Apr 28
I had this photo sent to me of Lennie Lawrence’s dinner at The Valley on Sunday. Had me feeling all sentimental.
Lennie is an Addicks legend, a miracle worker who bought, and coached some of my favourite ever (and best) Charlton players of the last half a century. And at 78 years old is still working in the game.
Please click for moreNathan Jones has recorded a message to supporters on the official channels. We’ve had a few of these over the years, but this one seems as significant as the many others that have come before them.
There are so many thoughts swirling around my head that I’d like to get down in writing, but I don’t feel this is the time for that. That needs a clear head and it is nothing but that at present.
Please click for moreWhat absolutely devastating news. 💔
On a day which should have been about celebration and memories, we lost one of our own in such tragic circumstances.
Please click for more50 years ago yesterday, half an actual century ago, my Dad did something unwittingly that would go onto change the course of my life and for that matter my family.
Saturday, 15th November, 1975 was a day I will never forget. It was my first ever Charlton Athletic game that I went to.
Please click for moreThe owners should take a lot of credit for supporting Nathan Jones during the summer and spent money on players like we hadn’t seen for a long time.
However, investment in players, if done right, is buying an asset, unlike investing in a piece of property you don’t actually own, which could be like throwing money down the drain.
Please click for moreA little bit out of the blue this today.
The club announced the extension of the club’s lease of The Valley and Sparrows Lane through to June 2040.
Please click for moreTalking Point 🗣️
A bit more on yesterday’s game. I know all too well that when you are an infrequent visitor like I am to live games then you have to lower your expectation level, but yesterday was something else.
Please click for moreI was exhausted by the time I went to bed last night. I felt as I had headed every long ball.
Three more days until the next chapter of this season, rest will be key for all of us.
Please click for moreTalking Point 🗣️
Only those that had partaken in a few too many shandies after the Crawley Town home game in early December would’ve predicted a play-off place being achieved in the middle of April with three games still to play.
It is an incredulous turnaround and massive credit to Nathan Jones and the players for giving us a feeling that I think most of us had thought was gone, and that is something to believe in.
Please click for moreThe new season ticket applications are out for next season, which rewards rightly those that already have one.
Prices have been frozen at least until the second stage, and tickets are cheapest when bought before the final game of the season.
Please click for moreI thought I’d chime in on this.
The club produced their 2025/26 sponsorship opportunities brochure which included an offer for “prime stadium branding opportunities that align your brand with Charlton’s rich history and passionate fanbase. Whether through naming rights, LED advertising, or stand sponsorship.”
Please click for moreAt a cost I think of around £1,000,000 which included a grant of £750,000 from the Premier League Stadium Fund a new hybrid-stitched Desso pitch was installed at The Valley at the beginning of the summer. I would guess that between the men and women’s teams around 18 games have been played on it.
So, what has happened to it?
Please click for moreThat was the attendance last time we played Wrexham at The Valley. 60 away fans if I counted correctly!
February 1982, and I think it fair to say that the 2nd Division game in the middle of winter was not an attractive proposition.
Please click for moreI’m looking forward to seeing the new Back to The Valley memorial next time I’m at the ground.
CAST should take credit again for another enterprising idea which they took from blueprint to fruition.
Please click for moreIn no particular order I am listing 20 Players that left an enduring impression on me in my almost half a century of following the Addicks.
20 Players to commemorate me writing this Blog for 20 years, and we are at the halfway point. No. 10 is Colin Walsh.
Please click for moreMore evidence of investment by the club’s owners in that today they have announced the installation of a new Valley pitch this summer.
“Work begins on the pitch in May to ensure everything is in place for the men’s first-team’s final pre-season friendly on Saturday, August 3rd.” (more)
Please click for moreIt was a free week at The Valley but the club put out a statement from the ownership and also issued the pricing for next season’s season tickets.
Along with that there was also the surprise intention to make a thousand places safe standing at the back of the Covered End.
Please click for moreClinging onto branches of good things at the moment.
How up for it was Chuks Aneke when he came on last night? This photo taken by Paul Edwards was just a few seconds after he entered the pitch. Straight up to Lincoln’s two centre-halves banging into one and then giving them both some verbal.
Please click for moreSupporting Charlton at the moment feels like we can’t get any lower, but in the early 80’s the football club was at pretty low ebb. The Valley was crumbling, crowds were low, finances weren’t good, and after winning promotion back to the 2nd tier in the early part of the decade we were for sure heading back to the old Division 3.
Please click for moreI have been closing my eyes and hoping for the best in relation to the takeover. Dave has been far more on top of it, but it sounds as if we are very close to a set of new owners after Rich Cawley announced this afternoon that Joshua Friedman and Thomas Sandgaard have agreed to a price and signed a SPA (Sale and Purchase Agreement).
The price is reported to be £12m, but Cawley also mentions that Sandgaard is continuing his talks with other parties, which appears very irregular, but that just about sums Sandgaard up as he seeks I am sure a last minute better offer.
Please click for moreHappy 30th anniversary Back to The Valley Day.
We’ll ignore how the team did their very best to bury any memories of a wonderful time in our history on Saturday. A penny for the thoughts of those real Charlton legends including the peerless Roger and Heather Alwen who had to sit through that tosh.
Please click for moreAmong the despondency, some positive news for Charlton fans today.
The club have announced a multi-year partnership with Greenwich-based Meantime Brewery. The brewery is near the Blackwell Tunnel approach and just a mile and a bit away from The Valley.
Please click for moreFair play and top work from new Fan’s Advisor Lewis Catt in getting the owner of the football club to listen and study some applicable research on the pricing of tickets at The Valley.
Annoyingly the ridiculous £3 extra on match day stays, which for me personally was the biggest slap in the face, but prices will reduce for next seven games to £25 (zone two) and £30 (zone one) (more)
Please click for moreWhat are the thoughts on attendance on Saturday?
Ordinarily with a good prevailing wind of optimism there’d be 20,000 at The Valley on Saturday, but I don’t reckon it will be anywhere near that.
Please click for moreSlightly bemused by today’s match day price tickets announcement. Between £29 to £34 per home game for a seat in the majority of the stadium on the back of a horribly rising cost of living. Not to mention petrol prices and increasing interest rates. Do I need to go on. £34 for League One football? Where is Thomas getting his advice from?
All this on the back of the disastrous efforts to fill the 18,000 or so empty seats last season. No bad idea filling The Valley but a) make it a worthwhile product and 2) have a knowledge based marketing strategy and 3) price it accordingly.
Please click for moreNeil Harris must be rubbing his hands coming to us tomorrow night. I’m sure he can already smell the fear.
In the meantime somehow Jackson, his coaching team and the players have to face up to our demons and react like a wounded and cornered bear. The problem being is for weeks if not months we have showed no fighting qualities whatsoever. For those that talk of ability in the team, we’ve seen zero of that as similarly.
Please click for moreTough times for us Addicks, and no sugarcoating where we find ourselves, possibly heading for our lowest league finish since 1926.
Nonetheless it does do us good once in a while to think back to when the position of club was even more daunting.
Please click for more🔝5️⃣. Next up on my look back at the year that wasn’t of 2021 is My Top Five Favourite Places. Not quite as limited on exploration as the year before, nevertheless the five were relatively easy to select.
There was nowhere new, but plenty of places revisited, one in particular was long overdue. Here are my 2021 Top Five Favourite Places 🌇
Please click for moreNot Jacko yet although Thomas Sandgaard has joined yours truly in the UK this week, so watch this space, but today it was Corey Blackett-Taylor who signed a new contract.
The 24-year old was initially signed until January but has had his contract extended until the summer of 2023.
Please click for moreThe Valley Seb Lewis mosaic looks fantastic and is a brilliant and lasting tribute to a fellow fan, but not just any fan. Seb sadly died due to Covid-19 in March, 2020.
Seb dedicated his whole life to following Charlton around the country. Not everyone knew him, or even knew of him, but he represented both the quirkiness and that special loyalty of being a Charlton fan. He was to coin a phrase – Proper Charlton.
Please click for moreAs someone once said.
It is now a week until D Day, and I’m content, or at least accepting, that the club will require every minute of that whole week to make signings. It’s the way the window appears to work and the expectation is that the final day, hours and minutes of this summer’s will be extra chaotic.
Please click for moreGood morning Addicks. How are we doing?
What a great feeling it is for Addicks’ fans to be back at The Valley, which other than for the odd Covid trial event, has sat ghost like for the past 17 months. It is been a weird time for everyone but routines will return this afternoon as friends and family gather to wake up this historic football stadium.
Please click for moreThe announcement of new season tickets not only signals a sign of refreshed hope and ambition, but for next season it means so much more than that.
Thomas Sandgaard’s first proper season (with a pre-season) and hopefully Addicks back in our beloved Valley cheering the boys on. Normality mixed wih optimism and promise
Please click for moreA simple if expensive, but thoughtful idea for Nigel Adkins and his team to stay down in Devon on Tuesday night. A few chamomile and tea’s, a bit of supper and bed for the boys, even though the skipper had that beer glint in his eyes 👀.
It was a super win on Tuesday and (not for the first time) I lean towards Curbs’ view that this was not a win to send a statement to our rivals, but a win to send a statement to ouirselves.
One of the many things Thomas Sandgaard has done right is doff his cap to the club’s history, and Friday’s annoucement that in August they are to commemorate the 30 years since Alan Curbishley first became manager of the club by renaming the East Stand after him, is a wonderful acknowledgement to one of Charlton’s greats.
A year ago Charlton super fan Seb Lewis lost his young life to Covid-19. He was just 38.
Up until the suspension of games Seb had seen 1,076 Charlton games in a row, not missing a game for over 22 years. True Legend and truly missed from The Valley and every away end in the country.
32 years ago tonight there was a warm and expectant air circulating around the Woolwich Town Hall. Spring was around the corner and hundreds of Addicks including my brother and I were stood outside on the steps on Wellington Street pre-mobile phones and texting waiting on word of what was developing in the chamber inside.
Last March was a pretty uncertain time for everyone, the pandemic was unravelling quickly, as was the ownership situation at Charlton Athletic.
A year ago tonight I wrote that I had just got indoors from having dinner with a client…. probably the last for a while I said. It was.
Another three conceded at home. Another defeat. Another miserable day.
The pitch was only passed fit less than an hour before kick-off with loud mouth Evans wanting the game off, and Charlton wanting the game played…. of course!
That’s quite a crushing defeat knocking any renewed confidence after last week and proving again that this is not a promotion winning team. There are a good 7-8 sides consistently better than us. In fact we have not dominated a team above us in any league meeting this season and the games keep getting ticked off.
Lee Bowyer touched on a topic many of us have highlighted as a problem today, and that is our miserable home form.
By my calculations under Bowyer at The Valley since he took over with fans in the ground the Addicks won 26 of their 46 league games that were played. That does not include play-off’s, or games this season with a small number of socially distanced fans allowed in.
Only Charlton could play two games with watching fans during a global pandemic with most sports stadia staying empty and play absolute shite in both of them.
And as for creating an atmosphere. 2,000 fans spread out in three vast stands, in the cold, sat miles from each other and wearing a mask, with nothing to cheer and get excited about is not conducive to the craziness of a 94th minute winner at Wembley.
I’d be interested in the view of any Addicks that went tonight of what they thought of the experience.
Great news that 2,000 Addicks can be in attendance tomorrow night at The Valley. I had grave reservations that the 1,000 masked souls that left SE7 disappointed after the Donny match were going to be the last fans able to watch the players on in the flesh this season, so chuffed and very jealous of those that are able to cheer them on.
The club’s ticketing staff, most of whom were on recent furlough, are doing an admirable job of working out all the logistics including not only the ballot, but the timing of arrivals around public transport, and seating allocations plus working around the government restrictions brought in last week with the whole of Kent in tier 3.
A bleak end to an oppressive and very fatiguing week for Addicks’ fans. Typical of course that we’d lose today as a 1,000 spectators were allowed into The Valley to watch their team for the first time since March 7th.
Lee Bowyer saying walking out onto the pitch to those 1,000 supporters gave him goosebumps, gave me goosebumps, and in some positive news it sounded as all went off very well with today’s ‘test case.’
More than 500 Addicks took the The Valley today in continued protests at owners East Street Investments (ESI) demanding that in whatever guises they have, they get out of our club.
Charlton fans broke into the ground to create their own Valley open day sitting in the stands, wandering around pitch side taking photos and sharing videos online. They long occupied the club’s boardroom insisting on owners to come and meet them, but strangely enough no one came.
CAST, CARD and Fans4Fans are calling for all Addicks that are able to get themselves down to The Valley this Saturday at 12.00 midday for one hour.
A CAST statement said: “Unnecessary relegation, transfer embargoes, even the failure to meet the extremely low bar of EFL approval – it is fair to say no-one has come out of this insulting sham of ownership with any credit.
“One pound may not go far for most of us, yet ESI’s £1 investment in ‘our club’ has stretched the realms of audacity and credibility.“
For all the chaos and deceit and uncertainties, no one can ever take away from us the three play-off games from last season. A year ago tonight was that game at The Valley. We actually lost on the night, but we won memories and photos and videos and soulmates that will stay with us a lifetime.
It was a truly incredible night. Very Charlton of course, but unbelievable all the same.
Can’t believe it! We never show up for this game, even when no one shows up we still showed up bloody less than they did!
The players entered onto the hallowed Valley turf six feet apart from each other to the tune of the Red Red Robin. The referee who officiated the game from home got us underway late as always.
The Addicks started well kicking towards the Jimmy Seed stand with a strong wind blowing around barren seats creating an eerie “Millllllllll” type of wailing.
I hope we are all staying healthy and strong. Life at the moment is confounding, distressing and unfathomable, but my waking up trawl through my phone’s various medium’s brought up a couple of Tweets that did bring a smile to my face this morning.
The always reliable CAFC Facts and Stats dropped on Twitter three lasting memories of mine. All Charlton related of course. And I thought I’d share.
Chaos reigns again tonight after HE Tahnoon Nimer announced on social media to fans that he is pulling out of his Charlton investment. He has blamed Matt Southall and the senior management, which is really only Southall and Jonathan Heller of repatriating money for their own good. The voice note is something else. Listen here.
Later on the OS, Southall issued a statement saying that a letter was received today from Tahnoon Nimer which is in the hands of his lawyers for whom he will discuss what actions to take. Threats have been made to other members of the club’s senior management, about what who knows as East Street Investments morphs into a school playground squabble.
The supposed majority owner of Charlton was pictured outside Dinamo Bucharest on Saturday whilst we were losing to Middlesbrough.
An unusual feeling yesterday. We simply haven’t been used to losing, but none of us expected that feeling to last well into September. We had to get beat some time and Taylor-less we now have to show how much we belong in this division in the coming weeks.
Yesterday I thought was fraught with classic banana skins. Possibly for the first time this season we were favourites to win a league game, the biggest regular home league attendance for about four seasons, and the 100th Valley birthday with loads of pomp and VIP guests. Probably why I was anxious beforehand.
To The Valley, my only desire.
The first time I stepped into The Valley was in 1975. I have worshiped it ever since and still now whenever I walk into that vast theatre the hairs on the back of my neck never fail to stand up. I first wrote the below piece in 2012, and although today The Valley in it’s full bouncing glory is something to behold this is what this iconic old football ground means to me.
This season’s away kit will be all black. Once again the club have added some 1990’s touches with purple and green accents. Thin green and purple stripes cross the simple shirt horizontally. Then black shorts and socks finish it off.
As widely anticipated the new Charlton home kit celebrates both the famous FADS and The Woolwich pinstripe top of the early 80’s. It also pays homage to a century playing at The Valley with a gold sword appearing on the back neck of the shirt and on the socks. I do like that little touch.
Another episode of my old Blog Post’s Revisited.
8 years ago my son was the mascot for the home game against Exeter City. It was early in the Chris Powell reign and a crowd of 24,767 packed into The Valley as the club experimented with charging a fiver for entrance.
Powell had brought high hopes of change and I had arranged for my son to be one of The Valley mascots on his 11th birthday. Typically the game was a sink, as the Addicks fell flat on their faces and lost 3-1.
I woke up uneasy. Feeling a sense of dread and deja vu, or whatever the Flemish equivalent is.
Yesterday was disappointing, very. Blackpool are decent but it was another missed opportunity. No win in four, and a creeping impression that we are suddenly easier to play against and we haven’t any solutions. Or goals.
Three points behind 2nd and four behind 1st as we approached the end of the January transfer window. Since then we have fallen away badly thanks to one man. The richest, most obtuse and neglectful owner in our history.
If you have not caught any of Heather McKinley’s football stories and articles before then you are missing out. The Glasgow based Addick writes mostly for the Scottish football magazine Nutmeg, but somehow finds the time in between running her own strategic marketing business to write some excellent other stuff such as her chance meeting with Roger Alwen’s wife, also called Heather, for football journal The Blizzard.
The article about Heather Alwen’s role in their families ownership of Charlton and the struggle to get back to The Valley is superbly written and stirs some strong memories for me and my own family who lived game by game not knowing if we had a club to support the next week.
For the first time this season I will be at The Valley tomorrow to cheer on Lee Bowyer’s boys. My first Charlton game of the season. I’m shocked by that sentence.
Anyway I felt it was time to get behind the Addicks as we go in search of a play-off place and what was an ever increase improbable promotion when Karl Robinson was in the managerial seat. We’d won one game of the previous 8 under Robinson and I shake my head at how we are still in with a shout.
Devoid to ideas, devoid of anything..
Even the fellas on the radio commentary who can make a throw-in sound exciting were stuck for words at this woeful display today in front of a sparse Valley. We’ve scored once now in four games. We are a team lacking in spirit, pace, ideas and direction.
After a reasonably encouraging start by us Fleetwood soon worked us out and put plenty of men behind the ball and limited us to two shots on target. In fact the Cod Army had the best chances of the game and should have won it in the 2nd half but fluffed a golden opportunity.
Typical..
I somehow wonder how we ever won at Wembley and that game 25 years ago you know. You can always rely on them to let you down.
Nonetheless Killer, Super Clive, Jimmy Melrose, Bobby Bolder, Paddy Powell, Colin Walsh etc etc is what 25 years ago is about to us fans. I don’t suspect the average 20-something modern day footballer worries about Valley Party’s and bonfires on the centre circle, but what they should be worried about is today’s league table and how it looks next May. That’s how they will be judged, but by all accounts the class of 2017 never turned up!
25 years ago. Doesn’t seem possible but the Addicks welcome Portsmouth, befittingly the team we have played the most in our history, back to The Valley tomorrow afternoon in a wild quirk of fate. Thanks EFL for actually doing something right.
That Saturday 25 years ago is ingrained in my memory. My brother and I and a couple of mates were at Barnsley the week before and that was a carnival atmosphere on their away open terrace.
However getting tickets for the 8,337 sell out wasn’t easy. My Mum, brother and I were season ticket holders at Upton Park, but my Dad, who was getting a little disillusioned with it, wasn’t so sadly he missed out on the game, but the rest of us went with my mates.
I have noticed from my Blog stats that a few of you kind readers have unearthed this post that I first wrote in 2012. The notion of the piece predates the Back to The Valley game in 1992, but tells of what The Valley meant to me as a child….
Sarasota, Florida
