It took me only 45 minutes to get home, which is pretty quick for those of you readers not accustomed to London travel after major events! The pub was packed full, with both set of supporters mixing without any trouble. 6. By the time I got to the station, the few home fans still about seemed to be cheerful enough, despite some quite noisy ragging by Town fans waiting for trains into London. The Valley Seating Plan Below is a seating plan of Charlton Athletic's The Valley: Stand Photos The Valley is comprised of the following four sections: North, East, The Jimmy Seed Stand (South) and The West Stand. Interestingly, the large pitchside TV screen showed a classic Charlton game against Liverpool as part of the build-up, a nice idea to celebrate the club's Premiership history. If you dont want the hassle, the simplest travel option is to take a train from London Bridge going towards Woolwich. Greenwich itself has quite a few hotels, too. We did though have a look at the Thames Barrier before heading to the game. They are in an uncovered area with little space around them. Het e-mailadres wordt niet gepubliceerd. With King Billy back in charge at the City Ground it seemed only right to attend his first away game back and it had the potential to turn into an absolute great day. There was a short wait while the crowd dispersed and we were soon on our way. The rest of the Valley is very impressive, particularly the large two-tiered home end and Main Stand. No problems. The Valley is the 27,111 capacity home ground of Championship side Charlton Athletic Football Club. Whether youre hoping to hold a conference in the clubs vast North Stand, with the executive boxes offering the ideal location for breakout meetings, or youre hoping to host a more intimate gathering in one of the smaller suites, Charlton Athletic have got you covered for events in South East London. The outside of the North Stand is a mixture of yellow brick with red cladding and exposed steel struts on the upper sections of the roof. To Basket 2-2. At the bottom of the slip road turn right at the traffic lights towards Woolwich/Charlton. The home fans made some noise in the second half which was good. Almost a forgotten team in London, especially since they have been out of the Premier League since 2007, Charlton is nonetheless a fun day out: an easily reached, family-friendly club in a part of London that might surprise you with its visitor options. Charlton started the game quite brightly but Posh began to dominate possession and looked dangerous in the final third and deservedly took the lead on 21 minutes when Ryan Tafazolli headed home a Paul Taylor free kick. We didn't go to a pub beforehand because the only one we saw was the Antigallican which looked really busy. Why were you looking forward to this game and visiting the Valley? My first visit to Charlton so looking forward to visiting and looking to carry on our 100% record away from home. To be fair she was very apologetic and personally escorted us to the correct ones. Old fashioned ground. The ticket office's instructions on selling disability tickets are shown below. A cracking game end to end football, how football should be. Row M. Living in South East London, and with no Millwall fixture this season, this is the nearest away game to me, The Valley is one of my favourite grounds, partly because they are team of my father, uncle and many of my cousins. First constructed back in 1919, three of the four stands were built over a seven year period from 1994-2001 with numerous renovations occurring throughout the stadiums history. The Charlton Fans' Action group were handing out free teamsheets and were very friendly and keen to explain their grievances. Charlton is located in South East London, right next door to Greenwich. It was a very welcome surprise, and gave me a nice mid half sugar rush, but the usual range on confectionery and fizzy drinks are available to you throughout the game, served by very cheery people in bright Charlton red t shirts. The Valley has changed a lot in 35 years! I really enjoyed my visit to the Valley and I would not hesitate in going back in the future. The matchday atmosphere was very good, the PA system was excellent and really added to things. Plus the valley was a new ground for me to visit. Planned maintenance on the rail line to Charlton made the journey slightly more tedious. No further than 10 minutes west in the direction of Asda along the A206 is the Rose of Denmark and The Pickwick which are decent backups if the Antigallican is too full, as is often the case on matchdays. The Valley is a three sided modern looking stadium with an away end which resembled old fashioned terracing but with seats. Charlton rarely sell out. Chesterfield were much more up for the game now and pressed forward encouragingly. Charlton Athletic FC vs Norwich City Brilliant seat, on the aisle, covered, would sit here every week. I think this was the only football match I've ever been to where the programme cost the same as a match ticket! Related. Both sides were equally poor and showed with the appalling finishing why where both in the lower half of the table. I loves my away days in London and this was no different. Toilets were in what looked like a converted mobile home and couldn't get near the small refreshment kiosk. I couldn't initially make up my mind whether to go to the previous week's FA Cup match or not but decided on the league match for my first visit to The Valley. Under 18s 10 (10) The home fans and stewards were very friendly. Stewards were friendly and, one thing I did notice was that there was a large Police presence for a game where there wasn't a rivalry of any sort and there were only about 5,000 people in attendance. The North Stand is also a decent sized two-tiered structure, an extension having been completed halfway through the 2001/02 season when Charlton were establishing themselves in the Premiership. Many of them observed though with a hint of resignation in their tone that the manager would be the one to carry the can, which within a week was indeed the case. Fast forward through the years and Charlton were making developments to their ground. Arrived at 1.10 pm The Valley stadium only a 5 minute walk from the railway station. After the war had ended, the club moved into the Valley. You can also get the Docklands Light Railway from central London to nearby Greenwich and Lewisham, from where you can get a connecting train. A nice touch by the bar staff was putting some Leeds songs on over their music system to as well! After the game both sets of fans mingled without any incident. The wait is never long as there are regular trains back into central London. Even the seemingly inadequate portaloos coped. Likewise, having all the fans filter in and out of one entrance meant a very snug pile up at half and full time. Its hard to believe given that Charlton still play their games at the Valley but four years after opening, it looked like Charlton would be changing stadiums. Having originally intended to attend a Championship game that those helpful folk at Sky switched to a Monday night I had to settle for this east London derby and I had one of the best days out for ages. As expected out new manager was announced in the hours leading up to the game and will have been very happy to see us win 1-0. Went almost straight in the ground since we arrived only a half hour before kick off. Press and media . We live in North London so very easy by Tube. Below is a seating plan of Wigan Athletic's DW Stadium: Stand Photos Wigan's ground is comprised of the following four sections: North, The Boston Stand (East), South and The Springfield Main Stand (West). And so, the final whistle blew on a match that more than exceeded my expectations, and I bade my friend farewell as I headed for the station to jump the next coast-bound train. This service was very busy with supporters but well organised at the station. As the train station was quite close to the ground we chose to have a drink in the Antigalican pub which welcomes away fans. I was looking forward to hearing Into The Valley before kick-off so it was a disappointment to get The Red Red Robin instead. By the time they scored from their first corner after about 30 mins wed already had 5 corners! I arranged to meet my friend, who was arriving from North London, at London Bridge Station just over an hour before kick-off. The match was part of a special Football for a Fiver offer organised by Charlton, similar to the match against Wigan last season and Stevenage in LeagueOne three years ago. Easy. By taking this route you don't get to see any of the outside of the rest of the ground as its hidden behind shops & houses. Hopefully next time we visit the home support will be stronger in numbers and more vocal as a result of Charlton resolving their off the field issues. In 1923, Charlton moved shortly away to The Mount at Catford, but after a proposed merger fell through, moved back to The Valley. As long as you eat fried food you will never starve in London! Charlton scored a tap in early in the second half to make it 2-0. Comment on getting away from the ground after the game: The old East stand was a huge terrace, and looking at the banking behind the new stand, it's still easy to visualise how big this stand must have been. By train. How Can I Buy Charlton Athletic Tickets? A few minutes later the referee blew the final whistle and all three points were in the Reds bag. The stadium was built with the help of their fans, though initially only consisted of a pitch and large earth banks, giving it the appearance of a valley. In the cup game, however, the stand to our right and the upper tiers were all closed. Charlton fans are currently protesting at the way in which their club is run, so they either stayed away [shame] or held up "We are the 2%" cards in the second minute. It looks quite impressive although it was fairly sparsely filled by home fans. There was no sense in the area that a former Premiership football ground in the neighbourhood; no adverts of Charlton players modelling watches or cars on the bill boards. Overall I very much enjoyed my visit to the Valley and would certainly go again. It was just along from the away entrance. It is a fantastically old-style single tier and is separate from the other stands. At least the second trip had more Baggies on the train. On route to the stadium there is an abundance of takeaway and fast food options located on Charlton Church Lane. If you are coming up the Woolwich Road from the the Blackwall Tunnel, then as you go past the ground, the industrial estates are on the left hand side. Considering the size of the Valley, as a first time visitor you'd be forgiven for not knowing there was a ground nearby, as it's very much nestled within the nearby houses. Our aim was to find the designated away pub, which we didnt manage to do, unfortunately. Q:Where are your home wheelchair bays situated? An important point to bear in mind for those people travelling towards Central London from Charlton Station after the match the station entrance is in a nearby street called Delafield Road. Another benefit of where we were seated, is that a few rows behind us, there is a gigantic pillar, right behind the goal. Barnsley sold about 1500 tickets for an away end that holds 3000. Charlton looked slick and passed and moved the ball very well and comfortably; no long booting unlike us. Total number of accessible parking spaces available for disabled supporters. We followed the crowds, and ended up at Sainsburys (sorry!) The well-stocked but slightly cramped club shop is also in this area. The pre-match was good and as they were doing tickets for a fiver, the attendance was good. Last time the game was postponed due to weather. Yes, we had equalised! I caught the 6.15am Megabus from Cardiff to London Victoria. Stewards very good. The Valley officially opened in 1919 and is home to Charlton Athletic. New ground for me, it's a long time since I last went to Charlton away, especially as on previous visits they played at Selhurst Park! section. Tony Watt was the man who scored this time after being set up by Igor Vetokele. Located in nearby Greenwich, this branch of the Holiday Inn chain promises a restaurant, a bar, self-parking and a free hot/cold buffet breakfast. Hopefully the may continue with the 5 tickets a few times in the season as it proved to be a success with over 14,000 in attendance. Charlton looked like a side that had lost all confidence and even when they enjoyed little spells of possession, their forwards never looked like they had the belief that they could score. Under 21s - 16.00. When I tried to explain my situation to the platform staff, the reaction was a mixture of frustration, embarrassment and distain. 20 May 2023 Sat 13:00 More Info. It's quite a steep stand, so fans feel close to the pitch. An early start (6am) due to a lunchtime kick off, and part of the M4 was closed (we were travelling from South Wales), so the journey wasn't as easy as hoped. They followed up this great start with a brilliantly taken free-kick on 34 minutes, scored by Berg Gudmundsson from 25 yards. The outside concourse and bar arent adequate for a sold-out away end it made getting a pint or getting to the toilets very hard work. From Delafield Road briefly turn right onto Charlton Church Lane follow by a sharp left to Floyd Road. Argyle had sold a total of 3,000 tickets for the game so a great following from the green army! Your Charlton Athletic Tickets are secured for you. Capacity: 27,111 (All-Seater) A football ground that slips under the radar given the other quality stadiums that London has to offer. Watching football is a very expensive business, and it is an ambition that cannot be done every week but it is fun and relaxing entering into the life of fellow football fans, without the stress of shouting at your team. Proceed on the A102 towards the Blackwall Tunnel. The Jubilee Line, which is on the London Underground system, is also a medium length walk or a short bus ride away. 104. seat. Stewards were great, helpful and happy to chat away about the game and the league in general. X Upload Photos. What you thought on seeing the ground, first impressions of away end then other sides of the Valley? I have not been to the Valley for over 15 years so I looked forward to coming back again since it was always a good day out. The story of how the supporters got involved in local politics, gaining some 15,000 votes in local elections to force through the processes needed to get the club back to the Valley is one of the greatest untold stories in English soccer, and Im always mindful of that when I enter this stadium ; a good stadium too that wouldnt exist otherwise. As usual, I was quite comfortable to engage Charlton fans in discussion, and I noted that none of them blamed the manager for the teams decline, but instead the owners for their perceived paucity with the purse strings. I was very impressed upon entering the Valley ground, it's definitely up there with the nicest grounds in League One. The Angerstein Hotel is located on Woolwich Road around a 15 minute walk away from Charlton railway Station and the Valley Football Ground, or only a few minutes by bus. It was also former MK Dons manager Karl Robinson's first game in charge of The Addicks, just a day after we had appointed boss Robbie Neilson. Comment on the game itself, atmosphere, stewards, pies, facilities etc.. As previously said, the facilities were very basic but they were good enough. 1 Eastern Gateway, Royal Victoria Dock, London, E16 1FR. Barnsley had made a really good start to the season, so I was hopeful of a result. Colin Gilham informs me; Come out Charlton station into Charlton Church lane (all exits lead onto this road). In addition, there is only one way in/out so if youre sitting on the right side of the stand youre at the back of the queue when leaving. The rest of the first half was fairly even. If anything I'd say it's a very bland club that needs a bit of passion pumped into it. The passage is actually quite wide, and not dangerous as hundreds of fans were walking in the same direction as me. Another tip is buy your match programme when you see them before you go through the turnstiles as strangly they don't sell them inside the ground. From here you can see the ground is a lot tighter than it seems with the stands nice and close to the action. Seniors (65 and over) - 16.00. Charlton had to endure a seven-year exile away from The Valley between 1985 and 1992 and since its return the ground has been expanded on multiple occasions. We were supposed to occupy our allocated seats and a few futile half-hearted pleas over the PA for everyone to sit down were ignored. The concourse was spacious with agood arrangement of refreshments and whilst not cheap, it was no more then you would expect to pay in London. Ultimately the ground can be increased to about 40,600, though no developments are likely unless Charlton can establish themselves as a regular Premier League team. Includes the latest news stories, results, fixtures, video and audio. It was an even first half, although Shrewsbury missed a penalty. which we could. On this day - 21 Feb 2004: Friedel scores in five-goal thriller, Goal of the day: Bartlett's wonderful volley, Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Standard. By Football Tripper Last Updated: September 9, 2021. 296 Woolwich Road, Charlton, London, SE7 7AL (020 8473 0038) This place is for home supporters only after the match, but it welcomes both sets of fans before kick-off. We went to a chippy just outside the ground which had very reasonably priced food. Fill in your preferred Delivery method of your. Getting home took forever as the Blackwall Tunnel was very busy. Judging by the smell on the train, I don't think everyone was wearing deodorant either . system that played some great music before the game commenced which rocked around the stadium. First built in 1919, it was the home of Charlton Athletic Football Club from its opening until 1985, when the club fell into administration and changed ownership. Not a bad away day despite the result. He headed up Floyd Road to Charlton Station, but I did a bit of prior research and walked up a pedestrian passage called Ransom Walk, under a small arch. The game itself was a bore finishing 0-0. Take any bus heading towards Woolwich and get off after a few minutes journey, once you have gone under the flyover. Charlton's support was vocal and they seem a good bunch of supporters, who sadly have been through a lot in the past decade. We had a fantastic view of most of the pitch, unfortunately, with the Seed stand being a bit shallow our view of the "away" goal was more or less obscured. What you thought on seeing the ground, first impressions of away end then other sides of the ground? Q:How many headsets/receivers does the club provide for supporters? Went straight to ground due to earlier kick off. 115 21 Stockholm. Cafc-Fans (Message Board) The Valley is a strange ground, the home ends seem relatively smart and modern and the away end is the total opposite. Getting away from the Valley after the game: As my friend was heading back to Central London, I went in a different direction to him when leaving the ground. See bus route map (PDF document). Rows with photos. In one corner of the stadium between the Jimmy (South) Seed & East Stands is a large video screen. Again a very heavy Police presence, with officers lining the centre of the road at the point were home and away fans converged. 1 In Stockholm, The Regional Development Strategy is also the more long-term plan for physical development (RUFS 2050). Concessions 19 (17) Take the next left into Floyd Road and then right into Valley Grove for the away section entrance. I did grab a beer at the stand outside our section which was ok and not too astronomically priced but didn't bother on the second trip as it was manically busy. These games always tend to attract bumper crowds at The Valley. In the end the plans were abandoned due to the fact that Speedway racing would be considered a noise nuisance. Overall, we were quite lucky not to lose the game with the chances Charlton had in the second half. Bristol City had sacked their manager a few weeks previously and it was anticipated that they would name Lee Johnson as their new manger before this match. Your email address will not be published. First time to Charlton and another personal first, first time I could just walk to a ground from an airport as its only three miles from London City via the Woolwich Tunnel! Im not one to moan usually, I prefer traditional grounds but the facilities at Charlton were poor. Colin Gilham informs me; There is some street parking to be had around the industrial estates in the area, in Westmoor Street, Eastmoor Street (the very road where the club was apparently formed 100 years ago! I have always liked the Valley; I recall an author by the name of Simon Inglis saying in one of his books that grounds bedecked in red always feel warmer than blue, and although I wouldnt profess to understand the colour psychology behind such a sentiment, on evenings such as this, I thought of his words upon entering the ground. The Valley was a new ground for me and is one of the biggest stadiums in the league. No need to waitchoose your team and match, click, and buy and we will do all the rest. There were two corner infills either side of the North Stand, and I thought the East Stand looked quite neat and imposing, too. Once we were out of the away end getting back to the coach was fairly straight forward. They face very active politically supporters. Exit the M25 at junction 2, towards London (SE & C). The travel was relatively straight forward with the usual delays in London traffic. Away end is ample for most away support and has great acoustics, however, unless on the front few rows you can not see the goal line! They serve food, have good drink options and show live sport on big screens throughout the venue. Then take the first left into Charlton Road (beware that there is a seven feet width restriction along this road). This one was a relative cruise. As much as it pains me to say it, 4.90 for a pint of Fosters in the away end didnt seem too steep all things considered Ive paid more elsewhere. It is served by Charlton railway station, which is less than a five-minute walk away from the stadium. This was ominous and sure enough, Charlton raced into a 2 goal lead. I had enjoyed my previous visits and as a Neutral fan I have a bit of a soft spot for Charlton and their fans, especially when you look back to their well-publicised Back to The Valley campaign in the early 1990s and their 7 year stint in the Premiership in the early 2000s, during which they claimed some notable scalps in punching above their weight and beating teams like Chelsea and Arsenal. At this stage we hadn't seen one home fan! About the match. Photos Schedule & Tickets Hotels Restaurants About. All Light Blue. Row I. Advertisement. There are three main ways to buy ticket for Charlton games. A defeat at the Valley against another struggling team really would indicate that the whole season would be one long battle to survive, and although one dared occasionally to hope for a win, I couldnt really see past us getting a draw at best. Q:How many accessible toilets/facilities are there? A non-stop train that only takes an hour and 23 minutes. Dont know if it down to the size of the travelling support but our coach had to park a fair way from the ground (5-10 mins) and we followed the home fans to the ground. Last tickets. Luckily my memory served me well as even though it was after 2pm there wasn't the usual throng of crowds to latch onto and follow! The away end was very unusually subdued seems as though a bit of frustration at our recent performances is starting to creep in. As a Maidstone fan its a reasonably local ground that I hadnt got round to visiting yet. Q:How many wheelchair bays are available for away supporters? Next up was a longer period, five years, at Pound Park before Angerstein Lane gave them a place to host matches through to the start of WWI. Totally undeserved but I loved it. Visiting fans will be in for a treat when going to the Valley as the three nearest pubs to the station are all more than welcoming, with home fans seemingly capable of mixing with counterparts in this part of London. Fans mixed well before the match. Just input the dates below that you wish to stay and then select from the map the hotel of interest to get more information. Although they gave me mushy peas rather than the beans I had asked for the chips were damn good and neatly filled the hole which had developed since we left Chesterfield early in the morning. He could easily have asked. The area around Maze Hill station is typical inner London suburbia. It needs some TLC just to make it look clean and tidy. It was a bustling pub, with a proud bust of Nelson near the door. This will involve adding a second tier to the East Stand as well as the filling in of the South East corner of the stadium. Calendar . Few changes were made in the following decades, until in the late 1970s a modest new main stand was built and a few years later the new covered Jimmy Seed Stand at the southern end. The North Stand got rebuilt soon after, and then linked up with the West and East Stand. The first time was from 1936 until 1957, then from 1986 to 1990, again for one season from 1998 to 1999 and most recently from 2000 through to 2007. To be fair from then on it was pretty much one way traffic. As it was a nice day weather-wise, I took the Docklands Light Railway (DLR) from Bank through to Greenwich. EFL League One: 3rd Place | FA Cup: 2nd Round | Carabao Cup: 1st Round | EFL Trophy: Group stage. Gradually, Charlton's pressure relented and Shrewsbury got more involved. The only downside was how long the train took to get to Charlton, which, again, isn't particularly fun standing in the freezing cold. Overall Comments on the day out at the Valley: My friend and I certainly enjoyed the experience. In contrast, the away end was full and raucous, generating considerable noise drowning out the announcer and the noughties rock music. Q:Are home ambulant disabled supporters able to sit anywhere in the stadium? This is Skansen . There was a sizeable Police presence and I didn't see any disorder. There was a Police presence inside the Ground which you don't see often. Nice ground, good view although we were at the top of the away end so couldn't see the bottom of the goal closest to us. Seb was a club institution well known and liked by staff and fans, and his record of 1,076 attendances without missing a game was added along with his name to the Charlton station mural after his passing. We had enough chances to have snatched the 3 points but a glaring miss from an open goal 8 yards out summed the game up! Stewards were friendly, pragmatic and good. Surprise Surprise. I was very pessimistic. A great initiative to boost support, and it certainly captured the imagination of the visiting support, with 1200 Salopians making the away trip. However once we hit East London we got snarled up in traffic. Very friendly home fans. They take in the likes of the dressing rooms, the Director's Box and the dugouts. When I asked one steward if there were any more toilets, due to the massive queue 'I don't know' wasn't the answer that I was hoping for. Train : 40 41. The only trouble I saw was inside the ground on departing when a heated argument between two Leeds fans over some bizarre claim by one that something was Sam Byrams fault, resulted in a bit of pushing & shoving between them. Both sides were also redeveloped in the mid-1990s and anyone who saw the derelict Valley some years back, now wouldnt believe their eyes. You can't walk right around the stadium so if you approach the ground from the north side, walk along the West Stand to get to the away fans entrance. Charlton Athletic have paid tribute to Keith Palmer, the policeman who was killed during Wednesday's terror attack in London. As per the suggestion in the guide itself, once Id linked up with my friend, we pounced into the Antigallican pub for a few beers before the match and found the pub pretty much as the guide describes. Please Sign Up below to be the first to know when tickets are available and on sale. The West Stand is these days the most impressive; a double decker affair that boasts the club crest on the cladding on the roof gable. Argyle got off to the worst possible start. A penalty was slotted away after three minutes, and the home fans had some hope against Watford, who were one of the divisions pace setters. home fans friendly? The stadium set its record attendance of 75,031 spectators during an FA Cup match with Aston Villa in 1938. My daughter was meeting me for the match. The Valley ground is less than five minutes from thestation. 020 8333 4001 Ticket Office: Find Charlton Athletic FC North Stand Suite venue concert and event schedules, venue information, directions, and seating charts.
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