Nathan Jones slams Stoke fans as Charlton suffer 4‑0 loss
Charlton Athletic manager Nathan Jones turned his ire on former club Stoke City supporters after his Addicks were thrashed 4‑0 at the Bet365 Stadium on Saturday afternoon, a defeat that snapped their perfect start and left the South London side’s goal difference in free‑fall.
Match fallout and fan criticism
Jones told the BBC he did not want to dwell on Stoke fans, saying, “I don’t want to speak too much about Stoke fans. They've had it tough.” He added that the Potters had spent probably £300m since leaving the Premier League and still struggled, and warned they would have to find their own way as he would not be back for a year.
Despite the drubbing, Charlton remain inside the Championship’s restructured play‑off places after just five matches. They recorded a win over Norwich City on Tuesday and had kept a 100 percent record until West Bromwich Albion ended it mid‑week, meaning the loss only caused a major downturn in goal difference.
Stoke's spending and Jones' past
Stoke’s heavy investment has not translated into promotion challenges; they sold key creator Sorba Thomas to Hull City on deadline day and relied on high‑profile recruits such as Justin Devenny, who opened the scoring with a 15‑minute penalty, and summer additions Ethan Galbraith and George Hirst. After taking over from Gary Rowett in a season where the Potters were pre‑season promotion favourites, Jones oversaw a 16th‑place finish before being sacked months later.
Jones won just seven of his 38 matches in charge of Stoke between January and November 2019. Since taking charge of Luton Town in 2016 he has enjoyed mixed fortunes, with success at Kenilworth Road and frustrating spells at Southampton, making him one of the most divisive figures in the EFL.
Action Images By  Benedict Ferraby AM GMT+1 is an EFL‑accredited self‑publishing writer and sub‑editor for FLW, covering all three divisions whilst strongly focusing on developments at Hull City and Birmingham City. Benedict graduated with a 2:1 (Hons) in Multimedia Journalism at the University of Wolverhampton in September 2024, before achieving a Merit in MA Sports Journalism at Coventry University in 2025. He previously covered Rugby League and non‑league football matches and worked as an intern with Wolves' Academy between 2023 and 2025.
One of the high‑profile recruits, Devenny, scored early, while after the match Jones recalled that the defeat came 11 months after Charlton were beaten 3‑0 at his former stomping ground, yet they had won 1‑0 at The Valley in the reverse fixture. He will be hoping the same fate applies again in April 2027.
Try to see what the contrast reveals: massive spending does not guarantee success, while Charlton’s modest resources have kept them in contention for play‑off spots. The next chapters will test whether Stoke can convert investment into results and whether Jones can steer Charlton back to confidence.