The kids are alright

Why Bromley FC's academy may well hold the keys to the future

Whisper it quietly, but Bromley’s academy setup may well be the envy of the National League. 

Since its launch in 2017, the Bromley FC Youth Academy has grown at pace. Some of the area’s most talented boys and girls play from u12s through to u16s and then have the option to progress through the club’s education and scholarship programmes in the post-16 academy. 

The best of the best are invited to join Bromley’s Professional Development Squad, which bridges the gap between the academy and the first team. Objectively speaking, it’s hard to not feel that the future is bright. 

Critics will say that it’s just a money-making enterprise. With government grant money available, and the promise of a big fish splashing the cash for an academy product, there certainly is a financial incentive. But the steady flow of graduates reaching the first team makes a strong case that it’s not a cynical ploy.

Recent seasons have provided some bright prospects. Academy starlet Liam Vincent was plucked away by Portsmouth after only a handful of first-team performances. Marcus Sablier has drawn many EFL admirers after his first team run last season. And it's easy to forget that first-team regular Jude Arthurs is also an academy graduate. 

In successive seasons, Bromley’s FA Youth Cup teams have put Football League academies to shame; beating both Forest Green and Portsmouth and running Reading and Ipswich Town exceptionally close.

First-team manager Andy Woodman has not been shy in utilising promising youngsters at opportune times. Bromley fans are already familiar with the likes of Marcus Sablier, Lateef Adaja, Ben Krauhaus, Kellen Fisher, Finlay Lovatt, and Sam German to name but a few.

Indeed, the club now finds itself loaning promising youth players to clubs in the National League South and the Ryman Premier League and Division One. Despite the steep learning curve of men’s football, they frequently play with distinction. 

Krauhaus and Fisher returned from Cray Wanderers with glowing reviews, Soul Kader has banged in goals for Cray Wanderers and VCD Athletic of late, and promising striker Lateef Adaja recently set his kitbag down at Chatham Town. This list will grow and grow, and it’s probably only a matter of time before we lose another starlet to the EFL. 

With this in mind, in late November, I ventured to Hayes Lane to watch our u18s play an FA Youth Cup second-round tie against their counterparts from Ipswich Town of League One.

The fact that two of Bromley’s starting lineup were former students of mine is neither here nor there, although I will admit to a sense of pride watching them turn out for the club I support.

For the record, Rashid Kamara and Umaru Bah were excellent at right back and left wing respectively.

When speaking to those in-the-know at Bromley, I’ve lost count of the number of times I’ve been told to talk football with u18s head coach Jamel Wojtczak. After watching him out-coach his counterpart at Ipswich Town, I sensed it was time to strike up a conversation. 

Some would say: how can you out-coach someone in defeat? It's about how you respond to in-game developments. A well-judged adjustment can quickly turn the tables on your opposition, forcing them to answer questions they didn’t know existed.

In the game against Ipswich, a ropey first 10 minutes put Bromley on the back foot. But Jamel’s tactical tweaks helped his team to gain momentum and boss the first half, even if the scoreline didn’t reflect it. They certainly deserved to draw level having fallen behind against the run of play.

Bromley should have won the game in the second half. They would have, too, If it weren’t for the width of the post and the ball inexplicably rolling along the goal line. It was as fine a margin in defeat as you can possibly imagine.

Post-match, I caught up with Jamel to chat about the game, but I also tried to understand how his managerial mind works. 

It was an interesting conversation. You can catch the best of it below:

Fans often get sucked into the minutiae of the first team, but without firm foundations, it can be hard for a football club to build a sustainable model and establish a shared philosophy. 

I’ve certainly been guilty of not engaging with all aspects of the club in the past, but I’m glad I made a point of watching Bromley FC Women earlier this season and the U18s now. 

Good things are going on behind the first-team scenes and it’s important that we not only acknowledge these areas of the club but seek to support them with the same energy we show the men's senior team.

We talk about intangibles and one-percents. This is where a lot of them come from.

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