Valley flags…but better!

How can the atmosphere be improved at The Valley – have the flags worked so far, or is my idea going to be a much bigger hit!

What happened to the days when the loud speakers pumped out the sounds of Republica – “Ready To Go”, Robbie Williams - “Let Me Entertain You” and Bryan Adams - “We’re Gonna Win” before the match?

The reason I’m bringing this up, is because in my humble opinion, the pre-match atmosphere has been dampened by the decision to totally shun any sort of pre-match build up. The decision to keep showing past action and interviews on the Big Screen over the past season and the decision to remove those “important” pre-match songs has been one which has turned The Valley into a church, we a much larger congregation. When the screen is switched on, generally 15 minutes prior to kick off, The Valley is shunned into complete silence, hence affecting the whole atmosphere.

You’ll probably notice that when you travel away from The Valley, most teams spend a good 45-60 minutes building the crowd up, with music, bits and pieces (including cheerleaders) on the pitch which in turn, then hypes the fans up for the kick-off and no doubt influences the players during the warm-up and then out of the tunnel.

I certainly miss the sounds of Mr Williams and Mr Adams, but never fear my prehistoric car cassette player still bangs those hits out! They are true “feel good” songs and always assisted in hyping the home crowd to the point that reflects the attitude of the players and the start they make during the game.

Nowadays we get treated to the theme tune from the Gladiators movie, which is so, so depressing, along with a few mobile phone adverts and images of Rory McGrath running around in a skin-tight Arsenal kit on the big screen!

The recent Valley Flags campaign has been a good cause. Now that the flags are in place, I feel we can go bigger and better. Speaking to a few fans around me, we came to the conclusion (most of us are over 40 by the way), the flags are seen as just another row of advertising hoardings, bolted to the wall and with no real care and passion that they deserve. This is most probably the club who is to blame as they seem to have half heartedly given permission to allow the flags from the fans to be put up in an obscure position.

“What are they for?”, “What’s it all in aid for?” mentioned some of them (one did ask “Where am I?”, so you can see what I’m up against). It just goes to show that not everyone is on t'nternet (hope people are reading my blog though!), so it could have been advertised a little bit better?

I might be talking out of turn here, but as an example (I’ve picked the stand which the current flags reside), surely all it needs is a small group of people (I’ll help if needs be!) to stand outside the North Stand with buckets. You’ll then find that every other fan, walking out of the Superstore or clutching a greasy hamburger will empty their pockets full of change and will easily drop a quid in. Maybe give them a free sticker for their troubles – again raising the campaigns profile.

I don’t know the exact capacity of the North Stand, but I would hazard a guess that it must house in the region of about 9,000 fans. So, by the law of averages, that will be £4,500 at least. Multiply that up with the West and East stands and it certainly beats skimming off donations via the sale of a Girls Aloud CD or the Friends DVD box set.

I know it’s the “easiest” option to get funds, but the best form of fundraising is to put it in people’s faces physically rather than digitally. I can understand if someone is worried about handling such amounts of money in buckets during match day build-up, but precautions could be in place to prevent any corruption, etc.

You will also raise the profile of the flags in the meantime, whilst you will also be obtaining valuable feedback and donations from fellow Charlton supporters, rather than just keeping it in a very tight group in order to gain personal praise.

How many flags could that scenario obtain? A fair few I’d say and even one of those big overhead ones in the shape of the Charlton home kit for starters!

We can then have it passed from some of the players or ball boys/girls (and stewards if necessary) on the pitch up to the North Stand across the East or West depending on the wind direction! You catch my drift I’m sure – it gets the crowd involved, everyone watches and everyone feels part of it all.

From my experience during the past three home games since the flags have arrived, the current flags seem to be looked at once, as you arrive at your seat and then forgotten about until the next home fixture. Unlike the Pukka Pies banner which gets me out of my seat and back down to the concourse to purchase a warm meat pie! If only the flags had the same effect - without the pie, of course.

If only the damn flags could sing. At least they would then serve their purpose of livening up the atmosphere, rather than a comfortable head rest for the back row of the covered end! Or going back to my overhead flag idea – we’re onto a winner here!

Constructive criticism from one individual, I must add. I don’t want to tread on the toes of those who were involved in the creation of the campaign. A sterling job has been done by all, but it just needs pushing that little bit further and made accessible to all rather than a select few.

As an alternative, you may or may not have seen this in a recent game at St James Park, but the Newcastle directors paid for a scarf to be placed on every home seat in the stadium. A nice gesture, which keeps the fan’s necks and heads warm, but the point is, it can only cost a few pence out of each and every ticket the club have sold, and it of course makes their “customers” feel a little bit happier.

It was the same scenario with Roman Abramovich, when Chelsea took on Barcelona in one of last years Champions League matches. The Russian billionaire paid for every single Chelsea fan at the match to have a flag and I recall this was during an away match!

So, why can’t the same be done at The Valley? Not so much scarves, but why not a “something” that can help the fans get involved and to ultimately increase The Valley noise?

A flag, a horn, a clacker or even a foam hand à la Gladiators style! A party and carnival atmosphere is generated by one major aspect – noise. The “freebies” don’t need to happen during every match (you’d hope the fans would bring them back to each game), but here and there throughout the season. Non-chanters/singers will soon understand that football is all about enjoying yourself and expressing your passion for your club and over time these quirky freebies will encourage all to relax and feel comfortable chanting “My Only Desire”, “Valley Floyd Road” and “Red Army” at the top of their voice.

As a side note, but still on the same vibe, why not give a song sheet to every fan as they walk through the turnstiles? People are attending a football match and as fans “chanting on the terraces”, signing and being lively should be part and parcel of it all.

Unfortunately in this day and age, people have seemed to have forgotten that chanting and signing is actually allowed. Giving people a song sheet maybe like teaching them to suck eggs, but for our friends that travel to SE7 just to watch Premiership football, may send out signals to say “yes, you are allowed to make some noise”.

Going to a football match should be an event. Whether the result goes for or against your team you need to be walking out of the stadium thinking to your self, “Wow! That was one hell of an atmosphere”.

I have emailed these suggestions to our Supporter’s Director, over the past few weeks, in the build up to his Valley Flag campaign, but I have yet to receive a response. If you are reading this Ben Hayes, a courteous reply would be very much welcome.

I would like to offer these ideas with you all and would welcome any responses.

Comments and opinions for or against any of my ideas, plus feel free to give further suggestions.