After Bromley were promoted to the Football League for the first time in their 132 year history on 5th May 2024 via a dramatic penalty shoot out win over Solihull Moors at Wembley Stadium, there were lots of thoughts going through the minds of those of us who had been supporting the club for a long time.

Among those were memories of people who we had lost along the way and one name cropped up more than any other in those conversations was Dave Roberts.     

From the side featured in Dave’s superb debut book ‘The Bromley Boys’ dubbed ‘the worst team in England’ to a League Two club, what would he have made of this? Bromley are no longer a Non League Football Club! 

The books Dave published that featured Bromley FC did so much to raise the profile of the club and engage people’s interest in the town on the edge of South East London and North West Kent. Probably most famous to that point for being home town to David Bowie and a significant role in the start of Punk Rock.        

It’s certainly not been a linear journey for Bromley FC from being bottom of the Isthmian League in 1970 to a Football League club in 2024, there have been many twists, turns, ups and downs. I can think of at least two or three occasions when the club nearly went out of existence, they lost ownership of their historic Hayes Lane ground for a few years at the end of the 90s, renting their ground they have called home since 1938 for a spell, before eventually regaining ownership and seeing it start to change & develop under previous owner Jerry Dolke and current owner Robin Stanton-Gleaves.

For the last twenty years Bromley’s trajectory has been steady and progressively upward. Promotion from Isthmian League Division One South in 2005, Promotion into the National League South in 2007, Promotion to the National League in 2015 and then after two appearances in the play offs, again into the Football League in 2024. Winning the FA Trophy in 2022 for good measure, having also reached the final in 2018. 

The run to the 2018 Trophy Final and the first season in the National League featured in Dave’s books ‘The Long, Long Road to Wembley’ and ‘Home & Away’, giving a great picture of what it means to be part of a smaller, but special club and the bond between the fans and club. Even though crowds have now gone up from 250 to nearly 3,000 for a home game Hayes Lane is still a special place.  

Now we look forward to a first season in League Two, a grass pitch has replaced the 3g, work continues to bring Hayes Lane up to the requirements of the Football League and there will be changes tat take some adjusting to. The freedom to move around the ground and change ends at half time is no more, tickets are now for specific areas of Hayes Lane and seats are allocated.    

Manager Andy Woodman has put together what looks to be a very strong squad for The Ravens debut campaign in the 92. My only regret is that Dave isn’t here to chronicle this new chapter of the club’s history. Woodman took over as manager in March 2021 and has taken Bromley from strength to strength, reaching the play offs twice and winning the FA Trophy before eventually securing promotion to League Twoin May 2024. Woodman has built a resilient squad with a no excuse mentality, strong at the back and with that vital ingredient a striker in Michael Cheek who finds the net on a regular basis. 

His faith in giving youth a chance has also been repaid, with former Academy players Ben Krauhaus moving on to Brentford and Kellen Fisher to Norwich City, while Jude Arthurs has cemented his place as a key player in The Ravens midfield. There is a confidence at the club and among the support that Bromley will give a good account for themselves in League Two.     

The spine of the promotion winning squad remains, but with some strong additions in all areas; imposing defender Omar Sowunmi has returned to the club from Sutton Utd, Lewis Leigh has joined from Preston North End after a 12 game loan spell saw him impress last season in the midfield, centre back Kamarl Grant is back for another loan spell from Millwallhaving played a vital part in last season’s run in and striker Marcus Diananga has moved down from Gateshead having scored 24 goals last season for The Heed to add extra options up front and defender Taylor Foran has joined from Arsenal’s Under 21s.

Woodman has mainly looked to bring in players who are keen to prove themselves at this level rather than those already established in League Two, but his last signing promises to be another good acquisition with Cameron Congreve coming in for a season from Championship side Swansea City. 

This is the first time Andy Woodman had had to work inside a transfer window, so business will need to be done earlier than in previous campaigns and there have been one or two trialists featuring in pre-season games so far and also some promising displays from the next generation of Academy products. One extra bonus is striker Levi Amantchi scoring goals in pre-season after missing most of last season with injury following his signing from Maidstone Utd just before Christmas.   

The Ravens squad went out to Portugal for a training camp in July, a long way from the not so distant days of running round Norman Park and playing 5-a-side on the d concrete court behind the old benches end of Hayes Lane.                

Bromley’s first home league game has been moved to a 12:30pm kick off as it will be shown live on Sky Sports, these are things that we will have to get used to more often as the club starts on a new era and with the extra TV coverage.

The opening games see The Ravens re-acquaint themselves with former Non-League sides in Harrogate Town & AFC Wimbledon, before taking on an ex-Premier League side in Bradford City away ending August with a home game against last season’s play off finalists Crewe Alexandra. By this time we will have an idea of how things are in the fourth tier of English football and what is required to compete.    

Who knows how things will go from here? There will be plenty of ‘pinch yourself’ moments for long term fans along the way, playing Gillingham in a league game,  Charlton Athletic away in the BSM Cup, both localish teams with a history of being much higher up in the pyramid than Bromley and not starting the FA Cup until November. 

One thing’s for sure it’s rarely dull at Bromley FC and we are going to enjoy the ride.

Images courtesy of Edmund Boyden