Hold on. You mean we play football matches as well? Christ. Who knew?

For me, the moment we knew we were going to get out of relegation trouble in League Two was when Mark Molesley curled the ball into the back of Dagenham's net. For that reason, the Daggers will always have a special place in my heart. It's probably not a place they'd like to be occupying but beggars can't be choosers.

The circumstances this time round couldn't be more different. Rather than fighting for our lives in the basement division, Eddie now has us fighting to establish ourselves as genuine challengers at the top end of League One. Last week's excellent draw against a very strong Huddersfield side in a game that we dominated for long periods showed just how good a side we have the potential to be. In the past we've perhaps gotten used to being brought back down to earth with a bump after good away performances. Eddie's teams have never exhibited that weakness though and the pressure of expectation is now starting to build up. The results that we have had this season have made the rest of the division sit up and take notice - and not just the ones looking to poach a manager. It'll be a different kind of test this week and the side will have to break down what is sure to be a hard-working, physical Dagenham side with 9 men behind the ball for most of the time. The challenge for Eddie and the boys will be in getting Dagenham stretched and opened up so that we can exploit our pace. If we're going to get a result this weekend, then it'll only come if we match their work-rate and show patience and control.

Dagenham notched their first win over local rivals Leyton Orient last weekend, with Frenchman Romian Vincelot grabbing both the gaols. Right back Abu Ogogo is struggling to make the trip with an ankle injury and is likely to be replaced by Will Antwi. Other than that John Still is expected to name an unchanged side.

Second guessing Eddie's formation this week will be tricky because of the question marks over several players fitness. Steve Fletcher's heel problem seems to be easing and the big man has been back in training for the past week. He may play some part in the match, as may Stephen Purches who is close to recovering from a rib injury. Michael Symes was reported as making "good but slow" progress with his shoulder.

Steve Lovell and Mark Molesley remain on the road to recovery.

If Purches is fit then he's more than likely to slot in at right-back. If either Fletcher or Symes look able to play 90 minutes then we may see a change in formation from the 4-1-4-1 which negated Huddersfield as an attacking force on their home patch last week to something more expansive - perhaps foregoing the man in front of the back four in favour of a five man midfield or a straight 4-4-2.

Referee: Iain G Williamson
Prediction: Every time I predict a tight game there's been plenty of goals. So I'll go for a 1-0 home win.

This Wednesday saw a significant escalation of the profile of the debate for reform in football. A private members debate in a packed Westminster Hall brought a rare level of cross-party agreement and unequivocal support for the work of Supporters Direct. It was a refreshing debate and a world away from other parliamentary discussions of football governance and finance that always seem to come back to ignorant sterotypical arguments peddled by those who cannot see beyond the offensive excesses of those at the very top of the game.

If the debate can be summed up in two words, it would be these; transparency and accountability. If I were to add in a third, it would be community.

Finally, more and more people in positions of power in this country are starting to get it.

The irony of this though is that our club, the club that was in the vanguard of the Supporters Trusts movement. The club whose trust helped form the framework for so many others and the club and whose passing into community hands served as one of the major catalysts for this movement nationwide has now all but disappeared from this arena. There is less transparency at the club now than at any time since 1997. No accounts have been published by the new company since its formation and there is no dialogue between club and fans.

The AFC Bournemouth board indicated to the all but defunct Supporters Trust that they had absolutely no desire to open any sort of dialogue with them. That was disappointing, but perhaps unsurprising given the conduct of and comments made by certain Trust board members. What is more unsettling though is that they seem unwilling to entertain the opening of any dialogue with any supporters groups whatsoever.

As supporters we have no clear idea what the financial position of the football club is. Is it healthy? Are we on the brink of more winding up petitions? We have no real idea - and that is not satisfactory. It shouldn't be acceptable to the club either, for rumours love an information vacuum. Many supporters are always desperate to believe that all is well and will brook no suggestions to the contrary. Others take the opposite view, but neither position is healthy for the supporters or for the club. One poster on the UpTheCherries forum this week claimed that Eddie Mitchell was trying to sell players to prop up the finances of Seven Developments. One of these threads also sees allegations that a Russian client of Mitchell's is propping up the club. None of this does the club or Eddie Mitchell or anyone else any good. It is not in the club's interest for things like this to take root in the consciousness of supporters - and these rumours can only take root because of the current lack of transparency. There is no reliable, verifiable financial information with which to debunk any of it. Furthermore when the club is in the transfer market - be it buying or selling - the supporters expectations need to be managed. If there is no means of supporters understanding our general financial position then any moves in this market are PR disasters waiting to happen. It's not just in the supporters' interest that the club is transparent and accountable - it's clearly in the board's interest too. Supporters, as Westminster Hall heard, can do so much good for their clubs if the clubs engage with them and empower them in the right ways.

Our Supporters Trust has been in a terminal decline ever since it allowed itself to be hoodwinked into handing the "golden shares" in the football club over to Jeff Mostyn. They burned their bridges with the current board when they claimed that their takeover was "the worst possible outcome for the club" and subsequently drove wedge after wedge between them. It is theoretically still running but in truth it has been on its death bed for some time and it's time that the life support was switched off and that our supporters were engaged in a real debate about what kind of organisations that they want to represent them and to engage with them going forwards into the new decade. Those still involved with the Trust should instigate that process with the winding up of what is left of that body and the disposal of all of the baggage that is still attached to it.

It's my perception that supporters now really don't want a Trust that seeks to own the football club - but they do want a body that raises funds and sees that those funds do not disappear into the black hole of general club expenditure. Most supporters want something to be done towards the eventual goal of repurchasing the stadium for example. I also believe that supporters don't simply want another talking shop or a 'shadow board of directors'. Whilst the club has to be held up to scrutiny, supporters organisations need to make a contribution to both the club and the fans in order to be taken seriously. There are conflicts of interest between some of these goals which would need to be resolved and I have my own views on how that should be acheived - but it's vital that there is a real debate among those supporters who would be interested in these kinds of groups and organisations about these issues.

If you look to the west, Dorchester Town's supporters' trust has had a very impressive first year in charge. They are well organised, professional and communicative. They have made a positive contribution to the town and the club through fundraising and social events and are even in discussions to take over the running of the club shop. A fine example indeed.

Our supporters need to get back into the Trust movement as it is going from strength to strength. We need to prove to the board of our club that we have something to offer and in turn our board needs to re-engage with the supporters - so that we can push our proud club forwards together.