Charlton Athletic

Charlton Athletic is a professional football club from south east London who were formed in 1905 but found their early progress hampered by the popularity of nearby Woolwich Arsenal. 

Charlton started out at Siemens Meadow, before moving to Woolwich Common a year later.
Further moves to Pound Park between1908 and 1913 and then Angerstein Lane from 1913 to 1915 followed, while ‘The Gunners’ departed for pastures new over the water in 1913 which enabled ‘The Addicks’ or ‘The Robins’ to start moving forward.

Athletic joined the Kent League for the 1919-20 season, before crossing over to the Southern League just one year later. The progression continued as admission to the Football League was achieved in 1921. 

A merger with Catford Southend FC took place two years later in an attempt to attract a larger collective support, with the club playing home games at The Mount in the south west corner of Mountsfield Park in Catford. 

The new merged club didn’t work, with Charlton returning to the old quarry site, which was by then known as The Valley. In 1929 the club won the Division Three South title to win promotion to Division Two before being relegated back to the third tier four years later.

Jimmy Seed had been appointed as manager in 1932, which saw the 1934-35 campaign end with the Division Three South title being collected once again. This time the clubs stay in Division Two lasted just one season, but this time it was in an upwards direction as local rivals West Ham United were defeated to seal promotion.

Charlton were the most consistent team in the top flight of English football over the three seasons immediately before the Second World War, with second, fourth and third place finish’s.

This continued during the war years and they won the ‘War Cup’ and appeared in other finals. Athletic remained in the First Division, and were finalists in the 1945-46 FA Cup, but lost to 4-1 to Derby County after extra time.

The Addicks made amends when the reached the FA Cup final again in 1946-47. This time they beat Burnley 1-0. Remarkably, in both finals the ball burst! Crowds of up to 70,000 were not unusual at The Valley during this period.

Little investment was made to The Valley as the club gradually slid from prominence. In 1956 the board asked for Seed’s resignation after undermining him. The team were relegated to Division Two the following year.

Eventually the club found themselves in Division Three in 1971 after a further demotion. Andy Nelson took the side back up to the second level in 1974-75, but crowds had fallen badly and didn’t pick up despite the relative success and the attractive forward play of Derek Hales, Mike Flanaghan and Keith Peacock.

In 1979-80 Charlton were relegated once again, but manager Mike Bailey took the side straight back up at the first attempt. Danish superstar Alan Simonsen signed on as a young goal scoring Paul Walsh also added to the attraction at The Valley. 

They soon departed as finances looked to kill off the club. Charlton entered Administration in 1984, as the club had to be re-formed. Following the Bradford City fire of 1985 it was deemed that the work required on The Valley was too expensive, so the club departed and took up residence to share Selhurst Park with Crystal Palace.

Crowds hit an all time low in their new surroundings as Lennie Lawrence looked to sort out the team on the pitch. Remarkably the team was promoted to the top flight at the end of the 1985-86 season, with Rob Lee amongst the star men as gates of around 4,000 were the norm.

In their first season back in Division One, Athletic escaped relegation by beating Leeds United after extra time in the play-off final replay at St Andrews. The great escape was achieved the following season on goal difference.

Eventually Athletic went down in 1990 and Lawrence departed for Middlesbrough a year later. Alan Curbishley and Steve Gritt came in as joint-managers as the club had a short spell sharing at Upton Park.

Fans organised themselves to try and engineer a return to their spiritual home of The Valley. The Valley Party collected 11% of the vote in the 1990 local Greenwich Borough Council, which helped gain support along with financial aid garnered through The Valley Gold investment scheme which allowed fans to raise funds. 

Rob Lee was sold as the club got close to a return to The Valley, which eventually happened in December 1992, with Colin Walsh scoring the first goal on their return in front of a sell out crowd against Portsmouth.

New chairman Richard Murray made Curbishley the sole manager. Defeat by Crystal Palace in the semi-finals of 1995-96 playoffs followed, but the disappointment was more than made up for in the playoff final at Wembley in May 1998.

The game against Sunderland ended in a 4-4 draw after extra time, with Clive Mendonca scoring a hat trick. Charlton won 7-6 on penalty kicks with Sasa Ilic the goalkeeping hero as The Addicks returned to the top flight, as The Valley continued to be improved.

Curbishley proved to be a very astute manager and he led the side to a seventh place finish in 2003-04 after spending much of the season in the Champions League places. Star player Scott Parker was sold as the season drew to a close.

Curbishley departed in 2006 to be replaced by Iain Dowie with the club established as a mid table side. Many fans with short memories demanded that the club should have been achieving more. Dowie’s reign was very short lived as was that of his replacement Les Reed. Alan Pardew was in the managerial hot seat by Christmas 2006. 

Pardew was unable to keep the side up as they slipped into the second tier. By 2008 it was announced that the club betted losses of £13M. The tide needed to turn, but things got worse. Pardew departed by mutual consent in November 2008 to be replaced by Phil Parkinson. Charlton were relegated to the third tier League One.

Parkinson had to work with little finances. Despite this his side reached the play-off semi-final where they were defeated by Swindon Town on penalties. New owners arrived at the club and replaced Parkinson with former full back Chris Powell in January 2011 as the side languished in League One.

He steadied the ship and then in his first full season at the helm led The Addicks to the title and promotion. Powell's side had a very promising first season back in the second tier finishing just three points from the playoff positions.

In January 2014 a Belgian businessman Roland Duchâtelet bought The Addicks and brought in several players from Standard Liege, who he also owned. After Charlton lost the in the last eight of the FA Cup to Sheffield United, Powell was dismissed. Jose Riga was brought in as the team avoided relegation.

The Belgian Bob Peeters was brought in as head coach to replace Riga in May 2014. However, Peeters was deemed to be not up to the mark as Duchâtelet rang the changes once again in January 2015 as Isreali Guy Luzon was brought in as the new manager. Luzon lasted until October 2015, when he was dismissed.

Karel Fraeye came in as the interim manager but was sacked after fourteen games with Riga being reappointed. However, he couldn’t save the team from being relegated to League One at the completion of the 2015-16 campaign.

Fans were deeply unhappy with Duchâtelet and his cost cutting ownership, with protests becoming a regular feature around The Valley. Russell Slade was appointed as the new manager, lasting until November 2016 when Karl Robinson arrived in his place, taking the team to a midtable finish.

Robinson took his side to the edge of the play-off places before resigning in March 2017. Local favourite and former player Lee Bowyer took over with the Addicks reaching the playoffs before being defeated by Shrewsbury Town in the semifinals.

Duchâtelet stated that the club was up for sale and made the incredible pronouncement that the Football League should buy them. Several potential new owners were announced with fans becoming increasingly frustrated.

In 2018-19 Charlton again made the playoffs. This time they saw off Doncaster Rovers before beating Sunderland 2-1 at Wembley, coming from behind before a stoppage time Bauer goal won promotion back to the second tier of English football.

The rise in level proved too steep as Athletic went straight back down in 2019-20 with Addicks fans further frustrated when the EFL judged two of those involved in a buy out by East Street Investments (ESI) had railed the required Owners' and Directors' Test.

Thomas Sandgaard, a Danish businessman based in Colorado looked to have purchased the club in September 2020 from ESI. However, the ownership of ESI had passed on to another company, Lex Dominus meaning that the company were not in a position to sell the club. However, the issue was eventually resolved with Sandgaard taking control.

Bowyer departed for Birmingham City in March 2021 to be replaced by Nigel Adkins as the team narrowly missed out on a playoff spot. Former midfielder Johnnie Jackson was appointed as manager in October 2021 before being replaced by Ben Garner the following June.

Dean Holden became the next manager at the Valley in December 2022 as the side finished the 2022-23 campaign in a second successive midtable position. SE Partners became the fourth different owners of the club in a short space of time, appointing Michael Appleton as manager in September 2023.

He lasted until January 2024 when Nathan Jones took over while Alfie May put away the goals.

Charlton Athletic FC will play in the EFL League One in the 2024-25 season.

My visits

Saturday 6th November 1985

My first time at Selhurst Park was actually to watch Charlton Athletic play a home game. They were tennants from 1985 until 1991 while the future of The Valley was in limbo. I went on a Christmas shopping bus from Scarborough to London with some other Hull City fans to cheer on the Tigers.

We decided to go down to The Valley to see what condition it was in but couldn't get access. I had previously been to the ground in 1983 as a student in the capital, when I went down to the ground on the way to look at other South East London venues. The gates were open and I was free to wander about. 

Athletic had been close to folding a month or so earlier and were really hanging on in there. I took a few photos but in typical student fashion I didn't get the film developed which is a shame as they would be worth looking at the venue back then.

We were wondering on our best way to Selhurst Park at Charlton station, only to see a notice that a "special" was going direct to Norwood Junction near the ground, which was both unexpected and ideal.

The sparse gate created little atmosphere. City won 2-1 and we taunted the Charlton fans by singing "All this way for nothing" which looking back was harsh. We stood on the large open Holmesdale Terrace which was usually segregated but the low crowds watching the tenants meant the area besides us was empty.

Charlton Athletic 1 Southampton 1 (Saturday 12th September 2009) League One (att: 19,441

I was on night shift at work so I couldn't travel too far but I wanted to visit a new ground. As both clubs were decent sized and bound to attract a good gate, I chose this match. I suffered a tortuous journey owing to engineering works on the tube. Yes, I'm aware of the irony of that statement as an employee but when people complain to staff all week they don't understand that we are users as well.

I eventually got to the ground around 2pm in time for a look around and some refreshment. I initially was going to sit down the side in the East Stand for £22 but the queues at the ticket office were huge. 

The queue to sit behind the goal was low so I plumped for an upper tier seat in the North Stand. I thought £17 was exceptional value for a game of this stature in London. I got inside and enjoyed reading the club history which was displayed on the concourse walls while enjoying a beer and a pie.

The Valley has seen some remarkable changes over the years. When it attracted the massive crowds after the war it had a massive open side terracing with continued around the south goal. A covered North Stand was behind the other goal with a Main Stand with an unusual roof standing over the half way line. 

The roof was replaced in the 1970's and the south end covered and seated with the Jimmy Seed Stand. The huge terrace fell into disrepair. This was how the club was when it looked like it was played on for the final time.

Fortunately through hard graft and business skills the ground reopened. The North Stand was seated and patched up as was the Jimmy Seed Stand. A new East Stand replaced the old open terrace within a few years and a two tiered West Stand replaced a temporary Main Stand in 1998. A second tier and new corner sections were added in stages to the North Stand in 2002.

It was an entertaining enough game. Both sides attempted to play football although some of the first touches and distribution left a little to be desired. Southampton weren’t too bad but they were hampered before the season began with their points deduction for financial irregularities. 

They had a decent turnout of around 2,500 and managed to sing their only song of "when the saints go marching in" several times. Charlton were better in the second half and had two disallowed for tight offsides in scrambles. 

The home fans weren’t bad although I’d deduct them from my rankings for the more rowdy having an awful habit have singing "let him die" at any injured Saints players. 

I know I’m an old softie but as a fan who’s club lost a player from an on field injury I abhor this from fans. They gave former boss and player and now Saints boss Alan Pardew some real abuse.

All in all I really enjoyed it. Generally I would recommend the experience of The Valley to fans of all ages. The fans are certainly lucky to have such a lovely home ground and in the future they should be very careful what they wish for. 

They wanted rid of Alan Curbishley as they thought they should have been playing European football. At the time of my visit I'd bet they'd do anything for those days once again.

Charlton Athletic 2 Hull City 1 (Saturday 22^nd August 2015) The Championship (att: 14,844)

My brother Nick was heading down to the capital with my nephew Stan so he sorted me out a ticket. I was most thankful to my colleague Rob Burton who came in early so I could get to the game.

The dreaded rail replacement bus service was in operation so even getting to Finchley Road was awkward. Nick and Stan were waiting and we were soon on a train to a packed upstairs platform at London Bridge. It was a relief when an empty service turned up to take fans to The Valley.

It was a boiling hot day in London. We were to meet Nick’s old mate Andy Lloyd who now lived in Dulwich, along with his young daughter Heidi. I went inside to take advantage of the limited catering facilities to take up the offer of a steak pie and a pint of Fosters for £7.50. 

I thought a steward was about to burst when I accidentally stood on a restricted yellow hash line. It was a sobering experience after the joy of being a fan at German football a week earlier.

We took up out seats three rows from the front of the raised area. Thankfully we were in the shade and I had an aisle seat. This was just as well as the tread between the rows was better suited to a pygmy. It was a decent enough position for £22.

The less said about the first half the better. City, in their white and black away kit, continued in their Premier League mode spending far too many passes going nowhere with the play at a funeral place. 

Charlton with the impressive tall Dane Simon Makienok leading the line looked to create without really threatening. In mitigation, it was stifling hot and drinks were taken on by the players whenever there was a stoppage in play.

I couldn’t be bothered with the half time scrum for a half time pint, so I spent the interval in far better company with young City mad Stan with a chat about his football and cricket progress. I was a lucky uncle.

It looked like we were in for a dull goalless draw. Nick made the accurate assessment that it was like watching an England pre tournament friendly. However, The Valliants had other ideas. They created room down the right with the lively Icelander Johann Berg Guðmundsson whipped in a cross which Makienok headed home.

It remained a mystery as to how the one paced City team would reply. Manager Steve Bruce had the answer by way of a tactical masterstroke when he replaced Tom Huddlestone with Arsenal loanee Isaac Hayden after fifty eight minutes as well as the introduction of Abel Hernández up front. Suddenly there was pace in the side.

Well, pace from ten men anyway. Nikica Jelavić was not my favourite City player. I considered him too light weight and slow. He was forever getting caught offside and virtually redundant if he dropped short. On this occasion I would have to add gutless to the list. He was making my blood boil.

On one occasion keeper Alan McGregor made an excellent one on one save from Guðmundsson just after the opening goal. The ball was cleared downfield to Jelavić who was unsurprisingly caught offside after watching the previous action without tracking back.

Ahmed El Mohamady as ever was busting a gut for City as at last stagnation turned into pacy attacking intent. As time was running out Jelavić missed an easy headed chance from just a few yards out. It looked like Charlton would win the points.

In the last minute of normal time Hayden smacked a shot against the foot of the post. The rebound found its way back to the same player as he made room and fired off another effort which was spilled by Charlton keeper Nick Pope. Hernández followed up to bundle home.

The assistant held up the board announcing that there would be eight minutes stoppage time. City were in the ascendancy and despite Charlton deserving the win until Bruce’s changes, it looked like the visitors may take the spoils. Hernández headed home but was offside.

Play went from end to end. City survived a scare as Athletic went for it. The home side had a corner. The ball fell to Jelavić. Instead of playing the ball to one of his numerous available team mates he hoofed the ball straight back to the home defenders. It was spread wide. A cross came in which was nodded down by Makienok for Guðmundsson to stoop and head past McGregor for the winning goal.

Cue absolute bedlam in the home stands and anger and frustration from the travelling faithful. I said my goodbyes at the final whistle to the gang who were heading back for a barbecue. I thought it best to get away and miss out on the pub. I wouldn't have been much fun for a while!

I soon calmed down on the train with other City fans Sid and John. I even declined beers around London Bridge and took the Northern line up to Colindale and getting a bus home for a much welcome early night.

Charlton Athletic 0 Preston North End 1 (Sunday 3^rd November 2019) EFL Championship (att: 16,027)

My Championship weekend double header continued at The Valley after attending Hull City’s fine 3-0 win at Fulham the previous afternoon. A midday kick-off and night shift worked well for me when Tony Foster suggested buying tickets.

It was a lovely Sunday morning as I met my pal at Wembley Park for the tube ride to London Bridge; where there was time to grab a snack for half-time and a tea at Greggs on the station. The service to Charlton was comfortable enough for us to grab seats as we caught up with football news.

We had arrived comfortably early and stood on the concourse watching the crowds arrive before selecting a seat in the upper tier of the West Stand. Tony had attended a previous game and correctly predicted that it would be half empty so there was no problem sitting wherever we fancied.

The view was superb and worth £24. The seat treads weren’t huge, but the depth of the steps made it comfortable; something some other stadia doesn’t offer. The teams came out with servicemen before the Last Post was sounded and a minute’s silence observed in memory of fallen veterans.

North End were backed by an impressive following of 1,128. I guess many lived in London, but it was some trip from the north west for the others for an early start. Both sets of fans created what I thought a decent atmosphere.

Preston went into the game knowing that a victory would take them top of the table, with Charlton just outside the play-off places. The game started off quite well with a thirty yard free kick from PNE’s Darnell Fisher being saved by Dillon Phillips the first attempt on goal.

Conor Gallagher went close for Charlton with a glancing header going just wide of the far post. Ben Purrington also had an effort saved by Declan Rudd. Gradually the visiting Lillywhites began to look the most likely of the teams to score. 

The impressive full back Fisher went on a fine run, with his deep cross getting a deflection from a desperate Addicks defender before finding Tom Barkhuizen, who was superbly denied by Phillips.

Ben Pearson crossed for Barkhuizen to head wide just before the interval. The half had become truncated with injuries. We both thought Preston were the better side. I though my Greggs sausage roll was wonderful!

The second half began in the same vain before PNE took the lead on fifty seven minutes. Big forward Jayden Stockley had won all his headers thus far. His dominance led to defender Tom Lockyer pulling him down in the box.

Referee David Webb had no hesitation in pointing to the spot. It was noticeable that there were very few home protests. Sub Paul Gallagher started his run next to the ball with his back turned. On the whistle he walked, then turned quickly and smashed the ball in.

Neither Tony nor I had seen that method before. It didn’t give the keeper time to think and the power of the shot was immense. The away fans went crazy, as their volume increased. The locals tried to rouse their troops but there were plenty of grumbles too.

North End came close to doubling their lead ten minutes after the goal when a Gallagher corner was flicked on by Sean Maguire, just evading Barkhuizen at the back stick. The injury count continued to mount throughout the half.

I couldn’t recall a game with so many delays for head injuries. The home fans thought that some of it was play acting. Preston certainly knew how to manage the game, but the ref was put in a difficult position.

With five minutes remaining Stockley saw his header go over via the top of the crossbar. The board went up revealing that seven minutes were to be added; a correct estimate in my view. Barkhuizen had a great chance to seal the win when clean through. His shot was saved by the legs of Phillips when a square ball to the unmarked Pearson was a better option.

The final chance of an equaliser came in stoppage time, when a corner found itself to the back post. Purrington snatched at the the opportunity and hit the side netting.

I made a move for the exit with a minute or so to go and listened to the commentary on the excellent Football League coverage offered by TalkSport 2. My judgement was good as I managed to catch the 14.10 train despite originally going the wrong way into the station.

Thameslink now served north Kent and my train took me all the way to Farringdon, where I connected easily and was home at just gone 3pm, ready for a good sleep before returning to work.

Charlton Athletic 2 Hull City 2 (Friday 13^th December 2019) EFL Championship (att: 14,447)

It’s said that politics and sport shouldn’t mix. That’s probably about right, but it’s not a help when they’re two of your biggest passions. It’s fair to say that I was despondent after the previous day’s General Election. Severely depressed would be a more accurate description.

I’d wisely taken a couple of days off work as I feared the worse. It really did affect me that badly. I’d dragged myself out of the flat and already been to the Watford v Millwall under 23s game at St Albans earlier in the afternoon before I could face a beer.

It was good to meet up with friends at the tennis club at Hampstead CC. I’d even had my composure tested by the presence of someone with not a great deal of tact and come out intact. It was time to jump on the train to St Pancras to meet my mate Chewy.

For the third time in a week I found myself in The Barrel Vault Wetherspoons establishment. There was time for a pint before going downstairs for the train. We’d made a deal. I bought the cans and my pal provided the pies. He’d excelled and brought me three from his local place in Leeds.

My goodness, they were good. I had the first with my beer on route. Proper filled pastries and so much better than mass produced items. Before we knew it we’d talked some cobblers, changed trains, supped the tins and were going into the away end.

We took up a position in the end block near the entrance. City had taken a decent following of 625 considering the game was on Sky TV just before Christmas on a Friday night. While I had strong suspicions that the noise from the home end was amplified, it created a good atmosphere.

The first half was not particularly entertaining. The Addicks were on a shocking run of form but the Tigers failed to stamp any authority. The hosts went ahead on thirty four minutes when skipper Darren Pratley found himself unmarked to head home a Connor Gallagher corner.

Not a lot else happened of note in the first period. I was proud of Chewy as he battled through the busy crowd around the bar to try and get served. They had no bitter and offered him Heineken, so he told them where to shove it. I admire friendship and principals.

As it transpired it was perhaps a sign from above. Had we got a beer we would have struggled, as many other fans did, to see the restart and City’s equaliser. Kamil Grosicki low diagonal cross was met at the back post by Jarrod Bowen; cue the superb “Starman” song.

We thought and hoped that this would be a springboard for City to go on to win the game. We didn’t reckon on the defence falling asleep for the few minutes to allow Charlton to counter attack through defender Mouhamadou-Naby Sarr.

He played the ball wide to Jonathan Leko who went on a run and passed back across the six yard box for the unmarked Sarr to tap home. It was awful defending. City responded by dominating possession. The lack of confidence in the home side gradually came to the fore.

Despite lots of play I couldn’t see where a goal was coming from as Charlton defended in numbers. The frustration was growing. I apologised to the lady steward who sympathised. She said she wanted an equaliser as she was a Millwall fan!

We were bobbing from side to side as we followed the play. Chewy had done a magnificent job bringing the pies in a box but in the excitement, he managed to stand on them! No problem. They’d still go down the same way.

Grant McCann sent on local Hull youngster Keane Lewis-Potter who set up Bowen for a volley that was superbly saved. In the ninety sixth minute the sub rose at the back post to head down a Grosicki cross. The ball squirmed towards goal where it went in off a combination of keeper Dillon Phillips and the foot of the post.

We weren’t bothered how it had crossed the line. We went berserk. It didn’t resolve all my woes, but it was an immense help. Just behind us was a beaming lady steward! We left the ground signing our heads off. It was maybe being harsh towards Charlton, but that’s football.

There was still time for me to change trains and catch up with some of my Middlesex supporting mates at Baker Street for a couple of pints before bedtime with my mood a lot better than twenty-four hours earlier. Who says football doesn’t matter? Oh, and the pies were magnificent for supper.

Wednesday 2nd December 2020

Click here to read about a further visit as part of my 100-mile Sawasdee Cup Charity Walk late in 2020 as I called in on all the clubs in the top five tiers within Greater London to raise money for Junior Cricket Development in Thailand.

Charlton Athletic 1 Bolton Wanderers 4 (Tuesday 28^th September 2021) EFL League One (att: 12,707 inc 888 away fans)

Hendon's game against Chesham was postponed due to the fuel crisis so I took the opportunity to meet a couple of pals from Wrexham, Paul Jones, and Wanderers fan Ryan Gould, who were down for the game and staying in Greenwich. It's never a bind to visit that fine district or indeed the Valley.

After a distinctly dodgy pint of Proper Job, which appropriately did one on me, in the Gypsy Moth, we went by bus earlier than normal as Paul wanted to catch up with an old workmate, who is Chris Parkes, the Addicks club secretary.

 

He kindly sorted us passes into the Vivas Lounge high in the Main Stand for pre-match drinks where he and his good lady met us for a chat. I left my pals who were in the away end to take up my £23 seat on the upper tier of the Covered End which offered a great view.

I really like the venue that has always generated a decent noise on my visits. Charlton came out of the blocks quickly and went ahead when a Jonathan Leko low cross was fired home by Josh Davison who never stopped giving his all throughout. Corey Blackett-Taylor on the opposite wing to Leko was also causing the Trotters defenders problems. 

Gradually Bolton got a foothold and looked dangerous. Oladapo Afolayan equalised shortly before the interval with a low curling shot past Craig MacGillivray. Davison came close to restoring Charlton's lead with a bending effort which clipped off the outside of the post with keeper Joel Dixon beaten.

Kieran Lee put the visitors ahead when he volleyed home a Gethin Jones centre with the aid of a deflection. The home fans gave off the aura of being used to such setbacks. Home sub, Conor Washington lobbed the onrushing Dixon, but the ball went narrowly wide.

Nine minutes from time it was 3-1 when a deflected shot from Afolayan fell to Lee who grabbed the opportunity to fire home. The Charlton fans were becoming ratty, with many heading for the exits, while a chant of "We want Adkins Out" gained volume.

Especially after away skipper Antoni Sarcevic beat the offside trap to round MacGillivray and wrap things up. 4-1 was very flattering to Bolton, even though they deserved the three points. A decent evening’s entertainment all told.

I headed homeward taking a 472 bus to North Greenwich and then Jubilee line to be back in the pub for some nice chat but average service by 10:50 in a cold and wet state despite only being out in the open for a short while. I still felt the damp in the sunshine of Lord's the following day.