I was wondering how to beat Bromley so much I did a Google search on it. Here's what Google says:

Beating Bromley FC this season requires a disciplined approach to handle their organized, high-energy style under manager Andy Woodman, which has made them serious promotion contenders. 

 

Key Tactical Approaches to Beat Bromley:

• Nullify Michael Cheek: The striker is highly prolific and often the focal point of their attack. Tight man-marking and preventing service into him is critical.

• Weather Early Pressure & Avoid Conceding First: Bromley often looks to start strongly, sometimes scoring within the opening minutes. Teams that fail to handle this early intensity often lose.

• Exploit Defensive Transitions: While solid, high-pressing teams can disrupt their rhythm. Oldham Athletic, for example, found success by breaking down their defence late in the game.

• Physical Discipline and Set-Pieces: Bromley is well-organized and physically demanding. Teams need to be solid at the back and competitive in aerial duels.

• Target the Goalkeeper/Defence under pressure: Although Grant Smith is a strong keeper capable of magical saves, putting them under consistent pressure, particularly in the second half, has led to breakthroughs for opponents. 

Lessons from Their Losses/Draws:

• Oldham Athletic (Won 1-0): Showed that patience and finding a late winner can break them down.

• Crewe Alexandra (Drew 2-2): Demonstrated that attacking pressure, particularly in the second half, can force errors and comebacks.

• Chesterfield (Drew 0-0): Proved that strong defensive organization can limit their scoring chances. 

In short: Stop Michael Cheek, resist their early pressure, and maintain high intensity for 90+ minutes

  To beat Bromley FC in the 2025/26 season, teams must exploit their defensive inconsistencies when protecting leads and neutralize their reliance on set-piece goals. Currently sitting 1st in League Two as of February 9, 2026, they have proven exceptionally difficult to break down but remain vulnerable to individual errors and high-intensity attacking pressure. 

 Tactical Strategy

• Exploit "Lead Anxiety": Bromley have a documented history of dropping points after scoring first (26 points dropped in 11 games where they scored the opener last season). If they take a lead, aggressive pressure can force defensive lapses and lapses in focus.

• Force Them Wide: Manager Andy Woodman often utilizes a compact 3-5-2 formation to dominate central areas. Teams that can quickly transition and utilize skilful wingers to stretch the backline horizontally can bypass their mid-block mastery.

• Set-Piece Discipline: Bromley have netted more dead-ball goals than almost any other team in the EFL. Avoiding "cheap" fouls in the final third and maintaining high concentration during corners is critical to preventing their primary route to goal

 

I’ll read that thoroughly later. But not the ideas I heard on Magpie Circle please. Bromley would love it if we were so scared we stopped doing what we’ve been doing all season by playing a back 4 or dropping Macari for Ness. Didn’t we do something similar with Cundy and it was horrible.?

And the great relationship between Tsaroulla and Macari is an asset not something to jettison because we’re scared.

I hope MP and co are working under the assumption that they are just as scared of us and pass on positive vibes to the players. Let’s go there to win

2 hours ago, theAnticlough said:

hope MP and co are working under the assumption that they are just as scared of us and pass on positive vibes to the players. Let’s go there to win

Definitely! Play to our strengths I'm sure will be MP's approach. If it's working, don't fix it .

If Notts can play to their absolute best, they can beat any team in League 2.

I think that Notts need to prepare well, work to getting those injured players fit as soon as they can, & let Bromley worry about what Notts can do to them.

Notts have players of their own who can hurt Bromley. They will be under pressure themselves, being at home, & that could work in Notts favour.

5 hours ago, theAnticlough said:

Bromley would love it if we were so scared we stopped doing what we’ve been doing all season by playing a back 4 or dropping Macari for Ness. Didn’t we do something similar with Cundy and it was horrible?

Spot on, I’ve just looked at the match report from last season: “We lined up in a back four, with Alex Bass protected by Jacob Bedeau, Matty Platt, Robbie Cundy and Lewis Macari”. Also I was reminded of this: “And our shaky start was compounded on six minutes as Bass got his pass into midfield wrong, allowing Thompson to seize possession and beat the goalkeeper with his shot from the edge of the area”. Bromley will press aggressively from the start but no-one has the energy to maintain it for more than 10/15 minutes, but not giving them possession on the edge of our box will be useful! I’m almost certain this is the kind of thing that will be flagged up by our revolutionary technical board.

If we go to Bromley and try to beat them at their game we will lose. I think the big things for me will be to not give away unnecessary set-pieces and work extra hard to stop crosses. Last season we had Jodi, Crowley, Didzy and AJ all in peak form, which helped obviously, but we beat them by getting the ball down and playing round them. Even earlier this season when we were nowhere near the levels we’ve been showing recently, I thought we played well. Crewe went there a couple of matches back and got a 2-2 draw, there’s no reason we can’t get a positive result too.

It’s a dangerous thing to be top of the table too early. Walsall and Gillingham to mention a couple in recent times shows that. Bromley have always been ready to talk about being the “underdog” “punching above their weight “ well being top of the league brings with it a different kind of pressure. They are now the ones to be shot at. When they finally lose their unbeaten record, whether it’s to Notts or someone else, it will be interesting to see how they respond. We should have no fear in playing Bromley, they are just another League 2 team. They are not better than Mk Dons or Swindon who we have already beaten.

I actually don't think we need to win the game, we just need to not lose. Remember top 3 are automatic promotion so who comes 1st is largely irrelevant as far as I'm concerned. As is to be expected a lot of what the google's AI has said is standard generic stuff that could be applied to 99% of teams in 99% of games. We just need to stick to what we do well and focus on ourselves not them. Trying to adapt our game to counter them is a sure way to lose in my opinion, these are League Two players not elite ones so keep it simple.

How to beat Bromley? That’s a very good question to which Sir Jimmy would probably reply “ye need ta score more goals than them, if ye dinee score ya cannae win” or words to that effect, apologies to any Scottish Notts fans.

Seriously, I agree with @Robbie and @McPie we can beat any team and we shouldn’t fear anyone in this division but everyone has to give 100% for 90+ minutes, I’m pretty certain that Martin will have them up for this in spite of the fact he’ll probably say it’s just another game, he knows how important it is.

A bit on personnel - it's time to give Tyrese Hall a rest. His performances have been fading badly and this congested game on their dodgy pitch won't be one for rediscovering your form.

Tangen is new and fresh enough not to realise that Bromley is a tough place to go and he might play with a lot of freedom and beginner's confidence.

I'd also like to see Enoru come on. Their big strong defenders are very much at home battling with traditional centre-forwards. They might not be at home dealing with raw pace coming at them from deep.

The more I think about the game the more apparent the key is whether Norburn is fit or not, he's the domino that would change the team selection.

If hypothetically he isn't fit then Iorpenda likely drops deeper to play alongside Robertson. This then presents the question of whom do you play as the attacking midfielders presuming we don't change shape. I agree with the general consensus that this perhaps isn't the game for Hall but who do you play instead? Tangen looked really good on Saturday but its 45 minutes, his first 45 minutes in some time given he's come from Norway. Do we really want to start someone in this game who isn't yet adapted to the speed and physicality of League Two football?

Is Grant fit? Is it wise to play Enoru in this game, is it his sort of game or is he in the same bucket as Hall. That's before we address the question of his fitness levels given he is also adjusting to life in League Two.

Lot's to ponder for MP, the key is Norburn for me.

Robertson and Iorpenda have proven that they can be a dynamic CM partnership - with mobility and physicality in spades.

I think away to Swindon was one such game, but they had a run of a few.

If it comes to that, MP should show them a video of their best game together and say play like that.

I think Iorpenda & Norburn are our best central midfield pairing at the moment, so I back Martin to choose them in the first 11 against Bromley.

Alternatively, Martin could go for Norburn & Robbo together & Iorpenda at number 10 . Hopefully, they will all be available on Saturday.

I think that it is important for Jatta to play. Hopefully he'll be fit, because he's improved his defensive play & is good around the penalty area for Notts against corners and free kicks.

To beat Bromley in the English football league, you need a patient approach. They often set up in a 3-5-2 or 5-3-2 shape, so you can exploit the wings with wide players and overload the final third. Also, focus on set pieces, since they tend to concede from them, and press early and late to take advantage of their structure. From this our team choice is paramount and the inclusion of players such as Robertson and Iorpenda central with Jodie and Tsaroulla playing wingback, and Norburn in the number 10 role. However the defence is also key and Macari, Platt and Bedeau need to keep playing with the gusto and determination they have over the past six games especially.

You do not win matches by being scared of the other team, and you cannot go into a game afraid to play your own way. At the same time, you cannot simply try to copy their pace. Teams that run too much often fade, so it becomes a matter of control and the chances you create.

Under Martin Paterson we look more polished and less tied to the old habit of trying to control every match in the same routine way. Notts are taking risks that we would not have seen before, when the focus was mainly on staying tight. It is good to see us adapt so well, but the key will still be game management and marking.

Bromley can cause problems in the areas where we are usually weak, which is why I am glad we have James Belshaw. The defence looks more alert and ready to deal with danger. Kelle Roos always seemed to want the team to depend on him, which felt risky.

I hope the match does not turn into an end to end contest, and that fans stay patient. If Notts want to do well, they will need to test Bromley's defence, and working that out during the match is not always pretty. Even so, there is no reason to fear them. We just need to play to our strengths, avoid being soft in 50 50s, and stay physical without picking up needless cards.

I expect Bromley to be physical and to keep the ball in the air in our half rather than on the ground. If we manage their approach, we should be fine.