The Retro File: Bromley FC 04/05 – The Raven Rising

The 2004/2005 season was perhaps the most pivotal moment in the history of Bromley Football Club. In retrospect, it marked the start of the Ravens’ steady climb up the pyramid, which culminated in last season’s mind-bending promotion to the Football League. Would that accomplishment have happened without the events of 04/05? It’s easy to imagine that it wouldn’t have.

Midway through that campaign, there seemed to be no hope of the success that would follow. In fact, if you had told a Bromley fan how the club’s season would end, they would’ve laughed you out of Hayes Lane. But a managerial change, some inspired signings, and a superb run of results put the Ravens on a path to destiny.

Fans who arrived for Bromley’s first game of the season walked into a club that was still reeling from a tumultuous 03/04 campaign. Four managers and a conveyor belt of players had come and gone and the club desperately needed a steady hand on the rudder. Everyone hoped that hand belonged to manager Stuart McIntyre, who had spent the summer of 2004 assembling a squad that looked ready to challenge for promotion. By this point, Bromley had spent six long years in Isthmian League Division One and everyone was ready for the stay to end.