House of Flying Daggers

[CFuller]

Romford watch: 2039/2040

Romford had narrowly missed out on the Conference Premier play-offs in 2038/2039. Now, in their first season as a fully professional club, Dominic Shimmin's Boro were hopeful of pushing even further towards the Football League.

 

Conference Premier: 11th

Romford's professional era began brightly, with a 1-1 draw in Barrow being followed by a 2-0 win over Barnsley. The Boro lost their next match by the odd goal in five at Harrogate Town, but then went on to win four of their next six. They even rose as high as 2nd place - behind only Harrogate - after seeing off Queens Park Rangers at the start of September, but then plateaued in 3rd for the next few weeks.

 

Romford's challenge was derailed in the autumn, as they lost five out of six matches, with the nadir being a 5-0 demolition at Darlington. That run sent the Boro tumbling out of the play-off places, and though they did beat Brentford and Hartlepool United immediately afterwards, they would only record two more victories in 2039. Shimmin's side were also heavily beaten 4-0 in their home reunion with Harrogate. They would head into the New Year in 12th place, and a considerable distance from the top five.

 

2040 started encouragingly for Romford, whose only defeat in their first seven league games was at home to Torquay United. The defence had held up well in those fixtures, but it fell apart again as March loomed. Further losses at Ship Lane to Marine and Darlington that month effectively ended their play-off hopes for this season. Although the Boro did beat Hartlepool, Crawley Town and Mansfield Town in three of their last four matches, they could only finish 11th. Their 69-point haul was only six worse off than last term, but they'd dropped five places.

 

FA Cup: Round 1

Grimsby Town held Romford to a 1-1 draw at Ship Lane in Qualifying Round 4 before the Boro prevailed in the replay at Blundell Park. Shimmin would take his side back to Lincolnshire for Round 1, but their hoodoo at that particular stage continued. League Two strugglers Lincoln City ground out a 2-1 win to eliminate the Boro.

 

FA Trophy: Round 2

Romford enjoyed a comfortable 2-0 win over Conference South side Barnet in Round 1, and they would face another team from that division in the next phase. However, their visit to Dorset would end in tears, as Dorchester Town - managed by none other than ex-Dagenham & Redbridge striker Roy Ganfield - shocked the Boro 1-0.

 

Essex Senior Cup: Quarter Final

Romford entered the Essex Senior Cup in Round 2 as they looked to win the trophy for the first time in nine years. Brentwood Town, Ilford and Canvey Island were all brushed aside by the aggregate score of 7-0, and there would be plenty of goals in the Quarter Final as well. The Boro took Maldon & Tiptree to extra-time after a 2-2 draw, but it was the Conference South outfit who scored the winner and progressed further.

 

Best Players

Though most of Romford's key men made the transition to playing full-time, their top scorer was one of their few remaining semi-professionals. Darren Cunningham bettered his tallies of 24, 25 and 27 from his previous three seasons by finding the net 29 times. However, the 26-year-old east Londoner's time at Ship Lane might be short-lived if reports of a move to the Football League are to be believed. Romford's next-highest scorers were Phil Holmes with 14 goals, and 18-year-old local boy Freddy Laing with eight.

 

Steven Studley made 16 assists for Romford, while fellow midfielder Billy Traynor and left-winger Carl Callander also reached double figures in that respect. The Boro's best defender was arguably the experienced Ross Warren, who was often partnered in the centre by on-loan Burnley youngster Myles O'Connor during the first half of the season. New signing Rhett Wilkes enjoyed a strong first season in goal for Romford. Wilkes took over the number 1 jersey from Mickey Latham, who made his final appearance in April, just a fortnight short of his 39th birthday.

 

The Future

Though Romford had again arguably overachieved for a club of their stature, the truth of the matter was that they finished 11 points adrift of the top five. Shimmin will have to make amends next term by attracting better and more consistent players, especially if fans' favourite Cunningham leaves.

[CFuller]

2039/2040 season round-up: Part 1

Premier League

Manchester United were once again imperious, snatching the Premier League title from Arsenal's grasp to claim a fourth championship under Alexander Mejía. The Red Devils ultimately won the League and FA Cup 'Double', thanks once again to PFA Player of the Year Sebastián Núnez's midfield brilliance and the continued solidity that captain José Luis brought to their defence. Although Shane Hay became the first player to score 35 goals in a single Premier League season, his Arsenal team finished six points adrift of the Red Devils and were left empty-handed.

 

United didn't lose a single league match at home, and neither did their local rivals Manchester City. The Citizens only managed 3rd place in the PL, though they did lift the UEFA Champions League for a seventh time. The top three teams were well clear, but the battle for 4th place went right down to the wire. In the end, it was League Cup winners Dagenham & Redbridge who qualified for the Champions League for the first time, pipping big-spenders Rochdale by three points.

 

Liverpool won a record sixth UEFA Europa League title, though 6th was the best they could manage in the PL. FA Cup runners-up Derby County and sleeping giants Chelsea completed the top eight to join the Reds in Europe's second-tier competition. Reading enjoyed another top-half finish, but West Ham United limped home 15th after an abysmal campaign beset by injuries and managerial instability.

 

Burnley conceded 79 goals as their nine-year residence in the top flight came to a pitiful conclusion. Crewe Alexandra battled bravely against relegation but couldn't avoid being sent back down into the Championship. The last relegation place was decided on the final day, with no fewer than five teams battling to survive. Everton were most at risk, but a 91st-minute equaliser from young Welsh midfielder Adie Bater at home to Crewe saved the Toffees... and sent West Bromwich Albion tumbling down instead!

 

                                   P     W     D     L     F     A     GD    PTS
1.    C/CL  Man Utd                38    27    7     4     91    33    +58   88
2.    CL    Arsenal                38    25    7     6     83    37    +46   82
3.    CL    Man City               38    24    6     8     78    41    +37   78
4.    CL    Dag & Red              38    21    5     12    58    36    +22   68
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
5.    EL    Rochdale               38    19    8     11    56    36    +20   65
6.    EL    Liverpool              38    18    8     12    62    46    +16   62
7.    EL    Derby                  38    17    7     14    61    49    +12   58
8.    EL    Chelsea                38    13    14    11    53    48    +5    53
9.          Southampton            38    15    8     15    51    56    -5    53
10.         Reading                38    14    9     15    61    58    +3    51
11.         Norwich                38    13    9     16    42    52    -10   48
12.         Wolves                 38    13    9     16    44    56    -12   48
13.         Nottm Forest           38    12    8     18    37    45    -8    44
14.         Brighton               38    10    11    17    35    62    -27   41
15.         West Ham               38    9     13    16    43    64    -21   40
16.         Coventry               38    11    6     21    31    45    -14   39
17.         Everton                38    10    9     19    49    75    -26   39
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
18.   R     West Brom              38    10    8     20    45    69    -24   38
19.   R     Crewe                  38    8     9     21    39    68    -29   33
20.   R     Burnley                38    7     7     24    36    79    -43   28

 

Championship

Fulham made easy work of the Championship on their first season at this level since 2000/2001. Will Grigg's Cottagers led for virtually the entire season and eventually built a 14-point lead on runners-up Blackburn Rovers, who will also be back in the Premier League next term.

 

The Championship Play-Off Final was an all-Yorkshire affair between Huddersfield Town and Sheffield United following their comfortable Semi Final victories over Aston Villa and Ipswich Town. Huddersfield took the lead after 31 minutes through Russ Grierson, and United's woes were compounded when full-back Hallvard Snildalsli was sent off before half-time. The Terriers ultimately won 3-0 to end their five-year exile from the PL.

 

Tottenham Hotspur will have to endure another season in the Championship after finishing 7th. 12th-placed Newcastle United's Mickey Cox was the division's top scorer with 28 goals, with one more than Baldur Hreidarsson, who guided Corby Town to their best finish of 10th. Watford survived a stint in administration - and a 10-point deduction - to narrowly avoid relegation.

 

Sunderland also went into administration and had to rebuild virtually their entire squad from scratch in the summer. The much-changed Mackems couldn't stay up, and neither could Bradford City's ageing defence. Kidderminster Harriers' first season in the second tier would end with them returning to League One.

 

                                   P     W     D     L     F     A     GD    PTS
1.    C     Fulham                 46    32    6     8     85    35    +50   102
2.    P     Blackburn              46    25    13    8     81    49    +32   88
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3.    P     Huddersfield           46    24    12    10    92    56    +36   84
4.          Sheff Utd              46    24    9     13    70    55    +15   81
5.          Ipswich                46    23    11    12    81    57    +24   80
6.          Aston Villa            46    23    8     15    79    62    +17   77
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
7.          Tottenham              46    19    16    11    65    51    +14   73
8.          Crystal Palace         46    21    8     17    67    61    +6    71
9.          Wycombe                46    19    12    15    73    61    +12   69
10.         Corby                  46    18    11    17    67    58    +9    65
11.         Cardiff                46    19    7     20    59    70    -11   64
12.         Newcastle              46    14    18    14    74    70    +4    60
13.         Stockport              46    15    11    20    59    61    -2    56
14.         Charlton               46    14    14    18    60    69    -9    56
15.         Stoke                  46    15    11    20    62    74    -12   56
16.         AFC Telford            46    13    13    20    56    73    -17   52
17.         York                   46    14    9     23    54    69    -15   51
18.         Plymouth               46    14    8     24    56    70    -14   50
19.         Watford                46    15    13    18    59    67    -8    48 *
20.         Hull                   46    11    14    21    50    78    -28   47
21.         Chesterfield           46    11    13    22    59    80    -21   46
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
22.   R     Kidderminster          46    11    10    25    45    69    -24   43
23.   R     Sunderland             46    13    13    20    54    73    -19   42 *
24.   R     Bradford               46    10    10    26    51    90    -39   40

* Sunderland and Watford deducted 10 points for entering administration

 

League One

Middlesbrough's revival continued as the Boro won the League One title, and a second promotion in three years. Runners-up Leighton Town completed a 13-season ascent from the Southern League Division 1 Central to the Championship, but their long-term future looks uncertain after owner Mohammed Al-Rashidi cut back his funding.

 

Leicester City saw off Wrexham on penalties in the League One Play-Off Semi Final, but spot-kicks would be their downfall in the Final. Hereford United had knocked AFC Bournemouth out before holding the Foxes to a 1-1 draw at Wembley. Shay Facey's spot-on Bulls then won 4-2 in the shoot-out, thus securing a shock promotion to the Championship! Next season will be their first at that level in 64 years!

 

Things looked grim for some South Yorkshire football fans after Doncaster Rovers and Rotherham United dropped into League Two (Donny doing so for the first time since 2003). Notts County and Shrewsbury Town went down as well, but a clutch of sides were also at risk in the closing stages of the season.

 

                                   P     W     D     L     F     A     GD    PTS
1.    C     Middlesbrough          46    28    8     10    72    41    +31   92
2.    P     Leighton               46    26    10    10    72    42    +30   88
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
3.          Leicester              46    23    14    9     63    40    +23   83
4.    P     Hereford               46    23    9     14    54    47    +7    78
5.          Bournemouth            46    20    12    14    69    55    +14   72
6.          Wrexham                46    19    10    17    44    57    -13   67
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
7.          Gillingham             46    18    12    16    68    61    +7    66
8.          Southend               46    19    8     19    48    46    +2    65
9.          Dartford               46    17    13    16    43    43    0     64
10.         Oxford                 46    16    15    15    52    46    +6    63
11.         Bolton                 46    13    23    10    56    45    +11   62
12.         Sheff Wed              46    16    14    16    53    54    -1    62
13.         Scunthorpe             46    17    10    19    62    63    -1    61
14.         Luton                  46    16    12    18    47    51    -4    60
15.         Peterborough           46    16    11    19    57    65    -8    59
16.         Wigan                  46    14    15    17    52    57    -5    57
17.         Exeter                 46    17    5     24    67    78    -11   56
18.         Leeds                  46    14    13    19    46    45    +1    55
19.         Cambridge              46    15    10    21    53    60    -7    55
20.         Oldham                 46    12    17    17    58    63    -5    53
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
21.   R     Shrewsbury             46    14    10    22    47    69    -22   52
22.   R     Notts County           46    11    17    18    43    60    -17   50
23.   R     Rotherham              46    13    8     25    33    53    -20   47
24.   R     Doncaster              46    12    10    24    52    70    -18   46

 

League Two

Bristol Rovers and Millwall went toe-to-toe for the League Two title, with the Pirates eventually winning out by just two points. They were joined in securing automatic promotion back to League One by Swansea City, who will now hope for another surge up the leagues.

 

Northampton Town's Play-Off Semi Final against Birmingham City saw them win by the odd goal in nine, while Cheltenham Town also enjoyed a narrow win against Southport. The Final showdown at Wembley was also very close. Experienced forward Eddie Hughes' 65th-minute strike won the game, and promotion, for Northampton.

 

As if watching Rovers win the league wasn't depressing enough for Bristol City fans, they had to suffer the agony of relegation out of the Football League after 138 years. Walsall will also be in next season's Conference Premier, having failed to overtake Lincoln City in the race to avoid the bottom three.

 

                                   P     W     D     L     F     A     GD    PTS
1.    C     Bristol Rovers         46    26    12    8     71    42    +29   90
2.    P     Millwall               46    25    13    8     66    39    +27   88
3.    P     Swansea                46    24    7     15    68    46    +22   79
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4.    P     Northampton            46    22    12    12    67    44    +23   78
5.          Cheltenham             46    21    12    13    72    51    +21   75
6.          Southport              46    20    13    13    55    45    +10   73
7.          Birmingham             46    19    15    12    49    46    +3    72
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8.          Eastleigh              46    19    14    13    61    56    +5    71
9.          Gateshead              46    17    14    15    50    41    +9    65
10.         Aldershot              46    17    14    15    56    49    +7    65
11.         Preston                46    17    13    16    55    54    +1    64
12.         Matlock                46    15    16    15    50    49    +1    61
13.         FC Halifax             46    16    12    18    56    67    -11   60
14.         Fleetwood              46    14    14    18    52    61    -9    56
15.         Kingstonian            46    16    8     22    49    63    -14   56
16.         Chester                46    14    12    20    39    50    -11   54
17.         Portsmouth             46    13    13    20    44    58    -14   52
18.         Morecambe              46    11    18    17    47    51    -4    51
19.         AFC Wimbledon          46    12    15    19    55    61    -6    51
20.         Ashford Town           46    11    17    18    47    54    -7    50
21.         Yeovil                 46    11    17    18    36    52    -16   50
22.         Lincoln                46    10    17    19    38    58    -20   47
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
23.   R     Walsall                46    10    15    21    43    63    -20   45
24.   R     Bristol City           46    8     15    23    33    59    -26   39

 

Conference Premier

Colchester United returned to League Two after winning one of the most exciting Conference Premier title races in recent memory. They pipped Port Vale and Queens Park Rangers to top spot in the final round of matches.

 

Having been pipped at the post, Port Vale and QPR subsequently lost their Play-Off Semi Finals to Grimsby Town and Harrogate Town. Harrogate's win had come in a penalty shoot-out, and they would need another to see off Grimsby at Wembley after a 2-2 draw. Town will now join the Football League ranks for the first time.

 

Potters Bar Town and Mossley each failed to survive beyond a single campaign at non-league's top tier. Former FL stalwarts Hartlepool United and Tranmere Rovers completed the bottom four and were relegated another level.

 

                                   P     W     D     L     F     A     GD    PTS
1.    C     Colchester             46    24    14    8     74    42    +32   86
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2.          Port Vale              46    23    16    7     70    36    +34   85
3.          QPR                    46    24    11    11    75    52    +23   83
4.          Grimsby                46    23    12    11    66    42    +24   81
5.    P     Harrogate              46    22    14    10    76    56    +20   80
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
6.          Darlington             46    23    9     14    79    50    +29   78
7.          Barnsley               46    21    13    12    67    50    +17   76
8.          Marine                 46    21    12    13    67    53    +14   75
9.          Crawley                46    19    14    13    73    57    +16   71
10.         Stalybridge            46    20    10    16    61    56    +5    70
11.         Romford                46    19    12    15    67    58    +9    69
12.         Torquay                46    18    10    18    51    53    -2    64
13.         Boreham Wood           46    17    12    17    52    60    -8    63
14.         Boston Utd             46    16    14    16    60    61    -1    62
15.         Barrow                 46    16    14    16    50    53    -3    62
16.         Mansfield              46    17    10    19    53    59    -6    61
17.         Horsham                46    13    15    18    66    72    -6    54
18.         Chelmsford             46    13    14    19    44    62    -18   53
19.         Brentford              46    11    12    23    51    72    -21   45
20.         Altrincham             46    10    13    23    42    70    -28   43
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
21.   R     Tranmere               46    9     14    23    49    76    -27   41
22.   R     Hartlepool             46    8     11    27    43    74    -31   35
23.   R     Mossley                46    9     8     29    39    80    -41   35
24.   R     Potters Bar            46    6     16    24    34    65    -31   34

 

Conference North

Promoted: Burton Albion (1st, 85 pts), Alfreton Town (3rd, 71 pts).

Also in Play-Offs: Carlisle United (2nd, 72 pts), Ilkeston (4th, 65 pts), Bury (5th, 65 pts).

Relegated: North Ferriby United (20th, 37 pts), Ossett Town (21st, 27 pts), Tamworth (22nd, 17 pts*).

* 10 points deducted

 

Conference South

Promoted: Eastbourne Borough (1st, 71 pts), Dorchester Town (4th, 66 pts).

Also in Play-Offs: Bath City (2nd, 69 pts), Slough Town (3rd, 68 pts), Milton Keynes Dons (5th, 65 pts).

Relegated: Canvey Island (20th, 44 pts), Staines Town (21st, 44 pts), Bromley (22nd, 36 pts).

 

Regional Premier Divisions

Promoted from Northern Premier League Premier: Bradford Park Avenue (1st), Shepshed Dynamo (5th).

Promoted from Isthmian League Premier: Stevenage (1st), Hampton & Richmond Borough (4th).

Promoted from Southern League Premier: Maidenhead United (1st), Newbury (2nd).

[CFuller]

2039/2040 season round-up: Part 2

Major Transfers

• Chelsea's failure to qualify for Europe saw them stripped of two key men in the summer. Legendary striker Gianni Improta went to Real Sociedad for £28million, while Spain midfielder Emanuel Hontoria was snapped up by Paris Saint-Germain for £33.5million. The Blues duly splurged over £80million on new players, including Rochdale's Jamaican left-back Graeme Muir (£24million) and Manchester United midfielder Pablo López (£21.5million).
• Manchester United found a cheap replacement for retiring right-winger Dudu Ashkenazi, forking out £9.5million on Olympiacos' volatile but fantastic Belgian Hamza Afkir. Serbian striker Milan Curcic found the net 15 times in his first season at Old Trafford after arriving from Sampdoria for £15.5million. United boss Alexander Mejía then bought a new left-back in January, with the dynamic young Turkish international Lider Bay leaving Trabzonspor for £15.75million.
• Despite the departure of iconic left-winger Plínio on a free transfer to Celta Vigo, Arsenal's only summer signing was a right-winger. Boca Juniors' 26-year-old magician Juan Martín Díaz immediately repaid his £14million transfer fee with two goals and 16 assists in an outstanding PL debut campaign.
• Manchester City's spending was more reserved than usual. Paris Saint-Germain left-back Arnold Gerrits was the Citizens' biggest purchase at £12.25million. The Dutchman was good if not great, and the same could be said of £11million Ajax centre-half Sadi, who proved an adequate replacement for the departed Mike Martin. They also secured the services of Brazil midfielder Davidson Júnior on a Bosman from Juventus.
• Rochdale threw even more money at new players this summer in a bid to reach the UEFA Champions League. £20million got them Dagenham & Redbridge's striker Tristan Egueh, while £15million went on Tottenham Hotspur's midfield captain Daniel Poulsen. Egueh and Poulsen each enjoyed solid seasons as Dale achieved their best Premier League finish of 5th, but still couldn't break into Europe's elite.
• Barcelona made two more extravagant purchases to avert their recent slide. Napoli's Gennaro Longobardi joined from Napoli for £22.5million in the summer and proved to be the ideal strike partner for the still outstanding Leonel Aguilar. Then, in January, they paid mid-table Real Valladolid a stonking £37.5million on Obi Anyanwu - an imposing 22-year-old Spain centre-back of Nigerian descent.

 

Managerial Movements

• Chelsea's recent underachievement continued this term, and chairman Andrew O'Toole had run out of patience with Musa Nizam by early January. Taking over from the 49-year-old Turk was a 50-year-old Dutchman - Guus Joppen, who'd been flying high in France's top flight with Lyon. Joppen enjoyed a solid enough start to life at Stamford Bridge, guiding the Blues back into Europe after an 8th-place finish.
• West Ham United began the season with Cauley Woodrow in charge, but a dreadful start resulted in the former Brighton & Hove Albion chief being sacked before Christmas. He was replaced with Matt Lowton, who became the latest manager to leave Hibernian for England. West Ham eventually finished in a woeful 15th place - one spot below Brighton, ironically.
• Steve Doswell had taken over at Brighton after guiding Crewe Alexandra to promotion from the Championship. James Marshall succeeded Doswell, having taken Tottenham Hotspur in the opposite direction. He wouldn't last a full season at the Alexandra Stadium, leaving for Nottingham Forest in April just as the battle against relegation was heating up. Crystal Palace's Brian Lawford was brought in to see out the campaign, which would sadly end with the Railwaymen returning to whence they came.
• Marshall's late-season move to Nottingham Forest had come after Kenneth Vermeer left the City Ground to replace Ross Barkley at West Bromwich Albion. It was not a particularly smart move on the Dutchman's part, as Forest went on to finish 13th while Vermeer's West Brom were relegated. Albion's local rivals Wolverhampton Wanderers had also changed manager in the latter part of the campaign, with Chelsea's former title-winning coach Lee Nicholls brought in as a replacement for Jamal Fyfield.
• Vladimir Weiss moved to the ninth club of his managerial career, abandoning Rangers to try and right the sinking Burnley ship after Kenny Robinson was sacked in November. Weiss was ultimately unable to save the Clarets from being relegated out of the Premier League in last place. Meanwhile, Robinson rejoined former club Hibernian in December, and enjoyed great success during the first few months of his second coming.
• La Liga giants Barcelona had yet another wobble and were even in danger of failing to qualify for Europe altogether before they sacked Luca Maniero in February. Former Hamburg boss Willi Muller came in and eventually guided Barca back up to 3rd place. As for Real Madrid, they sacked Sylvain Marveaux at the end of the season after Granada pipped them to 4th. The man chosen to replace Marveaux at the Santiago Bernabéu next season is Robin Knoche, who'd previously been at Bayern Munich for six seasons.

 

Other Major Stories

• England's recent dominance of the UEFA Champions League continued, with Manchester City making it five successive victories for Premier League clubs. City laboured to a 1-1 draw in the Final in Madrid after George Mkhwanazi cancelled out Manuel Guerrero's opener for the Portuguese champions. The match ultimately came down to penalties, with Citizens captain Kike Martínez securing a 3-2 win - and his side's seventh European Cup - following three fantastic saves from Sergio González.
• Juventus pipped Empoli to retain the scudetto on head-to-head, but this Serie A season was remembered for the scoring exploits of their main strikers. Juve forward Enrico Messina's tally of 36 goals would have equalled the all-time record in a single Serie A campaign had it not been for a certain 32-year-old Dane. Per Nielsen scored a ludicrous 54 (FIFTY-FOUR) of Empoli's 118 league goals, including SEVEN hat-tricks, prompting Italian football statisticians to rip up their record books!
• Real Betis regained the La Liga title by finishing four points clear of Real Sociedad. German striker Erdinc Gundogdu's Pichichi-winning 38 goals was the biggest haul by one player in the Spanish top flight since 2012. However, Los Béticos will have to defend their championship without much-loved coach Dirk Orlishausen, who returned to Germany to take up the vacant managerial position at Bayern Munich.
• Lyon bounced back quickly from losing Joppen in January. New manager Rajiv van La Parra - formerly of Bordeaux - helped Les Gones to overtake Paris Saint-Germain and win their first Ligue 1 title in eight years. In Germany, Borussia Dortmund enjoyed their first Bundesliga three-peat under Ilkay Gundogan, who is probably now regarded as a demi-god at the Signal Iduna Park.
• Hibernian's dominance in Scotland continued as they won a fourth successive Scottish Premier League title, while also beating Rangers in the Finals of the Scottish League Cup and the Scottish Cup. That's actually the second time Hibs have claimed a clean sweep of major trophies 'north of the border', having previously won the Treble in 2034.
• Liverpool legend Dave Weaver bowed out on a high. The 35-year-old Londoner scored twice in a UEFA Europa League Final win over Kuban Krasnodar and then concluded his Premier League career on 278 goals. Former Manchester City stars Dario Laraia and Mike Martin also retired, while United bade farewell to Ashkenazi, and long-time Real Betis midfielder Frank Kunz finished up at Celta Vigo.

 

Cup Winners

FA Cup: Manchester United 1-0 Derby County.

League Cup: Dagenham & Redbridge 3-0 Arsenal.

Community Shield: Manchester City 4-1 Arsenal.

Football League Trophy: Hereford United 2-0 Southport.

 

UEFA Champions League: Manchester City 1-1 Porto (3-2 penalties) - at Santiago Bernabéu, Madrid.

UEFA Europa League: Liverpool 4-1 Kuban Krasnodar - at Stadium of Light, Sunderland.

UEFA Super Cup: Manchester United 3-1 West Ham United - at Gelredome, Arnhem.

FIFA Club World Championship: Manchester United 6-0 ES Tunis - at Stade Olympique, Rades.

 

Major European Leagues

Dutch Eredivisie: FC Utrecht (1st), Ajax (2nd), Feyenoord (3rd).

French Ligue 1: Lyon (1st), Paris Saint-Germain (2nd), Monaco (3rd).

German Bundesliga: Borussia Dortmund (1st), Hamburg (2nd), Bayern Munich (3rd).

Italian Serie A: Juventus (1st), Empoli (2nd), Napoli (3rd).

Portuguese Primeira Liga: Porto (1st), Benfica (2nd), Guimaraes (3rd).

Russian Premier League: Anji Ramenskoye (1st), Kuban Krasnodar (2nd), CSKA Moscow (3rd).

Scottish Premier League: Hibernian (1st), Celtic (2nd), Rangers (3rd).

Spanish La Liga: Real Betis (1st), Real Sociedad (2nd), Barcelona (3rd).

 

Award Winners

PFA Player of the Year: Sebastián Núnez (Manchester United).

PFA Young Player of the Year: Orlando Salvador (Dagenham & Redbridge).

FWA Footballer of the Year: Shane Hay (Arsenal).

Premier League Manager of the Season: Alexander Mejía (Manchester United).

PFA Premier League Team of the Year:

• Marat Lepilov (Arsenal and Russia)
• Lloyd Mulvaney (Manchester City and England)
• José Luis (Manchester United and Spain)
• Daniel Ipoua (Nottingham Forest and Cameroon)
• Tarek Taider (Manchester United and Tunisia)
• Juan Martín Díaz (Arsenal and Argentina)
• Sebastián Núnez (Manchester United and Argentina)
• Peter Jakubicka (Manchester City and Slovakia)
• Maurice Hockley (Southampton and England)
• Moses Penfold (Manchester United and England)
• Shane Hay (Arsenal and England)

 

FIFA Ballon d'Or: Joachim Schwarz (Juventus).

World Soccer World Player of the Year: Mario (Paris Saint-Germain).

European Golden Shoe: Per Nielsen (Empoli).

UEFA Best Player in Europe: Mario (Paris Saint-Germain).

FIFA/FIFPro World XI:

• Ander Bengoetxea (Paris Saint-Germain and Spain)
• Gerardo López (Lokomotiv Moscow and Russia)
• José Luis (Manchester United and Spain)
• Christopher Khan (Real Betis and England)
• Carlos Alí (Paris Saint-Germain and Argentina)
• Sebastián Núnez (Manchester United and Argentina)
• Tomeu (Marseille and Spain)
• Matteo Caurla (Paris Saint-Germain and Italy)
• Dave Jansen (Liverpool and Holland)
• Jérémy Jossic (Porto and France)
• Mario (Paris Saint-Germain and Spain)

[CFuller]

UEFA European Championship review: Switzerland & Austria 2040

Qualification

No country achieved a 100% win record in qualifying, though holders England went unbeaten, as did former champions France, Germany, Holland, Italy and Spain. Wales and Slovakia were both undefeated in Group E. Meanwhile, Portugal recovered from a shock opening-day loss at home to Estonia by winning their next nine qualifiers, with Porto's Rui netting 19 of their 40 goals.

 

Despite having the imperious Per Nielsen leading their attack, Denmark only made it through after beating Poland in a play-off. Israel didn't even get that far, as the 2028 Semi Finalists came 4th in their group and were eliminated. Serbia missed out on the finals for the first time in 20 years, and Ukraine would once again be absent.

 

Montenegro were one of two countries who qualified for the European Championship for the first time. Albania also secured a debut appearance after pipping Greece to 2nd place in Group I. The Galanolefki would later join them in the finals, defeating Serbia over two legs to reach their first Euros since 2020. That feat was also replicated by the Republic of Ireland after two miserable decades of hurt.

 

QUALIFIERS: Albania, Austria (co-hosts), Belgium, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, England (holders), France, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Holland, Italy, Montenegro, Portugal, Republic of Ireland, Russia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Switzerland (co-hosts), Turkey, Wales.

 

Group Stage

Hassan Ben Ayad and Leo Veenboer were in form for Holland, getting all seven of the Oranje's goals as they topped Group A. Local rivals Belgium snuck through with them, pipping Switzerland on goal difference following a goalless draw between the pair. Group B was very tight, but one win and two draws apiece were enough to get Austria and Czech Republic into Round 2.

 

Italy dominated Group C with three wins, three clean sheets, and 10 goals (including five for Juventus' Enrico Messina). Germany needed a late William Schmidt hat-trick against rock-bottom Slovenia to secure 2nd place at the expense of Slovakia. Despite falling behind ten minutes into their opening Group D match against Denmark, England went on to record a trio of victories. They would be joined in the next phase by an inconsistent Turkey side.

 

France netted 11 goals on their way to winning Group E with an unbeaten record. The group's runners-up were Wales, who reached the knockout phase of a major tournament for the first time in 82 years. Group F saw Portugal, Russia and Spain all defeat Montenegro before recording 1-1 draws against one another. Automatic qualification went to Russia and Portugal on goal difference, but Spain would follow them into Round 2.

 

Sneaking through with Spain via the back door were the three next-best 3rd-placed teams. Republic of Ireland, Switzerland and Slovakia each lived to fight another match, but Greece and Bosnia & Herzegovina were sent home.

 

GROUP A: Holland* (1st, 7 pts), Belgium* (2nd, 4 pts), Switzerland* (3rd, 4 pts), Croatia (4th, 1 pt).

GROUP B: Austria* (1st, 5 pts), Czech Republic* (2nd, 5 pts), Republic of Ireland* (3rd, 4 pts), Albania (4th, 1 pt).

GROUP C: Italy* (1st, 9 pts), Germany* (2nd, 4 pts), Slovakia* (3rd, 4 pts), Slovenia (4th, 0 pts).

GROUP D: England* (1st, 9 pts), Turkey* (2nd, 4 pts), Greece (3rd, 3 pts), Denmark (4th, 1 pt).

GROUP E: France* (1st, 7 pts), Wales* (2nd, 4 pts), Bosnia & Herzegovina (3rd, 3 pts), Georgia (4th, 2 pts).

GROUP F: Russia* (1st, 5 pts), Portugal* (2nd, 5 pts), Spain* (3rd, 5 pts), Montenegro (4th, 0 pts).

* through to Round 2

 

Round 2

Holland were the first team through to the Quarter Finals following their 1-0 win over Czech Republic. Hassan Ben Ayad scored the decider after 35 minutes, and the Manchester City striker would've had a brace had his 49th-minute penalty not been saved by Lukas Ondrusek. Ben Ayad's club-mate George Mkhwanazi then gave Portugal a first-half lead against France, but Catatau's missed penalty on the stroke of half-time would be crucial. Late strikes from Jérémy Jossic and Baptiste Bidegain saw France turn the tie around and prolong their tournament.

 

Yet another player missed from the spot the following day, and Maros Varadin's inability to beat Austria goalie Johannes Suttner would prove costly for Slovakia. The Burschen went on to win 3-0, thanks to a brace from Valencia striker from Rolf Voss and another goal from young right-winger Christoph Peters. They would face fellow co-hosts Switzerland in the Quarter Finals following their 2-1 win over Russia. Etienne Tafani and Jason Valette both got on the scoresheet to cancel out Boris Genich's second-minute opener for the Russians.

 

Kevin Wells gave Wales the lead over Belgium after just 21 seconds, and the Dragons never looked back. Captain Aaron Wynne added another goal in the 30th minute as the Welsh underdogs emerged 2-1 winners. There was high drama in Republic of Ireland's match with Italy, which finished 2-2 after 90 minutes. Chris Doherty's injury-time leveller saved the Irish just when it seemed Gianfranco Torre had won the game for the Azzurri late on. However, Torre would strike again in extra-time to ensure that Italy progressed by the odd goal in five.

 

England's title defence crumbled against the team that they had beaten to win UEFA Euro 2036. Spain exacted revenge on the Three Lions after goals from left-back Douglas and midfielder Kike Martínez in the 26th and 32nd minutes. Germany also won by a couple of goals in the final match of Round 2. Real Betis winger Kosi Mbele's header midway through the first half was complemented by a 60th-minute drive from Leszek Michniewicz as Turkey were dismissed.

 

RESULTS: Holland 1-0 Czech Republic, France 2-1 Portugal, Austria 3-0 Slovakia, Switzerland 2-1 Russia, Wales 2-1 Belgium, Italy 3-2 Republic of Ireland (aet), Spain 2-0 England, Germany 2-0 Turkey.

 

Quarter Finals

France had a night to remember against Holland. An unfortunate own goal from Dutch winger Tufan Deniz Ozen was followed up by strikes from Ruben Leblanc and Jossic as Les Bleus moved closer to their first major trophy since 2016. Meanwhile, in the battle of the co-hosts in Vienna, Valette's opener for Switzerland was cancelled out by Austria captain Voss from the penalty spot. However, the majority of those at the Ernst-Happel-Stadion would leave disappointed, as Oliver Tonz' goal just before half-time proved to be Switzerland's match-winner.

 

Michniewicz sent Germany ahead 23 minutes into their Quarter Final with Spain, only for Real Madrid's Mikel Etxeberria to equalise within a minute. Another Real player would ultimately decide a tense, attritional affair. William Schmidt's finish nine minutes from time ensured victory for a clinical Germany side who'd scored from each of their only shots at goal. There was another smash-and-grab win when Wales played Italy. The Azzurri had more shots on goal than their opponents, but Chelsea's Callum Lea came off the bench to score an unforgettable 90th-minute winner for the Dragons. The men from the tiny principality were having the time of their lives!

 

RESULTS: France 3-0 Holland, Switzerland 2-1 Austria, Germany 2-1 Spain, Wales 1-0 Italy.

 

Semi Finals

France faced Germany in the first Semi Final in Vienna, and the world champions couldn't have endured a worse start. Leblanc pounced on a sloppy throw from German keeper Dawid Wisniewski to score after 20 minutes, with Jossic doubling Les Bleus' lead five minutes later. Though Schmidt pulled one goal back for the Mannschaft in the 66th minute, Rafael Pinau's late half-volley finished them off for good. Head coach Hakim Yilmaz was now 90 minutes away from leading France to a record-equalling fourth European Championship win.

 

In truth, not many had expected the second Semi Final in Zurich to be contested between Switzerland and Wales. The Nati were slight favourites thanks to their home advantage, but some sloppy shooting - and a great defensive performance from Wales' Ian Lea - would be their undoing. With nine minutes remaining, the Coventry City centre-half knocked a header down for Newcastle United winger Andy Ryan to drill in a late Welsh winner! Were Nathan Howe's Dragons about to complete an incredible fairytale?

 

RESULTS: France 3-1 Germany, Wales 1-0 Switzerland.

 

Final

The Stade de Suisse Wankdorf in Bern, Switzerland hosted the Euro 2040 Final - a battle between hot favourites France and rank outsiders Wales. It was Les Bleus who unsurprisingly started brighter, and emphatically so. A sublime solo strike from Porto's Jossic gave them the lead after just 14 seconds, with the second-fastest goal in European Championship history! It looked like France would go on to run riot, but then Wells equalised in the 7th minute with a header from Shaun Powell's deep cross. Wales continued to hold firm against the giants to go into half-time level at 1-1.

 

France reasserted their dominance of proceedings early in the second half. In the 58th minute, Leblanc ran onto an excellent lob from Jossic and curled an unstoppable 25-yard drive underneath the dive of Welsh goalkeeper Mark Thomas. The 31-year-old Monaco striker had clinched the Golden Boot... and he had also sealed the European title for Les Bleus. Despite their best efforts, Wales' Cinderella story would not have the dream ending.

 

Having scored 21 goals across seven matches, there was no doubt that France were by far the strongest team at these Euros. Few complaints were raised when captain Pinau lifted the Henri Delaunay Trophy, becoming the first Frenchman to do so since Hugo Lloris 24 years earlier. Les Bleus duly rose to top spot in the FIFA World Rankings, and Yilmaz will be hopeful of delivering further success at the 2042 FIFA World Cup in Portugal.

 

RESULT: France 2-1 Wales.

 

Award Winners

Best Player: Jérémy Jossic (France).

Golden Boot: Ruben Leblanc (France, 6 goals).

Best Goal: Mileta Ratkovic (Bosnia & Herzegovina, vs Wales - Group Stage).

Dream Team:

• Quentin Delrue (France and Barcelona)
• Matheo Honoré (France and Manchester United)
• José Luis (Spain and Manchester United)
• Christian Keller (France and Arsenal)
• Matthieu Bonhomme (France and Monaco)
• Lamine Kebe (France and Marseille)
• Rafael Pinau (France and Lyon)
• Gilles Causse (France and Barcelona)
• Jérémy Jossic (France and Porto)
• Enrico Messina (Italy and Juventus)
• Ruben Leblanc (France and Monaco)

[CFuller]

'House of Flying Daggers' now has over 1,000 posts (including reader replies) and over 20,000 views. In all honesty, I didn't think this story would ever get close to those milestones, let alone surpass them. Thank you for following along, and I hope you'll stick around for the next chapters.

However, I've decided to take another break from this story. I'm now only a couple of seasons behind where I've played (I'm about to start the 2042/2043 season in-game), so I want to build a bigger story backlog before I resume posting.

I also want to give more attention to a couple of my other stories. "An Impossible Man" will hopefully resume very soon, and I'm aiming to release a new story (also focussed on international football) later this month.

'HoFD' will probably return in the summer, either during or after the World Cup.

Christopher Fuller (CFuller)
8 April 2018

[EvilDave]

I'm looking forward to both seeing what you've got up your sleeve next and this one resuming, Chris - 1,000+ posts and 20k views is a great achievement and testament to your dedication here. This remains an excellent story - I think it says a lot when the 'rest of the world' round-ups are just as entertaining as the blow-by-blow club reports - and having you come back to it with batteries recharged will no doubt lead to it getting even better!

[CFuller]

3 minutes ago, EvilDave said:

I'm looking forward to both seeing what you've got up your sleeve next and this one resuming, Chris - 1,000+ posts and 20k views is a great achievement and testament to your dedication here. This remains an excellent story - I think it says a lot when the 'rest of the world' round-ups are just as entertaining as the blow-by-blow club reports - and having you come back to it with batteries recharged will no doubt lead to it getting even better!

Thanks again, ED. It'll be a while before this story returns, but I can promise that next season (the Daggers' first in the Champions League, let's not forget) will be worth the wait.

The end-of-season round-ups are always fun to write, and I particularly enjoyed the Euro 2040 write-up, with Wales finishing as runners-up and Dagenham having players on either side in the Final. Frédi Pereira's a European champion now .

[mark wilson27]

Mirror everything ED has said. Any story that moves over the 1000 post mark is a potential Hall of Fame story. Every post has been well written and has kept me intrigued. Looking forward to see how the Daggers do in their maiden Champions League adventure

[CFuller]

JULY 2040

Consolidation in the Premier League - check. Qualification for Europe - check. A place in the UEFA Champions League (or at least the Playoff round) - check. So, what's next for Dagenham & Redbridge?

 

I felt that the Daggers were still a year or two away from being able to challenge for the Premier League title, and I wasn't expecting us to take the Champions League by storm immediately. Instead, the 2040/2041 season would mainly be about continuing our steady progress, becoming more consistent, and hopefully finishing in the top four again.

 

Our players returned for pre-season training in the final week in June. It would be a little over a fortnight before they returned to match action, for the first of no fewer than nine friendlies. I wanted my Daggers to be as sharp as they could be for the challenges that would await them.

 

There had already been quite a few incomings and outgoings over the summer, and there was another of the latter early in July. After 143 PL appearances in six seasons with Dagenham & Redbridge, it was time to say goodbye to our tenacious midfield destroyer Greg Killick.

 

Derby County had offered us £5.75million - spread out over four years - to sign Killick. However, I turned down the Rams' bid and instead accepted AC Milan's offer of £7.5million in one lump sum. The 28-year-old Cumbrian subsequently agreed a five-year contract with the Serie A giants and completed his big move to Italy.

 

After agreeing Killick's sale, I flew out to Bern in Switzerland to watch the UEFA Euro 2040 Final, contested between Frédéric Pereira's France and Michael Walters' Wales. Pereira and Walters both started the showpiece event, but it was Frédi who had the honour of becoming the Daggers' first European champion, as France won 2-1.

 

All three of us were back home in time for our pre-season opener at the Abbey Stadium against League One minnows Cambridge United two days later. Frédi and Michael were both rested after their continental exploits, but two of our summer arrivals - goalkeeper Antoni Giménez and midfielder Benjamin Guerin - would make their Dagenham debuts.

 

Elliot Cook would miss the start of pre-season with a rib injury, while Orlando Salvador was also unavailable, having joined the Portugal Under-23s squad for the upcoming Olympic Games in France. I have no idea why football is still an Olympic sport, but here's hoping the Seleccao das Quinas crash out early, so that we can get Orlando back ASAP.

 

10 July 2040: Cambridge United vs Dagenham & Redbridge

Each of our homegrown strikers had chances to break the deadlock early on. 18-year-old Stevie Merson drove a shot into Cambridge goalkeeper Ron Milliard's hands after six minutes, but his more experienced partner Joel Honeyball mishit a diving header a minute later.

 

Three other Daggers youth products linked up to create another opportunity in the 15th minute. Paddy Rattle's corner delivery was flicked on by George Darvill to his fellow centre-back Bradley Charles, whose knockdown was blocked off the United line by Ian Cameron. More Dagenham frustration came when Honeyball missed the target again on 17 minutes. Joel did tee up a shot for Stevie six minutes later, but Milliard tipped away the youngster's low drive to keep us at bay.

 

We wouldn't rack up another shot on target in the first half against a combative Cambridge side who had midfielder Stewart Logan and striker Jason Kennerdale go into the book. Despite our clear dominance, the scoreline somehow remained 0-0 at half-time.

 

My plan to fix our predicament was to stretch play out wider in the second half. The addition of wingers Mirko Saric and Milen Danchev would prove to be significant. In the 54th minute, Mirko pounced on a heavy first touch from Cambridge defender Aaron Keeling and played an excellent first-time ball to his fellow Croatian Dzenan Genjac. Dzenan then entered the penalty area and squared a pass to Stevie, who finally got us off the mark with a cool finish.

 

Things then took a worrying turn for us. Firstly, Saric was booked after 57 minutes for a careless challenge on U's right-back Carl Vickers. We also lost a couple of midfielders - André Gross and Benjamin Guerin - to knocks. The latter was more seriously hurt, having bruised his shin, and he would miss our next two friendlies as a result.

 

Then, in the 75th minute, Cambridge had their best opportunity to equalise. Former England international Norman Alcock exchanged passes with Cameron before playing in another 34-year-old forward in Peter Finegan. Daggers goalkeeper Antoni Giménez made an impressive save from the Irishman, who was then hurt in a challenge from Thulani Mazibuko.

 

We'd survived our first pre-season match with a clean sheet, and we would also finish it with a two-goal lead. Though Milliard produced a fine save to thwart Antonis Siafos in the 84th minute, he couldn't keep out the Greek forward's next attempt three minutes later. Tony sent Milliard the wrong way from the penalty spot after Jonas Kjaerulff had been shoved in the United area by home midfielder Alex Lucas.

 

Cambridge United - 0

Dagenham & Redbridge - 2 (Merson 54, Siafos pen87)

Friendly, Attendance 8,528

DAG & RED LINE-UP: Rommel (Giménez), Rousseau (Álvarez), Charles (Gomes), Darvill (Gumede), Hamilton (Mazibuko), Mofokeng (Guerin (Siafos)), Rattle (Danchev), Gross (Allen), Genjac (Twardzik), Honeyball (Saric), Merson (Kjaerulff). BOOKED: Saric.

 

We'd won, but I'd not been impressed by the manner of our victory. I criticised my players' lack of effort in the dressing room after the final whistle, and one of our new recruits immediately took offence.

 

Goalkeeper Antoni Giménez furiously called me a "hijo de puta enojado", which his Spanish compatriot Enrique Álvarez helpfully translated to me as... well, I'll spare you the profanity. Needless to say, I was not at all pleased, and I warned Giménez that he'd be on the next flight home to Barcelona if he didn't cut out the attitude.

 

Aside from that shin injury to Benjamin Guerin, we had no new injury worries before our first home friendly - at home to a Marseille side now managed by the pragmatic former West Ham United boss Sanel Jahic. Hicham Martin and Gianfranco Torre each made their Dagenham bows here, while Frédéric Pereira returned to club action against his former colleagues, less than a week after winning the European Championship.

 

14 July 2040: Dagenham & Redbridge vs Marseille

Marseille finished 4th in Ligue 1 last season, and they started positively here. After three minutes, striker Marko Riou exchanged passes with Portuguese midfielder Filipe Santos - once a serious transfer target of mine - and saw his shot blocked by Siphesihle Gumede in the Daggers defence.

 

Les Phocéens would fare better in the 13th minute, as former Fulham and Everton winger Biyoko N'Gabsi made mincemeat of our new left-back Hicham Martin. The Belgian ghosted past Martin, and though his initial shot was parried back to him by Kayo Rowe, he emphatically blasted the rebound home.

 

L'OM were 1-0 up... for a minute-and-a-half. The enigmatic Dzenan Genjac equalised quickly with one of the best goals ever witnessed at Rainham Road - a crashing 25-yard drive that swerved in off the crossbar!

 

Genjac had sent our fans into raptures, and he could've done so again with another ambitious effort two minutes later. This time around, Brazil goalkeeper Elivélton made a comfortable catch for Marseille.

 

The rest of the first half was all about our French visitors, who won a couple of corners off a nervy Martin. Argentine striker Mario Rolón went for goal from distance in the 23rd minute, drawing Rowe into an easy save. Kayo had a bit more work to do to palm away a deflected Santos header five minutes later, but we would go into the interval still level at 1-1.

 

Frédéric Pereira was among four Daggers substitutes who came off the bench for the second half. The midfielder was fouled seven minutes in by former team-mate Santos, who received the game's first and only booking. I then made another batch of changes midway through the period. Unfortunately, one of them would make a catastrophic error in the 65th minute, just moments after coming on.

 

Teenage defender Ian Williams showed real naivety to close midfielder Cleivison Jesus down and leave forward Emiliano Despósito wide open on our left flank. Cleivison Jesus punished Ian's mistake by threading the ball through space to Despósito, who had no problem beating Kayo with a first-time strike. 2-1 to Marseille. I lambasted Williams from the touchline, and then urged the rest of our players to push forward.

 

It took us until the 78th minute to threaten Les Phocéens again. That was when Stevie Merson's knockdown was met by a half-volley from Antonis Siafos that Elivélton caught at his near post. All three of our shots at goal had been on target... and so, it transpired, would our fourth.

 

With nine minutes remaining, our Indian centre-back Raju Gomes lofted an excellent ball forward to Siafos. L'OM defender Patrick Kasongo knocked the ball away from Tony, but instead found Frédi, who threaded it to Stevie near the area. Merson then found Enrique Álvarez's run from out right, and the Spaniard galloped forward before sending a rocket into the top corner! With that late stunner, we had earned ourselves a creditable 2-2 draw against one of France's premier sides.

 

Dagenham & Redbridge - 2 (Genjac 14, Álvarez 81)

Marseille - 2 (N'Gabsi 13, Despósito 65)

Friendly, Attendance 25,600

DAG & RED LINE-UP: Rowe (Rommel), Barber (Álvarez), Gridelli (Gomes), Gumede (Williams), Martin (Mazibuko), Jorgensen (Darvill), Mofokeng (Johnston), Allen (Pereira), Genjac (Rattle), Washington (Merson), Torre (Siafos).

 

18-year-old Stevie Merson had caught my eye so far in pre-season and looked every inch the striking wonderkid. I couldn't yet guarantee Stevie regular first-team football, though, so I instead decided to send him out on loan. He moved across London to join newly-promoted Fulham, where I hoped he would reap the benefits of a full year as a Premier League starter.

 

Also leaving us on loan was Canadian midfielder Eric Knox. Though the 21-year-old wasn't yet able to obtain a British work permit, he was granted a visa by the Scottish Home Office for a season-long loan at Celtic. After two seasons in the Serbian second division, he now had the chance to prove himself at a higher level.

 

Our next friendly was in the Czech Republic, against Ceské Budejovice. 'Cerny' had been one of our feeder clubs since 2034, but we hadn't found time to play against them until now. They had spent the past decade in the lower reaches of the First League, so I was expecting a comfortable victory.

 

The Daggers squad now had such a cosmopolitan feel about it that - for the first time - my starting line-up at the Stadion Strelecky Ostrov didn't feature a single Englishman. Indeed, the returning Michael Walters was the only Briton in my XI!

 

17 July 2040: Ceské Budejovice vs Dagenham & Redbridge

Ceské Budejovice were put firmly on the back foot in the 10th minute, when young right-back Petr Krabec saw his pass intercepted by Daggers midfielder Frédéric Pereira. Frédi volleyed the ball to Jonas Kjaerulff, who dribbled into the hosts' half and eventually made his way into their penalty box. Jonas then smashed in the first of what I hoped would be many Dagenham goals.

 

Mirko Saric could've got our second after 20 minutes, but the Croatian winger's angled effort was palmed away by goalkeeper Bedrich Machac, who'd made over 100 league appearances for his hometown club. Machac survived a couple more scares a minute later. Kjaerulff headed Saric's cross against the keeper's bar, and just seconds afterwards, Machac had to get his gloves to a spectacular half-volley from André Gross.

 

Several Daggers then missed further chances to double our lead, including attacking Michal Twardzik, who couldn't quite find the net against his former loan club. The Czech starlet's game was later ended by a knock in the 31st minute, but it was his replacement who would eventually send us 2-0 up. In the penultimate minute of the first half, Paddy Rattle ran onto an excellent weighted ball from Mirko and drove it beyond Machac from a tight angle.

 

Ceské Budejovice hadn't even come close to threatening us in the first half, though centre-back Todor Donchev went close to reducing our deficit from a Milan Hudec corner in the 52nd minute. Italy forward Gianfranco Torre should've increased our lead a minute later, but his header from a deep Arnaud Rousseau cross rattled the upright.

 

Another Torre attempt went well wide on 55 minutes, while Michael Walters was even unluckier not to score two minutes afterwards. The Welsh centre-half nodded Daggers captain Mark Washington's corner against the crossbar, and his follow-up was blocked by the Czech defence.

 

Teenager Miroslav Machacek then replaced Machac in goal for Ceské Budejovice, saving an attempt from Rattle in the 65th minute. Dagenham counterpart Antoni Giménez made his one and only save in the 70th minute, though home winger David Holy would've needed more than divine inspiration to beat the Catalan.

 

We quickly pushed forward again, with Machacek denying our Bulgarian right-winger Milen Danchev a maiden Daggers goal after 84 minutes. The home side had defended resiliently in the second half, but their walls would be breached again two minutes later. After his header from Washington's corner delivery came back off the bar, Vicente Gridelli pounced on the rebound to complete a comfortable 3-0 Dagenham win.

 

Ceské Budejovice - 0

Dagenham & Redbridge - 3 (Kjaerulff 10, Rattle 44, Gridelli 86)

Friendly, Attendance 6,598

DAG & RED LINE-UP: Giménez (Rowe), Álvarez (Rousseau), Gomes (Charles), Walters (Gridelli), Mazibuko (Martin), Pereira (Allen), Gross (Jorgensen), Torre (Washington), Twardzik (Rattle (Honeyball)), Saric (Maddison), Kjaerulff (Danchev).

 

After the match, I decided to loan out one of my reserve defenders to Ceské Budejovice. 19-year-old left-back Keith Hamilton hadn't played in that friendly win against the Czech side, but he would be spending the new season with them. As the former Scotland Under-19s international was in the final year of his contract, this was Keith's last chance to save his Daggers career.

 

Centre-back Ian Williams was another youngster who really needed to impress me while out on loan this term. Countless lower-league clubs had enquired about taking the 19-year-old for the season, and he eventually agreed to join Sunderland, who were looking to rebuild in League One.

[oche balboa]

Glad to see this back 

[CFuller]

JULY 2040 (continued)

With a third of a hectic pre-season schedule completed, Dagenham & Redbridge would now cross the Atlantic Ocean for the first time in three years. This time around, we would be spending a week in Canada, and playing against two of the country's Major League Soccer sides.

 

Our latest North American tour began in Quebec, against Montreal Impact. The Impact had won a record 14 Canadian Championships and were even crowned MLS champions in 2037.

 

21 July 2040: Montreal Impact vs Dagenham & Redbridge

'Captain America' didn't take long to put the Canadians on the defensive. Mark Washington got to an excellent fifth-minute cross from Arnaud Rousseau, only to see his shot deflected behind off Montreal defender Robbie Simmons.

 

Washington's strike partner would have better luck with his first attempt at goal after 16 minutes. Antonis Siafos squared a pass to Paddy Rattle, and then found space in the Impact area to run onto the playmaker's return pass. Tony then drove in a clinical finish for a 1-0 Daggers lead.

 

A slack pass from George Darvill in the 18th minute gifted Montreal a chance to quickly equalise, but striker Stephen Hudson couldn't keep his shot on target. That miss would prove telling five minutes later. Siafos went from scorer to creator, smartly knocking the ball past Impact captain Tom Adair for Washington to tuck away our second goal.

 

The hosts would ship a third goal just before the half-hour mark, with our Greek frontman once again being heavily involved. Siafos dribbled at the Montreal backline before knocking an excellent through-ball to Frédéric Pereira, who slotted it calmly into the far end of the net.

 

3-0 was how the scoreline remained at half-time, as Washington and 17-year-old midfielder Paolo Zoppe wasted chances to put us in an even more comfortable position. At the other end, Dagenham goalkeeper Kayo Rowe only needed to make a solitary save, from Hudson in the 35th minute.

 

Montreal's attackers would make more of an Impact in the second half. An attempted defensive clearance from Dagenham anchor Warren Johnston in the 49th minute ricocheted off Hudson and fell to the hosts' other striker Justin Turnbull. Luckily, George was in just the right place to block Turnbull's shot.

 

Impact winger Wesley Viera missed an opportunity of his own after 53 minutes, though his colleague Justin Favaro did create a goal after 58 minutes. When Favaro's centre from the right was deflected into the net off the unlucky Johnston, Rowe's hopes of keeping a clean sheet were gone.

 

At that point, it looked like we were at risk of throwing away our 3-0 half-time lead. That was until the 62nd minute, when Adair's attempted back-pass to Impact keeper Nikola Jackson went hopelessly wrong. Washington rushed forward from behind his young American compatriot Adair to steal the ball and put a second finish past Jackson.

 

It was now 4-1 to the Daggers... or at least it was for the next two minutes. Rowe lost some focus after that last goal, and he was beaten for a second time after Favaro stroked Gavin McIntosh's header into the far corner.

 

That was Kayo's last contribution to proceedings before he was replaced with youngster Bruno Rommel. Washington also came off as I gave 17-year-old striker Peter Mikkelsen a run-out. The Danish prospect duly repaid my faith on 71 minutes, running onto a killer pass from Rattle before slotting home his maiden senior goal!

 

Peter had had the last word in a thrilling Daggers win, though that honour could've gone to Tumelo Mofokeng had Jackson not caught the England Under-21s midfielder's free-kick in the 75th minute. Regardless, a 5-2 victory was still a satisfying result for me, even if it did raise a few doubts about my defence.

 

Montreal Impact - 2 (Johnston og58, Favaro 64)

Dagenham & Redbridge - 5 (Siafos 16, Washington 23,62, Pereira 30, Mikkelsen 71)

Friendly, Attendance 19,676

DAG & RED LINE-UP: Rowe (Rommel), Rousseau (Barber), Gumede (Walters), Darvill (Gridelli), Martin (Bond), Guerin (Johnston), Rattle (Dan Carr (Kjaerulff)), Pereira (Mofokeng), Zoppe (Genjac), Washington (Mikkelsen), Siafos (Torre).

 

As we moved west to our next destination, our new(ish) South Asian star was heading east. I had planned to loan India centre-half Raju Gomes out to another English club for some first-team experience after he obtained his British work permit. That was until 1.FC Koln made an attractive offer to take the 20-year-old to Germany for the upcoming Bundesliga campaign.

 

Koln were a strong mid-table side with fantastic training facilities, so Raju didn't take much convincing. This was a fantastic opportunity to make his name in a major European league before returning to the UK, hopefully in a stronger position to push for a first-team place.

 

As Gomes took up his new challenge, the Daggers moved to Canada's largest city for a showdown with Toronto FC. TFC were the oldest Canadian franchise in Major League Soccer, having started play in 2007, though they had never lifted the MLS Cup.

 

25 July 2040: Toronto FC vs Dagenham & Redbridge

Toronto goalkeeper Ryan Jackson (no relation to Montreal Impact's Nikola Jackson) pushed away a shot from Antonis Siafos in the second minute. However, he wouldn't keep our other striker off the scoresheet a minute later. When Denmark anchor Kenneth Jorgensen was impeded by TFC midfielder Kyle Herrera, we were awarded a free-kick in a promising position. Lee Allen lifted it forward to our other Dane Jonas Kjaerulff, and the youngster produced a simple finish.

 

Toronto quickly gave themselves a chance to equalise, but captain Casey Alderson's fifth-minute free-kick failed to trouble Daggers keeper Antoni Giménez. We then charged forward again, with Allen miscuing a shot in the sixth minute before Vicente Gridelli and Dzenan Genjac also missed the target.

 

Then, in the 18th minute, we pulled the Reds apart again to go 2-0 up. Allen found Milen Danchev in space with another superb pass, and he then watched the exciting Bulgarian winger drive in his first senior goal in a Daggers shirt!

 

We could've found the net again on 23 minutes, but Genjac's drive from Siafos' lay-off clipped the top of the crossbar. Two minutes later, Jorgensen sustained a serious rib injury in a hefty challenge on Herrera. Kenny had to come off, but the holding midfielder wouldn't be as great a loss as I feared.

 

Our dominance continued into the 30th minute, with Jackson denying Dzenan what would've been a sublime solo goal for the Croat. The ball did find Jackson's net again 10 minutes later, but Siafos was well offside when the Greek slid our other Croatian youngster Mirko Saric's cross home.

 

Genjac continued his quest for a goal early in the second half, firing one long-distance effort off target and then having another blocked by Herrera. All in all, Dzenan attempted nine shots, and only one of them had drawn so much as a save from Jackson.

 

Allen was similarly ineffective when going for goal, but he was far more effective at creating chances. His sublime hat-trick of assists was completed in the 63rd minute, when his weighted ball to Gianfranco Torre was stroked home from a difficult angle. Our biggest signing of the summer was now up and running for the Daggers.

 

Joel Honeyball could've broken his pre-season duck three minutes later, but his point-blank attempt from Enrique Álvarez' cross was blocked by Toronto's substitute goalkeeper David Peters. Honeyball had another pop at goal on 75 minutes, gliding past Reds defender Earl Kerr before Peters pushed his shot away. The rebound fell perfectly to Torre, who volleyed in his second and our fourth goal!

 

Franco had terrorised Toronto in the second period, and the £7million Italian forward still had a bit more to give. In the 80th minute, Torre set up German midfielder André Gross for a long-range shot that found Peters' gloves. The scoreline remained at 4-0 to the Daggers as our unbeaten build-up to the new campaign continued.

 

Toronto FC - 0

Dagenham & Redbridge - 4 (Kjaerulff 3, Danchev 18, Torre 63,75)

Friendly, Attendance 16,677

DAG & RED LINE-UP: Giménez (Rowe), Gridelli (Mazibuko), Charles (Walters), Gumede (Darvill), Danchev (Álvarez), Allen (Gross), Jorgensen (Guerin), Saric (Maddison), Genjac (Twardzik), Siafos (Torre (Mikkelsen)), Kjaerulff (Honeyball).

 

Kenneth Jorgensen would now miss the rest of pre-season with broken ribs, and he was also a major doubt for our Premier League opener against Manchester United. Otherwise, our mini-tour of Canada had been a success, and we went back home in high spirits.

 

Three of our hottest prospects had also returned from their own summer exploits, in the Republic of Ireland. Jimmy Cullen, Matty Gilligan and Alex Ketchell had all played for England at the UEFA European Under-19s Championship, where they were knocked out by Croatia on penalties in the Semi Final. Left-back Norrie McKeown was in the Scotland squad, but they'd crashed out at the Group Stage.

 

Cullen, Gilligan and Ketchell - along with the fit-again Elliot Cook - would all make their first pre-season appearances when we took on Leighton Town at Bell Close. This was Leighton's maiden season as a Championship club, having climbed all the way up from 20th place in the Southern League Division 1 Central since Mohammed Al-Rashidi's big-money takeover in 2025.

 

29 July 2040: Leighton Town vs Dagenham & Redbridge

I entrusted 18-year-old Michael Walters with the captaincy for the first time, and a strong defensive display in the first half justified that call. Michael helped to restrict Leighton to just a handful of attempts from distance. Daggers goalkeeper Bruno Rommel made two comfortable catches - both from Josh Hodges free-kicks - in the 14th and 25th minute and had little else to do.

 

I wish I could say that Leighton's goalkeeping captain Micky Ormondroyd was busier than Rommel, but that wasn't the case. Peter Mikkelsen looked very nervy on his first senior start for the Daggers, messing up a couple of shots within the opening 20 minutes. The 17-year-old Dane didn't fare much better with his third attempt on 42 minutes, though he did at least force Ormondroyd into a save.

 

The remainder of our scoring chances in the first half were mostly from long range. Michal Twardzik had a decent opportunity from a free-kick on the Leighton 'D' in the 32nd minute, but the Czech playmaker curled it over the bar. It was fair to say that we weren't anywhere near our best in the opening 45 minutes, which finished goalless.

 

I switched from a 3-4-1-2 to a 4-4-2 diamond for the second half, with captain Mark Washington among those who came on. The American striker - now officially a British citizen after five years' residency - created two opportunities from set-pieces in the opening stages. His first was a free-kick that the returning Elliot Cook flicked well wide on 52 minutes. After 55 minutes, though, Washington whipped in a corner that French defender Arnaud Rousseau volleyed home to break the deadlock!

 

Mark looked to join Arnaud on the scoresheet a minute later, but his piledriver sailed well over. His next effort also failed to get near Ormondroyd, though he almost made it third time lucky after 69 minutes. Washington got through a crowd of Leighton defenders to reach 15-year-old Daggers newcomer Andrija Marjanovic's square ball and force Ormondroyd to push it away.

 

Andrija had nearly got an assist on his senior debut, but the Montenegrin would go one step better in the 78th minute. Daggers midfielder Tumelo Mofokeng slide-tackled Reds playmaker Dirch Rabe to intercept a throw-in from full-back Steve Ward. The ball was knocked on to our 16-year-old attacking midfielder Josh Beadle. Josh was now free to surge unchallenged up the right flank before crossing to Andrija, whose confident finish at the back post belied the pair's tender years!

 

Our brightest starlets were living the dream, but the second half had become a nightmare for Leighton. They were unable to get near our goal before going down to a 2-0 defeat. Unfortunately, a thigh strain meant that Beadle couldn't quite see the end of the match, but his sublime assist for Marjanovic wouldn't be forgotten in a hurry.

 

Leighton Town - 0

Dagenham & Redbridge - 2 (Rousseau 55, Marjanovic 78)

Friendly, Attendance 7,313

DAG & RED LINE-UP: Rommel (Rowe), Rousseau (Cullen), Gilligan (Washington), Walters (Charles), Ketchell (Barber), Pereira (Mofokeng), Johnston (Guerin), Saric (Martin), Twardzik (J Beadle (Gumede)), Siafos (Marjanovic), Mikkelsen (Cook).

 

That was an exciting glimpse into the future of Dagenham & Redbridge. Josh Beadle's brief but brilliant cameo suggested that he could become our next homegrown hero. As for Andrija Marjanovic... well, if you can score a senior goal against a Championship club one month before your 16th birthday, you must be quite special!

 

Arnaud Rousseau was named 'man of the match' at full-time, and Leighton fans will soon be seeing more of him at Bell Close. The 20-year-old French defender was loaned out to the Reds for a full season, and I also let them have teenage Danish striker Peter Mikkelsen for the next six months.

 

Other Daggers loanees included André Gross. The German ball-winner returned to the Bundesliga for a third time in four years, this time joining Wolfsburg for the season. Fellow midfielder Warren Johnston began a six-month stay with Aston Villa in the Championship, while striker Alex Hunter moved to Swansea City in League One for a similar length of time.

 

Our first six friendlies had seen us score a healthy 18 goals, conceding only four. It was too early to predict whether we could meet or even surpass expectations this season, but a major bookmaker certainly rated our Premier League chances quite highly.

 

Manchester City were again the pre-season title favourites at 5-4, while Manchester United were just behind on 7-4. You could get 5-2 on either Arsenal or Rochdale winning the league, and 10-1 on Dagenham & Redbridge doing so. I thought those odds were a little on the optimistic side, but it showed that the bookies now saw us as a real force to be reckoned with.

[CFuller]

Just now, oche balboa said:

Glad to see this back 

Impeccable timing. 

I'd always planned to bring HoFD back during the World Cup. There probably won't be any more long breaks until the story ends, as the house move I'd been talking about for some time has now been put on hold.

[CFuller]

AUGUST 2040

Our final away friendly of pre-season was all the way up in the north-east. Fallen giants Newcastle United had invited us to St James' Park to complete their preparations for a seventh consecutive season in the Championship. This was our first encounter with the Magpies since they knocked us out of the FA Cup in 2033.

 

1 August 2040: Newcastle United vs Dagenham & Redbridge

Newcastle got off to a flying start, sending the Geordie Army into raptures after just six minutes. On-loan Southampton winger Kevin Kinch surged past Daggers left-back Thulani Mazibuko and whipped a cross to teenage striker Alan Byrne on the edge of the six-yard box. The local boy then half-volleyed home for a 1-0 Magpies lead.

 

It would take us a while to get our attack going. In the 18th minute, Elliot Cook dribbled into the Newcastle area and then cut the ball across to strike partner Gianfranco Torre. Unfortunately, the Italian could only slide it against the post, and Newcastle left-back Shaun Lazarus then made a great tackle to stop Cook from driving in the rebound.

 

On 20 minutes, Daggers defender George Darvill was panicked into nodding behind a Byrne header that seemed to be heading off target. Kinch's corner was cleared by Paddy Rattle, though United would go close to doubling their lead eight minutes later through a header from winger Andy Ryan that went just off target.

 

Ryan drilled a dangerous cross into our box in the 31st minute, though his Wales colleague Michael Walters removed the danger for Dagenham just before Byrne could prod it into the net. We would remain 1-0 down at half-time, with Newcastle keeper Dean Delaney keeping out our only shot on target from Rattle after 34 minutes.

 

The Magpies played a more conservative game in the second half, while we went significantly more attacking. After 59 minutes, our greater ambition paid dividends. Our new French midfielder Benjamin Guerin played a one-two with Lee Allen before feeding Dzenan Genjac just outside the box. Genjac then advanced into the area before blasting a delightful rocket into the far end of Delaney's net!

 

Another stunning strike from the Croatian had drawn us level, and we were soon looking to complete the turnaround. Bulgarian winger Milen Danchev went on a solo run for goal in the 64th minute, cutting inside from the right before seeing his daisy-cutter parried by Delaney. Another near-miss came two minutes later, with Mark Washington swerving a free-kick inches wide.

 

Our performance in the second half was a damn sight better than in the first, but our efforts could well have been for nothing. After 77 minutes, Dagenham defender Bradley Charles underhit a headed back-pass to Antoni Giménez, forcing our Spanish keeper to come off his line and push away a strike from United striker Mickey Cox.

 

That was as close as Newcastle, whose star winger Ryan limped off injured late on, would come to claiming the spoils. A strong defensive display from Darvill (who else?) allowed us to see the match through and return home with a 1-1 draw.

 

Newcastle United - 1 (Byrne 6)

Dagenham & Redbridge - 1 (Genjac 59)

Friendly, Attendance 36,078

DAG & RED LINE-UP: Giménez (King), Álvarez (G Beadle), Walters (Charles), Darvill (Cullen), Mazibuko (McKeown), Guerin (Zoppe), Rattle (Saric), Allen (Walker), Twardzik (Genjac), Cook (Danchev), Torre (Washington).

 

While the result wasn't exactly terrible, I was very concerned that Elliot Cook and Gianfranco Torre had failed to even remotely trouble the Newcastle defence. On the way back home, I warned them both that they would need to pull their socks up, else they would struggle to get into my starting XI for the coming campaign.

 

Upon our return to Rainham Road, I welcomed one more staff member to the Daggers backroom. 44-year-old Welshman Nathan Howe joined our ranks to assist Fabio Saraiva with training our players' ball control and technique.

 

If that name sounds familiar, that's because Howe was the guy who coached Michael Walters and Wales all the way to the UEFA Euro 2040 Final. Nathan stepped down from his role at the FAW after that fairytale run, but Michael suggested that a man with his abilities would be a valuable addition to our coaching staff. I was inclined to agree.

 

We then rounded off pre-season a couple of major home tests before the visit of Manchester United. First up were the mighty Bayern Munich - 40 times the champions of Germany, and five times the champions of Europe. Significantly, though, they hadn't won the Bundesliga since 2037, or the UEFA Champions League since 2014.

 

4 August 2040: Dagenham & Redbridge vs Bayern Munich

Dzenan Genjac had scored two sublime goals in pre-season already, and a third looked a possibility after eight minutes. The attacking midfielder went on a mazy run into Bayern Munich's area, only to end it by miscuing his shot. Dzenan did get closer in the 18th minute, cutting an excellent low shot that Bayern goalkeeper Eike Piotrowski had to push to his left. The ball found Daggers winger Milen Danchev, who whipped in a cross that Antonis Siafos could only head over.

 

Piotrowski also saved another attempt from Genjac on 25 minutes. Meanwhile, Dzenan's Croatian compatriot Stanko Kovac, who'd recently joined Bayern from West Ham United for £15.75million, wasted three chances to put his new team in front. Two attempts missed the target, while another was saved by Kayo Rowe.

 

Kovac's strike partner Jens Kuhne proved to be rather more clinical. In the 32nd minute, the 23-year-old pounced on a fantastic corner delivery from Bayern captain Adrián Gil to head in the goal that broke our resistance.

 

Dirk Orlishausen's team had narrowly deserved their 1-0 lead, though we were unlucky not to erase it before the break. Genjac missed the target twice more before having a vicious and slightly more accurate effort caught by the excellent Piotrowski before the interval.

 

We already knew that Bayern Munich would be tough opponents, but one spell of play three minutes into the second half reiterated that. Rattle had a free-kick ricochet off the Bayern wall, and his follow-up strike was then blocked by another visiting player. Frédéric Pereira then went for goal himself seconds later, but Piotrowski tipped the French midfielder's drive behind.

 

Piotrowski would produce two more saves before the hour mark, from Mirko Saric and then from the luckless Rattle. It was amazing to think that a goalkeeper as strong and resilient as the 30-year-old was merely playing second-fiddle to Uruguayan custodian Álvaro Andueza at the Allianz-Park.

 

We now had Jonas Kjaerulff up front instead of Siafos, but not even the occasionally brilliant Dane could find a way past the Germans. Jonas pulled Mirko's through-ball against the side netting in the 64th minute, and then flicked another decent Saric delivery wide seven minutes later.

 

It looked like being third-time lucky for the pair after 78 minutes, when Kjaerulff beat Bayern defender Frank van Raaij to cushion a Saric cross into the net from point-blank range. Alas, the offside flag cut short our celebrations. It simply wasn't going to be our day. Though we finished with 21 shots at goal and 54% of possession under our name, we had to settle for restricting Bavaria's 'superclub' to a narrow 1-0 win.

 

Dagenham & Redbridge - 0

Bayern Munich - 1 (Kuhne 32)

Friendly, Attendance 25,619

DAG & RED LINE-UP: Rowe, Barber (Álvarez), Gridelli (Gilligan), Gumede (Walters), Martin (Mazibuko), Pereira (Guerin), Mofokeng (Allen), Danchev (Ketchell), Genjac (Rattle), Maddison (Saric (Honeyball)), Siafos (Kjaerulff). BOOKED: Mofokeng, Allen.

 

To tell you the truth, I thought we were very unlucky out there. We'd attacked one of the world's best teams with all our might and created plenty of excellent scoring opportunities, but we just couldn't break through a stereotypically solid German defence.

 

There was more bad luck to come the following afternoon, when Tumelo Mofokeng picked up a groin strain in training. Mofokeng was ruled out for three weeks. With Kenneth Jorgensen now looking increasingly unlikely to recover from his rib injury in time to play Manchester United, it looked like our midfield options for the Premier League opener would be somewhat limited.

 

Despite that, I decided to send teenage midfielder Paddy Rattle out on loan for the second time. I felt Paddy needed a full season of Premier League experience under his belt before he could nail down a first-team place, so I accepted Huddersfield Town's offer to lease his services.

 

Right-winger Alex Ketchell, who'd spent last season at Huddersfield, moved even further north by joining Eric Knox at Celtic for a year. Central defender Bradley Charles began the SIXTH loan spell of his Daggers career, arriving at recently-relegated Crewe Alexandra in time for the new Championship season.

 

Then came the moment we'd all been waiting for - the draw for the UEFA Champions League Playoff round. Unfortunately, we narrowly missed out on being amongst the seeded teams in the Best Placed bracket, which meant we would most likely have to knock out a big name just to reach the Group Stage.

 

Bayern Munich were amongst our potential seeded opponents. Thankfully, we wouldn't have to play them again... but we would have to pit our wits against Ligue 1 giants Monaco. Captained by France's goal machine Ruben Leblanc, Les Monégasques would play us at Stade Albert II on 22 August, and then at Rainham Road on 28 August.

[CFuller]

AUGUST 2040 (continued)

A tough European draw meant that a strong performance in our final friendly match would be even more important as we headed into the new season. We opened the Rainham Road doors to Real Sociedad - the big boys from the Basque Country, who'd won La Liga in two of the last three years.

 

This match saw a welcome return to Dagenham duties for our newly-appointed vice-captain Orlando Salvador. Orlando's Portugal team had recently been knocked out of the Olympic Games at the Quarter Final stage, despite a couple of excellent individual performances from our midfield magician.

 

11 August 2040: Dagenham & Redbridge vs Real Sociedad

Michal Twardzik fired Dagenham's first shot well wide in the sixth minute. Fellow Daggers midfielder Orlando Salvador missed a better chance to break the deadlock six minutes later, playing a one-two with Hicham Martin before dribbling into Real Sociedad and blazing the ball over.

 

Real Sociedad's middlemen then looked to turn the match in the Spaniards' favour. Chinese star Téng Feng's half-volley from a cross by Brazilian winger Wagner in the 20th minute was bravely blocked by Dagenham right-back Nolan Barber.

 

Another half-volley, this time from José Antonio Arrizabalaga, was tipped over by Kayo Rowe in the 23rd minute. Arrizabalaga's shot was impressive, considering he'd picked up a knock very early in proceedings. Wagner floated the subsequent corner to Gianni Improta, but Rowe caught the ex-Chelsea striker's header.

 

The momentum then shifted again after 32 minutes, with the deadlock being broken by Dagenham. Though he was playing in midfield rather than on the flanks, Martin chipped an excellent long ball towards Mark Washington. Though Txuri-Urdin defender Toni intercepted the ball, he could only flick it into the path of Mark's strike partner Elliot Cook. Elliot raced into the penalty area, where he slid the ball past Real's other centre-back Danilo Ciccola and goalkeeper Matsipa Mulonzo to open the scoring!

 

There would be more cause for Daggers delight in the 41st minute. Martin's latest ambitious direct pass to Washington did find the American, who dribbled through the channel between Toni and left-back Juan Manuel Abad before driving in a superb strike!

 

A minute after going 2-0 up, though, we were very nearly pegged back to 2-1. Thulani Mazibuko's back-pass from left-back was intercepted by Ricardo Pesaola in the Dagenham box, leaving the Argentina striker with just Rowe to beat! Fortunately, the Argentina striker's shot deflected behind off the post, and our two-goal cushion remained.

 

We attacked Los Txuri-Urdin again seven minutes into the second period. Cook sprayed an excellent ball out left to substitute Gianfranco Torre, who then reached the byline before playing a cutback to Martin. The Mancunian - now playing in his usual left-back role - crossed first-time into the six-yard box, where Elliot's deft header made it 3-0!

 

All was going well for us... until Vicente Gridelli twisted his knee in the 55th minute. The Argentine defender was helped off the pitch for further assessment, and the game seemed to lose a bit of its edge for a while. Neither side would threaten the other again until Mulonzo caught a low drive from Dagenham's Dzenan Genjac after 72 minutes.

 

Real Sociedad were soon having to defend deep again, with substitute goalkeeper David Bergara parrying a shot from Torre in the 79th minute. Torre would find a way past Bergara two minutes later. Another excellent passing move by the Daggers ended with Joel Honeyball's through-ball being driven home by Franco at the far post, and our lead increasing to 4-0!

 

However, the scoring didn't end there. Though he was only a week shy of his 33rd birthday, Honeyball showed five minutes from time that the old dog could still have his day. Joel snuck past Real Sociedad defender Aitor Artabe - a man who was a decade his junior - to fire Genjac's weighted pass in off the post!

 

A fifth goal against the Spanish giants completed an afternoon that was pretty much perfect... well, nearly perfect. Our one discredit came in the final seconds of stoppage time, when Xabier Gutiérrez took advantage of our defence dozing off to power home a consolation goal for Los Txuri-Urdin.

 

Dagenham & Redbridge - 5 (Cook 32,52, Washington 41, Torre 81, Honeyball 85)

Real Sociedad - 1 (Gutiérrez 90)

Friendly, Attendance 25,612

DAG & RED LINE-UP: Rowe (Giménez), Barber (G Beadle), Gridelli (Walters), Darvill (Cullen), Mazibuko (Pereira), Allen (Burton), Salvador (Zoppe), Martin (McKeown), Twardzik (Genjac), Washington (Torre (Siafos)), Cook (Honeyball).

 

Real Sociedad were one of La Liga's strongest teams, and we'd smashed them! Absolutely smashed them!

 

Unfortunately, Vicente Gridelli would now be on the sidelines for a fortnight with a twisted knee, eliminating him from our Premier League and UEFA Champions League openers. It also forced Gridelli out of the Argentina squad for what would've been his senior international debut in an away friendly against Saudi Arabia.

 

The midweek break saw seven Daggers win senior caps. Michael Walters' Wales suffered a surprise 3-0 defeat to Thulani Mazibuko's South Africa. Dzenan Genjac and Mirko Saric played together in Croatia's midfield during a narrow victory over Czech Republic. Frédéric Pereira featured once again for new European champions France, while Enrique Álvarez (Spain) and Kayo Rowe (England) continued their fledgling international careers.

 

Elliot Cook got a hat-trick in England Under-21s' 6-1 thrashing of the Faroe Islands, with Jimmy Cullen, Matty Gilligan and Paddy Rattle all winning their first caps at that level. Left-back Keith Hamilton made his debut for Scotland's Under-21s.

 

Elsewhere, I ratified a deal that would see left-winger Matty Maddison loaned to Swansea City until January. Maddison would play alongside fellow Daggers loanee Alex Hunter at the League One club.

 

Now it was time for our season to well and truly get underway. On Sunday 19 August, we began our seventh Premier League campaign with a home match against a Manchester United side who were defending their title.

 

Gridelli, Kenneth Jorgensen and Tumelo Mofokeng were all unavailable to us through injury, but United were missing a player who was arguably even more important to their cause. Seán Rooney - their only senior keeper - had torn his calf muscle in pre-season and had not been replaced, meaning that 17-year-old Israel Itely would have to deputise for him over the coming months.

[CFuller]

Dagenham & Redbridge squad - Start of 2040/2041 season

(All information correct as of 1 August 2040)

GOALKEEPERS

1. Kayo Rowe (age 22)

English [6 caps, 0 goals]

Kayo emerged as our first-choice goalkeeper midway through last season and subsequently broke into the England set-up. The Liverpudlian has outstanding reflexes and will surely get even better as he matures.

13. Antoni Giménez (age 24)

Spanish [capped at Under-21s level]

Antoni is our taller senior keeper, and a solid one at that, though he is only here as backup to Rowe.

DEFENDERS

2. Nolan Barber (age 31)

English [capped at Under-21s level]

Nolan is a spirited marauding wing-back who's in his fourth and possibly final season with the Daggers.

3. Thulani Mazibuko (age 26)

South African [33 caps, 0 goals]

Thulani is a strong left-back with great defensive awareness and excellent crossing ability. He missed just two league games for us last season, with his versatility making him an asset anywhere in the backline.

5. Siphesihle Gumede (age 26)

South African [6 caps, 0 goals]

Siphesihle's second season at Dagenham was an unqualified success, and I expect more from him this term. 'Zippy' may be a 6ft 4in behemoth, but he's got great acceleration and is a brilliant covering centre-half.

6. George Darvill (age 27)

English [capped at Under-21s level]

We always knew that George was a superb centre-half, but he really hit the heights last term. We can always rely on our local hero to keep us solid at the back and dominate aerial battles against most top strikers.

18. Michael Walters (age 18)

Welsh [7 caps, 0 goals]

Budding ball-playing defender Michael is improving past and should become an established first-teamer soon.

19. Vicente Gridelli (age 22)

Argentinean [capped at Under-20s level]

Despite the odd lapse in concentration, I rate Vicente as the most complete centre-back at the club. He was heavily linked with a move to Real Madrid this summer, but I'm hoping to keep him here for the long haul.

24. Enrique Álvarez (age 20)

Spanish [2 caps, 0 goals]

Enrique struggled at times last season, both with his discipline and with the intense nature of the Premier League. Our record signing is now fully settled, though, and ready to establish himself as a top-quality right-back.

25. Hicham Martin (age 24)

English [capped at Under-21s level]

Strong in the tackle and quick on his feet, Hicham can be a solid presence anywhere on the left flank.

31. Arnaud Rousseau (age 20)

French [capped at Under-21s level]

Promising right-back Arnaud is spending the season on loan with our feeder club Leighton Town.

MIDFIELDERS

4. Kenneth Jorgensen (age 27)

Danish [48 caps, 4 goals]

If you're in need of an anchor between the defence and the midfield, Kenneth is your man. The great Dane reads the game very well, and his authoritative tackling is a key component of our build-up play.

7. Milen Danchev (age 19)

Bulgarian [capped at Under-21s level]

After three seasons out on loan, I've decided to give right-wing wonderkid Milen a chance in the senior team.

8. Orlando Salvador (age 23)

Portuguese [capped at Under-21s level]

We're very much a team here at Dagenham, but few would dispute that Orlando is our key man. The Portuguese playmaker either scored or assisted for 26 goals last season and can tear any defence to shreds.

11. Mirko Saric (age 21)

Croatian [6 caps, 0 goals]

It's do-or-die for left-winger Mirko, who needs to become more consistent and less greedy to reach the top.

12. Frédéric Pereira (age 27)

French [21 caps, 1 goal]

Frédéric is in his third season at Rainham Road, but this is the first in which he's been here for the start. The midfield aggressor turned our 2039/2040 season around following his permanent January move from Marseille.

14. Tumelo Mofokeng (age 22)

English [capped at Under-21s level]

Tumelo is making steady improvement as a defensive midfield backup to Jorgensen. I still have doubts over the youngster's passing ability, but I have great admiration for his work rate and stamina.

16. Dzenan Genjac (age 22)

Croatian [10 caps, 1 goal]

Dzenan has got incredible potential, and now it's time for the flamboyant attacking midfielder to live up to it. If he can stay clear of serious injuries, then I cannot wait to see what he really is capable of.

23. Lee Allen (age 22)

English [capped at Under-19s level]

Former youth product Lee is a fearless midfield dynamo who often performs better than his ability suggests.

26. Michal Twardzik (age 19)

Czech [1 cap, 1 goal]

Michal's a potential mini-maestro in attacking midfield who's still very raw but undoubtedly very gifted.

27. Benjamin Guerin (age 19)

French [capped at Under-21s level]

A free signing from Nice, Benjamin looks set for a bright future as a deep-lying midfield playmaker.

FORWARDS

9. Mark Washington (age 28)

American [27 caps, 5 goals]

Captain Mark can be almost as frustrating as he is fantastic, but goalscoring comes naturally to him. The pacey striker is closing in on 100 career goals for the Daggers and is a great influence on our younger strikers.

10. Gianfranco Torre (age 25)

Italian [5 caps, 2 goals]

Gianfranco is the big target centre-forward we perhaps could've done with last season. As well as being strong in the air, the £7million signing from Napoli is apparently an excellent long-range shooter.

15. Joel Honeyball (age 32)

English

Joel is still registered as a player, though the loyal striker mainly concentrates on coaching nowadays.

17. Elliot Cook (age 21)

English [capped at Under-21s level]

Dagenham-born Elliot was explosive in the first half of last season, eventually finishing as our top scorer with 18 goals. He's certainly a confident finisher, but with a bit more creativity, he could become incredible.

20. Jonas Kjaerulff (age 22)

Danish [capped at Under-21s level]

Injuries have been the bane of Jonas' career, and time is perhaps running out for him at Rainham Road.

21. Antonis Siafos (age 23)

Greek [32 caps, 8 goals]

Deep-lying forward Antonis really impressed me after arriving in January and keeps improving all the time.

 

RESERVE & YOUTH PLAYERS

Goalkeepers: Martin King, Bruno Rommel

Defenders: Hassan Isaac Babiker, George Beadle, John Bond, Bradley Charles (on loan at Crewe Alexandra), Daniel Cooke, Jimmy Cullen, Markos Dionysiou, Bradley Douglas, Giorgio Facheris, Matty Gilligan, Raju Gomes (on loan at 1.FC Koln), Keith Hamilton (on loan at Ceské Budejovice), Norrie McKeown, Ryan O'Donnell, Shaun Peake, Ian Williams (on loan at Sunderland)

Midfielders: Dominic Ashton, Josh Beadle, Ken Burton, Dan Carr, Dennis Carr, André Gross (on loan at Wolfsburg), Warren Johnston (on loan at Aston Villa), Alex Ketchell (on loan at Celtic), Eric Knox (on loan at Celtic), Matty Maddison (on loan at Swansea City), Harry O'Neill, Paddy Rattle (on loan at Huddersfield Town), Kurt Walker, Matthew Wheeler, Paolo Zoppe

Forwards: Alex Hunter (on loan at Swansea City), Andrija Marjanovic, Stevie Merson (on loan at Fulham), Peter Mikkelsen (on loan at Leighton Town), Igor Vorontsov

 

BACKROOM STAFF

Manager: Christopher Fuller

Assistant Manager: Fabio Saraiva

Coaches: James Chambers, Henry Cleminson, Richaee Derby, Nathan Howe, Daniel Poustka, Lee Rooney, Matt Warren, Marco Verratti

Fitness Coaches: Andy Boles, Godwin Okafor, Martyn Thomas

Goalkeeping Coaches: Scott Carson, Andy Lonergan

Physios: John Alti, Adam Hutchings (head), Andrew Marks

Scouts: Mensur Begic, Callum Donnelly (chief), George Green, Thanasis Iordanidis, Chris Lewington, Ross McCormack, Dylan McGeouch, Kamel Meftah, Kevin Mensah, Thierry Monteny, Antonino Pirozzi, Nicky Reynolds, Silva, Roscoe Young

 

Reserves Manager: Sean O'Callaghan

 

Head of Youth Development: George Elokobi

Under-18s Manager: Tom Ince

Under-18s Assistant Manager: Aaron McEwan

Under-18s Coaches: Ellis Chant, Mario Djokic, James Dunne

Under-18s Fitness Coach: Cameron Phillips

Under-18s Goalkeeping Coach: Tunde Shoretire

Under-18s Physio: Ben Wheeler

[CFuller]

And the depth chart...

GK: Rowe / Giménez

D/DM L: Mazibuko / Martin / Walters
D C: Darvill / Gridelli / Gumede / Walters / Mazibuko / Cullen
D/DM R: Álvarez / Barber / Gridelli / Mazibuko

DM C: Jorgensen / Pereira / Mofokeng / Allen / Guerin

M/AM L: Saric / Mazibuko / Honeyball
M C: Pereira / Jorgensen / Salvador / Mofokeng / Allen / Guerin
M/AM R: Danchev / Álvarez / Mazibuko

AM C: Salvador / Genjac / Twardzik / Honeyball

F C: Torre / Washington / Siafos / Cook / Kjaerulff / Honeyball

[CFuller]

AUGUST 2040 (continued)

19 August 2040: Dagenham & Redbridge vs Manchester United

We showed plenty of aggression at the start, with Orlando Salvador's vicious long drive forcing Manchester United's rookie keeper Israel Itely into a fingertip save after just three minutes. Over the next three minutes, though, we had right-winger Milen Danchev and midfielder Frédéric Pereira each pick up bookings for respective fouls on Kim Chang-Hoon and Sebastián Núnez.

 

Danchev was making his first league start for the Daggers, and it wouldn't be an enjoyable experience for the Bulgarian teenager. Milen picked up a knock after being tackled by Kim in the 12th minute, and I soon decided to replace him with the more experienced Nolan Barber. Kim could've caused us more pain four minutes later, when United's South Korean winger drove a ferocious strike just over the bar.

 

Our next chance, in the 21st minute, saw captain Mark Washington's long-distance free-kick turned behind by Itely. Daggers goalkeeper Kayo Rowe produced his first save six minutes later, stopping a daisy-cutter from Red Devils wing-back Hamza Afkir. Another Kim chance went off target shortly afterwards, though United would find the net in the 37th minute. Much to our relief, the offside flag went up straight after Sean Jordan slotted Shaun Murray's through-ball into the net.

 

On 39 minutes, Afkir's solo run from the right flank saw the Belgian set up a great opportunity that Kayo just about diverted wide. Manchester United were cursing their luck, but they arguably had themselves to blame when we struck against the run of play on the stroke of half-time.

 

Jordan's attempted knockdown to Núnez was intercepted by Pereira, who slid it forward to Washington deep in the United half. There were calls for an offside decision against Mark, but this time, the officials gave the benefit of the doubt to our American striker, who spectacularly chipped Itely from 25 yards out! The Dagenham captain was up and running, and we entered the dressing room with a narrow 1-0 lead over the champions!

 

As was to be expected, Manchester United went more attacking in the second half. Murray horribly miscued a shot in the 49th minute, though substitute winger Stuart Thompson only just found the side netting four minutes later. I then showed a bit more endeavour myself, replacing our nervy left-back Hicham Martin with an attacking midfielder in Dzenan Genjac.

 

We got ourselves a corner just before the hour, only for George Darvill to meet Washington's delivery with an awful connection. After that, our midfielders found themselves stifled by their Red Devils counterparts. Another cause for concern came on 63 minutes, as anchor man Lee Allen received our third yellow card for clattering into Thompson. Lee would soon be replaced with summer signing Benjamin Guerin, though not before Kim narrowly missed another shot for United in the 74th minute.

 

Guerin entered play in the 77th minute. By the 78th, our lead was no more. The inevitable Red Devils breakthrough came when their left-back Lider Bay crossed to Murray, who fooled the onrushing Rowe by driving the ball into the far end of his net.

 

After that error from Kayo, England's new number 1 redeemed himself somewhat by catching a Núnez volley on 81 minutes. At that point, we were prepared to settle for a 1-1 draw. Then it all went wrong with five minutes remaining. A poor clearance from Barber was cut out by Núnez in the Dagenham 'D'. The Argentine midfield marvel volleyed out left to Bay, whose first-time cross to Jordan was nodded home by the evergreen 34-year-old. 2-1 to Manchester United.

 

We still had enough time to try and salvage a point, and it looked like Gianfranco Torre would do that when he latched onto a killer ball from Washington in stoppage time. Alas, the Italian debutant's drive was blocked by United centre-half Mahmoud Gaafar, and our league opener ended in disappointment.

 

Dagenham & Redbridge - 1 (Washington 45)

Manchester United - 2 (Murray 78, Jordan 85)

Premier League, Attendance 26,772 - POSITIONS: Dag & Red 13th, Man Utd 6th

DAG & RED LINE-UP: Rowe, Mazibuko, Gumede, Darvill, Danchev (Barber), Allen (Guerin), Pereira, Martin (Genjac), Salvador, Torre, Washington. BOOKED: Danchev, Pereira, Allen.

 

You couldn't really read too much into that. Manchester United were always going to be strong opponents, home or away, and they had once again turned on the style late on to steal the points. That said, it didn't exactly fill me with confidence that our first-choice goalkeeper Kayo Rowe had wavered on the opening weekend.

 

I gave Kayo's understudy Antoni Giménez his competitive debut for the Daggers in midweek, when we travelled to Monaco for our first ever UEFA Champions League match. The first leg of this Playoff tie took place at the Stade Albert II - an ultra-modern indoor stadium whose capacity of 52,395 could fit the tiny city-state's entire population and still have lots of room to spare.

 

Les Monégasques were only narrow favourites to reach the Group Stage, though striker and captain Ruben Leblanc had shown at the recent UEFA European Championship that he could single-handedly destroy teams at will. Our defenders would have to be on their guard when facing the 31-year-old, that was for sure.

 

22 August 2040: Monaco vs Dagenham & Redbridge

Our UEFA Champions League adventure almost got off to the perfect start. In the fourth minute, captain Orlando Salvador drifted a corner to Siphesihle Gumede, who unfortunately headed it into the side netting. Monaco's first scoring opportunity came three minutes later, with Czech playmaker Karel Urbanek seeing his low drive parried by Antoni Giménez in the Daggers goal.

 

Antoni's French counterpart Philippe Daniel was first tested on 12 minutes, keeping Dzenan Genjac's attempt out of the Monaco net. He would thwart the Croatian again nine minutes later, catching Genjac's vicious 25-yard shot from a short Frédéric Pereira free-kick.

 

Both sides then enjoyed further chances via corners, with the hosts going particularly close to scoring from one delivery by midfielder Rodrigao in the 28th minute. Centre-half Jesús Torres flicked it against the bar, with 19-year-old Michael Walters then nodding away the danger for Dagenham. Three minutes later, Genjac's injury woes resurfaced once more. Our fragile attacking midfielder in a challenge from Monégasques midfielder José, though he stoically limped through the rest of the half before being replaced at the break.

 

We were very fortunate to go into the interval with the scores still at 0-0. Monaco skipper Ruben Leblanc flicked right-back Avi Ofir's cross wide after 33 minutes, while centre-back Eduardo Pérez sent a header into Giménez's hands six minutes later.

 

Michal Twardzik replaced the struggling Genjac in our midfield for the second half, and he almost got a goal five minutes into his cameo. The Czech youngster swerved a free-kick inches past the post following compatriot Urbanek's clumsy challenge on Orlando.

 

Michal was also heavily involved in our next serious attack after 60 minutes. Salvador looked for Twardzik on the edge of the Monaco 'D', and the 20-year-old played an excellent through-ball to striker Antonis Siafos. Sadly, Siafos was kept off the scoresheet by a great save from Daniel. Tony would be left frustrated again in the 67th minute, being beaten to Enrique Álvarez's right-wing cross by Torres' fantastic interception.

 

Torres was part of a formidable Venezuelan central defensive partnership with Pérez, and we were struggling to find a way past them. Leblanc was likewise unable to make serious inroads into our backline before hobbling off with a knock in the 73rd minute. The Frenchman was replaced with Rinus Kessels - a big 28-year-old Dutch centre-forward who had a loan spell at Swansea City early in his career. He scored one goal for the Swans, and that just so happened to come against the Daggers.

 

Kessels wouldn't make much of an impact this time, but another substitute would. Pereira had been replaced in the Dagenham midfield by fellow Frenchman Benjamin Guerin for the final 20 minutes. Midway through his cameo, in the 81st minute, the teenager lifted an excellent ball over the home defence and into the path of Elliot Cook. Elliot raced clear, and with an excellent drive beyond the onrushing Daniel, he scored our first ever Champions League goal!

 

That was actually Cook's final contribution before being replaced with Mark Washington, but it seemed that he'd earned us an invaluable away win. Then one awful clearance from Dagenham left-back Hicham Martin in the 85th minute changed everything. Counterpart Matthieu Bonhomme intercepted the ball and knocked it forward for Dutch winger Harold Soares to drive into the corner of Giménez's net. Les Monégasques had snatched an equaliser, and now they wanted more.

 

Two minutes later, Soares got behind our defence to run onto a long pass from José and take it to the edge of the area. Walters got back and tried to knock the ball off Soares' feet... but the Welshman succeeded only in knocking it past a horrified Giménez and across the goal line. Michael's own goal made it 2-1 to Monaco, but that wasn't the end of our woes.

 

A disastrous collapse from the Daggers culminated in two Monégasque substitutes increasing the hosts' winning margin to 3-1 in injury time. Belarussian attacking midfielder Nikolay Bubnov weighted a pass to Ghanaian striker Kofi Kwame, who turned past Álvarez before striking a devastating blow. We really did not deserve to lose like this.

 

Monaco - 3 (Soares 85, Walters og87, Kwame 90)

Dagenham & Redbridge - 1 (Cook 81)

UEFA Champions League Playoff Leg 1, Attendance 52,395

DAG & RED LINE-UP: Giménez, Álvarez, Walters, Gumede, Martin, Allen, Salvador, Pereira (Guerin), Genjac (Twardzik), Cook (Washington), Siafos. BOOKED: Pereira.

 

Two games in, and already we'd fallen apart in the closing stages twice. Did we not have the stamina to see out matches, or had we simply been outclassed by superior opposition? It was hard to tell.

 

We now needed to beat Monaco by at least two goals in the return leg at Rainham Road to have any chance of reaching the UEFA Champions League Group Stage. Anything less would see us drop back into the UEFA Europa League. To make matters worse, Dzenan Genjac would miss that second leg with a twisted knee. Great. That's just what we needed.

[CFuller]

AUGUST 2040 (continued)

After our recent disappointments, it was now of paramount importance that we got our season up and running with a victory in our next game. We travelled to West Yorkshire for a meeting with Huddersfield Town, who were back in the Premier League after five seasons away.

 

Coached by former Everton right-back Ben McLaughlin, Huddersfield had kicked off their top-flight return with a thrilling 3-3 draw at Norwich City. We would have to pay particularly close to the Terriers' right-winger and captain Sebastian Chindris, who'd scored a hat-trick in that match.

 

25 August 2040: Huddersfield Town vs Dagenham & Redbridge

We played at a high tempo to begin with, though it wasn't until the 11th minute that we created our first scoring opportunity. Daggers captain Orlando Salvador slotted a lovely pass through the home defence to find Gianfranco Torre. Sadly for our new Italian signing, his shot was parried away by Huddersfield goalkeeper James Bowerman.

 

Dagenham midfielder Lee Allen also had a shot at goal after 25 minutes, but it sailed over the bar. Huddersfield gave us a scare two minutes later, with Scotland defender John Durie heading just wide from left-winger Ishmale Thurstan's corner.

 

After 28 minutes, the Terriers' right-winger Sebastian Chindris began to nip at our heels. The Romanian skipper cut inside before having a shot parried by Kayo Rowe. The ball deflected to Thurstan, who was taken out by Daggers right-back Nolan Barber before he could get to the rebound. The referee awarded Huddersfield a penalty before booking Barber for his clumsy challenge. Jimmy Stringfellow's spot-kick was a clinical, and we were 1-0 down to the Championship Play-Off winners.

 

Thankfully, Orlando was on hand to bring instant salvation. In the 30th minute, barely a minute after the opening goal, Salvador powerfully drove a pinpoint pass from Torre beyond Bowerman to cancel it out!

 

That didn't ease our defensive worries, mind. Barber's poor clearance from a Chindris cross in the 32nd minute, allowed Thurstan to cross the ball back into our box. Dagenham centre-back Michael Walters removed the danger, but I was now ready to remove Nolan from the pitch. Hicham Martin took his place and moved into the left-back slot, with Thulani Mazibuko shunted to the right.

 

We then started to see a bit more of Torre, who had a shot blocked by Bowerman in the 34th minute, shortly before being booked for shoving Terriers defender Lee Gallagher. Franco then set up an excellent finish for Milen Danchev in the 40th minute, only for the offside flag to deny the Bulgarian winger his first Premier League goal. We would head into the dressing room still level at 1-1.

 

My only change before the second half was in midfield, where Kenneth Jorgensen replaced Frédéric Pereira after the Frenchman sustained a knock late in the first period. It was Huddersfield who sprung back to life quicker, with striker Neil Oakes having a shot caught by Rowe in the 47th minute before sending another effort high and wide.

 

Oakes then hit the side netting in the 60th minute, not long after Torre had half-volleyed wide an opening for the Daggers. Franco might not have had his shooting boots on, but he was certainly wearing his assisting boots. Another fantastic through-ball to Salvador in the 68th minute allowed Orlando to get past 'Jukebox' Durie and slot in a finish that was music to our ears!

 

Salvador was now on the cusp of a hat-trick, and he got his chance to wrap that up two minutes later after being brought down close to goal by Huddersfield's Jake Bailey. The Portuguese star dusted himself down, and then curled his free-kick home to ensure that he would be taking the ball back to Dagenham!

 

Our midfield talisman wasn't finished there, though. While we countered from a weak Terriers corner in the 75th minute, Orlando lifted the ball up to left-winger Mirko Saric, who jinked past Durie and entered the area. It was from there that the Croatian wideman secured his first league goal for the Daggers and put us 4-1 up!

 

Salvador then came off to a standing ovation from home and away fans alike at the John Smith's Stadium, with Jonas Kjaerulff being given 15 minutes to show what he could do. Jonas almost scored on 81 minutes, heading Mirko's cross into Bowerman's hands. Another attempt from the Dane three minutes later fizzed well wide.

 

Meanwhile, Rowe enjoyed a strong end to his return to his former loan club. The Daggers goalie made three excellent saves in the closing stages, with Bailey, Rab Cramb and Nicky Wakefield all unable to claim consolation goals for Huddersfield.

 

Huddersfield Town - 1 (Stringfellow pen29)

Dagenham & Redbridge - 4 (Salvador 30,68,70, Saric 75)

Premier League, Attendance 24,445 - POSITIONS: Huddersfield 15th, Dag & Red 6th

DAG & RED LINE-UP: Rowe, Barber (Martin), Walters, Darvill, Mazibuko, Pereira (Jorgensen), Allen, Danchev, Salvador (Kjaerulff), Saric, Torre. BOOKED: Barber, Torre.

 

Orlando Salvador had single-handedly turned that match on its head with his first Dagenham hat-trick, but I now had major doubts over another big-name player. Nolan Barber was 31 years old and becoming more error-prone, so I was seriously considering selling the right-back before his contract expired in the summer. Being the model pro that he was, Nolan apologised for his mistakes and vowed to win me over again.

 

The whole team would have to atone for previous failings when we played the second leg of our UEFA Champions League Playoff with Monaco three days later. Les Monégasques arrived at Rainham Road with a 3-1 first-leg lead, so we needed to overturn that deficit to progress to the competition proper. I really didn't want us to go through the grind of the UEFA Europa League again.

 

28 August 2040: Dagenham & Redbridge vs Monaco

Our two attacking leaders linked up well in the fifth minute to put Monaco under real pressure. Captain Mark Washington squared the ball through space to vice-skipper Orlando Salvador, who dribbled forward before returning the favour with a cross into the box. Unfortunately, Washington's header looped over the bar.

 

Our other striker would have better luck with his first attempt five minutes later. Antonis Siafos latched onto a weighted pass from 20-year-old attacking midfielder Michal Twardzik and drove in a first-time shot that left Monaco keeper Philippe Daniel helpless! I'd taken a big risk in playing young Michal from the start, but that assist had more than justified his selection!

 

We were now 1-0 up, and another goal would put us ahead on away goals. One for the visitors, though, would leave us leaving another two just to force extra-time. That made Daggers goalkeeper Kayo Rowe's fantastic saves from a couple of free-kicks by Brazilian midfielder Rodrigao in the 17th and 19th minutes particularly important.

 

We would get a free-kick opportunity of our own after 21 minutes, following a trip on Twardzik from Les Monégasques' other Brazilian middleman José. Orlando stepped up to take the set-piece 20 yards from goal... and he rocketed it right into the top corner! Rainham Road was now rocking, and if things stayed as they were, we would be into the Group Stage!

 

Monaco were completely stunned, and worse was to come for them after captain Ruben Leblanc's long-range header was caught by Kayo in the 30th minute. Rowe rolled the ball out to Daggers right-back Enrique Álvarez, who rolled it forward to Twardzik. The Czech prospect then pumped a long ball into the path of Washington, and Captain America surged past defender Eduardo Pérez before cutting the ball underneath Daniel's dive! We now led 3-0 on the night, and 4-3 on aggregate!

 

The first half-hour had been a dream for Daggers fans, but we nearly crashed back to terra firma in the 35th minute. Had Kayo not clawed behind a drive from Karel Urbanek, the aggregate scores would've been dead level. As it was, we headed into the second half with a narrow advantage, which we were somewhat unlucky not to increase. Salvador and George Darvill each had late chances saved by Daniel.

 

We continued to hold our nerve shortly after the restart, with George clearing a cross from Monaco right-winger Harold Soares in the 48th minute. Shortly after that, Darvill's long ball towards Siafos in the visiting penalty area was bravely punched clear by Daniel. Darvill would have some more defending to do three minutes later, heading away Rodrigao's corner kick. The header only went as far as Monaco's left-winger Michel Aké, but we were very relieved to see the Ivorian's volley fly well over.

 

After that scare, we surprisingly didn't see much of Les Monégasques on the attacking front. Substitute winger Nikolay Bubnov went for goal from a free-kick in the 69th minute, but Rowe once again showed incredible determination not to be beaten. Six minutes later, Monaco were all but vanquished. Salvador's corner was nodded against the bar by Siafos before Darvill cut the rebound across the goal line to give us a 4-0 lead!

 

The visitors now needed two goals to turn the tie back in their favour, and with the Daggers firmly in control, that realistically wasn't happening. Their last chance at redemption came in the 86th minute, when Bubnov dispossessed Dagenham defender Siphesihle Gumede and sent Soares away with an excellent direct ball. The Dutchman flew towards goal, but his shot was fired straight at Kayo, whose save was cheered as loudly by Daggers fans as our four goals!

 

The referee's final whistle about five minutes later confirmed that we had reached another milestone. Against all odds, we had made it into the UEFA Champions League for real!

 

Dagenham & Redbridge - 4 (Siafos 10, Salvador 21, Washington 30, Darvill 75)

Monaco - 0

[Dagenham & Redbridge win 5-3 on aggregate]

UEFA Champions League Playoff Leg 2, Attendance 26,772

DAG & RED LINE-UP: Rowe, Álvarez, Darvill, Gumede, Martin (Mazibuko), Jorgensen (Mofokeng), Salvador (Cook), Pereira, Twardzik, Washington, Siafos. BOOKED: Álvarez, Martin, Salvador.

 

I've witnessed some incredible performances in my time at Dagenham & Redbridge, but that was right up there with the best. Monaco went all the way to the Semi Finals of the UEFA Champions League last season, but we'd taken them to pieces - and taken our place amongst Europe's elite for the first time!

 

The Champions League Group Stage draw was staged later that week, with the Daggers placed amongst the third seeds. We would immediately face a baptism of fire, with our first ever match in the main stages of the competition coming against another Ligue 1 giant.

 

On 18 September, Rainham Road would play host to none other than Paris Saint-Germain, who had won the 2023 Champions League and 13 French championships under legendary coach Jérome Rothen. Their Spanish captain Mario had a rather decent scoring record, with just the 309 goals in 362 competitive matches with Les Parisiens since joining them in 2033.

 

PSG were the top seeds in Group B, where we would also come up against Real Sociedad, as well as the Ukrainian champions Dynamo Kiev. We'd already faced Real in pre-season, recording an emphatic 5-1 win over Los Txuri-Urdin, but they would be an altogether tougher proposition in the 'Big Cup'.

 

We were also involved in another cup draw, though Daggers fans perhaps weren't jumping up and down in excitement about the prospect of a League Cup Round 3 match at West Bromwich Albion. We'd won that competition twice in the past three years, so it was now a long way down our list of priorities.

 

The transfer window closed with no further movement in or out of Rainham Road. Huddersfield Town did put in a £3.8million offer for Lee Allen, but I wasn't interested in selling the homegrown ball-winning midfielder for less than double that.

 

One deal that was much closer to going ahead involved PSG's flamboyant playmaker Kamil Lewandowski. We had agreed a £3.5million fee with the club, and a £70,000-per-week contract with the 31-year-old Pole. However, I pulled out of the transfer at the last minute, largely because our attempts to move another midfielder on hadn't attracted any bids. Besides, we've got Dzenan Genjac, Michal Twardzik and some bloke named Orlando Salvador, so we probably don't need Kamil anyway...

[CFuller]

SEPTEMBER 2040

After his stunning display against Huddersfield Town, Orlando Salvador was nominated for the Premier League's Player of the Month award for August. Sadly, our vice-captain was pipped to the accolade by Reading striker Ryan Galbraith.

 

We began the new month with a home game against Nottingham Forest. It was perhaps fair to say that the Tricky Trees had had an odd start to the season. They won 1-0 at Coventry City, then got thrashed 4-1 at home to Norwich City, and then were knocked out of the League Cup by third-tier AFC Bournemouth on penalties after a 4-4 draw!

 

1 September 2040: Dagenham & Redbridge vs Nottingham Forest

After his 'man of the match' performance in our last game, I gave attacking midfielder Michal Twardzik his Premier League debut. The Czech youngster could've started it with a goal after just 23 minutes, but he pulled captain Orlando Salvador's pass wide.

 

Our next attack, in the fourth minute, would be more fruitful. Kayo Rowe's goal kick was flicked on by Gianfranco Torre into the path of Elliot Cook, who burst clear of Nottingham Forest defender Tom Dakin and stroked in the opening goal!

 

A mistake from Forest midfielder John Woods almost led to us scoring again two minutes later, but left-back Thulani Mazibuko was unable to keep his shot on target. The visitors then went close to levelling in the 9th minute, with winger Luiz Gustavo's drive narrowly clearing the bar.

 

The next 20 minutes offered little, as we struggled to keep the ball, and Forest failed to take advantage. Summer signing Sreten Pumpalovic could've notched up his first goal for the club after 31 minutes, but the 31-year-old Serbian striker's drive from a Mohammed Lawal centre missed the target by inches.

 

A minute later, Lawal went from potential hero to villain for Forest supporters, conceding a costly free-kick for a trip on Twardzik close to goal. Orlando was our free-kick expert, but Michal took the set-piece himself... and curled it majestically into the top corner! 2-0 to the Daggers!

 

A third goal before half-time would surely have finished the visitors off, but their captain Glenn Nordh showed great resolve to tip over a half-volley from counterpart Salvador in the 34th minute. Torre curled the subsequent corner to George Darvill, who headed it narrowly over.

 

Darvill again came close to scoring two minutes into the second period, nodding a Salvador corner against the bar. Shortly before that chance, Torre had gashed his leg in a challenge from Nottingham Forest defender Said Tran. Franco carried on for a while before making way for Mark Washington. Mark had barely come on when, in the 55th minute, Tran took another of our players out of the picture. Twarzik was left in agony by the Moroccan's foul and had to be replaced with Lee Allen.

 

Despite those injuries, we wouldn't be knocked off our stride. When Forest striker Julio César Andrade threaded a ball out to the wide in the 60th minute, Mazibuko made a great interception and hoofed it upfield. Elliot ran onto Thulani's long ball, and another clinical finish past Nordh showed that the local lad was cooking on gas!

 

That made it three goals for Dagenham, and Cook now wanted a third for himself. Alas, his attempt to seal a hat-trick from right-back Enrique Álvarez's deep cross in the 63rd minute was headed wide. On 69 minutes, a hurried defensive clearance from Darvill was cut out by Luiz Gustavo, who messed up what proved to be Nottingham Forest's last chance to get back in the game.

 

The Tricky Trees would be felled for good eight minutes from time. This was a match in which seemingly everything went our way, and that was clear when Mazibuko lobbed the ball over Nordh from out wide and found the net!

 

We came away with a second 4-0 win in the space of five days, though not before Rowe denied Forest sub Barry Harris what would've been a meaningless away goal late on. We would also end the afternoon with a third injury concern. Allen gashed his head in a collision with visiting midfielder Leo Cortesi in injury time and couldn't see out the match.

 

Dagenham & Redbridge - 4 (Cook 4,59, Twardzik 32, Mazibuko 82)

Nottingham Forest - 0

Premier League, Attendance 26,305 - POSITIONS: Dag & Red 4th, Nottm Forest 15th

DAG & RED LINE-UP: Rowe, Álvarez, Gridelli, Darvill, Mazibuko, Jorgensen, Salvador, Pereira, Twardzik (Allen), Torre (Washington), Cook (Kjaerulff).

 

Those injuries sustained by Gianfranco Torre, Michal Twardzik and Lee Allen were not as bad as first feared. Indeed, the most serious injury to affect a Daggers player took place at Welling United, where our Under-18s suffered a shock defeat in the FA Youth Cup. Unfortunately, Josh Beadle - arguably our most exciting first-year scholar - tore his calf muscle in that match, setting his development back by at least three months.

 

We then lost a couple of first-teamers during the international break. Kenneth Jorgensen pulled his hamstring while training for what would've been his 50th Denmark appearance and was ruled out for a few weeks. On the plus side, Jonas Kjaerulff did win his first senior cap for Denmark, at the age of 22. In typical Jonas style, he marked the occasion by limping off at half-time against Estonia with a bruised thigh.

 

Fortunately, our other senior internationals each returned in one piece. Frédéric Pereira scored just his second goal in 24 caps for France, albeit against Luxembourg. Thulani Mazibuko (South Africa), Kayo Rowe (England) and Antonis Siafos (Greece) had also done well on national duty, though Mark Washington's goal drought for the United States continued.

 

After a fortnight away, we resumed our Premier League campaign with a visit to Pride Park, and a match against Derby County, whose first three league games had yielded just two points. We'd scored four goals in each of our last three fixtures, but had the break disrupted our forward momentum?

 

15 September 2040: Derby County vs Dagenham & Redbridge

Derby showed much more attacking urgency than we did in the opening stages, and they gave us a real cause for concern in the seventh minute. Rams midfielder Matty Holmes played the ball to striker Mauro Barzaghi on the edge of our area, and the Argentine then went down under what appeared to be a clumsy challenge from George Darvill. The referee blew his whistle... but not to award Derby a penalty. Instead, he booked Barzaghi for diving!

 

County scared us again in the 15th minute, with captain Paul Sherwood's header from Aidan Bobbins' corner forcing Kayo Rowe into his first save. We would have to defend against several more Derby corners, as well as a 22nd-minute Holmes free-kick that Rowe caught brilliantly. Kayo was beaten by a superb finish from Yassine Allali four minutes later, but we were fortunate that the Belgian striker had been caught offside after latching onto Barzaghi's weighted pass.

 

There was another close shave for the Daggers in the latter stages of the first half. Dagenham midfielder Frédéric Pereira headed away Bobbins' corner kick, but only as far as Derby winger Mike Husband, whose drive was parried by Rowe.

 

It was Pereira who also had our only two shots of a tepid first half. One was a hopeless long-ranger in the 32nd minute, and the other was a 43rd-minute volley that was blocked by Rams keeper Maguila.

 

I was furious with my players after what I saw as a lazy first-half performance. I told them to increase the tempo and show more aggression if they were to take anything from this match. Substitute striker Gianfranco Torre displayed more of the latter in the 54th minute, winning the ball in an excellent challenge on Holmes before surging up the right flank. Torre then crossed into the box for Orlando Salvador, whose poor header bounced safely into Maguila's hands.

 

We couldn't build on that, though, and we were soon back defending again. Torre blocked a vicious free-kick from Barzaghi in the 64th minute, while midfield anchor Tumelo Mofokeng put in several strong challenges to stop Derby from making further inroads.

 

Our last chance to score against the run of play came in the 76th minute, when Salvador won a free-kick after being upended by Rams defender Chris Moss. Orlando had an ambitious shot from 30 yards out, and he swerved it just over the crossbar. It wasn't quite to be for our vice-skipper, who ended the match with a yellow card after pushing Holmes in the 83rd minute.

 

Thankfully, Derby didn't finish the match with any goals, despite their best efforts in the closing stages. Two excellent late saves by Rowe from Jon Dahl Jacobsen and Husband preserved our goalkeeper's third successive clean sheet. They also earned us one point from a difficult away match where we arguably shouldn't have ended up with any.

 

Derby County - 0

Dagenham & Redbridge - 0

Premier League, Attendance 33,455 - POSITIONS: Derby 15th, Dag & Red 5th

DAG & RED LINE-UP: Rowe, Barber, Gridelli, Darvill, Martin, Mofokeng, Salvador, Pereira, Twardzik (Walters), Washington (Torre), Siafos (Cook). BOOKED: Salvador.

 

Truth be told, that wasn't our finest hour. It seemed that some of our players had their minds elsewhere, perhaps even on our UEFA Champions League Group Stage opener, which took place three days later.

 

We'd been rated by a leading bookmaker at 16-1 to win the Champions League at our first attempt. That seemed optimistic to me, especially as we'd been lumbered into Group B alongside Paris Saint-Germain, who were rated as fourth-favourites behind Manchester United, Porto and Juventus.

 

It was PSG who provided our first test in the main stages of Europe's leading club competition. The French giants arrived at Rainham Road on the back of four successive shut-out wins in Ligue 1, including a 7-0 demolition of Valenciennes in their most recent match. With strikers Mario and Tony Mathieson in such irresistible form, there was every chance that our Champions League would quickly become a nightmare.

 

18 September 2040: Dagenham & Redbridge vs Paris Saint-Germain

It perhaps wouldn't surprise you to learn that it was PSG who put together the first attack after three minutes. Mario got his head to a fantastic cross from Julián Vargas Sánchez, but Dagenham goalkeeper Kayo Rowe got his fingertips to the former Manchester United megastar's bullet.

 

Kayo's PSG counterpart Fabián Acosta also faced an early test two minutes later. Daggers striker Elliot Cook ran onto a flick-on from Orlando Salvador and dribbled into the area, where Acosta kept out his first shot with an initial parry. It looked like Elliot would bury the rebound, but his attempt clipped the inside of the post and ricocheted wide! The angst on Cookie's face after that miss was clear to see.

 

Les Parisiens attacked again in the 18th minute, with Vargas Sánchez having a vicious strike deflected behind off Enrique Álvarez. The Colombian left-winger then whipped a cross to right-winger Matteo Caurla, who flicked it just over the bar. Caurla's Italian compatriot Gianfranco Torre did likewise for Dagenham with a piledriver in the 24th minute.

 

Four minutes later, Daggers anchor Tumelo Mofokeng blocked a fierce shot from Caurla and knocked it up to Salvador. Orlando then played in Elliot, who charged at the PSG defence before passing to Dzenan Genjac just inside the area. Genjac struck the ball first-time, and it crept past Acosta to send the home fans wild! Dagenham & Redbridge 1 Paris Saint-Germain 0!

 

Sadly, our delight would only last for 11 minutes before Les Parisiens' big beasts bore their teeth. A visiting counter-attack saw Tony Mathieson lob the ball out right to Mario, who surged forward while his American strike partner entered the penalty area. Mario's cross was perfectly timed, but Daggers defender Vicente Gridelli's attempted interception wasn't, and Mathieson equalised with aplomb.

 

Both sides had opportunities to go 2-1 up before the break. Salvador struck the PSG bar with a long-range free-kick in the 41st minute. Two minutes later, Caurla's weighted pass allowed Mario to shoot from a tight angle, with Kayo's block and Siphesihle Gumede's subsequent clearance keeping us level.

 

In the first minute of the second half, Caurla dribbled about half the length of the pitch for PSG before driving his shot well off target. Another attack ended in disappointment for Les Parisiens in the 56th minute. Vargas Sánchez's lobbed free-kick was headed goalwards by centre-back Henry Enyeama, only for Dagenham midfielder Lee Allen to hack it into touch.

 

In the 57th minute, my half-time substitute Frédéric Pereira hoped to swing the match firmly in our favour. The Frenchman's pass to Salvador was then slotted through the centre of the PSG defence and ahead of Torre. Franco had struggled to keep calm on such a big occasion, and it showed when he blazed the ball miles over.

 

I later took Torre off and brought Antonis Siafos on, not that it made much difference to our attacking fortunes. Genjac and Gridelli each missed chances just before the 75-minute mark, while Pereira headed a Cook cross straight into Acosta's hands after 81 minutes.

 

At the other end, Mario's misfortune had continued on 78 minutes. The evergreen 33-year-old Spaniard went for goal after Caurla's initial effort was blocked by Gridelli, but Rowe made simple work of the rebound.

 

We did get the ball in the PSG net eight minutes from time, but Siafos was rightly adjudged to be offside when he tapped Álvarez's cross home. Though we couldn't quite seal the perfect start to our Group B campaign, our defence - Gumede especially - held firm to secure a 1-1 draw. Meanwhile, Dynamo Kiev took the early initiative in the group, coming from behind to defeat Real Sociedad 2-1 at home.

 

Dagenham & Redbridge - 1 (Genjac 28)

Paris Saint-Germain - 1 (Mathieson 39)

UEFA Champions League Group B, Attendance 26,772 - POSITIONS: Dag & Red 3rd, PSG 2nd

DAG & RED LINE-UP: Rowe, Álvarez, Gridelli, Gumede, Mazibuko (Martin), Mofokeng (Pereira), Salvador, Allen, Genjac, Cook, Torre (Siafos). BOOKED: Mofokeng.

 

That wasn't bad for our first Champions League group game. We had shown that we were most definitely a match for PSG, and quite possibly any team in our pool.

[CFuller]

SEPTEMBER 2040 (continued)

The Daggers' next Premier League encounter was at the AMEX Stadium against Brighton & Hove Albion, who'd kicked off the season with four points in four matches. We were unbeaten in our last eight meetings with the Seagulls and were widely expected to stretch that run to nine.

 

22 September 2040: Brighton & Hove Albion vs Dagenham & Redbridge

I decided to give wingers Mirko Saric and Milen Danchev some much-needed gametime on the south coast, but my focus on wide play left us soft in the middle. Brighton took advantage by stretching us out early on. In the seventh minute, centre-forward Edmundo sprayed the ball out left to wing-back Jak Black, who whipped the ball across our area before right-winger Zeljko Novak fired it into the side netting.

 

A minute later, the Seagulls put together a more menacing attack. Novak flummoxed Daggers left-back Thulani Mazibuko with his footwork before pulling the ball back to Albion captain Lee Bowden. The Welsh right-back then swung in a first-time cross that Ivan Cirkovic headed beyond the reach of Kayo Rowe. Brighton's fans rocked in the sands, and the atmosphere soon became more like what one would expect at a Fatboy Slim set than a football match.

 

The hosts turned up the pressure with a number of corners, though they didn't get close to doubling their lead until Adi Music volleyed a Novak delivery across goal in the 27th minute. We had to silence the home fans quickly, and Mark Washington had a great chance to do that four minutes later. The Dagenham captain's free-kick was spilled by Seagulls keeper Fernando Ortíz, and chaos ensued in the area before Washington won the ball back off Black. Mark tried to drive the ball home from a tight angle, but he got his shot all wrong.

 

In the 35th minute, two ex-Daggers got it all right for Brighton. Midfielder Neil McCann drove a fantastic weighted ball into the area for Edmundo, who jinked past Vicente Gridelli and then continued a fine scoring record against his former loan club.

 

At 2-0 down, I had to make changes, and I didn't hang about until half-time. Saric and Danchev came off immediately, with Dzenan Genjac and Antonis Siafos taking their places as we reverted to the trusty old diamond. Siafos could have made the desired impact six minutes before time, but his header from vice-captain Orlando Salvador's free-kick was horribly miscued.

 

My players got a full blast of the Fuller hairdryer at half-time, but referee Gary Ashley would soon be receiving one himself as my anger levels rose in the second half. Some cynical early fouls from Bowden and Cirkovic on our captain Washington only resulted in free-kicks, even though Cirkovic looked like he was trying to take Mark's shirt off his back at one point!

 

Mr Ashley did eventually bring out his yellow card in the 54th minute... after accusing Gridelli of barging into Cirkovic in the Dagenham area. Vicente reluctantly accepted a booking as Edmundo attempted to fire Brighton into a 3-0 lead. Rowe had other ideas, with a fantastic save to his right keeping us in contention.

 

The referee continued to lay down the law in a feisty second period, though some of his decisions were inconsistent. Edmundo and Bowden were each booked for trips just before the hour, but their Seagulls team-mate Ian Morrison escaped punishment for a two-footed lunge on Tumelo Mofokeng in the 71st minute.

 

While Tumelo received treatment for an injury that thankfully wasn't too serious, Orlando struck a 20-yard shot that was pushed away by Ortíz. Brighton's Colombian goalkeeper would also keep out an 80th-minute curler from Washington, and a last-minute drive by Frédéric Pereira.

 

In truth, we had left it far too late to mount a fightback. Brighton came away with an excellent 2-0 win, and we left East Sussex with little more than a couple of yellow cards, the second of which had been issued to George Darvill just before full-time. Needless to say, the hairdryer came out once again once we'd returned to the dressing room.

 

Brighton & Hove Albion - 2 (Cirkovic 8, Edmundo 35)

Dagenham & Redbridge - 0

Premier League, Attendance 24,790 - POSITIONS: Brighton 9th, Dag & Red 7th

DAG & RED LINE-UP: Rowe, Álvarez, Gridelli, Darvill, Mazibuko, Mofokeng (Allen), Pereira, Danchev (Siafos), Salvador, Saric (Genjac), Washington. BOOKED: Gridelli, Darvill.

 

Though I was understandably unhappy with the players at full-time, I was even angrier with myself. There was a time and a place to utilise my speedy wingers Mirko Saric and Milen Danchev. A gorgeous Saturday afternoon in Brighton against two fast full-backs was neither the right time nor the right place.

 

Milen would get another chance to impress me in midweek, when we kicked off our League Cup defence with a Round 3 trip to West Bromwich Albion. The Baggies were leading the Championship after their unexpected relegation last season, so I anticipated a tough match. Nevertheless, I used this as an opportunity to rest my key men and give the fringe players some more action.

 

26 September 2040: West Bromwich Albion vs Dagenham & Redbridge

Joel Honeyball captained the Daggers after displaying some excellent scoring form for the reserves early this season. The 33-year-old had an opportunity to get his first-team campaign up and running after just three minutes, but his header from Michal Twardzik's long free-kick missed the target.

 

Michal fared slightly better in the fourth minute, forcing West Brom goalkeeper Casey Cooke into his first save. Cooke made another strong stop in the 10th, blocking Lee Allen's drive from a cut-back by Milen Danchev.

 

Daggers goalkeeper Antoni Giménez was given a test on 11 minutes, bailing us out with a great save after Baggies winger José Santos had jinked past our ageing right-back Nolan Barber. We survived another scare five minutes later, when ex-France midfielder Denis Bordes fired wide from Billy Stevenson's through-ball. Giménez's goal kick was flicked further towards the West Brom goal by Albion midfielder Paulo Silva. The ball fell to home captain and left-back Manu Torbellino, who overhit his pass to centre-half Badouin Mabwete. That allowed Joel to burst in, take the ball, and drive us into the lead!

 

Torbellino was left red-faced, but he looked to have made amends in the 20th minute, heading Alex Higgins' free-kick past Giménez. The offside flag went up, however, and our 1-0 lead remained so, despite Stevenson twice coming close to equalising the Baggies later on.

 

Siphesihle Gumede was denied a second Dagenham goal by the Albion crossbar in the 33rd minute, but the South African's luck turned ten minutes later. This time, Zippy towered over the West Brom defence to meet Gianfranco Torre's corner with a lethal bullet header. We therefore went into the interval 2-0 up, and with one foot in Round 4 of the League Cup.

 

I brought Mirko Saric on to replace Honeyball at the break, with Barber taking the captaincy, despite being booked midway through the first half. Nolan was lucky not to receive another yellow when he tripped West Brom substitute Stephen Walsh close to our goal in the 49th minute. Higgins fired in the subsequent free-kick, but he couldn't beat Giménez.

 

The woodwork then denied Walsh a goal in the 53rd minute before the Baggies bounced back. In the 61st minute, striker Kristian Latham volleyed Bordes' flick-on into the path of former Manchester United winger Higgins, who dribbled through our defence and then drove in a cracking shot.

 

'The Hurricane' almost blew us away again four minutes later. Higgins took the ball just inside West Brom's half and then advanced towards our area, evading a slide tackle from Dagenham's Benjamin Guerin in the process. In the end, though, his shot never looked like levelling the scores.

 

Shortly after that, I sent Elliot Cook on as a substitute for Torre, whose wait for a first competitive Daggers goal would have to continue a bit longer. Cook would make a quick impact in the 70th minute. He snuck behind Mabwete to run onto a lofted pass from Barber and knock it down into the area. Just as Elliot was about to finish the move with a half-volley, West Brom defender Bart Abels did the hard work for him, with an attempted interception diverting the ball into his own goal!

 

The Daggers' two-goal cushion was restored, and our place in the next round would soon be secured. Torbellino's nightmare culminated in him conceding a penalty eight minute from half-time for hacking Danchev down. That meant it was Cook vs Cooke from 12 yards out... and Elliot made no mistake, driving his penalty home to seal a 4-1 win.

 

Cook missed a couple of late opportunities to score again, but I wasn't too disappointed. Our second defence of the League Cup would continue for a bit longer than our first.

 

West Bromwich Albion - 1 (Higgins 61)

Dagenham & Redbridge - 4 (Honeyball 16, Gumede 43, Abels og70, Cook pen83)

League Cup Round 3, Attendance 23,527

DAG & RED LINE-UP: Giménez, Barber, Walters, Gumede, Martin, Allen, Guerin (Walker), Danchev, Twardzik, Torre (Cook), Honeyball (Saric). BOOKED: Barber, Martin.

 

Our reward in Round 4 was another match against Championship opposition. We would host struggling Charlton Athletic at the end of October.

 

Our final match in September saw us return to Rainham Road to face Blackburn Rovers. Last season's Championship runners-up had lost four out of five games since returning to the top flight.

 

29 September 2040: Dagenham & Redbridge vs Blackburn Rovers

We got off to a flier in the second minute, thanks to a fantastic assist from a Blackburn defender. Orlando Salvador played an excellent pass forward to Mark Washington, whose run towards goal was halted by a slide tackle from Rovers centre-half Shaun Colbeck. The ball fell towards Frédéric Pereira, and the powerful midfielder smashed it first-time into the net!

 

After surviving a couple of early Blackburn corners, we were soon hoping to take control of the match. Pereira was denied a second goal on 15 minutes, with visiting goalkeeper Oliver Piper getting a hand to the Frenchman's header from Washington's corner delivery. Our next shot - a wayward 17th-minute drive from Tumelo Mofokeng - was more of an indicator of what would later come.

 

Washington and Pereira missed further opportunities to double our lead before the latter was sadly forced off injured in the 26th minute. Frédi somehow strained his neck while attempting to tackle Blackburn left-back Murphy Mampuya, and his absence would be keenly felt.

 

More Dagenham frustration would come in the final quarter-hour of the first half. Piper caught a Washington free-kick in the 32nd minute, and a header from Antonis Siafos in the 45th. Those aside, most of our attempts at goal were either blocked or off target. Mind you, that was at least better than the zero chances Blackburn could muster in the entire half.

 

Blackburn had gifted us a goal in the second minute of the first half. At that stage in the second period, Dagenham defender - and ex-Rovers loanee - Michael Walters returned the favour. The Welsh teenager attempted to head a backpass to Kayo Rowe, just when Blackburn's wily French striker Thierry Laurent was breathing down his neck. Laurent got past Michael, pounced on the underpowered pass, and sidestepped Kayo before drawing level.

 

My anger at Walters would soon be directed towards another defender. Substitute right-back Thulani Mazibuko did the hard bit by mazily dribbling into Blackburn's area in the 50th minute, but when it came to the finish, he was left badly wanting. If I thought that was bad, I hadn't seen anything yet.

 

In the 64th minute, Blackburn's right-wing captain Bill Nolan ghosted past our left-back Hicham Martin, who'd played alongside him at Ewood Park for two seasons earlier in his career. As Laurent and left-winger Luis Sevilla entered the six-yard box, Nolan drilled the ball towards them. Rowe tried to secure the ball, but he only parried it to former West Bromwich Albion stalwart Sevilla. You could probably guess what happened next.

 

Facing a 2-1 deficit at home to a newly-promoted team, I hauled Washington off and sent Gianfranco Torre on to try and save our skins. In the 72nd minute, my first substitute - Lee Allen, who'd replaced the injured Pereira midway through the opening half - was bundled over by Rovers midfielder Thomas Panagiotidis. The Greek was already on a booking from earlier in the game, and when he collected a second yellow card, Blackburn were reduced to 10 men!

 

Mofokeng played the free-kick out right to Mazibuko, whose cross found Siafos in the box. Alas, Tony's shot found Piper's fingertips and was deflected wide. That wouldn't be the last time Piper denied us an equaliser in the dying moments. He caught a couple of efforts from full-backs Mazibuko and Martin in the 78th and 87th minute before stopping last-ditch punts from Allen and Dzenan Genjac.

 

While Piper had produced one of the performances of his career, the truth of the matter was that we should've been more clinical with the countless chances we had to score. We only had ourselves to blame after a shock home defeat.

 

Dagenham & Redbridge - 1 (Pereira 2)

Blackburn Rovers - 2 (Laurent 47, Sevilla 64)

Premier League, Attendance 25,998 - POSITIONS: Dag & Red 9th, Blackburn 17th

DAG & RED LINE-UP: Rowe, Barber (Mazibuko), Walters, Darvill, Martin, Mofokeng, Pereira (Allen), Salvador, Genjac, Washington (Torre), Siafos. BOOKED: Barber.

 

"CALL YOURSELVES A CHAMPIONS LEAGUE TEAM?" I bellowed at my players in the dressing room. "Blackburn have just come up from the Championship, and you f***ing cowards let them nick three points off you! They had TWO shots all game, and they scored from each of them!

 

"I don't want to sound like a broken record here, but you need to be more patient when you create chances! It's no use rushing into shots against teams that defend deep like Blackburn do.

 

"It's also about time you started proving why you're in the Champions League, else we won't even be there next season."

[CFuller]

Premier League Table (End of September 2040)

                                   P     W     D     L     F     A     GD    PTS
1.          Reading                6     5     1     0     17    6     +11   16
2.          West Ham               5     5     0     0     11    3     +8    15
3.          Arsenal                6     4     1     1     11    5     +6    13
4.          Norwich                6     3     3     0     15    10    +5    12
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
5.          Fulham                 6     4     0     2     13    10    +3    12
6.          Man City               5     3     2     0     13    5     +8    11
7.          Liverpool              5     3     1     1     10    4     +6    10
8.          Man Utd                5     2     2     1     10    6     +4    8
9.          Dag & Red              6     2     1     3     10    7     +3    7
10.         Chelsea                4     2     1     1     6     3     +3    7
11.         Brighton               6     2     1     3     6     9     -3    7
12.         Coventry               6     1     3     2     3     6     -3    6
13.         Rochdale               6     1     3     2     2     5     -3    6
14.         Wolves                 6     1     2     3     7     11    -4    5
15.         Derby                  6     0     4     2     4     7     -3    4
16.         Everton                6     1     1     4     7     12    -5    4
17.         Blackburn              6     1     1     4     5     10    -5    4
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
18.         Huddersfield           6     0     3     3     6     15    -9    3
19.         Nottm Forest           6     1     0     5     5     20    -15   3
20.         Southampton            6     0     2     4     4     11    -7    2

 

[CFuller]

OCTOBER 2040

We might have only collected one point from our last three Premier League games, but Dagenham defender Vicente Gridelli was still nominated for the Player of the Month award for September. He narrowly missed out to Manchester United's Leszek Michniewicz, though another Dagger would be named Young Player of the Month.

 

Stevie Merson had settled quickly at Fulham during his season-long loan spell. The Cottagers had stormed into the top five with four early wins, while Merson's impressive double at Nottingham Forest was enough to see him named as the Premier League's best young player last month.

 

Four days after a surprise home loss to Blackburn Rovers, we put our league woes aside and flew out to Spain for our first away game in UEFA Champions League Group B. We arrived at the Estadio Gipuzkoa in San Sebastián to play Real Sociedad, who'd won their first six La Liga games but lost their continental opener to Dynamo Kiev.

 

The good news on the injury front for us was that Kenneth Jorgensen was back, a little over three weeks after he pulled his hamstring on Denmark duty. The bad news was that Frédéric Pereira would have to stay at home, having strained his neck against Blackburn.

 

3 October 2040: Real Sociedad vs Dagenham & Redbridge

What we didn't need to do against Real Sociedad in the opening stages was concede any clumsy fouls in dangerous positions. Enrique Álvarez obviously didn't get the memo. When our Valencian right-back slid in hard on Real's Argentine left-winger Darío Ovejero, the referee had little choice but to award the hosts a penalty after just four minutes. Gianni Improta then sent our other Spaniard Antoni Giménez the wrong way from 12 yards out to give Los Txuri-Urdin a 1-0 lead.

 

We didn't do a very good job of trying to keep our cool after that. Ball-winning midfielder Lee Allen was booked in the 18th minute when he took out Real playmaker Téng Feng instead of taking the ball. Two minutes later, we went very close to falling 2-0 behind. Improta knocked home winger Rolf Schmadtke's weighted pass beyond Dagenham centre-half Siphesihle Gumede and into the path of his strike partner Ricardo Pesaola, who smashed it against the post.

 

A minute after that, our defence fell apart like a house of cards. Improta glided past our other centre-back Vicente Gridelli after Pesaola had prodded Téng's through-ball away from Gumede. Giménez rushed forward to parry Improta's shot, but neither he nor Gridelli could prevent the follow-up strike by Chinese superstar Téng swerving past them and into the net.

 

Real Sociedad were now 2-0 ahead, but by the 33rd minute, that scoreline had changed to 3-0. The latest Dagger to be caught out was left-winger Mirko Saric, whom Schmadtke cut past before smacking the ball beyond Giménez's reach. Los Txuri-Urdin were doing to us what we had done to them in pre-season!

 

A nightmare opening half got worse in the 35th minute, with striker Elliot Cook being booked for holding onto Real defender Toni's shirt. Cook didn't trouble the home defence once in the first period, but Allen did in the 42nd minute, when his drive was pushed away by ex-West Bromwich Albion goalkeeper Matsipa Mulonzo.

 

I made a triple-whammy of substitutions before the second half, which we entered trailing 3-0, with little more to lose. The aim now was to simply win the first half, but it didn't exactly fill our travelling supporters with confidence that Real Sociedad won a couple of early corners. Thankfully, our defence was rather more robust than earlier in the evening.

 

Our attack also improved... to a degree. Cook got his head to a cross from Dagenham left-back Hicham Martin in the 54th minute, but he couldn't quite flick it past Mulonzo. The South African made another catch three minutes later to keep out Orlando Salvador's header from Allen's corner. Captain Salvador continued to work his socks off and was arguably our best player in a sorry team display.

 

Though Los Txuri-Urdin couldn't dominate the second half to the same extent as they had the first, they did threaten to make the scoreline even more one-sided. Importa flicked Ovejero's floated delivery into Giménez's hands on 62 minutes, while Pesaola wasted another opportunity six minutes later. In the 74th minute, substitute winger Wagner crossed to Schmadtke, whose rifled half-volley prompted Antoni into another fine save.

 

As if we didn't need to worry about Real Sociedad's array of world-class attackers, Los Txuri-Urdin brought on former Manchester City striker Hassan Ben Ayad for the last few minutes. The 33-year-old Dutchman's wayward header in the 84th minute proved to be their final opportunity to increase their winning margin.

 

We couldn't reduce our deficit before full-time, with Mulonzo making a superhuman fingertip save from Gianfranco Torre's volley in the 88th minute. Our luckless Italian was still looking for his first Dagenham & Redbridge goal, and we were still looking for a maiden win in the Champions League Group Stage.

 

A crushing 3-0 defeat saw us drop to the bottom of Group B. Paris Saint-Germain's 4-2 win over Dinamo Kiev meant that the French giants led the way on four points, with Kiev and Real each just a single point behind.

 

Real Sociedad - 3 (Improta pen4, Téng 21, Schmadtke 33)

Dagenham & Redbridge - 0

UEFA Champions League Group B, Attendance 56,048 - POSITIONS: Real Sociedad 3rd, Dag & Red 4th

DAG & RED LINE-UP: Giménez, Álvarez (Mazibuko), Gridelli, Gumede, Martin, Allen, Jorgensen, Danchev (Torre), Salvador, Saric (Genjac), Cook. BOOKED: Allen, Cook.

 

                                   P     W     D     L     F     A     GD    PTS
1.          PSG                    2     1     1     0     5     3     +2    4
2.          Dynamo Kiev            2     1     0     1     4     5     -1    3
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
3.          Real Sociedad          2     1     0     1     4     2     +2    3
4.          Dag & Red              2     0     1     1     1     4     -3    1

 

Since the September international break, the Daggers had won just one out of six matches - and that odd one out was the League Cup match at West Bromwich Albion. We had gone completely off the boil.

 

It was now imperative that we got back to winning ways in our next Premier League match, as we had a tricky run of fixtures ahead. Next to face us at Rainham Road were a Southampton side who were bottom of the table with two points from their opening six games, and seriously struggling to find the back of the net.

 

Our most recent home game was also against a bottom-three team bereft of victories and self-confidence. I'm sure you still remember what happened next.

 

6 October 2040: Dagenham & Redbridge vs Southampton

We didn't make serious inroads into the Southampton defence for the first half-hour, though anchoring midfielder Tumelo Mofokeng played a big role in two promising attacks. After 11 minutes, Tumelo intercepted a long clearance from Saints captain Jason Pack and rolled it forward to Dzenan Genjac. The Croatian attacking midfielder dribbled towards goal before his shot was pushed behind by goalkeeper Joshua Regan.

 

Mofokeng then struck a free-kick just over the bar in the 24th minute after Elliot Cook had been upended by Southampton left-back Peter Beardsley. At the other end of the pitch, Daggers defender Vicente Gridelli made several great interceptions to keep the visitors at bay.

 

The first half looked like ending goalless until Cook won us a penalty six minutes from time. Elliot ran onto a superb weighted pass from captain Orlando Salvador, only to be felled in the Southampton area by Jens Meertens's crunching tackle. While Cook was received treatment on the sidelines, his strike partner Antonis Siafos powered the penalty home to give us a 1-0 half-time lead.

 

Though Cook returned for the second half, he was clearly not at his best. I'd expected Elliot to put us 2-0 up about a minute into the second half, but his audacious chip over the onrushing Regan was hit with too much power and cleared the crossbar. Albania left-winger Fatmir Malaj then came close to levelling for Southampton in the 56th minute, with his header from Pack's cross skimming our bar.

 

By the 67th minute, though, we were again threatening to increase our advantage. Meertens could only head Hicham Martin's left-wing cross as far as Cook on the right flank. The local lad took his time over the ball and then squared it to Genjac, who agonisingly struck the near post from point-blank range.

 

I later replaced Elliot with Jonas Kjaerulff, and Dzenan with Michal Twardzik, but it was Southampton who came on strongest in the closing moments. Daggers keeper Kayo Rowe produced his first save after 76 minutes, keeping out a low drive from Malaj. England's number 1 would face a sterner test four minutes later. Pack crossed through a crowded Dagenham box and picked out former Three Lions right-back Bill Middleton, whose half-volley was fisted away by Rowe.

 

With Kayo looking assured, and Vicente once again producing an excellent rearguard performance, Southampton's goalscoring woes would not end here. After three Premier League games without a win, Siafos' first-half penalty ultimately proved enough to get us back on track.

 

Dagenham & Redbridge - 1 (Siafos pen40)

Southampton - 0

Premier League, Attendance 24,290 - POSITIONS: Dag & Red 9th, Southampton 20th

DAG & RED LINE-UP: Rowe, Barber, Gridelli, Darvill, Martin, Mofokeng, Salvador, Allen (Guerin), Genjac (Twardzik), Cook (Kjaerulff), Siafos. BOOKED: Salvador.

 

That may have been a narrow and very underwhelming win, but it was a win all the same. We now had a fortnight to think about how we could surge back into the European places.

 

The October internationals brought some milestone moments for a couple of our players. Despite missing much of the early season through injury, Kenneth Jorgensen won his 50th cap for Denmark. Kayo Rowe reached double figures in caps for England, while Antonis Siafos scored his 10th Greece goal in a 1-1 draw with Dzenan Genjac's Croatia. Four more Daggers added to their senior caps, while close to a dozen were on Under-21s duty.

 

After that break, we looked to properly kick-start our season at Goodison Park against 14th-placed Everton. That wouldn't be easy, though, considering we'd only won one of our last four meetings with Ryan Fulton's Toffees.

 

20 October 2040: Everton vs Dagenham & Redbridge

Gianfranco Torre might not have scored a competitive goal for the Daggers, but he was a man on a mission in Merseyside. The Italian target man provided a clinical finish from an Orlando Salvador through-ball in the fourth minute, only to see it cancelled out by an offside call.

 

In the ninth minute, Milen Danchev's corner delivery to Frédéric Pereira was met with an excellent header that Everton goalkeeper Christian Allinson did well to tip over. The follow-up corner from Orlando Salvador was a poor one, though we would create another great chance a minute later. Tumelo Mofokeng threaded the ball to the edge of the Toffees area for Torre, whose stunning left-footed drive into the top corner broke his Daggers duck!

 

We were soon looking good to edge further ahead, with Mirko Saric and Salvador each having shots saved by Allinson within the next five minutes. George Darvill went even closer in the 19th minute, when he flicked Salvador's corner against the crossbar. Everton had their pop at goal in the 26th minute, but Stuart Ferguson's strike was from too far out to get near Kayo Rowe's net.

 

The Toffees' situation looked like becoming stickier after 33 minutes, when left-back Han Chung-Il tripped Torre in the Everton area. Franco took the penalty himself, but he fired it too close to Allinson, who pushed it clear. The 35-year-old Everton captain also saved a couple of headers from Dagenham defenders Darvill and Siphesihle Gumede in the 36th minute.

 

I suspected that this would be the start of another 'Superman' performance by Allinson, and that Everton would eventually hit us on the break. Sure enough, home striker Ferguson did create the game's second goal on the stroke of half-time. The Irishman's tackle on Pereira close to the Toffees' area diverted the ball into Salvador's path, and Orlando skilfully cut it past Allinson to increase our lead to 2-0!

 

Each side received a yellow card early on in a combative second period. Pereira went in hard on Everton defender Bob Henderson in the 51st minute, but he only ended up hurting himself. Though the injury wasn't that serious, I couldn't take any undue risks on Frédi, so I quickly sent Lee Allen on to take his place.

 

We'd fallen apart the last time we lost Pereira to injury, but there would be no Daggers collapse here. Salvador had caused Everton's defence problems all evening, and he did so again when taking Saric's weighted ball to the byline in the 55th minute. Orlando then squared it to Franco, who got past Han to tap it home! 3-0 to the Daggers!

 

Everton sought a quick response through substitute striker James Rudd, who headed over from Marco Becker's flick-on in the 59th minute. A minute after that, Torre pulled wide his first opportunity to wrap up a hat-trick. Danchev also missed chances for us either side of a couple of Everton bookings, with midfielders Leigh Pearson and Carl Reynolds each going in the book. The terrible Toffees would go on to concede 24 fouls, and it was quite frankly incredible that they finished the match with 11 men.

 

Wary of Everton's aggressive play, I decided to rest my main man Salvador for the final 20 minutes, and instead give captain Mark Washington some time to rediscover his best form. Mark wasn't quite up to that, as his only shot was blocked by the Toffees' French-Portuguese centre-back Fábio in the 83rd minute.

 

Franco did find the net again three minutes later, but his header was disallowed for an obstruction on Allinson. Though Torre was unlucky not to finish with more than two goals, he'd certainly done enough to win us the points.

 

Everton - 0

Dagenham & Redbridge - 3 (Torre 10,55, Salvador 45)

Premier League, Attendance 35,385 - POSITIONS: Everton 16th, Dag & Red 6th

DAG & RED LINE-UP: Rowe, Álvarez, Gumede (Gridelli), Darvill, Mazibuko, Danchev, Pereira (Allen), Mofokeng, Saric, Salvador (Washington), Torre. BOOKED: Gumede.

 

The Daggers were back in the top six, and back in vogue. Having got our customary early-season dip out of the way, we were now all set to push ahead and prove to everyone that we were amongst the best teams in England.

[CFuller]

OCTOBER 2040 (continued)

Once upon a time, Dynamo Kiev were THE dominant force in Ukrainian football. The White-Blues won 16 out of the first 26 Premier League titles after Ukraine gained its independence in 1991, but subsequently went 18 years without a championship between 2017 and 2035. They were now firmly back on top, lifting their 19th title earlier this year.

 

Dynamo's UEFA Champions League crusade had begun with a surprise 2-1 home win over Real Sociedad, followed by a 4-2 loss at Paris Saint-Germain. They were now back at the NSC Olympiyskyi, and ready to face the Daggers in what had already become a crunch match.

 

We were the only team in Group B still awaiting a victory. Were we to lose here, it would be very hard to imagine us finishing 3rd and dropping into the UEFA Europa League, let alone getting out of the group.

 

24 October 2040: Dynamo Kiev vs Dagenham & Redbridge

I expected a tough test in Kiev, and I was not wrong. Dynamo midfielder Maicon - one of three Brazilians in the hosts' starting line-up - was booked after just five minutes for a push on our playmaker and vice-captain Orlando Salvador.

 

In the 14th minute, the White-Blues showed aggression of a different kind. Left wing-back Mykhaylo Nemchenko dribbled inside and advanced into our penalty area, where Daggers right-back Nolan Barber overexerted himself while trying to tackle him. Nemchenko rode past Nolan, with only a determined block from Kayo Rowe denying him the opening goal. Hicham Martin then bundled the loose ball out of play, so that Barber could come off for treatment on his injury.

 

I brought Enrique Álvarez on as an early replacement for Barber, even though I doubted the young Spaniard's ability to handle big matches. By the 19th minute, I developed concerns about my other full-back. Dynamo Kiev's right-winger Néstor Belik knocked the ball past Martin and centred it to ex-Monaco left-winger Andriy Korol, who struck it on the half-volley. Once again, Kayo was in the right place at the right time, pushing Korol's strike away.

 

On 23 minutes, a cross from Dynamo right-back Artem Kravchuk ricocheted off Kenneth Jorgensen and deflected into our six-yard box. Home centre-half Marcos Bianchi then nodded it against the post, and we were let off the hook again.

 

We were fortunate to go into the break still level at 0-0, though chances for us to break the deadlock had been very limited. Antonis Siafos had a couple of efforts saved by Kiev keeper Oliveira on 39 minutes, but he did little else before being replaced at half-time by Gianfranco Torre.

 

Torre's first attempt to drive us in the lead didn't come until the 63rd minute. The Italian forward received a great pass from Dagenham captain Mark Washington and tried to drive it beyond Oliveira. The Brazilian was off his line, but he wasn't off his guard, tipping Franco's strike behind.

 

The resulting Washington corner led to a scramble that ended with Daggers defender Siphesihle Gumede going down hurt. Zippy had been injured in a collision with Dynamo's other 'Samba star' Éverton, prompting me to throw on his South African compatriot Thulani Mazibuko as a third and final substitute.

 

Undeterred by the loss of another defender, we continued pushing forward and taking the game to the White-Blues. Frédéric Pereira messed up a shot from Washington's set-up in the 68th minute, while Mark himself spurned a golden chance in the 77th. Washington's next attempt, on 79 minutes, was blocked by Bianchi. The ball deflected into the path of Salvador, who threaded it through space and found Torre. Franco's subsequent shot proved irresistible for Oliveira, and we'd grabbed a 1-0 lead late on!

 

Attacking midfielder Dzenan Genjac looked to secure the points in style for us in the 84th minute, only for his solo run towards goal to end in a simple save for Oliveira. Dzenan then horribly snatched at a 35-yard attempt four minutes later, not that it really mattered when all was said and done.

 

Our first win in the UEFA Champions League proper took us up to 2nd place in Group B. We were now a point ahead of both Dynamo Kiev and Real Sociedad, the latter of whom had been beaten 2-1 on home soil by Paris Saint-Germain. The Ligue 1 giants remained unbeaten and now led the group by three points.

 

Dynamo Kiev - 0

Dagenham & Redbridge - 1 (Torre 79)

UEFA Champions League Group B, Attendance 66,535 - POSITIONS: Dynamo Kiev 3rd, Dag & Red 2nd

DAG & RED LINE-UP: Rowe, Barber (Álvarez), Gridelli, Gumede (Mazibuko), Martin, Jorgensen, Salvador, Pereira, Genjac, Siafos (Torre), Washington.

 

                                   P     W     D     L     F     A     GD    PTS
1.          PSG                    3     2     1     0     7     4     +3    7
2.          Dag & Red              3     1     1     1     2     4     -2    4
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
3.          Dynamo Kiev            3     1     0     2     4     6     -2    3
4.          Real Sociedad          3     1     0     2     5     4     +1    3

 

Nolan Barber and Siphesihle Gumede were each assessed after the match. Fortunately, both defenders were cleared of any serious injuries.

 

Another tough away test now awaited us at the Yaya Touré Arena, where 4th-placed Manchester City were looking to strengthen their Premier League title hopes. We'd broken our long-standing City hoodoo with a dramatic victory at Rainham Road in April, but overcoming the Sky Blues on their own patch would be even more of an achievement.

 

27 October 2040: Manchester City vs Dagenham & Redbridge

Our main men certainly caused Manchester City a few problems in the early stages. Just five minutes in, Gianfranco Torre got his head to a Nolan Barber cross and flicked it not too far wide. Two minutes later, Daggers captain Orlando Salvador executed an excellent slide tackle on Willy Danza that left the City full-back with a knock.

 

It was in the 10th minute that we really started to come alive. Attacking midfielder Dzenan Genjac majestically dribbled towards goal before feeding the ball to striker Elliot Cook, who pulled a golden opportunity inches wide. Salvador also went very close in the 14th minute, floating Thulani Mazibuko's square pass just over the bar.

 

Manchester City missed a couple of chances during the first 20 minutes through George Mkhwanazi and Eric Coulibaly. For most of the first half, though, we were looking the more likely team to open the scoring. Citizens goalkeeper Sergio González needed to be at his best in the 23rd and 25th minutes to keep out excellent shots from Lee Allen and Cook.

 

Our goalie Kayo Rowe wouldn't be severely tested until later on. He was nearly flummoxed in the 35th minute by a 40-yard free-kick that City captain Kike Martínez lifted just over his bar. Martínez caused us problems with another free-kick closer to goal four minutes later. The Spaniard cut it across to fellow Sky Blues stalwart Jozef Kral, whose drive was parried by Rowe. Kayo stopped another attempt from Kral on the stroke of half-time to ensure that the scoreline remained 0-0.

 

We aimed to squeeze Manchester City in the middle early in the second half. In the 47th minute, Mazibuko's deft chip to Genjac was played through the City defence to Cook, who was thwarted by another outstanding save from González. Dzenan then fired a shot over from distance a minute later, but the Croatian's next attempt would be rather more fruitful.

 

Nolan's fantastic interception of a throw by Citizens winger Wellington Paulista began a counter-attack that would heavily involve all four of our attacking players. Within moments, we had City's defenders running all over the place with some intricate passing near their area. Dzenan played in Elliot, who cut the ball back to Orlando before the captain knocked it on to Franco. Torre then sliced it through to Genjac, who sliced in the goal that put us 1-0 up after 51 minutes at the Yaya Touré Arena!

 

Manchester City's first attempt to equalise was driven spectacularly wide by Mkhwanazi two minutes later. Aside from winning a corner off Dagenham defender George Darvill in the 65th minute, the Citizens offered little else on the attacking front for the next quarter-hour.

 

I then decided to freshen our attack up, with Orlando and Elliot rested in favour of Michal Twardzik and Antonis Siafos. I was taking a big risk in taking my captain and main creative outlet out for the final 20 minutes... and that gamble would soon backfire.

 

The warning signs were there in the 73rd minute, when Citizens substitute Peter Jakubicka had his fierce edge-of-the-area drive parried by Rowe. Kayo also tipped behind the follow-up from Wellington Paulista, but the Brazilian-born German youth international would soon get his own back. His corner delivery was headed home by Mkhwanazi, who restored the equilibrium and - more importantly - gave City momentum.

 

Our shoulders slumped ever so slightly after Mkhwanazi's leveller, and the Portuguese powerhouse would inflict more agony on us after 78 minutes. City's teenage midfielder Lamin Faulkner weighted an excellent pass out left to Danza, who got past Barber and drilled in a cross that Mkhwanazi finished from close range.

 

We were now 2-1 down, but less than a minute later, we very nearly levelled the scores. Torre looked a dead-cert to convert Siafos' centre from the right when González threw himself in front of Franco's shot and pushed it behind. The resultant corner from Mazibuko was headed away by none other than our nemesis Mkhwanazi.

 

There was little doubt that City's frontman had turned the game around, and he could've easily capped off his superb display with a hat-trick. Mkhwanazi's header from Lloyd Mulvaney's corner in the 86th minute was tipped over by Rowe, but his earlier strikes proved to be enough. We'd certainly pushed the Sky Blues all the way and perhaps didn't deserve to lose, but in the end, our hosts had been just that little bit more clinical than us. That's Manchester City for you.

 

Manchester City - 2 (Mkhwanazi 73,78)

Dagenham & Redbridge - 1 (Genjac 51)

Premier League, Attendance 81,582 - POSITIONS: Man City 4th, Dag & Red 7th

DAG & RED LINE-UP: Rowe, Barber, Gridelli, Darvill, Mazibuko, Jorgensen, Salvador (Twardzik), Allen (Pereira), Genjac, Torre, Cook (Siafos). BOOKED: Gridelli.

 

A fourth defeat in nine league matches had left us very much chasing the top four, who now consisted of City, West Ham United, Arsenal... and Reading. No, really. Reading were in 2nd place and still unbeaten, trailing leaders Arsenal by only two points with a game in hand. Could the Royals really be crowned kings of English football?

 

We were very much the top dogs when it came to the League Cup, our second defence of which continued three days later. Rainham Road hosted a Round 4 match against Charlton Athletic, who were 22nd in the Championship and under new management. This was going to be a walk in the park, surely?

 

30 October 2040: Dagenham & Redbridge vs Charlton Athletic

We looked to assert our authority from the outset, with midfielder Benjamin Guerin almost getting his first Dagenham goal after just two minutes. Alas, the French teenager's drive came back off the post before Charlton goalkeeper David Page parried it away.

 

Three minutes later, Addicks winger Michael Conway gashed his arm in a tackle on Daggers right-back Enrique Álvarez, forcing him to come off. Conway's early exit would put Charlton even further on the back foot.

 

Álvarez had a rare crack at goal in the 18th minute, only for Page to palm it away. We were focusing most of our play down the flanks, where we hoped to exploit the lack of pace in the visiting defence. Our Croatian winger Mirko Saric certainly caused plenty of problems with his explosiveness in the 22nd minute, even if his shot did clear the crossbar. That was the general theme of a first half in which we were completely dominant yet failed to take our chances.

 

Captain Mark Washington was particularly disappointing, pulling wide a right-wing cross from Milen Danchev in the 32nd minute before heading an Álvarez delivery into Page's hands four minutes later. At the other end, Charlton had offered very little threat to Antoni Giménez' goal. Our Catalan keeper was only tested once in the first period, by a 35th-minute free-kick from Luke Carter that he turned round his post.

 

Antonis Siafos replaced Washington up front for Dagenham after a goalless opening half. I hoped that Tony's aerial presence would pose more of a danger to Charlton from crosses. It wasn't exactly promising, then, that Siafos couldn't keep his header from Twardzik's 54th-minute free-kick off target.

 

To be fair, Michal was not having the best of evenings. Shortly after he fired another free-kick straight at Page in the 56th minute, I decided to take the Czech youngster off and throw on another striker in Jonas Kjaerulff. Jonas could've made all the difference when he latched onto a fine set-up from Tony in the 71st minute, only for his drive to be deflected away by the excellent Page.

 

That chance had come just two minutes after Charlton went very close to grabbing the opening goal against all odds. Carter hooked a right-wing cross to former Manchester United and Chelsea forward Sam Hohn, who drove it into the side netting.

 

I later gave up all hope of breaking the deadlock with a direct approach, instead reverting to the good ol' diamond for the final 15 minutes. It was just typical, then, that we finally scored after 78 minutes with the help of a cross!

 

Guerin floated the ball back into the Addicks' penalty area after his initial corner had been cleared. Charlton skipper Andy Ovington could only nod his interception as far as Daggers counterpart Michael Walters, who'd taken the armband from Washington at half-time. The Welsh defender neatly chested the ball down before driving it into the far corner, and finally securing our place in the League Cup Quarter Finals!

 

Dagenham & Redbridge - 1 (Walters 78)

Charlton Athletic - 0

League Cup Round 4, Attendance 17,685

DAG & RED LINE-UP: Giménez, Álvarez, Walters, Gumede, Martin, Danchev (Zoppe), Guerin, Mofokeng, Saric, Twardzik (Kjaerulff), Washington (Siafos).

 

Despite taking so long to break through, we had got through in the end and were now a step closer to retaining the League Cup. The Quarter Final draw would be made at the start of November.

[CFuller]

NOVEMBER 2040

Dagenham's frontmen might have struggled for consistency at the start of the season, but that didn't apply to one of our loanee strikers. Alex Hunter had been named as League One's Young Player of the Month for October after a superb month in which he had scored four goals for Swansea City.

 

After phoning Alex to congratulate him on his award, I watched the draw for the League Cup Quarter Final. We were drawn away to Norwich City, with our visit to Carrow Road scheduled for 28 November. Ironically, we would welcome the Canaries to Rainham Road in the Premier League just three days after that!

 

That League Cup tie would come at the end of a rather busy month, which began with a home league match against Chelsea. The Blues had badly underachieved in recent years, but they'd lost just twice this season and had seemingly found their feet under Dutch coach Guus Joppen.

 

3 November 2040: Dagenham & Redbridge vs Chelsea

There was a concern about Dagenham striker Antonis Siafos in the second minute, when he suddenly went down clutching his knee. Tony had to come off to receive some treatment before returning somewhat gingerly to the field.

 

Despite that, we created plenty of scoring opportunities in the first half. Dzenan Genjac drove a shot hopelessly over the bar in the 8th minute. Two minutes later, captain Orlando Salvador's cross from the left was met by Gianfranco Torre, whose header was superbly tipped over by Humberto Cano. The Spanish-Argentine keeper, who seemingly couldn't decide just what his nationality was, was firmly focused on keeping Chelsea's goal unbreached.

 

Cano produced further saves from Salvador and Siafos in the 18th and 20th minutes, as well as from a long-range drive by Lee Allen in the 28th. This would be a particularly frustrating half for Orlando, who skimmed the bar in the 34th minute after a superb run towards goal.

 

We would somehow finish the first half still goalless, though I was satisfied that we hadn't allowed Chelsea any chances of their own. It was also somewhat helpful to see Chelsea midfielder Guillermo Mas and centre-back Karl Marsh each struggle with knocks.

 

We attacked Chelsea again right at the start of the second half, with Genjac playing an excellent weighted ball to Siafos in the penalty area. Sadly, Siafos was taken out by a firm but fair challenge from Blues right-back Graeme Muir before he could get a shot in. Tony had twisted his knee in the impact, though he carried on for a while until he had a header caught by Cano in the 50th minute. It was at that point that I decided to take the Greek off and throw Elliot Cook on.

 

Three minutes later, our other striker Torre had a vicious drive parried by Cano. The Italian raced after the loose ball, only to go to ground after a challenge from left-back Fred Taylor. The referee saw that as a dive from Franco rather than a foul from our former loanee Taylor, and he booked Torre. I was now running out of patience with the 25-year-old, who would come off shortly after his 61st-minute flick-on to Cook was nodded straight at Cano.

 

Torre's replacement Mark Washington had a good record against Chelsea... and that would continue after 71 minutes. Genjac cleverly threaded a ball to the edge of the area for Washington, who broke away from his marker Rong Chuangyi and rifled in a shot that squirmed underneath Cano's dive! Captain America had come good for us once again!

 

A minute after we took the lead, Chelsea tried to draw level. Taylor's deep cross was met by a header from Callum Lea, whose header bounced wide. That was as close as the Blues would come to even making Dagenham goalie Kayo Rowe break sweat.

 

Our final substitute Frédéric Pereira came close to sealing victory with an excellent drive in the 81st minute. Five minutes later, it was Genjac who almost followed his assist with a goal. Dzenan's first-time effort from the edge of the area was tipped behind by Cano, winning the first of two late Daggers corners. It was the second one that would prove the charm for us after 88 minutes. Frédi outjumped Taylor, and his bullet header from Mark's delivery found the top corner to earn us a 2-0 win!

 

Dagenham & Redbridge - 2 (Washington 71, Pereira 88)

Chelsea - 0

Premier League, Attendance 25,665 - POSITIONS: Dag & Red 7th, Chelsea 10th

DAG & RED LINE-UP: Rowe, Álvarez, Gumede, Darvill, Martin, Jorgensen, Salvador (Pereira), Allen, Genjac, Siafos (Cook), Torre (Washington). BOOKED: Torre.

 

Antonis Siafos would now be out for around a fortnight with a twisted knee. Otherwise, we were at full strength for our next match in Group B of the UEFA Champions League.

 

If we were to qualify for the Round of 16, or even just stay in Europe beyond Christmas, beating Dynamo Kiev at home was an absolute must. I strongly fancied us to do that, following our narrow win in Ukraine a fortnight earlier.

 

6 November 2040: Dagenham & Redbridge vs Dynamo Kiev

After his late heroics against Chelsea, Dagenham captain Mark Washington returned to the starting line-up for this match. Though he was roughed up in an early collision with Dynamo Kiev defender Marcos Bianchi, Washington set up our first scoring opportunity for strike partner Gianfranco Torre in the 10th minute. Franco's drive was blocked by Oliveira, who made another excellent save a minute later from our vice-skipper Orlando Salvador.

 

Our next attempts were not quite so impressive. Washington lifted a free-kick just over the bar on 18 minutes, and a powerful strike from Torre three minutes later went pretty much the same way. However, it was our next real attack in the 24th minute that really took the biscuit. Frédéric Pereira played an excellent through pass to Franco, whose low drive was parried by Oliveira. Mark looked certain to bury the rebound, but he hooked it into the Dynamo goalkeeper's hands.

 

Though we had come to rue Oliveira's quick reactions, it turned out that the Brazilian wasn't as superhuman as some goalies we'd faced recently. After 28 minutes, Torre ran onto another fine pass from Washington, got past Kiev defender Vitaliy Kovalyov, and then thundered in a shot that just evaded Oliveira's gloves en route to the net!

 

Three minutes after our opener, a rare error from Daggers centre-back Vicente Gridelli almost rendered it meaningless. Oliveira's goal kick bounced deep into our area, and Gridelli mishit a header to allow Dynamo striker Vladyslav Kravchenko to half-volley towards goal. Thankfully, Kayo Rowe timed a reflex save to perfection, letting Vicente off the hook.

 

We would go into the break still 1-0 up, though not before having a couple more chances to increase our lead. Czech youngster Michal Twardzik had a long-range drive pushed away by Oliveira in the 33rd minute, while Washington was again kept off the scoresheet five minutes after that.

 

If the first half had been embarrassingly one-sided, the second was arguably even more so. Our silky passing allowed us to keep possession deep in the Dynamo Kiev half with little danger of the White-Blues counter-attacking. That said, it was somewhat concerning that we couldn't turn the screw on Dynamo and bolster our lead.

 

Torre and Twardzik missed further opportunities in the opening stages, though Franco's vicious drive in the 63rd minute did win us a corner off Oliveira's fingertip save. Washington sent an inswinging corner into the six-yard box, where Gridelli met it with a header that he couldn't quite keep on target.

 

That wasn't to say that Vicente had been a disappointment. On the contrary, the 23-year-old Argentine's regular interceptions gave the rest of our defence as little work to do as necessary in the second half. There was little doubting that he deserved the 'man of the match' award when it was handed to him at full-time.

 

With Dynamo so dire going forward, I could bench Salvador for the final 20 minutes with plenty of confidence. Washington also got a well-earned rest after 85 minutes, with UEFA Champions League debutant Joel Honeyball skippering us in the closing moments. The veteran didn't make any late mistakes, and so we closed the match out with little fuss.

 

For a while, it looked like Group B leaders Paris Saint-Germain would match our 1-0 winning scoreline at home to Real Sociedad. Such an outcome would've left us needing only one win from our last two group games to secure progression to the Round of 16. However, Dário Overejo's goal in the 94th minute earned Real a 1-1 draw, which meant we were ahead of the Spaniards by only three points instead of four.

 

Dagenham & Redbridge - 1 (Torre 28)

Dynamo Kiev - 0

UEFA Champions League Group B, Attendance 26,772 - POSITIONS: Dag & Red 2nd, Dynamo Kiev 4th

DAG & RED LINE-UP: Rowe, Barber, Gridelli, Walters, Mazibuko, Jorgensen (Mofokeng), Salvador (Genjac), Pereira, Twardzik, Washington (Honeyball), Torre. BOOKED: Salvador.

 

                                   P     W     D     L     F     A     GD    PTS
1.          PSG                    4     2     2     0     8     5     +3    8
2.          Dag & Red              4     2     1     1     3     4     -1    7
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
3.          Real Sociedad          4     1     1     2     6     5     +1    4
4.          Dynamo Kiev            4     1     0     3     4     7     -3    3

 

We'd now recorded six shut-out wins from our last seven games, with the only blip being that late 2-1 defeat at Manchester City. Our strikers might not have been firing on all cylinders, but our defensive record was more than making up for that.

[CFuller]

NOVEMBER 2040 (continued)

The Daggers ended a run of four straight home matches - and, I hoped, four straight home wins - by facing Premier League leaders Arsenal. The Gunners had lost just once in the league thus far, at Chelsea in mid-September. Their title challenge had been helped by the presence of the division's joint-top scorers Shane Hay and Javier Montenegro, who had eight goals apiece.

 

10 November 2040: Dagenham & Redbridge vs Arsenal

We had a good recent record against Arsenal, and that looked set to continue when we took the lead after just two minutes. Gianfranco Torre rode past a tackle from Gunners defender Álvaro José as he bore down on goal, only for his shot to be parried behind from point-blank range by Marat Lepilov. Shortly after that, Daggers centre-half George Darvill rose above Arsenal right-back Romaric Mawéné to head Orlando Salvador's corner into the net!

 

Mawéné tried to repair the damage in the 10th minute with a deep cross into our penalty area. The experienced England international's delivery found visiting winger Gustavo, who headed it towards goal from a tight angle. Dagenham goalie Kayo Rowe didn't look at all flustered as he made a simple catch.

 

Rowe also diverted away a strike from Shane Hay in the 14th minute, only to be beaten by Javier Montenegro's close-range header four minutes later. The referee's assistant immediately raised his flag, ruling that the Argentine was offside when he received a cross from Gunners left-back Connor Smith.

 

Arsenal's woes then continued, as we survived a couple of their corners before doubling our lead through another of our own. Almost exactly half an hour after Darvill scored from a Salvador corner, George made it 2-0 from a move that was a virtual carbon copy! The visiting fans must've thought it was déjà vu all over again!

 

Curiously, in the 40th minute, Montenegro headed the ball into our net for the second time, only to AGAIN be flagged offside. This time, there was real doubt over whether Montenegro was in an illegal position when Roberto Bartlett lifted a free-kick into the Dagenham box for him to head home.

 

While Arsenal's players complained about what many of them saw as unbiased officiating, it was business as usual for the Daggers. Three minutes before half-time, Torre sliced open the away defence with a superb weighted ball to Dzenan Genjac, who outpaced Álvaro José and prodded a shot beyond Lepilov. We were now 3-0 to the good, and bang on course for three more home points!

 

Genjac missed a chance to match Darvill's brace in the 49th minute. Two minutes later, though, we very nearly had an unlikely hat-trick hero. Arsenal simply didn't have an answer to another excellent Orlando corner, which George flicked within inches of earning him a maiden career treble!

 

Our next shot on target came in the 53rd minute, with Torre's header from Elliot Cook's right-wing cross being caught by Lepilov. Arsenal's Russian goalkeeper was not having a bad game per se, though he did look rather more suspect two minutes later. Another superb Daggers through-ball - this time from Frédéric Pereira - found Franco's run, and the Italian thundered it past the onrushing Lepilov for a 4-0 home lead!

 

The Gunners were now battling simply for pride, and a powerful drive from Montenegro in the 60th minute gave Rowe his sternest test of the match. By the 67th minute, though, Arsenal's humiliation was complete. Their inability to deal with a right-wing centre from Enrique Álvarez saw Torre slot the ball home, securing his second goal of the afternoon, and our FIFTH!

 

With victory effectively in the bag, our defenders could perhaps be excused for switching off. Shortly after play resumed, Dagenham left-back Hicham Martin had a poor header intercepted by Gustavo, who volleyed it forward for Montenegro to drive into the top corner. The Argentinean had beaten Rowe for a third time, but this was his first goal to actually count.

 

Montenegro was now out on his own as the Premier League's top scorer, but only for three minutes. His slide tackle on Daggers centre-half Siphesihle Gumede allowed strike partner Hay to drill in his ninth goal of the PL season and reduce our lead to 5-2.

 

With 18 minutes remaining, a full-scale fightback wasn't impossible, but I had no reason to worry too much. Arsenal's momentum was disrupted by an ankle injury to substitute full-back Albert Khumalo in the 74th minute. Nine minutes later, captain Liam Wood had his team's last scoring opportunity saved by Rowe. That was about it for a thrilling 5-2 Daggers win - our seventh victory from eight matches.

 

Dagenham & Redbridge - 5 (Darvill 2,32, Genjac 42, Torre 55,67)

Arsenal - 2 (Montenegro 69, Hay 72)

Premier League, Attendance 26,772 - POSITIONS: Dag & Red 6th, Arsenal 3rd

DAG & RED LINE-UP: Rowe, Álvarez, Gumede, Darvill, Martin, Jorgensen (Guerin), Salvador (Danchev), Pereira, Genjac, Cook (Washington), Torre.

 

That result, along with the demise of Reading's unbeaten record at the hands of Manchester City, left things looking extremely tight at the top. Reading, City, Arsenal AND West Ham United were all on 23 points, though Arsenal had played one game more than the others.

 

We were only four points off the top ourselves, and a strong result in our next game would certainly have some Daggers fans dreaming big. Before then, though, we had another international break.

 

No fewer than 12 Dagenham players represented their countries at senior level in midweek. The latest player to join our ranks of full internationals was 20-year-old right-winger Milen Danchev, whose first cap for Bulgaria came in a 2-0 win over Costa Rica. Dzenan Genjac scored his second Croatia goal during a 3-1 loss against Frédéric Pereira's France, with Kenneth Jorgensen also getting on the scoresheet for Denmark.

 

I found it incredible that, despite racking up five goals and six assists for us this season, Orlando Salvador had still not been called up at senior level by Portugal. The Seleccao das Quinas had no competitive matches on the horizon, as they would be hosting the 2042 FIFA World Cup, so why were they not giving our playmaking virtuoso a chance?

 

I was also scratching my head as to why Vicente Gridelli was still awaiting his first Argentina cap, though he'd been an unused squad member for a few months now. In Orlando, Vicente and - of course - George Darvill, we now had three exceptional players whose club form was being criminally overlooked on the international stage.

 

After the midweek internationals, we travelled to the Dagenham & Redbridge Old Boys' Club in Lancashire to face Rochdale. We'd never beaten the Dale at the Slovalco Arena, or indeed at their own Spotland ground, in the Premier League era. That being said, Joe Doyle's side were struggling in 14th after an indifferent, draw-happy start.

 

17 November 2040: Rochdale vs Dagenham & Redbridge

I rewarded our new Bulgaria international Milen Danchev with just his fifth Premier League start at right-wing. The right-wing wonderkid nearly marked the occasion with his first competitive Daggers strike after eight minutes, with only Carlton John-Lewis' fine save keeping him off the scoresheet. Rochdale's goalkeeper also kept out a header by Orlando Salvador four minutes later.

 

As far as our custodian was concerned, Kayo Rowe passed his first test in the 13th minute, stopping a daisy-cutter from Dale midfielder Cédric Moulin. Six minutes later, our own French middleman Frédéric Pereira conceded a free-kick for a clumsy tackle on Andrea Broli. Broli's set-piece sailed wide, and a similar effort from Alun Harding did likewise in the 22nd minute.

 

It seemed to be written in the script that Harding would score against his former employers. Less than a minute after missing that free-kick, Alun did precisely that. The Wales centre-forward ran at our defence and entered the penalty area, where he unleashed a powerful AND accurate shot that we hadn't seen too many of during his season-and-a-half in Daggers colours. Typical, eh?

 

Not satisfied with merely putting us behind, Harding looked to double his new team's advantage. He was set to make it 2-0 upon latching onto Dale captain Mario Tortora's right-wing cross in the 33rd minute, but Rowe produced a fine point-blank save. Kayo also kept out another drive from Alun on the stroke of half-time, meaning that we would still be pretty much in contention come the second period.

 

Wingers Mirko Saric and Danchev were replaced at half-time as I reverted to the diamond. Substitutes Mark Washington and Dzenan Genjac each sent hopeless long-distance drives wide within the first 10 minutes of the second half, but the pair would soon help us get closer to the Rochdale goal. We won a couple of corners just before the hour, with the second of them coming after Washington's angled half-volley had deflected off ex-Daggers defender Tomo Kurtovic.

 

By the 67th minute, we were pulling the Dale defence apart with some intricate passing. Genjac opened up space in the backline with an excellent ball to Washington, and Captain America did the rest with a clinical drive underneath John-Lewis! That was Mark's 99th goal for Dagenham & Redbridge, though his century would have to wait for another day.

 

Rochdale attacked almost immediately from the restart, only for Dutch midfielder René Wijmer to completely mishit his shot from Broli's centre. Broli was later replaced with Marcel Game, whose off-target shot in the 74th minute proved to be Dale's last. The final 15 minutes were rather low-key, as some strong defending from Siphesihle Gumede helped us to grind out a 1-1 draw and take a point home to Essex.

 

Rochdale - 1 (Harding 23)

Dagenham & Redbridge - 1 (Washington 67)

Premier League, Attendance 23,613 - POSITIONS: Rochdale 14th, Dag & Red 5th

DAG & RED LINE-UP: Rowe, Álvarez, Gumede, Darvill, Martin, Danchev (Washington), Pereira (Mofokeng), Jorgensen, Saric (Genjac), Salvador, Torre.

 

After the match, I caught up with another of Rochdale's ex-Daggers - Tristan Egueh, who hadn't been part of their matchday squad. The former England Under-21s striker told me that, since we'd last met, he had become a senior international for his native Djibouti, scoring six goals in his first five games.

 

Egueh then expressed his disappointment that he'd played in only five matches for Rochdale since the start of the season. He might have scored 13 goals in his first campaign at the Slovalco Arena, but the arrival of former Daggers team-mate Alun Harding had rendered him obsolete.

 

Tristan added, "I want to leave Rochdale, boss. There's no team spirit like there is at Dagenham. Everyone who's here is here only for the money. I think that's why our results this season have been poor."

 

That sounded to me like a cry for help, maybe even a subtle call for me to take Tristan back home. He's a good striker, that's for sure, and at 25 years old, he should be coming into his prime soon. You know what? I would certainly consider re-signing Egueh, if the opportunity arose and it was in everyone's best interests.

 

Another former wonderkid who'd fallen on hard times was Jonas Kjaerulff. Our 22-year-old Danish striker was playing in a reserve match at Nottingham Forest two days later when a horrifying collision with home midfielder Ignacio Barandiaran sent him crashing to the turf in searing pain.

 

The full extent of Jonas' injury soon became clear. He had broken his leg, for the second time in barely 18 months.

 

Kjaerulff had endured a wretched three years on the injury front, but this latest setback - which pretty much ended his season already - was truly devastating. Though he bravely vowed to resume his career next summer, I could no longer see him fulfilling the exceptional potential he once had. That was truly saddening.

[CFuller]

NOVEMBER 2040 (continued)

We had now come to the biggest match of our UEFA Champions League season. Victory at the 71,830-capacity Grand Stade Paris against the mighty Paris Saint-Germain would put us on the brink of qualification for the Round of 16. Having held PSG to a 1-1 home draw in our Group B opener, we believed that anything was possible in the French capital.

 

21 November 2040: Paris Saint-Germain vs Dagenham & Redbridge

We tried to attack PSG early, only for a sloppy pass from Daggers captain Mark Washington to unravel us after just five minutes. Within moments, the hosts' star striker Mario had made his way into our penalty area. After evading a slide challenge from Siphesihle Gumede, Mario cut the ball back to Les Parisiens' right-back Cristian Soriano. The Argentine's deep cross back into our box was then powered home by unmarked left-winger Julián Vargas Sánchez.

 

PSG had scored from their first shot on target, but ours would not be as successful. Dzenan Genjac's hopeful low drive in the 10th minute was comfortably secured by goalkeeper Fabián Acosta, who didn't have much more work to do in the first half. Gianfranco Torre fired a 30-yard shot just over the bar in the 21st minute.

 

Our next long-range attempt - a banana shot from Frédéric Pereira in the 28th minute - was met by another catch from Acosta. Pereira's game came to an early end just two minutes later, as he painfully twisted his knee in a slide tackle on Soriano.

 

Losing Frédi was a devastating blow to our chances of equalising. Thankfully, our defence did well to restrict PSG's chances to increase their lead, and thus we remained only 1-0 down going into the second period.

 

The Daggers backline would have to hold firm again shortly after the restart. A wicked inswinging corner from Vargas Sánchez in the 49th minute almost bent straight into our net, but Thulani Mazibuko's last-ditch header denied the Colombian an extremely rare 'Olympic goal'. PSG's other winger Matteo Caurla would be forced off injured after 54 minutes, having fractured some ribs in a hefty collision with Dagenham substitute Lee Allen.

 

On 58 minutes, Lee played his part in our best attacking move yet. His first-time pass to Genjac was slotted through to Torre, but the Italian striker's drive was parried clear by the onrushing Acosta. Genjac was then booked five minutes later for a trip on Les Parisiens midfielder Mikhail Puchkov. Vargas Sánchez lifted the resulting free-kick to PSG defender Henry Enyeama, whose header was caught by Kayo Rowe.

 

Acosta passed another examination at the other end in the 65th minute, keeping out a half-volley from Dzenan. PSG then looked to finish the game off, only to find Rowe in fine form. Our Scouse shotstopper superbly denied Tony Mathieson in the 72nd minute, and then arguably bettered that ten minutes later. Puchkov muscled the ball off Gumede and then raced through on goal, but Rowe stood firm and pushed the strong Russian's drive wide.

 

Kayo's heroics, and a similarly valiant display from centre-back Vicente Gridelli, helped to keep the hosts' winning margin down to a single goal. Were it not for a couple of late misses from Daggers substitute Elliot Cook, we might well have left France with more than just our pride.

 

I hoped that Dynamo Kiev had done us a favour in the group's other match at Real Sociedad. In truth, the Ukrainians had put up little resilience against the Spaniards, crumbling to a 5-1 defeat. With one round of fixtures remaining, Dynamo were out of contention, PSG were into the Round of 16 as Group B winners, and it was a straight shoot-out between us and Real as to who would also quality.

 

Paris Saint-Germain - 1 (Vargas Sánchez 5)

Dagenham & Redbridge - 0

UEFA Champions League Group B, Attendance 69,310 - POSITIONS: PSG 1st, Dag & Red 3rd

DAG & RED LINE-UP: Rowe, Barber, Gridelli, Gumede, Mazibuko, Jorgensen, Salvador (Twardzik), Pereira (Allen), Genjac, Washington (Cook), Torre. BOOKED: Genjac, Allen.

 

                                   P     W     D     L     F     A     GD    PTS
1.    Q     PSG                    5     3     2     0     9     5     +4    11
2.          Real Sociedad          5     2     1     2     11    6     +5    7
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
3.          Dag & Red              5     2     1     2     3     5     -2    7
4.          Dynamo Kiev            5     1     0     4     5     12    -7    3

 

We now knew where we stood going into our final group match at home to Real Sociedad on 4 December. We had to beat the Spaniards to join PSG in the knockout stages. Anything else would see us return to the UEFA Europa League in the New Year.

 

Unfortunately, Frédéric Pereira was now a major doubt for that crunch game, the Frenchman having twisted his knee half an hour into our match in Paris. Frédi would definitely miss our next few games, starting with our Premier League visit to Coventry City.

 

Coventry were a team in dire straits. Though Jordan McGhee's Sky Blues were always defensively robust, their strikers - including Daggers alumnus Gerald Parsons - had forgotten how to score. City's last nine PL matches had seen them pick up three goals, three draws, and no victories. Unsurprisingly, they now found themselves mired in the relegation zone.

 

Mark Washington was struggling for confidence, and Orlando Salvador was a wee bit tired, so I decided to test another Dagger's captaincy credentials at the Ricoh Arena. Enrique Álvarez was only 21, but the Spanish right-back had a tremendous attitude and was honoured to receive the armband for the first time.

 

24 November 2040: Coventry City vs Dagenham & Redbridge

As expected, Coventry battened down the hatches, leaving our attacking players enormously frustrated. Though our wingers got plenty of crosses into the box for our target forward Gianfranco Torre, he didn't really have enough space to make the most of them. Indeed, we didn't even get a proper shot at goal until Kenneth Jorgensen drove a long-ranger wide in the 20th minute.

 

Kenny's midfield colleague Tumelo Mofokeng had a free-kick saved by Jonathan English on the stroke of half-time, but that was about it as far as the Daggers were concerned. There was no real incisiveness about our game, and that allowed the Sky Blues to coast through the first half.

 

Coventry even had a chance to hit us on the break shortly after Mofokeng's free-kick. Peruvian right-winger Alberto Lovera crossed to Gerald Parsons, and the one-time Dagenham striker's header ended up safely in Kayo Rowe's safe hands.

 

Such an uninspiring first-half performance showed just how badly we needed Orlando Salvador. The Portuguese maestro wasn't fully fit, but I threw him on to replace Dzenan Genjac in attacking midfield for the second half. Orlando's first chance to make an impact was a 60th-minute free-kick that he could only fire into the Coventry wall. Three minutes earlier, Cameron Johnson had blasted wide what would prove to be City's last shot of the entire match.

 

Both sides were in danger of sleepwalking to a goalless draw... but my decision to send Antonis Siafos on to accompany Torre in the Daggers frontline would change the game. When Franco was hauled down in the Coventry area by defender Ian Lea after 72 minutes, Tony had the chance to open the scoring from 12 yards out. Siafos' spot-kick was as clinical as anything, easily beating English for a 1-0 Daggers lead!

 

Coventry boss Jordan McGhee immediately sent on an additional striker of his own in Dougie Gould, but that change had come far too late as far as the home team were concerned. All the attacking momentum was with us, and in the 83rd minute, Torre narrowly headed wide a Siafos cross that would've clinched a 2-0 win.

 

We would get our second goal shortly before full-time, as Salvador and George Darvill rekindled their corner partnership from the 5-2 win over Arsenal a fortnight earlier. Orlando floated in another fantastic set-piece delivery to George, whose third goal of the month consolidated our top-five place. Make that five wins in seven league games for the Daggers!

 

Coventry City - 0

Dagenham & Redbridge - 2 (Siafos pen73, Darvill 90)

Premier League, Attendance 25,413 - POSITIONS: Coventry 18th, Dag & Red 5th

DAG & RED LINE-UP: Rowe, Álvarez, Gridelli, Darvill, Martin, Danchev (Siafos), Jorgensen, Mofokeng (Allen), Saric, Genjac (Salvador), Torre.

 

I'm not expecting that match to sell many DVDs, or whatever media today's youths watch videos on, but it was a step in the right direction for us. Breaking down defensively resilient teams had been an old problem of ours, so it was pleasing to see us get past Coventry, even it was only thanks to our dead-ball prowess.

 

Another City awaited us at the end of November. Carrow Road was the setting for our League Cup Quarter Final with Norwich City, which doubled up as a dress rehearsal for our league meeting at Rainham Road three days later.

 

28 November 2040: Norwich City vs Dagenham & Redbridge

Norwich had caused us more than a few problems in the past, and it looked like they would do so again here. Cypriot striker Marios Sofroniou, who'd spent over a decade at Rangers before moving south in the summer, unleashed a fierce shot at goal in the 10th minute, only to be thwarted by Antoni Giménez.

 

Another Canaries attack in the 16th minute saw Sofroniou lift an excellent ball ahead of midfielder Eros Guzmán, who somehow sent a shot wide when left with just Giménez to beat. Five minutes later, our Spanish goalkeeper pushed away a close-range header from Aldin Hodzic before Daggers left-back Hicham Martin removed the danger.

 

At the other end, Dagenham target man Antonis Siafos was struggling. Norwich's defenders regularly beat Siafos to our wingers' crosses, and whenever the Greek did get his way, he couldn't get his headers on target. One particularly glaring miss came from Benjamin Guerin's inswinging corner in the 25th minute. Tony nodded Beni's delivery against the bar, and the follow-up from Michal Twardzik was hacked clear by Canaries midfielder Toshiyuki Inoue.

 

Siafos was wasteful again in the 35th minute, knocking the ball past City centre-back Habib Mejri before entering the area and pulling the ball disastrously wide. Two minutes later, Dagenham right-winger Milen Danchev - frustrated by his team-mate's profligacy from his crosses - took matters into his own hands. The Bulgarian starlet cut past left-back Sibusiso Radebe before slipping his first competitive Daggers goal into the far corner!

 

Milen's masterstroke would send us into the interval 1-0 up. Mind you, we still had to survive a couple of equalising attempts from Norwich's attacking midfielder Paul Priestley before returning to the dressing room for some respite.

 

Norwich manager Russell Hendry went for broke early in the second half, using all his substitutions by the 51st minute. Amongst those who came on was experienced striker Travis Richardson, who nearly levelled after 56 minutes. Radebe knocked Hodzic's direct ball towards the Guyana international, whose attempt to squirm the ball in at the near post was stopped by Giménez.

 

Antoni held his nerve twice more before the hour mark, catching a free-kick from Guzmán and a long-distance effort from Priestley. After 62 minutes, the Catalan pushed away an excellent swerving effort from another Norwich sub - Tunisian midfielder Chaker Radhouani.

 

By that point, I'd freshened up our attack with Elliot Cook and 16-year-old debutant Andrija Marjanovic. The former had the ball in the net within two minutes, but Elliot's finish from Milen's cross was ruled out for offside. It didn't matter, though, as Danchev did set up our second goal in the 68th minute. His fantastic outswinging corner was sent crashing in off the bar by Daggers centre-half Michael Walters, and we were 2-0 up!

 

Having been completely overshadowed by his opposite winger, the left-sided Mirko Saric tried to make his mark on 70 minutes. The Croatian weaved through the Canaries' defence before driving his shot off target. However, there was no doubt that this was 'The Milen Danchev Show'. A minute later, his cutback from the byline was crossed into the Norwich box by right-back Nolan Barber and then headed home by Cook! 3-0 to the Daggers!

 

We went looking for a fourth goal in the closing stages, but to no avail. Midfielder Lee Allen struck a couple of promising volleys, one of which was tipped over by City's beleaguered goalkeeper Diederik Reekers in the 74th minute. Reekers also prevented Marjanovic from heading in what would've been a dream debut goal shortly before full-time. The Canaries had chances to claw back a consolation goal, but Giménez held firm for another clean sheet, and we coasted through to the League Cup Semi Finals.

 

Norwich City - 0

Dagenham & Redbridge - 3 (Danchev 37, Walters 66, Cook 71)

League Cup Quarter Final, Attendance 27,067

DAG & RED LINE-UP: Giménez, Barber, Gumede (Cullen), Walters, Martin, Danchev, Guerin, Allen, Saric, Twardzik (Cook), Siafos (Marjanovic).

 

It said a lot about the strength in depth we now have that our second-string had made it to the business end of the League Cup. The draw for the Semi Finals would take place in the first week of December... and who would now bet against us going all the way and retaining the trophy?

[CFuller]

Premier League Table (End of November 2040)

                                   P     W     D     L     F     A     GD    PTS
1.          Arsenal                14    9     3     2     31    15    +16   30
2.          Man City               13    8     4     1     23    9     +14   28
3.          Reading                13    8     3     2     26    14    +12   27
4.          West Ham               12    8     3     1     18    10    +8    27
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
5.          Wolves                 14    7     3     4     22    14    +8    24
6.          Dag & Red              13    7     2     4     25    12    +13   23
7.          Fulham                 15    6     4     5     24    24    0     22
8.          Liverpool              12    6     3     3     19    9     +10   21
9.          Man Utd                12    5     5     2     23    13    +10   20
10.         Chelsea                11    6     1     4     18    14    +4    19
11.         Derby                  13    3     7     3     17    12    +5    16
12.         Norwich                14    4     4     6     20    30    -10   16
13.         Huddersfield           14    4     4     6     16    28    -12   16
14.         Brighton               14    3     5     6     13    20    -7    14
15.         Rochdale               14    2     7     5     9     16    -7    13
16.         Blackburn              13    3     3     7     14    21    -7    12
17.         Everton                13    3     1     9     15    27    -12   10
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
18.         Nottm Forest           15    3     1     11    15    37    -22   10
19.         Southampton            14    1     5     8     8     20    -12   8
20.         Coventry               13    1     4     8     5     16    -11   7

 

[mark wilson27]

It's good to see you've hit abit of form in the league. Shame about the loss in the Champions Cup lets hope you can get a win in the final game and get into the knockout rounds

[CFuller]

22 hours ago, mark wilson27 said:

It's good to see you've hit abit of form in the league. Shame about the loss in the Champions Cup lets hope you can get a win in the final game and get into the knockout rounds

November was a very good month for us in the Premier League. We really had to up our game that month, otherwise we would've needed a very strong second half to the season, much like last time.

The home game against Real Sociedad is massive. The prospect of playing in the Europa League again doesn't fill me with much excitement, so victory is a must. You'll find out whether we get it in the next update.

[CFuller]

DECEMBER 2040

The Premier League's awards committee gave our youth policy a resounding vote of confidence when announcing their nominees for November's Young Player of the Month accolade. Right-back Enrique Álvarez, striker Stevie Merson (on loan at Fulham) and midfielder Paddy Rattle (on loan at Huddersfield Town) were ALL in contention!

 

In the end, it was Merson who claimed the honour, winning it for the second time this season. Merse really had come on leaps and bounds since starting a year-long stint at Fulham. If he could keep his excellent form up, he would surely go straight into the Daggers first-team upon his return.

 

The first of our seven Premier League matches in December was at home to Norwich City, whom we had comprehensively beaten at Carrow Road in the League Cup in midweek. I expected a tougher test from the mid-table Canaries this time around, even though we had most of our regular starters back after being rested.

 

Sadly, Dzenan Genjac would not be returning to the line-up just yet. He'd bruised his thigh in training at the end of November, ruling him out of not just this match, but also our UEFA Champions League decider against Real Sociedad three days later.

 

1 December 2040: Dagenham & Redbridge vs Norwich City

We'd not exactly had our way when it came to the aerial battles at Carrow Road, but things were vastly different at our ground. The opening 10 minutes saw Gianfranco Torre get his head to a couple of right-wing deliveries from Enrique Álvarez, but one went well target and the other clipped the crossbar.

 

There was another miss by Vicente Gridelli from captain Mark Washington's free-kick in the 9th minute. Two minutes later, Mark's game was brought to a premature end. The American was floored in a crunching tackle from Norwich's defensive midfielder Aldin Hodzic, and the agony on his face made it clear that he wasn't getting up. Michal Twardzik was sent on while Washington was stretchered off, and the captain's armband was passed over to Orlando Salvador.

 

Our new skipper didn't take long to get us back on track, combining with another Iberian outfielder to get us the opening goal after 14 minutes. Orlando played a superb one-two with Enrique and then majestically stroked the ball beyond Canaries keeper Stuart Burns!

 

Salvador made another big impact in the 22nd minute - on Norwich's veteran midfielder Darren Croft. He was booked for that rash challenge and had to watch his step thereafter. Three minutes later, another middleman - Lee Allen - found the side netting with a shot that could've put us in an even stronger position.

 

Save a wayward 24th-minute strike from Luís Soares, Norwich had barely come close to threatening our lead. That all changed three minutes from half-time, thanks to a disastrous headed clearance by Daggers left-back Hicham Martin. Hicham's interception of a long ball by Canaries right-back Jay Atherton bounced towards visiting striker Travis Richardson, who was behind our defence and free to drive his shot past Kayo Rowe.

 

Such a glaring error left me enormously frustrated, though Martin could well have been let off the hook before half-time. Torre and strike partner Elliot Cook each came close to restoring our lead via headers in the closing stages, with the former only being denied by a strong catch from Burns.

 

Hicham was hauled off at half-time and replaced by Thulani Mazibuko. The versatile South African had a powerful drive caught by Burns in the 48th minute, while a similar effort from fellow substitute Twardzik two minutes later narrowly missed the target. Michal's luck would turn after 51 minutes. Our young Czech midfielder found space in the Norwich area, allowing him to receive a square pass from Franco and power it into the net for a 2-1 Daggers lead!

 

In the 56th minute, though, we were lucky not to be pegged back. Soares dribbled past Daggers centre-back George Darvill and then struck a 20-yard shot that took a heavy deflection off Darvill's colleague Gridelli. Rowe wasn't fooled by the ricochet, with an assured catch retaining our advantage.

 

We then pushed further forward, with Burns stopping Salvador from doubling his tally in the 62nd minute. Norwich's 36-year-old goalkeeper was beaten by a header from Torre in the 65th minute, though our Italian forward impeded him in the process, and the goal was rightly disallowed.

 

Though the Canaries never looked like levelling in the latter stages of the second half, they had Burns to thank for keeping the deficit down. He pushed behind a venomous half-volley from Dagenham midfielder Tumelo Mofokeng in the 79th minute, punched a Cook flick-on away from Torre in the 81st, and then blocked Elliot's drive in the 83rd.

 

Neither of our strikers would find the net, with each spurning their greatest opportunities on 88 minutes. Cook drove a shot over the bar when one-on-one with Burns. Moments later, Twardzik's through-ball sent Torre clear, only for Franco to swerve it against the woodwork. We still emerged victorious from a match that we'd bossed from start to finish, but the final scoreline could've easily been better than 2-1.

 

Dagenham & Redbridge - 2 (Salvador 14, Twardzik 51)

Norwich City - 1 (Richardson 42)

Premier League, Attendance 24,588 - POSITIONS: Dag & Red 5th, Norwich 13th

DAG & RED LINE-UP: Rowe, Álvarez, Gridelli, Darvill, Martin (Mazibuko), Mofokeng, Salvador, Allen (Jorgensen), Washington (Twardzik), Cook, Torre. BOOKED: Salvador.

 

Following that match, I consulted head physio Adam Hutchings for his thoughts on Mark Washington's injury. Adam confirmed my worst fears - Mark had broken his foot, and it would be at least four months before our captain could contemplate playing again.

 

Washington probably wasn't as huge a loss as he would've been at his peak. Nevertheless, his injury left us with just three senior strikers - four if you included player-coach Joel Honeyball, who was now 33 years old and little more than a reserve. Stevie Merson could well return Fulham earlier than anticipated...

 

The FA Cup Round 3 draw took place the following afternoon. It was at that stage of the League Cup where we'd come up against West Bromwich Albion, and we would face the Championship high-flyers again in the New Year. Unlike in the League Cup, though, we would have home advantage over the Baggies.

 

Home advantage was something we'd have to make the most of in our next match. The midweek visit of Real Sociedad in the UEFA Champions League really was a case of 'win or bust' as far as we were concerned.

 

Victory - and revenge for our 3-0 thrashing in Spain two months ago - would get us through Group B and into the Round of 16 at Real's expense. Anything else would see us 'demoted' to the UEFA Europa League's Round of 32, whilst allowing Los Txuri-Urdin to continue their exploits in the elite event.

 

I'd rested star defender George Darvill for our previous five group games in order to keep him fresh for the league. As there was no guarantee that we'd ever play in the Champions League again, I decided to give Darvill his long-awaited debut in the competition proper. It was nothing less than a club legend like George deserved.

 

4 December 2040: Dagenham & Redbridge vs Real Sociedad

Michal Twardzik fired wide an opportunity to put us ahead within the very first minute. Three minutes later, a couple of his midfield colleagues linked up to great effect. Dagenham captain Orlando Salvador dribbled towards goal before selflessly laying the ball off to Lee Allen, who drilled in a sumptuous low finish! We were off to the perfect start!

 

Just two minutes after taking the lead, however, we lost it through a shocking back-pass from Twardzik. Real Sociedad striker Ricardo Pesaola got to the ball before it could find George Darvill on the halfway line, and he then advanced into our area. Though Pesaola's angled shot was parried by Kayo Rowe, his Italian compatriot Stefano Baraldi converted the rebound. After just six minutes, it was already 1-1.

 

Twardzik's evening didn't get any better in the 12th minute, when he was injured in a challenge from Real midfielder Francisco Javier Vázquez. Michal recovered, though, and we were soon putting Los Txuri-Urdin under more pressure.

 

Antonis Siafos' first shot of the game, after 15 minutes, was pushed wide by goalkeeper Matsipa Mulonzo. The Greek would have another attempt at goal six minutes later. Siafos knocked Allen's lob past Real captain Juan Manuel Abad and then half-volleyed it right into the far corner of the net! Tony was back in form, and our fans were back in full voice!

 

A third Daggers goal looked likely on 24 minutes, when Rowe's goal kick bounced very long to Gianfranco Torre. Franco's drive was parried by Mulonzo, and our lead remained a somewhat fragile one. Real Sociedad's left-winger Darío Ovejero didn't threaten it with a long-distance drive in the 29th minute, though a couple of team-mates did get closer. Pesaola had further attempts saved by Rowe in the 33rd and 39th minutes, while Daniele Gatti's free-kick three minutes before half-time swerved inches off target.

 

Having survived extended pressure from Real Sociedad late in the first half, we regathered our thoughts at the interval and then started to do some more attacking of our own. Once again, it was Salvador who would provide some much-needed inspiration in the 47th minute. Orlando found Tony in space, and the forward breached Real's backline before blasting the ball home! We were now 3-1 up and fast closing in on the Round of 16!

 

Siafos drove wide a chance to seal his hat-trick in the 52nd minute. A fourth goal would surely have finished Los Txuri-Urdin off... but seven minutes later, the Spaniards' chances of mounting a comeback were given a massive boost.

 

A clever weighted pass from Real midfielder Tayfun Gunay sent Pesaola virtually through on goal. Pesaola only had to get past Kayo and George to pull one goal back... but just yards short of the halfway line, he went down clutching his face. It soon became clear why. Darvill had thrusted an elbow into Pesaola's face - a cynical foul that would've earned him a red card any day of the week, regardless of whether he was the last man or not! The 27-year-old was sent off for the first time in his Dagenham & Redbridge career, on one of the biggest nights of his life!

 

Darvill's dismissal prompted me to bring on Vicente Gridelli to fill our defensive hole, with Twardzik vacating his spot. Once the dust settled, Ovejero lined up a free-kick on the edge of the box. The Argentine curled it towards Rowe's top-right corner... but Kayo read it perfectly and caught with ease.

 

Despite being down a man, we didn't let up on the attacking front, as we looked to put the match beyond all doubt before Real Sociedad could get back in the running. Allen, Siafos and Torre all missed chances midway through the second half before the latter was replaced with Mirko Saric.

 

Mirko would make a huge contribution a little over seven minutes before full-time, clearing Gatti's corner for Real out of our area. Allen then ran onto the loose ball, taking it deep into opposition territory as his team-mates streamed forward. Once Nolan Barber had arrived, Lee moved the ball out to the right-back, who swung it first-time to the far post. It was there that Siafos rose above Txuri-Urdin defender Welle Sylva to flick in a superb header! Tony's hat-trick was complete, and it was now 4-1 to Dagenham!

 

Siafos could yet have finished his best Daggers outing yet with a quartet of goals, sending an effort inches wide in the 87th minute. 17-year-old substitute midfielder Kurt Walker also missed out on a late goal, but our job had already been done. We needed a win to reach the Champions League knockout phase, and boy did we get one!

 

Dagenham & Redbridge - 4 (Allen 4, Siafos 21,47,84)

Real Sociedad - 1 (Baraldi 6)

UEFA Champions League Group B, Attendance 26,772 - POSITIONS: Dag & Red 2nd, Real Sociedad 3rd

DAG & RED LINE-UP: Rowe, Barber, Gumede, Darvill, Mazibuko, Jorgensen, Salvador (Walker), Allen, Twardzik (Gridelli), Siafos, Torre (Saric). SENT OFF: Darvill.

 

                                   P     W     D     L     F     A     GD    PTS
1.    Q     PSG                    6     3     2     1     9     6     +3    11
2.    Q     Dag & Red              6     3     1     2     7     6     +1    10
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
3.          Real Sociedad          6     2     1     3     12    10    +2    7
4.          Dynamo Kiev            6     2     0     4     6     12    -6    6

 

George Darvill's Champions League dream had become a nightmare, and he would be suspended from our next three European fixtures, as well as being fined a week's wages. That didn't take away from the heroics of his team-mates, who'd beaten the odds and fired us into the knockout phase of the continent's showpiece competition.

 

We had to wait over a week for the Champions League Round of 16 draw, though our wait to find out who we'd be playing in the League Cup Semi Finals would soon be over.

 

Wolverhampton Wanderers would provide the penultimate obstacle in our bid for back-to-back League Cup triumphs. The first leg was scheduled for 8 January at Molineux, with the return fixture coming a fortnight later at Rainham Road. Meanwhile, the other Semi Final would be contested between Rochdale and either Fulham or Manchester City.

[CFuller]

DECEMBER 2040 (continued)

With the Manchester giants both spluttering, the Premier League title race was now wide open. We would be firmly in the mix if we could win our next two fixtures, both of which were against surprise contenders.

 

Reading had been the story of the season, claiming 23 points from nine matches before suffering back-to-back defeats against Manchester City and Arsenal in mid-November. The Royals had since returned to winning ways, climbing back up to 2nd place, just behind Arsenal. With two heavy scorers in club legend Ryan Galbraith and late-bloomer Jamie Spice, they were not a team to be taken lightly.

 

We therefore arrived at the Madejski Stadium with some trepidation... and without our midfield talisman. Orlando Salvador had been ever-present in our Premier League and UEFA Champions League fixtures thus far and now badly needed a rest. That meant right-back Enrique Álvarez would get another chance to lead the Daggers out.

 

8 December 2040: Reading vs Dagenham & Redbridge

For a match between two high-scoring teams, the standard of shooting in the opening stages couldn't have been much more polarising. Much to the concern of many at the Madejski Stadium, Reading's early attacks weren't very threatening. Right-winger Carl Hubert miscued a shot in the sixth minute, while another effort from Ryan Galbraith in the 15th was also off target.

 

We'd almost taken the lead after eight minutes through Antonis Siafos' powerful header from Gianfranco Torre's lob. The attempt was stopped by teenage Reading keeper Bradley Saunders, who was making his league debut after Patrick Braspenning had been injured in training. Saunders stopped another header in the 17th minute, though he appeared to make heavy work of Hicham Martin's close-ranger.

 

That Martin chance had been created by Mirko Saric, who was playing in an attacking midfield role rather than on the left wing. Mirko certainly looked comfortable in his new position, mind you. After 20 minutes, the young Croatian ran onto Siafos' square pass and slotted in our first goal!

 

Saric wasn't finished there. On 25 minutes, after successive headers from Tumelo Mofokeng and Siafos in the Reading area, he got through a misshapen Royals defence to volley in a second goal! In fact, our new hero could have had an unlikely hat-trick were it not for a poor third strike in the 28th minute.

 

It wasn't until the 31st minute that we started seeing what our opponents could do. Galbraith took the ball deep in our half after his fellow Reading stalwart Ricky Hales had been tackled by Daggers destroyer Lee Allen. Galbraith raced past our centre-back Vicente Gridelli and then knocked the ball past Kayo Rowe as our goalkeeper charged forward. Jamie Spice finished the move off with a simple tap-in, and our 2-0 lead became 2-1 before half-time.

 

Reading had not really threatened us in the latter stages of the first half after pegging a goal back. The Royals' next real attack came in the 52nd minute, when Hubert swung a right-wing cross into our box. His left-wing colleague Georges Robert then leapt above Daggers right-back Enrique Álvarez to meet it with a header that went just over.

 

To tell you the truth, I'd been quite concerned about Álvarez's defensive positioning since Spice's goal. The Spaniard also looked nervous, which was never good for a captain. I decided to take him out of action after an hour's play, with Nolan Barber replacing him both as right-back and as skipper. At the same time, Torre made room for another substitute in Elliot Cook.

 

Reading now looked far more likely to score the next goal. A strong tackle from their iron-willed midfielder Dale Shotton on Daggers defender Michael Walters on 64 minutes began a worrisome attack that ended with Rowe saving Robert's header. Kayo held his ground there, but he couldn't do the same again two minutes later. As Galbraith flicked Barber's clearance into our box, Spice jumped ahead of our goalie to nod in an equaliser. From 2-0 up, I was now seriously thinking about the prospect of defeat.

 

Reading's 32-year-old Spice 'boy' was proving too much for our defenders to handle. He certainly would've made the headlines had he completed the Royals' fightback in the 69th minute. Spice intercepted a slack pass from Allen close to goal, but the Golden Boot 'wannabe' was stopped by a brave save from Rowe.

 

Had it not been for Kayo, Lee might well have hollered for his mama. We weren't going to be saying goodbye to our chances of victory any time soon, though. Allen went from potential zero to hero in the 71st minute, as his cross from the left was chested on by Saric for Cook to finish at the near post! 3-2 to the Daggers!

 

Barely a minute later, Elliot's cameo got better still. Allen played a pinpoint pass to the overlapping run of Martin, whose first-time pass into the box was then met by a clinical low finish from Cookie!

 

We were now 4-2 up... or at least we were until Hicham pushed Spice just outside our penalty area moments after the restart. The referee would soon point to the centre circle once more, after Reading's longest-serving player Hales powered his direct free-kick into the net and made it 4-3!

 

In the aftermath of Hales' goal, I turned to my assistant Fabio Saraiva and asked, "We aren't going to chuck away a two-goal lead AGAIN, are we?" Just as I was finishing that sentence, Siafos silenced me - and about 20,000 Royals fans - by lashing Saric's through-ball past Saunders for 5-3! Seconds later, I chuckled, "Okay, maybe not!"

 

Tony's goal was the FOURTH in the space of five minutes, but if Reading had been shaken by that, they hid it well. Spice's perseverance was admirable, as the treble-chasing journeyman had a header saved by Rowe on 80 minutes before putting another effort wide two minutes later. Galbraith also wanted in on the fun, though another great Kayo save on 88 minutes ensured that the Royals captain wouldn't get on the scoresheet.

 

It was the Daggers who would strike the final blow in a nine-goal thriller. As injury time began, Royals sub Adam McNamara had a pass blocked by Saric before Kenneth Jorgensen lifted it into the opposition area. Siafos then rushed forward to break clear and beat Saunders again, thus completing a hat-trick of Dagenham braces!

 

Tony's second strike put the finishing touches on what was a thrilling 6-3 victory for the Daggers. The final score was perhaps a little harsh on Zema Abbey and his brave team, but they had certainly provided plenty of entertainment for both sets of fans!

 

Reading - 3 (Spice 31,66, Hales 73)

Dagenham & Redbridge - 6 (Saric 20,25, Cook 71,72, Siafos 75,90)

Premier League, Attendance 23,597 - POSITIONS: Reading 2nd, Dag & Red 4th

DAG & RED LINE-UP: Rowe, Álvarez (Barber), Gridelli, Walters, Martin, Jorgensen, Mofokeng, Allen (Pereira), Saric, Siafos, Torre (Cook).

 

No Salvador? No problem! Okay, maybe we had a few in defence, but now it was our attacking players who had hit top form.

 

We were now on a five-game winning run in all competitions, with Antonis Siafos having found the net five times in the last two of those. Tony now had eight goals for the campaign, Elliot Cook had seven, and Gianfranco Torre had six, as did Orlando. Talk about sharing the goals around!

 

Salvador, Dzenan Genjac and Frédéric Pereira all returned to the starting line-up four days later, for our first East London derby of the season. A stubborn West Ham United team would surely be a real danger to the free-scoring Daggers at Rainham Road.

 

Like Reading, West Ham had got off to a flier, winning six consecutive matches to kick off their first full season under Matt Lowton's management. Though recent results had been more inconsistent, the defensive-minded Hammers remained in the top three and were more than making up for their dreadful 15th-place finish last term.

 

12 December 2040: Dagenham & Redbridge vs West Ham United

George Darvill returned to the Dagenham line-up by making a great early interception at centre-back. George cleared away a third-minute corner from Marcus Cowley to keep West Ham at bay. Darvill's Hammers rival Nathan Guppy would also come good for his team five minutes later, cutting out Dzenan Genjac's weighted lob before it could find in-form striker Antonis Siafos.

 

Both defences continued to hold firm in an end-to-end opening quarter-hour. The first shot on target came after 15 minutes, with Siafos' drive being caught by West Ham's former Daggers loanee Denzel Gallen. Five minutes later, Tony outmuscled Hammers defender Boris Bolongo to flick the ball towards Elliot Cook. The ball bounced into the United area and took a slight deflection off midfielder Ben Clarke, from which Cookie took advantage with a tidy finish!

 

West Ham almost cancelled Elliot's opener out within a couple of minutes. Daggers right-back Nolan Barber blocked a centre from Cowley, but Shaun Greaves got to the rebound and crashed it against the crossbar. That was shortly followed by a narrow miss at the other end from Cook.

 

We next attempted to increase our lead in the 33rd minute. Our left-back Thulani Mazibuko drilled a delivery into the Hammers box before Elliot cut it back to Frédéric Pereira. The French midfielder whipped a shot against the upright, but West Ham's defenders panicked under pressure, allowing Siafos to bury the follow-up! Tony's sixth goal in two-and-a-half matches gave us a solid 2-0 lead over our great rivals at half-time.

 

One of the Hammers players who'd flinched for that second goal was left-back Amani Douglas, who was substituted by manager Matt Lowton at half-time. Lowton made another big change shortly before the hour mark. Argentine forward Armando Raimundo had been awful for West Ham, so Portuguese wonderkid Hugo Cunha took his place and formed an all-teenage strike partnership with Jordan Gray. Needless to say, Darvill and co weren't exactly quaking in their boots.

 

The second half was a masterclass in game management from the Daggers. We coasted through the minutes by keeping the ball well and greatly limiting West Ham's scoring opportunities. Goalkeeper Kayo Rowe didn't really face a serious test from United until five minutes before full-time.

 

Right-back Brian Sealey - the grandson of former Irons goalkeeper Les Sealey - curled in an excellent cross that Cunha flicked deftly to Robert Dekker. Dekker's stunning volley rebounded off the crossbar before Cunha stuck in the rebound, only for the offside flag to go up! Cunha and his Hammers colleagues were incensed, as that decision effectively removed their last chance of coming back.

 

After one final off-target effort from West Ham midfielder Luke O'Leary in the 89th minute, we saw the game out and recorded a fantastic 2-0 win. There was just no stopping the Daggers!

 

Dagenham & Redbridge - 2 (Cook 20, Siafos 33)

West Ham United - 0

Premier League, Attendance 25,719 - POSITIONS: Dag & Red 2nd, West Ham 5th

DAG & RED LINE-UP: Rowe, Barber, Gumede, Darvill (Gridelli), Mazibuko, Mofokeng, Salvador, Pereira, Genjac (Twardzik), Siafos, Cook (Torre).

 

That made it six wins in a row for the Daggers in all competitions, and six in a row when it came to the Premier League. The table now made very happy reading:

 

                                   P     W     D     L     F     A     GD    PTS
1.          Arsenal                16    11    3     2     35    17    +18   36
2.          Dag & Red              16    10    2     4     35    16    +19   32
3.          Wolves                 16    9     3     4     26    15    +11   30
4.          Reading                15    9     3     3     31    21    +10   30
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
5.          West Ham               15    9     3     3     21    17    +4    30
6.          Man City               14    8     4     2     23    10    +13   28
7.          Liverpool              15    8     3     4     26    13    +13   27
8.          Man Utd                15    7     5     3     32    16    +16   26

 

You'd better believe it! With a little under half the season completed, Dagenham & Redbridge were 2nd in the Premier League! Admittedly, quite a few teams close to us had games in hand, but we were surely going to take some stopping on our current form.

[CFuller]

DECEMBER 2040 (continued)

While we were now on a six-match winning run in all competitions, our next opponents were going through a patch that was an even darker shade of purple. Wolverhampton Wanderers had recorded NINE victories on the trot, soaring from mid-table obscurity to the upper reaches of the Premier League.

 

It wasn't hard to see why Wolves were playing so well. Lee Nicholls was the only English manager to have won the Premier League, albeit back in 2033/2034 with Chelsea, and he had found his feet in his first full season in the West Midlands. Nicholls also had a dependable goalkeeper in a certain Ben Perk, whose haul of seven PL clean sheets this term was matched only by one man - his Dagenham successor Kayo Rowe.

 

So, what would happen when one irresistible force came up against another at Molineux?

 

15 December 2040: Wolverhampton Wanderers vs Dagenham & Redbridge

It was Wolves who made the quicker start at a rainy Molineux, though midfielders Janusz Blaszczyk and Lu Yifu each failed to keep shots on target in the first seven minutes. Left-winger Emiliano Colman probably didn't impress his very distant cousin Olivia in the 16th minute, when his corner was easily intercepted by Daggers destroyer Frédéric Pereira.

 

Brazilian maestro Ferreira was playing on Wolves' right wing, though not for long. He was already on a booking when, in the 23rd minute, he went to ground over a slide tackle from Siphesihle Gumede. Referee Gary Ashley didn't make much of the Samba star's playacting and issued Ferreira with a second yellow card for diving!

 

With the man advantage, we looked to attack Wanderers in the latter part of the second half. Frédi's low drive on 30 minutes was clawed away by his old team-mate Ben Perk. Gianfranco Torre's header from an Orlando Salvador corner four minutes later failed to get near Perk's goal, though the pair would combine more effectively shortly afterwards.

 

In the 38th minute, Pereira cut out a goal kick from Perk and knocked it down to Torre. Franco bided his time before hooking the ball forward for Orlando to breeze through the Wolves defence and run onto it. Once our captain had just the keeper to beat, there was no doubt that Salvador would drive us into a 1-0 lead!

 

Perk's hopes of another clean sheet had been dashed. Two minutes later, so were Kayo Rowe's. Kayo got a glove to a strike from Wolves striker Hasney Mitchell, but he could only parry it out wide to Colman. The Argentine's cross was blocked by George Darvill, though our excellent centre-half couldn't keep the rebound away from Mitchell, who stabbed it in at the near post.

 

Wolves had their tails up after Mitchell's equaliser, and the 10 men looked to take the lead early in the second half. Just moments after kick-off, Colman weighted a pass to Blaszczyk, who raced away from Pereira and looked a cert to make it 2-1. That was when Rowe charged forward to block the Pole's strike just in time.

 

In the 48th minute, a cross from Wolves' Dutch midfielder Serhan Altundal deflected off Pereira and fell to Mitchell. Gumede got a vital tackle in on Mitchell, but the hosts' other striker Radenko Kostic reached the ball and struck a powerful effort that Rowe clawed behind! Kayo also stopped a vicious 50th-minute effort from Blaszczyk, who then wasted a couple of long-distance shots.

 

Meanwhile, I brought Antonis Siafos on to give Torre some extra support in the Dagenham attack. Siafos' first contribution to proceedings was to head a Salvador free-kick wide on 61 minutes. Disappointingly, we wouldn't test the home defence again until the 82nd minute, when Pereira's connection to an Enrique Álvarez cross was caught by Perk.

 

There would be more frustrations for us on the attacking front in the closing stages. Torre was booked in the final minute of normal time, having argued vociferously and unsuccessfully for a penalty after being tackled by Wolves defender Franco Vitone.

 

As the match entered injury time, Hicham Martin curled a last-ditch cross into the area and found Siafos' head. Alas, the Greek superstar's hot streak was ended by a deflection off the bar, and a composed clearance from Vitone. Indeed, there was to be no winner from a tussle that was very tensely-contested throughout.

 

Wolverhampton Wanderers - 1 (Mitchell 40)

Dagenham & Redbridge - 1 (Salvador 38)

Premier League, Attendance 30,852 - POSITIONS: Wolves 4th, Dag & Red 2nd

DAG & RED LINE-UP: Rowe, Álvarez, Gumede, Darvill, Martin, Danchev (Siafos), Jorgensen, Pereira (Allen), Saric (Genjac), Salvador, Torre. BOOKED: Torre.

 

While our winning streak might have petered out, a draw at Wolves was still a good result in my mind. It kept us in 2nd place, even if our deficit on league leaders Arsenal had increased from four points to six.

 

After a long sequence of two-game weeks, we got a well-earned rest, with our next match coming seven days later.

 

In the meantime, the Dagenham board announced that the club had entered into a partnership with Spanish side Málaga. 'Los Boquerones' were top of the Segunda División, having been relegated from La Liga earlier this year. The agreement stated that we could send players out on loan to Málaga, whilst also having first option on any of their players.

 

Later in the week, there was some more significant news concerning our status in Europe. The draw for the UEFA Champions League Round of 16 was taking place.

 

Having finished runners-up in Group B, we knew that we would face one of the group winners, excluding Paris Saint-Germain and any fellow Premier League teams. As Arsenal, Manchester City and Manchester United had all topped their pools, we were left with just four potential opponents - AC Milan, Barcelona, Benfica or Juventus.

 

We discovered our fate almost immediately. Our ball was drawn out of the pot first... and the next one out was Benfica's. With all due respect to the Primeira Liga giants, they were probably the least worrisome team we could've faced, and so I fancied our chances of getting to the Quarter Finals.

 

The first leg of our opening knockout round tie would be staged at Rainham Road on 12 February. The return fixture at the Estádio da Luz - the venue for May's Final, as it so happens - wouldn't come until three weeks later, on 6 March. In the meantime, we could keep our attentions firmly locked on domestic matters.

 

We looked to strengthen our place in the Premier League's top four when we hosted Liverpool three days before Christmas. The Reds were 8th in the table, but manager Igor Plastun's job had been put at risk after the Ukrainian announced his desire to move to a bigger and more ambitious club. With the Liverpool camp seemingly fractious, we were rated as strong favourites.

 

22 December 2040: Dagenham & Redbridge vs Liverpool

Dagenham's leading scorer Antonis Siafos went into this match searching for his 10th goal of the season. The Greek star looked good to reach double figures in the fourth minute, only to see Liverpool keeper Gavin Stopforth catch his edge-of-the-area drive.

 

Siafos was also involved in our next attack after 12 minutes. His weighted ball into the penalty area found strike partner Elliot Cook, who was unfortunate to be denied by the onrushing Stopforth. The 33-year-old Reds captain, who had been England's number 1 prior to Kayo Rowe's emergence, continued to prove a point in the 15th minute with an excellent acrobatic save from Orlando Salvador's piledriver.

 

The first half would be a frustrating experience for the Daggers, but that wasn't just down to good goalkeeping. Attacking midfielder Dzenan Genjac really disappointed me when he failed to hit the target from an excellent Siafos set-up in the 19th minute. After 36 minutes, Elliot and Tony each mishit shots from outside the penalty area.

 

Fortunately, a solid Dagenham defence greatly restricted Liverpool's counter-attacking opportunities. We withstood a host of poor Reds corners, and an even worse shot from Chilean winger Javier de Gregorio in the 38th minute, to keep the deadlock intact at half-time. If it was to be broken in the second half, I didn't expect the visitors to do it.

 

Our first chance after the restart came on 49 minutes, with Salvador dribbling through the defence before pulling a powerful effort off target. Two minutes later, Genjac's attempted long ball to Cook was poorly intercepted by Liverpool defender Joao Alexandre. Cook took the ball and volleyed it on to Siafos, but Stopforth rushed forward and stuck a leg out to divert Tony's low drive behind.

 

Fréderic Pereira missed another Daggers opportunity after 54 minutes, but Stopforth's subsequent goal kick would gift us another chance. Salvador got above de Gregorio to intercept the long ball and flick it up to Cook. Elliot sprinted headlong through the Liverpool defence and into the area, pulling the trigger once Stopforth left his line. The local hero's ninth goal of the season had ended the stranglehold!

 

The visitors sought a swift riposte on 56 minutes. Striker Steven Bonner flicked a deep cross from de Gregorio out right to Diogo Dias. The Portuguese winger then knocked it across our area to de Gregorio, who cut inside and saw his shot blocked by Daggers right-back Nolan Barber. After that, we saw little attacking threat from a mediocre Liverpool side who hadn't really replaced their retired former skipper Dave Weaver.

 

The final half-hour saw a host of Dagenham misses from the likes of Siafos, Salvador and substitute Michal Twardzik. Our last attempt on target came after 69 minutes, when Tony's lob to Elliot was headed safely into Stopforth's grasp. All in all, we had 20 shots at goal and only converted one of them, but Cook's odd one out would prove to be all we needed. Liverpool's midfield ran out of steam towards the end, allowing us to coast to victory.

 

Dagenham & Redbridge - 1 (Cook 55)

Liverpool - 0

Premier League, Attendance 26,772 - POSITIONS: Dag & Red 2nd, Liverpool 9th

DAG & RED LINE-UP: Rowe, Barber, Gridelli, Darvill, Martin, Jorgensen, Salvador (Mofokeng), Pereira, Genjac (Twardzik), Cook, Siafos (Torre).

 

It was just as well that we won, because pretty much all the other teams around us did as well. As the Premier League season reached its midway point, the battle for the top four was seriously intensifying.

[CFuller]

DECEMBER 2040 (continued)

After the Christmas Day festivities, we were ready for a Boxing Day bout at Craven Cottage. If we could avoid defeat against newly-promoted Fulham, our unbeaten run in the league would be stretched to 10 matches.

 

Fulham might have been just about in upper-mid-table, but they were amongst a clutch of teams firmly in contention for European qualification. Their top scorer this season was our 18-year-old wonderkid Stevie Merson, who'd notched up eight goals and seven assists since joining the Cottagers on loan. It was just as well for us that Stevie couldn't play against his parent club!

 

With a massive game at Manchester United just three days away, I decided to either bench or rest several key men against Fulham. Orlando Salvador was amongst those who dropped out of the starting XI, meaning that Enrique Álvarez got another captaincy gig. His first had gone well, his second not so much... but what about the third?

 

26 December 2040: Fulham vs Dagenham & Redbridge

George Darvill wasn't in our defence at Craven Cottage, but Vicente Gridelli was. Sadly, the Argentine centre-half lasted just three minutes before breaking his arm in a challenge on Fulham striker Serge Robert. Vicente was swiftly replaced with Siphesihle Gumede as we tried to rebuild.

 

Attacking midfielder Dzenan Genjac had a couple of vicious shots saved by Cottagers goalkeeper Luka Jishiashvili either side of Gridelli's injury, but our early momentum would soon be snuffed out. Fulham captain Dan Mortimer flicked Ales Sterba's corner wide in the ninth minute. Three minutes later, Sterba cut inside from the left wing and had a low drive clawed away by Kayo Rowe.

 

The hosts' next attack, after 15 minutes, would be the one that broke the deadlock. Mortimer beat Daggers left-back Hicham Martin to a long ball from Fulham's veteran defender Faisal Mensah. He then knocked it down to Joe Shepherd, and the clinical Scotsman did the rest by driving the ball in at Rowe's left-hand post.

 

Our struggles continued later in the first half, with Genjac wasting a couple more long-range shots after 30 and 32 minutes. We also had holding midfielder Kenneth Jorgensen booked in between those misses as our foul count steadily rose. Thanks to the profligacy of Fulham middleman Steven Frost, though, our deficit did not increase... at least not until the 42nd minute.

 

Our defence had another moment to forget when Shepherd evaded Welsh youngster Michael Walters and whipped a free-kick into the Daggers area. Portugal midfielder Catatau - one of the Cottagers' longest-serving and most popular players - then rifled in an unstoppable half-volley. If we were to salvage some points in the second half, we would have to bounce back from 2-0 down.

 

I had little choice but to bring out two of our big guns for the restart. Orlando Salvador and Elliot Cook entered the fray as wingers Milen Danchev and Mirko Saric became the victims of a tactical reshuffle. Those were my final substitutions, but boy would they make a difference. We transformed from the side that had laboured through the first half into a fearsome heavy-pressing unit.

 

Fulham creaked under the increasing pressure, eventually breaking in the 53rd minute. Daggers striker Gianfranco Torre tackled Mensah to cut out a back-pass from Mortimer. Lee Allen claimed the loose ball and squared it to Genjac, who then threaded it back towards the penalty area. That was where Torre unleashed a lethal bullet to end his nine-match goalless run and cut the arrears to 2-1!

 

Shepherd missed a chance to restore Fulham's two-goal cushion almost immediately after the restart. By the 56th minute, the Cottagers didn't have a lead at all! A deep right-wing cross from Daggers captain Enrique Álvarez looked like going long, but Torre prevented it from clearing the byline. Franco then centred to Lee, who shocked many at Craven Cottage by smashing in an equaliser! Game on!

 

We were now showing a lot more fighting spirit than our opponents - perhaps too much. Allen and Álvarez each joined Jorgensen in the referee's book following clumsy fouls in the 60th and 65th minutes respectively. Enrique picked up his booking for a trip on former England Under-21s striker Michael Lawrie, who'd been brought on by Fulham boss Will Grigg in the wake of Lee's leveller. That wouldn't be the last time Lawrie gave our stand-in captain problems.

 

Our good work in the second half was undone by some schoolboy defending in the 70th minute. The first mistake was from Walters, who gave away a slack pass that Catatau prodded in the direction of Lawrie. Álvarez tried to close Lawrie down, only for the New Zealand-born youngster to slip past him and slide the ball across the goal line. 3-2 to Fulham.

 

My anger at that third Cottagers goal didn't last long. Just two minutes later, Gumede - unquestionably the best performer in a woeful Daggers defence - saved the situation with a fantastic header from Allen's floated corner. It was now 3-3, and anything was possible now!

 

Fulham's defence nodded off again in the 74th minute, as Torre played Cook through on goal. Alas, Elliot shot far too early, and the ball drifted harmlessly wide. Genjac also wasted an opening before Jishiashvili kept Fulham level with two fantastic saves. The first of them was to keep out another Gumede header from another Allen corner in the 77th minute. A minute after that, the Georgian showed safe hands again to stop a daisy-cutter from Torre.

 

Rowe then came to the fore at the other end, blocking a shot from Lawrie after 79 minutes. Fulham's super-sub would be denied again two minutes later, as his header from an Ivo Vogel cross was tipped behind at the last moment by Kayo.

 

With four minutes remaining, Torre created our final game-winning opportunity with an excellent pass to an unmarked Martin on the left flank. Hicham had never scored for the Daggers before... and he was only a matter of inches from changing that. An inch was as good as a mile, though, and we were soon miles away from where we wanted to be.

 

Two minutes later, Fulham's substitute left-winger Kevin Charlesworth floated the ball across our penalty area before Mortimer flicked it into the six-yard box. Lawrie then rose above Gumede to nod in the final goal of a seven-goal thriller.

 

Our unbeaten run had ended in infuriating circumstances, but we remained in 2nd place. The rest of the top seven had also dropped points on Boxing Day, with the exception of Manchester United, who beat Norwich City 2-1. Arsenal increased their lead at the top to seven points, despite being held to a 1-1 draw at Blackburn Rovers.

 

Fulham - 4 (Shepherd 15, Catatau 42, Lawrie 70,88)

Dagenham & Redbridge - 3 (Torre 53, Allen 56, Gumede 72)

Premier League, Attendance 30,000 - POSITIONS: Fulham 8th, Dag & Red 2nd

DAG & RED LINE-UP: Rowe, Álvarez, Gridelli (Gumede), Walters, Martin, Danchev (Salvador), Allen, Jorgensen, Saric (Cook), Genjac, Torre. BOOKED: Jorgensen, Allen, Álvarez.

 

The Daggers defenders bore the brunt of my criticism at full-time. "Why the hell didn't you concentrate?" I asked them. "Those last two Fulham goals were really soft. You wouldn't have conceded them if you'd kept your focus and not let that Lawrie lad in!"

 

This match confirmed in my mind that Enrique Álvarez was not captaincy material - not yet, anyway. He was just too prone to losing his composure in high-pressure matches. At 21 years old, Enrique still had plenty of time to improve the mental aspect of what was a technically-strong defensive game. However, I now felt for the first time that the club-record £19.5million I'd spent on him a couple of summers ago was probably too much.

 

Our Craven Cottage calamities also showed how easily our backline could be picked apart if neither George Darvill nor Vicente Gridelli was present in the centre. Worryingly, we would now be without Vicente for four weeks after he'd broken his arm in the opening stages.

 

George did return to the fold when we rounded off the year with a daunting trip to Old Trafford. After some early-season wobbles, champions Manchester United had really kicked on over recent weeks and were now only a single goal behind us in the Premier League standings.

 

29 December 2040: Manchester United vs Dagenham & Redbridge

It was very drizzly during this early-afternoon match at Old Trafford, and the conditions played havoc with our free-flowing passing game early on. Defensive midfielder Tumelo Mofokeng's performance was particularly concerning, as he seriously struggled to keep his passes on target.

 

Fortunately for us, Manchester United were having problems getting the ball into our net. Shaun Murray attempted a bold chip over our goalkeeper Kayo Rowe in the seventh minute, only to send it flying over the bar. Kayo did have some work to do two minutes later, catching Kim Chang-Hoon's header from a cross by Hamza Afkir. Rowe would then deny Kim for a second time in the 12th minute before saving Sean Jordan's first attempt moments later.

 

Then, in the 15th minute, Dagenham defender Siphesihle Gumede made a fantastic interception from a right-wing cross by Afkir. That move started a Daggers counter-attack, which really got going when Red Devils midfielder Leszek Michniewicz' tackle on Orlando Salvador diverted the ball towards our striker Antonis Siafos. Tony skipped past centre-half Michel to go through on goal, and he then fired in his 10th goal of the season, giving us the lead against the run of play!

 

This wasn't the first time we'd gone 1-0 up at Old Trafford, but United would be damned if they let us record a maiden win at their historic ground. Murray had three excellent equalising chances saved by Rowe within the next eight minutes, but it was his strike partner Jordan who would eventually find a way through. With 24 minutes on the clock, the evergreen 34-year-old knocked an Afkir centre through the legs of our right-back Nolan Barber and beyond Kayo's reach. It was now 1-1, and one could clearly sense what would happen next.

 

Though Michniewicz had picked up a thigh strain earlier in the afternoon, the Red Devils continued to bully our midfield and stretch our defence out. Murray and Kim each wasted chances to put the hosts in front before the former did just that on 36 minutes. After his flick-on towards Jordan was blocked by Gumede, Murray quickly ran onto the loose ball and stabbed it home.

 

Our response to falling 2-1 behind was excellent. Just five minutes later, Siafos latched onto Rowe's long free-kick and threaded it forward to Gianfranco Torre. The big Italian then beat home goalkeeper Seán Rooney with one of his trademark powerful shots, and we were level at 2-2... for a while.

 

Sadly, we shot ourselves in the foot again just before half-time. Left-back Thulani Mazibuko went in too hard on Belgian winger Afkir in the Daggers penalty area, prompting the referee to point to the spot. Murray then outfoxed Rowe from 12 yards, driving his penalty clinically down the middle to give Manchester United a 3-2 lead.

 

We had to keep the home strikers quiet in the second half, so I switched to a 3-4-1-2 formation, with teenager Jimmy Cullen coming on to beef up our defence. We also took a faster and more direct attacking approach, which could've paid dividends after 47 minutes. Salvador found Torre in acres of space, but Franco's vicious drive couldn't earn him a second equaliser.

 

At the other end, Rowe kept our deficit down by saving a couple of powerful attempts from Kim. The extra workload soon took its toll on our keeper, who sustained a rib injury after 56 minutes. That wasn't going to stop Kayo, though, as he stoically played on through the pain.

 

In the 62nd minute, our midfield substitute Benjamin Guerin - who'd replaced Mofokeng early in the second period - had a fantastic shot pushed behind by an even better save from Rooney. Beni's French compatriot Frédéric Pereira earned a chance of his own from the resulting Salvador corner, but Frédi pulled it wide.

 

We then survived a major scare on 66 minutes. Kim rattled our bar with a free-kick after United colleague Sebastián Núnez had been pushed by Pereira close to the area. The Red Devils' next opening came from another Kim set-piece after 82 minutes. The South Korean's corner was flicked towards goal by Michel, but Rowe caught the ball to keep us in the game.

 

After withstanding United's attacks, we tried to hit them with a sucker-punch in injury time. It wasn't to be, as Siafos miscued our final attempt to save a point after a promising set-up from Pereira. We suffered a second narrow defeat in less than 72 hours, and victories for a couple of our nearest rivals later in the afternoon saw us slip from 2nd place to 5th.

 

Manchester United - 3 (Jordan 24, Murray 36,pen45)

Dagenham & Redbridge - 2 (Siafos 15, Torre 41)

Premier League, Attendance 91,583 - POSITIONS: Man Utd 2nd, Dag & Red 5th

DAG & RED LINE-UP: Rowe, Barber, Gumede, Darvill, Mazibuko (Saric), Mofokeng (Guerin), Salvador, Pereira, Twardzik (Cullen), Siafos, Torre. BOOKED: Pereira, Guerin.

 

In just three days, the Daggers had suddenly gone from thinking about a possible Premier League title tilt to dropping out of the top four. We had crashed back down to Earth with a bump.

 

On a brighter note, the expansion of our training facilities had finally been completed, just in time for the New Year. We could now claim to have a state-of-the-art training ground that all but the top teams would envy.

[CFuller]

Premier League Table (End of December 2040)

                                   P     W     D     L     F     A     GD    PTS
1.          Arsenal                20    14    4     2     45    19    +26   46
2.          Man Utd                20    11    6     3     42    22    +20   39
3.          Reading                19    12    3     4     37    25    +12   39
4.          Wolves                 20    11    4     5     34    21    +13   37
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
5.          Dag & Red              20    11    3     6     42    24    +18   36
6.          Man City               17    10    5     2     28    11    +17   35
7.          West Ham               19    10    3     6     26    26    0     33
8.          Fulham                 20    9     4     7     33    31    +2    31
9.          Liverpool              20    9     3     8     32    22    +10   30
10.         Derby                  19    7     8     4     28    19    +9    29
11.         Chelsea                17    8     3     6     25    24    +1    27
12.         Coventry               20    6     4     10    15    22    -7    22
13.         Rochdale               20    4     9     7     18    24    -6    21
14.         Everton                20    6     2     12    27    40    -13   20
15.         Huddersfield           20    5     5     10    21    40    -19   20
16.         Norwich                20    4     5     11    24    41    -17   17
17.         Brighton               20    3     7     10    18    33    -15   16
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
18.         Blackburn              20    3     6     11    21    34    -13   15
19.         Nottm Forest           19    4     1     14    23    46    -23   13
20.         Southampton            20    1     9     10    12    27    -15   12

 

[mark wilson27]

Seven goals in two games, a very festive return to your opposition their Chris

[CFuller]

23 hours ago, mark wilson27 said:

Seven goals in two games, a very festive return to your opposition their Chris

I know this time of year might be for giving, but that was just ridiculous! I could excuse the team for conceding three goals to United (Murray's a beast, as are Jordan and Penfold, even in their advancing years). Conceding four to Fulham, though? That worries me a lot more.

[CFuller]

JANUARY 2041

The New Year got off to a great start as far as Elliot Cook was concerned. Having scored four goals in December, Elliot was honoured with the Premier League's Young Player of the Month award.

 

Before our opening fixture of 2041, I recalled a couple of loanee midfielders. One of them - André Gross - had seldom played for Wolfsburg before tearing his groin muscle in November. With the 22-year-old German's development having been set back once again, it looked like his days at Dagenham were numbered.

 

Another loanee whose progress had stalled over recent months was Paddy Rattle. He'd only mustered one goal and zero assists in 16 league games for Huddersfield Town, who had used the teenager mainly on the left wing instead of in central midfield. I decided that Paddy would be better off returning to Rainham Road instead of staying in West Yorkshire.

 

Funnily enough, Huddersfield were the visitors to Rainham Road on New Year's Day. The Terriers were 15th in the PL and had one of the division's worst defensive records, so I saw this as an opportunity for our strikers to fill their boots.

 

Having bruised a rib against Manchester United three days earlier, Kayo Rowe sat this match out, with backup keeper Antoni Giménez making his league debut for the Daggers. Orlando Salvador was also rested, meaning that Thulani Mazibuko would captain us instead.

 

1 January 2041: Dagenham & Redbridge vs Huddersfield Town

Dzenan Genjac looked to start our New Year with a bang after just two minutes, but the Croatian attacking midfielder could only bang a shot over the bar. That chance had been created by Frédéric Pereira, who would twice come within inches of opening the scoring within the first 15 minutes. Huddersfield also had an early opportunity, with Neil Oakes' 7th-minute header being parried by Daggers keeper Antoni Giménez.

 

Things then took a worrying turn for us in the 16th minute, as Antonis Siafos went down grasping his ankle after a tackle from Huddersfield midfielder Russ Grierson. It quickly became clear that Siafos couldn't carry on, and so Gianfranco Torre - despite not being at full fitness - was thrown on earlier than he perhaps expected.

 

When Pereira was scythed down by the Terriers' veteran winger Ishmale Thurstan four minutes later, I feared that I would have to make another premature change. Thankfully, Frédi only needed some quick treatment on a knock before carrying on.

 

Our opponents' aggressive play really unsettled us, and we continued to struggle on the attacking front until half-time. Huddersfield's former Daggers keeper Mariusz Tylak produced his first save in the 30th minute, catching Pereira's tame header from a Lee Allen corner. Tylak also tipped over a Torre free-kick in the 40th minute and caught a strike from Genjac in the 45th to keep the half-time scoreline at 0-0.

 

I made my feelings clear to the Dagenham boys at half-time, telling them, "I didn't like what I saw out there. You looked scared, intimidated even. Need I remind you that you're in the Champions League, and that Huddersfield barely got out of the Championship last season? Why don't you show them who the tougher team really is, eh?"

 

One man who'd clearly been inspired by my words in the dressing room was Enrique Álvarez. The Spanish right-back had been on edge throughout the first half, but he came out of his shell following the resumption. After 54 minutes, Álvarez fearlessly surged past Huddersfield left-back Barna Maróti and stroked the ball into the six-yard box, where Elliot Cook popped up to volley in our long-awaited opener!

 

Enrique could've had another assist three minutes later. A mistake by Terriers centre-half John Durie in the area saw Álvarez take the ball and play it back to Genjac, who swerved a shot wide. Dzenan made a more positive contribution after 58 minutes, winning the free-kick that would lead to our second goal. Following Thurstan's clumsy challenge on Genjac, Daggers substitute Michal Twardzik lifted a free-kick into the box for near-namesake Michael Walters, who drove it in at the near post.

 

By the 68th minute, the result had been put beyond all reasonable doubt. Torre was barged in the back by Town defender Michael Lennon as he tried to reach a centre from Genjac. That foul saw us awarded a penalty, which Cook powered past Tylak for a 3-0 Dagenham lead!

 

Elliot had his brace, but there would be no hat-trick. He was taken off about 10 minutes from time, with Joel Honeyball coming on for his first Premier League outing this season. Joel partnered Franco up front for the closing stages, but I might as well have played him at right-back or even in goal, because the Terriers were more like poodles as far as our defence was concerned!

 

Huddersfield would be sent packing six minutes from full-time, as Torre's slide from an excellent cross by Genjac completed a 4-0 home rout. The first half might've been a disappointment, but we'd really turned on the style in the second!

 

Dagenham & Redbridge - 4 (Cook 54,pen68, Walters 60, Torre 84)

Huddersfield Town - 0

Premier League, Attendance 22,564 - POSITIONS: Dag & Red 2nd, Huddersfield 15th

DAG & RED LINE-UP: Giménez, Álvarez, Walters, Mazibuko, Martin, Jorgensen, Pereira, Allen (Twardzik), Genjac, Cook (Honeyball), Siafos (Torre).

 

We climbed back up to 2nd place behind runaway leaders Arsenal, but only for one night. Manchester United and Wolverhampton Wanderers each leapfrogged us again the following evening, with Wolves' 4-0 away thrashing of Chelsea prompting the trigger-happy Stamford Bridge board to sack head coach Guus Joppen.

 

By then, the full prognosis of Antonis Siafos' ankle injury had become clear. Siafos would be out for at least a month with a sprain, and he joined fellow strikers Jonas Kjaerulff and Mark Washington on the sidelines.

 

This latest injury gave me little option but to recall Stevie Merson from Fulham. The 18-year-old sensation had either scored or assisted for 15 goals in 24 matches whilst on loan with the Cottagers. If Stevie could replicate that form back with the Daggers, I would be delighted!

 

Also returning to Rainham Road was centre-half Bradley Charles. I'd cut short Bradley's season-long loan stint at Crewe Alexandra because I was desperately in need of some backup in defence. Vicente Gridelli was still a fortnight away from returning to action, while Siphesihle Gumede and Thulani Mazibuko were now heading off to Morocco to represent South Africa at the forthcoming Africa Cup of Nations.

 

At the age of 21, and after six loan stints at half a dozen different clubs, Charles would finally make his competitive Dagenham & Redbridge debut when we hosted West Bromwich Albion in Round 3 of the FA Cup. We were bidding to complete a cup 'double' over the Championship side, whom we'd eliminated from the League Cup earlier this season.

 

5 January 2041: Dagenham & Redbridge vs West Bromwich Albion

We brought out most of our big names for this match, and captain Orlando Salvador could've got us off to a flying start after just three minutes. The attacking midfielder's low drive from the West Brom 'D' was pushed wide by Mark Thomas, who also kept out his next attempt six minutes later.

 

In the 17th minute, though, we were at real risk of getting hit on the counter. Baggies winger Alex Higgins drove an excellent long ball forward to Miljan Todorovic, who dribbled through the centre of our defence and had a shot from just outside the penalty area. That was when Antoni Giménez came to our rescue, charging from his line to close Todorovic's effort down.

 

Things then got rather feisty, as West Brom had midfielder Denis Bordes and right-back Michael Kyle booked before the half-hour. Dagenham right-back Enrique Álvarez also received a caution in the 31st minute for a push on the visitors' Portuguese winger José Santos. Alan Hare lined up the subsequent free-kick for West Brom, swerving it just over our bar.

 

A set-piece at the other end two minutes later would prove more noteworthy. Salvador's corner was flicked goalwards by Frédéric Pereira, but it was 'King' George Darvill (who else?) who got the final touch that turned it past Thomas.

 

The Daggers would carry a narrow 1-0 lead into the second half, though we perhaps could've easily been in a stronger position. Orlando and striker Elliot Cook each missed late chances to double our lead shortly before half-time.

 

Santos and Todorovic blazed wide a couple of potential equalising shots for West Brom early in the second half. The Baggies would have another opportunity in the 60th minute, after Santos was scythed down on the edge of the Daggers area by our substitute right-back Nolan Barber. Hare quickly chipped the free-kick towards our far post, but Bart Abels' corner didn't catch out Giménez, who caught it well.

 

Attention then switched to the other end for a while, as Cook was twice denied by Thomas in the 62nd and 65th minutes. Elliot would later be replaced in the Dagenham attack by teenage starlet Stevie Merson during a flurry of yellow cards. Frédi, Nolan and Orlando were all booked within a little over 11 minutes, while the referee also dished out a booking to West Brom's former Daggers playmaker Billy Stevenson. It seemed for a while that a red card was just around the corner, but things calmed down late on, and Albion started to seriously threaten our lead.

 

A poor pass from Dagenham playmaker Kenneth Jorgensen in the 79th minute started a Baggies counter-attack, which ended with substitute striker Kristian Latham nodding the ball into Giménez's hands. Daggers debutant Bradley Charles' uncomfortable clearance from the box seven minutes later gave West Brom another chance, but Antoni brilliantly pushed Hare's fierce drive away.

 

Having come close to being forced into a replay, we effectively put the tie to bed after 89 minutes. Merson opened the defence up to find Salvador, who drove in a clinical shot for a 2-0 lead. Baggies defender Badouin Mabwete unsuccessfully argued for an offside flag and was booked.

 

Our beleaguered opponents collected a fifth yellow card shortly after the restart, with Santos penalised for a trip on Jorgensen. Kenny would then complete a 3-0 Dagenham win after exactly 90 minutes, with a sublime cross that Orlando tucked in at the back post. In truth, there was never any real doubt that we would reach Round 4.

 

Dagenham & Redbridge - 3 (Darvill 33, Salvador 89,90)

West Bromwich Albion - 0

FA Cup Round 3, Attendance 20,838

DAG & RED LINE-UP: Giménez, Álvarez (Barber), Charles, Darvill, Martin, Pereira, Jorgensen, Danchev, Salvador, Torre (Saric), Cook (Merson). BOOKED: Álvarez, Pereira, Barber, Salvador.

 

Having brushed West Brom aside, we would now face Norwich City in Round 4. The Canaries were in the middle of a downward spiral, so we would be strong favourites to beat them at Carrow Road in three weeks' time.

 

Before our next match, I confirmed loan deals for three teenage prospects. Midfielder Paolo Zoppe joined our Championship feeder club Leighton Town until the end of the season. Meanwhile, full-backs George Beadle and Norrie McKeown began loan stints at Scunthorpe United and Peterborough United - both in League One.

 

I also made my first (and probably only) signing of the January transfer window. At just 17 years old, António Machado - known simply as António - had already played in eight Primeira Liga matches for Guimaraes and won six caps for Portugal Under-21s. Though he wasn't particularly tall for a goalkeeper, I was impressed enough by his technical and tactical abilities to buy him off Guimaraes for the potential bargain price of £850,000.

 

António will be the reserve team's new first-choice goalkeeper, at least to begin with. Give him a year or two, and he'll probably be ready to usurp Antoni Giménez as Kayo Rowe's first-team understudy. That still left a question mark over the future of Bruno Rommel, who hadn't really kicked on as much as I'd anticipated, but that would be sorted out soon enough.

 

Of course, this latest signing means that I now have an António, an Antoni AND an Antonis in or around my first-team! No, that won't be confusing at all...

 

António is one for the future, but Nolan Barber's Dagenham career will soon be in the past. The 31-year-old right-back's contract at Rainham Road was due to expire in six months, and he'd already agreed to rejoin his former club Reading in the summer. Being the model pro that he was, though, Nolan would continue to give everything for us while he was still a Dagger.

[CFuller]

JANUARY 2041 (continued)

Next up for us was the first leg of our League Cup Semi Final with Wolverhampton Wanderers. Our starting line-up at Molineux was a real mixture of youth and experience. 33-year-old Joel Honeyball captained us up front, while 19-year-old Michael Walters was the elder statesman in a three-man defence that also included full debutants Jimmy Cullen and Matty Gilligan.

 

8 January 2041: Wolverhampton Wanderers vs Dagenham & Redbridge

The perils of having three teenagers protecting Dagenham goalkeeper Antoni Giménez quickly became apparent. Wolves winger Emiliano Colman had an early corner cleared out of our box by Gianfranco Torre, who could only flick it to Ferreira. The Brazilian struck a vicious first-time shot that deflected off his team-mate Franco Vitone and went loose in our area. None of our defenders could remove the danger before Hasney Mitchell powered the ball home, leaving us with an early 1-0 deficit.

 

Things had already gone badly for us before Mitchell's opener, as Dzenan Genjac had picked up a very early knock. That didn't stop the attacking midfielder from creating a great equalising opportunity in the 10th minute. Genjac's chip to Torre was flicked into the path of Joel Honeyball, but Wolves goalkeeper Ben Perk got to the ball before our captain.

 

Three minutes later, Giménez produced a confident catch to prevent Radenko Kostic from doubling Wanderers' advantage. Kostic would go from potential hero to villain in the 22nd minute, as the Serbian forward was beaten to Lee Allen's corner delivery for Dagenham. It was Michael Walters who prevailed, heading in his third goal in the League Cup this season!

 

One Daggers centre-back might've erased Wolves' lead, but another could've reinstated it after 25 minutes. Jimmy Cullen made a hash of his interception from a long ball by home midfielder Geoff Hawkins, allowing Mitchell to burst behind him and take the loose ball. Mitchell only had Giménez to beat... but he overhit the shot and missed the target!

 

There would be further missed opportunities at either end later in the first period. Wolves' 19-year-old midfielder Mike Stockhall had an effort clawed behind by Antoni in the 31st minute. Four minutes later, it was Perk who maintained parity by catching a punt from Torre. Genjac then fired a half-volley off target before being substituted at the end of an even first half.

 

Daggers substitute Michal Twardzik helped create an opening just eight minutes after the restart. His fantastic weighted pass to Torre was then threaded first-time to Honeyball, who capped off a fantastic move by, er, firing a tame shot safely at Perk.

 

Mitchell was rather more clinical for Wolves in the 54th minute, when he headed Colman's free-kick into the net. That goal was disallowed by the officials, who ruled that Mitchell was obstructing Giménez. Just moments later, though, Wanderers were 2-1 up for real. Vitone lifted a superb long ball out right to an unmarked Kostic, who surged clear and drove in an unstoppable shot.

 

We spent much of the next half-hour desperately battling to keep our deficit down to a single goal. Visiting supporters must've feared the worst when Colman got his head to a long delivery from Mitchell in the 58th minute, but Giménez stood his ground and made a fine catch. Five minutes later, Stockhall blazed over an ambitious shot from 25 yards out.

 

Wolves were at our door again in the 73rd minute, but Giménez did brilliantly to keep out a bullet from Kostic. A minute after that, the Spanish goalkeeper was nearly caught off his guard by a deep Colman cross that clipped his crossbar before deflecting wide.

 

Though I brought Dagenham's leading scorer Elliot Cook on for the final 15 minutes to try and grab a late equaliser, this wasn't to be our night. Vitone and the rest of the home defenders proved too strong for our attackers, and we would head into the second leg chasing the tie at 2-1 down. Advantage Wolves.

 

Wolverhampton Wanderers - 2 (Mitchell 4, Kostic 55)

Dagenham & Redbridge - 1 (Walters 22)

League Cup Semi Final Leg 1, Attendance 30,852

DAG & RED LINE-UP: Giménez, Cullen, Gilligan (Cook), Walters, Barber, Guerin, Allen, Saric (Martin), Genjac (Twardzik), Torre, Honeyball.

 

Despite the loss, I was still confident that we could turn the tie around at Rainham Road a fortnight later. The other Semi Final was also delicately poised, with Fulham and Rochdale having drawn 1-1 at Craven Cottage.

 

The latest Dagger to go out on loan was our young German goalkeeper Bruno Rommel. Having spent the first half of the season in the reserves, Bruno would now hone his craft at Everton until the summer. If he could adapt quickly to the Premier League, I would seriously consider promoting him to second-choice for next season.

 

Dagenham's number 1 Kayo Rowe returned to action when we visited Nottingham Forest in the Premier League. Our hosts were right in the relegation doldrums, thanks largely to an incredible 10-game losing streak early in the season. That said, things were starting to look more positive for Forest under new manager Cauley Woodrow.

 

12 January 2041: Nottingham Forest vs Dagenham & Redbridge

I was somewhat concerned to see us start quite slowly. Indeed, I was convinced that Enrique Álvarez hadn't heard the kick-off whistle when, after less than 45 seconds, our right-back left Luiz Gustavo in acres of space to receive a cross from his Nottingham Forest team-mate Bobby McCabe. Fortunately, Luiz Gustavo volleyed the ball into the side netting.

 

At least our frontmen were alert from the outset. With a little under ten minutes played, Gianfranco Torre knocked a lovely first-time ball to Elliot Cook in the Forest area. Elliot then tapped it past home captain Glenn Nordh to give us a 1-0 lead. Mind you, Cookie's joy would not last.

 

Forest equalised within two minutes, thanks to some truly shocking Daggers defending. Centre-halves George Darvill and Michael Walters both pressed Julio César Andrade on the edge of our area, leaving Andrade's strike partner Mark Nelson criminally unmarked. Andrade duly laid the ball off to the Scotsman, who finished with ease.

 

We looked to retake the lead in the 16th minute, but a scramble in the hosts' penalty area ended with Nordh making a simple catch from Frédéric Pereira. Four minutes later, the Tricky Trees' right-back Henry Aramayo tore our defence open with an excellent delivery from out wide to Andrade. The Ecuadorean was clearly in an offside position, and so his half-volley past a perplexed Kayo Rowe didn't count.

 

Andrade wouldn't make any mistake from his next opportunity. After 27 minutes, Nottingham Forest midfielder John Woods played a first-time ball to the 26-year-old just outside our 'D'. Andrade sped past Walters, whose last-ditch tackle failed to prevent him from drilling in a second Forest goal. The hosts had only mustered two shots on target in the first half, but they would be enough to earn them a surprise lead at the interval.

 

None of our defenders had impressed me in that first period, but Walters' positioning had been especially awful. I took Michael off at half-time and gave Bradley Charles 45 minutes to steady the ship. Bradley could've done even better and equalised within the first five. Sadly, his header from a Tumelo Mofokeng free-kick bounced into Nordh's hands.

 

We had further chances to draw level early on, but Nordh pushed away a strike from captain Orlando Salvador in the 52nd minute, while Elliot blazed an awful effort wide in the 53rd. The 54th minute would not be fondly remembered by Dagenham fans either. A miserable afternoon for our defence continued when a deep cross from McCabe was headed goalwards by Andrade. With Rowe off his line and too slow to reach the ball, Nottingham Forest's third shot on target brought them a third goal.

 

Even with over half an hour to go, I could sense that this match had slipped away. We didn't threaten to reduce our 3-1 deficit until Salvador's low drive was tipped behind by Nordh in the 67th minute. This was proving to be by some way Orlando's least effective display of a season in which he had set the bar so high for himself.

 

By contrast, Forest's captain was having a whale of a time. Nordh comfortably caught a strike from Cook after 73 minutes and was rarely tested thereafter. Not even late substitute Stevie Merson could conjure up a second goal for the Daggers, missing the target by some distance with his only effort in injury time.

 

Nottingham Forest then signed off with one final attempt to increase their lead, but Rowe's last-minute catch from Luiz Gustavo mattered little in the general scheme of things. A miserable 3-1 loss sent us tumbling out of the top four, with Wolverhampton Wanderers leapfrogging us.

 

Nottingham Forest - 3 (Nelson 12, Andrade 27,54)

Dagenham & Redbridge - 1 (Cook 10)

Premier League, Attendance 20,998 - POSITIONS: Nottm Forest 19th, Dag & Red 5th

DAG & RED LINE-UP: Rowe, Álvarez, Walters (Charles), Darvill, Martin, Mofokeng, Rattle (Twardzik), Pereira, Salvador, Cook, Torre (Merson).

 

I struggle to understand this team sometimes. We sang all the right notes like Katherine Jenkins in our previous meeting with Nottingham Forest... but in the rematch, we were more like Florence Foster Jenkins!

 

Enrique Álvarez had once again been off-key at right-back. It was frustrating to see an exceptional defensive talent consistently wilt under pressure, especially one who had cost so much. I fined Enrique a week's wages for his latest dismal display, and I then warned the Spaniard that my patience was him was wearing extremely thin.

 

On the subject of youngsters who were struggling with first-team football, Matty Maddison returned to Dagenham after a five-month loan at Swansea City. The 18-year-old left-winger's performances in League One had been disappointing, but Swansea's coaches were impressed by his professional attitude to training. Matty would soon be loaned out again, this time to a York City team who were mid-table in the Championship.

[CFuller]

JANUARY 2041 (continued)

After back-to-back defeats in the Midlands, we returned home for a meeting with another of the region's top teams. Derby County arrived at Rainham Road in 8th position, and unbeaten in their last six games.

 

15 January 2041: Dagenham & Redbridge vs Derby County

Homegrown starlets Elliot Cook and Stevie Merson led the Dagenham attack, but our first scoring opportunities came from more surprising sources. Left-back Hicham Martin's attempt to break his duck after just two minutes was caught by Maguila. The Derby goalkeeper also made simple work of a ninth-minute free-kick by Frédéric Pereira.

 

In the 18th, a corner delivery from Daggers captain bounced across Derby's penalty area before being hacked clear by the Rams' Finnish left-back Ntesang Phiri. Our right-back Nolan Barber caused the visitors further problems five minutes later with a wicked cross that bypassed their young defender Chris Moss. Merson then stuck a leg out to divert the ball across Maguila's line and score his first Dagenham goal since returning from Fulham!

 

Derby tried to draw level within a couple of minutes through Moss' new centre-back partner Adriano Pirozzi. Much to our relief, the £5.75million signing from Chelsea could only flick Mike Husband's free-kick past the post. Moss went for goal himself in the 32nd minute, but his near-post header from an Aidan Bobbins corner was met by Kayo Rowe's fingertips.

 

Moments later, Rowe caught another cross from Bobbins and rolled it out to Martin. Hicham's attempted clearance was cut out by Derby winger Jonathan Gorman, who powered it just over the crossbar. But for a matter of inches, we would surely have lost our 1-0 advantage.

 

Derby continued to threaten us in the second half, though only sporadically. After 59 minutes, Daggers midfielder Lee Allen - a half-time replacement for the tiring Pereira - mistimed a tackle on Rams counterpart Matty Holmes, who rode past him and threaded the ball into our area. The recipient was Yassine Allali, but the Belgian striker blazed his shot well over.

 

A series of great interceptions from first-time Premier League starter Bradley Charles helped prevent County from getting close to our goal again. Mind you, Bradley and co did have to deal with a couple of worrisome corners.

 

As for me, I would have to deal with yet another serious injury to Dzenan Genjac in the 80th minute. Dzenan was dribbling up the Derby half when he was taken out by a firm challenge from the visitors' midfield aggressor Pasic. Our young attacking midfielder was stretchered off with a suspected hamstring injury, forcing me into a late tactical overhaul.

 

We adopted a direct approach in the closing stages, with Mirko Saric and Milen Danchev playing on the wings. However, it was another wideman who would deal a devastating blow to Derby in the 84th minute. Barber half-volleyed the ball long to Cook, who raced past the Rams' substitute defender Kiril Nikolov as well as Maguila before cutting in a shot from an acute angle. Cookie's 13th goal of the season was lucky for us!

 

Elliot would cook Nikolov again three minutes later, cutting inside the Bulgarian and then laying the ball off to Stevie. A well-placed finish followed, sealing a comfortable 3-0 win - and a return to the top four - for Dagenham & Redbridge!

 

Dagenham & Redbridge - 3 (Merson 23,87, Cook 84)

Derby County - 0

Premier League, Attendance 24,130 - POSITIONS: Dag & Red 4th, Derby 9th

DAG & RED LINE-UP: Rowe, Barber, Charles, Darvill, Martin, Jorgensen, Salvador (Saric), Pereira (Allen), Genjac (Danchev), Cook, Merson.

 

We'd scored 50 goals in just 23 Premier League matches this term, more than any other team except leaders Arsenal. What's more, Elliot Cook and Stevie Merson were now on 10 top-flight goals each for the season. Stevie's tally, which included the eight he'd scored for Fulham, was especially impressive for someone who - need I remind you - was still only EIGHTEEN!

 

After congratulating Merse and Cookie on their goals, and Nolan Barber on being named 'man of the match', I checked up on our stricken star Dzenan Genjac. The attacking midfielder groaned as he revealed that he had torn his hamstring, yet again.

 

Genjac would be unavailable for the best part of the next three months. He joined a growing injury list that still included Antonis Siafos and Mark Washington, though Vicente Gridelli was close to returning to full training.

 

I received another major shock upon checking my phone later that evening. Arsenal had been knocked out of the FA Cup after losing their Round 3 Replay by a single goal... to Conference Premier leaders Grimsby Town! That was the first time a non-league team had eliminated a top-flight side from the competition since Sutton United accounted for Coventry City way back in 1989!

 

It was also the first domestic defeat Arsenal had suffered since we beat them 5-2 in November. All of a sudden, the Gunners' aura of invincibility had been shattered, and the title race was possibly about to be blown wide open!

 

We had now won 11 consecutive home matches, including eight in the Premier League. We aimed to keep those excellent runs going against Brighton & Hove Albion, who were in 16th, and just a single point above the drop zone.

 

Brighton's 2-0 win over us at the AMEX Stadium in September was one of just four league victories the Seagulls had registered all season. The other three had also come on home soil - against Rochdale, Blackburn Rovers and latterly West Ham United. If Albion could snatch an away win at Rainham Road, it would certainly be a major shock, if not quite of Grimsby-Arsenal proportions!

 

19 January 2041: Dagenham & Redbridge vs Brighton & Hove Albion

Our midfielders put Brighton under pressure almost immediately, producing the opening goal after just six minutes. Captain Orlando Salvador exchanged passes with Kenneth Jorgensen and then moved the ball on to Paddy Rattle just inside the 'D'. The homegrown teenager then drove in a superb strike to get us off to the perfect start!

 

Four minutes later, though, we were perilously close to losing our lead. Daggers goalie Kayo Rowe had a shocker when his attempted pass to Bradley Charles was cut out close to goal by Brighton striker Nsofwa Kanyanta. The Zambian-born former England Under-21s striker looked certain to score, but Kayo recovered brilliantly to tip his strike behind!

 

After that massive scare, we attempted to strengthen our advantage. George Darvill rattled the bar with a header from Rattle's corner in the 14th minute. Stevie Merson and Nolan Barber also missed chances for the Daggers midway through the half before Charles headed a Salvador corner over in the 35th minute.

 

The Seagulls racked up a couple of corners late on, but with Dagenham centre-halves Darvill and Charles both in fine form, they couldn't break through. Right-back Barber had also fared well for us prior to picking up a knock in the closing stages. Nolan would be replaced by Enrique Álvarez during the interval.

 

We attacked Albion again in the opening exchanges of the second half, with Salvador driving a shot inches over just 30 seconds after kick-off. A couple of minutes later, Rattle set up a great chance for Merson, which was fired straight into the hands of Fernando Ortíz. Neither Stevie nor Elliot Cook would be particularly effective up front for the Daggers against the experienced Colombian goalkeeper.

 

The Seagulls flew towards goal in the 51st minute, with right-back and captain Lee Bowden knocking the ball past Frédéric Pereira before crossing to the far post. Bowden's counterpart Álvarez knocked the ball away from Adi Music, but Edmundo claimed the loose ball and unleashed a powerful strike that Rowe pushed wide.

 

Another of Brighton's ex-Daggers went for goal in the 64th minute, but Neil McCann's header from Kanyanta's cross was nodded clear by our left-back Hicham Martin. Edmundo tried his luck again six minutes after that. The Brazilian's 30-yard attempt didn't fool Rowe, whose clean sheet remained intact as the endgame neared.

 

Salvador continued to pursue a second Dagenham goal on 73 minutes, when his fierce long-distance drive tested Ortíz. Two minutes later, Rattle had a punt deflect heavily off Brighton centre-half Malcolm Mansfield. Daggers substitute Gianfranco Torre headed the rebound goalwards, but only into Ortíz's hands.

 

Then, after 81 minutes, a left-wing cross from Music tested us to our limit. Pereira's interception only went as far as Bowden, who cut the ball across for Seagulls midfielder Matt Hopkins to hit a first-time strike. Rowe again reacted quickly to divert the ball away, and effectively secure us the points.

 

Though Ortíz had to catch a couple of late headers from Torre and Merson, we couldn't strengthen our position. Indeed, we weren't wholly confident of victory until Brighton centre-half Aaron Perkins limped off injured in stoppage time, reducing the Seagulls to 10 men.

 

Dagenham & Redbridge - 1 (Rattle 6)

Brighton & Hove Albion - 0

Premier League, Attendance 23,504 - POSITIONS: Dag & Red 4th, Brighton 17th

DAG & RED LINE-UP: Rowe, Barber (Álvarez), Charles, Darvill, Martin, Jorgensen, Salvador, Pereira, Rattle (Mofokeng), Cook (Torre), Merson.

 

Having wasted so many chances to bolster our 1-0 lead, we barely deserved to hold on for the win. Thank goodness that Kayo Rowe was in fine fettle in goal. Then again, I wouldn't expect anything less from England's number 1.

 

That was our last Premier League match in January, with the cup competitions becoming our main focus for the rest of the month. As things stood, an FA Cup and League Cup 'Double' looked doable.

[CFuller]

JANUARY 2041 (continued)

The second leg of our League Cup Semi Final came in midweek. Wolverhampton Wanderers carried a narrow 2-1 first-leg lead over to Rainham Road, but they arrived in Dagenham licking their wounds after three consecutive league defeats.

 

The other Semi Final had been completed the previous evening. Rochdale had home advantage at the Slovalco Arena after a 1-1 draw in the first leg at Craven Cottage, but it was Fulham who prevailed 4-1 to claim a 5-2 aggregate win. That meant another all-London Final at Wembley would be on if we could do our bit.

 

23 January 2041: Dagenham & Redbridge vs Wolverhampton Wanderers

Elliot Cook launched a one-man crusade to reverse our one-man deficit in the opening stages. Just 74 seconds after kick-off, our leading scorer latched onto a right-wing delivery from Milen Danchev and powered in a shot that Wolves keeper Ben Perk could only help divert into the net. With Cook's opening goal, it was now 2-2 on aggregate... but that wouldn't be the case for long.

 

When Nolan Barber whipped another excellent right-wing cross into Wolves' box in the sixth minute, a couple of defenders raised their arms, protesting for an offside call against Cook. The call didn't come, and Elliot powered Nolan's sublime ball past a perplexed Perk to double his tally! We now found ourselves leading the tie 3-2!

 

Understandably, Cookie couldn't keep up the frenetic pace after his early brace. Instead, it was up to others to pursue what would've been our third goal on the night. Michal Twardzik's 24th-minute free-kick was caught by Perk, who then watched our other young midfielder Benjamin Guerin screw a shot wide four minutes later.

 

In the 29th minute, Wolves' 17-year-old middleman Ryan Palmer set up a chance for the more experienced Chinese star Lu Yifu, who fired inches off target. The visitors saw another chance go begging on 34 minutes. Portugal forward Rui Charana watched on in horror as his free-kick was flicked against the bar by Dutch centre-half Jamal Goossens.

 

When Charana got another chance to whip in a set-piece after 38 minutes, he was determined to make the most of it. His long corner found Goossens, who rose above Daggers youngster Jimmy Cullen and nodded to the near post. That was where Bruno Vukcevic got a deft touch that flicked the ball past a distraught Antoni Giménez in the Dagenham goal. Our lead on the night had been cut to the same 2-1 scoreline Wolves had won by in the first leg. As things stood, this tie would be heading for extra-time.

 

With the match delicately poised, I brought star man Orlando Salvador on for Twardzik in a bid to swing the match in our favour. Orlando did just that in the 48th minute, winning us a free-kick after his dribble towards goal was halted by a shoulder-barge from Charana. Though Salvador was our free-kick king, Gianfranco Torre decided to take the set-piece, powering it over Perk's head and into the net from 25 yards out! We were now leading 3-1, and 4-3 on aggregate!

 

When Guerin nodded a desperate Charana cross out of our box after 56 minutes, we looked set to stun Wolves again from a counter-attack. Within moments, Allen had fed an excellent cross from the left to Cook in the six-yard box. Our fans prepared to celebrate a hat-trick goal, but instead of taking the match ball home, Elliot scuffed it wide.

 

Undeterred, Allen would claim a well-deserved assist two minutes later. Milen's corner delivery was headed out of the Wolves area by Janusz Blaszczyk, but Lee volleyed it back into the danger zone for Beni. Guerin turned past Wanderers striker Sean Richards and then drilled home his maiden Daggers goal, giving us a clear advantage!

 

Cook then had a couple more opportunities to wrap up his treble either side of the hour mark. The first was blazed well off target, but the second was tipped behind by Perk. That was followed by further misses from Salvador and Torre, and an uncomfortable Perk catch from Cullen's audacious header in the 68th minute.

 

Giménez wouldn't have to make a save of his own after 72 minutes, when the Spaniard tipped away a hopeful shot from Charana. That was about it as far as Wolves' attacks were concerned, and it wouldn't be much longer before we put them to sleep.

 

After 86 minutes, late Dagenham substitute Tumelo Mofokeng provided Salvador with the ammunition for the coup de grace. Tumelo's chipped free-kick deflected ideally to Orlando, whose 10th goal of the season booked us another visit to the home of English football. Just like against Liverpool in 2038, we had overcome a first-leg deficit in the League Cup Semi Final and won the return fixture by four goals.

 

Dagenham & Redbridge - 5 (Cook 2,6, Torre 48, Guerin 58, Salvador 86)

Wolverhampton Wanderers - 1 (Vukcevic 38)

[Dagenham & Redbridge win 6-3 on aggregate]

League Cup Semi Final Leg 2, Attendance 26,772

DAG & RED LINE-UP: Giménez, Barber, Cullen, Walters, Martin, Guerin, Allen (Mofokeng), Danchev, Twardzik (Salvador), Torre, Cook (Marjanovic).

 

Dagenham & Redbridge were into a third League Cup Final in four seasons. We now only had to beat Fulham at Wembley on 24 February to lift the trophy once again.

 

The League Cup was nice, but the FA Cup was something I really craved. Our pursuit of the oldest trophy in professional football continued at Carrow Road, where we faced Norwich City in Round 4. Most of the Daggers' household names returned to our starting line-up, including Argentine defender Vicente Gridelli, who had been out for a month with a fractured arm.

 

26 January 2041: Norwich City vs Dagenham & Redbridge

This match began scrappily, with Elliot Cook pulling Dagenham's first chance well wide after two minutes. Norwich launched their first attack in the sixth minute, as striker Luís Soares had a fierce drive blocked by Portuguese compatriot Orlando Salvador. Moments later, Carrow Road stalwart Darren Croft blasted over another early opportunity for the hosts, who would soon be put firmly on the back foot.

 

With nine minutes gone, Bulgaria winger Milen Danchev drifted a fantastic Daggers corner into the City box. George Darvill then leapt up to head in his SIXTH goal this season and give us an early lead!

 

The home fans roared their team on to try and grab a quick equaliser, but Soares could only head Stephen Clark's byline cross over the bar in the 12th minute. Norwich were also unable to make the most of a 15th-minute Toshiyuki Inoue corner, which Darvill easily intercepted.

 

Antoni Giménez wouldn't have to do much in the Dagenham goal until he parried a vicious drive from Canaries striker Peter van Weert in the 31st minute. Giménez then played a dangerous string of passes with fellow Spaniard Enrique Álvarez, who then tried to slide the ball away from the onrushing van Weert. The right-back could only knock it into the path of Soares, who punished the Dagenham pair with a simple tap-in.

 

After our latest defensive disaster, the rest of the first half was all one-way traffic. Giménez showed much better composure in the 37th minute to tip behind a cross from teenage Norwich winger Matt Field before Marios Sofroniou could head it home. The Catalan keeper then caught a long-range free-kick from Inoue in the 42nd minute, and another Soares drive in the 43rd, to keep the scores level at 1-1.

 

Following a worrying conclusion to the first half, we turned the tables in the second. Frédéric Pereira's piledriver moments after kick-off was pushed wide by Norwich's evergreen goalkeeper Stuart Burns. The 37-year-old also kept out a couple of early attempts from Salvador and Vicente Gridelli. Meanwhile, Burns' defenders continued to shut lone striker Elliot Cook out of proceedings. Cook would eventually be replaced with Stevie Merson, though not before Giménez was forced to save another Inoue free-kick on 56 minutes.

 

Both teams had bright spells in the closing half-hour, with ours coming first. We attempted to exploit Norwich's vulnerability from set-pieces in the 63rd minute, as Torre's free-kick began a promising move that ended with Salvador firing inches wide. Four minutes later, Orlando's whipped corner found the head of George, who was denied his brace by Burns' fingertips.

 

All in all, we would win 14 corners, with Canaries captain Rubén Palma fantastically intercepting many of them. Palma was gifted a rare scoring chance in the 73rd minute. Darvill could only clear an Inoue corner as far as the big Peruvian, who volleyed it miles over the bar.

 

Palma and company were momentarily opened up by some incisive Dagenham passing three minutes before full-time. Sadly, our best attacking move of the match resulted in a dreadful strike from left-back Hicham Martin. The teams remained deadlocked at the end of a tense FA Cup encounter.

 

Norwich City - 1 (Soares 31)

Dagenham & Redbridge - 1 (Darvill 9)

FA Cup Round 4, Attendance 26,558

DAG & RED LINE-UP: Giménez, Álvarez (Barber), Gridelli, Darvill, Martin, Jorgensen, Pereira, Danchev (Rattle), Salvador, Torre, Cook (Merson).

 

This FA Cup tie will be replayed at Rainham Road on 9 February. The winner of that fixture can look forward to a Round 5 match at the Madejski Stadium against Reading.

 

The end of January saw a host of loanees return to Dagenham. Midfield playmaker Warren Johnston enjoyed his six months at Aston Villa, while Alex Hunter left Swansea City with 13 League One goals on his CV.

 

Disappointingly, Peter Mikkelsen only found the net twice in 28 Championship games for mid-table Leighton Town. The 18-year-old Dane was soon farmed out to another second-tier club - high-flying Ipswich Town.

 

Centre-half Jimmy Cullen and youth midfielder Kurt Walker will also end this season in the Championship, having been loaned to Crewe Alexandra and Watford respectively. Defensive midfielder Benjamin Guerin continued his encouraging development by joining Anderlecht for the remainder of the Belgian Pro League campaign.

 

Meanwhile, I checked up on the progress of our South Africa internationals Siphesihle Gumede and Thulani Mazibuko, who were at the Africa Cup of Nations in Morocco. Bafana Bafana only just scraped through their group, progressing to a Quarter Final against Algeria.

 

After South Africa's 3-1 group win over Ivory Coast, Gumede phoned me up... and suddenly issued me with a transfer request. I'd held discussions with Zippy about a new contract for a few weeks prior to the ACN, but those talks had stalled over his wage demands. The central defender had now decided that he wanted to join a club that would "pay me what I'm worth".

 

Gumede's request came just over 24 hours before the transfer window was due to close. I asked him to "be reasonable" and stay with Dagenham, but he was adamant that he wanted out, so I had no choice but to put him up for sale.

 

A bidding war involving multiple clubs ensued over the first few hours of deadline day. The likes of Borussia Dortmund, Real Betis and Real Sociedad had all declared their interest. By the afternoon, though, Zippy had been given a choice of two clubs - Coventry City or Bayern Munich, each of whom had had bids of £17.5million accepted.

 

Bayern offered Gumede a starring role in a UEFA Champions League team full of world-class talent. Coventry offered him £110,000 per week. Naturally, he went with the money, agreeing to join the Sky Blues after his international duties were completed.

 

By the time Zippy finalised his move to Coventry later that evening, I had already tied up a deal for his replacement.

 

Kevin Schaeffer was a physically-imposing 22-year-old centre-back with one international cap for France and a cool head on his young-ish shoulders. Kevin cost us a relatively low £12million from Rochdale, where he had struggled to make an impact since moving from Paris Saint-Germain in June 2039. Here's hoping he can now pick up where his Dagenham predecessor left off.

[CFuller]

Premier League Table (End of January 2041)

                                   P     W     D     L     F     A     GD    PTS
1.          Arsenal                24    17    4     3     54    20    +34   55
2.          Man City               24    15    7     2     39    12    +27   52
3.          Man Utd                24    15    6     3     56    26    +30   51
4.          Dag & Red              24    14    3     7     51    27    +24   45
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
5.          Reading                24    13    3     8     43    34    +9    42
6.          Derby                  25    10    10    5     37    26    +11   40
7.          Wolves                 25    12    4     9     41    31    +10   40
8.          West Ham               25    12    4     9     28    30    -2    40
9.          Fulham                 24    11    5     8     39    37    +2    38
10.         Liverpool              25    11    4     10    38    26    +12   37
11.         Chelsea                23    10    3     10    28    33    -5    33
12.         Coventry               25    8     4     13    21    28    -7    28
13.         Huddersfield           25    7     5     13    25    53    -28   26
14.         Rochdale               25    5     10    10    19    32    -13   25
15.         Brighton               25    6     7     12    22    36    -14   25
16.         Southampton            25    5     9     11    23    32    -9    24
17.         Everton                25    6     4     15    27    47    -20   22
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
18.         Blackburn              24    5     6     13    25    40    -15   21
19.         Norwich                25    4     7     14    29    51    -22   19
20.         Nottm Forest           24    5     3     16    29    53    -24   18

 

[CFuller]

FEBRUARY 2041

While Dagenham & Redbridge entered February on a 14-game winning streak at home, we had also gone six successive away matches without tasting victory. We attempted to snap the latter run at a rainy St Mary's against Southampton on the first weekend of the new month.

 

Until recently, Southampton had been floundering at the bottom of the Premier League, with one win from 20 games. However, four straight victories had turned their season around and moved them up to 16th. 28-year-old England superstar Maurice Hockley had scored eight times in that run, including back-to-back hat-tricks against Norwich City and Coventry City.

 

Our new signing Kevin Schaeffer's debut would have to wait, as I didn't want to risk the French defender getting torn apart on his first outing since arriving from Rochdale. Instead, George Darvill and Vicente Gridelli retained their places at centre-half.

 

2 February 2041: Southampton vs Dagenham & Redbridge

Just three days before this match, Maurice Hockley had smashed Mick Channon's record of 185 league goals for Southampton. He was the last player we wanted to give chances to, so I was concerned when we conceded a free-kick close to our goal in the third minute. Luckily, Milen Danchev's shove on Saints midfielder Mário Sérgio wouldn't be punished by Hockley, who fired wide.

 

We got away with another mistake on 11 minutes. This time, left-back Hicham Martin lost the ball to Southampton captain Jason Pack, who sent a powerful drive towards goal. Dagenham keeper Kayo Rowe could only parry the ball to Hockley, who incredibly pulled it wide from a virtually unmissable position! Hockley would go on to spurn another great chance eight minutes later.

 

Dagenham striker Gianfranco Torre also struggled when he bent a 25-yarder wide on 31 minutes, two minutes before having a free-kick caught by Joshua Regan. Daggers midfielder Lee Allen did beat Regan in the 39th minute with a banana shot, but not before the Saints keeper was impeded by Frédéric Pereira. The French destroyer was penalised, and Lee's goal chalked off.

 

Pereira got stuck into Southampton forward Fatmir Malaj early in the second half, with a full-blooded challenge leaving the Albanian in some pain. Though Malaj soon returned to the field, he was later roughed up again. Pereira pulled back on his shirt in the 51st minute to stop a Saints attack that was in full flow. Frédi was booked for his troubles, and I considered taking him off before he received another yellow.

 

Then, after 57 minutes, came the biggest moment in the match yet. George Darvill's header from a Danchev corner was met by an awkward parry from Regan. The ball fell to our other centre-half Vicente Gridelli, whose powerful shot deflected off Orlando Salvador and into the net. The goal was credited to the Daggers captain rather than Gridelli, as if Vicente cared!

 

Shortly after we took the lead, I replaced Pereira with Kenneth Jorgensen. While Kenny gave us a bit more defensive stability, Orlando looked to strengthen our position by creating another goal on 64 minutes. A weighted pass from Salvador sent Torre clean through, but Regan made an awkward save. A minor scramble ensued before Danchev picked up the loose ball and drove a fierce shot into Regan's hands.

 

Milen made up for that disappointment in the 69th minute. The Bulgarian right-winger lifted a sublime searching ball to our left-winger Mirko Saric, who knocked it past Southampton full-back Bill Middleton and then unleashed a spectacular half-volley! Regan was left dumbfounded, and we were now 2-0 up.

 

The Saints couldn't march back into contention. In the 75th minute, not long after Regan had denied Danchev a third Daggers goal, another home player shot himself in the foot. Left-back Peter Beardsley went in hard on our right-back Enrique Álvarez whilst already on a yellow card, and there was no question of referee Gary Ashley sending him off.

 

Beardsley's first red card in a 15-year Southampton career was a fateful blow. While Southampton's left-back was turning on the shower in the home dressing room, his Daggers counterpart was securing victory. Hicham played a fantastic square ball through space to Mirko, whose clinical finish brought him a second goal and delivered all three points to the Daggers.

 

Southampton - 0

Dagenham & Redbridge - 3 (Salvador 57, Saric 69,82)

Premier League, Attendance 31,648 - POSITIONS: Southampton 16th, Dag & Red 4th

DAG & RED LINE-UP: Rowe, Álvarez, Gridelli, Darvill, Martin, Pereira (Jorgensen), Allen, Danchev (Cook), Salvador (Mofokeng), Saric, Torre. BOOKED: Pereira.

 

The Daggers were now in full flow, so I was fearful that the midweek international break would disrupt our rhythm. Thankfully, all our international stars would return unscathed, and still in decent form. Amongst them was Kayo Rowe, who superbly shut out Gianfranco Torre and Italy in a 2-0 home win for England.

 

The following weekend saw us host Norwich City in our FA Cup Round 4 Replay. We had not got beyond that stage of the competition since going all the way to the Final in 2037. If we could cage the Canaries at the second attempt, we would be rewarded with a Round 5 tie at Reading.

 

This match saw a welcome return to Dagenham duty for left-back Thulani Mazibuko, whose South Africa team had been knocked out by Algeria in the Africa Cup of Nations Quarter Finals. We also had Antonis Siafos back for the first time since the striker sprained his ankle on New Year's Day.

 

9 February 2041: Dagenham & Redbridge vs Norwich City

The free-kick specialists on each side had early opportunities to strike the first blow. Dagenham captain Orlando Salvador fired a vicious effort over Norwich's wall after four minutes, but Stuart Burns made a comfortable catch. A minute later, it was Canaries midfielder Chaker Radhouani's turn to go for goal, firing a long-range set-piece into the hands of Daggers keeper Antoni Giménez.

 

Burns was next tested in the 7th minute, clawing behind a powerful drive from our midfield aggressor Lee Allen. After that, however, we posed little threat to Norwich's three-man defence, who kept Stevie Merson and Antonis Siafos very quiet.

 

The next half-hour was a real slog for us until the 34th minute, Allen found the overlapping run of our returning wing-back Thulani Mazibuko. Thulani looked set to cut the ball home from an acute angle, but Burns closed him down just in time. Two minutes later, Siafos cut inside from the right flank, only to mishit his shot.

 

Persistence finally paid off for the Daggers three minutes before half-time. Just like in the original fixture, George Darvill headed us into the lead from a corner, this one coming from Allen. The 27-year-old club legend had risen to the big occasion once again and moved us a step closer to Round 5.

 

Norwich's attack had not caused us too many problems in the first half, but things were rather different after the restart. City winger Matt Field launched an audacious 25-yard attempt in the 51st minute, giving Giménez some work. Antoni then watched a wayward strike from midfielder Aldin Hodzic go wide on 53 minutes before denying Field again three minutes later. Mind you, the 17-year-old had already been flagged offside.

 

We countered the Canaries in the 58th minute, when attacking midfielder Paddy Rattle dispossessed Radhouani and dribbled virtually half the length of the pitch. After exchanging passes with Siafos, Rattle moved the ball out right to wing-back Enrique Álvarez. The Spaniard then played a calm centre for Tony to fire in at the near post!

 

Furious at gifting us a two-goal lead, Radhouani sought to halve it from a free-kick in the 62nd minute. Giménez caught the Tunisian's drive, but things soon took a worrying turn for us when Allen hurt himself in a clash with Field. Lee limped off injured, and after Burns made a couple of saves from Tony and Orlando Salvador, the visitors renewed their attacking efforts.

 

Argentine centre-half Rubén Gonzalez went up front for Norwich, heading a Field cross wide on 70 minutes. Youngster Jonathan Cross fared little better with a dreadful strike a minute later. As for the Canaries' joint-top scorer Luís Soares, our defence deprived the Portuguese ace of any shooting opportunities.

 

This was to be a miserable afternoon all round for the men from Norfolk. Radhouani sustained a knock in the 80th minute, while defender Callum Tyas strained his groin two minutes from time, when manager Karl Scully had already used up all his substitutes. Norwich therefore finished with only 10 players on the field, and our progression to the next round of the FA Cup was ultimately a smooth one.

 

Dagenham & Redbridge - 2 (Darvill 42, Siafos 58)

Norwich City - 0

FA Cup Round 4 Replay, Attendance 20,975

DAG & RED LINE-UP: Giménez, Álvarez, Walters, Darvill, Mazibuko, Mofokeng, Rattle, Allen (Pereira), Salvador (Saric), Siafos, Merson (Torre).

 

We would travel to the Madejski Stadium seven days later to fight Reading for an FA Cup Quarter Final berth. In the meantime, though, there was a small matter of a UEFA Champions League match to negotiate.

 

After the winter break, our inaugural Champions League expedition resumed with the first leg of our Round of 16 tie against Benfica. We had welcomed the Portuguese giants to Rainham Road once before, beating them 3-2 in a pre-season friendly in 2039. It looked very likely that we would need to rack up another home victory to have any realistic chance of making further progress in the competition.

 

George Darvill was starting a three-game European suspension, following his red card in the final group match against Real Sociedad in December. That meant Kevin Schaeffer would get to make his Daggers bow in the centre of our defence, playing alongside Vicente Gridelli.

 

12 February 2041: Dagenham & Redbridge vs Benfica

The England and Portugal managers were both in attendance for this tussle. Three Lions boss Rogier Molhoek would surely have been impressed by Daggers goalkeeper Kayo Rowe in the second minute. Benfica's Russian winger Pavel Kolesnikov surged past our left-back Hicham Martin and looked set to drive in an early away goal, but Rowe pulled off a fantastic stop just in time.

 

The Águias went close again after seven minutes, with the powerful Chilean forward Rodrigo Ahumada driving a shot inches wide. Our South American almost came good in the 15th minute, but a header from defender Vicente Gridelli looped over the bar.

 

Four minutes after that, it was Orlando Salvador's turn to drive a shot wide for Dagenham. Our captain and playmaker had another opportunity from a free-kick after 28 minutes, but his attempt was cleared by Benfica skipper Mauro César.

 

We looked on edge for the rest of the half, though we could consider ourselves unfortunate not to head into the break with a narrow lead. Visiting goalkeeper Anis Araouri produced a couple of late catches to prevent either Antonis Siafos or Kevin Schaeffer from heading in the opening goal. Schaeffer had enjoyed a solid first half to his Dagenham career, settling into his defensive duties quickly and helping Gridelli to silence the Águias.

 

I made one change at half-time, bringing right-winger Milen Danchev on to replace Siafos. I would have to bring on another substitute six minutes after the restart. Elliot Cook collided heavily with Benfica forward Marcelo Lastra and came off to be replaced in the Daggers attack with 18-year-old Stevie Merson.

 

Our opponents now looked more likely to break the deadlock. They'd already given Rowe another test on 48 minutes, when midfielder Lopes' low shot was caught by the England number 1. Another boost to Benfica's hopes would come after 59 minutes.

 

Young Brazilian midfielder Antonio beat Frédéric Pereira to a throw-in from Martin close to the away goal. Pereira retaliated by hacking Antonio down with both feet! There was no excuse for that, and the Frenchman deserved his red card.

 

Frédi's dismissal left us a man short, and with a large gap to fill in midfield. Forward Gianfranco Torre was taken off, with Tumelo Mofokeng coming on to take on Pereira's duties. I expected an aggressive response from Benfica, but that didn't come. Indeed, by the 70th minute, our 10 men were taking the game to their 11!

 

Danchev showed great skill to knock the ball through the legs of Mauro César on the edge of the Águias' box, and then keep it in play just before it could cross the byline. Milen then centred it to the far post, where Stevie got behind the defence and tapped in his first UEFA Champions League goal! 1-0 to the Daggers!

 

Things almost got even better for our teen sensation in the 73rd minute, but Merson's second attempt couldn't quite beat Araouri. At the other end in the 75th minute, Schaeffer brilliantly intercepted a cross by Benfica midfielder Fabiano. The ball dipped towards Antonio, who volleyed it wide.

 

Gridelli also did his bit for us three minutes later, taking Ahumada out with a firm challenge. Ahumada picked up a knock in that tackle and had to be replaced with Emiliano Luque. With three minutes to go, a poor goal kick from Rowe gifted Luque a chance to equalise. Lastra intercepted the punt and cushioned it to the 33-year-old, who would've been clean through had it not been for a last-ditch challenge from right-back Nolan Barber.

 

Nolan's tackle came at the expense of a free-kick, but Kolesnikov's set-piece bounced safely into Rowe's hands. Kayo would save two more efforts from Kolesnikov in the closing stages to secure us a 1-0 first-leg win. Stevie claimed the headlines, but Kevin was named 'man of the match' after an exceptional first Daggers outing for the Parisian defender.

 

Dagenham & Redbridge - 1 (Merson 70)

Benfica - 0

UEFA Champions League Round of 16 Leg 1, Attendance 26,772

DAG & RED LINE-UP: Rowe, Barber, Schaeffer, Gridelli, Martin, Jorgensen, Pereira, Torre (Mofokeng), Salvador, Siafos (Danchev), Cook (Merson). SENT OFF: Pereira.

 

Thanks largely to one Frenchman, and in spite of another, we had ground out an incredible 16th consecutive victory at Rainham Road. There really was no place like home!

[CFuller]

FEBRUARY 2041 (continued)

A week after eliminating Norwich City from the FA Cup, we looked to cross Reading off our list. Victory at the Madejski Stadium in Round 5 would move us halfway towards our goal of lifting that trophy.

 

Reading had enjoyed an incredible start to the season before steadily slipping back towards mediocrity. Zema Abbey's Royals were still 5th in the Premier League, but they were a long way off the 'Big Three'... and we were building quite a lead on them too.

 

16 February 2041: Reading vs Dagenham & Redbridge

Reading right-winger Jiri Vesely might have shared his name with a former professional tennis player, but the Czech Republic international's vicious strike after four minutes was far from ace. Two minutes later, his compatriot Michal Twardzik set up a better opportunity for Dagenham. Twardzik played in Antonis Siafos, who cut past Royals midfielder Adam McNamara before seeing his low drive pushed away by Patrick Braspenning.

 

Tony's shot aside, we failed to make serious inroads in the Reading defence early on. Indeed, a turgid opening half-hour offered little for either set of fans to cheer about. Daggers striker Stevie Merson went to ground in the Royals' penalty area on 31 minutes, after Thulani Mazibuko's cross was cleared by Keith McDonagh. The referee didn't 'fall' for that, booking Merse for diving.

 

We would also have midfielder Lee Allen booked in the 37th minute, following a shove on his wonderfully-named Reading counterpart Grantley Cheal. Mind you, there were signs in the closing stages of the first half that we were nearing a breakthrough.

 

Braspenning saved a couple more attempts from Siafos before finally being beaten in the penultimate minute. Mazibuko showed why I'd appointed him captain for the day by whipping in an excellent corner for George Darvill to head home our opener. George had maintained his incredible record of scoring in every match of our FA Cup run!

 

Reading's backline, which featured ex-Daggers centre-half Jameel Bailey, looked more suspect in the second half. Moments after the restart, Braspenning needed to punch away Enrique Álvarez's cross before Gianfranco Torre could apply the finish. The home goalkeeper also stopped efforts from Dagenham midfielders Paddy Rattle and Tumelo Mofokeng in the 49th and 56th minutes.

 

After 59 minutes, Reading created their best attacking move to date. Vesely curled the ball to the far post, where left-winger Iain Kane flicked it over the bar. Royals fans would be left in even more despair just moments later.

 

Kayo Rowe's goal kick bounced long to Siafos, who attempted to flick it on to Torre in the penalty area. Reading defenders Maurin Kudimbana and McDonagh each failed to head the danger away, with the latter's sorry excuse of a clearance being met by a stunning volley from Torre. Franco had scored for just the second time since New Year's Day, and we were 2-0 up!

 

Siafos and Rattle each wasted chances to hammer home our advantage in the final half-hour, but a third Dagenham goal would not be required. Reading were in a right Royal mess, and unable to get a single shot on target. A couple of wild long-rangers from Kane failed to get near Kayo's goal. Not even leading scorer Jamie Spice could dirty Rowe's clean sheet, as he had a desperate shot blocked by Daggers defender Michael Walters five minutes before our place in Round 6 was confirmed.

 

Reading - 0

Dagenham & Redbridge - 2 (Darvill 44, Torre 59)

FA Cup Round 5, Attendance 22,745

DAG & RED LINE-UP: Rowe, Álvarez (Gridelli), Walters, Darvill, Mazibuko, Mofokeng, Rattle, Allen (Jorgensen), Twardzik, Siafos, Merson (Torre). BOOKED: Merson, Allen.

 

We were into the FA Cup Quarter Finals, but most of the big-hitters were out. Only two other teams from the Premier League's top half remained in contention - Derby County and Manchester City, who would play each other in Round 5 later in February after Derby's belated win over Leighton Town.

 

There were six PL teams and five from the lower leagues still in the running when the Round 6 draw took place. We were given an away game against a Championship team in March, though Tottenham Hotspur and Newcastle United would have to replay one another for the privilege of hosting us.

 

We had one more match before the League Cup Final, and this was a chance to exact some sweet revenge. Blackburn Rovers were the most recent team to have beaten us at Rainham Road, back in September. Rovers had recorded four more away victories since then, but their total inability to win at Ewood Park had left them mired in the bottom three.

 

20 February 2041: Blackburn Rovers vs Dagenham & Redbridge

It wasn't hard to figure out why Blackburn were so dreadful on their own patch. After just four minutes, Enrique Álvarez's cross into the Rovers box was weakly intercepted by Thomas Panagiotidis. Daggers midfielder Tumelo Mofokeng ran onto the loose ball, and then dribbled through a ludicrous amount of space in the area before driving in his first goal of the season! You know the opposition are a load of rubbish if even Tumelo scores against them!

 

Panagiotidis tried to make amends in the 8th minute, setting up an equalising chance for Sadio Tigana. The former Manchester United striker put some curve in his shot, but it didn't trouble Kayo Rowe in the Daggers goal.

 

We then saw 'the good, the bad, and the ugly' from Elliot Cook - in reverse order. Our homegrown striker volleyed his first shot into the side netting after 13 minutes, and his next effort was pushed away by Blackburn keeper Oliver Piper a minute later. In the 18th minute, though, Elliot broke through Rovers' offside trap with a weighted pass to captain Orlando Salvador, who doubled our lead on his 24th birthday!

 

Things would soon get worse for the Ewood Park faithful. After Dougie Inglis and Ognjen Naic each missed chances to halve Blackburn's deficit, Cook went on to increase it in the 27th minute. Tumelo knocked the ball off Panagiotidis' feet and into the path of Elliot, who turned past home defender Brian Brizuela and cracked in his 16th goal of the season!

 

Our three-goal cushion did not last too long. New Daggers centre-half Kevin Schaeffer looked shaky on 34 minutes, as he failed to clear a Bill Nolan cross from Tigana on the edge of our area. The Malian attacker took the ball from Kevin and smashed it past Kayo to reduce our advantage to 3-1.

 

It was imperative that we regained the momentum before half-time. Cook and Salvador each missed chances for the Daggers late on, though the former would be gifted another in the 44th minute. Blackburn midfielder Ahmed Gely's interception of an Álvarez centre succeeded only in diverting the ball handily to Cookie, who looked like the cat that got the cream after applying the finish! Two goals for Elliot, and FOUR for Dagenham & Redbridge!

 

To their credit, Blackburn didn't wave the white flag after a torrid first half. They looked like pegging another goal back after 52 minutes, when Nolan drifted in a cross from the right to on-loan Everton striker Inglis. Rowe narrowly avoided a collision with Schaeffer as he bravely punched the cross clear.

 

When Tigana provided a cross from the left flank in the 63rd minute, we were again fortunate not to concede. There was mass panic in our area until Kayo pushed Nolan's shot away for Daggers left-back Hicham Martin to scramble behind. Nolan then flicked Panagiotidis' corner towards goal, prompting Kevin to try and clear the danger. Rovers substitute Didier Essomba chested the ball down and then rifled a half-volley over the bar.

 

By the 70th minute, any chance of Blackburn getting back in the game had disappeared for good. Former Rochdale defender Schaeffer marked his return to Lancashire with his first ever goal in English football, as the young Frenchman nodded in Mofokeng's lobbed free-kick! Cinq-un Dagenham!

 

With the points sealed, I gave attacking midfielders Paddy Rattle and Mirko Saric some gametime from the bench. The latter could've scored after 81 minutes, when he ran onto Cook's square ball and surged past Blackburn left-back Murphy Mampuya. Sadly, Saric wasn't quite able to beat Piper from a tight angle.

 

Mirko did fare better with his next chance in the 85th minute. The Croatian capped off a breathtaking solo dribble with a finish to match! We had battered Blackburn by SIX goals to one, matching our biggest ever victory in the Premier League!

 

Blackburn Rovers - 1 (Tigana 34)

Dagenham & Redbridge - 6 (Mofokeng 4, Salvador 16, Cook 27,44, Schaeffer 70, Saric 85)

Premier League, Attendance 23,539 - POSITIONS: Blackburn 20th, Dag & Red 4th

DAG & RED LINE-UP: Rowe, Álvarez, Schaeffer, Darvill, Martin, Mofokeng, Pereira, Danchev (Saric), Salvador (Rattle), Torre (Siafos), Cook.

 

Unfortunately, Frédéric Pereira had to come off hurt in the 89th minute of that Ewood Park rout, leaving us a man light for the dying moments. Fortunately, Frédi was not seriously injured, so he would be fit for our big day out four days later.

[CFuller]

FEBRUARY 2041 (continued)

10 clubs had won the League Cup on at least three occasions, and only six had retained the trophy. On 24 February 2041, we set out to join some illustrious company at Wembley Stadium, where we contested our third Final in a little over three years.

 

We had enjoyed comfortable victories over Arsenal in 2038 and 2040, but Fulham were not likely to roll over so easily. In all probability, we would have to be at our very best to continue our fantastic recent record in the competition.

 

Dzenan Genjac and Mark Washington were both out injured, and four players - including ex-Fulham loanee Stevie Merson - were cup-tied. That said, we could still field a formidable team against the Cottagers. With no games scheduled for midweek, there was no real need to rest anyone.

 

Dagenham & Redbridge Starting XI - 2041 League Cup Final

Antoni Giménez (Goalkeeper, age 24, Spanish) - Backup goalkeeper Antoni had been ever-present in our League Cup run. Though his form for the Daggers could best be described as inconsistent, his composure under pressure made him a largely reliable presence between the sticks.

Nolan Barber (Right-Back, age 31, English) - Nolan had outperformed our other right-back Enrique Álvarez this season, making four of his seven assists in the League Cup. Though he had already agreed to rejoin Reading in the summer, he was continuing to give his all for the Daggers.

Michael Walters (Centre-Back, age 19, Welsh) - After his exploits for Wales at UEFA Euro 2040, Michael was steadily making a name for himself at Rainham Road. The left-footed ball-playing defender had found the net in three of the previous four rounds of this competition.

George Darvill (Centre-Back, age 27, English) - Even by his high standards, King George's form in recent months had been ridiculously impressive. The local lad had almost been elevated to deity status amongst Daggers fans, thanks to his effectiveness at both ends of the pitch.

Hicham Martin (Left-Back, age 24, English) - After some shaky early performances, Hicham was now fully settled at Rainham Road. The pacey Mancunian full-back would now hope to get his own back on Fulham after a particularly awful showing against them in the league on Boxing Day.

Kenneth Jorgensen (Central Midfielder, age 28, Danish) - Kenneth's authoritative tackling in an anchoring midfield role was a key part of our gameplan. The consistent Dane was the only member of our starting XI at Wembley who hadn't previously played in this season's League Cup.

Lee Allen (Central Midfielder, age 22, English) - Lee had been given the nod ahead of the more experienced Frédéric Pereira as our box-to-box midfield aggressor. The Enfield-born youth graduate was one of the hardest-working and most underrated players in our squad.

Milen Danchev (Right-Winger, age 20, Bulgarian) - Milen was one of our stand-out performers from our League Cup escapades this term. With his crossing ability and his explosiveness out of the blocks, there were few more exciting right-wingers in the European game.

Orlando Salvador (Attacking Midfielder, age 24, Portuguese) - Orlando was, without any doubt, the best footballer ever to have pulled on a red-and-blue Daggers jersey. The Iberian magician had led the team brilliantly and had produced goals and assists galore since Mark Washington's injury.

Gianfranco Torre (Left-Winger, age 26, Italian) - Though mainly a 'number 10', Gianfranco would start this game on the left wing as an inside-forward. This strong and ruthless Roman was already into double figures in terms of both goals and assists in his first season at Dagenham.

Elliot Cook (Forward, age 21, English) - With 35 goals in two seasons, Dagenham boy Elliot was had established himself as our new scorer-in-chief. The resolute youngster was a clinical finisher who thrived in big matches, though consistency was still a general problem for him.

 

Fulham were rated as slight outsiders at kick-off, but that didn't necessarily mean they would be roll-overs. Any team who could eliminate Manchester United, Manchester City and Rochdale in successive rounds of a competition deserved to be treated with respect.

 

The Cottagers benefitted from an 11-day break from action before the Final, and manager Will Grigg had a largely full-strength team to choose from. Portugal midfielder Catatau had broken his ankle in Fulham's last league match - a home draw with United - but he was arguably the only significant absentee.

 

Fulham Starting XI - 2041 League Cup Final

Luka Jishiashvili (Goalkeeper, age 28, Georgian) - Jishiashvili was a commanding goalie with fantastic handling ability and strong decision-making. I still rated the ice-cool ex-Hamburg keeper as one of the best in the Premier League, even after we put three goals past him on Boxing Day.

Sélim Benoit (Right-Back, age 26, French) - Benoit was in his sixth season at Craven Cottage and had shown tremendous loyalty to Fulham, even in tougher times. With his strong marking abilities and fantastic tactical awareness, he wouldn't have looked out of place at an elite club.

Diano (Centre-Back, age 25, Japanese) - Born in Brazil to a Japanese father, Diano joined the Cottagers from Tottenham Hotspur last summer. He wasn't the most imposing defender in the air, but he was positionally astute, a competent tackler, and he could retain possession well.

Raúl Gomes (Centre-Back, age 23, Portuguese) - Gomes joined Fulham's youth setup when he was 15 and had since flourished into an outstanding central defender. Standing at 6ft 4in tall, and with hair almost as long, the fearless stopper was not a man to be trifled with.

Ivo Vogel (Left-Back, age 29, Swiss) - Vogel was a mentally strong wing-back who could carry out his duties effectively without ever really standing out. A veteran of 83 internationals for Switzerland, he rarely lost concentration and would always give everything for Fulham.

Steven Frost (Central Midfielder, age 27, English) - I'd considered bringing Frost to Dagenham about three years back, when he was at Southampton. Fulham signed him instead, getting themselves a hard-working, creative midfielder who exuded class both on and off the pitch.

Siyabonga Monareng (Central Midfielder, age 33, South African) - Monareng had plenty of strings to his blow, and he could play virtually anywhere in defence or midfield. The Cottagers had mainly used him as a midfield anchor since recruiting him from FC Twente in the summer.

Dan Mortimer (Right-Winger, age 32, English) - Mortimer spent most of his career in the Championship before moving to Fulham in 2038. The flamboyant winger was appointed captain two years ago after the retirement of club legend Martyn Thomas, who was now a fitness coach at Dagenham.

Ales Sterba (Left-Winger, age 21, Czech) - After bagging eight assists in the Scottish Premier League for Celtic, Sterba was snapped up by Fulham at the end of last season. He had since become a Craven Cottage favourite and won his first senior international cap for the Czech Republic.

Joe Shepherd (Forward, age 30, Scottish) - Former Norwich City hotshot Shepherd hadn't rediscovered his best form since moving to west London last summer. Nevertheless, a man with his physicality and powerful finishing (and over 50 goals for Scotland) couldn't be underestimated.

Pat McCann (Forward, age 24, English) - Formerly of Watford, McCann had broken through as a top-quality Premier League centre-forward this season by scoring 11 goals in 22 games. He had also bagged his first goal for England earlier in the month and thus was high on confidence.

 

Fulham had won the League Cup once before, defeating Tottenham Hotspur in the 2029 Final. Would they join us among the ranks of multiple winners, or could Dagenham & Redbridge complete a hat-trick of triumphs?

 

24 February 2041: Fulham vs Dagenham & Redbridge

Fulham wasted no time in going on the offensive. About half a minute after kick-off, captain and right-winger Dan Mortimer dribbled past Daggers left-back Hicham Martin and swerved a shot towards goal. Antoni Giménez showed great awareness to catch the strike just before it could find his top-left corner.

 

Fulham goalkeeper Luka Jishiashvili faced his first test in the seventh minute, saving a tame drive from Elliot Cook. Four minutes later, George Darvill's trip on Cottagers striker Pat McCann put us back under pressure. Giménez needed to push Ales Sterba's free-kick against the bar, and there was further panic in the Daggers box before Martin desperately slid the ball behind. Sterba took the resulting corner, only for Michael Walters to clear it with ease.

 

I had another cause for concern in the 12th minute, when captain Orlando Salvador hurt his shin in a hefty challenge from Fulham left-back Ivo Vogel. Salvador had to come off briefly for treatment, but he returned with a vengeance.

 

After 17 minutes, Orlando drifted an outswinging corner into Fulham's penalty area. George headed it against the crossbar, but our other centre-half Michael was on hand to half-volley in the rebound at the far post! That was the Welsh teenager's FOURTH goal of his League Cup campaign, and it had put us 1-0 up in the Final!

 

Fulham had to be wary of our prowess from corners, but they nearly fell further behind to another in the 22nd minute. This time, Darvill's header from a Salvador delivery missed the target completely. We remained in control for a while longer, but the tide would soon in our opponents' favour.

 

After 31 minutes, Orlando started to feel the effects of his shin injury. He was muscled off the ball by versatile Fulham midfielder Siyabonga Monareng, who sent the Cottagers on the break. Within moments, Sterba had unleashed a shot at goal from the edge of our area. Giménez could only push it towards Joe Shepherd, and the prolific Scotsman lashed in an equaliser.

 

Our captain then began to fall apart. After his dribble towards the Fulham area in the 41st minute was blocked by Steven Frost, Salvador childishly stuck a leg out and brought Frost down. Orlando was booked, and worse was to come about three minutes later, when a revenge challenge from Frost aggravated his shin injury. This time, the Portuguese playmaker had to come off for good, with Michal Twardzik coming off the bench to replace him.

 

Right-back Nolan Barber took the captaincy from the stricken Salvador, and he would really have to gee up his team-mates at the conclusion of a first half that finished 1-1. Nolan would also have to help calm Michael down after the 19-year-old was booked for tripping McCann on the stroke of half-time.

 

Barber told his colleagues in the dressing room at half-time, "We're looking a bit on edge, lads. It's only half-time; we shouldn't be panicking. If we can play like we know we can, we could still win this!"

 

I then added, "Nolan's right. There's no need to panic. Okay, Fulham put us on the back foot towards the end, but this game is still ours for the taking. You've still got a lot of fuel in your tanks, so I expect you to take the game to Fulham and give it everything in the second half. Don't leave anything between these four walls!"

 

Neither Barber's words nor mine could get us back on track in the second half. Eight minutes after the restart, a promising right-wing cross from Milen Danchev was wasted by a poor header from Gianfranco Torre. Franco and Elliot were both being terrorised by a resilient Fulham defence, with Portugal defender Raúl Gomes proving particularly tough to beat.

 

Our backline then came under pressure moments later. McCann flicked a direct ball from Gomes into the path of Sterba, who got past Barber and volleyed towards goal. Giménez could only push the ball wide for Martin to knock behind. Though Darvill cleared Sterba's initial corner, the young Czech winger provided a follow-up cross that Shepherd nodded towards goal. Antoni parried the ball back to Shepherd, who went wide before squaring the ball for McCann to put it away. After 54 minutes, the match had been turned on its head, and Fulham led 2-1.

 

I switched formation from 4-2-3-1 to a 4-4-2 diamond, with Mirko Saric replacing Danchev and slotting just behind strikers Torre and Cook. Our new front three linked up for a promising counter-attack in the 60th minute. Mirko headed the ball on for Elliot, who picked out the run of Franco, who woefully mishit a long-range shot.

 

I would be frustrated further by our misfiring strikers in the final half-hour, especially after Will Grigg instructed his Cottagers to sit deeper and play more conservatively. A mistake from Fulham defender Diano led to an opening for Torre in the 75th minute, but the off-colour Italian again failed to find the target.

 

As for Cook, he had barely even thawed. A horrific miss in the 80th minute would prove to be Elliot's miss before I replaced him with my substitute striker - Andrija Marjanovic. The 16-year-old Montenegrin had huge pressure on his very young shoulders, and in truth, it was perhaps too much to expect him to turn the game back in our favour.

 

We could well have been finished off in the 87th minute, when Monareng's header from a Sterba corner deflected behind off the crossbar. After that let-off, we threw everything we had left at Fulham in stoppage time. Sadly, Torre had nothing left in the tank, sliding a deflected cross from Lee Allen safely into the hands of Jishiashvili. The Cottagers' Georgian goalie also saved a last-minute drive from Saric - one of the few bright sparks in an otherwise disappointing second half for the Daggers.

 

The full-time whistle officially brought an end to our League Cup reign, and our aspirations of recording back-to-back victories. As the Fulham fans joyfully chanted their Northern Irish manager's name, I congratulated Grigg on wresting the trophy from our hands. His team had been clinical on the day, and my team simply hadn't.

 

Fulham - 2 (Shepherd 32, McCann 54)

Dagenham & Redbridge - 1 (Walters 17)

League Cup Final, Attendance 90,000

DAG & RED LINE-UP: Giménez, Barber, Walters, Darvill, Martin, Jorgensen, Allen, Danchev (Saric), Salvador (Twardzik), Torre, Cook (Marjanovic). BOOKED: Salvador, Walters.

 

The disappointment amongst the Dagenham & Redbridge players as they collected their runners-up medals was palpable. Even after losing Orlando Salvador to a shin injury before half-time, we really should have put up a stronger defence of our trophy.

 

It would take a while to pick the boys up after this defeat, which was our first in ten matches, but I tried to stay positive. We had other opportunities to claim silverware - potentially in the UEFA Champions League, but more likely in the FA Cup. We discovered the identity of our Round 6 opponents a few days later, when Newcastle United beat Championship rivals Tottenham Hotspur 3-2 after extra-time.

 

That meant we would travel to St James' Park on 9 March with the aim of booking a return visit to Wembley. Heaven knows we've got unfinished business there.

[CFuller]

MARCH 2041

After the agony of losing the League Cup in February, March started more positively for Dagenham & Redbridge. We had a clean sweep of nominees for the Premier League's Young Player of the Month award, with the free-scoring Elliot Cook being given the nod ahead of Mirko Saric and Enrique Álvarez.

 

Elliot was also on the shortlist to be named as the league's overall Player of the Month. That accolade went to Dagenham captain Orlando Salvador, who had been in scintillating form during our comfortable victories over Southampton and Blackburn Rovers.

 

Unfortunately, Salvador had bruised his shin in the first half of the League Cup Final. That meant Orlando would be unavailable for our next league match against Manchester City at Rainham Road on 2 March. We hoped to have him back to fitness in time for our UEFA Champions League trip to his native Portugal four days later.

 

With Salvador out, Thulani Mazibuko would have the honour of captaining the Daggers against City. Seven points separated us from the 3rd-placed Citizens, so we couldn't afford to lose this match if we were to have any chance of cracking the top three. We had won our most recent home meeting with Nemanja Covic's side, though, so why couldn't we do that again?

 

2 March 2041: Dagenham & Redbridge vs Manchester City

We were no longer as scared of Manchester City as we had been in the past, when it seemed that the Sky Blues were virtually unbeatable. They looked much more fallible in the sixth minute, when a mazy run from Antonis Siafos prompted City defender Willy Danza to slide the ball behind for a corner. Though Tumelo Mofokeng's delivery was not great, we certainly had the visitors on their toes.

 

City came under pressure again when Stevie Merson tried to find Siafos with a cross into the penalty area. The visitors' French international defender Ciro Lattarulo had to nod the ball across the byline before Tony could reach it.

 

Our early spell of dominance would culminate in us taking the lead after 17 minutes. Paddy Rattle's attempted weighted pass to Michal Twardzik was cut out by Lattarulo, but Paddy retook the loose ball and instead played it to Stevie just inside the box. Merse's square ball was then met by a simple tap-in from Twardzik. Though the Citizens protested for an offside call, it was to no avail, and we were 1-0 up!

 

There would be more joy to come for the home fans at Rainham Road after 28 minutes. Daggers right-back Enrique Álvarez danced past Danza and drilled the ball to the far post, where boy wonder Merson slid in his 11th Premier League goal this season - his third for us!

 

Unfortunately, our momentum was disrupted somewhat when Twardzik stubbed his toe in a challenge from City veteran Lloyd Mulvaney in the 30th minute. Michal played on for the rest of the first half before the Czech attacking midfielder was substituted. Mind you, we would head into the interval with a more substantial lead than just 2-0.

 

Frédéric Pereira gave the Citizens another major fright on 44 minutes, when our tenacious midfielder's volley was tipped over by goalkeeper Sergio González. The visitors couldn't fully clear Mofokeng's corner, and when Tumelo's follow-up cross was met by an unconvincing clearance from George Mkhwanazi, Pereira struck. The French destroyer's first-time hit bent wickedly before beating González and giving us an incredible three-goal advantage!

 

A 17th successive home win for the rampant Daggers looked even more likely after the first few minutes of the second half. On 47 minutes, substitute Mirko Saric flicked the ball into Manchester City's area. Merson knocked it down to Siafos, who secured a richly-deserved goal. We were 4-0 up on the Citizens!

 

Just two minutes later, the scoreline became even more ludicrous! Pereira stole the ball from City right-back Sadi's feet on the halfway line and advanced to the byline before drilling a cross to Siafos. Tony got ahead of Danza to meet the delivery and secure his second goal of the afternoon! FIVE-NIL!

 

Manchester City had been completely outplayed in that opening hour, failing to even register a shot on goal until the 63rd minute. Centre-forward Mkhwanazi dribbled unchallenged up the left flank before moving the ball inside to substitute Wellington Paulista. If our goalkeeper Kayo Rowe was feeling rusty after such a quiet afternoon, he didn't show it, with a strong fingertip save denying the Germany Under-21s starlet a consolation goal.

 

I then brought Elliot Cook on from the bench, hoping that he would join the scoring fun. I was to be left mildly disappointed. Elliot did the hard work in the 78th minute by cutting past Lattarulo after receiving the ball from Mirko, but he pulled his shot wide.

 

There were to be no goals for the visitors either. Mkhwanazi struck the crossbar in the 88th minute before Daggers defender Vicente Gridelli hacked the rebound into touch. After 15 unsuccessful attempts, we had finally kept our first clean sheet against Manchester City - and boy, had we done more than just that!

 

Dagenham & Redbridge - 5 (Twardzik 17, Merson 28, Pereira 44, Siafos 47,49)

Manchester City - 0

Premier League, Attendance 26,772 - POSITIONS: Dag & Red 4th, Man City 3rd

DAG & RED LINE-UP: Rowe, Álvarez, Schaeffer (Gridelli), Darvill, Mazibuko, Mofokeng, Rattle, Pereira, Twardzik (Saric), Siafos, Merson (Cook).

 

Manchester City had conceded 14 goals in their first 26 Premier League matches this season. They hadn't lost in the league for three months. Yet we had dismantled the Citizens, definitively proving that we were now amongst England's big boys.

 

Now we had to prove that we were big-hitters when it came to continental football. We travelled to Portugal in midweek holding a 1-0 first-leg lead over Benfica in the UEFA Champions League Round of 16. If we could hold firm at the Estádio da Luz, a place in the Quarter Finals - and potentially even a return visit in May - would await us.

 

Frédéric Pereira started his three-match European suspension here, having been sent off in the first leg at Rainham Road, while George Darvill served the second part of his three-game ban. On the plus side, we did have Orlando Salvador back, and ready to lead us to victory in his first club match on Portuguese soil since leaving Braga in 2036.

 

6 March 2041: Benfica vs Dagenham & Redbridge

German referee Sebastian Zimmermann had a busy start to proceedings. He cautioned Benfica's left-winger and captain Mauro César in the first minute for a trip on Dagenham winger Milen Danchev. Daggers left-back Hicham Martin also went into the book a couple of minutes later, after a lunge on Danchev's Portuguese counterpart Lopes.

 

Mauro César pulled Benfica's first scoring chance wide after five minutes, though Lopes fared slightly better a minute later with a long-ranger that was caught by Kayo Rowe. At the other end, we were struggling to make much of an impact. Midfielder Lee Allen and striker Elliot Cook each sustained early knocks as they felt the brunt of tough tackling from the Águias.

 

Meanwhile, Rowe was feeling the brunt of Rodrigo Ahumada's attacks. Kayo had to save a couple of powerful shots in the 17th and 19th minutes from the Chilean striker, who headed his next effort wide in the 21st minute. Lopes and his midfield colleague Márcio Ferreira would also trouble our goalkeeper before the first half-hour was complete.

 

As things stood, Benfica only needed one goal to at least force extra-time. They would get a great chance to cancel out our goal from the first leg after 33 minutes. Ferreira was clumsily brought down in the Dagenham area by Nolan Barber, and Ahumada duly sent Rowe the wrong way from 12 yards out. Benfica led 1-0 on the night, and it was now 1-1 on aggregate. Despite that, we knew that an away goal would leave the Águias having to score twice more to stay in the competition.

 

Allen almost got a crucial goal for the Daggers on 38 minutes, volleying inches wide after Antonis Siafos' cross had been cleared by Benfica defender Maguila. The hosts then had an opportunity to go ahead overall two minutes later, but Ahumada could only crack a drive into Rowe's grasp.

 

With Allen and Danchev both struggling, I brought Tumelo Mofokeng and Paddy Rattle to replace them for the second half. The young midfielders' introductions came as I switched back to the diamond from the 4-2-3-1 that I had started this match with.

 

Meanwhile, Benfica continued from where they'd left off. Argentine striker Marcelo Lastra had a powerful drive pushed wide by Rowe in the 54th minute. Four minutes later, though, Águias coach Rúben Andrade was forced into a change. Ferreira twisted his knee in a challenge from Rattle, and Luís Garcia had to come off the bench to replace him.

 

Despite losing Ferreira, Benfica continued to take the game to us, and we had to keep our shape to prevent them from taking the lead on aggregate. We would also have to try to counter the hosts whenever an opportunity arose - and such an opening did arise after 69 minutes.

 

Daggers anchor Kenneth Jorgensen brilliantly headed a corner from Antonio out of our penalty area. The ball bounced long to Elliot, who took the ball up the right flank as his team-mates pushed forward. He then whipped a cross to Tumelo, who sidestepped Benfica keeper Anis Araouri before being forced out wide by centre-half Rodrigo Yepes. In spite of that, Mofokeng still found enough space to bury the shot and send our fans wild!

 

With an away goal scored and our aggregate lead restored, we were now on the brink of the Quarter Finals. Benfica had to score at least twice in the space of 20 minutes if they were to break our hearts and go through instead.

 

The Águias didn't come close to scoring in the first 10 minutes, but it was a different matter in the final 10. On 81 minutes, Garcia sensed an opportunity to become Benfica's 'supersub'. He curled in a shot from 30 yards out, but Rowe was on hand to catch it.

 

I later brought on Enrique Álvarez to replace the disappointing Barber at right-back, in the hope that he could help us keep our composure the back. He couldn't. After 86 minutes, Álvarez lost track of Mauro César, whose first-time cross into the box was tapped home by Ahumada. Benfica now led 2-1, with only the away goals rule keeping us ahead overall.

 

The closing stages were incredibly tense for all involved, as the Águias sought a revolutionary third goal, and we battened down the hatches to stop them from getting it. The latter became more difficult when Daggers centre-back Kevin Schaeffer had to come off briefly to receive treatment on a knock. With his colleague Vicente Gridelli in such a determined mood, though, Benfica could not break through again.

 

The game was eventually decided in the third and final minute of injury time. Mauro César had been cautioned right at the start, and he received another yellow card from Mr Zimmermann right at the end, after clattering into Álvarez. Now without their captain, Benfica launched one desperate final assault, which ended with substitute striker Emiliano Luque missing the target from a considerable distance.

 

After Kayo took his goal kick, the referee blew his final whistle, sparking jubilant scenes amongst the away support! We might have lost at the Estádio da Luz, but our UEFA Champions League fairytale wasn't over yet!

 

Benfica - 2 (Ahumada pen33,86)

Dagenham & Redbridge - 1 (Mofokeng 69)

[2-2 on aggregate, Dagenham & Redbridge win on away goals]

UEFA Champions League Round of 16 Leg 2, Attendance 63,412

DAG & RED LINE-UP: Rowe, Barber (Álvarez), Gridelli, Schaeffer, Martin, Jorgensen, Allen (Mofokeng), Danchev (Rattle), Salvador, Siafos, Cook. BOOKED: Martin.

 

Incredible as it sounded, we were now in the Champions League's elite eight. The Quarter Final draw would take place on 15 March, once all the other Round of 16 ties had been completed.

 

In the meantime, we could now turn our focus to another cup Quarter Final. Our next stop after Lisbon was Tyneside, where we would face Newcastle United in Round 6 of the FA Cup. The Magpies were 8th in the Championship, and one of four non-Premier League teams still in with a shout of lifting the trophy.

[mark wilson27]

Got to love the away goal.

[CFuller]

23 hours ago, mark wilson27 said:

Got to love the away goal.

I'm not a big fan of that rule in real-life, but I am a fan of it in FM now. 

[CFuller]

MARCH 2041 (continued)

9 March 2041: Newcastle United vs Dagenham & Redbridge

Newcastle had caused us problems on our pre-season visit to St James' Park, and they would do so again here. Just 15 seconds after kick-off, Boris Biset provided an excellent cross for fellow winger Andy Ryan, which the Welshman headed inches over. The Magpies had another early shot at goal a minute later, but midfielder Harrison Atkins was well off target.

 

On 11 minutes, Daggers right-back Enrique Álvarez bruised a rib while tackling Ryan. Two minutes after that, it was our crossbar that received a bruising from Atkins' free-kick. The ball bounced back into play, and Kayo Rowe had to parry a shot from Magpies defender Neil McCready in the ensuing scramble. Frédéric Pereira then removed the danger, giving us time to breathe.

 

Atkins put another set-piece into our box after 21 minutes, but Gianfranco Torre headed his corner clear. The big Italian had saved us there, but he wasn't as effective at the other end of the pitch. Franco's first chance to score came after 30 minutes, when strike partner Antonis Siafos found him in space. Torre dribbled into the box, only to power a shot well over the bar.

 

Attacking midfielder Mirko Saric also failed to hit the target for us in the 43rd minute, and so the deadlock was still intact at the half-time whistle. I tried to shake things up with a couple of substitutions before the restart. Bradley Charles replaced the hampered Álvarez at right-back, while winger Milen Danchev came on in Siafos' place.

 

Torre was now out on his own up front, but he still wasn't having the best of times. After a dreadful miscue in the 46th minute, he headed Thulani Mazibuko's corner against the woodwork in the 52nd. Pereira got his head to the rebound, but Newcastle goalkeeper Dean Delaney smothered the ball before it could cross the byline.

 

Delaney had already come to the Magpies' rescue twice before in the period, saving a couple of headers from George Darvill. As per usual, George was having a fine day in the Daggers defence, limiting Newcastle mainly to long-range punts. German teenager Dursan Duman struck a terrible half-volley from distance for the hosts after exactly an hour.

 

Not even the introduction of local boy Phil Clarey up front could get United going. Clarey flicked an Atkins corner wide after 74 minutes. Not long after Clarey's miss, I brought on my final substitute. Paddy Rattle had been booked earlier in the half and was not producing enough chances from midfield, so I took him off and gave a competitive debut to 16-year-old Josh Beadle. Josh wouldn't have much time to make an impact, as Newcastle went for broke late on.

 

The Magpies didn't shirk any tackles, with Biset, Atkins and Duman all being booked in the final 10 minutes. On 82 minutes, shortly after his booking, Biset wasted a great opportunity to send us packing. The Belgian's header from a brilliantly weighted Ryan cross cleared the bar when it arguably should've found the target.

 

Newcastle failed to convert another match-winning chance in the 87th minute. Michael Walters' late foul on Clarey went unpunished when Atkins' free-kick was caught by Rowe. Kayo had shut Newcastle out, but our own inability to score meant that we would have to replay this FA Cup Quarter Final.

 

Newcastle United - 0

Dagenham & Redbridge - 0

FA Cup Round 6, Attendance 51,346

DAG & RED LINE-UP: Rowe, Álvarez (Charles), Walters, Darvill, Mazibuko, Mofokeng, Rattle (Beadle), Pereira, Saric, Siafos (Danchev), Torre. BOOKED: Rattle.

 

The following afternoon, the draw took place for the Semi Finals of an FA Cup campaign that had been full of shocks. Of the six teams still in the running, only two - Dagenham & Redbridge and Manchester City - were from the Premier League. In fact, we were the only southern team left in a competition dominated by northern clubs!

 

The first Semi Final would see the winner of our replay with Newcastle take on either York City from the Championship or Oldham Athletic from League One. A third Championship team - Burnley - would face Manchester City in the other Semi.

 

A second FA Cup Final would be tantalisingly close if we could overcome the Magpies at the second attempt on 20 March. Before then, we had a couple of league matches to play out.

 

Everton were next on our schedule, with the Toffees arriving at Rainham Road sitting third-from-bottom of the PL. Their previous nine fixtures in 2041 had yielded three goals and no wins. Surely we would make light work of them and record an 18th successive home victory? SURELY?

 

13 March 2041: Dagenham & Redbridge vs Everton

Enrique Álvarez missed this match with a bruised rib, and our other senior right-back would be injured after just four minutes. Nolan Barber hurt his thigh while halting Everton winger Stacy Palmer's run into our penalty area. Nolan was in some pain afterwards, but he played on. He didn't show any ill effects in the 10th minute, when a full-blooded challenge left Toffees striker Ivan Cirjak nursing a knock.

 

We then threatened Everton with a couple of corners either side of the 15-minute mark. George Darvill's first attempt from an Orlando Salvador delivery was caught by 18-year-old Alex Watson, who was deputising for the injured Christian Allinson and our on-loan youngster Bruno Rommel. Captain Salvador tried his luck with another corner moments later, but Darvill couldn't keep that second delivery on target.

 

Orlando did have a great chance himself in the 23rd minute, but his shot was parried by Watson and then cleared by defender Dragoslav Bulatovic. There was more disappointment for us three minutes later, as Bulatovic's partner Fábio got in front of a shot from Daggers winger Milen Danchev.

 

Everton were defending brilliantly, and Watson was demonstrating the sort of goalkeeping that had made him first-choice for England Under-21s. Dagenham midfielders Frédéric Pereira and Kenneth Jorgensen were next to be denied by the London-born starlet in the closing stages of a first half that surprisingly finished goalless.

 

After berating my players' lack of incisiveness in the first half, I expected to see a marked improvement in the second. Danchev showed promise when he dribbled past a couple of Everton defenders and cut inside from the right flank on 52 minutes. Sadly, the Bulgarian's finish was badly lacking.

 

Our situation looked like worsening on 55 minutes, when Cirjak got past Vicente Gridelli and had just Kayo Rowe to beat. Thankfully, Rowe managed to narrow Cirjak's angle before pushing the Australian forward's shot behind.

 

Watson was back in action at the other end in the 59th minute, catching a tame header from Salvador. Orlando tried again in the 65th minute, putting a cross into the Everton box. Visiting right-back Marco Becker could only knock it as far as Pereira, whose first-time effort swerved inches off target. Bulatovic then flicked wide a rare chance for the Toffees five minutes later.

 

The rest of the match was all about our attacking efforts... and, once again, our inability to convert opportunities. Substitutes Michal Twardzik and Stevie Merson each went for goal shortly after coming on in the 69th minute. Michal forced Watson into a save from just inside the penalty box, though Stevie was less impressive moments later.

 

Czech midfielder Twardzik proved a real bright spark late on, giving Watson another test after 84 minutes. Everton's young custodian would produce one final save from Antonis Siafos in injury time as his team withstood the Daggers storm. Our incredible run of 17 consecutive victories at Rainham Road had come to a halt, with a shock 0-0 draw against a relegation-battler. Pah.

 

Dagenham & Redbridge - 0

Everton - 0

Premier League, Attendance 26,772 - POSITIONS: Dag & Red 4th, Everton 18th

DAG & RED LINE-UP: Rowe, Barber (Mazibuko), Gridelli, Darvill, Martin, Jorgensen, Pereira, Danchev (Twardzik), Salvador, Siafos, Cook (Merson).

 

We had missed a great chance to close the gap on 3rd-placed Manchester City in the league. As it was, City increased that gap to six points, with a 4-1 win over a mid-table Chelsea team who were in real dire straits.

 

After back-to-back goalless draws, I hoped our latest batch of youth-team candidates would cheer me up. Much to my disappointment, the trialists were heavily beaten 4-0 by our Under-18s. Goalkeeper Terry Brightly put in a brave performance and was one of eight players to receive youth contracts, but I'd be surprised if any of the new class graduated into the senior team.

 

The UEFA Champions League Quarter Final draw also brought little joy. Though we avoided the likes of Bayern Munich, Empoli and Porto, we were paired with another continental giant. They just so happened to be the same team who topped our group.

 

That's right, folks. We must face Ligue 1 leaders Paris Saint-Germain twice more - at the Grand Stade Paris on 2 April, and at Rainham Road on 10 April. Frankly, I would be amazed if we could get past them and reach the Semi Finals.

 

Now, though, it was time to pit ourselves against the Premier League frontrunners. Unbelievably, Arsenal had lost just one league match at the Thierry Henry Arena since moving into their new ground in the summer of 2039. Having inflicted that solitary defeat last March, could we repeat the feat?

 

If we were to stun the Gunners once again, we would have to do it with centre-half Vicente Gridelli playing on the right side of our defence. Nolan Barber was out of contention after straining his thigh against Everton, while Enrique Álvarez was only fit enough for the bench, having just recovered from a rib injury.

 

16 March 2041: Arsenal vs Dagenham & Redbridge

The goals had dried up for us in recent matches, but leading scorer Elliot Cook tried to turn the tap back on in the opening stages at the Thierry Henry Arena. Cookie beat Arsenal defender Jhon Jairo Pena to a through-ball from Gianfranco Torre in the third minute, only to see his shot parried wide by Marat Lepilov. Torre made another chance for Cook five minutes later, but Lepilov charged from his line to thwart Elliot again.

 

After such a bright start, the Daggers soon fizzled out. Arsenal started to test our defence midway through the first half, forcing us to defend a string of corners. The hosts' Argentine superstars almost found a way through after 30 minutes, but Golden Boot leader Javier Montenegro narrowly cleared the crossbar from Juan Martín Díaz's corner.

 

The Gunners had another great chance three minutes later, when Austria winger Gustavo fired a free-kick close to goal. Daggers right-back Vicente Gridelli threw himself at the set-piece to deflect it behind for a corner, which centre-half George Darvill cleared.

 

Both sides had further scares late on. Cook blazed over a shot from Michal Twardzik's weighted ball in the 43rd minute. Former Dagenham wing-back Albert Khumalo then came close to grabbing a very rare goal for Arsenal, but his injury-time drive was beaten away by Kayo Rowe, and the stranglehold was still to be broken at half-time.

 

Lee Allen had picked up a knock late in the first half, so Frédéric Pereira replaced him as our ball-winning midfielder for the restart. Pereira made an impact almost immediately, setting up a shooting chance for Cook via Twardzik. Elliot turned sharply past Arsenal left-back Sibusiso Radebe before lifting a delightful shot that deflected in off the far post! Cookie had scored his 18th goal of the season, equalling his haul from the previous campaign!

 

Another away win for the Daggers over Arsenal now looked likely, especially when home captain Liam Wood picked up a knock in the 50th minute. Nine minutes later, however, our own skipper threw the Gunners a lifeline.

 

A wasteful header from Salvador was hoovered up by Thulani Mazibuko and moved out left to Gustavo, who then spotted Radebe's overlapping run. A first-time cross from Radebe into the box dipped perfectly for Shane Hay, whose powerful header bounced past Rowe. It seemed to be written into Hay's contract that he had to score against Dagenham & Redbridge at least once every season, and the 31-year-old Gunners legend had again obliged.

 

Our lead had disappeared, though Darvill and Pereira each missed chances to restore it in the 62nd and 64th minutes. A third goal was also a possibility in the 67th minute, when Rowe's fingertips narrowly prevented Hay from making it 2-1 Arsenal via a Díaz free-kick. Shortly before that Gunners chance, I'd brought Salvador off for Paddy Rattle, and passed the captaincy on to a third substitute in Enrique Álvarez. Despite his patchy record as a skipper, the young right-back didn't look overawed with the responsibility this time.

 

Play switched from end to end throughout the last few minutes. Arsenal stalwart Richard Fishlock's awful record against the Daggers continued after 82 minutes, when the misfiring striker flicked a Khumalo cross against our crossbar. Fishlock did threaten to create a goal five minutes later, but his flick-on to Hay was nodded into Rowe's hands.

 

As for Dagenham, our final game-winning chance came in injury time, after Torre was brought down by Alvaro José. 'Man of the match' Twardzik took the free-kick, but Lepilov's crossbar denied him what would've been a richly-deserved winner. In the end, though, neither I nor my Arsenal counterpart Thomas O'Ware could have many complaints about sharing the points.

 

Arsenal - 1 (Hay 59)

Dagenham & Redbridge - 1 (Cook 46)

Premier League, Attendance 80,190 - POSITIONS: Arsenal 1st, Dag & Red 4th

DAG & RED LINE-UP: Rowe, Gridelli (Álvarez), Schaeffer, Darvill, Martin, Mofokeng, Salvador (Rattle), Allen (Pereira), Twardzik, Cook, Torre.

 

Manchester City moved up to 2nd place and stretched their lead over us to eight points following a 2-0 win over Reading. A 0-0 draw at Southampton saw Manchester United slip to 3rd, with a six-point cushion on the Daggers.

 

We'd now drawn three successive matches, scoring just once. After scoring in excess of 100 goals across all competitions this season, it was perhaps natural that we should go off the boil - but this wasn't an opportune time to lose our golden touch.

[CFuller]

MARCH 2041 (continued)

Dagenham & Redbridge had never had a better opportunity to lift the FA Cup. Only two lower-league teams stood between us and a second Final, four years after our first. Now it was up to us to do the business.

 

First off, we had to get through Round 6 by defeating Championship play-off contenders Newcastle United at Rainham Road. Barry Loughlan's Magpies had held us to a goalless draw in the initial tie at St James' Park, but our excellent home form would surely stand us in good stead for the rematch.

 

Who would potentially await us at Wembley in the last four? The answer was York City, whose 3-1 replay win over League One minnows Oldham Athletic 24 hours earlier had set up a potential Daggers reunion with our former midfielder Martin Thompson.

 

York were only 15th in the Championship, yet they had gone all the way to a first FA Cup Semi Final since 1955. And here's another question for you: who were the team that ended the Minstermen's previous best run 86 years ago? Why, it was Newcastle, of course!

 

20 March 2041: Dagenham & Redbridge vs Newcastle United

Newcastle went into this match without goalkeeper Dean Delaney, who'd sustained a serious knee injury in their last league game at home to Plymouth Argyle. Club captain Ales Verbic went between the posts instead, and the Slovenian veteran stopped a couple of shots from Daggers duo Elliot Cook and George Darvill in the first five minutes.

 

Newcastle first went on the attack in the seventh minute. Winger Boris Biset protested for a penalty upon being brought down under a challenge from our left-back Hicham Martin. All the Belgian got was a yellow card for diving.

 

The Magpies would have even more to complain about in the 10th minute. Dagenham captain Orlando Salvador capped off an excellent dribble towards goal by playing a similarly impressive weighted pass for Greek hitman Antonis Siafos, who finally ended the 100-minute-long deadlock!

 

After our opener, we took the game to Newcastle and tried to increase the gap. Verbic showed real determination to keep the scoreline at 1-0, saving a Michal Twardzik free-kick in the 27th minute as well as a drive from Cook two minutes later. He wouldn't have to do anything to keep out our final attack of the first half, as Darvill flicked Salvador's free-kick wide on 37 minutes.

 

Our defence had relatively little to worry about until the 39th minute, when centre-half Michael Walters stopped the run of Magpies striker Martin Holmes and was forced to concede a corner. Harrison Atkins' set-piece was cleared, but his follow-up cross was flicked towards goal by Andy Ryan. Rowe caught the Welshman's header, and our narrow lead remained intact at the break.

 

Twardzik launched a one-man pursuit for a second Dagenham goal after the restart. Our young attacking midfielder had a couple of powerful shots pushed away by Verbic in the 46th and 51st minutes. The Czech almost got the better of the Slovene after 57 minutes, but his 25-yard free-kick rebounded off the bar before being cleared by Newcastle right-back Jake Jenkins. He might not have scored, but Michal was certainly making things happen for us on the attacking front.

 

Twardzik would produce something even more special in the 62nd minute, knocking the ball past United's defensive stopper Bill Simms to tee up an opportunity for Siafos. Tony sidestepped Verbic upon running onto the pass, which he stroked into the far corner for an excellent brace!

 

That second goal was the killer as far as Newcastle were concerned. The Geordie Army really quietened down as time ebbed away without the Magpies creating any attacking opportunities. Our visitors troubled referee Adam James more regularly than they did Rowe, finishing the match with four yellow cards and just one shot on target.

 

Siafos' double was enough to see us through, though he headed wide a potential hat-trick goal three minutes from half-time. Lee Allen and Twardzik also pulled late shots wide before the full-time whistle confirmed that we were into the FA Cup Semi Finals!

 

Dagenham & Redbridge - 2 (Siafos 10,62)

Newcastle United - 0

FA Cup Round 6 Replay, Attendance 26,772

DAG & RED LINE-UP: Rowe, Álvarez (Charles), Walters, Darvill, Martin, Jorgensen, Salvador, Pereira (Allen), Twardzik, Cook (Merson), Siafos.

 

Job done. We had earned ourselves another trip to Wembley on 13 April, when we would only have to beat York City to reach another FA Cup Final. Simple, right?

 

Our next match wouldn't be for another 10 days, as it was now time for another international break. Vicente Gridelli's dream of playing for Argentina finally came true on 26 March, when the centre-back made his Albiceleste debut in a 2-0 FIFA World Cup qualifying win in Bolivia. The following day, Orlando Salvador celebrated his long-overdue first cap for Portugal, who also recorded a 2-0 victory over Costa Rica.

 

Hicham Martin was called up to the England squad for the first time, joining George Darvill and Kayo Rowe in the national set-up. Neither Hicham nor George featured in the Three Lions' World Cup qualifying triumph in Andorra, though Kayo did win his 14th cap. That was no mean feat for a player who'd only made his England debut barely 10 months earlier.

 

Close to a dozen other senior players were also on international duty, including Elliot Cook. Sadly, Elliot broke his toe in England Under-21s' friendly win in Poland, which also saw Bradley Charles, Matty Gilligan and Stevie Merson play for the Young Lions. The prognosis was not good at all - it was very doubtful that our top scorer would play again this season.

 

Cook's injury coincided with Dagenham captain Mark Washington's return to full training upon his recovery from a broken foot. Washington and Dzenan Genjac made their comebacks in a reserve match against Horsham, though they were still a couple of weeks shy of being ready for first-team action again.

 

Mark and Dzenan were coming off our injury list, but Elliot wasn't the only player to go on it late in March. Central defender Kevin Schaeffer strained his wrist in training and could not play in our home Premier League match against his former club Rochdale at the end of the month. The Dale had started this season with aspirations of qualifying for the UEFA Champions League but were now battling to stay clear of relegation.

 

30 March 2041: Dagenham & Redbridge vs Rochdale

Rochdale launched the first attacks of this match, though neither midfielder Cédric Moulin nor former Daggers striker Alun Harding could get early long-rangers near the goal. It was a relatively comfortable start to proceedings for Dagenham goalie Kayo Rowe. The same couldn't be said of Dale's new £10million keeper Mark Thomas, who had signed from West Bromwich Albion in January.

 

After 11 minutes, Vicente Gridelli threw the ball short to our right-back Enrique Álvarez deep in the visitors' half. Enrique quickly played the ball back to Vicente, and the new Argentine international whipped in a first-time cross. On the other end of it was our stand-in captain Thulani Mazibuko, whose header clipped Thomas' crossbar and ricocheted into the net! We were 1-0 ahead!

 

A string of mistakes from Moulin in the 28th minute gave us a chance to double our lead. The Frenchman missed a couple of interceptions from a fast-paced Dagenham attack before his compatriot Frédéric Pereira went for goal. Much to Frédi's disappointment, Thomas got across his goal to tip the shot wide. Further sloppiness from the Dale went unpunished after 33 minutes, when Daggers midfielder Paddy Rattle blazed a shot over their bar.

 

Then, after 40 minutes, the visitors showed that they were still capable of attacking brilliance. Moulin broke through our defence with an excellent weighted ball to Dale captain Mario Tortora. The one-time Daggers hero skilfully evaded a challenge from George Darvill before moving the ball on to wing-back Bruno Leroy. The France international had scored just once previously in his two-season career with the Lancastrians, but he managed to cut the ball across our six-yard box and into the far corner. 1-1.

 

Pereira reacted badly to us losing our lead, so I replaced him before the second half with Lee Allen, who bent a long-range shot into Thomas' hands in the 47th minute. Thomas had already saved an early free-kick from Lee's midfield colleague Tumelo Mofokeng, but subsequent Daggers attacks didn't give the Welshman much to fret over.

 

Though Rattle was proving to be a pass master in the hole behind lone striker Stevie Merson, he couldn't conjure up a second goal for the Rainham Road faithful to celebrate. Paddy blazed a fierce shot well over on 52 minutes, and he was then booked six minutes later for a clumsy foul on Rochdale defender Christian Kauffmann.

 

As for Stevie, he had one awful long-range attempt in the 60th minute and was immediately replaced with Orlando Salvador. That said, even a playmaker of Orlando's ability couldn't make much of an impact against a defence that was defending as deep as Dale's. Salvador had a couple of vicious free-kicks blocked by the visitors, while a couple of more promising strikes in the 71st and 81st minutes went narrowly wide. My final substitute Andrija Marjanovic couldn't break through either on the 16-year-old's first Premier League outing.

 

If our attacks were lacking quality, then so were Rochdale's, to be honest. Tortora was never the same threat for them after sending a great chance skyward in the 66th minute, while another hit-and-hoper from Harding four minutes later drifted well wide. With both teams struggling to find their range in the second half, a mediocre 1-1 draw was pretty much inevitable.

 

Dagenham & Redbridge - 1 (Mazibuko 12)

Rochdale - 1 (Leroy 40)

Premier League, Attendance 26,246 - POSITIONS: Dag & Red 4th, Rochdale 14th

DAG & RED LINE-UP: Rowe, Álvarez, Gridelli, Darvill, Mazibuko, Mofokeng, Pereira (Allen), Torre (Marjanovic), Rattle, Siafos, Merson (Salvador). BOOKED: Rattle.

 

We were now unbeaten in eight Premier League games, though it was rather worrying that we had drawn our last three. The gap between us and the Manchester clubs had widened, and a top-three finish was now looking very unlikely.

 

As far as the league was concerned, our aim now was simply to secure 4th place as quickly as possible. Though our advantage on 5th-placed Reading was a reasonably healthy one, our cup runs had left us with a cluttered late-season schedule. There was still time for things to go horribly wrong.

[CFuller]

Premier League Table (End of March 2041)

                                   P     W     D     L     F     A     GD    PTS
1.          Arsenal                31    21    7     3     65    23    +42   70
2.          Man City               31    20    7     4     51    21    +30   67
3.          Man Utd                30    19    8     3     70    28    +42   65
4.          Dag & Red              30    17    6     7     67    30    +37   57
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5.          Reading                31    15    6     10    50    41    +9    51
6.          Wolves                 31    15    5     11    54    40    +14   50
7.          Liverpool              31    14    6     11    46    33    +13   48
8.    EL    Fulham                 31    14    6     11    50    48    +2    48
9.          Derby                  29    12    10    7     48    38    +10   46
10.         West Ham               31    12    7     12    34    39    -5    43
11.         Coventry               31    10    5     16    25    38    -13   35
12.         Huddersfield           30    10    5     15    34    62    -28   35
13.         Chelsea                30    10    4     16    31    51    -20   34
14.         Rochdale               31    7     12    12    27    36    -9    33
15.         Norwich                31    8     8     15    34    53    -19   32
16.         Southampton            31    7     10    14    31    42    -11   31
17.         Brighton               31    7     9     15    29    43    -14   30
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18.         Everton                31    7     6     18    33    57    -24   27
19.         Blackburn              31    6     7     18    32    59    -27   25
20.         Nottm Forest           31    7     4     20    35    64    -29   25