93 minutes on the clock and somehow we've not been killed off. Despite offering little more than a handful of half-hearted forays forward, which was painfully inevitable given the bafflingly-negative mindset with which we approached the game, we manage to force a corner in the dying seconds. A tremor of excitement reverberates across the contingent of away supporters as the thought of our imposing defenders flooding the box and causing havoc offers faint hope that we can get a point that we neither deserve nor seem to want. It's at this make-or-break time where the manager has two choices really. You can throw everybody forwards, including Justham, and even if you lose, the final whistle will leave few regrets because you know you've literally given everything. Alternatively, you could do what lyou can't imagine anyone else doing in that situation and leave players back because it's absolutely vital that we hang onto that 1-0 defeat. The corner was cleared effortlessly and we went down with less than a whimper. It was a moment that absolutely epitomised the day for us. We'd beaten Salford, Fylde, Harrogate and Orient by showing them no respect and focusing purely on our own strengths, so it was ludicrous that we decided we'd treat Wrexham much better than their attributes merited. This was a team on their third manager of the season, having recorded 1 win from 5, scoring 1 goal in the process. Unfortunately a team that were very much there for the taking were regarded as posing a threat akin to Pep Guardiola's Man City. Our tactics of playing five at the back, with three non-attacking midfielders all playing deep, reminded me of when we went to Everton with the sole intention of having an enjoyable day out. Of course it was unfortunate that Wilkinson had to go off but to be fair when you leave out Munns and Balanta, the opposition are always going to surround your biggest threat. I don't want to be too harsh on Taylor because he's shown that he can be a really good manager. As I've seen mentioned online, a lot of our recent signings were down to the appeal of working under him, but this defeat illustrated the scepticism some people have towards him. It's unfair to say 'Taylor Out' when we lose and 'Taylor In' when we're victorious, but conversely it's also not right that that great run we had can now excuse the poor form we've slumped into the new year with. We've now got three really hard games and could realistically lose all three. Gateshead, Sutton and Harrogate are all decent outfits, all in the play-off picture, and all three will dismantle us if we line up the same as we did on Saturday. A team with Munns, McQueen, Wilko and Balanta, on the other hand, could blow them away. If Wilkinson is out though, as he could be after taking quite a substantial whack, then the next few weeks will be very nervous. There's been a lot of talk about the faint possibility of the playoffs and the fact that we're only six points above the drop zone has gone under the radar. ''Right - now what's the real team?'' pretty much encapsulates the feelings of most Daggers fans upon hearing about the unexplained exclusion of many players who would've been expected to trouble Wrexham. Jack Munns was omitted from the squad entirely despite giving a pre-match interview on the Thursday prior to the game, and this was only made worse by the fact that Taylor later confirmed that it was a tactical decision. Then you had Balanta, apparently fit enough to have started last week if the game wouldn't have fell victim to the heavy snowfall, but not fit enough to start a week later. Ben Nunn is in a real rut at the minute but not enough for Gavin Hoyte to be given the chance he deserves. I can understand Nathan Smith being left out because he hasn't played much football in the past year and looked very tired against Aldershot. However, playing three central midfielders whose attributes and roles are all indistinguishably similar made no sense at all, especially when attack-minded ones like Phipps, Bellamy and of course Jack Munns weren't included. The whole lineup was the source of much confusion and indeed disappointment because it certainly seemed as if we came to North Wales to grind out a point, which was supported by the mundane footballing display that followed.
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January 2024
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