Dagenham & Redbridge F.C.

Dagenham & Redbridge F.C. was formed in 1992 following a merger between two clubs – Dagenham and Redbridge Forest.[3] Both clubs had fallen on hard times due to dwindling attendances. The club can trace back its ancestry to 1881 as Redbridge Forest was an amalgamation of three of the amateur game's most famous clubs, Ilford, Leytonstone and Walthamstow Avenue.[3][4] Between the clubs they won the FA Trophy once, FA Amateur Cup seven times, Isthmian League 20 times, Athenian League six times, Essex Senior Cup 26 times and London Senior Cup 23 times.[3]

Dagenham & Redbridge spent its inaugural season in the Football Conference taking the place of Redbridge Forest.[3] The club's first fixture in its new guise was on 25 July 1992, an 8–0 thrashing of Great Wakering Rovers in a friendly.[3] The first competitive result was a 2–0 win over Merthyr Tydfil in the Conference.[3]

Dagenham & Redbridge spent several seasons in the Football Conference but was relegated to the Isthmian League Premier Division in 1996. The club remained in that division until winning promotion in 1999–2000, going on to establish itself as one of the strongest clubs in the Conference, finishing third, second and fifth in its first three seasons back following promotion.

The club was narrowly beaten to the Conference title by Boston United in 2002 on goal difference. Boston United was subsequently found guilty of inappropriately making illegal payments to its players in its title-winning season. Dagenham & Redbridge attempted unsuccessfully to have itself declared Conference Champions, and therefore take Boston's contentious place in The Football League. A four-point deduction was put in place against Boston United for the following season but not for the season in which the irregularities had been committed.

The Daggers then declined somewhat, finishing the 2003–04, 2004–05 and 2005–06 seasons in mid-table. On 27 February 2004 the club were hammered 9–0 at home by Hereford United, equalling the record highest winning margin in the Conference.[5]

The 2006–07 season saw Dagenham & Redbridge battle it out with Oxford United for the top of the league spot. Despite Oxford quickly racing to the top, a collapse in Oxford's form combined with an excellent run for the Daggers saw them overtake Oxford in the league. On 7 April, Dagenham & Redbridge beat Aldershot Town 2–1 to build an unbeatable lead in the league, becoming Conference champions, meaning the club would play in the Football League for the first time in its history.[6][7]

Dagenham & Redbridge played its first match in the Football League on 11 August 2007, a 1–0 defeat to Stockport County.[8] The club won its first Football League game at home to Lincoln City on 1 September 2007.[9] The Daggers finished the season in 20th place, ensuring a second season of Football League competition. The following season, the Daggers reached their highest ever position of eighth. They narrowly missed out on the League Two play-offs after losing to Shrewsbury Town at home on the final day of the season.[10]

The 2009–10 season saw the Daggers promoted from League Two to League One via the play-offs. They defeated Rotherham United in a dramatic 3–2 play-off final at Wembley on 30 May 2010. Twice the Daggers took the lead, only to concede moments later. Jon Nurse regained the advantage for Dagenham & Redbridge, scoring a scrappy 70th-minute winner.[11] The Daggers first game in League One was a 2–0 defeat to Sheffield Wednesday. It was an unsuccessful season in League One as they finished 21st and were relegated on the last day of the 2010–11 season back to League Two.[12]

They eventually finished the 2011–12 season in 19th place back in League Two.[13] John Still left the club during the 2012–13 season to join Luton Town after nine years at the helm. The Daggers would finish in 22nd.[13] Following the club's safety from relegation, Wayne Burnett was appointed as manager on a permanent basis after a spell as caretaker manager. Despite an inconsistent start to the 2013–14 season, Dagenham & Redbridge finished in a respectable ninth place. In the 2014–15 League Cup, the Daggers played out an entertaining 6–6 match with Brentford before losing the subsequent penalty shootout. The League Cup paid tribute to the historic match by removing the goal nets at Victoria Road, putting them on display at the National Football Museum. In the 2015–16 season, the Daggers started the season poorly. Burnett was sacked in December 2015, to be replaced by John Still. In the 2015–16 FA Cup, Dagenham & Redbridge visited Premier League club Everton in the third round, losing 2–0.[14] Still was unable to save Dagenham & Redbridge from relegation in his third spell. After a 3–2 defeat away to Leyton Orient, relegation from League Two was confirmed.[15]

Following newspaper reports, an investigation launched by the National Crime Agency jailed two players and businessman, Krishna Ganeshan, Chann Sankaran and Michael Boateng, a Whitehawk player, for match-fixing.[16][17] Moses Swaibu was similarly charged in January 2014.[18][19] They were convicted of conspiracy to commit bribery for a failed plot to fix a game between AFC Wimbledon and Dagenham & Redbridge on 26 November.[20][21] It is believed that the case may have been part of a wider Singaporean match-fixing syndicate which Europol and other investigations uncovered.[22]

In their first season back in the National League, they ended the season in fourth place.[13] However, they would lose their play-off semi-final to Forest Green Rovers.[23] The 2017–18 season started positively, but after the club was plagued by a financial crisis midway through the season,[24] the Daggers finished the campaign in eleventh place.[13] The financial crisis was resolved early in the 2018–19 season.[25]

As of 10 September 2023

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player 1 GK  ENG Elliot Justham 2 DF  ENG Josh Hare 3 DF  ENG Elliott Johnson 4 DF  CRO Nikola Tavares 5 DF  ENG Tom Eastman 6 MF  ENG Jake Hessenthaler 7 MF  ENG Frank Vincent 8 MF  ENG Josh Rees 9 FW  ENG Inih Effiong 10 MF  ENG Ryan Hill 11 MF  ATG Myles Weston 12 DF  ENG Aidan Francis-Clarke (on loan from Luton Town)

No. Pos. Nation Player 15 DF  ENG Lewis Page 16 MF  ENG Harry Phipps 17 FW  ENG Charley Kendall (on loan from Lincoln City) 19 DF  ENG Sam Ling 20 MF  ENG Keenan Forson (on loan from West Ham United) 21 DF  ENG David Longe-King 22 FW  NED Sydney Ibie 23 MF  ENG Conor Lawless 23 FW  ENG Freddie Sears 27  ENG Sam Benson 29  ENG Dom Valkuya 31 MF  BDI Omar Mussa

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player 13 GK  ENG Josh Strizovic (on loan at Folkestone Invicta until 8 October 2023) 25 MF  ENG Frankie Franz (on loan at Enfield) 26 MF  ENG Alfie Terry (on loan at Basildon Town) 28  ENG Omar Dacas (on loan at Buckhurst Hill) 30 GK  ENG Jack Dixson (on loan at Romford)

Updated 24 February 2023[26]

Source:[13]

• Record victory:
  • Football League – 6–0 vs. Chester City, 9 August 2008; 6–0 vs. Morecambe, 16 May 2010
  • Football Conference – 8–1 vs. Woking, 19 April 1994[28]

• Record defeat:
  • Football League – 5–0 vs. Peterborough United, 7 May 2011; 5–0 vs Cheltenham Town, 18 February 2012
  • Football Conference – 9–0 vs. Hereford United, 27 February 2004[28]

• Record attendance: 5,949 vs. Ipswich Town, FA Cup third round, 5 January 2001[28]
• Record league attendance: 4,791 vs. Shrewsbury Town, League Two, 2 May 2009[28]
• Record transfer fee paid: Oliver Hawkins from Hemel Hempstead, undisclosed fee[28]
• Record transfer fee received: Dwight Gayle to Peterborough United, £470,000 (2013)[28]
• Record appearance holder: Tony Roberts, 507 appearances over 10 years
• Record goalscorer: Danny Shipp, 105 goals over nine years
• Best FA Cup performance: Fourth round, 2002–03; lost to Norwich City 1–0[28]

• Tony Roberts was the first goalkeeper in the history of the FA Cup to have scored a goal from open play. He netted against Basingstoke Town in October 2001, it was a fourth qualifying round.
• First fully capped international whilst playing for Dagenham & Redbridge was Jon Nurse who was capped for Barbados against Dominica in 2008.
• The highest ever scoreline in the first leg of a play-off game is now held by Dagenham & Redbridge, they defeated Morecambe 6–0 on 16 May 2010, although they could not build on this afterwards with a 2–1 defeat in the second leg.
• The highest scoring penalty shootout in professional football history, with Dagenham & Redbridge defeating Leyton Orient in the second round of the Football League Trophy 14–13, 27 penalties in total, on 8 September 2011. This was later equalled, but not bettered, by Liverpool who beat Middlesbrough in a League Cup penalty shoot out by the same score in September 2014.
• The joint highest aggregate score in a League Cup match: 12 – On 12 August 2014, Dagenham & Redbridge drew 6–6 after extra time at home with Brentford in the first round of the League Cup. They went on to lose 4–2 on penalties.[29]