The Curious Case of Harry McKirdy

Well, that didn’t last long. From heralded signing in February 2025 to goodbye by the end of the season, Harry McKirdy’s stay in BR2 was all too brief.

Strong rumours suggest that when the close season starts in earnest, Crawley Town will announce Harry’s signing on a free transfer.

The newly-relegated League One side boast Scott Lindsey as their manager (and Neil Smith as his assistant). Lindsey was the assistant manager at Swindon Town when Harry had the best season of his career, firing the Robins to the League Two play-offs with 20-plus goals, so it’s easy to see how the puzzle pieces fit together.

The question Bromley fans should ask is whether Harry’s signing was a mutually beneficial arrangement or whether Bromley were just a fling while Harry got his affairs in order.

Enfant terrible or not, there is no doubt that Harry McKirdy is a talented footballer, some might say mercurial. He bagged twice in his nine appearances for the Ravens, and showed in his short stay the ability to unlock defences with moments of magic.

Bear in mind that Harry had a difficult time of things in Scotland with Hibernian and arrived at Hayes Lane without much football behind him. His short spell suggested he was the kind of player Bromley could really look forward to using once he’d had a pre-season to fully integrate into the side.

However, we will never know if that would have come to fruition, as his short-term deal has come to an end without the option to extend it.

Andy Woodman isn’t a manager who tolerates players who disrupt the team culture, so some have intimated that McKirdy, with his reputation for off-field antics, always had the potential to be a bad fit. However, depending on who you talk to, this departure was actually one that Harry wanted, rather than the other way round.

It serves as a reminder that Bromley aren’t a big hitter where wages are concerned, and players like Harry will always be able to play the market.

While I’m not suggesting that Harry’s motive was solely financial, if a player’s decision comes down to money, Bromley are always likely to come out second-best. But that doesn’t mean they can’t attract in-demand players.

As long as a player fits the character pool and is willing to buy into the project, they can look forward to an off-pitch offering that’s miles better than they could expect at a lot of ‘bigger’ clubs. But if money is the primary motive, Bromley will always be a stop-gap.

The departure of McKirdy, along with Danny Imray, Cameron Congreve, and Louis Dennis, means Bromley currently have zero players who fit the ‘something out of nothing’ mould.

McKirdy, like Dennis, had the flexibility to be deployed as both a classic inside forward and as a partner to Michael Cheek at the top end of the pitch. As Bromley try to evolve next season, they will need to add a touch of the je ne sais quoi to their attacking threat, but where will it come from?

Can they really expect Michael Cheek to sweep aside all comers once again? If Cheek should falter for any reason, the Ravens will need to call upon other goal threats and players with the capacity to open up defences. It feels like a lot is resting on summer recruitment in that regard.

Bromley, under Andy Woodman, have always seemed more comfortable without the football than with it, but that doesn’t mean they can’t pass and move with the best of them. That said, the fact they kept the 6^th most clean sheets in League Two rather tells a story.

In terms of the attacking stats, Bromley rank 14^th for shots on target per match but 8^th in terms of goals per match. Bear in mind, that was off the back of a generational Cheek season.

It may be too simplistic or even just wrong to claim that McKirdy could have been the answer next season, but if Bromley are to evolve in the final third, they undoubtedly require a McKirdy-type player.

Harry McKirdy received plenty of boos and vitriol when he turned up at Carlisle United and Port Vale with Bromley. If the Crawley Town rumours are true, how will he be received at Bromley next season?

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