Despite only being in existence for 16 years, Dagenham & Redbridge Football Club have had their fair share of highs and lows culminating with their biggest high in 2007 when they won the Football Conference title and with it, promotion to the Football League.

The Club came about following a series of mergers which saw Leytonstone, Ilford and Walthamstow Avenue form Redbridge Forest who in turn merged with Dagenham FC in 1992 to form the current Club. All four had proud histories as amateur clubs in the past but due to dwindling attendances, had fallen on hard times.

The first season of Dagenham & Redbridge FC saw them finish third behind Wycombe Wanderers in the GM Vauxhall Conference and reach the 1st Round proper of the FA Cup, where they were defeated 5-4 in a thrilling game against Leyton Orient.

Unfortunately after this things began to go downhill for the club especially off the pitch. Firstly manager John Still attracted a lot of interest and when Peterborough made an approach which was too good to turn down, he moved on and this was followed by a Trustee of the Club illegally removing half a million pounds which he was later convicted of. Money was now tight and the 1995/6 season saw the Daggers finish bottom of the GM Vauxhall Conference and suffer relegation to the Isthmian League.

To ensure the Club didn't continue a downward trend Ted Hardy was appointed to stabilise it. At 67 years of age, Ted worked the same magic as he'd worked in the seventies with Enfield and Dagenham FC and against all odds took the team to Wembley in the FA Trophy final. Despite the heavy underdog tag placed upon them they battled hard and were unfortunate to lose 0-1 in extra time to Woking having played for an hour with only 10 men.

League finishes of fourth, fourth and third meant that Ted had achieved the target of stability and on Monday 1st March 1999 he announced his resignation, leaving the Club in a much healthier position than when he arrived.

The Daggers installed Garry Hill into the hot seat and in his first season they returned to the Conference having romped to the Isthmian League title recording 20 victories and a draw from their 21 home league games and an outstanding 101 points.

The success story continued into the 2000/01 season as the Club captured the National headlines on the Sports Pages as they first defeated Lincoln City in the FA Cup then came within four minutes of defeating Premiership Charlton Athletic at the Valley in the FA Cup third round. In the replay held at Victoria Road, the Club battled their way into extra time but the Premiership side eventually won 1-0. By the end of their first season back in the Conference they achieved third place.

The 2001/2 season saw the Club rise to top of the Conference on September 11th for the first time ever. After the previous season's exploits in the FA Cup, there was a high level of expectation at the team didn't disappoint. After defeating Football League Exeter City 3-0 in a second round replay, they took the lead in the third round tie at home to Premiership Ipswich Town in front of the Clubs record attendance of 5949. Unfortunately an upset wasn't to be and Ipswich ran out 4-1 winners. The Conference championship turned into a two-horse race with Boston United and the Daggers heartbreakingly missing out on promotion to the Football League on goal difference. The disappointment was made even worse when the Lincolnshire side were found guilty of illegal payments to players but the points deduction was carried into the following season.

The following season saw the Club miss out on promotion to the football league for the second season running again by the closest of margins. In the giant killing style they had become associated with they held Second Division Plymouth Argyle to a goalless draw at Home Park in the third round of the FA Cup before defeating them 2-0 in the replay televised live by Sky TV. The fourth round paired them with First Division Norwich City at Carrow Road where a heroic performance from goalkeeper Tony Roberts looked to have earned the Daggers a famous 0-0 draw only for an injury time goal to seal it for the canaries. A Conference record breaking eleven match winning run took them from 15th place in January up into the promotion play-off places which they qualified for. They defeated Morecambe after a penalty shoot-out in the semi-final and met Doncaster Rovers in the first ever final at Stoke City's Britannia Stadium. Two goals behind, the Daggers took the game into a golden goal extra time period with two second half strikes but in the second period Francis Tierney scored the goal which spelled more heartbreak for the Daggers.

Garry Hill departed at the end of the following season and the Club turned to John Still for a second spell in charge. The Daggers squad had been boosted over the previous three years by good cup runs and the 2004/5 season was a transitional one with new players being required to replace some of the higher paid and experienced ones. Within a year John had completed the task of making the whole playing squad full time with the average age only 23. They ended that season in 10th place, improving on the previous season's position by one.

No one realised just how much the young players had developed over the past couple of seasons but that became evident as last season panned out. At the end of October the Club were ten points behind hot favourites Oxford United and a play off place was seen as the best they could hope for, instead they kept up the pressure on the leaders and on the last day of 2006 they took top spot in the League, a position they wouldn't relinquish. Even the sale of Craig Mackail Smith and Shane Blackett to Peterborough for a Club record transfer fee in January didn't affect their form and they continued to pull clear of the chasing pack. On 7th April 2007, a 2-1 home win over Aldershot Town gave them the Championship and with it a place in the Football League they had been so close to achieving in the past.

Dagenham & Redbridge's first Football League game ended in a 0-1 defeat at Stockport County. Life in the Football League was tough for John Still's men but they made it to the Third Round in both the Johnstone's Paint Trophy and FA Cup before away defeats against Gillingham and Southend Untied respectively. February saw the Daggers start a five match unbeaten run, which saw them record their best wins home and away, beating Chester City 6-2 and Grimsby Town 4-1. Those victories gave the Daggers hope of finishing outside the relegation places but the next nine matches ended without any victories. In the penultimate fixture of the season, a fantastic second half display at Darlington saw them turn a 0-2 deficit into a 3-2 victory to retain their position in the Football League.