Friday Freebie: Strevens Hard Done By At Dagenham?

Buried in between Christmas and New Year

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With the busy festive period out of the way and life returning to it’s more normal routine after this weekend it’s a period when people take stock and think about the weeks or months ahead, a reset I guess.

Many involved in football are creatures of habit, they don’t like a lot of change and this time within the calendar probably does test the resolve of a lot, it’s bad enough not knowing what day of the week it is with a football match thrown in on a random day as well!

Within that, it’s easy to miss a news story or two. But also, it’s the time being able to put it together and get it out to the masses so it actually get’s read rather than ignored.

Once such story was the departure of Ben Strevens from National League Dagenham & Redbridge. It fell right between the parts of Christmas and New Year, almost the best place to lose any bad news story.

Strevs has been a good friend for a number of years, since his days at Eastleigh and Barnet FC fans will remember his contributions to the Bees from his first appearance through to winning a championship and giving him a Football League career.

We chat regularly, we swop notes on players, which is the kind of trust I’ve developed with a lot of managers and coaches within the game. I’m not the only one, and it’s great to see people reaching out to find a gem or an opinion.

Despite all the technology available and stats, seeing a player in action still gives you the best feel in my opinion and there are others who share that too.

Just because Ben is a friend I regard highly like many others within the game, I don’t just blow smoke up their arses because one they wouldn’t want it and two I go objectively when it comes to opinion pieces as far as I can.

The timespan of a football manager gets shorter year on year. They all know that but like an addiction they all want back in as soon as they’re out of a job. It can be a very lonely time once you’re out of the game, out of the spotlight and into the shadows where nobody sees you.

And then you turn up innocently to watch a match as a spectator and almost straight away linked to a job someone else is in or under pressure and you wonder if you should just stick to the shadows.

The parting of the ways between Dagenham and Strevs wasn’t a surprise to some. After all they’re in a results business and on face value of it winning only two of the last nine matches does put the outside look in it and he has to go.

Managers aren’t given the dreaded ‘vote of confidence’ anymore or given the time to turn things around either, there is a notion for me within the game that you have to win yesterday, never mind trying to build something that will last from tomorrow and that is born out from the top level.

Supporters feel that notion, the cold hard facts in non-league football are one club wins a title, another gets promotion via the play-off’s and at least three get relegated sometimes more, not great odds really are they?

When you think a manager generally walks into a new club because they were doing poorly which in turn got the previous incumbent the sack, it’s the easy buck to blame the manager and not those who appointed in the first place (see this piece last month on Harry Watling and Michael Doyle).

Dagenham for me were in a transition phase. Building up a club in the National League takes more than a season, that’s evident across clubs in that division. This season should have been that one of rebuilding, like Eastleigh Strevs undertook a job where the budget was cut after being wasted by those before.

That in itself knowing the task doesn’t make things easy, players will choose anywhere they can get the money, and you have to recruit accordingly to that respect.

Are they in danger of relegation? Not particularly in my opinion, I did have them down as dark horses for the play-off’s based on keeping their summer signings fit and also the experienced players. To a degree that hasn’t happened, and you could point the finger at the recruitment, some of which is at the door of the Sporting Director James King.

A role that I believe doesn’t need to ever exist in non-league football, no place for organisations so small to overload decision making. Budgets differ across the game and always will, you do have to make the best of what you can get and that does mean taking a risk on some players because you can’t afford others.

With that comes the lack of consistency of maintaining a settled team and results show likewise across their season. Was he always up against it? Has that shown in not just the Daggers but elsewhere across the division?

It’s an extremely competitive league, those coming in from below find that out very quickly and most struggle to adapt because the depth is so much greater.

Whilst supporter anger might be directed via social media towards those in full charge of the club, we never see them leave nor do we see under performing players moved on in bundles, the manager or head coach will always be the fall guy.

There will be no shortage of candidates wanting the job, there does seem a difference in which direction they seem to be heading in but for me they weren’t a million miles away from heading in the right direction and a new voice might provide that, but you only have to look at both Ebbsfleet Utd and Boston Utd to see new manager bounces don’t always come off.

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