When there was the vast open unused terrace down the length of the pitch. I seem to think it was covered in weeds. Can't remember the year but a special train had been laid on from Barnsley. Do you even remember "special trains"?
It had been the biggest domestic ground in country, if I remember right? Never went to a match there though.
Last time I went Ron Futcher got sent off and kicked a hole in the door of the dressing room. I feel sure is brother Paul was also playing.
3-0 up and lost 5-3 wasn't it? Both Futchers were playing. I remember listening to the reports on the radio that afternoon and feeling like kicking my own door in!
First time I went was mid 80s and it was like that. Not long after that they moved. Lost 2-1 that day. First game of the season and David Hurst burst through and got us a pen. Seen them at Selhurst and Upton Park since, but next week will be my first visit since they moved back to the valley.
I went to The Valley for a 3rd division match either 79/80 or 80/81 (1-1 draw) and stood on that huge terrace. If you went right up the top, you could see into people's back gardens, the residents would have been able to get in the ground for nowt. The view from there wasn't great, you were too far from the pitch.....
Remember going for the first time in the early 80s. Derek Hales scored for them in reply to our singing that he was a w*******r. There was trouble that day as Millwall infiltrated the Home ends as their game was one of the first Sunday matches that weekend. Talking to some Charlton fans in the ground who were pointing out how they’d brought the stand structure forward and you could see the vast concrete terracing going around the back.
Second time I visited The Valley was early eighties, Allan Simonsen, who a couple of years earlier had been crowned European player of the year, was playing for them. I think there was about 6,000 dotted about. First visit was in 74 to watch The Who...over 50,000 that day.
Only time I've been was 12/13 season under Keef, won 1-0 (great finish from Tomasz Cywka) and they'd split the away end in half as they'd charged everyone a fiver to get in, 26,000 I think were there with 1,300 or so from Barnsley. Seems like we've already sold that many at full price in the 3rd tier which is great going...speaking of going, hope we get some more tickets as I'd like to.
Back in the 70s or 80s .... remember walking back to the coach and about 4-5 men at the end of the street, wearing suits, looked like estate agents or something. As we approached they leaned over a garden wall an produced metal bars and sticks and began laying into a guy who was about 20 yards in front of me. As I remember he was actually a Charlton fan. Don't mind saying it scared the sh*t out of me.
Most of the posters on here appear to have been at the 1-1 draw in the early 80s! I was too. The average age of a BBS poster must be 54! God, times have changed following football.
The old Valley was the only Football League ground never to have been filled and I’m pretty certain at one time they have had over 70,000 in it.
I've either sat or stood on three different sides of The Valley and watched them at Upton Park and Selhurst Park too.
First visit was in 1995 when Redfearn scored a last minute free-kick to get us a point. Can't get next week, just being careful with the pennies following redundancy, but chosen to go to Shrewsbury instead. Been a few times over the succeeding years. Always found Charlton a nice place to go to. Had a great couple of hours with some of their supporters, a long with others from Brentford and Leyton Orient, a few years ago in a nearby pub called, I think, The Rose of Denmark.
First time I went was for a 1-1 draw in February or March 1981. We were both promoted at the end of the season along with Rotherham.