Chris Dagnall smashed home a hat trick on the last day of the season for Crewe showing he still has an eye for goal that has, so far, taken his career to 10 different clubs in three countries across two continents!
Born in Liverpool, Dagnall signed for local side Tranmere Rovers as a trainee when he was 13 years old. He made his debut in 2003 when just 17, coming on as a substitute in a 0-0 draw against Peterborough United in the League at Prenton Park. He made 10 appearances scoring once during his first season.
Over the next two years he made 30 appearances for Rovers scoring 6 times before a loan move in January 2006 to Rochdale. At Spotland he made a good enough impression, with three goals in 21 appearances, that Dale decided to make the move permanent at the end of the season for a fee of £25,000.
Dagnall had some big boots to fill as Rochdale boss Steve Parkin saw him as a direct replacement for the outgoing Grant Holt, who had just joined Nottingham Forest. Dagnall didn’t let them down finishing with 17 goals in an impressive first season at Dale. The next season was a frustrating one for the striker as injury severely limited his playing time, nevertheless, he scored a hat trick upon his return and finished the season with an impressive 9 goals in only 17 matches. Rochdale finished the season in the play-offs dispatching Darlington in the semi-finals on penalties before losing to Stockport 3-2 at Wembley to be denied promotion.
Dagnall would again help Rochdale to the play-offs in the 2008-09 season but it would again be a disappointing end for them as they lost in the semi-finals to Gillingham with Dagnall scoring 8 times in the league.
2009-10 was a different story both for Rochdale and for Dagnall. He started the season with 6 strikes in the opening 10 matches as Dale started the season with 7 wins in the first 12 before going on an 11 match unbeaten run from the 21st November until the 26th of January. Dagnall was prolific scoring 5 times during this run and ending the season with 20 league goals as Rochdale clinched their first promotion in 41 years!
Dagnall’s form had attracted the attention of several teams further up the Football League ladder and in June 2010 he sign on a free with Championship outfit Scunthorpe United. He scored his first goal for the club at Reading in August and would have a decent season, scoring 7 times during a disappointing campaign for the Iron that would see them finish bottom and heading back to League One. He remained with the club and scored 6 times before a January move to Championship side Barnsley, managed by his former Rochdale boss Keith Hill. Dagnall played nine times for Barnsley before being loaned out to League Two Bradford City as he struggled to find the net at Oakwell.
He scored once in seven appearances for Bradford before returning to Barnsley for the start of the 2013/14 season but continued to struggle for form. He signed for Coventry City on an emergency loan deal in November and scored once during his six appearances. In January Barnsley released him from his contract and he was snapped up almost immediately by Leyton Orient on an 18 month deal and soon set about finding his scoring boots again. He smash in a brace on his debut at Gresty Road as Orient ran out 2-1 winners and scored 5 more times as the O’s made the play-offs. Dagnall scored in the semi-final victory over Peterborough but was unable to help Leyton Orient secure promotion as they lost on penalties to Rotherham in the final.
He finished the next season as the team’s top scorer with 11 league goals and was offered a new contract by the London club but rejected in favour of a new challenge in the Indian Super League of all places, signing for Kerala Blasters, a side from the City of Kochi on the South West Coast of the continent. He stated on the Leyton Orient official website that:
“I’ve my 18 months with the club and the fans were very welcoming but this is a new challenge for me. It will be a completely new environment, country and culture but a challenge I look forward to.”
During his time in India he broke the League record for fast ever goal when he scored after just 29 seconds of Kerala’s 4-1 win against NorthEast United of Guwahati.
Photo by Vipin Pawar / ISL/ SPORTZPICS
The ISL only runs from October until December and consists of just 8 teams yet Dagnall managed 6 goals in his 13 appearances while with the club. Kerala Blasters finished the14 game season bottom winning just three matches.
At the end of the ISL season he joined Scottish side Hibernian on a short term deal before joining current club Crewe Alexandra in June 2016 on a two year deal. He finished this season as their top scorer with 17 goals in all competitions, 14 of them in the league. No doubt if Crewe are to improve upon their 17th place finish in League Two this term then Dagnall will be a key part of that. His experience and eye for goal make him a vital component in the side and I fully expect his goal scoring exploits to continue for a while yet.
Word James Richards D3D4 Football
