Andy Woodman has already been warned how lethal Newcastle United can be under Eddie Howe with even his wife issuing FA Cup caution ahead of Bromley’s dream trip to St James’ Park.
The League Two boss has guided his team from the non-league circuit into English football’s elite 92 club via Wembley but now gets an incredible chance to pull off one of the biggest shocks in cup history. Woodman’s Bromley side arrive on Gallowgate on the back of a 4-1 defeat against Crewe last weekend and have been handed odds as long as 20/1 to win.
The Magpies, on the other hand, are on a seven-game winning streak and have just beaten Arsenal, Spurs, and Man United, all away from home. Woodman told Chronicle Live: “I was at a game the other night watching Wimbledon vs Gillingham, and my wife was watching Man United v Newcastle.
“And she kept texting saying: ‘Oh my God Newcastle are unbelievable!’ She didn’t make me feel much better! Look, I say it on record: if Newcastle played their Under-18s against us, it would still be a tough game!”
Eddie Howe though has respect for Woodman and knows that nothing is a given in the FA Cup. His first taste of the competition as Newcastle boss resulted in a 1-0 defeat to Cambridge at St James’ Park.
Woodman said: “Look, we will need all the stars aligned and all the luck in the world for it to go our way. I am certainly not going to show any disrespect to the staff at Newcastle like some lower league teams draw a big side (like Stevenage in 1998), there will be none of that from me.
“I am clinging on to one thing as manager of Bromley. Every year there is a surprise victory, a cup shock, I just hope the stars do align and it can be Bromley.”
Win, lose or draw it promises to be a day to remember for Woodman and while his team occupy a mid-table slot in League Two the journey the ex-Toon keeper coach is on is the stuff of dreams.
Woodman told me: “For Newcastle supporters to see the context of it and what’s happened at Bromley, it’s basically like taking over at Spennymoor, and I mean that with the utmost respect, and taking them into the EFL, and now Spennymoor playing Newcastle at St James’ Park in the FA Cup!
“It’s really like that. It has been a brilliant ride. People thought I was absolutely crackers leaving Arsenal to become manager of Bromley. I just felt it was my one chance to show that I could manage.
“I was confident I could do it, I have worked with some good managers, and I thought it was my chance to have a go. It has been nothing but successful so I am really chuffed and hopefully we can keep that going.”
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