Bromley goalkeeper Grant Smith looked ahead to his side’s trip to Newcastle United by looking back on his journey so far, as reported by The Mirror.
Smith helped Bromley achieve Football League status for the very first time last season and has his eyes on a giant-killing today.
From Humble Beginnings
Smith recalls how he ‘felt like a millionaire’ when receiving his £175 a week cash payment at Bognor Regis Town, ironically in a week where the owners of his opponents have taken their investment in the Magpies to a whopping £657 million.
The 31-year-old suffered rejection at Brighton and Hove Albion as a young player and embarked on a non-league career with the likes of Hayes and Yeadong, Bognor Regis and Boreham Wood before a Football League chance came calling.
Lincoln City brought Smith in as an understudy to Josh Vickers during their League Two winning campaign and he made 16 appearances for the Impa that season.
Since leaving Lincoln, Smith has represented Chesterfield, Wealdstone and Yeovil Town before ending up at Bromley and working under former Newcastle coach Andy Woodman.
The journey makes the promotion-winning goalie grateful for what he has now.
“It’s made me grateful for what I do now and to be playing for Andy Woodman, a manager who was a goalkeeper himself. He understands how difficult the role can be, as well as being the first to know when you make a mistake.”
A Shock In Store?
Of course, Smith and his Bromley teammates are under no illusion as to the size of the task at hand. Newcastle United sit fifth in the Premier League, has a squad worth hundreds of millions of pounds and is in desperate need of some success.
“We’ve known, since the draw was made, that we’re going to be up against it – and that’s an understatement. But at our team meeting earlier, the manager reminded us that every season in the FA Cup third round, there’s one team who cause an upset… and why shouldn’t it be us this year?”
“There will be black and white stripes everywhere we look, but as the manager said: Why shouldn’t it be us to upset the odds?”
Writer’s View
Smith’s journey working part-time to fund his football and now getting ready to face Newcastle is one of the stories that people love about the FA Cup.
Their chances may be slim this afternoon but Bromley will be hoping to follow Cambridge United’s lead of knocking Eddie Howe’s side out at the third round stage.