THE VALLEY
Two away games in a week but Groundhopper made the journey to the capital to give us this weeks ground review. Charlton won’t be troubling the top ten this season on or off the field with a lowly score of 70/100.
Definitley a feeling of must try harder from Groundhopper about the Valley, checkout your thoughts with our ratings.
| Charlton | |||
| Category | Score | Comments | |
| First Impressions of the stadium, parking, ease of entry. | 8 | This was our second midweek trip to The Valley this season. The ground, which has a capacity of just over 27,000, is in a built-up area with restrictions on parking & the congestion charge to consider and so travel was either by train or coach. The railway station is a short distance from the ground. Coaches parked away from the ground and passengers had a walk of about ten minutes to the Valley. Away fans are allocated the South Stand which is located behind a goal. | |
| Food & Drink, range, quality, price. | 6 | The kiosk served Piglets Pantry pies & sausage rolls, once a favourite at Stadium MK, hot & cold drinks & alcohol which was reasonably priced. When the gates opened the hot food was still on its way from the kitchen and a power failure meant there was no hot water for drinks. The apologetic supervisor commandeered a staff kettle until the matter was resolved. | |
| View from your seat, any poles in the way, obstructed view, seat broken? | 7 | The view from behind the goal is slightly obstructed by the upright roof supports. Wheelchair users are located within the same stand on the central concourse. | |
| Home team support, was it a library, good banter between the fans? | 6 | The attendance for this fixture was 8,807. The home fans behind the opposite goal had a drum but weren’t really heard. | |
| What were the stewards like, helpful and friendly or jobsworths? | 7 | The stewards I encountered were friendly and helpful. I understand that they stopped fans from congregating on the concourse and stairs within the stand. They also acted quickly to assist a supporter who was taken unwell. Several supporters were ejected from the ground. | |
| Toilet facilities, clean and well equipped with hot water, disgusting. | 6 | The toilet blocks were clean and well maintained. There was no hot water & the hand dryer didn’t.!!! | |
| Ticket pricing, did the price reflect the facilities of the ground? | 8 | An adult ticket was £23 which is slightly cheaper than the average in League 1. | |
| Ground facilities, half time service, did they let fans outside at halftime? | 6 | The concourse area is open to the elements and quite small for a stand which can accommodate 3000 fans. The area gets very busy with only one refreshment kiosk. Fans were allowed to smoke near the turnstiles. | |
| Match atmosphere, did the Dons fans give good support? | 9 | There were 605 Dons fans were in attendance which by our standards is excellent for a midweek fixture. The drum was in attendance, and they made plenty of noise throughout. I don’t recall any banter coming from the home fans except from a small group of youngsters by the away end that appeared to be watching a different game to us. | |
| Ease of exit, did the carpark clear quickly, traffic around the stadium? | 7 | There were some delays with the trains. The coaches were waiting outside the away end and their departure from the area was relatively quick. | |
| Any other observations or comments that may have affected your scoring? | |||
| Name – Groundhopper | Total Score out of 100 | 70/100 | |
