Dagenham & Redbridge 4-1 Bromley

The Good, The Bad & The Ugly

Aug 30, 2022

All good things come to an end and for Bromley it fell apart in quite spectacular style on Bank Holiday Monday.

Shorn of their entire first choice back-line (Sowunmi - personal, Webster - injury, Bush - suspension) Bromley were swept aside by a Dagenham & Redbridge side that had way too much National League nous for Bromley to deal with.

A major reason for the four game run of clean sheets was the established National League defenders in Bromley’s squad so it came as no surprise that Bromley got dealt with in their absence.

It poses a squad quality issue that I am sure Andy Woodman will be contemplating and addressing over the forthcoming days.

As ever I have put together a detailed analysis of the game as part of my The Good, The Bad and The Ugly series.

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

The Line-up vs Dagenham & Redbridge

I dont know if this was the actual line-up as at time it looked like 3-5-2

The Good

On the way out of the ground, fans asked me if there was anything good about the match. In the interest of keeping things balanced and looking for some positives I will stress that the players didn’t let their heads drop after half time. For the first time this season, Bromley were properly dead and buried by that point. But the side continued to battle and drew the second half.

That may sound like little more than faint praise, but these things do matter when trying to maintain team spirit.

Other than that, arguably some of the attacking play warranted more reward than a single consolation goal. For the first ten minutes, Bromley were easily the better side and perhaps should have taken the lead through Louis Dennis.

And, unlike some recent games, Harry Forster got into a lot of good positions. This was probably due to the extra licence he was given to get forward. On another day, one of his many crosses might have been turned in.

On top of that, Elliot Justham, who Daggers manager Daryl McMahon has often stated is the best goalkeeper in the league, pulled off three excellent saves to deny Bromley, so perhaps 4-1 doesn’t tell the true story of the match.

The Bad

‘Bad’ is used loosely in this round up as the situation was what it was. When you have your three first choice centre-backs missing, there’s only so much you can do to patch things up.

Should Jude Arthurs have played instead of Kellen Fisher? Was it a flat back four instead of the usual three to begin with? Was that the right shape and personnel to go with? More importantly would any of that really have affected the contest?

The reality is, Bromley do not have a big enough squad to cope with the loss of four first choice players, much less three in one specific area of the pitch.

Some people said to me that Woodman should have set up more robustly. Even if he did, the first three goals all came from defensive errors. That’s no coincidence as defence was so makeshift. All of the goals came from balls into the box that, under normal circumstances, would have been dealt with.

I don’t buy the notion that this would’ve been different with an alternative team selection as we were still down to bare bones defensively. That undoubtedly contributed to a bad day at the office.

All the selected players can do is watch the video back and accept that, absences aside, we did not defend well.

Something Andy Woodman will now have to consider is whether he should, or even could, expand the squad. Also, in the case of Kellen Fisher, does Woodman really believe he is ready for the cut and thrust of the National League? Would a Ryman League loan be more beneficial?

It is important to note that Dagenham quickly picked up on Kellen’s inexperience and targeted him repeatedly. Is it right that we continue to expose him so soon at this level? Should Jude Arthurs be the cover at right-back and right wing-back?

The Ugly

At one point in the game it looked like Bromley might get blown away. My deep fear was that Dagenham would add a few more goals in the second half and destroy team morale.

While that didn’t happen, the defeat still poses questions that Andy Woodman will want to find answers to. Having four key players out at the same time exposed weaknesses he may not have previously considered.

On one hand, any side would be severely weakened with so many players out. On the other hand, has this highlighted that Bromley’s squad is unbalanced? Should they be in any position where young Kellen Fisher is the only option in an injury or absence crisis?

Then again, how many experienced squad members can Woodman realistically afford when opportunities would be severely limited once first team players are available again. We saw this exact thing happen with Jack Cawley last season. Remember Ben Margetson? Me neither.

Fans will be divided on the issue, and one must also consider budget implications, but there can be no doubt that Bromley were found out when Callum Reynolds was the only experienced central defensive cover left in the squad.

If he does bring in another player, it’s quite possible that Andy Woodman will have to move a player out to make space in the budget. If that’s the case, another dilemma presents itself. Does Woodman, for example, send Marcus Sablier/George Alexander out on loan to free up space for another versatile defender? Would that versatile defender be happy to be a rarely used squad player?

I don’t know where I stand on the issue, but that’s why I'm not the manager of Bromley Football Club.

Match ratings

Charles-Cook (6)

Harry Forster (6)

Kellen Fisher (5)

Callum Reynolds (6)

Zak Bradshaw (5)

Reece Hannam (6)

James Vennings (6)

Ethan Coleman (6)

Corey Whitely (6)

Michael Cheek (6)

Louis Dennis (6)

Subs:

Adam Marriott (on 46 for Dennis) 7

Jude Arthurs (on 76 for Whitely) 6

From Bromley with love

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