2007-Present: Modern Era

Charlton’s seven-year stay in the Premier League came to an end, following a turbulent season at The Valley.

Iain Dowie lasted just three months into the 2006/07 campaign before being sacked after a poor start, with Assistant Head Coach Les Reed taking over the reins as Manager on November 14th.

He would not last long, however, and his departure was announced on Christmas Eve, swiftly followed by the news that Alan Pardew would be taking over as boss.

But it all proved to be in vain as the Addicks were relegated, with Tottenham Hotspur putting the final nail in the club’s top-flight coffin on May 7th, 2007.

On June 29th, striker Darren Bent, who had proved to be a massive hit with the Valley faithful during his two-year stay, earning England international recognition along the way, left the club to join Spurs for a club record £16.5m.

After failing to stage a promotion push back to the Premier League in 2007/08 and a poor start to the following 2008/09 season, Alan Pardew was sacked on November 22nd, 2008.

Assistant Manager Phil Parkinson was promoted to the role of Manager and he was ultimately tasked with avoiding Charlton’s second relegation in three seasons, something which he could not prevent as the Addicks faced the reality of being in the third tier for the first time in 29 years.

Charlton set a new club record for the best-ever start to a season by recording six successive victories at the beginning of the 2009/10 season, but the Addicks would eventually fail to win promotion back to the Championship, suffering play-off heartbreak.

A fourth-place finish in League One led to a semi-final clash with Swindon Town and, after a 2-1 defeat away, the Addicks turned the tie around at The Valley, winning 2-1 on the night which forced extra-time and penalties.

But captain Nicky Bailey’s missed spot-kick proved to be the downfall as the Robins went to Wembley with a 5-4 victory.

Charlton were taken over midway through the 2010/11 season by a group represented by the club’s former Chief Executive, Peter Varney.

Michael Slater replaced Richard Murray as Chairman alongside his co-owner Tony Jimenez, and one of the new regime’s first acts would be to dismiss Phil Parkinson and replace him with Addicks legend Chris Powell.

Chris Powell oversaw a major revamp of his playing squad during the summer of 2011 which would eventually lead to a record-breaking season of success and a return to the Championship after three years in the third tier.

In total, 24 new players were brought into the club throughout the season and they would all play their part towards equalling the third tier’s highest points tally of 101 as the Addicks stormed to the League One title.

Promotion was eventually clinched thanks to a 1-0 victory over Carlisle United at Brunton Park, meaning that the Cumbrian ground had extraordinarily become the venue for three separate promotions in Charlton’s history.

After finishing ninth in the Championship in 2013, just three points off a play-off place, the following season would prove to be more difficult.

Charlton found themselves in a relegation scrap, while another takeover of the club came on January 3rd, 2014 with Belgian entrepreneur Roland Duchâtelet acquiring 100 per cent of the club.

An FA Cup run to the quarter-finals ended with a disappointing defeat to League One side Sheffield United with the Addicks narrowly missing out on a semi-final trip to Wembley, sparking Chris Powell’s dismissal as boss.

He was replaced by Belgian José Riga, who signed with the club until the end of the season and guided Charlton to safety with a 3-1 victory over Watford at The Valley on April 29th, 2014 securing their Championship status.

Belgian Bob Peeters was appointed Head Coach prior to the 2014/15 season, enjoying an unbeaten start to the season which lasted until the middle of October. He was ultimately sacked on January 12th, 2015 after a run of nine matches without victory.

The former boss of Belgian club Standard Liège, Israeli, Guy Luzon, was brought in as his replacement, leading Charlton back up the table to secure a top-half finish.

Guy Luzon’s reign as Head Coach came to an end after nine months in charge on October 24th, 2015 as Charlton’s 2015/16 season headed for trouble.

Karel Fraeye, who previously spent time at the club under José Riga, was drafted in as Interim Head Coach, but was swiftly replaced by the return of Riga on January 14th, 2016 with the Addicks deep in the relegation mire.

A slight upturn in form was not enough to save Charlton and relegation was confirmed after a goalless draw at Bolton Wanderers, bringing the club’s four-year stay in the second tier to an end, while Riga resigned following a final-day defeat to champions Burnley.

Russell Slade was appointed Charlton Manager, tasked with guiding the Addicks back to the Championship. But a stuttering start to the season saw him dismissed on November 16th, 2016, with former Milton Keynes Dons Manager, Karl Robinson, brought in as his replacement on November 24th, 2016.

Robinson’s first half-season in charge saw Charlton finish in 13th position in League One.

The Addicks started the following season in fine form under Karl Robinson but by the time March came around looked out of the play-off picture. Robinson departed by mutual consent handing the reigns over to former player and current assistant manager Lee Bowyer, who he had brought in as part of his coaching staff.

Bowyer managed to reignite Charlton and saw them snatch the last play-off spot. Charlton faced Shrewsbury Town in the two legged play-off semi-final tie, with Charlton slipping to a 1-0 defeat at home before losing 1-0 away, condemning Charlton to a third season in the third tier.

2019 saw Charlton storm the league, losing only twice in the new year as they narrowly missed out on automatic promotion.

Charlton would face Doncaster Rovers in the play-off semi-final, with Charlton winning 2-1 away before a Doncaster comeback forced a dramatic penalty shootout which the Addicks edged.

Charlton played their first game at Wembley in 21 years against the same opponents from their previous visit; Sunderland.

Despite going behind early on, the Addicks staged a comeback. With a first career goal for Ben Purrington and Patrick Bauer netting the winner with seconds to spare, Bowyer’s boys were back in the Championship.

An unprecedented 2019/20 season ultimately saw the Addicks relegated back to the third tier in agonising fashion on the final day of the season. 

Despite falling to a 4-0 defeat at the hands of champions Leeds United, Charlton looked set to stay up until Barnsley's Clarke Oduor struck a stoppage-time winner at Brentford.

After an unprecedented 2019/20 season that saw Charlton relegated back to the third tier, Danish-American businessman Thomas Sandgaard brought a renewed sense of optimism to SE7.

Sandgaard completed his acquisition of 100% ownership of the club in September 2020, following the successful conclusion of the English Football League's Owners' and Directors' Test.