Tough Times

Well it’s fair to say that Bromley FC are in a bit of a crisis right now, six consecutive defeats, two points of the relegation places, players arguing amongst themselves, injuries & suspension depleting the squad, manager attacking the fans in the press and scheduling our only remaining cup game for 24hours after a league match giving us three games in four days!

The FA Trophy exit at 1-3 home to Didcot, a team two divisions below us, was the final straw for many fans who up until that point had kept their views to a few close friends on the terraces. The problems with the squad are obvious for all to see, they are too young, frequently played out of position, so low on confidence they are afraid to do anything with the ball and lacking any kind of leadership on or off the field. We face Eastbourne Borough at home tomorrow in the league and only a blind optimist can see anything other than loss number seven coming up.

Exactly what has gone wrong since the Dartford FA Cup win is hard to say, but we certainly miss a proven goal scorer like the departed Warren McBean or the injured Gareth Williams to partner the amazing work rate and endeavour of Hakeem Araba up front. In defence we need Liam Harwood returned as starting centre back to be partnered by either Gillman or Dolan and in midfield we need Salifou Ibrahima to partner Danny Waldren.

If the axe is to be swung as indicated by MG in the local press then I hope he brings in experienced replacements as the experiment with loanee kids from league clubs has proved to be a failure so far.    

Comedown

As the buzz off the FA Cup wears off we now find ourselves on quite a come down. After a great day and honourable 3-0 defeat at Orient we then lost 3-2 to a decent Charlton side in the Kent Senior Cup in front of just under 400 at

Hayes Lane

. Then came an awful defeat at Chelmsford City, after Tutu was sent off for a very harsh hand ball decision on 20mins it was always going to be a defeat, but this was an absolute shocker. It was only the heroics of Keeper Tommy Forecast that kept it down to 6-1. Now we find ourselves 5pts off the relegation zone and facing a massive game at home to Hampton on Tuesday night with the injuries and suspensions mounting up and no sign of new blood. Warren McBean & Leon McKenzie were shown the door after Orient, Gareth Williams is out injured for a month, Aaron Rhule and Tutu Henriques are facing bans, yet MG sees no need to bring in new players and believes that two teenagers and a 20 year old is a strong enough forward line to go into a game against Chelmsford with. Tuesday night will show exactly where we are and if the spectre of relegation is just casting a shadow or actually knocking at our door.         

Cup Fever!

It’s been a while since I last posted, but what better time to resume than with Bromley in the first round of the FA Cup and facing a trip to League One Leyton Orient. It’s fair to say we’ve got there the hard way with wins over fellow BSS sides Welling & Dartford, both of whom are above us in the league and the away win at Margate coming back from 2-0 down with 21mins left. All wins have been achieved with single goal margins and we have so far been awarded and scored four penalties! Three from Danny Waldren and one from Hakeem Araba. The win at Dartford in the last round, our first ever at Princes Park, was tribute to the hard work and team ethic of the current squad Mark Goldberg has built. This is the third time we have reached this stage of the cup under Goldberg and that’s some achievement in six seasons. Let’s hope when we make the trip over the river to East London MG has a full squad to pick from with no injuries or suspensions unlike on previous occasions.

In the league we face a trip to Boreham Wood on Saturday who will be up to avenge the 4-0 trashing we dealt them at Hayes Lane in August, with us only 8pts off the drop zone it’s important we pick up at least a point before we focus on the upcoming cup games in the FA Cup, Kent Senior Cup & FA Trophy this November.                  

Going Steady.

Almost a month into the new season and we find ourselves in mid-table after a more than reasonable start to the campaign. Recent results saw a very impressive first half demolition of Sutton and then a very harsh defeat at Dartford which turned on a soft penalty 9mins from time. Last Saturday we recorded a solid 2-0 win at Eastleigh who are full time professional this year training every day. Mark Goldberg has said he is looking to make a few additions and it seems that Danny Hockton has gone to Croydon Athletic top free up the budget for this. Despite Hockton’s undoubted goal scoring ability he just didn’t show the effort required for a team which is relying on hard work and commitment to stay up this season and after two fairly disappointing seasons with Maidstone the step back up to Conference South was too much for him.

Newly promoted Salisbury come to

Hayes Lane

on Saturday, the first time I’ve ever seen us play them and possibly their first trip to the London Borough of Bromley?                 

Back to Reality.

So after winning the opening two games we got a severe reality check the following Saturday as Maidenhead came to

Hayes Lane

battled, defended well and took the points home. Then to prove it wasn’t just a blip we travelled to Eastbourne and got royally thumped 5-0 by a much better side, who were superior in every department. The gulf is class was alarming and gave us a glimpse of what could be in store this season against the bigger sides, we were unable to compete in midfield and didn’t look like we even belonged in the same division. On Saturday we host old rivals Sutton who having been promoted have also started very strongly this season, it’s gonna take something pretty special on Bromley’s behalf for us to register anything from this one and then things don’t get any easier when we travel to Dartford on Bank Holiday Monday. It’s probably a good time to remind myself we are actually 5pts ahead of the points total I thought we’d have at this stage of our toughest season so far in Conference South…            

Great Start

Two games into the league season and things look good right now, a solid team performance at Hampton saw us win 2-1 with the aid of a favourable Ref and then we really turned on the style at home to Boreham Wood on Tuesday running out 4-0 winners, playing some lovely football. The most encouraging thing I have seen so far is the clear team spirit that exists throughout the squad and the commitment shown by all. Orlando Smith was the star on Tuesday, but the whole side contributed to a fine display and in Hakeem Araba MG may have signed a striker who looks like he could rival Wade Falana in the folk hero stakes among the HLU’s.

Trying to keep my feet firmly on the ground I still view this start as 6pts towards safety rather than anything more lofty, when the hard times undoubtedly come hopefully the spirit will remain and keep us up, but for now I’ll enjoy the start and hope it continued against Maidenhead Utd on Saturday who always prove to be tough opposition at Hayes Lane, quickly followed by a trip to newly relegated Eastbourne Borough next Tuesday.       

Pre-Season So Far

Four warm up games in, three defeats and it looks like the club were being very honest about this season being about just staying up! There have been plenty of players in and out so far and I'm sure there will be many more before MG settles on his 16 for the trip to Hampton on 13th August. New faces like striker Hakeem Araba from Dagenham and Reading loanee keeper Dean Santangelo look promising, it's also great to see Tutu Henriques as captain, but for many the returing players like Gareth Williams & Danny Hockton still have some convincing to do if they are to contribute to the battle for survival in 2011/12.