Morecambe 0-2 Bromley

The Good, The Bad & The Ugly

Nine games unbeaten and up to 13^th in League Two.

Only three teams have lost fewer games than Bromley in League Two. The Ravens are the real deal and it’s time we all accepted that.

Now, join me as I reflect on The Good, The Bad and The Ugly from Bromley’s 0-2 away win over Morecambe.

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

The team vs Morecambe

The Good

In Danny Imray and Michael Cheek, Bromley have two of the most dangerous footballers in the league.

This was a game where, for 95% of the encounter, neither of them ever really got a kick or influenced the game. However, the one time Imray got on the ball and did his thing, he won a penalty that allowed Michael Cheek to do his thing.

In short, it is almost impossible to switch off against either of these two as they will punish you more often than not.

Much like the recent game away at Accrington Stanley, the squally weather conditions in Morecambe rendered most of the first half unwatchable. There were only a few spells when the game was played on the ground and Bromley had the best of them.

In the second half, the Shrimps came out with renewed vigour and forced Bromley to play without the ball for long periods. But, to the Ravens’ credit, they did what they do best: dig in and earn the right to claim the points.

The agricultural and scrappy nature of the game played into Bromley’s hands as they seem to relish this kind of battle. I don’t know how many teams can out-scrap Bromley in League Two. It can't be many.

That’s three goals now for Omar Sowunmi. Ahem! I want to direct dissenters back to earlier articles where I said signing Omar was a no-brainer of a decision.

You simply cannot have a football team built around Michael Cheek’s goals alone.

I could never understand why some fans let the Sutton thing get in the way of sound football logic.

We’re talking about a robust, goal-scoring defender who does the simple things well and throws himself into the battle. Since Omar got into the side this season, it has been impossible to justify leaving him out. Long may that continue.

I don’t know how many people had him down as such, but my Man of the Match was Ben Thompson. I continue to be impressed by the former Millwall man.

He loves a tackle, but crucially, he finds a bit of extra time on the ball to make things happen. I maintain that an underrated skill he has is his ability to receive the ball in tight spaces and spring an attacking transition.

In this particular game, I lost track of how many times a drop of the shoulder or subtle game awareness allowed him to beat a press or draw a foul to slow the game down.

There are a few players who are essentially undroppable if they’re fit. For me, Thompson is one of them.

The Bad

We need to nationalise the railways in this country. Whether I should use these write-ups for political soapbox rants is neither here nor there.

I daren't admit how much I paid for my off-peak return ticket from London Euston to Morecambe, but it was the kind of extortion that would make a mafioso wipe sweat from his brow.

Keir Starmer has five years to do something meaningful as Prime Minister. We are on our knees in this country. Give us something, anything that would make us believe that our lives are getting tangibly better.

As I am typing this, I just went on Skyscanner to see how much a return ticket to Prague would cost if I booked tonight. It was roughly the same price as my return trip to Morecambe.

NATIONALISE IT!

The Ugly

Around the 10-minute mark of the game, a section of the home fanbase walked into the ground. They were greeted by applause by their fellow supporters. Unless I am mistaken, it was a peaceful protest at the shoddy running of their football club. The group’s arrival was followed by a chant about wanting someone out. I suspect it was their owner - Jason Whittingham.

It is never nice to see a football club go through the mire. And with a possible points deduction looming over the already beleaguered club, things look bleak for the Shrimps.

As a result of the turmoil, Morecambe looked every bit the weakest side in League Two this season. I don’t say that with any disrespect intended. It is what it is.

With an ownership that is unwilling or unable to front the money required to help the club kick on, they look like a dead man walking. To their credit, they have scraped a team together and are trying to compete. Sadly, Morecambe seem to lack the talent on the pitch to fire them to safety, and the foresight off the pitch to get a deal done that can ‘save’ the club.

I think it’s safe to say that Bromley won’t be one of the two teams heading down to the National League next season. But if Morecambe don’t get their act together quickly, I can see them not only going down but not coming back up for a long time.

Maybe their FA Cup third-round tie at Chelsea is important in more ways than one.

Something I haven’t mentioned in recent articles is the chatter in some quarters that clubs may be circling Andy Woodman. I don’t know how much truth there is to those rumours.

Northampton Town, where he is seen as a club legend, currently require a gaffer. The shoe certainly fits for the Cobblers. But I sense that Andy sees what he’s doing at Bromley as far more important and upwardly mobile at this juncture.

One day, Andy Woodman will leave Bromley to manage a bigger club with a bigger budget and infrastructure, but I don’t think that day is today.

With the windfall from the Newcastle United fixture soon heading his way, I predict Andy may yet surprise a few people with where Bromley finish this season.

Now, over to you.

What did you make of this one? Get at me in the comments below.

Match ratings

Grant Smith (8)

Kamarl Grant (8)

Omar Sowunmi (8)

Callum Reynolds (8)

Idris Odutayo (8)

Jude Arthurs (7)

Ben Thompson (8)

Danny Imray (7)

Corey Whitely (7)

Cameron Congreve (6)

Michael Cheek (7)

Subs:

Olufela Olomola for Cameron Congreve 67’ (7)

Josh Passley for Danny Imray 88’ (n/a)

Levi Amantchi for Michael Cheek 88’ (n/a)

---

Thanks for taking the time to read the match synopsis above.

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.