A local lad whose career demonstrates the highs and lows of professional football, Louis Dennis is back plying his trade at Bromley Football Club after spells at numerous local clubs.
Early career
Louis Dennis was born in Hendon, northwest London, and joined Watford’s youth set up at the age of 10. Louis spent six years at Watford before being released at 16.
A move to Dagenham & Redbridge would see him start a two-year scholarship and sign his first professional contract. Dennis played for the side’s various youth teams during his scholarship, a start to his career where he would go on to make eight appearances for the first team across a four-year spell at the East London club.
Minutes on loan
Like most young footballers, a series of loan spells were a way for Dennis to gain experience of first-team men’s football. Dennis’s first loan was at Southern League Division One side Bedfont Town where he made 11 appearances and netted four times. Once the short loan spell was over, Dagenham sent him back on loan to Kent side Welling United, where he failed to make any appearances.
Isthmian Division One North side Grays Athletic signed the forward on a season-long loan for the 2011/2012 season. He made his debut in the FA Cup and scored his first FA Cup goal in a 3-2 win away to AFC Dunstable, scoring from close range. A week later he made his league debut for the club after his impressing the coaching staff. A week later, another impressive display resulted in a 4-0 home win, where Louis scored his first league goal for the club.
Joy
Louis continued to find the back of the net for the Essex side, as he scored the winner in an Essex derby against Brentwood Town to the joy of the home fans. He scored four more times for Grays before returning to Dagenham in March 2012 after he sustained an Achilles injury. Louis ended his Grays career with seven goals in 28 appearances.
Canvey Island would be the next side to sign Louis on loan, this time for a shorter a period, one month. He bagged three goals in nine starts and extended his loan for another month. He scored two more times for the club before his loan spell came to an end.
Return to Dagenham
Louis signed a two-and-a-half-year deal when he returned to the Daggers in January 2013, an extension which would see him at the club until 2015. Shortly after signing the contract, he made his football league debut in a 1-0 defeat to Wycombe Wanderers, coming off the bench. He went on to make six appearances that season, a majority of those coming as a sub, as the club narrowly escaped relegation from the football league on the final day.
A new manager was appointed for the 2013-14 season, and Louis bagged his only goal for the club in the Football League Trophy. The loan spells weren’t over however, as he spent one month at Hayes and Yeading, making only three appearances, before returning to the Daggers in December 2013. A month later he was released after his contract was terminated by mutual consent.
Bromley
Dennis went on to spend four years at Hayes Lane for the then Conference South side Bromley. He helped the Ravens win promotion to the Conference Premier (now the National League) in his first full season at the club in 2015.
He is well known among Bromley fans for the part he played in the run to Wembley in 2017/18, when Bromley reached the FA Trophy final, narrowly losing on penalties to Brackley Town. Two brilliant strikes in the semi-final first leg, and various outstanding performances in the league caught the eye of many football league clubs.
Football League experience
A few days after the FA Trophy final defeat, Louis joined Portsmouth on a free transfer. A two-year deal which wouldn’t bring much luck to Dennis, as he made very little impact at the former Premier League club due to lack of game time.
Another East London club, Leyton Orient, came calling for his services where he was unable to make an impact. Louis only bagged two goals for the club.
Return to Bromley
Louis returned to Bromley where in his first spell had netted 35 times in 134 appearances, and had become a club hero to the fans, who even had a chant for the forward. In his first season in his second spell at the club, he reached Wembley, this time being an unused sub but being victorious as Bromley edged out Wrexham 1-0 to claim his first honour as a professional footballer.