War clouds over The Valley

We have recently seen the suspension of matches for the first time since the Second World War and they still are suspended below Tier 2 of the non-league.   What happened at Charlton when the Second World War broke out?

Despite the looming war clouds, there was an optimistic mood at Charlton in the summer of 1939.  The late 1930s had been a great time for the club under the guidance of manager Jimmy Seed.  In their first season in the first division in 1936/7 they finished second behind Manchester City and were the fifth best supported club in the division.  They were fourth in 1937/8 and made a profit of just under £400,000 at today’s prices.  Unfortunately this was not invested in much needed additional seating which would have boosted income even further.  In 1938/39 Charlton finished third and qualified for £165 ‘talent money’ for distribution to the players (just under £11,000 at today’s prices).   The total wage bill was £17,286 or £1.14m at today’s prices.

There was every hope that the elusive title might be finally secured in 1939/40. The season started on Sunday August 20^th with a Jubilee Fund game against Millwall which ended in a 1-1 draw.  The view in the press was that ‘Millwall gave a dashing display and deserved to win by a good margin.   At times they had Charlton groggy and only desperate work by the home defence kept them out.’ Charlton were not at full strength, however, and fielded several reserves.    Left back Mordey retired just before half time with a leg injury and as this was not a league or cup game, Charlton were allowed to bring on a substitute for the last half hour.  However, Tann caused some confusion by wearing the same number – 4 – as the player who had moved to right back.

When Charlton travelled to Stoke for the first game of the season on 26^th August the home side had to make seven changes to their squad because players had been called up for military service.  The former Wrexham keeper had to be brought in to replace Wilkinson in goal.   Nevertheless, Stoke won 4-0.  A contemporary newspaper report stated: ‘The score might well have been greatly increased, so completely did the Stoke attackers take command of the game.  After fifteen minutes’ play, however, Charlton lost the services of Welsh, the inside-left, whose injury proved such that he was unable to resume.  This disorganised the visiting team and little was seen of the attackers, with the exception of occasional wing raids by Wilkinson and Hobbis.’

Even so, ‘It is doubtful whether Charlton’s misfortune seriously affected the run of the game, for Stoke were always on top.   Stoke took the lead in twelve minutes when Soo scored with a great drive from twenty-five yards’ range.’   This is an interesting story in itself.  Frank Soo was a player and later manager of mixed Chinese and English parentage. He was the first player of Chinese origin to play in the English Football League, and the first non-white player to represent England. 

‘Smith shot the second goal after half an hour.  Midway through the second half came the best goal of the game, when Sale headed through from a perfect pass by [Stanley] Matthews.  The fourth goal was scored by Smith six minutes before the end after Bartram had saved from Sale.  James Oakes, the Charlton captain, tried desperately to stave off defeat and resorted to offside tactics in the second half, but the City attackers remained menacing to the end.  Sale was a fine leader and Matthews flustered the Charlton defence by his clever wing play.’

On the following Thursday Charlton went to Elland Road and beat Leeds United 1-0.  Press reports reckoned that Leeds lost because of the ineptitude of their forwards who missed four golden chances.   ‘Dawson and Robinson, Charlton’s new right wing, were often dangerous, and it was Robinson’s centre ten minutes from the end which led to Tadman scoring with a first-time shot.’ Robinson made 238 appearances for Charlton with his interrupted career finishing in May 1947. George Tadman’s record was better than one goal every two matches over the three preceding full seasons. He was in his prime when war broke out but the transitional season of 1945/46 saw his career come to an end at the age of 32.  His brother Maurice’s career was also interrupted by the war and he made just three appearances for Charlton before stepping down a division to Plymouth Argyle where he was a great success.

There were only 8,608 spectators at The Valley for the match against Manchester United on Saturday September 2^nd, the day before war with Germany broke out.   A report stated: ‘The visitors had the better of the opening play and Wassell had one good shot.   Charlton attacked without being really dangerous.   Both teams played good open football.    Two quick goals came to Charlton.  Tadman scored from a centre by Hobbis after 24 minutes, and Dawson added a second after good play by Tadman and Robinson.’  In the second half ‘Asquith, Bryant and Pearson all made scoring attempts, but found Bartram very safe for Charlton whose attacks were more disjointed than in the first half.’

After the outbreak of war, the Government initially closed all football grounds and places of entertainment to prevent large numbers of people gathering in one place, but this order was rescinded after a few days.   However, clubs would still have to obtain permission from the police to open their grounds. The secretary of the Football League took the view that the league competition must be regarded as finished because of the loss of fixtures in this hold up.

While wartime arrangements were sorted out, clubs played friendly games and Charlton were commended in the press as ‘pioneers’ for organising fixtures on Saturday 23^rd and Saturday 30^th September.   They even managed to send a reserve side to play at Chelmsford City.   They were away at Luton Town on the 23^rd, but I have not been able to find a record of the result.   For the game against Fulham on September 30^th Charlton printed tickets numbered one to eight thousand.   These were evenly distributed among the turnstiles and spectators were given half a torn ticket on payment for admission.  Once the figure of eight thousand was reached, the turnstiles were closed. Charlton lost the match 0-1.

Following the outbreak of war, the players were let go, although their registrations were retained. Jimmy Seed was retained as secretary-manager but on a salary halved from £1,560 a year to £780, down from just over £100,000 a year to just over £50,000 at today’s prices.  Trainer Jimmy Trotter was kept on at £5 a week, essentially a decent skilled worker’s wage, £330 at today’s prices.

A meeting of London clubs gave impetus to the establishment of regional competitions on the lines of those instigated in the First World War after the first season had been played on the usual competitive basis.  Travelling to away matches would be restricted to approximately 50 miles.   Professionals would not receive more than 30 shillings per match (£66 at today’s prices) and this sum would be paid to no more than 12 players.  No bonus would be paid for match result and there would be no trophies.   The minimum charge for admission would be one shilling (just over £2 at today’s prices) and members of the forces, women and boys would not have to pay anything.

Charlton started playing in the South Regional League on October 21^st when they lost 8-4 to Arsenal at White Hart Lane, having three penalties awarded against them.   Their first home match at The Valley saw them beat Southend United 8-1 in front of a crowd of just 1,291.   The maximum crowd allowed was 16,000 and the gate fell just short of this for the home match against Arsenal in March 1940.  During the war Charlton reached two Wembley finals and went on to win the FA Cup in 1947. However, some of the pre-war momentum seemed to be lost in the league.   Adolf Hitler didn’t do Charlton any favours.

The Blame Game

In this VOTV article I looked at the causes of Charlton's decline after what was arguably their most successful period, before and after the Second World War.   Opportunities to build the club were missed. Alan Curbishley got us back to the top flight, but the board appeared to have done no succession planning and Iain Dowie was appointed as manager.   We were told it was rocket science, but the rocket soon crashed to the ground.

In the first season that I watched Charlton in 1953-4, they finished ninth in the top flight.  The previous season they had finished 5^th.  With the FA Cup victory a recent memory, they could credibly claim to be a major force in English football.   Although attendances fluctuated much more than they do today, the opening game of the season attracted just fewer than 50,000 to The Valley.

The next season, however, saw a slump to lower mid-table mediocrity.   The 1955-6 season saw a marginal improvement to 14^th, but still only five points off relegation.   In 1956/7 the club lost 29 matches and finished bottom of the First Division.   Next season they failed to get the one point they needed in the last game of the season to secure an immediate return to the top flight, losing 3-4 at home to Blackburn Rovers.

So who or what can be blamed?   There are at least three possible candidates.   Step forward, Adolf Hitler.   I am not implying that Charlton’s fans or players were intimidated by the German führer       Consider, however, Charlton’s record before the Second World War.  In their first season in the first division they finished three points behind title winners Manchester City.   Next season, once again the sixth best supported club in Division 1, they finished fourth.   In the final pre-war season of 1938-39, they finished third.    In other words, this was a team seriously in contention for title honours.

During the war, players were not getting really competitive matches on a sustained basis.   Even so, some players clearly hit their peak during the war.         In 1945/46 they finished third in the Football League South and lost to Derby County in the FA Cup final.   In 1946/47, they won the FA Cup, but finished 19^th in the league.   They did respectably well in the next two seasons, but came perilously close to relegation in 1949/50.  

It is difficult to escape the conclusion that the momentum of the pre-war years had been lost and that if the war had not intervened, they might have won the title.   However, despite online videos spoofing Hitler’s frustration at being unable to get tickets for Charlton v. Millwall, it is doubtful whether doing Charlton down constituted one of his war aims.

The next candidates are the owners of the day, the Glikstens.   To be fair, they rescued the club in 1932 when it was at a low ebb.   They made an initial cash injection of £100,000 spent on ground improvements and the team (just under £6m at today’s prices).  They turned the sandbank opposite the main stand into the East Terrace at a cost of £5,000 (£310,000 in today’s prices).  They appointed Jimmy Seed as manager andhe  oversaw the rise of the club from the third division to the first division, the first time this had happened in football history.   There is much to their credit.

However, there were limits to how far they were prepared to invest in the club.   In his autobiography, Jimmy Seed recalls that when Charlton were promoted to the first division, he tried to get the Glikstens to build a new stand at the club.   In return they wanted a guarantee that Charlton would stay up for three seasons which Seed felt unable to give.   

Seed argued with some justification, ‘I’m sure we lost many potential season ticket holders through lack of covered and seated accommodation.’   Even well after the war the stand regularly sold out, although the far from comfortable seats were three-and-a-half times the cost of the most expensive place on the terraces.

The Glikstens were also cautious about investing in players.   Seed had the possibility of signing Stanley Matthews for £13,000 (just over three quarters of a million at today’s prices).   The deal didn’t go through, but Albert Gliksten insisted that it would have been money down the drain.   As Seed points out, Matthews would have boosted gates and made Charlton a more glamorous team. 

A third culprit was changing demography.  In the 1930s the area was developing, but by the 1950s people were moving out into area, particularly into Kent.   A related factor was the decline of industries along the bank of the Thames.   Up until the late 1950s, most people used to work on Saturday mornings.   There was nothing more natural or convenient than to have a pint or two after work and then go to the game.   But Saturday morning working came to an end and the factories started to shed workers or close.

Jimmy Seed thought that Charlton’s poor transport links were also a factor with Chelsea and Arsenal benefitting from the proximity of tube stations.  He thought that the end of the trams in 1952 hit Charlton because they provided a convenient and efficient shuttle service to get fans to and from the games.   However, that may have been a coincidence rather than a cause of decline.

Whatever the reasons the club continued to decline both in terms of attendances and playing performance.   In 1984 they went into administration and nearly disappeared altogether.   Early in the 1984/85 season with The Valley becoming dilapidated to the point of being unsafe they moved to play home games at Crystal Palace’s ground.    The intention of the owners at the time was to merge the club into Crystal Palace which would have meant its disappearance.   Despite playing at Selhust Park, Charlton returned to the then first division.

However fans were determined to get back to The Valley despite opposition from the local council and nearby residents.   They formed their own political party, the Valley Party, and contested the local elections, securing the defeat of the chairman of the Planning Committee.   The council capitulated and with new owners the club returned to The Valley in December 1992.

A lot of work had to be done to rebuild the ground but in 1998 they were promoted to the Premier League through a dramatic play off final against Sunderland.   They were relegated the following season, but returned as Football League champions.   They were relegated in 2007 and then had a succession of below par owners.The first ones were interested in developing The Valley for housing, moving the club to a new and smaller stadium in North Greenwich.  

Belgian multi-millionaire Roland Duchâtelet then made a series of eccentric decisions that saw the club relegated to League One.  Promoted in 2019 through another play off final win against Sunderland, the club was sold to interests from Abu Dhabi but a civil war then broke out among the new directors which ended with the police removing the chairman from The Valley.  He was found to have spent money on a luxury flat and cars.  In the present crisis the future is very uncertain with administration a real possibility.   The fans may have to mobilise again.

Since this article was written Thomas Sandgaard has taken over and there is the prospect of a brighter future - in the longer run, if fans are patient.