Dagenham's summer recruitment strategy over the past few years has hinged on large rebuilds encompassing a big influx of new signings and a high turnover of players. It's therefore refreshing to see a new approach being adopted this time around, especially as the current squad seems settled and genuinely capable of extending it's good form from the back end of last season into the new one.We've supplemented that existing core with two new additions to date: forward Josh Walker and returning full-back Sam Ling. It could be argued that we're still short in a few areas, most prominently left wing-back and central defence, but Daryl McMahon has reiterated on several occasions his desire to oversee a smaller, more manageable squad. The commencement of our pre-season friendly programme will offer the opportunity to assess a number of trialists, one or two of whom may do enough to earn a deal. There have also been three well-publicised targets that we've reportedly tried, and unfortunately failed, to lure to the club. Boreham Wood pipped us to the signing of left-back Jacob Mendy, while two previous loanees opted to move elsewhere rather than return to Victoria Road on a permanent basis: Abu Ogogo and Saidou Khan. Both of those hurt to some degree but the latter, in particular, leaves a very bitter taste. After his campaign with parent club Maidstone was curtailed due to an untenable funding situation within the North and South feeder divisions, we gave Khan the platform to showcase his ability at the highest level he had ever played at, in a move that supposedly suited his lifestyle 'perfectly'. His gesture of appreciation is then to snub our contract offer, which would have certainly not be paltry, and join a fellow side in our division, from whom there wouldn't have even been interest had it not been for an exceptional performance against them in a Dagenham shirt. That's naturally a source of immense frustration but is part and parcel of the sport; no doubt we've been on the opposite side of the equation in the past. It does leave us lacking a powerhouse-type midfielder who can penetrate an opposition defensive line with determined runs from deep, but we have several weeks to identify a target who would fit the bill. McMahon may even decide that we have enough midfield options already, irrespective of Khan's decision to decline our offer, as Jones, Phipps, Rance, Robinson, Sagaf and Vilhete can all play there. Are the Daggers good enough to mount a challenge?Our Balanta-McCallum forward pairing is an impressive one by any metric. Our manager's assertion that they're the best number 10 and 9 respectively across the entire division, though influenced by natural bias, isn't an unreasonable one. However, when you look elsewhere in the division, what emerges is the rather sobering realisation that it is merely one of many superb strikeforces amongst a vast plethora of sides that have all invested heavily to fuel the dream of reaching the Football League. Stockport, the title favourites, have Madden, Quigley and Reid in that position. Fellow free-spenders Chesterfield possess Rowe and Asante in their armoury. Notts County are in capable hands with Wootton and Rodrigues spearheading their frontline. Then there's Solihull, with man-mountain Hudlin alongside Rooney, and Hollywood-owned Wrexham, whose attack consists of Angus and Hyde. Every single one of those could conceivably fire the necessary goals to propel their teams to promotion. It's a similar story when you evaluate the Daggers in every other department. On a surface level, we seem respectably stocked in the goalkeeper, defender and midfielder areas. We're undoubtedly good enough to reach the upper echelons of the table this time around, the top third of the division as an absolute minimum, but there are countless others who will think the same and only two will ultimately fulfil their ambitions. Stability and continuity is what will enhance our prospects of being part of the lucky couple. We've had a quieter summer than most and our starting eleven for the curtain-raiser against Stockport won't be too dissimilar to the one that rounded off the last campaign. Hopefully, while others are gelling and finding their feet, we can pick up where we left off, resuming the near-flawless form that ensured we finished strongly. Sometimes less is more, and that's certainly McMahon's philosophy this summer.
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January 2024
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