rmoore

Dagenham Recorder, 15/9/03

Daggers winning run sunk by Southport

Dagenham & Redbridge 1 Southport 4

The Daggers slumped to a poor defeat at home to Southport yesterday, their first defeat of the season. the home side were never in it during the first half, with 'Port racing to a three nil lead after only seventeen minutes, with a brace from Edwards and a penalty from Parker, following a foul from Andy Farley that saw the Dagenham man sent off. Daggers came out better in the second period, and Colin McMennamin made it two in two games for the club with an excellent solo run and shot. however, any hhope they had of salvaging something was dashed when Lee Fowler pulled back Edwards in the box for a second penalty, and second sending off, of the night. Parker duly converted his second spot kick and the nine men were fortunate not to concede more.
After the game Rich Wellard vented his anger on both the team and the officials;
'I thought we were diabolical out there in the first half...you don't give anyone a three nil lead at home, but our defending was shambolic at times, i think we were lucky not to be further behind at half time. We came out better in the second but the ref finished us by sending Lee off when there was clearly no contact. We will appeal but i doubt it'll achieve anything, and to be honest we got what we deserved tonight. I'm going to tell the players that i never want to see a performance like that again, or there'll be even more changes ahead'.

Recorder Ratings (4-1-2-1-2) Gothard 7; Clegg 7, Heath 6, Farley(c) 6, Goodwin 6; Garai 6; Terry 6, Fowler 7; Gallagher 6; Stein 6, McMennamin 8. Subs Bass 6, Kamanan 6, Richardson 6.

MOM Parker (Southport)

Goals : McMennamin 48, Edwards 3, 17, Parker 12 (pen), 77, (pen).

www.daggersonline.net

Following the Southport debacle, Andy Farley and Lee Fowler have been banned for 3 and 1 games respectively; these suspensions will come into play following the home game with Leigh RMI on the 24th of September. Even worse, keeper Paul Gothard picked up a minor thigh strain in the game, and faces a struggle to be fit for Telford next week.


www.daggersonline.net. 19/9/03

Daggers reserves played a couple of friendly games this week. On Tuesday they beat Atherstone United 3-0, with goals from trialist Finbar Lynch and a double for Ronnie Green. This afternoon they beat Arnold Town by the same score, Green netting again, along with goals from trialist Mark Hicks and youngster Steven Webster. The idea behind these two games appears to have been to find new players, as Rich Wellard fielded teams consisting largely of trialists for both fixtures. DO's dedicated reporter was (alone) at the games and suggests there was little to take from them, other than the fact that reserve keeper Greg Bass looks to be a real find.

20/09

Following the two friendlies Rich Wellard has reportedly offered short contracts to two of the players on show, namely versatile ex Leeds man Finbar Lynch and striker Steven Webster. More news on these potential transfers as we get it...

rmoore

Dagenham Recorder, 22/9/03

Telford steal points to leave Wellard fuming.

Telford 3 Dagenham & Redbridge 2

Dagenham were the victims of a second poor refereeing decision inside of a week, as Telford United snatched the win with a clearly offside goal six minutes into injury time. Things started so well for the Daggers, with centre back Andy Farley making some amends for his sending off last weekend with a bullet header from Gallagher's corner. Telford came back quickly through on loan Chelsea striker Leon Knight, but the Daggers were back in the lead and well on top after Junior McDougald, returning from a three month lay off, volleyed home Stein's pass. The away side looked to have the points sealed, but a fumble from Gothard (still shaking off a minor injury) let in winger Chris Edge for a scrappy equaliser. Worse was to come as Knight grabbed the winner despite being at least ten yards offside. Despite the defeat Daggers manager Rich Wellard was defiantly upbeat;
'I can't really complain too much about that one...we've been robbed of victory by the linesman but i can't say much more without getting into trouble...the lads didn't look bad out there, though, and i was especially pleased to have Junior back and firing; he scored a great goal and i reckon he'll be vital to us this season.'
The defeat leaves Daggers in third place.

Recorder Ratings (4-1-2-1-2) Gothard 5; Heath 7, Farley(c) 8, Hese 6, Goodwin 7; Garai 7; Green 7, Fowler 6; Gallagher 7; Stein 6, McDougald 8. Subs Kamanan 7, McMennamin 7.

MOM McDougald

Goals Knight 33, 90, Edge 81. Farley 17, McDougald 50



Dagenham Recorder, 25/09/03

Lowly Leigh make it three losses in a row for Daggers

Dagenham & redbridge 1 Leigh RMI 2

Daggers turned in a poor performance to lose a second home game on the spin against 19th placed Leigh. The game was decided in the first twenty minutes as veteran forward Graham Fenton grabbed two scrappy goals in the early stages. The rest of the game was all Daggers as they barraged Leigh keeper Andy Chapman with effort after effort, but all they had to show for it was a twenty five yard screamer from the increasingly impressive Colin McMennamin. the Geordie hit the post as well, as did McDougald and Terry, but Daggers simply couldn't make their superiority tell. a visibly miffed Rich Wellard offered no comment on the defeat, which leaves Daggers in fifth place in the Conference, and in danger of losing touch with leaders Barnet and Scarborough.

Recorder Ratings (4-1-2-1-2) Gothard 6; Broom 6, Hese 7, Farley(c) 8, Goodwin 6; Fowler 6; Terry 8, McMennamin 7; Gallagher 7; McDougald 7, Stein 6. Subs Thomson 8, Richardson 6, Kamanan 6.

MOM Fenton (Leigh)

Goals : Fenton 4, 19. Mc Mennamin 47

rmoore

Dagenham Recorder 29/09/03

Stein miss costs Daggers point

Northwich Victoria 2 Dagenham & Redbridge 1

A late penalty miss by Mark Stein saw the Daggers slump to a fourth consecutive defeat that leaves them eighth in the Conference. Having taken the lead early on through a Paul Terry header, two more costly errors from Paul Gothard saw the Daggers fail yet again to hold on to an early lead. On 55 minutes Gothard failed to hold a Tony Croft header, which was bundled in by Mark Jackson from the rebound. Seven minutes later the keeper allowed a speculative effort from full back Jason Gavin to go under his body. Stein had a chance to equalise with nine minutes left but he blazed his spot kick over the bar.
Manager Rich Wellard was unusually philosophical about the defeat; 'It's a bit of a worry, definitely...four losses in a row is hardly the form we need to show if we want to get anywhere in this league. Having said that we were a bit unfortunate today; if Steino had scored and Paul Gothard hadn't had a bit of a 'mare we could have won easily'.
Wellard has also implied to Daggers fans that his squad rebuilding is far from over. 'Expect some more new faces in the next month or two. I'm rebuilding this club from the bottom up and there're bound to be teething problems. Once we break this losing streak we'll be fine'.

Recorder Ratings (4-1-2-1-2) Gothard 4; Martin 6, Hese 4, Thomson(c)7, Goodwin 5; Garai 5; Terry 7, McMennamin 8; Gallagher 7; McDougald 6, Stein 6. Subs Bass 7, Heath 7, Douglas 8.

MOM McMennamin

Goals Jackson 55, Gavin 62, Terry 17



www.daggersonline.net 30/09/03

RICH'S RANT

Welcome to the first in a monthly series of columns about the state of the Daggers by me, Rich Wellard. This column will hopefully give me a chance to let you all know what's been going on at the club over the preceeding weeks, and give you a clue as to what happens next.
Obviously i'm quite disappointed by the way things have gone since I took over. Although we started the month well, things went downhill pretty quickly and we're a few points adrift of the top as I write this. Still, it's early days, Rome wasn't built in a day etc. (note to self; don't use cliches); i'm confident we can turn things round sooner rather than later. Most of the lads have been turning in decent performances, we just need some luck.
Most of the fans i've spoken to have asked me why i'm buying so many young players. Despite what some of you reckon, i'm not running an Essex-wide stable of rent boys under the cover of a respectable football club. The simple answer is that it makes financial sense. A teenage prospect tends to want a tenth of the wages of a seasoned professional, and we simply can't afford to bring in experienced heads at the moment. It'll come; i've got about 150k of transfer funds to spend, and i'm intending to use them for wages and signing on fees rather than transfer fees. Of course, relatively few league players are interested in a move into the Conference (which is why promotion is a must). Having said that, i've got a surprise or two coming next month...but you'll have to wait and see.
I'm glad to see how well some of the lads are doing at the moment, and not just the ones i've brought in. Junior McDougald is looking every bit as good a player as he did when we were together at Brisbane Road, and i'll stick my neck out and pick him as our top scorer this season. Lee Fowler & Adam Farley are looking capable of great things, sendings off aside, while i've been impressed with the start Colin McMennamin has made. See, its not all bad news!
Anyway, next month is going to be an important one for us, even though there's only four games. We need to start winning, and where better than at home to Hereford on Saturday? The FA Cup qualifier against Bishop Auckland is also an improtant one for us; a cup run'll give us some much needed funds.
Until next month,then.

retired_amyslack

Good start Eldritch7. I like the mix of newspaper-style reporting and the less formal daggersonline style.

rmoore

BobBev - Cheers, glad you're enjoying it so far. I almost wrote the whole thing as a giant, episodic screenplay, but it looked a bit limited. This way i can pretty much write in whichever style i choose

www.daggersonline.net. 3/10/02

Stop Press - Daggers spend money!

Rich Wellard today announced four further signings for his growing squad...including his first two cash deals for players. He talked to us about the latest arrivals.

James Coppinger, SC, 21. 45k from Newcastle
Colin McMennamin told us about one of his former team mates who was looking for a move down south. I sent my scouts to look at him and they suggested he was worth a try. James is a good old fashioned centre forward, good in the air and with a great right foot. My only concerns are his stamina & commitment but hopefully after a few months they'll start to improve.

Scott Marshall, DC, 28. 28k from Brentford
Scott could prove to be a very useful acquisition. His age and experience will allow him to keep an eye on the youngsters at the back, and from what i've seen so far he could put together a decent partnership with Adam Farley.

Wayne Thomas, DLC, 24. Loan from Stoke City
We've only got Wayne for two months, but he should feature in a few games. We've been lacking a bit in defensive stability of late and again, Wayne is a player with league experience so he could improve things.

Chris Barrett, SC, 17

Yeah, Ok, its another young striker. So? I like having a lot of strikers. Chris looks quite decent for his age...he should play some reserve games this year & we'll see after that.

DO reckon that the of the two cash signings, Marshall should turn out the best. We watched the lads in training last night & Coppinger looks pretty average, but we'll give him a chance...


Dagenham Recorder, 6/10/02

Daggers look strong but succumb to sucker punch

Dagenham & redbridge 2 Hereford 2

The Reds will be disappointed not to take the three points from a game in which they always looked the better team. Leading 2-1 with eight minutes to go, a harsh handball decision led to a free kick, despatched with aplomb by Hereford front man Steve Young. Goals from Colin McMennamin and a thirty yard screamer from McDougald had put the Daggers back on top after Tony West's early header, and in truth Hereford rarely looked likely o equalise before the final minutes. Mark Stein hit the post and Paul Terry had a goal disallowed, but in the end the home side had to settle for a point, their first in five games. Manager Rich Wellard was happy with the perfoormance if not the result, remarking 'I've seen teams win games 4-0 with half the chances we had today. Still, a point's a point, and at least we've stopped losing...'

Recorder Ratings (3-5-2)Gothard 8; Goodwin 7, Heath6, Fowler 6; Terry 7, Garai 8, Thomson(c) 8, McMennamin 9, Gallagher 7; McDougald 8, Stein 7. Subs Janney 6, Coppinger 6, Hese 7.

MOM McMennamin

Goals McMennamin 30, McDougald 41. West 12, Young 82


www.daggersonline.net 8/10/03

One out, five in as Wellard continues to rebuild

The frenetic transfer activity at the Road continues at pace, with Rich Wellard unveiling fiive more signings at a local press conference yesterday. The star buy is undoubtedly former Millwall goalkeeper Willy Gueret. The 30 year old frenchman was released by the South London club in the summer & has taken a considerable wage cut to drop to the Conference. He could be the man needed to stabilise the defence, and is a commanding presence as well as an excellent shot stopper. Along with Gueret comes another interesting attacking prospect in the form of ex Man City man Leon Mike, who has signed on a short term deal. The long mooted transfers of Stephen Webster & Finbar Lynch have been confirmed, while the last of the quintet is rookie left winger Darren Pearson. Leaving the club this week was right back Steven Clegg, a long term target of more than one league club who agreed terms with Darlington and made a 55k switch on Wednesday.

We feel that,although Wellard's dedication to squad depth is admirable, all of these young players are somewhat unnecessary. Most of his first team signings are to be applauded but we already have a very big squad for the conference. With more purchases on the horizon, it'll be difficult to keep everyone happy.

rmoore

Dagenham Recorder, 13/10/02

New boys shine in creditable draw

Yeovil 0 Dagenham & Redbridge 0

New keeper Willy Gueret turned in a superb debut performance for the Daggers in what looked to be a tough fixture. The Frenchman displayed few signs of rust despite being out of the game for almost a year, and was backed up well by a solid all round defensive performance. The home side had most of the play, although late Daggers sub Yannick Kamanan should have won it at the death. Although he admitted it was far from championship form, Rich Wellard suggested that the signs were better than they had been recently. 'The defence looked good today, and we know we can score goals. Now we just need to do both in the same match!'. The draw leaves Daggers in sixth, eight points behind leaders Scarborough.

Recorder Ratings (4-1-2-1-2) Gueret 8; Thomas 9, Marshall 7, Heath 8, Goodwin 7; Thomson(c) 7; Terry 7, Gallagher 7; McMennamin 6; McDougald 6, Coppinger 6. Subs Garai 6, Stein 6, Kamanan 6.

www.daggersonline.net. 17/10/03

Wellard defiant; 'I'm not stopping yet!'

Four more arrivals means the Daggers now have officially the biggest squad in the Conference. The fact that our wage bill remains more or less at the same level as at the start of the season is testament to Rich Wellard's business sense (and the low wage demands of teenagers, of course...). This week's influx appear to be more backups for the few positions we are short in. The best of them looks to be Keith Duffy; not the Boyzone one, but a quick, skilful 15 year old forward. Craig Woodman, 19, is a backup left back signed for nothing from Bristol City, while Tony Mitchell & Ross Adams are both centre backs. The boss has suggested that these are the last back up players he'll be sgning; 'From now on, expect first teamers', he remarked when we asked him if there'd be more signings.

rmoore

Dagenham Recorder, 20/10/03

Daggers make hard work of part timers

Dagenham & Redbridge 2 Bishop Auckland 0 (FA Cup Final Qualifying Round)

A professional, if unconvincing, performance saw the Reds back to winning ways and into the hat for the First round of the FA Cup. Although Bishop Auckland offered relatively little going forward,they still managed to restrict a misfiring forward line to two second half goals. Paul Terry finally broke down the visitor's stubborn resistance with a fine strike from the edge of the area, but it wasn't until the 88th mnute that Junior McDougald made things safe. Rich Wellard was unavailable for commented but was reportedly satisfied with the result.

Recorder Ratings (4-1-2-1-2) Gueret 8; Thomas 7, Heath 6, Farley (c) 8, Goodwin 5; Thomson 8; Terry 7, McMennamin 6; Gallagher 7; McDougald 9, Stein 7. Subs Garai 6, Coppinger 7, Kamanan 6.

MOM McDougald

Goals Terry 55, McDougald 88


www.daggersonline.net 23/10/02

Kamanan transfer listed after amazing bust up.

Recently arrived French striker Yannick Kamanan appears to be on his way out of Victoria Road before he has even unpacked, after a training ground confrontation with manager Rich Wellard. The player reportedly demanded that he be the first name on the teamsheet; Wellard's alleged response was 'you don't even deserve to be in the ****ing stiffs on current form'. Kamanan then allegedly threw all of his toys out of the pram and hurled abuse at everyone in sight, leading Wellard to transfer list him immediately, 'not that anyone will want the self absorbed little ****'. Although the player was showing few signs of being up to his own high opinions, such an incident so early on in the new manager's reign is clearly a concern.

rmoore

Dagenham Recorder, 27/10/02

Five Star Daggers massacre sorry Stafford

Dagenham & Redbridge 5 Stafford Rangers 0

Daggers turned in an excellent performance to grab their first league win in seven games in some style. Current top scorers Junior Mcdougald & Colin McMennamin each grabbed two as the home side ran riot, Mark Stein bagging the other. In truth, so outclassed were Rangers that it should have been ten, Mc Dougald alone having two goals disallowed and hit the post in a stunning performance. Rich Wellard was understandably pleased with the result; 'I think we've been threatening that for a while. Its a shame we didn't really slaughter them, that'd have put the fear of God into the rest of the league.'

Recorder Ratings (4-1-2-1-2) Gueret 7; Martin 8, Farley(c)8, Thomas 7, Goodwin 7; Thomson 10; Terry 7, Gallagher 7; McMennamin 10; Stein 9, McDougald 10. Subs Garai 6, Janney 6, Green 7.

MOM McDougald

Goals - McDougald 7, 43, Stein 28, McMennamin 51,54.

rmoore

Sorry for the gap in posts, have been too busy recently, & will be for a few weeks. Should be able to get back to more or less daily posts by the end of the month though...

www.daggersonline.net. 31/10/02

RICH'S RANT

It's nice to be sitting here writing this on the back of a 5-0 win, With any luck it'll be the first of many. Things are slowly beginning to come together, but it always takes a while for an entirely new team (which is more or less what we've got now) to gel. I don't intend to stop shopping just yet - we need some more depth at the back for a start - but i reckon we've nearly got a team that can win this league. The important thing is that despite the bad results at the end of last month, we're still in touch with the top two, and a few good wins will put us right back in there.
I'm not going to go into too much detail about the 'Kamanan Affair', but lets be honest, those of you that saw him play...he was rubbish, wasn't he. We don't need anyone here with a bad attitude so he'll be gone as soon as possible. I thought you needed a bit of ability to fit the moaning Frenchman stereotype but there you go.
Anyway, until next month.

rmoore

www.daggersonline.net. 6/11/02

More players leave as Wellard looks to the defence

The transfer circus that is Victoria Road ground into action again this week, with three in and three out among the playing staff. The three departing players were striker Tony Lock, snapped up by Cheltenham for 30k, fellow forward Ronnie Green, who joined Blackpool for the same fee, and defender Chris Baird, who becomes a Darlington player for 12k. The incoming names are quite an interesting mixture; we asked Rich Wellard for his views.

Ludvig Lannerstrom, 22, DRLC. 1k from Kenty

Ludvig joins us out of lower league Swedish football, one of the few levels of the game below our own... he looks to be a reasonable utility defender, but he's only here on a six month contract as i'm not sure he'll adapt to our game. If he looks good he might stick around.

Jamie Parry, 18, DC.

Jamie was released by Manchester United at the end of last season; quite honestly i was amazed to find him available and willing to come to us. He's a real find - even discards from the Theatre of Dreams tend to have something about them. He could very likely find himself a first team regular if he fits in OK.

Paul Rachubka, 21, GK.

Another kid discarded by Sir Alex in the summer, Paul should be a capable number two to Willy Gueret. He could & should get better, but for now he's unlikely to start many games. Always nice to have an under 21 international in the squad though, even an American one...


Dagenham Recorder, 10/11/02

Daggers get better of local rivals but fail to take points

Southend United 1 Dagenham & Redbridge 1

Rich Wellard's increasingly new look Daggers put in a capable performance against Southend, but didn't quite have the firepower to take the victory. Despite falling behind to an early goal from eventual man of the match Searle, the Daggers dominated the game, but only had a Mark Stein penalty to show for it at the end. Wellard was upbeat after the game; 'Southend are a tough prospect at home, they were one of the sides above us in the league but we showed them who the better side were today. Their team wasn't much different today than when they were relegated, so i think this result tells us we're on the right track.'
The only sour note for the Daggers was an injury to inspirational midfielder Kieran Gallagher - a pulled hamstring will see the player sidelined until mid December.

Recorder Ratings (4-1-2-1-2) Gueret 8; Martin 6, Farley(c) 8, Thomas 7, Goodwin 8; Thomson 7; Terry 6, McMennamin 7; Gallagher 7; McDougald 7, Stein 7. Subs Janney 7, Garai 6.


www.daggersonline.net. 12/11/03

Former Spurs man signs on

Canvey Island striker Wayne Vaughan becomes the twenty-seventh player to be signed in ten weeks by Daggers boss Rich Wellard. The 24 year old former Spurs Academy striker has signed a one year deal with Dagenham in a deal worth around 4k.