The Price of Success

The Price of Success

As calm is restored over Hayes Lane and plans for the next season begin to be made, the enormity of the achievement for my club is just beginning to sink in. Next season Bromley FC will play in The National League, the fifth tier of English football against former Football League sides and the big names in non-league football, many of them full time professionals. It was great to see so many long term fans celebrating the promotion on the pitch at the end and many of them took it on into the night and will do it again on the last day of the season at Gosport. The differences we can expect for next season include entering the FA Cup at the Fourth Qualifying Round, having squad numbers, featuring on a weekly highlights show on BT Sport and possibly even being shown live on that channel at least once. Inevitably on a personal level for fans there will also be an impact, admission charges will be higher, there will certainly be a whole lot more travelling and each game will probably feel a bit like a cup tie at least for the first few months. For myself away games will be an even rarer treat, probably limited to Welling, Woking, Dover, Braintree, Aldershot and whoever wins the Conference South play offs. I said a long time ago I would want Bromley to play at the highest level possible even if it meant myself not being able to afford to go and that time now seems to be on the horizon, which will take a lot of getting used to, but with so many new fans coming in it won’t pose any problem for the club if a few of us oldies can’t take the price hike. We are one promotion away from the football league and can probably expect well over 1,000 for most home games next season. Bigger crowds remove the social element of the game slightly as I have been to matches this year and not even seen people I would call good friends as it’s been so packed, the bars are always rammed by 2pm and you have to queue for well over half an hour to get to any of the food & drink outlets. These things will probably have to be addressed with extra staffing and provision to keep punters happy and money coming in. Hopefully now the Reddings have gone the club shop will be fully stocked again once we have a new manufacturer for the kit etc. sorted, so fans new and old will be able to wear their colours. Good problems to have for Jerry Dolke and the new investors as we move on up to the highest level we have played at in the modern era.                             

The price of success is that inevitably some of the old guard will have to stop going as admission prices go up  to meet with the more costly demands of playing in a nationwide league. £15 is a very fair price for this level of football, but it does come at a stretch to some and with OAP’s now having to find a tenner for each game  and an extra £2 to park, it can be hard to find when their income is pretty much static.

If you wish to follow Bromley away from home this season, the rough cost of attending all the league games with admission, food, drink and travel is £3,500. Add the home games to that and you are looking at £4,000 a season to watch Bromley FC. If I had the money and time of course I would do it, (if I was single I would have taken a bank loan out to cover it!) but I can’t justify that kind of expense and I know one or two others in the same boat. But as is the way with modern football, it doesn’t really matter to the club as for every one fan who hangs their scarf up there are now half a dozen eager to part with their cash and ride the glory train. I would be very surprised if we don’t get well over 1,000 fans for every home Saturday game this season, it’s a new era for the club and the old school supporters.      

The phenominal hard work of the people behind the scenes at the club needs to be recognised on a regular basis as they go above and beyond on a daily basis to keep things ticking over at the club. When it all kicks off on Saturday against Wrexham they will have a right to a tear in the eye as will many older heads on the terraces. This quite simply seemed impossible 15 years ago.   

Col.       

(originally written in May 2015, updated in August)

A Very Rough Guide to The National League

A Very Rough Guide to Bromley’s League Opposition 2015/16

Aldershot Town - Phoenix club reformed after the demise of the original football league club. Made it all the way back from Ryman League Division Three to the Football League then got relegated again!

Altringham – Won this league several times in the 1980’s, but were always refused promotion by the old re-election system. 

Barrow – Won Conference North last season, have been here before and were also in the football league. Barrow is a long way from anywhere.

Boreham Wood - Conference South runners up, came up via the Play Off’s. No massively supported, but have a few charmers when the big games are on.

Braintree Town - Won promotion from Conference South a few years back have done really well since remaining part time, but with manager Alan Devonshire having left at the end of last season, they could struggle.

Cheltenham – Relegated from the football league last season back to the level they have spent many seasons at before.

Chester – Another phoenix club reformed after former league club City’s demise. Have battled their way back up again.   

Dover - Won the Conference South Play Off’s in May 2014, did really well last season. Not the friendliest of clubs, especially the heavy handed stewards.

Eastleigh - Won Conference South in 2014, made the play offs in their first season up. Very well funded club who have dramatically changed their stadium since we last went there.  

Forest Green Rovers  - Based in Stroud, have competed at this level for a while now and will be looking to push for promotion. 

Gateshead – Another ex-league club from days of yore, play at a massive Athletics arena.  

Grimsby - Former league club who still have a support and ground which looks to belong at a higher level. Lost the play off final in May 2015 on penalties, which has got to hurt! Will be pushing for promotion again.  

Guisley – The Yorkshire club won the Conference North Play Off’s last season, like us their first time at this level.

AFC Halifax Town – A phoenix club from the ashes of the old football league strugglers on their way back, play ay The Shay which is now a huge ground mainly set up for the Rugby League side who also play there. 

Kidderminster Harriers – Had a brief flirtation with the football league, but are well known to their level of football. We somehow knocked them out of the FA Trophy back in December 2012. 

Lincoln City - The first club to be relegated from the football league when the rules changed in 1987, been back and forth since. 

Macclesfield -  Had a good spell as a league club before falling back into the Conference. 

Southport – Voted out of the football league on the 70’s Port have been around the top two division of the non-league for a while now.

Torquay Utd– A club with more recent league pedigree, in the second spell as a Conference side finding it much tougher this time round. Beat us out of sight in the FA trophy last season. 

Tranmere Rovers - The biggest name in the league this season, relegated from the football league for the first time, Rovers will face a tough task getting back. They were league cup finalists and FA Cup Semi Finalists in the early 2000’s. Around about the time we were bottom of Ryman league Division One!  

Welling Utd - Familiar foes and the most local team to us by a long way. They did really well to stay up last season especially after manager Jamie Day left for Ebbsfleet. They are now managed by former Bromley winger Louis Fazackerley.  

Woking  - Have done really well since going back up from Conference South, a well established team at this level who also had a superb record in the FA Trophy & Cup.

Wrexham – Another really big ex-league club who fell on hard times. A Huge ground used for international football on many occasions, not sadly shut at one end. The only Welsh club in the league and bitter rivals with Chester. Tread carefully when going to the away game. 

Col.