For over a century, Bromley was the definition of a “local” club. They were staples of the Athenian and Isthmian leagues, originally ‘amateur’ leagues. As an amateur club, they won the first FA Amateur Cup to be staged at Wembley in 1949. Even when they became semi-professional, those were the types of divisions where the tea is hot, the terraces are concrete, and the players often have day jobs. Now after 132 years in the shadows of London’s giants*, the Ravens have been promoted as champions to League One. The turning point wasn’t a sudden influx of oil money, but a slow build-up of professionalism and stability. Owner Robin Stanton-Gleaves, who made his money in the printing and technology sectors, became majority shareholder and chairman in 2019. Since then, they have secured two promotions as well as winning the FA Trophy against Wrexham in 2022. The Club’s transformation is a tale of having a clear identity, with strategic ownership, smart recruit...
When I started watching football in 1953, the visit of Wolves to The Valley was very much to be feared. With Billy Wright as captain, they were one of the country's top clubs. There have been many ups and downs since then, but I cherished my occasional lunches with a lifelong supporter who sadly eventually passed away at an advanced age. It doesn't take a genius to work out what has gone wrong recently, but the Swiss Ramble provides a forensic analysis of what has gone wrong using the 2024/25 accounts and his own extensive and unrivaled data set, more can be found on Substack. Some highlights below. Last night I was watching the gripping conclusion to the world snooker final from Sheffield. When the young Chinese challenger won, the representative of the equivalent sporting body from China made sure that he was wrapped in the Chinese flag for all the photos. No doubt the sporting body is approved by the Communist Party. I have only been to...