The Valley - Charlton Athletic FC
Charlton Athletic 2-0 Stevenage
25/02/12 - League One
Att: 26,546
I can sit here and rant to anyone who will listen until I'm blue in the face about the price of watching football in this country, so when I saw that Charlton Athletic were offering "football for a fiver" for their home match with Stevenage it made perfect sense to take them up on the offer and tick another ground off the list in the process.
My travel plans were thrown into disarray when a Friday evening trip to Wetherspoons turned into a full on session and the hangover that followed reduced my chances of catching the 11:30 train as originally planned. In the end I had to settle for the midday train to Waterloo, which was packed due to Chelsea and QPR playing at home, as well as the England v Wales match at Twickenham. Thankfully I was able to make up time and made the connection train from Waterloo East that I had intended on getting in the first place, so I arrived at Charlton around 1:30.
From the station the ground was easy to find, using the method of following the shirts it only took 10 minutes to get to The Valley. Set amongst rows of terraced houses, there was a really good buzz around the place on the approach to the ground, with stalls selling club merchandise and plenty of pubs and chip shops about, it had the feeling of a proper football ground, something that you just don't get at the new out-of-town stadiums.
Their home since 1919, The Valley sits right in the heart of the Charlton community and having been totally re-built when the club moved back to the ground in 1992, following 7 years of ground-sharing at Selhurst Park and Upton Park, it's a really impressive venue from the outside. After a long battle with the club's former owner and the local council, supporters formed their own political party and in 1990 secured nearly 15,000 votes in the local elections to force the council to approve plans for The Valley's redevelopment and promotion to the Premier League in the late 90's lead to further re-developments, which means the current day capacity is over 27,000.
After having a look around and treating myself to saveloy and chips for lunch I had a quick look in the club shop, where I resisted temptation to buy a DVD of the epic 1998 play off final between Charlton and Sunderland and also decided against buying a bottle of Charlton Athletic's official water, at £1.80 a go. With a big crowd expected there was quite a big queue at the turnstiles, but I got into the ground around 15 minutes before kick off, taking my seat in the North-West quadrant.
Inside the ground is just as impressive as it is outside, with three sides being re-built since the 1990's fitting together well, with the Jimmy Seed Stand at the far end being the oldest and smallest part of the ground. Behind the goal the North Stand, large and two tiered, was filling up with a good atmosphere coming from the supporters in the upper tier. Both corners have been filled in, joining the stand to the one tiered East Stand on the far side, which was once the scene of one of the biggest stands in England. On the opposite side the West Stand is also two tiered and a similar size to the North Stand, it also has the tunnel and the dugouts on this side. With a capacity crowd in the ground, including a sold out away end, there was a really good atmosphere being generated before kick off.
Following relegation from the Premier League in 2006/07, Charlton were relegated again two seasons later, condemning the club to the third tier for the first time in 29 years. After defeat to Swindon in the play offs, Charlton finished a disappointing 13th place last season, but under the guidance of Chris Powell promotion back to the second tier looks likely, with The Addicks being top of the league for most of the season. Today's opponents Stevenage are also enjoying a successful campaign, finding themselves in the top 6 following two consecutive promotions. After former manager Graham Westley left for Preston they've continued to defy the odds and last week held Tottenham Hotspur to a 0-0 draw in the 5th round of the FA Cup. It was all set up to be a very interesting match between two good sides.
There wasn't a spare seat to be had as the teams took to the field, with Charlton in their traditional red and white home kit, with Stevenage also wearing their home colours of white shirts with red shorts. The normal pre-match handshakes and such like took place as the game got underway, with Stevenage showing why they're in the promotion mix in the early stages. Hard working and well organised, Charlton struggled to break the visitors down and Stevenage made the better start to the match, taking the sting out of the crowd and frustrating their hosts.
On the half an hour mark Charlton created their first real chance of the game when Danny Green's cross was met by the head of top scorer Bradley Wright-Phillips, unfortunately for the home side he couldn't keep his header down but this chance sparked The Addicks into life and they took control of the game for first time. With the scores level at half time it was a possibility that Charlton's momentum could have been disrupted by the half time break, but they started the second half as they ended the first and it took just 5 minutes for the deadlock to be broken. Boro could only half clear a long throw and the ball fell to Michael Morrison, who smashed the ball into the top corner from the edge of the box.
After finally making the breakthrough Charlton took control of the game, having numerous chances to double the lead before Bradley Wright-Phillips got the goal that his performance deserved and wrapping up another 3 points for the home side. A late header by Mark Roberts was the closest Stevenage came to a reply, but he missed the target from close range and Charlton comfortably saw out the game.
There was delight at the final whistle as the home fans celebrated another three points and the biggest crowd of the season went home happy, with the side looking like promotion certainties and 12 points clear of 3rd placed Sheffield Wednesday. After the game it was a short walk back to the station, where there was a large queue for the train to Waterloo and after finally making it on to the platform I just about made it on the packed train and after a short wait for the connection train, I was back in Farnborough by 7pm.
Overall I'd really enjoyed the day, the ground is superb and another example of a club re-developing their existing ground and making it into a far better venue than any newly built, out of town stadium. It's clearly been built with the idea of the club being in the Premier League and with a crowd of over 26,000 it's clear to see that the club has the potential to reach that level again. With good atmosphere, good facilities and good football on show, it's a ground I'd recommend visiting and one I'd be happy to go back to.
My travel plans were thrown into disarray when a Friday evening trip to Wetherspoons turned into a full on session and the hangover that followed reduced my chances of catching the 11:30 train as originally planned. In the end I had to settle for the midday train to Waterloo, which was packed due to Chelsea and QPR playing at home, as well as the England v Wales match at Twickenham. Thankfully I was able to make up time and made the connection train from Waterloo East that I had intended on getting in the first place, so I arrived at Charlton around 1:30.
From the station the ground was easy to find, using the method of following the shirts it only took 10 minutes to get to The Valley. Set amongst rows of terraced houses, there was a really good buzz around the place on the approach to the ground, with stalls selling club merchandise and plenty of pubs and chip shops about, it had the feeling of a proper football ground, something that you just don't get at the new out-of-town stadiums.
Their home since 1919, The Valley sits right in the heart of the Charlton community and having been totally re-built when the club moved back to the ground in 1992, following 7 years of ground-sharing at Selhurst Park and Upton Park, it's a really impressive venue from the outside. After a long battle with the club's former owner and the local council, supporters formed their own political party and in 1990 secured nearly 15,000 votes in the local elections to force the council to approve plans for The Valley's redevelopment and promotion to the Premier League in the late 90's lead to further re-developments, which means the current day capacity is over 27,000.
After having a look around and treating myself to saveloy and chips for lunch I had a quick look in the club shop, where I resisted temptation to buy a DVD of the epic 1998 play off final between Charlton and Sunderland and also decided against buying a bottle of Charlton Athletic's official water, at £1.80 a go. With a big crowd expected there was quite a big queue at the turnstiles, but I got into the ground around 15 minutes before kick off, taking my seat in the North-West quadrant.
Inside the ground is just as impressive as it is outside, with three sides being re-built since the 1990's fitting together well, with the Jimmy Seed Stand at the far end being the oldest and smallest part of the ground. Behind the goal the North Stand, large and two tiered, was filling up with a good atmosphere coming from the supporters in the upper tier. Both corners have been filled in, joining the stand to the one tiered East Stand on the far side, which was once the scene of one of the biggest stands in England. On the opposite side the West Stand is also two tiered and a similar size to the North Stand, it also has the tunnel and the dugouts on this side. With a capacity crowd in the ground, including a sold out away end, there was a really good atmosphere being generated before kick off.
Following relegation from the Premier League in 2006/07, Charlton were relegated again two seasons later, condemning the club to the third tier for the first time in 29 years. After defeat to Swindon in the play offs, Charlton finished a disappointing 13th place last season, but under the guidance of Chris Powell promotion back to the second tier looks likely, with The Addicks being top of the league for most of the season. Today's opponents Stevenage are also enjoying a successful campaign, finding themselves in the top 6 following two consecutive promotions. After former manager Graham Westley left for Preston they've continued to defy the odds and last week held Tottenham Hotspur to a 0-0 draw in the 5th round of the FA Cup. It was all set up to be a very interesting match between two good sides.
There wasn't a spare seat to be had as the teams took to the field, with Charlton in their traditional red and white home kit, with Stevenage also wearing their home colours of white shirts with red shorts. The normal pre-match handshakes and such like took place as the game got underway, with Stevenage showing why they're in the promotion mix in the early stages. Hard working and well organised, Charlton struggled to break the visitors down and Stevenage made the better start to the match, taking the sting out of the crowd and frustrating their hosts.
On the half an hour mark Charlton created their first real chance of the game when Danny Green's cross was met by the head of top scorer Bradley Wright-Phillips, unfortunately for the home side he couldn't keep his header down but this chance sparked The Addicks into life and they took control of the game for first time. With the scores level at half time it was a possibility that Charlton's momentum could have been disrupted by the half time break, but they started the second half as they ended the first and it took just 5 minutes for the deadlock to be broken. Boro could only half clear a long throw and the ball fell to Michael Morrison, who smashed the ball into the top corner from the edge of the box.
After finally making the breakthrough Charlton took control of the game, having numerous chances to double the lead before Bradley Wright-Phillips got the goal that his performance deserved and wrapping up another 3 points for the home side. A late header by Mark Roberts was the closest Stevenage came to a reply, but he missed the target from close range and Charlton comfortably saw out the game.
There was delight at the final whistle as the home fans celebrated another three points and the biggest crowd of the season went home happy, with the side looking like promotion certainties and 12 points clear of 3rd placed Sheffield Wednesday. After the game it was a short walk back to the station, where there was a large queue for the train to Waterloo and after finally making it on to the platform I just about made it on the packed train and after a short wait for the connection train, I was back in Farnborough by 7pm.
Overall I'd really enjoyed the day, the ground is superb and another example of a club re-developing their existing ground and making it into a far better venue than any newly built, out of town stadium. It's clearly been built with the idea of the club being in the Premier League and with a crowd of over 26,000 it's clear to see that the club has the potential to reach that level again. With good atmosphere, good facilities and good football on show, it's a ground I'd recommend visiting and one I'd be happy to go back to.
Main entrance and Sam Bartram statue
Rear of the West Stand
Badge on the back of the North Stand
Stevenage fans
Post match
Panoramic view of The Valley
