Preview: Bromley vs Leicester City

The fact that Bromley vs Leicester City is now a league fixture is a pinch-yourself moment, but dare I say the Ravens shouldn’t pinch themselves for too long.

Andy Woodman’s side have been at this level for nine games now, and there are too many points at stake for the ‘little old Bromley’ narrative to hold water.

This isn’t the time to feel in awe about the occasion or the game; the last time that happened, Sheffield Wednesday took Bromley there to the tune of 7 goals to 2.

Leicester are a club in freefall, and their fall from grace has been well documented, but don’t let that story trick you into thinking they don’t have the resources to go straight back up to the Championship.

This summer, despite all the noise around their situation, they invested in building a squad capable and worthy of immediate promotion.

Somewhere in the region of 7 million pounds was spent acquiring players like Ilari Kangasniemi (Inter Turku - setting a Finnish league record transfer fee), Emil Riis (Bristol City), Liam Cullen (Swansea), Admir Bristric (NK Olimpija), and Warren O’Hora (Hibernian). This is before we consider their array of free signings and standout loan deals, like securing England U21 international Tommy Watson from Brighton.

Yet, for all of their expenditure, Leicester have had a stuttering start to life in the third tier. After nine games, they find themselves in 14th place, having won three, drawn three, and lost three. To put that start in context, there is only a 4-point gap between them and Bromley in 22nd. 

Fans seem divided (and that’s a rather kind take on the matter) on Russell Martin’s style of football and his bullish, some say stubborn, attitude toward changing it.

Is the tiki-taka style relevant for League One? Stockport don’t seem to be having any problems, so what, or perhaps who, is the problem?

Leicester fans' patience has been tested by the stuttering start, and tensions are high. The question is whether Bromley can tap into that sense of nervousness. 

Martin has largely favoured a shape akin to 4-1-4-1 or 4-2-3-1 this season, but in their recent win over Doncaster, they employed a back three and, according to many sources, played a more direct style of football.

However, I would be surprised if Leicester stepped away from their core identity for tonight’s fixture.

With that in mind, I suspect Andy Woodman will be content to let Leicester pass the ball around at the back to their hearts' content and ask them to try and break through his resolute back line. There really is no use in Bromley trying to play a different way when it is probably easier to play in a counter-attacking style.

Interestingly, although Leicester predictably lead the league in possession stats and rank 5th for shots on target per match, there is more relevant data to explore.

The Foxes make the fewest interceptions in the league, are ranked fourth from bottom in terms of tackles per match, and rank last for possession won in the final third. 

The point here is that for all of their pretty football, they can clearly be got at and rattled. Bromley’s task is to find a way to do that.

To get a deeper sense of the baggage Leicester City bring to Hayes Lane tonight, I spoke with Rob Hayes from For Fox Sake, an independent news platform hosted in partnership with CounterPress Media (who also host From Bromley With Love).

“Almost every aspect of the football club has been grossly mismanaged over the last few years, including poor contractual and financial decisions, poor managerial appointments, and an element of arrogance that we would bounce straight back. All of this has led to a complete breakdown in the relationship between the supporters and the club's hierarchy, which was previously one of the strongest and most mutually respectful in English football. Failure to learn from previous mistakes has sent us into freefall.”

“On paper, the squad is right up there with the strongest in the division in terms of personnel, and I definitely think it's the strongest in terms of depth. The transfer window was extremely promising; we signed a good combination of young talent and experienced heads, many of whom were believed to have offers from higher divisions. The fact that they chose Leicester City was seen as a huge plus. So, yes, in theory, the squad should definitely be strong enough to achieve automatic promotion.”

“He wasn't a particularly popular appointment this summer, and with a lot of negative energy already around the club, it does seem that his tenure has been somewhat doomed from the beginning. Having said that, regardless of supporters' opinions about his style of play, he hasn't exactly endeared himself to the Blue Army with some of the comments he's made. 

“I appreciate that people who succeed in high-pressure environments often possess an element of single-mindedness and self-belief, but Martin's outlook comes across as arrogance and stubbornness, and City fans are struggling to get on board. 

“It wouldn't be an easy job for any manager, but I do think that other managers out there might impress a little more pragmatism on the style of play and establish a stronger relationship with the fans, too.”

“I've not enjoyed it as much as our only other previous League One season because we haven't been winning as much! However, I've been impressed with the level, and teams are more capable of punishing mistakes than I expected. I mean absolutely no disrespect by this, but when the season kicked off and we'd assembled this squad of players, I didn't think we'd find it as difficult as we have to beat teams. 

“We all expected the tippy-tappy style that sometimes surrenders possession in dangerous areas, but we thought we'd get away with it in League One. On the contrary, there has been nowhere to hide, and the players and manager are quickly learning that each game represents a significant challenge. If we want to earn the results and points required to be in the promotion mix come the end of the season, they will have to adapt.”

Rob’s words paint a mixed picture, but as he mentions, Leicester’s squad is up there with the strongest in the division. For that reason, Bromley are likely to approach the game in a similar fashion to Saturday’s trip to Stockport, though Andy Woodman always has a tweak or a trick up his sleeve.

What is the best way to play against a team that will dominate the ball, and how do Bromley get further up the pitch without sacrificing defensive solidity?

For what it’s worth, I think Michael Cheek should start up front to try and get the team further up the pitch. If Bromley know they aren’t going to get much of the ball in the attacking third, then they need to deploy the player who finds it easiest to hold up the ball and/or draw fouls. 

I took a stab at predicting Bromley’s line-up on FBWL’s new pre-match YouTube feature, The Eleven. Watch that here.

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Smith

Ifill Sowunmi Jackson Mendy 

Saville Conteh 

Jones McKiernan Pinnock

Cheek