The Centre-back striker
When all teams had a Paul Warhurst
I’ve always been a fan of strikers who fill in at centre-back and centre-backs who live out their dreams as battering-ram forwards, momentarily set free from the shackles of defence to cause chaos in the opposition’s box. Premier League and SPL teams of the 1990s had a number of players who did a great job in this fashion: Chris Sutton, Dion Dublin, Paul Warhurst, and Ian Marshall to name but a few.
It was also happening down at Hayes Lane until a couple of seasons ago. Here, I remember a few of my favourites.
Jon Warden
A prolific striker during his career in non-league football, most notably for Carshalton Athletic, Jon joined Bromley at what seemed to be the tail end of his time in the game. But, after a couple of solid seasons for the Ravens, he went on to win the 99/00 FA Vase at Wembley while playing as a centre-back for Deal Town, who were managed by former Bromley player Tommy Sampson. It was during his time at Hayes Lane, under manager George Wakeling, that Jon made the switch from striker to defender, initially as emergency cover. Clearly, he found a new lease of life at the back.
Carl Bartley
A cult hero among fans who watched Bromley back in the early 2000s, Carl joined the Ravens from Dulwich Hamlet with a good reputation as a target man. He did a solid job in his two spells with Bromley, first under Frank Coles and then Stuart McIntyre. When called upon, Carl stepped into the emergency centre-back role with his usual 100% commitment.
Andy Silk
A quick striker with an eye for goal, Silky rose through Bromley’s youth and reserve teams to play for the first team. In October 1995, in one of his first games for George Wakeling’s side, Silky scored a late equaliser in an FA Cup replay at Sittingbourne. He would go on to notch plenty more. Andy later reinvented himself as a centre-back/sweeper and was more than just decent. He wasn’t the tallest, but his positioning and leadership were more than enough to make up for it. He later captained both Leyton and Cray Wanderers as a number five.
Donal O’Sullivan
The rangy Irishman joined Bromley from Southall in 2005, signed by joint managers George Wakeling and Billy Smith. He was equally comfortable at the back or leading the line for the Ravens, scoring fantastic goals or putting in a solid display in a back three. In his five year spell at Hayes Lane, Donal won the Kent Senior Cup, promotion to Conference South, and played a starring role in some great FA Cup runs under Mark Goldberg. With superb vision and passing, there was so much more to his game than just being a target man. Those who were there will remember the run and pass for Louis Fazakerley to score the winner at Chelmsford, and his header in the FA Cup win at Tonbridge Angels.
Jack Holland
The most recent and arguably most successful example of a Bromley player moving from one end to the other is Jack Holland. Jack is a superb centre-back who joined us on loan from Crystal Palace in 2013 before signing permanently that summer. He played for Bromley until 2020, winning the London Senior Cup in 2013, promotion to the National League in 2015, and captaining the side at Wembley in the 2018 FA Trophy Final. During our first National League season, the club had an injury crisis that left Moses Emmanuel as the only striker available for a league game away at Welling Utd. Jack stepped up to play as a target man for the free-scoring Moses and it worked to great effect. Their little and large combination helped the Ravens run out 2-1 winners, with Jack scoring the winning goal from a Moses pass. From that point on, Jack played as an emergency striker on a number of occasions, scoring some vital goals in the process.
I’m not sure whether we will see this happen again. Football moves on and, for better or worse, is more ‘professional’ at all levels these days. That said, Omar Sowunmi played up front at the start of his career. Could he do a job as a target man for the Ravens? And, who knows, maybe Michael Cheek will fill in at centre-back in an emergency one day? If it happens, I’ll be nodding my head in approval.
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Barnet actually did have Paul Warhurst at the tail end of his career, still class in League Two, part of the oldest spine of a team featuring Andy Hessenthaler and Paul Furlong.
In the nineties I had tapped out following Bromley for a glory hunting period in pursuit of Premiership and Championship football with Leicester City where we had Steve Walsh and Mattie Elliot filling that role regularly with huge degrees of success