Morecambe vs Bromley preview
One week ago, after Bromley’s exciting 0-0 draw with promotion-chasing Port Vale, it felt right to ask Andy Woodman if he was now looking upwards in League Two.
His response was typically bullish for a manager who prides himself on pushing Bromley to new levels.
As far as Andy Woodman is concerned, he didn’t get Bromley promoted to just stand still in League Two. After a run of one defeat in twelve games, who could blame him for reasserting that finishing in the upper echelons of the league was always his target?
In their final fixture before Christmas, Bromley head to Morecambe for their first-ever competitive contest against the Shrimps.
Morecambe currently sit joint-bottom of League Two, but don’t let that give you a false sense of security about the challenge Bromley face today.
Derek Adams, the Shrimps’ gaffer, recently won Manager of the Month following a run that saw them beat Harrogate Town and Swindon Town away from home. Given the club’s troubles off the field, those results show that Adams and his players are up for a fight.
Their defiance of the odds doesn’t stop there.
Like Bromley, Morecambe are on an FA Cup run that has rewarded them with a third-round away fixture at a Premier League giant. In Morecambe’s case, they will face Chelsea at Stamford Bridge. It offers a welcome payday for one of the league’s most beleaguered clubs.
There’s an old adage in League Two that, each season, you can rely on two clubs to implode and free-fall into the National League. Outperform those basket cases you’ll survive.
Before the season started, it was widely acknowledged that Morecambe were likely to be one of the basket cases.
Last season, despite being up for sale since 2022, the Shrimps had not found a buyer. The owners were warned of a catastrophic outcome if they failed to sell the club, and during a period of deep uncertainty, Morecambe were deducted three points for failing to pay players on time, with owner Jason Whittingham receiving a hefty fine.
As things stand, the club lurches from month to month with no end to the uncertainty.
Indeed, within the last 48 hours, Morecambe have been hit with a suspended two-point deduction after they failed to report to the EFL, on five separate occasions, non-payment of amounts owed to HMRC within the required two working days.
The deduction will come into force if they fail to notify the EFL of any future HMRC defaults before the end of June 2026.
Given the circumstances, Derek Adams has done wonders, especially as the club entered the summer with only five registered players and a signing embargo placed on them.
Adams has had to beg and borrow a squad from Football League and National League outcasts, with the odd loanee thrown in for good measure.
While that description may sound harsh, it reflects the scramble that took place to build a squad that could compete in League Two.
Since Adams won the Manager of the Month award, Morecambe have lost their last two league games (0-3 Grimsby, 2-0 Cheltenham). His team play Bromley at a time when they desperately need some points on the board to stop the rot.
Bromley fans will find some encouragement in the fact that Morecambe have both conceded the most goals in League Two and lost the most games.
On paper, Bromley should be targeting a clinical three points from this game, but we all know that no game in League Two is easy, particularly when you’re playing a team that’s fighting for survival.
Bromley are in a good place right now and the team are playing with a certain sense of confidence and swagger. There is a good balance about the squad and the players seem to know their roles.
That said, the Christmas and New Year period will see Bromley play a lot of games. How Andy Woodman manages bodies and minutes is likely to be critical.
The Ravens play six games in the next 23 days. Expecting a win from all of them seems far-fetched, especially as the squad is likely to rotate.
Another factor during that run is the opening of the transfer window.
The packed schedule is just one more reason why I think we will see some squad additions in the new year. If Bromley are to remain upwardly mobile, any other course of action would be unsustainable.
Possible Bromley XI
Smith
Sowunmi Reynolds Grant
Imray Thompson Arthurs Odutayo
Whitely Congreve
Cheek
Please note all match photographs in this article are by Martin Greig - please follow him on Twitter here
All articles are edited by Peter Etherington you can link to him here
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We need to poach a quality striker to help cheek during matches, and one who instinctively knows where the net is. Not being able to convert chances is an ongoing problem for us. We need to shoot more often.....from anywhere...it will either cause confusion or find the net somehow!