Dagenham & Redbridge sack manager and appoint Andy Carroll two weeks after celebrity investment

Martin Macdonald

• 18 Mar 2026 12:30 CDT
• 3 min read

News

Dagenham & Redbridge have sacked manager Lee Bradbury just two weeks after YouTuber KSI made a significant investment in the club.

The timing of the decision to part ways with Bradbury has raised some eyebrows as the club are still within reach of the playoffs in National League South, even if they have an outside chance of making it into the top six, while their most recent result was an impressive 3-2 away win at Farnborough.

Dagenham & Redbridge have indeed been inconsistent over the course of the campaign, however, and it seems KSI will be ruthless in his tenure as Bradbury has been sacked after seven months in charge.

"Dagenham & Redbridge Football Club can confirm that we have parted company with First-Team Manager, Lee Bradbury," a club statement read. "We are very grateful to Lee for his focus, professionalism, and commitment during his time at the Club and for his contributions, both on and off the pitch, to stabilise the club last summer. Dagenham and Redbridge wish him every success in his future endeavours. Andy Carroll will take the team on an interim basis, and further updates will be communicated in due course."

Former Liverpool, Newcastle and West Ham striker Andy Caroll has been put in temporary charge after joining as a player last summer. Though he hasn't actually played for the club since December, like KSI, he too is an investor.

KSI a shareholder

SI, real name lajide Olayinka Williams Olatunji, has a reported net worth of around £75 million (Mirror) and began his financial empire by creating video game content on YouTube.

His Sidemen group channel boasts hundreds of millions of views on the content-sharing website.

The money gained from his YouTube work allowed him to break into other areas, including celebrity boxing matches. So far, he has fought two professional fights against Tommy Fury and Logan Paul.

He founded Misfits Boxing and is also a part-owner of Prime energy drinks and Lunchly snack boxes.

KSI is a keen footballer, too, and you'll regularly see him taking part in charity matches.

Football is clearly a passion, then, so it makes sense he would invest in Dagenham and Redbridge, who were relegated to the National League South last season.

“I’m so excited to start this journey," he told the official club website after purchasing shares.

"It’s gonna be a rollercoaster for sure but I hope to bring Dagenham and Redbridge back to the glory days. And once we reach that point, I want to go even further. Reaching the Premier League would be a dream. And I believe it is 100% doable.

"It will take a long time, so to the Daggers fans, please be patient. I want you to know that I am fully committed to making sure Dagenham and Redbridge is a team that everyone will know worldwide, and will be an exciting team to watch and support

"I’ve been watching games secretly at home for months on YouTube streams so it feels so good to finally show my support publicly. For those of you that are OG fans (Race to Division One), you’ll know that this is a full circle moment for me. This is a really big deal for me and I can’t wait to go to my first game this Saturday against the league leaders, Dorking Wanderers!”

KSI has started to hit mainstream fame recently as he is currently a judge on Britain's Got Talent alongside Simon Cowell, Amanda Holden and Alesha Dixon, earning a spot due to his music career.

Dagenham and Redbridge have never been higher in the football pyramid in England than League One so the promise of Premier League football is certainly an ambitious one.

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