ANGELSANGELSV BROMLEY • SATURDAY, 19 SEPTEMBER, 2020 • 13:00PRE-SEASON FRIENDLY • SPECIAL ONLINE MATCH PROGRAMME

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Good afternoon everyone and welcome to Boardroom Diary. It’s also a warm welcome to our very good friends and near neighbours from just up the A21, Bromley FC, to whom we are most grateful for accepting our invitation to come and play here this afternoon.

The Ravens are a club who have made tremendous progress in the right direction both on and off the pitch in recent years and quite deservedly find themselves playing at the pinnacle of non-league football. Under Neil Smith’s direction and guidance its certain they will be challenging for a place towards the top end of the National League table in the upcoming campaign. We wish them all well in that journey.

Once again, frustratingly, you are having to read these words without being able to attend the match in person which is a great shame particularly bearing in mind the quality of the opposition. Nevertheless, we thank Dan Couldridge and all the contributors for once again putting together a quality edition and hope that at least it helps you to keep in touch with what’s happening at the club.

As these words are being penned regrettably there is still a degree of uncertainty. Will fans be allowed into National South stadiums for the start of the season on 3rd October and if so, how many? It would be nice to think that our final pre-season friendly here at The Halcyon Wealth Longmead Stadium against Aldershot Town next Saturday 26th September might provide the opportunity for some kind of pilot fixture but we will have to wait and see.

There is a lot of lobbying going on with Government to allow at least a limited number of supporters back in to coincide with the start of the campaign for National League clubs but as yet no definite answer just optimistic aspirations peppered with plenty of caveats. In fairness to Government we should remember that they have the big picture to consider in terms of the virus itself. With cases seemingly on the rise it is a precariously difficult balancing act in trying to bring the country back to some sense of normality while at the same time attempting to control the progress of the virus.

You will have read that the club has moved to an e-ticketing system as part of the requirements by the National League to reduce queues at turnstiles, lessen or eliminate cash handling, control attendances that may have to be reduced, and to support the NHS with contact tracing. These aims all make perfect sense and we would have probably moved to an on line ticketing system in the immediate future in any case. Some National South clubs had already moved to an optional e-ticketing system last season. For any supporters a little fearful of the new system please don’t worry. We will have advance ticket sales at the club where full assistance will be given – you just need to have your debit or credit card with you. Please remember you can sponsor your favourite player via this platform including some Longmead Legends from days gone by.

Another step into the world of new technology has been an investigation into pay per view live streaming of games. In fairness under normal conditions this version of media is not best suited to Tonbridge Angels. We are a club that thrives on socialising and with the vast majority of our supporters living close by we want to see them in the ground cheering on the team. When games go a little flat and they do occasionally even with The Angels playing then we all like to have a bit of a natter or a joke with our mates on the terrace.

Clearly if we were forced to play ‘behind closed doors’ then live streaming would have to come into operation, but we hope this won’t be forced upon as the loss of revenue would be very serious.

Restricted attendances however might be more relevant and this could occur when we play some of our Kent Derbies. Once again as with so much at the moment we will have just have to wait and see how this one plays out but we have to be ready for all eventualities.

Finally, please remember to read through the ‘Supporters Guide to Enjoying Football at Longmead’ on the website which will tell you all you need to know about how you can once again start supporting The Angels. We hope it won’t be long before we can all come together in our stadium.

Jim Rowe

BOARDROOM DIARYBOARDROOM DIARY

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We welcome Bromley back to Longmead today for the first time since March 2019. It’s their first visit for a pre-season friendly since 2010 when Paul Booth and Frannie Collin scored for Tonbridge in a 3-2 defeat, although since then they’ve visited six times. We were in the same Conference South, as it was then, in 2011-12 and 2012-13, we met in the Third Qualifying Round of the 2014-15 FA Trophy, which ended 0-0, Bromley winning the replay, and we’ve had three meetings in the Kent Senior Cup. The Angels came out on top in 2012-13 as David Ijaha, Frannie Collin and Mark Lovell (2) all scored in a frantic extra time to win 5-1, Bromley won 1-0 in 2016-17 thanks to Tobi Sho-Silva’s first half effort, and JJ Hooper scored the only goal in a Bromley win in 2018-19. Sadly our only wins against Bromley have come in county cup football as we have not won any of the nine league games we have played against the South East Londoners.

Bromley begin their sixth season in the National League having had the proverbial season of two halves last year. They had a spell top of the table in October and November and by the time they beat Dover 3-0 on New Years Day they were third in the National League. However that remains their only competitive win of 2020. What followed was an unexpected nine-game run in which they only took two points and by the time they played Football League new boys Harrogate Town on 7th March they had dropped to 12th and were deemed 13th when all the maths was done to find the final standings.

In terms of their pre-season programme, the club were talked about for their ability to get fans in when they played Cray Wanderers at Hayes Lane. Because Cray groundshare at Bromley, they could legitimately describe Cray as the home team. It’s a regular pre-season game at Hayes Lane anyway. Now, Cray are a step three side, so as they were home it meant they could allow some supporters into the ground. The maximum 600 fans attended and were treated to a game which saw Bromley win 4-3. Ollie Tanner and Michael Cheek each found the net, as did “Trialist B” who scored twice.

Back behind closed doors they then drew 2-2 with Dartford with Michael Cheek again on target, this time twice, and in midweek Bromley won 1-0 against Chelmsford with Cheek again scoring, against his old club.

Neil Smith has been manager of Bromley since early 2016. Neil has also been in charge of Welling United, and on a caretaker basis, Woking. But for fans of Kent football he will most be remembered for his role in Tony Pulis’s Gillingham team of the late 1990s. He was in the promotion winning team of 1996, and scored the winning goal against Coventry City, who were then a Premier League side, in a League Cup tie, which, at the time, was possibly the club’s finest hour in a cup match.

Neil has added to his coaching staff in the summer with former Charlton defender Roger Johnson in as Under 23s coach, and Andy Little as goalkeeping coach.

In terms of player recruitment, supporters had to wait until early September before confirmation of the first new player. That signing was Liam Trotter. The midfielder made more than

OUR VISITORSOUR VISITORS

MARK COUSINSMARK COUSINS

LUKE COULSONLUKE COULSON

BILLY BINGHAMBILLY BINGHAM

LIAM TROTTERLIAM TROTTER

“THE RAVENS”“THE RAVENS”FACTFILE

Founded: 1892Ground: Hayes Lane

Chairman:Robin Stanton-GleavesManager: Neil Smith

HONOURS3 x FA Amateur Cup1 x National South

4 x Isthmian League3 x Athenian League6 x Kent Senior Cup

5 x London Senior Cup

RECORDSMost appearances:George Brown (???)

Most goals:George Brown (570)

Record attendance:

Most goals v Tonbridge: Eric Nottage (7)

FORMLast 5 Games:

7/3 Harrogate a D1-129/2 Sutton H L0-1

22/2 Wrexham H L0-215/2 Stockport a L0-1

8/2 Solihill H D2-2

Last 5 Seasons:2019/20 Nat Lge 13th2018/19 Nat Lge 12th2017/18 Nat Lge 9th2016/17 Nat Lge 10th2015/16 Nat Lge 14th

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100 appearances for Millwall, and also starred for Bolton, having started his career with Ipswich, but his most recent club was Orange County in the United States.

Following Trotter to Hayes Lane is defender Kory Roberts, who has just left Walsall, ex-Orient and Dover striker James Alabi, former Gillingham and Phoenix Sports midfielder Ben Allen, and defender Byron Webster, who has made the long trip from Carlisle United.

Other players at Neil Smith’s disposal this season include attacking player Luke Coulson, who swept the board at the club’s player of the year awards, long serving defender and captain Jack Holland, versatile defender Chris Bush, who as well as his defensive prowess also boasts one of the best long throws in the league, and striker Michael Cheek, who has scored well in pre-season, adding to his fifteen goals last season.

Finally Bromley found out this week the start of their season will be delayed. They find themselves as the odd number for the opening day as they were due to face Macclesfield Town, so they will become possibly the last club in the country to start their competitive campaign, on Tuesday 6 October when they host Dover.

Matt Davison

BROMLEYBROMLEYTONBRIDGE ANGELS 0

BROMLEY 1HOOPER 17’ ATTENDANCE 389

SATURDAY 19 MARCH 2019 • KENT SENIOR CUP SEMI FINAL

TONBRIDGE ANGELS BROMLEY1 JONATHAN HENLY 1 DAVID GREGORY2 LIAM SMITH 12 ALAN DUNNE3 JACK PARTER 14 JORDAN HIGGS4 D’SEAN THEOBALDS 4 FRANKIE SUTHERLAND5 SONNY MILES ‹ 14 5 ROGER JOHNSON6 MICHAEL KAMARA 17 REECE MEEKUMS ‹277 JARED SMALL 22 DENNON LEWIS8 TOM BEERE 23 SAM WOOD9 ALEX READ ‹ 15 9 OMAR BUGIEL‹3410 LUCIANO OSBOURNE‹ 12 24 RICHARD BRINDLEY ‹811 ADEM RAMADAN 30 JJ HOOPER

12 TOM DERRY › 10 8 FRANKIE RAYMOND ›2414 ARTHUR LEE ›5 20 AIDEN ENVER 15 CHINEDU MCKENZIE ›9 27 BILLY CRASKE › 1716 NED LEWIS 33 ALEXANDER BREFO

34 SHAIKE KAMARA ›9

THE LAST TIME WE MET

HEAD TO HEAD

TONBRIDGE - 10BROMLEY - 15

DRAWS - 12

2020/21 FRIENDLIES Res F A Att Goalscorers

1 Sat 08 Aug Loxwood a W 6 0 na Akrofi (p), Turner, trialist, Bray 2, Da Costa

2 Mon 08 Aug Sutton Common Rovers a L 1 2 na Williams 77

3 Sat 15 Aug AFC WIMBLEDON H L 0 3 na

4 Tue 18 Aug CRYSTAL PALACE U23 H L 0 3 na

5 Sat 22 Aug Lewes a W 4 1 na Turner 41, Akrofi 65 83(p), Beere 90

6 Sat 29 Aug Carshalton Athletic a W 2 1 250 Greenhalgh 21, Parter 86

7 Sat 05 Sep KINGSTONIAN H W 2 1 na Williams 43, Greenhalgh 89

8 Sat 12 Sep Margate a W 4 1 176 Greenhalgh 42, Parkinson 49, Williams 66 85

9 Sat 19 Sep BROMLEY H na 13:00 Kick Off

10 Sat 26 Sep ALDERSHOT TOWN H

FA Cup begins on Saturday 3 October. League matches begin Tuesday 6 October.See Page 7 for 2020/21 League Fixtures

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MATCH ACTION: KINGSTONIANMATCH ACTION: KINGSTONIANPhotos courtesy of Wes Filtness

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MATCH ACTION: MARGATEMATCH ACTION: MARGATE2020/21 VANARAMA SOUTH

1 Tue 06 Oct Billericay Town a

2 Sat 10 Oct HUNGERFORD TOWN H

3 Sat 17 Oct Oxford City a

4 Sat 24 Oct BRAINTREE TOWN H

5 Sat 07 Nov CHIPPENHAM TOWN H

6 Mon 09 Nov Chelmsford City a

7 Sat 14 Nov Dorking Wanderers a

8 Tue 17 Nov EASTBOURNE BOROUGH H

9 Sat 21 Nov Ebbsfleet United a

10 Sat 28 Nov HEMEL HEMPSTEAD TOWN H

11 Tue 01 Dec CONCORD RANGERS H

12 Sat 12 Dec St Albans City a

13 Sat 26 Dec MAIDSTONE UNITED H

14 Mon 28 Dec Dartford a

15 Sat 02 Jan Maidstone United a

16 Sat 09 Jan BATH CITY H

17 Sat 16 Jan Welling United a

18 Sat 23 Jan HAMPTON & RICHMOND B H

19 Sat 30 Jan Dulwich Hamlet a

20 Sat 06 Feb HAVANT & WATERLOOVILLE H

21 Tue 09 Feb Concord Rangers a

22 Sat 13 Feb ST ALBANS CITY H

23 Sat 20 Feb Hemel Hempstead Town a

24 Sat 27 Feb EBBSFLEET UNITED H

25 Sat 06 Mar Slough Town a

26 Sat 13 Mar DARTFORD H

27 Tue 16 Mar BILLERICAY TOWN H

28 Sat 20 Mar Hungerford Town a

29 Sat 27 Mar OXFORD CITY H

30 Fri 02 Apr Braintree Town a

31 Sat 10 Apr CHELMSFORD CITY H

32 Tue 13 Apr Eastbourne Borough a

33 Sat 17 Apr Chippenham Town a

34 Sat 24 Apr DORKING WANDERERS H

35 Sat 01 May Havant & Waterlooville a

36 Mon 03 May DULWICH HAMLET H

37 Sat 08 May WELLING UNITED H

38 Sat 15 May Bath City a

39 Sat 22 May SLOUGH TOWN H

40 Sat 29 May Hampton & Richmond Boro a

FIXTURESFIXTURESPhotos courtesy of Ian Clear

TONBRIDGE ANGELS BROMLEYRYAN BOTLEY MARK COUSINS

JONATHAN HENLY TAREK NAJIA

TED MCDONALD JAMES ALABI

ALEX AKROFI BEN ALLEN

TOM BEERE JUDE ARTHURS

RIAN BRAY BILLY BINGHAM

KRISTIAN CAMPBELL CHRIS BUSH

KHALE DA COSTA MICHAEL CHEEK

JAMES FOLKES LUKE COULSON

BEN GREENHALGH JACK HOLLAND

ARTHUR LEE JOE KIZZI

NED LEWIS TOM PURRINGTON

SONNY MILES FRANKIE RAYMOND

TOM PARKINSON KORY ROBERTS

JACK PARTER OLLIE TANNER

CHRIST TIEHI LIAM TROTTER

JOE TURNER LIAM VINCENT

JASON WILLIAMS BYRON WEBSTER

LUCA WOODHOUSE BEN WILLIAMSON

Manager: STEVE McKIMM Assistant: BARRY MOORE Physio: MELVIN SLIGHT

Manager: NEIL SMITHAssistant: Physio: RICH STERLING

Referee : CHRIS MYATTAssistant 1 : JOSH WILLIAMSAssistant 2 : HOWARD COLLINSFourth Official :

SATURDAY, 19 SEPTEMBER, 2020 • TONBRIDGE ANGELS V BROMLEY

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UPDATES

ACTION PHOTOS AS THEY HAPPEN ON OUR INSTAGRAM

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