The home side had made four changes and should have taken the lead inside 30 seconds when a 50-yard pass from Billy Koumetio landed sweetly for Tyreece Campbell as he ran in behind the Canaries’ defence.

Keeper Daniel Grimshaw was swiftly off his line, however, and all Campbell could do was hit the ball at him on the edge of the penalty area.

Manager Nathan Jones’ midfield tactical switch had clearly unsettled Norwich, however, with the recalled Sonny Carey and Joe Rankin-Costello operating behind striker Charlie Kelman on the latter’s first start of the season.

Josh Edwards returned for his second start at left back after long-term injury but on this evidence remains short of form, if not fitness.

When Kayne Ramsay got a foot in to feed Rankin-Costello on ten minutes, his short pass to Kelman enabled the striker to round the emerging Grimshaw and pick his spot past the covering Ruairi McConville for a fine opening goal.

Kelman prepares to shoot after rounding Daniel Grimshaw (Image: Paul Edwards)

The 24-year-old, injured in pre-season, is not an obvious fit for the formation Jones had previously been playing, but he was the one Addick who did his reputation no harm on what was ultimately a disturbing afternoon for Charlton fans.

Before the period had reached the halfway mark there had been a major momentum shift, which Norwich head coach Philippe Clement attributed to his players adapting to Charlton’s unanticipated changes. Otherwise it was a mystery, because the Addicks seemed to unilaterally abandon all the good habits that had had the visitors in disarray.

Sloppy work on halfway by Ramsay allowed Mathias Kvistgaarden to put Paris Maghoma away down the right-hand side where midfielder Conor Coventry offered the only cover. The finish across Arthur Okonkwo and into the top left-hand corner, however, was first class.

Norwich were almost in front three minutes into the second period when Andre Brooks pulled his shot wide of the left post, but the home defence was hopelessly out of position on 50 minutes when the unmarked Kvistgaarden headed home at the right post.

Ruairi McConville cannot stop Kelman's shot opening the scoring (Image: Paul Edwards)

Jones soon brought on Miles Leaburn, Harvey Knibbs and Ivan Mesik, and Campbell saw his deflected shot fly wide of the left post for a corner.

Charlton were then unfortunate to be denied an equaliser when McConville headed Campbell’s left-wing cross firmly into his own goal, only for the linesman to raise his flag for a marginal offside call against Kelman, who was deemed to have influenced play.

It was a decision that puzzled both the players and the home crowd at the time, but no more so than when late substitute Micah Mbick was dragged back by his shirt when through on goal, yet the officials remained mysteriously indifferent.

By then Norwich had already secured the points. On 78 minutes, Koumetio was helpless to resist the surging run of Anthony Musaba and when the winger fired across the six-yard area Mesik’s attempt to intercede merely turned the ball past Okonkwo to make it 3-1.

Musaba was unlucky not to get another at the death when his shot deflected wide off Okonkwo’s ankle.

Although this was Charlton’s first defeat of the season at The Valley, it was their ninth league game without a win and Jones appears likely to repeat his personal nadir of ten when his side travel to leaders Middlesbrough next Saturday. That sequence cost him his job at Stoke City in 2019.

In their effort to be more expansive by switching to a back four, Charlton have lost last season’s defensive solidity and now their confidence. However, the obvious weakness is the midfield, where Oliver Skipp did not even make the matchday squad and the club’s summer recruitment is now under severe scrutiny.

Jones said: “We started really well for 20 minutes and had two or three chances. We took the lead and were playing exactly how I want us to play. We were front-footed and with a little more guile we could have gone ahead more.

Then: “We stopped turning them, we stopped playing with intensity, we were tentative. We didn’t win our battles. We didn’t pass the ball well. When we did have the ball, we gave it away so that they could come back at us. The performance started to unravel from there.

“When we had opportunities, we didn’t take them and when they had opportunities, and a lot of those were gifted, we didn’t do the basics well enough to stop them. A year ago, we would have seen that game out. At the moment we are too easy to play against.”