Dagenham v Grimsby Preview

By: Alex Green
Date: 26/02/2010

TOWN take their circus on the road and this time are heading to East London for another round of It's a Knockout with swearing.

Their History

A brief history: in their current form Dagenham and Redbridge were moulded into their present guise in 1992 after a culmination of clubs have been and gone. Ilford, Dagenham, Walthamstow Abbey and Leytonstone were all the building blocks of the Essex club. The club were promoted to League Two in 2007, where they have lived ever since even with their miniscule crowds and comparative budget

Last Season

The last game of the season against Shrewsbury was to decide which of the two clubs secured the last play-off spot in League Two. Well as you can guess from the fact Shrewsbury played in the play-off final it was Dagenham who came off the worst in the game. So they were denied in the very last match. Aww bless.

This Season

The Daggers are struggling when they faced us at home on the 5th of December. They were 4th just 5 points from the top spot. Now the club have plummeted to 10th and with just 4 wins their promotion form has most certainly disappeared. Even though John Still’s team can boast wins against both first place Rochdale and second place Bournemouth in recent times it’s the club's problem of securing victories over those lower down the league which has seen them become unstuck. Dagenham have dropped points against all of the teams at the very bottom aside from Darlington who they have yet to play twice and though the club has just come out of a difficult run involving most of those above them it’s the fact that a lot of teams around them have games in hand on them which is the real concern if they hope to reach the play-offs.

The Future.

Attendances have been small and will certainly stay the same unless promotion is achieved. With any number of Premier league clubs on their door step it must be stiff opposition for any London based club especially one which can not specifically call upon its history roots and tradition for a larger fan base. Promotion and entertaining football is pivotal if Dagenham hope to expand.

The Key Player: Paul Benson

The former non-league striker is the sort of player every lower league manager dreams of finding. Benson was found late in his career at 25 and has spent 5 seasons at the Victoria Ground. His first season though was a failure and it could have all gone so wrong if John Still hadn't had such faith in the Essex born striker a broken leg and limited appearances saw Benson score a solitary goal in his first campaign for the Daggers. But after the leg had healed and Benson was back fit the next season showed everyone what could be done. He finished the club and the Conference’s top goal scorer and since then has been pivotal in the success of the club.

Prediction

A win on the road against a top half team seems impossible and most of us are been spurred on by faith alone. Our 97th draw of the season would be a good thing at such a difficult place to go.

Dagenham & Redbridge 0-0 Grimsby Town

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