No Longer in Our Own Hands

As we were failing to hold on to our half time lead at home to Farnborough on Saturday many of the teams around and below us were busy picking up points and dragging us closer to relegation. Our fate is no longer in our hands if the teams below us win their games we’ll finish in the bottom three and the big budget gamble the club chose to make at the end of January will have lost.

Despite Joseph-Dubois, Welch, Fuseini & Malcolm all signing contracts for next season realistically if we go down the club will have to sell them cut price on to get them off the wage bill as we cut our cloth for a very austere future in the Ryman League.

If things weren’t bad enough Mark Goldberg has chosen this moment to criticise the fans and say the don’t back him. He may well be right to say that the team needs the full backing of the supporters from now on, but he is wrong to lump all fans in with a vocal minority who stand behind the dug outs and slag him off every game no matter what the result.

I doesn’t bode well that with 6 games to go cracks are appearing, the mood is dark and results are not improving.

Saturday’s result left me feeling so disappointed and with that sinking feeling in my stomach. I get a horrible feeling I’ll be returning to that place again over the next few weeks and it could be along journey back from Dorchester on 28 April.               

Hitting The Buffers.

After another disappointing week for Bromley we now face Farnborough at home on Saturday in another ‘must win’ game if we are to avoid relegation. Keeper Joe Welch aside the team under performed at Basingstoke losing 1-0 and then misfired at home to Havant & Waterlooville on Tuesday night with Welch once again our star player in a goalless draw along with Jerome Sobers re-signed on dual registration with Billericay to cover Moses Swiabu’s suspension. 

The defence looks pretty solid and we are hard to break down, but we just can’t score goals and draws are just not going to be enough in the run in. The worrying things is that the creative players and the forwards all seem to be having a confidence crisis just when it matters, the swagger and style of the performances that saw us beat Weston, Salisbury & Chelmsford has disappeared and been replaced by the football of fear.     

March has seen us pick up three points from draws and score only two goals which simply won’t be enough if that form continues into April. To be confident of another season in Conference South we need nine points from our last seven games and for that to happen we need top stay tight at the back and our forwards need to find some form and quick.         

Still Fighting

It’s the middle of March and it’s still no clearer what division Bromley will be playing in next season. We are three points above the relegation zone, but with Thurrock the only side looking doomed it’s any two clubs from five or six others who made be joining them in relegation come the end of April. All the teams involved have improved of late, but none are really putting a series of wins that will see them clear and that includes The Ravens. Since the squad was overhauled in January we look a much better side and have picked up some great results, but since the defeat at Welling we’ve stuttered to two draws thanks to a 99^th minute equaliser conceded to Staines and a late missed penalty against Eastleigh.

Questions have to be asked why it was left so late to get in the reinforcements and strengthen, a couple of weeks earlier and this nervous few weeks may even have been avoided.   

The club have signed up four quality players from the current squad for next season, let’s hope they will be playing for us in Conference South!