Bromley vs Notts County preview

If things like stadium size and average attendance matter, make no mistake, Notts County are one of the biggest clubs in League Two.

In view of that, Bromley’s record against County is very impressive.

In their eight encounters in the National League, the Ravens only lost once to the Magpies, with the clash of styles more often working in Bromley’s favour.

Bromley should not go into this League Two clash overawed in any way. They’ve been in this position so many times before where Notts are flying high and come in as the fancied team. 

Since their promotion to League Two (following that season with Wrexham), Notts have seen their successful manager Luke Williams leave in January to manage Swansea City. 

He was replaced by former Wealdstone boss Stuart Maynard, whose style of play at the Stones was seen as the perfect fit for Notts.

The latter half of last season presented somewhat of a baptism of fire for Maynard as he took time to adapt to his new surroundings. By the end of the 23/24, Notts were 14th under Maynard, but they had lost 11 of their 19 league games under his tutelage.

That record caused consternation in some sections of the fanbase, but all managers will tell you they need a summer of recruitment to mould the squad in their image. 

Importantly, County have retained League Two’s assist leader Jodi Jones, who has been with them since their National League days. They also recruited Curtis Edwards from Woking (remember him?) and Nick Tsaroulla from Crawley Town over the summer, as well as securing some promising loanees in Jack Hinchy from Brighton and George Abbott from Tottenham.

In addition to Jodi Jones, Notts fans would probably say that their most important players are talented midfielder Dan Crowley and their evergreen striker David McGoldrick, both of whom can be game-changers on their day.

Last season, Notts County completed the most passes in the league, and they were joint third-highest scorers, but they also conceded more goals than any other team in League Two, which is something Maynard needs to address this season if Notts are going to live up to their potential.

Losing top scorer Macauley Langstaff to Millwall doesn’t seem to have had a negative impact as the Magpies are again top scorers in the league. The important difference is that they look defensively sound, which explains why they are unbeaten in their first five games.

It’s early doors of course, and there will be doubts as to whether they can sustain the loss of Langstaff over the course of the whole season, but they have started as they mean to go on. 

Bromley arrested their league form ‘slide’ with a very useful point at Colchester United last Saturday.

The last 25 minutes of that game probably foreshadow what is to come in terms of possession. Andy Woodman will expect Notts to dominate the ball and spend a lot of the game looking to play through the lines.

Notts did it all the time under Luke Williams, as did Wealdstone under Stuart Maynard, so it would be shocking if this encounter doesn’t play out as attack vs defence, or perhaps attack vs counter-attack.

Bromley fame themselves on being able to work very hard off the ball and spring quickly from turnovers. If they are to avoid defeat, they will need to be on point in that regard.

For the first 60 minutes of the Colchester game, the front two of Michael Cheek and Marcus Dinanga dovetailed really well, allowing Bromley to get behind the Colchester backline and press more effectively from the front.

It would be a surprise if Bromley did not start with two up front again, but with Cameron Congreve returning from international duty, Andy Woodman will have a lot to think about.

Due to his sending-off in injury time last Saturday, Besart Topalloj will be serving his one-match suspension in this game. As a result, I expect Callum Reynolds to return.

Over to you. 

Will it be two up top or something more reserved? What would you do?

The From Bromley with Love XI

Smith

Grant Webster Reynolds

Imray Arthurs Charles Odutayo

Whitely

Cheek Dinanga

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