After witnessing his side lose a scrappy affair at Port Vale from the stands due to a two-game touchline ban, Charlton manager Ben Garner gave an extraordinary media conference in which
he slammed the hosts’ style of football and revealed he has not received the financial backing in the transfer market he expected when he made the switch from Swindon Town in the summer.
Once again an Addicks boss is unhappy with the club’s hierarchy – and that combined with a run of four games without a win in League One and a sobering mid-table standing is beginning to pile the pressure further on owner Thomas Sandgaard to the point where major protests seem just a bad result away.
That disappointment at Port Vale was followed by a young Charlton side exiting the EFL Trophy in the week after making the long journey to face Plymouth Argyle, with first professional goals for youngsters Daniel Kanu and Kay Anderson not enough to avoid defeat in normal time.
Remarkably, only two players in the matchday squad for Garner’s men at Home Park did not come through Charlton’s academy, highlighting the pathway
the club allows into the first team but also the reliance on youngsters to burst onto the scene and provide a spark when senior players are struggling.
Given the mass rotation for that EFL Trophy defeat, Garner is likely to go with his strongest side to face Stockport, as he did in their first-round success against non-league Coalville Town, who play their football in the Southern Premier Division Central.
League leaders Leyton Orient put an end to Stockport’s impressive seven-game unbeaten run in League Two last weekend, but that defeat has not dampened spirits amongst a fanbase that had to endure regional football for six seasons during the last decade.
Dave Challinor’s side sit 14th in League Two after collecting a steady 25 points from their first 19 games on their return to the fourth tier, although there is a feeling around Edgeley Park that mid-table mediocrity and safety would not represent success this campaign.
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Significant investment from local businessman Mark Stott in the summer allowed Stockport to retain the services of forward Paddy Madden and tempt 19-goal striker Kyle Wootton away from Notts County, meaning the Hatters were tipped before the season’s start to battle for back-to-back promotions.
Currently six points behind sixth-placed Swindon, Challinor’s men have work to do over the winter to close the gap, but based on their recent form an ascent up the League Two table will be expected by players and supporters alike.
The Robins were in fact Stockport’s victims in the first round of the FA Cup a few weeks ago, with last season’s National League champions thrashing Scott Lindsey’s side 4-0, County’s biggest margin of victory so far this season.
