Tag: Bromley

It’s part two of the Robert Smith derby with the return fixture against Bromley. But I’ve already used both a Cure, and a Siouxsie & The Banshees track for titles for pieces this season already, so I’ve gone for a bit of a mix with this album track from the short lived group The Glove, which Robert Smith formed in 1983 for one album (Blue Sunshine) with Steve Severin of the Banshees.

Quiz answer time. After I mentioned it in the cards and stickers section of the previous piece, Colchester United were the fourth team to suffer automatic relegation from the Football League after it was introduced in the 1986-87 season. Which three teams suffered that fate before them? Lincoln City, Newport County & Darlington.

After the ultimately disappointing draw at home to Colchester United on Boxing Day, it’s on to the second game of four in the hectic festive period, and it is at home again against Bromley.

Reading The Football League paper yesterday, they had quotes of the season so far, which included two from Scott Lindsey: “I don’t understand how the chances are not going in. It feels like there is an invisible brick wall stopping the ball.” (after the Barrow game), and “It is clear we are millimetres away from being a good side.” (after the Walsall game).

Having only played Bromley three weeks ago, a lot of the usual pre-amble needs very little updating (i.e. just copy the lot) for me to be able to reuse in this piece.

Going into the game we are eighteen places and shit ton of points behind Bromley, who are seemingly unstoppable in second place in the league, and could go top with a win this evening, whilst a loss for us could see us slip into the relegation places if results go badly for us elsewhere (I may have written that sentence a few times over the last month or so). They come in off the back of a second half comeback against one of the few teams below us in the league, Bristol Rovers, on Boxing Day.

The two Harry’s — Forster and McKirdy both used to play for Bromley, and our assistant manager Neil Smith used to play for them and also used to manage them for a while as well. There are no ex-Crawley players in the Bromley squad, although they do have Dillon Addai, the younger brother of Corey in their ranks. Others to have played for both include Ellery Balcombe, Mason Bloomfield, Frankie Sutherland, Dennon Lewis, and Ryan Hall.

No cards, but there is a fall back now that there is the Panini album for this year’s EFL teams, I included eight of the twelve players included for Bromley in the collection this year in the previous piece, so I’ve gone for the shiny this time around.

With it being only Bromley’s second season in the league, we hadn’t played them before in the football league until the 3-1 loss away to them earlier in the month. And in fact games against them are scarce, there have only been a few competitive games against them, mainly coming in the FA Cup Qualifying Rounds, winning at home in 1977, winning in a replay at home in 1988, a loss at home in 1996, and a loss away in 1999. The only other game came in the FA Trophy in 2007 with a home win. We have also played them six times in pre-season friendlies, twice at home in 1981 and 1983 (programme below),

winning both, and four away in 1985, 2010, 2012, and 2023, winning all apart from the 2010 game which we lost 1–0. I have no programme in the collection from games against them, but after the piece for that game, Mick Fox has sent me a couple of images of excerpts from some of those old games programmes, one of which I’ve included above, and the other from the 1977 FA Cup qualifying game which I’ve included below.

And speaking of programmes, this is the second game included in our Christmas double header programme, and due to how the games fell it also includes a write up on the away game at Bromley.

The two Steve’s were doing selling duties outside before the game, when I left them, they only had thirty-odd copies left to sell out of the run of four hundred for the double header, so it has done well.

The away support may not have had the drummer that Colchester brought on Boxing Day, so it wasn’t obvious before getting in the ground, but they brought a lot more fans with them, and it was a packed looking away end before kick-off.

Helen still isn’t well enough to make it to the Broadfield, and a lot of those who sit around me didn’t make it either. I was feeling ropey when I got there myself, but a couple of hours of misery in the cold fresh air seems to have cleared most of my head cold out, I wasn’t a hundred percent, but I’ll keep the streak going for this season until the point it becomes impossible.

There are two changes in the starting lineup, with Gavan Holohan and Ade Adeyemo starting and Harry Forster and Jack Roles dropping to the bench of six subs without a keeper as usual. It is back to the table football colours as we are in our all-red home kit and Bromley are in their all-blue away kit.

Bromley start as they mean to go on by forcing a change of ends before kick-off, which is always annoying, and their fans are chanting to the tune of ‘Hey Jude,’ so they can fuck right off, I hate that fucking song.

It’s a cagey start; there are a lot of balls coming back down to the pitch with snow on them. Which seems the wrong tactics to be employing against a team of brick shithouses, was no one watching the game at their place twenty days ago? Josh Flint and Ade Adeyemo combine down the left and Flint gets to the byline but gets too much on his cross and it goes for a throw. A ball is played into the box down the right, but Gavan Holohan can’t quite get it under control, and it goes for a goal kick.

The Bromley keeper puts a ball over the east marquee for ball loss one, that might have ended up with the other ball on the roundabout. Ryan Loft is trying, he’s making a nuisance of himself closing players down and winning free kicks, but he’s not winning many headers as the two central defenders tower over even him. Ball two disappears quickly after ball one, with a hoof over the west stand.

It has been scrappy, which means only one thing, the first cross into the box from Bromley sees their prolific number 9 with the freedom of the box and he heads into the top corner and we trail 0-1.

Ball three disappears next, out over the side of the Eden Utilities Stand as Charlie Barker blocks a clearance at that end. We are struggling, as we seem to have done a lot recently, with that final ball just not happening, or just not good enough. Three crosses into the box don’t really find anyone, and the ball comes out to Barker thirty-five yards out, but his powerful shot goes wide left. A Holohan shot is blocked on the edge of the area and comes back to Barker, who shapes to shoot, but instead tries to play it into the box to a Bromley defender instead and it is cleared.

Dion Pereira is taken out in midfield as he tries to break. No idea why there was no booking forthcoming then. There is no TAFKAL on hand to try and encourage the Bromley players to get a move on when taking throws on our side of the pitch. Another decent Bromley cross is just about dealt with and cleared. A free kick given against Barker in midfield sees Scott Lindsey get irate and draw a yellow card from the ref as he disputes the decision.

Again, we work it down the right wing, but the cross is deep when there is no one out to the left. At the other end Flint blocks a cross and the ball goes out over the KRL Logistics stand for ball loss number four of the game (one over each stand), if it carries on at this rate there won’t be any balls left by the end of the game. The corner is taken deep and headed clear, but the ref has blown for a free kick to us anyway.

It would appear the ref is showing some consistency, as Dion Conroy stops a break with a foul in midfield and isn’t shown a yellow card either. Only for a Bromley player to get one a few seconds later for preventing us taking a quick free kick. We win a free kick about thirty-five yards out on the left wing, Pereira takes, but he slices it and it curls straight to the keeper.

Flint goes marauding down the left wing, he beats a couple of players and gets to the byline where is cross is blocked for a corner. It is taken deep to the back post and Barker gets on the end of it and heads it back across the keeper and into the far side of the goal and we are level 1-1.

Of course, we nearly make a hash of it straight away, giving the ball away on the right-hand side at the back and the cross comes all the way across the six-yard box and Harvey Davies does well to smother the shot out for a corner. The ref blows before it is taken to have a word with a few players about the pushing and shoving, and when it does come in, he blows for a free kick.

There are two added minutes at the end of the half before the half time whistle goes with the scores level at 1-1. That first half was like a negative image of the game at Bromley with the goal times nearly identical but the other way around in terms of who scored when.

We come out for the second half a good couple of minutes after Bromley take to the pitch, and we attempt an attack first, only for Bromley to break down the length of the pitch in seconds and get a cross in which their number 9 heads just wide. Then they get a corner, and we break from it, Reece Brown plays it forward to Adeyemo on the right wing, he plays it into the middle where Flint is the man furthest forward, but his touch is heavy and off to the right and Bromley get back to clear, a decent chance wasted.

Bromley come again and get a corner as Adeyemo blocks a cross. It is headed out from under the bar by Flint and cleared for a throw. It goes back to a Bromley defender in the centre circle, he is given a couple of weeks to decide to run forward and take a shot on from forty yards without anyone going near him. It takes three deflections on the way through and lands at the feet of the worst person possible and the Bromley number 9 isn’t going to miss from there and he tucks it away and we trail again 1-2.

We make a substitution before the restart with Brown being replaced by Harry McKirdy who is roundly booed by the away contingent. A long clearance from Davies is flicked out to the left by Loft and Adeyemo a shot from outside the box which is blocked and Bromley come streaming forward again and cut through us like a samurai sword, getting it to their number 9, who turns Conroy inside out and then strokes it past Davies for his hat trick and to make it 1-3. What we wouldn’t give for a striker like that.

A ball out to Adeyemo and his cross into the six-yard box is blocked at a stretch and goes for a throw. It is flung in long by Flint and Loft flicks on to Williams about five yards out who can’t get a decent contact on it, and it just trickles to the keeper.

It is turning ugly in the home terrace; they are booing the captain when he has the ball. It is not a good sound. We make three more substitutions with Adeyemo, Holohan, and Geraldo Bajrami going off to be replaced by Kabby Tshimanga, Jack Roles, and Harry Forster. Barker picks up a booking after giving away a free kick twenty-five yards out just right of centre. Nothing comes from it. The Conroy gives it away in midfield and Bromley try a shot from their own half, Davies is scrambling back towards his goal, but the ball drifts wide.

The terrace is now outright hostile towards Conroy barracking him, and as he tries to gesture for them to clam down they are chanting at him “Going to cry in a minute.” It’s not big, it’s not clever, and it helps the team how? Not at all.

Bromley players surround the ref trying to get Loft booked after a coming together, one of them puts both hands on the ref and still there is no fucking booking for this shit. For the fourth game on the trot, spineless refereeing in the face of intimidation. We work the ball over to the right and Roles’ cross is met by Loft and the effort is well saved by the keeper. We recycle and Roles has another cross which is blocked by a handball, and we win a free kick twenty-five yards out on the right-hand side of the box. It’s taken deep and put out for a throw. Taken long into the box and cleared.

The Bromley keeper then goes down with a tactical injury as all the Bromley players rush to the sidelines for new instructions. They also substitute off their number 9. Thank fuck for that. A ball into the Bromley box is headed out to Pereira on the edge of the box and he curls a shot in, but again it lacks power and is an easy save. And Bromley just break at speed again, Barker blocks a shot for a corner, it’s taken deep and put out on the other side for another one, it bounces across the six-yard box and evades everyone and goes for a goal kick with a big sigh of relief.

We get through and Loft is in on goal, but his shot doesn’t beat the keeper, and it doesn’t matter anyway as the flag was up well before he got the ball. There are six added minutes at the end of the game. Bromley win a corner and just play keep ball with it. When we do get out there is a ball into the box and Tshimanga finally gets it to a place he can shoot, but it is blocked. Another ball in by Conroy is headed out as far as Forster and his shot in is saved. A Loft cross is blocked; it gets to Pereira who shoots but that’s blocked and Bromley break again. Another ball forward see Roles attempt a speculative shot – guess what – it is blocked, and that’s the last action of the game and we lose 1-3.

The crowd was announced as being 4,058, with 1,004 very buoyant away fans in that number. Unsurprisingly there was no mention of a sponsors’ man of the match. Players coming round and applauding the fans is somewhat sporadic, and with the abuse thrown at them I don’t blame them. I understand the frustration of poor defeats and poor performances, but I don’t see how abusing the players is going to help that. Why the hell would they want to try if that’s what they are going to get.

The tactics against a good and physically strong Bromley side were all wrong, seriously, long high balls were never going to work against them, we knew this from the game earlier in the month, so why? The definition of idiocy is trying the same thing over and over and expecting a different result!!!!

Somewhat unbelievably we stay twentieth in the table as the three sides below us all lost. Newport won which takes them off the bottom on goal difference, but we are five adrift of Barrow in nineteenth, and eight adrift of Cheltenham who we play on Sunday. We can’t keep relying on the others beneath us to be dogshit for the rest of the season, we need to start getting some wins. Meanwhile, the win did put Bromley top of the table.

Quiz time – Bromley were founded in 1892, which two current league sides (both in the Premier League) were also founded in 1892?

Thankfully, this was the last game of 2025, with our next game being on New Year’s Day away at Barnet. 2025 has been a cacophony of shite and disappointment with us being constantly in the relegation places or a relegation battle in two different divisions. Let’s hope the new year’s resolution is to start winning games.

Come on you reds.

The title is a Siouxsie & The Banshees track; it is a 1985 single from the Tinderbox album which made number twenty-one in the UK singles chart. That group started out in 1976, and Siouxsie Sioux was well known as a follower of the early Sex Pistols, and those followers were known as the “Bromley Contingent”. As Robert Smith of The Cure was guitarist for Siouxsie & The Banshees for two periods in the late seventies and early eighties, then perhaps this fixture should be known as the Robert Smith derby.

Quiz time answer — Apart from Salford, how many other current league sides beginning with the letter S also use the City suffix in their names. Two – Stoke City and Swansea City.

We’ve had a bit of a break since our last game, the heartbreakingly disappointing loss to Salford City last month. Having stayed in Manchester all weekend, I went to the Manchester Transport Museum the day after the Salford game, it dragged up a couple of memories from when I lived there, but there were far too many references to Salford City (albeit it in a transport authority sense) for my liking after the game the day before.

On the Tuesday night, it was goals galore again at Moor Lane, as Salford lost 2-7 to Rotherham, who scored 7, from 8 shots on target, only 9 shots in total and 41% possession (I’m sure there’s a lesson in there somewhere) in the Vertu Trophy. And then Peterborough, who knocked us out of the trophy, went and lost to Swindon in the first round of the knockout stages, and therefore their hold on the trophy is severed.

And on Sunday, Boreham Wood repeated the 3-0 FA Cup win trick, this time in the second round at home to Newport County, and received scant reward, another home tie, but against Burton Albion. The draw for the third round was a lot quicker than the one for the World Cup held during the week, and there was no FA peace prize given out, but then again Boris Johnson isn’t Prime Minister anymore, so no egotist to be stroked.

I spent most of Sunday driving myself crazy. Despite knocking these match reports out with thousands of words of drivel and having done an accompanying piece for the Salford game, converting that into an article for the new supporter produced programme was giving me hives. It’s a world of difference between writing something for yourself, on your own blog page, that maybe fifty people might see if you are lucky, and something that is going to go into print and have a (potentially) much larger readership. I hate editing at the best of times, for reducing six thousand words down to two thousand was difficult, and although I’ve submitted a piece, I can’t say I’m overly happy with it. And there’s no pressure; it’s not like the local paper has had part of an article on there being a new programme. Oh, they did.

Going into the game we are fourteen places and thirteen points behind Bromley, who are going well and are in the playoff places. They could go into the automatic promotion places with a win, whilst a loss for us could see us slip into the relegation places if results go badly for us elsewhere.

The two Harry’s – Forster and McKirdy both used to play for Bromley, and our assistant manager Neil Smith used to play for them and also used to manage them for a while as well. There are no ex-Crawley players in the Bromley squad, although they do have Dillon Addai, the younger brother of Corey in their ranks. Others to have played for both include Ellery Balcombe, Mason Bloomfield, Frankie Sutherland, Dennon Lewis, and Ryan Hall.

No cards, but there is a fall back now that there is the Panini album for this year’s EFL teams, with eight of the twelve players included for Bromley in the collection this year below – Corey Whiteley, Marcus Ifill, Idris Odutayo, Ashley Charles, Kyle Cameron, Byron Webster, Grant Smith, and Deji Elerewe.

With it being only Bromley’s second season in the league, we haven’t played them before in the football league, in fact games against them are scarce, there have only been a few competitive games against them, mainly coming in the FA Cup Qualifying Rounds, winning at home in 1977, winning in a replay at home in 1988, a loss at home in 1996, and a loss away in 1999. The only other game came in the FA Trophy in 2007 with a home win. We have also played them six times in pre-season friendlies, twice at home in 1981 and 1983, winning both, and four away in 1985, 2010, 2012, and 2023, winning all apart from the 2010 game which we lost 1-0. I have no programme in the collection from games against them.

It is my first time on the supporters’ coach going to a game this season. With it being a Tuesday night fixture, and a reasonably short journey I can just about cope with the coach travel, and there wasn’t the need to take any time off work for the trip. If it has been a weekend game, I’d have gone on public transport though.

A quick mooch around outside the ground, it’s a compact, if not necessarily bijou stadium, and they are still working on it to improve it now they are a league club.

The club shop was OK, but lacking in pens and fridge magnets, so not ideal, and they have a monthly magazine in lieu of a programme, which has two pages of content on Crawley.

Inside the ground the facilities available for a sizeable away support were woefully inadequate. This was it (in the photo below), and the half time queue was only finishing being served at 71 minutes into the game.

We had two changes to the team which lost at Salford with Ryan Loft and Charlie Barker both returning from suspensions, and Kabby Tshimanga and Louis Flower dropping to the bench. Bromley lined up in an all-white kit apart from black arms, and we were in our all-red kit.

Jay Williams kicked off for us, and he was sporting a smaller bandage than when he finished the game last time out. And he was involved in an early heavy challenge. On him, and he was down receiving treatment.

Bromley are peppering our box with enough crosses to keep a horde of vampires away, and we are just about managing to deal with them, but not managing to clear fully, and the ball keeps coming back.

When we do break it is from a poor pass back by Bromley, straight to Harry McKirdy, he gets to the edge of the area but is being forced away from goal, but manages to dink a cross to the far post where Ryan Loft is there to head goalwards, it somehow manages to squirm past the keeper and into the net and we lead 1-0 with pretty much our first attack of the game.

In traditional style we try to gift a goal back to the opposition, a stray ball across the front of the box goes straight to a Bromley attacker, but JoJo Wollacott does just enough to distract them, and the shot goes just wide.

There are a few quiet minutes until we concede a free kick thirty yards out in line with the left edge of the penalty area. The wind takes the ball straight to Wollacott, and he pumps it long to McKirdy, but his cross drifts out wide on the far side. The wind is taking the ball wherever it wants to as soon as it gets above head height.

We have a bit of pressure in and around the box and win a corner. It’s swung in well by Harry Forster and just headed off the line at the near post and cleared. Some decent work between McKirdy and Ade Adeyemo down the left sees a ball into Louie Watson in the box and his shot is saved and goes for a corner. Another wicked in swinging Forster corner is headed clear from under the crossbar, it goes to the back post and Josh Flint is bundled over and Bromley break, and Adeyemo picks up a yellow card for bringing it to a halt in midfield.

Straight after Bromley break again, this time from a throw which should have been a Crawley throw all day, they get into the box and have a shot which goes across goal and wide. We attack with a bit of pace down the left again, McKirdy to Adeyemo, the cross in somehow eludes Reece Brown and then Loft, and ends up with Forster beyond the back post, his shot in is saved and put out for a corner which gets hacked clear.

Not sure if we are playing football or auditioning for the WWE, Loft has been body slammed to the ground twice, with nothing given, something which is an ongoing theme throughout the game, with no punishment coming. Watson has a shot from the edge of the area, but it tamely goes to the keeper.

Bromley have some pressure, they get a corner, it is headed out for another one on the other side of the pitch, which comes in and Wollacott manages to flap the ball clear for a third corner back on the original side of the pitch. It’s no real surprise when that one comes into the box and is bundled home from about two yards to make it all square at 1-1 a couple of minutes before half time. Or five minutes if you include the three added minutes at the end of the half, and that’s the score when the half time whistle goes.

The second half sees Bromley firing on all cylinders, an early let off as a ball isn’t dealt with and ends up with the Bromley number 9 in the six-yard box but thankfully he slices his shot onto the roof of the net. A left wing cross sees two Bromley players vying to get a touch on it in the box and they manage to steer it just wide between them. We are really struggling to get going. We half clear a cross and it drops to a Bromley player thirty yards out, their shot hits two Crawley defenders on the way through and totally wrong foots Wollacott in goal and we trail 1-2. Hopefully, that will wake the players up, as they really haven’t turned up for the second half yet. I’m not sure what soporifics were used in the half time team talk, but they need to cut that shit out. (Or get the kind of team talk the Bromley players must have had.)

Bromley get another corner and by the time we make some substitutions on 58 minutes I’m not sure we’ve managed to get out of our own half in the second half. McKirdy and Adeyemo depart and are replaced by Kabby Tshimanga and Kaheim Dixon. We are briefly a bit better after, but Bromley are back on the attack and win a couple of corners on the spin. We scramble the second one away and attempt a break with the ball out to Loft down the right, he plays it into Forster in the middle and he fails to beat his man near the edge of the box and Bromley clear, and come up the other end and win another corner.

Having dealt with the corner we decide it is time for some more fannying about at the back. Some may recognise this from pretty much every game for the last eighteen months. We lose the ball and Bromley are into the box, the final pass looks as if the receiver of it may have been offside, but nothing is given and they slot it in and we trail 1-3.

The Bromley players divert from where they were going to celebrate and deliberately run across the pitch to celebrate in front of the standing Crawley fans and are giving it loads and gesturing at them. Fortunately, we’re not as big a scumbags as Chesterfield so nothing is thrown, as just before the restart the ref does wave a non-committal yellow card in the general direction of any one of half a dozen Bromley players.

At some point whilst that was going on we appear to have slipped Jack Roles onto the pitch. As they don’t have working speakers in the away end, we’ve no idea what they announced, but a check of those on the pitch would make it seem it was Watson who was replaced. We have an attack, a ball into Loft in the box and his shot is deflected wide for a corner, which comes to nothing. A couple of minutes later there is another attack, a deep cross from the left is collected by Forster and he fires a ball across the six-yard box which nobody is near, and it goes out for a throw on the far side.

A Crawley fan has collapsed in the terrace, and the police, stewards, and the St John’s Ambulance people are all over there helping out. Meanwhile the classless Bromley fans are chanting ‘we can see you sneaking out’ as people remove themselves from the area so the bloke can get treatment. Nearly ten minutes later he is up on his feet and able to get out of the stand with some help. Hopefully, he is all right.

At the far end Forster is bundled over in the box and lands on the ball, so of course it is a free kick to Bromley for his handball as he fell over. Bromley have another corner; there is a shot and Wollacott saves. We must have had an attack as most of the team were in the Bromley half as they break and Geraldo Bajrami picks up a yellow card just in our half from stopping the break. It was a long way from goal, but he did look the last man, the way the second half had gone, I wouldn’t have been surprised to see a red there. A minute later Roles is cleared out on the left and Bromley pick up a yellow.

There are three minutes added at the end of the second half as well, not that we’ll do anything with it, but it was definitely light considering all the subs, stoppages, and general timewasting. The final whistle goes and it is another dispiriting loss Crawley Town 1, Bromley 3. (Or should that be The Cure 1, Siouxsie & The Banshees 3? At least they didn’t play ‘Boys Don’t Cry’, that really would have been rubbing salt into the wound.)

McKirdy wants to get into it with the fans after the final whistle again, and the ‘fans’ response is to chant at him ‘you’re not fit to wear the shirt.’ That kind of shit from both sides is helping no one. Frustrations are running high, and second half non-performances like that aren’t going to win friends and influence anyone. It is worrying times.

Results elsewhere see us drop two places in the league to twenty-first. It is a subdued coach journey home, and the man of the match vote was more a case of ‘do we have to’ and ‘who were the non-playing subs’ than anything else. But Harry Forster won. It was tempting to ask the coach driver to break the speed limit, at least that way we might have brought three points back with us.

Quiz time — Apart from Bromley, how many other current league sides beginning with the letter B full names also end with a Y?

Next up, we have Oldham Athletic at home on Saturday, a fixture which will see the first issue of the new fan produced match programme. An initial run of 250, so get there early to get your copy. The cover is already set, see the picture below so you know what to look out for. Also if anyone spots a win whilst out and about during the week, can they bring that to the game for us on Saturday.

Come on you reds.