Charlton Athletic fans have been spending the weekend securing their seats at Wembley Stadium for the League One play-off final – a London derby against Leyton Orient.

Nearly 37,000 tickets went on sale on Saturday afternoon, with the keenest away followers given first priority in the online sale, followed by season-ticket holders and others with loyalty points. If there are any tickets left, they will go on general sale from Wednesday afternoon.

It is six years since Charlton last made it to Wembley, when a late winner from Patrick Bauer secured promotion to the Championship. But the Addicks spent only a single  season in the second tier, which was disrupted both by Covid and a meltdown off the pitch as the club was sold to the shambolic East Street Investments group. 

Since then the club has spent five largely miserable seasons in League One, but off the pitch the club has finally stabilised somewhat under the ownership of the SE7 Partners group.

Fans surged onto the pitch after the final whistle in the semi-final against Wycombe Wanderers. An 81st-minute winner from Matty Godden was the difference between the two sides after a tense match.

Orient will be a tough test for the Addicks, particularly as they have displayed a late burst of form under their manager, Richie Wellens. The east London side beat Stockport County on penalties last Wednesday to get to Wembley.

As the final whistle blew at The Valley last week, rather than focusing on his players, the TV cameras lingered on manager Nathan Jones as he dropped to his knees and prayed. Jones, who has spoken of his Christian faith, told the BBC that his reaction was one of pride and relief.

“I’ve met so-called big clubs, but they’re not big clubs because they have a lot of fans turn up. That doesn’t necessarily mean you’re a big club,”  Jones said.

“This club is a big club. It’s got great owners, it’s got owners that make sound decisions – they’re very good businessmen. We’ve got an academy that is a conveyor belt. We’ve got a training ground that’s excellent, we’ve got a stadium that’s excellent.

“We’ve got a set of processes of recruiting staff, of acting, a culture and an environment that is evolving and getting better and better and better.

“So the matchday is the tip of the iceberg. But underneath there’s real strength at this football club, and that’s why we’re a big club.”

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