As said in another thread, some of you lot need to stop beating yourselves up about this.
Sunderland taking over 40,000 to the poxy checkatrade final is one of, if not the most impressive turn outs ever at Wembley. That is amazing support.
The fact many cannot afford to go again so soon is not 'embarrassing' at all. I remember going to Old Trafford to watch that Semi-Final was a pain logistically and expensive.
I cant think of any southern club that would take a combined 75,000 fans to two, let's be honest, pretty unfashionable games, in the space of a few months 300 plus miles away bar Arsenal, Spurs and maybe west ham (spit).
Certainly not Charlton, who are wetting themselves that they have managed to finally sell 38,000 tickets for their first Wembley visit in 21 years against big opposition in a promotion deciding match!
In fact they crack me up. Would they have sold 49,500 for the Auto-windscreens Trophy v a pre PL Wigan Athletic or for Scunthorpe United in the L1 playoff final? Fuck no. If they lose and end up in the Checkatrade final next season v Rochdale they'd struggle to shift 20,000!
Charlton have always benefitted from location and reputation as a nice club. On the borders of greater London and Northwest Kent, where there's a lot of floating football fans with spare cash. Hence, if Charlton do well they can sell lots of tickets to armchair Spurs, Arsenal, Chelsea and Man United fans from Sidcup and Dartford, but when doing badly they have to rely on a rather smaller local hard core. Some of their actual crowds were down to 6,000 this and last season - only inflated by including all the comps they give away. I remember the ad they put up all over greater London and Kent when in that PL - 'come watch Henry, Gerrard etc at The Valley for just £200' etc. West Ham have now adopted this attract football tourist approach at the taxpayer stadium.
On that, you should have no problem out singing them at Wembley. 35,000 proper Sunderland fans v mish mash of hardcore Charlton fans, floating Charlton fans, friends and relatives and armchair PL fans from greater London and Kent on a cheap big day out... Plus their drum and one foreign, generic chant!