The Australian consortium bidding to buy Charlton appear to be inching slowly towards their goal. It has been reported that the group are hopeful of finally getting the deal over the line this week.
When the new regime do take control, one of their top priorities will be to appoint a manager.
With the players reporting back for pre-season training in little more than two weeks, it is essential that the Addicks start assembling their squad for the 2018/19 campaign.
Lee Bowyer is probably in pole position, having turned Charlton’s faltering play-off aspirations around. Bowyer made an instant impact, though his team did appear to run out of steam at the end of the season.
Bowyer is keen to get the job on a permanent basis, and the new owners will have to assess whether they feel Bowyer has enough experience to mount a season long promotion bid.
If they decide to look elsewhere, who could be in their sights?
Shrewsbury’s Paul Hurst would have been an excellent choice, but he has already been snapped up by Ipswich.
Former Addicks academy coach, Nathan Jones, obviously knows the club well, and is an ambitious young coach. But having won promotion to League One with Luton, he may want to stay put for now.
Mick McCarthy is a vastly experienced manager who left Ipswich at the end of the season. His team’s tend to be pragmatic rather than expansive, but McCarthy would be a sound choice to steer the club to a promotion push.
He is available and resides in Bromley, so he ticks a lot of boxes.
Ian Holloway is another very experienced manager who is readily available.
Ezri Konsa and Jay Dasilva were part of the England team that recently won the Toulon Tournament for the third year in a row.
Three Lions coach, Aidy Boothroyd, lost his way in club management, but could be ready to return to the daily hurly-burly of managing a league team.
And of course the man who will always have a special place in the hearts of many Charlton fans is Chris Powell.
Whether he would be prepared to leave Southend so soon after joining them is open to question though.
Once the manager is appointed, he will have to move quickly to assemble his squad for the new season.
There could be an interesting few weeks coming up in SE7.
TAGS: Charlton Athletic