Season Review 2011/12

Bromley FC Season 20011/12 Review

Season 2011/12 was another one to file under ‘Eventful’ in the Bromley FC files with a FA Cup first round appearance, a relegation battle and nearly 50 players representing the side over the nine months of the campaign. 

It began with uncertainty over the manager’s role with Hayden Bird resigning half way through the summer and Mark Goldberg returning only a fortnight before the pre-season games started. A hastily assembled squad on a reduced budget began with a surprise 2-0 win over Gillingham, but after a few more games it was clear that the team was going to struggle with the manager saying that league consolidation was the main aim for the coming season. Striker Danny Hockton came back for another spell from Maidstone Utd, midfielder Danny Waldren came in from Croydon Athletic, powerful forward Hakeem Araba from East Thurrock and utility man Mike Jones joined from Greenwich Borough to boost the squad remaining from the desperate second half of the previous season. The inability to sign a regular goalkeeper would haunt the side right up until late January with six custodians pulling on the shirt with varying success, the unfortunate Paul Agu making several mistakes in the friendlies that resulted in defeats to Erith & Belvedere & Cray Wands.

By the first league game of the season Dean Santangelo had been brought in on loan from Reading and he kept a clean sheet as we ran out 2-0 winners at Hampton & Richmond with goals from Orlando Smith & Mike Jones. The good form continued with a 4-0 win at home to Boreham Wood the following Tuesday which included a first goal and man of the match performance from Araba. The good form ended at home to Maidenhead as we lost 1-0 and then was rudely exposed with a 5-0 defeat at Eastbourne Borough the following Tuesday. There was a fair draw at home to Salisbury before heavy defeats at Staines & at home to Woking showed us up to be weak in several areas, but we did find some joy in the FA Cup.

 A tough draw at home to Welling in the second qualifying round saw us edge them out 2-1 and then two weeks later we came back from 2-0 down to beat Margate 3-2 at Hatrsdown Park, two goals coming from Warren McBean who made a brief return to the club. This set us up with a trip to Dartford in the fourth qualifying round where against all the odds we won 2-1 and a place in the first round proper. The draw the following day sent us to Leyton Orient of League One and by the time we travelled there the club had sold a remarkable 1,600 tickets. The away support that day was fantastic and the players seemed genuinely moved by the backing they received. Sadly quality outed in the end and we lost 3-0 despite matching The O’s for long periods of the first half.               

The decline in fortunes that followed the FA Cup game was incredible, in the week after the game Leon McKenzie was sent out on dual registration to Grays Ath and Warren McBean was released, there were obvious cracks in team spirit caused in part by the manager’s son Bradley, who had arrived a week earlier on loan from Charlton, being brought on in the second half at Orient in front of players who had contributed to the cup run and partly by senior players who were nothing short of sulking. We departed from the two county cups at the first time of asking, although credit to the club for reducing prices to £5 for both games.  

We lost our next nine games including an FA Trophy exit at home to Didcot who were two divisions below us and suffered thrashings at Chelmsford (6-1) & Dover (4-1). A dull 0-0 draw at home to Dorchester played between two teams who were more scared of losing than wanting to win stopped the rot, but it would be seventeen games before we’d actually win again. Countless loan signings came in and out from local professional clubs, the goalkeeper changed every few weeks and experiments with tactics and formations failed (Liam Harwood in midfield, leaving Danny Waldren on the bench as punishment for a red card etc.). In short it was a disaster. Joe Dolan left as did Rob Gillman and Bradley Goldberg went back to Charlton after the decision to bring him on for Hakeem Araba against Basingstoke was booed. There had been improved performances in the two Christmas period games against Tonbridge which ended in draws, but it all fell apart with the defeat to Basingstoke which saw us fall into the relegation zone. Finally in mid-January the club awoke to the threat of the drop and responded by loosening the purse strings, most supporters had known this would be necessary two months earlier.   

Keeper Joe Welch came in on loan from Ebbsfleet eventually signing permanently, Ali Fuseini, Albert Jarrett, Anthony Thomas, Luke Medley & Michael Malcolm all joined in the space of a few days having all previously played with Moses Swaibu (who rejoined us in December) at Lincoln City and the squad now looked strong enough for the relegation battle ahead. The impact was immediate as we won 3-0 at Weston Super Mare, our first league win since 8^th October at Havant. The momentum was halted by two weeks of snow before a draw at Thurrock on Valentines Night quickly followed by a 2-0 win at Salisbury and 1-0 at home to Chelmsford. Would this be a quick run out of trouble and up the table? No, this is Bromley FC and we hit the buffers somewhat after the great start from the new look squad.

There was an ill tempered 2-1 loss at Welling followed by four draws and one defeat in the next five games, the most heartbreaking of all being a 99^th minute equaliser conceded at home to Staines, scored by ex-Raven Ali Chaaban, who had shown up an hour late for the kick off. Staring the bottom three in the face we recorded a precious home win over Weston Super Mare thanks to an Ali Fuseini goal and followed it up with a point at play off chasing Sutton Utd on Easter Saturday. Despite a late rally we lost 1-2 at home to Dartford two days later, the spirit and effort on show gave us hope that we could still survive.

As we travelled down to Truro City the table suggested we needed seven points from the last three games to survive and on the marvellous day 300miles away from home and in pouring rain we won 2-1 thanks to goals from Michael Malcolm & Danny Waldren, this was a massive win. The following Saturday we misfired again with a 0-0 at home to relegated Thurrock, but other results favoured us for once and we now only needed a point at Dorchester on the final day to be sure of safety. As it turned out we didn’t even need that, Hampton’s loss at home to Basingstoke midweek was enough for us to keep our Conference South status and hope for better things next season, boosted by the signings for next term of Welch, Fuseini, Swaibu, Dubois, Jarrett & Malcolm.

The final day saw us draw 1-1 at Dorchester with a good travelling support giving the team a send off in style, but the overriding feeling for me was this never needed to have happened if the right thing had been done back in November. With poor home form and increased admittance prices it was testament to the loyalty of Bromley fans that crowds still stayed respectable for the most part, but if the quality of football that was on display for the last few months of the season can be maintained along with slightly better results then next season should be a lot better, we have to wait and see...  

Col.                   

Safe!

In the end it only took a point against Thurrock and a defeat for Hampton the following Tuesday to preserve Bromley’s Conference South status for next season. It should have been done and dusted last Saturday as we battered Thurrock, but despite dominating the game we failed to find the net and had to settle for a draw. The game summed up the second half of Bromley’s season perfectly we had loads of the ball, played some lovely football, but failed to get the job done and turn a draw into a win.

We now travel down to Dorchester with the pressure off and with the backing of the fans who have taken advantage of the free coach travel courtesy of Jim Brown hopefully the team will be lifted to notch up another away win just like Weston, Salisbury & Truro.

I was delighted to see Hakeem Araba win the Supporters Player of the Season, he is currently being linked with Football League clubs so if Dorchester does prove to be his last game for us I hope he bows out with a goal and another one of those celebrations.

When the dust settles on the season many questions will need to be asked about why we struggled so badly and how this was ever allowed to happen, but for now we’ll have a few days and one final game just savouring the relief of avoiding the drop.         

Two Games Left, Four Points Required.

After a point from a tough Easter weekend, (more than I thought we'd get), we knew that at least seven points were required from the last three games to avoid relegation.
We got the  first part done with a great 2-1 win at Truro City with the players and fans giving everything in the pouring rain. That trip will go down in Bromley FC legend, but it will hav even more gravity if we get the rest of the job done starting with Thurrock at home on Saturday.
Although 'The Artist formerly known as Purfleet' are already down, they are no mugs only losing to better sides than us by single goals recently, and the two teams were evenly matched back in February when we drew 1-1 at their place. Former Bromley captain Rob Gillman will be in no mood to let his new employers give us an easy ride to safety.
With Farnborough's points deduction along with Havant & Hampton losing games in hand this week our fate is now back in our own hands.Four points will do the trick, three on Saturday would be a great start. The rain may do us a favour as we have performed well on heavy pitches at Weston, Salisbury & Truro in the last few months and it may keep the ball down on our very bumpoy pitch.    
The club are running a free coach to Dorchester for the final game of 20011/12, lets hope this is rewarded with a good turn out and is a happy bus on the way home!     

Easter Points Hunt

The Easter fixtures are always key for any side either challenging for promotion or trying to stay up and this season it’s certainly the case for Bromley. Five years ago it was wins over Ramsgate on Good Friday and Carshalton on Easter Monday that set us up for a second placed finish and eventually promotion, now it will be games against play off chasing Sutton and Dartford that could see us virtually safe from the drop or facing a very nervous last three games two of which are long journey’s out west.

Saturday’s 1-0 win over Weston Super Mare was a crucial result and with Hampton losing one of their games in hand on Monday night our fate is back in our own hands. The general feeling is that seven points from the remaining five games would do the trick. With Ali Fuseini’s goal giving us the narrow lead over Weston we may well come to think of Liam Harwood’s overhead kick off the line and Joe Welch’s injury time save as moments that turned the season around once it all comes to an end on 28 April. If we can pick up any points from the next two tough games then things will be looking more positive ahead of the final three.       

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!