Free Season Ticket Offer Extended Next Year!

First, credit where credit's due. The Board deserve full acknowledgement for the announcement they have made today about their intention to extend the "free Season Ticket" offer, should we be successful in gaining promotion during next season, 2008-09. Our financial position is obviously worse than 12 months ago and whilst last year's gamble has (unfortunately) not cost the club a penny, the potential cost in a year's time could again be c £6m.

Prices look to be have been largely maintained at 2006-07 Premiership prices (£265 family corner/£290 lower north and £475 prime east/west), which in real terms represents a small discount. I am sure this bold move by the club will lift the spirits and should help alleviate an inevitable decline in season ticket sales ahead of the next campaign, based purely on the inconsistent home form and genuinely disappointing standard of football we have been served. The key question will be just much of a decline this avoids? This is the important point for me, because almost all of those who are tempted to move to pay-per-game repesent some loss in a full season irrespective of how well we might be doing, and, at worst, a lost supporter if we don't do well and they find other things to do with their Saturdays in the meantime.

I will never forget growing up in various addresses across the Greenwich Borough and being surrounded by ex-Charlton fans whose support had been slowly extinguished during the 60's and, particularly the first half of the 70's. I went to a school in New Cross where I was a rare Charlton fan but where the Dad's of a quarter of the school had been Addicks.