Wednesday, July 27, 2005
Not the 92 Club
Having followed Charlton for quite a few years now, I've been to many English football grounds to support the lads.
There is a "club" in England set up for supporters who go to all 92 league grounds - divisions 1 - 4 in the old days, and now The Premiership, Fizzy Div, and leagues 1 & 2. I have never tried to become a member of The 92 Club, even though you can become an associate member for going to over 70-odd grounds, which I qualified for many years ago.
My quest, unwritten until now, is and has been to see Charlton play at as many league grounds as I can. I doubt if I've been to more than many fellow supporters, but I must be somewhere in the top hundred or so. My count does include a number of clubs that no longer play in the leagues, having fallen on tough times - Southport, Hereford and Aldershot (then in Division three), and Barnet, Lincoln, Colchester, Shrewsbury and Exeter (amongst others) who have been yo-yo-ing between the league and the conference. Also, a fair few of the grounds I visited have been bulldozed for supermarkets (or housing), and I may not have been to the new super-dooper all-seater stadia that have replaced the old terraced versions.
The list of teams I've seen Charlton play at is (in no particular order) as follows -(o) = old ground; (o/n) = old and new ground:
1. Charlton Athletic (o/n)#
2. Queens Park Rangers
3. Millwall (o/n)
4. Crystal Palace
5. West Ham
6. Arsenal
7. Tottenham Hotspur
8. Chelsea
9. Brentford
10. Orient
11. Watford
12. Reading (o)
13. Southampton (o/n)
14. Portsmouth
15. Brighton (o)
16. Gillingham
17. Southport
18. Hereford
19. Bristol City
20. Bristol Rovers (o/o)*
21. Swindon
22. Exeter
23. Plymouth
24. Cardiff
25. Swansea (o)
26. Wrexham
27. Barnet
28. Southend
29. Colchester
30. Ipswich
31. Norwich
32. Cambridge
33. Peterboro
34. Lincoln
35. Nottingham Forest
36. Notts County
37. Leicester (o)
38. West Bromwich Albion
39. Birmingham
40. Walsall (o)
41. Aston Villa
42. Wolverhampton Wanderers
43. Stoke (o)
44. Port Vale
45. Chester (o)
46. Aldershot
47. Manchester United
48. Manchester City (o)
49. Oldham
50. Bury
51. Huddersfield (o/n)
52. Bradford City (o/n)**
53. Leeds United
54. Halifax
55. Newcastle
56. Sunderland (o)
57. Middlesboro (o/n)
58. Derby (o)
59. Chesterfield
60. Barnsley
61. Rotherham
62. Sheffield United
63. Sheffield Wednesday
64. Luton
65. Grimsby
66. Hull (o)
67. Carlisle
68. Blackpool
69. Blackburn
70. Burnley
71. Bolton (o)
72. Liverpool
73. Everton
74. Tranmere
75. Coventry (o)
76. Oxford (o)
77. Bournemouth
78. Shrewsbury
79. Wimbledon (o/o)***
80. Fulham
81. Northampton (o)
# - Obvioulsy I've seen Charlton play at The Valley, but I've also seen them play home games at Selhurst Park and Upton Park
* - Saw them play Charlton at Eastville and Twerton Park
** - Saw them play Charlton at Odsal and rebuilt Valley Parade
*** - Saw them play Charlton at Plough Lane
I could add Torquay to my list but I didn't see Charlton play them.
The reason for my missive is that it has been rare in recent years to add to my list. I have half-heartedly hoped that we would draw cup matches with Rochdale and the like, so that I could pop along to the replay, but no such luck!
Welcome then Wigan, to the Premiership; I intend to visit the JJB stadium later this season and take my tally up to 82.
There is a "club" in England set up for supporters who go to all 92 league grounds - divisions 1 - 4 in the old days, and now The Premiership, Fizzy Div, and leagues 1 & 2. I have never tried to become a member of The 92 Club, even though you can become an associate member for going to over 70-odd grounds, which I qualified for many years ago.
My quest, unwritten until now, is and has been to see Charlton play at as many league grounds as I can. I doubt if I've been to more than many fellow supporters, but I must be somewhere in the top hundred or so. My count does include a number of clubs that no longer play in the leagues, having fallen on tough times - Southport, Hereford and Aldershot (then in Division three), and Barnet, Lincoln, Colchester, Shrewsbury and Exeter (amongst others) who have been yo-yo-ing between the league and the conference. Also, a fair few of the grounds I visited have been bulldozed for supermarkets (or housing), and I may not have been to the new super-dooper all-seater stadia that have replaced the old terraced versions.
The list of teams I've seen Charlton play at is (in no particular order) as follows -(o) = old ground; (o/n) = old and new ground:
1. Charlton Athletic (o/n)#
2. Queens Park Rangers
3. Millwall (o/n)
4. Crystal Palace
5. West Ham
6. Arsenal
7. Tottenham Hotspur
8. Chelsea
9. Brentford
10. Orient
11. Watford
12. Reading (o)
13. Southampton (o/n)
14. Portsmouth
15. Brighton (o)
16. Gillingham
17. Southport
18. Hereford
19. Bristol City
20. Bristol Rovers (o/o)*
21. Swindon
22. Exeter
23. Plymouth
24. Cardiff
25. Swansea (o)
26. Wrexham
27. Barnet
28. Southend
29. Colchester
30. Ipswich
31. Norwich
32. Cambridge
33. Peterboro
34. Lincoln
35. Nottingham Forest
36. Notts County
37. Leicester (o)
38. West Bromwich Albion
39. Birmingham
40. Walsall (o)
41. Aston Villa
42. Wolverhampton Wanderers
43. Stoke (o)
44. Port Vale
45. Chester (o)
46. Aldershot
47. Manchester United
48. Manchester City (o)
49. Oldham
50. Bury
51. Huddersfield (o/n)
52. Bradford City (o/n)**
53. Leeds United
54. Halifax
55. Newcastle
56. Sunderland (o)
57. Middlesboro (o/n)
58. Derby (o)
59. Chesterfield
60. Barnsley
61. Rotherham
62. Sheffield United
63. Sheffield Wednesday
64. Luton
65. Grimsby
66. Hull (o)
67. Carlisle
68. Blackpool
69. Blackburn
70. Burnley
71. Bolton (o)
72. Liverpool
73. Everton
74. Tranmere
75. Coventry (o)
76. Oxford (o)
77. Bournemouth
78. Shrewsbury
79. Wimbledon (o/o)***
80. Fulham
81. Northampton (o)
# - Obvioulsy I've seen Charlton play at The Valley, but I've also seen them play home games at Selhurst Park and Upton Park
* - Saw them play Charlton at Eastville and Twerton Park
** - Saw them play Charlton at Odsal and rebuilt Valley Parade
*** - Saw them play Charlton at Plough Lane
I could add Torquay to my list but I didn't see Charlton play them.
The reason for my missive is that it has been rare in recent years to add to my list. I have half-heartedly hoped that we would draw cup matches with Rochdale and the like, so that I could pop along to the replay, but no such luck!
Welcome then Wigan, to the Premiership; I intend to visit the JJB stadium later this season and take my tally up to 82.
