We're hurtling towards the latter stages of the campaign and, with that, desperation kicks in for teams at both ends of the table. At the minute, we're in the unique and unfamiliar position where we're so high up in the standings to harbour faint hopes of the play-offs yet not high enough to completely rule out an end to the season which sees us looking anxiously over our shoulders. The top seven isn't that far away for us but Peter Taylor has made it clear that our priority is simply staying in the division, and the fact that anyone can even mention the play-offs without being ridiculed shows just how well that ambition has gone. The run of games we're in the midst of initially looked inviting, bringing the potential for maximum points which could send us into the top half. Four points from a possible six, despite not playing well at all, is quite decent all things considered but there's no doubt that every home fan who exited the ground on Saturday did so with the regret and frustration of dropping two points overriding any delight at having got anything against a side who were vastly superior for most of the game. The likes of Aldershot and Braintree will be treating every game from now until the end of the campaign like a cup final, because in a division where the tightest of margins can be the difference between survival and relegation, every point is absolutely crucial. That's been clear to see in the last couple of weeks with both Maidstone and Aldershot Town performing as if they were possessed by the sheer will to win. Thankfully we had the quality against Maidstone and the scoreline disguised the fact that we were largely second best. It's easy to dismiss a poor performance when it brings a 3-0 away victory, but it's much harder to take when you drop points having performed in such an underwhelming manner which was the case on Saturday. After our unbelievable unbeaten run there's the sense that we're being found out a little bit. It's clear that we're struggling to exert our superiority over a team who sit back and are willing to soak up pressure. The pace and quality of the Daggers, especially in attack, is much more suited to counter-attacking football and that's why we've done a job on Salford, Orient, Fylde and Harrogate but slumped to disappointing results against the likes of Halifax and Aldershot Town. We need to find a way to retain our composure and break teams down, because on Saturday we were erratic and hurried in our play. It would be harsh not to recognise the effective nature of Aldershot's play. Despite being a far cry from the excellent Shots' sides we've faced since our relegation to the National League, they were spirited and determined. The difference-maker was Bernard Mensah who absolutely destroyed us as he always has done in the past. Mensah was the architect of all things good about Aldershot and, without him, we would've certainly won. While the Shots were patient and controlled in possession, we were disjointed. It was like we had ten minutes to score because we pumped it forwards with absolutely no composure as if we had no time to win the game. It's been strange to watch us since the turn of the year because we've looked really panicky and never comfortable in a match. There's been moments of brilliance, like the comeback against Boreham Wood, but they're always counteracted by absolute ineptness. We're either amazing or useless. It's hard to criticise Peter Taylor after the turnaround he's led us to over the last few months, but the starting lineup was somewhat bizarre. The absence of Tomi Adeloye, by far our most underrated player, has been strange; he seemed the perfect candidate to replace Balanta. Added to that, two of our best performers across the campaign, Gordon and Goodliffe, were missing from the lineup. In Gordon's case it's even more weird because he's been superb since the turn of the year, so it must've been a decision to preserve his fitness, but surely it would've been better to play a fit in-form 19 year-old over a 32 year-old whose barely kicked a football in the last year. Nathan Smith looks like a good player in all fairness but struggled against Aldershot, not only when defending but in staying onside from free-kicks. There were two occasions where really big chances were scuppered by his premature runs. Anyway, it was a game to forget but we still had some opportunities that could've won us the game. The clearance off the line, Wilkinson's speculative volley and McQueen's opening in the box were all 'nearly' moments, but in Balanta's absence we just lacked the spark and didn't look like scoring. It was a terrible spectacle in fairness, but let's get into some deeper analysis of our display. We changed to a back four in order to accommodate new signing in Doug Loft but in all fairness I don't think our new loanee was influential enough to justify it. As has been mentioned, the absence of Liam Gordon wasn't something that pleased the Daggers faithful and we missed his energetic legs sprinting up and down the pitch, which is one of the benefits of playing with five. We weren't great playing with that formation recently so I'm not attributing our failure to win to that decision, and certainly the eleven we had on the pitch were more then capable of doing the job, but it damaged our attacking capabilities. That was especially noticeable as we didn't have Balanta, who despite being fine according to Terry Harris' midweek interview, couldn't recover from the damage caused by De Havilland during the win over Maidstone. Loft was another strange one as he, like Nathan Smith, hasn't played much football and hadn't been properly integrated into the squad after a couple of training sessions. Hopefully we kick off at Maidenhead next weekend not only with Balanta back, but also with Gordon, Goodliffe and potentially Hoyte as Nunn has been off his game for quite a while now. Elliot JUSTHAM: Solid from Elliot. After having a few lapses in concentration over the last few weeks, he was closer to his best against the Shots. The goal was completely beyond his control and there was nothing he could do, but he still made a number of crucial saves to preserve our point. His save from Mensah's acrobatic effort was absolutely superb as most people were waiting for the net to bulge until he got a strong hand on it.
Nathan SMITH: Looked every inch of a player who hasn't played much football in the last few months. Was hard to expect him to play two games in a row, especially after lasting the ninety on a testing surface last weekend. Was brilliant against the Stones but this was a tired performance and it was his poor marking that gifted Bernard Mensah a free header to level the scores. All in all not his best display but in his short stint at the club he's already demonstrated that he's capable of being a great player for us. Manny ONARIASE: Him and Wilko are two players that you can rely on to perform every single week, and it's no coincidence that they're both players of a higher standard. Wasn't his best performance for us and there were times where his distribution was frustrating, but defensively he was faultless as always. Such a boost to have him for the remainder of the campaign because if he went back to Rotherham, we'd struggle massively. Kenny CLARK: A few errors have crept into Clark's game in recent weeks, but largely he's performed well and this was another solid if unremarkable display. Didn't get exploited many times, nor did he lose many aerial duels or concede possession. On the other hand, he didn't seem to make many tackles or get us out of trouble. Definitely looks better when we play as a five, but one thing we can judge from his ten or so appearances for us so far is that he's consistent. Ben NUNN: Nunny will be the first to admit that he's not been at his best at recent weeks. He given away many clear-cut chances recently and made mistakes leading directly to goals. This was a better display but still not the best, though it's not easy to defend against a player like Bernard Mensah. To be fair, Nunn has been strong going forwards and whipping in crosses but this wasn't a game where he had licence to do that as we didn't play with wing-backs. Jack MUNNS: Decent from Munns but he doesn't seem to be dictating play as much as he was a couple of months ago. In a game where the midfield was largely bypassed, there weren't enough times that he was allowed to get on the ball and make things happen. However, on the rare occasion he sneaked beyond the defence, his cross was millimetres from going over the line, so he did have an influence albeit not as frequently as he perhaps should've. Doug LOFT: Doug Loft didn't appear to be too much of an improvement to what we already have in the squad. Admittedly he made a few decent tackles and passes but didn't look like a League One player. However, it's important to acknowledge that he hadn't had much gametime, plus he's alongside new players with whom he has no chemistry or understanding, so I think he'll get better as the weeks go by. Definitely thrown in the deep end. Matt ROBINSON: Good to have him back! Thought he wasn't at his best at Maidstone, nor did he particularly excel on this occasion, but it was a gritty display and, out of everybody on the pitch, he did the most to try and break up Aldershot's play. Look forward to seeing the return of Harry Phipps because those two forged a good partnership and Robinson flourishes alongside good, technical midfielders. Alex MCQUEEN: Not much to comment on really. He never had much of an opportunity to get the ball out of his feet and run at defenders, which is a credit to the way Aldershot nullified our threat out wide. There was one chance where he was played in by Wilkinson but instead of shooting with his right, he cut inside and eventually made it too complicated for himself. That situation demanded a bit more composure. Conor WILKINSON: We've got to get used to teams putting two or three men on Conor because it doesn't take a genius to work out that he's the one to watch. He only got clear once in the game but that was all he needed to make a difference, smashing it past the keeper albeit with the aid of a deflection. Nearly won us the match with a moment of magic too. Even when Conor's quiet, he's at the heart of everything. Lamar REYNOLDS: With Balanta out, this was the chance for Lamar to really take his opportunity but instead he merely cemented his status as an impact sub. It was a mismatch between him and the physical defenders, there was also never really a chance for him to run at anyone, similar to why McQueen was so quiet. With Wilkinson being dragged all over the place, every defender seemingly surrounding him, Lamar needed to be the outlet to draw them off him, and unfortunately he couldn't.
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It's still debatable whether our magnificent unbeaten run stretching almost two months was an accurate reflection of what we can do with players like Wilkinson, Balanta or Onariase in the team, or whether it was merely momentum carrying us further and further. We can't expect to beat the likes of Orient and Salford every week, but one thing that's certain is that we don't deserve to be 16th in the table.
Had we started the season with our current squad it's quite conceivable that we'd be battling in the playoffs. Though we're only twelve points off with plenty of games to potentially overturn that deficit, it's likely that we'll just miss out. However, even to be talking about play-offs when we were dreading National League South football just three months ago speaks volumes about how far we've come. We're a changed team and the American Revolution is only in it's infancy. Though it could be said that our campaign is finished because we're most probably going to find ourselves lodged in mid-table between the places of 10th and 14th, the next few months will be very important as they lay the foundations for 2019/20. All the progression we make from now until May will be carried into the promotion push we're expected to sustain, as the owners look to help guide us into the EFL again. Above all else, though, the next few months are about enjoying football. November onwards has delivered me some of the most exciting times I can remember while supporting this club. When we were losing almost every game enroute to relegation to the National League, the matchday experience was utterly horrible. Now it's the exact opposite irrespective of the result and the fact that we've got to that stage now, especially considering what it was like during the first three months of the season, is a testament to the work being done behind the scenes. One of the best pieces of work performed by the club was announcing Conor Wilkinson on an 18-month contract on Thursday. We've now got Goodliffe and Onariase on loan until the end of the season, we've got Wilko, Balanta and McQueen here until the summer of 2020, and we've got Clark and Phipps here until 2021. That's a huge part of our future right there, especially in Conor Wilkinson, whose arrival signals a huge statement of intent from the club. No doubt he'll go straight into the side that will face Maidstone United today. Last week in the Trophy we were toothless up front in spite of our efforts, and we were crying out for someone like Conor just to make something happen, removing us from the constant cycle of building up a sustained attack, passing it sideways for a bit and then crossing it to absolutely nobody. Conor brings presence and intelligence which makes everybody play better. Today is an opportunity to get 'back on the horse' so to speak, to start another run. We have three very winnable games starting today and the momentum generated by a couple of consecutive wins will be massive. Maidstone are in crisis somewhat, they're on their third manager of the season and judging by the comments on their online forum, are heading towards relegation. It's down to us to exploit their low confidence. They sit 23rd in the league and have only picked up six points at home all season. Their fortunate victory over Barrow in August remains their solitary success at the Gallagher Stadium, where they've lost their last four including Tuesday's most recent loss to Maidenhead. They conceded four on that occasion and are clearly weak at the back, yet we'll be taking nothing for granted as this league has shown many times that it's unpredictable. Anything but three points ill be seen as a disappointment, but I have every faith that we'll perform to our best and that will yield deserved reward. Up the Dags When unknown figure Conor Wilkinson arrived at the club prior to our home game against Fylde in November, both his previous goalscoring record and comments from those who watched him at his previous teams indicated that we'd be left largely underwhelmed by the Irishman. It was portrayed to us that we'd loaned in a lazy striker whose bad attitude and outbursts of aggression overshadow any fledgling ability he may have had.
Two months on, he tops both our goal and assist charts despite only being at the club for ten games. Such was his effect on the club and the supporters that the news he'd returned to Gillingham devastated us as much as the departure of anyone would've, and he was only on loan so it's a testament to his contribution. His performances were exciting and he contributed to a goal on average every single game. Yet Conor Wilkinson was so much more than the goals he scored. He was the type of player for us who instantly generates a thrill just by receiving the ball because everybody knows what he's capable of doing. While he fits the bill of a clinical target-man, he's shown his worth in other areas and can often be found defending resiliently in his own box, like against Boreham Wood when he single-handedly prevented us conceding by clearing a dangerous header off the line. His mere presence causes panic, and gives supporters hope that no matter the situation or deficit, we're never truly out of a game. His goals have been varied; Conor has shown his ability to find the net in a range of different areas. From his outstanding flicked equaliser at Salford to his unbelievable solo effort originating from the corner-flag at home to Havant, he's been dangerous in all positions on the pitch. Added to this, he's established himself as a good shooter from distance as both Fylde and Havant & Waterlooville can verify. However, there was always the sense that his spell at the club was temporary at best. Wilkinson's awareness, skill and technical ability are miles away from the typical standards of the National League, as he's capable of performing in League 2 at the absolute minimum. Glimpses of talent were seen in League One in brief instances, no more than when he scored a magnificent goal away at Portsmouth just under a year ago, but a fractious relationship with the Gillingham manager meant that he couldn't perform at his best. Unfortunately, that was a recurring theme amongst supporters of his previous clubs, which was somewhat worrying. It seems, though, that Conor Wilkinson and Dagenham & Redbridge are a perfect match, with both bolstering the other. Without Wilkinson, we're as toothless up front as our limp FA Trophy display at Salford showed, a lower mid-table side at best. For Wilkinson, without the Daggers he'd be undeservedly frozen out of the Gillingham team, with confidence at rock-bottom and frustration growing. It seems obvious that, while many may say that his attitude sabotaged himself, he's also been mismanaged. We've managed to get the best out of him and it looks like Conor is finally enjoying his football. We haven't really seen any negative signs so far and the reaction to some of his teammates' goals proves that he has developed passion for the club, and it's great to see. It must've been hard to perform when you get rare minutes on the pitch, but here Wilko has the freedom, and the unwavering support of the fans. To land him on a permanent deal is absolutely amazing, and more evidence of the brilliance of our new owners. I personally can't remember being more excited about any signing over the last five years - this is a huge part of our future. The club, and owners, deserve immense praise for making this happen, on top of countless other aspects that they've done which will improve the club. It was a difficult 2018, but those who stuck with us when we were on the brink of devastation are reaping the benefits now. And the ironic thing is that, if Hopkin hadn't pulled out so unceremoniously, we wouldn't be in the situation we are now. Under these infectiously-passionate Americans, our future is bright and the possibilities are endless. Wilkinson is a massive part of that. Him and Balanta are one of the best partnerships in the league already and hopefully that continues to blossom. Up the Dags, and up the Conor Wilkinson! We entered 2018 with strong hope and expectation that we could make the end-of-season playoffs, before it all fell apart and the very existence of the club was jeopardised. There were catastrophically low moments, ultimately offset by euphoria of new investment, which inspired us to an incredible run of form. Players came and went but the biggest change came when Peter Taylor arrived at the helm in place of John Still.
The Daggers went from relegation certainties to comfortable mid-table security with just a few signings, earning some of our most impressive victories since we returned to the National League. Though 2018 will forever be synonymous with our financial instability, crazily it turned out to bring some of our best moments in many-a-year. The dramatic turnaround at Hartlepool, ending Salford's unbeaten home run and getting one over on Leyton Orient, at long last, all went a long way to repairing the wounds of February. So we enter 2019 with fresh optimism and a sense of security that we certainly lacked at this stage last season. Such was the chaotic and turbulent nature of the twelve months preceding it, that nothing to happen this year would really surprise me. Ultimately, though, I suspect it's the year where we'll finish around the middle of the pile and then bring in new faces to sustain a promotion challenge in 2019/20. Like last year, we begin against Leyton Orient and a win would not only preserve our excellent form over the last ten games, but would already give 2019 it's first outstanding moment. For the first time in ages, it's Orient looking to get revenge over us rather than the other way round. On Boxing Day, we came from a goal down to win 2-1. It was an incredible comeback and finally gave us the bragging rights over our London neighbours. Even if we lose today, we've proven that we're no longer at Orient's mercy but three points today would be simply magnificent. Losing our unbeaten run against Barnet was disappointing but unfortunately it was just one game too many for us, and the absence of Jack Munns and Alex McQueen proved monumental. If they're back today which I presume they are, then we'll be at our strongest and we can take on any team in those circumstances. Orient themselves will approach today with a bit of trepidation, especially as only a Dean Brill penalty save prevented a third away defeat in a row at Dover on Saturday. Only one victory from four, that being against lowly Chesterfield, makes this their worst run of form this season. They lost to Boreham Wood prior to being defeated by us; with Wrexham closing in on them at the top of the table, they need three points and this attributes a lot of pressure to today's game. Last week was somewhat of an off day for them and they should be a lot more fluid today, especially at Brisbane Road, where they've only tasted defeat once. Josh Koroma and Macauley Bonne need no introduction to us. Koroma highlighted his threat with a lovely toepoked opener, but Bonne was largely quiet and will look to impose himself more on our defence today. Whether Jobi McAnuff is available could play a crucial role in deciding the outcome as his inclusion on the wing not only bolsters their wide options, but usually allows Koroma to play in his favoured position up front. But we can damage the O's as much as they can damage us. Against Barnet we had five at the back but also two defensive midfielders so essentially had seven players sitting back, therefore we lost the midfield and this left Balanta and Wilkinson completely isolated. Munns is the centrepiece between defence and attack and gives us so much coherency. He's nippy, runs at defenders and wriggles through even the tiniest of gaps. Wilkinson is one of the best strikers in the division. He's always lively and in just seven games has established himself as both our joint-top scorer and joint-top assist-maker. His combination with Balanta is superb and has yielded so much reward in recent weeks. It's amazing to see how far we've developed and a massive part of that is our mentality when playing top teams. Harrogate, Fylde, Salford, Orient. Played 4, won 4 - no fear. Momentum may have drained somewhat but I've already seen that these boys have mental courage. It's gonna be a big day with lots of supporters making the short trip and getting behind the team. Brisbane Road has always brought us misery in the past, from FA Cup exits to suffering relegation there in 2016. Last week we shrugged off our previous disappointments against them and now we have a chance to build on that. UP THE DAGS! |
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January 2024
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