So the time has come for managerial change at Bromley FC, a number of fans will be happy to hear this news, while others like myself will find it hard to take.
The pressure on social media had been mounting all season, but for those who did still believe in Smudge this is a really sad day.
A good Bromley man has lost his job, with the team in the play off places and set to make a challenge in the final third of the campaign.
Ultimately Neil Smith’s reign as manager at Bromley will be defined by two things, the incredible journey that too his team to the 2018 FA Trophy Final, and then the game itself.
Leading 1-0 with twenty minutes left, against a team from a division below, he made defensive substitutions which left us with no attacking midfield players on the pitch.
Almost inevitably after surrendering the initiative to Brackley Town, Bromley conceded an equaliser in the final few seconds of injury time and went on to lose on penalties.
His team selection saw no attacking options on the bench, leaving winger Luke Wanadio out of the squad in favour of another defender and his cautious nature would cost the club their moment in the sun in front of 20,000 Bromleains.
But the achievement of reaching the final, travelling thousands of miles up and down the country to do so, will go down in Bromley Fc folklore and those of us lucky enough to be at the semi final second leg away at Gateshead will never forget that day.
That feeling at the end of the game was repeated as we did exactly the same thing in the Kent Senior Cup Final the following year, again conceding late and losing on penalties to Maidstone Utd. There were also times this would happen in league matches where the team would lose or draw from a winning position late on in a match, sitting deep and soaking up pressure, taking off attacking players and then failing to hold on.
The critics would point to the problems the team had holding on to a lead and at times this showed this season, but the timing seems very strange given the club are seventh in the table and on a run of one defeat in seven.
Smith was part of the fabric of the club and the town, raised in Bromley he went to school at The Ravensbourne School on the opposite side of Hayes Lane to the club and after a very good career in professional football he briefly joined as a player before moving into the coaching staff under Mark Goldberg.
He was Assistant Manager for the promotion season in 2014/15 and took over as the Number 1 in February 2016 after results had dipped in the club’s first season as a National League side.
Smith oversaw the club’s consolidation as a National League side and maintained a regular mid table finish throughout his time as Bromley manager, reaching two cup finals and running Bristol Rovers close twice in the FA Cup.
The expectations had been raised though, with the club’s owner openly targeting the Football League, fans were hoping for more than just stability and were looking to challenge at the top of Non League Football’s top flight.
The 2019/20 season started with The Ravens leading the league into the Autumn before results dramatically fell away, not helped by injuries to Keeper Mark Cousins, which kept him out for months and defender Marc-Anthony Okoye who was forced to retire.
When Covid 19 put an early end to things Bromley were mid-table again, but results had just started to pick up.
An instantly likeable man who understood the culture of Bromley FC, Smudge was a relatable and approachable figurehead for the club and the way he conducted himself and represented the club during the Covid 19 Pandemic was exemplary.
His cautious tendencies as a manager would frustrate fans who wanted to see more flair and attacking play, but under his charge some of these type of players did do well. Louis Dennis & Reeco Hackett-Fairchild both moved into the Football League, Blair Turgott flourished and Luke Coulson is still doing well, but the football was becoming increasingly more defensive, although it did take the team up to seventh in the table.
His signing of striker Michael Cheek in the summer of 2019 proved to be an inspired move and the partnership with Courtney Duffus had started to look like something special since they linked up in January. This season injuries and suspensions made things difficult at times, but progress was being made and the play offs were there for the taking.
This circumstances of season didn’t help, with the games played behind closed doors and streamed live on the internet, performances came under even more scrutiny and emotions were heightened by lockdown.
The dis-satisfaction directed towards the manager after defeats on social media was very strong at times, but in the end club owner Robin Stanton-Gleaves is the man who makes the big calls and he has decided that it’s time for a change.
Ever since taking over the club RSG has stated that his ambition is to take Bromley into the Football League and now doesn’t see Smudge as the man who could do that. The bar has been set high and whoever does take over as the new manager will have big shoes to fill…
Became Manager in Feb 2016 – Finished 14th in the National League
2016/17 – 10th
2017/18 – 9th – Lost FA Trophy Final
2018/19 – 12th – Lost Kent Senior Cup Final
2019/20 – 13th on PPG after season cut short in March.
2020/21 – 7th with 13 games to play.
Picture supplied by Ed Boyden Photos.