Is this the worst Dagenham and Redbridge team ever?

[RampantDuke]

Not sure I've ever felt as low about a Dagenham & Redbridge team as I do about this one. No pattern, no fight, no creativity, no flow, no clue whatsoever. Today looked like 11 blokes who have never met each other and fancied a kick-about in the park. Next Saturday will be a very toxic atmosphere. Especially when we get murdered by one of the biggest rivals in our 31 year history. I would say that only the gutless bunch of overpaid mercenaries under Graham Carr in season 1995-96 were as bad as this. Any other serious offers?

[ARNU]

Yes, this is just awful.
Players don't care. Manager clueless.

Peter Taylor and Wayne Burnetts reign were good times in comparison.

[Lcbdagger]

Not sure how we argue against this today... Fascinated to see the rationale behind opposing viewpoints... Budget was cut, yes yes yes... But this wasn't a team of players brought in from 3 divisions below and as suggested, we played like a team who were meeting for the first game in pre-season.

I thought the Hornchurch game was a poor sign for the season ahead with not only the result but the awful performance against a poor team... That was worse today.

Glad IPlayer int he BBC cut off the feed before getting manager interviews on. What on earth does Strevens say about that performance with any honesty??

[A S dagger97]

The fact that we're on our worst ever winless run in dagenham history would suggest that it is

[NBDag]

Taylor probably oversaw the worst team in recent times. But he had an excuse. This feels 100x worse because everyone around the club is talking about us aiming for the other end of the table. Make no mistake though, if the leadership of this club does not change soon then this will be the worst team ever and judging by today we’ll be lucky to be a mid-table team in the conference south.

[Mark]

Don't think it's fair to question their attitude today aside. I was sick of Daryl's Jekyll and Hyde side, had no connection to the fans, just mercenaries. Taylor's teams were largely awful, firstly because of budget and secondly because he made a hash of an improved budget.

I suppose I want to see effort and commitment above all else and so actually preferred Taylor's band of kids and this current team to anything Burnett or Daryl served up. But it's like comparing being punched in the face to being punched in the stomach. Maybe one day we'll have an enjoyable side again.

[stanton101]

I don't know about the worst, but it's certainly the most gutless.
Coming away from there today made me thoroughly saddened by what I'd witnessed. No guts, no heart, pretty much nothing at all.
Bracknell must of thought it was Christmas such was the lack of desire from our lot. Where does Ben go from here......

Job centre!

[redboy]

I've never bought into our American owners and was criticised on here for my original views. I still have no idea what they are doing as they must have $$$ to burn. The structure of the board reflects little or no knowledge of football, which has been reflected in the coaching staff and ultimately our team which has gradually got worse and worse. This decline over many years is heartbreaking. Maybe we were punching above our weight in League one, but even then we had decent players who played with their hearts on their sleeves. This crop are just awful, is it their fault or the manager and board who authorised their acquisitions? Exactly!

I watched the game yesterday and saw many familiar faces in the crowd who have followed the club for 30/40/50 years. Our fans are loyal, we don't expect to be back in the EFL, but season after season we are an embarrassment. Our last two FA Cup exits could only happen to us. The stadium and Clubhouse look lovely, we've even got a decent kit this year, but all the fans want is a competitive side that reflects out working class roots.

[stanton101]

I've never bought into our American owners and was criticised on here for my original views. I still have no idea what they are doing as they must have $$$ to burn. The structure of the board reflects little or no knowledge of football, which has been reflected in the coaching staff and ultimately our team which has gradually got worse and worse. This decline over many years is heartbreaking. Maybe we were punching above our weight in League one, but even then we had decent players who played with their hearts on their sleeves. This crop are just awful, is it their fault or the manager and board who authorised their acquisitions? Exactly!

I watched the game yesterday and saw many familiar faces in the crowd who have followed the club for 30/40/50 years. Our fans are loyal, we don't expect to be back in the EFL, but season after season we are an embarrassment. Our last two FA Cup exits could only happen to us. The stadium and Clubhouse look lovely, we've even got a decent kit this year, but all the fans want is a competitive side that reflects out working class roots.

Agreed.
In America if a team's not performing they act and are pretty ruthless. Whether it's baseball, the NHL, basketball etc, if you don't perform, you're gone, simple as that. They'll suffer it for a while, but after a while that's it and there's no going back.
I've never understood what their agenda is, and I'm even more confused now.
They can't be that naive surely, they're business people at the end of the day and by all accounts been very successful in acquiring their wealth.
A friend of mine yesterday came up with his own theory that they actually want the club to fail and fold altogether and thus acquire the land to build on at a later date. Years ago I would have said he needed medical help, but in all honesty, now I'm not so sure.
He went on to suggest that in the beginning they flung money at it in the hope that we would get promotion but if that failed they would just sit back, bide their time and eventually things would fall apart.
Let's face it, land isn't cheap these days, but when you build on it, you can make a fortune.
I'm sure I'm not alone in knowing how the council and land agenda's work, most of us mere mortals are only interested in a game of football on a Saturday, but being honest seeing that yesterday our club is going nowhere.
The players are poor, the managers poor, everything about our club is a mess, even the fans yesterday seemed to just accept it.
We've become accustomed to failure.

[McLeansvilleAppFan]

I've never bought into our American owners and was criticised on here for my original views. I still have no idea what they are doing as they must have $$$ to burn. The structure of the board reflects little or no knowledge of football, which has been reflected in the coaching staff and ultimately our team which has gradually got worse and worse. This decline over many years is heartbreaking. Maybe we were punching above our weight in League one, but even then we had decent players who played with their hearts on their sleeves. This crop are just awful, is it their fault or the manager and board who authorised their acquisitions? Exactly!

I watched the game yesterday and saw many familiar faces in the crowd who have followed the club for 30/40/50 years. Our fans are loyal, we don't expect to be back in the EFL, but season after season we are an embarrassment. Our last two FA Cup exits could only happen to us. The stadium and Clubhouse look lovely, we've even got a decent kit this year, but all the fans want is a competitive side that reflects out working class roots.

Agreed.
In America if a team's not performing they act and are pretty ruthless. Whether it's baseball, the NHL, basketball etc, if you don't perform, you're gone, simple as that. They'll suffer it for a while, but after a while that's it and there's no going back.
I've never understood what their agenda is, and I'm even more confused now.
They can't be that naive surely, they're business people at the end of the day and by all accounts been very successful in acquiring their wealth.
A friend of mine yesterday came up with his own theory that they actually want the club to fail and fold altogether and thus acquire the land to build on at a later date. Years ago I would have said he needed medical help, but in all honesty, now I'm not so sure.
He went on to suggest that in the beginning they flung money at it in the hope that we would get promotion but if that failed they would just sit back, bide their time and eventually things would fall apart.
Let's face it, land isn't cheap these days, but when you build on it, you can make a fortune.
I'm sure I'm not alone in knowing how the council and land agenda's work, most of us mere mortals are only interested in a game of football on a Saturday, but being honest seeing that yesterday our club is going nowhere.
The players are poor, the managers poor, everything about our club is a mess, even the fans yesterday seemed to just accept it.
We've become accustomed to failure.

His Memphis team is doing well enough. 4 out of 12, which I think makes the playoffs. He owns a ton of minor league baseball now and one of those teams was only purchased a few months ago and is moving a few hundred miles away. Maybe his attention is more about all those teams, though minor league baseball is over for the season and Memphis will be winding up their season in USL soccer soon enough. Actually USL playoffs start this weekend and Memphis is playing.

[ARNU]

I didn't think we/ the yanks owned the ground.
Or has that changed ??

[Diggerthedog]

The council own the stadium. They’re not in it for money, no football owner is. They’re not ruthless here as they listen to the current failure of an MD who no doubt recommended the manager. Unlike America
You can’t just go around sacking people without paying them.

[stanton101]

The council own the stadium. They’re not in it for money, no football owner is. They’re not ruthless here as they listen to the current failure of an MD who no doubt recommended the manager. Unlike America
You can’t just go around sacking people without paying them.

Councils used to own a lot of things Digger, that was then, this is now, everything has its price. If down the line the club did sink in to oblivion and let's face it by keeping the current hierarchy in place that's a very real possibility then the ground would become prime real estate material given today's housing shortage.
Far better to keep the incompetence in place let the club die from natural causes and turn Dagenham in to a housing development. It could all be pie in the sky of course and they are being duped by a professional bullshitter, but these people surely can't be constantly fooled, they haven't gotten where they are by being idiots, results don't lie nor do tables.
If they were as invested in this club as they say they are then no matter what crap they're being fed wouldn't stop them from relieving that person or persons from their payroll. At the end of the day, it's them who own the club, they can do basically what they want, that is of course if they care about it enough to warrant changes that are glaringly obvious to most.

[Auntie Merge]

The council own the stadium. They’re not in it for money, no football owner is. They’re not ruthless here as they listen to the current failure of an MD who no doubt recommended the manager. Unlike America
You can’t just go around sacking people without paying them.

Councils used to own a lot of things Digger, that was then, this is now, everything has its price. If down the line the club did sink in to oblivion and let's face it by keeping the current hierarchy in place that's a very real possibility then the ground would become prime real estate material given today's housing shortage.
Far better to keep the incompetence in place let the club die from natural causes and turn Dagenham in to a housing development. It could all be pie in the sky of course and they are being duped by a professional bullshitter, but these people surely can't be constantly fooled, they haven't gotten where they are by being idiots, results don't lie nor do tables.
If they were as invested in this club as they say they are then no matter what crap they're being fed wouldn't stop them from relieving that person or persons from their payroll. At the end of the day, it's them who own the club, they can do basically what they want, that is of course if they care about it enough to warrant changes that are glaringly obvious to most.

I will give a little insight into what I think.

1. They bought the club full of hope and expectation. In the contract they were committed to funding it for a couple of years, in exchange for buying it for £1. The clubhouse had already been renovated and looked good. They redid the front, nice club shop. Put in new seats, made the stand look pretty.

2. Then covid hit. They were left with a bit of a lemon, most of their plans and enthusiasm waned.

3. Then they looked over their shoulder at their friends at Wrexham. A lot of envy, not just at the success on the pitch, but the attention and commitment from thousands of fans and the town.
It hit even harder and they probably feel that compared to Wrexham, in Dagenham they've bought a bit of a lemon.

4. So after failure after failure they've put it all on the back burner and are going through the motions until they can decide what to do. They'll try to appease the fans by making it look like someone is kicking the MD up the backside, but the reality is, they've got bigger fish to fry in the USA, and we're an annoying distraction. I wouldn't be surprised to find out they are touting the club to some of their American friends, suggesting they could do a Wrexham with the club, in the hope they can soon be rid of us.

5. The council still owns the land. If anyone is going to build houses it is the Council.

6. If we do get another new owner. I hope it is the end of the line for some on the board.
In the last 20 years, we've changed manager several times, we've changed ownership several times... but throughout all the failure, from Football League Division One to potentially Conference South, the board has mostly stayed the same. The club needs a clear out at board level.

I hope I am wrong about some of this. I really do. But I fear for our future.

[stanton101]

I will give a little insight into what I think.

1. They bought the club full of hope and expectation. In the contract they were committed to funding it for a couple of years, in exchange for buying it for £1. The clubhouse had already been renovated and looked good. They redid the front, nice club shop. Put in new seats, made the stand look pretty.

2. Then covid hit. They were left with a bit of a lemon, most of their plans and enthusiasm waned.

3. Then they looked over their shoulder at their friends at Wrexham. A lot of envy, not just at the success on the pitch, but the attention and commitment from thousands of fans and the town.
It hit even harder and they probably feel that compared to Wrexham, in Dagenham they've bought a bit of a lemon.

4. So after failure after failure they've put it all on the back burner and are going through the motions until they can decide what to do. They'll try to appease the fans by making it look like someone is kicking the MD up the backside, but the reality is, they've got bigger fish to fry in the USA, and we're an annoying distraction. I wouldn't be surprised to find out they are touting the club to some of their American friends, suggesting they could do a Wrexham with the club, in the hope they can soon be rid of us.

5. The council still owns the land. If anyone is going to build houses it is the Council.

6. If we do get another new owner. I hope it is the end of the line for some on the board.
In the last 20 years, we've changed manager several times, we've changed ownership several times... but throughout all the failure, from Football League Division One to potentially Conference South, the board has mostly stayed the same. The club needs a clear out at board level.

I hope I am wrong about some of this. I really do. But I fear for our future.
[/quote]


Point 3 Merge.
If they thought that we were going to do a Wrexham then they need looking at. For a start Wrexham's a one club city, unlike us who not only have West Ham on our doorstep but a plethora of other London sides only a train ride away. Like it or not in terms of support we are at the bottom of the pile.
Wrexham have at least 6 times our support.

Point 5.
Land can be bought by any investor who has the necessary funds in which to do so. The Olympic stadium in Stratford is owned by Newham council, but at the tax payers cost who haemorrhage money every year. It'll eventually be sold to West Ham thereby saving the tax payers millions. The same could happen to Dagenham.

Point 6
I too hope you're right, the only way our club moves forward is if the old guard are removed. In such a relatively short space of time, our club has declined alarmingly. Poor decisions have been made time and time again, lessons haven't been learned and the general feeling around the club is one of apathy. The enjoyment factor is virtually gone to the point where even the fans are starting to stay away.
It doesn't really matter what size of club you are you can still be as professional as you can be, sadly we're not, we look what we are, a complete mess. And Saturday showed just how poor we've become.
You're not alone, when you say you fear for the future. There's a lot of fans who feel the same way.
It's very sad to see.