A visit to The Valley, home of Charlton Athletic, continued our journey around the 92 English League Clubs. As always there was a story to go with this match – with Nathan Jones taking charge of his first home match as Manager.
New Manager
The new Manager was only appointed on the 4th February, taking over the League One club ahead of their match versus Reading. Nathan Jones was at the club back in 2012/2013 as U21’s coach before taking over at Brighton and Hove Albion.
Nathan Jones is the new Charlton Athletic Manager
Current Situation
Charlton Athletic last won a match on 28th November beating Cheltenham at the Valley. This poor run of form had left them positioned precariously on the brink of the relegation zone, above Port Vale on Goal Difference only.
Nathan Jones’ first match in charge was a big match away to Reading, however there was no new Manager bounce as Reading moved above Charlton following a 2-0 win, with the new boss indicating he wasn’t happy with the way the team conceded the two goals from long throw-in’s.
The Valley
A stadium with a big history first opened it’s doors in 1919 however in the mid 1980’s the club had fallen on hard times and the club ended up sharing Selhurst Park with Crystal Palace between 1985 and 1991.
With The Valley falling into disrepair, it took large fundraising efforts of the Charlton fanbase to engineer a move back to their home in 1992. You can read more about the return here.
Modern day improvements have seen the stadium transformed into it’s current state and it was a pleasure to walk around the outside of the stadium on our visit to The Valley before most fans had arrived.
Facilities
To say we were impressed is an understatement. After collecting the tickets we headed to find the Fans Bar which has a capacity of 500 and is available to all home ticket holders.
The carpet throughout the lounge proudly repeats the Charlton Athletic logo but the pièce de résistance is the fantastic views out onto the Valley pitch which was quite enchanting.
The bar itself features beers from Meantime Brewery, a local brewery which we had visited earlier in the afternoon.
Charlton Athletic v Lincoln City
The visitors, Lincoln City, had been in good form going into this match, undefeated across five matches and winning the last two. That run had started with a dramatic 98th minute equaliser at Wycombe and they haven’t looked back.
This match was quite uneventful and in the first half it was Lincoln who took the lead with a good low strike from Reeco Hackett. We had the pleasure of witnessing a fine equaliser for Charlton in the 73rd minute with Ladapo, on loan from Ipswich levelling things with a sublime finish from the edge of the box. Final Score 1-1.
Nathan Jones would have wanted three points in his first home match, yet this single point could prove pivotal. Charlton fans will be aware that elsewhere on Tuesday evening, Cheltenham picked up three points, Shrewsbury managed a draw and that Port Vale have played three matches less. Next up is another home match against Bolton.
Inside The Valley
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