THE BLUES
Happy New Year everybody, no really. What's strange at the moment is how many players are all out of form at the same time, has Adam had such a bad run since he joined the club? However, there are no points at stake on Saturday so let's hope the players respond with an improved performance.
Of course the loss of
We've had a great run under T&B, more great memories over the last four years than most of my previous 36 supporting this club, and I certainly believe they have some credit in the bank for all the good work they've done in turning things around on the pitch. Tilly has to show some real man management here with the squad he's got and make some tough decisions, the continuing decline of captain Kev being the main one, but some good old fashioned luck in front of goal would not do any harm. Chances are being made.
When that ball hits the net at the right end, which it most certainly will, the final whistle blows to signal a Southend victory, which, I exclusively forecast, will happen in 2008, the moment will be one to particularly savour, as it is for all supporters of all sides in a bad run. Crap happens guys.
Nobody is hiding away from what we have had to put up with. The main
strength of all Tilly's sides, quick and precise passing and movement on and off the ball, went AWOL on Tuesday. Yet I'm prepared to dig deep, turn up, and support the team positively, well I have got a season ticket. COME ON YOU BLUES!!!!
THE OPPOSITION
Struggling in 21st place in League Two only five points from the bottom two, Daggers are finding it tough after their promotion from the Conference last May. Southend will be expected to win but with the forwards struggling to find the net this could be a tougher match than anyone at the Hall would like.
Injuries have taken their toll, but John Still's side are convinced they can upset Southend (from John Azielwood, Sunday Times, December 30)
"THIS," sighs Dagenham & Redbridge manager John Still, "is as bad as it gets. Things cannot possibly get worse." "This" turns out to be a wretched run of form which, until last Saturday's 2-0 win against Bury, had seen the Football League rookies record one league victory since the first week of October and a run of injuries that is ravaging a squad that is tiny even by League Two standards. The minor miracle is that they kicked off at
"I've never known so many problems with injuries anywhere I've been," captain Anwar Uddin added. "Everything is going against us, from late goals to penalties. They say that over a season, things even out. If that's the case, I can't wait for the second half of the season."
It wasn't meant to be like this, even for a club sponsored by their local funeral directors. In May, they steamed to the Conference title, finishing 14 points ahead of second placed Oxford United, a towering achievement for a club formed as recently as 1992, when Dagenham FC merged with
Still's playing career was ended by a knee injury after one appearance as Orient's centre-half against Torquay United in 1967, but this is both his second stint as manager at Victoria Road and his second ascension to the Football League. Back in 1989, he managed Maidstone United to the then Fourth Division, only to depart before they kicked a league football, preferring not to swap his day job as a salesman for the perils of full-time football management. Then, he took
As befits a club run and financed by members rather than a board, finances are stable but tight. They travel to away games by train and their wages are among the lowest in the land. And yet, there is hope. Still, who signed a four-year contract in November, smiles. "This club is more than a job to me. It's a massive part of my life. I look at the frustrations and turn them into positives. This has been a fantastic journey, and if we're where we are now at the end of the season, we're not going down."
Uddin started his career at West Ham, growing up alongside Joe Cole, Michael Carrick, Rio Ferdinand and Frank Lampard. Since then, they have kept in contact, although careers have diverged. Even after a fruitless spell at
Uddin oozes leadership from every pore. Moreover, his Bangladeshi roots make him the League's first Asian-English captain. Last month, he met Prince Charles at a ceremony for Asian high achievers. "Whether I like it or not, I'm an ambassador for the Asian community," he explains. "Racially, this country has changed so much for the better in the past five years and football is at the forefront of it. I'm the captain of a great club and I'm in the spotlight, so it's up to me to be shown in a good light and counter the minority who have stereotypical or racist or biased views. It was beautiful to see Charles recognising the Asian contribution to British society."
Uddin's rhetoric and commitment are almost Churchillian. "I'm back home in the Football League and I'm not going anywhere. I love it and it makes me feel alive. When the chips are down, you've got to stand up: if one of my teammates scores an own goal, I score an own goal; if they make a mistake I make a mistake. We're all level-headed, we've all got our feet on the ground because we're not on great money, we haven't got flashy cars and beautiful houses. We're just ordinary people given a great chance and we're going to make the most of it. Whatever gets thrown at us, we'll deal with it." And that comes in the shape of a trip to Southend in the third round of the FA Cup next Saturday. "For us, Southend are the next best thing to a Premier League side, but for them it's the worst draw imaginable," said Uddin. "The bookies will have them as favourites, but on our day we can turn massive teams over." (Thanks for calling us massive.)
Dagenham 1 Brentford 2; Two-goal hero Glenn Poole bagged the points for Brentford against sorry Dagenham & Redbridge at
Daggers midfield Glen Southam shot straight at keeper Ben Hamer in the 33rd minute after dribbling through the Bees' defence. Gary Smith should have doubled Brentford's lead in the 36th minute but pulled his shot wide from point-blank range after slipping behind the Daggers defence. The home side had a lucky escape minutes later when Roberts tipped an audacious Ross Montague lob over the bar.
Dagenham hit back with a sucker punch in the 47th minute when Strevens thundered in his third goal in two games, after pouncing on a loose ball on the edge of the Bees' box. The Daggers should have made it two in the 61st minute when Strevens played Sam Sloma into space, only for the winger to slice his cross over the bar. Sloma missed the target again in the 65th minute when he fired wide from 15 yards after latching on to a clever Southam through ball.
Dagenham and Redbridge; Roberts, Foster , Uddin, Okuonghae (Boardman 81), Griffiths, Saunders, Huke, Southam, Sloma (Green 72), Strevens, Nurse.
Subs Not Used: Thompson,
THE MATCHES
7 matches played, all in cup games, so we tend to play them around this time of year, (against various versions of the team, see history): WON 6
DRAWN 1 LOST 0.
The JPT game, draw or defeat, discuss? (I stick to the result at the end of the actual game rule but some may differ.)
The 1-0 cup win in 1970 I bizarrely missed as a mate who supported Man. Utd., yes they were around even then, coaxed me into a coach being run by the owner of the West Road Westcliff fish and chip shop, the one I fell into a bush outside after a last minute Good Friday win v Sheffield United while sharing a bottle of Pernod, but that's another story, who was also a Man. U. fan, to the Manchester derby game being played that day. (For the record Man. City won 4-1 at Old Trafford, he he, notable for a tackle by George Best that broke the leg of City defender Glyn Pardoe, the severity of which almost resulted in the City defender losing his leg! Always a card that George, mine's a pint.)
By the way we then lost 0-3 at home to a high flying Carlisle team at home in the third round in front of over 16,000. That Welsh keeper we had making a prize cock up, not for the first time, for their opening goal if I remember correctly.
Tue. Sep. 4 2007 Home JPTR1 2-2 Foran, McCormack. (Lost 6-7 on penalties.)
Sat. Dec. 14 1974 Away FACR2 2-0 Townsend, Guthrie.
Sat. Dec. 12 1970 Home FACR2 1-0 Best
Fri. Dec. 10 1937 Away FACR2 1-0 Bolan
Sat. Nov. 9 1912 Away FACQ2 5-0
Sat. Nov. 21 1908 Away FACQ3 3-1
Sat. Nov. 16 1907 Home FACQ2 3-1
THE HISTORY
The club can trace its origins back to four amateur clubs: Ilford (formed in 1881), Leytonstone (1886),
In 1979 Ilford and Leytonstone merged to become Leytonstone/Ilford, and in 1988 they absorbed the struggling
The club was relegated to the Isthmian League's Premier Division in 1996, but won promotion in 2000, going on to establish itself as one of the strongest club's in the Conference, finishing 3rd, 2nd and 5th in its first three seasons following promotion. The club was only narrowly beaten to the title by Boston United in 2002.
The following season (2002/03) saw Daggers finish 5th, which was good enough to qualify for the first ever Conference playoffs. After beating Morecambe in the second semi-final on penalties, having drawn on aggregate, the club faced Doncaster Rovers in the final. Despite coming back from 0-2 down to 2-2 they lost the game to a golden goal in extra time.
The Daggers then declined somewhat, finishing the next three seasons in mid-table. In fact, on Feb. 27 2004, the club were beaten 0-9 at home by Hereford United, equalling the highest winning/losing scoreline in the Conference, made worse by the game being shown live on Sky!
The 2006/07 season saw Dagenham and Redbridge battle it out with Oxford United, who had raced ahead in the first half of the season, were then drawn back by a collapse in form along with an excellent run by the Daggers. On April 7 2007 they beat
Daggers played their first ever match in Football League Two on August 11 2007, which was a 0-1 defeat to
The self styled "Pub Team from
The Daggers collected their first away win in the league, and their first away goal, on September 29 2007 at Mansfield 1-0, Shane Huke the now legendary scorer.
(Thanks to all the usual suspects for their help with this article).