No Longer in Our Own Hands

As we were failing to hold on to our half time lead at home to Farnborough on Saturday many of the teams around and below us were busy picking up points and dragging us closer to relegation. Our fate is no longer in our hands if the teams below us win their games we’ll finish in the bottom three and the big budget gamble the club chose to make at the end of January will have lost.

Despite Joseph-Dubois, Welch, Fuseini & Malcolm all signing contracts for next season realistically if we go down the club will have to sell them cut price on to get them off the wage bill as we cut our cloth for a very austere future in the Ryman League.

If things weren’t bad enough Mark Goldberg has chosen this moment to criticise the fans and say the don’t back him. He may well be right to say that the team needs the full backing of the supporters from now on, but he is wrong to lump all fans in with a vocal minority who stand behind the dug outs and slag him off every game no matter what the result.

I doesn’t bode well that with 6 games to go cracks are appearing, the mood is dark and results are not improving.

Saturday’s result left me feeling so disappointed and with that sinking feeling in my stomach. I get a horrible feeling I’ll be returning to that place again over the next few weeks and it could be along journey back from Dorchester on 28 April.               

Hitting The Buffers.

After another disappointing week for Bromley we now face Farnborough at home on Saturday in another ‘must win’ game if we are to avoid relegation. Keeper Joe Welch aside the team under performed at Basingstoke losing 1-0 and then misfired at home to Havant & Waterlooville on Tuesday night with Welch once again our star player in a goalless draw along with Jerome Sobers re-signed on dual registration with Billericay to cover Moses Swiabu’s suspension. 

The defence looks pretty solid and we are hard to break down, but we just can’t score goals and draws are just not going to be enough in the run in. The worrying things is that the creative players and the forwards all seem to be having a confidence crisis just when it matters, the swagger and style of the performances that saw us beat Weston, Salisbury & Chelmsford has disappeared and been replaced by the football of fear.     

March has seen us pick up three points from draws and score only two goals which simply won’t be enough if that form continues into April. To be confident of another season in Conference South we need nine points from our last seven games and for that to happen we need top stay tight at the back and our forwards need to find some form and quick.         

Still Fighting

It’s the middle of March and it’s still no clearer what division Bromley will be playing in next season. We are three points above the relegation zone, but with Thurrock the only side looking doomed it’s any two clubs from five or six others who made be joining them in relegation come the end of April. All the teams involved have improved of late, but none are really putting a series of wins that will see them clear and that includes The Ravens. Since the squad was overhauled in January we look a much better side and have picked up some great results, but since the defeat at Welling we’ve stuttered to two draws thanks to a 99^th minute equaliser conceded to Staines and a late missed penalty against Eastleigh.

Questions have to be asked why it was left so late to get in the reinforcements and strengthen, a couple of weeks earlier and this nervous few weeks may even have been avoided.   

The club have signed up four quality players from the current squad for next season, let’s hope they will be playing for us in Conference South!            

Still in That Creek, but we Now Have a Paddle!

After impressive wins at Salisbury (2-0) and at home to Chelmsford (1-0) and five games un-defeated Bromley have given themselves half a chance of survival going into March. The extra investment in the squad has paid off in results so far and there are one or two of the new faces who look to be playing below their natural level. The form of Ali Fuseini & Albert Jarrett in midfield have been key to the up turn in form along with Hakeem Araba’s goals and the central defensive combination of Liam Harwood & Moses Swaibu in front of a solid Keeper in Joe Welch, we now have a central core of quality that the side has lacked all season.

There are some tough games ahead and we are not out of danger yet, but hope is very much alive at

Hayes Lane

after months of despair and disillusion.              

Glimmers of Hope

I left the blog for a while as it would just have been very negative thoughts on the club I love’s seemingly imminent demise, but now seems a good time to revive it like the season itself.     

After a terrible run of 17games without a win we finally came good away to Weston Super Mare winning 3-0 a vital win that not only lifted us out of the relegation zone it lifted the spirits of everyone connected with the club. Dropping into the bottom three was the catalyst to big changes in the squad and the owner & manager have decided to loosen the purse strings in order to aid survival. We’ve given two ex-pro’s who lost their way a chance to revive their careers in Ali Fuseini and Anthony Thomas, plus brought in some quality players from the league above in Pierre Joseph-Dubois & Ron Welch. Albert Jarrett & Michael Malcolm also look good signings on paper as we add some experience to the young squad. I shed no tears at Rob Gillman’s departure, he always seemed to have one eye on the door, and partnered with Jo Dolan they were too slow but was sad to see Rory Hill go after what had been a decent first half a season in midfield for us.

Once this cold snap has gone, very frustrating after just getting back to winning ways, if we can get this current squad settled and playing to their potential then we have an excellent chance of staying up and playing some winning football that will hopefully bring back a few more fans to Hayes Lane for our home games.                  

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.