Birmingham City legend backs under-fire Charlton Athletic manager as Bolton blood rising star

Charlton Athletic are looking for an immediate bounceback after a gutting midweek defeat to Crawley Town in front of a home crowd at The Valley.

Luckily, Nathan Jones and the outfit don't have to wait too long to do that with fixtures coming thick and fast in the third tier ahead of the busy festive period. The Addicks make the trip to Lincoln City this weekend for a lunchtime kick-off on Saturday.

Charlton Athletic feature alongside Crawley Town and Bolton Wanderers in your Thursday League One round-up.

Nathan Jones backed by Birmingham City legend

Birmingham City legend Stephen Carr has backed Nathan Jones to continue his work as Charlton Athletic manager as pressure begins to rise on the Welshman following an underwhelming run of results.

The former Luton Town and Southampton boss saved the Addicks from a relegation scrap last season with aplomb and started this term confidently. Charlton Athletic had been earmarked by some as early promotion contenders but the wheels have come off since an impressive 1-0 win over Birmingham City at the start of October.

The London outfit has won just one league fixture since then, slipping to 13th in the table, and a 2-1 defeat to Crawley Town at The Valley on Tuesday proved a low point.

Carr, who made 121 appearances for rivals Birmingham City and has been following League One with a keen eye this term, told William Hill earlier this week: "I follow my old Club Birmingham City and League One is going to be tight at the top and for the promotion places.

"It’s great to see Charlton doing well, with the new ownership there, they have a style they are looking to play and Nathan Jones is doing a good job and the fans are on side so it could be a good second half of the season for Charlton as they push for play-off place."

Rob Elliot praises former club Charlton Athletic

Former Charlton Athletic hero Rob Elliot was the man who oversaw that Crawley Town victory at The Valley on Tuesday night in what was his side's first away victory in the division since the opening fixture of the season.

Elliot took charge of the side on October 1 and has been tasked with keeping the outfit in the third tier as they sit precariously in 19th position. The former goalkeeper, who played 109 times for the Addicks, was full of praise for the club after the game.

He told the South London Press: “It was always going to be tough because we know what Charlton are like. They are physical, direct and put the ball in the box from everywhere. We had to stand up to it.

“To come to The Valley in front of 10,000-plus people, ex-Premier League club and my home club, I know how important the football is to the fans here and how hard it is to come here and win. To do that just tops off a great night.”

Bolton Wanderers promote youth star to first team

Bolton Wanderers have made teenager Sonny Sharples-Ahmed officially part of the first team squad after his league debut for the side against Mansfield Town this week.

There are high hopes for the 19-year-old midfielder, who became the first homegrown outfield player to feature in an Ian Evatt starting XI since New Year's Day 2022 when picked for the EFL Trophy clash with Fleetwood Town last month.

Evatt hopes that the rising star can serve as an inspiration for other future talents working their way up through the Bolton academy. He told The Bolton News: “Making your full league debut is something that Sonny will always remember, so it was great to give him that.

“It also shows the rest of our academy projects that if they do the right things and continue to work on their game as hard as they possibly can then you can get great opportunities, and it is lovely I am sure for fans to have one of their own coming through and entering the field of play, doing well when he did so.

 “We have moved him into the first team squad now and he has earned that. It is all about earning the right and doing things the right way. Football is 24/7 and you can’t switch off, whether you are at Lostock, in the stadium, at home, and I have seen huge improvements in Sonny this season.”