CHARLTON ATHLETIC HAVE announced that manager Lee Bowyer has signed a one-year contract extension after finally reaching an agreement with the 42-year-old.
The news comes just a day after the Addicks revealed that the former midfielder had not accepted their offer and looked set to leave amid reports that Derby had identified him as their ideal successor to Frank Lampard.
After just one year with the Rams, Lampard is being linked with the vacant position at Chelsea after Maurizio Sarri left to take over at Juventus.
Having guided Charlton back to the Championship through the play-offs, Derby had reportedly been in contact with Bowyer over a potential switch, but he has turned back on his decision after further talks and pledged to stay on at The Valley for another year.
Charlton owner Roland Duchatelet said on Monday that Bowyer had been offered an improved contract, but that they were unable to hand him anything more than a 12-month deal amid his ongoing attempts to sell the club.
But they have since come to an agreement, with Bowyer staying on.
“We went on a real journey last season. The club came together – the players, the staff, the fans and we achieved something special,” Bowyer told the club’s website about his new deal with Charlton Athletic.
“The journey hasn’t finished yet and I’m delighted this has all been agreed.
This has been a long process and I never wanted to leave, I love this club. I’d like to thank the owner for giving me the initial opportunity and now for continuing to believe in me.
“We have a fantastic fanbase here and my focus continues to be on getting our squad in the best possible shape for the Championship next season.”
Duchatelet, meanwhile, was delighted to see Bowyer commit, despite the uncertainty over the club’s future as their search for a new owner continues.
What Lee has achieved in his short time at the club is very impressive. He has united the club once again,” he said.
“I would like to thank Lee for his professionalism during this process. While the negotiations have been ongoing, he has continued to work on building a squad for the club’s Championship campaign. Stability is essential and I am very pleased we now have the best man in place to lead us forward next season.”
While Bowyer’s future at Charlton has been decided, Derby owner Mel Morris states there has been “no change” in Lampard’s position at the club, insisting Chelsea have not made any approach for him.
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Excellent article Murray. It’s the passing that’s concerning. A basic skill, you would assume at this level it certainly ought to be dealt with in training as regards timing. It can’t be perfect in training & poor in matches. So where are the standards vs Joe time when was non negotiable. Jamie O is young but a poor passer when moving and evident since his Leinster debut. We rarely pass in front of each other, almost always static in receiving, and when there is a 1st phase move, it gets stuck in midfield on contact. Bar Hugo try v Italy, very little innovation, attempts to do so. Extremely low risk rugby SA aside, since RWC. And while we love Hugo, nothing in attack from returned kicks. Little evidence Andrew Goodman was the right choice. You can swap the above comments for Leinster too.
@Mark Kearney: agree and add the waning of our ‘power game’ – that’s another point of difference for France and England and why they both ‘destroyed’ Wales and we didn’t.
@Mark Kearney: good point. Lancaster was really hot on passing accuracy and that meant the majority of players coming into Ireland camp under him were on top of their skills. Connacht also playing attacking style since Lam. New Munster/Ulster coaches also emphasize ball handling. I think the change in style at Leinster is really having a big impact on IRL attack. Leinster players concentrate on chasing kicks and being aggressive in défense. Leinster’s attack has been really poor these last 2 seasons but their brilliant defense means they still win. Cc LRO game was case in point. Irelands last 2 6n’s were also built on solid defense btw. People like to praise the IRL attack but it’s our defence was the foundation of our attack. We conceded more tries this 6n’s than in the last 2 combined.
The key statistic is professional playing numbers. In Ireland, we have 180, France, and England have very many more. It’s probably 8 to 10 times more, especially in France. Long-term strategy is surely to have a fifth team probably off the island.
@D Farrell: agree, but we have what we have. We have to revert to having a point of difference, back to most of Joe’s time in Lein & Ireland, was passing. That you can do with existing structure, if you first accept there is an issue. I don’t think we do, and poor standards are accepted across the provinces. That’s on the coaches, and players wanting to improve.
@D Farrell: Wishful thinking, I fear. The revenue to support a 5th team does not exist. Frankly I doubt whether we have the revenue to support four. Especially if the growth of Women’s pro rugby is already acting like an additional province in terms of its financial impact
I haven’t gone back to check but I imagine what has been said (by both fans and media) about this Ireland team/players/coaches is nothing compared to what the French will have had to put up with when we did them last season. They didn’t go through a massive clean out, and I don’t think we need to either. The other provinces other than Leinster do need to pull their socks up though.
It’s no coincidence our attack faltered when Andy Farrell was away. I think it’s forgotten that he is heavily involved in Irelands innovative attack plays and his absence definitely affected this. Also it’s worth mentioning Catt started very poorly with Ireland and became instrumental in our brilliant attack over the last few years. Maybe Goodman needs time to bed in also
Being third in what many considered a two horse race can’t be considered a success .
However it reflects the approach of the Irish management based on defence . Both Irish wings selection and reputations based on their performance on a catch and kick game .
But teams have stopped kicking deep as blocking in front of the catcher is penalized and the objective is to ensure the ball is behind the defending pack . Thus the reason to pick paceless wings no longer exists .
As previously noted 9 of the 23 are over 30 whose best games are behind them .
I considered that this was last 6 nations for more than PoM Murray and Healy and the preference for Leinster Blue was undeserved by several players .
@SAMUEL T McGLADERY: Who do you think should have been picked on the wings instead of Hansen and Lowe?