César Machena

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11 Apr 2028
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Marked for César Machena

37 Edition

The Bromley Courier

12 Apr 2027
From our football correspondent Crisis

Squad12 Apr 2027

A falling-out at Bromley

Ezra Mayers and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.

Squad12 Apr 2027

A move Gonzalo Gallardo would have made for nothing

There is a version of every career where the player ends up somewhere he chose rather than somewhere that chose him. Gonzalo Gallardo is living that version at Bromley, and it tends to show in the first month.

Match10 Apr 2027

A bad afternoon for Bromley against Notts County

1‑3 to Notts County, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.

Squad12 Apr 2027

A row about effort at Bromley

Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Shilow Tracey was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.

Squad12 Apr 2027

César Machena stays put

“The easiest signature of my career.” César Machena and Bromley agree another 1 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.

The dugout12 Apr 2027

James Wood faces the questions

“We were not good enough today and I am not going to dress it up.” James Wood after 1‑3, in the tone of a man who knows the next question and does not intend to answer it.

The dugout12 Apr 2027

No hiding place for Nicke Kabamba

“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Nicke Kabamba, and the manager let it.

The dugout12 Apr 2027

The plan did not have a place for Kieran Green

Nobody at Bromley is suggesting he is out of form. The manager simply wanted somebody with a different set of qualities for ninety specific minutes, and there is nothing a player can train to fix that.

Player ratings12 Apr 2027

Carlos Richards beats them one at a time

Successful dribbles: 12. There was always a defender in front of him and there was never a defender in front of him for long.

In brief

Back issues
35 Edition

The Bromley Courier

29 Mar 2027
From our football correspondent Upbeat

Squad29 Mar 2027

Tempers go at Bromley

Ezra Mayers was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.

Squad29 Mar 2027

The step up is real for Carlos Richards

At 21 he is doing things this season that he could not do last season, and doing them every week. Form comes and goes; this has stayed long enough to be called something else.

Squad29 Mar 2027

A row about effort at Bromley

Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Admir Bristrić was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.

Squad29 Mar 2027

César Machena is not the player he was

It happens to all of them and it is still the hardest paragraph a local paper has to write. 38 years old, 3 points down on where he was, and a body that has started charging interest on a career.

The dugout29 Mar 2027

No hiding place for Corey Whitely

“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Corey Whitely, and the manager let it.

Looking ahead29 Mar 2027

Shilow Tracey goes back to face Shrewsbury Town

Every squad has one of these fixtures for somebody every season. This one is Shilow Tracey’s: the club that knew him first, the supporters who will decide in the first minute whether to applaud, and Bromley needing him to play as if none of it matters.

The dugout29 Mar 2027

A door opens for Alfie Marriott

He asked about his future and was given an answer with minutes in it. The manager has now made a promise in a building where promises are remembered, and the clock on it has started.

The dugout29 Mar 2027

Mitch Pinnock asks for a word with the manager

“I would rather say it to his face than read about it.” The meeting was requested by the player, which tells you most of what you need to know.

Looking ahead29 Mar 2027

Looking ahead: the trip to Shrewsbury Town

Position 16 for the hosts, a long journey for the away end, and a fixture that will look ordinary on paper right up until it is not.

In brief

  • The dugout The manager comes out for Benoît Costil
  • Match Nothing left to play for but pride at Bromley
20 Edition

The Bromley Courier

14 Dec 2026
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Squad14 Dec 2026

A fracture rules Carl Jenkinson out for 65 days

Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Bromley will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.

Squad14 Dec 2026

Benoît Costil stands alone

6 saves, and a scoreline the ten men in front of him had no right to. Goalkeepers only get noticed on the bad days; this was one of the other ones.

Match12 Dec 2026

The wait goes on for Bromley

4 without a win now, and the ground has developed the special quiet of a crowd that expects the worst. One scrappy 1-0 would cure most of it; that is the maddening part.

Squad14 Dec 2026

Ezra Mayers in a row with a teammate

It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Bromley this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Squad14 Dec 2026

Real improvement from Tade Ibrahim at Bromley

Form comes and goes; this has not gone. Tade Ibrahim is 19, and the version of him training now would not have got into the side he was in a year ago.

Player ratings14 Dec 2026

Mickel Miller runs at them all day

Successful dribbles: 21. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.

The dugout14 Dec 2026

The manager makes an example of Janoi Donacien

“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.

Match12 Dec 2026

Admir Bristrić rescues a point for Bromley

It needed Admir Bristrić to find the net to bring anything home at all: 1‑1 against Notts County, and half the dressing room will call it a point won.

The dugout14 Dec 2026

James Wood on the point

“A point is a point and I will take it, but we should have had all three.” James Wood after the 1‑1 draw, and the sentence every manager in the country said at some stage this weekend.

In brief

12 Edition

The Bromley Courier

19 Oct 2026
From our football correspondent Crisis

Squad19 Oct 2026

124 days out for Carl Jenkinson after a fracture

A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Bromley will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.

Squad19 Oct 2026

The knee: Paul Maisonneuve out for 42 days

42 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Bromley lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.

Squad19 Oct 2026

The step up is real for Ezra Mayers

At 19 he is doing things this season that he could not do last season, and doing them every week. Form comes and goes; this has stayed long enough to be called something else.

Match17 Oct 2026

Colchester United take the points off Bromley

Beaten 0‑2, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.

The dugout19 Oct 2026

No hiding place for Admir Bristrić

“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Admir Bristrić, and the manager let it.

Squad19 Oct 2026

The decline has begun for César Machena

Everybody saw it before anybody said it. At 37 the numbers say 3 points down on what he was, and the question for Bromley is how to handle a man they owe a great deal.

The dugout19 Oct 2026

James Wood: “No excuses”

“I could talk about decisions and I could talk about luck. I will not. We lost.” The manager, 0‑2, and a press conference that lasted four minutes.

The dugout19 Oct 2026

Bromley pick somebody else ahead of Alfie Marriott

There is no complaint available here and everybody involved knows it, which does not make the walk to the bench any shorter. Form is the only currency in football that cannot be borrowed against.

The dugout19 Oct 2026

The plan did not have a place for Reuben Amissah

Nobody at Bromley is suggesting he is out of form. The manager simply wanted somebody with a different set of qualities for ninety specific minutes, and there is nothing a player can train to fix that.

In brief

11 Edition

The Bromley Courier

12 Oct 2026
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Squad12 Oct 2026

Carl Jenkinson breaks a bone — 132 days out

Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 132 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.

Squad12 Oct 2026

A knee injury of the worst kind for Paul Maisonneuve

50 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Bromley lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.

Squad12 Oct 2026

Tempers go at Bromley

Richard Taylor was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.

Squad12 Oct 2026

Real improvement from Carlos Richards at Bromley

Form comes and goes; this has not gone. Carlos Richards is 21, and the version of him training now would not have got into the side he was in a year ago.

The dugout12 Oct 2026

A promise honoured at Bromley

Something was said to Admir Bristrić and then it happened. In this industry that passes for remarkable, and the dressing room noticed faster than any supporter could.

The dugout12 Oct 2026

The manager makes an example of Soul Kader

“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.

Market12 Oct 2026

Bromley bring in an old head

César Machena is 37 and has run out of things to prove. What he has left is where to stand, when to slow it down and what to say at half-time, and none of that is on a fitness chart.

Looking ahead12 Oct 2026

Nicke Kabamba goes back to face Colchester United

Every squad has one of these fixtures for somebody every season. This one is Nicke Kabamba’s: the club that knew him first, the supporters who will decide in the first minute whether to applaud, and Bromley needing him to play as if none of it matters.

The dugout12 Oct 2026

A door opens for Byron Webster

He asked about his future and was given an answer with minutes in it. The manager has now made a promise in a building where promises are remembered, and the clock on it has started.

In brief