This might sound a bit controversial but does anyone really get anything out of that Valley experience? I fully acknowledge we were poor tonight but, regardless of the team being rubbish, the sitting miles apart, wearing masks, being herded around, not having access to alcohol (this point is very important) and the game being soundtracked by pathetic attempts at singing and the shouts of idiots whose voices are normally drowned out by the masses isn’t for me.
I don’t have a season ticket this season and had no intention of going tonight but managed to scrape the last few dregs this morning as I don’t expect to get back to the ground for some time. It was nice to see the old girl again but I won’t be rushing back until she’s fully operational.
I don’t want to take away the effort that the club and staff have gone to in getting fans into tonight and as soon as we get back to ‘normal,’ I’ll be getting a season ticket and devoting my weekends and much of my hard earned cash to following my team again but, for now, I’ll leave to you guys who will enjoy being back during these times.
Football aside it wasn't an enjoyable experience. Credit to those who made it happen, but I'm in two minds about whether I'll be applying for more tickets.
I said in another thread that if I had a season ticket I don’t think I’d bother at the moment. Being told what time to get there, having to sit on your own, wearing a mask, no refreshment available, singing and shouting frowned upon, even discouraged, etc etc it’s just not football. I get some people just have to be there but it’s not for me at the moment.
This might sound a bit controversial but does anyone really get anything out of that Valley experience? I fully acknowledge we were poor tonight but, regardless of the team being rubbish, the sitting miles apart, wearing masks, being herded around, not having access to alcohol (this point is very important) and the game being soundtracked by pathetic attempts at singing and the shouts of idiots whose voices are normally drowned out by the masses isn’t for me.
I don’t have a season ticket this season and had no intention of going tonight but managed to scrape the last few dregs this morning as I don’t expect to get back to the ground for some time. It was nice to see the old girl again but I won’t be rushing back until she’s fully operational.
I don’t want to take away the effort that the club and staff have gone to in getting fans into tonight and as soon as we get back to ‘normal,’ I’ll be getting a season ticket and devoting my weekends and much of my hard earned cash to following my team again but, for now, I’ll leave to you guys who will enjoy being back during these times.
Football aside it wasn't an enjoyable experience. Credit to those who made it happen, but I'm in two minds about whether I'll be applying for more tickets.
The atmosphere was as i expected, Similar to the Doncaster match earlier this season, with 2,000 fans split into 3 large stands it is impossible to create any atmosphere, as i warned earlier on this thread anyone thinking that going to a match under the present restrictions is going to be like a normal matchday is in for big let down. Bowyer probably doesn't quite understand what a matchday is for fans, most people in the ground much earlier than normal stone cold sober, sitting in unfamiliar seats, probably surrounded by strangers. Imagine the atmosphere at The Emirates or Spurs stadiums later this week, 2,000 fans in 60,000 stadiums. Normally after match i would being having a few pints a chat with mates go home & the match would be forgotten, instead i'm sitting at home dreading the next home game with the same restrictions.
No qualms with the arrangements carried out, but my word it was a largely unenjoyable experience.
The whole thing was muted. There’s no buzz around the streets with so few people about. Sitting in the East, the music before the game was turned down to a very low level, there was no real build up, the teams kind of just walked out with the RRR not really being heard until the very end bit. Everything before the teams coming out had that feel of how the cinema is with a few ads / light music before it starts playing the previews.
It is completely impossible to get any form of atmosphere spread out like that when wearing a mask. If Bowyer and the club want an atmosphere, there going to have to start turning a big blind eye to guidelines.
Was amazed round the stand and walking to and back from the car just how many 65/70+ fans there were in attendance. No digging out at that, but that will also be a factor as why there was little atmosphere. Of those 4,800 ST holders, seemed to be very few in their teens / 20s as an observation.
all in all, it felt like when the youth team get a decent FA Youth Cup draw and it gets played at The Valley and you get about a thousand in the West Stand for it. People there but no atmosphere. Sitting 4 seats away from your kid was also pretty crap.
If performances like tonight go along with the overall experience. I think they'll struggle to fill the 2,000 places if this goes on for a while.
I’ll certainly think long and hard about going again under those restrictions. Not having a dig at the club because they did really well but it’s an unpleasant experience overall.
Where is everyone sitting then? I'm 4 seats away from my actual season ticket. Lots of people round me meeting up with others, chatting, seen a few hugs handed out and quite a lot of uncovered faces too. 90% abiding by the rules though
You are allowed to remove your mask after you have sat down.
No you weren't. Although a lifer sat near me had his mask under (not covering) his nose all game.
I might be one of the few who enjoyed being back. Yes the football was terrible, but there have been times this year I wondered if I would ever see a game there again so it was a huge lift to go down the Valley for the (yeah I know it was chite) footie.
Where is everyone sitting then? I'm 4 seats away from my actual season ticket. Lots of people round me meeting up with others, chatting, seen a few hugs handed out and quite a lot of uncovered faces too. 90% abiding by the rules though
You are allowed to remove your mask after you have sat down.
No you weren't. Although a lifer sat near me had his mask under (not covering) his nose all game.
I'd asked a steward whether you were allowed masks off when in your seats, and he'd said yes. We then realised this was wrong at half time and promptly masked up. Don't think Seth or I were the Lifer in question though - we were all on our own in East Stand Block B as our tickets were bizarrely for a disabled bay! (Glitch in the computer system.)
As for the experience... you know what, I love being at The Valley regardless. It is a place of spiritual importance to me. It is a home that fans fought so hard for and as has been touched on elsewhere and on Twitter, there was a fan there tonight who wanted to get to a game despite (I think?) their cancer diagnosis. It's a very important place - and for that, I was delighted to be there.
The experience was pretty good in terms of going in and being told where to sit, in terms of Covid compliance. We had to follow the arrows and ensure we were masked when moving around etc. But the atmosphere was very flat as we all know. You're in an unfamiliar place; around unfamiliar people; masked and muffled in the cold; with only 2,000 fans in, and the quality of football on display hardly helped matters.
I was also a bit miffed at the end, where the tannoy announcement was "people in the East Stand, if you want to leave via Lansdowne Mews [Sam Bartram turnstiles], you can", and everyone basically got up and left. That was the extent of the "phased" exit - social distancing wasn't really adhered to at this point. But, I suppose this would always have been a logistical nightmare comparable to (sort of) Millwall holding us back after full time at The Den or whatever.
Overall though... it's Charlton. I got to see my team play football and didn't at any point feel particularly unsafe in doing so. Good work from all the staff who made this happen.
Enjoyed being back at the ground, but feel like more pleasure would've been derived from doing a stadium tour or something than watching a game. Clearly a lot of trouble has been gone to to facilitate the return of fans which was good, but a lot of those necessities really killed off the buzz of being there in the end. The lack of crowd noise highlighted how poor the speaker system is.
Did make me laugh that as soon as half time whistle blew a lot of people headed out at the same time towards the concourses and a fair few tried to leave early, can't really blame them for that.
Trying to bear in mind the words of TK that more and more amenities will be added the more games that are played with fans in attendance, early days yet for the fan experience I guess
I have to agree with the majority of the comments. It was a wretched evening from start to finish. Especially if you wear glasses that were constantly and I mean constantly misted up. I couldn't see very well and I couldn't breathe very well, as I was trying to breathe shallowly to stop the misting up.
30 mins in the supermarket is not pleasant, but 4 hours sitting in the freezing cold, with a mask on socially distanced from everyone, with some not wearing masks correctly, whilst you are doing the right thing & paying the price is hellish.
Try singing with a mask on. Do me a favour, you can get out a line or two before you start swallowing the mask.
To cap it all I tried to leave the Cupboard End a couple of minutes before the end (no one else was leaving so it wouldn't have been an issue re distancing) and was refused. Ok rules are rules. We then had to sit there with no one being allowed to exit, until every last person had left not our stand but the East Stand, which is well OTT. I presume some of the East Stand were half way home, when we were allowed to exit a deserted stadium, into deserted streets.
I'll probably feel happier tomorrow, but right now I'm praying I'm not successful in most of the ballots. Let's hope Kent make Tier 2 quickly.
The club did everything correctly, sticking to the rules, so a very well done to them, but It was a thoroughly unpleasant experience, especially if you wear glasses.
It's always hard to separate out the overall experience from the game itself - maybe if we'd won 4-0 we'd all be buzzing and desperate to return next week - but it was pretty grim. It didn't help that the first game was a midweek one on a chilly, drizzly evening of the sort which dampens your spirits anyway. And 2000 fans in The Valley is a tiny number anyway, not helped by the lack of any away fans. It was really weird when MKD scored and other than some shouts from their bench, there was literally silence.
It clearly cost the club a fortune, the number of stewards working tonight. With 2000 fans in, I do feel that things were perhaps overcautious, it was really weird that the East Stand concourse had to be kept empty, despite being over air and easily large enough to cope with the numbers there, and the painted lanes by the end wall seemed pointless when all the kiosks were closed anyway. I understand the need for an early arrival to stagger entry, but even then that seemed over cautious for the numbers there judging by how quickly I got in and the numbers in before me.
I have tweeted the club to comment on the pathetic tannoy in the East Stand as that's a safety issue, if we can't hear the specific safety instructions that's not good
I have to agree with the majority of the comments. It was a wretched evening from start to finish. Especially if you wear glasses that were constantly and I mean constantly misted up. I couldn't see very well and I couldn't breathe very well, as I was trying to breathe shallowly to stop the misting up.
30 mins in the supermarket is not pleasant, but 4 hours sitting in the freezing cold, with a mask on socially distanced from everyone, with some not wearing masks correctly, whilst you are doing the right thing & paying the price is hellish.
Try singing with a mask on. Do me a favour, you can get out a line or two before you start swallowing the mask.
To cap it all I tried to leave the Cupboard End a couple of minutes before the end (no one else was leaving so it wouldn't have been an issue re distancing) and was refused. Ok rules are rules. We then had to sit there with no one being allowed to exit, until every last person had left not our stand but the East Stand, which is well OTT. I presume some of the East Stand were half way home, when we were allowed to exit a deserted stadium, into deserted streets.
I'll probably feel happier tomorrow, but right now I'm praying I'm not successful in most of the ballots. Let's hope Kent make Tier 2 quickly.
The club did everything correctly, sticking to the rules, so a very well done to them, but It was a thoroughly unpleasant experience, especially if you wear glasses.
I agree 100%, 50 odd years of supporting Charlton, that was the most depressing experience of attending a match in my life, i'm not sure what the point of letting fans back in these circumstances is, surely nobody can be benefitting, the club financially or the fans enduring the restrictions. We could have won 6-0, i would still be saying the same thing, maybe if the pubs were open as normal i might have a different view. Maybe in a much smaller stadium it would be a lot better, Luton, QPR etc.
Having read the post match views on here & bearing in mind Bowyers comments I don't think I'd want to attend at the moment even if I could. Certainly not an evening game. Boxing Day might be a good one to attend but apart from that The Government, The EFL and Bowyer can all stick it up their arse.
It certainly wasn't the ideal game to reopen the doors, early December on a Wednesday night at extremely short notice and the staff in the ticket office have been an absolute credit to the Club for the way have gone so far over and above since the announcement was made that fans could attend. I sincerely hope that their efforts are recognised, rewarded and appreciated, no doubt many of lessons will have been learnt and I for the first time in God knows how long feel these will be addressed in a positive manner. It was quite apparent it was going to be a surreal experience but from a personal perspective having been working at home for the best part of 9 months the mere opportunity to get out of the 4 walls for something other than going for a walk, to the shops was a Godsend in itself. The first reality check came bumping into pals along Floyd Road and Harvey Gardens where it would have been nice to have had a proper catch up, especially as it was the best part of 2 hours before kick off, ample time for a chat and a couple of pints. Instead, time to tow the line, get in the queue to have the temperature taken behind the now omnipresent mask. Having had streaming problems watching at home for a couple of games since lockdowns happened, I had similar steaming problems with my glasses (admittedly leaving my aid to breathing mask indoors didn't help) but a murky old night normally causes that, mask or not, however it did become progressively more irritating as the night wore on. Once inside, the buzz of being back at The Valley had me taking pictures, sharing them, as was the case with many others but once this was done, you were kind of stuck. Fair play again, keeping the screen rolling with the quiz and highlights proved to be a bit of a distraction to make the time go quicker, but human nature alone makes you want to fidget a bit, especially when you see a mate you want to say hello to, but realise leaping across a couple of rows to do so is a non starter. I genuinely think that it was a bit flat was not just due to the weather, the masks and the lack of social interaction that normally comes with a home game (and I reckon the phrase I could murder a pint was muttered by over 50 per cent of those inside the ground), but more that there was a huge element of apprehension as to what to expect, parents keeping their eyes on their children and consequently everything was subdued by default. It was never going to be the Doncaster semi, but it did feel a bit flat, primarily in this opinion due to the fact that no one knew what to expect and were out of our comfort zone. I guess we have to have the softly, softly approach during these unprecedented times and if we want to get back to "normal" then this is the rough before the smooth and hopefully things can progress. Full circle, various circumstances led to it being a pretty rough night but we can only learn and move forward - everything has to start somewhere and again due credit to the club, all protocols carried out in a relaxed manner and the monumental effort by the ticket office remains remarkable. So I'll stick my name in the hat again (although I make no secret of the fact that I would go anywhere and do anything to see us in action) for any game I get the chance to go to, not just from a selfish perspective but also a supportive one for the efforts being made to get us back into The Valley. Right, Where's the thread about the abysmal performance tonight? LLLABH 😊
Nothing of the experience surprised me so I just loved the fact we were back. It's the longest for most of us not being at the place since the exile (if you couldn't get a ticket for Doncaster) and for me that fact alone got me through along with being out with my 2 boys.
The club have to be given credited for getting it open and i hope the staff involved in that are recognised.
The stuff that needs to be improved is the East Stand tannoy, it needs to be perfect to get across the announcements in normal.circumstances, last night when it needs to be even better it was really poor.
This might sound a bit controversial but does anyone really get anything out of that Valley experience? I fully acknowledge we were poor tonight but, regardless of the team being rubbish, the sitting miles apart, wearing masks, being herded around, not having access to alcohol (this point is very important) and the game being soundtracked by pathetic attempts at singing and the shouts of idiots whose voices are normally drowned out by the masses isn’t for me.
I don’t have a season ticket this season and had no intention of going tonight but managed to scrape the last few dregs this morning as I don’t expect to get back to the ground for some time. It was nice to see the old girl again but I won’t be rushing back until she’s fully operational.
I don’t want to take away the effort that the club and staff have gone to in getting fans into tonight and as soon as we get back to ‘normal,’ I’ll be getting a season ticket and devoting my weekends and much of my hard earned cash to following my team again but, for now, I’ll leave to you guys who will enjoy being back during these times.
Football aside it wasn't an enjoyable experience. Credit to those who made it happen, but I'm in two minds about whether I'll be applying for more tickets.
this - genuinely don't think I'll rush back until it's at least a bit more normal, no beer/fun - literally just sitting there freezing my nuts off watching them warm up
I have to say I'm very disappointed with Bowyer's comments. As mentioned on here, we're lucky Ben Amos turned up otherwise it could have been 5.0. The performance was shocking from start to finish, then again I thought MK played really well. I feel lucky to have gone of course, but overall not a great experience
As others have said, it was brilliant being able to get out of a 'working from home' environment, where your house has begun to feel like the 'office' 24/7, and go somewhere with a purpose more than just to shop/exercise.
Sitting around for so long with no refreshment and little entertainment (quiz was a nice idea, but I'd seen all the goal clips before) surrounded by a few vaguely familiar faces but miles from your usual group literally drained any enthusiasm for the game out of me
Hopefully someone is feeding back to Bows: 1. It's really f'in difficult to sing with a mask on - maybe he should run a training session whilst shouting through a mask for some perspective! 2. Singing group was (naturally) dispersed 3. It was weird and we need time to 'gel' as a supporters team if that is going to be the norm for this season 4. If the team shows some desire on the pitch then it might help
For the club - can we open the kiosks and get a drummer in?
Did I enjoy it? Not really, even if we'd won Would I go again? Course I would!
Comments
I'd question the intelligence of anyone who thought that this evening was going to be a rocking stadium.
Bowyer probably doesn't quite understand what a matchday is for fans, most people in the ground much earlier than normal stone cold sober, sitting in unfamiliar seats, probably surrounded by strangers.
Imagine the atmosphere at The Emirates or Spurs stadiums later this week, 2,000 fans in 60,000 stadiums.
Normally after match i would being having a few pints a chat with mates go home & the match would be forgotten, instead i'm sitting at home dreading the next home game with the same restrictions.
The whole thing was muted. There’s no buzz around the streets with so few people about. Sitting in the East, the music before the game was turned down to a very low level, there was no real build up, the teams kind of just walked out with the RRR not really being heard until the very end bit. Everything before the teams coming out had that feel of how the cinema is with a few ads / light music before it starts playing the previews.
It is completely impossible to get any form of atmosphere spread out like that when wearing a mask. If Bowyer and the club want an atmosphere, there going to have to start turning a big blind eye to guidelines.
Was amazed round the stand and walking to and back from the car just how many 65/70+ fans there were in attendance. No digging out at that, but that will also be a factor as why there was little atmosphere. Of those 4,800 ST holders, seemed to be very few in their teens / 20s as an observation.
all in all, it felt like when the youth team get a decent FA Youth Cup draw and it gets played at The Valley and you get about a thousand in the West Stand for it. People there but no atmosphere. Sitting 4 seats away from your kid was also pretty crap.
If performances like tonight go along with the overall experience. I think they'll struggle to fill the 2,000 places if this goes on for a while.
Although a lifer sat near me had his mask under (not covering) his nose all game.
Yes the football was terrible, but there have been times this year I wondered if I would ever see a game there again so it was a huge lift to go down the Valley for the (yeah I know it was chite) footie.
As for the experience... you know what, I love being at The Valley regardless. It is a place of spiritual importance to me. It is a home that fans fought so hard for and as has been touched on elsewhere and on Twitter, there was a fan there tonight who wanted to get to a game despite (I think?) their cancer diagnosis. It's a very important place - and for that, I was delighted to be there.
The experience was pretty good in terms of going in and being told where to sit, in terms of Covid compliance. We had to follow the arrows and ensure we were masked when moving around etc. But the atmosphere was very flat as we all know. You're in an unfamiliar place; around unfamiliar people; masked and muffled in the cold; with only 2,000 fans in, and the quality of football on display hardly helped matters.
I was also a bit miffed at the end, where the tannoy announcement was "people in the East Stand, if you want to leave via Lansdowne Mews [Sam Bartram turnstiles], you can", and everyone basically got up and left. That was the extent of the "phased" exit - social distancing wasn't really adhered to at this point. But, I suppose this would always have been a logistical nightmare comparable to (sort of) Millwall holding us back after full time at The Den or whatever.
Overall though... it's Charlton. I got to see my team play football and didn't at any point feel particularly unsafe in doing so. Good work from all the staff who made this happen.
Did make me laugh that as soon as half time whistle blew a lot of people headed out at the same time towards the concourses and a fair few tried to leave early, can't really blame them for that.
Trying to bear in mind the words of TK that more and more amenities will be added the more games that are played with fans in attendance, early days yet for the fan experience I guess
It was a wretched evening from start to finish.
Especially if you wear glasses that were constantly and I mean constantly misted up.
I couldn't see very well and I couldn't breathe very well, as I was trying to breathe shallowly to stop the misting up.
30 mins in the supermarket is not pleasant, but 4 hours sitting in the freezing cold, with a mask on socially distanced from everyone, with some not wearing masks correctly, whilst you are doing the right thing & paying the price is hellish.
Try singing with a mask on. Do me a favour, you can get out a line or two before you start swallowing the mask.
To cap it all I tried to leave the Cupboard End a couple of minutes before the end (no one else was leaving so it wouldn't have been an issue re distancing) and was refused. Ok rules are rules.
We then had to sit there with no one being allowed to exit, until every last person had left not our stand but the East Stand, which is well OTT.
I presume some of the East Stand were half way home, when we were allowed to exit a deserted stadium, into deserted streets.
I'll probably feel happier tomorrow, but right now I'm praying I'm not successful in most of the ballots.
Let's hope Kent make Tier 2 quickly.
The club did everything correctly, sticking to the rules, so a very well done to them, but It was a thoroughly unpleasant experience, especially if you wear glasses.
It clearly cost the club a fortune, the number of stewards working tonight. With 2000 fans in, I do feel that things were perhaps overcautious, it was really weird that the East Stand concourse had to be kept empty, despite being over air and easily large enough to cope with the numbers there, and the painted lanes by the end wall seemed pointless when all the kiosks were closed anyway. I understand the need for an early arrival to stagger entry, but even then that seemed over cautious for the numbers there judging by how quickly I got in and the numbers in before me.
I have tweeted the club to comment on the pathetic tannoy in the East Stand as that's a safety issue, if we can't hear the specific safety instructions that's not good
We could have won 6-0, i would still be saying the same thing, maybe if the pubs were open as normal i might have a different view.
Maybe in a much smaller stadium it would be a lot better, Luton, QPR etc.
It was quite apparent it was going to be a surreal experience but from a personal perspective having been working at home for the best part of 9 months the mere opportunity to get out of the 4 walls for something other than going for a walk, to the shops was a Godsend in itself.
The first reality check came bumping into pals along Floyd Road and Harvey Gardens where it would have been nice to have had a proper catch up, especially as it was the best part of 2 hours before kick off, ample time for a chat and a couple of pints. Instead, time to tow the line, get in the queue to have the temperature taken behind the now omnipresent mask. Having had streaming problems watching at home for a couple of games since lockdowns happened, I had similar steaming problems with my glasses (admittedly leaving my aid to breathing mask indoors didn't help) but a murky old night normally causes that, mask or not, however it did become progressively more irritating as the night wore on.
Once inside, the buzz of being back at The Valley had me taking pictures, sharing them, as was the case with many others but once this was done, you were kind of stuck. Fair play again, keeping the screen rolling with the quiz and highlights proved to be a bit of a distraction to make the time go quicker, but human nature alone makes you want to fidget a bit, especially when you see a mate you want to say hello to, but realise leaping across a couple of rows to do so is a non starter.
I genuinely think that it was a bit flat was not just due to the weather, the masks and the lack of social interaction that normally comes with a home game (and I reckon the phrase I could murder a pint was muttered by over 50 per cent of those inside the ground), but more that there was a huge element of apprehension as to what to expect, parents keeping their eyes on their children and consequently everything was subdued by default. It was never going to be the Doncaster semi, but it did feel a bit flat, primarily in this opinion due to the fact that no one knew what to expect and were out of our comfort zone. I guess we have to have the softly, softly approach during these unprecedented times and if we want to get back to "normal" then this is the rough before the smooth and hopefully things can progress. Full circle, various circumstances led to it being a pretty rough night but we can only learn and move forward - everything has to start somewhere and again due credit to the club, all protocols carried out in a relaxed manner and the monumental effort by the ticket office remains remarkable. So I'll stick my name in the hat again (although I make no secret of the fact that I would go anywhere and do anything to see us in action) for any game I get the chance to go to, not just from a selfish perspective but also a supportive one for the efforts being made to get us back into The Valley.
Right, Where's the thread about the abysmal performance tonight? LLLABH 😊
The club have to be given credited for getting it open and i hope the staff involved in that are recognised.
The stuff that needs to be improved is the East Stand tannoy, it needs to be perfect to get across the announcements in normal.circumstances, last night when it needs to be even better it was really poor.
As others have said, it was brilliant being able to get out of a 'working from home' environment, where your house has begun to feel like the 'office' 24/7, and go somewhere with a purpose more than just to shop/exercise.
Sitting around for so long with no refreshment and little entertainment (quiz was a nice idea, but I'd seen all the goal clips before) surrounded by a few vaguely familiar faces but miles from your usual group literally drained any enthusiasm for the game out of me
Hopefully someone is feeding back to Bows:
1. It's really f'in difficult to sing with a mask on - maybe he should run a training session whilst shouting through a mask for some perspective!
2. Singing group was (naturally) dispersed
3. It was weird and we need time to 'gel' as a supporters team if that is going to be the norm for this season
4. If the team shows some desire on the pitch then it might help
For the club - can we open the kiosks and get a drummer in?
Did I enjoy it? Not really, even if we'd won
Would I go again? Course I would!