Bob Stokoe took over in charge at the club in time for the 1965-66 campaign and he did not get the start he had been hoping for on arrival. The Addicks endured on a poor season that witnessed a finish of 16th place at the end of the campaign and exit’s in the third round of the FA Cup and League Cup, narrowly losing against Preston North End.
The 1966-67 season saw a further down turn in the Addicks fortunes as they were hopeless in the league, finishing the season off in a dismal 19th place, narrowly avoiding relegation. The suffered a second round thrashing in the league cup against Chelsea, losing the encounter by five goals to two. They lost at home in the FA cup against Sheffield United 1-0.
Eddie Firmani was installed as their new manager in 1967, however improvement was little as they only managed a 15th place finish. They were once again poor in the domestic cup competitions, suffering very early elimination in the league cup, crashing out in the first round against Luton town. Firmani remained in charge for the 1968-69 term and brought in Ray Crawford, a real prolific goal scorer for his previous clubs. He lifted the sides spirits as Charlton embarked on a fantastic run during the campaign, just missing out on the deserved promotion they had been looking for, finishing off in a very impressive 3rd place. They were also unlucky in the FA cup, suffering a 2-0 defeat against Arsenal despite putting on a heroic performance.

The 1969-70 season proved to be Firmani’s final season in charge at the club, however everything got worse for the Addicks and they totally crashed in the league, finishing the season off in 20th place, surviving the relegation dog fight. They also crashed out the league cup early on, suffering a second round defeat, 2-0 against Wrexham.