Wembley Stadium has hosted thousands of high-profile sporting events since it's opening in 2007 and it's fabled arch has overseen plenty of promotions in that time. Several teams have walked those famous 107 steps to lift silverware and several have watched glumly from down below. Millions of football supporters have emerged from Wembley Park Station with hope in their hearts and nervous excitement in their stomachs. Therefore, the 2010 Play-Off Final between Dagenham and Rotherham United won't rank amongst the most memorable matches to have been contested on the hallowed turf of the national stadium. Beyond the confines of a relatively insignificant London borough and an unremarkable town in South Yorkshire, it won't be remembered. However, for everybody associated with Dagenham & Redbridge, the 30th May 2010 will never be forgotten. It was the day they achieved promotion to League One, a statement that only scrapes the surface of how remarkable an accomplishment that was for a plucky little outfit who, just a few years earlier, were battling it out with Canvey Island and Gravesend but would now be taking on the likes of Southampton, Charlton and Sheffield Wednesday as their equal. It was a dream turned into reality by John Still and a valiant team characterised by incredible determination. ''Dagenham & Redbridge look a very different side to about ten or fifteen minutes ago when they were on the back foot, and here's Benson...BRILLIANT!!!!! Paul Benson...with the stuff of fairytales!'' Understanding the sheer magnitude of this achievement requires just a quick glance at at the current league table. The Daggers are 18th in the National League, a position more reflective of their status in the football pyramid. Our attendances and ground are fairly standard for the level we play at. A few years ago, we were the only Football League side nobody could name on the BBC show Pointless. We're not a big club. We're not even a medium-sized club. Most of all, we're certainly not a League One-sized club. However, despite all that, we became a League One club after a pulsating day at Wembley that, barring something even more miraculous, will forever retain the title of the greatest occasion in our history. That team, consisting predominantly of hungry players plucked from the darkest depths of non-league in archetypal John Still style, surpassed all expectations. They only crept into the final play-off place on the final day, but managed to destroy Morecambe by a record-breaking margin in the semi-finals and, as we all know, triumph over Rotherham in the showpiece event. They were the first ever seventh-placed side to win promotion from League Two and, to date, hold the record for the biggest margin of victory in a play-off match. They sent Dagenham & Redbridge to the third tier of English football for the first and only time in their existence. So, as we approach an entire decade since history was made, here's an overview of how the past decade has panned out for the players who started that day. Just a small club in Essex? Well, they're just a small club in League One now! PLAY-OFF HEROES: WHERE ARE THEY NOW?Tony ROBERTS - A keeper remembered as much for his eccentric antics as his outstanding reflexes, Roberts delivered possibly one of the most entertaining post-match interviews ever seen at Wembley. After fulfilling a lifelong dream of playing there at the ripe old age of 40, he managed one final season with the Daggers before hanging up the gloves for good. Since then, he's taken on the Goalkeeper Coach role at Swansea, Hebei China Fortune and the Welsh national team, where he is currently. Affectionately regarded by even visiting supporters, there simply aren't many characters like him nowadays. Now aged: 50
Damien McCRORY - The Irishman is widely regarded as our best left-back of the past decade, a feat made even better given that he was only 22 when he left. In the summer of 2012, he joined Burton Albion and played a key role in their rise from League Two to the Championship. McCrory is one of two players on this list who lined up against the Daggers last season, featuring for his current club Notts County in our FA Trophy defeat there in January. Now aged: 30 Scott DOE - The manner in which Doe left the club after nearly 300 appearances over two separate spells certainly wasn't befitting of a man who'd been that great a servant to us. However, while he was on the decline at the latter end of his time at Victoria Road, that doesn't discredit how excellent he was for us overall. After departing for a second time in 2018, he's struggled to find a long-term home, with spells at Whitehawk, Boreham Wood, Billericay Town and now Dover Athletic. Now aged: 31 Mark ARBER - As captain in both the play-off winning season and subsequent League One campaign, Arber was the leader during the best era of the club's history. As such, his respect from the fanbase requires no explanation. He made his exit at the end of the 2011/12 season, having a further season with Dartford and brief stints at Corby and Huntington Town before eventually retiring at the age of 35. He has also coached for Arsenal's academy. Now aged: 42 Abu OGOGO - When asked to name someone who epitomises being a Dagger, there aren't many people that spring to mind before this man. Ogogo started his Dagenham career at right back, the position in which he started the Play-Off Final at just 20 years old, but soon blossomed into both a combative midfielder and one of the best captains we've had at the club. Such was his impact on the team that his departure in 2015 virtually spelled the beginning of the end of our time in the Football League. It's no surprise Ogogo has gone on to earn a similar cult hero status at Shrewsbury Town and now Bristol Rovers. Now aged: 30 Peter GAIN - A battling midfielder who would devote everything to the cause, Gain brought priceless experience to that Dagenham side. He was in the latter years of his career when he joined the club in 2008, yet clearly still had life in him and managed to deliver a solid four years' work for us. In 2012, though, he hung up his boots, that spell under the stewardship of John Still proving to be his last in a respectable thirteen year career. Now aged: 43 Romain VINCELOT - Not a single supporter had heard of Vincelot when he signed for the club in January 2010 after spending the prior years of his career in the French lower leagues. He proved a revelation and the fact he was knocked unconscious while scoring a brave header at Colchester sums him up as a player; heroic, courageous and valiant. On that day at Wembley he nearly cunjured up one of the best goals seen at the national stadium with an audacious overhead kick. Has since played for a string of Football League outfits including Brighton, Leyton Orient, Coventry and Bradford. Currently at Shrewsbury. Now aged: 34 Danny GREEN - Four goals in 28 games for Bishop's Stortford doesn't sound particularly great, but it was enough for John Still to take a chance on Danny Green and he certainly didn't regret it, with the blonde-haired young winger taking League Two by storm in his first season. He found the net at Wembley with a wonderful strike, helping us to the third tier of English football where his equally impressive performances ensured we very nearly stayed up. He's now at Concord Rangers, having also played for Charlton, MK Dons and Luton Town since leaving Victoria Road. Now aged: 31 Jon NURSE - Scored 'that' goal - the most important goal in the club's history. That moment will be forever be imprinted upon the retinas of Dagenham supporters and the images of him celebrating it have been immortalised through the power of the internet. A three-year spell at Barnet was his only meaningful contribution in football after leaving the Daggers, but already had his career high. He now runs the Love The Ball Academy, a name inspired by a comment from former assistant Darren Currie. Now aged: 39 Josh SCOTT - A significant proportion of Josh Scott's career was stunted by injury and his time at Dagenham was no different, but he will nevertheless be fondly remembered at the club for that one afternoon in May when he became the only player in history to score four in one play-off match. His heroics that day meant we had, in the words of Sky's commentator, an arm and a leg in Wembley, and our 3-2 victory under the arch wouldn't have happened without him. After being released in 2014, he played for Aldershot and Hayes & Yeading but simply couldn't find the net regularly. Now aged: 35 Paul BENSON - Another one thrust from obscurity into eternal Dagenham folklore. Benno scored a total of 75 goals in 207 games for the club across two spells, including four in the 2009/10 play-offs, one of which was the all-important opener at Wembley. After leaving in August 2010, he played most notably for Charlton, Swindon and Luton Town but returned to us in 2017 as we attempted to return to the Football League at the first time of asking. Unfortunately, he couldn't work the same magic in the play-offs and we suffered semi-final heartbreak at Forest Green. His last club was Bedford in 2018. Now aged: 40
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January 2024
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