Bromley 3-3 Wealdstone

The Good, The Bad & The Ugly

One point gained or two points lost?

Before the match, there’s no doubt that Bromley would have targeted Wealdstone at home as a must-win game. But there’s a reason why Wealdstone are the highest-placed part-time team in the league this season and have taken plenty of ‘big’ scalps in the process.

Few teams move the ball better than them and it’s all the more remarkable how well they do it when they only train to evenings a week.

Bromley played Wealdstone for the first time on the opening day of the season. If it wasn’t clear then, it should be now. If you don’t respect the quality of the National League, the National League has a funny knack of kicking you in the face. 

That said, the Ravens deserve some credit for finding a way to come back three times and get a point. If we insist on turning everything into a ‘narrative’, then Bromley being a resilient side is the key takeaway.

As ever, I reflect on The Good, The Bad and The Ugly from Bromley’s breathless draw with Wealdstone.

Have a read and let me know your thoughts in the comments below

The Line-up vs Wealdstone

The Good

Goals from midfield. For those paying attention, this has been a problem all season. 

The preferred starting three of Bingham, Vennings, and Whitely have zero league goals between them this season. 

Saturday’s starting midfield looked workmanlike and devoid of creativity, in part due to Andy Woodman’s hands being tied by illness and injury. As a result, the first 45 minutes were scrappy to say the least. 

Vennings was his usual tidy self, always looking to turn out and recycle the ball, but as ever we didn’t seem to have too much going forward from that area.

That all changed in the second half as Jude Arthurs reminded Woodman and the fans what he can offer. 

If you cast your mind back to when Woodman arrived at the club, Jude established himself as a goalscoring midfielder who often popped up with crucial, match-turning contributions.

On Saturday, his double salvo automatically made him the top scorer from midfield this season, alongside Louis Dennis. 

It raises the question: Is Jude Arthurs the answer? Does he deserve a run in the centre of the park?

Of the conventional central midfielders in the side, he is the only one who arrives late in the box. 

Andy has been asking for more goals from his midfielders. Maybe the answer has been staring him in the face all along?

The Bad

There can be no doubt that we have a lot of promising youngsters. And, in some sense, a bench comprising Sablier, Krauhaus, Fisher, and Lovatt is to be commended. 

Former Bromley manager Neil Smith has not been shy in singing the praises of Fisher and Krauhaus during their recent loan spell at Cray Wanderers, so we shouldn’t feel like their inclusion on the bench is a bad thing. 

Cray Wanderers FC @OfficialWands

BREAKING NEWS! - After some incredible performances in the Cray Wanderers 1st Team, Ben Krauhaus has been recalled to the @bromleyfc 1st Team Squad. We wish all the best for Ben and are confident he'll continue to excel & impress! 💛

That said, the recent injury and illness woes highlight a squad depth issue that Andy Woodman may well want to address going into the new year. 

Whitely and Dennis were unavailable at the weekend, which pretty much wiped out any chance of creativity. Chris Bush is currently persona non grata at the club, so we lack defensive cover. And question marks remain over the end product of our wingers.

If the playoffs are to remain a legitimate goal then Woodman may have to ask RSG to loosen the purse strings. Squad upgrades, if available, are likely to be needed if Bromley are to stay in the hunt. 

At the moment, it feels like Bromley have a squad that matches their position: top ten and flirting with the playoffs. But we don’t seem to have the quality in depth to turn one point into three. 

Away from squad issues, the defensive performance on Saturday was especially poor. But that shouldn’t be misinterpreted as a criticism of the central defenders alone. The defending as a team was poor. 

It’s often the case that conceding a goal is about what happens in the 30 or 40 seconds beforehand, rather than the finish itself. If you watch Wealdstone’s goals again, Bromley had chances to be agricultural and clear lines.

This isn’t to detract from the quality of all three Wealdstone finishes, but the Ravens were certainly architects in their own downfall.

I spoke with Andy post match to get his reflections on the game - have a listen to the recording below before you move on

The Ugly

A few weeks ago I spoke about moving Corey Whitely back to LWB, and after Saturday’s performance I am even more convinced of that tactical change. 

If rumours are to be believed, Reece Hannam may be facing a bit of time on the injury list. If so, I would rather not see Charles Clayden playing in his place.

I don’t like to use this newsletter as a means to go after players, but I will just say this: I have not seen anything to suggest that Clayden is an EFL player. 

Earlier in the season, I highlighted that the National League is a great finishing school for players who embrace it and are committed to developing. 

I don’t know Charles personally, but I suspect this penny hasn’t quite dropped for him yet. The National League doesn’t care what you’ve already done in your career or who your parent club is. You have to produce or you’ll get found out quickly.

There is still time for him to prove me wrong, but right now I would advise Woodman to move Whitely back to LWB and bring Dennis, or the aforementioned Arthurs, into the advanced midfield position. 

We know what Corey can do from LWB, and arguably he is a better goal-scoring and creative threat from that position. 

Will Woodman make the move?

Match ratings

Tom Smith (7)

Harry Forster (6)

Omar Sowunmi (7)

Byron Webster (7)

Callum Reynolds (6)

Charles Clayden (5)

Ethan Coleman (6)

James Vennings (7)

Jude Arthurs (8)

Adam Marriott (6)

Michael Cheek (6)

For those who are interested, I have also included the interview with Wealdstone manager Stuart Maynard - always worth seeing how the opposition viewed a match as well

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