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)