Despite all their troubles, Charlton came within touching distance of retaining their hard fought Championship status.
But Barnsley’s stoppage time winner at promotion chasing Brentford on Wednesday snatched it away from them.
The Addicks got a late, late goal themselves against Wigan in their penultimate game to grab a point.
But that is the difference. Charlton get a late goal to earn a draw – one point – Barnsley get a late winner – two points extra. The Tykes scored a 93rd minute winner in their final home game as well. So they took five more points than Lee Bowyer’s side from the final two games.
The Addicks had an unfortunate habit of conceding late goals, they conceded a one at St Andrews four days before the Wigan game which cost them two points.
Central to the late malaise was the absence of top scorer Lyle Taylor. Taylor controversially decided not to play in the last nine games of the season.
Not only was Taylor the leading scorer, but he supplied almost as many assists. If he had played, it is not unreasonable to assume Charlton would have survived.
Had he not missed a chunk of the season after picking up an injury while on international duty with Montserrat, the Addicks may well have finished comfortably in mid table.
The loss of Conor Gallagher halfway through the season was another hammer blow.
An interesting thought about Taylor is how he would have performed in an empty stadium. He was the master showman who loved playing to the crowd, but with no crowd…….
Also, if he played with avoiding injury as his prime objective, he would only have been a shadow of his former self.
The only hope the south Londoners have of a reprieve is if the EFL deduct points from Sheffield Wednesday for financial misdemeanours.
But the focus should now be firmly on the 2020/2021 season, which is less than seven weeks away. But until the ownership issue is clarified, Lee Bowyer will not know what his budget is, so trying to assemble a squad for the new campaign is impossible.
Right now, the future looks anything but bright.