York and Daggers Relegation Thread

[Murphy]

I thought before Bristol and then Cheltenham (if they do come up) you had to be down there for a while, adapt and accept you were non-league. We fought it for a few seasons then got wise to what we needed to do to get promoted - basically we bullied our way back up.

That both clubs - if Cheltenham come up - do it straight away it's an excellent achievement that bucks the trend.

Cheltenham aren't a massive club and did it - so there's no reason York can't do it again. I'd be surprised to see Dagenham in the league again

Why? I'm not suggesting we'll romp the league next season, but with someone who's got us out of the league before and did so recently with Luton, I'd suggest we're in a relatively decent position to make a play-off push next season, if not the year after with a year of stabilisation. Most of the current shower won't be around next season, and Still is building a squad based on the principles that Dagenham used to be about before the current campaign.

I don't buy this rhetoric that we'll never be back in the league again - both from other supporters and our own.

 

[Look Out There Are Llamas]

There will be for sure one smaller club/ less resources than Dagenham in the Conference play offs this season, maybe two if Braintree make it. It wouldn't be easy, but I wouldn't exactly be surprised if Dagenham competed at the right end, as long as they get rid of the crap (read basically the entire squad).

Are Labadie/ Passley/ Widdowson/ Hoyte contracted for next season?

 

[Murphy]

Don't quote me because I don't actually know (Lee will know), but I believe all three are. I'd be quite happy to see Labadie and Passley stay, the other two I wouldn't mind gone - Hoyte won't stick around in the Conference and I think Widdowson will feel he's above it as well. Labadie is a better player than Conf level, but part of me thinks/hopes he'll feel as though he'll owe use after we stood by him with the biting incident, and the fact that we're one of the few clubs that showed a genuine interest when we signed him. I like Passley and I think he likes the club, but again it's whether he'll want to stay, and more to the point whether Still will want to even keep him or any of them in fact into next season. They might be ok performers on the pitch, but for some of them I wonder whether their attitude is in the right place and whether they want to fight tooth and nail for this club.

I actually think we don't need too much rebuilding in the midfield area. Assuming Guttridge is staying, we also have Raymond who I've liked the look of for a while and who would prosper playing regularly in the Conference. We'll need one or two additions depending on the formation Still wants to play, but we're not far off. It's the other areas that require an extensive overhaul, in particular our defensive line which will need a fair degree of remodelling.

 

[Leewilson]

Only Widdowson is contracted next season. We signed Passley on a 1 year last summer and Labadie is out of contract. Hoyte was signed on non contract terms anyway.

Controversial opinion, but I don't want Labadie here next season. I think unless he's the main man in CM, he goes missing. And I don't think he's good enough to be the main man in a midfield. For me, it needs to be a complete rebuild. Very few remnants of the previous regime can be allowed to remain.

I would keep Raymond, O'Brien, Passley, Guttridge, Hawkins, Doidge and the newly signed Pennell and bin the rest.

 

[Vanni]

I understand Leewilson perfectly, even though I always say the sooner the fans accept their club's going down the better. Back in 2005 I was adamant we were staying up, although the evidence on the pitch was clear enough for everyone to see. I kept believing til the very end, because I kept believing we were going to get 2/3 wins on the spin and so give ourselves a realistic chance. Those 2/3 wins never came.

As for the Daggers I wouldn't say they wouldn't compete at the top end just yet because I would have to see their new squad first. Same goes for York. I was sure Cheltenham weren't going to win the league, in fact I said they won't even make the playoffs but I was wrong. Thought Tranmere were also going to struggle and most likely not make the po's too, but they're 5th as it stands.

edit - Still sure knows his way around the lower leagues and it's clear he's got a lot of contacts. So all this talk of Daggers not mounting a challenge next year is a bit premature I reckon.

 

[Flaxman's Alibi]

Daggers have an experienced and capable manager, who has got them and Luton out of that division before. They haven't the depth of a squad with potential to bounce back, however, as a club I can't see why they wouldn't be one of the favourites for promotion - they have FL reputation now and are based in the smoke, so by those advantages alone they ought to be able to attract players.

 

[Vanni]

Daggers have an experienced and capable manager, who has got them and Luton out of that division before. They haven't the depth of a squad with potential to bounce back, however, as a club I can't see why they wouldn't be one of the favourites for promotion - they have FL reputation now and are based in the smoke, so by those advantages alone they ought to be able to attract players.

Exactly. However they need Grimsby to go up this year to make things a little easier. That would still leave Tranmere and Wrexham, and the sugar daddy clubs, but with the latter there's always the chance their backers start to question why they'e doing it and perhaps lower their playing budgets.

 

[Glasshalffullpools]

You need Stevenage to get a maximum of 2 or 3 points from 6 games , not impossible ...

 

[mowgli]

It was horrible when Bristol went down (thankfully they've came straight back up) it's not an enjoyable thing to witness if you don't hate the other club

No it wasn't, it was them or us but Colin Daniel saved us from dropping about 4 Leagues as we would have gone into administration due to the fact we are financially fucked due to our previous owner leaving us 6 million in debt which the trust is gradually paying off,in fact we should break even next season according to the club.

 

[Look Out There Are Llamas]

Completely forgot Guttridge was at Dagenham. He would be a top top player to keep hold of in the Conference.

 

[AdamStag]

No it wasn't, it was them or us but Colin Daniel saved us from dropping about 4 Leagues as we would have gone into administration due to the fact we are financially fucked due to our previous owner leaving us 6 million in debt which the trust is gradually paying off,in fact we should break even next season according to the club.

Well I wasn't really bothered about Wycombe at the time, I witnessed Bristol going down and having felt the utter dejection of going down myself I wouldn't wish it on many.

 

[Luke Imp]

Why? I'm not suggesting we'll romp the league next season, but with someone who's got us out of the league before and did so recently with Luton, I'd suggest we're in a relatively decent position to make a play-off push next season, if not the year after with a year of stabilisation. Most of the current shower won't be around next season, and Still is building a squad based on the principles that Dagenham used to be about before the current campaign.

I don't buy this rhetoric that we'll never be back in the league again - both from other supporters and our own.

Difference being Luton had £, and the Conference isn't like it was when Still got you out on, I suspect, modest resources. Far more money in the Conference now and they'll be more coming up next season. Not saying you won't, but the league has moved on a lot since then.

That said, in Still you've obviously got someone who's generally worked with smaller budgets and you'll have parachute payments too. Pretty much all of Cheltenham's squad were out of contract last season I think so Johnson had a clean slate, which is advantageous and something not all Clubs, ourselves included, had the luxury of.

 

[Optogas]

No it wasn't, it was them or us but Colin Daniel saved us from dropping about 4 Leagues as we would have gone into administration due to the fact we are financially fucked due to our previous owner leaving us 6 million in debt which the trust is gradually paying off,in fact we should break even next season according to the club.

We were lucky to have DC at the helm, without him God knows what would have happened to us. If DC had taken over in the January and been able to change the team I think we would have scraped through, but hey ho it's enabled the club to refresh and it feels a much more United club for the experience. Dover and Braintree for me will be unable to sustain league football and would literally be whipping boys. Eastleigh and Forest Green would be the same as Crawley, Fleetwood etc no one will accept them as anything more than a rich man's toy. I think Daggers will probably have a chance of a return. York is a difficult one unless they can completely refresh their team think they will struggle

 

[Murphy]

Difference being Luton had £, and the Conference isn't like it was when Still got you out on, I suspect, modest resources. Far more money in the Conference now and they'll be more coming up next season. Not saying you won't, but the league has moved on a lot since then.

That said, in Still you've obviously got someone who's generally worked with smaller budgets and you'll have parachute payments too. Pretty much all of Cheltenham's squad were out of contract last season I think so Johnson had a clean slate, which is advantageous and something not all Clubs, ourselves included, had the luxury of.

I don't think we'll go up next season, but I've seen a few of our own supporters suggest that we could end up doing a Kidderminster or Torquay (before they pulled themselves clear) , which I just felt was very wide of the mark for what will likely happen.

Essentially, I'm sort of looking forward to next season already. Even if we don't go up or challenge near the top, we're almost guaranteed to win a few more games than we have done this season. The last 12 months (and almost be extension the last 24 months really) have been pretty soul crushing watching us. I can't watch us all the time for obvious reasons, but I've seen 1 home win in the last 12 months and around 5 home wins in the last 24 months. Us being so shit has somewhat taken the joy out of going to football to the extent that it feels more like a chore - hopefully next season will change that back.

 

[Cheese & Biscuits]

I've seen us twice this season so my knowledge isn't the best but I can't see us challenging next season. I can't see us being at the bottom either. Solid mid-table, that'll do. I dread to think how poor our finances will be when we get relegated though.

Hopefully Boreham Wood get relegated and we can nick Howell and Doe off them.

 

[BeesKnees]

I felt the same Murphy, five seasons of relegation battle takes it's toll.
Definitely more fun in the conference for war weary fans, new places to visit and relaxed segregation also make away trips more enjoyable. The down side is the reduced numbers and lack of away support can make the home atmosphere a bit dead.
No chance of you being in a relegation fight. Still will build a team capable of at least midtable imo.

 

[Luke Imp]

I don't think we'll go up next season, but I've seen a few of our own supporters suggest that we could end up doing a Kidderminster or Torquay (before they pulled themselves clear) , which I just felt was very wide of the mark for what will likely happen

Yeah, unless you seriously cut your budget i.e. under £300k, you'll not do that. People just probably don't know the background story to those two and, in particular, Kiddy who's budget was £850k (above average) two seasons ago, £600k last season and less than £300k at the start of this season with two players accounting for £100k of that (who they've since moved on). It then reduced further and is now £230k so that's why they've nose-dived.

Both those two clubs had people pull out of the Club and to my knowledge, you guys aren't reliant on anyone?

 

[Look Out There Are Llamas]

I thought Kiddy's was a little bit below £300k at the start of the season. Either way, I have no idea how they can sustain full time wages on that budget. Welling will have a dirt cheap budget, as will Altrincham. Boreham Wood's will be higher but it's just not worked for them. With Solihull Moors set for promotion, Guiseley possibly staying up, Southport, there'll be a number of teams Dagenham's budget should dwarf.

Any idea what Chester and Aldershot are paying?

 

[AdamStag]

Yeah, unless you seriously cut your budget i.e. under £300k, you'll not do that. People just probably don't know the background story to those two and, in particular, Kiddy who's budget was £850k (above average) two seasons ago, £600k last season and less than £300k at the start of this season with two players accounting for £100k of that (who they've since moved on). It then reduced further and is now £230k so that's why they've nose-dived.

Both those two clubs had people pull out of the Club and to my knowledge, you guys aren't reliant on anyone?

It's really sad to see Kidderminster miss out when you think the run they had when narrowly pipped to the post by us guys.
Lovely club and fans, not sure what has gone wrong for them to only have a budget of £300k though, wow.

 

[mowgli]

We were lucky to have DC at the helm, without him God knows what would have happened to us. If DC had taken over in the January and been able to change the team I think we would have scraped through, but hey ho it's enabled the club to refresh and it feels a much more United club for the experience. Dover and Braintree for me will be unable to sustain league football and would literally be whipping boys. Eastleigh and Forest Green would be the same as Crawley, Fleetwood etc no one will accept them as anything more than a rich man's toy. I think Daggers will probably have a chance of a return. York is a difficult one unless they can completely refresh their team think they will struggle

Yeah mate you came back a much better team under a young manager so fair play. Don't see why you can't do well in League 1 if you go up and can keep the team together.

 

[Luke Imp]

I thought Kiddy's was a little bit below £300k at the start of the season. Either way, I have no idea how they can sustain full time wages on that budget. Welling will have a dirt cheap budget, as will Altrincham. Boreham Wood's will be higher but it's just not worked for them. With Solihull Moors set for promotion, Guiseley possibly staying up, Southport, there'll be a number of teams Dagenham's budget should dwarf.

Any idea what Chester and Aldershot are paying?

Not sure on those.

It's really sad to see Kidderminster miss out when you think the run they had when narrowly pipped to the post by us guys.
Lovely club and fans, not sure what has gone wrong for them to only have a budget of £300k though, wow.

A couple who were on the Board leaving.

 

[CrazyImp]

I imagine Chester and Aldershot are both probably very middling in terms of the budget table - £450-500K? I know ours wasn't much more than half a million again. Will be higher next season though obviously.

Looking at Welling's squad, they'll be on absolute peanuts, maybe less than a quarter million.

Moral of the story is that Dagenham should be able to compete in the top half next time.

 

[womble76]

We got promoted on a 750 thousand budget.

 

[rudebwoyben]

Braintree's budget must be pretty low for the National League too. Considering that the parachute payment for Daggers will be £500k, they appear to be a well-run club and they have a manager who knows this level very well I think they'll easily make the top 10.

 

[TheMinsterman]

Daggers will be fine, we will probably bum around mid-table and get some good thumpings from teams "we should be beating".

Ah the memories...

 

[JoshBCFC]

Daggers will be fine, we will probably bum around mid-table and get some good thumpings from teams "we should be beating".

Ah the memories...

Nah, you'll come straight back up IMO.

 

[TheMinsterman]

Nah, you'll come straight back up IMO.

Unlikely unfortunately, we are literally going to have to build an entire new squad, the actual budget we may have is completely up in the air after McGill's recent comments, we'll likely be running with a fair few young players as a result of this new "vision" him and McNamara have, we'll still be lugging the Bootham Crescent debt around as our new stadium is constantly delayed.

We won't go down, that's melodramatic from some of our fans (granted I've commented on us going bust, but it's because I think we'll fester for some time and we won't have McGill plugging the gaps this time) but I can't see us any higher than midtable sadly.

 

[Casey]

Kiddy on 300K for a full time squad is silly.

When we first were promoted to the Conference we struggled on a budget rumoured to be 150K for a part time team. That was a good few years ago. We had to let Charlie MacDonald go because we couldn't afford his wage demand of an extra £50 a week. If we'd managed to keep him for a season or two more we could have got a hundred grand for him when he moved back into the full time game.

It's fun being at a rich club.

Daggers will be fine (I hope) but I don't know enough about York to say either way.

Casey

 

[TheMinsterman]

That's the problem, nobody does. McGill may go all out for a year and push for an immediate return and we assemble a ace new squad after shifting all the shite.

Or we may have a miniscule budget, have a bunch of kids who get battered all match and slip away into total obscurity.

 

[djs]

I wouldn't be surprised to see some of Still's groupies follow him down to the National Lge, eg Benson, Griffiths, possibly Green and Okounghae, maybe more.