Like so many other football supporters around the country, I was plunged into a state of shocked silence when the news of Bury's expulsion from the EFL filtered through during the early hours of Tuesday morning.
That such a harrowing turn came mere hours after a last-gasp takeover bid seemed to indicate that there was indeed light at the end of the tunnel, will feel like a final punch to the face for supporters who have suffered so much in recent times. To watch your club crumble into nothingness, and a rich history diminish into faded memories, simply doesn't bear thinking about. It's incomprehensible. As complex and unfathomable as the intricacies of Bury's demise are, the viewpoint of the fans is simple. They just want to watch their team play football, and that's been taken from them in the cruellest way possible due to incompetence from top to bottom. Stewart Day lit the fuse on Bury's problems then Steve Dale, a callous man who will never understand the pain he's caused, made it so much worse. The EFL just watched, like a motionless spectator rather than a supposed governing body who are meant to protect each of it's clubs; when they finally acted, it was to punish the innocent bystanders while the guilty perpetrators walk away and wash their hands of it. They've lost nothing, but the fans and the staff have lost everything. They're dazed, they're confused, a piece of their hearts have been snatched from them. Sure, they might reform as a new entity, but it may never feel the same and the pain that has been caused on this fateful week would have left permanent wounds. The looks on the faces of the Bury supporters shown on the TV coverage have been nothing short of heartbreaking. Contrary to some public opinion, though, it wasn't the responsibility of big clubs to bail Bury out, although when you see that 15/20 top flight teams were in favour of contributing to former Premier League Chief Executive Richard Scudamore's ridiculous 5 million pound departing gift yet not a single one of them even put a tweet out about Bury, it's perhaps an indictment of the current state of English football. The gap widens and the imbalance increases. So, in a couple of weeks when the situation dies down in the public eye, everything will return to normal. Sky Sports, tabloids and websites will go back to telling us how much money Alexis Sanchez is on per week while Bury will be consigned to the history books, their 134-year history only existing in the minds of those who have lived it. This week, football fans have asked so many questions as to how and why this mess unfolded. However, the one question at the forefront of so many people's minds was this: What if it was me? What if it was my club? It's made a lot of people reflect. As people woke up on Tuesday morning, every lower league football fan would've thought how grateful they are to have a club with which they can share so many memories. The thought of it one day being taken all away is bad enough, but the reality would leave everlasting pain. We all think it would never be our club, but this sorry mess acts as a timely reminder of the true fragility of lower-league football. If it can happen to Bury and nearly happen to Bolton, it can happen to any of us. That's why I'm so glad that my club, Dagenham, seem to have a stable future under the astute ownership of the Americans. Our financial struggles weren't nearly as bad as Bury's, but there was still a time where our long-term future looked somewhat uncertain. So, as we go to Chesterfield this weekend, there will be a lot more perspective and tolerance. A refereeing blunder will seem a bit less frustrating, a last minute defeat won't be the end of the world. We'll exit that stadium, regardless of the result, grateful that we can do it all again next week. That's a luxury Bury fans will never have again.
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Joe Quigley missing from two yards, Alex McQueen clipping a corner straight out of play in stoppage time, Peter Taylor taking off our three brightest players - there were a number of moments which summed up yesterday's entire game with such precision and accuracy.
Their manager Pete Wild said that we could and should have got a point. It's hard to disagree with him but the premise that we were unlucky and didn't get the rub of the green is just wrong. Halifax deserved the three points for the simple fact that they actually looked dangerous in and around the box, which is where - for all our acceptable play in other areas - it all fell apart for us. It's true that we knocked the ball about well at times, it's true that we were much the better team up until Halifax scored with their first shot on goal. However, with a manager who exhibits such baffling tactics and a team that are so wasteful when the chances finally fall to us, we were always going to lose. Luque and Dobson are good crossers of the ball but when the main talisman of our team who is supposed to be a threatening presence in the area is actually a complete passenger who offers very little, then it's no wonder that our creativity came to a sudden halt. It's no wonder that we haven't scored in two of our three games so far - only Chorley and Eastleigh can say the same. Quigley's miss was absolutely dreadful, our third contender for 'miss of the season' in as many games. What did we expect, though, from a striker who averages 1.5 goals per club? What did we expect from a striker who has failed at four bottom-half National League sides in the past? What did we expect from a striker who Shamir Mullings, the man he's currently rivalling as possibly our worst player in the last decade if not longer, kept out of the Maidstone team? He's not 'finding his feet', he's not 'settling in', he's not 'adjusting' - he's awful and I know that's a brave judgement on somebody based on three games but it's fact. Taylor hasn't unearthed a 20 goal-a-season striker just waiting to be unleashed; the most skilful and intelligent thing Quigley has done so far is managing to not connect with a cross that was practically on the goal-line. Seeing him stay on the pitch despite doing nothing in our three fixtures to date is torturous. Even more so when players who look sharp are inexplicably taken off. Quite why we'd withdraw Luque, Dobson and Eleftheriou when we're 1-0 down and trailing with time running out, was beyond the 74 travelling fans. The substitutions ironically killed the game at a time where we were getting closer. Had we brought on Grant for Quigley, we could've got a point or at the very least given it a much better go than we eventually mustered. The players he took off, plus Balanta, were the only ones creating anything. Therein lies the problem with Taylor. Even at 1-0 down he was trying to limit Halifax rather than strengthen us. In his post-match interview he then played down the result by emphasising how hard it is to go to the team top of the league - we're three games in and Halifax are a bottom-half team who will be closer to relegation than promotion. So there we go. Days after a very impressive victory at Dover, we revert to type and are brought crashing down again. In order to get the 16 points Peter Taylor is targeting from August, we need to win four of the five remaining games this month which isn't going to happen. Two big home games coming up though and we need points from them. The hugely-contrasting nature of our first two performances of the season have done nothing in terms of helping supporters decipher whether we're actually any good or not. On the basis of the Woking performance we'd be lucky to stay up yet judging by Tuesday at Dover we should be targeting the play-offs at a minimum.
So are we one, the other or somewhere in between? Of course we can't read too much into either of the two performances so it will take upwards of eight games to judge where we're at and how the campaign is likely to pan out. Today will perhaps be the most accurate reflection so far of our team's credentials as we head to Halifax in what will certainly be a tricky contest. The Shaymen, under new manager Pete Wild who has instilled bundles of confidence into his team, are the only team with a 100% record so far. Not only does this epitomise the competitiveness of the National League this year (in 2018/19 there were four clubs with two wins from two), but it gives an indication of the kind of opposition we'll be up against today. Generally, Halifax aren't the greatest outfit in the division but once again we've caught them in August, where they tend to get off to a flyer before inevitably falling away. As usual, they're the early pace setters and it's the third year in a row where they've topped the table in the opening few weeks. They're going to be well up for it today as they're in front of their own supporters and obviously full of confidence. However, I'm quietly optimistic about this one - we're the better team on paper and the wide, expansive Shay surface would suit us perfectly if we set up like we did at Dover, where we were excellent down the wings. There have been few places more miserable to visit in recent years than Halifax, with our visits to the MBI Shay Stadium being marred with instances of severe misfortune, from our 2016 FA Cup exit to 2016's. As the Daggers return for an away game which seems synonymous with anger and frustration, Peter Taylor will not only be looking to end our bad luck in West Yorkshire, but indeed his own this season I can't see Taylor deviating from the lineup that proved so successful in midweek, where we produced a controlled and assured display to defeat a decent side who not many will beat at their own ground. In particular, Dobson, Luque and Balanta were brilliant and they linked up brilliantly with fluid interchanges and intricate interplay. Bagasan Graham at left-back and Ángelo Balanta as an attacking midfielder are things Peter Taylor has never tried before yet they proved highly effective. Balanta ran the show in his deeper role and was assisted by the wingers Luque and Dobson, whose directness and crossing caused problems. Of course, if Taylor does fancy mixing it up a bit then he has two highly capable players in Liam Gordon and Reece Grant, both of whom were unfortunate not to start in either of our games so far. After two fairly pedestrian displays, Joe Quigley's position may be under threat but I expect Taylor to persist with him. Halifax beat Hartlepool 2-0 on Tuesday evening and their lineup was as follows: Sam Johnson; Jerome Binnom-Williams, Michael Duckworth, Matty Brown, Nathan Clarke; Cameron King, Josh Staunton, Niall Maher; Jeff King, Danny Williams, Tobi Sho-Silva. By all accounts, Cameron King has been pulling the strings in midfield and so we'll have to watch out for him today. Earlier in the week, Halifax manager Pete Wild said “I’m not going to sit at home worrying about Dagenham and Redbridge, I’m going to make sure that my lads are ready to go." - I hope Taylor adopts the same mentality and goes for it, playing to our own strengths without worrying about what Halifax are capable of. We focused too much on nullifying Woking's threat last weekend and got what we deserved, but on Tuesday we played on our advantages and it worked so let's hope for much of the same. So let's see what today brings and no doubt we'll learn more about the team with each passing game. It's going to be difficult, but let's hope the long journey is worthwhile and we return to Dagenham with our second victory on the road in just a few days, ahead of two upcoming home fixtures. If we get something today, then all of a sudden things will be looking decent. Up the Dags That there's only been two games in three days of the brand new Vanarama National League season, yet we've already seen two performances of vastly-contrasting proportions, indicates that we could be in for another nine months of fluctuating unpredictability, where it's as possible that we can turn up and be brilliant as it is we'll be awful.
Having bounced from one extreme to the other in the last few days, we can neither be too disappointed with Saturday nor too delighted after last night because, as we've seen under Peter Taylor in particular, things can change so rapidly. To get the first three points on the board is massive though and doing it while playing really well against a decent side certainly bodes well for the future. Saturday was dreadful in every aspect, we were weak in defence and toothless going forward. Fast forward a mere 72 hours and we were a transformed side who looked full of confidence and sprayed the ball around the pitch with almost a self-assured arrogance about us. So what changed? Well, James Dobson and Joan Luque were absolutely tremendous and, as glorious as last night's victory was, it's almost tinged with the frustration as to why we didn't do the same thing ahead of Saturday. Credit to Peter Taylor though, he made the necessary changes and it paid dividends. For once we focused on ourselves and let our offensive strengths counteract everything Dover had to offer, and I hope we adopt a similar mentality ahead of our trip to early pace-setters Halifax in a few days' time. There are still problems in the team but, unlike against Woking, we had enough creativity and potency to render those insignificant. Balanta up front was easily the best player on the pitch and his movement was brilliant all night. He started and finished the move which put us ahead, won the winning penalty and overall proved a menace all night. Him, Luque and Dobson caused havoc, especially for an ageing Scott Doe at the heart of the hosts' defence, and for their full-backs Taylor and Passley who were constantly exposed. We seemed to target their weaknesses and exploit them at every opportunity. How we didn't win by a greater margin though was quite incredible as we missed an open goal, hit the post twice and failed to convert when Worgan had slipped and left 80% of his goal gaping. Our opener was absolute class, an intricate counter-attacking move from one end to the other in a matter of seconds, and came at a time where we were dominating the game. However, from the moment Alfie Pavey emphatically headed Dover level, their tails were up and we struggled. As soon as you concede after missing the chances that we did, you just feel like you're going to be punished and, as Dover ended both halves by throwing everything at us while camping inside our half, we looked fragile. Away to a very good side though, who won't lose too many times at Crabble this season, that's perhaps to be expected and it takes nothing away from our performance. In truth, it was a well-contested game between two similarly-matched teams who both performed well. It could and maybe should have been a draw but in the end what tipped it in our favour was the very thing that has worked against us for so long - our superior finishing, the cutting-edge we possessed. That's what happens when we play our most threatening and creative players, plus we still had Reece Grant on the bench. I'd like to see Grant start soon as Quigley was pretty much a passenger yet again; he may win less flick-ons (supposedly) but he'll do significantly more damage with the ball at his feet. Dover were decent and that's why winning away from home to them was so impressive. Inih Effiong, the battering-ram powerhouse up front, bullied us all evening while his strike-partner Alfie Pavey looked really dangerous, especially with his head. In their midfield, it was nice to see Jack Munns do well (though not too well of course) and get the reception he deserved from our supporters. Fittingly, our winner came from the penalty spot, something that seemed quite fitting. Brundle's spot-kick was clinical and cool, with the feelings of delight just about eclipsing the feelings of surprise at seeing the ball nestle into the net! Finer details like having a good penalty-taker could honestly be the difference between finishing mid-table and on the cusp or in the play-offs - by scoring 75% of our penalties we could earn as many as ten points more, which is huge. It's only one win, but what a win it was. Brundle, Clark, Luque, Dobson and Balanta were all absolutely brilliant and, though we were shaky defensively, the determination to preserve our lead was excellent. It couldn't have been more different to Saturday and to be off the mark feels good. Already we've got more points this season than the entirety of August last campaign, not that that's the benchmark. Onwards and upwards, Halifax Saturday should be a great day and let's hope we can get three points against the only side with a 100% winning record. Up the Dags A healthy budget made available for Peter Taylor who could sign people at his discretion, several talented new signings through the door, pace and height spread evenly throughout the squad, two very good players for each position and, best of all, the exciting claim that we were targeting the play-offs at a bare minimum.
And yet all the optimism dissipated after just seven minutes of the new season, the supposed new era where we were going to really go for it. Seven minutes was all it took to realise that, for all the promises and all the expectations, the fundamental problems of last season still exist. Woking at home, with all respect to Alan Dowson's side, was supposed to be a good start for us. Three points against a part-time, newly-promoted outfit who shouldn't have been able to pose too much of a threat to us given the season that, we were told, was in store for us. It was a game that, on paper, many teams would have wanted to start with. Yet Woking didn't just merely 'pose a threat', but they overpowered us all over the pitch. Two scrappy set-piece goals settled the game but, in truth, it seemed as it was always going to go in the Cards' favour from the moment we saw the starting lineup. Really, we shouldn't have been surprised after some of the inexplicable decisions we witnessed last season. Not starting Joan Luque, James Dobson and Reece Grant was bizarre for so many reasons, especially due to the fact that the latter two were signed for undisclosed fees. We were so interested in them that we were willing to pay fees for their services, something largely rare at this level, only to drop leave them out of the lineup for the first game. It's not like they didn't have a good pre-season, either. Luque, Dobson and Grant were all impressive in all of the friendlies that they featured in, but the reason they didn't start today was because perhaps they showed a bit too much attacking threat. Bagasan Graham and Alex McQueen, wingers that can also play as full-backs or wing-backs, were safer options, certainly more conducive to our game plan which was clearly to limit Woking. Quite why we insist on playing for a point against average-at-best teams will constantly baffle supporters. Woking didn't worry about us at all, instead focusing on their game plan which they executed to perfection. Maybe if we'd have done the same and fielded players who are adept at scoring or creating, then we wouldn't have been humbled at home to a part-time side. That's not to disrespect Woking, who were very good. In particular their defensive line was solid and, at the other end, they pressed with continuity and intensity. Then, when they had opportunities to utilise their aerial power at set-pieces, they seized them clinically. It was a good away victory for them and a lesson that it's more effective to have lesser-ability players that are set-up effectively than have ones that are supposedly decent, but are organised poorly. Meanwhile, 95% of our crosses were either headed away by a defender or effortlessly caught by keeper Craig Ross. Maybe that's because our best crosser of the ball was on the bench, or maybe it's because our target man Joe Quigley offered very little up front aside from incomprehensibly missing our two best chances that were put on an absolute plate for him. We've got strength in every position, yet today we were eclipsed in every department. We've got height in our team, yet we conceded two point-blank tap ins from crosses that weren't cleared. There's a lot that needs to be addressed, but at least we have the luxury of another game in just three days' time at Dover. It may only be one game, but this wasn't a one-off and will happen time and time again if we set up like we did today, with attacking talent on the bench and a centre-half playing at left-back. However, we have to trust that Taylor knows what he's doing and will put it right on Tuesday. |
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January 2024
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