Marked for Jacob Hunter
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market12 Jul 2027
Aston Villa come back empty-handed
The bid was some way short and Charlton Athletic did not need long over it. Nobody in the game reads a first refusal as the end of anything.
Transfer targets12 Jul 2027
A medical, a signature, a shirt held up in front of a sponsor’s board. Charlton Athletic have done the hard part with Leyton Orient, and the part that remains is the part supporters actually see.
The dugout12 Jul 2027
Jordan Bowery: that is not what I was promised
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Charlton Athletic have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Market12 Jul 2027
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Charlton Athletic, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad12 Jul 2027
Lloyd Jones in a row with a teammate
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Charlton Athletic this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad12 Jul 2027
Jacob Hunter is a better footballer than he was
Not a run of form — an actual step up, held for months. At 17 he is doing things at this level he could not do at the start of the season, and the coaching staff will tell you exactly which of them.
Market12 Jul 2027
The name of Javi Zarzo has come up in conversations Charlton Athletic were not part of. Nothing formal, nothing signed — but nothing about it accidental either.
Squad12 Jul 2027
At 27 the improving is meant to be over. It is not: 3 points better than the mark taken at the start of the year, which is the sort of thing that happens to players who take the boring parts of the job seriously.
Squad12 Jul 2027
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Harvey Knibbs was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Back issues
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market14 Sep 2026
Josh Edwards hands in a written request
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Charlton Athletic can pretend not to have heard.
Transfer targets14 Sep 2026
West Ham United wanted more than $2.7M and the board would not go there. Walked away, for now, which in a transfer window means until somebody blinks.
Squad14 Sep 2026
Form comes and goes; this has not gone. Tommy Reid is 21, and the version of him training now would not have got into the side he was in a year ago.
Squad14 Sep 2026
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Miles Leaburn was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Squad14 Sep 2026
Timothy Ouma was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
The dugout14 Sep 2026
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Lloyd Jones, and the manager let it.
Player ratings14 Sep 2026
Marked 7.96. Ask anyone leaving the ground what settled it and you will get one name, which is the only award that has ever really counted.
The dugout14 Sep 2026
Lloyd Jones is still being punished for one mistake
Nobody will confirm it and the team sheets confirm it every week. One error has bought him a spell as second choice that is already longer than the error deserved.
Squad14 Sep 2026
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Jacob Hunter and Charlton Athletic agree another 3 years.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Market17 Aug 2026
The offer was not close and it was refused without much discussion. Whether the second one is refused as quickly is another matter.
Squad17 Aug 2026
Lloyd Jones in a row with a teammate
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Charlton Athletic this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Boardroom17 Aug 2026
5 academy players handed senior numbers at Charlton Athletic
The morning the pathway stops being a brochure and becomes a team sheet. Most of them will not be here in three years; all of them have already done the hard part, which was getting to today.
Squad17 Aug 2026
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Miles Leaburn was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Transfer targets17 Aug 2026
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Tottenham have kept their man, and Charlton Athletic go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
The dugout17 Aug 2026
The manager makes an example of Jeffrey Schlupp
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
Market17 Aug 2026
Clubs spend fortunes looking for players and occasionally find one down the corridor. Jacob Hunter is that, and the reception he gets on his first appearance will be different in kind from the one any signing receives.
Market17 Aug 2026
There is no fee, no unveiling and no agent on the steps. Jonathan Ross has been at this club since he was a boy and is now, formally, one of the first-team squad — which for a local readership beats any signing of any size.
Market17 Aug 2026
There is no fee, no unveiling and no agent on the steps. Matthew Davies has been at this club since he was a boy and is now, formally, one of the first-team squad — which for a local readership beats any signing of any size.