With only two full seasons under his belt as a Dagger it may seem a little presumptuous to hail Stein a Daggers great. But despite the relationship being short, it was most definitely sweet. With 52 goals in that time, Stein made himself into one of the most feared marksmen in non-league football at the ripe old age of 37.
It was a tremendous coup for the Daggers; a measure of just how far they had progressed in the two years since Garry Hill’s arrival from St Alban’s City. Just 12 months before Stein’s arrival, the Reds had won the Ryman League championship amassing 101 points in the process. Expectations of a solid mid-table first season finish in the Football Conference were surpassed as the Daggers defied expectations to finish third.
It was just this sort of progression and ambition that could now lure the likes of Stein to Victoria Road. Starting out as a trainee at Luton Town, Stein’s first major break came in 1988 as he moved for £300,000 to QPR. But it was his prolific form at Stoke City in the early nineties that brought Chelsea sniffing. A subsequent £1.5m brought him to Stamford Bridge in 1993. A year later, Stein would play at Wembley as Chelsea reached the FA Cup final, only to lose 4-0 to Manchester United. He eventually left the Bridge in 1998 and had spells at Bournemouth and Luton Town before winding up at Victoria Road.
The ruthless efficiency that allowed Stein to command almost £2m in career transfer fees dovetailed perfectly with the skilful and energetic Junior McDougald. A perfect case of opposites attracting, this duo together with the muscle of Danny Shipp, formed a formidable squad of strikers at that time. No one player is bigger than the team, but it’s perhaps no surprise that Stein’s presence coincided with the Daggers’ highest ever position in the Nationwide Conference in 2002/03.
And 2003/04 began in equally impressive style; a hat-trick against local rivals Barnet and two against Morecambe meant Stein netted five goals in the opening four league games. For it all to implode in the blink of an eye during one fateful afternoon against Telford United in September 2003 left a bitter taste of what could have been.
Allegations of racist comments from then manager Garry Hill plunged the club into a bitter race row, eventually leading to the departures of Stein and team mate Mark Smith. Despite Hill vehemently denying the accusations, it was clear the love affair with the Daggers No. 10 was over. With rumours that Leon Braithwaite was also heading for the exit door, it appeared a mass exodus was on the cards.
Eventually Braithwaite stayed but the damage had been done and the Daggers never fully recovered that season. Ten defeats in 21 home games culminated in a disastrous 13th place finish for a side that many bookies had tipped to be title contenders at the start of the year.
The diminutive striker’s presence was sorely missed for the remainder of the campaign. Hill brought in Chris Moore from Northwood at the turn of the year, who finished the season as top scorer on ten goals, merely highlighting the void left by Stein.
It’s tough to single out individual memories from such a glittering spell, but a hat-trick at Broadhall Way of all places to defeat bitter rivals Stevenage Borough still brings a smile. And for me, Stein’s clinical nature when through on goal can be summed up in one sodden evening at Dover Athletic. A largely uneventful evening was settled by a deft left-footed finish that gave the East Londoners all three points. The touch of a Premier League striker.
