Chris Powell watched the game at Bromley from the stands, Nathan Jones, Paul Hart and Keith Peacock were on touchline duty.

The Newsshopper caught up with Powell after the match and asked if he was any closer to clinching any new signings:

“I would have said yes in the middle of the week but I will say no now because they sort of break down, the talks.

“I’m no closer to anyone at the moment, which is a bit of a shame because I was down the line with one or two of them, but that is just how it goes at the minute.

“We’ve got Kerkar as well from Glasgow Rangers, who played for us against Barnet and he showed up well so we will see what happens with him,” said Powell.

George Friend and possibly Sam Baldock could be the players the manager was referring to. Kerkar has shown much promise so is money the problem? Speculation about the club’s finances has gone on all summer and Stephen Kavanagh’s resignation from the board on Thursday has done nothing to quell it. Martin Prothero’s proposed review of the club’s management structure adds to the current uncertainty.

Players such as Leon Clarke, Paul Hayes and Andy Hughes have yet to feature and in the present situation, Charlton may be unable to bring new faces in until the trio leave. John Sullivan is another player who could be leaving, possibly on loan.

Crawley and Gillingham will provide the opposition for the first team squad this week and then Fulham on Saturday week will be the Addicks final warm-up clash before the competitive action starts.

Powell will want to do a fair bit of wheeling and dealing before Leyton Orient arrive at The Valley on 14 August.

Picture by Ed Boyden. To see more of Ed’s pictures, visit www.edboydenphotos.co.uk