I’m still concerned about Leaburns body language, he just doesn’t seem happy, thought the same before he got injured last season.
Thought the exact opposite yesterday. He looked sharper and hungrier than I've seen him for a long time when he came on. Also look at him during the celebrations for the goal
He is always going to celebrate with team mates, his sharpness is not a concern, he just doesn’t look very happy at times, I’m probably overthinking it but can’t un see it.
It was pretty clear that sales stalled for this game after a very positive beginning. I think that’s about price as much as anything, and £35 on the day is a hefty amount for a less committed fan. Hardly a disaster, but the club probably sold about 6,000 home match tickets. Perhaps they would have sold closer to 10,000 if they hadn’t overcooked the pricing?
So a couple of hundred thousand from additional ticket sales, £6 for a programme, more people than I’ve seen before wearing new replica shirts, and food and drink outlets doing a roaring trade. Well done to the Club for maximising match day revenue. I realise that all of this hardly covers the players’ wage bill, but they’re definitely going in the right direction.
Ticket sales are the only thing that really matters; the rest are pennies compared to pounds because of cost of sale as well as being impacted by the volume of ticket sales. You don’t buy food and drink if you’re not there in the first place. Most people only buy a shirt once.
My point is that such high match prices are unlikely to maximise matchday revenue across all aspects. Presumably people accept there is a sweet spot at which ticket pricing maximises revenue? It’s not just higher price equals more revenue, regardless? Otherwise why not make the minimum price £50 or £100?
I do think the ticket pricing probably pushed a few people into purchasing season tickets, which is a counter-argument. But match sales remain weak against the ST base. We need to expand the former to cut the operating loss. An empty seat generates nothing.
Given your depth of knowledge it would be unwise for me or anyone else to actively dispute your viewpoint on ticket prices ( I am not, because I dont have the necessary data to make an informed judgement .But I am curious to know what benchmarks you use. Yesterday Coventry got 29k, Boro 26k, and Stoke 25k ( others were also higher but these three are non-parachute clubs). They are in areas where income levels are a fair bit lower than London. Do you know whether they have lower prices?
BTW re Boro, you said something interesting about them on the Cawley podcast, that they have an excellent commercial set up that brings in about £1m pa. You then mentioned that compared with them, a London suburb club has some disadvantages. Do you mean that a one-club city situation is an advantage when it comes to commercial?
Haven’t gone through the whole thread but my word what an absolute beast Olaofe is, how he managed to stay on his feet for so long after being dragged back by 2 Watford defenders was incredible. Stonewall pen too
I’m still concerned about Leaburns body language, he just doesn’t seem happy, thought the same before he got injured last season.
Thought the exact opposite yesterday. He looked sharper and hungrier than I've seen him for a long time when he came on. Also look at him during the celebrations for the goal
He is always going to celebrate with team mates, his sharpness is not a concern, he just doesn’t look very happy at times, I’m probably overthinking it but can’t un see it.
I think that’s mainly his general demeanour. His Dad was never particularly happy-looking or expressive on the pitch. And after the three years or so of criticism from his own fans at a very young age, I wasn’t surprised. I thought Miles looked good yesterday, but I’m sure he is still worried about whether he is fully over his injury blight. The good thing is that we don’t have to chuck him back into a starting position for a while. Come on as a sub for a few games, grab a couple of goals, walk off uninjured, gotta be the way forward for him.
It was pretty clear that sales stalled for this game after a very positive beginning. I think that’s about price as much as anything, and £35 on the day is a hefty amount for a less committed fan. Hardly a disaster, but the club probably sold about 6,000 home match tickets. Perhaps they would have sold closer to 10,000 if they hadn’t overcooked the pricing?
So a couple of hundred thousand from additional ticket sales, £6 for a programme, more people than I’ve seen before wearing new replica shirts, and food and drink outlets doing a roaring trade. Well done to the Club for maximising match day revenue. I realise that all of this hardly covers the players’ wage bill, but they’re definitely going in the right direction.
Ticket sales are the only thing that really matters; the rest are pennies compared to pounds because of cost of sale as well as being impacted by the volume of ticket sales. You don’t buy food and drink if you’re not there in the first place. Most people only buy a shirt once.
My point is that such high match prices are unlikely to maximise matchday revenue across all aspects. Presumably people accept there is a sweet spot at which ticket pricing maximises revenue? It’s not just higher price equals more revenue, regardless? Otherwise why not make the minimum price £50 or £100?
I do think the ticket pricing probably pushed a few people into purchasing season tickets, which is a counter-argument. But match sales remain weak against the ST base. We need to expand the former to cut the operating loss. An empty seat generates nothing.
Given your depth of knowledge it would be unwise for me or anyone else to actively dispute your viewpoint on ticket prices ( I am not, because I dont have the necessary data to make an informed judgement .But I am curious to know what benchmarks you use. Yesterday Coventry got 29k, Boro 26k, and Stoke 25k ( others were also higher but these three are non-parachute clubs). They are in areas where income levels are a fair bit lower than London. Do you know whether they have lower prices?
BTW re Boro, you said something interesting about them on the Cawley podcast, that they have an excellent commercial set up that brings in about £1m pa. You then mentioned that compared with them, a London suburb club has some disadvantages. Do you mean that a one-club city situation is an advantage when it comes to commercial?
Probably too far off topic for this thread. I'm considering writing a piece on relative commercial performance for www.votvonline.com when I'll ponder some of that. I think Coventry, Boro and Stoke do have a stronger local identity which gives them a stronger fanbase. But I think the opportunity will always be bigger in London. We just have to be able to tap into it. You have to be cautious about commercial income because unlike ticket sales and central income it will have a directly linked cost of sale (a club could own a hospitality business that barely makes a profit but its revenue will still be inflated by it), but my theory has always been about lack of local identity in London linked to the relatively small number of significant local businesses (which would identify with the club by virtue of geography).
The Middlesbrough commercial revenue figure I quoted was £12m in 2023/24. By comparison, Millwall brought in £3m, which is similar to Charlton. Watford's was £6m; Bristol City's was £25m according to my source material. If our turnover is circa £20m at this level that is a huge mismatch (and shows why the club will try to push up prices, whether or not that actually works). But I am wary of an apples and pears comparison between clubs.
Haven’t gone through the whole thread but my word what an absolute beast Olaofe is, how he managed to stay on his feet for so long after being dragged back by 2 Watford defenders was incredible. Stonewall pen too
Yes, that show of strength and determination was one of the moments of the match for me, loved that!
I know there were positives and negatives but it is early days and I really felt TC was getting a grip on the level and was frightening them. I am quite excited as to where this can go.
I didn't capture much footage as my Rode wireless mics needed a software update so I had to figure out how to setup a new camera and mic on the fly, should be a bit more prepared and fluid for Bristol City away.
If anyone who has a sharp eye can tell me if using the DJI Osmo pocket would be better for the future, the first 8 mins or so was all on the DJI pocket & the last few bits were on my phone which I normally use.
It’s a great position for the club to be in but I can see constant bickering between us lot whenever a starting lineup is released this season !! Apart from 3 or 4 positions there are genuine reasons for disagreeing over the others lol
Watford blinked first with one, then three seemingly random and unfocused substitutions. They malign Nathan Jones, but our use of substitutions under him, and yesterday, won us the game. Watford should’ve known we are a fit, second half, 100 minute full on team clever with substitutions, and quite frankly the introduction of Miles and Tanto exemplified that. We wanted it much more than Watford yesterday, and played at full tilt until the final whistle.
I have read and heard elsewhere that after the game Nathan Jones went to the Watford fans and gave it the big ‘un. I didn’t see that, but from early in the game the Watford fans were singing #Nathan Jones you’re a wanker#, and he might have given a little bit back. If they dish it out, expect it back the poor diddums delicate drove.
Yesterday Nathan Jones outmanaged whoever the Watford bloke is.
We have made a good start, but we won’t really be able to judge much until we’ve played the fabled first ten games.
Good day yesterday - game panned out how i thought and that's because it followed the same pattern as all our home games since December - the formula works and yesterday showed there's no reason why that can't continue - they were a team of athletes and at one point i was concerned but we saw out their little flurry mid way through the first half and then go back in control - by 70 minutes i was just waiting for us to bring on our 'finishers' and seal the win - which we did. Of course we won't have it all our own way but nothing to fear in this division and all the talk about how much better it is than 6 years ago is nonsense in my opinion - we never had a stroll of a game in league 1 and yesterday was no stroll but end result was the same - a home win - COYR!!!!
It’s a great position for the club to be in but I can see constant bickering between us lot whenever a starting lineup is released this season !! Apart from 3 or 4 positions there are genuine reasons for disagreeing over the others lol
I can't see much bickering as we will trust whichever team Jones picks. Even if he picked me, I might think, 'he knows what he is doing'. Well maybe that is a step too far but you get my point.
I was saying to my brother in the ground from the start that we had to be patient and not concede. I was expecting a goal at any stage and even in added time I could feel one was in the air. Maybe because this is what we do.
What a day. There's something special about an injury time winner. That noise was incredible.
He's not everyone's cup of tea, but Jones has a way of getting the best out of his players. You can see at the end that all the players have bought into his vision for the club.
The only downside for me was that the keeper locks really dodgy to me. Keepers who don't come off their line for crosses make me really nervous & it was a definite penalty.
Let's be honest, outside our circle, we have been a nothing club and very forgettable for well over a decade in the footballing world.
Now we have a manager that appears to be universally hated, a quality team, and a club people are starting to respect again.
I would much rather be difficult Charlton to play against with a manager who is disliked, than having some of the soft touches we have had and lose at home to the likes of Morecambe, Northampton, Fleetwood etc.
Long live our despised manager who has made us feel proud of the club again.
Comments
I'm in this photo with about 7 mates
The Middlesbrough commercial revenue figure I quoted was £12m in 2023/24. By comparison, Millwall brought in £3m, which is similar to Charlton. Watford's was £6m; Bristol City's was £25m according to my source material. If our turnover is circa £20m at this level that is a huge mismatch (and shows why the club will try to push up prices, whether or not that actually works). But I am wary of an apples and pears comparison between clubs.
Mind you looking at that photo quite a few of us haven't aged well.
I blame a lifetime of supporting Charlton 😁
https://www.wfcforums.com/index.php?threads/charlton-athletic-1-0-watford-fc-09-08-2025-championship-fixture-1.62190/page-10
-------------------------Kaminsky
------------Ramsay - Jones - Gillesphey
Apter --------------------‐-----------------------------Edwards
---------------------------Coventry
----------------Carey ---------------- Knibbs
---‐---------------------------Tanto
------------------------------Kelmann
We wanted it much more than Watford yesterday, and played at full tilt until the final whistle.
I have read and heard elsewhere that after the game Nathan Jones went to the Watford fans and gave it the big ‘un. I didn’t see that, but from early in the game the Watford fans were singing #Nathan Jones you’re a wanker#, and he might have given a little bit back.
If they dish it out, expect it back the poor diddums delicate drove.
We have made a good start, but we won’t really be able to judge much until we’ve played the fabled first ten games.
https://x.com/secondtierpod/status/1954435227478102483?t=CvqnvkaOf7C8zZD-7qCDAg&s=19
I was saying to my brother in the ground from the start that we had to be patient and not concede. I was expecting a goal at any stage and even in added time I could feel one was in the air. Maybe because this is what we do.
He's not everyone's cup of tea, but Jones has a way of getting the best out of his players. You can see at the end that all the players have bought into his vision for the club.
The only downside for me was that the keeper locks really dodgy to me. Keepers who don't come off their line for crosses make me really nervous & it was a definite penalty.
Hopefully just first game nerves
Let's be honest, outside our circle, we have been a nothing club and very forgettable for well over a decade in the footballing world.
Now we have a manager that appears to be universally hated, a quality team, and a club people are starting to respect again.
I would much rather be difficult Charlton to play against with a manager who is disliked, than having some of the soft touches we have had and lose at home to the likes of Morecambe, Northampton, Fleetwood etc.
Long live our despised manager who has made us feel proud of the club again.
Decent crowd
Good weather
Great atmosphere
All the new signings that played fitted in for a 1st outing
Last minute winner