Set Piece and First-Team Coach James Brayne arrived at Charlton in March 2024.

Brayne joined the club from Birmingham City, where he spent more than a decade in the Blues’ academy across two spells, and previously worked within Manchester City’s academy for almost three years.

While in his most recent role as Head of Coaching and Player Development U15-U21, he led the academy coaching programme that saw Birmingham ranked number one in the EFL productivity rankings, based on a three-season assessment between 2018/19 and 2021/22. Jude Bellingham, now of Real Madrid and England, notably graduated through the Blues’ academy during this time.

Brayne initially operated as Charlton's Individual Development Coach before being promoted to Set Piece and First-Team Coach in August 2024 after impressing Manager Nathan Jones.