Positives and Negatives

Since the last time I wrote about the Daggers the home defeat against Tranmere we have lost 3 games drew 2 and won 1.  We have shipped 6 goals and scored 1.  I think you could safely say they are the negatives.


A positive from this stat though is the fact that up until Saturday's away game against Northampton we hadn't conceded a goal since Boxing day when we lost 2-0 to Stevenage, granted we have only scored 1 goal in that time but surely it is better to be not scoring and not conceding and picking up draws or the odd win then scoring goals but conceding too many and getting beaten every week?

It looks to me as if we are addressing one of our problems of conceding too many goals.  In an ideal world we would be scoring at the other end as well but unfortunately these things aren't magic and they don't just happen.

Anyone would have thought that after the reaction of some fans at losing to Northampton at Northampton, 1-0,to a team incidentally we have only ever gotten a point from in all our meetings with them, that it was the end of the world.  Ok, so by all accounts the team didn't play too well, but think about it if Murphy scores his effort maybe we hang on and get three points.  Of course its disappointing to lose it always is but we lost 1-0 to a very good goal and we are in the bottom two on goal difference.  The way some fans reacted you would think we were bottom of the league 10 points adrift.  I know it's not great at the moment and I know it seems like the manager is making excuses but I seriously believe it is going to get better.  The fact that we have nowhere to train is a major problem and needs to be addressed as soon as possible because giving players days off  because they can't train is unacceptable, but I expect the manager his staff and all at the club are doing their up-most to make sure that isn't a regular occurrence and we are better prepared next time.

In all the years I have watched the Daggers there have been more downs then ups (although the ups have been major ups) but normally in a season where it looks like we are in a struggle, normally  something happens.  It may be a tactical piece of genius by the manager or as in times gone by it might be a total fluke that has come off.   A few examples of this were when John Still was in charge.  He changed Romain Vincelot from a defender to a midfielder, before that he turned John Nurse  from an average striker to a goalscoring, chance creating left winger.  Also a few seasons ago when our backs were against the wall John Still pushed Abu Ogogo into midfield to add some legs and fighting spirit to a very poor midfield.  John Still got quite a bit of credit for these decisions and rightly so, having said that in most of these cases he kind of stumbled across them, and guess what they worked.

I think Wayne Burnett hasn't been given a fair go.  When things have been tough he hasn't just sat there and let it happen he has been proactive.  He has changed formation at times, which incidentally gave us two wins on the bounce.  He has brought in a defender Ayo Obileye on loan and played him alongside new captain and our most consistent defender Scott Doe.  He has also managed the recovery of players coming back from injury very well in the case of Zavon Hines and Rhys Murphy. It would have been so easy to bring these players back too early and have them break down again, but he hasn't, that's despite the fact that we are up against it.  Although he is under pressure as a manager I think he handles it pretty well and doesn't buckle under the uneducated cattawalls of a small number of our wonderful fans.

Surely people can see there has been a change and a change for the better since boxing day but for some it is not good enough, they have already made up their mind about Burnett and they simply don't like him.  He could completely turn around the season and go on an unbeaten run and secure our safety and there would still be some fans saying it was a fluke, get rid of him.  All I am saying is he is trying, he is trying as hard as he can to get this team out of danger and up the league.  Sure he makes mistakes and I am sure he will make some more but I reckon he is very close to getting it right with the right personnel in the right positions.  He has played a few formations this season and although most people wouldn't have noticed, probably because they are to busy moaning we are starting to become a more flexible team who are able to play a number of formations without making substitutions and once we have our players back in the next few weeks I really think people will see a marked improvement.  I have already seen improvements because instead of moaning about it and letting a hate for a man I don't even know cloud my judgement I have been looking for positives in our play.  Don't get me wrong I sometimes query his selections, and if I were manager I reckon I would have Abu Ogogo at right back or right wing back if we played 3 central defenders because he has the engine to do it and if we played 2 strikers with someone in the hole I would play Zavon there.  I'm not the manager though and I never will be but that's the beauty of it we all think we know best and we all think we would be a better manager because we took Daggers to the premier league in 6 seasons and won the double 3 years later but the truth is we done that sitting on our arse without taking one training session.  Only the manager sees what happens in training, only the manager knows what works and only the manager can get the best out of these players.

As for the future I see that as being bright also.  I went along to the Essex Senior cup quarter final game on Tuesday night against Concord Rangers, who by the way deserved their win.  I was most impressed with the performances of our youngsters.  Jodi Jones will get all the plaudits for his unbelievable goal but I thought the performances of Charlie Yexley at right back, Lewis Clark at centre back and Ayo Olokuga who was particularly impressive in the centre of midfield were big positives.  Olokuga is another bright spark for the future he put in  a solid shift in the midfield alongside the returning captain Abu.   Yexley worked hard at right back and defended well when called upon and Clark put in  a good display in the centre alongside the out of form Brian Saah.  Fringe players Joe Widdowson and goalkeeper Liam  O'brien didn't have the greatest of games and the returning Abs and Zav played ok, Abs looks close to full fitness and scored a great volleyed goal, Hines however picked up an injury late on in the game but according to his twitter account it is only a minor set back.  Before the injury he was quite lively early on but faded a lot in the second half, this can only be due to lack of playing time.  Ade Yussuf put himself about a bit and made some intelligent runs, but the only real disappointment from the game other than losing on penalties was George Porters performance.  Here was a golden opportunity for the young winger to grab the bull by the horns and show his manager he is worthy of a starting place in the first team but I am sad to report he failed.  I'm afraid it was a chance missed for Porter and I really don't think many more will be coming his way with his current contract rumoured to be up in February.

Impressive performancefrom young midfielder Ayo Olokuga

Although the Daggers were knocked out of the competition at the quarter final stage the biggest plus to come out of this little run has been the emergence of young Jodi Jones.  He scored a well taken goal in the last round but the goal he scored last night is one of the best goals I have seen by any player.  Yeah it might have only been against a Conference South side but if anyone in the premier league or the championship scores a goal like this it gets shown again and again.    What  a goal!!

http://youtu.be/Mqe_Gcq3OJ8
heres the highlights of the game against Concord Rangers

Do you remember when Pele took the chalk off Michael Caine in Escape to Victory and said "you give me the ball, I do this, I do this, I do this, I do this GOOOAAAL!!!  Well it was like that the only difference being Jodi Jones actually did do that. do that, do that, do that GOOOOAAAAL!!

I do this, I do this, I do this Goooaal!!

This young man has a rare talent he runs at players and scares the shit out of them he is going to be a great player in the future I just really hope he is a great player for us before he becomes a great player for someone else.  John Still was in attendance last night lets all hope he was there as a fan of the Daggers and not in a scouting capacity.

Young and exciting Jodi Jones.

I still think we will survive this season as I think one way or another our goal difference by the end of the season will be good enough.  I also think that the partnership of Cureton and Murphy will come off, what I have seen so far it is inches away from coming off, I know it's an old cliche but it is thin margins.  If we do stay up this season and have a strong run in toward the back end of it who's to say we won't take that momentum in to the following season.  I maybe totally wrong about all this but I can only say it as I see it.

What if it all goes tits up and we get relegated, well if it happens I will be disappointed and gutted but I will be renewing my season ticket and cheering on my Daggers in the Conference.

Come on people have some faith!!

Up the Daggers!!!

What's that sound?

What's that sound?

Is it the sound of  of Wes Morgan getting the ball full in the face?  No that wasn't obviously loud enough or come to think of it obvious enough for a referee of Mike Jones' calibre to even see although he is only 2 foot away.

Mike Jones....Smug Prick.

Is it the sound of Brendan Rogers crying into corn flakes after his one man team's, "one man" Steven Gerrard bagged another brace after he failed to offer him a new contract?

Or is it the sound of the aching bones of athletes in their prime who have had to go to work for four days out of ten over the Christmas period.

Nearly but not quite.

It is in fact the sound of the constant moaning of some Premier league managers and their reaction to the fact that their teams had to play 4 games in 10 days over the festive period.  Anybody would think it was a surprise for some of these bosses, do they not know that Christmas comes once a year and so does this fixture congestion, or are they just moaning, excuse making, ungrateful wankers?

To be fair it is not all Premier league managers having a moan, the main offenders seem to be Louis Van Gaal, Harry Redknapp and Steve Bruce from what I heard.  With Van Gaal it is sort of understandable as he has never managed in this country and never seen his teams play over Christmas, but even so didn't he look at the fixture list when he took over, was he not prepared to meet these fixtures head on.  the thing is he may have a few injuries, maybe a few more than some of his rivals at the moment but hang on surely with the depth of squad and some of the best young talent he has at his disposal he really shouldn't be moaning about it.  Look on the bright side LVG at least your only in two competitions, fuck know's what it will be like next year if you have finished in the top four and have to compete in the Champions league.

Hey Santa, no one told me we have to play at Christmas.

As for Redknapp who doesn't have the the size of squad at QPR that Van Gaal has at Manchester United, but still he should know better.  He has beeen a manager in the lower leagues where when games get called of and postponed due to bad weather the fixture congestion can pile up and by the end of the season teams can be playing up to 6 games in less than 2 weeks.  Redknapp is a serial offender though and a lot of his moaning is his way of showing the chairman that his squad isn't big enough to compete in the premier league, no doubt the weekend before the end of the transfer deadline at the start of February he will name two goalkeepers on the bench just to show Tony Fernandez how much he needs more top drawer players in all positions to give him every chance of avoiding the drop come May.  personally my advice to him would be stop trying to buy or loan some of your old players and start trying to get the best out of the players you have got in your squad already.  It shouldn't be that difficult with the "triffic" players you have at the club already, and besides survival in the premiership is your only concern after you made a load of excuses about being humiliated in the cup at home by Sheffield United.  No excuses now Harry!!

Cherr up 'Arry its Christmas!!!

When it comes to Steve Bruce he should really know better, he played and managed in this division for a long time so he should be totally prepared for it all, I suppose we shouldn't be surprised as when the draw was made for the third round of the cup Bruce was there watching it take place and even though the first ball pulled out of the hat was Arsenal's and the second was that of his own Hull City, he still, even though he had witnessed it live with his own eyes thought Hull City were drawn at home.  An easy mistake to make you might say, yeah an easy mistake to make if you have the attention span of a fucking goldfish.  So maybe that's what it is maybe he had forgotten that over the years as a player and manager there are quite a few games to play over the festive season.  Bless him.

Bruce was well happy the festive season was over.

With all these privileged mangers moaning and trying to protect their burntout over privileged players who in some cases wouldn't know what hard work was if it came down their chimney and emptied its sack in front of them, it was a breath of fresh air to see a manager of a premier league team embrace the fixture pile up and just get the fuck on with it without so much as a bah humbug.

 The thing is Burnley manager Sean Dyche probably has more to moan about then any of the other managers in the premier league, he no doubt has the smallest squad, he no doubt has the smallest wage budget and no doubt he has the lowest transfer fund.  On new years day these deficiencies were shown up when Burnley had to make 3 substitutions in the first half in their away game to Newcastle all because of injury.  The Lancashire side had to play the majority of the game without being able to make any more personnel changes but although they were 2-0 down and then 3-2 down they managed to carve out a much deserved draw as the game finished 3-3.  After the game Dyche didn't sit there moaning about it he just got on with it, here is a man who is is honoured and privliged to manage a team in the premier league, a manager who has to rely on more than just talented players to compete at this level.  He followed this great result with not a whimper but another fighting and grafting performance against an in form Spurs side in the FA cup, coming from behined to earn a creditable replay.  For a team with such limited resources it makes a nice change to see a group of hard working players lead by a hard working manager given there all to stay in England's elite league.

Burnley take on QPR this weekend and I think you can guess which outcome I am hoping for.  Up the Clarets!!

If Burnley survive this season I really hope that Sean Dyche gets the Manager of the year award it would be so deserved.

So Messrs Redknapp, Bruce and Van Gaal why not take a leaf out of Sean Dyche's book and stop your hard done by moaning and just roll your sleeves up and get on with it.

Sean Dyche, doing it the hard way.

I won't hold my breath because come the end of the season Steve Bruce and 'Arry will be still moaning about some shit that was unfair and making some excuse about some old shit whilst a team in the Ryman league are playing their 8th league game in less than two weeks due to postponements over winter, and are trying to stave off relegation or trying to get promoted to the next level of the football pyramid with a squad of 18 players.

Hopefully though Sean Dyche will have a great big smile on his face as his fighting spirit keeps the Clarets up for another season in the top flight.

As a football fan I know I am not alone when I say that I would have given my right nut sack to just once been able to play a game of football as professional footballer so this is why I feel the need to rant about this sort of spoilt behaviour, as far as I am concerned I would much rather live in a football world which had more Sean Dyche's in it than it had Ballotelli's.

 Give me good old meat and potatoes over big Charlie potatoes anytime!!

Doh!! For the Daggers!!

After two wins on the bounce, against Carlisle at home and Bury away the Daggers were going into Saturday's home fixture with Tranmere Rovers with an ever increasing confidence.  They were also looking to show off some of their deadline loan signings to the home faithful.  Defender Joe Widdowson on loan from Bury was on the bench alongside debutant goalscorer against Bury, Watford starlet Alex Jakubiak.  Patrick Agyemang the other deadline signing did however start up front with Jamie Cureton, this made our front two a combined age of  74.

The game itself was a bit of a dull affair, the visitors having the best chances in the first half, Cureton had the best chance for the Daggers in the first period scuffing a shot wide of the post.  The second half was much of the same, again the visitors looked the most likely.

Sitting up in the gods of the TBS in the freezing cold I was beginning to except the game was going to end as a nil-niller unless something special happened, and in the 75th minute it did but unfortunately for me and the rest of the Daggers fans it came from the foot of a Tranmere player.

The Daggers defence were slow to react and Rovers striker and former Homer Simpson alias Max Power picked up the ball, turned and unleashed a powerful shot, that powered toward the goal, powerfully hit the post and powerfully, powered past the despairing dive of Daggers goalkeeper Mark Cousins into the back of the net.  Cousins stood no chance as the power of Power's shot was just too powerful and hit with too much power for the daggers stopper to be able to cope.  What a powerful shot it was, and to be fair it deserved to win the game.

Max Power.  He's the man!!

The Daggers tried to get back into the game, but if I'm honest I think they could have played on until next Christmas and they wouldn't have scored.  The Rovers keeper didn't have a clear shot to save until deep into injury time.

Sometimes these things happen and teams have a bad day at the office, if you look at the positive side the Daggers could have been beaten by more goals if the away side had taken their chances but luckily for us their finishing was poor overall.

After the game I had a little look on the forum as I usually do and can't say I was too surprised by the smug comments of some of our supporters who seemed to be so pleased with themselves about being right about the fact that they knew that we wouldn't win 3 games in a row for the first time in 5 years, stating that  the last two wins were just papering over the cracks.  I wonder what these people will do if we do manage to get it together and go on a decent run, which I still think is a possibility for what it's worth.  Maybe they will hang around or maybe with a bit of luck they will just fuck off and take their negativity back to Upton Park or White Hart Lane or wherever else they came from in the first place.  I'm sorry but I just don't get the point of being right above all else, personally I wouldn't even bet against or predict a loss against my own team, but that's just me, maybe I am the strange one.

One thing I definitely didn't get is the amount of flack Patrick Agyemang is getting.  As far as I am concerned for most of the game I thought he did exactly what he was put on the pitch to do which was to put himself about, hold the ball up and use his physicality to upset the opposition.  At times in the first half they had to double up on him, it is just a shame that some of our other players weren't willing to back him up.  He did this for about 70 minutes of the game until he started to fade, which again is understandable for a player who hasn't been playing regularly.  It's very easy to make someone the scapegoat for a defeat just because you don't like them,  but the people who had the snipers rifle pointed at Agyemang were way off target.

On loan Portsmouth striker Agyemang put in a good shift.

I don't like to slag our own players off but they know as well as we know the performance wasn't good enough and unfortunately too many of the players were not up for it, maybe the week rest did more to hinder the preparation than actually help it.  Certain players on Saturday like Brian Saah and Ashley Chambers looked so far off the pace it was ridiculous.   Chambers in particular looked lethargic, he had a great chance to have a shot on goal after an unchallenged run but he didn't and just played a silly pass and gave the ball away.  Maybe he needs a bit of competition in that number 10 position to keep him on his toes, maybe the returning Zavon Hines could be a player that could  play that role and give Chambers a bit of a kick up the arse.   On the other hand maybe he was just carrying a knock, so i want be too harsh on him.

Personally I just thought it was a an under par performance and as I said a bad day at the office and on another day we would have got away with a point, but Homer Simpsons wonder strike won the day.

I'm sure the future is positive and I think the addition of the loan players Wayne has brought in will be very important over the Christmas period.  I managed to sit through the game on Saturday in the freezing cold and still stay positive, I would hope that others might as well.

On loan Watford striker  Alex Jakubiak scores against Bury.

Anyway it's on to the next one and another tough away game against a very good Plymouth Argyle side, lets hope we can knick a point and nip this little blip in the bud.

Come on you rip roaring goal-scoring Daggers!!

Come on you Daggers!!

Sometimes supporting your team of choice can seem like hard work.  Sometimes when your surrounded by fellow supporters who would rather slag off the players and the manager than get behind the team and show some solidarity can really get you down.  Sometimes you question your sanity when your standing in the pissing down and the cold and the snow and the hail watching your team lose, but sometimes you will witness something that will make you realise why you go through it all.

Having been a Daggers fan  for more years than I sometimes care to remember I have seen some of the shittiest performances but also I have witnessed some of the best footballing moments a football fan could ever experience.

Back in the mid eighties when Dagenham and Redbridge were just Dagenham and the chance of playing league football was so far away it was regarded as more of a wish than a dream, I and my friends used to watch the Daggers get outclassed by the likes of Northwich, Enfield, Sutton and Nuneaton Borough so much that if someone said to me then that in 30 years time I would be watching my team beat Carlisle 4-2 in league 2 whilst sitting in a fancy stand at the Pondfield end of the ground, me and mates would have picked him up swung him a few times and threw him down the big hill that used to be next to the sieve at the Bury road end calling him a twat as we let him go.  We also would have asked him what the fuck was league 2 but that's by the by.  What I am trying to say though is that as a 12 year old kid watching Devon Gayle, Terry Sullivan, Dave Pearce, Paul Goyette and George Dolarto wearing the red of my home town team the thought of playing in the football league was so far away from reality there would have been more chance of me cracking one of the clues Ted Rodgers read out on 321 that night.

Bar rhymes with Car, so you might have thought it was the car but bar also rhymes with far, and that is where you would want to be from this, you guessed it it's Dusty Bin!!

The thing is having seen some of the dross served up over the years, I sometimes have to pinch myself to believe that we are really in the position we are in.  The year we got promoted from the Conference I remember sitting there not able to comprehend what had just happened in front of me.  The feeling took so long to sink in.  It felt surreal, as I watched the players walking around the pitch I was replaying in my head the near misses and the relegation's of years past, I saw Ashley Vickers score at the Pondfield end with his right foot against Boston in front of a capacity crowd, I saw George Dolarto falling over on the goal line and missing an open goal from back in 1985, I saw Junior Macdougald scoring against Ipswich to give us the lead in the FA cup 3rd round, I saw Paul Cavell scoring for fun and Mark Stein and Steve Potts getting sent off against Southport, I also saw us fail to score a winning goal against Hayes where the visitors had their keeper sent off and only had 4 subs, no sub keeper and had to put an outfield player between the sticks and we still couldn't beat them.  By the way if we had of won that game we would have beaten Boston on points that season and not come second on goal difference.  See we have always struggled against ten men, its not a recent thing.  So even when we won promotion I never forgot where we came from and what we once were.  Sometimes it's worth taking a step back and realising how far we have come as a club.

Ashley Vickers!!

Don't get me wrong I am not saying that I don't get upset about losing games, and that I don't think that sometimes the manager gets it wrong and I could have picked a better team or played a better formation, I do, and I'm not just talking about this manager here either, I'm talking about Still, Hill, Hardy, Carr all of them but I have never booed a team off the pitch, never called one of our own players a C##t and never called for the manager to be sacked.

Although things at this club are not going great on the pitch at the moment and I understand that fans are pissed off with things, it really isn't that bad.  Going out of the FA cup with what may have seemed to be an easy route to the third round is a big disappointment, however this feeling isn't one I am unfamiliar with and to be honest we have had more cup disappointment then we have ever had cup success, so although it is frustrating in a financial aspect, shit happens!!   Alright we may be 21st in the league but we are not bottom.  It could be so much worse!!  In the past it has been so much worse.

 The thing is now and it may sound a bit cliched but our main focus is as it should be on the league, we also have a little cup competition on the side in the form of the Essex senior cup and although it is not a major competition it is a perfect opportunity to give players games and try out a few of the youngsters.

I went to see one of these games on Monday night it was nice to see a bit of football being played and to see a few youngsters get a run out that I would not have seen on Saturday afternoon in the league.  A couple of these youngsters really stood out.  Young winger Jodi Jones looks like another of our rough diamond collection, it took him a while to find his feet but once he did he looked an exciting prospect, he took his goal very well and nearly scored again with a thundering shot that hit the bar.  Another kid on show was the right back Ayo Olukoga, the full back looked at times confident and composed on the ball and looked to get forward whenever possible, maybe a future wing back in the making.  The only negative from the game was skipper Luke Howells sending off.  Howell who is already serving a 3 match suspension for a red card against Southport in the cup made a rash decision to run from the centre circle to the touch line to make a lunging tackle on a Waltham Abbey player.  The player had to be stretchered off and probably couldn't go to work the next morning.   Howell may have seen a foul not given by the referee seconds before the incident  but what goes through a players mind to do what he did, an experienced player as well who is wearing the armband for god's sake.  Sometimes the mind boggles.  After Howell's sending off the Daggers reverted to 3 at the back and Jack Connors was pushed into midfield, where he seemed to thrive on the space and time afforded to him, maybe another positive, maybe midfield is young Jacks future position. Yes young Jack, sometimes I think people forget he is only 19.  The Daggers ran out 2-1 winners although it could have been more,but a pleasing performance and the Daggers are safely through to the next round.  Who knows a bit of success in a competition like this could bring more confidence to the team than say an away defeat in the FA cup 3rd round to Bournemouth. So long may it continue.

                                                             Jodi Jones and Ayo Olukoga

As for Wayne Burnett some won't agree with me here but I think he is the right man for the job, I also think he was right to vent his frustrations in "that" interview.  The man has been slagged off all over the place and it was about time he spoke his mind.  I have a lot of time for Burnett and his backroom staff, I think the kind of football he wants to play is just what fans have been wishing for, I hope he continues with his philosophy and I hope that the team continues to improve under his leadership.

Wayne Burnett tries to talk with the fans at Southport!!

The 4-2 win over Carlisle at the weekend was a very welcome result and at times the Daggers played some nice stuff, granted there are still some defensive issues to be eradicated and some sloppy fouls were given away but to be fair in all the years I have watched this club we have always given stupid fouls away outside the box, unfortunately it comes with watching the Daggers.  It was good to see Chambers playing so well in his preferred role of number ten and it was a pleasure to watch Yusuff up front with Cureton, at times they ran Carlisle ragged.  Billy Bingham was again pulling the strings in midfield and the 3 centre backs worked pretty well considering it was such a brave decision to play that way.  Again the manager has to be given credit for that.  It is a formation that I like to see from time to time, especially at home where we need to be putting crosses in  and playing 2 up top.  I think the flat back four and three midfield or 442 diamond is better suited away from home.  Just my opinion.  The game could have been any score and if Cureton puts his spot kick away and makes it 5-1 then it could have easily have been 7 or 8 but a wins a win and Saturday showed the benefits of having wide players and more attacking options at home.   A special mention as well for on loan defender Ayo Obileye who fitted in perfectly alongside Doe and Saah.  The Charlton player put in  a commanding performance at the back.  The more the boys work on this formation in training the more confident they will become in their ability to play it out in competitive games, if we can get this to work as a system we could well see some high scoring games this season, just the sort of thing Daggers fans have been screaming out for.  Although their will still be some that will moan, especially as major change in formation like this will take time, but after it's first outing it have to say that I for one was impressed.

So after what had been a few weeks of doom and gloom, personally I have seen some positives that I hope will spark the Daggers season and get us back up the league, there is a long way to go yet and I hope we can build on these foundations and make the second part of this season a good one.


Come on you Daggers!!!

"High flying Wigan"

In  a weekend when Burnley picked up their first win of the season, Arsenal managed to let a goal lead evaporate into a 2-1 defeat, Everton  drew yet again, Newcastle keep winning, Spurs keep losing and Joe Hart forgot how to take a goal kick.

Yep, what's the biggy?   I kicked it twice.

In the championship nobody seems to want to go top of the table as this week it was Derby who had a go at top spot.  All other league teams were involved in the FA cup albeit briefly in the case of Coventry,  Exeter and Southend.  There were also a few other league teams that just managed to hang on to their place in the cup with a draw against lower opposition, my own Dagenham and Redbridge team being one of them after their emphatic 0-0 draw with conference side Southport.

Craig Robinson can't hide his delight as he scores against Exeter for Warrington.

Worcester celebrate dumping Coventry out of the cup.

There was plenty of  football on the telly over the weekend Match of the Day live, Match of the Day, Match of the Day FA cup specials, Match of the Day extra, Match of the Day 2 and of course the football league show which although was missing 48 members who were on fa cup duty decided to show extensive highlights of the 12 games that took place on Friday and Saturday.  I just had to check on catch up to see whether or not it had been shown on Saturday night and in the little blurb it said they had extended highlights of Derby's game against Wolves and Bolton's game against high flying Wigan.  Oh yeah is that the high flying Wigan who are  currently sitting in 22nd place in the championship.  Great work BBC!!  I look forward to watching highlights of the 24 games involving league clubs on the football league show this weekend, oops how silly of me there won't be one will there as it is International weekend and the championship isn't involved in domestic football.

You guessed it, no football league show this week lower league wankers!!

 In a country where the FA are constantly bemoaning the fact that there isn't any talent coming from the lower reaches of English football maybe the BBC could see this as an opportunity to showcase the lower leagues by dedicating the program to them instead of just not bothering because the top tier of the football league are not partaking, just a thought BBC.

England will be looking to continue their winning run in the qualifiers with a home game against Slovenia.  There were some interesting call ups to the three lions squad, the biggest being the inclusion of West Brom's new striking sensation Saido Berahino, also there was a recall for in form West Ham attacker Stewart Downing and also a second call up for Southampton's Nathaniel Clyne.  Hopefully Clyne will start on Saturday against Slovenia as I think that the right back position has been one of a weakest over previous years, don't get me wrong as an attacking full back sometimes Glen Johnson can be quite good, but I think he loses the ball to often and wanders out of position a little too much, I would rather see a right back playing there who can defend and attack, and lets face it the boy Clyne certainly ticks those two boxes as well as the fact he is probably the most consistent right full back about at the moment and he is English, what a result!!  I really hope he gets his chance and I also hope he can make that position his own.

Nathaniel Clyne was well happy  having been deservedly called up for international duty

England should win this game on home turf and it would be a good time for Wayne Rooney to add to his England tally and edge ever closer to Bobby Charlton's record.  After the Slovenian game we will face the Auld enemy Scotland in a friendly at Celtic Park, Gordon Strachan's boys will be playing us on the back of an enormous qualifier against Eire, this is a very important game for the Scots and they will be looking to get all three points, especially being at home and as the result of this game could be the difference at the end of qualifying as to who progresses and who doesn't, with the other two challengers in this group in Poland and Germany up against inferior opposition in Georgia and Gibraltar respectively, a positive result is a must for both teams, although a draw would suit the Irish a lot more than Scotland.

What do you mean there is no football league show?

Wales will be hoping again on the fitness of Messrs Bale and Ramsey as they travel to Belgium for what surely will be their biggest game of the entire qualifying campaign.  A win or even a draw will surely mean that the Welsh  would be right on course to qualify for their first major tournament since 1958.

As for me this weekend I will be listening out for a minor miracle of my own as my beloved Daggers travel to high flying AFC Wimbledon in search of a much needed and long awaited 3 point haul.  To be honest I would take a point right now if it was on offer but you never know, if the Daggers back line can contain the power of Ade Akinfenwa and the prolific scoring of Matt Tubbs up front we may just sneak a scruffy goal and get an overdue win.  I live in hope.

Enjoy the football

Come on you Daggers!!!

Come on Englaaaand!!

FA Cup first round proper.

To be honest I am not that bothered how pissed off Manuel Pellegrini is with his Manchester City team, and I don't really care that If his team showed a lack of professionalism in Europe.  I couldn't really give a stuff whether Raheem Sterling got called up for the England squad and Daniel Sturridge didn't and if Brendan Rodgers is talking to Roy Hodgson or if Arsene Wenger is talking to Roy Hodgson about Theo Walcott.  At least I don't this weekend, because this weekend is not about the big boys, this weekend as far as I am concerned is not about International call ups or the premier league or even the championship.  Its all about the biggest and longest running cup competition in the world.  Ladies and Gentleman I give you the FA Cup.

Pellegrini is not happy.

This weekend sees the football league 1 and 2 enter the cup for the first time this year and as usual there will be dreams of a long cup run and a chance of pulling a big tie against the big boys in the 3rd round.  It all began back on the 15th August and now finally we have got to the first round proper.

There are some mouth watering ties over this weekend and quite a few potential upsets.

Top of the Conference Barnet are up against top of league 2 Wycombe in what could be a very close game, elsewhere Basingstoke Town who top the Conference South are at home to bottom Conference side AFC Telford United.  High flying league 2 side Bury take on Hemel Hempstead Fc,  Gosport Borough take on Colchester and there is an all league 2 clash between Luton and Newport County.  The lowest ranked team remaining in the competition is Warrington Town from the Northern League Division 1 who take on Exeter from league 2 live on BBC tonight.  Northern Premier league side Norton United are up against conference outfit Gateshead and there is a battle between two former giant killers as Blyth Spartans take on Altrichnam.


My team Dagenham and Redbridge have been handed a home tie against conference side Southport.  With Daggers poor recent home form Port will be coming to Victoria Road with high hopes of pulling off a shock result.

Southport are a team that the Daggers used to play regularly in their conference days, I remember on one occasion playing against them in 2002 where we lost 3-0, however the game will not be remembered certainly from Daggers fans for the score, but more for the poor refereeing performance.  The man in the middle Martin Yerby dismissed two Daggers players in Mark Stein and Steve Potts.  Former West Ham defender Potts was shown a straight red for deliberate handball when it was clear to everyone that it hit his thigh, former Chelsea striker Stein received his marching orders after an aerial challenge that left his opponent rolling around on the floor, it all kicked off and Stein was the man sent down the tunnel.

Mark Stein sent off!!

 The game was played in bad blood and the Port players tried to con the ref after almost every tackle.  The home fans were getting more and more frustrated as the game went on, away players were hurling abuse at the crowd and the crowd were giving it back.  At half time in this game I remember the home fans being taunted by the away fans and it was the first time really I ever thought it was going to kick off.  I remember being really angry at the time and for some unknown reason started shouting a load of abuse at the Southport  substitutes who had come on the pitch to warm up, suffice to say they just laughed at me.  Luckily it never did kick off but it was an awful game with an awful referee and a lot of awful Southport players.  The one Southport villain to stand out for me was their left back Chris Lane who whenever he came to Victoria Road always seemed to antagonise the home supporters.

Daggers fans favourite Southport player Chris lane.

I really hope that tomorrow's game is not played in the same vain and obviously the Daggers can come out with a win.  The FA Cup may just be the tonic the players need to spark their season, hopefully the pressure won't be too much and they can go out and put on a bit of a show for the home fans.

If your team is involved in a FA Cup match tomorrow enjoy your game and good luck to all the teams playing in the greatest cup competition in the world, all except Southport of course.

Come on you Daggers!!!

If only we had Stuart Thurgood

Daggers home form has been far from good recently, and they were looking to put it right against high flying Shrewsbury on Saturday.

The Daggers came into this game on the back of a of defeat away to Luton and a draw away to Wycombe.

For forty minutes or so Daggers matched the Hatters and had chances to take the lead at Kennilworth Road, but a quick fire double on the stroke of half time left the Daggers 2-0 down at the break and facing an uphill struggle.  The second half ended with a goal a piece but ultimately Luton took all the points.  Christian Doidge scored the consolation goal for the Daggers, the Welshman's first for the club.

Doidge gets first goal against Luton

Daggers took the lead against Wycombe, Jamie Cureton scoring again, unfortunately the Daggers couldn't hold on and the Chairboys snatched a late equaliser, meaning the Essex boys only took a point away from the Hive instead of all three, but a draw against one of the top four shouldn't be sneezed at when your a team who are finding it hard to pick up any result anywhere at the moment.

Before the home game with the Shrews the Daggers played a home game in the Essex Senior cup.  This was a chance for some of the players who were coming back from injuries and also chance for some of the fringe players at the club to get a run out.  Captain Abu Ogogo was eligible to play in this game as his 3 match ban didn't extend to friendly matches.  The biggest boost in this game was the return of last years top scorer Rhys Murphy.  The striker marked his return to first team football with a goal from the penalty spot.  The Daggers won the game against Ryman League one side Barkingside 2-0, Bradley Goldberg scored the second goal, a bit of a worldy by all accounts.

Shrewsbury came into this game after a midweek tussle with top of the Premier League Chelsea in the League cup.  The Shrews had put in a magnificent performance and had the country's top team on the ropes at one point of the game.  Unfortunately for them though Chelsea sneaked over the line with a 2-1 win.

 Micky Melon's boys would have put a lot into that performance on Wednesday night and Wayne Burnett's instructions would probably have been to get at them early and close them down.  The Daggers were quick out of the blocks in this one and were rewarded for the positive start when a powerful Billy Bingham shot gave the home side the lead after 6 minutes.  The Shrews are a good team and although they had their chances in the first half the daggers battled hard and deserved their lead at half time.  Mark Cousins in the home goal was earning his keep and the Daggers number 30 made some smart saves.  At the other end the Shrewsbury goalkeeper was probably quite lucky to be still on the pitch.  George Porter chased down a hopeful ball which looked to be too long for the winger and looked to be heading out of play for a goal kick when for some reason the Shrew's stopper raced out of the side of his area and deliberately punched the ball.  Referee Mr Sheldrake decided that a yellow card was punishment enough for these actions although George Porter argued it wasn't and  was subsequently booked for his protestations.  All I can say is the rules must have changed because a few seasons ago our goalkeeper at the time Chris Lewington was sent off twice in a season for handling the ball outside of his area.  One of which was so inconclusive that not one person in the ground could be 100% wether it was in or out of the box.  Oh well that's consistency for you.

Billy Bingham gave Daggers perfect start

Shrewsbury were reduced to ten men though early in the second half when Jermaine Grandison pulled back Ade Yusuff with the Striker through on goal.  Grandison who had scored the own goal Wednesday night against Chelsea which had ultimately dumped the Shrews out of the cup ended a troublesome week for himself after seeing a red card for denying a goal scoring opportunity.  Unfortunately for the Daggers the extra man became more of a hindrance then a help.  Wayne Burnett decided it would be a good idea to take off a midfielder in Andre Boucaurd and replace him with a defender in Matt Partridge.  I'm not sure if it was just for tactical reasons or for an injury but whichever it certainly disrupted the shape of the team as Shrewsbury with less men seemed to be finding more space in midfield.  The Shrews began to dictate the game as the Daggers seemed to get deeper and deeper.  Billy Bingham who had been doing so well in the middle of the pitch ended up on the left side of midfield and the gaps were starting to show.  The Daggers should have been in charge but instead were being put under more and more pressure as the away team launched attack after attack.  Daggers couldn't win the ball back and it was only a matter of time before the Shrews scored.  It was Wednesday nights hero Andy Mangan who got the anticipated leveller on 70 minutes.  The substitute scoring an unstoppable volley from a lovely ball over the top of our ever receding defence.  Daggers made more changes, Rhys Murphy came on to make his first league appearance of the season, Ashley Chambers also came on.  Twice the daggers could have scored the winner but firstly George Porter didn't play in Ashley Chambers when he was free on goal and then Rhys Murphy decided to go alone when George Porter was in acres of space with the goal at his mercy, these opportunities were to cost the Daggers dearly in the last minute of injury time when the Shrews who to their credit never gave up,  Andy Mangan got free in the box and Scott Doe brought  him down.  Veteran Liam Lawrence stepped up, scored and gave Shrewsbury all the points leaving Daggers with absolutely nothing.  I walked out of Vicky Road with my son wearing his shiny new away shirt probably the most down I have felt in many a year.  Where does the team go from here?  To be honest I don't have a clue.

A lot of our fans were rightly pissed off with the result and a lot of them made there thoughts known towards the manager.  To be fair the blame has to lay at his door as his tactics in the second half were poor at best.  It's a game we should have won or at least drawn, but instead we leave Victoria Road not for the first time this season having lead at half time with nothing.

The Daggers welcome Conference side Southport on Saturday in the FA Cup.  A slip up in this game could spell the end of Wayne Burnett's tenure as daggers boss.  I hope that this isn't the case as I like what he has done for the club and have been amazed at the talent he has brought to the club, but as he as always said football is about results and if he doesn't put out the right team with the right tactics to get that result then that is down to him.

Is Wayne a manager under pressure

On a brighter note today is Stuart Thurgood's birthday.  Thurgood only played 17 times for our club but in his short time in the centre of our midfield proved to me and many others what a player he was.  Unfortunately we have never really replaced his tenacity and tackling ability in the middle of the pitch.  Thurgood would make a big difference to our midfield at this moment in time such a shame we don't have him now.  Happy 33rd birthday Stuart.

Happy birthday Stuart Thurgood.

Come on you Daggers!!