Next Season: Away Days

This week has been what I refer to as 'change over week'. That is to say, it's the week when the BBC Sport website acknowledges all relegations and promotions from the season, puts all the clubs in the section for their respective leagues next season, and wipes the league tables to zero. On the positive side, this means we no longer have to look at Charlton's final league position last season, on the negative it has rammed home the fact that we are now in League One. That is to say, the third tier of English football.

Instead of dwelling on the negatives of this, the Beeb's reshuffle has focused my mind on away days for next season and I think it could be one of few positives of relegation. The strong contingent of South East clubs for next season has given me some kind of hope that we may improve on our traditionally poor away followings and offer the team some much needed support on the road. Looking down the list of clubs we will be battling it out with next season, by my reckoning there are nine clubs that would be easy for the London based Addicks fan to get to: Brentford, Brighton, Colchester United, Gillingham, Leyton Orient, Millwall, Milton Keynes Dons, Southend United and Wycombe Wanderers.

Of course, some of these games many fans will not want to go to e.g. Millwall (for obvious reasons). Then there is the possibility that some will fall on a week night, making it difficult for many fans to get to. Yet all things considered, it is a far more convenient fixture list than the one we were presented with last season. There are also plenty of games that people will want to go to because they have never been to the ground before and want to add it to the 'been there, had a pie, watched the game' column.

I was on a flight home from Germany the other week, and as we flew over London we swung past the gleaming and imposing Emirates Stadium which is an impressive sight from the sky. As we got closer to Heathrow, we then went over Brentford's Griffin Park, a small and old fashioned stadium. The stark contrast between the two away day grounds was a sorry reminder of how Charlton have fallen in the past three seasons. With that said however, I am really hoping that this season will offer plenty to look forward to. The fixture list is out next week, time to get planning …