Les Dagger played 87 games for Carlisle, scoring 7 goals, in his two seasons at the club.

A natural right winger, when on the top of his game he could turn defenders inside out and was always a reliable attacking outlet for the team. With Dagger marauding down one side, and Sammy Taylor doing the same down the other, it was little wonder that 1961/62 would bring United's most successful league season in 33 years of trying.

Les was born in Preston on 25th April 1933 and left school as a youngster to become a painter and decorator. He played locally until he joined the army to see out his two year period of National Service, where he found himself stationed in the North East. He returned home after his military service was complete and immediately found that all his boyhood dreams were about to come true. Preston, the team he supported, were showing an interest. He signed for them in 1956 and must have been in some state of shock to find himself, not only in the First Division, but playing in the same side as Docherty, Finney and Baxter. He stayed at Deepdale until the end of the 1960/61 season, at which point Preston were relegated, and Tom Finney announced his retirement. Ivor Powell contacted Preston and discovered that he could have Dagger on a free transfer, which he did.

Dagger's first appearance for United was in a 2-1 home win against Aldershot in the opening game of the 1961/62 season. The result may not suggest it, but the performance signalled that this had the makings of a decent season ahead. Dagger was a constant threat down the right wing and Whitelaw and Walker looked to be enjoying his company.

Les Dagger played in every game that season and was a huge factor in the success the team were enjoying. His one weakness in his first year was goalscoring. For such an effective forward moving player his finishing often lacked the composure that the rest of his play enjoyed. His first goal for the club did not come until 24th February 1962 in what was his 37th game for us. All in all it was a marvellous season for Carlisle, though it did all look to be going pear shaped as the push for the Championship title faltered badly in the April of 62 with 3 successive defeats. What made it worse was the fact that a fixture anomaly saw United play their promotion rivals Bradford home and away within the space of 4 days that month. Bradford did us 4-2 at home and 3-2 away, and the promotion party planning had to be put on hold.

The end of the season, as so often with this club, was a thriller. They needed to beat Chester at home in the final game to guarantee their first ever promotion, and they managed a 2-0 victory in front of a healthy 12,660 fans. Satisfyingly, it was Bradford City who lost out.

Les made just 36 appearances in 1962/63 as Ivor Powell struggled to find his best team. Life in Division Three was much tougher than anyone had expected. A poor start had set the tone for the remainder of the season and the team were never able to shrug off the spectre of relegation. Les, however, was still playing well. He scored in 3 consecutive games at the start of September and was proving to be one of the players who could make a difference as he continued to work the wing. He scored twice more at the start of October, including a fine finish in the 1-0 home win over Brighton. Despite the best efforts of Les, United continued to struggle badly and remained firmly rooted in the relegation zone. He scored two more goals for the club, taking his season tally to 7, his last being the consolation in a 5-1 mauling at Bournemouth's Dean Court. United were relegated. The end of the 1962/63 season brought a free transfer for Les to Southport, where he spent two seasons. He retired as a player in the summer of 1965 and went on to play for, and manage, some non-League sides in the Preston area before branching out to work in Adult Training and Learning in Leyland.