Last season Southampton were playing in the Premier League and Charlton Athletic were plying their trade in League One.
Whilst the Addicks were winning the playoffs, the Saints were trying to accumulate more than eleven points so they wouldn’t go down as the worst team the top flight had ever seen.
Their starts to the Championship season were just as contrasting. Southampton saw several first team players depart and they weren’t shy about spending on replacements.
Despite this, their start to the season left a lot to be desired.
After beating Wrexham in their first game of the season, they would only win one more of Will Still’s thirteen league games in charge before he was sacked.
Meanwhile, Charlton were throwing their hat in the playoff ring.
20 points from their first 13 games saw them climb to 8th place, five points away from 2nd place Middlesborough.
They would even move into the playoff places following a win over West Bromwich Albion in their next match.
Unfortunately, since that win, things have been absolutely terrible.
In the five games since then, Charlton have taken zero points, conceding 14 goals and scoring only 3.
In their defence, three of those games were against Coventry City, Middlesborough and Stoke City.
But for a team whose strong start to the season was built on a strong defence, losing 5-1 at home to Southampton is pretty indefensible.
Speaking of Southampton, after parting company with Will Still, their form picked up immediately.
A New Era Begins
Tonda Eckert has won 6 his 7 games at the helm, getting himself the managers job permanently in the process.
Eckert has taken the Saints up to 9th place, 5 points away from Millwall in 3rd place.
Over the last six games, Southampton are the most inform team in the Championship.
Meanwhile, Charlton are in the second worst form, only ahead of Sheffield Wednesday.
Looking Ahead
Earlier in the campaign, it looked as though Southampton might be fighting relegation and Charlton might be in the playoff mix.
Now things have completely changed.
Southampton are now poised to live up to their pre-season expectation and make the playoffs at the very least.
Meanwhile Charlton are dropping like a stone.
It is too early in the season to say if they will be a Championship side next season.
The herd at the bottom of the division is beginning to thin out, with the likes of Sheffield United beginning to pull away.
Nathan Jones’s side will be glad that Sheffield Wednesday’s predicament ensures that, bar a miracle, only two other sides besides the Owls, will be heading for League One.
