Career
He entered management with Gillingham in 1971, but quit to manage Charlton Athletic in 1974, and was an immediate success with promotion from the Third Division in 1975. 1976 and 1977 saw top ten finishes in the league, but in the following two years Charlton had rely on last day results to escape relegation, and Nelson came under pressure. In 1979 he came under increased pressure as Mike Bailey was appointed as chief coach, and by March 1980 his contract had been cancelled after three successive defeats with Charlton in the relegation zone.