What we have achieved this year is nothing short of remarkable, says Bromley chairman Jerry Dolke

BROMLEY chairman Jerry Dolke says the club are going to embrace their first campaign sitting at non-league football’s top table.

The Ravens celebrated winning the Vanarama Conference South title on their Greatest Ever Day when Mark Goldberg’s side defeated Weston-super-Mare 3-0 last Saturday.



CHAMPIONS: Bromley celebrate winning the Vanarama Conference South title on the club's Greatest Ever Day last Saturday.
Photo: Edmund Boyden

Inspirational skipper Rob Swaine and fans’ favourite Danny Waldren held aloft the Vanarama Conference South trophy in front of 2,938 proud fans as the famous club celebrated their first title for 54 years. 

The last title was when the Isthmian League title was won thanks to a 4-2 home win over St Albans City on the final day of the season back in 1961.

But it’s unthinkable that Bromley are now looking forward to playing in the rebranded Vanarama National League (formerly known as the Conference) for the first time in the club’s 123-year history.

Four days on, and everyone connected with the club are still on a high.

“Well, we’re still obviously pretty emotional about everything because when you’ve been associated with the club for so long, it was pretty much a dream, which is reality and it is real,” said Mr Dolke, who ironically was born in 1961.



CONFERENCE BOUND: Bromley chairman Jerry Dolke celebrates winning the Vanarama Conference South title with his family.

“I think it’s actually dawning on people just the reality where we’re going to play our football next year, which then turns to excitement.”

Bromley will make the headlines as they will become the first club in the Vanarama National League to play their home games on a 3G pitch, which will be laid at their iconic 76-year-old Hayes Lane stadium next month.

The club already has two 3G pitches at the back of their stadium and Mr Dolke explained that Bromley will benefit playing on an artificial pitch.

He said: “We want to 3G our stadium pitch.  What is very important for a football club particularly of our size is that we’re in a quick positive cash flow once the season starts.

“It became very evident to the football club to have a budget that it competed with this year that the business needs to generate significant income and not just directors’ putting money into a football club because that can’t continue so the football club has to come self-sustaining.

“With the development that we’ve got with our nine-a-side and 11-a-side 3G pitches, the stadium pitch being 3G will allow us to compete in the Conference National and allow the football club to operate in a positive cash flow.”

He added: “It’s going to cost a lot of money!”

The long-suffering Bromley faithful are living on cloud nine since Reece Prestedge, Moses Ademola and Jamie Slabber scored the goals against fifth-from-bottom Weston-super-Mare - and there will be a party spirit for Saturday’s final game at Gosport Borough.

“As far as we’re concerned now, as a football club we’ve earnt the right this year,” said Mr Dolke.

“When you actually look at that league table and look at the clubs under us, we have that little C next to us now – champions – and when you look at other club’s financial capabilities, clubs have underachieved this year.

“What we have achieved this year is nothing short of remarkable!”

The club were struggling and finished fourth-from-bottom in the Ryman League Division One table back in season 2001-02.

The club’s loyal fan base has previously seen their side suffering humbling defeats to lesser clubs during those days.

Bromley will only be two league’s lower than Millwall if the Lions lose their current status and are playing in League One next season!

And Bromley could be facing Tranmere Rovers – who were in the third level of English football in 2002 – if the Merseyside outfit fail to avoid relegation from League Two in their last two games.

Mr Dolke added: “It’s just incredible isn’t it? If people would have said this to us a few years’ ago, you wouldn’t have believed it!”

Reflecting on the club’s Greatest Ever Day last weekend, the Bromley chairman said: “I think when Mark (Goldberg) came over and gave me a big hug at the end of the game that really was an emotional period for me.

“We’ve been through a lot and to actually experience that day, which is a day that I’ll never forget.

“I thought I experienced it when we beat Billericay in the Ryman Premier League Play-Off Final in 2007 but to actually, for the first time since I’ve had the club, go through two separate play-offs but to actually win a championship, the title, to be the Conference South champions, I can’t stop saying it, that’s what we are, Conference South champions.

“I’m a non-league person. You play your football, we’re Ryman League, we’re Conference South. We’re going into a level of football with no experience off and that’s the challenge.

“The fact that we’re operating now within transfer windows, we come into the Fourth Qualifying Round of The FA Cup.

“Everything at Bromley Football Club changes next year and that’s what I’m really excited about.”

Bromley spent eight years in Conference South, struggling in it up until the last two seasons.

They finished in third-place last season but suffered a 4-0 defeat away to Ebbsfleet United in the play-off semi-final first leg, restoring pride by winning the home leg 1-0.

But the Bromley chief insists the club will not be going into the top-flight making up the numbers.



THE PRIZE: Bromley skipper Rob Swaine and Danny Waldren held this trophy at Hayes Lane last Saturday.

Mr Dolke said: “Of course we’re ready! We’ve earnt the right to be ready this season. Everything that we’ve been through this season is just a wonderful closure – the fact that we’ve won the Conference South and that we push onto into the Conference Premier.

“I’ve always said, I look at clubs that have gone in there and competed. The model for us to copy is Braintree – what Braintree have achieved is nothing short of phenomenal. They are now an established Conference National football club and that’s what I want us to become.”

Dolke, a striker, suffered heartbreak when the club finished in second place, five points behind promoted champions Yeovil Town in the Vauxhall Opel Premier (Ryman Premier in today’s money) back in season 1987-88.



IN SAFE HANDS: Bromley chairman Jerry Dolke wants Bromley to follow in Braintree Town's footsteps and become an established Vanarama National League club.

“When I was a player at Bromley, we pushed Yeovil all the way in a season and they ended up in the Championship and Bromley, bottom of the Ryman Division One,” reflected Dolke.

“Look at what Yeovil have gone on and achieved! I think what’s happened with Bromley, three promotions in what, eleven years, to get promotion to this league to compete with the real big boys’ that’s the challenge for us and we’re going to embrace it.

“We want to compete in this league. The boys’ have earnt the right to go and play in it. The boys have earnt the right to go and compete in it and that’s exactly what we want to do.

“What we want to do next year is become a very professional club because we are playing against fully professional football clubs and we’ve got to become one.”

But when asked whether the club will go full-time next season – after all Bromley have the training facilities to do so – Dolke admitted he needs to sit down with Goldberg first.

“We’ve got to have some conversations Mark and I in the next few days, which we will have, but as a football club we’ve got to make some pretty big decisions in the coming weeks.

“The thing is with us, did we ever expect it? That was the thing. We all hoped, we all prayed, but to actually win, win the Conference South, I keep saying it, we’ve won the Conference South, we are in the Conference National, it’s unbelievable!”



SIGN OF THE TIMES: This Vanarama board was left down the players tunnel at Hayes Lane for today's Football Conference Youth Alliance game, when leaders Bromley thrashed Thamesmead Town 7-0.
Photo: Stephen McCartney

Meanwhile, one of Bromley’s Academy managers, Steve Baker, would like young players to progress through the ranks at Hayes Lane.

“I was talking to Neil Smith (Bromley Whites Academy coach and first team assistant manager) just yesterday,” said Baker, the Bromley Blues coach. 

“We’re going to sit down and have a chat about everything and as a club we’ll sit down and have a chat.

“The place is buzzing at the moment. It was an amazing achievement from all of the first team squad and management and the owners that had to be put in place to make this happen.

“It was a great day on Saturday and I think moving forward the Academy is really well established. We’ve been running since 2007 so it’s just filling that gap between the Academy team, first team, be it a Development squad, under 21s, a reserve team and it’s keeping the players within the club.

“It’s equally important getting them senior football, going out to clubs at the relevant level for them whether that’s Southern Counties East Football league, Ryman teams .

“It’s about keeping them within the club but also getting some senior football. Hopefully longer-term for us what we’d love more than anything is the best couple each year to supplement the first team squad in years’ to come and have a number of players to come through the system at the Academy.”

Visit Bromley’s website: www.bromleyfc.net