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When Dagenham & Redbridge sacked Ben Strevens on 27th December the club were five points above the relegation zone. On Bank Holiday Monday the club slipped into the National League South by a single point to catalogue one of the most disastrous spells both on and off the pitch in the club’s history.
It’s not an exaggeration to say that the Daggers are a mess of a football club going into a division that was tough enough this season and looking at the early constitutional projections for next season they could be in for another rough ride.
That mess all points back to Strevens being relieved of his duties after a Boxing Day to defeat to Braintree Town, a side that overtook their Essex neighbours and were safe before Monday’s final league games.
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That sacking carried out by James King was conducted in a callous fashion, a man whose identity within the game should now be tarnished so far that he doesn’t work for another club. Little did I know he was already with a reputation of his time at Ebbsfleet Utd, this certainly didn’t enhance it.
It might have been his time to go, to have those words uttered in front of your family, two small children included is insane. I always felt Dagenham were in year two of that rebuild stage, look how long it took Barnet to get promotion to the Football League under Dean Brennan, it’s never a quick fix.
But, to see where they were to where they finished up, the owners of the club look more than a little silly. And having interviewed a man who won the National League only a few seasons ago and deciding to give the job to a guy with relatively little managerial experience beggars belief. But that’s what happens when you leave the children in charge, carnage.
A two and a half year deal offered out, I’ll take one thanks, clueless and ill-advised but seemingly no one in charge took any responsibility. Things then carried on lurching from one crisis to another, loan players sent back, senior players leaving the club, wins no more forthcoming than they were under Strevens.
In fact, only five more arrived before Monday, Strevens picked up seven under his command. When you look at league tables through the season there is always usually a side that drops like a stone and winds up relegated.
But there was a backdrop to the poor form, form that was worse under a new manager than the previous, go figure! Midway through last month, it was announced that Egyptian YouTuber Marwan Serry had joined the club ownership group.
Boasting millions of followers and subscribers but a net worth of less than 150K, outrage hit social media after his appointed partner joined him at the club. Salma Mashhour was found to be posted on Instagram years previous ‘not condemning Hamas’, a very sensitive topic around the club’s local community.
Not only were the club under fire for lack of performance on the pitch, the lack of any background checks led to some fierce social media battles with some vile vitriol directed from Serry’s supporters towards Daggers fans, most having no clue what division Dagenham were in let alone anything else.
Quite the car crash. A fans forum led the owners into looking like rabbits caught in the headlights, quite rightly fielding a number of stern words and more, very much what was deserved.
Within a day or two, supporters backed by many from other National League clubs, the pair were gone, but the damage done. King had since been removed from his post after much protesting from the club’s fanbase before this moment, fractures appearing everywhere and the slide down the table continuing.
One last chance for survival at Solihull Moors on Monday, match Wealdstone’s result and safety. Anything less and relegation would be likely be confirmed.
The Stones raced into a first half three goal lead; Daggers were down. But salvation, a goal from Oscar Rutherford flipped the positions and Dagenham were safe. It was short lived however, Moors equalising and despite no end of chances they couldn’t find the net again, Dagenham & Redbridge were relegated to the National League South.
You can’t describe it any better than a mess, a shambles and for the club itself, they got what they deserved. This game is littered with people who don’t have the first clue how to run a football club, generally this is the end result.
Who didn’t get what they deserved is the fanbase. To say they’ve been through the mill this season is an understatement, not defended by their owners when things were feisty, let down by the same people presiding over the lack of anything on the pitch.
It’s hard to see where they go from here, new owners promising this, that and the other, but delivering a relegation, a manager out of his depth and fans who don’t trust a single word they utter.
Next season will be tough, unless they appoint a manager with a clue and one that can reconnect with the fanbase, it’s a rudderless ship that won’t stay afloat much longer.
