We caught the 5.40pm train and arrived at St Pancras at 6.10pm. The back of the West Stand has sets of access steps on the outside which lead up to the exposed section of the stand above. Family Relatives Images, Popped into chippie Sea Bear by away end as remembered it from last time and had chips. Same old story for us, dominated the game but couldnt take our chances. 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. Red and White Away Kit: I got the first train home. We arrived in London in plenty of time and parked up near the Thames Barrier which isn't to far from ground, just followed the fans to the ground. The Police seemed happy to let home and away fans mingle, heard afterwards of a few problems near Charlton Station but all in all, there was no bother. In the 76th minute, Charlton introduced French midfielder Alou Diarra into the action. It was generally okay but not much leg room if tall. A little bit of goading from the home fans but all in good spirit. It took a while for all the fans to filter out of the away end as there is only one main exit. If you require hotel accommodation in London then first try a hotel booking service provided by Booking.com. The Valley does seem a ground worthy of a higher level of football and if they carry on playing as they are they could well achieve that at the end of the season. The friend had been a regular player for the university football team, and would look at the game in a much more analytical view than what I could ever offer. I visited the Antigallican pub before the match. It was at Greenwich station, when I became confused with the whole idea of touching in and touching out; paranoid that if I did not touch anywhere, the full force of the Law would appear at the next station, swoop on me and my offending piece of plastic, and send me off to jail without any argument. Historical grounds can be chosen as well. If a sunny day wear a cap or sunglasses. Parking at the ground is for permit holders only. . Gillingham had not won away all season, and were fighting relegation. Charlton fans are quite rightly up in arms at the moment over the current owners' plans for the club and there was a demo planned for after the game which was presumably why there was a heavy Police presence. The Rangers fans were very noisy to start off with but they got more quieter as the game went along as their team gave a very poor showing. Stewards were laid back enough and friendly. Hospitality. Modern All Seated Attendance Record: The away end was fairly big. Comment on the game itself, atmosphere, stewards, pies, facilities etc.. 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. Toilets were in what looked like a converted mobile home and couldn't get near the small refreshment kiosk. 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. We parked up in Charlton Village car park which holds only around 20 cars and there were a few spaces left luckily when we arrived! Watt was incidentally on the scoresheet in the Glasgow clubs famous Champions League victory over Barcelona at Parkhead in 2012. When I tried to explain my situation to the platform staff, the reaction was a mixture of frustration, embarrassment and distain. The away end opposite us (named the Jimmy Seed Stand, in honour of Charltons most successful manager) has a pillar in the very middle of the stand, which must have been very annoying for those Huddersfield fans sat directly behind it, as it was the only pillar present in the entire ground! However I got served fairly quickly & after forcing my way back through from the bar found a spot out of the way with a good view of the televised game been shown on the big screen. Coming out of the pub it's not instantly apparent which direction the ground is. We walked straight back to station, and had to wait about half an hour, for a train. What you thought on seeing the ground, first impressions of away end then other sides of the ground? The stand was spacious and we had a pretty decent view of the playing area. The Valley is a 27,111 capacity sports stadium located in Charlton, London, England and has been the home of Charlton Athletic Football Club since 1992. yet on the train it was packed like sardines, because about half of the travelling Gills fans were all getting the train home. Last one of the 24 grounds in this league to tick off watching the Rams. Finger On Cheek, Also worthy of note is the history of this proud and historic site; older fans amongst us will recall the sad days when they were exiled from The Valley, forced to groundshare with Crystal Palace and West Ham for much of the 80s and doubtless I wasnt the only one that doubted The Valley would ever see league football again, and even wondered about the long term sustainability of the club. So we decided to give it a miss and had a drink inside the ground instead. 020 8333 4000 Fax: The Valley is a 27,111 capacity sports stadium located in Charlton, London, England and has been the home of Charlton Athletic Football Club since 1992. 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 stand to our left and opposite was a two-tier and the stand and to our right was a large single tier. It was difficult to tell quite where the fan base comes from, although there were many coaches that had travelled up from Kent for the game. I watched a young student walk out of a barber shop, gentling patting his shorn hair with the desperate hope that everything had gone alright in the chair. If anything is incorrect or you have something to add, please e-mail at contact@footballgroundguide.com and Ill update the guide. That said the whole atmosphere was really good with great singing from both sets of fans. The home support was good for the whole game and it only got better with the goals of course. The ground of the modern era although fully modernised, still retains character. The Charlton fans pre-match were friendly and I didn't see any crowd trouble at the game. The opposite North Stand is pretty big and the corners are filled in joining the East and West sides of the ground. The away end is the smallest stand of the stadium and it holds around 3000. and turn right and cross over to the other side. I was with the home fans in the North Stand. Decent toilet block this way too. The home fans and stewards were very friendly. The beer was typical football standard and priced accordingly. To find this pub then if you come out of Charlton Railway Station and turn left and then with theAntigallican Hotel on your right and go straight across the dual carriageway and into Hope and Anchor Lane. It is not steep enough to see the six yard box from the back of the stand, but it's redeeming feature is that, as (in effect) a tin box, the acoustics are really good, from the inside at least. See the view from your seat at The Valley. Buccaneers Vs Steelers 2014, Actual product may vary due to product enhancement. The ground can be seen from the main road by the railway station and entrance to the away turnstiles is down a back street. I made my way to the Harp near Trafalgar Square. The stewards were very polite but unfortunately I had to pick the one who was new and sent us in the wrong direction for our seats! Prices are subject to a 2 rise on the day of the game, so book early to secure your place. Why you were looking forward to going to the ground: I had already visited Charltons home, The Valley, on several previous occasions in the past three years. A very good view, with the exception of a rather obtrusive pillar, although this only really affected the view near the corner. He is not an active traveller to games, but was willing to enjoy a late Summer Championship game. Responsibly, London Hotels - Find and Book Yours And Help Support This Website, Location map of the Valley football ground, railway station and listed pubs. See the view from your seat at The Valley., page 1. Prices may be above face value.Secure The Valley tickets today from TicketSmarter to catch the next big event. How To Open Youtube Account, Boursorama Banque Avis, By train. We just followed the crowd, and stopped off at a pub on the way. The Long Road Home, 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. Charlton defended well, but did not seem to totally push for the second goal. The game was not a sell-out. However, today there were simply too many people to fit in comfortably, which was one indication the match would be a sell-out. Game was easier than the last two visits which involved early goal then hanging on, then hanging in there with late goal. I was quite impressed with the atmosphere at the Valley and I can see why many away fans see it as one of their favourite away days to the capital. 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. Their fanbase is an interesting mix of southeast London and Kent working and middle classes. The Antigallican is as good an away fans pub as could be found anywhere and we also discovered a decent chippie up the road. Charlton had more possession, but too many times their attacks lacked the final cutting edge. The Valley is a nice ground and well worth a visit. Getting away from the ground was no problem at all and in spite of the result the whole day was an enjoyable one. Los Angeles Lacrosse, Attacking the home end they equalised and the Charlton fans responded with a good noise. Summary of overall thoughts of the day out: Great day out with family and friends. Lots of police (including on horseback) on the lead up to the ground, but there seemed no sign of trouble between fans. Seating view photos from seats at The Valley, section SSE, row A1, home of Charlton Athletic FC. An excellent choice with nice friendly staff and a free spread of sandwiches, roast potatoes and sausages, which were very well received! I walked back to the station, the trains werent too frequent and the platform filled up before the first train arrived. On this occasion it was more a case of the stadium being too good for the team that played there! Comment on getting away from the ground after the game: Getting away from the ground was very easy and was at Charlton station for 17:05pm. I had to go to Heathrow afterwards and Charlton station is only 5 mins away and you can use contactless or an Oyster card to travel into London. It is around a 15 minute walk up the hill from the coaches to a busy shopping area with plenty of food outlets and then down again on Floyd Road before the ground comes into view. As I mentioned earlier in the article, his resignation was rather controversial as I later read in Charltons Voice Of The Valley fanzine that he effectively had no other option but to resign following the difficult working conditions created by the Clubs new billionaire owner, Roland Duchtelet. Log in. Argyle nearly got back into it when Ryan Taylor flicked on a Carey pass but Ben Amos in goal for Charlton stopped the ball from going in the net. Their 3rd goal was scored by the same man again, after he sped past Huddersfield players to finish with some aplomb. There was a 1970s retro moment when an infiltrator was frog-marched out of the away end but I suspect he was not a Charlton fan at all but just a local hooligan attracted by the admission price and the chance for some inexpensive aggro. It took me about five minutes to get back to the station. A crowd of only 6,000 turned up and we took 2,000. There was only a few mouthy QPR fans trying to stir things up but the local Police moved them quickly on. Learn More. We much enjoyed our day. Although the food and beverage kiosks were well manned with staff, queues were still quite long. On one wall is a huge club crest. How easy was your journey/finding the ground/car parking? I was visiting two games within a week, one FA Cup and one Championship fixture. Supporters Club. The stadium itself, probably because of the three sides sweeping round & enclosing it, feels much bigger than it is. Travelling down on a train packed with Carlisle fans on their way to Wembley I arrived into London late morning. Required fields are marked *. Inside, you realise just how big the club can be. They followed up this great start with a brilliantly taken free-kick on 34 minutes, scored by Berg Gudmundsson from 25 yards. At half time the volume was turned up even further before the action recommenced. 5 seemed excessive although this was a one-off, as the club had also combined it with their 'Yearbook', so plenty of reading material! Back in the day, when Charlton were successful, the Valley was one of the biggest grounds in the country and the record attendance is 75,000 for a cup tie with Aston Villa in 1938. Up to 3,000 away fans can be accommodated in this end. Another ground to tick off the list. Rovers tried hard to get back on level terms and then conceded a last kick goal when our goalie came up to lose 3-1. The Addicks Year Ground Opened: Say we are staying up!' There are then a number of pubs and eating places in Greenwich itself and you can get one of a number of buses that run down the Woolwich Road to Charlton. I like these sort of grounds, really have an amphitheatre-like feel to them. Charlton had been unbeaten at home, although without too many wins before the Town match, Town were having a good run and had climbed into the top six. As it is a haunt favoured by away fans, there really is no need to check your watch, for as soon as most of the clientele start to down their pints and head out, then you know its time for kick-off! How easy was your journey/finding the ground/car parking? Charlton Athletic FC fixture list (takes you to the BBC Sports Website). Your email address will not be published. We travelled on one of the supporters coaches which dropped us near the Antigallican pub, mentioned elsewhere on this website. Give priority to those supporters with the highest win ratio at games they've attended.Implement an Im not going today scheme- so that those who are entitled to attend can transfer their place to someone if they cant attend.Sorry but I can't see this happening unless there is a vast majority approach that we simply don't care about a certain number of COVID cases and COVID deaths anymore. Titans Vs Saints 2015, Even the seemingly inadequate portaloos coped. Nice Stadium, nice day out. No trouble at all, most home fans were long gone. Being originally built from an old pit, the ground is nestled into the local landscape. Town are doing well this season, although that is not a special reason for going to see the team, in my case anyway. Plus their booking system is straightforward and easy to use. I was planing to drive to Dartford station, then catch the stopping service on the north Kent line to Charlton, as Charlton station is no more than a couple of minutes' walk from the ground. 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