2000/2001

• Back to Home Page

Dagenham & Redbridge Football Club was formed on the 1st July 1992 following the merger of Dagenham and Redbridge Forest Football Clubs, the latter being an amalgamation of Walthamstow Avenue, Ilford and Leytonstone.

The merged club, had a very successful first season finishing third in the GM Vauxhall Conference, semi-finalists in the league cup and reaching the 1st Round proper of the FA Cup, where they were defeated 5-4 in a thrilling game against Leyton Orient. The game featured on Sky TV, also set the clubs record attendance with 5,300 watching the all ticket match. The Daggers were also very proud to have had a record, seven, players picked for the England semi-professional squad during the season.

The following season saw the Daggers finish 6th in the league. The eventual competition winners, Woking, knocked the club out of the FA Trophy in the second round, but the Daggers gained revenge later in the season recording the second highest away victory ever in the GM Vauxhall Conference, beating the Cards 8-1. During the season the club sold striker Juan Mequel DeSouza to Birmingham City for a five-figure fee. At the end of the season manager, John Still left the club to take charge of Football League side Peterborough United and Dave Cusack replaced him.

In season 1994/95 a catalogue of injuries and suspensions meant the Daggers were rarely able to field a full strength side, this reflected in their final league position of 15th in the GM Vauxhall Conference. The only chance of silverware was in the league cup but they lost on away goals in the Semi-Final to Kettering Town. The 1995/96 season started poorly and Graham Carr replaced Cusack. At the end of March, sitting 22nd in the Conference, the club parted company with Graham Carr and turned to one of semi-professionals greatest characters, Ted Hardy to try to pick up enough points to avoid relegation. Unfortunately, the club were unable to beat the drop into the Isthmian League despite picking up two wins and three draws from their final seven games.

The following season, Ted rebuilt the team and it turned out to be a very successful one for the Daggers culminating in the FA Umbro Trophy Final at Wembley, against GM Conference side Woking. Despite being heavy underdogs, the players battled hard and were unfortunate to lose 0-1 in extra time despite playing for an hour with only 10 men. In the F A Cup the club reached the 1st round proper for only the second time, and were only defeated by Ashford Town on penalties. Dagenham & Redbridge still managed to finish in fourth place in the Isthmian League despite a number of injuries to key players and a fixture pile up.

The Club broke their transfer record before the 1997/98 season when they purchased Paul Cobb from neighbours Purfleet for a five-figure fee. They reached the 2nd Round Proper of the FA Cup for the first time losing 2-3 to Peterborough United after defeating Farnborough in the 1st Round. The Daggers topped the table for three months before a poor run of results saw their Championship aspirations fall away. The Club won the Essex Senior Cup Final for the first time under their current guise, beating Purfleet 2-1 in the final.

1998/99 saw the Club do well in Cup competitions and finish 3rd in the Ryman League. In the FA Cup the Daggers reached the final qualifying round before losing at home to Stevenage Borough and in the FA Trophy the club reached the 5th round before bowing out to St Albans City. On Monday 1st March Ted Hardy announced his resignation, leaving the Club in a very healthy position. The Club had a 14 game unbeaten run and broke an Isthmian League record when they didn't concede a league goal in 1144 minutes from January 31st until April 5th.

During the 1999 Close season, the Daggers installed former Heybridge Swifts and St Albans City manager, Garry Hill into the hot seat. Named as pre-season favourites by bookmakers, William Hill, they sacrificed early exits in both the FA Cup and FA Umbro Trophy competitions early on to Burton Albion and Purfleet as they pulled away from the leading pack in the Ryman League. The title was won on April 22nd when they came from behind to win 3-2 at Hampton & Richmond Borough whilst nearest challengers, Aldershot Town lost at home to Enfield. By the end of the season only Chesham United had departed with a point as they recorded 20 victories and a draw from their 21 home league games. The average crowd rose over 40% compared to the previous season and topped the thousand mark for only the third time in the clubs history. The 101 points recorded was the joint second highest ever in the Ryman Premier Division and they only fell three short of achieving a century of goals. They were presented with the League Championship on the final day of the season as they defeated Slough 2-0 to record their tenth consecutive league victory.

The Ground has seen many improvements since the merger including the construction of a 250-seater stand, a new pitch perimeter wall, floodlight upgrades and the installation of a new drainage system. These improvements have helped Victoria Road to stage a representative game in 1996 between the Isthmian League and the FAXI, an FA Womens International between England and Sweden in 1998 and two matches last year in the UEFA Under 18 tournament including the England v San Marino game. Planning permission will be sought soon for a new stand to replace the old wooden one as the Club brings Victoria Road up to Football League grading.