The Spirit and Buzz Has Gone

[DI Mike Dashwood]

Forget the style, forget the tactics, forget even the results (that comes as a result of the problem). In my view the biggest issue is the lack of spirit and enjoyment on and off the pitch. This Club has had it's ups and downs over it's 22 year history (and it's forerunners had even more), but for the most part there has always been a spirit and a buzz about the place. From the days after the merger and early good form in the Conference, through the tough years in the Ryman League and the visit to Wembley in 1997, to returning to the Conference, to missing out on promotion to the League (twice) and on eventually to League One. But from that relegation (in May 2011) to now, the spirit and buzz have gradually been in decline.

I can't put my finger on exactly what it is, I guess it is a number of factors, but it is definitely an issue. One of the reasons I think is the players. They have far less of a connection with the supporters. Back in the Conference days the players and fans had a much closer bond. They would be in the bar after the games with the fans. When we used to sponsor the matches back then Ashley Vickers, Lee Matthews, Tommy Cole, Gooders, Robbo would chat to everyone in the sponsors lounge, now the players look like they have been forced to pop their heads in for five minutes before moving on. Even the side of 4 or 5 years ago, including Benno, Danny Green, Arbs and Josh Scott seemed to appreciate the clubs unique history. I am sure people will have reasons for this (players don't drink, don't live in the area etc etc) and I am sure it is same at many clubs, but for us this spirit played a big part in our succcess and the erosion of it is a bigger problem for us than other clubs.

Atmosphere at games (maybe linked to the above) is also on the decline. Numbers are not the issue here either. I remember games against Donnie (a 3-3 draw around 2002) and Hereford (the year after the 9-0) when the crowd would have been less than 1,500 but the atmosphere was superb. Even when the numbers are up now (we have had several 2,000+ crowds in last two years) the atmosphere is terrible.

I am not sure of reasons for this, and maybe I am just becoming old and grumpy (well I am definitely becoming both of those!!) but things have definitely changed. I don't often agree with Adrian, but something he wrote earlier (I think it was him, apologies if wrong) applied to me as well. I always thought I would grow older and then take my kids to Dagenham every Saturday etc, but at the moment the enjoyment from it is so low I am not sure I will bother. The place is so devoid of any atmosphere or spirit it will be no fun for them.

I don't have the answers but something needs to be done to return some aspects of the club to their previous state.

[Adrian]

It was me.
In a weird way, I'm glad I'm not the only one feeling that.

I think that's what annoys me the most.
I've only ever supported one team and it would have been nice to have my son support them too.
As it is, if he ever takes an interest in football he'll probably end up "supporting" some Premier League team that he never goes to watch like his mates will.
That just feels wrong.

I think too much has changed in too little time. After a while it gets pretty irritating having people go on about what should change when what they really want is for us to be more like some other club that they've stopped watching.

[TheLion]

My first game at D&R was the 6-0 victory over Chester at the start of the 2008/2009 season. For the first two seasons all I remember was the first whistle going and Daggers going for the throat of the opposition.

It all started to crumble when we got promoted and most of us realised (even if we already understood the way the club was structured), that the upward journey was over.

Since the start of our return to Division 2, it has been a really miserable time.

I am already thinking about next year, and am hoping that the club somehow get us all back on board, but I fear the good days are well and truly over, wherever we finish up at the end of this season.

[Chigwellian]

I dont think the away stand has helped either...It seemed more cosy when there was an away terrace.

[matt_drfc]

Yep. The enjoyment really disappeared when we got relegated from League 1. Before we even got promoted, I'd wake up on a Saturday and be buzzing that we've got a game, now I wake up and think "oh yeah we're playing today, better get ready and go". But I still love it for some reason...

[dagger4eva]

No, yous are definity not the only ones thinking it.

Obviously no-one forces me or anyone else to go to games BUT whereas l almost always could not wait for match day, would be the only thing on my mind, its now more a chore to attend.

Things were obviously in decline fot the last year or so of Stillys reign but for all of WB 'philospohy' l actually dont recall seeing a less ENTERTAINING and characterless Daggers team out on the pitch which obviously helps to create the buzz and excitement, or lack thereof in this case.

The harsh reality is that this season the club got desperate and gave the fans football at £7.70 a game.
Right now you would struggle to sell the Daggers as a product in the local 99p stores!!

[Chigwellian]

... With a Stilly team...(apart from the last year or two of his reign)... it was always an attacking team, which makes it exciting to watch as a supporter.

Now, we are lucky to see 5mins of attacking football

[Diggerthedog]

Its easy to sum it up why the atmosphere is pony, for the last 4 odd seasons most of which were under the Still we have been consitently losing, not a decent run along the way. This grinds people down and enthusiam has all but gone when it comes to supporting the team. Accy had a home crowd of 800 last night that will be us towards the end of the season if the current form continues.

[DI Mike Dashwood]

As I say, I don't know exactly what it is. The Hemmings thing on Saturday maybe showed part of it (not singling him out by the way). A bad ball got played forward towards him, and although the defender missed controlled it he couldn't react as he had stopped and was not looking. The crowd gave him some stick. On the way out I said to my Dad "people don't expect miracles at Dagenham in terms of ability, but they do expect certain things, and energy and effort is one of those".

The sum of the parts has always been greater than the individuals at our Club, on and off the pitch. I always got the impression that Dagenham was an honest, working class area, and that people paid their money on a Saturday afternoon and as long as they saw effort and ambition and energy they would back the players and the Club. Thats why someone like Bas Savage was liked. Lets be honest, he was pretty average, but he tried, he looked bothered, he had a personality, people took to him. Leon Braithwaite was the same. It nook him 3 months to get a goal, but people never got on his case.

Lets be honest, the game has changed at all levels and maybe I am just feeling that more directly?? I don't watch half the over-hyped dross on telly now that I would have done 4 or 5 years ago, I watch repeats of Londons Burning most night instead, such is my apathy with the game in this country generally. But I always thought our Club was a bit above all that, a bit of a beacon of hope for football clubs as they used to be, for the community and the supporters rather than for a load of players to pick up a salary every week for the sake of it.

[Chigwellian]

Im with you DI Dashwood

[Masked Man]

The reason for this is that, in reality, the club has peaked. Well almost.
During the first 19 of those 22 years, we were a club on the rise. We had aims.

Realistically, we will be very lucky ever to see League One again, and anything higher is a pipe dream...

Subconsciously, this seeps through. The players know it, the managers knows it, the crowd knows it, and the Board know it....

Rather than a club with aims, we are a club battling for survival...

It was always going to be this way for a time...

But someone needs to restore the dreams and ambitions.

[DI Mike Dashwood]

Fair point. I think other Clubs may have suffered the same in some ways. Yeovil for instance once had 8k for a game in the Ryman League, and then last year would only get 6k for a game in the Championship, so there are other clubs with similar issues.

BUT, as I said earlier, our crowds (taking that as an example) are still higher than at any time outside of 2006-2011.

The other factor in my book is..............the FA Cup. Cup runs give clubs a buzz. In 96-97 although we never looked like winning the Ryman League the Trophy run kept everyones enthusiasm up. Then in 2000/2001 we were mid table in the Conf at Christmas but the buzz of the cup run stirred us on. Even JPT wins over Southend and Orient have given everyone a lift in recent times, but an FA Cup run would surely help. We have reached the 3rd round twice in recent times, and got naff draws on both occasions.

The draw is this weekend and two winnable ties and being in that hat come early December would be a huge lift. I know the Cup for many people is not what it was, but for many traditionalists (and I think the Daggers support has many of these) it is still a big thing, and the lift of a day out at a big club may be what we need??

[Masked Man]

I think you're right in that a small cup run will be our only hope of something positive this season, as we're effectively in a relegation battle already, and I'm not sure if players who've been mollycoddled since they were kids have the stomach for the battle.

It'll be interesting to see who's got balls in this squad and gets out there battling, and who's just taking a wage because they can't get a job any where else...

[dagger4eva]

Funny enough - for all the things WB does say, one of them he says is unquestionable is the effort and work ethic of his players....

In defence, it is very rarely one of his team has taken an absolute spanking, with more often than not a game being decided by the odd goal.

Just thorwing that out there...

[Adrian]

Funny enough - for all the things WB does say, one of them he says is unquestionable is the effort and work ethic of his players....

In defence, it is very rarely one of his team has taken an absolute spanking, with more often than not a game being decided by the odd goal.

Just thorwing that out there...

To an extent it worse that we don't get spanked. At least then it would be easy to say we're just rubbish.
Instead we get beaten by teams that aren't really much better than us but are never really troubled.
There is an element of them almost being able to wait until we make the inevitable mistake rather than having to really have a go at us.