Bromley FC End of Season Review 2014/15

Bromley FC Season Review - 2014/15

The 2014/15 season would prove to be a significant one in Bromley FC’s 113 year history, for the first time since the Conference’s formation The Ravens won promotion to the top flight of Non-League football and in the process saw several three figure crowds pack into Hayes Lane as they achieved itin style playing some fantastic football. Despite a stuttering start which saw three Saturday home defeats in the first month of the campaign and seven of their nine league defeats come at Hayes Lane, the team pulled together and got over the line with a game to spare securing the title with a stunning display against Weston Super Mare at home on 18 April and all this came while an off the field soap opera played out.

Following defeat in the play off semi finals the previous season Mark Goldberg chose to reshuffle his squad in the summer singing several high profile non-league players with strong records at this level. Strikers Adam Burchall & Jamie Slabber joined, followed by influential midfielders Reece Prestedge & Damien Scannell, right back Sam Long, goalkeeper Seb Brown and forward Moses Ademola who had starred in Dover’s play off success. With most of the singings brought in early the squad had plenty of time to gel and the pre-season performances indicated that it could be another good year at Hayes Lane with the only negative being a season ending injury to Sam Long sustained in an early friendly, but thankfully Ugo Udoji returned to the club to ably deputise. 

The club officially changed ownership in the close season with the Redding family taking over, although mercifully they kept Jerry Dolke in a role at the club. There was much hype about the changes that would be made at the club, with the ground having a face lift & name changed to the Fortress Stadium, The Sports Bar the becoming The Raven’s Bar & Grill and new training pitches laid behind the existing ones, the team also looked different sporting an all white kit for the first time since the sixties and going to a game was now called a ‘Match Day Experience’. The MDE saw the introduction of a Pimms tent, barbecue, cheer leaders, Disney characters and face painting, plus a ‘banging’ sound system and various catering initiatives. It was a bit too much to take in at first for those who had been going for a while.          

The Conference South campaign began away to Havant & Waterlooville with an impressive 3-1 win quickly followed by a 4-1 midweek home win over Whitehawk. Any thoughts of a decent early run came crashing down though the following Saturday with a 3-0 home defeat to Basingstoke Town, the game playing second fiddle to the various other attractions. Players were told not to enter or leave the field during the warm up while a local stage school put on a performance. A creditable point at Boreham Wood settled the nerves and then the month finished with two great wins 4-2 over Maidenhead Utd on the Bank Holiday and a 4-0 win at Wealdstone playing some lovely attacking football. 

Non League Day saw us host Chelmsford City in front of 1,485, but the carnival atmosphere fell flat as a first half goal, an injury to Rob Swaine and a missed penalty saw us fall to a 1-0 defeat. One of the new owners commented he didn’t care what the score was as long as the bars were full! Striker Duncan Culley joined the club from Shortwood to boost the forward line as Birchall and Slabber failed to find their touch in front of goal. A draw at St Albans City and a win at Farnborough kept us in the picture but another home defeat followed. 

Things came to a head with the MDE phenomenon in the home game against Gosport Borough, not only did we lose 3-0 with an insipid display, but the Family Fun Day atmosphere extended to music being played during the game at the benches end which to quote my Dad ‘made it like watching football at a fun fare’. Fans discontent spilled over on the forum and social media and despite grumbles from the club they did listen and things were toned down. The crowds had turned up in bigger numbers for the games, but with three home Saturday defeats already, it was clear that something was being lost in all the hype and side shows.  

With sanity restored to match days we started to pick up a few results at home too with the FA Cup bringing wins over Uxbridge 5-1, and Grays 5-0 after a draw at their place. Troubled striker Jordan Robertson joined after a spell in prison and then playing abroad. A 1-0 home win over Bath City before we travelled to Evesham Utd for the FA Cup Fourth Qualifying Round and squeezed through 2-1 to set up a local derby in the First Round V Dartford at Hayes Lane. With the old ground nearly full we were treated to an enthralling game of football that saw us go in front and then come back from 2-1 & 3-2 down, before eventually losing 3-4. All four Darts goals came from crosses into the box and Seb Brown’s short comings as a keeper were really beginning to show.  

In the other cups we bowed out at the first time of asking in the Kent & London Senior Cups losing on penalties to Maidstone Utd and then a pathetic 2-0 surrender to Corinthian Casuals. In the FA Trophy we saw off Tonbridge Angels 3-0 in a replay and Leiston 2-0 before heading down to Torquay and getting stuffed 4-0 and being taught a lesson in what life in the Conference Premier is like.

Back in league action November got off to a great start with a 4-1 win at Eastbourne, but  Seb Brown was then sent off in a 1-0 home defeat to Hemel Hempstead as he mis-judged a slide tackle charging out of his area, new arrival Mitchell Pinnockbravely deputising between the sticks for over an hour. 2-1wins over Sutton and Hayes & Yeading kept the challengeticking along going into December which saw the side go unbeaten all month only drawing the final game1-1 at home to Wealdstone.

January saw a wobble with two cup defeats and then a 2-1 loss at Whitehawk with Brown again at fault for both goals. This time Mark Goldberg had seen enough and well travelledkeeper Alan Julian joined the side making his debut in the 2-1 win at Basingstoke and putting in a fine display in the 2-0 home win over Havant. With Scannell, Culley & Robertson now on their way out of the club last season’s top scorer Bradley Goldberg returned on loan from Dagenham & Redbridge scoring a hatrick in the 6-0 win at Staines Townand he was joined by Ben May & Anthony Cook from Ebbsfleet. After a home draw with Hayes & Yeading single goal wins at Ebbsfleet & Chelmsford saw us top the league at the end of February and show real intention to go one better than last season.

The win at Ebbsfleet was marred by crowd trouble in and outside the ground caused by a group of young lads claiming to be Bromley fans high on half term and cheap lager and orchestrated by a couple of very shadowy characters who have never been seen at Hayes Lane. Following flares on the pitch and trouble at the Dartford & Basingstoke games the club was now in hot water with the FA, but the HLF as they were know disappeared over night.                     

A difficult patch in March not helped by injuries and suspension to Cook, Swaine, Dubois, May and Dennis saw points dropped late in games, but on reflection draws at Hemel, Bath and later Maidenhead weren’t the disasters they seemed although the 1-0 home loss to bottom side Staines really felt like one, with another missed penalty to make things worse and a 2-1 reverse to Ebbsfleet.  Only a 2-1 win at Sutton and a 5-0 crushing of Farnborough kept us in touchwith Boreham Wood. Jamie Slabber was now in goal scoring form after fully recovering from a double hernia operation in the summer he got both in the derby win at Gander Green Lane.   

Off the field things were rumoured not to have been too good for a while, but going into Spring it became clear The Reddings might not have been all they pretended to be, the details are still unknown to all those but the very inner sanctum of the club, but Jerry Dolke became owner again and with a whole lot of debt to boot. One rumour was that the club was one day from administration when a group of local businessmen stepped and got the club back on an even keel.What exactly would have happened if Jerry had not stayed around or these guys come in doesn’t bare thinking about. The Fortress signs disappeared and it felt like the club had got it’ssoul back just in time for the run in.      

For two thirds of the season Bromley played their best football away from home, with the pressure off slightly and teams having to come out and play there were many great results, but the final month saw three solid home wins that would secure the Conference South championship, most significantly the 2-1 win over leaders Boreham Wood on Easter Saturday in front of 2,035 fans. A crazy 4-4 at Maidenhead saw us slip to second on the Monday, but a 2-1 win over Eastbourne Borough  set up the opportunity to win the title at home to Weston the following week, which we duly did in some style watched by just shy of 3,000 Prestedge, Ademola & Slabber getting the vital goals.

Emotional scenes followed and the celebrations carried on into the following Saturday as Bromley fans travelled in numbers for a 2-1 defeat at Gosport in a party atmosphere with a number of injured players joining the fans for the game on the terrace outside the bar.                      

In all Bromley fans were treated to a season of great football, with a few wobbles on the way, but they deserved their success and they now head into The Conference Premier and nationwide football against many professional ex-football league teams. Things may never be the same for Bromley fans, but this season will live long in the memory. Moses Ademola finished top scorer despite playing half the season out wide, defender Jack Holland picked up the supporters and committee player of the season awards with Reece Prestedgegetting the manager’s nod, but every player deserved their medals for contributing to a momentous achievement as do all the unsung heroes off the pitch that keep our old club going day to day.    

Col.  

Another Level

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.                              

Two Points from Making History

I’m writing this on the afternoon before the biggest game in Bromley FC’s history since 23 April 1949 when they won the FA Amateur Cup at Wembley in front of 93,000. Now in April 2015 we face Weston Super Mare at home knowing that two points from our last two league games will be enough to see us promoted to the Conference Premier for the first time.

If we win on Saturday then next season Bromley will be playing in a nationwide league against professional football teams and feature in a highlights show on BT Sport. 

If you rewind just over ten years then this would have seemed impossible to most Bromley fans, struggling in the Ryman League Division One facing possible relegation to the Kent League at once stage, playing in front of barely 100 fans it’s fair to say we have come a long way under the ownership of Jerry Dolke and the management of George Wakeling and then Mark Goldberg. 

Having stood on the terraces at Hayes Lane for 38 of my 44years this still seems a little surreal, the nerves kicked in this afternoon and the excitement too. I’d kept a lid on it all week, but now I’m feeling it. Even when we finished second in the Isthmian League back in 1987/88 I never really believed it would happen, but now it really is in our own hands. 

We have had many great players and wins, but if this side takes us up then they must be written in Bromley FC folklore for what they have done.   

Should we achieve promotion it will be cheered by many, but this will mean most of all to the fans who have put in the hard yards, the likes of Sue, Garvo and Mash who travel everywhere, the likes of Ben and Mike who never gave up even when it was really bad and to many others who have stayed the course and richly deserve the good times, Roy, JB and many others who have been going long enough to remember our last league title win in 1961. 

I’m now little more than a home game fan who only occasionally travels, but I’m quite sure that I will get emotional if we go up as if I still attended every game. Bromley FC will always be a big part of my life and mean far more than it should to a normal level headed person, my incredible wife and son put up with me through all the bad times and the good and they will be hoping as much as anyone that I come home from the game on Saturday night with a smile on my face, who knows they may even join me at the club for a drink!                   

Big Month Ahead

Following the 6-0 demolition of relegation threatened Staines Town on Saturday Bromley head into the Valentine’s Day match against Hayes & Yeading United at Hayes Lane second in the league after briefly leading for three days. With Ebbsfleet’s involvement in the FA Trophy at and end I fully expect Jamie Day’s newly assembled super squad to push for at least a play off spot if not the title. They may be twelve points behind us, but we play each other twice in the next month and the outcome of these matches will go a long way to shape how the season progresses from here especially considering that sandwiched between these games are tough trips to Sutton and Chelmsford. Basingstoke, Whitehawk, Havant et al will all being eyeing up Boreham Wood who seem to be on the edge similar to our capitulation at this stage last season.            

There are plenty of reason to be optimistic as a Ravens fan right now, recently returned Brad Goldberg has found his scoring boots along with new strike partner Ben May and the midfield are really stepping up with a lot of competition for places. The defence looks more solid and we now have a keeper who fills his teammates with confidence rather than doubt. Whisper it quietly, but with games in hand if we continue the good run of form, it really is a golden opportunity to move on up. 

Bones, Thugs and Harmony

As January comes to an end Bromley find themselves at a crossroads in the season starting with a very tough game against Havant & Waterlooville at Hayes Lane on Saturday. The next month will define just how the league campaign shapes up with games against three promotion rivals and three other teams desperate for points at the other end of the table. We have the chance to put some pressure on Boreham Wood and space between us and the other teams in the play off spots, but if we drop points we could soon be swallowed up by the pack.  

Last Saturdays win at Basingstoke lifted the spirits after what had been a poor start to 2015, with the arrival of a new keeper in Alan Julian, Ben May and Anthony Cook from Ebbsfleet, plus the return Bradley Goldberg on loan, MG and the club have shown they are willing to make the changes and add to the squad in order for us to compete. Damien Scannell has already gone and it is expected Seb Brown and one of the strikers will soon follow suite to balance the books.    

If we can get PJD & Rob Swaine fit on a regular basis, plus Ali back in action then the squad is looking solid and capable with Moses Ademola, Danny Waldren & Cook all in good form.     

Among the other teams at the top Boreham Wood have brought in Daryl McMahon, Ebbsfleet have assembled a squad for League Two and others have strengthened so it’s going to be a battle right to the end of April for the title and Play Offs.      

Tis the season to play loads of football....

Heading into Christmas Bromley are looking well set for an exciting New Year challenging at the top of Conference South and still in two cups. After a decent second half performance against Leiston in the FA trophy saw us through on Saturday The Ravens have been rewarded with a trip to Torquay United in January, which feels like a real prestige tie given The Gulls Football League heritage. 

Ahead of this though there is plenty to play for in the league with the usual busy period over the Yule festivities. On Saturday we entertain St Albans City before travelling to Concord Rangers on Boxing Day and then hosting Wealdstone on Sunday 29^th and then Concord on New Years Day. We then have a free Saturday when we were supposed to be travelling down to Salisbury City prior to their unfortunate demise, which should at least give our small squad some breathing space after a crazy glut of games that are not only hard on the players, but also the fans financially and commitment wise. 

After the FA Cup exit the squad was trimmed down to a more reasonable size with players either loaned out or moved on where possible. We still have a very capable team and if we can avoid the terrible injury and suspension problems of the previous season we should be up there again come April. Ebbsfleet have probably now become favourites with Jamie Day in charge and incomparable resources it will be interesting to see if Boreham Wood can keep their fantastic run going which sees them six points clear at the time of writing. 

Christmas and Easter are the crunch times when it comes to issues at the top and bottom of the table, so let’s hope we can dig in and take the good form into 2015 to keep hope alive

Angels and Ravens

Following an excellent last gasp win over Sutton on Saturday there was frustration midweek as the game as Basingstoke was called off just prior to kick off after torrential rain flooded the pitch at Camrose. A tough one to take for all the staff and fans who had made the long Tuesday night journey into Hampshire only to be turned back on arrival. 

Hasting keeper Josh Pelling had been signed on dual registration for this game to cover Seb Brown’s suspension, but we now head in to the FA trophy game at Tonbridge Angels this weekend with one time reserve custodian Paul Agu seemingly set to play for the first time this season. We’ve had a little more success in this competition in recent times after what had been a desperately poor record previously. Whether we give it a go this season will remain to be seen as promotion is the priority and games against The Angels are always very closely contested.     

This game is quickly followed by a home London Senior Cup game V Corinthian Casuals next Tuesday with the added incentive of a home game against AFC Wimbledon waiting in the next round.   

We sit second in the table going into December six points behind Boreham Wood with two games in hand, but also with Gosport and Ebbsfleet (who have just sacked Steve Brown) on our tail and another dozen or so teams close behind. If any team can find a decent run of form then the league is up for grabs heading towards the New Year. 

We have the squad, the support and the backing so hopefully we’ll be at least in the play offs spots as it heats up into 2015 and hopefully in one or both of the cup competitions after the next two games.