After registering an opening-day win at Wigan last weekend, Charlton take on Leyton Orient in their first home game of the 2024/25 Sky Bet League One season on Saturday afternoon 17th August.
First and foremost, it's important to remember that this game is an early kick off - a 12.30 start and the club have called for fans to help make The Valley a fortress so that we build a head of steam from that opening day momentum.
Orient, by comparison, experienced an opening day defeat at the hands of Bolton Wanderers, losers in last year's play-offs, who will fancy themselves as being in the mix for promotion this season. It's a tough division with Barnsley, Huddersfield, Rotherham, Peterborough and Wrexham all in there. Birmingham though are promotion favourites, and have already been visitors to The Valley earlier this week in our narrow 1-0 EFL Cup defeat on Tuesday night.
In theory, Orient should provide easier opposition than Alfie May's new club but it's important to note that Orient finished five places and twelve whole points above us last season, after running away with League Two as champions the season before. They're not to be underestimated, having added a number of notable signings to their squad this summer, including three faces very familiar to Charlton fans - Sean Clare, Diallang Jaiyesimi and Joe Pigott, although the latter has gone out on loan to AFC Wimbledon.
However the Addicks have made a number of significant signings too and Nathan Jones clearly believes in the ability of his squad to mount a serious challenge for promotion this time round. The defence is certainly looking stronger than in the early parts of last season and the Birmingham game has further bolstered the gaffer's confidence that right now Charlton "are in a good place."
It's important to put more points on the board and the early kick-off gives us the chance of reaching the dizzy heights of top spot in League One at least for a couple of hours. Nothing's won in the early stages of the season but it does serve as a good yardstick for the likely direction of travel in the longer term.
Hopefully we'll be celebrating in the early afternoon sunshine on Saturday but this is just the first stop in what's likely to be a long, tough and competitive season. Having navigated our way through a tricky trip to Wigan and gone toe to toe with the promotion favourites, it feels like finally we might be back on the right track.
Even if we’re up in the dizzy heights of the division after the weekend, we'll keep our feet on the ground for now and hope The Valley is rocking with that magical back-to-school feeling of a first home league game of the season. See you at the fortress, fellow Addicks.
Photo by Rhea Spencer-Newall