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Charles-Cook joined Swindon Town on transfer-deadline day in August 2017 from Coventry City for an undisclosed fee - although some reports suggested he had signed on a free transfer. The former Arsenal trainee signed a two-year deal at the County Ground, reuniting him with David Flitcroft - the man who gave Charles-Cook his league debut at Bury. Despite being only 23 when he signed, Charles-Cook was relatively experienced having played 22 times for the Sky Blues in their relegation season, even setting a post-war club record for the most consecutive minutes without conceding a goal. He had also played at the County Ground before, in a one-nil defeat which had opened that disastrous season. But the next time he was at Swindon, Charles-Cooke became back up to his opposite number that day - Lawrence Vigouroux - and it was Vigouroux’s performances, on and off the field, which defined his understudy’s career at Town. When Vigouroux received a four-game ban in September 2017, Charles-Cook made his debut saving a penalty in the 2-1 away defeat to Cheltenham. He also largely kept his place even when the Chilean was available again, as Vigouroux began a series of public falling outs with Flitcroft. But, when it seemed that Charles-Cook might have finally seen off all opposition for the jersey when Vigouroux was sent out on loan to Waterford in February, the former Coventry man had gained another rival in ex-Reading keeper Stuart Moore. As Town’s promotion push started to slip away and Flitcroft departed for Mansfield, Charles-Cook’s initial form also took a downturn. His overall record of conceding 30 games in 22 games for the club wasn’t much worse than any of his contemporaries, but it clearly wasn’t giving everyone confidence in him. Temporary manager Matty Taylor could only manage a very weak effort while trying defend to him to the media. "For me, Cookie has made some vital saves for us this season," he told the Adver. "It’s a shame for him because at times the type of errors he’s made means we haven’t got the results we deserve." His third boss of the season wasn’t impressed either - after returning to the starting eleven for a defeat at Grimsby in mid-April, Charles-Cook found himself dropped again, when Phil Brown publicly castigated him for being repeatedly late for training. “That isn’t good enough,” Brown said to the Adver. "It’s a horrendous attitude, horrendous mentality, to have to try and take money off people to understand they’ve got a job to do." It proved to be Charles-Cook's final game in a Town shirt, as Brown released him at the end of the season. PLAYING RECORD:
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date of birth
usual positions goalkeeper youth career senior career |
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GRENADA
ENGLAND
