Brian Barry-Murphy insists Cardiff should not be too downbeat about their unfavourable league position after a winless start to the Championship campaign.
The Bluebirds begin the week in the relegation places following a 2-0 defeat to Portsmouth on Saturday which leaves them on three points after five games.
Stoke will arrive at the Cardiff City Stadium for Tuesday evening's game (19:45 BST) buoyed by their 4-0 thrashing of Charlton over the weekend.
But head coach Barry-Murphy has urged supporters and players to remain calm, and reiterated that there is still a long way to go this season.
"It's a tough schedule. We knew these games were very close together in this opening period. With the squad the size of ours, that has its challenges," said the Irishman.

#games #bluebirds

Aberdeen boss Stephen Robinson is actively looking to bolster his squad with free agents, one of whom could be former Rangers midfielder Greg Doherty, who left Charlton Athletic earlier this month. (Press and Journal)
Celtic new boy Oliver Sorensen has a similar "energy and hunger" to Kieran Tierney, according to the club's former defender Erik Sviatchenko, who played with Sorensen at Midtjylland. (Daily Record)
Midfielder Josh Mulligan believes the strong leaders in the Hibernian dressing room will help David Gray's side bounce back from the disappointment of Thursday's defeat by Hearts. (Hibs Observer)
Rangers' kit manufacturer Castore has received several takeover approaches and is considering a sale. (Sky News)
Former Rangers midfielder Brahim Hemdani has been appointed Algeria manager. (Glasgow Times)

#former #sorensen #robinson

Charlton boss Nathan Jones felt "bitterly disappointed" with both his team and referee Bobby Madley on the former Stoke manager's latest return to the bet365 Stadium.
Jones was particularly upset with Madley's award of Stoke's 15th-minute penalty in the Addicks' 4-0 defeat, which he believed turned the game.
"I've gone in and seen him," Jones told BBC Radio London. "There were so many things that went against us.
"But straight after the penalty we went under for 20 minutes – and my teams don't normally do that.
"We've done it twice here. That's the thing that hurts me and hurts my teams, us going under like that.

#charlton

It felt like forever... but the transfer window has finally closed and we can fully focus on matters on the pitch.
Well, for another four months at least until the January window opens on New Year's Day.
There are already some fascinating stories unfolding across the English Football League (EFL), even at this early stage of the 2026-27 season.
We have picked out five things to look out for in this weekend's fixtures in the Championship, League One and League Two.
Charlton were the last Championship team to lose their 100% winning start to the season [Getty Images]

#window #season #well #january

Everton Women will be away from home in their first three out of four WSL games for the upcoming season, and begin with an opener in the capital against newly promoted Crystal Palace on 6 September at the VBS Community Stadium.
The Blues return to Goodison Park a week later when they welcome another new outfit to the top flight in the form of Charlton Athletic, who won a promotion/relegation play-off against Leicester City, followed by two trips the road against West Ham United before the season's first Merseyside derby completes the opening month in terms of league fixtures.
The Toffees will have to wait until March 2027 to take on the Reds in the return WSL fixture, but can a campaign that will largely be spent on the road actually benefit Scott Phelan's team?
Notoriously slow starters, Everton thought that was behind them on the opening day of last season when an Ornella Vignola hattrick sealed a 4-1 win for the Toffees at Anfield, and a dream debut for the Spaniard.
What would follow was a revert to type as the Blues would fail to find a league win until December, pulling off the upset of the season by defeating Chelsea at Kingsmeadow, but even that momentous result couldn't prevent the inevitable for Brian Sorensen.

#toffees

Editor's note: This piece was written before Reading's 5-0 win over Mansfield Town on September 2.
Welcome to September, everyone! The beginning of the end, if you are a sunshine-inclined individual such as I am. However, it's not all bad news: we have some actual football to talk about!
Unlike June and July (and most definitely May), some things actually happened in August. Actually, quite a lot of things: football, transfers, stadium changes, new kits and other bits and pieces for us to mull over and this writer to provide immediate, ill-informed opinions on: the knee-jerk reactions for August. On we go!
Let's start with this shall we? The final pre-season game of the season – which feels like an eternity ago now – was against Charlton Athletic on August 1 and Reading secured a really respective 3-0 win, leaving fans optimistic that we could start the season well and finally see some consistent attacking play that wasn't dependent on Jack Marriott scoring impossible goals every week.
…right. About that. With only two league games played in August (one loss and one draw) and three cup games (two draws that both led to penalty shoot-out wins, and then a win within 90 minutes at the fifth time of asking against Stevenage) the jury was still very much out.

#mansfield

Milton Keynes Dons have completed the signing of defender Elijah Campbell from Everton, having already added midfielder Ibrahim Fullah from Charlton Athletic on transfer deadline day.
Campbell, 22, has been with Everton since 2017 and made his debut in an FA Cup tie against Sunderland in January of this year.
The centre-half has previously had loan spells with Fleetwood Town, Ross County and, last season, Port Vale, and will now be granted an opportunity to impress in League One with the newly promoted Dons.
Boss Paul Warne said: "With Eli, we needed a left-footed centre-half, wing-back and left-back - someone that could cover those positions. So he's coming in on loan to compete in all of those positions really.
"He's athletic and has, as they all seem to have, a really nice left foot, and is technically a really good player, so he comes with some good recommendations.

#left #campbell #Athletic #loan

Bristol City will travel to Deepdale this evening to take on Preston, as they look to pick up back-to-back wins in the Championship.
The Robins got their first three points on the board on Saturday, beating Portsmouth 2-1 in front of a packed Ashton Gate. Lorent Tolaj opened the scoring by netting his first Championship goal, before Jason Knight headed home a second on the hour mark. A late penalty for Pompey made for a nervy final few minutes in the South West, but Michael Skubala's side ultimately got over the line.
Preston, meanwhile, have lost their opening three matches to Bolton, Wolves and most recently Charlton Athletic, giving cause for concern amongst fans ahead of taking on a side that will be aiming for a play-off spot come May, whilst the Lilywhites are more worried about securing their spot in this division for next season.
Preston have underperformed their xG so far this season, creating enough chances to have scored three goals, but only netting two so far. They have also only registered an average of two shots on target per match, the lowest in the league. By contrast, the Robins have netted four goals in their last two outings, against Birmingham City and Portsmouth, with both Tolaj and Dom Ballard opening their accounts in the process.
Bristol City have picked up four points from their last two trips to Deepdale; it arguably should be six, but Anis Mehmeti failed to make his chances count last year, meaning the game finished 0-0. Max Bird, Yu Hirakawa and Nahki Wells were on the scoresheet the year before, as Liam Manning's side picked up a 3-1 win. Preston won the last meeting between these sides 2-0, back in January, when Lewis Dobbin and Alfie Devine found the net.

#preston #side #bristol #deepdale

Tottenham have been dealt a cruelly-timed injury blow after Savio was denied a Premier League debut for the club due to a muscular issue.
Savio joined Spurs from Manchester City in an eye-watering £85m deal but got off to a perfect start for the Lilywhites in midweek, coming off the bench and immediately scoring in the 5-0 Carabao Cup win over Charlton.
He was expected to make his league bow for Spurs alongside fellow ex-City team-mate Omar Marmoush against Newcastle in Saturday's late kick-off, but was notable for his absence in the matchday squad.
Spurs boss Roberto De Zerbi has now explained why the Brazilian missed out on the visit of the Magpies.
"We had some bad news yesterday," he told Sky Sports. "He suffered muscular fatigue. The medical staff didn't want to take a risk. I agree with them."

#league

Big-spending Tottenham host a Newcastle side that boast an excellent recent record against the north Londoners. BBC Sport takes a look at some of the key themes..
After making such a shocking start to the season against Brentford last Saturday, Tottenham's 5-1 victory against Charlton in the League Cup at least provided a much-needed fillip.
The manner of Spurs' insipid defeat at the Gtech Community Stadium was as bad as anything seen under Thomas Frank or Igor Tudor last season and was of great worry to boss Roberto de Zerbi and fans alike.
Brentford had an xG of 3.87, six big chances and their 26 shots was the most Spurs had faced in 142 Premier League fixtures dating all the way back until October 2022.
The Lilywhites have accrued just 79 points from their last 77 Premier League matches since the start of the 2024-25 campaign, a tally that is under half ***** nal's total of 162 across the same period.

#brentford #season

It's been reported that Celtic look to be shifting their signing policy in the wake of the disastrous and humiliating defeat in Linz, a loss which seen the club miss out on a big money bonanza. The current Celtic Board has now cost the club around £80m due to their failures in adequately strengthening the squad for the last two Champions League playoffs.
Gvidas Gineitis of Torino FC is challenged by Luca Lipani of US Sassuolo during the Serie A match between Torino FC and US Sassuolo Calcio at Stadio Olimpico di Torino on May 08, 2026 in Turin, Italy. (Photo by Francesco Scaccianoce/Getty Images)
It's now believed that bids for long term target Gvidas Gineitis of Torino is now in the balance, due to the catastrophic failure to overcome LASK despite at one point leading 4-0 on aggregate.
Arne Engels of West Ham United is challenged by Conor Coventry of Charlton Athletic during the Sky Bet Championship 2026/27 match between West Ham United and Charlton Athletic at London Stadium on August 22, 2026 in London, England. (Photo by James Fearn/Getty Images)
The 22 year old Lithuanian international was said to be a top target of Martin O'Neill, as the veteran Irishman looks to fill the void left by Arne Engels departure to West Ham, who was under contract at Celtic yet was allowed to leave as those in the boardroom eyed the £££s on offer.

#west #sassuolo #engels

Tottenham boss Roberto De Zerbi has challenged Savio to score between 10 and 12 goals this season after the winger marked his debut with two goals in Spurs' 5-1 Carabao Cup win over Charlton.
Savio enjoyed a dream start to his Tottenham career, with De Zerbi pleased to see the Brazilian make an immediate impact in front of goal.
However, the Spurs boss believes increasing his goalscoring output is the biggest area in which the winger can improve.
"It was a perfect day for him," De Zerbi said.
"I think his biggest step, his biggest improvement is to increase the number of goals.

#goals #savio #SPURS #carabao

After losing the first game of the Premier League season, Tottenham hopes to avoid an upset in the second round of the Carabao Cup on Wednesday, Aug. 26, hosting second-tier Charlton Athletic in London.
That matchup is one of four matches on Wednesday with Premier League sides Newcastle United and Everton also in action. Chelsea (vs. Luton) and Fulham (vs. Wimbledon) play on Thursday, the last of the 11 Premier League teams not involved in European competition who entered the second round.
The nine teams playing in Europe will join play for the third round, with the draw for those matches set to be held at the conclusion of Wednesday's games.
The Carabao Cup is being streamed on Paramount+.
Watch Carabao Cup live

#second #TOTTENHAM

Spurs boss Roberto de Zerbi has been speaking to the media before Wednesday's Carabao Cup second-round tie against Championship side Charlton Athletic at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium (kick-off 19:45 BST).
Here are the key lines from his news conference:
Striker Dominic Solanke is available to play and Micky van de Ven and Pedro Porro will be named on the bench.
Mohammed Kudus remains sidelined and James Maddison will miss the match because of "a small injury" in his shoulder.
De Zerbi is unsure whether new signing Savio will "be ready" to start the game, but he is expected to be in the matchday squad.

#Athletic

Tottenham boss Roberto De Zerbi has confirmed Micky van de Ven and Pedro Porro will return to the squad for Wednesday's Carabao Cup clash with Charlton.
Dominic Solanke is also available to start, while new signing Savio remains a doubt after only recently joining the club.
"Van de Ven comes on the bench, Pedro Porro comes on the bench," De Zerbi said.
"Solanke is available to play, to start the game.
"Savio, I don't know. I don't know if he's ready to play, if everything is good to play or to come on the bench."

#pedro #solanke #start #comes

A new episode of BBC Radio Derby's Rams Weekly podcast is now available.
Former Derby County striker Malcolm Christie is joined by Dominic Dietrich to dissect the Rams' squad after a 2-1 loss on the opening day of the Championship to Charlton Athletic.
Listen above or on BBC Sounds here - and don't forget to subscribe to get each episode into your My Sounds feed.
[BBC]
Latest Derby County news, ***** ysis and fan views

#county #sounds #episode #weekly

Guernsey FC maintained their unbeaten start to their Southern Combination Premier Division season as they twice came from a goal down to draw 2-2 at Crawley Down Gatwick.
The hosts took a seventh-minute lead when Will Harley curled past Seb Sheppard after some neat passing following a counter-attack down the right.
James Laws went close to doubling the lead 25 minutes later before Will Fazakerley and Callum Le Lacheur had chances for the Green Lions as they went into the break a goal down.
But the visitors levelled six minutes after the break as Sam Murray nodded on Charlton Gauvain's cross from the right and Jamie Dodd was able to bundle the ball home at the far post.
The hosts were back in front just four minutes later as Archie Drillot's weak back-pass was picked up by Harley and substitute Callum Kilkenny finished well moments after coming on.

#minutes

West Ham United striker Niclas Fullkrug has moved to Werder Bremen on a season-long loan.
The 33-year-old, who joined the Hammers for £27m from Borussia Dortmund in August 2024, scored three goals in 11 Premier League starts but spent the second half of last season on loan at AC Milan.
Fullkrug, a German international, returns to Werder for a third spell having also started his career with the Bundesliga club.
West Ham drew 2-2 at Burnley in their opening Championship game of the season on Sunday and host Charlton Athletic on Saturday, 22 August (15:00 BST).
[BBC]

#west #united #bremen #hammers

[BBC]
Derby County do not have the best opening day record, with their last win coming in July 2022, when they secured a 1-0 victory at home to Oxford United in League One.
It felt as though they were on course to break that curse after 45 minutes at The Valley on Saturday, as they took a 1-0 lead into the interval courtesy of a well-worked breakaway and a composed finish from Sam Szmodics.
However, despite Derby's lively start, history did in fact repeat itself. A second-half turnaround from Charlton Athletic saw the Rams fall to a 2-1 defeat, and yet another opening day loss.
Dropping points from a winning position was perhaps the most frustrating part of the result, something they were found guilty of far too often last season. Frustrations also came from some questionable substitutions, with a feeling John Eustace left it too long to make his attacking changes, only doing so once the damage had been done.

#united

When Leicester City were relegated from the Women's Super League to WSL 2 in May, it was the catalyst for a mass exodus from the club.
Fourteen players have already left in the summer transfer window including nine who featured in the WSL play-off defeat by Charlton Athletic.
Goalkeeper Janina Leitzig switched to Manchester United while talented attacking trio Hannah Cain, Noemie Mouchon and Jutta Rantala joined Everton.
It means a major rebuild is on the cards as they look to bounce back from the second tier this season.
However, captain Sam Tierney, who is the longest-serving player at Leicester, gave supporters a major boost when she agreed a new deal until 2028 in July.

#leicester #league #charlton

Guernsey FC progressed through the FA Vase first qualifying round after a 1-0 win at Newhaven.
Charlton Gauvain put the Green Lions ahead in the 10th minute as he rounded the goalkeeper and finished well.
Goalkeeper Josh Addison kept his side in front at the break thanks to a number of decent saves.
Sam Murray saw an early second-half effort saved while Gauvain had a chance cleared off the line as Guernsey upped the tempo.
The Green Lions were again grateful to Addison as he saved a free kick with 10 minutes to go.

#gauvain #green #newhaven

Burnley have signed goalkeeper Ben Amos on a one-year deal.
The 36-year-old, who started his career with Manchester United, was a free agent after leaving Port Vale at the end of last season.
He has also played for Oldham Athletic, Hull City, Bolton Wanderers, Carlisle, Cardiff City, Charlton Athletic and Wigan Athletic during a much-travelled career.
"I think there's a good blend of younger and older players here and hopefully I can bring something to the dressing room with my experience and be part of the senior group," Amos told the club website.
All done deals in August 2026

#Athletic #burnley

Josh Addison's penalty save helped Guernsey FC start the season with two wins from two games.
The Green Lions won 1-0 at East Grinstead Town in their first away match of the season.
The victory means the islanders are one of just four Southern Combination Premier Division teams to win their first two games of the season so far after a 3-0 win against Pagham on Saturday.
Will Fazakerley scored his second goal in as many games when he gave Guernsey a 14th minute lead from the penalty spot after Charlton Gauvain was brought down.
But East Grinstead had the chance to level from 12 yards just three minutes later when Jacques Cauvain fouled Ollie Starkey in the box.

#lions

According to SPORT, FC Barcelona wrapped up their preseason training camp in England with an internal training match, providing Hansi Flick with encouraging news ahead of the team's return to Spain.
After the scheduled friendly against Preston North End was cancelled because the English club did not have enough first-team players available, Flick instead organised an in-house match at St. George's Park.
The game was played on Pitch 6, named after England legend Sir Bobby Charlton.
The session began shortly before midday and consisted of three 20-minute periods, and finished in a 1-1 draw.
The first team lined up with: Wojciech Szczesny, Xavi Espart, Andreas Christensen, Gerard Martin, Jofre Torrents, Marc Bernal, Marc Casado, Orian Goren, Karim Adeyemi, Ebrima Tunkara, and Alex Gonzalez.

#training #match #first #Barcelona

Could the Royals have had a much better final week of pre-season? It's hard to think so. Following victories against Woking last Saturday (0-2), Newport County on Tuesday (0-4) and Crawley Town on Friday (0-1), Reading made it four clean-sheet wins in four on Saturday afternoon by seeing off Charlton Athletic 0-3 at The Valley.
Lewis Wing was the star man, beginning and ending the scoring with a pair of excellent strikes. Perhaps Boyd Beacroft's halfway-line lob over the 'keeper at Crawley inspired Wing to go one better?
Either way, this was Wing at his very best. He gave the Royals the lead just before half-time when he slammed in a free-kick, later making absolutely certain of the result by curling the ball beautifully into the far top corner after getting a shot corner back from David Hicks.
Reece Evans will be having words about which goal was the highlight of the afternoon though. He opened his account for the first team to make it 2-0 in the second half, heading the ball powerfully past the 'keeper at the end of an incisive, fluent counter-attack. Hicks played a neat pass down the right and into the area for Kyreece Lisbie, who checked back onto his left foot and crossed cutely for Evans.
Even outside those goals though – and stop me if you've read this before about Reading's 2026 pre-season friendlies – the Royals looked confident and well structured. Inventive, energetic and dynamic, this was a display that simply wouldn't have happened last season.

#season #crawley #last #four

Sheffield Wednesday have signed goalkeeper Ashley Maynard-Brewer on a one-year deal and Hull City striker Mason Burstow on a season-long loan deal.
Maynard-Brewer, 27, was a free agent after leaving Dundee United earlier this summer.
Burstow, 22, spent last season on loan in League One with Bolton and scored 12 goals in 53 appearances as they won promotion to the Championship.
"After a breakout season last year with Bolton Wanderers, Mason is a terrific signing for us," sporting director Simon Wilson told the club website.
Maynard-Brewer, who made 70 league appearances for Charlton before moving to Dundee United in January, is the second goalkeeper to join the Owls in as many days after Connal Trueman signed on Thursday.

#mason

Sheffield Wednesday have signed goalkeeper Ashley Maynard-Brewer on a one-year deal.
The 27-year-old was a free agent after leaving Dundee United earlier this summer.
He started his career with Charlton and made 70 league appearances for the Addicks before joining the Scottish Premiership side on a short-term deal in January.
"We believe he will be a great addition to our squad and add important competition to our goalkeeping ranks as we prepare for the challenges ahead," sporting director Simon Wilson told the club website.
Maynard-Brewer is the second goalkeeper to join the Owls in as many days after Connal Trueman signed on Thursday.

#ashley

WSL Football revealed the 2026/2027 Barclays Women's Super League fixtures this morning via an official press release.
The pick of the opening weekend's games sees big-spending London City Lionesses play host to Manchester United at The Copperjax Community Stadium in Bromley. Both clubs will be chasing European qualification this season and potentially more.
Other notable fixtures see Chelsea play host to Aston Villa while **** nal go to Brighton & Hove Albion. There's also a London derby between Tottenham Hotspur and West Ham United.
The other opening weekend fixtures see Manchester City play host to Barclays WSL2 champions Birmingham City while the two other promoted sides, Charlton Athletic and Crystal Palace, have home ties against Liverpool and Everton.
All fixture dates and kick-off times across the entire season will be announced in due course.

#fixtures

WSL Full-Time were informed of the news via an official club press release from The Addicks this afternoon.
The 33-year-old joins Charlton Athletic following a short spell with Leicester City. Neville joined The Foxes in January and made 13 appearances for the club in all competitions. She was unable to keep the East Midlands side in the Barclays Women's Super League.
Neville is best known for her eight-and-a-half-year spell at Tottenham Hotspur. She was a Barclays WSL2 promotion-winner and an Adobe Women's FA Cup runner-up in her time in North London. Neville was so often one of Spurs' top performers and she was unlucky not to receive an England call-up earlier in her career.
After joining Charlton Athletic, Neville said "I'm really happy. It's an exciting journey for myself and the club, so really happy to be here.
"I think I know what Karen [Hills] is about and vice versa [from working together at Spurs]; she knows what I bring. I think I know how good this pre-season's going to be and what Karen brings to the on and off of the pitch. I'm really looking forward to working with her again.

#neville #club #really #charlton

Colchester United manager Danny Cowley has said "recruitment is really tough at the moment" after his side were beaten 2-0 by Charlton Athletic in a pre-season friendly.
First-half goals from Matty Godden and Karlan Grant secured the victory for the Championship club, but after the match Cowley was happy with his side's performance.
"We didn't plan the pre-season to be easy, that's why we've played Norwich, West Ham twice, Peterborough, Charlton - so we always understood that it was going to be tough for the players. That's how we like it," Cowley told BBC Essex.
"Off the back of the goals, I was really pleased with how the team responded. Recruitment is really tough at the moment, there's no hiding place from that.
"We know what we want. We're not willing to compromise at the moment but we are trying to stay as brave as we can to get the players that we want.

#cowley