CONTRACTED BEYOND NEXT SEASON: Clark, Phipps CONTRACTED FOR NEXT SEASON: Gordon, McQueen, Balanta, Wilkinson, Bonds OUT OF CONTRACT (FIRST-TEAM): Justham, Nunn, Robinson, Kandi, Adeloye, Munns, Harfield, Smith OUT OF CONTRACT (SQUAD PLAYERS): Davey, Pennell, Reynolds, Moore, Hoyte, Bellamy EXPIRED LOANS: Goodliffe, Wright, Onariase, Loft The arrival of Notts County into the seemingly endless pit of non-league just confirms what we already knew about the level of competition next season. They were the oldest professional league club in the world until 5pm on Saturday, having been around since 1862 in which time they won an FA Cup and spent 30 seasons at the highest tier of the Football League system. Upon seeing them crash out of the Football League for the first time in their history, the initial reaction was one of excitement across the National League, as County will deliver sizeable crowds up and down the country plus a Meadow Lane experience that many fans across the division will frantically look for when the fixtures are released at the beginning of July. For those reasons, it's great to have them in the league as it raises it's profile massively. Reflecting on it more, though, having a team of that calibre potentially fighting alongside us can't be good. Though it would be conceivable for them to struggle just as many floundering ex-League clubs have before them, the probability is that they'll do everything they can to return to the EFL as quickly as possible. The relegation of Macclesfield Town, instead, would have lent itself better to our chances of fighting for promotion next season, which was specified as our intention. So Notts County join the fifth-tier and will most likely fight towards the summit of the division. You've also got Yeovil Town, in the Championship five years ago, whose desire to make their non-league stay short-lived will be just as strong as that of those over at Nottingham. Then there's Chesterfield, who've got themselves together and will, without doubt, push on, not to forget the likes of Barnet and Hartlepool who now know what the league is about, and will look to get it right. That's before you even touch on the teams who've just fell short this campaign. Wrexham and Harrogate for definite, maybe Solihull and Eastleigh if they can replicate their surprising performances, will look to sustain another challenge. The loser of the final between Fylde and Salford will be determined to go one better, too. Torquay and Stockport won the South and North respectively and won't be here to make up the numbers. There's only one automatic promotion place and ten managers, at the very least, who think they can realistically compete for it. So where does that link to Dagenham? Well, we're one of those teams who will think we're capable of challenging for the play-offs at least, but have given ourselves arguably the most work (of those teams outlined above) of doing so. We ended 2018/19 with a team that underachieved from January onwards, but do have two or three players that are already of the quality we need. A big Summer is needed, though, with a minimum of seven good-quality signings needed if we even want to think about the play-offs. What happens before a ball is kicked is just as crucial for us. Peter Taylor has reinforced his namesake Freund's ambition of promotion; if we're to realise our aims, something which seems very difficult and will only get harder with every further year we spend at this level, then we have to get it perfect. Few lapses will go unpunished, few defeats won't be costly. Personally, I look forward to us competing, even if it's just the top half, given the nature of last season. If we're serious about gaining promotion, though, we need to approach it with a level of determination and ruthless. That might mean being harsh, even unfair, to certain players in regard to offering contracts, but if we don't then we'll end up with another 25-man squad whom most of which won't kick a ball all season. No lenience should be given, no 'benefit of the doubt', no 'possibly''s. For most of those who are out of contract, that will spell bad news but that's the nature of a promotion battle. We can get batter than 90% whose deals are expiring and it's been said that no transfer target will be out of our price range. With that in mind, I've run the rule over all of our players who finished the 2018/19 season in relation to how conducive their inclusion within the team, is to a potential promotion challenge. Firstly, we have the group of players who are contracted for next campaign, two of which have a deal that lasts beyond that: Clark, Phipps, Gordon, McQueen, Bonds, Balanta and Wilkinson are all contracted for next season, and with the exception of Elliot Bonds who is obviously a player for the future, have all shown enough to prove that if they were out of contract, they'd definitely have been offered one anyway. Conor Wilkinson is a player without whom we stand no chance of even thinking about the play-offs, such has been his contribution to the club. He's one of those who generates excitement whenever he picks up the ball and his combination with Ángelo Balanta is what kept us in the division, with Wilkinson's energy and aggression perfectly complimenting the intelligence of his strike partner. Balanta has been decent enough since he arrived from Boreham Wood yet I think it's fair to say we need him to push onto another level starting in August. Alex McQueen's seasons seemed to all but end when he was sent off at Havant, but he came up with some very important goals and was vital during the early months of the season, when he was a shining light alongside Liam Gordon, who - for a player in his first year of senior football - has just been ridiculous. His energy was crucial but not exceeding that boundary is a fine line given that he would often be caught out of position following a lung-busting run forwards. However, the way he played was fresh, his passion infectious, and he thoroughly deserved both his 3rd Placed Player of the Year award, and Supporters' Club Young Player of the Year. Similarly, Harry Phipps was another player whose maturity defied his age and his exclusion from the team, especially having been rewarded with a long contract only weeks beforehand, was absolutely baffling so acted to highlight the scepticism around some of Taylor's decisions. Like Gordon, he will only get better so as long as we don't have him inexplicably sitting in the stands, he should be a good player for us. Finally, Kenny Clark signed in December and though a two-and-a-half year contract seemed hasty for a 30 year-old, he's been generally solid, albeit unspectacular, since signing. However he joined a completely new side it's worth remembering, and Ebbsfleet supporters can't speak highly enough of the man they called 'Concrete', so I'm sure he'll prove his worth as, to be fair, he has begun to do so. Then there's some players who we had on loan during the season: Ben Goodliffe, Manny Onariase, Will Wright and Doug Loft. The latter two have definitely been surplus to requirements while at the club, but Goodliffe and Manny are two players who fans would take back on a permanent deal in an absolutely heartbeat. Unlike Manny at Rotherham who we don't appear to have much chance of signing, Ben Goodliffe isn't exactly on the radar at Wolves. He started shakily at the club, with two red cards and penalties conceded in as many months, but got progressively better as the season got on and definitely begun to adapt to the division. He didn't play much towards the end of the campaign, often the victim of formation and the quantity of centre-backs at the club, but before then was consistently one of our best performers over several months in which he showcased both direct and technical abilities, defending with fearlessness and intelligence. Manny Onariase just looked a cut above for us, reading the game so well at all times, but I find our chances of getting him unlikely, especially as Rotherham are now back in League One. Doug Loft joined in January, its clear to see he was once a very good player but that seems to have passed him by, and he spent most of his loan at the club passing it directly to the opposition. He hadn't played football in a while so maybe, after a solid pre-season, he'd be a different player for us but we can't afford to take that chance. He's out of contract, as is Will Wright at Colchester. To be fair to him, Wright has been unexpectedly accomplished as a right-back and performed very well, unfortunately it followed eight months of him being very poor though. Once again, another who could be an asset under different circumstances but simply not a player, or not yet a player, who we should have on our books next season. That brings me to the out-of-contract players, which is the area in which the biggest decisions will be made. There are 15 players in this category, and I've organised them in order of how many league starts they made in 2018/19. (Green = Keep | Yellow = Arguments for Both | Red = Release) Elliot JUSTHAM: This isn't even a decision, he should've been bundled into a room and given the papers to sign the moment he left the pitch following the Solihull Moors game. Very rarely have we had a more worthy Player of the Year winner and it's as much a testament to his talents that we stayed up as it is the likes of Wilkinson and Balanta who made the difference at the other end. There's not a single Dagger who wouldn't want Justham to sign a contract as soon as possible. Matt ROBINSON: Once again a fairly routine choice, this has undoubtedly been his best season in a Daggers shirt and, while many have been questionable of him in the past, nobody can dispute that his gritty presence in midfield was important to our survival. A technical creator alongside him, much like when we had Andre Boucaud under John Still, could enable Robinson to flourish. He's earned an extension. Jack MUNNS: A difficult one, it would be great to have someone that has won this league before (while at Cheltenham) but he obviously can't perform to his best under Peter Taylor. Prior to January, Munns would've been one of the first that fans would have wanted to sign a contract but since then his contribution has been limited - that's partially not his fault because the likes of Wright and Loft were keeping him out of the team. However, he's got quality and I think we should keep him. Ben NUNN: Great captain and one of the nicest people you could ever hope to have at your club. When he joined the Daggers, he was a full-back who got up and down brilliantly, delivering teasing crosses, but in recent times it seems as if that aspect of his game has been a real struggle. Made quite a few individual errors last season, though then again people forget that before November-ish, he was performing well. That said, there's doubts and for that reason, this is a difficult one. Luke PENNELL: Every time Pennell seems as if he's on track to a sustained spell of games in which he can play his best football, there seems to be another setback. He's a good player but we've persevered for ages now and the fact that he misses an average of two thirds of every season he's been here unfortunately speaks volumes. If we gave him another contract, he'd play well for a while but the same thing would happen again. I highly doubt he's in Peter Taylor's plans for next season. Tomi ADELOYE: There's not been a single time where Tomi has been in the team and not played well. He always looks dangerous and it makes you wonder what he'd been like had we played a few more games in 2018/19, which he probably deserved to. However, we can only go by his contribution on the pitch, and a three-goal striker unfortunately isn't of the standard we need. He'd be great to keep as an option who can dictate games when he came on, but Taylor probably won't take that chance. Chike KANDI: Kandi made 14 starts and 23 sub appearances, taking him to a total of 37 games played, which proves that he is regarded somewhat well by Taylor. His positive end-of-season form might be what swings it here, but looking at his overall performances, coupled with the fact that he's a player we actually paid money for, he hasn't been good enough often enough. Frustratingly, he seems to be lots of running but little end product. However, like Adeloye, he's rarely played poorly. Ollie HARFIELD: Too little, too late for him unfortunately. Showed glimpses of quality against both Eastleigh and Solihull at home but those were both nothing games for us, and certainly not enough to constitute giving players contracts for playing well in. 1 goal and 1 assist tells it's own story and we can do a lot better when delving into the transfer market. To be fair, he's given the manager something to think about recently, but it shouldn't be enough. Nathan SMITH: I worry about the stamina of a man who's 33 and lacking in game time over the last couple of years. However, considering that he's been fairly decent during his time here, he could be a right player with a thorough pre-season under his belt. He's a leader and certainly has the experience of a promotion battle, which obviously lends itself well to our situation. Could be a risk but a risk worth taking in my opinion. Gavin HOYTE: Not in a Peter Taylor team. His limited contribution in 2018/19 wasn't really his fault - he performed well enough in the rare appearances he made to prove that he deserved more, but he's not going to get it at Victoria Road and, even if we offered him a contract against all odds, I don't see what would motivate him to sign up for another year of being frozen out without explanation. Good player, though, and his exclusion is one all of us have been trying to solve. Alex DAVEY: Nasty injury that hampered his progress but not once this season has he looked good enough for us, and he proved that with his display at Braintree on Easter Monday. I think this choice was probably made long before this is being written. Davey is just too reckless and erratic to justify another contract, but I acknowledge that it was hard for him to flourish at the times in which his services were required this season. Lamar REYNOLDS: One of the most disappointing players we've had at the club, whose displays didn't match up to the hype around his signing. When he made his debut against West Ham, we all thought we were on to a magical player but since then he's fallen to pieces whenever a big chance falls his way, shirking several one-on-ones. Too lightweight, too inconsistent. The fact that Reynolds was loaned out to Chelmsford is a good indication that he won't be at the Daggers come July. Lewis MOORE: Only seen him twice, at Ebbsfleet in the FA Trophy and at Braintree on Easter Monday, and he hasn't looked bad. For a back-up keeper, he seems decent enough and his display at the Kuflink Stadium for that Trophy game was brilliant, some of the saves he made giving the impression that he's an experienced keeper used to playing every week. You can't expect much more for a second keeper, he might not be needed but, if he is for a short spell, I'm sure that we'll be in safe hands. James BLANCHFIELD: 1 start, 4 sub appearances. Didn't pull up any trees while on loan at Lowestoft. The conversation with Blanchfield following the end of the season would probably have been a short one. Liam BELLAMY: Don't even know what to say really. He's played a combined total of around 60 minutes despite supposedly being a player who would improve us massively.
2 Comments
Malc White
6/5/2019 05:07:43 pm
Good read. Completely disagree with some of your retained list though. Football is all about opinions!
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Andrew Rice
6/5/2019 07:26:47 pm
Very well written and explained And I do agree with you for alot of it we just need to see if tayler can deliver what Peter Freud has pictured forward.
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