There were 18,752 fans there the day the Valley celebrated its hundredth birthday and Jude Bellingham made his first league start, at 16 years and 77 days. Charlton were second in the Championship, unbeaten in six games, and had the chance to go top. But on a bad-tempered September afternoon in 2019 during which their coach, Lee Bowyer, was sent off for grabbing a spare ball that had been thrown on to the pitch, they were defeated 1-0 by Birmingham, and ended up being relegated that season.
It was Bellingham who scored the goal, of course, celebrating arms wide before the stands. “As the son of one of the most prolific strikers to have graced the non-league game, he should have learned a thing or two,” said the Observer’s match report.
