Bromley FC: Should they stay or should they go now?

The Strikers edition

And so we reach the final piece of the puzzle.

My preview of Bromley Football Club’s 24/25 retained/released list has so far covered the keepers, the full-backs, the centre-backs, and the midfielders. Now it’s the strikers’ turn.

Are Bromley’s bagsmen ready to hit the ground running in League Two, or does Andy Woodman need to add some firepower?

Read on to find out.

The Strikers

Michael Cheek

Any true Bromley fan will be absolutely delighted that Michael Cheek is getting his long-awaited chance in the Football League.

The National League’s record goalscorer has netted for fun wherever he has been. Fortunately for us, for the last five seasons, he has been scoring in a Bromley shirt.

Cheek chalked-up 25+ this season, two of which came in the play-off final. Once again he proved he is the man for the big occasion.

I know he signed a contract extension a while back, but he would be the first on my list to tie down to a better deal. Heck, he may even have a very good one already. 

When Cheek finally moves on from Bromley, or retires with us, he will go down as a modern-day legend. I say reimburse him as such. 

A couple of friends asked me if I felt Bromley will survive in League Two. I left them in no doubt that it shouldn’t even be a serious question.

If Cheek stays injury-free, he will score double figures. That will go a long way to ensuring that Bromley do more than just “survive.” 

Louis Dennis

By his lofty standards, Louis will be the first to admit it was not a vintage season for him. 

On the flip side, he got his first real Wembley moment for Bromley, playing 82 minutes of the play-off final win and cementing his name in the fabric of this football club.

Over 250 appearances across two spells mean that if Louis’ time comes to an end this summer, he should be recognised as a legend of the club’s modern history.

For those who maybe have only watched Bromley in recent years, it is worth outlining that Louis has been part of two promotion-winning sides. He has also gone to Wembley three times with the Ravens. 

I say this because I can foresee a scenario where Andy Woodman decides it is time to part ways. Louis will of course believe he is good for another crack at the Football League, and given his skill set, and Ben Krauhaus’ departure, maybe there is some merit to that.

If Dennis departs, it leaves a lot of creative impetus on Corey Whitely’s shoulders. Name another player who can play a few moves ahead of the game.

Andy Woodman loves to have an experienced core through his side. Technically, Louis now sits in that vortex. Would you keep him for our inaugural League Two campaign?

Soul Kader

Way back in August, Soul Kader bagged a late equaliser against Wealdstone to hand Bromley their first point and goal of the season after losing their opening two games.

Unfortunately, his season came to an abrupt end with a season-ending injury in the next game at Kidderminster Harriers.

Soul has already bagged double figures on loan at Isthmian level, and his glow-up was sufficient in pre-season for Andy Woodman to hand him some senior starts. 

He is only 20 years old, and the hope is he can come back from this injury and show the form that had Andy Woodman rating him highly.

Before that happens, I expect that he might need to go out on loan at National League South or Isthmian Premier level to get back up to speed. 

Olufela Olomola

Fela will be here next season, so we don’t need to have that discussion.

He joined the club in October and would have signed an 18-month contract when doing so. The lively forward more than rewarded that move with 9 goals in his 13 appearances. 

Shortly after his move, he enjoyed a golden patch that went a long way to ensuring Bromley were in pole position for the top three at the turn of the year. However, in 2024 he only added another two goals. This seemed to coincide with a crisis in confidence in front of goal. 

Andy eventually took Fela out of the firing line to rejuvenate him ahead of the final three games of the season.

Fela does a lot of unheralded dirty work. He is a tireless terrier who runs the channels, chases lost causes, and links play. But he will know that goals are the real metric for any striker.

Arguably, given he got into double figures for Bromley, he more than did his job across the course of the season. But make no mistake, the League Two challenge will be a new test.

Can he get into double figures again? And more importantly, can he dovetail with Cheeky to ensure the talisman does what he does?

Levi Amantchi

Let's be honest, Levi’s Bromley career has not started yet. He joined the club in February following a gluttonous goal spree with National League South side Maidstone United.

However, the injury that kept him out of Maidstone colours from Christmas continued to plague him at Bromley. 

He made four brief substitute appearances for the Ravens, but in reality he never looked right. 

The management team took Levi out of the firing line after his last appearance at Wealdstone and one has to assume their focus was on getting him properly fit for the new season.

We know about his potential, and if he replicates even half of what he did at Maidstone United then his signing will be worth it. He could prove to be an effective alternative to Michael Cheek when the time comes.

However, given he didn’t get any meaningful game time in the National League, when he starts for the Ravens he will in effect have taken a two-league jump.

Will he rise to the challenge?

Will Davies

Will joined Bromley from York on loan for the season run-in. His arrival appeared to coincide with Levi’s failure to recover from injury and Olufela Olomola’s drop in form.

He featured six times off the bench and was certainly passable. Although he’s big in stature, he appears to possess a turn of pace and a level of directness that scares defenders.

If it weren’t for some great goalkeeping, he could have scored in a couple of matches. 

Andy Woodman was on record as wanting to sign Will before he made his move to York City from Braintree Town.

Adam Hinshelwood is the new manager at York City and has recently signed free-scoring Ollie Pearce from his old club Worthing to partner Dipo Akenyimi. On the surface, that suggests that Will Davies will be down the pecking order on his return to York.

Does that pave the way for Andy Woodman to procure him? Does he want him? Would you have him?

Arguably, if Louis Dennis departs and Will Davies doesn’t return, Bromley will need another striker to take the pressure off of Cheek while Levi Amantchi gets up to speed.

Will the budget allow another arrival? Or is this the one area of the pitch where Woodman will need to make do with what he has?

Robin Stanton-Gleaves’ pockets are not bottomless and strikers tend to be expensive.

Then again, surely I’m naïve to not consider that Andy Woodman might dabble in the loan market. Now Bromley are a League Two club, perhaps we can recruit promising youngsters at an even higher level.

Watch this space.

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