Boxing Day Football

 

Boxing Day Football

Boxing Day always used to be a special date in the football calendar. Stuffed with Christmas excess it was a chance for fans to get some fresh air and meet up with mates to cheer on their team. For players I guess it wasn’t always so great, having to be careful what they consumed the previous day and then prepare for what was traditionally a morning or early afternoon kick off.

It was always pretty obvious if some players had been less committed to their dietary restrictions than others as they struggled to move around the pitch and there was also the case on one Bromley player in particular who would always seen to time his fifth booking of the season or a red card to coincide with being banned for the Christmas fixtures.    

There were also some freak results at these matches, Bromley beating Thurrock 8-1 in 2007 one notable score, made even stranger by the 2-1 loss for The Ravens in the reverse fixture five days later on New Years Day.  

With public transport either non existent or greatly reduced, you were reliant on lifts for away games or walking to home matches. I can remember my friends Nige & Martin walking over from New Eltham to call for me on the way to a Bromley Boxing Day home fixture against old rivals Dulwich Hamlet back in 1996. Nige had a box full of sausage rolls to share out made by his Mum. They were delicious and when we asked what the secret ingredient was, the answer was ‘Lard’. I was glad of the walk after that to try and work it off!     

The game kicked off at 11am and it was very cold, as the match went on the pitch at the benches end began to freeze. You could see the white frost forming on the grass during the second half, creeping up to the six yard box and then the penalty spot. The game probably wouldn’t have started if it had kicked off later in the day, but the Ref stuck with it and I’d imagine the Dulwich Keeper must have picked up some bruises diving on the rock hard surface. The match ended in 0-0, watched by what was a good crowd back then of 600.  

We walked back home on frozen feet, chatting all the way, ready for the Boxing Day buffet waiting for us at home.

Crowds for Non League games were always bigger than usual, the games were often against local rivals to minimize the travelling and it was sometimes the one game a season fans of  Premier League clubs might fancy watching some local football. 

For myself family commitments and the like have made Boxing Day football a little more tricky to attend these days, but I will always remember that special buzz around the place at the games the day after Christmas.      

Col.

        

 

The Last Game Before Lockdown 2

 

Wednesday 28th October 2020 – The second week of half term means that Mikey can join my Dad and myself for a midweek game at Hayes Lane, where Cray Wanderers take on Merstham in the Isthmian League Premier Division. 

Covid-19 rules mean that I can’t go into my parents house, but I can go to football with my Dad as long as he sits in the back of the car, I mask up and we sit 1 metre plus away in the stand! 

Mikey is excited about going to a night game, he’s already picked up that there is something special about a game under the floodlights. We arrive at the ground just after 7pm and I find one of the few parking spaces left, the whole area is bathed in the artificial light from the ground. You can feel a buzz and hear the music from the PA, the chatter of fans and the thumping of footballs being kicked about in the warm up. 

We see Peter on the turnstile, (his family have been involved with Cray for decades), we say hello to Sam a former plater and now CEO, buy Golden Goals tickets from Steve and get a programme from Phil. We have a quick chat with all of them mostly about the disappointing FA Cup exit at Canvey Island the previous Saturday. There are hand sanitiser stations dotted around the ground and plenty of signs.  

A quick hello to Mark and I pick up a team sheet to help with my match report for KSN and say Hi to Adrian the kit man. I nod and wave to Ally the physio, then Tony, Joe & Nathan the management team, normally we would exchange handshakes, but in this Covid era that’s not allowed. Mikey would usually stand by the tunnel and high five the players as they head in for the final team talk, but he can’t do that either. We are not allowed in the main stand, which is set aside for officials, so we head to the new Glyn Beverly stand behind the goal to find our seats. 

We settle in and find a good vantage point, more than 2metres away from everyone else, but close enough to say hello to the familiar faces there. Mikey wants some chips, amazing seeing he just had a massive bowl of pasta at home, but I won’t say no. I head over to the Pizza Hatch and pick them up to Stuart who had worked on the catering side at Hayes Lane for well over ten years. He did a fantastic job for my wedding reception there is 2008, which was in the brand new facility at the back of the main stand. I have a quick catch up with Gary the Cray Wands owner, who brought Cray to Hayes Lane to groundshare with Bromley in 1998 and after a lot of knock backs has finally secured his club a new stadium at Flamingo Park on the A20, which should be ready in a couple of years.    

The game gets underway and Cray mean business from the off, clearly stung by the cup exit and manager Tony Russell’s criticism of the performances and lack of clean sheets. Merstham are struggling at the foot of the table and they look visibly rattled by the intensity of The Wands attack. It’s 2-0 after nine minutes, Ben Mundele and Bradley Pritchard on the score sheet. Jay Leader heads a third from a corner after half and hour. The visiting supporters near us take it all in good heart, there’s no anger, finger pointing or waving of arms, there is just genuine encouragement for their young side. 

The second half is pretty much the same, Rhys Murrell-Williamson scores once and top scorer Joe Taylor adds two more to his impressive tally to make it 6-0. Merstham bring on a familiar face up front in Barry Hayles, the former Millwall, Bristol Rovers and Fulham striker. He is now well in his 40s, but clearly loves playing the game still, for some reason the Ref seems to take an instant dislike to him ad calls him up for fouls every time he challenges for a ball, even the Cray players look surprised at some of the decisions. Although his introduction did provide some spark up front, The Wands hold on to their clean sheet and secure a comfortable three points with a stylish display. The win takes them up to fifth in the table with 15 points from 7 games, well placed for a promotion push.  

We clap the players off and head for the exit, little did we know at the time that there would be no more Cray Wanderers games for us to watch this year. The Wands won 3-0 at Whitehawk in the FA Trophy the following Saturday and then came the second lockdown, followed by a Tier system that would see the Isthmian League programme halted until January 2021 at least. 

All the hard work of the people at the club seemingly for nothing for a second season in a row. This one seems harder to take. Teams in the league above carry on playing with money given to subsidise their loss of income, as the game a level lower is left to try and survive on nothing. 

My Dad has been supporting Cray Wands since he was ten, it's a very special club, his Dad also was a supporter before him. Myself & Mikey are happy to carry it on into a third and fourth generation. I just hope The Wands survive this and make it beyond the 160 years they have already clocked up, making then London’s oldest football club.  

Col.          

Butch Dunn - Bromley Legend

Butch Dunn – A Bromley FC Legend 

 

I wrote the article that follows back in December 2017 for The Christmas Issue of ‘In There’ Fanzine. On hearing of Butch’s passing last weekend I thought it deserved another airing. Butch along with Junior Crooks, who sadly died back in 2001, were my two footballing heroes as a kid. They both lit up Hayes Lane with their ability and character giving me and many others fantastic memories that will live with me my whole life.    

 

For the second in my series about Bromley Legends I’ve decided to go back to my childhood and a genuine goal machine of a striker Butch Dunn, who played for the club from 1978 to 1982, scoring 132 goals from 208 games. 

Dunn joined Bromley from Cray Wanderers in September 1978, following manager John Biddle who switched from Oxford Road to Hayes Lane along with a number of his playing squad that summer. In just over a season at Oxford Road Dunn had scored 34 goals. 

He quickly showed what a goal threat he was by scoring a hatrick against Hampton in a 4-2 win later that month and then went on to score regularly from then on. In the 1979/80 season Butch notched 48goals in all competitions and helped Bromley to promotion from the Isthmian League Division One back to the Premier Division (the equivalent to today’s National League South). Every time the ball came to him in the box there was a buzz of expectation in the crowd that it would end in a goal.

Dunn was only around 5ft 10, but his heading ability was phenomenal, similar to Les Ferdinand, he had great spring and timing to beat much taller central defenders in the air. A large number of his goal came from headers, but one scored with his feet stands out. At home to Billericay Town on a Tuesday night, Dunn scored a 30yard half volley that dipped over the 6ft 7inkeeper and under the bar which brought even the old guys in the stand to their feet. I can still remember where I was sat for that goal, sitting next to my Dad and both of us jumping up and down, speechless at what we had just witnessed.    

He always wore the number 8 shirt, unusual for a striker in those days, cutting a distinctive figure with his trademark beard and shirt outside his shorts. Butch was a genuine cult hero, a slightly maverick character who did things his own way, but always delivered a regular supply of goals.    

By the summer of 1981 Dunn was in demand from other local Conference clubs, Maidstone Utd had a bid turned down and Dartford, now managed by Biddle, kept calling. Dunn put in a  transfer request, but Bromley refused to release him to join his old manager with a number of other ex-Bromley players at Watling Street. For a while he didn’t play at all, but then came back to finish the season at Hayes Lane in style, scoring a number of goals that helped Bromley avoid relegation,picking up a vital win on the final day of the season. His last goal for the club came in May 1982 at home to Chelmsford City in the Eastern Floodlit Cup Final Second Leg, we drew 1-1, but unfortunately lost the tie 4-1 on aggregate.      

If you meet any Bromley fan from that era and mention the name Butch Dunn, watch the expression on their face change to a smile and a nod as they remember a true goal scoring legend of the club. 

 

Col.

Wandering Down The Lane

It’s been four months since I last saw a football match played live at Hayes Lane, me and my son Mikey, made the familiar journey from our house to the ground to see Cray Wanderers play Brightlingsea Regent in an Isthmian League Premier Division game. Sadly my Dad Doug couldn’t make up out usual family trio who attend games as he wasn’t well enough to attend.

I love the routine of attending Cray Wands games at Hayes Lane, the familiarity, the match day rituals and seeing the usual friendly faces. It’s only now I know how much I value it and how much I have missed it since it all came to a halt in the middle of March 2020.

We pulled in to the new car park that runs alongside the main stand, Barry The Steward nodded and pointed down to the end. When myself and Mikey got out of the car I realised I had picked up my wife’s coat by accident as I was in a rush and I would have to ‘tough it out’ in a sweatshirt on a blustery early March afternoon. Peter greeted us with his usual welcome on the gate and asks about my Dad, wishing him well. I buy a golden goal ticket from Steve and look at the club merchandise. Then it’s into the bar to buy a programme from Phil and then look for Mark who saves me a team sheet to help with my reporting duties for KSN. I have a quick catch up with Mark and we go through the team for today, who is in, who is out injured or suspended.     

Walking up to our usual spot in the stand I see first tam manager Tony and we have a quick chat, Joe & Nathan the coaches both say hello and high five Mikey, Ally the Physio says hello too. Sam the CEO makes a point of saying Hi as does the club owner Gary Hillman. This is what makes this club so special. I have a quick chat with Roger & Brian who have been involved with Bromley and Cray Wands for years now we discuss the chances of both The Wands and The Ravens this afternoon. Mikey wants to sit in a different spot to usual, but once he discovers that we sit at the back of the stand because the WiFi signal is stronger we moved to the usual seats and we say hello to the familiar faces around us. He voices what I am thinking when he says ‘I wish Grandad was here’.

As the players begin to head to the dressing room after their warm up Mikey goes down to the tunnel and every single Cray player gives him a high five and says hello. A few seconds of their time means the world to him, he’s beaming as he walks back up to our seats ready for kick off.

At half time Mikey makes his biggest decision of the day, will it be chips or a hot dig from the Tea Bar, there are around 180 people here today, but even at 9 years old it’s fine for him to go and buy them himself, so many people down here know who he is, including Chef Scott behind the counter. I send in my Twitter update to KSN and check the other scores. I need a hot coffee, you really do need a coat today, but mine is at home!  

Cray are in brilliant form, unbeaten in 2020, playing some great football, despite dominating he match they only run out 1-0 winners, but it’s three more points, which keeps them in second place and within touching distance of the leaders Worthing. Amazing considering this is The Wands first season back up at this level following last year’s promotion. When the game finishes we wait for the players to come off after their warm down, Tony comes over for a few words and Joe does too, the players high five Mikey again as they head down the tunnel. It’s been a really good afternoon.

I call my Dad to let him know the score, he’s desperate to be well enough to come to the next match and we can’t wait also. Little did we know at the time it would be several of months away rather than a week or so.

Col.                  

Television the Drug of The Nation

There was a post that was widely shared across social media a couple pf years ago, which said ‘Don’t let you kids grow up thinking football in a TV show’ the picture that came with it was a young lad watching a non league football match. I liked it and shared it. I was taken to my first match by my Dad when I was six, I took my son when he was only a baby, for three generations we have grown up watching our local teams play football. Televised games higher up the ladder were just an added side show, not the main event.

Three months after most football came to a halt in the UK due to COVID 19, the Premier League & Championship have returned in England, following the example of Germany, played out in empty stadiums, but broadcast live on TV or via the internet.  Football has now become just a TV show.

There seems little hope for a return of football below the top two levels in England in the near future, clubs at that level are still mostly reliant on match day income rather than the revenue from TV rights and no fans through the turnstiles means no money. On top of that there is the cost of COVID 19 testing all the players and staff, estimated at around £140 per person, this is way beyond most clubs if required one or twice a week for a squad of 20plus. Even if this hurdle is overcome you are then faced with the problems around hospitality, bars and food outlets. All of which bring in vital income, plus the restrictions on attendances and how to administer tickets and imposing the distancing regulations.     

The current situation is a TV broadcaster’s wet dream, a captive audience, only able to access their football fix via TV, with simulated crowd noise and plastic pre match hype. The ban on screening games at 3pm on a Saturday has now been lifted and even when/if clubs lower down the pyramid return this will have a negative impact on their gates. The casual fan will be far less likely to leave their own home or pub to go to see the local team play of ‘their’ team is playing live on TV at the same time. This has already been shown by the reduced crowd numbers for midweek games when the Champions League matches are broadcast.

By the time we are back to any kind of pre-COVID 19 normality in lower league football there is a very real prospect of a large numbers of clubs not making it through, or if they do make it hitting the financial wall further down the line. The assistance and advice from the footballing authorities at the top of the game to keep the grass roots strong? Zilch. They are not just pulling up the ladder, they are setting fire to it.      

The football authorities have their cash cow back in the Premier League, the Champions League is scheduled to return and so is international football, all in empty stadia, but all live on TV. With the fans all meeting up on Zoom in their brand new replica shirts and making enthusiastic gestures when prompted to. With numerous food outlets now offering delivery and home now being the new office for many, there is no need to ever go out again. It’s dangerous out there, as someone smarter than me predicted back in 1990: Shut up, stay home, be happy, everything is done for you….  

Col.       

Hayes Lane - Home from Home Part 2

The old wooden main stand was destroyed by fire in 1992, leaving Bromley homeless for a year before the new stand was opened in October 1993 and re-named the John Fiorini Stand in 2002 in honour of a fine club man who had passed away the previous year. Then to comply with National League seating regulations the iconic benches end was demolished in 2018, replaced a year later by the shiny new Glyn Beverly Stand, (another club legend) with it’s 1,300 seats. As much as I see that it was progress for the club, it was still heart wrenching to see such a unique structure go. The other two sides are still terraced, they have new crush barriers, the pitch is now 3G and the facilities have had a facelift, but still keep the character and feel of a traditional large non league football ground.

Bromley moved to the current location of the ground in 1938 having played at various places around the town prior to that, including Queensmead, Plaistow Lane, White Hart Field, Glebe Road and on a pitch close to the main road almost directly opposite Ravensbourne School. The club made the wise move of buying the ground and the area around it, which includes a covenant that states it can only be used for sport, without doubt this has helped them stay there for so long. There was a period in the mid 90s when the club lost ownership, but this was resolved not long after former player Jerry Dolke took over ownership of Bromley FC in the early 2000s. Under Jerry, new bar facilities were built at the back of the stand and practice pitches were installed. Later a full size 3G pitch and two 6 a side pitches were put in behind the ground. Initially the ground capacity was 15,000, the closest that came to being tested was in 1950 when Bromley played Nigeria in front of just 2,000 short of that number and there was also a bumper crowd for the opening of the floodlights against Japan in 1960. These days the official capacity is a more modest 4,999, but regulars can confirm that anything over 3,500 and it feels very snug on the old terracing!      

My Mum took me to the majority of the Saturday matches I watched as a very young kid until at around 10 or 11 when I started to go on my own. By this time I discovered that Bromley also had a Reserve team that played in the Suburban League at Hayes Lane when the first team were away so I started to watch them also. The reserve team at that time were exceptional, winning the league and county cups on many occasions, at one stage the team included three players who went on to play in the Football League in Steve Galloway (Palace), Carlton Fairweather (Wimbledon) and Emeka Nwarjobi (Luton). The reserve team was eventually dissolved in 1998 when Cray Wands moved in, they were resurrected a few times playing at Oxford Road and then in the midweek Capital League, but never for very long.    

By 1985 the allure of away games became too much to resist though and I went to the majority of Bromley first team games home and away, a pattern that continued right up until 2010. On top of that from 1998 I fitted in as many Cray Wanderers games at Hayes Lane as well, either midweek or on Sundays. After my son was born I was lucky enough to have Wednesdays off to look after him and that opened up another chance to watch football there. With the Academy team playing there in the afternoon I’d take him down there, he would have the run of the place and get a feel for the place and I also got to watch a game and catch up with some good people.

Whenever I walk into the ground on a non match day I always have a quick look at the pitch and pause to think about the good things I have seen there. Four promotions and two county cup wins for Bromley, three league titles for Cray Wands and one play off final victory, plus countless fantastic goals and victories. Last minute winners, escapes from relegation, games played in front of a handful of fans and game splayed in front of nearly 4,000.       

Today I am privileged to be able to go to see with Bromley home matches with my son and Cray Wands games with three generations of the family as we sit with my Dad in the main stand.  Away from football it’s hosted many birthday parties, fund raising gigs, quiz nights and wedding receptions, including my own, and I’ve made so many good friends there. The ground has a special place in our family’s hearts and I hope that continues to host football for years to come…

Col.