Ravens Flying

As the busy Christmas period approaches Bromley are flying, four points clear at the top of the table having recorded their ninth home league win in a row on Saturday beating Farnborough 3-0. To further add to the buzz around The Lane, Ryan Hall has returned for a month after being released by Leeds Utd at the end of November. Hall with play for nothing until he can sign for another Football League club in January as a thank you for the faith the club showed in him when picking him up after his release from Crystal Palace as a youngster. Ryan played for just under half an hour on Saturday showing some nice touches and adding to the celebratory atmosphere around the place.

With fifteen points up for grabs before the New Year the next fortnight could shape our season.

The tightness of the budget constraints were shown by the loaning of Shamir Mullings to Thamesmead Town for the rest of the season effectively ending his time at Bromley. After a good pre-season Shamir was unlucky to not get a starting place in the side, but he then had an unsuccessful loan spell at Cray Wands before returning for one sub appearance prior to his current departure to Bayliss Avenue.               

With the London and Kent senior Cups still to play for and the league up for grabs it's gonna be an interesting start to 2014 at Hayes Lane. 

Top Again!

As we head towards the end of November remarkably Bromley once again find themselves at the top of the table and unbeaten at home in the league. Saturday saw us bounce back from a heavy FA Trophy defeat at Ebbsfleet with a solid 2-0 win over Havant & Waterlooville thanks to two goals early in the second half. Ashley Nicholls capping a man of the match display with the second goal having put in an assist for the first, coolly taken by PJD. We were rarely troubled by a decent Havant side, which speaks volumes for the way Mark Goldberg & Co. have us playing at the moment.

As well as the Conference South campaign going well we also find ourselves in the Semi Finals of the Kent Senior Cup after Hythe Town pulled out of last Monday’s scheduled game that afternoon due to an injury crisis at the Kent Coast Club. I don’t think I ever remember this happening before!       

Due to our early FA Trophy exit we have another blank Saturday this week, but next up at Hayes Lane on Tuesday 3 December are London Bari from the Essex Senior League as we begin the defence of the London Senior Cup. Bari who groundshare with Clapton FC have been in senior football for the last three season having previously competed in the Asian Leagues. This is the first meeting between the two sides and should be a decent game before we get back to league action against Farnborough the following weekend.   

 The early exits from both FA competitions may well restrict what the club can spend on strengthening the team as the season goes on, but right now we have a group of players who look united and playing very well. The home performances deserve to command  more than the 425 who came to the game on Saturday.

Shamir Mullings has returned to the club after a month at Cray Wands with Steve Smith the latest Bromley man to lend a hand at our tenants. Smith who has rarely put a foot wrong when selected will hopefully benefit from regular football and still get a chance to establish himself at Bromley.    

Great Response

After the disappointment of the FA Cup defeat and it’s financial ramifications plus the following defeat at Sutton, the players have come back with the perfect response with nine points from three games and plenty of quality goals too. We currently sit top of the table clear by a point from Eastleigh, although Stortford could over take us if they win their games in hand, it’s still a great position to be in at this time of year.

The win at Maidenhead was all about attrition while the victory over Dorchester showed a ruthless side against strugglers we’ve lacked in previous seasons. The 5-0 trouncing of Chelmsford was the most satisfying given the history between the two clubs and their attitude in previous campaigns. It shows what can happen to a team when the money runs out, their home gates have halved in a few months and there was a startling lack of belief among the players despite the best efforts of their impressive travelling support.

After a week off due to FA Cup fixtures, next up we travel to Ebbsfleet Utd in the FA Trophy, probably the toughest draw we could have got at this stage of the competition, The Fleet are a very strong well funded side and I’d take a replay right now. Although some might say we could do without the distraction of cups at the moment, we could do with some prize money to boost the coffers for the season.                  

The following Monday we host Hythe Town in the Kent Senior Cup, a repeat of the 19992 final, what side we put out in that one will probably de dictated by the result on Saturday.  

Cutting the Cloth

After the inglorious FA Cup exit to Heybridge Swifts the inevitable budget cuts kicked in this week. Lewis Carey & Jacob Erskine were released while Warren McBean left for Canvey Island.  MG told the press he would have to trim things down following the defeat and so it has proved to be.
For those who are left Saturdays game at Sutton will be a massive test, win or draw and they will have gone some way to proving their worth to the owners who will someway have to find the funds to keep the team together without the cup income, lose and I think one or two more will be left go.
The game sees second play third in a local derby that always has a little extra spice. Add the fact that former Bromley captain  Ali Fuseini now ply’s his trade there, it should be interesting!
I came in for some criticism from some long term fans for my comments on facebook about the cup exit, but I stick by them. The approach of the players to both cup games was far from right and after getting away with it against Burgess Hill we came unstuck two weeks later.
While those who work behind the scenes looked totally shell shocked by the loss and the implications of the lack of income from a cup run it didn’t seem to have enough impact on the ones who could most effect the result. Although it does now of course as two of the starting line up are no longer with the club.      
Let's hope that the guys still with us seize the opportunity to keep us up in the frame and get one over an old foe.          

Keep The Eyes on The Prize.

After just about doing enough to get through in the FA Cup beating Burgess Hill 1-0, we then put out an mixture of first team and academy players in the Kent Senior Cup against Cray Wands and edged our tenants out 3-2 with an injury time winner from 17 year old Tom O’Connor. This was the managerial debut of Cray’s new men in charge Keith Bird & Micky Paye who previously ran Bromley’s Reserve side. Among the eight debutants in the Wands side were the familiar faces of Carlos Talbot & Helge Orome, both of whom played for Bromley in the final of the London Senior Cup last season.

Mark Goldberg took a risk not fielding any of the regular back four and filling the bench with teenagers against a highly motivated team looking to impress their new managers, but it all worked out in the end with some of the Academy players putting in solid performances and Jacob Erskine getting off the mark in his latest spell with the club following his release from Whitehawk. With Warren McBean out of the country and Jay May injured Erskine has the chance to push Shamir Mullings for the target man spot next to Bradley Goldberg.

On Saturday we travel to Boreham Wood who are always a tough prospect and we’ll have to raise our game again to get anything out of this and keep up near the top of the table. Let’s hope the lethargy we showed against Burgess Hill was a one off. The FA Cup draw has been kind to us again with a home tie V Heybridge Swifts of Ryman Division One North, but if we are complacent again the season could have a very different complexion in a few weeks.         

There is a strong character and team ethic at the club right now and it needs to come to the fore for the good times to keep rolling.          

Keep on Rocking!

After an impressive 3-0 win over Staines we then won two more league games both 3-2 and both coming back from 1-0 down. An experiment in changing formation caused us a few problems at Concord Rangers, but after trailing MG identified the error and in the second half with the old shape restored we were too hot to handle for the newly promoted Essex Seasiders. Then came Basingstoke at home and another impressive attacking display with Bradley Goldberg in spectacular form and Shamir Mullings making the most of an injury to Jay May and putting in a shift as the target man. The latest fine run leaves us in second place and already on 21points which is a great foundation to have ahead of the cup campaigns that tend to dominate the Autumn.

Next up Burgess Hill Town of Ryman League Division One South visit Hayes Lane in the FA Cup 2^nd Qualifying Round on Saturday before we ‘travel’ to tenants Cray Wanderers next Tuesday in the Kent Senior Cup. If we can avoid complacency against Burgess Hill and play to our potential then we should seize the opportunity to bring in the extra money available from the FA for a cup run to keep things going and also give a few fringe players some game time against Cray who are having a very tough season so far.

The vibe at Hayes Lane is very positive right now and a credit to all involved at the club.

Long may it continue…          

Big Test on Saturday

After defeat at Eastleigh saw us slip from the top of the table we now host Staines Town at Hayes Lane on Saturday in what will be another marker as to how much we have improved this season. Having drawn our last three meetings at home to The Swans, Marcus Gayle’s side are bound to be a tough prospect again, with former Bromley striker Louie Theophanous now back at the club we signed him from for a hefty fee last winter.     

On Saturday we took a bit of a battering in the first half from a very decent Eastleigh side before rallying and almost claiming a point in the second half. If we can take the positivity from the later half of the game into Saturday then we have to stand half a chance of finally claiming a home win over Ali G’s hometown. So far we have managed to win games this season that we wouldn’t have done last term, so let’s hope that trend continues.  

Then on Tuesday we travel to the Essex coast to play newly promoted Concord Rangers, a first for most Bromley fans. 

In the week MG brought in former Newport and Bristol Rovers winger Ben Swallow to add options to the squad. With Mike Jones loaned out to Canvey Island, Mark has already hinted he may be sending more fringe players out on dual registration to keep match fit.   

August ends with Bromley top!

August comes to an end with Bromley nicely placed top of the table winning four out of their opening five games and letting in just three goals. After the Bank Holiday defeat at Bishop Stortford, The Ravens fought back with a win at home to newly promoted Gosport Borough, although they certainly made hard work of it.

After the euphoria of crushing Tonbridge 5-1, we came up against Stortford who were a typical Rob Stringer side. Big, direct, hard working and organised. In the end we had no answer to break down the machine and were a little fortunate to keep it down to 1-0, not only did Lewis Carey save a penalty, but they hit the underside of the bar and Rob Swaine cleared one off the line. Although we did have a good 20minute spell just before half time, including a goal ruled out for offside.           

Saturday saw us start really well and at 2-0 we looked comfortable winners, but some complacency and a late penalty saw us running the ball into the corner and desperately running the clock down at the end.The two goals we did score though were testament to the powerful additions to the squad MG made in the summer with Rob Swaine, Ashley Nicholls and Steve Smith all involved. Mark chose to ring teh changes in midfield after the first defeat and Nicholls and Waldren earned their call ups with big performances.    

The next game sees us travel to one of the promotion favourites Eastleigh if we come back from Hampshire with even a point it will be a great result and keep us up there.

The more cynical Bromley fans have said that we haven’t played a good side yet, but we’ve won games that we would have lost last season and already got a quarter f the points tally needed for league safety. the team looks united and motivated so there are plenty of reasons to be happy at Hayes Lane right now.  

Great Start to The Season

Two games into the season and a more than reasonable start to the campaign. MG gas told the press he is happy with the team and is aiming to finish in the top half and maybe even achieve out highest Conference South finish. 

The 2-0 win at Hayes & Yeading was a solid display, while the 4-0 win over Whitehawk on Tuesday showed some real quality and defensive resolve.  

He has publicly called Bradley Goldberg and Jay May as his preferred strike partnership and backed them to score goals. How long or whether Shamir Mullings or Warren McBean will be happy as understudies remains to be seen. In midfield Steve Smith and Elliott Buchanan have staked a claim to the central spots which leaves two other quality players in Ashley Nicholls and Danny Waldren also on the fringes. Tough decisions for the manager, but you can’t argue with results so far. The wing play of Brendan Kiernan has been a joy to watch and we’ll have our work cut out to keep hold of him. On current form, I’d tip him to be the next Raven making the step back into professional football.     

With a busy Bank Holiday schedule of Tonbridge Angels at home and Bishops Stortford away coming up the squad may need to be rotated to keep everyone fresh before the visit of newly promoted Gosport Borough to Hayes Lane finishes the month. Let’s hope by then we are still looking good. 

The New Season Awaits

Here we go again then, after the longest, most drawn out and inconclusive pre-season I can remember, the Conference South season finally kicks off on 17 August. It’s been a strange month or so building up to the real thing, we’ve had quite a large number of prospective players come and go and even now it’s unclear what Mark Goldberg’s starting line up will be against Hayes & Yeading at Woking FC. We appear to have a good number of decent midfield options, Kiernan, Smith & Nicholls look great signings, while the back line although pretty solid has nothing in reserve past the four players who have started almost every friendly, Pooley, Swaine, Holland and Anderson. Up front MG has yet to unearth a real goal scorer. May & Mullings compete for the target man spot, while Bradley Godlberg and Warren McBean vie for the poachers role. The smart money is on May & Bradley to start the first game with last season’s top scorer Pierre Joseph Dubois not featuring in the last game against Cray Wands. With Joe Welch injured and George Howard singed by Gillingham we’ll start our league campaign without a settled keeper just as we did two years ago. Ben McNamara had been brought in on-loan from Nuneaton after Reserve Keeper Max Huxter had a game to forget against Dulwich Hamlet, fingers crossed Welch won’t be too far away from fitness after missing his second pre-season in a row through injury.  

It looks like it will take some time for things to settle down and the team to take shape still, there has been a good buzz about the squad and hopefully the positive vibes will continue whatever the result next Saturday and beyond.     

            

Twelve Players Signed Up and MG Staying?

After a couple of quiet weeks media wise the club announced six new signings and the re-signing of another six on Wednesday night. It’s funny just how worked up a small number of fans were getting about the lack of updates prior to this announcement, it wasn’t too long ago that you had to wait for the first friendly to find out who was still at the club and who was trying out.

Staying at the club are popular figures Joe Welch, Mike Jones, Danny Waldren, Warren McBean and Elliot Buchanan, joining are Alex Bentley from Hornchurch, Jay May & Rob Swaine from Billericay, Sabir Mullings from Southend and Ashley Nicholls from Dorchester. It’s not even mid-June yet and we have a full team signed up! The club is also in talks with last seasons top scorer Pierre Joseph-Dubois about staying for another season.

Despite hinting at a move away from the club in April Mark Goldberg appears to be staying as manager for another season and has urged the fans to work with him as they aim to stay within budget and compete against some very affluent opposition. Achieving league safety will be the first aim for The Ravens and hopefully avoiding another nervous April. A mid-table finish with a cup run and a county cup win would no nicely, two of which we achieved last season, but over spent in doing so. If MG gets the mix right this season with battlers rather than ballets we could at least match what was achieved in 2012/13.                

Bromley FC 2012/13 Season Review

Bromley FC Season 2012/13 

The 20012/13 season was a strange affair for all concerned with Bromley FC, it started with optimism that the squad who finished last season would kick on from surviving relegation and possibly even mount a play off challenge, but while the cup competitions provided a lot of joy the league proved to be almost as difficult as the previous campaign and saw the relationship between manager and supporters turn sour for a while. 

After a solid pre-season it appeared that the main problem with the side again would be a lack of goals, Ali Chaaban & Richard Pacquette joined the team to give us more goal scoring options alongside last 2011/12’s player of the season Hakeem Araba and it was hoped that would be the key. Mark Goldberg had originally experimented with bringing back Nic McDonnell and Gareth Williams for their third spells with the club, but neither could rediscover the form of 2006/07 when they both notched over 20 in the promotion season and former top scorer Warren McBean’s return was halted by a torn achilies after just two friendlies. 

 The season began with a 0-0 at home to Staines, the lack of goals that blighted the previous campaign still seeming to be a major issue. A 3-0 defeat at Eastbourne the following Tuesday sounded alarm bells among the fans with players fighting each other over taking a penalty which inevitably was missed. Next a 3-2 loss at Chelmsford did see a much improved display with ten men, but the month ended without a win as we drew 1-1 at home to Tonbridge on the Bank Holiday Monday.

The next Saturday saw a 2-0 loss at Farnborough with tempers frayed behind the goal at another season of struggle this time on a much improved budget. Finally the win came with a 4-0 home win over an awful Hornchurch side with the players making a point of celebrating with the manager and blanking the fans. Wins over Bath & Truro lifted the mood and the league position going into the FA Cup.

A couple of league draws followed before Welling came to Hayes Lane for Non League Day. 1,334 watched an abject display from The Ravens with The Wings running out comfortable 2-0 winners. October came to an end with us still in the FA Cup and mid-table losing to league leaders Salisbury 2-1 in injury time before edging Maidenhead 3-2 in front of only 333 at Hayes Lane.

Once again The FA Cup provided some relief with the club reaching the First Round Proper again, impressive wins at Sutton & Dover set up a fourth qualifying round tie at home to Worcester. With a tense and close game looking set for a replay Bromley were reduced to ten men when Moses Swaibu was sent off, but remarkably The Ravens not only held on they snatched a win in the last minute thanks to Richard Pacquette converting a Ali Fusieni cross to spark off joyous scenes on the terraces. The first round draw set us up with a trip to the Lancashire coast to face League Two Fleetwood Town who had one the Conference Premier the previous season. Just over 350 Bromley fans made the trip, but they were denied any romance by a clinical display from The Cod Army scoring three first half goals to win 3-0 at a canter.

The FA Trophy unusually saw us have a good run too, replay wins away from home over Staines & Boreham Wood set up a home tie with Conference Premier promotion hopefuls Kidderminster Harriers. Against the odds Bromley won 1-0 thanks to a Danny Waldren penalty and entered the last sixteen for the first time in the club’s history where they were drawn away to Dartford. A great travelling support made a fantastic atmosphere and pushed the side on against their Conference premier neighbours, eventually losing 4-2 in a thrilling match.

Amid the FA Cup and The Trophy games we played one league game in November a poor home display losing 1-0 to a rugged Billericay. Striker Joe Piggott joined on loan from Charlton and scored in the 2-1 win at Havant & Waterlooville, but two 3-1 defeats to Welling & Farnborough knocked us back before a spell of bad weather over Christmas saw  two games called off. 2012 came to an end with an impressive 3-0 win at Tonbridge in terrible conditions and there was even whispers of the play offs despite the fact a few players were let go or sent out on loan to balance the books. 

2013 got off to the worst possible start with a 2-0 home defeat to Sutton in front of a relatively poor crowd of 556. Then came a great run of league results that saw us beat Eastleigh at home 3-1, Dorchester 4-0 away and Bath 2-0 away. Forwards Louie Theophanous and Elliott Buchanan looking like great signings, but after another interruption for snow we lost 1-0 at home to Weston Super Mare and entered another slump. Great efforts hade been made my the club and fans to get the Weston game on, with the pitch cleared and two sides of the ground opened, but the performance at home was once again lacking.

February saw Bromley go five games with out a win before ending the month with a vital six points beating Billericay 3-2 away with a last minute Danny Waldren penalty and on the Tuesday a surprisingly poor Chelmsford 2-0 at home.

Our Kent Senior Cup campaign fell victim to the perceived chance of making the play offs with MG fielding a squad side that was destroyed in extra time at Tonbridge 6-1 after we had beaten Gillingham Reserves in the previous round. It was the London Senior Cup that would provide a vital source of positivity during the final six weeks of the season. A squad side provided home wins over Harrow & Tooting which then saw us travel to another Ryman League side Wingate & Finchley in the semi’s. This time a near full strength team drew 1-1 after extra time with the Premier Division strugglers, but edged the penalty shootout 4-3 to book a place in the final against Kingstonian.                       

Going into mid-March we still had a realistic chance of making the play offs, but the day before the transfer deadline Ali Fuseini was allowed to join Sutton amid rumours of budget cuts and from that point the team never recovered. A run of eight consecutive league defeats followed, the side were hampered by injuries to key players and a lack of depth in the squad only bolstered by Academy players thrown into a difficult situation. The Easter Monday defeat at second bottom Hornchurch saw tempers boil over. We lost to a poor side who were reduced to ten men before half time and we played with one up front with no urgency at all. The Urchins then nicked the game in the final minute pulling us down into the relegation mire once more. As the manager left the field he was told in no uncertain terms what one supporter in particular felt and as a result MG went to the paper again to criticise the fans and threaten to resign for the third time in the summer. The run of loses eventually ended in the penultimate league game with a win at Boreham Wood, fortunately Billericay & Hornchurch’s inability to win at all meant we were safe before the Conference South campaign ended with a 4-0 home defeat to play off contenders Dover. During the final game a group of fans unfurled a ‘Mark Goldberg Bromley Legend’ banner and following the match at the Player of the Season awards MG made a move to rebuild bridges with supporters during his speech and also in the press.     

Fortunately there was still the London Senior Cup Final to lift the spirits and end the season on a positive note. Kingstonian came into the game at Imber Court on an equally poor run of form, but regardless of this both teams provided a good match to watch with Bromley edging it thanks to two first half goals from Elliott Buchanan & Aaron Rhule and despite being reduced to ten men on the hour when Helge Orome saw red. K’s did grab a goal dead on the final whistle, but The Ravens lifted the cup with Mark Goldberg dedicating the win to the fans.

The season came to an end with Bromley 14th, having reached the first round of the FA Cup, last sixteen of the FA Trophy and won the London Senior Cup. A decent return on paper, but for many it still felt like an under achievement given the increased budget and the flirtations with relegation after Christmas. We go into the summer with a great deal of uncertainty over the future of the club and management, MG had said he will make a decision in June depending of if a take over goes through. Whatever happens hopefully the relationship between club and fans will continue in the good vein they ended the season and the disputes can be put behind us all so we can face the new challenges united.

Players In During the Season:           

Richard Paquette Aug                           

Ian Daly Sept                                        

Elliott Buchanan Oct

Louie Theophanous Oct

Joe Piggott (loan) Nov

Rob Gillman Nov

Harry Harding Nov

Helge Orome Dec

Solomon Taiwo Dec

Ishmael Welsh Jan

Max Noble Feb

Players Out:

Hakeem Araba Sept

George Howard (loan) Nov

Richard Pacquette Dec

Rob Gillman Dec

Harry Harding Dec

Jerrome Sobers Dec

Ian Daly (loan Dec)

Joe Piggott (loan ended) Jan

Michael Malcolm Jan

Ali Chaaban Jan

Solomon Taiwo Feb

Ali Fuseini March 

Col.           

Bromley 2 Kingstonian 1

After nine defeats from the last ten league games and surviving relegation with two matches to spare thanks to other teams being even more inept it wasn’t looking like a great end to the season, but we had one chance to lift the spirits before the summer and thankfully we took it.

Going into the London Senior Cup Final against Kingstonian neither side were in good form, K’s Ryman Premier season had finished with them in mid-table, but on a poor run equal to ours, so confidence wasn’t high in either camp. Once again though Mark Goldberg found the magic formula when it comes to cup games and put out a side motivated and determined to win. There had been conciliatory words between manager and fans at the Player of the Season awards and also in the local press. With the players also on message there was a sense of unity again about the club for the big game.  

We took the lead inside the first minute thanks to Elliott Buchanan’s low strike from 20yards and added to the lead on 38minutes when Aaron Rhule converted Louie Theophanous’ cross to lead 2-0 at the half. Despite losing both starting centre backs, Moses Swaibu to injury and Helge Orome to a 58^th minute red card, The Ravens adapted and overcame. Danny Waldren & Jack Holland fitted into the back line and despite K’s dominating play in the final 20minutes a combination of determined defending and great goalkeeping from George Howard, Bromley held out until the final kick of the game when Okai bundled the ball home dead on the whistle.

It was a great night and the unity was exemplified by having Helge stand among the fans after his sending off.

What the future holds for Bromley FC is very uncertain, Mark Goldberg had said he will consider his future over the close season and without extra investment into the club it will struggle to stay in Conference South, even more so if he withdraws his. Most of the players who gave their all on Tuesday night will be on their way, but whatever comes they gave us a night to be proud of and we have the London Senior Cup at Hayes Lane for the first time in ten years.                

Have a great summer…

Given up Too Early?

It’s rarely dull at Bromley FC and it certainly hasn’t been lately, after two defeats over Easter we now find ourselves less than secure from a relegation battle, one which we a poorly equipped for. Ali Fuseini was allowed to leave to Sutton, Aaron Rhule farmed out to Hastings on dual registration and then we lost Pierre Joseph-Dubois & Marlon Patterson to injury, Moses Swaibu to new fatherhood and Joe Welch has a one game ban coming up. With the transfer deadline gone and Academy kids on the bench plus long term injuries Warren McBean & Albert Jarrett nowhere near a return the squad looks lightweight and fragile. Any team facing us til the end of the season will be relishing the opportunity to over power such a vulnerable under managed side.

The display at home to Eastbourne was flat and uninspiring, but the loss at Hornchurch to a late goal against ten men was so poor it left some fans unable to back the management any more. To see us playing with one up front clinging on to a point, when the game was there to be one, was embarrassing. To then lose it was humiliating and unacceptable.    

Our next game is at Weston Super Mare on Saturday minus most of our senior players before the semi final of the London Senior Cup at Wingate & Finchley and then it’s Hayes & Yeading at Hayes Lane on 14^th.

I am heading off on holiday and missing all three of these games, when I return I hope we are in a cup final and safe from relegation, but I have my doubts.             

Budget Cuts.

Following two disappointing away defeats at Dover & Staines plus two postponements which have clogged up the fixtures schedule the curtain has come down on the play offs and we now aim towards the London Senior Cup to salvage some pride.    

Dover saw Joe Welch sent off and he will face a one game ban for this a week on Saturday when we travel to Weston Super Mare. Staines saw us capitulate after going in front early on and missing a penalty, we certainly need to get a good performance under our belts this weekend to arrest the decline.  

The rumours going round of budget cuts and possible player departures have turned out to be true, Ali Fuseini the highest profile departure so far. There is still an extensive injury list too and we had to name a very young bench for Tuesday’s game with more Academy lads being signed on forms this week. The season could be coming to a very disappointing end after some notable achievements in the cups at the end of 2012. We’ve flirted with relegation and the play offs in recent times, but now neither look a possibility to again I hope MG does the right thing by the fans and fields the strongest team available for the Wingate & Finchley semi final on 9^th April.

Ahead of that we host strugglers Eastbourne at home on Saturday and then travel to AFC Hornchurch on Easter Monday, what kind of fight we put up against sides desperate for points remains to be seen, but to use a seasonal term out eggs all appear to be left in one basket as far as 2012/13 is concerned.           

Silverware or Fools Gold?

After a stylish 4-0 win over Truro we consolidated our ninth place in the league, there has been talk of the play offs, but really this is fools gold given the small squad we have, the injury list and the fact we are seven points off the last place.

On Tuesday Mark Goldberg took the gamble of playing a young reserve side in the London Senior Cup Quarter Final, this time the gamble paid off with a 2-0 win over Tooting with some good displays from reserve and academy players. We now travel to Wingate & Finchley in the semi’s on 9^th April, only a week before the final. The advantage of this is that we will know where we are in the league by then and hopefully put a strong enough team out to get into the final where if successful we would face either Cray, Dulwich, Hanwell or Kingstonian. It’s been six years since we lifted a trophy and the fans deserve a good night out, although sadly the supporters seem to be very low on MG’s priority list.

On Saturday we travel to fifth placed Boreham Wood and then to Dover on Tuesday, a couple of wins would keep the play off talk alive for a few more days, but with only one recognised centre back fit a couple of points would be a good result against two strong sides.     

Time to Start Another Run

After another impressive win on Saturday over an in form Dorchester we moved up to ninth place and the relegation fears of a month ago were lifted, sadly we couldn’t make it six games unbeaten on Tuesday as we lost away at Sutton 4-3. With Moses Swaibu & Liam Harwood injured out teenage centre backs were unable to cope with the power of Craig Dundass and Sutton’s set piece delivery. There was a 15minute flicker of hope when we came back from 2-0 down to 3-2 up, but then again the home side showed they wanted it more and could have won by more in the end, eventually scoring the winner in the 95^th minute.

Saturday sees Truro City come to Hayes Lane, the Cornish side look certain for relegation after financial problems and a points deduction, but they have not rolled over for anyone this season. With Elliott Buchanan scoring off the bench in the last two games it would be good to see him given a start alongside Louie Theophanous and us taking a more attacking approach.

Following that Tooting & Mitcham Utd rock up for a London Senior Cup Quarter Final on Tuesday, arguably the most important game we have left this season given it’s the only thing we can still win and a mid table finish now looks assured. The fans deserve a cup final to end an interesting season on a high, let’s hope MG sees it the same way.

Response

Two consecutive wins over Essex opposition has lifted the relegation fear for now and shown a real spirit in the squad again. The 3-2 win at Billericay came via an injury time penalty from Danny Waldren, but we’d played well against a very strong direct team for the whole game against a side that had beaten us well at our place not so long ago. Then came a very satisfying 2-0 home victory over perennial chokers Chelmsford who were surprisingly poor at the back given the budget and league position.

Since MG criticised the fans in the paper after the draw with Boreham Wood we’ve gone another three games unbeaten, Mike Jones inclusion has really helped as has having a stable line up, formation and tactics for the first time this season. If we can keep this squad together and stay injury free hopefully we can aim for that highest ever league finish and possibly have a shot at the London Senior Cup. First things first though we have in-form Dorchester at HL on Saturday and then a local derby at Sutton on Tuesday if we can come out of those unbeaten then we’ll be doing ok.

MG has said in an interview that there was lots more to come from this team he’d built from scratch and that fans expectations were high because they could see the quality he’d brought in. Let’s hope he is right…           

Shouldering The Blame

So here we are again, two points picked up from the last two games and three points off the drop, but once again the manager has scored a PR own goal by criticising the fans in the News Shopper. Apparently we have had a good season given the two cup runs and we all think we can do better, but he failed to mention the league position or the fact we have only won four home games all season in the league and eight in the last calendar year. A few grumbles from the stand as the players walked off on Saturday and MG has seen fit to go to the press to voice his frustration at some understandable discontent from a section of supporters, just as he did last January when there was some anger voiced after 15 game of a 17 game winless streak.

The fall out from his comments has seen a number of fans refusing to attend games, including one who has been going since 1978 and many others refusing to back the manager, but still support the team.  

Saturday’s 1-1 draw with Boreham Wood saw us play ten men for 30minutes, but still go behind and only grab a point thanks to a late Mike Jones strike. Then on Tuesday we played much better at Hayes & Yeading’s rented ground, but failed to take our chances drawing 1-1 again, with the ‘home’ side scoring from one of only two efforts on target all game. Sadly the improvement in play failed to paper over obvious discontent in the camp with one dropped player refusing to take his place on the bench and sulking in the bar all game. Mike Jones’ performance was a real bright point, his commitment and effort in an unfamiliar position lifted the side and he linked up well with PJD & Louie.

Saturday sees up travel to third bottom Billericay before we then host perennial under achievers Chelmsford on Tuesday, a couple more points from these two games should keep the wolf from the door, but it won’t heal the rift between the manager and the fans.                     

Back in The Mud

Another poor home performance losing 2-1 to Basingstoke saw us slip further down the table and then with the game at Staines postponed results elsewhere went against with us now only one point off the relegation zone in sixteenth.

Mark Goldberg has brought in another midfielder in Ishmael Welsh from Chelmsford obviously hoping that he can rediscover his form that saw him once play in the football league and help give us more attacking edge down the left with Max Noble now suspended and Albert Jarrett still injured long term if returning at all.

Next up is Boreham Wood at Hayes Lane on Saturday before a trip to Hayes & Yeading’s temporary home in Woking on Tuesday, three or four points from these games would be a much needed tonic, but most importantly a decent home display to keep the increasingly restless fans onside.

For all but the last 20minutes on Saturday Bromley were very poor, the squad appears to be very strong on paper and should be capable of reaching the play offs, but something is obviously not right and needs to be sorted quick.            

Looking Over Our Shoulder Again

After two league defeats and a Kent Cup exit we now find ourselves reassessing the season once again. A disappointing home defeat to Weston followed by a courageous, but fruitless performance at Salisbury sees us ten points off the play offs and only three off relegation. With third bottom Basingstoke visiting on Saturday it’s important that MG can get his side motivated for a home league match, something which often seems to be lacking given we have only won four Conference South games at home this season so far. Surely a key factor in the crowds at Hayes Lane dropping to under 350, which is the real hardcore support, in January.     

The Kent Cup exit, 5-1 after extra time at Tonbridge, is probably best forgotten about, but new signing Max Noble will now face a ban after a straight red just before the end of normal time. Hopefully MG will see fit to put a full strength team out for the London Senior Cup Quarter Final game at home to Tooting in March as this looks to be the only chance we have of finishing the season on a high note.

Before that we must try and get some league points on the board, especially at home if we want to bring the fans back in numbers.   

          

Once The Snow Clears

After two impressive midweek wins on the road at Dorchester & Bath either sides of giving a good account of ourselves a Dartford we now have just as much chance of making the play offs as we do relegation. Following two postponements due to snow the club are confident we will be able to get back to league action at home to Weston Super Mare on Saturday and hopefully carry on turning round the poor home form which has blighted the last couple of years. With Louie Theophanous and Elliott Buchanan now inform along with a reinvigorated PJD hopefully we can maintain the attacking prowess of the last few weeks and eradicate the defensive slips that cost us the Trophy game at Dartford.
We face a very busy second half of the season with at least two games a week for most of it and keeping an injury and suspension free squad will be key if we are to make an unlikely bid for those lower P/O places.          

Breathing Space.

Two wins in the space of four days has given the club a massive shot in the arm and seen us move up to the dizzy heights of eleventh. A 3-1 home win over Eastleigh and 4-0 win at Dorchester not only saw Louie Theophanous break his duck for the club, but also the squad looking much more unified and determined following some recent departures.

With the reaper’s scythe a little further away from our shoulders we can focus on this weekend’s final sixteen FA Trophy game at Dartford. Our hosts are currently doing very well in their first season back in the Conference Premier Division and will provide tough opposition, but if we can deal with their direct style and set pieces, I still feel we have half a chance of doing something special as we did in the FA Cup last season.

It’s great to have a much more positive outlook on all things Bromley FC, the pressure is off on Saturday, and if the league form continues to improve then we might spend the second half of the season looking up rather than down.        

New Year, Same as The Old One?

Happy New Year to all of you! The Christmas period was a mixed bag for Bromley with two games falling foul of the wet weather and then a fine victory at Tonbridge was followed by an abject defeat to Sutton at Hayes Lane on 1^st January. The results leave us third from bottom and facing a very tough task if we are to avoid relegation at the end of the season.

Mark Goldberg’s inability to get the team to play well on a regular basis leaves many fans baffled when there are flashes of what could be in games like Kidderminster & Tonbridge. With the huge wage bill we have at BFC to be in the relegation places is nothing short of criminal and one feels for the owner Jerry Dolke who has to continually fund this under achievement now the take over of the club is rumoured to be dead in the water.

Should the worse happen and we do go down the potential financial fall out could put Bromley FC back into jeopardy, which given the hard work of those who run the club behind the scenes is very cruel, but football is a results based business and ours are poor.

The FA Trophy, Kent & London Senior Cups seem like sheer folly at the moment given the league position, I hope we put as much into the league games at home to Eastleigh and away to Bath & Dorchester as we do into the Trophy game at Dartford over the next few weeks.

I’m finding it very hard to keep the faith right now.