Just around the time when increasingly disillusioned Daggers supporters would have preparing to wind down for the proverbial calm before an almighty storm unleashed upon us by rampant table-toppers Notts County the next day, came some news as spontaneously shocking as it was wholly relieving.
A club statement announcing the much-heralded departure of Daryl McMahon amid the latest wave of amplified pressure towards him, generated more through desperation than legitimate belief that it would eventually yield the desired outcome. Such had been the inescapable cycle which every supporter could anticipate the repetitive trajectory of, that this moment seemed like it would never arrive. Let alone at near enough 10pm on the eve of a game he has had time to prepare for, having just overseen the very kind of victory invariably unearthed to punctuate a dismal run and consequentially buy a stay of execution under the misguided illusion that something had or was on the verge of improving. The whole saga was extremely disillusioning, guaranteeing the club would stagnate in its own mediocrity further still. I discussed that very notion in a piece about the necessity to part company with McMahon less than a fortnight ago, which now serves to retrospectively foreshadow his long overdue departure due to the unaddressed problems explored within. Yet, for all the supporter clamour for him to go, crucially the owners have finally reached the same point of having no faith that one mere victory following prolonged atrocity would be the catalyst for a run towards where we ought to be. Watching another underwhelming season dissipate into nothingness, before a belated but unsuccessful run invariably creates the misguided illusion there is a platform to build on as next year will finally be ours, is something they do not wish to go through the emotional torture of experiencing again. After all, doing the same thing over and over is a famous definition of insanity. Make no mistake, they would have found it equally frustrating to us fans, especially having given the club nothing but wholehearted backing since taking over. Their persistence with who they thought was the right man is far from a negative trait, in fact admirable in many ways within a footballing ecosystem that so often the opposite, but exceeded logic on this occasion because there was little to suggest anything would come from it. Albeit belatedly, at least action has finally been taken at a period where it is still possible to resurrect our season in proportion to its pre-established ambitions. Pleasurable though it would have been for this side fulfil their potential under Daryl - supporters would have loved nothing more than to be proven wrong - we had seen more than enough to realise that was simply never going to happen, certainly not in a time frame consummate to the financial investment provided anyway. Thus, the only way to punctuate the cycle was by dispensing with the man perpetuating it. While this decision should not evoke too much celebration due to ultimately being a reflection upon our persistent failure, there certainly feels a renewed sense of hope following the news. For it feels like we have a new lease of life now, which may not manifest at Meadow Lane but promises a better future beyond so long as we can get the replacement right. After not seeing the desired progress during three years so far, the upcoming decision becomes the biggest they have made here so extreme diligence is required. That's not to say McMahon was a bad appointment at the time, as supporters were certainly optimistic, however this one cannot afford to go the same way. To not mention the fleeting good times would be remiss; he masterminded some phenomenal performances like the ones that comfortably dismantled last season's top two in Stockport County and Wrexham respectively, the former a truly memorable day following the football club. Chesterfield away a few months ago was fantastic, too, although that it came after a horrendous battering at the hands of Dorking Wanderers underlined the chronic inconsistency which overall undermined us from fulfilling the potential demonstrated on those standout days. So now we look to the future and, while waiting for its next leader to be unveiled, shall ferociously get behind the team in the meantime.
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Dagenham & Redbridge are trapped in an inescapable cycle of constant false dawns interspersed among more frequent mediocrity, tumbling towards the same predictably depressing conclusion unless we finally sack the perennial failure who is perpetuating it. The man plagued by the same unaddressed problems as when he first set foot in the club amid a backdrop of wrongful hope three years ago, stating desires to improve a club culture he constantly dissociates from in terms of self-declared managerial properties, but has only served to worsen. Pound for pound, Peter Taylor extracted more from the team and that's really saying something, while we also suffered far fewer humblings like Daryl McMahon has. The odd one happens in football, but the frequency at which they do here alludes to deep-rooted problems. Following a now-customary collapse at home to Barnet in his first full season at the helm, he stated that the club has 'felt sorry for itself' in the two years preceding his arrival but he would not let that happen. After all, it supposedly contravened everything he stands for as a manager. Yet it has done so at intermittent periods ever since, each time eliciting a regurgitation of that same sentiment. Later on that very campaign, after a 3-1 defeat to a Notts County side reduced to ten men one of whom was a 5'10'' central midfielder in goal, McMahon pinpointed the embarrassing evening as indicative of how far we were away from challenging. We are no nearer now, a whole two years down the line. If anything, there have been more of those disastrous performances than ever before, with the Dorking Wanderers debacle probably the worst of them all and, even at a club which notoriously perseveres with managers beyond their shelf-life, it seemed a point of no return. However, it wasn't, so you have to wonder how bad things have to get before enough is finally enough. That he was even still in tenure at that stage was undeserved in itself, as the 5-0 defeat against Notts County a month earlier should have been the end. Cue more condemnatory comments questioning the character of the side, which by now had long lost their effect if ever there was any. Just when rock bottom is reached, though, we always manage to unearth an uplifting result from somewhere to convince ourselves that we have turned a corner after all. In this case, a stunning victory at Chesterfield, with the team looking comparatively transformed. You wonder whether he really has lost the dressing room like the previous match suggested. Then, either straight away or after a brief mini-spell if we're lucky, it is always back to square one. Always back to this. Which is where we find ourselves at the minute. Just three weeks ago, while winning against Bromley at half time, we were in the wonderful situation where another unanswered goal would have elevated us to fifth with games in hand. Four defeats from the next five outings later, the team have collapsed in a manner quite remarkable even by its own notorious standards of doing so. The latest, a midweek defeat to Eastleigh, feels significant not for being any worse than the others but in that it elicited another damning post-match assessment, the kind that might force players to buck up their ideas were it not the umpteenth time we've heard the like. The angle this time was that too many treat playing for Dagenham as simply a job instead of the passionate craft it should be, alluding to a lack of desire. Difficult to disagree with, except he has had a ludicrous amount of time to tailor this squad to his supposed vision by retaining and recruiting the personnel to suit, especially when you consider what the managers of Woking and Barnet have managed to achieve in a significantly reduced timeframe while on a lesser budget, not to mention Southend United whose staff aren't even being paid. There is absolutely zero excuse for us to be so far behind. When you look into our tactics, though, it's not hard to understand why we are. Formations are still continually tinkered in the hope of stumbling upon a solution that doesn't necessitate square pegs in round holes. Whichever he chooses will always hinge upon a soon 35-year-old in Myles Weston without whom there is no creativity whatsoever.
He's signed centre halves Manny Onariase and David Longe-King for actual money but both are being shown up by someone who has only played twenty career games there having been converted from another position. Meanwhile, our right-back is also our best option on the other side, plus our liveliest midfielder Mo Sagaf is either dropped or the first to be taken off. I could go on forever, but it's just a mess. So where to now? The play-offs aren't beyond reach however may as well be because we will suffer far too many of these before now and the season's end, though will win the odd game by virtue of individual ability to paper over the cracks and ultimately keep the manager clinging on some more. Therein lies the nature of the cycle. Here's retrospectively the most agonising part, though it doesn't feel so at the time despite most people knowing what is coming next: we will almost certainly find a result against Scunthorpe United or Aldershot Town in the next seven days, maybe even both - which, let's be honest, should be the case - but it won't be long before we're back here and the cycle repeats. Again. And again. And again. The famous definition of insanity: doing the same thing over and over, expecting different results. I would love nothing more than to be proven wrong while travelling the country supporting the boys every week, but it's never felt more gruelling. With a sub-1000 home turnout midweek, others are clearly acting upon the same feeling.
Though the existential necessity to do so has been lessened by the financial status under which we have operated in recent years, Dagenham & Redbridge have always been a self-proclaimed 'selling club' whose ability to nurture unpolished gems into profitable assets further up the pyramid is worn as a metaphorical badge of honour. Supporting them therefore incurs the realisation that your favourite players will occasionally leave for bigger and better things.
Yet that never makes it any easier to digest. For, every time, the feeling hits like an all-consuming gut punch burning deep within. Whether recency bias or the devastating timing ahead of our busiest month when the need for points is strongest, this one seems to hurt that little bit more. There were no murmurings of in-form striker Josh Walker being prised away by an EFL club on Deadline Day then, under the cover of darkness, came the sudden notification that he was gone. As possibly the most technically gifted striker to grace Victoria Road in years with undeniably the highest ceiling of attainability among the squad, supporters knew that the Walker Wonderland in which they had been taken on countless pleasant strolls would not last forever but at the same time might have expected more than just six months of a three year contract signed only last summer. While ultimately not securing his services for anywhere near the full duration like hoped, it would be comforting if that deal at least necessitated a decent figure somewhat consummate to the quality we will be losing. Though being heavily fuelled on confidence brought some intermittent patchy droughts, when in form he reached borderline unplayable standards, cultivating a reputation as one of the division's most underrated finishers by clinically dispatching opportunities frequently engineered through his own blistering pace and silky footwork - a rare commodity that guarantees transferable goals across all environments hence the demand for his signature alluded to by ultimately-successful Burton Albion manager Dino Maamria - as well as service elsewhere. That he scored a repertoire of very different strikes across diverse areas further enhances the appeal: both feet, his head, tight angles, outside the box, instinctive rebounds, solo efforts and so much more.
From the very first one at Stockport County with what was his first involvement in play mere seconds upon coming off the bench for a magical debut cameo, that phenomenal moment transforming the day into one of the most memorable in ages, it was obvious we were onto something potentially very special. The sight of our new number seven firing home followed by tumbling over rows of stairs to get pitchside with the celebrating players, then upon turning around back towards the top of the away end we had the corner which Matt Robinson flicked home, is something I'll never forget in a hurry. Nor the chaos-inducing last minute winner to complete a first professional treble against former club Barnet of all teams earlier this season.
The technical standout was in the FA Cup second round against Gillingham not long ago, when he trapped a long ball with beautiful precision before sending a defender sprawling across the turf with an even better turn inside then supplying a finish to match underneath the keeper; a goal that few others in the division would have the attributes to execute, worthy of earning a lucrative tie against Premier League opposition but of course it didn't work out that way. More come to mind, like the beautifully-dispatched opener at Chesterfield, the solo run from his own half against Wealdstone, the thunderous strike outside the box at home to Dover Athletic. His highlights reel is very impressive, characterised by an aesthetic fluency, and will definitely leave a compelling impression on Burton Albion where his progress will be watched with pride, as the latest Dagger rising through the divisions. I'm sure our fanbase will be unanimous in wishing the very best of luck. We cannot dwell for too long on what is now the past, and must now look at where to go from here having lost the only player who has looked capable of scoring regularly since about November time. A huge void, but to foreshadow the derailment of our season might be slightly reactionary because the attacking personnel left in the building remains more than good enough to fire us to a top seven finish, as we will likely revert to the Junior Morias-Paul McCallum partnership that struck a cumulative 23 goals in the second half of last season to consequentially consign Walker to the bench for prolonged periods albeit both have looked comparatively unrecognisable for a worryingly long time now. Let's not forget the impending return of Ángelo Balanta either, a difference-maker whom we can hopefully begin to rely upon if - and a big if - he manages to get concurrent games under his belt without sustaining another injury. So it's not all doom and gloom, though we can't afford to wait too long for somebody to rediscover their predatory touch because a here-and-now goalscorer is needed. However, it wasn't ages ago that Walker went fifteen games scoreless yet the quality soon came to the fore again and we have to hope it is the same for the above-mentioned players, ideally from Saturday onwards at Wealdstone. How a victory would feel good after the week we've had.
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May 2024
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