Charlton Athletic set for survival boost as Championship rivals face 'inevitable' points deduction

Charlton Athletic have been handed a potential early boost as they look to survive their first season back in the Championship. The Addicks will be aiming to secure survival in their first season to allow them to build on their second tier status further down the line.

Nathan Jones may have loftier ambitions as he and his side kick off pre-season preparations, but Charlton’s budget is not likely to be among the top clubs of the second tier, and even clubs with competitive budgets in the Championship can be relegated, as proven by Cardiff City and Luton Town last season.

One potential boost for Charlton is that one club could start with a points total less than zero next term. Sheffield Wednesday are in a very precarious position due to financial issues as controversial owner Dejphon Chansiri bids to sell the club. The Owls have already been hit with transfer restrictions from the EFL due to financial breaches.

Wednesday owe money to HMRC, to players and to clubs, and it’s looking to be a dark situation for the Owls. According to The Telegraph, Wednesday still owe money to Southampton for the loan signing of Shea Charles last season, and they are also said to owe Norwich City for the transfer of Akin Famewo. In fact, it’s claimed ‘many clubs’ are owed money by the Yorkshire side for transfers.

The report claims a points deduction for Wednesday is ‘inevitable’ due to the financial issues, and the club have also received a stern warning over their late payments to players.

Wednesday’s wage issues

It’s reported the Owls still owe money to some players for May, and that they are two months behind on wage payments in some cases. PFA chief executive Maheta Molango said this week: “We have got a pattern of late payment. The standard contract foresees certain kinds of situations where you can terminate your contract and this is where there is a serious and/or persistent breach. So that's what we'll be looking at.

"We've been in touch with the players. Our role is not to tell them what they need to do, (it is) to give them the tools and say, 'this is what you could do if those criteria are met'. Then it is for them to assess what they want to do, because I wouldn't take it for granted that just because certain criteria are met, automatically someone just terminates their contract. There are other considerations. We are in touch with them, it's not an easy situation as you can imagine, because ultimately, you know, people need to be paid.

"Particularly for me it's a bit shocking because normally this is stuff you see in other countries I have played in, but not in England. So we really want to be strong on that, and this is something that we will not tolerate and we will be very much on top of it. It's not a good situation but we hope that somehow there could be a positive resolution to it."

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