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Russell Bromage

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Russell Bromage
Personal information
Full name Russell Bromage[1]
Date of birth (1959-11-09) 9 November 1959 (age 65)
Place of birth Blurton, Stoke-on-Trent, England[2]
Height 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)[3]
Position(s) Wing-back
Youth career
1976–1977 Port Vale
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1977–1987 Port Vale 347 (13)
1983 → Oldham Athletic (loan) 2 (0)
1987–1990 Bristol City 46 (1)
1990–1991 Brighton & Hove Albion 1 (0)
1990–1991 → Maidstone United (loan) 3 (0)
1994–1995 Southwick
1995–1996 Littlehampton Town
1996–1999 Shoreham
2007–2008 Whitehawk 8 (0)
Total 407+ (14+)
Managerial career
1994–1995 Southwick[4]
1995–1996 Littlehampton Town[5]
1997–1999 Shoreham (joint)
2007–2008 Whitehawk
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Russell Bromage (born 9 November 1959) is an English former footballer who played as a wing-back. In a fourteen-year career in the Football League he made 400 league appearances, scoring 14 goals.

Bromage spent ten years with Port Vale from 1977 to 1987, winning the club's Player of the Year award in 1980–81, and being named on the PFA Team of the Year (Fourth Division) in 1982–83 and 1984–85, as the club were promoted out of the Fourth Division in 1982–83 and 1985–86. He played 402 games for the club in all competitions, scoring 15 goals. He also spent a brief part of 1983 on loan at Oldham Athletic. He was sold on to Bristol City for £25,000 in August 1987, helping the club to win promotion out of the Third Division in 1989–90. He moved on to Brighton & Hove Albion for a one-season spell in 1990–91, in which he was loaned out to Maidstone United. He later entered Sussex non-League football with Southwick, Littlehampton Town, Shoreham and Whitehawk.

Career

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Port Vale

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Bromage joined the Port Vale youth team on account of his father, who supported the club.[6] He joined as an apprentice after leaving school and was named on the substitute's bench in the Debenhams Cup of the 1976–77 season, but was not played by manager Roy Sproson.[6] Bromage signed professional forms in October 1977, with the club in the Third Division and under the management of Bobby Smith. Bromage made his first-team debut in a 1–1 draw at Bradford City on 8 March 1978.[6] He made eight appearances in the 1977–78 season as the club were relegated into the Fourth Division. He then scored on the first day of the 1978–79 season in a 2–2 draw with Scunthorpe United and then found the net again in a 3–1 win at Doncaster Rovers on 12 September. He finished 1978–79 with two goals in twenty games.

Bromage made thirty appearances in 1979–80. After being a fringe player under Dennis Butler and Alan Bloor, he established himself in the first team under John McGrath. He again scored past Doncaster Rovers, adding the third of a 3–0 win at Vale Park in the last match of the season. He went on to score five goals in 52 appearances in 1980–81, finding the net in a League Cup clash with Tranmere Rovers, before bagging a brace in the league against Tranmere, and adding to his tally with strikes against Bradford City and Hartlepool United. He moved from midfield to left full-back, and with his performances there, he was voted Player of the Year by the club's supporters.[7][8] He sued the £300 prize money to take himself and teammates Phil Sproson, Neville Chamberlain, Mark Chamberlain and Andy Higgins on holiday to Corfu.[6]

He made another 54 appearances in 1981–82, before he helped the "Valiants" to promotion in 1982–83 with 2 goals in 49 games. He was selected in the PFA Team of the Year for 1982–83, along with teammates Phil Sproson, Geoff Hunter, and Steve Fox.[9] He served as club captain and was rated as an excellent captain by teammate Robbie Earle.[10]

However, he refused to sign a new contract for the 1983–84 season, as did teammates Geoff Hunter, Barry Siddall, and Terry Armstrong.[9] He eventually walked out on the club. He played two Second Division games for Oldham Athletic in October.[9] However, he returned to Vale Park in November and agreed to sign a new contract.[9] He went on to finish the campaign with 42 appearances, scoring one goal against Wigan Athletic, as the club were relegated under new manager John Rudge.

Bromage posted 46 appearances in 1984–85, finding the net in a league win over Stockport County and an FA Cup victory over Scunthorpe United. His consistency won him a place on the PFA Team of the Year for a second time. He won his second promotion with the club in 1985–86, posting 51 appearances and scoring one goal, again against Scunthorpe. The 1986–87 campaign would be his last with the club, and he played 51 games, scoring one goal in a defeat at Walsall. He played 402 games for the club in all competitions, scoring 15 goals. His ten-year testimonial match was held against rivals Stoke City on 13 April 1986, Vale lost the game 1–0.[11]

Bristol City

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Bromage was sold to Terry Cooper's Bristol City for £25,000 (and Lawrie Pearson) in August 1987.[12] City reached the Third Division play-offs in 1987–88, however, lost out to Walsall in the final. An eleventh-place finish followed in 1988–89, before promotion was finally won under Joe Jordan in 1989–90, as City finished in second place, two points behind rivals Bristol Rovers. However, Bromage was sidelined for 13 months after undergoing surgery on both of his Achilles heels.[13] In all he played 46 league games for the club, scoring one goal.

Later career

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Bromage joined Barry Lloyd's Second Division Brighton & Hove Albion for the 1990–91 season, having been offered a two-year contract despite his long lay-off with injury.[13] He played only one game in the club's run to the play-off final. He instead joined Fourth Division Maidstone United on loan, playing three games.[14]

Bromage later served Southwick as a player-manager and Littlehampton Town as player-manager. He also played for Shoreham,[15] before being appointed joint manager with John Byrne in August 1997.[16] The pair managed the Sussex County League side for two seasons.[17] Bromage was appointed player-manager of Whitehawk for the 2007–08 season[18] and oversaw a second-place finish in the Sussex County League.[19]

Style of play

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Bromage was a left-footed attacking wing-back.[20]

Later life

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After retiring from football, Bromage moved to Shoreham-by-Sea and briefly worked as a financial adviser before he set up a window cleaning business.[2][13] He also worked for Opta Sports providing reports on match-days.[2] He is married with two adult sons, both of whom spent time at the Brighton & Hove Albion Academy.[20][13]

Career statistics

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Source:[21]

Club Season Division League FA Cup Other Total
Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Port Vale 1977–78 Third Division 6 0 0 0 0 0 6 0
1978–79 Fourth Division 20 2 0 0 1 0 21 2
1979–80 Fourth Division 29 1 0 0 1 0 30 1
1980–81 Fourth Division 45 4 5 0 2 1 52 5
1981–82 Fourth Division 45 0 5 0 4 0 54 0
1982–83 Fourth Division 46 2 1 0 2 0 49 2
1983–84 Third Division 38 1 0 0 1 0 39 1
1984–85 Third Division 37 1 3 1 6 0 46 2
1985–86 Fourth Division 40 1 4 0 7 0 51 1
1986–87 Third Division 41 1 2 0 8 0 51 1
Total 347 13 20 1 35 1 402 15
Oldham Athletic (loan) 1983–84 Second Division 2 0 0 0 0 0 2 0
Bristol City 1987–88 Third Division 30 0 2 0 5 0 37 0
1988–89 Third Division 13 1 0 0 3 0 16 1
1989–90 Third Division 3 0 0 0 0 0 3 0
Total 46 1 2 0 8 0 56 1
Brighton & Hove Albion 1990–91 Second Division 1 0 0 0 1 0 2 0
Maidstone United (loan) 1990–91 Fourth Division 3 0 0 0 0 0 3 0
Whitehawk 2007–08 Sussex County League
Division One 		8 0 0 0 0 0 8 0
Career total 407 14 22 1 44 1 473 16

Honours

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Individual

Port Vale

Bristol City

References

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  1. ^ "Russell Bromage". Barry Hugman's Footballers. Retrieved 9 March 2017.
  2. ^ a b c Baggaley, Michael (26 October 2013). "Rampant Vale shine for window-cleaner Russ". The Sentinel.
  3. ^ Rollin, Jack (1980). Rothmans football yearbook. London: Queen Anne Press. p. 299. ISBN 0362020175. Retrieved 14 April 2020.
  4. ^ Matchday programme Whitehawk v Southwick, Sussex County League Division 1, 8 March 1995
  5. ^ Matchday programme Littlehampton Town v Whitehawk, FA Vase, 28 October 1995
  6. ^ a b c d "The Russell Bromage Interview (Part 1)". The Vale Park Beano. 67.
  7. ^ a b Kent, Jeff (1990). The Valiants' Years: The Story of Port Vale. Witan Books. p. 305. ISBN 0-9508981-4-7.
  8. ^ Sentinel Football Annual 1981–82. p. 19.
  9. ^ a b c d e f Kent, Jeff (1990). "From Rags to Riches (1979–1990)". The Valiants' Years: The Story of Port Vale. Witan Books. pp. 258–290. ISBN 0-9508981-4-7.
  10. ^ Earle, Robbie (13 May 2020). "'You were shaking in your boots' – Robbie Earle on what makes good captain". Stoke Sentinel. Retrieved 14 May 2020.
  11. ^ Kent, Jeff (November 1998). The Potteries Derbies. Witan Books. p. 177. ISBN 0-9529152-3-5.
  12. ^ Kent, Jeff (1996). Port Vale Personalities. Witan Books. p. 43. ISBN 0-9529152-0-0.
  13. ^ a b c d "The Russell Bromage Interview (Part 1)". The Vale Park Beano. 69.
  14. ^ "Stats". neilbrown.newcastlefans.com. Retrieved 24 October 2011.
  15. ^ Official match day programme, Shoreham v Whitehawk 15 March 1997
  16. ^ Official match day programme, Shoreham v Whitehawk 19 August 1997
  17. ^ Official match day programme, Whitehawk v Shoreham 13 February 1999
  18. ^ Whitehawk match day programme v Shoreham 12 April 2008
  19. ^ "Whitehawk". non-leagueclubdirectory.co.uk. Retrieved 14 January 2016.
  20. ^ a b official matchday programme Port Vale v Cambridge United (PDF). 27 February 2021. p. 47. Retrieved 20 August 2023.
  21. ^ Russell Bromage at the English National Football Archive (subscription required)
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