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The close season has seen the normal comings and goings at Victoria Road......well goings more than comings this year in all honesty. Here The UDs look back at the Daggers careers of those who have departed the Club this summer.
SAM SLOMA
Sam joined the Club in the summer of 2006, from Thurrock, having had a varied career including some time spent playing "soccer" in the USA. He immediately fitted in at the Club, and on the pitch, and became a regular on the left-hand side of midfield. He soon developed a knack of scoring important goals for the Club, including two well taken goals in an exciting away win at Stevenage in the October of the title winning season. Sam was also seen as a hard-working player, and someone who appeared to get on superbly with his team mates.
Of course the goal which Sam will always be remembered for by most Daggers fans was the last minute equaliser on that never to be forgotten night at Oxford in March 2007. It was the goal which essentially secured the title for the Club. Just 12 days later and it was Sloma's cross for Paul Benson which provided the opening goal on the day the Daggers claimed the title against Aldershot.
With the Daggers in the Football League the season after, Sam found the going a little tougher. Never through lack of effort, the increased pace of the game sometimes proved difficult for him, as it did for a number of the Daggers players. Sam's performances provided much debate amongst fans and on internet boards, as the season went on, although nobody would ever have criticised his effort and endeavour. Despite all this, Sloma had one last dramatic performance left in him, coming off the bench with the Daggers two down at Darlington, scoring once and being involved in another goal, as the League new boys pulled off the greatest comeback in their history to fight off relegation.
Sloma was released in May and soon after joined local Conference side Grays Athletic. Everyone at the Upminster Daggers wishes Sam the very best of luck with his new Club.
DAVE RAINFORD
"Rains" also joined the Club in the summer of 2006, from Bishops Stortford, where the Daggers had previously signed his old midfield team mate, Glen Southam. Rains though was a local face in the Dagenham area, and a teacher at a nearby school away from the football pitch. In his early days Rains gave the side some bits in midfield, something that had been missing in the two seasons before. He fitted in well with his team mates, and started to become one of the team's natural leaders on the pitch. As with Sam Sloma, Rains also developed a handy habit of scoring important goals, particularly from set pieces, another thing which the Daggers had lacked in pervious seasons.
Rains' big moment came in the game where the Daggers clinched the title, scoring the winning goal from the penalty spot in the 2-1 win over Aldershot. Being an articulate and enthusiastic bloke Rains attracted a lot of media attention and was prominent in the many TV and newspaper interviews which followed the championship triumph.
Dave's second year at the Club was broken up by a couple of injuries, and this made it difficult for him to pick up the pace of things when he came into the side. Although as enthusiastic as ever when in the side, things didn't happen for Dave as they had in the previous season. He still put in impressive performances in the wins at Wycombe and Grimsby, but there were some (including most of us) who felt that life in League Two was a little bit to much for the likeable midfielder. He once again gained a lot of press coverage, for being the only part time player in the Football League, as he continued to fulfil his teaching duties while playing for the Club. However, in another similarity with Sam Sloma, Rains still had one last role to play in the Daggers fairytale story, holding his nerve from the penalty spot to level things up against Darlington in the penultimate game of the season.
Dave's last outing for the Club came as a sub in the final game of last season against Mansfield. In all he made 69 appearances for the Daggers, scoring an impressive 19 goals. Dave left the Club at the end of May, as he had been given a chance to further his teaching career and could not commit to full time football anymore. He has since joined Chelmsford City, a Club being bankrolled by Jeff King, and ironically paying higher wages than the Daggers anyway!!!
Although we at the Upminster Daggers did not rate Dave as highly as many Daggers fans, we thank him for some great memories and his enthusiasm for the Club on and off the field, and wish him the very best of luck with his future careers in both football and teaching.
JAMIE TAYLOR
JT joined the Club in March 2007 from, old rivals Woking, as John Still looked to strengthen his squad to secure the Conference title. Jamie's chances were limited with Paul Benson, Ben Strevens and Chris Moore all in decent form at the time. Taylor scored just one goal before the end of that season.
Last season was another frustrating one for Jamie, as he played just a bit part role in proceedings. He did come off the bench to score his only league goal against Wrexham in December, and also put in a decent performance when asked to start against Wycombe in January. However, with his chances limited, Taylor went out on loan to Grays Athletic in February, and remained there for most of the rest of the season as he impressed fans and staff alike at the Thurrock based Club, scoring on 9 occasions.
At the end of the season John Still released Jamie and he has since joined Grays in a permanent deal. Jamie always came across as a likeable and hardworking player, and always had time for a chat with the fans around the Club. We wish him the best of luck with his new Club.
CHRIS MOORE
It feels like we have been here before!!! One of the great talking points of the Club's fans over the last few years, Mooreo left the Club at the end of May, and as yet, we are unaware of whether he has signed for anyone else or not.
Chris returned to the Club in January 2007, to help the Club finish off their push for promotion. He had left the Club the previous summer, to join Brentford, having run down his contract at the end of the 2005/2006 season. In his first stint at the Club Chris had been a prolific scorer, finding the net 44 times in 98 appearances. However, the first few months in his second stint at the Club proved frustrating as Chris struggled for a regular place in the side.
Things looked like they had turned around for Chris at the start of the 07/08 season. He scored in the Daggers 2-2 draw with Wycombe and then put in an excellent performance as the Daggers recorded a superb 3-2 win at Brentford in October. However, from there things went downhill!!! Chris just didn't seem to have the pace or sharpness which had made him such a hit in his first spell. He struggled to go past players and did not seem strong enough to hold up the play. His substitute appearance in the December defeat at home to MK Dons summed all this up. There were various rumours going round about what was affecting Chris from fall outs with management, to a virus, to sleepless nights with his new born baby. But whatever it was, it was certainly causing Chris problems.
It looked like all would be forgiven in the last minute of the game at Rotherham, when Chris steered the ball home in the last minute to seemingly gain the Daggers a point, only for the referee to rule out the goal for no reason at all. Chris was released at the end of the season and we all hope he finds a club soon, and he can regain his old form. ROSS SMITH
The Upminster Daggers, and most Daggers fans it seems, were sad to see the departure at the end of May of Canadian centre back, Ross Smith. Smith only joined the Club last summer from local Conference side, Gravsend and, hang on Ebbsfleet United. His first few months at the Club were disrupted by a couple of injuries, the worst of which came in the FA Cup win at Hampton and Richmond in November.
However, after Christmas, and with John Still switching to a formation using 3 central defenders, Ross became more of a regular in the side. He put in excellent performances at Grimsby and Wycombe which helped the Daggers secure vital away victories. Ross was not the quickest, but was strong, good in the air and would throw himself in front of the ball at all times for the team's cause. In fact his style was quite similar to Lee Goodwin in his pomp.
At the end of the season Ross asked to leave the Club so he could go and play in America, although the Club did not report this at the time, leaving many fans puzzled as to why he had departed. Ross has since signed for the Rochester Rhinos in the American USL, a league one level below Major League Soccer in North America. Ross has already played three games there this season.
As with many of the Daggers players, Ross always seemed like a down to earth bloke. Always having time for fans when we saw him on the train to and from away games, and when we saw him in the Sponsors Bar. He also said some very complimentary things about the Club and our fans in a recent newspaper interview. Everyone at the Upminster Daggers, and I am sure all Daggers fans, wishes Ross the very best of luck with the rest of his career. |
