committed to the cause.
The 43-year-old would certainly get the best out of Dobson, perhaps the most driven midfielder in League One, as well as selfless midfielder Conor McGrandles and physical front-man Miles Leaburn.
Richardson would likely ask for the club to tweak the recruitment policy, though, in favour of signing players in the 27-32 age bracket who have thrived at this level before and can set the tone in the dressing room.
Why he might not
One of the reasons why Richardson’s relationship with Cook was so successful was because he provided the intelligent tactical nous, while the Liverpudlian brought the passion.
Without Cook, Richardson may need one or two passionate coaches around him, capable of energizing players in a different way.
Plus, the Leeds-born former right-back has always worked up north, barring two years with Portsmouth, and the Charlton job would force him to relocate after five years in West Lancashire.
Richardson is married with two children and while it’s unknown from the outside whether this was also the case when he followed Cook to Portsmouth back in 2015, it’s also plausible that him and wife Jade are settled in the area, while kids are happy at their current school and major personal upheaval isn’t preferred – again, this is speculation without knowing any details.
Verdict
If Sandgaard’s plan is to spend big next season with the intention of challenging for promotion, then Richardson’s experience last season would be hard to ignore – especially in the context of a manager out of work who wouldn’t require compensation.
Conversely, if the plan is a more developmental model, then there may be preferable candidates.
Brian Barry-Murphy
Why he should get the job
Barry-Murphy is an exceptional coach, and developer of young talent.
The Irishman nurtured the likes of Luke Matheson and Aaron Morley while at Rochdale, keeping the production line flowing whilst encouraging an expansive, possession-heavy style of football.
BBM kept Dale up from a difficult situation in 2018-19, he then kept them up comfortably the following season, before the squad was ravaged the next summer and his side fell to relegation, amid various financial and structural issues.
Barry-Murphy subsequently got the job at Man City Under-23s, which highlights how highly he’s rated in coaching circles.
Perhaps, with more money and better players, BBM might be able to make more of a mark on senior football.
Plus, the 44-year-old would have first dibs on loan deals for Manchester City’s top young talent, while his knowledge of the Development scene will help him contribute to recruiting high-potential.
Why he might not
The criticism of Barry-Murphy at Rochdale was that he can be so focused on style and player development, that he loses sight of the competitive side of football.
The theory in some quarters would be that BBM suits an extremely process-driven Under-23s scene, where the emphasis is on playing a particular way and improving individuals, as opposed to employing the pragmatism required to thrive in a ruthless, cut-throat environment.
Verdict
Were Charlton at a stage where they had a fantastic operational structure, with a rigorous recruitment process already running smoothly and no question marks over ownership, perhaps the gamble on Barry-Murphy might make some sense.
Right now, however, they need somebody with an element of big-picture knowhow outside coaching, player development and tactics, which is where BBM can thrive.
Mark Warburton
Why he should get the job
Charlton aren’t a particularly well-run club.
They didn’t give Ben Garner the tools he needed in the summer, and appear to make plans based on notional logic rather than with a professional understanding of the specific nuances of their situation.
For instance, Sandgaard’s son, Martin, is Director of Analytics, and he’d recognized that high-pressing teams tend to perform better than low-block teams, which ostensibly is true.
However, Martin used that information when speaking to then-manager Johnnie Jackson and asked him to employ a high-press, with a target man in Jayden Stockley who is not particularly mobile, to put it mildly.
MS doesn’t have a football background, but it was assumed because of his background in data that he would be fit to have an input in footballing operations, indicating either nepotism or naivety.
Whereas a young coach might be more wary of challenging these sorts of an issues, somebody more experienced would have fewer reservations.
Mark Warburton has a wealth of experience when it comes to not just managing teams, but also managing clubs.
Warburton was Sporting Director at Brentford, and arguably laid foundations for the club’s future successes, as well as taking them up as manager and into the Championship Play-Offs in 2014-15.
The 60-year-old also did excellent work at QPR, and takes huge credit for his role in taking the club from being one known in the external world for its mistakes, and still facing the consequences of misjudgments in a previous era, to one that is known for having good players, that can start to look upwards.
Warburton is currently West Ham assistant, but if he’s interested in a big project to rebuild a club and if the board are prepared to relinquish some of it’s power, then this could be the perfect fit.
Why he might not
Quite simply, the big question is whether Warburton wants to swap his Premier League role as a first team coach at West Ham for a troubled League One outfit.
Warburton chose to leave QPR – a progressing Championship club - for a coaching role at West Ham, and with a competitive record as a manager in the second-tier, it’s very possible that stepping down to League One doesn’t appeal.
Verdict
There’s a slight chance that a new project, an opportunity to rebuild a former Premier League club, appeals to Warburton, who has arguably done his best work previously in stabilizing clubs, streamlining the operation and giving them the foundations for better things.
This may be optimistic thinking, however!
Garry Monk
Why he should get the job
Garry Monk has had three full seasons as a manager.
In his first, he led Swansea City to a top half Premier League finish, doing the double over Manchester United and Arsenal in 2014-15, becoming a contender for Manager of the Year.
In his second, he led Leeds to seventh in the Championship: they amassed 75 points, which would have been enough for a top six berth in 15 of the previous 16 second-tier campaigns.
In his third, Birmingham got to 61 points, two fewer than they amassed under the revered Gary Rowett in 2014-15 and 2015-16, despite having a wafer-thin squad and being under a transfer embargo due to a previous period of overspending – they were thus deducted nine points in 2018-19.
Give Monk a full season and the evidence is that he delivers.
The former Swansea defender brings a top level professionalism to the clubs he manages and cool-headed leadership, as well as top notch pragmatism that allows him to adapt to his resources, and tailor individual game plans to stop different opponents.
For instance, Monk’s Blues side did the double over Marcelo Bielsa’s Leeds. In the 1-0 win at St Andrews, he knew how to stop the full-backs: Luke Ayling was a threat when he had short combination options due to his speed of thought, while Ezgjan Alioski was a threat when he had space to drive into.
The game plan was to allow space for Ayling, because he wouldn’t be able to exploit it without close link-up possibilities, but deny space for Alioski, because he wouldn’t have the deftness of touch to make the most of tight areas.
Birmingham were the only team to do the double over Leeds that season, and it shows Monk, on his day, can mix it tactically with the very best.
Why he might not
Monk isn’t remembered well at Leeds, because he left for Middlesbrough in 2017 after giving indications of a new contract.
He isn’t remembered fondly at Middlesbrough, either, while the end of his stint as Birmingham boss was marred by questions over slightly underhanded dealings with agents.
When Monk was at Sheffield Wednesday, he reportedly had numerous fallings out with players.
Any of the above incidents could, in isolation, be overlooked in the absence of clear evidence of the specifics, but it’s the accumulation of evidence against Monk that causes some concern.
The 43-year-old isn’t remembered anywhere in a fundamentally positive way, other than perhaps Swansea, who he left in 2015.
On paper, Monk’s Championship experience and his competitive record might appeal to Charlton, but there may be more to him than meets the eye – and it’s hard to avoid the possibility that the ‘more’ might not be exclusively positive.
Verdict
Monk could do an excellent job at Charlton: there’s no questioning his practical capabilities. However, the Addicks have had a rotten decade on the ownership front and even Sandgaard still has some questions to answer, so at this stage it’s about rebuilding trust from the top.
With that in mind, they need an honest, reliable character to lead the ship: it may be that Monk is just that, and that the questions over him are without substance on multiple occasions.
It’s hard to ignore the risk, though – and arguable that the South Londoners don’t need the perceived baggage that Monk may bring.
David Artell
Why he should get the job
Sandgaard has spent £15m on Charlton Athletic, and he doesn’t own the stadium or training facilities, nor does he have a Championship club.
With that in mind, the Danish businessman may want a little more bang for his buck.
Going all out for 2023-24 promotion is a risky strategy when Barnsley, Bolton, Peterborough, Derby, Portsmouth, Huddersfield, Blackpool and Wigan could all be in the division next season, so a slight shift to a more developmental model might make sense.
In that scenario, it’d be difficult to find a manager this millennium who has nurtured more young players capable of playing at least two leagues higher than the one they started at, simultaneously, than David Artell.
The 42-year-old won promotion with Crewe in 2019-20 with League Two’s third-lowest budget, with 15 homegrown players of which five - Perry Ng, Harry Pickering, Ryan Wintle, Tommy Lowery and Charlie Kirk – were star performers, before Owen Dale joined that list for a top half finish in League One the following season.
Charlton were willing to pay £500K for Charlie Kirk in 2021, when for his first 52 games at Crewe he hadn’t scored and thanks to the coaching, he became renowned for arriving in the box late on in moves, bagging 24 goals across three seasons.
As well as elevating individuals to new heights, Artell has delivered results for the collective: his Crewe side met, bettered or massively exceeded expectation in five of his six seasons in charge.
Charlton re-applied for Category One status for their academy in October, when Sandgaard stated that their youth setup is a key part of the club and their long-term plans.
Physical striker Miles Leaburn proved a breakout star in the early months of 2022-23 prior to injury, while goalkeeper Ashley Maynard-Brewer, dynamic midfielder Richard Chin, exciting dribbler Tyreece Campbell, intelligent left-back Charles Clayden, cultured midfielder Aaron Henry, versatile defender Zach Mitchell and recently recalled centre-back Luca Ness are the other homegrown talents who featured in the league this season.
If Charlton went for a different mould of manager, with the intention of giving them a top six budget and going all out for 2023-24 promotion, the risk would be that the above talents would fall by the wayside.
Artell is committed to opening pathways from the academy to the first team and passionate about player development, which would make him an appealing fit, should Sandgaard seek a change of tack.
Why he might not
Sandgaard has made no secret of his promotion ambitions, and if the task is to find the available manager likeliest to deliver a strong automatic challenge with a top-end budget in 2023-24, Artell may fall down the pecking order slightly in favour of a Leam Richardson or a Garry Monk.
However relevant the various mitigating factors in his final season at Crewe, it would still take an open-minded Addick to embrace somebody who oversaw a bottom-placed finish last season from the get-go.
Sections of the fanbase might welcome a shift in vision from Sandgaard, others would hope for what would be a higher-pedigree option on paper.
Verdict
Depends on the strategy. Looking to spend big next season and want a high-profile manager to head it all up? Artell may come up short.
Looking to be patient, develop Premier League potential players, build steadily with a stable core and put less pressure on immediate promotion to the Championship, in order to go up with greater long-term prospects? Artell has to be right up there.
The second paragraph doesn’t sound like Sandgaard’s ownership of Charlton so far, but then again, his ownership so far hasn’t got the club anywhere…
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