If they do one later in the season say February/March it will be higher due to it coming to the business end of the season.
I don't think we should really be complaining at 22k for a club starting their 3rd season in this league... plus we still regularly beat the attendance of Palace and Millwall even a league below for 3 seasons.
We are getting less and less well supported in local areas as people pass away or move away, we need to have another era of the club being on the up coupled with good work off it to make it work.
We have a much higher support profile in local areas than we did at any time from, say, 1970-1992, buttressed by the extensive work of the community trust in Bromley, Bexley and Greenwich. I can tell you from being at school in Bexley in the 1970s that to my knowledge I was the only Charlton supporter at my primary school and in percentage terms it didn't get much better at secondary. That didn't change much in the 1980s - it was when we came back to The Valley and starting building up our crowds and the community scheme that you started to see Charlton supporters in numbers.
Clearly success breeds support and being in the Premier League made a massive difference, but the idea that we need "good work" suggests that little is being done, when in fact we have never done more than now. If success returns on the field then the support will come with it, because as in the 1990s we are doing the ground work.
One of my family friends was a young school teacher in Greenwich in the middle to late 1950's. He told me that the club was very active locally with an extensive scouting network. As the club became stuck in the second tier, all of this local infrastructure disappeared.
I was at secondary school in Bromley in the in 1970's and amongst 700 boys there were only three or four Addicks fans of whom I was aware.
Gates when we were in the third tier in the 70's haven't come close on average to what we have been getting these last few seasons, despite one or two 20,000 plus crowds.
One of my mates lives in Sidcup. He is a Spanner, and his son is now 18. He tells me that his lad is always being enticed into local footballing initiatives by the club. I've no doubt that the club continues to work extremely hard locally.
With the modern ways in which fans now keep in touch, the viral advertising that can be employed, the professionalism and experience of club officials like AB and his team, the fan data base that is now available, I have no doubt that we are in a far better place to exploit the on field successes than we ever were.
If and when we do Football for a Fiver again, perhaps the beginning of the season may be better i.e. at the end of August. I know a lot of students have gone back to uni by the end of September, and they may be attracted by the offer, yet obviously couldn't come as they were hundreds of miles away?
The problem with August is that the marketing would conflict with season ticket sales.
Mr Brown - the 4 that were known to the police were doing nothing wrong whatsoever. The club cannot use this as an excuse for the action man stewards rudely and aggressively moving fans to another stand.
I think that overall this was a huge success for the club and anyone can stand on the side-lines to make minor criticisms after an event.
Thousands of new potential and former supporters have seen an exciting home win with a great atmosphere on a sunny warm day and hopefully spent a few quid in the Superstore. Mission accomplished.
I was in the south stand with a few mates I brought along who are non regulars and the stewards behaviour was totally unacceptable. We went in there because we wanted a view point of the home ends with a big crowd and a good atmosphere. They tried a few times to move everyone over to the end block nearest the east stand. When that failed we were eventually told....." Either move out or I will effing throw you out"
Before that they were hassling people who were drinking beer at the top of the steps of the concourse. Their whole posture was about looking for any little excuse to throw people out, staring at people, snarling at people and making silly childish threats. My friends will not be coming back any time soon and even left the ground early, hence missing another goal after we all missed the 2nd goal as we were behind the bloody east stand at the time!
Don`t think that`s the way to entice people back to the Valley somehow.
Well, okay, did you see anything going on in there then? Did you actually see anyone doing anything out of order in there? No you didn`t because nothing happened and no-one did anything out of order except be in a place which they didn`t want them to be in!
0ver 22,000 was good yesterday I thought,the other 2000 odd that was not there yesterday some of them are arsenal,Tottenham fans etc who only go to the valley for £5.
Well, okay, did you see anything going on in there then? Did you actually see anyone doing anything out of order in there? No you didn`t because nothing happened and no-one did anything out of order except be in a place which they didn`t want them to be in!
Of course I didnt, I was in the Covered End. I admit it is a complete disgrace for people to be treated like you are describing for "doing nothing". Especially as everyone else doing nothing in the ground was getting away with it!
According to the programme the aim was to get more than 20,000. We did that with some to spare, so I can't see there's anything at all to be hangdog about about. We had a big crowd and a great game of football. Hopefully some of those will be persuaded to come back regularly. Well done to the board for sanctioning it, to Airman and co for organising it and to all the fans who got their friends and family to come along (perhaps dipping into their own pockets to make it happen).
As to why the attendance was lower than the Exeter game, the economy isn't exactly any healthier is it? Also, despite being top of the division, the longer we are in League 1 the more we become associated with 3rd rate football (even though we're playing some classy stuff at the moment). I'm not convinced with this Arsenal - Chelsea argument. Though if it is true, it's hardly any loss. We want people who are either returning Charlton fans or neutrals who might become future Addicks. It's not really a great advantage attracting a load of other club's fans just because their team is playing away and we're a cheaper option to taking their other halves shopping.
Trust me WSS the 4 have got much better things to be doing than goading a load of kids in replica Chesterfield shirts.
Fair one mate. Don't really get the desire to go in the South stand in the first place, although the majority of the blame here lies with the club in actually opening it in my opinion.
Think it was just something a bit different and a bit of a novelty, as you say I think the club dropped a bollock opening it up in the first place when there was ample room in the other stands. Hats off to Airman and co getting it sorted though, with the current economic climate 22k is a decent turn out bearing in mind people may not have the funds to pay for the food/drink/travel expenses.
Also disappointed that the stand had segregation which would have wasted a load of money.
I agree with AFKA. Also strange that we can take so many to Middlesbrough and Blackburn.
The segregation itself doesn't cost much money; it's really about what the police decide to do around it. You can just imagine the thread on here if we had locked 500 home fans out because we had made the decision not to do it and there had been a big walk-up, i.e. how we are all penny-pinching idiots, those people will never come back, wouldn't the club have made enough from selling the other tickets to take the risk, etc, etc.
Also, I don't recall us taking 20,000 people to Middlesbrough and Blackburn . . . all that says is that there are 6,000 or whatever committed enough to travel a long way. It has very little to do with our ability to attract 25,000 people to a third division home match.
Fair enough, I just find it strange that 5k will take a day off work to travel to Middlesbrough yet more won't go to a £5 home game. The two games are incomparable.
I must admit that being at various railway stations handing out leaflets and talking to people about the offer for 3 days, I felt a little diisappointed that we didn't get closer to 25k.
There is a big attraction when an adult can bring 2 kids for an afternoon out costing £15.
However, It's getting harder and harder to compete for the leisure pound and we have to take into account petrol/travel costs as well as the relatively high price of food/drink inside the stadium.
I am sure everything that was done to spread the word had some kind of impact, and well done to the ticket posse for dealing with the extra workload.
We got the 3 points, put on a good show, there were thrills and spills for the spectators, with decent weather and travel circumstances.
As a club, we have been through a traumatic period in footballing terms - which got to the point last season where people were clearly falling out of love with the club and there was a pervasive feeling around the club that things weren't necessarily going to get any better. Going to the Valley had ceased to be entertaining anymore for many fans, as what was served up on the pitch was frequently utter dross. People can only take so much of that, so many found other things to do with their Saturdays instead.
Following the takeover, we entered a brave new era, but things could not really change until the summer. So, when the Exeter game came around, it backfired badly and probably reinforced the perception in some people's eyes that our club had become an embarassing joke and supporting it was committing to a life of misery (which has largely been the case in recent years). The fallout of that promotion cannot be understimated IMO (although it is no-one's fault for trying, apart from the players IMO). Yesterday was a definite step in the right direction and forms part of an overall effort to dispel the negativity, dourness and pessimism of last season and show people that our club is now moving in the right direction again, is playing good football and is staffed by winners, on and off the pitch.
It will take a long time to get this message through, but everyone at the club (staff and players alike - not to mention many fans such as those on here who were evangelically promoting our club through promotions like yesterday's as well as in general) has done a tremendous job in turning things around. We should not be disappointed at yesterday's attendance as it is part of a work of progress and all those involved should be pleased that it did not turn out like Exeter last year - quite the opposite, in fact.
I read one post yesterday (can't remember which thread) by a young fella who had brought some mates along to the game. By all accounts they had a great time and were now 'converted' to the Charlton cause. That alone justifies the whole exercise, and we can be confident that there will be other examples as well. That was the name of the game, so it was a definite step forward for the club.
Patience really is the watch word this season, on the pitch (when things aren't going our way) and off it (as we slowly repair the damage of the last few years), so let's not be downbeat. Let's be positive about a good day that is another successful part of the masterplan to get our beloved club back where it belongs.
In short - cheer up people, we're top of the league with a game in hand. Just keep repeating this mantra and at some point a smile will creep over your face!
Agreed, we shouldn't have opened the stand, and I expect that next time we won't.
But equally not many people would have predicted the matchday sale at 2,100 - or the sale between 1pm and 3pm as 1,000 - even with the detailed knowledge available within the club, so let's not pretend it's an easy decision, especially when the police want to know our intention four days before the game.
I was in the south stand with a few mates I brought along who are non regulars and the stewards behaviour was totally unacceptable. We went in there because we wanted a view point of the home ends with a big crowd and a good atmosphere. They tried a few times to move everyone over to the end block nearest the east stand. When that failed we were eventually told....." Either move out or I will effing throw you out"
Before that they were hassling people who were drinking beer at the top of the steps of the concourse. Their whole posture was about looking for any little excuse to throw people out, staring at people, snarling at people and making silly childish threats. My friends will not be coming back any time soon and even left the ground early, hence missing another goal after we all missed the 2nd goal as we were behind the bloody east stand at the time!
Don`t think that`s the way to entice people back to the Valley somehow.
This is pretty sad what happened, and I don't read it as coming from anybody but a genuine Charlton fan. The bit that resonates is wanting to see full home areas from the JS stand perspective. The few fans who first went in seemed to me to voluntarily sit over by the east stand, and something initiated a move to a more central and better viewing position. As for pumped up stewards, well it is only one persons word, but I have seen our stewards givng vibes that automatically assume I am trouble, based on nothing.
It is especially wrong that the fans missed the Jackson goal, especially as they would have had a brilliant view of it.
A lesson to be learned in all this, and I really hope it will be learned.
I've seen it all now. We get over 22k for a third division game and people are still trying to put a downer on it.
Well done to Airman and his team. Some of us really do appreciate the hard work and effort that went into making yesterday a tremendous success. No ifs, no buts.
The game was v Chesterfield. It would have been s r o had it been against another London side, either of the Sheffields or (say) Preston
Possibly, but as we'd get bigger than usual crowds for those games at normal prices the offer wouldn't stack up financially.
agreed, but say for a tenner or £12, £13 etc, also, it's good PR to give the fans a potentially higher quality game at a discount. The problem is of course that season ticket holders get no reduction over and above the 'discount' included in their early purchase
I think Airman knows what he's doing Lincsaddick. Sometimes you just have to say "well done", rather than pick holes or suggest there's a better way of doing things.
Comments
I don't think we should really be complaining at 22k for a club starting their 3rd season in this league... plus we still regularly beat the attendance of Palace and Millwall even a league below for 3 seasons.
Why doesn't it happen to the other 20,000 people in the ground "doing nothing"?
The real test of its success will be in months and years to come.
This is pretty sad what happened, and I don't read it as coming from anybody but a genuine Charlton fan. The bit that resonates is wanting to see full home areas from the JS stand perspective. The few fans who first went in seemed to me to voluntarily sit over by the east stand, and something initiated a move to a more central and better viewing position. As for pumped up stewards, well it is only one persons word, but I have seen our stewards givng vibes that automatically assume I am trouble, based on nothing.
It is especially wrong that the fans missed the Jackson goal, especially as they would have had a brilliant view of it.
A lesson to be learned in all this, and I really hope it will be learned.
I think Ross suggestion is a good idea, why don't we do a £5 offer while the students are on half term? Perhaps easter may be a decent time?????
The game was v Chesterfield. It would have been s r o had it been against another London side, either of the Sheffields or (say) Preston