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The new owners have been announced.
https://daggers.co.uk/dagenham-redbridg ... group-llc/
New Owners Announced
I just read this announcement on the club website, Im pleased that finally everything is out in the open and resolved but on the other hand "Happy Fan Group" sounds like an american sitcom!
Then again we have behaved like a sitcom for the last couple of years since club underdog took over, I really really hope this new ownership works out but what is the investment and long term goals.. purely just survival or an ambition to get us back into the National league and beyond? so many questions and so much uncertainty with this whole "new" set up.
Fans Forum please Mr Uddin
Then again we have behaved like a sitcom for the last couple of years since club underdog took over, I really really hope this new ownership works out but what is the investment and long term goals.. purely just survival or an ambition to get us back into the National league and beyond? so many questions and so much uncertainty with this whole "new" set up.
Fans Forum please Mr Uddin
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McLeansvilleAppFan
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- Location: Greensboro, North Carolina, USA
As an American, I was thinking "Happy Fan Group" sounds like a translated-to-English-from-Japanese game show.BB-Dagger wrote: Mon Feb 16, 2026 6:44 pm I just read this announcement on the club website, Im pleased that finally everything is out in the open and resolved but on the other hand "Happy Fan Group" sounds like an american sitcom!
Then again we have behaved like a sitcom for the last couple of years since club underdog took over, I really really hope this new ownership works out but what is the investment and long term goals.. purely just survival or an ambition to get us back into the National league and beyond? so many questions and so much uncertainty with this whole "new" set up.
Fans Forum please Mr Uddin
I'll take it just to have it resolved so we have some stability, hopefully stability that moves up back to the NL and higher but stability in NLS is better than nothing or the owners wrapping things up just to get out of the business (Was the last thing every an option?)
I am so tired of the heat and humidity of the summers in the southeastern USA.
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McLeansvilleAppFan
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I read up on Anwar Uddin on his Wikipedia page, so I know a bit about him already. Wikipedia mentioned he was a director from July 2025 as his article seemed to think the Qatari takeover happened last summer.
John Grabowski seems to be a local Londoner (Londonite?). I assume that would be a positive over the foreign ownership groups of the last decade or so. One need not be xenophobic or jingoistic to appreciate a local owner that might understand English football, and also can be onsite to keep an eye on things on and off the pitch. I read his LinkedIn profile and he had some ties to IMG, which is big in sports marketing in the US, especially in the university/college sports area and to be honest looking over.
This sounds like a positive unless his interest is to flip the club in a few years by investing very little in the mean time and the club was purchased on the cheap and very little money needs to be put into the club to make a flip profitable. Hopefully that will not be the case.
John Grabowski seems to be a local Londoner (Londonite?). I assume that would be a positive over the foreign ownership groups of the last decade or so. One need not be xenophobic or jingoistic to appreciate a local owner that might understand English football, and also can be onsite to keep an eye on things on and off the pitch. I read his LinkedIn profile and he had some ties to IMG, which is big in sports marketing in the US, especially in the university/college sports area and to be honest looking over.
This sounds like a positive unless his interest is to flip the club in a few years by investing very little in the mean time and the club was purchased on the cheap and very little money needs to be put into the club to make a flip profitable. Hopefully that will not be the case.
I am so tired of the heat and humidity of the summers in the southeastern USA.
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Auntie Merge
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Time to put the fixtures back in my diary.
See you all at the end of the month.
See you all at the end of the month.
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McLeansvilleAppFan
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I'll miss you popping up on the MixLR but your place is at Victoria Road. (Of course you could do both.Auntie Merge wrote: Mon Feb 16, 2026 7:42 pm Time to put the fixtures back in my diary.
See you all at the end of the month.
)I am so tired of the heat and humidity of the summers in the southeastern USA.
Grabowski has been at the club for 18 months as our marketing director, was an underdog hire.
Obviously this is an underwhelming development, but I don’t think any takeover news could have really made us happy given how poor they always end up being. So I’m expecting it to happen again with this one, purely because it’s the same cycle of people bringing in each consortium. Something tells me that there is more behind the scenes with this one however. Still confirmation to come of how Carroll and Fernandes/Youtubers etc who have been rumoured to be buying fit into this.
Overall, I just hope this lot aren’t idiots and can get us out of this shit league ASAP.
Obviously this is an underwhelming development, but I don’t think any takeover news could have really made us happy given how poor they always end up being. So I’m expecting it to happen again with this one, purely because it’s the same cycle of people bringing in each consortium. Something tells me that there is more behind the scenes with this one however. Still confirmation to come of how Carroll and Fernandes/Youtubers etc who have been rumoured to be buying fit into this.
Overall, I just hope this lot aren’t idiots and can get us out of this shit league ASAP.
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McLeansvilleAppFan
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You likely know better than I but Grabowski clearly knows all the financials and low balled a number to Underdog and they were all to happy to take it just to get out from under the club. Those savings could be used to build up the club, or they could be all the money he has and nothing left to spend.NBDag wrote: Tue Feb 17, 2026 12:41 am Grabowski has been at the club for 18 months as our marketing director, was an underdog hire.
Obviously this is an underwhelming development, but I don’t think any takeover news could have really made us happy given how poor they always end up being. So I’m expecting it to happen again with this one, purely because it’s the same cycle of people bringing in each consortium. Something tells me that there is more behind the scenes with this one however. Still confirmation to come of how Carroll and Fernandes/Youtubers etc who have been rumoured to be buying fit into this.
Overall, I just hope this lot aren’t idiots and can get us out of this shit league ASAP.
My first thought reading his LinkedIn profile was he had some money. I am thinking now that being a marketing director for an NLS club make not be a terribly lucrative position.
I am so tired of the heat and humidity of the summers in the southeastern USA.
I think this has got to be a positive move now we are rid of Club Underdog. I don't know John Grabowski but since joining the Daggers last year he has had an inside view of what goes on within the club which is a lot more than his predecessor had.
With Anwar Uddin involved as well, we have a man who has the club at heart and knows football at this level.
We don't know at this stage who else is involved in the Consortium or what plans they have got for the club but delighted that new owners have finally been confirmed and therefore look forward to hearing more from them.
With Anwar Uddin involved as well, we have a man who has the club at heart and knows football at this level.
We don't know at this stage who else is involved in the Consortium or what plans they have got for the club but delighted that new owners have finally been confirmed and therefore look forward to hearing more from them.
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Diggerthedog
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Few things.
This seems to be an announcement to keep fans happy with some sort of news, there are clearly other investors to be announced, Anwar being on board makes me think some good news ahead. Grabowski has done a very good job commercially with the club despite relegation and the UK entity mentioned above is not the company taking over, the company listed as takeover is an US LLC company, Grabowski is American not from London.
4th time lucky with owners? Let’s hope so.
This seems to be an announcement to keep fans happy with some sort of news, there are clearly other investors to be announced, Anwar being on board makes me think some good news ahead. Grabowski has done a very good job commercially with the club despite relegation and the UK entity mentioned above is not the company taking over, the company listed as takeover is an US LLC company, Grabowski is American not from London.
4th time lucky with owners? Let’s hope so.
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Reg Varneys wife
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Seems to me this man John Grabowski is an Entrepreneur.
Can't seem to find much about 'Happy Fan Group LLC' except what is on the Companies House website which tells you nothing apart from he is the Director, doesn't seem to be anyone else involved.
I can't see anywhere what this man's net worth is or if he has any money at all apart from what was paid to buy the club, which would not have been much. Hopefully the Due Dilligence has been done thoroughly.
I'll keep my mind open at the moment and wait to see if the Club is going to be more transparent about where the money is going to come from in the future, but guessing and we are all guessing at the moment, I think we need to find investors.
Can't seem to find much about 'Happy Fan Group LLC' except what is on the Companies House website which tells you nothing apart from he is the Director, doesn't seem to be anyone else involved.
I can't see anywhere what this man's net worth is or if he has any money at all apart from what was paid to buy the club, which would not have been much. Hopefully the Due Dilligence has been done thoroughly.
I'll keep my mind open at the moment and wait to see if the Club is going to be more transparent about where the money is going to come from in the future, but guessing and we are all guessing at the moment, I think we need to find investors.
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Harrym4737
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- Joined: Tue Jun 17, 2025 8:18 pm
What’s happening with ST? Will he step down or will he stay?