Following an impressive debut 2024-25 EFL season, questions will be asked of how Bromley can improve in 2025-26 season.
A memorable maiden season in the EFL saw Bromley finish 11th in League Two and only four points off the last play-off spot, amidst a historic FA Cup run to the third round where they lost 3-1 at Newcastle United after Cameron Congreve gave them a shock lead.
33 year-old Michael Cheek also became League Two’s top goalscorer in his first EFL campaign in another highlight for Bromley, with the forward having managed 25 goals in 45 league appearances (26 goals in all competitions) to become League Two’s Player of the Season.
Questions though will be asked of how Bromley can build on such an impressive debut campaign which saw them defy expectations as last season’s odds-on favourite for relegation, yet some bookies are again writing Andy Woodman’s Ravens off as relegation candidates.
Now as 2025-26 pre-season begins, here is a look at where Bromley can improve heading into the new campaign.
Defensive Improvement Required
Although Bromley finished last season with the joint-fourth highest number of clean sheets – having managed 16 clean sheets, their defence were the third most leaky amongst the top 12 finishers; with only Grimsby (67) and Swindon (63) having conceded more goals.
More consistency is therefore needed because on just four occasions did they keep two consecutive clean sheets and they also managed just one run of three consecutive clean sheets in February, which shows how inconsistent their defensive play was all season.
Bromley also dropped 26 points in 11 games in which they scored the opening goal, of which they drew seven of those games – including a 3-3 draw at Salford where they were 3–0 ahead after 51 minutes, underlining a need to show more defensive control and focus when ahead.
You therefore have to think that if they had been better defensively and protected their lead more in those seven draws, they probably of snuck into the last play-off spot.
We also shouldn’t forget that – no matter how dubious – four of Bromley’s six red cards were for defenders (Besart Topalloj, Carl Jenkinson, Kamarl Grant and Omar Sowunmi), yet they seemed to had become more disciplined in their last 19 matches which was a huge positive.
There however is a positive in that Bromley managed four clean sheets in their last six matches which has to be a solid foundation to use to build upon going into next season, whilst no player managed to deliver an own goal which will boost confidence.
Loanees, Danny Imray and Kamarl Grant however will be two tough players to replace in the back line such has been their contribution in terms of defensive and attack – with four goals and seven assists combined, leaving Bromley a tough task to find suitable replacements.
New signing, Kyle Cameron though is a solid replacement for Grant on paper but it will be interesting to see how it transitions onto the pitch in terms of performances.
Stronger Goalscoring Threats
Bromley’s attack proved to be their biggest weapon last season courtesy of Cheek but at 33 years-old, he can’t be relied upon once again to deliver the goods next season so it is imperative that other forwards step up and can deliver goals when he isn’t in action.
Just to emphasise that particular issue if were to hypothetically discount Cheek’s 25 league goals, just nine of Bromley’s 39 league goals were scored by forwards which is a huge concern for Woodman because it highlights how integral Cheek was last season.
To add further context, Cameron Congreve, Omar Sowunmi and Ben Thompson were Bromley’s next highest goalscorers in all competitions after Cheek, with the trio having netted six goals apiece highlighting the gulf in goalscoring form between Cheek and the rest of the team.
Congreve also was their second-best playmaker with six assists underlining just how impactful he was during his loan spell from Swansea, which raises serious questions for Bromley in terms of how to replace him and continue to improve the squad in terms of achieving similar if not better results.
To make matters worse, Congreve is one of seven players out of Bromley’s 20 goalscorers last season who won’t be at the club next season – unless he return either on another loan spell – which looks unlikely or on a permanent transfer
Should Congreve not return then Bromley will need to find solutions quickly because they could face a goal drought with 15 goals between five goalscorers across the pitch to replace – excluding Levi Amantchi who joined Walsall in January.
Mitch Pinnock and Will Hondermarck‘s arrivals on free transfers though could mitigate the impact of Congreve’s departure, but there will be three defenders (Callum Reynolds, Imray, Grant) plus two forwards (Louis Dennis and Harry McKirdy) to sufficiently replace to an adequate or better standard.
Statistics also show that Bromley missed 57 of 101 big chances to score in the league but there is a small silver lining in that Bromley scored nine of ten penalties, which shows how good their attack is at forcing fouls from opposing teams and I expect more of the same tactics next season.
Their aerial attacking ability is however a major positive because no team managed to score more headed league goals in League Two than the Ravens this season (15), with Omar Sowunmi in particular having proven a potent threat with five of his six goals having come from headers.
The key factor to continuing that form though will lie in Bromley’s summer transfer business.
Consistency in Results
Having finished just four points off the final play-off spot, Bromley now need to be more consistent in converting opportunities into wins because there were four separate winless streaks last season which cost them a potential play-off spot;
- Nine matches between 24 August – 19 October (D4, L5)
- Four matches between 26 October – 26 November (D4)
- Six matches between 5 January – 4 February (D2, L4)
- Five matches between 8 March – 1 April (D2, L3).
Across those four separate winless league streaks, Bromley led in nine of those games although they did draw seven of those nine particular games during those lame runs, so hopefully they can convert more of those draws into wins now if want a play-off push with a full season now under their belt.
I however do acknowledge that the nine-match winless run came whilst they were still adapting to the fourth tier which certainly played a big part in missing out on a play-off spot, because if they had settled quicker then they might of stood a better chance tying back to need for defensive improvement.
One huge positive that they can take though from last season is the fact that they didn’t lose three consecutive league matches throughout the campaign, especially if compared to fellow promoted club of last season – Chesterfield, as the Spirites endured three-match and four-match losing streaks mid-season.
Consistency in results is therefore going to be key if Woodman’s Ravens are to kick on and push higher up the table.
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