Bromley League Two Odds: Ravens 12/1 to go back-to-back

Bromley are 12/1 to win promotion from League Two as the Ravens get ready to play in the Football League for the first time in their 132-year history.

Bromley League Two Odds

(Odds will display when the markets are available)

A little piece of history will be made on Saturday 11th August 2024 when Bromley FC become the latest team to grace the Football League.

Whether they are stepping out at their Hayes Lane home ground or on an away-day elsewhere - the fixtures are released on 26th June - it will be a moment of huge pride for manager Andy Woodman and his Ravens as they play their first EFL game in the club's 132-year history.

Promoted from the National League thanks to a penalty shoot-out success over Solihull Moors in the play-off final at Wembley, the hugely experienced Woodman is acutely aware that the next step of the South-East London club's journey is a tougher one.

Odds of 12/1 to get back-to-back promotions and 66/1 to win the league illustrate just how hard it is likely to be for Bromley to compete in a division where the likes of Milton Keynes Dons, Bradford City and runaway National League champions Chesterfield are expected to be among the contenders.

But the prospect of a tough campaign won't dampen enthusiasm or stop the club from dreaming of doing what Wrexham have just pulled off by going straight up to League One.

For Bromley, last season's triumph was simply the next step on a trajectory that has only been heading upwards for a while.

Promoted from the National League South in 2014/15, they have since twice reached the FA Trophy final, winning once. They have also made the play-offs three times, all under the watch of Woodman, who left his post as Arsenal's goalkeeping coach in March 2021 to take on the job at Bromley.

The ambition has grown over recent times and the prospect of league football was always the target - an "obsession", according to Woodman - though discussions around that outcome certainly weren't on the table at the start of the season just gone when the Ravens failed to win any of their first five matches and were marooned in the bottom four.

From then on, they hardly put a foot wrong losing just twice more through to the end of January - one of those was 2-0 at Chesterfield - and eventually finishing third with the fewest defeats and second best defensive record in the division.

Having seen off Altrincham and Solihull Moors in the play-offs, now the serious business has begun with talks between Woodman and astute owner Robin Stanton-Gleaves starting as soon as the champagne corks had landed.

Star 19-year-old Ben Krauhaus is on his way to Brentford and key figures from the past campaign, the likes of skipper Byron Webster, player of the year Corey Whitely and top scorer Michael Cheek, are all deep into their 30s.

Not only is new blood needed but a new pitch is also incoming. Bromley have enjoyed several seasons plying their trade on an artificial surface which some observers are convinced has given them a significant edge.

Football League rules insist it's grass and grass only so turf is being laid for the start of the 2024/25 season.

Not that it will bother Woodman or Stanton-Gleaves or any of the 30,000-odd supporters who were at Wembley roaring the Ravens to promotion.

They have a spring in their step and belief in their hearts and while the odds suggest a season of consolidation is expected, be assured this club is looking to the stars.

Odds displayed within this article were correct at the time of writing and are subject to fluctuation.