Charlton Athletic escaped relegation in their first season back in the Championship last year and things at The Valley are in a much better position than they have been over the last decade or so.

Charlton, who spent the bulk of the opening decade of the century in the Premier League, have more or less yo-yo’d between the second-tier and the third-tier over the last 20 years or so.

After five seasons in League One from 2020 to 2025, Nathan Jones led The Addicks back to the second-tier with Charlton appearing on a more even keel since the takeover of the club by Global Football Partners, or SE7 Partners.

The ownership group took control of the club from Thomas Sandgaard in 2023 and the South Londoners have been on an upward trajectory ever since then.

More transparency would be preferred at Charlton

The ownership group came in after a rocky sustained period for the club under a range of owners with Belgian businessman Roland Duchatelet taking over in 2014 before takeovers by East Street Investments in 2019 and then Sandgaard a year later.

Only three years into SE7 Partners, there were suggestions in August that the club was up for sale again but chairman Gavin Carter has instead dismissed that and that investment is sought after, rather than a takeover once more.

There would have to be a fair few questions around that and the dispute between what the reporting has said in contrast to the club – and a bit more transparency would be preferred, as explained by FLW’s Charlton Fan Pundit Chris Woodward.

Chris says: “I think if I had to change one way in which the club was run, I would prefer the ownership group to be a bit more transparent and forthcoming in communicating with the fanbase.

“Our owners operate behind the scenes and don’t get involved with the public, which I definitely don’t object to considering how too much involvement from an owner, especially a poor one, can lead to disaster – as we found out previously.

“However, every message we receive comes from the chairman or the director of football, passed on behalf of the owners.

“We actually have no idea as a fanbase how the shares are split, who the majority holder is and it has never been directly relayed exactly what the long-term ambition is.

“Add into that, none of the owners have explicitly addressed the investment or takeover talks moving forward.

“I think it would just be beneficial for the fanbase to hear from the owners every once in a while, even if it is just to touch base and have a bit more knowledge about how the ownership group is run, to give us a bit more assurances as a fanbase, considering how traumatic history with poor ownership.”

Charlton have got themselves in a positive space

During the six-year stint of Roland Duchatelet as Charlton owner, the relationship between the club and supporters became intensely fractured.

Relegation to League One was blamed on Duchatelet’s mismanagement of the club on the pitch and his dismissive nature of fans off the pitch contributed to a major decline.

Regular supporter protests intent on forcing Duchatelet out eventually bring the sale of the club, but East Street Investments (ESI) failed to provide stability.

In fact, the club was placed under a transfer embargo as they failed to provide proof of funding to take the club through to the summer of 2021 after taking charge in November 2019, with a falling out between the investors of the Abu Dhabi firm.

After a lot of uncertainty and controversy, ESI eventually sold up to Danish businessman Thomas Sandgaard, who experienced a mixed time of it; initially building a relationship with supporters that deteriorated prior to the sale of the club to SE7 Partners.

Charlie Methven, who had previously been involved at Sunderland after trying to purchase his boyhood club Oxford United, was CEO of the club until March 2025 as a part of SE7 Partners before becoming managing director of Jamaican Premier League club Mount Pleasant.

The chairman Carter has said the club is not for sale but is looking for investment and some added clarity on their position is something that would be welcomed by supporters.