House of Flying Daggers

[CFuller]

Dagenham & Redbridge - 2042/2043 Premier League champions: Part 1

Since 2011, the Premier League had been won on 31 out of 32 occasions by Arsenal, Manchester City or Manchester United. It would take an outstanding team to break the dominance of the 'Big Three'.

 

Dagenham & Redbridge had never finished higher than 4th in the PL before the 2042/2043 season. We did, though, have plenty of experience of bloodying the giants' noses. It was perhaps only a matter of time before we toppled them; I just didn't expect us to do that quite as soon as we did.

 

With an impenetrable defence, a world-class midfield, and quality depth in attack, we certainly had the makings of a great side. Our players also possessed bags of stamina and immense spirit, and they all worked tremendously together to be even greater than the sum of their parts.

 

After a shaky start to the season, we went on a run of 32 consecutive league matches without defeat, which saw us scale up the table. We took top spot from Arsenal in February and eventually finished seven points clear to win our first league championship.

 

Let's now have a look at the players who'd achieved what even the most optimistic Daggers fans would've thought was unimaginable not that long ago. Ladies and gentlemen, these are your league champions...

 

(All information is correct as of 31 May 2043. All appearance and goal records include first-team matches only. Essex Senior League records are not included.)

 

Fans' Team of the Year

1. Kayo Rowe (PROFILE)

DAGGERS RECORD: 182 apps, 0 goals (2036-present). THIS SEASON: 49 apps, 0 goals.

POSITION(S): Goalkeeper. HEIGHT: 6ft 0in. WEIGHT: 13st 3lb.

AGE: 25. BORN: 30 May 2018 in Bootle, Merseyside. NATIONALITY: English [37 caps, 0 goals].

 

Kayo was a raw but promising goalkeeper when we signed him from boyhood club Everton aged 18. He would make his senior debut just a few months later, helping us to beat West Ham United at the Olympic Stadium in November 2036. He finished that campaign on loan at our Czech feeder club Ceské Budejovice and later enjoyed a couple of half-season stints at Huddersfield Town in the Championship.

 

Rowe became a first-team squad member in 2039, originally serving as Ben Perk's deputy. The latter's decline in form saw the youngster get an extended run in the team, and some composed performances established himself as our new first-choice goalkeeper. At the end of that season, he was immediately elevated to the England squad, becoming the first Dagger to represent the Three Lions at senior level. He went on to keep goal for his country at UEFA Euro 2040 and the 2042 FIFA World Cup.

 

The number 1 shirt came Kayo's way in 2040/2041. The agile shotstopper kept 26 clean sheets in 52 senior appearances during our Champions League-winning campaign, though he struggled with injuries and inconsistency the next season. It wasn't until this term that emerged as a truly elite goalkeeper, proving himself to be mentally as well as technically strong when he played every minute of our title charge. He will surely remain a key player for both Dagenham and England for at least the next decade.

 

5. Nathan Guppy (PROFILE)

DAGGERS RECORD: 42 apps, 4 goals (2042-present). THIS SEASON: 42 apps, 4 goals.

POSITION(S): Centre-Back. HEIGHT: 6ft 5in. WEIGHT: 14st 0lb.

AGE: 31. BORN: 3 January 2012 in London. NATIONALITY: English [103 caps, 8 goals].

 

After over 400 Premier League appearances for his beloved West Ham United, Nathan would probably have never contemplated signing for Dagenham & Redbridge. The legendary central defender rocked East London to its core in January 2042, when it was announced that he would join us on a free transfer for the following campaign. With his desire to win the league becoming apparent as he entered the second half of his career, crossing over to Rainham Road proved to be just the right move for him.

 

Guppy was originally going to be our vice-captain, though he led the Daggers through most of his first campaign at the club due to Orlando Salvador's injury woes. The giant Londoner and future England centurion went on to put in some consistently strong performances, which saw him named as the PFA Player of the Year and the Dagenham Fans' Player of the Year. He was the last major piece of our league-winning jigsaw, and I honestly think we'd still be awaiting that elusive title if we hadn't brought him in.

 

18. Michael Walters (PROFILE)

DAGGERS RECORD: 126 apps, 11 goals (2037-present). THIS SEASON: 45 apps, 5 goals.

POSITION(S): Centre-Back. HEIGHT: 6ft 2in. WEIGHT: 12st 12lb.

AGE: 21. BORN: 17 August 2021 in Port Talbot, Neath Port Talbot. NATIONALITY: Welsh [30 caps, 0 goals].

 

Michael played in five Welsh Premier League matches for Afan Lido at the age of 15 and quickly caught the attention of our scouting woodwork. The budding ball-playing defender steadily made his way through our youth and reserve teams after moving to Rainham Road, and he was first capped by Wales just before his 17th birthday. After winning promotion with Blackburn Rovers during a loan spell in 2040, and then helping his country reach the European Championship Final, I felt he was ready for more first-team action.

 

Walters was a semi-regular during the next two seasons, as he brushed up on his tactical knowledge and ironed out the flaws in his game. 2042/2043 was when he really kicked on, usurping the great George Darvill to become one of the first names on my teamsheet. He is already regarded as one of Europe's top covering defenders at such a tender age, and I can only see him getting even better and becoming a true Daggers legend.

 

6. George Darvill (PROFILE)

DAGGERS RECORD: 494 apps, 34 goals (2029-present). THIS SEASON: 31 apps, 1 goal.

POSITION(S): Centre-Back. HEIGHT: 6ft 4in. WEIGHT: 14st 2lb.

AGE: 30. BORN: 19 May 2013 in Dagenham, London. NATIONALITY: English [capped at Under-21s level].

 

The son of an engineer at the Ford Dagenham automotive factory, George had a humble upbringing but became a Daggers deity. The tall central defender made his first-team debut as a 15-year-old in 2029, when he came off the bench against Charlton Athletic in our final match as a League One club. That began a rapid ascent up the ranks, which culminated in him becoming a regular starter and a Fans' Player of the Year winner before he was out of his teens.

 

I've always wondered how things would've turned out for Darvill if I had gone ahead with my plans to loan him to Bristol Rovers in 2030. Instead, he stayed at Dagenham and became a true one-club man. He was undroppable in our Championship Play-Off-winning campaign and ever-present during our Premier League debut, and it wasn't long before he'd obtained legendary status at what is now Rainham Road. Our supporters have subsequently handed him an incredible EIGHT Player of the Year awards over the seasons.

 

King George's form did drop off a little bit this season, as he was knocked down the pecking order and was no longer assured regular starts. That being said, he is still very close to reaching 500 Daggers appearances as well as breaking Chris Lewington's club record of 446 league games (he's currently on 421). Pitifully, he has never been capped by the England senior team, though he was an unused squad member for several years.

 

2. Enrique Álvarez (PROFILE)

DAGGERS RECORD: 154 apps, 5 goals (2039-present). THIS SEASON: 38 apps, 3 goals.

POSITION(S): Right-Back/Right Midfielder. HEIGHT: 5ft 9in. WEIGHT: 10st 12lb.

AGE: 23. BORN: 10 August 2019 in Castellón, Spain. NATIONALITY: Spanish [26 caps, 0 goals].

 

Right-back was a traditional problem position for us until Enrique arrived from Valencia for a club-record £19.5million in 2039. Mind you, that large fee did seem to be a burden on the energetic Spaniard at first. He had real teething problems in his first couple of seasons on English soil, often freezing in high-pressure matches and struggling to control his discipline.

 

Álvarez seemed to turn a corner in 2041, when I chose to limit his continental appearances and instead told him to focus on the Premier League. He became a much more solid defender as well as a more productive wing-back, especially in the season just gone. The fact that Manchester City are strongly rumoured to want to sign him after my departure shows how highly he is rated in the footballing community nowadays. Personally, I hope we keep hold of him for what should be the best years of his career.

 

4. Kenneth Jorgensen (PROFILE)

DAGGERS RECORD: 283 apps, 6 goals (2036-present). THIS SEASON: 43 apps, 3 goals.

POSITION(S): Defensive Midfielder/Central Midfielder. HEIGHT: 5ft 11in. WEIGHT: 11st 13lb.

AGE: 30. BORN: 23 November 2012 in Ribe, Denmark. NATIONALITY: Danish [65 caps, 7 goals].

 

Kenneth was playing semi-regularly in the centre of Pescara's midfield when we acquired him for £9million in 2036. It was the highest fee we'd ever spent on a player at the time, but in retrospect, we got an absolute bargain. The ice-cool Dane became the epitome of consistency in a holding role, instantly transforming us from a middling Premier League club to strong contenders for European places.

 

Always strong in the tackle without ever going over the top, Jorgensen soon proved himself to be more than a mere holding midfielder. His pinpoint passing accuracy and quick-thinking made him an excellent deep-lying playmaker, which was especially useful whenever we needed to go more direct. Though some so-called fans would bemoan him for his lack of creativity compared to other midfielders, true Daggers supporters fully appreciated what he brought to the table.

 

Kenny played in less than half of our Premier League matches in 2040/2041, but that was largely because I was saving him for our ultimately successful Champions League push. He went on to take the domestic scene by storm again over the next couple of seasons, when he widened his horizons and became more adept at covering for marauding wing-backs. After winning the league, he signed a new contract that will keep him at Rainham Road for at least two more years.

 

17. Eric Knox (PROFILE)

DAGGERS RECORD: 55 apps, 9 goals (2038-present). THIS SEASON: 28 apps, 6 goals.

POSITION(S): Central Midfielder/Attacking Midfielder. HEIGHT: 5ft 7in. WEIGHT: 10st 12lb.

AGE: 24. BORN: 26 March 2019 in Kingston, Ontario. NATIONALITY: Canadian [48 caps, 0 goals].

 

Eric was a low-risk £150,000 purchase from Montreal Impact in 2038, just prior to representing Canada at that year's World Cup. The midfielder went on to spend two seasons on loan at Sloboda Uzice, and one at Celtic, before obtaining his British work permit in 2041. Initially, I saw him as an advanced midfield playmaker, but he perhaps didn't have enough flair to carry out those duties effectively. Mind you, he did have a brief golden patch midway through his first season in the Daggers' senior team.

 

It transpired early this season that Knox's stamina and versatility made him more suited to a box-to-box role. He thrived in that new position, scoring an unforgettable first-half hat-trick against Nottingham Forest in November before going on an assist spree in early 2043. Only three players contributed more Premier League assists this season than the Ontario native, who has almost instantly become a fan favourite. He's also renowned for his humility, having just agreed to a new four-year deal worth a mere £30,000 per week.

 

14. Hicham Martin (PROFILE)

DAGGERS RECORD: 97 apps, 3 goals (2040-2043). THIS SEASON: 27 apps, 1 goal.

POSITION(S): Left-Back. HEIGHT: 5ft 11in. WEIGHT: 11st 13lb.

AGE: 27. BORN: 19 April 2016 in Manchester. NATIONALITY: English [2 caps, 0 goals].

 

Hicham joined us from Rochdale in 2040 as a decent left-back option who would also help us fulfil our quota of English players. The Mancunian started on that unforgettable night in Lisbon, but appearances thereafter became more sporadic. A hamstring tear in early 2042 set him back greatly, though he still featured in half of our Premier League matches during our title-winning season. That was the perfect way for him to bow out before he leaves Rainham Road in the summer and moves to... West Ham United.

 

15. Kamil Lewandowski (PROFILE)

DAGGERS RECORD: 33 apps, 9 goals (2042-present). THIS SEASON: 33 apps, 9 goals.

POSITION(S): Attacking Midfielder/Central Midfielder. HEIGHT: 5ft 10in. WEIGHT: 11st 6lb.

AGE: 34. BORN: 16 February 2009 in Witten, Germany. NATIONALITY: Polish [54 caps, 10 goals].

 

I turned down the opportunity to sign Kamil from Paris Saint-Germain for peanuts in 2040. The ex-Poland attacking midfielder was a tad more expensive when he did arrive two years later, but the experience he gave to our championship challenge was priceless. He went on to finish the season with nine assists and nine goals, including a treble during that one-man fightback against Manchester United in March. That victory was perhaps the most significant one of all, so I'll always owe a debt of gratitude to the evergreen magician.

 

21. Antonis Siafos (PROFILE)

DAGGERS RECORD: 140 apps, 67 goals (2040-present). THIS SEASON: 31 apps, 16 goals.

POSITION(S): Forward. HEIGHT: 6ft 2in. WEIGHT: 13st 3lb.

AGE: 26. BORN: 18 May 2017 in Kordelio, Greece. NATIONALITY: Greek [57 caps, 19 goals].

 

Antonis was the player I originally spurned to acquire £17.5million bust Alun Harding in early 2039. 12 months later, I went back to APOEL Nicosia and got the fresh-faced Greek hotshot for a more modest £4.9million. A promising return of seven goals in his first 21 appearances suggested that I probably should have signed 'Tony' instead of Alun in the first place.

 

Originally acquired as a centre-forward with strong aerial ability, Siafos quickly switched to a more advanced role in our attack. He surpassed the 20-goal mark in the 2040/2041 and 2041/2042 seasons, topping our scoring charts in the former campaign. He wasn't quite so prolific this term, but his increasing selflessness was no detriment to the team at all. Whether he'll stay at Rainham Road for the long haul after I'm gone is doubtful, though there'll be no shortage of takers if the new regime decides to sell.

 

9. Elliot Cook (PROFILE)

DAGGERS RECORD: 143 apps, 79 goals (2035-present). THIS SEASON: 29 apps, 18 goals.

POSITION(S): Forward. HEIGHT: 6ft 0in. WEIGHT: 12st 6lb.

AGE: 24. BORN: 25 March 2019 in Dagenham, London. NATIONALITY: English [5 caps, 3 goals].

 

Dagenham boy Elliot made his senior debut on an emotional afternoon in May 2035, when we lost heavily to Manchester City in our final match at Victoria Road. That was also the last fixture of our maiden Premier League campaign. The jet-heeled poacher didn't play for us the following year, as he instead honed his craft in the Under-18s before being farmed out to Plymouth Argyle. Sadly, the 16-year-old tore his calf muscle on his Plymouth debut - the first of several troublesome injuries he would sustain over the course of his career.

 

After a difficult loan spell at Leighton Town in late 2037, Cook returned to Dagenham, scoring his first top-flight goal against Brighton & Hove Albion in February 2038. That gave him the confidence to find the net nine times for Ipswich Town when he was loaned to the newly-promoted Suffolk club in 2038/2039. By the following summer, he was ready to break into Dagenham's senior team and showcase his finishing abilities to our fans on a regular basis.

 

'Cookie' was our top scorer in 2039/2040, though most of his goals came in cup competitions. He then turned his guns back to the Premier League, scoring 13 goals in 20 games, 15 in 23, and 16 in 22 over the next three seasons. Had it not been for that injury record, he would surely have played in a lot more matches, including the 2041 Champions League Final. Even so, the future looks tremendously bright for a man who made his senior England debut last August and will hopefully head his country's attack at Euro 2044.

[CFuller]

Dagenham & Redbridge - 2042/2043 Premier League champions: Part 2

Other First-Team Players

3. Thulani Mazibuko (PROFILE)

DAGGERS RECORD: 211 apps, 8 goals (2037-present). THIS SEASON: 3 apps, 0 goals.

POSITION(S): Centre-Back/Left-Back. HEIGHT: 6ft 4in. WEIGHT: 13st 12lb.

AGE: 29. BORN: 29 September 2013 in Pretoria, South Africa. NATIONALITY: South Africa [60 caps, 1 goal].

 

Thulani was the most successful of our South African imports. Having arrived from Serbian club Banat Zrenjanin in January 2037, the energetic defender quickly inspired us to reach our first FA Cup Final later that year. A sensational solo goal against Liverpool in Round 5 announced his arrival at Rainham Road. He didn't score many goals for the Daggers, but when he did, they were often belters. One stunner at Old Trafford against Manchester United in 2039 immediately comes to mind.

 

Though most natural at centre-half, Mazibuko initially played at right-back for us before moving over to the left in subsequent seasons. aerial abilities, strong tackling and physical power made him comfortable anywhere at the back, though he could occasionally do a job in a holding midfield role. He was a key player in the 2039/2040 season, though he later became a more peripheral figure who was mainly used as a backup option.

 

Truth be told, I almost sold Thulani to Juventus for £20million in 2041, and I turned down another large bid from Bayern Munich the following summer. I hoped he would remain a regular this season, but a cruciate ligament injury sustained on international duty in September set him back hugely. He missed seven months' worth of action before making a short comeback against Liverpool on the night we won the Premier League. I fear that might be the last time we see him in a Daggers jersey.

 

7. Milen Danchev (PROFILE)

DAGGERS RECORD: 96 apps, 11 goals (2036-present). THIS SEASON: 29 apps, 2 goals.

POSITION(S): Right Midfielder/Right-Back. HEIGHT: 5ft 8in. WEIGHT: 10st 9lb.

AGE: 22. BORN: 12 August 2020 in Sofia, Bulgaria. NATIONALITY: Bulgarian [11 caps, 4 goals].

 

Milen was a promising right-winger when we acquired him from Slavia Sofia aged 15 in the summer of 2036. He would make his senior debut that December during a comfortable away win over Tottenham Hotspur. He then spent the next three seasons out on loan at Ceské Budejovice, Blackburn Rovers and Guimaraes, with moderate success. By the time he turned 20, though, he was ready for regular first-team action at Rainham Road.

 

Danchev has never really managed to hold down a regular starting place over the past three campaigns, as I rarely use wingers. His pace, work rate and crossing skills have enabled him to retrain as a wing-back, where he's seen a lot more action recently. There is little doubting that the young Bulgaria international is one of our most skilful players, not to mention one of our most frustrating. That said, I wouldn't be surprised if he finally emerged as a key player under the new regime at Dagenham.

 

8. Orlando Salvador (PROFILE)

DAGGERS RECORD: 262 apps, 64 goals (2036-present). THIS SEASON: 13 apps, 2 goals.

POSITION(S): Attacking Midfielder/Central Midfielder. HEIGHT: 5ft 10in. WEIGHT: 11st 11lb.

AGE: 26. BORN: 20 February 2017 in Braga, Portugal. NATIONALITY: Portuguese [24 caps, 5 goals].

 

I first took an interest in Orlando when he was very young, eventually nabbing him on a free transfer aged 19 when his contract at hometown club Braga expired. He needed little time to settle into our team and become a creative tour de force in attacking midfield. His sublime skill and exceptional flair made him one of the Premier League's most exciting young players, and he spearheaded our charge towards the top echelons.

 

It was in 2039/2040 that Salvador took his game to another level, racking up 13 goals and 13 assists in all competition. He was named the PFA Young Player of the Year - an award he would retain the following season after registering 11 goals and 10 assists in the PL alone. He was a Portugal international and Dagenham's vice-captain by then. He would shortly be promoted to the top on-pitch leadership role, having captained us to victory over Empoli in the Champions League Final in his homeland.

 

2041/2042 was a mild disappointment for Orlando, who didn't quite match those outstanding statistics but was still our best attacking player on the pitch bar none. He also suffered a couple of minor injuries, though they were nothing compared to what he had to endure this term. A broken foot and a broken ankle resulted in our skipper missing most of the season, though he did lift the league title after scoring a last-minute stunner on the final day against Chelsea. Let's hope that is not the end of his glorious Daggers career.

 

10. Gianfranco Torre (PROFILE)

DAGGERS RECORD: 141 apps, 49 goals (2040-present). THIS SEASON: 41 apps, 19 goals.

POSITION(S): Forward. HEIGHT: 6ft 2in. WEIGHT: 13st 5lb.

AGE: 28. BORN: 28 December 2014 in Sant'Antonio Abate, Italy. NATIONALITY: Italian [28 caps, 4 goals].

 

Gianfranco was born near Naples but grew up near Rome, where he broke into the Roma first-team before moving on to Empoli in January 2040. Four-and-a-half months later, we acquired the imposing and newly-capped Italy centre-forward for £7million. It would take him a while to settle in England, but he eventually finished his first Premier League campaign with eight goals and 11 assists. He also ended the season by overcoming his previous employers to win the Champions League.

 

Torre's powerful shooting could be wayward at times in that first season, but he became more clinical later on. A strong end to 2041/2042 set him up for his best campaign yet, in which he secured 19 goals and 13 assists in all competitions. He had emerged as the Daggers' top scorer, and a top-class forward who could single-handedly turn a match on its head. Franco's long-term future at Rainham Road appears uncertain, as he is about to enter the final year of his contract and has probably reached the peak of his abilities.

 

11. Leonardo Arrieta (PROFILE)

DAGGERS RECORD: 11 apps, 0 goals (2043-present). THIS SEASON: 11 apps, 0 goals.

POSITION(S): Left-Back/Left Midfielder. HEIGHT: 5ft 9in. WEIGHT: 11st 9lb.

AGE: 28. BORN: 27 April 2015 in Vina del Mar, Chile. NATIONALITY: Chilean [9 caps, 0 goals].

 

My most expensive Daggers signing, Leonardo cost us £27.5million to buy him off Real Valladolid on the most recent deadline day. We got ourselves a dogged left-flanker whose work ethic made him just as effective a defensive winger as a full-back. The Chilean - who has a laughably low number of international caps - made one of our weakest areas into a strength and played a big role in us closing out the Premier League title. Leo has played 11 times for the Daggers and has thus far yet to taste defeat.

 

12. Frédéric Pereira (PROFILE)

DAGGERS RECORD: 157 apps, 16 goals (2039, 2040-present). THIS SEASON: 32 apps, 2 goals.

POSITION(S): Defensive Midfielder/Central Midfielder. HEIGHT: 5ft 11in. WEIGHT: 12st 1lb.

AGE: 30. BORN: 9 August 2012 in Saint-Paul-les-Daux, France. NATIONALITY: French [55 caps, 6 goals].

 

Frédéric started his career as a defensive midfielder for Monaco and then moved to Marseille, where he won the first of his France caps. Less than a year later, in January 2039, he was deemed surplus to requirements at the Stade Vélodrome. We took the opportunity to loan him in for the rest of that season, and boy did he make his difference. As well as having the bravery and stamina you'd expect from a typical Dagenham ball-winner, he also possessed sublime technical ability that could make a difference when going forward.

 

Pereira briefly returned to Marseille the following summer but failed to regain his place there. As our fortunes declined without the fiery Frenchman, we forked out £10million to sign him permanently in 2040. Not only did he pick up where he left off, but he also began to add goalscoring to his list of talents. We had ourselves a fine player, and his first full season at Rainham Road - 2040/2041 - was arguably the finest of his career. He ended that campaign by becoming a two-time European champion at international and club level.

 

Nicknamed Frédi by all at Dagenham, his ambition and desire embodies what this club has become about under my tenure. He has continued to shine on the pitch, even after celebrating his 30th birthday on the eve of this season. There are few players that I would trust with my life more than this marvel, who is contracted to the Daggers for at least the next couple of seasons.

 

13. António (PROFILE)

DAGGERS RECORD: 7 apps, 0 goals (2041-present). THIS SEASON: 5 apps, 0 goals.

POSITION(S): Goalkeeper. HEIGHT: 5ft 11in. WEIGHT: 12st 8lb.

AGE: 19. BORN: 28 July 2023 in Guimaraes, Portugal. NATIONALITY: Portuguese [capped at Under-21s level].

 

António joined us in 2041 after quickly breaking into the first-team at Guimaraes. He has not yet made his Premier League debut for Dagenham, but he has had a few outings in domestic and European competitions, with mixed results. The Portugal Under-21s starlet commands his area well for a relatively small goalkeeper and looks like he could put serious pressure on Kayo Rowe's number 1 jersey if his development continues.

 

16. Daniel Murdoch (PROFILE)

DAGGERS RECORD: 7 apps, 3 goals (2043). THIS SEASON: 7 apps, 3 goals.

POSITION(S): Attacking Midfielder/Right Midfielder. HEIGHT: 5ft 11in. WEIGHT: 12st 3lb.

AGE: 27. BORN: 6 January 2016 in Edgware, London. NATIONALITY: English [capped at Under-21s level].

 

Ex-Chelsea midfielder Daniel joined us on loan from Valencia in January after captain Orlando Salvador suffered another serious injury. The flamboyant North Londoner scored in each of his first three Dagenham appearances and always did well whenever called upon in the Premier League. While his stay at Rainham Road will only be a short one, it has been a very sweet one as well, and he'll still be remembered by hardcore Daggers for years to come.

 

19. Juan Esteban Olvera (PROFILE)

DAGGERS RECORD: 70 apps, 1 goal (2041-present). THIS SEASON: 30 apps, 1 goal.

POSITION(S): Left-Back. HEIGHT: 5ft 10in. WEIGHT: 11st 4lb.

AGE: 24. BORN: 14 July 2018 in Mexico City, Mexico. NATIONALITY: Mexican [39 caps, 0 goals].

 

Juan Esteban was the top-level left-back we had been crying out for, so I was delighted when I tied up a £17.5million deal with Ajax two summers ago. The magnificent Mexican often showed great anticipation and rarely mistimed a tackle during that first campaign, in which he starred in FIFA Club World Championship and FA Cup victories. If there was a slight weakness to his game, it was that his crossing ability was perhaps not strong enough for a wing-back.

 

This season hasn't been quite so enjoyable for Olvera on a personal level. When I switched to fielding a 3-4-1-2 formation more regularly, his inability to play as a defensive winger saw him become less important. He did have his moments now and then, scoring his first Dagenham goal in our FA Cup exit against Arsenal - my final defeat as manager, no less. However, the subsequent arrival of Leonardo Arrieta has cast further doubt over whether Juanes will still be a Dagger in the long run.

 

20. Stevie Merson (PROFILE)

DAGGERS RECORD: 44 apps, 10 goals (2038-present). THIS SEASON: 20 apps, 5 goals.

POSITION(S): Forward. HEIGHT: 6ft 0in. WEIGHT: 12st 3lb.

AGE: 21. BORN: 10 March 2022 in Barkingside, London. NATIONALITY: English [capped at Under-21s level].

 

Born and raised in Redbridge, local lad Stevie was one of our most exciting academy products when he emerged in 2038. Two years later, while still a teenager, the striker rattled Liverpool with two explosive substitute appearances - getting two assists in one game, and then bagging a late winner in another. He went on on loan, scoring 10 Championship goals with Watford before netting eight in the Premier League for Fulham.

 

After impressing on his return to Dagenham in the first half of 2041, Merson went back to Fulham for the whole of the next campaign. A return of 10 PL goals in 33 games prompted me to put him in the Daggers first-team for good ahead of the 2042/2043 campaign. Often consumed by nerves, he has not yet fulfilled his immense promise, only scoring in three senior games this term. That being said, a dramatic winner at the Nou Camp against Barcelona tells me that it's only a matter of time before Merse proves just how great centre-forward he can be.

 

23. Lee Allen (PROFILE)

DAGGERS RECORD: 165 apps, 11 goals (2034-present). THIS SEASON: 32 apps, 1 goal.

POSITION(S): Defensive Midfielder/Central Midfielder. HEIGHT: 5ft 9in. WEIGHT: 11st 9lb.

AGE: 24. BORN: 1 July 2018 in Enfield, London. NATIONALITY: English [1 cap, 0 goals].

 

Another of our youth graduates, Lee made his first-team debut as a defensive midfielder in 2036. He later emerged as a brave ball-winner during loan spells at Swansea City and Sheffield Wednesday in the lower leagues. Come 2039/2040, I decided to give him more action with the Daggers. I was pleasantly surprised to find that he did not look out of place as we finished 4th in the Premier League that season and qualified for the Champions League.

 

Allen has remained a semi-regular at Rainham Road and is often used to close out a match whenever one of our top holding or ball-winning midfielders is tiring. While nobody has ever predicted that he would be world-class, he is the perfect example of a player who makes full use of his skills. His work rate and strength even impressed England boss Marcus Appleton enough to give him an international cap against Uruguay this March. While I do fear for his Daggers future when I'm not around, he perhaps could be appreciated a lot more by the wider footballing public.

 

24. Raju Gomes (PROFILE)

DAGGERS RECORD: 24 apps, 1 goal (2038-present). THIS SEASON: 24 apps, 1 goal.

POSITION(S): Centre-Back. HEIGHT: 6ft 4in. WEIGHT: 14st 0lb.

AGE: 23. BORN: 8 December 2019 in Panaji, India. NATIONALITY: Indian [42 caps, 2 goals].

 

We bought Raju from Dempo Sports in India five years ago, and then loaned him to Sloboda Uzice and 1.FC Koln for a couple of seasons apiece. Having emerged as an imposing defender with excellent marking and aerial abilities, he joined our first-team squad last summer. Even though he was only our fourth-choice centre-back, he made 20 starts and enjoyed a career highlight in January, when a dramatic equaliser against Norwich City prolonged our unbeaten run. He later became the first South Asian player ever to win one of the so-called 'Big Five' European leagues.

 

25. Johnathan (PROFILE)

DAGGERS RECORD: 22 apps, 4 goals (2042-present). THIS SEASON: 22 apps, 4 goals.

POSITION(S): Forward/Right Midfielder. HEIGHT: 5ft 9in. WEIGHT: 11st 2lb.

AGE: 19. BORN: 25 March 2024 in Tremembé, Brazil. NATIONALITY: Brazilian [capped at Under-20s level].

 

Johnathan completed his long-awaited move to the Daggers last June, two years after we'd initially agreed a £1.6million fee with Corinthians. The Sao Paulo native has since shown incredible promise as either a skilful inside-forward or a 'fox-in-the-box' poacher. His Premier League record reads two goals and three assists in 13 games, but that's only the start of what could be a glittering career in East London. If he can bulk up a bit and become more composed, goodness knows what he'll be capable of.

 

27. Benjamin Guerin (PROFILE)

DAGGERS RECORD: 39 apps, 2 goals (2040-present). THIS SEASON: 29 apps, 1 goal.

POSITION(S): Defensive Midfielder/Central Midfielder. HEIGHT: 5ft 10in. WEIGHT: 11st 6lb.

AGE: 21. BORN: 30 June 2021 in Cagnes-sur-Mer, France. NATIONALITY: French [capped at Under-21s level].

 

France Under-21s anchor man Benjamin was a free signing from Nice in the summer of 2040. He made a few first-team appearances with us later that year before going on loan to Anderlecht and then Tottenham Hotspur to build up his top-level experience. Beni has continued his rapid development upon rejoining the Daggers this season, featuring in half of our Premier League matches. As soon as he brushes up on his marking skills, the club might just have its long-term successor to Kenneth Jorgensen.

 

28. Josh Beadle (PROFILE)

DAGGERS RECORD: 25 apps, 2 goals (2040-present). THIS SEASON: 14 apps, 1 goal.

POSITION(S): Attacking Midfielder. HEIGHT: 5ft 10in. WEIGHT: 11st 4lb.

AGE: 18. BORN: 29 June 2024 in Dagenham, London. NATIONALITY: English [capped at Under-19s level].

 

Josh has been labelled 'the next Paul Gascoigne', and there's certainly a bit of the unpredictable about this creative homegrown talent. A debut first-team outing at the end of 2040/2041 was followed by five Premier League appearances the next season, and nine in the campaign just gone. He's scored twice in that time but could have been even more productive if he wasn't so greedy. Mind you, time is very much on his side, and I'm confident that he will knuckle down and really kick on over the coming years.

 

Players Out On Loan

22. Andrija Marjanovic (Forward, age 18, Montenegrin) - On loan at Coventry City. Strong centre-forward scored 14 Premier League goals, despite slow start. Set to become an incredible goalscorer.

26. Michal Twardzik (Attacking Midfielder, age 22, Czech) - On loan at Roma. Missed three months with calf muscle tear but still had productive season. Very creative Czech Republic international.

29. Giorgio Facheris (Right-Back, age 18, Italian) - On loan at Sunderland. Struggled in Championship but still an exciting talent. Incredibly determined to realise his potential.

30. Bruno Rommel (Goalkeeper, age 22, German) - On loan at Greuther Furth. Conceded 54 goals as club were relegated from Bundesliga. Probably won't make the grade at Dagenham now.

31. Jimmy Cullen (Centre-Back, age 21, English) - On loan at Burnley. Had an average season as Clarets missed Championship play-offs. Tends to make too many mistakes to reach the top.

32. Matty Gilligan (Centre-Back, age 20, English) - On loan at West Ham United. One of Hammers' stand-out players. Could be Daggers' long-term replacement for Nathan Guppy.

33. Peter Mikkelsen (Forward, age 20, Danish) - On loan at Espanyol. Eight goals and four assists in 15 La Liga appearances. Excellent finisher who is making strong progress.

34. Paolo Zoppe (Central Midfielder, age 19, Italian) - On loan at Valenciennes. Regular starter in VA side who finished 4th in Ligue 1. Playmaker might be loaned out again next term.

38. Kurt Walker (Central Midfielder, age 20, English) - On loan at Corby Town. Played in Championship Play-Off Final defeat. Development has been seriously set back by injuries.

40. Dan Carr (Central Midfielder, age 20, English) - On loan at Cardiff City. Made six assists in Championship for Bluebirds. Very fit, but probably not up to Daggers standard.

42. George Beadle (Right-Back, age 21, English) - On loan at Ceské Budejovice. Couldn't save club from relegation out of Czech First Division. Contract expires in the summer.

47. Alex Ketchell (Right Midfielder, age 22, English) - On loan at Nottingham Forest. Some discipline problems, but still got six goals and eight assists. Could break into Daggers first-team next term.

48. Alfie Blackburn (Forward, age 18, English) - On loan at Swansea City. Excellent start to spell in League One before fading late on. Tireless and enthusiastic deep-lying forward.

53. Terry Brightly (Goalkeeper, age 18, English) - On loan at Swansea City. Five clean sheets and 12 goals conceded in 14 appearances. Has a bright future, if you'll excuse the pun.

71. Kingsley Musa (Forward, age 20, Nigerian) - On loan at Genoa. Struggled to hold down starting place but still scored seven Serie A goals. 12-cap Nigeria striker's long-term future is uncertain.

 

Reserve & Under-18s Players

35. Matty Maddison (Left Midfielder, age 21, English) - Progress has stalled after brief loan spell at Ceské Budejovice. Will be released in summer.

36. Ebenezer Agyemang (Defensive Midfielder, age 17, German) - Already made four league appearances. Destined to be an outstanding holding midfielder.

37. Trond Christian Bjorknes (Left-Back, age 17, Norwegian) - Struggled in one League Cup outing this season but still highly-rated. Fierce determination bodes well.

39. John Bond (Left-Back, age 19, English) - Had decent half-season at Millwall before breaking his ankle in November. Struggled to fulfil his potential since then.

41. Gary Bannon (Centre-Back, age 18, Scottish) - Played twice in League Cup and once in Premier League. Raw talent who could benefit from loan spell next season.

43. Gareth Sainsbury (Right-Back, age 16, English) - Exciting wing-back with a very professional attitude. Future captaincy material if his rapid progress continues.

44. Martin King (Goalkeeper, age 19, English) - Loaned to Doncaster Rovers earlier this season but struggled. Overshadowed by younger, more promising keepers.

45. Bradley Douglas (Centre-Back, age 19, English) - Composed and resolute defender. Returned from Northampton Town and made senior Daggers debut at Nou Camp.

46. Lucky Moloi (Defensive Midfielder, age 18, English) - Signed his first professional contract at end of season. Has potential if he becomes more of a team player.

49. Ken Burton (Central Midfielder, age 19, English) - Marked Daggers debut with free-kick assist on final day against Chelsea. Previously on loan at Wrexham.

50. Altino Schramm (Attacking Midfielder, age 16, Swiss) - Diminutive but dynamic talent. Has scored and assisted many goals at youth and reserve level.

51. Bertie Gerken (Left Midfielder, age 18, English) - Hard worker who has improved a lot over past 12 months. Top scorer in Under-18s league this season.

52. Liam O'Leary (Defensive Midfielder, age 16, English) - Strong tackler who's been tipped as future first-teamer. Inconsistency is a minor concern.

54. Pat French (Forward, age 16, English) - Rated highly by youth coaches despite mediocre goal return this season. Quick off the mark but very aggressive.

55. Robert de Jong (Centre-Back, age 16, Dutch) - Rock solid in UEFA Youth League and with Under-18s team this season. Current Holland Under-19s international.

56. Nicky Barton (Central Midfielder, age 18, English) - Determined box-to-box midfielder. Could make the grade at a high level, if not at Dagenham.

57. Allan Cullen (Right Midfielder, age 16, English) - Comfortable on right wing or in attacking midfield role. Needs to become a lot braver to reach potential.

58. Odain Allen (Forward, age 17, English) - Talented striker with bags of pace and ability. Also a fine athlete who possesses an excellent fitness record.

59. Troy Woodward (Forward, age 17, English) - Budding target man is strong in the air and has great off-the-ball awareness. Looks to have a promising future.

60. Noel Walker (Forward, age 17, English) - Very quick, but finishing is simply not up to scratch for a striker. Set to be released at end of season.

61. Joe Caton (Goalkeeper, age 16, English) - Most exciting keeper to come out of our academy. Very agile and flexible, and is a reserved character.

62. David Kasungu (Central Midfielder, age 17, Angolan) - Ambitious playmaker has good first touch and passing abilities. Other parts of his game are lacking.

63. Jimmy Cleary (Right-Back, age 17, English) - Versatile defender who can play anywhere across the backline. Perhaps a little too weak physically.

64. Grant Schulz (Right-Back, age 17, English) - Has not developed quickly enough in final youth season. Unlikely to have a future at top level.

65. Jack Spiller (Central Midfielder, age 16, English) - Average midfield playmaker and occasional full-back. Needs to be more than a utility player.

66. Chester McKenzie (Central Midfielder, age 18, English) - Has a lot of stamina but little technical ability. Has also been let go after youth scholarship.

67. Stelios Kalogeris (Defensive Midfielder, age 17, Greek) - One of our most disappointing youth players this term. Needs to improve hugely over coming months.

68. Ross Porter (Central Midfielder, age 16, English) - A sporting midfielder with a positive attitude. Perhaps lacking on the creative side of things.

69. Jacob Newton (Forward, age 17, English) - Centre-forward has struggled to make his mark so far. Lack of pace or work ethic does not look promising.

 

New Under-18s Scholars

Darren Cochrane (Right Midfielder), Justin Eames (Left Midfielder), Wayne Finch (Left-Back), Rob Hollis (Forward), Marc Holmes (Right Midfielder), Simon Johnson (Left Midfielder), Scott Keevil (Central Midfielder), Wayne Kewell (Central Midfielder), Andre Leacock (Centre-Back), Macaulay Lucas (Right-Back), Will Moyses (Right-Back), Robbie West (Centre-Back)

[CFuller]

Dagenham & Redbridge alumni: Where are they now? Part 1

Over my 21 seasons at Dagenham & Redbridge, I reckon I used 284 players in first-team matches, 59 of whom came from the club's youth set-up. We have had 51 different nationalities represented, from Antigua & Barbuda to Vietnam, from Finland to Zimbabwe.

 

Naturally, most of those players simply did their jobs well and passed through before being quickly forgotten by all but the most hardcore Daggers fans. Only a few players could be called genuine club stalwarts and fan favourites. Even fewer could be considered bona-fide legends.

 

So let's now salute those former Daggers who've made a lasting impression on the club's fanbase. I will specifically look at 50 players, all of whom either featured in at least 100 senior matches for the Daggers or otherwise made a significant impact on the team. I will summarise their achievements with the club and look at what they've been doing since moving on to pastures new.

 

There were a few players who didn't quite make that final 50 but still deserve honourable mentions. James Dunne's promotion-winning goal in the Conference Premier is still remembered to this day, and he now coaches at the club alongside fellow Daggers alumnus Marco Verratti. Kyrgyzstan playmaker Ahletdin Israilov and on-loan Brazilian striker Edmundo were exotic cult icons from when we entered the Football League and Premier League respectively.

 

I'm honoured to have managed every single one of my former players (okay, perhaps not Louis Newman), but these lads below are the ones that truly stick out in my mind and the fans' minds. Let's salute them all for one last time...

 

(All information is correct as of 31 May 2043. All appearance and goal records include first-team matches only. Essex Senior League records are not included.)

 

Yasser Ibrahim

DAGGERS RECORD: 226 apps, 43 goals (2017-2018, 2022-2027). POSITION(S): Left Midfielder.

BORN: 20 October 1997 in Tanta, Egypt. NATIONALITY: Egyptian [capped at Under-20s level].

 

Arsenal youth product Yasser spent much of the 2017/2018 season on loan at Dagenham, when the club was in League One. He returned to Victoria Road permanently after the Daggers' relegation to the Conference Premier in 2022. I initially struggled to get the best out of the Egyptian enigma as a left-winger and even thought of selling him early in my reign. However, his flair and dribbling ability proved to be of much greater use as a right-footed inside-forward, and he was soon back in favour.

 

Ibrahim enjoyed his best season in 2023/2024, racking up 16 goals and seven assists as we won the Conference. He became rather less consistent in the Football League, but still helped us secure promotion to League One, where he had one mediocre campaign and was then let go. After brief stints at Leyton Orient and Ashford Town, he retired from football in 2030, aged just 32. Now in his mid-40s, he currently runs a successful Egyptian restaurant in North London, near where he grew up.

 

Jamie Bell

DAGGERS RECORD: 179 apps, 70 goals (2020-2025). POSITION(S): Forward.

BORN: 19 October 2000 in Nottingham, Nottinghamshire. NATIONALITY: English.

 

Jamie's first two years with the Daggers after leaving Notts County were far from spectacular, yielding only seven league goals. It was under my management in the Conference Premier that he found his feet. His bravery, strength and finishing ability made him one of the most-feared forwards in non-league, finding the net 20 times in each of our two seasons at that level.

 

Bell handled the step-up back to League Two brilliantly, finding the net another 18 times as we finished mid-table. Alas, our financial situation worsened and our top scorer refused to take a pay cut, so he instead moved up another level and signed for Scunthorpe United. He sadly couldn't handle the ascent to League One and was released two years later, having scored three goals in 19 outings. Having fallen out of love with football, JB went into teaching and is currently a tutor at a sixth-form college in his native Nottingham.

 

Tim Beech

DAGGERS RECORD: 317 apps, 5 goals (2021-2029). POSITION(S): Right-Back.

BORN: 7 November 2001 in Rochdale, Greater Manchester. NATIONALITY: English.

 

Former Manchester United trainee Tim moved to Victoria Road in 2021. Like most of his team-mates, he struggled to perform consistently in League Two and couldn't save the Daggers from relegation. He was then frozen out of the team by manager Johnnie Jackson in favour of loanee Hamsa Day, but I gave the Mancunian a second chance when I took over. Boy did he make the most of it.

 

Not only did Beech oust Day from the starting line-up, but he also emerged as an energetic wing-back who was far too good for Conference Premier football. He was appointed vice-captain for the 2023/2024 season, which ended in us winning the non-league 'Double'. A couple more promotions followed for the workhorse, who was the last remaining player from my original Daggers squad. It was a very difficult call when I finally did let him leave in 2029 to sign for Scottish Premier League club St Mirren.

 

Tim was at St Mirren Park for three years before ending his playing career back in England with Grimsby Town and Cambridge United. He went into management in 2037, briefly managing Lowestoft Town and later Thurrock in the Isthmian leagues. Since December 2039, he has served as assistant manager to Glenn Cowling at Canvey Island, who currently play in the Conference South.

 

Mitchell Clark

DAGGERS RECORD: 240 apps, 14 goals (2020-2027). POSITION(S): Central Midfielder/Centre-Back.

BORN: 4 June 2002 in Hayes, London. NATIONALITY: English.

 

Versatile Mitchell signed for the Daggers in 2020, shortly after his release by Arsenal. It took him some time to establish himself as a regular starter, but he would become one of my main men in the early years of reign. Whether playing as a tough-tackling ball-winning midfielder or as a capable deep-lying midfielder, he rarely looked out of place during our promotions from the Conference Premier and then League Two. He had also developed quite a talent for free-kicks.

 

Clark loyally turned down a transfer to Championship side Bolton Wanderers in 2025, but that was as close as he'd come to playing at a high level. He didn't join us in League One two years later, and instead stayed in League Two with Macclesfield Town. He also featured for Walsall, Preston North End and Forfar Athletic in a somewhat nomadic career that ended at Stirling Albion in 2038. These days, you are more likely to find the flame-haired Londoner on a golf course than in a football stadium at weekends.

 

Robbie Ryder

DAGGERS RECORD: 160 apps, 0 goals (2022-2027). POSITION(S): Goalkeeper.

BORN: 1 January 1998 in Finchley, London. NATIONALITY: English.

 

After a little over three years at Kettering Town, Robbie was lured to Victoria Road after Dagenham's relegation to non-league football in 2022. The agile but inconsistent goalkeeper would captain us to victory in the FA Trophy and the Conference Premier two years later. He lifted the second of those trophies just days after becoming a father for the first time.

 

Ryder remained with the club during our three seasons in League Two, though he eventually lost his starting place to Daryl Ryan. The Londoner was released after our second promotion but stayed in League football for three more years with Kingstonian. He then played semi-professionally for Welling United before hanging up his gloves in 2034. Since tragically losing his beloved wife Rachel to cervical cancer in 2037, he has campaigned tirelessly for more women in their 20s and 30s to be screened for the disease.

 

Daryl Ryan

DAGGERS RECORD: 243 apps, 0 goals (2023-2033). POSITION(S): Goalkeeper.

BORN: 12 April 2005 in Dublin. NATIONALITY: Irish [25 caps, 0 goals].

 

Daryl was my first permanent signing as Daggers boss, joining us on a free transfer in January 2023 after being released by University College Dublin. The confident and communicative goalkeeper was loaned out to Kettering Town and Boreham Wood before being deemed ready for first-team football. He spent two years rivalling Robbie Ryder for a starting place, eventually displacing his rival for good in 2027/2028, by which point he had won his first senior caps for the Republic of Ireland.

 

Ryan went on to keep 33 clean sheets in League One and was still our number 1 when we entered the Championship in 2029/2030. He was then ousted by rising star Kieran Whalley, and despite having a brief renaissance in 2032, he was let go a year later. A move to Dundee United followed, though he made just four Scottish Premier League appearances for them before retiring in 2036. He has spent the past six seasons as Hull City's Under-18s goalkeeping coach.

 

Jonathan Roche

DAGGERS RECORD: 181 apps, 9 goals (2023-2030). POSITION(S): Right Midfielder.

BORN: 2 July 2003 in Cork, County Cork. NATIONALITY: Irish [6 caps, 0 goals].

 

Arriving shortly after our first Irish starlet, Jonathan was an unpredictable right-winger. The former Cork City prospect had exceptional physical fitness and plenty of pace, but he perhaps lacked the work ethic and determination required to reach the very top. Despite that, he still enjoyed several years as a Daggers semi-regular, peaking in 2025/2026, when he reached double figures on assists.

 

Roche was sadly far too erratic to hold down a starting place in League One, and he was released in 2030 after spending a season on loan at Birmingham City in League Two. He then returned to his homeland, where he won five consecutive League of Ireland titles with Shamrock Rovers and was named as the division's Player of the Year in 2034. He retired from playing in 2037 - ironically after a short stint at Wexford Youths - but still works in football as a journalist.

 

Joel Honeyball

DAGGERS RECORD: 323 apps, 63 goals (2023-2041). POSITION(S): Forward/Attacking Midfielder.

BORN: 18 August 2007 in Dagenham, London. NATIONALITY: English.

 

Joel's Daggers career began with a substitute appearance in the 2023 Conference Premier Play-Off Semi Final at Newport County. The pacey and determined forward would be part of our squad for the best part of the next 18 years, save for spells on loan at Oxford City and Burton Albion. Between those loan stints, he steadily rose through the ranks and played in half our matches during our 2027/2028 League Two promotion campaign.

 

Honeyball enjoyed the best years of his career in the Championship - specifically in 2032/2033, when he got nine goals and nine assists. That was as close as he ever came to being a regular starter, and he played a more peripheral role upon our ascent to the Premier League. A late strike at Southampton on New Year's Day 2035 fulfilled a long-held dream of finding the net in every professional division for the Daggers. He was on target again at Aston Villa in February 2036, which meant he'd scored at least one league goal for the club in each of the past 12 seasons.

 

As his first-team opportunities lessened, Joel joined our coaching team - initially on a part-time basis - in 2038. He would focus on his new career three years later, though not before bringing his playing days to a fairytale end. On 25 May 2041, 10 days after scoring twice against Reading in his final match at Rainham Road, he came on for the final minute of our Champions League Final win over Empoli in Lisbon. That was the end of a 323-match career which had begun in non-league football and taken him all the way to the highest level.

 

Paul Hart

DAGGERS RECORD: 156 apps, 37 goals (2023-2028). POSITION(S): Attacking Midfielder.

BORN: 19 July 2007 in Birkenhead, Merseyside. NATIONALITY: English.

 

Paul was discovered by one of our scouts at eighth-tier Cammell Laird in 2023, and we swiftly snapped the then 15-year-old midfielder up for the princely sum of £5,000. That proved to be an absolute bargain, as the Liverpudlian emerged as an advanced playmaker of great talent. By the time he'd exited his teens, he'd scored 20 Football League goals (setting up another 16) and spearheaded our promotion to League One. Then, having lit up the third tier, Sheffield United invoked his £1.6million release cause to bring him to the Premier League in 2028.

 

Hart became a popular figure at Bramall Lane, making 147 league appearances in a little over five years. When Tottenham Hotspur signed him for £8million in 2033, it seemed that his next promotion would be to the England set-up. Alas, Spurs never gave him much of a chance, and his career went into decline. After spells at Everton, Sunderland and lastly Dunfermline Athletic, he retired from playing at the relatively young age of 32. He has been manager of Ossett Town in the Northern Premier League Division 1 North for the last 18 months.

 

Wayne Coton

DAGGERS RECORD: 193 apps, 12 goals (2023-2028). POSITION(S): Centre-Back.

BORN: 29 October 2004 in Shrewsbury, Shropshire. NATIONALITY: English.

 

I didn't expect that much of Wayne when he arrived on a free transfer from Middlesbrough in 2023. The then-teenage central defender didn't take long to become a first-team mainstay, as he possessed great jumping ability and maturity beyond his years. The West Midlander did have quite a few injuries early in his Dagenham career, but he still performed consistently well enough to win two Fans' Player of the Year awards in League Two. His determination to succeed had certainly endeared himself to our supporters.

 

Coton continued to excel in League One in 2027/2028, when we lost in the Play-Off Semi Final to Wrexham. Ironically, I then agreed to sell him to the promoted Welsh club for £120,000, as I felt he'd hit his peak. I was sadly proven right, as he never recaptured his Daggers form with the Red Dragons and suffered relegation from the Championship in his first season. He was then released after two mediocre campaigns in League One.

 

Even after stepping back down to League Two with Yeovil Town, Wayne couldn't hit the heights again. He even experienced another relegation in 2035, but stayed loyal to them and won a second Conference National and FA Trophy 'Double' the following year. He would make 251 league appearances for the Glovers before retiring from playing in 2039, at the age of 34. Nowadays, he works as a television pundit and is generally one of the first experts people turn to when Dagenham & Redbridge are in the news.

 

Thomas Tierney

DAGGERS RECORD: 102 apps, 2 goals (2023-2027). POSITION(S): Centre-Back.

BORN: 14 October 2003 in Long Beach, California. NATIONALITY: Irish [1 cap, 0 goals].

 

Born in the United States to Irish parents, Thomas was a slow but focussed central defender who started regularly for us in our glorious 2023/2024 season. He didn't fare so well in League Two but was still a decent rotation option before joining Ross County for £250,000 in 2027. Tommy went on to win one international cap for the Republic of Ireland before enjoying a nine-year stint at Fleetwood Town, for whom he played in over 300 league games. After announcing his retirement in 2039, he went into scouting with Sunderland and later Crewe Alexandra.

 

Aaron McEwan

DAGGERS RECORD: 96 apps, 9 goals (2023-2026). POSITION(S): Centre-Back.

BORN: 14 October 1996 in Dumfries, Dumfries & Galloway. NATIONALITY: Scottish.

 

Aaron was one of Crawley Town's top performers when they won the Conference Premier title in 2023. The spirited Scotsman would repeat that feat with us 12 months later, and then captained us in our first two seasons back in the Football League. Unfortunately, injuries saw 'Big Mac' lose his regular starting place and eventually curtailed his career in 2029, just three years after he'd left us for Macclesfield Town. He rejoined the Daggers in a coaching capacity a year later, and he has assisted Under-18s manager Tom Ince in the 13 seasons since then.

 

Geraint Harding

DAGGERS RECORD: 232 apps, 6 goals (2024-2030). POSITION(S): Central Midfielder/Defensive Midfielder.

BORN: 19 November 2003 in Anglesey. NATIONALITY: Welsh [6 caps, 1 goal].

 

Geraint originally joined the club on loan from Stevenage in January 2024. What initially looked like a short-term signing became a long-term love affair, which began with the defensive midfielder scoring the decisive penalty in our FA Trophy Final shoot-out win over Preston North End. He went on to join us permanently after our promotion to the Football League. It was there where his work ethic, stamina and resilience came to the fore.

 

First capped by Wales in 2027, Harding was a first-team regular throughout our rise to the Championship, where he ended his Daggers stay after a single season in the second tier. In the summer of 2030, I reluctantly let him go to Wycombe Wanderers, where he remained for three years and then moved on to four other clubs. He then dabbled with management, suffering relegation from the Conference South with Newport County in 2038. Since being sacked by the Exiles a year later, he has largely 'exiled' himself from football altogether.

 

Dean Martin

DAGGERS RECORD: 227 apps, 16 goals (2024-2033). POSITION(S): Attacking Midfielder/Central Midfielder.

BORN: 5 May 2008 in Walthamstow, London. NATIONALITY: English.

 

A flamboyant but fiery attacking midfielder, Dean came through the youth ranks at Dagenham. After loan stints with Oxford City and Barnet, he broke through as a Daggers regular in 2026/2027. Six goals and five assists helped us to win promotion to League One, where his ascent continued. A hamstring injury sustained early in our first Championship season in 2029 set him back somewhat, but he roared back the following campaign with 10 assists. That was as good as things got for him.

 

Martin's productivity waned over the next couple of years, and it eventually got to the point where I felt we had to sell him to progress. He joined Heart of Midlothian for £1million in 2033, but never really found his footing in Edinburgh. Things went slightly better at Northampton Town, for whom he made over 100 league appearances between 2037 and his retirement in 2041. He now lives in West Yorkshire, where he manages part-time Farsley in the Northern Premier League Division 1 North.

 

Matt Warren

DAGGERS RECORD: 192 apps, 1 goal (2025-2031). POSITION(S): Left-Back/Central Midfielder.

BORN: 11 July 1997 in Isleworth, London. NATIONALITY: English.

 

Former Newcastle United left-back Matt joined us on a free transfer in 2025, having taken a year out of football beforehand. He quickly became an established member of our defence, lending invaluable experience to a very young squad. His professionalism and work rate set a shining example to everyone at the club during his six-year stay with the Daggers. The Londoner's best years came when we won League One in 2028/2029, during which he scored his only goal for the club - in a comeback win at Dartford in November 2028.

 

Warren initially looked capable in the Championship, but his years advanced, his pace and energy plummeted. After being overtaken by Daniel O'Reilly in the pecking order, he was let go in 2031. He then had a year-long stint at St Mirren, playing in only three more competitive matches before deciding to retire from playing. Coaching seemed the logical next step for such a hard-worker, and after four years at Hull City, he returned to Dagenham and joined my backroom in 2036. I count him as one of my very best friends in football.

 

Troy Hands

DAGGERS RECORD: 151 apps, 62 goals (2025-2029). POSITION(S): Forward/Central Midfielder.

BORN: 16 September 2000 in Bolton, Greater Manchester. NATIONALITY: English.

 

Troy had endured four mediocre years at Yeovil Town before enjoying four largely brilliant seasons with the Daggers. Signing the Mancunian in 2025 was a major gamble, but I put faith in his poacher's instinct and pace. He repaid my faith with 23 goals in his first season at Victoria Road, and then another 14 as we won promotion to League One the following year. He only netted 16 goals during our two seasons in League One, but his selflessness provided 15 assists and took us up to the next level.

 

When Hands did step up to the Championship, it was with Chester, who bought him for £200,000 in 2029. He got 28 goals in three years, but his output declined as the Blues hurtled down the leagues. Stints at Bristol City and Shrewsbury Town followed before he stopped playing in 2035, aged 34. He returned to Essex two years later as manager of Waltham Abbey, who have spent much of his tenure in the bottom half of the Isthmian League Division 1 North.

 

Gavin Dalton

DAGGERS RECORD: 207 apps, 12 goals (2025-2030). POSITION(S): Centre-Back.

BORN: 25 November 2004 in Northampton, Northamptonshire. NATIONALITY: English.

 

Having been released by hometown club Northampton Town at the age of 20, Gavin thought his football career was over. We handed him a second chance at Victoria Road, signing him after a successful trial. His marking and tackling abilities would make him a vital component in the centre of our defence over the next five years. He was a player who developed as we rose through the ranks, going from a solid League Two centre-half to a behemoth in the Championship.

 

Dalton was an outspoken and ambitious character, though, and it wasn't long before he was lured to the riches of the Premier League. Huddersfield Town forked out £3.5million for the defender, who made only 10 PL appearances before being discarded 10 years later. He revived his career at Leicester City in 2035/2036, getting them promoted to the Championship before featuring for Crewe Alexandra and Notts County. He stepped into management in 2040 and has just completed his second full season in charge of League One side Bradford City.

 

Mark West

DAGGERS RECORD: 281 apps, 135 goals (2025-2032). POSITION(S): Forward.

BORN: 12 October 1997 in Halifax, West Yorkshire. NATIONALITY: English.

 

Mark first came to my attention in 2024/2025, when the fearless Bristol City centre-forward bagged five goals in two matches against us. He was surprisingly let go that summer, but once we had the funds to sign him, I made sure we did. In October 2025, he came off the bench to score a dream debut goal against Boreham Wood - the first of 15 he would get in League Two for us that season. He topped the division's goal charts after inheriting our captain's armband the following season, finding the net on 32 occasions as we were promoted in 2nd place.

 

Standing at 6ft 2in and weighing in at 13st 7lb, West wasn't the biggest of target men, but he was still a force to be reckoned with. His nickname of 'The Beast' - which he first gained at City - was adopted by Daggers fans, who fell in love with this friendly Yorkshireman. He was no friend of League One goalkeepers, scoring 31 and 15 goals in our two seasons at that level. Our captain marvel was now out on his own as the most prolific hitman in Dagenham & Redbridge history.

 

The goals continued to flow for Mark in the Championship, though a penalty miss in the 2031 Play-Off Semi Final first leg against Aston Villa would haunt him. He never got the chance to play in the Premier League, retiring after two more years in the second tier. His scored his 135th and final Daggers goal at home to Bolton Wanderers in April 2032 (let's just forget about another missed penalty from later in that game). He's since spent nine years as the Director of Football at Peterborough United, who've just been relegated to the Conference National. Oh dear.

 

Daniel O'Reilly

DAGGERS RECORD: 265 apps, 10 goals (2026-2035). POSITION(S): Left-Back.

BORN: 30 July 2008 in Killarney, County Kerry. NATIONALITY: Irish [38 caps, 0 goals].

 

Daniel was acquired on a free transfer in February 2026, shortly after his departure from Cork City. The softly-spoken Irishman was a right-footed left-back who took his time to break into the first-team picture. He first established himself as a regular while in League One, where his work rate and endurance often made up for somewhat suspect decision-making. It was only after being promoted to the Championship and winning his first international caps that he knuckled down and became a more dependable defender.

 

After adopting a more professional attitude under the tutelage of Matt Warren, O'Reilly emerged as one of the Championship's top full-backs and a Republic of Ireland regular. Sadly, the Premier League proved a step too far for him, and he was sold to Celtic for £1million in 2035. After 78 appearances in four-and-a-half seasons at Celtic Park, he moved to Heart of Midlothian. Now aged 34, and with much greyer hair than when he was turning out for the Daggers, he is still a much-loved first-team regular at Hearts.

 

Josh Charles

DAGGERS RECORD: 204 apps, 13 goals (2026-2032). POSITION(S): Centre-Back.

BORN: 12 September 2000 in Birmingham. NATIONALITY: English.

 

Josh was the outstanding player in an otherwise poor Burton Albion that got relegated from League Two in 2026. He would leave that division in the opposite direction a year later, becoming an integral part of a promotion-winning Dagenham side. The burly Brummie was an imposing central defensive stopper with great positional awareness. A lack of pace was his only obvious awareness, but that wasn't an issue at all when he spearheaded the meanest defence in League One in 2028/2029, when we were promoted as champions.

 

Charles remained outstanding during our first three seasons in the Championship. However, as I didn't want to stunt the development of our younger centre-backs, I opted with some regret to let him leave on a free transfer 2032. He went on to play for Mansfield, Sheffield and Bishop's Stortford before calling time on his playing days six years later. You can now find him managing Ashford Town in League Two, having taken the helm at the Robert Parker Stadium six months ago after his first job as Notts County boss ended badly.

 

Matthew Fraser

DAGGERS RECORD: 413 apps, 31 goals (2026-2039). POSITION(S): Central Midfielder.

BORN: 2 February 2007 in Cambuslang, South Lanarkshire. NATIONALITY: Scottish [43 caps, 5 goals].

 

Scotland youth international Matthew arrived from his beloved Celtic in 2026 as a teenager with immense promise. He would fulfil that potential, and then some, during our ascent from League Two to the Premier League. A deep-lying playmaker with excellent technique and long-range passing ability, he provided several important assists in the lower leagues. He also scored a memorable early goal at Chelsea in Round 3 of the League Cup during his first season, though we narrowly lost that match 2-1.

 

Fraser continued to hone his craft in League One and later the Championship, which was where the worst of his injury problems occurred. A horrific leg break at home to Bolton Wanderers in April 2030 set him back several months of development. That said, he was nothing if not determined, as he showed by winning his first Scotland cap later that year. The midfielder then hit top form in 2033/2034, reaching double figures for goals and assists in all competitions as we were promoted to the top flight.

 

Matthew initially performed well in the Premier League, but further injuries ultimately saw him lose his starting place. In the end, he enjoyed a slow and graceful exit from Dagenham, having made over 400 appearances in 13 seasons. After taking a break from football, he returned to his homeland and played for Kilmarnock and Queen of the South. He announced his retirement from playing on the same day that I resigned as Daggers boss and is now considering a new career in politics, having recently joined the Scottish National Party.

 

Alex Busetto

DAGGERS RECORD: 110 apps, 2 goals (2027-2032). POSITION(S): Centre-Back.

BORN: 10 April 2006 in Reggio Emilia, Italy. NATIONALITY: Italian.

 

Alex joined the Daggers in early 2027, having spent some time out of the game after being released by Manchester City. The determined and selfless defender was a slow developer at Victoria Road, only seeing regular action two seasons later, when we were being promoted from League One. He was then loaned out to Scunthorpe United for the first half of the 2029/2030 season before being deemed ready for Championship football.

 

Busetto was a solid and composed presence in the second tier, though he wasn't particularly consistent. That didn't deter Serie A newcomers AlbinoLeffe from paying £1.2million for him in 2032, though, and he moved on to this new challenge with my best wishes. The Celeste yo-yoed between the top two Italian leagues during his seven-year stay there. He then dropped down to the fourth division, joining Latina in 2039 and current club Vibonese in 2041.

 

William Barnes

DAGGERS RECORD: 285 apps, 11 goals (2027-2036). POSITION(S): Central Midfielder/Defensive Midfielder.

BORN: 24 March 2009 in Fleet, Hampshire. NATIONALITY: English [capped at Under-21s level].

 

Ex-Southampton midfielder William was a raw talent who never really smoothed his sharpest edges. With his vision and passing skills, I originally saw him as a deep-lying playmaker. However, his aerial abilities were best used as a holding midfielder, and his tendency to stuck in also made him an adept ball-winner. Mind you, playing in an aggressive role saw him pick up 14 yellow cards during our League One-winning season of 2028/2029, and his disciplinary problems became more of an issue in the Championship.

 

Barnes was sent off twice during our Championship debut campaign, though his increased productivity convinced me that he was still worth the hassle. Indeed, he had improved his game and attitude so much that I gave him the captaincy upon Mark West's retirement in 2032. Unfortunately, he now had to intend with an array of injuries that often saw him miss two or three months at a time. When we were promoted from the Championship in 2033/2034, he'd played in fewer than half of our league matches that season.

 

Will led us into our first Premier League season in 2034/2035, but a calf muscle tear sustained against Fulham in our penultimate game marked the beginning of the end of his time with the club. He stayed for one more campaign and was then sold to Championship big-spenders Corby Town for £2million in 2036. 'Barnesy' was at Corby for five years, during which he had a loan spell at Swansea CIty, and later spent 18 months in League One with Leeds United. He is now a free agent, having been let go by St Mirren after a single season in Scotland's top flight.

 

Victor Dam

DAGGERS RECORD: 169 apps, 20 goals (2027-2033). POSITION(S): Attacking Midfielder.

BORN: 11 June 2005 in Aalborg, Denmark. NATIONALITY: Danish [capped at Under-19s level].

 

Victor was at Newcastle United for two-and-a-half years, but he didn't make his mark on English football until joining us on a free transfer in 2027. The young advanced playmaker showed great promise in his first half-season with the Daggers, getting six goals and four assists as we cracked League One's top six. He wasn't quite so effective the following season, though he was back in vogue by the time we arrived in the Championship. The former Denmark Under-19s international had become the first of several Nordic stars at Dagenham & Redbridge.

 

Dam's form in the Championship often fluctuated from sublime to average. Just like several of our League One champions, I felt we had to let him go to progress, and so he was sold on to FC Copenhagen for £900,000 in January 2033. He would return to British football in 2036, briefly turning out for Kidderminster Harriers and Motherwell before going back to Denmark. Even with his 38th birthday looming large, he is still playing semi-professionally for FC Helsingor in the third division.

 

Tom Virgo

DAGGERS RECORD: 105 apps, 1 goal (2028-2036). POSITION(S): Defensive Midfielder/Central Midfielder.

BORN: 3 June 2012 in Eastleigh, Hampshire. NATIONALITY: English [capped at Under-19s level].

 

Anchor man Tom emerged from our academy and became a first-team regular in 2031, aged 19. He remained a firm part of the senior squad for three years, up until our unexpected promotion from the Championship in 2034. He made one Premier League appearance and was then frozen out after being sent off in a League Cup defeat at Sheffield Wednesday. After seeing out the final two years of his Daggers contract on loan at Aberdeen at Leighton Town, he joined York City on a free transfer in 2036. He has since won three successive IFA Premiership titles at Linfield, who finished last season undefeated.

[CFuller]

Dagenham & Redbridge alumni: Where are they now? Part 2

Max Hicks

DAGGERS RECORD: 50 apps, 26 goals (2028-2030). POSITION(S): Forward.

BORN: 26 October 1997 in Crewe, Cheshire. NATIONALITY: English.

 

Former Crewe Alexandra and Nottingham Forest striker Max was the high-scoring number 9 we badly needed when we tried to get out of League One. His explosive pace and experience helped him get a club-best 19 goals as we won the title in 2028/2029, though he was significantly less prolific in the Championship a season later. Our one-season wonder soon went off to Aberdeen before concluding his playing days at Notts County. He has been a first-team coach at Newcastle United since 2035.

 

Arran Banton

DAGGERS RECORD: 144 apps, 2 goals (2029-2035). POSITION(S): Right-Back/Centre-Back.

BORN: 6 May 2010 in Luton, Bedfordshire. NATIONALITY: English.

 

Arran left Arsenal in 2029 without making a league appearance, but it was at Dagenham & Redbridge where his career kicked off. He was a short, terrier-like wing-back who would never stop working for the team. After making steady progress in his first season with the Daggers, he gradually moved closer and closer to holding down a regular starting berth. He did at last become a first-team mainstay in 2033, just before what proved to be our best season to date.

 

Banton's marking abilities and energy were integral to us securing promotion to the Premier League, but he would only make nine top-flight appearances for us. He was sold to League One Corby Town for £500,000 in January 2035 and celebrated promotion to the Championship a few months later. That began a seven-year stay in which he made 174 league appearances for Corby. After a loan stint at FC Halifax Town in 2041/2042, he retired from playing a year ago and now does occasional media work.

 

Kieran Whalley

DAGGERS RECORD: 263 apps, 0 goals (2029-2039). POSITION(S): Goalkeeper.

BORN: 1 December 2010 in Salford, Greater Manchester. NATIONALITY: English [capped at Under-19s level].

 

Kieran was rated as one of England's top young goalkeepers when we signed him upon his release from Manchester City in 2029. Initially serving as deputy to Daryl Ryan, the confident and outspoken Mancunian became our new regular goalkeeper in his second season. However, he was still very raw, and a series of disappointing displays in 2031/2032 saw him fall back below Ryan in the pecking order. He was even nicknamed 'Wally' by some Daggers fans, but he knuckled down and claimed the number 1 jersey for good in 2033.

 

Whalley kept 19 Championship clean sheets during our promotion season, with the last coming at Wembley against Blackburn Rovers in the Play-Off Final. He was appointed vice-captain when we entered the Premier League in 2034 and continued to keep goal for the next two seasons. Despite being very agile and a great decision-maker, though, he was no more than a decent goalie at the highest level. He would soon be overtaken in the pecking order - temporarily by loanee Denzel Gallen, and then permanently by Ben Perk.

 

Time ran out for Kieran at Rainham Road in 2039, following the emergence of Kayo Rowe as a senior custodian. After 10 years of loyal service, our most experienced keeper was sold to Southampton for £3.5million. He made only six Premier League appearances for the Saints and then moved to Norwich City, for whom he also made sporadic appearances. He was released by the Canaries in February 2043 and has been out of work since, though he is considering making a comeback next season.

 

Mario Djokic

DAGGERS RECORD: 117 apps, 54 goals (2029-2033). POSITION(S): Forward.

BORN: 27 July 1999 in Kotor, Montenegro. NATIONALITY: Montenegrin [55 caps, 13 goals].

 

Before November 2029, Mario was best-known to English fans as a pacey striker who had flopped at Aston Villa. Then I signed him on a whim as I desperately sought to drag the Daggers away from the Championship relegation zone. The experienced Montenegro international did more than that, as a goalscoring debut at Coventry City inspired him to lead us up the table. We finished that season in the Play-Offs, where our new frontman was sadly left wanting against his former charges Villa.

 

Djokic netted 20 goals in all competitions in 2030/2031, when we failed to threaten the top six. He bagged another 17 the following season, but then the well all but dried up. He left the Daggers in 2033 and went to Maccabi Tel Aviv, but his time in Israel was so miserable that it convinced him to retire from playing. A couple of years later, I arranged for him to return to Dagenham, where he now works as an Under-18s coach as well as a fatherly mentor for our youth imports.

 

Mario Tortora

DAGGERS RECORD: 80 apps, 34 goals (2030-2032). POSITION(S): Forward.

BORN: 26 November 2010 in Fenis, Italy. NATIONALITY: Italian [capped at Under-19s level].

 

We pinched 'Super' Mario on a free transfer from Inter Milan after surviving our first year in the Championship. In doing so, we acquired an unflappable young striker who scored 17 goals in each of his two seasons with the Daggers. Naturally, a clinical finisher quickly garnered interest from the top flight, and he was off to Burnley for £2.5million by the age of 21. Another two years later, Rochdale snapped him up for £8.5million. He has scored a club-record 120 Premier League goals in nine years with the Dale and is still going strong aged 32.

 

Jacques Polomat

DAGGERS RECORD: 102 apps, 15 goals (2030-2035). POSITION(S): Attacking Midfielder/Forward.

BORN: 10 October 2011 in Sainte-Adresse, France. NATIONALITY: French.

 

Another of my foreign imports ahead of the 2030/2031 season, Jacques took rather longer to establish himself with the Daggers. The Caen attacking midfielder arrived in England with plenty of technical ability and ambition, but also a worryingly long injury list for such a young player. A string of ankle and knee problems would hamper his first three years with us, during which he also had a loan spell at non-league Leighton Town. He then found his calling as a deep-lying forward, accumulating 10 goals and 10 assists when we secured promotion in 2033/2034.

 

Polomat had a single, fairly productive season in the Premier League and was then sold to Ajaccio for £1.1million in 2035. His post-Daggers career has been nothing short of tragic. He moved to Nice in 2036, but failed to make a single Ligue 1 appearance in three years before joining Auxerre, where he was used briefly and then left to rot. A weaker man might have retired after six wasted seasons, but he got his career back on track upon signing for Évian TG in the third-tier Championnat National last year.

 

Dave Hutchinson

DAGGERS RECORD: 122 apps, 4 goals (2031-2038). POSITION(S): Central Midfielder/Defensive Midfielder.

BORN: 27 May 2015 in Dagenham, London. NATIONALITY: English [capped at Under-21s level].

 

Dagenham boy Dave was a slick defensive midfield operator and occasional centre-half from our youth set-up. After an excellent year on loan at Cheltenham Town in 2032/2033, he made his mark with the Daggers first-team the following season. He featured in 35 of our 49 Championship matches as we were promoted to the Premier League, where it was hoped he would kick on. That wasn't the case, but a temporary return to the second tier with Leeds United in 2035/2036 rebuilt his confidence, even if Leeds did suffer relegation.

 

Hutchinson was a semi-regular with us over the next couple of years, but he never really kicked on to become the quality anchor man I once thought he would. In the summer of 2038, he was sold for £3.3million to Reading, ironically scoring his only Royals goals against the Daggers in the following January. He has since had a somewhat nomadic existence, hopping to Fulham in 2040 and current club Rangers to 2042 without ever becoming a first-team regular. At 28, I fear that 'Hutch' might have now wasted his potential.

 

Baldur Hreidarsson

DAGGERS RECORD: 78 apps, 34 goals (2031-2033). POSITION(S): Forward/Attacking Midfielder.

BORN: 11 July 2011 in Húsavík, Iceland. NATIONALITY: Icelandic [60 caps, 18 goals].

 

When Baldur was on fire, Championship defences were terrified of the Nordic target man. West Ham United loaned him to us for two seasons between 2031 and 2033, during which his aerial prowess enabled him to score and create a shedload of goals. I would've loved to have signed him permanently, but when the opportunity did arise a few years later, we had already moved on to bigger things. The Icelander later enjoyed moderate success at Terek Grozny and Corby Town before returning to his homeland and signing for Keflavík in May this year.

 

Shaun Powell

DAGGERS RECORD: 158 apps, 15 goals (2031-2039). POSITION(S): Right Midfielder.

BORN: 10 December 2012 in Swansea. NATIONALITY: Welsh [77 caps, 18 goals].

 

Shaun joined us from Swansea City as a teenager as an explosive right-wing option. I admired the Welshman's professionalism and selflessness, but his progress over the next three years was no better than steady. He played only sporadic parts in our eventual ascent to the Premier League in 2034, with his most notable contributions being a string of late goals. 'The Blond Bombshell' subsequently spent time out on loan at Leeds United, Watford, and then Derby County, where he finally emerged as a top-flight force to be reckoned with.

 

Powell reinvigorated his Dagenham career in 2036/2037, when he contributed two goals and five assists in the top flight. He would feature semi-regularly for us over the next two seasons, occasionally in a new attacking midfield role. The future UEFA Euro 2040 runner-up turned down an £8million move to Chelsea in 2038 but was lured to Stamford Bridge for £10million a year later. He has since become an important attacking force for the Blues, and I was secretly delighted when he scored against us in my final match as Daggers manager.

 

Tristan Egueh

DAGGERS RECORD: 140 apps, 59 goals (2032-2039). POSITION(S): Forward.

BORN: 5 November 2015 in Obock, Djibouti. NATIONALITY: Djiboutian [23 caps, 23 goals].

 

Tristan and his family emigrated to East London when civil war broke out in their native Djibouti in the mid-2020s. About a decade later, this Dagenham youth product emerged as one of the hottest young strikers in England, even winning Under-21s caps for his adoptive country. He was gradually eased into the first-team, also being loaned out to feeder clubs Leighton Town and Ceské Budejovice. His true breakout season was in 2037/2038, when he netted a club-best 25 goals in all competitions, including 16 in the Premier League.

 

Egueh's next campaign was rather mediocre, so when Rochdale offered us £20million to buy him in June 2039, I reluctantly took the money. Though his first year at the Slovalco Arena was rather successful, his form then dropped off a cliff and he was quickly frozen out. A loan spell at Napoli last season failed to reignite his spark, and he will have to look for a new club when his Dale contract expires this summer. I hope there are far better times ahead for the likeable 27-year-old, who first played for Djibouti in 2040 and has already become their record scorer by far.

 

Velimir Radosavljevic

DAGGERS RECORD: 144 apps, 10 goals (2032-2037). POSITION(S): Centre-Back/Left-Back.

BORN: 23 October 2012 in Belgrade, Serbia. NATIONALITY: Serbia [19 caps, 2 goals].

 

Velimir was a tall left-footed centre-half who was acquired from FK Rad in 2032. The Serbian youngster showed plenty of bravery and professionalism in his first season at Victoria Road, but it was the following campaign in which he exploded. After a stunning season in which he missed only six Championship matches en route to promotion, he was voted as the Dagenham Fans' Player of the Year. The next two seasons saw him continue to impress in the Premier League as well as at senior international level.

 

Unfortunately, Radosavljevic's one glaring weakness was that he was very slow, and that could easily be exposed by top-flight strikers. Having slipped down the pecking order, he was loaned to Saint-Étienne in January and then sold on to Levante for a cut-price £2million in August. The brave defender has since appeared in 139 La Liga matches in six seasons for Los Granotas, who have also played in the UEFA Europa League. Sadly, his international career stalled in 2038 after an explosive row with Serbia's then-manager Aleksandar Bjelica.

 

Souleymane Nomaou

DAGGERS RECORD: 88 apps, 38 goals (2032-2035). POSITION(S): Forward.

BORN: 22 November 2003 in Maradi, Niger. NATIONALITY: Nigerien [64 caps, 49 goals].

 

Raised in north London, Souleymane had a decent career with the likes of Young Boys and Celtic prior to his arrival at Victoria Road in 2032. Renowned for being lethal from close range, he scored 32 Championship goals for the Daggers and was our top scorer in the promotion season of 2033/2034. He had one average season with us in the Premier League and was then moved on, ending his football career at Leighton Town and Cardiff City. Niger's record international scorer is now a social worker based in Bedfordshire.

 

Stipo Brkic

DAGGERS RECORD: 101 apps, 12 goals (2033-2036). POSITION(S): Attacking Midfielder.

BORN: 28 October 2004 in Capljina, Bosnia & Herzegovina. NATIONALITY: Danish [capped at Under-19s level].

 

Bosnian-born Denmark Under-19s international Stipo became our then-record signing when we bought him for £300,000 from Málaga in 2033. Little did we know how much impact the creative attacking midfielder would make at Victoria Road. His flair and technique gave extra pizzazz to an average Championship team, and he would score seven goals and seven assists in his first Daggers season. That campaign ended at Wembley, where the great Dane's late finish against Blackburn Rovers won us the Play-Off Final - and promotion to the Premier League.

 

Brkic took to the PL pretty well in 2034/2035, racking up 10 assists before his season was cut short by a slipped disc. Now in his 30s, he struggled to meet the same standards in the following season and was overtaken by younger attacking midfielders. After three years, we bade the club favourite a fond farewell and allowed him to join Orebro, where he ended his playing career. He still works in Sweden, having served as manager of Djurgarden's Under-19s team since 2038.

 

Robbie MacKenzie

DAGGERS RECORD: 115 apps, 33 goals (2033-2037). POSITION(S): Forward.

BORN: 5 November 2008 in Glenrothes, Scotland. NATIONALITY: Scottish [4 caps, 4 goals].

 

6ft 7in target man Robbie proved to be a surprise hit when we signed him from League One side Dartford in 2033. His unrivalled aerial ability and superhuman strength gave us an excellent option when playing direct football. Though his goal return in our promotion season was mediocre, it was during our Premier League debut that the 'Giant of Glenrothes' roared into life. 11 league goals was the most of any Dagger in 2034/2035, and his form even earned him a brief crack at international level with Scotland.

 

Though MacKenzie couldn't quite be described as a 'one-season wonder', he wouldn't build on that impressive sophomore campaign. After only finding the net 15 more times in the next two years, he was allowed to join Blackburn Rovers on a free transfer in 2037. He never found the net on a consistent basis in Ewood Park and quickly faded back into obscurity. After two years at Motherwell, which included a loan spell at Wycombe Wanderers, he retired from football at the end of this season aged 34.

 

Greg Killick

DAGGERS RECORD: 181 apps, 10 goals (2034-2040). POSITION(S): Defensive Midfielder/Central Midfielder.

BORN: 1 October 2011 in Penrith, Cumbria. NATIONALITY: English [capped at Under-21s level].

 

Greg was an established midfielder at boyhood club Crewe Alexandra in the Championship when we bought him for £4million in August 2034. He initially found the Premier League tough going, struggling to find a clear role in our team during his first two seasons with the Daggers. The eureka moment came in 2036/2037, when he broke through as a tenacious ball-winning midfielder who could also distribute the ball brilliantly. The Cumbrian was instrumental in firing us up to 5th place and taking us to our first FA Cup Final, though he missed the big match after twisting his ankle in the Semi Final.

 

Killick's creativity came to the fore the following season, as he produced eight assists and excelled in our League Cup Final thrashing of Arsenal. He won that competition again in 2040, though he wasn't used in the following year's FA Cup and UEFA Champions League Final victories. His performance levels had gradually dropped over those two seasons, after which he was sold to AC Milan for £7.5million. Three years later, he is still enjoying life in Serie A, though he has recently been linked to a return to East London with West Ham United.

 

Mark Washington

DAGGERS RECORD: 251 apps, 113 goals (2035-2042). POSITION(S): Forward/Attacking Midfielder.

BORN: 19 August 2011 in Columbia, Maryland. NATIONALITY: American [29 caps, 5 goals].

 

We needed a free-scoring striker for our second Premier League season, so I bought Mark from German second-tier side Freiburg for £5million. The United States international swiftly burst onto the scene, scoring four goal in his first three PL outings. His pace and finishing power made him an instant fan favourite, even if he did go off the boil late in his first season. Handing him the Daggers captaincy the following summer revitalised him, as he finished 2036/2037 with 31 goals and 15 assists in all competitions.

 

Washington looked like being even more threatening in 2037/2038, only to be derailed by knee tendonitis. I then pondered selling him, but my decision not to would pay dividends. 16 goals and 13 assists in the following campaign showed that he was back to his best. Then, in July 2039, he was appointed skipper of his national team, earning him the nickname 'Captain America'. He would carry that moniker into the following Premier League season, in which he 'only' scored 13 times in 29 outings.

 

Mark had another season ruined by injury when he broke his foot in December 2040. His goalscoring impact had lessened so much that he was only a substitute when we won the Champions League Final the following May. Orlando Salvador took the captain's armband on that night in Lisbon and was later promoted for good. Our American ex-skipper played only a bit-part role in 2041/2042, though 17 goals in 30 competitive outings gave him a respectable farewell to Rainham Road. He signed for Turkish Super Lig side Orduspor last September but has barely played for them and is already desperate to move on.

 

Tomo Kurtovic

DAGGERS RECORD: 102 apps, 6 goals (2035-2038). POSITION(S): Centre-Back.

BORN: 25 August 2011 in Bruges, Belgium. NATIONALITY: Croatian [88 caps, 2 goals].

 

Defensive stopper Tomo was a £4.7million purchase from Austria Wien, and an excellent one at that. Over the next three seasons, the Belgian-born Croat would earn countless plaudits for his consistency and bravery, not to mention his calmness under pressure. He was one of the most commanding defenders we'd ever had, so it was with some reluctance that I sold him to Rochdale for £17.5million in 2038. He has started most of the Dale's Premier League games in the five years since then and was appointed vice-captain to Darren Howarth in 2041.

 

Vicente Gridelli

DAGGERS RECORD: 154 apps, 6 goals (2035-2041). POSITION(S): Centre-Back/Right-Back.

BORN: 4 August 2017 in Banfield, Argentina. NATIONALITY: Argentinean [26 caps, 1 goal].

 

Vicente had only just turned 18 when we paid Boca Juniors £3.5million to sign the promising Argentine defender. His Italian heritage meant he arrived in England without requiring a work permit, and he made steady progress in our reserves before a brief but successful loan at Blackburn Rovers. He then began to strongly challenge for a first-team spot in 2036, originally turning out as a right-back. His work rate and tackling made him a useful asset in that area of the pitch, even though he was perhaps lacking in acceleration.

 

By the time Gridelli nailed down a regular starting place in 2038, he was generally featuring as a centre-half rather than a wing-back. As well as being imposing in the air, he had excellent ball control and passing skills, which gave him the makings of a quality ball-playing defenders. He would make that role his own over the next two seasons, and even a string of injuries (mostly to his ankle) only made him more determined to improve his game. By 2040, I honestly thought I had one of the best defenders in world football.

 

Vicente's breakthrough amongst the elite was in 2040/2041. Despite missing a large chunk of our league campaign, it was in the UEFA Champions League that he truly shone. His headed goal against Empoli in the Final in Lisbon will never be forgotten by Daggers fans, partly because it was his last meaningful act for the club. His extravagant wage demands convinced me to sell him on, and we eventually got a mind-boggling £46.5million from Real Madrid. He has since won back-to-back La Liga titles with Real and featured in another Champions League Final, losing the 2042 decider to Paris Saint-Germain.

 

Mirko Saric

DAGGERS RECORD: 73 apps, 12 goals (2036-2043). POSITION(S): Left Midfielder/Attacking Midfielder.

BORN: 24 June 2019 in Sisak, Croatia. NATIONALITY: Croatian [12 caps, 0 goals].

 

Left-winger Mirko joined us from Dinamo Zagreb in 2036 but was a very late bloomer, spending much of the next four years on loan at four different clubs. He eventually began to make a mark on the Dagenham first-team in 2040/2041, getting six goals and three assists in just 16 Premier League outings. Injuries and inconsistency meant he couldn't build on that, and a positional change to attacking midfield didn't work out. He was sold to Valencia for £8.5million in January 2043 and is now carving out a career as a regular in Spain's top flight.

 

Ben Perk

DAGGERS RECORD: 102 apps, 0 goals (2037-2040). POSITION(S): Goalkeeper.

BORN: 3 January 2013 in Torrance, California. NATIONALITY: American [61 caps, 0 goals].

 

Ben spent two-and-a-half seasons as our number 1 after joining from Los Angeles Galaxy for £3.7million in 2037. During his time at Rainham Road, he earned praise for his positional awareness but was similarly criticised as being too inconsistent. When he was ousted as first-choice by youngster Kayo Rowe midway through the 2039/2040 season, I knew the Californian's time with us was drawing to a close. He was sold for £10million the following summer and has been Wolverhampton Wanderers' lead goalkeeper ever since.

 

Enrico Messina

DAGGERS RECORD: 53 apps, 28 goals (2037-2039). POSITION(S): Forward/Left Midfielder.

BORN: 18 March 2016 in Paderno d'Adda, Italy. NATIONALITY: Italian [41 caps, 27 goals].

 

Enrico was another Italian striking starlet who briefly shone at Dagenham before advancing his career elsewhere. The powerful got 11 goals in 26 games during his only complete Premier League season in 2037/2038, though he missed two months with a dislocated shoulder. He had further injury problems in late 2038, but his impressive scoring record still attracted interest from major clubs. Our hands were tied when Serie A giants Juventus evoked Ricky's £25million release clause in January 2039, and we've since watched him become one of world football's elite strikers. By my calculations, he's netted just the 123 goals in 177 matches for Juve.

 

Dzenan Genjac

DAGGERS RECORD: 135 apps, 22 goals (2038-2043). POSITION(S): Attacking Midfielder.

BORN: 16 March 2018 in Zagreb, Croatia. NATIONALITY: Croatian [26 caps, 6 goals].

 

Born in Croatia to Bosniak parents, Dzenan was a truly unpredictable attacking midfielder. He had been amongst my transfer targets for a couple of years by the time we bought him off Dinamo Zagreb for a cut-price £800,000 in January 2038. Within two months, he'd inspired us to League Cup success and emerged as a magnificent creative talent. However, the sudden death of his father in April and a hamstring tear in July were huge setbacks on both a mental and physical level.

 

As the seasons went by, Genjac frequently showed glimpses of his exceptional talent, only to be cut down by injuries whenever it looked like he was about to 'break out'. He tore his hamstring for the fourth time in his career in January 2041, and then broke his foot in October 2042. That was the final straw for me, and I put him up for sale when the transfer window re-opened. A £21million sale to Juventus followed, and it seems that the 25-year-old maestro might have at last cured his fitness blues in Turin.

 

Nolan Barber

DAGGERS RECORD: 104 apps, 1 goal (2038-2041). POSITION(S): Right-Back/Right Midfielder.

BORN: 2 March 2009 in Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire. NATIONALITY: English [capped at Under-21s level].

 

Nolan had spent many years in the Championship with Reading and Huddersfield Town when I offered the latter £6.5million to sign him in January 2038. Despite his limited top-flight experience, I greatly admired his passion and defensive abilities, not to mention his attitude. He would be a solid right-back with Dagenham for the next three-and-a-half season, even if consistency wasn't a strong point. He received his first career red card at home to Derby County in October 2039, and then scored his only Daggers goal at Nottingham Forest four weeks later.

 

Barber's professionalism rubbed off on our younger wing-backs, though errors and injuries became an increasing problem in his advanced years. Heartbreakingly, he sustained a slipped disc just four days before the 2041 Champions League Final, which would've been a fitting farewell to a decent career with the Daggers. He later rejoined his former club Reading, whom he helped win the Championship title this season, following relegation from the Premier League. Even at 34, there's still a little bit of life in the old dog.

 

Siphesihle Gumede

DAGGERS RECORD: 88 apps, 8 goals (2038-2041). POSITION(S): Centre-Back.

BORN: 12 November 2013 in Johannesburg, South Africa. NATIONALITY: South African [30 caps, 0 goals].

 

A tall and strong covering defender with great resilience, Siphesihle was a £2.2million bargain buy from Rapid Wien. The left-footed South African had a fine first season but fared even better in his second, collecting seven 'man of the match' awards. However, a dispute over wages led to him issuing a transfer request in January 2041. He went on to join Coventry City for £17.5million, famously turning down Bayern Munich's advances. Zippy probably regrets that now, as Coventry have never finished higher than 14th in the Premier League since his arrival.

 

Alun Harding

DAGGERS RECORD: 43 apps, 15 goals (2039-2040). POSITION(S): Forward.

BORN: 18 September 2012 in Rhondda Cynon Taf. NATIONALITY: Welsh [78 caps, 34 goals].

 

I thought Alun would be worth the club-record £17.5million I paid Chelsea for the hardened Wales centre-forward in January 2039. Despite a promising start, though, his eventual goal return did not justify that fee. While his powerful shooting could be devastating when he found the target, he didn't do that very often. After a return of four goals in 18 Premier League games during his only full season with the Daggers, I sold him to Rochdale for £25million. Annoyingly, he rediscovered his scoring touch at the Slovalco Arena, netting 51 times in three years.

[gavrenwick]

What can I say. I've spent the better part of five hours at work today having a read through the majority of this, and what a story you've led with Dagenham. The whole thing has been insanely easy on the eye to read, and has been a real pleasure. I started late to the party on it so have been playing catch up for a good few weeks now, sneaking in a read every now and then before smashing the rest out now. Congratulations on the legacy you built with this side and winning the Premier division, and with the awards that the story also won for you.

Top, top work.

[CFuller]

I hope you are enjoying my career summary, looking back at past seasons and former players. There'll be two more posts to come after this. I'll have a long(ish) list of records and statistics on Thursday, plus a big epilogue on Friday to tie up some loose ends and bring the story to a close.

I'm now opening up this thread to any questions you might have about the story or any goings-on in my save. If you do have any questions, please ask them before the evening of Friday 30 November, as I will be uninstalling FM13 from my computer at the end of this month.

1 hour ago, gavrenwick said:

What can I say. I've spent the better part of five hours at work today having a read through the majority of this, and what a story you've led with Dagenham. The whole thing has been insanely easy on the eye to read, and has been a real pleasure. I started late to the party on it so have been playing catch up for a good few weeks now, sneaking in a read every now and then before smashing the rest out now. Congratulations on the legacy you built with this side and winning the Premier division, and with the awards that the story also won for you.

Top, top work.

I'm very happy to hear you enjoyed it, Gav.

The story itself has undergone a few changes of format since I started it back in 2015. A few months ago, I went back to the early seasons and edited them to make them look easier on the eye - and more consistent with my later posts. There were too many large blocks of text for my liking, and breaking them up into more manageable paragraphs has hopefully made them less daunting for newer/later readers.

[CFuller]

Christopher Fuller at Dagenham & Redbridge (1 October 2022 - 31 May 2043)

Statistics (competitive fixtures only)

Played: 1,092. Won: 533. Drawn: 256. Lost: 303. Goals For: 1,899. Goals Against: 1,328. Win Ratio: 47%.

(NOTE: All penalty shoot-out wins and defeats are classified as draws for statistical purposes.)

 

Records (Team)

Biggest Win: 7-0 vs Oxford United (19 October 2027).

Biggest Defeat: 1-9 vs Manchester United (6 February 2038).

Highest-Scoring Game: 1-9 vs Manchester United (6 February 2038).

Most Games Won in Row: 7 (22 October to 23 November 2041).

Most Games Lost in Row: 6 (29 March to 4 May 2036).

Most Consecutive Games without Losing: 24 (7 January to 16 May 2043).

Most Consecutive Games without Winning: 9 (14 September to 27 October 2032).

Most Consecutive Games without Conceding: 5 (16 September to 3 October 2023, 6 April to 17 May 2026, 22 April to 12 May 2040).

Most Consecutive Games without Scoring: 5 (5 April to 4 May 2036).

Highest Home Attendance: 35,016 vs Arsenal (17 April 2038).

Lowest Home Attendance: 915 vs Bristol Rovers (13 August 2030).

 

Records (Players)

Most Appearances:

PLAYER                    FROM         APPS
George Darvill            2029-        494
Matthew Fraser            2026-2039    413
Joel Honeyball            2023-2041    323
William Barnes            2027-2036    285
Kenneth Jorgensen         2036-        283
Mark West                 2025-2032    281
Tim Beech                 2022-2029    268
Daniel O'Reilly           2026-2035    265
Kieran Whalley            2029-2039    263
Orlando Salvador          2036-        262

 

Most Goals:

PLAYER                    FROM         GOALS
Mark West                 2025-2032    135
Mark Washington           2035-2042    113
Elliot Cook               2035-        79
Antonis Siafos            2040-        67
Orlando Salvador          2036-        64
Joel Honeyball            2023-2041    63
Troy Hands                2025-2029    62
Tristan Egueh             2032-2039    59
Jamie Bell                2022-2025    58
Mario Djokic              2029-2033    54

 

Fastest Goal: Mark Washington - 13 seconds vs West Ham United (26 November 2036).

Most Goals in a Season: Mark West - 34 (2026/2027).

Most Assists in a Season: Orlando Salvador - 18 (2040/2041).

Most Man of the Match Awards in a Season: George Darvill - 12 (2033/2034).

 

Highest Fee Paid: Leonardo Arrieta - £27.5million to Real Valladolid (2 February 2043).

Highest Fee Received: Vicente Gridelli - £46.5million from Real Madrid (14 July 2041).

 

Youngest Player: Joel Honeyball - 15 years 248 days vs Newport County (23 April 2023).

Oldest Player: Marco Verratti - 38 years 179 days vs Leeds United (3 May 2031).

Youngest Scorer: Mitchell Paratusic - 16 years 124 days vs Fleetwood Town (31 July 2027).

Oldest Scorer: Marco Verratti - 37 years 33 days vs Colchester United (8 December 2029).

 

My All-Time Dagenham & Redbridge XI

Kayo Rowe (Goalkeeper, 2036-present: 182 apps, 79 clean sheets)

Tim Beech (Right-Back, 2022-2029: 268 apps, 4 goals)

George Darvill (Centre-Back, 2029-present: 494 apps, 34 goals)

Wayne Coton (Centre-Back, 2023-2028: 193 apps, 12 goals)

Thulani Mazibuko (Left-Back, 2037-present: 211 apps, 8 goals)

Kenneth Jorgensen (Defensive Midfielder, 2036-present: 283 apps, 6 goals)

Frédéric Pereira (Central Midfielder, 2039-present: 157 apps, 16 goals)

Matthew Fraser (Central Midfielder, 2026-2039: 413 apps, 31 goals)

Orlando Salvador (Attacking Midfielder, 2036-present: 262 apps, 64 goals)

Mark Washington (Forward, 2035-2042: 251 apps, 113 goals)

Mark West (Forward, 2025-2032: 281 apps, 135 goals)

Substitutes' Bench:

Kieran Whalley (Goalkeeper, 2029-2039: 263 apps, 82 clean sheets)

Vicente Gridelli (Centre-Back, 2035-2041: 154 apps, 6 goals)

Daniel O'Reilly (Left-Back, 2026-2035: 265 apps, 10 goals)

William Barnes (Central Midfielder, 2027-2036: 285 apps, 11 goals)

Yasser Ibrahim (Left Midfielder, 2022-2027: 188 apps, 40 goals)

Joel Honeyball (Forward, 2023-2041: 323 apps, 63 goals)

Elliot Cook (Forward, 2035-present: 143 apps, 79 goals)

 

Head-to-Head Records (English teams, competitive fixtures only)

                    P    W    D    L    F    A
Accrington          4    4    0    0    10   3
AFC Telford         5    4    0    1    10   2
AFC Wimbledon       8    4    4    0    14   7
Aldershot           7    5    2    0    16   3
Alfreton            1    0    1    0    1    1
Arsenal             23   12   3    8    49   35
Aston Villa         14   4    4    6    20   25
Barnsley            2    0    2    0    3    3
Barrow              2    1    0    1    4    2
Bath                3    1    2    0    6    3
Blackburn           18   11   2    5    32   21
Blackpool           6    1    3    2    6    8
Bolton              6    4    1    1    11   6
Boreham Wood        5    2    3    0    6    4
Bournemouth         4    2    1    1    9    8
Bradford            11   6    3    2    18   12
Brentford           4    2    2    0    5    2
Brighton            12   8    2    2    27   12
Bristol City        6    1    3    2    5    8
Bristol Rovers      9    2    4    3    8    10
Bromley             2    2    0    0    7    1
Burnley             17   10   2    5    33   23
Burton              2    2    0    0    3    1
Bury                4    1    1    2    6    8
Cambridge           9    4    3    2    21   17
Cardiff             11   3    4    4    10   7
Carlisle            2    2    0    0    3    1
Charlton            10   9    1    0    28   8
Chelmsford          3    0    1    2    2    4
Chelsea             23   10   4    9    29   30
Cheltenham          5    4    1    0    10   4
Chester             10   3    2    5    20   20
Chesterfield        8    7    0    1    22   8
Colchester          12   9    1    2    25   8
Coventry            16   10   5    1    23   5
Crawley             2    0    1    1    2    4
Crewe               13   6    3    4    16   17
Crystal Palace      11   4    4    3    19   16
Darlington          4    2    1    1    7    6
Dartford            11   6    1    4    17   14
Derby               28   10   5    13   43   42
Doncaster           7    3    0    4    14   14
Dorchester          2    2    0    0    7    2
Eastleigh           4    3    1    0    10   4
Ebbsfleet           6    3    1    2    11   6
Everton             15   7    3    5    23   15
Exeter              3    0    1    2    3    5
Farnborough         4    1    3    0    10   7
Fleetwood           4    3    0    1    8    1
Forest Green        4    0    1    3    4    11
Fulham              19   11   3    5    38   24
Gillingham          6    3    0    3    12   12
Grimsby             2    1    0    1    5    2
Guiseley            1    0    0    1    0    1
Harrogate           2    2    0    0    4    0
Hartlepool          6    2    1    3    9    9
Havant              1    1    0    0    3    0
Hereford            6    4    1    1    14   9
Huddersfield        7    5    1    1    17   6
Hull                8    4    2    2    15   10
Ipswich             13   4    3    6    18   25
Kidderminster       8    4    1    3    13   9
Kingstonian         5    1    3    1    6    5
Leeds               10   2    3    5    9    15
Leicester           3    0    1    2    2    4
Leighton            1    1    0    0    2    0
Leyton Orient       6    3    3    0    15   10
Lincoln             4    2    1    1    7    1
Liverpool           22   11   5    6    38   29
Luton               16   6    6    4    26   16
Macclesfield        1    1    0    0    3    1
Man City            22   5    2    15   33   51
Man Utd             26   6    4    16   40   66
Mansfield           4    2    1    1    10   3
Middlesbrough       6    1    4    1    9    5
Millwall            10   4    4    2    16   11
MK Dons             4    1    2    1    6    3
Morecambe           6    3    1    2    12   6
Newcastle           7    2    3    2    13   12
Newport County      5    3    2    0    16   4
Northampton         12   4    4    4    14   11
Norwich             22   10   6    6    33   27
Nottm Forest        18   7    9    2    31   22
Notts County        9    1    5    3    10   11
Oldham              8    4    2    2    17   8
Oxford              4    4    0    0    15   2
Peterborough        11   7    0    4    18   12
Plymouth            10   5    3    2    15   11
Port Vale           6    2    3    1    9    7
Portsmouth          4    0    1    3    1    9
Preston             3    0    3    0    2    2
QPR                 4    2    1    1    5    4
Reading             21   13   5    3    46   21
Rochdale            25   9    9    7    30   30
Rotherham           7    4    2    1    10   7
Salisbury           7    2    2    3    7    6
Scunthorpe          4    3    0    1    10   6
Sheff Utd           14   10   1    3    32   17
Sheff Wed           6    3    1    2    10   5
Shrewsbury          4    1    2    1    4    5
Southampton         25   12   5    8    35   29
Southend            2    2    0    0    3    0
Stalybridge         2    1    0    1    2    2
Stevenage           4    1    1    2    4    6
Stockport           2    1    1    0    6    2
Stoke               8    3    1    4    7    13
Sunderland          4    1    2    1    3    5
Swansea             5    3    1    1    14   7
Swindon             7    3    1    3    9    9
Tiverton            1    1    0    0    2    0
Tottenham           15   10   2    3    28   18
Tranmere            6    5    1    0    13   4
Walsall             2    1    1    0    5    3
Waltham Abbey       1    1    0    0    1    0
Watford             5    2    2    1    6    5
West Brom           18   11   6    1    28   10
West Ham            19   13   1    5    35   14
Wigan               8    6    1    1    26   12
Willand             1    1    0    0    2    0
Wolves              22   11   5    6    46   25
Wrexham             10   5    0    5    14   13
Wycombe             6    2    3    1    8    7
Yeovil              6    4    1    1    15   5
York                4    2    1    1    5    3

 

Head-to-Head Records (Non-English teams, competitive fixtures only)

                    P    W    D    L    F    A     
América             1    1    0    0    5    2
APOEL               2    2    0    0    8    2
Baník Ostrava       2    0    2    0    3    3
Barcelona           4    3    1    0    10   4
Basel               4    4    0    0    16   3
Benfica             2    1    0    1    2    2
Betis               3    1    2    0    5    4
Brescia             2    1    1    0    2    0
CSKA Sofia          4    3    0    1    10   5
Dinamo Bucharest    2    1    1    0    4    2
Donji Srem          2    2    0    0    9    1
Dynamo Kiev         2    2    0    0    2    0
Empoli              3    1    0    2    4    7
Estudiantes LP      1    1    0    0    3    1
FH                  2    2    0    0    8    1
Frankfurt           2    2    0    0    6    1
Galatasaray         2    2    0    0    4    0
Hamburg             2    2    0    0    9    3
Kuban               2    0    1    1    0    2
Lyon                2    1    0    1    5    5
Marseille           2    1    0    1    2    4
Monaco              2    1    0    1    5    3
Orduspor            2    2    0    0    8    5
PSG                 6    2    2    2    7    5
Rangers             4    2    1    1    5    3
Real Sociedad       2    1    0    1    4    4
Schalke             2    2    0    0    6    3
Servette            2    2    0    0    3    1
Sevilla             2    0    1    1    1    4

 

Christopher Fuller's managerial record (2012-2043)

Romford (3 July 2012 - 3 March 2022)

Played: 539. Won: 250. Drawn: 119. Lost: 170. Goals For: 903. Goals Against: 725. Win Ratio: 46%.

 

Isthmian League Premier Division: 1 (2015/2016)

Promotions: 2 (Isthmian North 2012/2013, Isthmian Premier 2015/2016)

 

Elgoibar (13 July 2022 - 19 September 2022)

Played: 5. Won: 0. Drawn: 0. Lost: 5. Goals For: 3. Goals Against: 17. Win Ratio: 0%.

 

No achievements at Elgoibar.

 

Dagenham & Redbridge (1 October 2022 - 31 May 2043)

Played: 1,092. Won: 533. Drawn: 256. Lost: 303. Goals For: 1,899. Goals Against: 1,328. Win Ratio: 47%.

 

Premier League: 1 (2042/2043)

FA Cup: 2 (2040/2041, 2041/2042)

League Cup: 2 (2037/2038, 2039/2040)

UEFA Champions League: 1 (2040/2041)

UEFA Super Cup: 1 (2041/2042)

FIFA Club World Championship: 1 (2041/2042)

Community Shield: 1 (2042/2043)

League One: 1 (2028/2029)

Conference Premier: 1 (2023/2024)

FA Trophy: 1 (2023/2024)

Promotions: 4 (Conference Premier 2023/2024, League Two 2026/2027, League One 2028/2029, Championship 2033/2034)

 

Norway national team (15 October 2033 - 15 October 2036)

Played: 22. Won: 7. Drawn: 3. Lost: 12. Goals For: 28. Goals Against: 36. Win Ratio: 31%.

 

No achievements at Norway.

 

Total Career Statistics

Played: 1,658. Won: 790. Drawn: 378. Lost: 490. Goals For: 2,833. Goals Against: 2,106. Win Ratio: 48%.

[CFuller]

EPILOGUE

3 July 2043. On the 31st anniversary of starting my first coaching job at Romford, I was at a television studio in central London for an interview about my long and eventful career. Amazon-Netflix were producing a half-hour-long special programme to mark my retirement as Dagenham & Redbridge.

 

Interviewing me was a young brunette journalist named Bianca Owen, who had grown up in Dagenham and was a lifelong supporter of her local team. To tell you just how long I'd been in the game, Bianca was just a few weeks old when I began my career with Romford, and she was still only in primary school when I became Daggers boss.

 

My interviewee began by congratulating me on my latest honour in a year full of them.

 

"First of all, congratulations on receiving a Knighthood in the King's Birthday Honours. Can I call you Sir Christopher?"

"No, no. Christopher's fine, or Chris, if you prefer."

 

"Chris, it's been a little over a month since you retired from management. How are you feeling right now?"

"I'm enjoying my retirement, even though it's feeling a little surreal right now. This is the first summer in 32 years where I haven't been making plans for pre-season. I'm a bit unsure about what I should be doing at this time of year now!"

 

"We will, of course, get to Dagenham & Redbridge in a minute. First, though, I'd like to take you back to the very beginning of your coaching career. How did it start for you?"

"Well, I was a reporter for the Romford Recorder for a few years, back in the days when newspapers used to be a thing! I did a lot of reporting on Romford FC and I was very outspoken, particularly when it came to their manager at the time, Paul Martin.

"After one heavy defeat in early 2012, I think it was, Paul took offence to a particularly harsh question from me. He basically told me that if I felt I could do a better job, why don't I give it a go... and so I did. When Paul resigned, I applied for the job, and the Romford board decided that I was the right man."

 

"You spent 10 years at Romford. What were your favourite moments from your time there?"

"Obviously, the two promotion seasons were massive highlights. Winning the Isthmian North Play-Off Final in 2013, and then winning the Isthmian Premier title three years later, were two moments that I still haven't forgotten. What makes me even prouder, though, is that Romford have not slipped back to the regional leagues since I left. They've consistently been in the Conference - either in the Premier division or the South division - for 28 seasons now."

 

"Do you have any regrets from your time at Romford?"

"Quite a few, to tell you the truth. I was disappointed that I couldn't take Romford into the Football League. The closest we came to getting there under my management was in 2020. That Conference South Play-Off Semi Final against Bromley was an absolute farce of a game. 5-1 down at half-time, we lost 7-3 on the night, and 7-5 overall.

"After that match at Bromley, I did something to one of my players that I still regret to this day. At that point, I was very close to jacking management in and going back into journalism. I eventually stuck around for another two seasons and took Romford to the Semis of the FA Trophy, but it was never the same."

 

"So you left Romford in March 2022, is that right? Now we've got to talk about your next job after that."

I let out a chuckle and answered, "Nobody will ever let me forget that! That's going to be on my tombstone: 'Here lies Christopher Fuller - football manager, failed in Spain'."

 

"What happened at Elgoibar?"

"I was lured to Spain under false pretences. They had an ambitious owner who'd taken Elgoibar to the Spanish third division and wanted to take them further, but he was completely and utterly deluded. For a supposedly professional club, the entire set-up at Elgoibar would have been embarrassing by Conference standards.

"I'll hold my hands up and say that some of the players Nicky Reynolds and I brought to Elgoibar weren't good enough for that level. Even so, to lose five straight league games and be competitive in only one of them was nothing short of embarrassing. I'm glad I got out when I did."

 

"You mentioned Nicky Reynolds there. He was Romford's star striker for the first six years of your coaching career, and he's gone on to be the only person who has worked with you at all three of your clubs. How close is he as a friend and a colleague?"

"When it comes to football, I don't think I trust anyone more than I do Nicky. He's an excellent scout who has helped me identify many great signings over the years.

"Fabio Saraiva is another former player from my Romford days who became a key member of my staff at Dagenham & Redbridge. Fabio was my assistant for the best part of 20 years, and I don't think I've had a coach who works as hard on the training pitch as he does. He loves football and he loves his job with a passion, like I did."

 

"Let's now move on to Dagenham & Redbridge. How did the opportunity to manage them came about?"

"I was just getting to the end of my tether at Elgoibar when I read online that Dagenham had sacked Johnnie Jackson. Of course, being from East London, I really wanted the chance to manage the Daggers, especially as they were now back in the Conference Premier and in need of a rebuild. I applied for the job before what proved to be my last game at Elgoibar. The board then gave me an ultimatum to withdraw my application or resign, so I decided to resign.

"To tell you the truth, I don't think I would've got the Dagenham job if it hadn't been for Elgoibar. Before that, people in non-league football only knew me for someone who took Romford to the Conference South and then ran out of steam. Going to Spain for a couple of months gave me more of a profile and perhaps made me a more attractive candidate, even though it all went belly-up over there."

 

"You immediately took a shine to Dagenham & Redbridge, didn't you?"

"Absolutely. It was nothing like Elgoibar at all. I could tell straight away that this was a club who'd been in League One before and wanted to get back to those heights. They had a great set-up and a fantastic fanbase, not to mention an ambitious owner. The only problem I really had in the early days was the squad."

 

"Less than eight months after taking the job, you led the Daggers into the Play-Off Final, narrowly losing to Stevenage. The following season, you went up as winners of the Conference Premier and the FA Trophy. What changed in that time?"

"I massively overhauled the squad, getting in a lot of fresher legs, along with a few experienced heads such as James Dunne and Aaron McEwan. I only wanted players who were determined and who would work hard for the team. Technical ability was a bonus in those days, but we had plenty of skilful players as well. One such player was Paul Hart, who broke into the team when he was very young after signing from Cammell Laird on Merseyside and later became our first £1million sale."

 

"Paul Hart was one of the first of many young stars who came through the Daggers ranks under your management. How much of an emphasis did you put on blooding your own players from the youth team?"

"It was always a key part of my footballing philosophy, even at Romford. We had quite a few players come through the youth system there, and though none of them made it into the Football League, they strengthened the bond between the club and the community. I sought to do that with the Daggers when I came on board, and I made sure that the most promising youngsters on our books always got first-team opportunities."

 

"One of those players was Joel Honeyball, of course."

"Joel is Dagenham & Redbridge through and through. Though he wasn't the most gifted striker in the country, and though he was never one of the first names on the teamsheet, you could always count on him. That's why he's stuck around with the Daggers for his entire career. He made his first-team debut aged 15 in the Conference Premier, and he retired 18 years later after coming on in the UEFA Champions League Final. I don't think anyone else can say they've had a career quite like Joel's."

 

"Dagenham's progress through the Football League was always steady, and your team hardly ever failed to meet expectations. Why do you think that was?"

"Team spirit counts for a lot in football, at all levels. We might not have had the best squad in our division, but we had many strong characters who would be willing to die for the team. Aaron McEwan was one of those characters from the early years, and later on, we had the likes of Mark West, Matthew Fraser, William Barnes..."

 

"And George Darvill, the King of Dagenham."

"Yeah, George was another local lad who came good. George's dad used to work at the Ford Dagenham plant, and so did his grandad, so he was always very passionate about his town and his club. I gave him his senior debut in 2029, on the day we won League One and went up to the Championship. 14 years on, he's on the brink of becoming the club's record appearance maker.

"We've had many excellent defenders over the years, particularly central defenders, but George is head-and-shoulders above them all. He was always willing to improve on all aspects of his game, and that showed, as he basically developed with the team. When we went up to the Premier League, he was 21 and had already been a first-team regular for three years. That stood him in great stead for those first few years in the top flight, when he just took his game to the next level."

 

"Should Darvill have been capped by England?"

"Absolutely. He should have had at least 25 caps by now, but the England managers preferred to pick centre-backs they knew and trusted. I swear that one player had incriminating information about someone at the FA, because they frequently got into the team when they were struggling in the bottom half and George was consistently playing brilliantly in the top six. It's a massive injustice that he has never been capped and that he probably never will be."

 

"You were offered the chance to become England manager in 2038, after Sylvain Marveaux left. Why didn't you take it, and do you regret your decision now?"

"I always wanted to manage England at some point in my career. It was a very tough call to turn the FA down, but basically, they wouldn't have a part-time manager. They wanted me to leave Dagenham and fully commit to England, but I wasn't ready to take that chance. To answer your question, I don't regret that decision, because I still had a lot more that I wanted to achieve with the Daggers."

 

"Would you be prepared to come out of retirement if the FA offered you the job after next year's Euros?"

"To be honest, Bianca, no. I think that ship has sailed now. I'm nearly 60 now, and at my age, I'm not sure I could cope with the intense stress and pressure that comes with managing England."

 

"You did have experience of international management, though, having coached Norway part-time between 2033 and 2036. How do you assess your three years in charge of them?"

"Those three years were frustrating, I can tell you. I honestly thought I could take Norway into major tournaments, but the quality and squad depth just wasn't there. That said, we did get a few good results and very nearly took a point off Germany. We gave the UEFA Euro 2036 qualifiers a good go, but when the 2038 FIFA World Cup qualifiers started very badly, I decided to get out and concentrate 100% on the Daggers.

"I have no regrets about that job now. Norway gave me invaluable experience of coaching against teams of the highest quality when Dagenham were just beginning to establish themselves in the Premier League. Without learning what I did in international football, I think it would've taken us much longer to settle down."

 

"Let's go back a little bit, to a Nordic player who you did have a good experience working with. Where does Stipo Brkic's winner in the 2034 Championship Play-Off Final rank amongst your career highlights?"

"It's still very high. I was not really expecting us to finish in the top six that season, so even getting to play at Wembley for a place in the Premier League was an exciting experience. We outplayed Blackburn Rovers throughout that match, but I thought we were going to throw a great chance away when Stipo popped up four minutes from time to bury a cross from Ross Pearson. That was the first time I fully realised just how far we as a club had come over the previous 12 years."

 

"Was there any point during those 12 years when you feared for your job or even thought about quitting?"

"A couple, actually. My first full season in the Conference Premier didn't start too well, and the chairman at the time - Antonello Scolaro - warned me that my job was on the time. We then went unbeaten in 16 league games and set ourselves up for winning the non-league 'Double'.

"I also considered resigning once, when we were struggling to get out of the Championship. We'd finished 12th, 10th and 12th over three seasons, and I probably would've quit if we'd had a fourth straight season like that. Of course, that was the season when we were promoted to the Premier League."

 

"After a couple of seasons in lower mid-table, the 2036/2037 season was the Daggers' real Premier League breakthrough. How did you transform a team that had finished 13th into a side that reached the FA Cup Final and nearly qualified for the Champions League?"

"I'll give you four names - Kenneth Jorgensen, Greg Killick, Orlando Salvador, Mark Washington. I'll start with Kenny first. We needed a strong, established anchor man with excellent passing ability. He cost us £9million from Pescara, which was a club record at the time, but he's been worth every penny. Over the last seven years, I can count on one hand the number of games in which he has not performed particularly well.

"Greg was a slightly older midfielder than Kenny at the time, about 24 or 25 years old. He'd been with us for a couple of years and had struggled to work out whether he was a playmaker or a holding midfielder. Then I started using him mainly as a ball-winner. His physicality and tackling ability was a nightmare for opponents to handle and made us a much more formidable force.

"Orlando was an astonishing teenage talent who I'd been trying to sign for some time. I eventually managed to get him in on a free transfer when his Braga contract was six months from expiring. He made an impact immediately, showing great creativity and flair to give our attacks an extra dimension. The rest, as they say, is history."

 

"And then we come onto Mark Washington - the club's second-highest scorer after Mark West."

"Mark came to us the season before for £5million and started incredibly well before tailing off. Appointing him captain after Will Barnes left seemed to spark him back into life. That season was the best he ever had in a Daggers jersey, with 31 goals in all competitions, including two in the Final. We lost that 3-2 to Manchester City, but what really impressed me was when Mark said that he would make sure he won the trophy next time."

 

"And he did that four years later, also against City."

"That was a very nervy FA Cup Final in 2041, for sure. We had a huge stroke of luck quite late in the second half, with Gianfranco Torre scoring the opener after Lee Allen had hit the woodwork. We then used our experience from winning two League Cup Finals over the previous three years to spur us on to victory. Orlando got a lovely second goal, and then Mark finished it off with a penalty. It felt like it was written in the stars."

 

"2041 was a very significant year for the Daggers, and not just because of the FA Cup, of course."

"That run in the Champions League was just unbelievable. We'd got to the Semi Finals of the UEFA Europa League the season before, but I never thought we'd go all the way in the Champions League, certainly not at our first attempt. But we showed a lot of spirit to come back from tough positions - against Monaco in the Playoff, against Real Sociedad in the final group game, and then when we were one goal away from losing to Benfica in the Round of 16."

 

"Describe your feelings on that night in Lisbon - not the Round of 16 match, obviously, but the Final against Empoli."

"It was an amazing atmosphere at the Estádio da Luz. It felt like everyone in Dagenham had come over to Lisbon for the night, such was the level of support we had. I've no doubt that they helped to drive us on to victory. The roar when Vicente Gridelli headed in Orlando's corner was nothing I'd ever heard before or since. It was a truly special moment, and one that will stick with us Daggers forever."

 

"No team had ever won the Champions League at the first attempt before. How honoured did you feel to have made history?"

"It was a nice feeling, for sure. I certainly didn't expect it, to be honest! We'd had three frustrating seasons in the Europa League beforehand, so we went into that first Champions League season under absolutely no pressure at all. If we'd got to the knockout rounds, that would've been enough, but every tie we won just gave us a little more confidence that we could move that little bit further."

 

"The Champions League was the biggest prize of all, but the last major honour that eluded you was the Premier League. When was the first time this season that you honestly thought you could lift the trophy?"

"Certainly not in October, that's for sure! It was a very disappointing start, which was made even tougher by injuries to key players. The turning point was when we came back from the international break and said, 'Right, enough is enough. It's about time we got our act together and started to attack without fear.' We never lost another league game after that.

"The first time I seriously thought it was possible was in January, when we put five goals past Arsenal in the first half. Franco Torre was unplayable in that match, and we needed him to be. If Arsenal had won that match and stopped our momentum, there was no way we were catching them."

 

"Another massive moment was surely the comeback against Manchester United in March. Kamil Lewandowski perhaps didn't look like a typical Christopher Fuller signing at first, but he made all the difference, didn't he?"

"I brought Kamil in for his vast experience and his big-game attitude. In hindsight, I wish I'd signed him a couple of years earlier when we first had the chance.

"We were 2-0 down, and Kamil got us a goal back before half-time, at which point I told him, 'One goal won't be enough. We need two more, otherwise we can kiss goodbye to the league'. Anyway, Kamil returned for that second half and played like he was possessed. United could not get a grip on him all half, and he came away with a hat-trick and three vital points."

 

"That was a real game-changer for you and your team. You were favourites to win the league from that point on, but then you had a few wobbles before finally getting it done."

"To be fair, Arsenal helped us out a lot by failing to take their chances when they came. They also had the Champions League to aim for, while we'd gone out of that competition at the Quarter Finals. Our fresher legs told in the end, as we stayed unbeaten and did what we had to in order to stay ahead of Arsenal."

 

"9 May at Rainham Road. You've drawn 0-0 with Liverpool. Tell us how you're feeling when the result comes through that Arsenal have lost to Wolverhampton Wanderers, and that you have won the Premier League."

"I can't sum up my exact thoughts before the watershed, but yeah, I was hugely relieved. If we hadn't won the league this season, after being in such a great position, I think it would've killed me. I was physically and mentally almost spent.

"It was a bit of an anti-climactic way to win the Premier League, yes, so that rather took away from the euphoria I was expecting to feel. I didn't feel like a league champion until the final day, when we beat Chelsea 3-1 in front of our own fans. I don't think a Hollywood scriptwriter could have written a more fitting ending than Orlando getting that final goal in stoppage time, especially after all the injury problems he had."

 

"So I guess you felt that, after winning the Premier League title, it was the right time to retire."

"Yes, I always imagined myself going out at the top of my game. I don't want to be remembered as a manager who had success but then burnt out towards the end of his career. Having won all the major trophies that we could win in England and abroad, I had nothing more left to achieve at this club. I was ready to step aside and let a younger, more ambitious manager continue from where I'd left off and hopefully make Dagenham & Redbridge a truly iconic club."

 

"I understand you had a say in who succeeded you as Daggers manager. So, then, I presume you backed the board's decision to appoint Moanes Dabour as your replacement."

"It was their final decision, obviously, but Moanes would probably have been my first choice had it been up to me. That might surprise a few people, but we have similar footballing philosophies. We both like our teams to dictate play in midfield, and we're not afraid to change things up if and when required.

"Obviously, it also helps that Moanes has enjoyed unprecedented success at Porto. He also knows a bit about the Premier League from his time at Manchester United. I'm confident that he can take what is already a very good team and move them up to the next level."

 

"What do you make of Dabour's transfer dealings so far? He's already brought in five new players for £73million. Are you afraid that those acquisitions might disrupt a close-knit team?"

"That's always the fear, but I believe Moanes knows what he's doing. I'm especially looking forward to seeing what young Mateusz Jackiewicz can do, not least because he was on my radar for quite a while before I left Dagenham. He's a tireless holding midfielder who's cost about £26million from Lille, but I think that'll be a very wise investment if he fulfils his potential over the next decade.

"Patricio Bogado looks like being a potential bargain. Getting a strong 23-year-old centre-back from Barcelona for £5.5million is basically daylight robbery. Nathan won't be brilliant forever, and George is getting on a bit too, so it's great to see that Moanes is thinking long-term.

"I rated Graeme Muir highly as a right-back when he was playing in the Premier League for Rochdale and Chelsea. He's got plenty of experience at the top level, so I reckon he'll be a capable understudy to Enrique Álvarez after signing from Juventus.

"The only signings I'm a bit confused about are Ignacio Barandiaran from Chelsea, and André Sarstedt from Hamburg. The team already has loads of quality in Ignacio's central midfield position, and I don't think we need another right-winger like Sarstedt when we already have Álvarez and Milen Danchev."

 

"Is there any last bit of advice you'd like to give to Dabour?"

"I feel a bit silly giving advice to someone I think is the best manager in world football... but I'd advise him to keep spirits high. I always valued my players as human beings, and if they didn't try to upset the applecart, I always treated them how I'd like to be treated. There needs to be some discipline, obviously, but by and large, a happy team is a strong team."

 

"One final question, Chris. What do you plan to do now that you're retired?"

"Spend a lot more time with my family, that's for sure! I've sacrificed a lot over my career, but they've been very patient and understanding. Now it's time they got my undivided attention.

"Long-term, I'd like to go around the world one day - as a tourist, not a football manager. There are loads of places on my bucket list that I want to see while I still can."

 

"Sir Christopher Fuller, thank you for taking the time to speak to us."

"My pleasure."

 

The programme then ended with a lengthy montage of my finest achievements as Dagenham & Redbridge manager. It was another emotional moment for me, as it brought a hint of finality to my career. After 31 years in management, and 21 with the Daggers, I was now a part of footballing history.

 

At the age of 58, I hope that I have many years to enjoy my retirement and have quality time with my family. I will still go to the odd home game at Rainham Road, obviously, but football is no longer my greatest passion.

 

I would like to think that Dagenham & Redbridge supporters everywhere will continue to remember me, even long after I am gone. After all, I was the man who built the 'House of Flying Daggers'.

[CFuller]

So, this is it. Exactly three years to the day that I published the first part of "House of Flying Daggers", we've reached the end.

When I first started playing this Football Manager save game and writing about it in 2013, I had no real idea about what it would become. The initial aim for that save was to take my hometown club into the Football League and then onto further success. Of course, things didn't quite pan out as planned with Romford, but the diversion to Dagenham revitalised a career that I was very close to giving up on.

Prior to this save, I had never taken a team through two promotions, let alone from non-league to Premier League. I'd never built a club from humble beginnings and transformed them into a superpower. I'd never plucked a player from my youth team and taken him through a full career at the club, from debut to retirement. I'd never won the Premier League (at least not in a legitimate save - a subtle nod to my younger days ).

This save took me through 31 in-game seasons and close to five real-life years. When I saved the game for the last time on 23 May this year (a little over a week after winning the Premier League), it felt like the end of an era for me as a Championship Manager or Football Manager player. Next year will mark the 20th anniversary of my first playing the series. I never had such a fulfilling CM/FM career before this one, and I will probably never better it.

Writing about my career - and publishing it on these forums - has also given me a purpose, not to mention some much-needed self-confidence during a tricky period in my life. I have been unemployed and out of higher education for going on five years (I'm 28 now), partly because of the so-called 'learning disability' I have. I will not go into detail about my diagnosis today, but perhaps I will one day pluck up the courage to do so.

The support I've had on FMS has been incredible. Even today, I'm still truly humbled to have been recognised at the FMS Awards on several occasions, including winning the 2017 Story of the Year award for this very story.

I would like to specifically thank the forum's esteemed mods Mark, Gav and 10-3, and my fellow regulars Neil and EvilDave for supporting me and my work over the last few years. I'd also like to show my gratitude to anyone else who has read through this story and any of the others in my FM13 tetralogy: "Welcome To Romford", "Ongi Etorri Euskal Herria" and "Bygmester Fuller".

So what's next? I will continue to write Football Manager fan fiction for the foreseeable future, but largely elsewhere. I started my own blog - Fuller FM - last month and am currently chronicling an FM19 career with Fiorentina in a story entitled "Shades of Deep Purple". I'm just about to finish the second season, so feel free to have a look at what I've been getting up to.

But don't worry - I am not finished on FMS just yet. I am still working hard to complete "An Impossible Man" and will look to wrap up that FM17 adventure with Mark Catterall over the coming months. Beyond that, who knows?

Okay, this is going on for far too long now. I'll start to wrap things up here before I start blubbing like an actor accepting an Oscar. 

Before I go, you might remember that I started this story with an excerpt from "Feeling Good", as performed by Muse. It's only right, then, that I leave you with the final verses of Nina Simone's brilliant original:

"Stars when you shine, you know how I feel,
Scent of the pine, you know how I feel,
Oh, freedom is mine, and I know how I feel,

It's a new dawn, it's a new day,
It's a new life for me,

And I'm feeling good..."

 

Thank you for reading.

Christopher Fuller (CFuller)
23 November 2018

[mark wilson27]

Chris,

This story has been an absolute pleasure to read. It is up there in my top three stories within the history of FMS and if at some point this doesn't get Hall of Fame recognition it will be a dishonour to your work.

Can't really say much more than what I have already said within the confines of your stories

Mark

[oche balboa]

The best story I’ve ever read and there has been a lot of fine stories on here throughout time