The Retro File: Bromley FC 14/15 - The Season the Circus Came to Town

The 2014/15 season was a very significant one in Bromley Football Club’s storied history. For the first time since the creation of the Football Conference in 1979, the Ravens won promotion to the top tier of non-league football. But stylish performances on the pitch masked a tragicomic soap opera playing out behind the scenes. 

One of the club’s greatest achievements coincided with a self-inflicted brush with financial disaster. Could the club be saved? Strap yourself in and relive the 14/15 season in all of its conflicted glory. 

Never Again

This was Mark Goldberg’s Bromley FC. The self-taught manager’s entertaining style of play had Hayes Lane abuzz, but a defensive naivety often undermined his sides. This was no more apparent than in Bromley’s 4-1 aggregate loss to Ebbsfleet United in the Conference South play-off semi-final the previous season. So close, and yet so far.

Determined not to relive that agony, in the summer of 2014, Goldberg rejuvenated his deflated squad with proven, high-profile non-league players. He staked his reputation that they would push Bromley to the next level, but given the expense of attracting them, it felt like an all-or-nothing gamble.

It wouldn’t be a Mark Goldberg side without exciting attacking players, so it was no surprise to see several talented strikers join the club. Former Arsenal youth starlet Adam Birchall arrived after a spell with Gillingham. Non-league journeyman Jamie Slabber, still dining out on his one Premier League appearance for Tottenham ten years earlier, joined following a season with Sutton. And, having starred in Dover’s remarkable play-off success the previous season, a young attacker named Moses Ademola signed for the Ravens. Moses elected to change his surname to Emmanuel at the end of the season.

Bromley’s midfield got a glow-up with the arrival of tenacious tackler Reece Prestedge from Bishop’s Stortford and wand-footed wide-man Damien Scannell from Sutton, while the defence was bolstered by the signing of former Charlton youth right-back Sam Long after a spell with Chelmsford. Though, perhaps the biggest defensive statement of intent was the signing of AFC Wimbledon’s Conference play-off-winning goalkeeper Seb Brown. 

With signings stepping through the door early in the summer, the squad had time to gel during pre-season. Promising performances during that period suggested fans could expect another good year at Hayes Lane, but the sunny mood soured when an awkward fall during a friendly left new signing Sam Long with a devastating cruciate injury. It ended his season and, ultimately, his career. In the aftermath, dependable defender Ugo Udoji returned for his third spell at the club.

Spruced Up 

While Mark Goldberg was wheeling and dealing on the pitch, a dramatic deal was agreed in Bromley’s boardroom. In the summer of 2014, Bromley Football Club changed hands, passing from club-saving custodian Jerry Dolke to the unknown entity of the Reading family. Despite the big shake-up, Jerry Dolke stayed on in a new role at Hayes Lane to aid the transition and lend his expertise. That decision turned out to be an important one.

There was a lot of hype around the new owners’ plans for the club and changes came thick and fast. Two big projects began immediately, with the installation of new training pitches behind the existing ones, and a sports-bar-style refurb of the old supporters’ bar, which was re-christened Ravens Bar & Grill. That wasn't the only relic getting a rebrand. Hayes Lane was renamed The Fortress Stadium in an apparent sponsorship deal with one of the Reading family’s companies. 

When fans arrived for pre-season, they were greeted by parallel rows of freshly planted spruce trees along the length of the club’s driveway. The gentrification didn’t stop there. Bromley’s traditional black shorts and socks had been cast aside to allow them to sport a Real Madrid-style all-white kit for the first time since the sixties. 

Oh, and you weren’t going to a Bromley game anymore, you were having a matchday experience. That experience included a Pimms tent, a barbecue concession, cheerleaders, Disney characters walking among the fans, face painting, and a banging new sound system that could rattle the fillings from your teeth. This was a lot to take in for the club’s more seasoned fans. Was this the shape of progress?

Circus Maximus

The Conference South campaign began away at Havant & Waterlooville with an impressive 3-1 win, quickly followed by a 4-1 mid-week home win over Whitehawk. But thoughts of an early-season run came crashing down with a 3-0 defeat to Basingstoke Town in Bromley's first Saturday home fixture of the season. That afternoon, it became clear that football would play second fiddle to the other matchday experiences on offer. Don’t believe me? Both sets of players were told not to enter or leave the field during the warm-up while a local stage school put on a dance performance. 

In the next fixture, Bromley travelled to Boreham Wood and settled the nerves with a well-earned point. The Ravens finished the month in style with two goal-filled wins: 4-2 at home to Maidenhead United and 4-0 away at Wealdstone. The common theme in those games was a return to free-flowing attacking football. 

The club were fortunate to have a home fixture against Chelmsford City on National Non-League Day. A bumper crowd of 1,485 filled the stands of Hayes Lane, but a first-half goal for the opposition, an injury to figurehead defender Rob Swaine, and a missed penalty saw Bromley fall to a 1-0 defeat. The club’s new carnival atmosphere fell as flat as a punctured bouncy castle that day. This might have come as a shock to the new owners, one of whom was overheard saying that they didn’t care what the score was as long as the bars were full! 

Bromley’s fans weren’t the only ones feeling uneasy. A drab draw at St Albans City proved to be a final straw for Mark Goldberg. Despite seeming like solid signings, strikers Birchall and Slabber were struggling to find their touch in front of goal. Goldberg wasted no time in shaking up his strike force, but the signing of Duncan Culley from Shortwood United raised a few eyebrows. There had been a lot of interest in Culley after his 39-goal haul in the 2013/14 Evo-Stik Southern Division One South & West season, but trials at various professional clubs in the West Country hadn’t resulted in a contract for the raven-haired striker. Bromley took the plunge and supposedly offered a generous contract to coax him from the Cotswolds. Would the risk be worth it?  

Culley made his debut from the bench in a 2-1 win at Farnborough, which kept Bromley in the promotion picture, but another home defeat caused fans to lose their cool with the club’s cloying carnival culture. Things came to a head at the home game with Gosport Borough. Not only did Bromley lose 3-0 with an insipid display, but the Family Fun Day atmosphere extended to music being played during the game at the benches end. To quote my dad, it was “like watching football at a funfair.”

The new owners’ promises had attracted healthy crowds to Hayes Lane, but three home Saturday afternoon defeats on the spin made it clear that something was being lost in all of the hype and hoopla. Discontent spilled from the stands and bars onto the fans’ forum and social media. The club couldn’t ignore the noise. They pleaded their case, but fans weren’t backing down; enough was enough.

Concessions were made and the carnival was toned down in the following fixtures, but a lot of damage had been done. Unsurprisingly, once a little sanity was restored to Hayes Lane on match days, Bromley started to pick up results. They also began making their way through the rounds of the FA Cup, bagging wins at home over Uxbridge 5-1, and Grays 5-0 after a draw at their place. One of the goal-scorers in the Uxbridge game was a new signing who arrived with some controversial baggage. 

The day before that fixture, Bromley offered a lifeline to troubled striker Jordan Robertson, who had spent time in prison for causing the death of a father of five through dangerous driving on Christmas Day in 2008. Upon his release, Jordan passed through St Johnston, Scunthorpe United, Global FC in the Philippines, and Gaz Metan Mediaş of Romania, but hadn’t settled. Bromley were gambling that this former Football League talent would find his feet in BR2, and a goal on his debut seemed like a promising sign, but the move raised a few eyebrows among an already prickly fanbase.

Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree

A narrow 2-1 win away at Evesham United in the FA Cup fourth qualifying round booked Bromley’s place in the FA Cup first round. Their reward was a mouthwatering local derby with established Conference Premier side Dartford, to be played at Hayes Lane. The old ground was nearly full to the rafters that day and fans were treated to a pulsating atmosphere and an enthralling game of football. In the course of 90 minutes, Bromley went in front, then went behind, then came back from 2-1 down, and 3-2 down, before eventually losing 4-3. It might not have been a win, but my word it was entertaining!

All four of Dartford’s goals came from crosses into the box, and while he wasn’t entirely to blame, Seb Brown’s shortcomings as a goalkeeper were beginning to show. AFC Wimbledon fans had warned their Bromley counterparts what to expect of Seb Brown, but their mud-slinging was written off as sour grapes. Evidently, there was some truth to it.

It wasn’t destined to be a cup season. Bromley bowed out at the first time of asking in both the Kent and London Senior Cups, respectively losing on penalties to Maidstone United and surrendering pathetically to Corinthian Casuals in a 2-0 loss. In the FA Trophy, the Ravens saw off Tonbridge Angels and Leiston to tee up a tasty tie with Torquay. Bromley fans travelled to the English Riviera with high hopes, but Torquay taught them a lesson. The Gulls’ 4-0 win was a window into the realities of life at the business end of the Conference Premier. Bromley were a long way off.

With no cup competitions to clutter the calendar, the Ravens could concentrate on the league. November got off to a great start with a 4-1 win at Eastbourne, but Seb Brown was sent off in a 1-0 home defeat to Hemel Hempstead when he misjudged a slide tackle while charging out of his area. A month or so earlier, Bromley had signed a rangy winger named Mitchell Pinnock, who made his debut in the 1-0 win over Bath. The youngster bravely volunteered to don the gloves and gave a solid performance between the sticks for over an hour. Pinnock never really clicked at Bromley and would be gone by February 2015, but he has gone on to play over 200 games in the Football League since then.

Bromley closed the book on November with 2-1 wins over Sutton United and Hayes & Yeading. Then came December, which truly was a festive period for the Ravens. They went unbeaten all month, winning every fixture except the final game of 2014, which was a 1-1 draw at home to Wealdstone.

The 1-0 win over St Albans City just before Christmas was a memorable occasion. Moses Emmanuel came off the bench to score the winning goal in front of just over 1,000 fans that day, but the game will always be remembered as the time St Albans fans danced merrily around a Christmas tree they had purchased at the ground. Only in the non-league!

All Change  

January saw a small wobble in the shape of two cup defeats, but it was the 2-1 loss at Whitehawk in the league that caused the biggest ripple. Seb Brown was at fault for both goals in that game and Mark Goldberg finally lost patience with his haphazard number one. Soon afterwards, well-travelled Football League and Conference Premier goalkeeper Alan Julian joined the side, making his debut in a 2-1 win at Basingstoke and putting in a fine display in a mud-drenched 2-0 home win over Havant & Waterlooville on the final day of January. Seb Brown, meanwhile, was shipped out on loan to Whitehawk, who had apparently seen something they liked while he was needlessly conceding two goals against them.

Seb Brown wasn’t the only much-heralded signing heading for the exit door. Damian Scannell had fallen out of favour and returned to his previous club, Sutton United, on loan. Jordan Robertson was released having failed to win a starting place. Robertson quickly signed for Farnborough, before moving on to Alfreton within a matter of weeks. The marquee signing of Duncan Culley was also written off as a mistake, with the striker sent out to Farnborough and Hampton & Richmond to gain experience.

Mark Goldberg moved quickly to replace players who weren’t up to the task. In his search for a winning striking partnership, he re-signed his son Bradley Goldberg on loan from Dagenham & Redbridge. The diminutive striker had earned a contract from the Daggers with his free-scoring form for Bromley the previous season, so Ravens fans were delighted to have him back. He picked up where he left off, netting a hat-trick in Bromley’s 6-0 win at Staines Town. 

Bradley was soon joined by former Millwall targetman Ben May, who had been released by Ebbsfleet following a series of injuries. The little and large partnership of Goldberg and May would become an important weapon in Bromley’s charge for the title. Another eye-catching arrival was fleet-footed winger Anthony Cook, who had also been released by Ebbsfleet. The Kent side would pay Bromley an undisclosed fee to buy Cook back less than a year later. 

After a home draw with Hayes & Yeading, single-goal wins at Ebbsfleet and Chelmsford saw the Ravens top the table at the end of February. Instead of succumbing to their traditional post-Christmas dip, Bromley were showing a clear desire to challenge for the league title. It wasn’t all plain sailing, though. The win at Ebbsfleet was marred by crowd trouble caused by a group of young lads (claiming to be Bromley fans) who were high on half-term and cheap lager. Flares on the pitch and trouble off of it at the Dartford and Basingstoke games left Bromley in hot water with the FA. The team’s good work was in danger of being undermined by a few mindless morons.

March was marred by injuries and suspensions, with Cook, Swaine, Dubois, May, and a young Louis Dennis missing for various lengths of time. In the face of so many absences, dropped points were inevitable, but the fact that points were being dropped late in games was particularly difficult to swallow. On reflection, draws at Hemel, Bath, and later Maidenhead weren’t the disasters they seemed at the time. But the 1-0 home loss to bottom side Staines really hit hard, as did a 2-1 reverse to Ebbsfleet. 

Only a 2-1 win at Sutton and a 5-0 crushing of Farnborough kept Bromley in touch with Boreham Wood at the top of the table. In better news, summer signing Jamie Slabber had finally found some goal-scoring form after recovering from a double hernia operation. He scored both goals in the derby win at Sutton’s Gander Green Lane and finally seemed to be on the same wavelength as his fellow strikers.

The Circus Leaves an Elephant Behind

In the early months of 2015, with the club’s new spruce trees rotting in the ground, rumours began swirling that all was not well in the Bromley boardroom. Little by little, it became clear that the Reading family weren’t all they had talked themselves up to be. Whether they were untruthful about their financial footing or just naive about the cost of running a football club, bills weren’t getting paid. Big bills. It has been reported that the builders of the revamped Ravens Bar & Grill threatened to come and bulldoze it. This was serious stuff.

Had Jerry Dolke not stayed at the club while the Readings ran amuck… Well, it doesn’t bear thinking about. The precise details are unknown to all but the club’s inner sanctum, but Jerry soon became the owner of Bromley once again. Tragically, the sustainable football club he’d handed over in the summer was now saddled with an unsustainable amount of debt. 

Rumour has it the Ravens were one day from administration when a group of local businessmen, including Robin Stanton-Gleaves, stepped in and put the club back on an even keel. In the aftermath of their takeover, Hayes Lane got its name back, the Fortress signs disappeared, and it felt like the club had retrieved its soul just in time for a season-defining run-in.

All or Nothing

For two-thirds of 2014/15, Bromley played their best football away from home. There was less pressure on the road and home teams often came out to play, leaving them vulnerable to Bromley’s sweeping counter-attacks. Impressive away results were one thing, but Bromley’s home form needed to improve if they were going to challenge for the top spot. One fixture in particular was looming large in the calendar. 

On Saturday 4th April 2015, the Ravens hosted league leaders Boreham Wood in a match that was likely to define their season. Lose and they would fall out of touch, win and they were in the driving seat. A classic six-pointer. 

Over 2000 fans flocked to Hayes Lane to witness the spectacle. The visitors struck first, with big centre-back Josh Hill heading home from a corner after 14 minutes, but Bromley heads didn’t drop and they continued to take the game to the league leaders. They pushed and probed throughout the first half and into the second, but the ball just wouldn’t go in. 

It took a moment of genius from Anthony Cook to finally unlock the Wood defence. In the 63rd minute of the game, the Bromley winger flicked and tricked his way into the box and was bundled over by a mesmerised defender. Penalty! Cook stepped up to take it and smashed it in the bottom corner. 1-1. Game on!

The Ravens dominated proceedings from that point on and their well-deserved moment of glory arrived in the 81st minute. Stylish centre-back Jack Holland picked the ball up just inside the Boreham Wood half and threaded a beautiful pass through the heart of their defence, putting Bradley Goldberg through on goal. The nippy striker calmly slotted past the onrushing keeper to make it 2-1 and send Hayes Lane into raptures. Boreham Wood attacked like crazy for the remainder of the game and even flashed an effort across the face of the goal, but it was Bromley’s day. They were top of the league!

Of course, it wouldn’t be Bromley if they didn’t jeopardise all of their hard work in the very next fixture. A crazy 4-4 draw away at Maidenhead on Easter Monday saw the Ravens slip to second place, but a 2-1 home win over Eastbourne Borough set up the opportunity to win the title at Hayes Lane the following weekend. It was the penultimate game of the season, Weston Super Mare were the visitors, and only a win would do.

Around 3,000 fans packed into Hayes Lane to roar the Ravens on to victory. The air that day was full of nervous energy. It was one of those games that just begged for a goal to settle the stomach. Reece Prestedge provided sweet relief with a calmly taken goal on 28 minutes, but the tension still lingered, even when Moses Ademola smashed home from a tight angle ten minutes later. Bromley led 2-0 at the break, but fans were still in a state of nervous disbelief. Was this it? Could they see it out?

Half-time beverages were sipped with very cautious optimism, but the atmosphere remained tense early in the second half. Then, in the 59th minute, Jamie Slabber hammered home a third. The weight finally lifted. Bromley FC were going up! Emotional scenes greeted the final whistle as fans flooded onto the pitch to celebrate with their champions. The promotion party carried on long into the night. Bromley could finally enjoy their carnival.

The following Saturday, the Ravens’ supporters took the party with them as they travelled in numbers to Gosport for a risk-free 2-1 defeat on the South Coast. A number of the club’s injured and suspended players joined the fans on the terrace outside the bar, cheering the team on alongside the very people who had been cheering them on all season. The result was meaningless, the memories were priceless.

In Review                            

We will probably never know how close the club came to financial ruin, but if you put the off-field turmoil to one side, Bromley fans were treated to a season of wonderful football. Yes, there were a few wobbles along the way, but the team deserved their success and had every right to line up alongside the big names of the Conference Premier the following season. 

In the aftermath of the promotion party, fans were still trying to wrap their heads around the kinds of clubs they would meet when they ascended to the national competition. Bromley Football Club were about to set sail in a sea of non-league giants and Football League dropouts. Things would never be the same for the club or its fans.

Moses Emmanel finished top scorer that season, despite playing half of it on the wing, Jack Holland picked up the Supporters’ and Committee Player of the Season awards, while Reece Prestedge got the manager’s nod. Ultimately, every player deserved their winner’s medal for contributing to a momentous achievement. 

And we shouldn’t forget the off-the-pitch heroes who kept our old club going through an incredibly challenging period. Some are still with the club, some have drifted away, but all of them deserve our sincerest thanks as we wouldn’t be where we are today without them.

Ten Years Later 

Bromley are preparing for their first season in League Two, while Ebbsfleet, Sutton, Wealdstone, and Maidenhead will line up in the National League. All of the other teams are in the National League South or below, apart from Staines Town who sadly went out of business in 2022. Salisbury City, who weren’t allowed to start the 14/15 season, have since reformed and play in the Southern League Premier Division South.

Ten years is a long time in football.

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