Home and Away

Dave Roberts was for once almost lost for words as the news sank in. Perennial underachievers Bromley in the vertigo-inducing fifth tier of English football? It was the greatest achievement in the club's 130-year history and by extraordinary coincidence Dave had decided to spend the next 12 months in the UK after an absence of 35 years deciding whether he and his wife Liz could live there. And what better way to explore modern day Blighty than by following a roadmap based on the fixtures in the Vanarama National League? It was like the ultimate package holiday; well for Dave at least. Home and Away takes Dave - and occasionally Liz too - the length and breadth of the land on a journey of discovery with Bromley games thrown in. So from the White Cliffs of Dover and the English Riviera (Torquay) through the timeless charm of the Cotswolds (Forest Green Cheltenham) to towns steeped in history (Lincoln Chester) faded seaside resorts (Southport Barrow) and fallen giants of the game (Grimsby Wrexham Tranmere - OK pushing it there) the season unfolds and the ultimate 'home or away' decision approaches. Against the odds the season also proves not to be full of the endless disappointments football fans are conditioned to expect. Unfancied Bromley are on a mission they have a man called Moses up front and the promised land of the Football League might not be beyond their capabilities...