Exactly one month before the next Vanarama National League campaign kicks off came the eagerly-awaited fixtures announcement; it generates the first real widespread wave of anticipation amongst playing staff and supporters alike, both of whom can now plan their respective schedules accordingly.
Despite only being in the initial phase within our preparations, the starting line has emerged in the horizon now and the virtual countdown has begun ticking towards the all important date of August 6th, which we now know will deliver a home curtain-raiser against recent NL North champions Gateshead. There's not much that would have been overly unnerving given how we dismantled title favourites Stockport last season and this is a indeed very decent fixture overall, although we'll have to be extremely vigilant to the enormous momentum that typically remains after promotion, as was the case when Woking outclassed us in 2017/18's curtain raiser. It sets the tone for a favourable opening month whereby we will realistically be targeting fifteen points from eighteen as an absolute minimum, albeit very much in the knowledge that every fixture at this level can prove hugely problematic irrespective of how it might be perceived beforehand. Woking (A) and Bromley (H) are the most challenging amongst them but a team harbouring our ambitions should still navigate them with maximum efficiency. Gateshead (H), Eastleigh (A), Maidenhead (H) and Yeovil (A), meanwhile, are complete non-negotiables...on paper, at least. Realism however dictates that things will likely turn out differently one way or another - because that's football - much like last season when the most difficult forecasted games throughout the first few weeks were actually the ones we won most convincingly. This time it's much easier on the surface, thus a really good opportunity for us to explode in similar fashion, which would provide an important platform to build upon. Having a settled squad could be very conducive to that aspiration, while others will be tentatively gelling together having undergone large-scale rebuilds. Shifting focus to a solely scheduling standpoint now, the league have customarily thrown in some ludicrous midweek trips across the board including for ourselves to Wrexham and Chesterfield in consecutive months. Sometimes circumstances render this unavoidable but, with several local clashes given Saturday slots, you naturally wonder whether more could be done to maximise convenience for travelling supporters by giving them shorter evening journeys. That said, such away trips are often amongst the most enjoyable and the sight of 50 Daggers bunched together in the spacious away end at the otherwise packed Racecourse will be one to behold. Logistical question marks are also posed towards our Boxing Day billing, though at least on home soil, being against Maidstone United rather than desired opposition Southend United who incidentally face Bromley to only amplify the confusion - logic dictates the Essex and Kent outfits be paired together though once again we're not privy to the overlapping stipulations that must be adhered to. Indeed, we'll have to wait quite a while before venturing to Roots Hall as it's the penultimate away game inbetween trips to Boreham Wood and Barnet, meaning a very tasty finale especially if we're in the promotion hunt as is hoped. That's the main talking points covered, now it's all about readying our troops for that deadline, with several pre-season friendlies interspersed within a rigourous training programme over the coming weeks.
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WRITERArchives
January 2024
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