Four takeaways from Charlton’s 2-1 win over Fleetwood Town: Addicks stop the rot despite unconvincing first half thanks to Alfie May double

Charlton registered a first win since opening day after coming from behind to egde Fleetwood Town 2-1. Here’s Louis Mendez’s four takeaways from The Valley.

COD ARMY HAVE HAD THEIR CHIPS

Relief all around. Charlton end their five-game losing streak. It wasn’t pretty. In the first half it was downright ugly. But the South Londoners found a way to edge past Fleetwood and hopefully draw a line under a forgettable first month of the campaign.

It felt like a familiar story in the first period as the Addicks were way too open. The Fylde Coasters had already seen Ryan Graydon lift over from the edge of the box and Jayden Stockley come within a whisper of breaking the deadlock with a free-kick before they did nudge ahead.

Former Addicks frontman Stockley rose above Karoy Anderson to meet Ryan Broom’s cross and head home via the upright on 16 minutes.

The Addicks were disjointed but a moment of real quality hauled them level just before the break. Chem Campbell’s beautifully measured, curled through ball was meat and drink for Alfie May.

Charlton came out after the break with intensity and purpose and that eventually paid off as Corey Blackett-Taylor was felled in the area. May grabbed his second as he drilled the spot-kick home and the hosts held on for a morale-boosting three points.

DON’T GET CARRIED AWAY JUST YET

There were plenty of concerning elements in the first half. Charlton seemed too easy to play through at times against a poor Cod Army outfit who are still winless in 23/24.

The results at the start of this season have certainly not been acceptable and it will take more than the victory over Fleetwood to convince supporters that they’ve turned the corner.

But the little flashes of quality seen so far by Chem Campbell are encouraging. Alfie May is now on a run of four goals in three outings. And that the South Londoners managed to win from behind for the first time in a year and a half will hopefully galvanise a side that’s lacked a bit of backbone too often over recent seasons.

Miles Leaburn’s return was massive too. He was a real handful when introduced from the bench.

Those positives will hopefully give whoever does come in as manager something to build upon but anybody who watched that first half will see there’s still plenty to work on out of possession with this side.

CLOSURE OF THE TRANSFER WINDOW

None of Charlton’s four deadline day arrivals were available for selection yesterday but they were paraded to the Valley crowd before kick-off.

The addition of full-back Tennai Watson should enable youngster Nathan Asiimwe to be taken out of the spotlight when needed.

But the three loanees who joined on deadline day will all be seen as gambles. Louie Watson, 22, arrived on a temporary switch from Luton Town. He’s joined by Udinese defender James Abankwah, 19, and Man City striker Slobodan Tedic, 23.

The late additions mean that the Charlton squad is now where it needs to be in terms of numbers but there is still a notable lack of experience in some key areas.

Jes Rak-Sakyi proved last season that age is but a number. But for every Rak-Sakyi there is a army of Nile Johns who are sent out on loan but simply aren’t ready to make an impact week in, week out in senior football. Charlton must hope that technical director Andy Scott has discovered a goldmine gilded with players who can take a struggling, injury hit side and rouse them for a gruelling season ahead.

MANAGER SEARCH

Charlton’s quest to find a new gaffer is in full flow. Whilst it was enjoyable to watch the popular Jason Pearce oversee yesterday’s triumph, even the interim boss stressed that it’s vital the new incumbent in one of the hottest hot seats in football takes his throne sooner rather than later.

The Addicks head into an international break after Tuesday’s EFL Trophy tie at Crawley so an appointment early next week will give the new man a decent amount of training ground time to stamp his authority on the side.

Whoever the new ownership in SE7 want – they’ll have to sell to their preferred choice a vision and plan for how the club will be progressing to the next level. Some have already looked at the squad available and decided it’s not for them.

But the job will be attractive to out of work managers or those at smaller clubs who may see Charlton as the next rung up the ladder. Let’s hope the new man can be the one to put an end to the almost constant carousel of appointments at The Valley.

PHOTOS: PAUL EDWARDS