On Thursday afternoon, Daggers announced the somewhat unforeseen signing of striker Junior Morias from divisional rivals King's Lynn Town for an undisclosed fee totalling five figures - thus substantiating a rumour that had spontaneously emerged on Twitter several hours earlier.
The most authentic insight towards a new signing typically comes not from reputable sources but rather the unfiltered opinions of those who supported any of their previous clubs, from the relatable vantage point of the terraces. That King's Lynn fans are unanimous in their criticism of Morias is disconcerting, with many expressing gleeful surprise that a club higher in the table has paid money for his services. His record of one in seven this season is disappointing, albeit that should probably be two because his strike against us in mid-September was harshly reclassified as a Callum Reynolds own goal. However, no positive spin can possibly be applied to the fact that he's only recorded four goals across his last 60 appearances for St Mirren, Boreham Wood and now King's Lynn combined. It's hard to envisage him suddenly becoming prolific for us, although it would obviously be brilliant if he did. For the purpose of balance, it's important to state that supporters of Northampton, for whom he actually made his professional debut at Victoria Road, largely consider him a good player based on his time there. Peterborough notoriously have an eye for a non-league gem and the then League One club also signed him in 2017. No bad footballer makes nearly a half-century of appearances in the third division of English football so a picture then emerges of someone that might have lost their way. There is an enormous difference between expressing doubts about a signing and writing them off before they've even kicked a ball. Any official judgement will be reserved until he's he's put on a Dagenham shirt, which will presumably be very soon considering our current crisis. Injuries to Wilson and Walker - the latter of which is unfortunately believed to be long-term - coupled with McCallum's suspension, means the new man will be in contention to make his debut straight away at Maidenhead. So what can we expect? Well, he was King's Lynn's biggest threat when we played them away from home three weeks into the season, although there wasn't too much competition on that particular front. Aggressive pressing and probing at our defence seemed to typify his game, but unfortunately the missing ingredient was finishing as he spurned several openings inside the box. Playing alongside better footballers could increase his productivity, though, much like being supplied with better service might. Time will only tell how this one unfolds, but one indisputable fact is that there are certainly strikers more worthy of a five-figure fee being spent on them. Morias has a lot of faith to repay and everybody will be rooting for him to do just that.
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January 2024
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