Significant anticipation dissipating into destructive nothingness - that was the essence of Dagenham & Redbridge's 2022/23 season, with the cumulative collateral damage along a frustratingly regressive trajectory leaving them at proverbial square one in their continually unsuccessful quest to attain a coveted play-off place that still feels an immeasurable distance away.
When just only minute yet vital improvements were required from an eighth-placed finish preceding it, which was still a merely lesser degree of the same failure especially given their prior-established capability to compete among the very best on their day (notably through dismantling Wrexham in a belated final day surge) but nonetheless had supporters gripped amid a distinct trend of progress that represented an upwards platform on which they could catalyse success next time around. The American consortium's spearhead Peter Freund transmitted that very sentiment to supporters thereafter; next year, it was again forecast, would bring a fulfilment of the undeniable potential. Continuity was again perceived as the overarching aspect behind that manifesting having proved immensely fruitful the previous summer when minimal additions to a settled core, indeed the fewest in the division, enabled an explosive ascent while fellow competitors were incrementally gelling. That was repeated but football is not an exact science with guaranteed formula to yield an outcome so now it incurred the adverse effect of leaving the squad too stagnant: the 5-3-2 shape, previously well executed, now comprised square pegs in round holes at the consequence of gaping holes to their detriment, and firepower at the other end was not a sufficient remedy. Recruitment, if minimal, had to be specifically tailored but instead missed the mark significantly. Joey Jones then Brandon Comley had both played the driving midfielder role well at times and theoretically Omar Mussa, snared from the clutches of rivals Southend United for whom he was near-guaranteed to sign from Weymouth after a stellar campaign beforehand, seemed an ideal candidate to seize the baton however proved a bitterly underwhelming failure. Moreover, the departure of serial play-off achiever albeit error prone Callum Reynolds left a stylistic void in defence, with replacement David Longe-King plus Manny Onariase both just as prone to concentration lapses yet not possessing the same ability to enforce a tempo with intelligent passes through the lines. Worsening matters was the initial insistence upon deploying natural full backs Elliott Johnson and Josh Hare further inside as wide centre halves, envisaging the latter performing the role of the departed Will Wright. He went on to have a solid campaign, especially when eventually moved, but really struggled beforehand. That the wing-backs represented square pegs in round holes for their non-aptitude to that tailored duty, too, further contributed to the team chronically lacking coherence all throughout the pitch which ultimately left the attacking department badly detached without stable foundations around it. Even more damning is the fact that within just six weeks, the club would be requiring emergency loans to fill not even the squad outskirts but actual lineup altogether. A mess is what it was. Nonetheless, there were still rare yet significantly compelling occasions whereby the Daggers temporarily showcased their undeniable capability, none more so than ending Notts County's 25-game unbeaten streak by becoming the first and only side to win there all season thus handing Wrexham the unrelinquished initiative in the most spectacular title race ever. That was a freak result defying all logic to extraordinary proportions but actually far from a one-off in that only one club accumulated more points against the eventual top seven of those who finished outside it - also contributing to that statistic: a league double over Barnet, four points accumulated against Bromley plus Boreham Wood, and an incredible triumph at Chesterfield just three days after sinking to their lowest ebb through 5-1 mauling at part-time newcomers Dorking Wanderers.
Therein lay the overarching problem. Such a stark transformation, amid a fittingly erratic Autumnal period in which they had a seven-game streak featuring 38 goals, underlined a sheer unpredictability that persisted throughout the campaign. Seemingly allergic to any momentum, they would follow up an uplifting result by a comparatively unrecognisable dismantling against opposition from the bottom third, hence Yeovil doing the double while their fellow relegation fodder Scunthorpe and Torquay, among others, all recorded three point hauls at our expense. When the extremities level out, what's left is mid-table mediocrity.
Warning signs towards that exact eventuality were glaring ominously from the very outset, with the tone of Dagenham's season firmly established after just a dozen minutes, at which point they trailed recently promoted Gateshead by two goals having been repeatedly sliced open particularly via the gaping region between the left centre-half and wing back. A subsequent fightback saw Paul McCallum redeem a penalty miss to halve the deficit before Junior Morias restored parity altogether deep into stoppage time, for an unforeseeably positive result under the circumstances albeit one that commenced the trend of being reactive over proactive. Conceding twice in quick succession again the very next week, around the half-hour mark this time away to Woking, intensified the viewpoint that they would not always be able to get away with giving themselves a mountain to climb. Still they made the same mistakes. Especially on the road, as discontent within the travelling contingents quickly reached a temperature akin to the August backdrop, when the subsequent two away games brought a last-gasp concession at Eastleigh before second-bottom Yeovil encountered feeble resistance in grabbing their first win - a scrappy victory over Maidenhead inbetween had constructed the superficial illusion of progress, the first of many false dawns preceding a reversion to type, evidenced by what happened at Huish Park thereafter. Another such example came as Bromley were dismantled 4-1 through a genuinely compelling performance centring around the ongoing brilliance of brace-bagging Morias, but then came a deeply damaging thump back down to earth. Such was the sheer class of subsequent visitors Notts County that they may have put five past any opponent on the day, however couldn't have hoped for one more generous and the boos conveyed the fury towards this. An enforced postponement of the next game due to Queen Elizabeth II's nationally-mourned passing provided some savoured respite before Dagenham were thrust back into a fiery cauldron in the form of Wrexham away under the floodlights at the Racecourse, where the odds were so overwhelmingly stacked against them - a makeshift back three containing calamitous wreck Yoan Zouma and a young Millwall loanee Karlan Grant, all while backed by the lowest proportion of away fans to a National League game all season - that the eventual 4-1 deficit felt like a lucky escape somewhat. Against lesser calibre opponents thereafter, merely relying upon their strikeforce sufficed and the side began a decent streak on home soil by comfortably easing past Altrincham then edging Barnet in a nine-goal thriller whereby Josh Walker completed a stunning hat-trick in the dying seconds. Finally a corner appeared to have been turned, only for a fateful afternoon at Dorking to emphatically disprove that notion... An indefensible 5-1 trouncing proved untenable the position of manager Daryl McMahon towards whom toxicity among supporters escalated to embittered depths; a soul-destroyingly dark day after which the most undesirable prospect was a midweek trip to Chesterfield that surely guaranteed another, probably worse mauling. Yet, at rock bottom, the only direction is up and Daggers reaffirmed their status as the division if not country's most erratically bipolar team by winning there 3-2 for the ideal morale-booster ahead of an Essex derby against Southend that conceivably could have descended to any place. Thankfully, the team settled into a more sustainable rhythm, drawing 1-1 in that as well as the next game at York City. A trip to Halifax's Shay Stadium, where they had lost an incredible eight straight times, proved a predictable anomaly to what was otherwise a solid end to the month with four points from home games against Boreham Wood (1-1) and Wealdstone (4-1). There was also straightforward passage to the FA Cup first round via a 7-0 demolition at plucky underdogs Beckenham Town, setting up a tie at Maidenhead United that was won by Walker's sole strike to begin November, which preceded league successes over Solihull Moors and Scunthorpe United. Both encompassed different skillsets - the first an explosive dismantling, the second requiring more perseverant grit - and each of those would be needed in equal measure to get past League Two Gillingham in the cup. Everything was going perfectly as Walker's late goal had them on course for a coveted third round place until Gills' last throw of the dice in the last moment came up with an equaliser. The frustration that enveloped Victoria Road after control had been relinquished to the jeopardy of a replay, would remain when Torquay United visited a week later, them withstanding a sustained barrage to claim a smash-and-grab 1-0.
There was little time to dwell over it as the all-important return date with Gillingham loomed, now with the enticing incentive of Premier League outfit Leicester City, the hometown supported club of Matt Robinson so it felt fitting that that he scored the opener towards that dream tie but the perfect script took a sinister turn ultimately culminating in last-kick heartbreak. It took a long while to recover from, especially with a weather-enforced break until their next encounter as they commenced the pathway to success in their other active competition, the Trophy. Uxbridge were bypassed, before the club began making progress their regular campaign with two narrow triumphs against Maidstone either side of the new year. Despite losing to Woking, a Walker double at Aldershot three days later secured a top seven place for the first time all season.
Things were finally coming together in the league, if not Trophy in which they were eliminated by Maidenhead, and at 1-0 up away to Bromley they were another unanswered goal from reaching fifth, but then everything collapsed as a late equaliser preceded defeat to Yeovil Town and suddenly they had work to do ahead of a make-or-break February featuring eight games on a gruelling Saturday-Tuesday basis. Losing the irreplaceable Josh Walker to a deserved EFL move just twenty minutes into the month unfortunately foreshadowed its descent to the latter effect through a dreadful run. Heir to the vacated number seven shirt, new signing Inih Effiong, inspired a victory over Solihull however its placement within four defeats meant the play-offs were slipping beyond grasp: Wealdstone, Oldham (the worst second half imaginable), Eastleigh and Scunthorpe inflicting them. The latter sparked fresh protestation at under-pressure McMahon. So, as is customary, he then oversaw the kind of crack-papering result - Aldershot beaten 2-1 - that typically prolongs the inescapable cycle under a superficial guise of progress, or so supporters unanimously thought, hence the widespread shock when his acrimonious departure was announced on the eve of an immensely daunting trip to Notts County. Rúben Rodrigues set the rampant league leaders on course for a massacre akin to the reverse meeting but what happened next defied all logical comprehension - a stunning turnaround from the now managerless Daggers making them the first visiting victors at Notts County whose 25 game unbeaten run evaporated in fashion scarcely believable even now, let alone at the time. That it was followed up by defeat away to Maidenhead, with the heroic defence reverting to a porous shambles, however, was entirely believable. It was Dagenham personified to the utmost degree. After only doing so once beforehand, they came from behind to win on successive Saturdays when York visited Victoria Road, but Wrexham's visit three days later proved a step too far as Steve Gritt departed the dugout for popular former player Ben Strevens, whose unveiling catalysed a real feelgood factor that crescendoed upon his first game versus Oldham. A point signified a good start, developed with his first win in jubilant circumstances courtesy of an Effiong-executed robbery at the English Riviera, yet if the manager was under any illusions about the job then a deplorable abomination at the most northerly outpost of Gateshead in midweek demonstrated the unreliability he was inheriting. After a pitiful reverse to Dorking afterwards, all enthusiasm had drained, and the club were clearly going through the motions as they beat Boreham Wood on Good Friday then rolled over for Chesterfield the other side of the Easter weekend. Having let supporters down for the most part minus standalone occasions, the players still had an opportunity to not redeem or excuse, but at least restore sizeable credit when Southend away arrived. Mass hope brought a travelling contingent totalling 735, all of whom were dealt a colossal disservice tantamount to having two fingers stuck up in return, as a non-bothered display brought a two goal defeat. From then onwards, the season could not end soon enough having turned into an excruciating chore of endurance. The last midweek trip, to Altrincham, certainly befitted that description for all parties though did bring an entertaining 2-2 draw. A final home game against Halifax Town proved the exact opposite, a dull stalemate ending with Effiong missing a penalty to aptly conclude a frustrating year on home soil while denying Strevens a first victory there towards eventually turning it to a fortress. Pleasingly, there would be a nice resolution overall in the form of a curtain-closing triumph at Barnet, who rested virtually the entire team in preparation for an upcoming play-off eliminator on home soil so were still the real winners regardless of what happened on the pitch that day. Though a good performance and pleasing afternoon, what Dagenham would have given to be in that situation instead.
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January 2024
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