Charlton Athletic owner Thomas Sandgaard made the decision at the beginning of May to part company with manager Johnnie Jackson - something that divided the opinion of the Addicks fanbase.

Jackson was only appointed as Charlton's permanent boss in mid-December, two months after taking over as the caretaker manager following Nigel Adkins' departure.

Despite a fantastic start to his time in charge, Jackson's results as manager soon went downhill, and by the end of the 2021-22 League One season, Charlton found themselves finishing in 13th place, having been battered 4-0 by Ipswich Town on the final day of the campaign.

Jackson's contract would have automatically been extended if Charlton had finished inside the top eight of the third tier, but with the Addicks missing out on that, it was up to Sandgaard as to whether the ex-midfielder stayed, and in the end his decision was to let the 39-year-old go.

There was no wasting time when it came to finding a new job for Jackson though as he secured the AFC Wimbledon vacancy manager this past week, but Charlton club legend Alan Curbishley believed that Jackson's sacking at The Valley was an incredibly harsh one.

"He deserved more time when you consider where the club where when he took over," Curbishley told OLBG.

"They looked like they would be in a relegation battle, and he had a fantastic run as caretaker manager.

"He then got the job and went on a bad run, but he had all of his centre-forwards injured.

"All of them were injured which made them go on a poor run, but they turned it around towards the end of the season.

“It was a hard call on him, and I know he’ll be very disappointed that it’s ended, but he’s gone and done the right thing by getting back in straight away (at AFC Wimbledon)."

The Verdict

Considering it was Jackson's first job as manager and he was hit by a ton of injuries to key players, it did seem harsh that Sandgaard decided to sack him following the conclusion of the season.

But it just proved that football can be a cruel game at times by not letting Jackson take a club forward that is dear to his heart.

There's a chance that by signing the right players this summer, Jackson could have made Charlton a team that pushed for the League One play-offs next season.

We will never know if that will be the case though as Jackson heads to League Two to try and get Wimbledon back up, whilst Charlton are on the hunt for yet another permanent boss.