In the midst of a turbulent few weeks came the eagerly-awaited news that all Daggers were hoping for, with the emergence of an American-based consortium who have since seized majority control of the club. That, and the double-signing of Jack Munns and Liam Bellamy respectively, has made for a hectic few days. However, while traditionally calm preceeds the storm, on this occasion the roles have been reversed and it's been quiet since.As the club absorbed the injection of much-needed positive news while also simultaneously preparing for the next game, a BT Sport televised trip to Eastleigh, there haven't been many stories coming from Victoria Road, which seems unusual given the turbulence of this year where there seemed to be a fresh revelation every week. There was supposed to be a fitness-maintaining friendly match against Heybridge Swifts on Tuesday night, but that was instantly cancelled for reasons unknown, which was a shame for Peter Taylor who said he would've liked the opportunity to give more minutes to the injured Ben Nunn. On Monday, in the aftermath of our game against Chesterfield at Victoria Road, the club released a statement regarding an incident that happened during the 1-1 draw. From one side of the North Terrace, reportedly in line with the 18-yard box, a bottle was thrown at visiting player Drew Talbot. Although the actions and tactics of all Chesterfield players had been frustrating, it's doesn't excuse what happened and it's a shame that our supporters are, as usual, being regarded in a negative light thanks to a single individual. The statement from the club read, On a day when the ownership of the club, and the performance on the pitch were grabbing all the attention, there was a regrettable incident that has the potential to prove just as significant to the Daggers. In the 62nd minute a spectator in the North Terrace, apparently annoyed by the actions of a visiting player, threw a bottle at the player. The incident was seen by the referee, who removed the bottle from the pitch and continued with the game. Naturally it's a case of the actions of a particular person overshadowing the faultless conduct of our supporters, who have been criticised in the past. Generally, we're a good bunch and so that makes it hugely frustrating when you see these sort of statements. It's also very irritating that the incident came from the sieve, where there doesn't seem to be much trouble ever. Most attention goes towards our fans in the A13 Steel Stand so, once again, it's disappointing that - instead of being praised for our vocal support this season - our supporters instead were having to read that sort of negative publicity.
Of course it came in the midst of a really good time at the club which makes it all the more puzzling. Quite why someone who calls themselves a Dagger can do something which has even 1% chance of jeopardising or even slightly overshadowing the recent feelgood factor is beyond me. Saturday's game against Chesterfield marked a good time to support the club, when there hasn;t been much of that this year, and it seemed as if we could all look towards the future. There was no more mentioned about the incident given that nobody could, or would, identify the perpetrator. Instead, the club's attentions were turned towards the upcoming game against Eastleigh, which would be documented live on BT Sport. As the days slowly ticked by, there was increased focus on the game thanks to the launch of Daggers' revamped Youtube channel, now called DaggersTV. Credit to those who've partaken in the creating of the channel, which looks fresh and is a testament to those who clearly spent hours working on it. The first highlights package, for the Chesterfield game, was highly impressive. With not much else going on, the final action of the week was the main event and that was the clash against Eastleigh, though unfortunately that didn't really go to plan. Despite a great first-half display infront of the TV cameras, we were made to pay for guilt-edged missed chances and were punished for it. A poor second half was always leading to an inevitable Eastleigh goal and, guttingly, it came with just seconds left of normal time. So that was it for this week at Victoria Road. With two games next week, it's guaranteed to be a busy few days around the club. Hopefully all publicity is positive and we can match it with equally impressive displays on the pitch.
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WRITERArchives
January 2024
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