Beyond symbolising a sacred ritualism indelibly engraved within the culture of British festivities, the gloriously hectic late December/early January footballing schedule can often be a critical period in determining any side's fortunes thereafter. Just six points away from the top seven status they should never have relinquished, the Daggers will be hoping they can use this period as a springboard towards reigniting a promotion challenge that had badly faltered over the preceding months.
Though punctuated by their entry points to two other domestic competitions, our timely break from National League action these past few weeks has signified calmness before the upcoming proverbial storm of three games inside a hectic seven day period. Hosting Aldershot Town inbetween a double-header against relegation certainties Dover Athletic is a palatable streak of fixtures from which it is neither unreasonable nor unachievable to target a maximum yield of nine points. Our hopes of doing just that will be bolstered by the fact McMahon's starting eleven will resemble something reminiscent of our strongest. Matt Robinson, Mauro Vilhete and Ángelo Balanta are all back in contention after missing the Truro trip through Covid-related reasons, while Josh Walker made a goalscoring return in that very game having replaced fellow injury returnee Junior Morias at half time. Midfield duo Joey Jones and Mo Sagaf, both so fundamental to our style of play, are also presumed fit. Squad rotation amongst the group, especially as many of whom are naturally injury-prone, will be inevitable over the three games yet we're finally in the fortunate position of having some much-needed depth at our disposal. Aside from Harry Phipps, Scott Wilson and Paul McCallum, it's believed we have a full team to strategically utilise but naturally that can also present problems. Will the recently fruitful partnership of Akanbi and Balanta, for example, be penetrated by the return of arguably our best finisher in Walker? That's before we even consider our five-figure arrival Morias, too. It's not inconceivable that having this quality back will trigger a return of our early season form rather than the woeful run of seven defeats from ten that proceeded it. Certainly this period will be vital; it could be the catalyst behind the momentum-driven resurrection of our season, yet could conversely cause us to slip down the division in the unacceptable scenario that results don't go our way. Therein lies the importance of the Christmas period. Besides last season's diluted behind-closed-doors era, which is worryingly becoming reality again elsewhere in the UK, our festive periods have largely been quite memorable since we were relegated to this level, no more so than beating Leyton Orient 2-1 in a Victoria Road classic on Boxing Day 2018. That was a rare high point in the Peter Taylor era but one year later there was a distinctly different vibe, as our results on the 26th and 28th December marked the long-overdue end of his reign. Hopefully, this one is retrospectively remembered as a positive turning point in our season, from which we rapidly shot up the league table and never looked back. The fixtures are promising by every metric, but it's important to remember that many of our opponents will be embroiled in just as stern a battle at the opposite end of the division so, as manager Daryl McMahon often reiterates - it'll be far from straightforward.
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To say it has been a disappointing few weeks for the Daggers would qualify as a seismic understatement. The injury-stricken team are unceremoniously tumbling down the division having lost eight from their last eleven league outings including three in succession, while head of recruitment John Still and physio Julien Allwood have both walked away from Victoria Road to embark on opportunities elsewhere.
That the above-mentioned departures haven't even been officially announced by the club somewhat amplifies the emerging discourse between playing personnel and supporters, whose patience is rapidly evaporating in a manner as rapid as their side's season, which begun with such promise yet is now descending into familiar mediocrity. Momentum has shifted to the other extreme - turning the tide is a lot harder than riding the wave. Recurring issues across different segments of the pitch, primarily our own box, has been interspersed with untimely player absences to leave us in this concerning position. Our strongest eleven remains amongst the best in the division but problems arise once that is eroded and we're forced to delve beneath it. McMahon has frequently reiterated a narrative of misfortune yet it's underpinned by a depressing predictability. It was his strategy to operate with a thin squad containing a proportion of historically injury-prone players and the risk has backfired like everybody feared it might. Our demise can be attributed to a multitude of factors that have fused together. Our chronic inability to defend crosses into our box is a problem that never seems to subside and is a key reason why we've only kept a paltry two clean sheets so far. Our tendency to outscore teams was always going to be temporary; our attack is no longer capable of concealing our shortcomings at the other end of the pitch, especially as we continue to lose key players to injury. Another significant moment in our season and something that somewhat foreshadowed our subsequent downfall in the eyes of many was the decision to give McMahon a new three-year deal after just six games. Offering such a lucrative reward for what can retrospectively be viewed as merely a good start, rather than the platform to build on we all hoped, transmitted the wrong message and may have implicitly instilled a more relaxed mentality. All of a sudden, we're one defeat away from dropping into the bottom half. Following our upcoming clash against fellow out-of-form outfit Grimsby Town, we then have a welcome three week break from league action that is punctuated by our entry points to two competitions - the Essex Senior Cup and FA Trophy - between which there is twelve days of valuable recuperation. A second string team will play against Concord Rangers, if we even have the luxury of depth at this stage, while one would also assume we'll rest a few for our logistically arduous trip to Truro City. Those shrink into insignificance, though, compared to the importance of resurrecting our league campaign. Urgent intervention is needed, perhaps through a strategic use of the transfer market, in order to prevent another season of under-performance from occurring. All is not lost but the fanbase are well-versed enough in disappointment to be able to identify when a concerning trend is developing - one glance at our primarily red form guide unfortunately reinforces that. |
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January 2024
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