Bromley F.C.
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| Full name | Bromley Football Club | ||
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| Nickname(s) | The Ravens, The Lillywhites | ||
| Founded | 1892 | ||
| Ground | Hayes Lane | ||
| Capacity | 6,000 (3,000 seated) | ||
| Manager | Neil Smith | ||
| League | National League | ||
| 2015–16 | National League, 14th | ||
| Website | Club home page | ||
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Coordinates: 51°23′24.25″N 0°01′15.87″E / 51.3900694°N 0.0210750°E Bromley Football Club is a semi-professional association football club based in Bromley, Greater London, England. The club participates in the National League, the fifth tier of English football. Bromley's home matches are played at Hayes Lane.
History
19th Century
Bromley Football Club was founded in 1892 and played friendly games against mainly local opposition sides in its first season. Their first competitive football came in the South London League, which was won at the first attempt. However, they moved frequently between leagues in those early days: two seasons in the Southern Football League were followed by a spell in the London League, winning the Division Two title in 1897.
20th Century
After a brief interlude in the Kent League, Bromley returned to the London League but were expelled in 1900. They then competed in the Spartan League, and after winning the title in 1908, they had their first spell in the Isthmian League and won the championship in each of their first two seasons. After the First World War they joined the Athenian League, winning the title in 1923. The club then moved into its current Hayes Lane stadium in 1938.
Though the 1930s were successful on the cup front, league honours eluded them until 1949 when they lifted the Athenian League Championship, to go with the FA Amateur Cup. Three years later they rejoined the Isthmian League, and again made an immediate impact finishing runners up at the first attempt, and going one better in 1954, reversing the previous season's six-point margin over Walthamstow Avenue, who were again runners up when Bromley were champions again in 1961.
The following season they had only two clubs below them, and in thirteen subsequent seasons only twice finished in the top half, culminating in relegation in 1975, the second time they had finished at the bottom.
Bromley were promoted back to the newly named Premier Division in 1980, and during an up-and-down period they were relegated again in 1984 then promoted two years later before finishing runners-up to Yeovil Town in 1988 – the highest league position for over 25 years – and then relegated for a third time two years later. Regaining Premier Division status at the first attempt under new manager George Wakeling, they remained in the top flight until 1999 when, after their best start to a season for many a year – thirteen points out of the first five games – they only won four of the remaining 37 league games, and as a consequence were relegated for the fourth time since promotion and relegation was introduced.
21st Century
Following the latest relegation, the club fell into a period of sharp decline. Amid poor cup performances[1] and dramatically diminishing attendances[2] Bromley twice finished in the bottom five of the Isthmian League first division before in 2002, local businessman and former Bromley player Jerry Dolke took control of the club.[3] Though this would mark the beginning of an upward turn in the club's fortunes, it was not enough to prevent Bromley from dropping into the eighth tier of English football for the first time following the 2004 re-structuring of non-league football, which saw the creation of regional Conference North and South divisions below the Conference Premier. Bromley had finished the 2003/04 season 8th in the First Division South, when 6th place would have seen them qualify for the new seventh-tier Isthmian Premier Division.
In 2004/05 under the returning Wakeling (along with Billy Smith) the team hit form almost straight away and reached the playoff places by the season's end. Wins over Metropolitan Police and Horsham followed, marking Bromley's return to the Premier Division after a six-year absence. After a season of consolidation, former Crystal Palace chairman Mark Goldberg became manager in 2006 and in his first season led the club to second place in the Premier division and a further promotion to the Conference South following playoff victories over AFC Wimbledon and Billericay Town.
For the next seven seasons Bromley enjoyed mixed fortunes in the Conference South, flirting with both relegation and promotion while also recording a number of mid-table finishes. In 2014/15, the club made a number of high-profile signings and stadium developments and, despite a background of uncertainty over the club's ownership,[4] would go on to win the title, earning promotion to the Conference Premier for the first time in its history.
Cup exploits
Bromley won the FA Amateur Cup three times, the third being in 1949 when a then-record crowd of 96,000 watched them beat Romford in the first Wembley final. In 1911 they beat Bishop Auckland at Herne Hill, and in 1938 were victors over Erith & Belvedere in the only all-Kent final. All three Finals were won by the same 1–0 scoreline, and the goal in each game was scored by the player wearing the number 8 shirt.
The Second Round proper of the FA Cup has been reached three times (1937, 1938 and 1945), with First Round appearances on a further ten occasions (1947, 1949, 1950, 1976, 1996, 2006, 2009, 2011, 2012 and 2014).
Since entering the FA Trophy in 1974 – following the cessation of the Amateur Cup – they had not gone beyond the Second Round until season 2000–2001 when they reached the Third Round after the competition had been revamped.
Bromley have won the Kent Senior Cup six times and also won the Kent Amateur Cup on twelve occasions. The London Senior Cup has been won on five occasions, most recently beating Kingstonian F.C. in 2013's final, with the London Challenge Cup coming to Hayes Lane in 1996.
Ground
After playing at White Hart Field, Widmore Road and Plaistow Cricket Ground, Bromley then relocated to their first Hayes Lane ground before moving around 300 yards (270 m) to the current stadium in 1938. They had to leave the ground when fire destroyed the main stand in October 1992, but returned in September 1993. The record attendance stands at 10,798 for a game against Nigeria in September 1949;[5]
In April 2015, the club submitted a planning application to replace the current south stand with a new 1,485-capacity all-seater stand attached to a multi-purpose indoor sports facility and a new car park.[6]
Current squad
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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Out on loan
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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Coaching staff
| Position | Name |
|---|---|
| Manager |  Neil Smith |
| First Team Coach | Mark Hammond |
| Fitness Coach | Jon Rayner |
| Goalkeeping Coach | Glyn Shimell |
| Physiotherapist | Sean Wickenden |
Honours
- Conference South:
- Winners (1): 2014–15
- Spartan League:
- Winners (1): 1907–08
- Isthmian League:
- Isthmian League Division One:
- Runners up (3): 1979–80, 1985–86, 1990–91
- Playoff winners (1): 2004–05
- Athenian League:
- Winners (3): 1922–23, 1948–49, 1950–51
- Runners up (1): 1935–36
- FA Amateur Cup:[7]
- Winners (3): 1910–11, 1937–38, 1948–49
- London Senior Cup:[8]
- Winners (5): 1909–10, 1945–46, 1950–51, 2002–03, 2012–13
- Runners up (4): 1948–49, 1959–60, 1984–85, 2006–07
Former players
1. Players that have played/managed in the Football League or any foreign equivalent to this level (i.e. fully professional league).
2. Players with full international caps.
3. Players that hold a club record.
- Keith Lawrence
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Garath McCleary - Sam Wood
Solomon Taiwo- Joe Pigott
- Wes Foderingham
- Harrison Dunk
- Ryan Hall
- Nathan Green
Quadir Maynard
Jon Goodman
References
- ↑ http://www.theargus.co.uk/news/5143151.FA_Cup__Rendall_has_the_answers/ FA Cup: Rendall has the answers
- ↑ http://www.geocities.ws/gazette25/2000review.html BROMLEY FC SEASON REVIEW 2000/01
- ↑ http://www.geocities.ws/gazette25/2001review.html BROMLEY FC SEASON REVIEW 2001/02
- ↑ "Bromley's new investors will maintain robust financial stability at Hayes Lane". kentishfootball.co.uk. Retrieved 10 April 2015.
- ↑ Dave Roberts (2012) The Bromley Boys: The True Story of Supporting the Worst Football Club in Britain, Pavilion Books
- ↑ Planning » Application Summary Bromley Borough Council
- ↑ "Bromley". The Football Club History Database. Retrieved 8 August 2015.
- ↑ "Memorandum of Procedures For Dealing With Misconduct Occurring". Docstoc.com. 24 April 2010. Retrieved 2013-04-08.
External links
- Official website
- Bromley at the Football Club History Database
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