Bromley 0-2 Grimsby Town
The Good, The Bad & The Ugly
This run of games was always going to be difficult. From Notts County through to MK Dons, Bromley are facing a barrage of promotion contenders.
Three games into the run, the Ravens have one point and one goal. Difficult times indeed.
As ever, join me as I reflect on The Good, The Bad and The Ugly from the 0-2 home defeat to Grimsby Town.
Have a read and let me know your thoughts in the comments below.
The team vs Grimsby Town
The Good
Bromley will rue the fact they didn’t go in one nil up at half-time. They created three good chances in the final 25 minutes of the first half that on another day might have gone in.
Jordan Wright did well to save from Michael Cheek and Louis Dennis, and another strike from Louis was blocked on the line by Harvey Rodgers just before the interval.
At the half time interval, it had the air of a game that was going to end one nil to Grimsby. There are sixth senses you get in football, and being punished for not taking your chances is as time-honoured as they come.
Over the 90 minutes, there weren’t many players who came out of the game with much credit, but I did think Millwall loanee Adam Mayor looked bright on his debut.
As Andy Woodman alluded to post-match, he has only recently returned from injury so he’ll need to be treated delicately to ensure he doesn’t break down again. Even so, there were moments in the first half that explained why he made a big-money move from Morecambe to Millwall last January.
With Idris Odutayo out injured, Mayor deputised at left wing-back and demonstrated his attacking prowess. Andy Woodman will expect him to add another assist-making threat to the side, but it will be interesting to see where he plays when Idris is back in the side. Will the shape change to accommodate him?
The second half was horrid, so frankly that’s where my synopsis of The Good ends.
Grimsby, believe it or not, were also on a bad run of form going into this match, but Danny Rose’s brilliantly improvised finish straight after the restart gave them the self-belief to go on and win the game.
From that moment on, Bromley didn’t threaten Grimsby’s goal. David Artell highlighted RWB Jason Dadi Svanthorsson as particularly impressive, but I liked the look of the man on the other side, Denver Hume.
In the match preview, I highlighted that Hume had the most assists in the Grimsby side. This performance showed me why. He did as well as anyone to nullify Danny Imray, and more importantly, he was excellent going forward. At times, I couldn’t work out if I was watching a midfielder or a defender, that’s how comfortable he seemed on the ball.
And what about Danny Rose’s scoop and volley finish while on the floor?! It was an excellent bit of trickery, but was the defending too soft? I’ve watched it back and can't understand why no one attempted to boot his legs or the ball to kill the threat. Maybe I’m being harsh, but at least three players appear to be watching as he pulls off his circus trick.
You can bet your bottom dollar that goal will be doing the highlight rounds on social media over the next week.
The Bad
In their last five matches, Bromley have only scored two goals.
We can look at the defensive frailties and individual errors, but it’s the lack of attacking threat that has caught my eye recently.
One of those goals belongs to Michael Cheek. Some may argue that he looks tired, but even if that were the case, no one is stepping in to fill the void.
Would this be solved by playing Nicke Kabamba alongside or instead of Cheek? Time will tell. Unfortunately, we are witnessing just how dependent Bromley are on a fresh and firing Michael Cheek.
The most disappointing thing about the performance for me was the way Bromley wilted like a salted snail after Danny Rose scored.
If we are being truthful, Bromley were horrible after the goal. No matter who was on the pitch, they looked disjointed. Much like the last home game against Colchester, passes went astray, decisions were rushed, and quality was lacking.
Worst of all, so many second contacts and percentages were lost. This feels weird to say as you rarely see that quality in an Andy Woodman side.
Does the team look jaded?
They seem to be in a weird phase of the season where a second side is being built in the transfer window. I sense it may be a while before we establish what the best XI looks like.
Speaking of the best XI, what is our most effective midfield configuration at the moment? I believe the problem is that a few players' form has deserted them. So who starts the next stretch of games?
Is it time for Lewis Leigh and Ashley Charles to get a start? If so, who would start in front of them? Corey Whitely looks down on form at the moment, but is Cameron Congreve the answer? Do Bromley now switch to 4-2-3-1?
So many questions, and only one man can answer them. Andy Woodman has some difficult decisions to make ahead of the Salford and MK Dons trips.
The Ugly
When I took a curious look at Bromley’s Facebook groups on Sunday morning, they seemed to be full of people complaining about the ticket rearrangement of the East Stand.
Some appear to have not been given clear instructions as to how to claim their reissued season ticket, or they haven’t received said ticket at all.
I have to assume the club will sort this out in time for the next home game, but it is a clear sign of the teething problems Bromley are facing as they adapt to life in the Football League.
I looked around the ground on Saturday and couldn’t for the life of me work out how we are going to fit everyone in, but part of the problem continues to be that something like 50% of season ticket holders don’t use their ticket on a regular basis.
Is Bromley a social club more than a football club?
Either way, the way I see it, Bromley are basically sold out for the rest of the season. If the club has to factor season ticket holders into their expected attendance, then games will be sold out as soon as they are announced.
I have a feeling there are going to be some very disappointed casual/non-season ticket holders in the coming weeks.
Here’s the thing though, I don’t have an answer for the above. Do you?
Get at me in the comments below.
Match ratings
Grant Smith (6)
Danny Imray (5)
Kamarl Grant (5)
Byron Webster (5)
Deji Elerewe (5)
Adam Mayor (6)
Ben Thompson (5)
Jude Arthurs (5)
Corey Whitely (5)
Louis Dennis (6)
Michael Cheek (6)
Subs:
Brooklyn Ilunga for Adam Mayor 64’ (5)
Lewis Leigh for Ben Thompson 64’ (6)
Cameron Congreve for Byron Webster 76’ (5)
Nicke Kabamba for Louis Dennis 76’ (5)
Thanks for taking the time to read the match synopsis above.
Please note all match photographs in this article are by Martin Greig - please follow him on Twitter here
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Kabamba needs a run of games, not 15mins when we are chasing games. Unfortunately he and Cheek are far too similar, so that’s not going to happen unless Michael needs a rest.
The second half of the season was always going to be tougher than the first. Teams know us now and they will have looked at how to play us.
On the ticketing issue, I think "teething problems" sum it up nicely. The club is dealing with regular sell outs for the first time ever. Far better resourced clubs than us have made a total mess of managing that tipping point where there are more people wanting to come than there is space in the ground, so I think the club should be cut some slack for the errors it has undoubtedly mde in this process.
As for the run in for this season, that reduced availability is likely to principally impact more ocassional visitors like me. I was hoping to go to another three or for games before the season is out, but probably now won't get to any. I think I (and others like me) will need to accept that inconvenience as the cost of progress, and I'm happy to do so. I just hope that the die hard fans who the club should first and foremost be "for" aren't too impacted.
But longer term, the club imho needs to rethink it's approach. If season ticket holders only attend half the games while others can't get in, there needs to be a shift. Perhaps the best way of doing this is a resale scheme for sold out games, but that might be too complex given the limited resources of the club.
A better route might be something that builds on the "four for two" scheme last year. Perhaps (for example) 14 games for the price of 10 would enable current ST holders who regularly don't come a cheaper option that enables them to get to the games they want to while avoiding blocking other fans from coming. This also avoids hiking season ticket prices for those who do come to all (or nearly all) the games.
I'm not saying the above is perfect, but is perhaps just an example of the sort of approach that might just provide the best outcome for as many fans as possible.