Bold Charlton Athletic manager decision backfired in 2015, it was one to forget: View | OneFootball

Bold Charlton Athletic manager decision backfired in 2015, it was one to forget: View | OneFootball

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·22 September 2024

Bold Charlton Athletic manager decision backfired in 2015, it was one to forget: View

Article image:Bold Charlton Athletic manager decision backfired in 2015, it was one to forget: View

Charlton Athletic's decision to appoint Guy Luzon as head coach did not turn out to be a good one.

Charlton Athletic appointed Guy Luzon as head coach in January 2015, but the Israeli did not enjoy an overly successful spell in the dugout at The Valley.


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Belgian businessman Roland Duchatelet completed a takeover of Charlton Athletic during the 2013/14 season, and made a number of questionable decisions which resulted in the club being relegated to League One in 2016.

Duchatelet sacked popular manager Chris Powell, who had taken the Addicks back into the Championship in 2012, just a few months after arriving at The Valley, before Jose Riga and Bob Peeters both had spells in charge in SE7 during his first year as owner.

At the time of Peeters' departure in January 2015, Charlton were not under any immediate threat of relegation, but their next managerial appointment would prove to be one that contributed to them dropping back into the third tier the following year.

Charlton Athletic appointed Guy Luzon as head coach in 2015

Article image:Bold Charlton Athletic manager decision backfired in 2015, it was one to forget: View

Duchatelet owned a few other clubs in Europe, as well as Charlton, including Standard Liege in his homeland, Belgium.

The controversial owner sacked Luzon, who had been in charge at Standard Liege, in October 2014, so it came as a bit of a surprise when the Israeli was named the new head coach of Charlton just three months later. Some of Charlton's players were reportedly underwhelmed by the arrival of their new boss.

Luzon insisted at the time that he was not fazed by the prospect of working with Duchatelet so soon after he had been fired by the owner, as per the Daily Mail.

"I have a good relationship with the owner," said Luzon.

"Also when I finished at Standard we had a good relationship. I love the pressure, it's part of the game. A coach who can't handle pressure maybe needs to change jobs.

"If you don't have the ability to bring results then you go home."

Luzon's time at Charlton did not get off to the ideal start, as issues with his UK work permit meant he was forced to watch the Addicks' 5-0 defeat away at Watford from the stands.

He guided the Addicks to a 12th place finish in the Championship during the second half of the 2014/15 campaign, before embarking on his first full transfer window ahead of the following season.

Guy Luzon did not impress during the 2015/16 season

Charlton made a few disappointing signings during the summer of 2015, including Simon Makienok, Zakarya Bergdich, and El Hadji Ba. However, the squad still had some quality, with Johann Berg Gudmundsson and Nick Pope in the squad, while a young Ademola Lookman would break into the first team midway through the season.

Luzon's tendency to be right on the edge was perfectly summed up during Charlton's home victory over Hull City in August 2015, when his exuberant celebration of Gudmundsson's injury time winner resulted in him being sent to the stands, before he later stated that he would "do it again".

Unfortunately for the Addicks' head coach, that victory would be his last, as a run of seven defeats and two draws in the next nine games saw him sacked by Duchatelet for the second time in just over a year.

Charlton went on to be relegated to League One at the end of the 2015/16 season despite the return of Jose Riga, who had kept them up in 2014.

Who knows whether the Addicks would have faced the drop if Luzon had not been appointed as head coach, but it certainly turned out to be a decision that backfired for Charlton.

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