Arguably our best team for years and myself feel this team can at least make the play offs but 14k today with 1.2k Exeter (good turnout) have our fans found other things to do on Saturdays after years of garbage? Will it pick up? Personally I can’t see it going above 15k until late April if we are still with a chance
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I believe the damage done to our supporter base over this last 10 years is on a par with the decline we had up to leaving The Valley. We need another fairy tale and I don't think they are that common.
Definitely busier in the AC and Covered End and fantastic away support, more than we took down there I think 👏
A season on in the championship that average went up by over 50%
There’s been talk about low attendance and hopes that bigger crowds will come if we keep up our good form, but I wouldn’t count on it. Even in 2018-19, when we had a strong season, we were barely getting over 12,000 towards the end. The reality is, there’s a ceiling on how many people want to watch League One football—whether it’s Charlton or anyone else.
Years of League One mediocrity have led many potential fans to drift away, and the increasing availability of streaming options this season is only making things worse. A bit of mid-season momentum isn’t going to suddenly bring those lapsed supporters back.
Streaming and general League One fatigue weren’t as much of a factor in 2018-19 (only our third season at this level), yet even then, crowds remained low despite our success. The truth is, the only way we’ll consistently draw 17,000–20,000+ at The Valley is by being in the Championship.
The club could certainly do more to promote itself locally, but the harsh reality is that many football fans simply don’t care about anything outside the Premier League’s top five. For those of us who are passionate enough to support a struggling London club and engage in discussions like these, that might seem strange. But it’s the reality.
I live in Woolwich, and I rarely see Charlton shirts or hats. Many locals weren’t born here, and for those who do follow football, League One doesn’t even register. Most have already pledged allegiance to Man United or Chelsea—some might not even realize they have a club right on their doorstep. That could change if we ever made it back to the Premier League, but for now, it’s a tough sell.
We have 8,000 season ticket holders
1200 in the away end
That’s about as accurate as it gets on this afternoon’s fixture
So are we seriously saying that just under 6,000 people walked up to the turnstiles this afternoon via buying online in advance or on the day and paid to watch League one football at an adult price of £25 minimum
Or are the figures being massaged to impress the owners
I thought it was a decent crowd today, it definitely felt busier than normal. And there was a massive queue outside the club shop after the game.
This lot might not be the best team in the league, but they are doing all of the above, really have something about them, and if we could scrape a play-off place then who knows?
At any rate, that's why more people are buying tickets. Long may it all continue, tho I agree with Croydon's comment - North Upper atmosphere was very flat/lethargic.
I do my best to go to the away games nearby - but even then it's been a toss up. Having bought a ticket for Northampton away in December, I very nearly couldn't be bothered to go right up until 1pm because the quality of football up until that point had been dire. Thankfully I changed my mind last minute, and now the dilemma is trying to work out what expenses to cut down on so that I get to as many games at The Valley as I can.
There must be hundreds of other families in the same boat - and it becomes more justifiable the better we play. Before this season, bringing the kids to a match must have been like punishment to them; now there is a real sense of pride they have in their team.
I was there yesterday and commented on the fact that there were more in the ground recently, but I take your point re it didn’t look 55% full, but as I inferred above, that could be missing season ticket holders and your point re concessions if they issued an awful lot.
I agree with most of what's been said above about the long term run down of the club. Hopefully the better football and winning ways will encourage a few back. But the damaging malaise has been too long and too deep to expect a complete turnaround on the basis of a good couple of months.
One thing that I think could hold us back next season, even if we get promoted, is the difficulty getting parked. Yesterday on the industrial estate it was worse than ever. It seems to me that that whole area has been allowed to get more and more run down, presumably in the expectation that the scummier it is, the less opposition there'll be to demolishing it all and covering the whole area in flats. There are cars parked all over the pavement (many of which look like they've been dumped by a breakers yard) and thick mud in the streets. It's harder than ever to find a space and a really unpleasant and potentially dangerous walk to the ground once you've got one. Perhaps this is an issue that could be raised by our Fans Champions.
https://www.royalgreenwich.gov.uk/info/200200/regeneration/1822/charlton_riverside_regeneration