Unreliable History
Charlton had a sticky time of it when they were first formed in 1905, playing on Siemens Meadow. They went rough and made Woolwich Common their home, before a big money move to Pound Park and then the hardest pitch on Horn Lane. They even managed to win two leagues in one season – Division Two of both the Woolwich League and the Lewisham League. It wasn’t until 1919 that they moved into the old chalk pit that became the Valley. It was one of the biggest grounds in the country for many years with vast, steep, mountainous terraces, packed with fans every other week, but it could have been very different had a move to Catford been successful. However, the home ground was to play a big part in their future. In 1921, The Addicks (a nickname taken from a local fish and chip shop in the vicinity) made it to Division 3 (South) and this preceded a period when they were one of the most feared sides in Britain under the leadership of former Spurs player, Jimmy Seed. They took the odd step of moving out of the Valley to Catford in the middle of the 1923-24 season, but soon moved back at the end of the season. In 1935, they came second in their league and in ‘36 were runners-up in Division 2, the same position they filled the following season in the top flight.
Their FA Cup zenith was reached after the War, when they featured in consecutive Finals – losing 1-4 to Derby County in 1946 (with Bert Turner scoring for both sides) and winning in 1947 – a 1-0 win over Burnley. Seed managed to break the lid of the trophy when celebrating and that is why they now have the ribbons tied to it – to stop the top falling off. In their victorious run to the final, their 5th round tie against Blackburn Rovers was the first to be shown live on television. The ball burst in both finals too! Famous Sam Bartram was a loyal servant to the club. So much so, that during one game when fog descended and enveloped the pitch, he remained at his post thinking the match was continuing. It was only when a Policeman threatened to arrest him for loitering with intent that he realised all the other players had departed. Staying the course seemed to agree with the South Londoners – trailing 5-1 with 28 minutes left against Huddersfield Town in 1957, Charlton came back to win 7-6 !! Relegated from the top division in 1957, a few “original” ideas were considered to spice up the old club. 1959 saw a push to become London Athletic and in 1966, when football was at it’s peak in this country, Charlton became home to the London Broncos rugby league side!! This bucked the current trend of the times. Another innovation Charlton took to was that of substitutes, when Keith Peacock became the first one use din the Football League in 1965. In 1972 the Valiants were sent down to Div. 3, but by 1986 they were back in Division 1, with Lennie Lawrence leading them in their annual relegation fight. Before that had happened, Athletic had scooped the world by signing Barcelona and Denmark star Allan Simonsen – 44 years after they nearly scooped the football world by trying to sign Stanley Matthews. Having to leave their home ground in 1985, meant that they were forced to share Selhurst and Upton Parks until the Valley Party won votes in the local elections and inspired a return to Greenwich in 1992. The new Valley was a breath of fresh air and the team won the 1998 promotion play-off on a penalty shoot-out after an exciting 4-4 draw with Sunderland. Unfortunately, Charlton returned to Division One the next season. Without wanting to become a yo-yo club, the Addicks raced to the 1999-2000 First Division Championship with a terrific run of results from Christmas to Easter. Manager Alan Curbishley had his work cut out to keep the team up in the top half, but by floating the club on the Stock market, money should be available to produce purchases to share in the benefits of the Premier League. His side have floated accordingly, despite some fans concerns about end-of-season slumps. Having decided to call it a day at the Valley in 2006, Ian Dowie, Les Reed and finally Alan Pardew all tried to keep the Addicks up once more, but failed in the end and then could not rise back to the top flight at the first attempt, leaving them a tough task to get promotion and the side slipped even further down the ladder with relegation to League One, where they have found it tough to escape from. Under manager Chris Powell, the team powered to promotion back to the Championship and celebrating 30 years back at the Valley in December 2012, the Addicks drew against Brighton & Hove Albion to sit comfortably smack in the middle of the division … with some home comfort too. Since then the new old ground has seen some ups and downs and changes on and off the pitch, with fans angry at the owner Duchatelet, getting red in the face and throwing assorted soft items onto the pitch (pigs, stress balls, taxis, beach balls) and some more dangerous items (packets of crisps) in an attempt to put the crunch on the club’s unpopular owner. In 2020, a new owner ousted the Belgian and but Dan Thomas Sandgaard’s ownership of Charlton was being questioned by previous owners. While the wrangling went on, the club limped into League One during lockdown and found themselves manager-less when Lee Bowyer got out to another of his former club’s Birmingham City, leaving the Thames-side club in decidedly unclear waters. FAMOUS PLAYERS : – Sam Bartram, Allan Simonsen, Norman Brothers (one of the Charlton Brothers), Derek Hales, Harry Dale, Richard Rufus and Chaka Khan, Mark Fish, Keith Peacock, Mike Flanagan and Bradley Allen, Norman Smith and Steve Jones, Steve Gritt and Bob Bolder, Phil Chapple and Simon Church, Peter Reeves and Paul Mortimer. FAMOUS FANS : – Michael Grade (TV Executive), Carl Howman (TV Actor – Babes In The Wood), Jim Davidson (Comedian), Steve Ryder (TV Presenter – Grandstand); Bjorn Borg (Tennis star); Glenn Tilbrook (Musician – Squeeze). |
Club Records
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Formed | 1905 |
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Turned Professional | 1920 |
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Became a Limited Company | 1919 |
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Former names | – |
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Previous grounds | 1905-1907 Siemen’s Meadow 1907-1908 Woolwich Common 1908-1913 Pound Park 1913-1920 Horn Lane 1920-1923 The Valley 1923-1924 Catford (The Mount) 1924-1985 The Valley 1985-1991 Selhurst Park 1991-1992 Upton Park |
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Nickname | “The ADDICKS”, “The VALIANTS” or “The ROBINS” |
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Club Colours | HOME : AWAY :
THIRD : |
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Record Football League Win | 8-1 v Middlesbrough Division 1 12.9.1953 |
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Record Premier League Win | 5-0 v Southampton (Home) 22.08.1998 |
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Record Football League Defeat | 1-11 v Aston Villa Division 1 14.11.1959 |
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Record Premier League Defeat | 1-6 v Leeds United (Home) 05.042003 0-5 v West Ham United (Away) 26.12.2000 |
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Record Cup Win | 8-0 v Stevenage (Away) Football League Trophy 09.10.2018 |
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Record Fee Paid | £5.38 million to Ipswich Town for Darren BENT (June 2005) |
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Record Fee Received | £16.5 million from Tottenham Hotspur for Darren BENT (29 June 2007) |
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Record Appearances | 623 – Sam BARTRAM (1934-1956) |
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Record Football League Appearances | 583 – Sam BARTRAM (1934-1956) |
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Record Premier League Appearances | 187 – Chris POWELL (1998-2006) |
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Record goal-scorer in a season | 32 – Ralph ALLEN (Division 3 South) (1934-35) |
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Record all-time League goal-scorer | 153 – Stuart LEARY (1953-62) |
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Record all-time goal-scorer | 168 – Derek HALES (1973-1976 & 1978-1985) |
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Record goal-scorer in a Premier League season | 13 – Darren BENT (2006-2007) |
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Record Premier League goal-scorer | 34 – Jason EUELL (2001-2007) |
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Most goals in a match | 5 – Wilson LENNOX v Exeter City Division 3 (South) 02.02.1929 5 – Eddie FIRMANI v Aston Villa Division 1 05.02.1955 5 – John SUMMERS v Huddersfield Town Division 2 21.12.1957 5 – John SUMMERS v Portsmouth Division 2 01.10.1960 |
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Record Attendance (all-time) | 75,031 v Aston Villa FA Cup Fifth Round 12.02.1938 |
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Record Premier League Attendance | 25,893 v Ipswich Town 01.01.2002 |
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Record total of goals in a Premier League season | 51 – 2003-2004 |
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Record total of goals in a League season | 107 – Division 2 1957-58 (42 games) |
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Record League points total | 2 points for a win : 61 Division 3 (South) 1934-35 3 points for a win : 101 Division 1 2011-2012 |
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Record Premier League points total | 53 – 2003-2004 |
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Most Capped player while at club | 42 – Radostin KISHISHEV (Bulgaria) |
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Youngest player | Jonjo SHELVEY – 16 years and 59 days v Barnsley (Away) 26.04.2008 |
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Oldest player | Sam BARTRAM – 42 years and 239 days |
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Stadium details
Address : The Valley, Floyd Road, London SE7 8BL
Telephone : 020 8333 4000
Ticket Office : 03330 14 44 44
Capacity : 27,111
Pitch size : 111 yards x 73 yards
Official website : cafc.co.uk
Directions
There are good directions to the Valley on the Charlton Athletic website in a visitors guide.
Honours
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Division One Champions (Second Tier) | 1999-2000 |
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Division One Runner-up (Top Tier) | 1936-1937 |
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Division Two Runners-up (Second Tier) | 1935-1936, 1985-1986 |
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Division Three (South) Champions (Third Tier) | 1928-1929, 1934-1935 |
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League One Champions (Third Tier) | 2011-2012 |
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FA Cup Winners | 1947 |
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FA Cup Finalists | 1946 |
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Full Member’s Cup Finalists | 1987 |
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Managers
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Walter RAYNER | June 1920 – May 1925 |
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Alex MacFARLANE | May 1925 – January 1927 |
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Albert LINDON | January 1928 – June 1928 |
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Alex McFARLANE | June 1928 – December 1932 |
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Albert LINDON | December 1932 – May 1933 |
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Jimmy SEED | May 1933 – September 1956 |
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David CLARK (Caretaker) | September 1956 |
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Jimmy TROTTER | September 1956 – October 1961 |
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David CLARK (Caretaker) | October 1961 – November 1961 |
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Frank HILL | November 1961 – August 1965 |
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Bob STOKOE | August 1965 – September 1967 |
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Eddie FIRMANI | September 1967 – March 1970 |
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Theo FOLEY | March 1970 – April 1974 |
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Les GORE (Caretaker) | April 1974 – May 1974 |
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Andy NELSON | May 1974 – March 1980 |
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Mike BAILEY | March 1980 – June 1981 |
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Alan MULLERY | June 1981 – June 1982 |
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Ken CRAGGS | June 1982 – November 1982 |
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Lennie LAWRENCE | November 1982 – July 1991 |
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Alan CURBISHLEY & Steve GRITT | July 1991 – June 1995 |
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Alan CURBISHLEY | June 1995 – May 2006 |
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Iain DOWIE | May 2006 – November 2006 |
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Les REED | November 2006 – December 2006 |
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Alan PARDEW | December 2006 – 22nd November 2008 |
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Phil PARKINSON | 22nd November 2008 – January 2011 |
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Keith PEACOCK (Caretaker) | January 2011 |
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Chris POWELL | January 2011 – March 2014 |
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Jose RIGA | March 2014 – May 2014 |
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Bob PEETERS | May 2014 – January 2015 |
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Damian MATTHEWS/Ben ROBERTS (Caretakers) | January 2015 |
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Guy LUZON | January 2015 – October 2015 |
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Karel FRAEYE | October 2015 – January 2016 |
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Jose RIGA | January 2016 – May 2016 |
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Russell SLADE | June 2016 – November 2016 |
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Kevin NUGENT (Caretaker) | November 2016 |
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Karl ROBINSON | November 2016 – March 2018 |
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Lee BOWYER (Caretaker) | March 2018 – September 2018 |
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Lee BOWYER | September 2018 – 16 March 2021 |
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Johnnie JACKSON (Caretaker) | 16 March 2021 – |
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League Record
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Founder Member of Division Three (South) (Third Tier) | 1921 |
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Division Three (South) (Third Tier) | 1921-1929 |
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Division Two (Second Tier) | 1929-1933 |
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Division Three (South) (Third Tier) | 1933-1935 |
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Division Two (Second Tier) | 1935-1936 |
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Division One (Top Tier) | 1936-1957 |
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Division Two (Second Tier) | 1957-1972 |
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Division Three (Third Tier) | 1972-1975 |
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Division Two (Second Tier) | 1975-1980 |
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Division Three (Third Tier) | 1980-1981 |
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Division Two (Second Tier) | 1981-1986 |
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Division One (Top Tier) | 1986-1990 |
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Division Two (Second Tier) | 1990-1992 |
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Division One (Second Tier) | 1992-1998 |
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Premier League (Top Tier) | 1998-1999 |
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Division One (Second Tier) | 1999-2000 |
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Premier League (Top Tier) | 2000-2007 |
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The Championship (Second Tier) | 2007-2009 |
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League One (Third Tier) | 2009-2012 |
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The Championship (Second Tier) | 2012-2016 |
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League One (Third Tier) | 2016-2019 |
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The Championship (Second Tier) | 2019-2020 |
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League One (Third Tier) | 2021- |
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