Cod Almighty | Article
by Richard Hallam
3 December 2021
It looks like a clash between a highly resistable force and a very movable object. Richard fills you in on Dagenham & Redbridge
How are you?
Wrexham are not the only National League club with wealthy American owners? Peter B. Freun, a New Yorker and a minority owner of the New York Yankees owns Dagenham & Redbridge as part of a 7-man consortium which also includes the former Everton and United States goalkeeper Tim Howard. Freun says he likes the National League because money does not guarantee promotion, and that in any case he doesn't want to buy his way to promotion: "We don’t want to be the highest-paying, coddled, elitist club. We want to be gritty, grinding, the hardest-working. Because then it feels better when you get three points."
Since January 2020, the team has been managed by the much-travelled Daryl McMahon.
Long time, no see
The Daggers were formed in 1992 from a merger of the previous clubs Dagenham and Redbridge Forest, paving the way to become only the second club in the top five divisions with an ampersand in their name.
After winning promotion to the Football League in 2010, Dagenham & Redbridge played Town six times in the fourth flight, winning three and drawing three. After that our ways parted: they went up to the third flight when we went down to non-League.
They lasted only one season and 16 April 2016 proved one of the worst times to bea Daggers fan. While our campaign eventually led us back to the Football League, they were sent down in a 3-2 defeat by local rivals Leyton Orient.
In their relatively short existence, Dagenham & Redbridge's record league attendance is just under 5,000 and in 2003 they reached the 4th round of the FA cup losing to Norwich.
How are you feeling?
After losing seven of their last ten league games, the last against Notts County, I cannot avoid writing that the daggers of impatient fans are being sharpened: "Mounting injuries and an inability to defend balls into the box. Play offs are a pipe dream at present... Absolute rubbish. Embarrassing to have a manager on a new deal who refuses to see the problems in this team. Doesn’t matter if you play well, if you can’t do the basics it amounts to shit. Imagine being as arrogant as McMahon. Defending proved to be our downfall again... Even the Notts commentators are saying how bad Daggers have been. Not even one tackle. Daryl out."
Where are you from?
Dagenham is famous for cars, the first Ford vehicle was produced there in 1931 but sadly the last car, a Fiesta rolled off the line in 2002.
Bobby Moore and Ross Kemp come from these parts.
The club has a decent-sized social club which sometimes allows away fans in, so that wont be us then. Research indicates that the availability of pubs in the immediate locality is marginally better than Blundell Park, so perhaps jump off the tube at Barking or stay up West.
You must be so, uniquely sponsored?
West & Co are the Daggers shirt sponsors. They are funeral directors. That’s a first to my knowledge.
Pre-match fact file
Form
Over their last five games, Dagenham & Redbridge have won one more point than we have managed, but they have lost their last three.
Last time
In a first meeting since 2010, Town lost 3-1 at Dagenham in the FA Cup last season. We were crap.
Dangerman
The Daggers current striker, and top scorer with six goals so far this season and 22 from 50 games for the club all together is the former Hammers under-21 player Paul McCallum
Ex-Town threat factor
There are no ex-Town players in the current Dagenham & Redbridge sqaud but Joe Widdowson made 38 appearances for us and 94 for them. The most famous link is Wayne Burnett who spent six years in Dagenham, first as assistant to John Still later as their manager.