RAVENS READY TO ROLL THE DICE
IF ANDY Woodman needs direct feedback on how it’s going at Bromley, all he needs to do is pop along to the Ravens Chat group who meet every Thursday at the club.
“They’re all older gentlemen who have retired and they get together here every week,” Woodman says. “They tell me bluntly! I can’t tell you how blunt they are – they’re not being rude, they just say it as they see it.
“And actually I really enjoy it because, good or bad, they’ll tell me straight or ask, ‘What did you do that for?’ It’s quite nice.
“They didn’t come today and I was quite chuffed to be honest! After Tuesday’s defeat [at Yeovil] I was relieved!
“But, all joking aside, you can enjoy the plaudits when it’s going well. I’m not saying it’s going badly now but you’ve got to roll with the punches when it’s not quite going right.”
It’s nearly a year since Woodman left the plush surroundings of Arsenal, where he was head of goalkeeping, to take the manager’s job at the National League outfit.
Anyone who hasn’t been to Hayes Lane recently is in for a surprise when they pull up the drive, past the fields with horses and see the developments that have been taking place.
A brand new building stands at the far end, housing a new open plan workspace for the growing staff, Woodman’s office, as well as the academy teaching rooms and staff. Staff buzz around, while workers busily put the finishing touches on the new Broomfields Bar & Kitchen, all set for the grand opening when they take on York City in the FA Trophy semi-final this Saturday.
Energy
“If anyone doesn’t know the owner Robin Stanton-Gleaves, he has this unbelievable drive and he does things properly,” Woodman says.
“The minute I spoke to him and he told me what he wanted, it married with where I’ve worked and what I wanted to bring if I was going to come.
“You can imagine the jump from Arsenal to Bromley, people were thinking, ‘Why?’
“But I just felt it was right. I felt he was the right man to work for and it was the right project and club. Myself and the chairman have got a really good understanding of where we’re at and where we’d like to be – and how we’re going to get there.”
Woodman emphasises he doesn’t want to be disrespectful to anyone previously at the club but he’s proud of how they have grown over the past 12 months.
Sports scientists, analysts, GPS data as used at Arsenal, and overnight stays have all been introduced, while a gym for the players is also being built.
Bromley reached the playoffs last year but had a chastening eliminator against Hartlepool United.
As goalkeeper coach at Newcastle United and Crystal Palace – following a long playing career – he knows the elite level inside out.
But he’s revelling in management, this is his second no.1 job after a brief spell at Whitehawk.
“Some days you come in and can see people thinking, ‘Oh, we’ve lost is he going to be OK’ and I like challenging myself to make sure I lift other people around me,” he says.
easy to come in and you’ve got the hump. So I kind of like it when I can see people around the building thinking that and actually lifting them. That’s my energy, the people around here doing everything behind the scenes to make sure we can do everything on the pitch.
Advice
“An old manager of mine, Steve Coppell, came to watch when I got the job very early on. He said to me, ‘Can I give you one bit of advice? Don’t get too high when you win, don’t get too low when you lose. Try to be the same all the time. It’s not easy.’
“And it’s good advice because you can get so carried away with wins. Then on the Tuesday you lose and you’re at the bottom of a pit. So I’ve tried to take that advice on board.
“I’ve got to be the focal point of this place. If we lose and they see me low and under the weather, how am I going to raise a bunch of players and staff ?
“So it’s important for me to ‘act’ a bit as it were. A lot of people work here and I don’t want to feel they’ve got the pressure on them – the pressure is on me. And I like that.
“We’ve got a nice lot of peo“It’s
ple who work here in the back office – they work their pieces off here and it’s important they feel as appreciated as the players and I do.”
It’s that sense of community that drives Woodman along with the understanding of what it means to be a leader.
And he knows how much it would mean to people to get to Wembley, a place he has won at as a player and been on Palace’s staff for an FA Cup final. “I’d go as far to say it’s probably bigger because you know all the people who work here personally,” he says. “Everyday when I walk down in the new Broomfields Bar & Kitchen – I’ve watched these guys work on it for a year now, from plastering to painting, every time you go past they remind you: this place will be buzzing if you get a result.
“So you kind of realise it’s not about me and what I want, it’s about what it’s going to do for everyone else.
Incentive
“I don’t like using the word pressure, let’s be honest it’s not real pressure in comparison to what’s going on in the world. But you have a responsibility to try and get it right for all these other people.
“That’s the bit I like. Because when we get it right, I feel we’ve done justice for a lot of people who work hard and don’t get the pats on the back.”
Woodman, however, is naturally wary of a bang-in-form
York City side who will bring a large following with them.
“It’s a massive occasion, let’s not get away from it,” he says. “But we’ve also got to be mindful it’s also a massive occasion for York. They will be thinking exactly the same as us so I don’t want anyone thinking we’re going into this believing it will be easy – absolutely no chance. They’re a good team, with good players and are a well-supported club.”
The opening of Broomfields is quite the incentive.
“It could really end up being quite a lucky celebration,” Woodman says. “Otherwise it could be empty by five o’clock.” – there’s your pressure!”