RAVENS STILL HAD A DREAM
Smith left wondering what might’ve been
BROMLEY boss Neil Smith believes his team would have gatecrashed the play-offs had the season been played to a close.
The Ravens sat 13th when Covid-19 curtailed the campaign, six points off seventh-placed Stockport with one game in hand.
“Our objective before the season was to finish in or around the play-offs,” said Smith. “And I genuinely believe we would have.
“Last game of the season, we got a draw away at Harrogate. It felt like a turning point, and we went into those last eight games thinking of them as cup finals. Unfortunately, it wasn’t to be.”
Briefly, it appeared Smith had set his sights too low. Beaten only once in their opening 17 games, Bromley went four points clear at the National League summit after a 1-0 win at home to Woking on September 24.
But a 3-1 reverse at Yeovil the following week sparked a dismal run that culminated in a sequence of seven defeats from eight games before that restorative stalemate at Harrogate.
“The start was more than we could ever have dreamed of,” concedes Smith. “Unfortunately, we lost key players at vital times.
“That game at Yeovil – who were third at the time – we lost our goalkeeper. Mark Bush, our centre-half, went in goal and that was the catalyst for a lot of misfortune.
“We had Alfie Doughty on loan from Charlton, a young talented kid. He got called back, went into Charlton’s first-team and he’s been there ever since.
“We lost Reeco Hackett-Fairchild at Christmas, bought by Portsmouth. We lost Mark Cousins in that Yeovil game, lost Marc-Anthony Okoye. Key players in key areas.
“You’re trying to fill those holes, trying to get that confidence back. Even when we played well, we couldn’t buy a win. Christmas and New Year was a very difficult time, for myself and the club. Ultimately, though, I think we achieved our goal.”
As one of the few Bromley staff not placed on the government’s furlough scheme, Smith has spent the summer working in the community.
“We’ve been giving food parcels out,” he explains. “Very early on, we had excess food here. So we gave that to supporters, or food banks in Bromley. Some went to the hospital up the road.
“We’d pass on donations sent to the club. The club also spoke to the senior supporters and to make sure they’re OK.
“You’ve got to give back in times like this. If the club was ever in trouble, you can be sure the supporters would rally round to help. It’s only right we did the same.”
Now he is in the same boat as every other manager, waiting on a start date for the new season, government guidance and a firm budget.
Normality
“It’s weird because there’s no template to work to,” says Smith, who has ten contracted players for next season. “There’s nobody you can phone for advice. We’re all fumbling in the dark.
“When are we going to start? Are we going to have supporters, and, and if so, how many? We just don’t know.
“Like a lot of clubs, we rely on a lot of people coming early, having a drink, buying food. Is that going to happen?
“Hopefully this week’s announcement about open air stuff, leisure centres coming back, means football can think about getting back to some normality. Without definitive advice, though, I have no idea what my budget will be.
“In my head, I know exactly what I want to do. But as August becomes September and September becomes October, those plans keep getting moved further and further down the line.
“Players want to know when they can sign a contract, and how much they’ll be paid. I can’t tell them. What I’ve said to every player we’ve spoken to is ‘If you get a definite, you’ve got to take that over a maybe’. That’s where we are at the moment.”