Charlton Athletic and Birmingham City were both promoted from League One to the Championship last season, but they came into the second division with quite different expectations.

The Blues hoped to return to the Premier League for the first time since their relegation in 2011, while the Addicks’ primary goal was to prevent an immediate return to the third division.

However, with only five Championship games remaining, Charlton are only four points behind Birmingham, with Nathan Jones’ men and Chris Davies’ side in 18th and 16th, respectively.

The South London club is on the verge of securing their second-tier status, with 10 points separating them from the relegation zone, which includes Leicester City, Oxford United, and Sheffield Wednesday.

Charlton Athletic are told they have overachieved after a ‘great’ Birmingham City admission.

Charlton rebounded from a 2-1 loss to Bristol City on Good Friday with a 1-1 draw at Watford on Easter Monday, and they will be looking for their first win of the month when they play Preston North End on Saturday.

Meanwhile, Football League World asked our Addicks fan pundit, Chris Woodward, how amazing it would be if Jones’ team finished ahead of Birmingham this season, considering the disparity in finances, ambitions, and expectations.

Woodward stated, “If we finished ahead of Birmingham, it would be a wonderful achievement. Our goal was to finish 21st with the third-smallest budget in the division, ahead of Pompey and Sheffield Wednesday. However, some Championship fans predicted that we would fail.On the other hand, Birmingham received top-six and even top-two mentions when they appeared.

They hoped to replicate Ipswich’s success in securing consecutive promotions.The fact that we are only four points behind them demonstrates how well we have performed in terms of club expectations.

Since Nathan Jones joined almost two years ago, the club has spent approximately £13-14 million in transfer fees across three windows.In comparison, Birmingham spent more on one player during that time, Jay Stansfield, who was also in the lower level. Both clubs have vastly different finances, as evidenced by the fact that our current first-choice striker, Lyndon Dykes,

was Birmingham’s fourth or fifth-choice striker just a few months ago.Whether you attribute the league performances to us overachieving, Birmingham underperforming, or a combination of the two,

it demonstrates what an incredible job Nathan Jones has done to get us to this point in our first season in the Championship, and he doesn’t get enough credit, even among Charlton fans, for how quickly he’s changed us as a club.”

The Charlton Athletic predicament could put pressure on Birmingham City manager Chris Davies.

If Charlton manages to finish above Birmingham in the Championship table, Jones will undoubtedly deserve a great deal of recognition and respect.

Gavin Carter, chairman of the Addicks, recently told South London Sport that he was ‘pretty convinced’ that his team had the second or third lowest pay budget in the second division.

Birmingham, on the other hand, has players like Carlos Vicente and Marvin Ducksch on its roster, who can fetch significant wages after joining the Blues from top-tier clubs across Europe.

If Charlton, with far fewer resources, finish ahead of the St Andrew’s Stadium team, Davies’ career in the dugout may be in jeopardy.