Alan Pardew brands Bromley chairman a clown after Woodman's sacking
Alan Pardew has called Bromley chairman Robin Stanton‑Gleaves a clown after the club dismissed manager Andy Woodman on Thursday morning, ending the 55‑year‑old’s five‑and‑a‑half year spell at the club. The decision came after a poor start to the season and has sparked a heated reaction from the former Premier League and EFL boss.
Woodman's five‑and‑a‑half year tenure
During his five‑and‑a‑half years, the 55‑year‑old became the third‑longest serving manager in the EFL and Premier League, thriving until this term. He guided Bromley from non‑league football to League One for the first time, securing two promotions in three seasons and lifting the FA Trophy in 2022 with a win over Wrexham. Throughout his spell the club operated on a League Two budget, yet he still achieved those milestones.
Getty reported that Woodman was dismissed after just ten games this season, despite having delivered two promotions in the previous three seasons.
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Bromley's slide in League One
The Ravens have struggled since their step up to the third tier, losing their last four matches and sitting 23rd in the table. They remain just one point away from safety, a precarious position Woodman said could have been reversed with the return of key players from injury. Operating on a League Two budget in League One has proved a tough financial challenge. Pardew said: “I’m glad you brought it up because he will be our Clown of the Week, that chairman, Robin Stanton‑Gleaves.” Ridiculous. They’re a non‑league team, and Andy Woodman has taken them not just to an FA Trophy final, which they won, but through the National League and into the Football League on a National League budget. After ten games, he dispenses with his services as if to say, ‘Well, it was all about me and nothing to do with Andy Woodman’. It’s an injustice that hurts, and it hurt me yesterday.”
Woodman released a statement via the League Managers Association on Friday, saying he was “greatly disappointed” that his time at Bromley Football Club had ended after five and a half years of continued success. He praised the club’s rise from non‑league to League One and the FA Trophy triumph, and expressed belief that, with the return of injured players, the team could have turned the season around. Woodman thanked the fans, players and staff, and wished the club every success, hoping his successor would share his respect, desire, commitment and ambition.