CHARLTON fans have been left stunned after the club parted company with manager Iain Dowie after only five and a half months.

The 41-year-old, who signed a three-year deal in May, was in charge for just 12 Premiership games, after succeeding long-standing boss Alan Curbishley.

Charlton have endured a miserable start to their Premiership campaign, despite spending £11m on new players.

They have only won two matches, losing eight, and are bottom of the table with eight points.

The former Crystal Palace boss did lead Charlton into the Carling Cup quarter-finals last week for the first time in their history.

But it was not enough to save him his job following Saturday’s 3-2 league defeat at Wigan.

Curbishley, who recently announced he is ready to return to football, was immediately installed as the bookmakers’ favourite to replace Dowie. But the former Addicks boss quickly ruled himself out. Dowie, who is the first Premiership manager to lose his job this season, joined Charlton in controversial circumstances from their bitter rivals Crystal Palace in May.

He publicly fell out with his former chairman Simon Jordan who claimed he was misled about why his manager was leaving Selhurst Park.

There had been a compensation clause in Dowie’s contract which meant if he left for another club they would have to pay Palace £1m.

Mr Jordan had agreed to waive the clause, but Dowie’s decision to then join Charlton led to the Eagles chairman taking action for "fraudulent statements about his reasons for leaving the club’’.

Mr Jordan’s legal representative issued Dowie with a writ at the press conference in which he was unveiled as Charlton boss.

But Dowie denied the allegations and was promised Charlton’s full backing for a court case that is due to be heard next summer.

Dowie, a former Northern Ireland striker, started out in management with Oldham who he led to the Division 2 play-offs in 2003 before moving on to Palace in the December of that year.

The Eagles were struggling in 19th in Division 1 before an impressive second half to the season saw them reach the play-offs and get promoted to the Premiership.

They came close to surviving in the top flight but were relegated on a dramatic final day after drawing 2-2 at Charlton.

They bounced back to reach the play-offs again last season, but were beaten in the semi-finals by Watford.

Two weeks later, Dowie left for The Valley.