Early history (1905–1946)

Charlton Athletic F.C. was formed on 9 June 1905^[1] by a group of 14 to 15-year-olds in East Street, Charlton, which is now known as Eastmoor Street and no longer residential.

Contrary to some histories, the club was founded as "Charlton Athletic" and had no connection to other teams or institutions such as East St Mission, Blundell Mission or Charlton Reds; it was not founded by a church, school, employer or as a franchise for an existing ground. Charlton spent most of the years before the First World War playing in local leagues but progressing rapidly, winning successive leagues and so promotions eight years in a row. In 1905–06 the team played only friendly games but joined, and won, the Lewisham League Division III for the 1906–07 season. For the 1907–08 season the team contested the Lewisham League, Woolwich League and entered the Woolwich Cup. It was also around this time the Addicks nickname was first used in the local press although it may have been in use before then. In the 1908–09 season Charlton Athletic were playing in the Blackheath and District League and by 1910–11 had progressed to the Southern Suburban League. During this period Charlton Athletic won the Woolwich Cup four times, the championship of the Woolwich League three times, won the Blackheath League twice and the Southern Suburban League three times.^{[citation needed]}

They became a senior side in 1913, the same year that nearby Woolwich Arsenal F.C. relocated to North London.^[1]

At the outbreak of World War I, Charlton were one of the first clubs to close down to take part in the "Greater Game" overseas. The club was reformed in 1917, playing mainly friendlies to raise funds for charities connected to the war and for the Woolwich Memorial Hospital Cup, the trophy for which Charlton donated. It had previously been the Woolwich Cup that the team had won outright following three consecutive victories.

After the war, they joined the Kent League for one season (1919–20) before becoming professional, appointing Walter Rayner as the first full-time manager. They were accepted by the Southern League and played just a single season (1920–21) before being voted into the Football League. Charlton's first Football League match was against Exeter City in August 1921, which they won 1–0. In 1923, Charlton became "giant killers" in the FA Cup beating top flight sides Manchester City, West Bromwich Albion, and Preston North End before losing to eventual winners Bolton Wanderers in the Quarter-Finals. Later that year, it was proposed that Charlton merge with Catford Southend to create a larger team with bigger support.^[2]: 30 In the 1923–24 season Charlton played in Catford at The Mount stadium and wore the colours of "The Enders", light and dark blue vertical stripes. However, the move fell through and the Addicks returned to the Charlton area in 1924, returning to the traditional red and white colours in the process.^[2]: 33

Charlton finished second bottom in the Football League in 1926 and were forced to apply for re-election which was successful. Three years later the Addicks won the Division Three championship in 1929^[3] and they remained at the Division Two level for four years.^[1] After relegation into the Third Division south at the end of the 1932–33 season the club appointed Jimmy Seed as manager and he oversaw the most successful period in Charlton's history either side of World War II. Seed, an ex-miner who had made a career as a footballer despite suffering the effects of poison gas in the First World War, remains the most successful manager in Charlton's history. He is commemorated in the name of a stand at the Valley.^[4]: 19 Seed was an innovative thinker about the game at a time when tactical formations were still relatively unsophisticated. He later recalled "a simple scheme that enabled us to pull several matches out of the fire" during the 1934–35 season: when the team was in trouble "the centre-half was to forsake his defensive role and go up into the attack to add weight to the five forwards."^[4]: 66 The organisation Seed brought to the team proved effective and the Addicks gained successive promotions from the Third Division to the First Division between 1934 and 1936, becoming the first club to ever do so.^[1] Charlton finally secured promotion to the First Division by beating local rivals West Ham United at the Boleyn Ground, with their centre-half John Oakes playing on despite concussion and a broken nose.^[5]

In 1937, Charlton finished runners up in the First Division,^[6] in 1938 finished fourth^[7] and 1939 finished third.^[8] They were the most consistent team in the top flight of English football over the three seasons immediately before World War II.^[1] This continued during the war years and they won the Football League War Cup and appeared in finals.

Post-war success and fall from grace (1946–1984)

Charlton reached the 1946 FA Cup Final, but lost 4–1 to Derby County at Wembley. Charlton's Bert Turner scored an own goal in the 80th minute before equalising for the Addicks a minute later to take them into extra time, but they conceded three further goals in the extra period.^[9] When the full league programme resumed in 1946–47 Charlton could finish only 19th in the First Division, just above the relegation spots, but they made amends with their performance in the FA Cup, reaching the 1947 FA Cup Final. This time they were successful, beating Burnley 1–0, with Chris Duffy scoring the only goal of the day.^[10] In this period of renewed football attendances, Charlton became one of only 13 English football teams to average over 40,000 as their attendance during a full season.^[1] The Valley was the largest football ground in the League, drawing crowds in excess of 70,000.^[1] However, in the 1950s little investment was made either for players or to The Valley, hampering the club's growth. In 1956, the then board undermined Jimmy Seed and asked for his resignation; Charlton were relegated the following year.^[1]

From the late 1950s until the early 1970s, Charlton remained a mainstay of the Second Division before relegation to the Third Division in 1972.^[11] It caused the team's support to drop, and even a promotion in 1975 back to the second division^[12] did little to re-invigorate the team's support and finances. In 1979–80 Charlton were relegated again to the Third Division,^[13] but won immediate promotion back to the Second Division in 1980–81.^[14] This was a turning point in the club's history leading to a period of turbulence and change including further promotion and exile. A change in management and shortly after a change in club ownership led to severe problems, such as the reckless signing of former European Footballer of the Year Allan Simonsen, and the club looked like it would go out of business.^{[2]: 141-150}

The "exiled" years (1985–1992)

In 1984 financial matters came to a head and the club went into administration, to be reformed as Charlton Athletic (1984) Ltd.^[1] although the club's finances were still far from secure. They were forced to leave the Valley just after the start of the 1985–86 season, after its safety was criticised by Football League officials in the wake of the Bradford City stadium fire. The club began to ground-share with Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park^[1] and this arrangement looked to be for the long-term, as Charlton did not have enough funds to revamp the Valley to meet safety requirements.

Despite the move away from the Valley, Charlton were promoted to the First Division as Second Division runners-up at the end of 1985–86,^[15] and remained at this level for four years (achieving a highest league finish of 14th) often with late escapes, most notably against Leeds in 1987, where the Addicks triumphed in extra-time of the play-off final replay to secure their top flight place.^[1] In 1987 Charlton also returned to Wembley for the first time since the 1947 FA Cup final for the Full Members Cup final against Blackburn.^[2]: 156 Eventually, Charlton were relegated in 1990 along with Sheffield Wednesday and bottom club Millwall.^[1] Manager Lennie Lawrence remained in charge for one more season before he accepted an offer to take charge of Middlesbrough. He was replaced by joint player-managers Alan Curbishley and Steve Gritt.^[1] The pair had unexpected success in their first season finishing just outside the play-offs, and 1992–93 began promisingly and Charlton looked good bets for promotion in the new Division One (the new name of the old Second Division following the formation of the Premier League). However, the club was forced to sell players such as Rob Lee to help pay for a return to the Valley, while club fans formed the Valley Party, nominating candidates to stand in local elections in 1990, pressing the local council to enable the club's return to the Valley – finally achieved in December 1992.

In March 1993, defender Tommy Caton, who had been out of action because of injury since January 1991, announced his retirement from playing on medical advice. He died suddenly at the end of the following month at the age of 30.

Premier League years (1998–2007)

In 1995, new chairman Richard Murray appointed Alan Curbishley as sole manager of Charlton.^[16] Under his sole leadership Charlton made an appearance in the play-off in 1996 but were eliminated by Crystal Palace in the semi-finals and the following season brought a disappointing 15th-place finish. 1997–98 was Charlton's best season for years. They reached the Division One play-off final and battled against Sunderland in a thrilling game which ended with a 4–4 draw after extra time. Charlton won 7–6 on penalties,^[17] with the match described as "arguably the most dramatic game of football in Wembley's history",^[18] and were promoted to the Premier League.

Charlton's first Premier League campaign began promisingly (they went top after two games) but they were unable to keep up their good form and were soon battling relegation. The battle was lost on the final day of the season but the club's board kept faith in Curbishley, confident that they could bounce back. Curbishley rewarded the chairman's loyalty with the Division One title in 2000 which signalled a return to the Premier League.^[19]

After the club's return, Curbishley proved an astute spender and by 2003 he had succeeded in establishing Charlton in the top flight. Charlton spent much of the 2003–04 Premier League season challenging for a Champions League place, but a late-season slump in form and the sale of star player Scott Parker to Chelsea, left Charlton in seventh place,^[20] which was still the club's highest finish since the 1950s. Charlton were unable to build on this level of achievement and Curbishley departed in 2006, with the club still established as a solid mid-table side.^[21]

In May 2006, Iain Dowie was named as Curbishley's successor,^[22] but was sacked after 12 league matches in November 2006, with only two wins.^[23] Les Reed replaced Dowie as manager,^[24] however he too failed to improve Charlton's position in the league table and on Christmas Eve 2006, Reed was replaced by former player Alan Pardew.^[25] Although results did improve, Pardew was unable to keep Charlton up and relegation was confirmed in the penultimate match of the season.^[26]

Return to the Football League (2007–2014)

Charlton's return to the second tier of English football was a disappointment, with their promotion campaign tailing off to an 11th-place finish. Early in the following season the Addicks were linked with a foreign takeover,^[27] but this was swiftly denied by the club. On 10 October 2008, Charlton received an indicative offer for the club from a Dubai-based diversified investment company. However, the deal later fell through. The full significance of this soon became apparent as the club recorded net losses of over £13 million for that financial year. Pardew left on 22 November after a 2–5 home loss to Sheffield United that saw the team fall into the relegation places.^[28] Matters did not improve under caretaker manager Phil Parkinson, and the team went a club record 18 games without a win, a new club record, before finally achieving a 1–0 away victory over Norwich City in an FA Cup third round replay; Parkinson was hired on a permanent basis. The team were relegated to League One after a 2–2 draw against Blackpool on 18 April 2009.^[29]

After spending almost the entire 2009–10 season in the top six of League One, Charlton were defeated in the Football League One play-offs semi-final second leg on penalties against Swindon Town.^[30]

After a change in ownership, Parkinson and Charlton legend Mark Kinsella left after a poor run of results. Another Charlton legend, Chris Powell, was appointed manager of the club in January 2011, winning his first game in charge 2–0 over Plymouth at the Valley. This was Charlton's first league win since November. Powell's bright start continued with a further three victories, before running into a downturn which saw the club go 11 games in succession without a win. Yet the fans' respect for Powell saw him come under remarkably little criticism. The club's fortunes picked up towards the end of the season, but leaving them far short of the play-offs. In a busy summer, Powell brought in 19 new players and after a successful season, on 14 April 2012, Charlton Athletic won promotion back to the Championship with a 1–0 away win at Carlisle United. A week later, on 21 April 2012, they were confirmed as champions after a 2–1 home win over Wycombe Wanderers. Charlton then lifted the League One trophy on 5 May 2012, having been in the top position since 15 September 2011, and after recording a 3–2 victory over Hartlepool United, recorded their highest ever league points score of 101, the highest in any professional European league that year.

In the first season back in the Championship, the 2012–13 season saw Charlton finish ninth place with 65 points, just three points short of the play-off places to the Premier League.

Duchâtelet's ownership (2014–2019)

In early January 2014 during the 2013–14 season, Belgian businessman Roland Duchâtelet took over Charlton as owner in a deal worth £14million. This made Charlton a part of a network of football clubs owned by Duchâtelet. On 11 March 2014, two days after an FA Cup quarter-final loss to Sheffield United, and with Charlton sitting bottom of the table, Powell was sacked, private emails suggesting a rift with the owner.^[31]

New manager Jose Riga, despite having to join Charlton long after the transfer window had closed, was able to improve Charlton's form and eventually guide them to 18th place, successfully avoiding relegation. After Riga's departure to manage Blackpool, former Millwall player Bob Peeters was appointed as manager in May 2014 on a 12-month contract. Charlton started strong, but a long run of draws meant that after only 25 games in charge Peeters was dismissed with the team in 14th place.^[32][33] His replacement, Guy Luzon, ensured there was no relegation battle by winning most of the remaining matches, resulting in a 12th-place finish.

The 2015–16 season began promisingly but results under Luzon deteriorated and on 24 October 2015 after a 3–0 defeat at home to Brentford he was sacked.^[34] Luzon said in a News Shopper interview that he "was not the one who chose how to do the recruitment" as the reason why he failed as manager.^[35] Karel Fraeye was appointed "interim head coach",^[36] but was sacked after 14 games and just two wins, with the club then second from bottom in the Championship.^[37] On 14 January 2016, Jose Riga was appointed head coach for a second spell,^[38] but could not prevent Charlton from being relegated to League One for the 2016–17 season.^[39] Riga resigned at the end of the season.^[40] To many fans, the managerial changes and subsequent relegation to League One were symptomatic of the mismanagement of the club under Duchâtelet's ownership and several protests began.^[41][42]

After a slow start to the new season, with the club in 15th place of League One, the club announced that it had "parted company" with Russell Slade in November 2016.^[43] Karl Robinson was appointed on a permanent basis soon after.^[44] He led the Addicks to an uneventful 13th-place finish. The following season Robinson had the team challenging for the play-offs, but a drop in form in March led him to resign by mutual consent. He was replaced by former player Lee Bowyer as caretaker manager who guided them to a 6th-place finish, but lost in the play-off semi-final.

Bowyer was appointed permanently in September on a one-year contract and after finishing third in the regular 2018-19 EFL League One season, Charlton beat Sunderland 2–1 in the League One play-off final to earn promotion back to the EFL Championship after a three-season absence.^[45] Bowyer later signed a new one-year contract following promotion, which was later extended to three years in January 2020.^[46]

Multiple changes of ownership (2019–2023)

Colours and crest

Charlton have used a number of crests and badges during their history, although the current design has not been changed since 1968. The first known badge, from the 1930s, consisted of the letters CAF in the shape of a club from a pack of cards. In the 1940s, Charlton used a design featuring a robin sitting in a football within a shield, sometimes with the letters CAFC in the four-quarters of the shield, which was worn for the 1946 FA Cup Final. In the late 1940s and early 1950s, the crest of the former metropolitan borough of Greenwich was used as a symbol for the club but this was not used on the team's shirts.^[87]

In 1963, a competition was held to find a new badge for the club, and the winning entry was a hand holding a sword, which complied with Charlton's nickname of the time, the Valiants.^[87] Over the next five years modifications were made to this design, such as the addition of a circle surrounding the hand and sword and including the club's name in the badge. By 1968, the design had reached the one known today, and has been used continuously from this year, apart from a period in the 1970s when just the letters CAFC appeared on the team's shirts.^[87]

With the exception of one season, Charlton have always played in red and white – colours chosen by the boys who founded Charlton Athletic in 1905 after having to play their first matches in the borrowed kits of their local rivals Woolwich Arsenal, who also played in red and white.^[2]: 8 The exception came during part of the 1923–24 season when Charlton wore the colours of Catford Southend as part of the proposed move to Catford, which were light and dark blue stripes.^[2]: 32 However, after the move fell through, Charlton returned to wearing red and white as their home colours.

The sponsors were as follows:^[88]

Nicknames

Charlton's most common nickname is The Addicks. The origin of this name is from a local fishmonger, Arthur "Ikey" Bryan, who rewarded the team with meals of haddock and chips with vinegar^[2]: 10

The progression of the nickname can be seen in the book The Addicks Cartoons: An Affectionate Look into the Early History of Charlton Athletic, which covers the pre-First World War history of Charlton through a narrative based on 56 cartoons which appeared in the now defunct Kentish Independent. The very first cartoon, from 31 October 1908, calls the team the Haddocks. By 1910, the name had changed to Addicks although it also appeared as Haddick. The club also have two other nicknames, The Robins, adopted in 1931, and The Valiants, chosen in a fan competition in the 1960s which also led to the adoption of the sword badge which is still in use. The Addicks nickname never went away and was revived by fans after the club lost its Valley home in 1985 and went into exile at Crystal Palace. It is now once again the official nickname of the club.

Charlton fans' chants have included "Valley, Floyd Road", a song noting the stadium's address to the tune of "Mull of Kintyre".^[89]

Film and TV

Charlton Athletic featured in the ITV one-off drama Albert's Memorial, shown on 12 September 2010 and starring David Jason and David Warner.^[98]

In the long-running BBC sitcom Only Fools and Horses, Rodney Charlton Trotter is named after the club.^[99]

In the BBC science-fiction series Doctor Who, the seventh Doctor's companion Ace (played by Sophie Aldred from 1987 to 1989) wears a Charlton Athletic badge on her black bomber jacket^[100] and the club is mentioned in Silver Nemesis.^[101]

The Valley and manager Alan Curbishley made cameo appearances in the Sky One television series Dream Team.^[102]

Charlton Athletic assumes a pivotal role in the film The Silent Playground (1963). Three children get in to trouble when their mother's boyfriend 'Uncle' Alan (John Ronane), gives them pocket money to wander off on their own, so that he can attend a Charlton football match. There is some footage from the ground which Ronane is later seen leaving.^[103]

A Charlton Athletic match against Manchester United in the 1950s is depicted in BBC Two television film United (released in 2011).^[104]

A young Billy Butcher has a Charlton flag in his room in Amazon Prime Video series The Boys.^[105]

Books

Charlton Athletic has also featured in several book publications, in both fiction and factual/sports writing. These include works by Charlie Connelly^[106] and Paul Breen's work of popular fiction which is entitled The Charlton Men. The book is set against Charlton's successful 2011–12 season when they won the League One title and promotion back to the Championship in concurrence with the 2011 London riots.^[107]

Timothy Young, the protagonist in Out of the Shelter, a 1970 novel by David Lodge, supports Charlton Athletic. The book describes Timothy listening to Charlton's victory in the 1947 FA Cup Final on the radio.^[108]

Player records

First-team squad

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

More information No., Pos. ...

No. Pos. Nation Player 1 GK  AUS Ashley Maynard-Brewer 2 DF  ENG Lloyd Jones 3 DF  LCA Terell Thomas 4 MF  ENG George Dobson (captain) 5 DF  ENG Lucas Ness 6 DF  JAM Michael Hector 8 MF  GNB Panutche Camará (on loan from Ipswich Town) 9 FW  ENG Alfie May 11 FW  ENG Miles Leaburn 12 MF  WAL Terry Taylor 13 FW  ENG Connor Wickham 14 FW  ENG Freddie Ladapo (on loan from Ipswich Town) 17 DF  ENG Tayo Edun 18 DF  ENG Tennai Watson 20 MF  ENG Tyreece Campbell

No. Pos. Nation Player 21 GK  ENG Harry Isted 22 FW  ENG Chuks Aneke 25 MF  IRL Louie Watson (on loan from Luton Town) 26 DF  ENG Thierry Small 27 DF  ENG Macaulay Gillesphey 29 FW  SLE Daniel Kanu 30 MF  ENG Tyreeq Bakinson (on loan from Sheffield Wednesday) 32 DF  UGA Nathan Asiimwe 33 MF  JAM Karoy Anderson 40 MF  IRL Conor Coventry 46 MF  SCO Lewis Fiorini (on loan from Manchester City) 47 DF  ENG Rarmani Edmonds-Green 48 GK  ENG Lewis Ward 49 MF  COD Kazenga LuaLua 66 DF  ENG Kayne Ramsay

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Out on loan

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

More information No., Pos. ...

No. Pos. Nation Player 7 MF  ENG Diallang Jaiyesimi (at St Johnstone until end of 2023–24 season) 10 MF  SCO Scott Fraser (at Heart of Midlothian until end of 2023–24 season) 15 MF  ENG Aaron Henry (at Wealdstone until end of 2023–24 season) 16 MF  SCO Conor McGrandles (at Lincoln City until end of 2023–24 season) 19 MF  ENG Jack Payne (at Milton Keynes Dons until end of 2023–24 season) 23 MF  ENG Corey Blackett-Taylor (at Derby County until end of 2023–24 season)

No. Pos. Nation Player 24 DF  ENG Zach Mitchell (at Colchester United until end of 2023–24 season) 28 DF  ENG Richard Chin (at Bath City until end of 2023–24 season) 37 DF  ENG Jacob Roddy (at Oxford City until end of 2023–24 season) 38 MF  ENG Harvey Kedwell (at Dagenham & Redbridge until end of 2023–24 season) — MF  ENG Jason Adigun (at Welling United until end of 2023–24 season)

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Under-21s squad

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

More information No., Pos. ...

No. Pos. Nation Player 31 GK  IRL Henry Molyneux 35 DF  ENG Nazir Bakrin 34 MF  ECU Jeremy Santos 41 GK  NGA Prince Adegoke 43 DF  ENG Oliver Hobden 44 DF  ENG Toby Bower — DF  AUS Matt Dench

No. Pos. Nation Player — DF  CZE Seydil Toure — MF  ENG Ralfi Hand — MF  ENG Ryan Huke — MF  NIR Euan Williams — FW  ENG Tolu Ladapo — FW  USA Chibike Okechukwu — FW  WAL Ryan Viggars

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Under-18s squad

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

More information No., Pos. ...

No. Pos. Nation Player 36 MF  ENG Henry Rylah 39 DF  FIJ Josh Laqeretabua 42 FW  ENG Micah Mbick 45 FW  IRL Patrick Casey — GK  ENG James Batt — GK  ENG Jude Sadler — DF  ENG Luke Ashburn — DF  ENG Ethan Brown — DF  ENG Ethan Cann — DF  GHA David Danso — DF  ENG Keenan Gough

No. Pos. Nation Player — DF  ENG Mason Hunter — DF  ENG Joshua Ogunnowo — DF  GER Harmony Okwumo — MF  ENG Mikey Berry — MF  ENG Kai Enslin — MF  ENG Ibrahim Fullah — MF  ENG Alan Mwamba — MF  ENG Brook Myers — MF  ENG Jacob Safa — MF  ENG Manu Wales — MF  ENG Jadon Yamoah

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Women's team

Player of the Year

Coaching staff

More information Role, Name ...

Role	Name
Technical Director	Andy Scott[116]
Manager	Nathan Jones[117]
Assistant Manager	Paul Hart
First Team Coach	Curtis Fleming
First Team Goalkeeping Coach	Stephen Henderson
First-Team Development Coach	Jon De Souza[118]
First-Team Lead Sports Scientist	Ben Talbot
First-Team Doctor	Toby Longwill
Head of Physical Performance	Josh Hornby
First-Team Head Physiotherapist	Adam Coe
First-Team Physiotherapist	Alex Ng
First-Team Assistant Therapist	Steve Jackson
Head of Performance Analysis	Brett Shaw
First-Team Kit Manager	Wayne Baldacchino
Academy Director	Steve Avory[119]
Academy Head of Coaching	Rhys Williams
Senior Professional Development Phase Lead Coach	Jason Pearce
Lead U21s Coach	Chris Lock
Head of Academy Sport Science and Medicine	Danny Campbell
Senior Academy Scout	Bert Dawkins
Academy Performance Analyst	James Parker
Academy Physiotherapist	Andriana Tsiantoula
Kit Assistant	Ben Mehmet
Kit Assistant	James Simmons

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Managerial history

Source:^[120]

More information Name, Dates ...

Name	Dates	Achievements
Walter Rayner	June 1920 – May 1925
Alex MacFarlane	May 1925 – January 1928
Albert Lindon	January 1928 – June 1928
Alex MacFarlane	June 1928 – December 1932	Third Division champions (1929)
Albert Lindon	December 1932 – May 1933
Jimmy Seed	May 1933 – September 1956	Third Division champions (1935); Second Division runners-up (1936); First Division runners-up (1937); Football League War Cup co-winners (1944); FA Cup runners-up 1946; FA Cup winners 1947
David Clark (caretaker)	September 1956
Jimmy Trotter	September 1956 – October 1961
David Clark (caretaker)	October 1961 – November 1961
Frank Hill	November 1961 – August 1965
Bob Stokoe	August 1965 – September 1967
Eddie Firmani	September 1967 – March 1970
Theo Foley	March 1970 – April 1974
Les Gore (caretaker)	April 1974 – May 1974
Andy Nelson	May 1974 – March 1980	Third Division 3rd place (promoted; 1975)
Mike Bailey	March 1980 – June 1981	Third Division 3rd place (promoted; 1981)
Alan Mullery	June 1981 – June 1982
Ken Craggs	June 1982 – November 1982
Lennie Lawrence	November 1982 – July 1991	Division Two runners-up (1986); Full Members Cup runners-up (1987)
Alan Curbishley & Steve Gritt	July 1991 – June 1995
Alan Curbishley	June 1995 – May 2006	First Division play-off winners (1998); First Division champions (2000)
Iain Dowie	May 2006 – November 2006
Les Reed	November 2006 – December 2006
Alan Pardew	December 2006 – November 2008
Phil Parkinson	November 2008 – January 2011
Keith Peacock (caretaker)	January 2011
Chris Powell	January 2011 – March 2014	League One champions (2012)
José Riga	March 2014 – May 2014
Bob Peeters	May 2014 – January 2015
Damian Matthew & Ben Roberts (caretakers)	January 2015
Guy Luzon	January 2015 – October 2015
Karel Fraeye	October 2015 – January 2016
José Riga	January 2016 – May 2016
Russell Slade	June 2016 – November 2016
Kevin Nugent (caretaker)	November 2016
Karl Robinson	November 2016 – March 2018
Lee Bowyer (caretaker)	March 2018 – September 2018
Lee Bowyer	September 2018 – March 2021	League One play-off winners (2019)
Johnnie Jackson (caretaker)	March 2021
Nigel Adkins	March 2021 – October 2021
Johnnie Jackson (caretaker)	October 2021 – December 2021
Johnnie Jackson	December 2021 – May 2022
Ben Garner	June 2022 – December 2022
Anthony Hayes (caretaker)	December 2022
Dean Holden	December 2022 – August 2023
Jason Pearce (caretaker)	August 2023 – September 2023
Michael Appleton	September 2023 – January 2024
Curtis Fleming (caretaker)	January 2024 – February 2024
Nathan Jones	February 2024 –

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List of chairmen