The Daggers Player Review - Part Two

This Blog is the second half of the player review, concluding the final twenty players to don the famous shirt of Dagenham this season. I hope you enjoy my account of this bunch, if you disagree with some of my decisions, feel free to leave a comment below where you can discuss with fellow supporters. The first player up is Billy Bingham...

Billy Bingham – I think the best way to describe Billy’s season is fantastic in a disappointing way. When he has played, his performances in the midfield have been top notch and he’s assured himself as one of the starters next season in my eyes, however injuries have blighted a campaign that he may have targeted as his breakthrough, having only been able to play in 32 matches. Regardless of this he’s worked his way in and performed excellently, asserting himself as a fans favourite with a keen eye for goal when 30 yards out.

Peter Gain – Peter Gain’s season has been a story of injury, much like that of Billy Bingham. He has somehow managed to muster 24 appearances this season, but ultimately his proneness to injuries and the depth in midfield has seen him released, much to my disappointment. When he has played he’s been that player we all know and love, gritty determination and never shy of a challenge or confrontation. Gainy is a top quality player and a top personality as well, wherever he may be next season (which may yet still be at Victoria Road), I wish him the best of luck.

Luke Howell – At first Luke Howell wasn’t everyone’s cup of tea, however just as we were getting to like the dynamic midfielder he picked up an injury at Hereford which kept him out for around 6 months, ruining his season like a host of other players. Since his comeback though he’s been sensational and one of our best players, an all action midfielder who gets around the park he’s exactly what our side was crying out for towards the later end of the season and his reappearance really helped in our fight against relegation. I reckon he’ll be a starter next season.

Danny J Green – This season was touted by many as DJ’s breakthrough, but ultimately that didn’t happen. A string of below average performances at the start of the campaign saw DJ out of the side for a while where he ultimately “enjoyed” a few loan spells before coming back for the last game of the season. Just as everyone thought his Daggers career may have been over he put in a fantastic 45 minute performance which once again showed everyone why he was once rated so highly. I’m not waxing lyrical about him this time, but he’s definitely one to watch out for.

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Medy Elito – Medy has been a crowd divider throughout his time at Victoria Road and that appeared once more this season when several believed he wasn’t cut out for the job. However with a string of impressive performances towards the end of the season, the lightweight former Colchester man has proved his worth, popping up with several valuable goals and runs down the wing that have tormented defences. I hope he can continue to exploit pitch dimensions up and down the land next season and improve on his good end of season form. One of his best performances came against Morecambe where he played in a more central role and I’m sure that a certain member of our fan base will be willing for that to be his position next season as well.

Gavin Tomlin – I’m afraid that it’s just not going to work for Gavin at Dagenham & Redbridge. The pre season king has once again failed to cut it for the Daggers with several below par performances, even if he has contributed a number of assists. His time was up after “that” magnificent run against Bath in the FA Cup where he finished it off with an absolutely appalling shot that really told everyone he wouldn’t have a future here.

Damien Scannell – Damien was a frequently disappointing player as I felt he had what it took to be a good player for us, however his poor fitness shone through and he decided to take a supposed nice pay check at Eastleigh in favour of fighting for his place with us. I imagine he’ll be remembered not too fondly by Daggers fans, my lasting memory of him though will be his fantastic goal against Swindon in League One last season.

Ben Reeves – Beavis (and or) Butthead looked like a very promising player in his time on loan here from Southampton, but once again he didn’t really fit the team and as a result only played five games making a very minimal contribution due to not having enough of the ball.

Dominic Green – Dom was re-signed at the beginning of September and has shown what he is capable of, but only in small glimpses. Like many others, his season has been injury interrupted; hopefully he’ll play a more key role in the next campaign when his fitness should be 100%.

Josh Parker – One of the best loan players this season for me, Josh made a telling contribution following his loan move from Oldham in the later end of the season. Despite picking up an injury (where have I heard that one before), his pace and trickery endeared him to the Daggers fans, with a particular first half performance at Underhill sticking out in my memory. A very good player who I wish the very best to in the future, hopefully he doesn’t miss any more coaches on a match day though.

Jon Nurse – I will forever by indebted to Jon Nurse, but this season has been quite poor from the Daggers’ Wembley hero. A string of below average performances have seen him go under the spotlight more the once, this may have been due to the heavy workload he sustained, not being given a rest through the majority of the season. Jon is a fantastic guy and he always plays with a smile on his face but I have to admit I wasn’t at all surprised when I saw he had been released. This season I just feel that he lacked a telling contribution and his deliveries when playing wide were very poor; I wish him the best of luck in the future whether it be away from Victoria Road or not.

Jake Reed – This was a lad who promised so much following a friendly against Stevenage in pre season, but ultimately due to injuries and other circumstances has failed to deliver in his first league season. It’s only early days though and the energetic forward will surely become a fans favourite in years to come, I think a loan spell may well be in order for him next season.

John Akinde – “Akinde Magic”, returned to Victoria Road in March for a second loan spell from Crawley; however he wasn’t nearly as effective this time around. A poor loan period saw him create very few chances as well as failing to convert any chances laid on for him by teammates.

Sam Williams – Sam was a player that excited me in his brief few months of the campaign before he got injured; a summer signing from Yeovil, he proved to be very adept in the air and as a result scored three in twelve games. Just as it looked like he was going to go on a streak, he got himself injured against Crewe, an injury that ruled him out for the rest of the season. A good hold up man and someone who I believe is capable of scoring 10+ a season, hopefully he’ll return even better for next season.

Josh Scott - This season has finally seen Josh return to playing following nearly 18 months out for various reasons. His presence has been missed, however we’re yet to see the best of him with fitness clearly lacking. Hopefully with a full pre season under his belt Josh will be able to be the player that we all know he’s capable of being next season.

Rob Edmans – The £6,000 signing from Chelmsford missed the first six months of the season through a broken leg, when he did play though he looked like a constant threat. Brief cameo’s at Millwall & Wimbledon have gone a short way to justifying why the lanky striker was signed for a fee by John Still. Hopefully he’s given a go next season amongst the abundance of strikers we currently have on the books.

Troy Hewitt – QPR loanee Troy was brought in to play alongside Sam Williams, unfortunately the day after he was signed, his new partner Sam got an injury that ruled him out for the season. Hewitt is a very quick player but wasn’t really able to find his feet here in seven games, he did however look very promising against Crawley which is my lasting memory.

Cristian Montano – Yet another West Ham loan player, Montano proved a hit with Daggers fans scoring goals against Southend & relegation rivals Barnet in his stint here. Unfortunately though that love wore away following what some perceived as lack of effort, his performances dually dropped off and as a result he was called back to West Ham. I personally thought he played best with Josh Scott, unfortunately though that only happened once.

Adam Cunnington - Cunnington was signed in November from Kettering and given an immediate debut in challenging circumstances away at Accrington. In truth we are yet to see the best from Adam; however we've seen glimpses with displays at Oxford in particular standing out. One thing that has disappointed me is that he hasn't yet been given the chance to start at Victoria Road, something which I feel would have been very beneficial to him.

Brian Woodall – Brian is quite possibly the next gem that has been found by John Still. A signing from Gresley, he was thrust into the side from the start following a glut of injuries. After a slow beginning he found his feet in the FA Cup against Bath and since then he hasn’t really looked back. He always gives 110% and has a knack of scoring vital goals at the right times in games, next season could really be something special for Woodall; one thing is for certain though and that’s that he’ll have the fans backing 100%.

That concludes the player review for this season; I hope you’ve enjoyed it. We still have more to come over the close season though, starting with a match report from Wembley on the League Two Play Off Final this coming Sunday. We will then indulge you with my top 10/12 games of the season before rounding it all off with a look back at my pre season predictions for League Two.

Our special interview will now be conducted towards the start of next season following a brief discussion so that’s something for you all to look forward to in the future.

The Daggers Player Review - Part One.

In two Blogs we'll take a look at every single player that has donned the Daggers shirt this season and evaluate their contribution and what next season holds for them. As we have an abundance of players on the books that have played this season we'll split the review up into two separate Blogs.

Chris Lewington – It’s pretty simple really, this man has had a superb first season in The Football League. Despite the fact he may have had a few lapses which have cost us points, he has done more than his fair share to win them back. It’s not just his shot saving abilities that have endeared him to Victoria Road though, it’s the way he’s stepped into the void left by long standing ‘keeper Tony Roberts; something that I imagine is extremely hard to do. He’s a player that really excites me for next season where we’ll hopefully see him develop even more.

Dave Hogan – This season has really seen the emergence of Dave with his cameo in the 0-5 home defeat to Cheltenham being his highlight. He tries his best and is the last gasp option on the bench, that’s basically it.

Jonathan Bond – Bond came in for a brief five game stint midway through the season when Lewington was banned and for the large part played a very important role. Like Lewington he had good shot stopping abilities with a particular save at Morecambe standing out in many people’s memories, a good ‘keeper who should make the grade at Watford if he continued to progress and gain experience out on loan.

James Shea – Originally signed on loan for the entire season, Shea played just four games before he was recalled by parent club Arsenal because of lack of first team action. Unfortunately for him the form of Chris Lewington meant that he was reduced to cup appearances, he will however be remembered for the penalty save against Orient which sent us through in the JPT after an enthralling contest.

Mark Arber – The Daggers captain has had something of a two sided season. Throughout the first few months he carried an injury but continued to play, something that can be viewed as quite brave and quite naive as it did hinder the team. He came back from that sensationally though and has been like a rock in the second half of the campaign, his performances obviously improving significantly and once again justifying why he’s still a superb central defender. The flak he’s had from some fans this season is barbaric and I for one hope he continues on next season either as a squad player or a starter.

Damien McCrory – It’s been something of an indifferent season for Damien who hasn’t really performed to the best of his abilities throughout. Despite his attacking prowess down the wings when bombing forward, the defensive side of his game leaves a lot to be desired at times which has angered some fans.

Femi – I cannot tell you how much of a shame it’s been that Femi has been injured for large swathes of this season as it had the components to be a really defining year for the youngster. The games he has played he’s looked very impressive and played with a maturity beyond his years, a hard going competitive youngster, I think he’ll make the left back spot his own in the next campaign providing he has no more injury setbacks.

Mathieu Baudry – This man needs no introduction, quite simply the best loan signing we have ever made.  The on loan Bournemouth defender has made eleven appearances and if truth be told has looked far better than his counterparts in the majority of this. His calm play it out from the back style combined with hard hitting tackles has made him a favourite in his short time at Victoria Road; the only disappointing aspect is that he couldn’t bag a goal to be remembered by! With Bournemouth having released him I hold the very slight optimism that we may be able to bag him on a permanent deal.

Exodus Geohaghan – He made two appearances against Port Vale & Southend United and he’ll be remembered for either being a donkey or nearly gifting a last gasp winner to Southend at Roots Hall in the first game of 2012. The less said about the lanky centre half the better.

Scott Doe – This campaign hasn’t been one of Doey’s best I’m sure he’ll agree, but he has been important nonetheless. He has shown gradual improvement and good manoeuvrability when being forced to play at right back towards the end of the season, something which is highly valued by John Still. Not only has the defensive side of his game been pretty impressive, he’s also chipped in with six goals, the majority coming via his now infamous front post run.

Richard Rose – It’s very hard to judge Richard Rose as he’s hardly had a run of games this year. The game he has played he’s looked like a pretty solid player apart from the roasting Ryan Hall gave him at Roots Hall. His lack of pace doesn’t really favour him but he makes up for that with good tackling and popping up with the odd 95^th minute goal to nick a win against Crewe.

Phil Walsh – I really do love Phil Walsh as a person, but as a footballer I don’t quite think he’s up to the standard required. He tries his hardest and at Bristol Rovers this season I began to think it may work, but with his contract running out and overall poor form I think it may be the end of the Daggers’ favourite character.

Charlie Wassmer – Another loan defender who’s sole contribution in a Daggers shirt was giving away a penalty at Port Vale. He did look very composed though when forced to see out those final twenty minutes, furthermore he looked even better when Crawley visited us in late April.

Abu Ogogo – Abu is renowned around Victoria Road for being Mr Consistent but this season he’s added another string to his bow by becoming Mr Versatile. In the first months of the season he excelled in his familiar right back role but in 2012 he was switched to centre midfield to combat injuries to other players and for the large part he hasn’t looked back. His energy and willingness have seen him become a fantastic player in another position despite some early nerves; a fantastic season for Abu and for many people, the Daggers’ player of the season.

Mickey Spillane – Where do you start with Mickey? One of John Still’s best signings, since joining from Brentford in November Mickey has played 33 times and made a telling contribution in each of the matches. Whether he is scoring with a pin point header, stringing passes together in a midfield role or putting in crunching tackles at centre half he’s been vital and is well worthy of being included in a player of the season vote. A sensational season from the 23 year old and I don’t really have a bad word to say about Mickey.

Ahmed Abdulla – Ahmed has been a bit part player towards the end of the season who hasn’t really had the chance to make an impact. I don’t feel he was suited to our style and as a result I never really took to the former Hammers midfielder; despite this it was a shrewd move by Stilly to bring Ahmed in for midfield cover.

Ollie Lee – Following his loan stint here towards the back end of last season we took him back for the first couple of months where he once again proved that we were just not suited to eachother. Despite trying his best to play the ball on the floor and scoring a superb free kick against Morecambe, he will ultimately be remembered for his scuffle with fans favourite Jon Nurse after the 3-1 defeat at Crawley Town in October.

Eoin Wearen – Yet another West Ham youngster who was limited to just four appearances, two of which came in the FA Cup against Millwall. I quite liked the look of him from the minutes of action we saw from the lad but he’s another who wasn’t here long enough to make an impact or for me to give a real assessment.

Matt Saunders – Matt was brought in following another midfield crisis in 2012, making his debut on Valentine’s Day against Oxford United. In the five games he did play before his season was corrupted by injury he looked like a dynamic midfielder which excited me, the high point being his match winning free kick against Bradford City, with the low coming when he injured himself in the celebrations. A player I’m looking forward to seeing more of next season.

Kevin Maher – Kevin was signed towards the end of the summer and within hours he found himself ruled out thanks to a broken metatarsal. After eventually making his debut and establishing himself in the side during the Christmas period, the Daggers went on a run of seven games unbeaten which is surely no coincidence. The aging midfielder gave a confidence to play the ball on the floor which helped dramatically, whether he’ll be here next season though remains to be seen.

This is the first half of the review completed, the second part will come either later in the week or over the weekend depending on how much spare time I have to contend with.