Dagenham & Redbridge FC
Dagenham & Redbridge
Leave the M25 at Junction 27 and take the M11 towards London.
At the end of the M11 continue onto the A406 towards Docklands (A13) and London CityAirport.
At the intersection with the A13, turn onto this road towards Dagenham/Dartford Tunnel.
As you near Dagenham, you will see a cinema complex on your left. At this point you leave the A13 and join the A1306 towards Dagenham.
At the third set of traffic lights turn left at the McDonalds into Ballards Road.
At the end of this road you will come to a large roundabout, (known as the Bull roundabout, after the public house of the same name) at which you turn left, into Rainham Road.
Proceed up Rainham Road passing Dagenham East tube station on the left and Victoria Road is a quarter of a mile further on, on the same side of the road.
The London Borough of Barking & Dagenham Stadium
On one side of the ground is the new Main Stand that was constructed during 2001 and is now sponsored by Carling. This stand is all seated, covered and has a press area at the back of it. It is elevated above pitch level which means that supporters have to climb small sets of steps at the front of it to gain access.
The stand though, only runs for three quarters of the length of the pitch and at one end another separate stand exists. This small covered, Barking Stand, was previously reserved for families, but promotion to the Football League now means that it has been allocated to away supporters.
The rest of the ground is terracing, with small open terraces behind each goal, and a small covered North Stand terrace running down the other side of the pitch. This North Terrace is known affectionately by the Dagenham fans as 'The Sieve' as apparently at one time it was famed for its leaking roof.
The home end, the Bury Road End, has a small digital clock sitting amongst the advertising hoardings at the rear of it and is known as the 'Clock End'.
History
Dagenham & Redbridge FC was formed in 1992 as a merger between Dagenham and Redbridge Forest Football Clubs.
RedbridgeForest itself was the amalgamation of three of the amateur game's most famous clubs, so despite having a brief history in its present form, the Daggers can trace their ancestry to prestigious roots going all the way back to 1881.
Between them Dagenham & Redbridge's forebears won the FA Trophy once, the Amateur Cup seven times, the Isthmian League 20 times, the Athenian League six times, the Essex Senior Cup 26 times and the London Senior Cup 23 times. That is a lot of history for a club that is officially very young.
Ilford FC 1881 - 1979
Leytonstone FC 1886 - 1979
Leytonstone/Ilford FC 1979 - 1988
Walthamstow Avenue FC 1900 - 1988
Redbridge Forest FC 1989 - 1992
Dagenham FC 1949 - 1992
Dagenham & Redbridge FC - 1992
In 2001/02 they were in the top two from September onwards and at one point held an eight point lead before eventually finished second, missing out on promotion to the Football League on goal difference.
That summer saw the controversy of "Bostongate" when Boston United, who had pipped the Daggers to the title, were investigated and found guilty of financial irregularities during their Conference Championship season by the FA.
In July 2002 they were fined and docked points for their offences, but from the 2002/03 season, meaning they kept their promotion and the Daggers missed out.
An FA Cup run inspired the Daggers league form in 2003, when they broke the all-time record for consecutive Conference victories with eleven in a row between the end of December and mid March.
This lifted them to finish fifth and a place in the first ever Conference promotion play-off. After an epic two-leg semi-final win over Morecambe on penalties, the final was lost 3-2 against Doncaster Rovers at Stoke City's Britannia Stadium to a golden goal leaving the club missing out having been so close to promotion once again.
Going in to 2006/07 no one could have predicted that the Daggers would be challenging once again for the Conference title.
With the addition of a couple of key signings and the maturing of some of the youth that John Still had been nurturing, the Daggers kept pace with early leaders, relegated Oxford United.
Despite being up to eight points behind in the U's and losing at home to them in the league and FA Cup, the Daggers kept plugging away and, as Oxford's form dipped, they caught and passed them.
This was despite being forced to sell two of John Still's finds in Craig Mackail-Smith and Craig Blackett to Peterborough in January 2007 for a club record fee estimated at £250,000.
On 7th April 2007, the Daggers beat Aldershot Town at home in front of a new record league crowd (4,044) to clinch the Nationwide Conference title with five games remaining, becoming the first team promoted in all the English leagues.
This magnificent achievement came five years after it should have been 2001/02, but this time there was no nail biting for the Daggers faithful who celebrated elevation to The Football League.
