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Full name | Charlton Athletic Football Club (Under-21 Development Squad and Academy) | ||
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Nickname(s) | The Addicks | ||
Founded | 1905 (reserves) 1998 (academy) | ||
Ground | Sparrows Lane, New Eltham, London | ||
League | Professional Development League 2 (South Division) | ||
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The Charlton Athletic Academy refers to the teams and players in the youth system of English professional football club Charlton Athletic; they play the majority of their home games at the club's training ground in New Eltham, London.
The Under-21 Development side consists mainly of Charlton's academy players who are aiming to break into the first team squad and in the near future, while senior players occasionally play when returning from injury. The current senior professional development coach for the under-21 squad is Danny Senda. They compete in the Professional Development League, League 2; the club's Under-18 team plays in the same category of the lower age group.
Reserve team history
From 1999 until 2007, Charlton Reserves were members of the FA Premier Reserve League Southern; however, due to the relegation of the first team at the end of the 2006/2007 season from the Premier League to the Football League Championship, they were demoted to the Football Combination Central where they played against other Football League reserve teams and successful Football Conference reserve sides. At the end of the 2008–09 season the first team were again relegated to Football League One and the reserve side was dissolved as a competitive team.
Under Glynn Snodin
In 1999 the team joined the FA Premier Reserve League Southern. Led by reserve-team coach Glynn Snodin had relative success in their first season, finishing 2nd, however in comparison the next three seasons were disappointing as the club finished 8th, 7th & 7th respectively. After this however things picked up, and Charlton became unexpected winners of the league in 2003/2004, and this was then followed by a second success at the Charlton team won the division again in 2004/2005, just a season later. This was followed by another good season, seeing the Addicks finish fourth, however popular reserve-team coach Snodin left to join Southampton as first-team coach.[1] Snodin was replaced by Mark Robson for the remainder; however, this was short-lived as Charlton faced a managerial re-shuffle after the resignation of Alan Curbishley, Mervyn Day and Keith Peacock.
Under Mark Kinsella
With the installation of Iain Dowie as head-coach, Robson was moved to development coach, working with both the Reserve & First Team sides, however after Dowie was fired he was named assistant head-coach, under Les Reed. Mark Kinsella replaced Robson as development coach until this hiring of current club manager Alan Pardew when Kinsella was moved to reserve-team coach.[2] Despite a hectic season the team still managed to finish 6th, however due to the relegation of the first-team the club were demoted to the Football Combination Central where after spending much of the season top of the table were pipped to the post by Southampton Reserves on the last game of the season.[3]
In 2008 Mark Kinsella moved to a more senior role within the first team under Caretaker manager Phil Parkinson while the club sought after a replacement for Alan Pardew, who parted company with the club 22 November 2008. He was replaced by the club's U18 Youth Coach, Damian Matthew, for the interim period.[4] When Parkinson assumed the role of first team manager Matthew was designated Development coach, based on the same role Mark Robson had held previously.
In 2009 the reserve team was disbanded as a competitive side. With the relegation of the first team from the Football League Championship to the Football League One it was decided that the team would no longer play in the Football Combination and instead only played a number of friendly matches throughout the season.
Home ground
![](../I/Stonebridge_PloughEnd.jpg.webp)
In the last nine years the reserves had many different stadia. In their first season they played their matches at Welling United's ground, Park View Road, but the stay was short-lived. For the 2000/2001 season the reserve team played their matches at the first-team's ground, The Valley, however when there was a clash in matches the reserve teams would play their games at Park View Road. This system continued until the 2006/2007 season, when the team moved their matches to Gravesend & Northfleet's ground, Stonebridge Road. The reserve team continued to play their games there in the 2007/2008 season, after the change of club name from Gravesend & Northfleet to Ebbsfleet United.
Reserve team managers
Name | Dates | Achievements |
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![]() | 2000 – March 2006 | Premier Reserve League South Champions (2003–04, 2004–05) |
![]() | March 2006 – November 2006 | |
![]() | November 2006 – November 2008 | Football Combination Central Runners Up (2007–08) |
![]() | November 2008 — January 2011 |
Recent reserves seasons
Season by season record (1999–2008)[5] | |||||||||
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Season | Competition | P | W | D | L | F | A | Pts | Pos |
1999-00 | Premier Reserve League Southern | 24 | 15 | 2 | 7 | 57 | 36 | 47 | 2/13 |
2000-01 | Premier Reserve League Southern | 24 | 8 | 6 | 10 | 35 | 44 | 30 | 8/13 |
2001-02 | Premier Reserve League Southern | 26 | 9 | 7 | 10 | 37 | 41 | 34 | 7/14 |
2002-03 | Premier Reserve League Southern | 26 | 10 | 4 | 12 | 40 | 37 | 34 | 7/14 |
2003–04 | Premier Reserve League Southern | 28 | 17 | 6 | 5 | 46 | 19 | 57 | 1/15 |
2004–05 | Premier Reserve League Southern | 28 | 18 | 7 | 3 | 46 | 21 | 61 | 1/15 |
2005–06 | Premier Reserve League Southern | 26 | 14 | 4 | 8 | 38 | 29 | 46 | 4/14 |
2006–07 | Premier Reserve League Southern | 18 | 7 | 4 | 7 | 28 | 24 | 25 | 6/10 |
2007-08 | Football Combination Central | 18 | 12 | 4 | 3 | 39 | 17 | 37 | 2/10 |
2008-09 | Football Combination Central | 18 | 7 | 2 | 9 | 25 | 25 | 23 | 7/10 |
Under-21s squad
Current squad
- As of 17 January 2024[6]
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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Academy history
The Charlton Athletic Youth Academy was a development of Charlton's commitment to develop young players, a scheme which started in the early-mid-1990s when there was an explosion of young talent under joint managers Steve Gritt. Notable players such as Scott Minto, Kim Grant, Anthony Barness, Lee Bowyer, Richard Rufus, Linvoy Primus, Shaun Newton, Jermain Defoe, Jlloyd Samuel, Jamie Stuart, Kevin Lisbie, Paul Konchesky and Scott Parker all came through the ranks.
This was followed by the creation of the Youth Academy in 1998, aiming to find the best local, and worldwide talent to bring to Charlton at a young age. Numerous players have gone on to play in the top two tiers of English football, having begun their footballing career at the Charlton Youth Academy, including Carl Jenkinson, Harry Arter, Tareiq Holmes-Dennis, Kasey Palmer, Michael Turner, Robert Elliot, Jonjo Shelvey, Jordan Cousins, Callum Harriott, Darren Randolph, Joe Gomez, Ademola Lookman, Morgan Fox, Dillon Phillips, Ezri Konsa, Karlan Ahearne-Grant, Chris Solly and Harry Lennon.[7]
The Under-18 team play in the U18 Professional Development League 2 however the academy takes boys from the ages of nine upwards.
Valley Gold
The Valley Gold scheme was previously set up to aid Charlton's return to The Valley. When a supporter signs up to the scheme, they now have the opportunity to win up to £15,000 at half-time on home match days, as well as getting £15 off the price of their season ticket and the opportunity to have first priority to away games or high demand home matches.
Since Charlton's return to the Valley in December 1992 the scheme has since used to give financial support to the Charlton Youth Academy, to help nurture Charlton stars of the future.[8]
Under 18s squad
Current squad
- As of 17 January 2024[9]
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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Coaching staff
Role[10] | Name |
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Academy Director | ![]() |
Academy Manager | ![]() |
Head of Coaching (U9-U23) | ![]() |
Academy’s Head of Coaching (U9-U23) | ![]() |
Senior Professional Development Lead Coach (U18) | ![]() |
Technical Development Coach (U14-U18) | ![]() |
Lead Youth Development Phase Coach (U12-16) | ![]() |
Youth Development Phase Coach (Under 12-16) | ![]() |
Academy Recruitment Manager | ![]() |
Senior Academy Scout | ![]() |
Academy Scout | ![]() |
Head of Youth Academy Sports Science and Medicine | ![]() |
Lead Academy Sports Scientist | ![]() |
Academy Physiotherapist | ![]() |
Performance Analyst (Development Squad) | ![]() |
Academy Performance Analyst | ![]() |
Kit Assistant | ![]() |
Notable players
National Team Caps
NB: Bold players are playing for Charlton Athletic.
Semi Ajayi Nigeria U20
Karoy Anderson Jamaica
Wassim Aouachria Algeria U18
Harry Arter Republic of Ireland U17/19/Republic of Ireland
Ade Azeez England U19
Grant Basey Wales U17/19/21
Daniel Bowry Antigua and Barbuda
Lee Bowyer England U18/21/England
Jason Brown Wales U21/Wales
Mason Burstow England U20
Jamal Campbell-Ryce Jamaica
Michael Carvill Northern Ireland U21
Regan Charles-Cook Grenada
Jordan Cousins England U16/17/18/20 & Jamaica
Harry Doherty Republic of Ireland U17
Archie Edwards England U16/17
Rob Elliot Republic of Ireland U19/Republic of Ireland
Simon Ford Jamaica
Morgan Fox Wales U21
Hady Ghandour Lebanon U16/19/Lebanon
Joe Gomez England U16/17/19/21/England
Karlan Grant England U17/18/19
Kim Grant Ghana
Ruairi Harkin Republic of Ireland U16/17/19
Callum Harriott England U19 & Guyana
Tareiq Holmes-Dennis England U18
Carl Jenkinson England U17/U21/England & Finland U19/21
Daniel Kanu Sierra Leone
Mikhail Kennedy Northern Ireland U17/19/21
Paul Konchesky England U18/21/England
Ezri Konsa England U20/21
Joshua Laqeretabua Fiji U20
Kevin Lisbie Jamaica
Ademola Lookman England U19/20/21 & Nigeria
Stacy Long England U16/17/18/19/20
Sean McGinty Republic of Ireland U17/19/21
Dimitar Mitov Bulgaria U16/17/19/Bulgaria
Keiran Murtagh Ireland U17 & Antigua and Barbuda
Shaun Newton England U21
Kevin Nicholls England U18/20
Kasey Palmer England U17/18/20/21 & Jamaica
Scott Parker England U16/18/21/England
Diego Poyet England U16/17 & Uruguay U20
Darren Randolph Republic of Ireland U21/Republic of Ireland
Richard Rufus England U21
Lloyd Sam England U20 & Ghana
Osei Sankofa England U16/17/18/19/20
Jonjo Shelvey England U16/17/19/21/England
Tobi Sho-Silva England U18
Chris Solly England U16/17
Alex Stavrinou Cyprus U17
Jamie Stuart England U18/21
Tamer Tuna Turkey U19
Daniel Uchechi Nigeria U20/23
James Walker England U18 & Antigua and Barbuda
Myles Weston England U16/17/18/19 & Antigua and Barbuda
Josh Wright England U16/17/18/19
Rashid Yussuff England U16/17/18
Other academy graduates
NB: Bold players are playing for Charlton Athletic.
Kasim Aidoo
Nathan Ashton
Aaron Barnes
Anthony Barness
Steve Brown
Dean Chandler
Ben Dempsey
Alfie Doughty
Jonathan Fortune
Barry Fuller
Dylan Gavin
Adam Gross
Brandon Hanlan
Alistair John
Jason Lee
Harry Lennon
Paul Linger
Sam Long
Neil McCafferty
Charlie MacDonald
Yado Mambo
Ollie Muldoon
Harry Pell
Dillon Phillips
Joe Pigott
Johl Powell
Linvoy Primus
Junior Quitirna
Henry Rylah
Onome Sodje
Donovan Simmonds
Paul Sturgess
Jason Tindall
Aswad Thomas
Michael Turner
Josh Umerah
Alex Varney
James Vennings
Scott Wagstaff
Freddie Warren
Lawrie Wilson
Brendan Wiredu
Honours
Reserve team/Under-23s
Competition | Achievement | Year |
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Premier Reserve League South | Champions | 2003-04 |
Premier Reserve League South | Champions | 2004-05 |
Football Combination Central | Runners-Up | 2007-08 |
Professional Development League 2 | National Champions | 2013 |
Youth
Competition | Achievement | Year |
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FA Youth Cup | Finalists | 1987 |
Professional Development League 2 | National Champions | 2015 |
Professional Development League 2 | National Champions | 2016 |
References
- ↑ "Snodin set for Saints switch". Charlton-Athletic.co.uk. Retrieved 18 March 2008.
- ↑ "New contract for Kinsella". cafc.co.uk. Retrieved 2 December 2008.
- ↑ "Football Combination Central 2007/2008 Final Table". theFA.com. Archived from the original on 21 June 2008. Retrieved 18 March 2008.
- ↑ "Gritt relishing cup clash". cafc.co.uk. Retrieved 2 December 2008.
- ↑ "Charlton Athletic F.C. Reserves History". fchd.info. Retrieved 6 August 2008.
- ↑ "U21s : CAFC". cafc.co.uk. Retrieved 7 August 2023.
- ↑ Charlton Athletic Youth Academy Archived 8 June 2008 at the Wayback Machine
- ↑ Charlton Athletic Valley Gold Archived 27 June 2008 at the Wayback Machine
- ↑ "U18s : CAFC". cafc.co.uk. Retrieved 7 August 2023.
- ↑ "Coaching Team". Charlton Athletic FC. 3 April 2021. Retrieved 17 June 2021.