Bromley 1-0 Fleetwood Town
The Good, The Bad & The Ugly
Back-to-back 1-0 wins see Bromley sitting pretty in 11th place in League Two.
Andy Woodman called for his side to get back to basics and they have more than responded to the manager’s words.
Join me as I reflect on The Good, The Bad and The Ugly from Bromley’s 1-0 home win against Fleetwood Town.
Have a read and let me know your thoughts in the comments below.
The team vs Fleetwood Town
The Good
If we’re being honest, this wasn’t a game for the neutral. It was a slugfest on a chilly day, destined to boil down to who could graft hardest and take their moment.
Bromley had one genuine chance and took it. Fleetwood had two and Grant Smith was equal to them.
Let’s start with the club legend that is Michael Cheek. Who among you genuinely believed he would take to League Two like a duck to water? I know I did, but the talisman has silenced his doubters with goals galore.
Bromley tweeted after the game that Cheek now has 120 goals for the football club in all competitions. It begs the question, as Andy Woodman alluded to post-match, how the football club will recognise Michael Cheek when he finally retires or moves on.
I don’t think it is a stretch to say that Bromley wouldn’t be where they are today without the goals of Michael Cheek.
What’s so interesting about Cheeky is that while he doesn’t have bags of pace, he does have a subtle burst of acceleration that earns him the slither of space he needs to do what he does.
In a previous write-up, I questioned how Bromley intended to use Nicke Kabamba. While doing so, I overlooked that Nicke’s arrival allows Bromley to take Michael Cheek off the pitch and still compete.
The best way to maximise and elongate Cheek’s career is if Bromley don’t need him to battle and lead the line for 90 minutes, game in, game out.
Elsewhere, I thought the defence had a strong game. I forgot to highlight that it is no coincidence that Deji is playing next to Jenkinson while Mayor is next to Webster. Two youngsters in the infancy of their careers are shadowing seasoned ‘ring generals’ who will no doubt help them hone their craft.
Lots will be said about Deji and Webster, who I thought were excellent, but Adam Mayor’s performance will have flown under a lot of radars. To be clear, Adam wasn’t brought in to play at left-back. While he does have LWB in his positional locker, in reality, he’s a winger who’s doing a great job at full-back.
When Idris Odutayo returns, it is going to be very interesting to see how Andy Woodman utilises Mayor. I sense we haven’t even scratched the surface of what he can bring from an attacking standpoint. Watch this space.
Lastly, what can you say about Grant Smith? From the moment the stopper arrived at the club, Andy Woodman repeatedly stated that he was the best in the National League. Now we’re in League Two, and we’ve seen plenty to suggest that Grant might be one of the best in this league as well.
As for his last-minute save, I still don’t know how he pulled it off. Every single person in the ground was waiting for the net to bulge, yet his split-second reaction kept it out. If Cheek’s goal was critical to the win then Grant Smith’s save has to take equal importance.
It went by without much fanfare, but Grant signed a new contract a little over a month ago. It seems like it could be a very important piece of business for the football club.
I thought Fleetwood didn’t offer all that much going forward and only really came to the party in the final stanza of the match. They had the look of a team who have lost their top scorer to injury and are struggling to reconfigure.
That said, you could also see why they have kept twelve clean sheets this season. Bromley struggled to create clear-cut chances but made no mistake when one was presented. Fine margins.
I was surprised when Fleetwood took off Elliott Bonds as he was impressive in central midfield, repeatedly beating the press and running through the lines. It wasn’t his fault the front three failed to take advantage of his attacking thrusts.
Former Bromley loanee and current Fleetwood captain Brendan Wiredu was another stand-out. You can see why he was subject to heavy League One interest in the transfer window. At times, he seemed to be playing a different kind of ball to everyone else. There was one move where he glided past two or three Bromley players like they weren’t even there.
Peter Wild spoke at full-time about his squad having several U21 Premier League and Championship loanees who are still getting to grips with League Two football. It made me reflect on the nature of the January transfer window.
So many League Two sides, including Bromley, dipped into the market to strengthen mid-season, but how much of a risk/reward game is it to take promising youngsters on loan?
If it will take them time to adapt, why go for them in the first place? Particularly mid-season when teams often need immediate impetus.
Bromley have been burnt by this before, but when you don’t have deep pockets, perhaps you take the gamble and hope you can upskill the youngster as quickly as possible.
The Bad
I have no idea why I am putting this in The Bad. Maybe I’m just looking for something to write.
Some fans express dissatisfaction with the way Bromley play football. To me, this smacks of wanting to have your cake and eat it.
If you want Bromley to improve defensively then you get performances like this; compromising attacking fluidity for defensive solidity. When you focus on closing down space and being compact, you can only spring forward when there is a very clear opportunity to do so.
It is a style of play that Bromley have honed almost to perfection under Andy Woodman.
It’s why Bromley are fourth in the league for XG (expected goals). Only three teams in the league can better them (Walsall, Notts County, and Doncaster), and all of them are promotion-chasing sides.
Put simply, Bromley create excellent opportunities and rarely waste them. If they get their defensive game spot on, they are likely to get a result because they have Michael Cheek and take their moments.
Sometimes, everything clicks and we get a feast of a performance, like Newport County at home, but being a Bromley fan in League Two is about learning to accept and appreciate footballing pragmatism.
That pragmatism is why Bromley are currently 11th in their debut season in the EFL.
Yes, they could be more open and play more expansively, but that would likely send them back through the EFL trapdoor sooner rather than later.
My interview with Andy Woodman post-match
The Ugly
Like most fans, I got my first glance at the freshly demolished East Stand (and took a photo for posterity). It is yet another signpost that this football club is ever-changing.
Progress or die is the mantra, and if Bromley want to establish themselves as a serious Football League club then things like this are essential.
It was the same when the Benches End was replaced by the Glynn Beverley Stand. All of my favourite Hayes Lane celebrations took place at the Benches End, but as we moved into the National League, it had to go.
Now that we are in League Two, likewise, ground upgrades are necessary. It’s probably one of the main reasons why Robin was so eager to seek a new financial partner in Anthony Serafino.
These things don’t come cheap.
Even if you hate the changes, can we at least agree that something had to be done for the away fan experience?
Bromley must rank as the worst in the league for away fan experience, with only the promise of a London day out saving us from a social media flogging week in, week out.
For that reason alone, the East Stand needed to change.
What are your favourite East Stand memories?
Get at me in the comments below.
Match ratings
Grant Smith (10)
Carl Jenkinson (8)
Deji Elerewe (9)
Byron Webster (8)
Adam Mayor (8)
Ashley Charles (7)
Jude Arthurs (7)
Danny Imray (7)
Ben Thompson (7)
Cameron Congreve (6)
Michael Cheek (9)
Subs:
Brooklyn Ilunga for Cameron Congreve 72’ (6)
Corey Whitely for Danny Imray 72’ (6)
Nicke Kabamba for Michael Cheek 87’ (n/a)
Kamarl Grant for Ben Thompson 89’ (n/a)
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
All articles are edited by Peter Etherington you can link to him here
If you havent as yet make sure you read the other articles in the archive.
If you’d like to show an appreciation for the work that goes into this newsletter you can buy me a coffee through the link below.
You can also find Machel St Patrick Hewitt on Twitter - here
Most importantly of all subscribe to the newsletter to ensure you get these updates direct to your inbox.
Maybe it's because I had missed a few games but I really enjoyed the game , some of the defending by Deji was excellent & Webbo continues to defy his critics . Cheek & Smith will get huge credit and deserve it but their was a lot to like in the Bromley performance v a decent team .
Another fair write-up Machel. Its only my opinion but give me a One Nil to the Arsenal every week and achieve something, rather than hoping for 90 mins entertainment followed by moaning like the Spurs fans. We have only played badly in 3 or 4 games this season, other dropped points were caused by silly mistakes, without those we would probably have another 6 points and be real contenders for a play off spot. I believe we can still achieve that however, our run in fixtures look winnable, hope others agree? Cheers, Rob