Next Season: Season Tickets

In the first in an occasional series, and in an effort to banish memories of the 2008/09 season, I'm going to look ahead at what is in store for us next season. A few pints with a fellow fan led to discussion about a lot of things related to Charlton for the forthcoming season: match attendance, who will be managing us, which players will still be left, away days to look forward to etc. You get the idea. So I thought it might be worth getting some thoughts down and see what is on the mind of the fellow Addickted.

One of the things we both remained uncertain of was whether we were going to renew our season tickets. Judging by those I chatted to around me on the final game of the season, and the comments being left on a lot of the blogs, it's pretty obvious that this a subject of uncertainty for a lot of fans. There is only one week to go to renew existing tickets though so it really is decision time.

Don't get me wrong, I really want to renew my ticket. In spite of the team's best efforts to put me off this season, I still love watching Charlton play football. I also love having a regular seat and knowing that I'll see the same faces and engage in some good natured conversation every other week. But there are a few things which are making me wonder whether it is going to be worthwhile.

Firstly, as has been widely discussed, the reduction in price came as somewhat of a disappointment. When you take into account the fact that I am not usually able to make the mid-week games, and there are always a handful of weekend games I will unable to get to, it is not looking like such a sound investment. There are a few away games I'd like to attend so it could make sense to buy my ticket on a match-by-match basis and spend the spare cash on away trips.

I would be lying if I said that the man chose to manage the side did not have an impact on my decision. If Phil Parkinson is in charge then my decision will pretty much have been made for him. Granted, he got Colchester promoted from League One but his track record at Charlton is abysmal and retaining him as our manager would show the lack of ambition to push me, and I expect others, away. I want to support my club financially but would also like some reassurances that the revenue is being well spent. Evidence over the past few seasons has been to the contrary and our failure to move on from the Pardew/Parkinson era would not help me to believe this has changed.

Finally, superstitution may make me give up my ticket if nothing else does. I had been attending matches regularly prior to it, but I bought my first season ticket during the 2006/07. Yup, that was the season Dowie pitched up and it all went wrong. The following season wasn't much to write home about and the season just gone needs no explanation. So a little bit of me wonders if I have cursed the team and that if I give the season ticket a miss next season, it might all be OK. Yes, that was the sound of me clutching at some straws.

So in summary, I have no idea if I'm going to renew my season ticket. I'll probably leave it to the very last minute and the determing factor will be whether there is enough cash in my bank account to do it. I would be interested to hear what others are thinking and whether they are facing similar indecision in what should be a straightforward choice. Help!