Are Charlton Athletic fans turning up? The Valley attendance examined | OneFootball

We look at Charlton Athletic's attendance this season to assess whether Addicks supporters are getting behind their team this season.

It has been a mixed first season back in the Championship for Charlton Athletic.

After suffering relegation from the Championship in 2020, Charlton spent five years languishing in League One, and they found it tough to mount serious promotion challenges during that time, even flirting with the drop on some occasions.

It looked like another year of mid-table mediocrity was on the cards for the Addicks last season when they sat as low as 14th in the table in December, but a stunning second half of the campaign saw them secure a place in the play-offs.

After narrowly overcoming Wycombe Wanderers at the semi-final stage, Charlton sealed promotion back to the Championship with a 1-0 victory over Leyton Orient in the final at Wembley, with Macaulay Gillesphey's strike proving decisive.

It is fair to say the Addicks have been competitive on their return to the second tier, but their form has declined after a strong start to the season, meaning a nervous few months could be ahead at The Valley as Nathan Jones' men look to avoid relegation.

Charlton Athletic and Nathan Jones facing Championship survival battle after strong start

Charlton were tipped for relegation by many at the start of the season, but it seemed as though they were set to defy the odds considerably after an impressive opening to the campaign.

The Addicks picked up victories over the likes of Watford, Sheffield United, Blackburn Rovers and Ipswich Town in the early stages of the season, and they even sat as high as fifth in the table in mid-October after their remarkable 3-0 win over the latter at Portman Road.

Unfortunately for Charlton, they were unable to maintain their initial momentum, and a run of five consecutive defeats in November and December saw them slide down the table and into the danger zone.

The Addicks have stabilised a little in recent weeks after their tricky period, and Jones will be hoping that his January signings, including the likes of Harry Clarke, Conor Coady, Luke Chambers, Jayden Fevrier and Lyndon Dykes, can help his side retain their Championship status.

If Charlton are to stay clear of trouble, The Valley will need to be a fortress in the remaining months of the season, and with that in mind, we have examined the club's attendance figures so far this campaign.

Charlton Athletic's average attendance in the 2025-26 season revealed

Charlton's attendances have fluctuated significantly over the past decade, but The Valley has certainly been a much more positive place in the last two years since the appointment of Jones.

As Addicks fans stayed away from games in protest against unpopular former owner Roland Duchatalet, their average attendance dropped as low as 11,162 in the 2016-17 season, which was their first season back in League One for five years.

Despite Charlton returning to the third tier in 2020, attendances did not drop as substantially on that occasion with Duchatalet no longer at the helm, but their average gate of 13,436 in the 2022-23 season reflected the growing apathy among the fanbase.

However, with the Addicks now thriving under Jones' guidance, they have an average attendance of 20,237 so far this season, and it is the first time the club have averaged above the 20,000 mark since the 2008-09 campaign, while it also represents a sizeable increase from last term's figure of 15,255.

Charlton's highest home attendance in the league this season came in the 2-1 victory over Sheffield Wednesday in October when they welcomed 23,009 through the turnstiles, while they even recorded a gate of 26,475 for the FA Cup third round clash against Chelsea last month, but the bumper crowd watched their side fall to a 5-1 defeat against the Premier League giants.

With attendances at The Valley regularly surpassing 20,000 this season, the Addicks can count on a strong home support to help them get over the line in their battle against relegation.