Is Nathan Jones under pressure at Charlton Athletic? Fans told they ‘underestimate’ the task | OneFootball

FLW's Charlton fan pundit believes the Welshman is the right man to take the Addicks forward.

Charlton Athletic are currently 18th in the Championship during their first season back in the second tier following a five-year spell in League One.

Nathan Jones led the Addicks to promotion via the play-offs during his first full season in charge last term, and his side are now seven points clear of the relegation zone in the Championship midway through February.

It would be fair to say that most Charlton fans would have taken this position before the season started, with avoiding relegation being the primary objective before a ball had been kicked.

After a run of three consecutive clean sheets and seven points from a possible nine, the Addicks went into their home game against Portsmouth in midweek knowing that a win would take them 10 points clear of the drop zone.

However, Charlton were comfortably beaten by Pompey at The Valley, which has left them looking over their shoulders once again with 14 league games left to play.

That defeat, combined with a hugely disappointing overall performance, has led to a few questions over Nathan Jones' future resurfacing. We asked our Charlton fan pundit, Chris Woodward, whether he thinks the Welshman is still the right man for the job.

Nathan Jones is "undoubtedly" the right man for Charlton

FLW's Charlton fan pundit, Chris Woodward, has made it clear that he believes Nathan Jones is the right man to continue taking Charlton forward.

"Nathan Jones is, undoubtedly, the right man for the job," Chris said.

"I will admit that his footballing style, with regard to prioritising the defence first, setting up in a 5-3-2, playing for set-pieces and direct football does not make for the greatest viewing, but I think it is important to recognise the context.

"He has taken us from the verge of League Two to the Championship, he got us promoted a season ahead of schedule when we weren't properly prepared, and with the third-smallest Championship budget he is still making us competitive.

"Jones showed at the start of the season that, when he has his best team available and fit, he can compete higher up the league even with his style of play.

"He hasn't been flawless. There have been question marks around the summer recruitment, which was poor, and some of his team selections.

"However, the overall quality of our team isn't amazing, so if we tried to play like Middlesbrough, Coventry or Ipswich, we would easily be in the bottom three.

"I think a lot of Charlton fans underestimate the jump in quality between League One and the Championship, and with another manager we would likely be relegated.

"If we do stay up, and we aren't progressing in terms of style of play and improving the squad, then it is something we may need to look at further down the line, but at this current moment there shouldn't even be conversations about replacing Nathan Jones."

History suggests Charlton should stick with Nathan Jones

Since Charlton were relegated from the Premier League in 2007, they have had 16 permanent managers if you include Karel Fraeye's spell in interim charge during the 2015/16 season.

Therefore, it would be fair to say that the club does not have a good track record when it comes to identifying managers who are capable of making a positive impact over an extended period of time.

With Jones having signed a new five-year contract in the summer, and being ahead of where he might have expected when he arrived at the club in 2024, it would make no sense for Charlton to part ways with him at this point.

No permanent Charlton manager has picked up more points per game on average than Jones since the 1981/82 season, when it became three points for a win.

The 52-year-old is ahead of the likes of Alan Curbishley, Chris Powell and Lee Bowyer when it comes to points per game, he has taken the Addicks back to the Championship, and he is on course to keep them up, so it is difficult to understand why there would be question marks over his future.