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The Poll
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Daggers change of ownership: should we...
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DAGGERS DICTIONARY "Assband" Unable to leave the house because of illness, disability etc. | |
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Next Match
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26 January 2021
7:45pm
Eastleigh
Away
Vanarama National League
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Last
Match
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23 January 2021
Kings Lynn Town
Home
Vanarama National League
Won 3-2
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On This Day
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In 1994,The Daggers
beat Barnet 1-0
Away in the London Challenge Cup 1st Round
In 1998,The Daggers
beat Billericay Town 4-2
at Home in the Essex Senior Cup Quarter-Final
In 2008,The Daggers
lost 0-2 to Lincoln City Away in the Coca Cola League Two
In 2010,The Daggers
lost 0-3 to Notts County at Home in the Coca Cola League Two
In 2013,The Daggers
lost 1-2 to Morecambe at Home in the NPower League Two
In 2019,The Daggers
drew 1-1 with Aldershot Town at Home in the Vanarama National League
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Daggers on the up
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Are the Daggers overachieving?
by Hardy on 09/06/2010
Do we inevitably have to expect the Daggers fairy tale to end and for the club to start to slip back to it's "natural level"? |
Are the Daggers overachieving?
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So
the Daggers will start their nineteenth season in the NPower Football League
One, the third tier of English football.
It is a magnificent achievement for the club who have come from the Ryman
Isthmian League, then tier 6, in just eleven seasons under Garry Hill and John
Still.
But are the club overachieving, do we inevitably have to expect the fairy
tale to end and for the club to start to slip back to it's "natural
level"? And what is that level anyway?
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"Natural Level" - Average attendances as a measure
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The only realistic measure of how big a club is, has to be dictated by the
average attendance it gets week in week out throughout the season.
Even this is a bit flawed as a measure but taking this as raw data it does give
a good indication.
It is of course possible for this number to fluctuate wildly based on the
league a team finds itself in either above or below where in ought to find
itself, whether it has a lot of local derbies in a particular season due to the
make up of its league, whether it has a good or bad season on the field of play.
Particularly for the top clubs this can be skewed by what the capacity of their
ground is. There is little doubt that clubs like Chelsea, Liverpool, Spurs etc
could have bigger average attendance if they had the capacity for instance.
However if you use it as a statistic, it holds true when you look at clubs
obviously playing below their "natural level" like Leeds United for
instance.
What I have done below is take the average attendance of the 115 clubs that
played in the top five tiers of English football, the Premiership through to the
Conference, then rank the clubs based on average attendance. By comparing this
ranking to the actual position achieved in the ladder against that you get a
measure of how a club is faring on the field against how it should be based on
its size.
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What can we glean out of the statistics?
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The raw stats for the season just completed show Dagenham & Redbridge as having the 96th highest average attendance in the top
five divisions in England with 2,098. Against that, the club actually had a league
finish of 75th, an overachievement of 21 places.
Only four teams out of the 115
in the top five divisions did better than this last season. these being
Blackpool (25), Walsall (24), Hartlepool (22) and Morecambe (22). Other clubs
featuring high on the list are Scunthorpe, Wigan, Doncaster and Bolton
Wanderers, which would suggest that the measure is broadly correct as all these
are clubs I would have said were doing better than might be expected.
The clubs doing worst last season are Luton Town, Bradford City, Oxford United,
Leeds United, and Norwich City, which also suggests the measure is correct.
Three of those won promotion last season and will close the gap to where they
"ought" to be as a result. Other clubs stuck below where they should
be based on this measure are Southampton, Sheffield Wednesday, Charlton Athletic
and, interestingly, Notts County, all of which will be the Daggers opponents
next season.
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Where should the Daggers be?
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This argument has been had a few times, what is the potential of Dagenham &
Redbridge FC. Where does it deserve to be on the footballing ladder?
For the vast majority of its existence as Dagenham & Redbridge the club
has plied its trade in the Conference, eleven seasons in all out of eighteen.
The founding clubs all played the majority of their football in the Isthmian
League so this in itself is a step up resulting from the merger, and I think it
is safe to say that none of the original four clubs that are now Dagenham &
Redbridge realistically harboured serious hopes of being a Football League club.
In this, the various mergers, however they came about, have proved a huge
success.
While the Daggers sit in a crowded piece of football turf, surrounded as they
are by much more established football clubs, they have managed to grow the average
attendance from around 1200 in the first season to around 2100 last season
through a low close to 600 during the Isthmian League years. Since the club won
promotion the average attendances have risen slowly but steadily.
Several new posters at the Daggers forum have said that they have moved from
established Premier League clubs to follow the Daggers in recent years, often
due to cost, but also as a result of the success that has been achieved. While
often derided as "glory hunters" these people are key to the Daggers
sustaining their rise up the leagues and should be welcomed.
The clubs catchment area, broadly defined as the London Boroughs of Barking
and Dagenham, Redbridge and Havering have a combined population of around
650,000. Of course many of these will either not be interested in football, or
will already have allegiances elsewhere, but this is a huge potential for the
small club from Essex to pull from.
Maybe, the sky really is the limit?

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Raw Statistics (proceed with caution)
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Rank- Position |
Position |
Att Rank |
Team |
Avg attendance |
5 |
1 |
6 |
Chelsea |
41423 |
-1 |
2 |
1 |
Manchester United |
74864 |
-1 |
3 |
2 |
Arsenal |
59927 |
6 |
4 |
10 |
Tottenham Hotspur |
35794 |
-2 |
5 |
3 |
Manchester City |
45342 |
2 |
6 |
8 |
Aston Villa |
38573 |
-2 |
7 |
5 |
Liverpool |
42864 |
1 |
8 |
9 |
Everton |
36725 |
7 |
9 |
16 |
Birmingham City |
25246 |
5 |
10 |
15 |
Blackburn Rovers |
25428 |
3 |
11 |
14 |
Stoke City |
27162 |
10 |
12 |
22 |
Fulham |
23909 |
-6 |
13 |
7 |
Sunderland |
40355 |
12 |
14 |
26 |
Bolton Wanderers |
21881 |
-2 |
15 |
13 |
Wolverhampton Wndrs |
28366 |
17 |
16 |
33 |
Wigan Athletic |
18006 |
-6 |
17 |
11 |
West Ham United |
33683 |
12 |
18 |
30 |
Burnley |
20654 |
1 |
19 |
20 |
Hull City |
24390 |
12 |
20 |
32 |
Portsmouth |
18249 |
-17 |
21 |
4 |
Newcastle United |
43388 |
3 |
22 |
25 |
West Bromwich Albion |
22199 |
0 |
23 |
23 |
Nottingham Forest |
23831 |
5 |
24 |
29 |
Cardiff City |
20717 |
-4 |
25 |
21 |
Leicester City |
23943 |
25 |
26 |
51 |
Blackpool |
8611 |
10 |
27 |
37 |
Swansea City |
15407 |
-11 |
28 |
17 |
Sheffield United |
25120 |
6 |
29 |
35 |
Reading |
17408 |
9 |
30 |
39 |
Bristol City |
14592 |
0 |
31 |
31 |
Middlesbrough |
19948 |
14 |
32 |
46 |
Doncaster Rovers |
10992 |
9 |
33 |
42 |
Queens Park Rangers |
13349 |
-22 |
34 |
12 |
Derby County |
29207 |
-7 |
35 |
28 |
Ipswich Town |
20841 |
5 |
36 |
41 |
Watford |
14345 |
7 |
37 |
44 |
Preston North End |
12874 |
5 |
38 |
43 |
Barnsley |
12964 |
-3 |
39 |
36 |
Coventry City |
17295 |
18 |
40 |
58 |
Scunthorpe United |
6464 |
-3 |
41 |
38 |
Crystal Palace |
14945 |
-18 |
42 |
24 |
Sheffield Wednesday |
23179 |
5 |
43 |
48 |
Plymouth Argyle |
10316 |
6 |
44 |
50 |
Peterborough United |
8913 |
-26 |
45 |
19 |
Norwich City |
24758 |
-28 |
46 |
18 |
Leeds United |
24818 |
0 |
47 |
47 |
Millwall |
10835 |
-14 |
48 |
34 |
Charlton Athletic |
17606 |
3 |
49 |
52 |
Swindon Town |
8389 |
-10 |
50 |
40 |
Huddersfield Town |
14381 |
-24 |
51 |
27 |
Southampton |
20982 |
14 |
52 |
66 |
Colchester United |
5530 |
7 |
53 |
60 |
Brentford |
6018 |
24 |
54 |
78 |
Walsall |
4029 |
1 |
55 |
56 |
Bristol Rovers |
6891 |
-7 |
56 |
49 |
Milton Keynes Dons |
10290 |
0 |
57 |
57 |
Brighton & Hove Albion |
6467 |
10 |
58 |
68 |
Carlisle United |
5210 |
12 |
59 |
71 |
Yeovil Town |
4664 |
22 |
60 |
82 |
Hartlepool United |
3444 |
11 |
61 |
72 |
Oldham Athletic |
4630 |
8 |
62 |
70 |
Leyton Orient |
4937 |
-1 |
63 |
62 |
Exeter City |
5832 |
0 |
64 |
64 |
Tranmere Rovers |
5671 |
-6 |
65 |
59 |
Gillingham |
6335 |
-1 |
66 |
65 |
Wycombe Wanderers |
5544 |
-14 |
67 |
53 |
Southend United |
7718 |
7 |
68 |
75 |
Stockport County |
4420 |
-15 |
69 |
54 |
Notts County |
7353 |
-7 |
70 |
63 |
AFC Bournemouth |
5720 |
12 |
71 |
83 |
Rochdale |
3346 |
22 |
72 |
94 |
Morecambe |
2262 |
7 |
73 |
80 |
Rotherham United |
3817 |
13 |
74 |
87 |
Aldershot Town |
3086 |
21 |
75 |
96 |
Dagenham & Redbridge |
2098 |
3 |
76 |
79 |
Chesterfield |
3849 |
12 |
77 |
89 |
Bury |
3027 |
-9 |
78 |
69 |
Port Vale |
5080 |
-5 |
79 |
74 |
Northampton Town |
4427 |
-13 |
80 |
67 |
Shrewsbury Town |
5482 |
5 |
81 |
86 |
Burton Albion |
3191 |
-37 |
82 |
45 |
Bradford City |
11423 |
15 |
83 |
98 |
Accrington Stanley |
1980 |
11 |
84 |
95 |
Hereford United |
2139 |
6 |
85 |
91 |
Torquay United |
2859 |
-9 |
86 |
77 |
Crewe Alexandra |
4075 |
13 |
87 |
100 |
Macclesfield Town |
1934 |
-7 |
88 |
81 |
Lincoln City |
3670 |
8 |
89 |
97 |
Barnet |
2059 |
-6 |
90 |
84 |
Cheltenham Town |
3243 |
-18 |
91 |
73 |
Grimsby Town |
4428 |
7 |
92 |
99 |
Darlington |
1943 |
0 |
93 |
93 |
Stevenage Borough |
2589 |
-39 |
94 |
55 |
Luton Town |
6976 |
-34 |
95 |
61 |
Oxford United |
6004 |
5 |
96 |
101 |
Rushden & Diamonds |
1678 |
-5 |
97 |
92 |
York City |
2665 |
5 |
98 |
103 |
Kettering Town |
1387 |
12 |
99 |
111 |
Crawley Town |
1003 |
-24 |
100 |
76 |
AFC Wimbledon |
4316 |
-16 |
101 |
85 |
Mansfield Town |
3206 |
-14 |
102 |
88 |
Cambridge United |
3077 |
-13 |
103 |
90 |
Wrexham |
2860 |
5 |
104 |
109 |
Salisbury |
1040 |
-3 |
105 |
102 |
Kidderminster Harriers |
1548 |
2 |
106 |
108 |
Altrincham |
1066 |
-3 |
107 |
104 |
Barrow |
1254 |
-2 |
108 |
106 |
Tamworth |
1091 |
6 |
109 |
115 |
Hayes & Yeading |
604 |
2 |
110 |
112 |
Histon |
849 |
-6 |
111 |
105 |
Eastbourne Borough |
1217 |
1 |
112 |
113 |
Gateshead FC |
674 |
-3 |
113 |
110 |
Forest Green Rovers |
1012 |
-7 |
114 |
107 |
Ebbsfleet Utd |
1068 |
-1 |
115 |
114 |
Grays Athletic |
658 |
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Top ten over achievers
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Rank- Position |
Position |
Att Rank |
Team |
Avg attendance |
25 |
26 |
51 |
Blackpool |
8611 |
24 |
54 |
78 |
Walsall |
4029 |
22 |
60 |
82 |
Hartlepool United |
3444 |
22 |
72 |
94 |
Morecambe |
2262 |
21 |
75 |
96 |
Dagenham & Redbridge |
2098 |
18 |
40 |
58 |
Scunthorpe United |
6464 |
17 |
16 |
33 |
Wigan Athletic |
18006 |
15 |
83 |
98 |
Accrington Stanley |
1980 |
14 |
32 |
46 |
Doncaster Rovers |
10992 |
14 |
52 |
66 |
Colchester United |
5530 |
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Bottom ten under achievers
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Rank- Position |
Position |
Att Rank |
Team |
Avg attendance |
-18 |
42 |
24 |
Sheffield Wednesday |
23179 |
-18 |
91 |
73 |
Grimsby Town |
4428 |
-22 |
34 |
12 |
Derby County |
29207 |
-24 |
51 |
27 |
Southampton |
20982 |
-24 |
100 |
76 |
AFC Wimbledon |
4316 |
-26 |
45 |
19 |
Norwich City |
24758 |
-28 |
46 |
18 |
Leeds United |
24818 |
-34 |
95 |
61 |
Oxford United |
6004 |
-37 |
82 |
45 |
Bradford City |
11423 |
-39 |
94 |
55 |
Luton Town |
6976 |
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